“No, they’re still working on it,” she told him.

  “Have you heard anything about any leads or suspects?” he asked. He sounded like he was paying more attention now. The music she had heard playing in the background stopped.

  “I know they have at least one suspect,” she said, though she didn’t want to bring up Wade’s name just in case he was innocent after all.

  “Cool, cool,” he said. She thought he sounded a little nervous.

  “Is everything all right? If you’re worried about whoever killed Teddy coming back to the store, we can figure something out. In fact, we should probably make sure no one works there alone until we know who the culprit is.”

  “Nah, I’m sure it will be all right, Ms. Abner,” he said. “Though if I see any suspicious people approaching me with a hammer, I’d like your permission to peace out.”

  She chuckled. “Permission granted. And that goes for any time you’re working – if anyone seems dangerous or is even just giving off weird vibes, get somewhere safe and call one of us or the police. I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”

  “Thanks, Ms. Abner. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He said a quick goodbye and ended the call. Flora tucked her phone back into her pocket and stooped to grab her rake, then paused.

  Had she told him about the hammer? She couldn’t remember. She might have – she must have. She didn’t think the police had released any information about the murder weapon.

  She must have told him. Swallowing heavily against the worm of doubt that was creeping into her mind, she resumed clearing the path. She had forty minutes until Grady got here, and she wanted to make the most of it.

  Teddy’s business was to the south of town, a few miles past where the turnoff to the road she lived on was. Grady knew the way, and she rode contentedly in the passenger seat as he drove them there. A chain link fence surrounded the junkyard, and the gate was closed. There were piles of metal scattered all about, and a modular home that seemed to double as the office sat in one of the few clear areas. Grady parked in front of the gate and they got out.

  “This place looks abandoned,” she said. “Well, there are a lot of cars here, but they all look like junk.”

  “That one has a license plate with a current tag on it,” he said, nodding toward a blue SUV that was parked in front of the office building. It was beat up and rusty, but it did look like it was parked instead of dumped there.

  Grady reached for the gate and pulled it open far enough that they could slip through, then shut it behind them. Flora froze as a large, black dog raced toward them from around a pile of metal, barking ferociously. Before the dog reached them, the door to the office building opened and a man stepped out.

  “Shadow,” he shouted. “Leave it. Come here.”

  The dog slowed and sniffed at them, then turned and trotted back toward the man.

  “He won’t hurt you, he just likes to bark,” the man called out. “We’re closed, though. You’re going to have to call and leave a message if you want something.”

  “Are you Teddy Martin’s nephew?” Grady called back. “We’re here to talk, not for business.”

  The man hesitated, but after second, he waved them over. “Come on in, and don’t mind Shadow. He’ll sniff you all over, but he won’t hurt you.”

  Sure enough, the dog took its time sniffing Flora’s shoes and pants before moving on to Grady while they stood in the man’s office.

  “I’m Hunter Martin,” the man said, shaking their hands. “What is this about?”

  “We are here to talk about your uncle,” Grady said. “It’s a legal matter. We are trying –”

  “No,” Hunter sighed immediately, taking a step back. “I’m not handling any of that. We have a lawyer, and I can put you in touch with her. I can’t help you.”

  “You don’t even know what we want,” Flora said.

  “I can guess. You might not have heard, but he has passed away. His estate is tied up right now, and any claims will have to go through official channels.”

  “We’re trying to figure out who killed him,” Flora said quickly, before he could keep making assumptions. Then she paused, remembering something Ellison had told her. “Has he been having legal issues?”

  “You… aren’t here about that?” Hunter looked relieved. “He’s had a lot of complaints, it felt like I was getting calls every week about it. Ever since that Adams’ lawsuit, it’s been crazy. They must have a lot of friends in town, because people have been absolutely hounding us.”

  “Adams?” Grady asked, looking puzzled. Flora realized that she hadn’t told him about the issues Ellison’s parents had with Teddy. “What was that about?”

  Hunter hesitated, then shrugged. “I guess it’s all public knowledge. They hired us to clear some scrap out of their yard – old, broken-down cages, wire from the garden, springs for mattresses they burned, that sort of thing. They left it all in a heap by an old car chassis, and weren’t very clear about what we should take. Teddy swung by with the trailer and took the car too, found out it was worth the money, and sold it. By the time they contacted us to complain, it was gone. They sued us and lost. Ever since, they’ve been getting all of their friends to make complaints against us. It’s been a real pain. Hopefully, they’ll stop now that my uncle’s gone. Why do you want to know, anyway?”

  “We’re trying to figure out what happened to your uncle,” Grady said. “I’m Grady Barnes, and I’m part owner of the hardware –”

  Immediately, Hunter backed away from him. “I know who you are. Your brother’s the one the police took into custody. I don’t want anything to do with you. Get out of here.”

  “We just want to talk,” Flora said. “Please, we’re trying to figure out –”

  “No,” Hunter said. By his side, Shadow growled. “Leave, or I’m going to call the police and report you for trespassing.”

  That didn’t give them much of an option. They left, having wasted a trip into town and once again, no better off than they were before.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  On their way back to Flora’s house, she told Grady all about her impromptu meeting with Ellison at the feed store.

  “Sorry, it completely slipped my mind with everything else going on. I think it’s just a coincidence that his parents had issues with Teddy.” She hesitated, biting her lip. “You don’t think he had something to do with it, do you? I could have sworn he was scheduled to work that day, even though he said he had the day off.”

  Grady frowned, concentrating on the road. “I thought he was scheduled as well. Have you checked the schedule?”

  “No, I didn’t have it saved on my phone. I’ll check it when we go back to the hardware store tomorrow. If he was lying, well, I’m not sure what it will mean.”

  Had Ellison shown up there for his shift, only to run into Teddy in the back parking lot? She couldn’t imagine the quiet, respectful young man plotting a murder, but if he came face-to-face with a man who his parents had spent potentially thousands of dollars fighting in a lawsuit and nasty words were exchanged, he might have done something on the spur of the moment. She swallowed heavily, uncomfortable at the thought. If he attacked Teddy with the hammer and then realized what he had done and fled, it would explain why he never showed up for his shift that day.

  She and Grady spent the rest of the day hacking their way through the brush in the forest. They cleared a path from the back of the yard to the pond, and got started on another path that would wind and curve through the trees to the side yard, coming out near the shed. Flora was confident she would be able to finish the rest of it herself before she had to return the machine. She could hardly believe the progress they had made, and could hardly wait to enjoy the finished result. Amaretto was going to love going for walks through the trees.

  They were enjoying some iced lemonade on her porch together when Grady’s cell phone rang. She watched as he answered it, and his expression turned to one of shock.

  “Yeah, I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”

  He ended the call, already rising to his feet, and said, “That was Wade. The police are releasing him from custody. I’ve got to go pick him up.”

  “Good,” she said, her own eyes widening. “That’s – that’s good, Grady. I’m glad.”

  She walked him to his truck and kissed him goodbye, watching him go with trepidation. Flora wasn’t sure if Wade’s release from police custody was a good or bad sign. The lack of evidence against him might mean he was innocent, but she knew there was a lot of red tape when it came to criminal investigations. They very well might be letting a killer go, not because he was innocent, but because they had no way to legally keep him behind bars any longer.

  She was worried as she got ready for bed that night. She settled down, tucked into her blankets with Amaretto curled up by her head, listening to the silence of the house around her. The thoughts of Wade reminded her that there were some extremely bad people in this world, and it was at times like these that she keenly felt how isolated she was out there. She had come to love country living, but sometimes, she would rather be back in her apartment, with people all around her. There, at least, if she screamed, someone would be able to hear her.

  She woke up to her phone ringing at three in the morning. The transition from sleep to alertness was instant, and the second she saw the time on the clock on her night stand, her stomach dropped. No calls at three in the morning were ever good.

  Her dread grew even stronger when she picked up her phone and saw the number on the caller ID. It was the police – not the local police station, but Officer Hendricks’s personal work phone. She had saved his number the first time he gave her his card, more than a year ago now.

  She didn’t want to hear whatever he had to say, but ignoring the call wouldn’t make it go away. She answered with shaking fingers. Her mouth suddenly felt dry, and she had to swallow before speaking.

  “Hello?”

  “Ms. Abner,” Officer Hendricks said. “Are you and Grady safe? Neither of you were at the hardware store tonight? No employees there after hours?”

  “I’m at home, and as far as I know, Grady is too,” she said. “Our employee would not be working at three in the morning. Why? What’s going on?”

  “There’s been a fire,” he said grimly.

  The fingers of her left hand tightened in the sheets. “How bad is it?” she asked, her mind racing. They had business insurance, but she didn’t know how much of something like this it would cover, or how long it would take for the money to come in if the place had burnt to the ground.

  “It’s not too bad,” he said. “The fire crew has already put out the flames. It’s mostly just the front of the store that was damaged – the front counter was the source of the fire, and a window is broken. Someone who lives in one of the nearby apartments came down to take their dog out, and saw the flames. They caught it early. Otherwise, it might have been much worse.”

  “Oh, thank goodness,” she said. “Have you called Grady yet?”

  “No.” He hesitated. “I know his brother is staying with him. He had to leave the address when he left police custody. I wanted to let you know first. The timing is… suspect.”

  “What do you mean?” The answer came to her in the next second, before he could respond. “Wait. You think Wade did this? Why would he want to burn down his own brother’s business?”

  “Why would anyone target the hardware store?” Officer Hendricks countered. “You tell me. Do either of you have any enemies out there? People with grudges? People who might think you’ve been asking too many questions? We’ve been carrying our own investigation out, Ms. Abner, and we’ve spoken to some of the same people you have. What you’re doing isn’t safe.”

  Her breath caught in her throat. He sometimes warned her away from her amateur sleuthing, but hadn’t ever come out and said something as straightforward as this about it.

  “Grady and I have been trying to figure out the truth, and that’s all,” she said.

  “Well, I think it would be wise to take this as a warning,” he said. “Until we find the culprit, I suggest you lay low. This fire could just be some teens causing trouble, but I doubt it. I think this is a threat, Flora, and you should take it seriously. No one got hurt this time. Next time, you might not be as lucky.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The fire damage to the hardware store wasn’t extensive. It was bad, but it could have been much worse. Or at least, that was what Flora tried to convince herself of as she stared at the mess.

  It was the next morning. There was no structural damage, so the firefighters had cleared them to enter the building. Officer Hendricks had met her and Grady there a few minutes ago, and told them there was blatant evidence of an accelerant being used. Between that and the broken window, it was obvious that someone had started the fire intentionally.

  The police were looking for the culprit, and they had given Flora and Grady a police report to turn into their insurance. The insurance probably would cover the damage, but it was going to take time to fix, and time to get the store running again.

  It wasn’t the disaster that it could have been, but it was a setback. Worse, neither of them knew if they might be in further danger. They had been snooping around, and even without Officer Hendricks’ warning, this would have felt like a warning.

  “We’ll help you clean,” Violet volunteered from where she and Sydney stood together, gazing at the mess.

  Violet had seen the damage while she was driving to the coffee shop, and had called Flora in case she didn’t know, waking her up just a few hours after she got back to sleep. The five of them – Wade was there too, having apparently insisted on coming with Grady to see the damage that morning – had been looking over the front of the shop somberly. Flora had already called Ellison and left a message on his phone telling him what had happened. As she gazed at the blackened front counter, she had to wonder if he had something to do with this.

  It was just a niggling suspicion, between his family’s ties to Teddy, and the uncertainty about his schedule on Saturday. The thought made her frown.

  “Grady… we kept the schedule on the desk.” They kept a paper schedule – with just three of them working there, it hadn’t been worth it to upgrade to a computerized program. The schedule was kept on top of the desk or in one of the drawers, along with a lot of their notes, order forms, and receipts.

  Grady looked confused for a moment, then his frown deepened, a crease forming between his eyebrows.

  “We should have stopped and checked it yesterday,” he said.

  Flora mentally kicked herself. They really should have. They had discussed the possibility of Ellison being involved, but she didn’t think either of them really believed it. She had thought she would just take a glance at the schedule today, when she opened the store, and would see that Saturday was marked as a day off for Ellison after all, then forget about the whole thing. It hadn’t felt urgent, just like something she should check and knock off her to-do list when she had the chance.

  But now, the schedule was ash. Ellison had said he had a picture of the schedule on his phone, but she hadn’t actually seen it. It would be easy for him to pretend that he had deleted the picture, or hadn’t taken one after all, and she would have no way to verify anything he said.

  Wade was standing a few feet away from them, his arms crossed, and a puzzled look on his face. “What does that matter?”

  Grady shook his head, dismissing the question. “Don’t worry about it. We should get a tarp put up over the window,” he said. “Wade, will you help?”

  “If you need me to stay to help with anything, I can see if one of the other girls can open,” Violet said.

  “I can let my boss know what happened, I’m sure he’d let me switch shifts with someone,” Sydney chimed in.

  “No, it’s all right,” Flora said. “The two of you should get to work.”

  They had both wanted to see the damage, but Flora didn’t want to interrupt their whole day. She asked them for help often enough already.

  While Grady and Wade went into the back to get supplies to temporarily patch the window, Flora saw her friends off, promising to call them if there were any updates. After they left, she went back inside and took in the rest of the mess.

  While the fire damage had been contained, that wasn’t the only thing the arsonist had done. The rest of the store was a mess. Products had been knocked off the shelves, and one of the shelves had even been tipped over. They would have to do inventory, but she would be shocked if some items weren’t missing. Some of the mess came from the firefighters, of course – there was water and muddy footprints all over the floor, but she could hardly blame them for that.

  Maybe the likely theft of some of their items was actually a good thing. She held a faint hope that it might help the police catch the culprit. They would be on the lookout for whatever items had been taken once Flora and Grady provided them with a list.

  Grady and Wade returned to the front with a stepladder, a large tarp, and the supplies to secure it over the broken window. Wade stepped outside and unfolded the stepladder while Grady took measurements from the inside of the window. Flora watched, not sure if they would need her to help or if she should start cleaning up and taking inventory.

  Suddenly, Wade jumped down from the stepladder and muttered a quick, “Stay there, I’ll be right back,” as he jogged off down the sidewalk. Slowly, Grady lowered the tape measure and stared after his brother.

  “He’s always done this,” he said with a sigh. “I thought he’d be more help.” He paused. “Just so you know, I don’t think he started the fire – we were both raised to believe that family sticks together no matter what, and I don’t think he would want to sabotage me like this. But I’m coming to realize I might not have known who he really is for a long time.”

  “Did he seem to act suspiciously at all when the two of you arrived?” Flora asked quietly.