Daisies and Destruction by London Lovett

Author:London Lovett [Lovett, London]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wild Fox Press

Chapter 19

I was still crossing Adam's pasture when Briggs phoned. "I know you tried to scuttle my lecture with pre-defense nonsense, but you need to get off Adam's land. You're trespassing and while I'm sure you'd make the cutest model for a mug shot, I'd prefer not to have to arrest my fiancée."

"I'm heading across right now. More importantly, did you get my picture?"

"I did and I have to say it seems significant. I know you hate it when I question your brilliant nose, but are you sure it's not just lingering gasoline odor from the fire?"

"Well, let's see—since you suddenly don't seem to trust my skills—"

"Nope, didn't say that."

"I'm teasing," I said. "Sensitive boy this morning. I'm standing near the fence that divides the two properties." I took a dramatic deep breath to let him know I was testing the air. "There's no smell of gasoline at the fence line. Granted, I did get a little dizzy again when I was standing in the burned-out barn."

He sighed, dramatically, also to let me know he was irritated. "What remains of that structure is less stable than a house of cards. You shouldn't be climbing around in there."

"I was hardly climbing, just strolling. And I wasn't there long because of the fumes. But once I stepped clear of it, the air was fresh, and it's fresh all the way across Adam's field until you get to the far corner." I sat against the fence railing. "Someone poured gasoline in that corner. I'm sure of it and so are the birds."

"The birds?"

"That's how I discovered the corner. Adam had the alfalfa in his pasture cut recently. It hasn't been collected into bales yet. The birds are enjoying the insects the freshly cut grass has exposed. But two doves decided they wanted to dine in peace, so they landed in the far corner of the pasture. They just as quickly left it. That's when I realized none of the birds were interested in that corner. So I climbed the fence—"

"Leave that part out so I can ignore the breaking the law piece of your story."

"Right. So I floated above Adam's farm, like a butterfly," I added because that was how I pictured myself, "and when I reached that corner, gasoline fumes smacked me right in the nose."

"I'll have to ask Saunders if I can walk his pasture. I'll tell him I'm looking for a murder weapon that the killer might have dropped while fleeing the scene."

"Has Nate narrowed down a murder weapon?"

"Given that the wound on the victim's head had several splinters of wood in it, we can only conclude that it was a piece of lumber. Since there's plenty of that lying around, it's just a matter of finding the one that has blood or hair on it. Saunders doesn't know that so I can still use it as an excuse to walk around his property. If he doesn't allow it, then we can pretty much consider him our prime suspect and I'll have to get a search warrant.

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