Chapter 25
Brynn awakened from her nap with no headache. She was getting better and excited about Tillie’s concert.
“I still don’t think this is a good idea,” Becky said as she drove Brynn, Nathaniel, and Max to the fairground.
“Me either,” Max said. “But you know Brynn. Once she gets an idea, there’s no stopping her.”
Brynn smiled to herself. True. But she felt better, and she wanted to support Tillie. And she had to admit, she hated the frustration of having to stay at home. She didn’t want to miss Tillie’s concert because she was a wonderful singer. That’s all there was to it. But a pang of guilt swam through her because Wes couldn’t be there. Tillie and Wes were good friends.
But Brynn was certain with the latest turn of events he’d be released tomorrow, if not tonight. Surely the person using his credit card would be caught soon—and arrested for the murder. Things were looking up.
As they pulled into the parking lot, the view of the fair caught Brynn by surprise. In the twilight, the rides were lit and the strung lights sparkled on. The sky was a dusty blue, and the mountains loomed over it all.
As they walked to the fairground, Brynn realized they had parked near the animals. The scent of manure was pungent, so they moved along quickly toward the concert area.
The tiny stage sat at the edge of the fairground. Facing it, you were facing away from the fair. They’d gotten to the fair a bit early, so they had their choice of seats, and by the time they made their way to the concert arena Brynn was only too happy to take a seat. She was a little tired.
“Can I get you some water or something?” Becky asked.
“Yes, please.”
“Wait,” Max said. “I’ll get us all water. You two sit still.” He turned to leave and Roy came up to him and looked a bit startled.
“Max? Man, I thought you were Wes. I thought they’d let him out of jail.” He looked around. “But I guess not.”
“Not yet. But probably tomorrow,” Max said.
They stood in silence for a few moments. “I’m off to fetch water.”
“Oh. Okay. I’ll tag along,” he said, and as they walked away, he gave a little wave to Brynn and the others sitting there.
“Who was that?” Nathaniel asked.
“Roy. He’s a friend of Wes’s. Kind of. I’m not sure how good of a friend he is,” Brynn replied.
Nathaniel’s jaw tightened. “I think he’s the young man who’s the hacker. Wes told me about him.”
“Hacker?” Becky said. “What do you mean, like he hacks people’s computer accounts or something?”
“Yes. He’d gotten a good job in Richmond, but he was fired because they caught him doing something unethical. Wes says he’s brilliant and can hack into anybody’s computer. Think about that. Bank records. Credit cards. Identity. These computer guys . . . if they don’t have good solid ethics, they could be ripping us off left and right.”
Brynn didn’t want to think about it. She was not a complete technophobe, but she didn’t like the fact that most of her business was now online. It concerned her. They changed passwords all the time, at least once a week, and took several other security measures—making sure the system was up-to-date. But that was Wes’s job.
“Thank goodness for Wes or I’d be lost.”
“Well, I can’t wait for this concert.” Becky changed the subject. She was trying to keep Brynn’s mind on pleasant things—she knew what her sister was up to. But Brynn was worried about Wes spending another night in jail. She was certain it was not a horrible jail to be in—it was clean and probably safe—this was Shenandoah Springs, after all. But if he was imprisoned, Brynn shuddered to imagine it.
But he wouldn’t be. He was innocent. And now that they had that credit card bill to prove it, the police would have to let him go. She closed her eyes and said a little prayer to the universe.
“Water boy is here!” Max said as he arrived back at their seats, handing out water.
The cold bottle felt good in Brynn’s hands. It was a hot night, the sort of evening when you felt like you were walking through a steam bath instead of night air.
The crowd was picking up, and as she looked around she recognized several familiar faces, mostly CSA members, including Tom and his wife, Elsie. They smiled, nodded, or waved to her.
Brynn’s gaze fell on a young woman. Smiling and beautiful. It was Chelsea, standing at the edge of the concert area. Behind her was Roy, whose arm slipped casually across her shoulder.
Roy and Chelsea? That was quite a pair—the young woman who was dating every available man in the county and the young man who was a hacker. Lovely.
Brynn watched as they walked away, behind the stage area.
She stood. “I’d like to go and see Tillie for a minute.”
“Now wait,” Becky said, standing. “Why? What’s the point?”
“I want to wish her luck,” Brynn replied. “Or to break a leg or whatever.”
Becky followed Brynn, snaking through the crowd. When they reached backstage, Tillie was nowhere to be found.
Neither were Roy and Chelsea.
“Tillie likes to take a walk before performances. I’m sorry you missed her,” Miriam, Tillie’s mom, said. “I’ll let her know you stopped.”
“Thanks,” Brynn said, but seeing Tillie was just one reason she’d come backstage. She was curious about what Roy and Chelsea were up to. And it looked like they were already gone. Long gone.
* * *
Soon enough, the concert started and Brynn’s mind was on nothing but the music. Tillie’s voice had a soothing effect on her. By the end of the show, Brynn was ready for bed.
“What are you doing here?” Tillie said as Brynn approached her to tell her what a great job she’d done.
“I couldn’t miss it. You were . . . amazing,” Brynn said.
“Completely,” Becky agreed.
“Thank you. But your head. How are you?”
“Tired. We need to go, but it was so worth it,” Brynn said, and hugged her.
As Becky, Brynn, Max, and Nathaniel walked through the crowd, finding their way to the edge of it, she took in the sights of the fair as it was closing for the night. An almost empty promenade. The ride lights were off, with strings of lights and lamps from food vendors brightening their way. The scent of cotton candy filled the air.
Brynn’s head pounded. Her thoughts had become muddled again. But the thought of Roy and Chelsea was lodged in her mind. She’d need to talk with Wes about them. She hoped he’d get out of jail tomorrow and the worst part of all this would be over. Poor Wes! Shot at the cheese contest, then carted off to jail for a murder he didn’t commit.
“I can see why you didn’t want to miss the concert. She’s an amazing singer,” Nathaniel said on the ride home.
Everybody agreed.
“I’m sure you’re exhausted,” Becky said. “We’ll get you home and to bed. You can rest all day tomorrow.”
Brynn was too tired to even speak. She watched the silhouetted trees go by as they rode along on the darkened country roads, the farmhouses lit in the distance. The mountain behind them. The sky with its bright half-moon and twinkling stars. She closed her eyes.
* * *
Brynn awakened the next day in her own bed with the sun streaming in. It took her a moment to remember getting there in her sleepy haze from the car. Her headache subsided, though it was on the edge of being a full-blown one. She supposed she need more medicine. She untangled herself from her quilt and made her way downstairs. Becky was in the kitchen, making coffee. “Good morning,” she said. “Your medicine is right there.”
“I need it,” Brynn said. “Along with the other medicine. Coffee.”
“It’ll be ready soon.”
Brynn looked at the calendar, realizing it was Friday. The days had blurred together. Her friends were taking care of her life and she hated that. She missed the daily visits with her cows, making cheese, and well, the rhythm of her normal life. She could at least check out the online orders for cheese today.
“What smells so good?” Brynn asked.
“Blackberry breakfast bread. I needed to use these berries before they went bad. I noticed there’s more to be picked over on the far edge of your property, toward the church.”
“Blackberry bread? Oh my God, it smells heavenly.” But Brynn’s stomach was queasy. She hoped it settled by the time the bread was ready.
Brynn sat down at the table and swallowed her pills. She looked out the window at her cows grazing. Jewel was still off by herself. Would the sweet Highland cow ever fit in with her cows? Wait. It really didn’t matter because she was fostering her. Schuyler was looking for a home for her, wasn’t she?
Becky set a cup of coffee in front of her.
“Thanks,” Brynn said. “I’ve been watching my girls.”
“It’s a great window,” Becky said. “I talked with Lily this morning. She sends her love.”
“Is she having fun at camp?” Brynn imagined her sweet niece loving horse camp, bonding with new friends, learning new things.
“She’s a bit homesick, but she’ll be fine.” Becky opened the oven door and checked the bread. “I think this is done.” The smell filled the room. Hot blackberries, sweet bread. Cinnamon. Heavenly. She pulled it out and placed it on the counter. “We need to let it cool a bit.”
Brynn’s stomach growled. Cinnamon was good for a sick stomach, right? “I’m not sure how long I can wait.”
Becky grinned.
“Is Wes home yet?”
“It’s still early, Brynn. I doubt the courts have been open long.”
“Right.” Her brain still wasn’t firing 100 percent. “It’s Friday. I need to check the online orders.” She started to stand.
“Sit down. I’ll bring you the laptop.”
“Okay.” Brynn did not usually like being catered to, but she loved having her sister around—and she knew there was no arguing with her.
Becky brought the laptop over and put it on the table. Brynn opened it and booted it up.
“Hmmm. Maybe it’s safe to cut the bread,” Becky said more to herself than Brynn.
“Perhaps,” Brynn said, and watched her laptop screen come on. “Do you mind helping me with the computer? I’m not supposed to be looking at it.” She clicked on the website order program and a pop-up came on: “Pay $100,000 to enter this website.”
She tried getting it off the screen. “Jesus! What’s this?”
Becky rushed over and looked. “I have no idea. Just restart it. That’s what they always say to do, right?”
“Yes, but this is strange.”
“It is. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Becky fussed over the bread while Brynn restarted the computer.
The same thing happened. She had no idea what to do. Wes was her IT guy. Who else could she call?
She dialed Willow.
“Hey, Brynn. How are you feeling?”
“Not so good. Something’s going on with my computer.” She explained what was happening.
“I can’t help you. I’m sorry. If it was an art program, like an Adobe thing, I could help. But that sounds like ransom ware.”
“Ransom ware? What’s that?”
“It’s a hacking thing. Someone might have hacked into your computer and won’t let you have access until you pay the money.”
Panic tore through Brynn. “Why would someone imagine I have that kind of money?”
“I have no idea. But a lot of businesses end up paying it. And now they’ve made it illegal to pay them. I recently read an article about that.”
“So what do I do? I have orders to access and to fill.”
“There’s a guy in Staunton who works on computers. I’ll text you his name and number.”
“Thanks.”
After they clicked off from the call, Becky set a plate of sliced blackberry bread on the table, along with fresh cream cheese and butter.
“What’s going on? You’re as white as a ghost,” Becky said.
“Someone hacked my computer and they are trying to get money from me,” Brynn said. “I need to call this guy to service it.”
“I’ve heard of that! But I’ve never known anybody it’s happened to!” She looked over Brynn’s shoulders. “One hundred thousand dollars?” Becky laughed. “That’s too much. Why would they think you’ve got that sort of money?”
“I have no idea.” She shut the computer off, closed it. Dread came over her. “I need to call this IT guy in Staunton.”
“Why don’t you eat first? Who wants to talk computers on an empty stomach?”
Brynn mulled it over, and between the scent of the bread, her sister’s caring words, and her stomach growling she decided Becky was right. She’d eat first and then call the IT guy.