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Merry Market Murder(50)

By:Paige Shelton


His blue eyes looked hard into mine as he seemed to think for a beat or two. He wasn’t bothered by my teasing, but there was something about the intensity of his stare that made me stand still and stare back.

A second later, he half smiled. “I take my police department–issued vehicles very seriously. I’ll get your door, though.”

“Thank you,” I said as I looked away. I tried not to let him see that he’d once again taken my breath away and made my heartbeat race almost to the point of discomfort.

For some reason I didn’t want him to know how often he upped my blood pressure. I was a bit too old and too often divorced for such silliness.

Sam held open the passenger-side door and I climbed in. The smirk on his face and the subtle roll of his eyes told me he’d seen my teenager-ish reaction.

“Don’t forget, Becca, it’s really okay to have strong feelings for someone you’re in a relationship with. I don’t know much, but I’m pretty sure I know that.”

“Damn,” I said as he closed the door.

“Now, tell me about Evelyn,” he said as he got in the driver’s side and started the car.

Since I’d only just left Smithfield, it was easy to remember the details of our conversation. I quickly told Sam the specifics as he guided the cruiser down the again surprisingly smooth dirt road that led to the Stuckey farm.

He listened attentively, but even he couldn’t maintain his stern cop attitude when we entered the valley and became part of the beautiful snow-globe-like scene.

“Wow,” he said. “This is amazing. I can’t believe Reggie Stuckey ever set foot outside his property. This is something.”

“I got the impression he didn’t leave much. He never pushed his tree business like he could have. Gellie said he had customers, but not many.”

“I almost wouldn’t want any. I’d want to leave the trees as they are.”

“I agree, but there must be need for some rotation, some need to harvest and plant. I don’t know a thing about pine trees, so don’t quote me.”

“We could pick one up here,” Sam said.

“Tempting, but I already told Denny we’d come up to his place and cut one down up there. Speaking of Denny . . . you saw Brenton’s behavior toward the Ridgeways. Even though Brenton didn’t tell you anything, have you talked to the Ridgeways?”

“I have, and I don’t know one thing more. They were all very quiet.”

“I know. I asked Billie why she was upset the first day they were there. She came out of the market and looked panicked. Since Brenton had already shown signs of irritation, I chalked up her behavior to maybe seeing him. She claimed she hadn’t been upset at all, and that I was misinterpreting.”

“Huh, didn’t know that part. I’ll look at it closer,” Sam said.

A Santa hat–clad person stepped out from the main copse of trees and waved in our direction, interrupting the conversation. It took a second for me to recognize Gellie. She was dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, and even though the large hat struck me as being in better condition than Jeannine’s, it folded forward and covered part of her face.

“There. That’s Gellie.”

Sam pulled the cruiser next to the spot from which Gellie had emerged.

“Oh, hi!” she said. “You’re Becca from yesterday, right? Come back for more muffins?”

I smiled. “They were delicious, but I wanted to show Sam the farm. It’s beautiful.”

In fact, I didn’t think that Sam was using me as an in. He could handle that on his own, but it suddenly seemed like a good idea so I went with it.

“Sam, hi,” Gellie said as she walked to him and extended her hand. “You two . . .”

“We’re dating,” Sam said. He sent me another amused look.

“Oh, the police have already been here. I just wondered.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Gellie. This place is amazing,” Sam said.

“It is, isn’t it? I haven’t worked here long, but I’m sure going to miss being here.”

“Maybe the new owner will want a housekeeper?” I said.

“That would be great, but I can’t count on it.”

“What’re you doing out here with a Santa hat?” I said.

“Someone has to come out to greet the few customers we have. I sold two trees about an hour ago. I had to catch the people before they drove away. The Archers should be here shortly, but I didn’t want people to go without their trees.”

“Gellie, do you know who put up the ‘For Sale’ sign?” Sam asked.

“I do. Right after Becca left yesterday, a Realtor stopped by and said she was hired to put the house on the market right away.”