Sinking Suspicions

Chapter 32

190 Chapter 32 Sadie dropped Jelly off at his house and made him promise to call her if he needed help with anything. When she got to Buck’s house, she noticed the two vehicles she’d seen earlier were still there, so she decided to go on home and call Lance. They could make arrangements to meet at Buck’s, and Lance could return the letters he’d told her about. Sonny met her with his regular enthusiasm—lots of wolf-talk and wagging of tail. Joe stood near the gate under his favorite shade tree, swishing away flies with his tail. As she unlocked the back door, she could hear her phone ringing. She dropped her things and answered. It was Lance. He was on his way from Liberty to her place now. He’d brought Buck’s things with him and wanted to get them back to Buck as soon as possible. She would ride Joe and meet Lance at Buck’s in about half an hour. They agreed and hung up. Her call to Buck to let him know they were coming went unanswered. She left a message on his recorder and dismissed it from her mind. She grabbed a carrot and walked to the barn to retrieve Joe’s bridle. Before she could turn around, the horse had his broad nose in the middle of her back, snuffling. She giggled and turned to the horse, slipped him the carrot, and let him finish eating it before she placed the bit in his mouth and pulled the bridle over his small, attentive ears. She pulled his blanket 191 and saddle from the railing, placed them on his back, and tightened the cinch. As she worked with Joe, she began to think about Buck and all he’d been through. She hoped she could be as resilient as he was when she reached his age. A wave of uneasiness swept over her. Why hadn’t Buck answered the phone when she called? Then she reminded herself that he didn’t like to talk on the phone. He’d probably just been ignoring her call. She patted Joe on the neck and whispered sweet words in his ear, then led him through the gate. Sonny quickly left his resting place next to the back porch and joined Sadie as she climbed onto Joe’s back. “Come on, boys,” she said. “Let’s go see Buck.” They took a leisurely walk through the pasture and then through a gate near Buck’s house. As Sadie got closer, she could see the two cars were still there, and the uneasiness she’d felt earlier quickly returned. With that many people around, surely someone could have answered the phone. She rode Joe into the yard and found a place for him under a shade tree. She dismounted and dropped his reins to the ground, a signal for him to stand still. “Sonny, stay,” she commanded. The wolf-dog found a spot not far from Joe and lay down. Sadie approached the house and knocked on the screen door. She couldn’t hear anyone talking or any movement inside, so she knocked again. Still no answer. Obviously, that’s why no one answered the phone; they must be out back somewhere. She looked toward the empty road. Surely Lance will be here any minute, she thought. She left the front porch and walked around the side of the house. As she neared the back porch, she could hear Buck’s niece carrying on a one-sided conversation, and Sadie wondered who she was talking to. Sadie stopped just out of Dee Dee’s sight. Quietly, she leaned against the house, inching as close as possible for better hearing. “Just get it over with,” Dee Dee was saying. “I don’t know. . . . Well, we wouldn’t have this problem if you hadn’t killed the wrong Benjamin Skinner in the first place.” Dee Dee’s words sent a chill down Sadie’s spine and pumped adrenaline through her veins. The puzzle began to piece itself together in her mind’s eye. Buck’s own niece had arranged to have him killed, but the killer 192 had found the identity thief instead of her uncle. Questions swirled in her head. Where was Buck? Where was the killer on the other end of Dee Dee’s cell phone call? And where was the...