“You’re a good old boy,” Dustin said, bending to scratch behind the dog’s ears.
As he made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen, Sammy followed him. Dustin saw a bag of dog treats on the counter and offered him one. “You tried hard, didn’t you? You knew something wasn’t right the day Marcus was killed. I think you went after the killer. But the killer wasn’t really supplied with the customary murder weapons. No gun, no knife. So you were probably whacked with a good-size rock or maybe a branch. But you went up to the killer—close enough to get a walloping—because it was someone you trusted, huh?”
“Talking to yourself?” Olivia asked, sweeping into the kitchen. Her hair was still damp. She was wearing a casual cotton halter dress and sandals. There was something compelling about her—the naturalness of her movements, her lack of makeup, the tempting scent of her soap.
“Sammy is an excellent listener.”
“And you were discussing...?”
He smiled grimly. “Sammy and me? We were discussing my certainty that someone involved with the Horse Farm is doing this. I think Sammy trusted the person who hurt him.”
“But if someone at the Horse Farm hurt him, wouldn’t he be afraid of that person now?”
“Yes—unless the person threw something at him from a distance, maybe as Sammy approached. In that case, it’s possible he never associated the person with the action and the pain it caused him.”
She walked past him and into the kitchen, pulling a casserole from the oven. “It’s just hamburger and potatoes, with a soup mix and crisp onion topping. Not very gourmet.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever smelled anything better,” he said.
Not true. He’d never smelled anything as good as her.
“I’ll bring it out. There’s a dining table set up in the family room. You can eat and play on your computer at the same time,” she told him.
She carried the casserole into the spacious back room. The table appeared to date from the early 1800s, and there were heat pads on it for protection. “Agent Blake, have a seat,” she said, placing the casserole on one of the pads.
He was wondering how she’d managed anything other than the casserole, but she also put out a platter of raw vegetables and dip, along with glasses of sweet tea, plates and silverware.
He’d opened the computer while she set up.
She closed it as she joined him. “I’m starving, and I know you are, too.”
“I am, and we can talk, which is almost as good as staring at a computer screen.”
“Almost?”
He was pretty sure he actually flushed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just that the facts and figures I need are in the computer.”
“Where do you think Marcus has been lately?” she asked.
“I assume he’s off trying to solve his own murder—except that he could help a lot more by hanging around with us.”
“He never did like camping,” Olivia said. “Strange, because he loved nature so much. He loved a walk or a ride through the hills or along the stream.” She looked away quickly and he realized she was close to tears. You could accept the death of a loved one, but it often took time to really remember the good times and be able to smile and laugh at a memory.
“Well, he’s still with us,” he reminded her softly. “Somewhere,” he added. “But let’s go back to that day. So Marcus was at the Horse Farm and we know he definitely went in to see Aaron. We know they talked. He probably talked to Andrew and Sydney, too, because they would’ve been working at the stables.”
“Yes, and we know that because Frank spoke to them. They had casual conversations with Marcus fairly early in the day. I had a session in the morning. When I’m with my groups, I’m not paying attention to much else. As gentle as our horses are, they’re still horses. I keep an eye on every interaction. Not to mention that I’m talking most of the time. So, the upshot is that I wasn’t really watching.”
“When did Sammy come back hurt?”
“During the lunch break. It’s from twelve to one.”
“Who was around during the break that day?”
“Hmm. You’re not going to like this. I had some paperwork to do so I was at my desk. I saw Drew when I brought in Trickster. He was cleaning Gargantua’s hooves. I think he’d been checking all their shoes.”
“Did you see Sydney?”