Chapter 22
Brynn’s heart raced as she attempted to stand, got dizzy, and fell back onto the couch.
“Whoa,” Becky said, racing up to her, along with Willow.
“I need to get over there,” Brynn said.
“Where? The station? I don’t think so,” Becky said. “You’re going to sit on the couch.”
“Don’t tell me what to do!”
“I’ll go,” Willow said. “I’ll go and report back to you.”
Tears stung Brynn’s eyes. They arrested Wes! He didn’t do it! She couldn’t even help him because she couldn’t move around without getting dizzy!
“Brynn, don’t cry,” Becky said, sitting down next to her with her arm wrapped around her. “If you cry, your head’s going to hurt worse. Take some deep breaths.”
Willow crouched down in front of her. “Look, I’m going to head over there and I’ll let you know something as soon as I can. His dad is there and his lawyer. There’s nothing you can do but stay here and take care of yourself.” Willow’s deep brown eyes were serious. She patted Brynn’s shoulder.
Brynn swallowed back a sob. She couldn’t picture sweet, kind, hardworking Wes in jail! What a mess! She nodded. “Please. Yes. Please let me know something as soon as you do. This . . . is a nightmare.”
“They can’t hold him without evidence,” Becky said. “I’m sure they’ll be letting him go soon.”
Brynn’s worry lessened—a bit. “That’s true. But innocent people go to jail every day.”
“You’ve been watching too much true-crime TV,” Willow said, standing. “Don’t think about that stuff. This is Shenandoah Springs. We don’t keep innocent people in jail.”
Brynn wanted to believe that.
Becky didn’t say a word, though Brynn knew she wanted to. So far, Becky wasn’t thrilled with the place Brynn had chosen to live and farm. She was concerned about odd events after the church fire, and now this. Brynn was touched by her concern, but she loved it here.
“Okay,” Brynn said to Willow. “Please keep me in the loop.”
“I will. Believe me,” Willow said, and left.
Brynn and Becky sat on the couch for a few moments in silence. Becky’s eyes were as wide as the moon. Brynn’s temples pounded. She lay back on the couch and closed her eyes.
“I can’t believe it,” she said. “He’s one of the nicest people.”
“Thank goodness he has a lawyer. I don’t care what Willow says. This place ain’t all that great. Look at what happened with Nancy. And they were targeting you next.”
What her sister said was all true, but the police helped, and they did have to go by the book—even in Shenandoah Springs.
“That’s all over,” Brynn said. “I’d rather not think about it. I’ve got enough on my plate right now.”
“Yeah,” Becky said. “Perhaps too much. Why don’t you sell the place and come back to Richmond? I miss you so much and Lily would love to have you closer. And then there’s Mom and Dad.”
Why didn’t Becky understand? This life was her dream. Her micro-dairy farm and cheesemaking company. She’d worked hard for this.
“I’m not leaving,” Brynn said. “Any place has good things and bad things about it. I love the CSA. I’ve made good friends. I love my cows. I’m not going anywhere.”
Becky sighed. “From my standpoint there’s been nothing for you but trouble.”
Brynn could see that. “Yes, but my business is growing. I’m making more sales. All of this other stuff? Happenstance. A blip.”
“I’d not call your assistant in jail for murder a blip, Brynn. I’m sorry. That’s serious.”
Brynn’s heart sank. It was. She knew that, but she wanted to remain hopeful. “I know,” she snapped. “But I know he didn’t kill anybody and I’m going to help prove it.”
“How? You’re recovering from a concussion.”
“I already have a list of suspects. I’m not allowed to look at the screen, but you are. Let’s do some research.”
“Brynn—”
“Come on. It will be fun—and useful. We won’t be able to find out everything from the internet, but it will be a start. I’ve done a little research already and found out the man who shot Wes also had been seeing Chelsea. It all revolves around her, it seems.”
“Who? The sixteen-year-old girl? Come on, Brynn. You’ve really taken a hit to the head.” She paused. “Let me get your soup.” She stood.
“I’m not eating it,” Brynn said. “Not hungry.”
“You’ve got to eat, whether you’re hungry or not.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Okay, I’ll research for you after you eat. Eat first and rest. Give me your list and I’ll take care of it.”
Brynn smiled. “We’ve got a deal.”
* * *
As Brynn ate her chicken noodle soup and watched her sister at her laptop, she decided she had the better end of the deal. The soup was incredibly delicious, salty enough with small chunks of veggies, noodles, and chicken. Her sister was sighing and moaning and groaning over the computer.
Her cell phone interrupted Brynn’s eating. It was Willow.
“Yes?” Brynn said.
“Okay, here’s what I’ve been able to find out from Mike. They are not telling anybody anything. But Mike said the gun that was used was registered to Wes.”
Brynn’s stomach clenched. Wes bought a gun? If she’d known that, she wasn’t sure how she’d like him living on her property. But then again, several people had told her she should own one living in the country. Perhaps that’s why he’d purchased it.
“I didn’t know he has a gun.”
“He doesn’t. Wes claims he never bought it, but all the evidence says he did.”
Brynn shifted from shock to anger in a split second. “Someone is setting him up.”
Becky looked up from her screen.
“My thoughts exactly,” Willow said.
“I agree that’s what it looks like,” Becky said, looking up from her laptop. “There may be a lot going on that we don’t know about. We’re not privy to all the information that the police have gathered on the case.”
“True,” Brynn said. “But Wes isn’t a liar. If he’d purchased the gun, he’d say so.” She tried to will away the headache creeping into her temples.
“Wes is twenty years old. There may be a lot we don’t know about him, but one thing I know is that when I was twenty I was keeping a lot of secrets from everybody. I didn’t consider it lying. I considered it my private life. It was nobody’s business.”
Brynn pondered all of that. She pulled the blankets in closer around her as a wave of weariness came over her. She closed her eyes. Was Wes keeping secrets? Did he purchase a gun, knowing how Brynn felt about guns? They discussed it several times when Brynn was being harassed. The sheriff suggested she buy a gun. She couldn’t do it.
Things were a bit different in the country, she knew, and most people had guns, especially farmers with animals. You never knew when you’d have problems with wild animals. Brynn shuddered to imagine it. This was one reason she didn’t keep chickens, even though she’d love fresh eggs in the morning.
“Did you find out anything?” Brynn asked.
“Not much more than we already know. Rad, the young man who is now in jail for shooting Wes, has a record. Mostly drugs. Could he be behind this?”
“Why not? Someone is.”
“In that case, he’s already in jail.”
“But what if it’s not him? What about the other guy—the guy who’s already been to prison? Ian Fellows?”
“I’ve not found anything online about him, except his Facebook page, and it seems like he’s been working hard to stay out of prison. He’s posted about trying to find better work, about his kids from a previous wife, and so on. I know this stuff can be fabricated, but it looks as if he’s trying to stay clean,” Becky said.
Brynn hated to make assumptions. People could change—but it was hard for people who’d gotten out of jail to start again, sometimes through no fault of their own.
“I don’t know. Is it a coincidence he’s seeing Chelsea? A guy who was in prison for attempted murder? And one of her boyfriends is killed?”
“I’m certain the police are looking into him. Don’t you think?”
“I hope so. I’ll mention it to Nathaniel. He can check with Wes’s lawyer,” Brynn said. Her headache was getting worse. “It must be time for more medicine.”
“It is,” Becky said. “Do you need some water?”
“No, I have plenty.” Brynn eyed the coffee table, full of medicine, water, spent plates, and bowls. It looked as though she’d been sick for weeks. She knew Becky would clean up as soon as she was done researching.
Brynn popped a few pills in and swallowed. “Did you find anything else?”
“Let me ask you a few questions. Was she dating the guy who was killed in the tractor accident?” Becky asked.
“Yes.”
“And she was dating the guy who was shot?”
“Yes.”
“And at one point she dated Rad?”
“Yes.”
“And now she’s dating the carnie?”
“Yes, I think so. I mean, I don’t really know her. Even Wes doesn’t know her. Perhaps the carnie was a onetime date.” Brynn shrugged. Woozy, she lay back into her pillow.
“Do you know anybody who might know her better?”
Brynn’s brain fogged. Was it the medicine? Had she been trying too hard? “I need to think about that.”
“You look tired.”
“Yeah, all of a sudden. I think I’m going to take a nap.”
Becky smiled. “I think you are, too.”
* * *
When Brynn awakened, the clutter had been cleared away and Becky was nowhere to be found. She stood up because she wanted to use the bathroom and prepared herself for the onslaught of dizziness. But it didn’t happen. Not this time.
When she came out of the bathroom, Becky was standing there with her hands on her hips. “What are you doing up?”
“I needed to use the bathroom. It’s okay. I didn’t get dizzy at all.”
“Well, good. Do you need help to get back to the couch?”
“I’m good.”
“How about more soup?”
“That would be good,” Brynn said as she made her way back to the couch.
Becky brought her soup to her. “You look better. Not as pale.”
“I feel better,” Brynn said. “In fact, I’d like to go and see my girls.”
“Tillie’s coming over to take care of the night milking. Maybe it would be best for you to wait one more day.”
Brynn missed them, even Jewel, who she’d barely gotten to know. People said all sorts of bad things about cows, but Brynn knew they were as attached to her as she was to them.
“This soup is perfect,” Brynn said, taking another spoonful.
Becky smiled. “Well, I do make a mean chicken noodle soup.”
“Did you say Tillie was coming over?” Brynn took another bite.
“Yep.”
“Good. I want to talk to her. She goes to school with Chelsea. She must know more about her than anybody.”
“Good idea!” Becky said. “I’ll try to nab her before she leaves. Oh look. I forgot to tell you. Mike Rafferty sent you get-well flowers.”
“What? Oh, how sweet of him,” Brynn said as Becky brought the flowers to her. It was a simple arrangement of daisies and petunias. So sweet. “He’s such a nice guy.”
“Come on, Brynn. It’s more than that. Men don’t send flowers unless they like you.”
“Nah,” Brynn said. “I don’t think so. He’s Schuyler’s brother. She probably put him up to it. Besides, he was there right after Wes got shot. Plus he happened to be at the fair when that woman caused a scene. He’s probably concerned since he was a witness to most of it.”
Becky rolled her eyes. “Okay. Whatever you say.”