Max glanced at Olivia, thinking she probably hadn’t expected the farmer to comment on what he and his partners had been doing there. When she said nothing, he explained. “I’m Olivia’s new fiancé.”
Yeager’s gaze bored into Max. Instead of offering congratulations, he said, “What—are you thinking about selling the property?”
“No,” Olivia answered quickly.
The farmer looked relieved, then finally said, “Congratulations.”
“Yes, thanks,” she managed to reply, wishing she could sink into the ground beside the cornfield. Or wishing that Max had just come here alone, although she knew that wouldn’t have been practical, for a whole lot of reasons. Starting with she was the one who knew Yeager and ending with Max had said it was dangerous for her to be alone at the farm.
Yeager looked her up and down. “So you’re giving up your career?”
“No,” she answered quickly. Or was that really what she was considering?
To her relief, Max jumped back into the conversation. “I guess you saw me and my buddies setting some security devices. I was concerned about her safety after her friend was killed.”
“What friend are you talking about?” Yeager asked.
“Angela Dawson was in her class at Donley High. She had a shop in Ellicott City. You didn’t hear anything about that?”
Yeager’s gaze turned inward. “Yeah, I do remember reading something about it in the Times. It’s a damn shame what this world is coming to.”
“Yes,” Olivia agreed.
Max continued. “So a couple of my buddies and I were just making sure nobody could sneak up on the house.” He paused a beat, then added, “In fact, somebody tried to do that last night.”
“Oh yeah?” Yeager asked, looking genuinely surprised, and Olivia was sure he hadn’t had anything to do with it.
“Uh-huh,” Max answered but didn’t elaborate.
The farmer took off his wide-brimmed hat and swiped his arm across his forehead.
“We were wondering if you’d seen anybody hanging around the property,” Max said.
Yeager thought for a moment. “As a matter of fact, I did see a car parked up the road.” He gestured toward Olivia’s house.
“The farm road or the highway?”
“Highway.”
“When?” Max asked, and Olivia caught the sharp edge in his voice.
“A couple of days ago.”
“After we got here,” Olivia murmured.
“And nobody before that?” Max clarified.
Yeager creased the brim of his hat. “Not that I saw. Course, I wasn’t looking out for anyone. And I don’t spend all my time scanning the road. I got work to do.”
“Understood,” Max answered. “Can you tell us anything about who you saw?”
“It was just a car parked. A cheap model. Probably Jap.”
“Okay. Did you see who was in it?” Max asked.
“A fellow did get out and stare toward your house.”
“Young? Old?”
“Hard to tell. He was pretty far away, and he was wearing a baseball cap pulled down kind of low. But maybe he did move like a younger man.”
“Anything else you remember?”
Yeager gave Max a sharp look. “You’re askin’ a lot of questions. You sure you’re not a cop or something?”
“No,” Max said evenly. “I’m just concerned about my sweetie.”
Olivia shot him a look but said nothing.
“Well, I can’t give you any more details. I was too far away.”
“If you remember anything, could you call?” Max asked.
“Sure. But I don’t think there’s much else to say.”
“You have my cell number,” Olivia said.
Yeager nodded.
“Thanks for your time,” Max said.
He and Olivia both turned and walked back to his SUV. They waited until they were inside the vehicle with the doors closed before speaking.
“So someone was hanging around,” Olivia said.
Max nodded. “It doesn’t prove anything. It could be someone just getting out to stretch his legs.”
“Is that what you think?” she asked.
“Actually, no. Too bad we don’t know much about him besides that it was a guy driving a cheap car. Which doesn’t mean that’s what he usually drives. He could have used it for the occasion.”
“So we have no idea who it is. And we don’t even know for sure if it was the guy who strung the barbed wire.”
“Unfortunately.” He turned toward her. “How do you evaluate Yeager’s reaction to our asking questions?”
She thought for a moment, then said, “He was a little on edge. But like his wife, he could be worried that I’m going to try and get him off the property.”