“Sis?” I said as I answered my cell. “You okay?”
“Fine; I thought I’d let you know what I found, though. I think it’s important. I already called Sam.”
“Okay.”
“The main office faxed me a copy of Brenton’s original market application, and I think it explains some of why he reacted the way he did toward the Ridgeways.”
“I’m ready.”
“It’s literally what his ex-wife was trying to tell you. Brenton changed his identity. Well, his last name, though he didn’t do it secretly.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Brenton used to be Brenton Ridgeway.”
“That’s crazy. How do you know?”
“He wrote a note on his original application. In case we did background checks, he wanted to give us full disclosure.”
Even if Brenton was a Ridgeway, and I thought it might take a few hours and a couple pots of coffee for me to accept such news, I still couldn’t fathom what that might mean when it came to Reggie’s murder. Or maybe I just didn’t want to. I now hoped that one had absolutely nothing to do with the other, and that my intuition about the importance of the connection had been plain wrong.
“How are they related? I mean, how is he a Ridgeway?” I asked.
“I don’t know, but I suspect he’s a sibling.”
“What did Sam say?”
“That he was going to talk to Brenton and see what the reason is for all the secrecy.”
“Does he think Brenton’s lie somehow makes him the killer?”
“Don’t know. You’ll have to call him. I bet he’ll tell you more than he told me.”
“Thank you.”
I’d somehow made it into my kitchen. I looked around. I was surprised—shocked, even—at the news. Brenton being a Ridgeway and not Brenton Jones wasn’t something I could hear and automatically accept.
For a long moment I thought about calling Sam. The cookie ingredients were ready to be used, but I was certain that if I attempted to follow through with my plan to bake, I’d only end up with a disaster. More than I wanted to call Sam, I wanted to talk to Brenton in person. I had to.
There was a chance, though, that Sam wouldn’t want me visiting Brenton. There was a chance Sam was already on his way and we’d run into each other, which would be awkward, at the very least.
When Sam and I had gone from a friendship to a romantic relationship, I’d tried to make a silent deal with myself that I wouldn’t take advantage of his law enforcement position to satisfy my own curiosity. Before we’d crossed over into romantic territory, I hadn’t minded asking him questions that I had no real right to ask. I’d even scaled the ledge of the building that housed the police department just to see if I could find out who he or his fellow officers were questioning.
But now I thought I should work to conduct myself with more decorum, be less nosy, more mind-my-own-business.
But I really, really wanted to talk to Brenton. In person.
Another plan took shape. I wasn’t going to risk the chance of running into Sam at Brenton’s house, but I knew where the secret turnoff to Stephanie Frugit’s orchard was located and I’d already made her acquaintance.
• • •
“She’s not here,” the man said. He took off his cowboy hat and swiped back his short, black hair as he looked out at the expanse of the apple orchard. “Well, she’s out there somewhere.”
“Out in the orchard?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Elias was probably about my age. He worked at the orchard but I wasn’t sure if he held a management position or was just one of the farmhands. He didn’t converse easily. He was short and wide, but in a muscular way that gave the impression that he could pull an apple tree out of the ground with one big tug. His tanned face made me think he sometimes forgot the cowboy hat.
“Point me in the right direction. I’ll head out and talk to her.”
“No, that’s not wise. It’s a big orchard.”
“I don’t think I’ll get lost.” I peered around him and out to the lines of trees. They were without leaves, but there were so many that just their bare limbs created dense rows. “I can find my way back.”
“No, Ms. Frugit would be angry if I let you go.”
I put my hands on my hips and looked at Elias. “Then I guess I’ll just have to wait for her.”
“It might be a while. She’s inspecting the trees. It’s what she does.”
“I understand. I can wait.”
“Suit yourself.” Elias turned to leave me alone to stand by the entrance of the orchard. He must not have been worried that I would, indeed, make my way into the trees and search for Stephanie. He was probably right. I didn’t think I’d get lost but I was sure I could spend a lot of time searching and still not find her. We could easily cross rows and miss each other completely, maybe more than once.