“Harvey Johnston. He’s not exactly all there. Used to hate the squirrels but now he builds them tiny picnic tables and stuff.”
“Thank you, Harvey,” Mayor Bill said, raising his hand in a placating gesture. “We all know you and the squirrels have had your differences. But the past is in the past.”
Harvey nodded gravely and took his seat.
I leaned closer to Josiah again. “It was just two squirrels. I’m surprised the town is so serious about this.”
“Who knows with these people.”
“At this time, I’d like to open the floor for comments and ideas for what we can do to address the situation,” Mayor Bill said.
“I have an idea,” someone said.
“Go ahead, Earl.”
“We build a squirrel zoo. Then we can round them all up and keep them in an enclosure.”
“Good idea,” someone else called out. “Then we can charge admission.”
“Okay, that’s an idea,” Mayor Bill said. “We’re brainstorming, folks, so we’ll sort through the ins and outs later. How about you, Miss Hembree, I see your hand raised.”
“What if we outfit them with tiny bulletproof vests?”
“Huh, okay. I’m not sure if we think there’s much danger of the squirrels being shot.” He turned to Sheriff Cordero. “What do you think, Sheriff?”
He shook his head. “We’re not concerned about gun violence against squirrels at this time.”
“All right, good to know. Thank you, Sheriff. If you couldn’t hear that, folks, there’s not a reason to be concerned about gun violence against the squirrels. Anyone else?” He pointed. “Fiona Bailey.”
“I just want to say we can’t put them in a zoo or an enclosure. They need to be free.”
“That’s good feedback, Fiona, thank you.” He pointed to another person in the crowd. “Go ahead, Mrs. Doolittle.”
A tiny old lady in a pink house coat stood. I’d talked to her at the Mountain Man Festival. “We could ask the firefighters for their help. They’re a group of big, strong men. I’m sure they could keep the squirrels safe.”
“Thanks for that, Mrs. Doolittle. Your admiration of the fire department is well known and appreciated.”
Josiah leaned closer. “Mavis Doolittle has a thing for firefighters. She used to call in false reports just to get them to come to her house until they threatened to fine her.”
“Anyone else?” Mayor Bill asked. “Go ahead, Harvey, did you have something else to add?”
Harvey stood and took off his hat, placing it against his chest. Oddly, he looked right at me. “We form a squirrel protection squad.”
The mayor nodded slowly, as if he were digesting the idea. “I like that, Harvey. That has potential. We could get volunteers to run patrols. It wouldn’t be foolproof, but some action is better than none at all. What do you think, Sheriff?”
I couldn’t tell if Sheriff Cordero looked amused or irritated or a combination of both. “If you want to form a volunteer squirrel protection squad, you’re more than welcome. Just make sure everyone knows not to interfere with our investigation.”
“Will do, Sheriff. All right, folks, we’ll get a sign-up form going for those interested in running some patrols.”
“Can we get t-shirts?” someone asked from the back.
“We can look into that, sure.”
Mayor Bill finished up with a few more announcements—unrelated to squirrels—before thanking everyone for coming. A line formed at the front where someone had started a signup sheet for people interested in the squirrel protection squad.
“They’re really serious about this, aren’t they?” I asked.
“Only in Tilikum,” Josiah said with a shake of his head.
Paul and Marlene stood. I noticed Paul give Marlene a quick kiss on the cheek. It was very cute.
“That went well,” Marlene said.
Paul’s brow furrowed in a scowl. It reminded me a lot of Josiah. “I’m just glad they’re not laying the blame on us. Besides, they’re just a bunch of rodents. Don’t know why we have to worry about protecting them.”
Marlene put her hand on his arm. “We both know that’s not all they’re doing. Forming a group to protect the squirrels is just an excuse to get the townsfolk involved in protecting Audrey. Everyone is shook up over what happened to her. They want to do something about it.”
Paul grumbled something I didn’t understand, but Marlene seemed to. She smiled at him. He kissed her on the cheek again, then went to stand in line to sign up for the squirrel protection squad.
“Audrey!”
I turned to see Marigold approaching. She looked stunning in a sleeveless high-necked blouse and floral skirt. She clasped my hands, pulling me into a tight hug.
“I’m so glad you’re okay.” She let go and stepped back. “I heard what happened. It’s horrifying. Do they have any idea who’s behind it?”
“Not yet.”
“That must have been so scary. If you’re not comfortable staying at home, you’re more than welcome to stay at my place. I have a guest room that’s all ready if you need it.”
Josiah slipped an arm around me. “Thanks, Mari, but I’ve got her covered.”
She gave me a sly smile. “I see. That’s very gentlemanly of you, Josiah.”
He grunted in reply.
“That’s so nice of you to offer,” I said. “I’ll let you know if anything changes, but I’ll be fine.”
“Just be careful. We’re all so worried about you.”
We hugged again and said goodbye. Josiah put his hand on the small of my back and led me outside.
He stopped next to his truck and lifted my chin so I was looking up at him. “Are we sleeping at my place or yours?”
A thrill ran through me. I loved that he didn’t consider it an option; he was staying with me and that was that.
“Either way is fine with me.”
“Yours, then.”
“Sounds good.”
He opened the passenger door for me and I got in. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so giddy, considering everything that had happened. But I was. None of it was quite so scary when I had Josiah to protect me.
CHAPTER 24
Josiah
At nine in the morning, it was already hot. Summer had officially arrived in the mountains and it felt like it would be a scorcher. Fortunately, the air conditioning in the remodel was working. Once I got the camera installed at Audrey’s, I’d be out of the weather for most of the day.
Max sat near her front door, watching me while his tail wagged. I’d offered to keep him with me today. Figured I might as well. I kind of liked having a work buddy and it would save her money on doggie daycare.
“I hope the asshole is stupid enough to show up here again. Hell, he doesn’t even have to be stupid, just arrogant.”
Max kept wagging his tail.
I put in the final screw and checked my handiwork. Looked straight. The doorbell camera was one of three I’d decided to install on her house. The other two were covering areas this one wouldn’t see, including out the back door. There were blind spots, and I wasn’t ruling out putting up another camera or two. But realistically, these covered the driveway and entrances to the house.
Still, going overboard was tempting.
“I’ll help her set up the app on her phone when she gets home.”
I had no idea why I was explaining everything I did to Max. It wasn’t like he could understand me.
My phone rang, so I pulled it out of my pocket to answer. It was Garrett.
“Yeah.”
“Just checking in, although there’s not much of an update. We didn’t pick up any prints or fibers, so that’s a dead end.”
“What about neighbors? Anyone see something?”
“Not a thing. It doesn’t help that there aren’t any houses directly across the street. The Campbells up the road have a doorbell cam, but it doesn’t show anything useful. Too far away. And Mrs. Cutter next door wasn’t home that day. She was visiting her daughter.”
“Damn.”
“I know. We contacted the ex-boyfriend but he has an alibi.”
“What if he hired someone?”
“Yeah, he could have. I’m not ruling him out, especially because Audrey doesn’t seem to have any enemies. I hate to admit it, but this one has me stumped. Writing on her door in animal blood is pretty extreme.”
“No shit.”
“Did you get cameras installed?”
“Yeah, just finished with the last one.”