“I don’t know.”
“What about…?” He gestured toward the open cellar door.
“I’ll take care of it.”
“What did you do with—”
“The other ones? I ended up burying them. At first, I thought about taking the bodies to the vet to see if he could figure out what they were and how they got into my hens’ eggs, but I found out he left town, he’s gone. I thought about burning the bodies, but with the smell that bad, the smoke might be toxic. Besides, I didn’t want Lita to find out about it right now. It’s…a stressful time. So I buried them out past that tree there. Deep. So the goat wouldn’t try to eat them.”
“And that’s what you’re going to do with this one?”
He shrugged. “I guess. But I’m saving those other eggs. I need to show them to somebody. Maybe one of the other ranchers. See if they know anything about it, if it’s happening to them, too.”
“So should I…?” Ross gestured toward the house.
“Keep her occupied. Keep her in the house. Keep her away from the window.” Dave sighed. “Give me twenty minutes.” Bracing himself, taking a deep breath, he once again started down the cellar steps.
Ross headed for the house.
FOURTEEN
Lita hadn’t seen Darla since New Year’s Eve, so she dropped by her friend’s house on her way to the store. Jackass McDaniels was there, repairing the Ingrams’ rain gutters, and she called out to him as she walked up to the front door. She should probably have Dave check their own rain gutters, Lita thought. It had been a mild winter, but that didn’t guarantee anything, and by the time the monsoons rolled around this summer, they’d be too busy with gardening and ranch work to take care of small details like the gutters.
Jackass waved down at her from his perch on the ladder. “Hey there, Lita!”
“Hey yourself!” she called back.
“Still got your freeloading cousin living off you?”
She smiled, shaking her head. “Now I understand how you got your name!”
He laughed, and she waved as Darla let her into the house.
Ordinarily, Darla was grateful for visitors. As a stay-at-home mom in a family with one drivable vehicle, an old intermittently working Ford pickup, her options for social interaction were limited, so she talked on the phone a lot, was diligent about updating her Facebook page, and was always very happy when someone dropped by. But today she seemed nervous and unusually taciturn, almost as though she resented Lita’s presence and wanted her to leave. It was a very uncomfortable vibe, and rather than accept the perfunctory offer to sit down, Lita lied and said that she was in a hurry and had just popped in to say hi.
“Oh,” Darla said, and did not elaborate.
“I’m sorry I haven’t called since we got back from Las Vegas, but we’ve been really busy, and after what happened to Dave’s parents, it’s been like an emotional roller coaster.”
Darla was staring out the window as though looking for someone. She nodded absently. “Mmm-hmm.”
“I guess I should’ve called before coming over,” Lita said, edging toward the door. “Maybe I’ll come back at a more convenient time. I have to get going anyway.”
“Okay,” Darla said.
Outside, Lita waved again to Jackass, who was still on the ladder. He, at least, seemed the same as always, and that made her feel better as she got in the car and drove away. On impulse, she decided to stop by JoAnn’s and see what she thought about Darla’s odd behavior. JoAnn lived close enough that she often saw Darla on a daily basis, so she’d probably have more insight into their friend’s state of mind. And since this was her day off, she should be able to check in on Darla and get back to Lita pretty quickly.
She turned down the narrow lane that ended at JoAnn’s ramshackle house, thinking, not for the first time, that if someone ever opened up a coffeeshop in town, that person would make a fortune. Magdalena needed a place where people could gather and talk that wasn’t a bar.
Weston’s truck was gone, but JoAnn’s beat-up Jeep was in the carport, and Lita parked right behind it. JoAnn was certainly in a good mood. She came out of the house before Lita had gotten out of the car, grinning widely, country music blaring loudly from the open door behind her. “Lita!”
“Hey.” She tried on a smile, but it didn’t fit right.
“You headin’ to the market?”
“Actually, I am. But I thought I’d stop by and see how—”
“That’s great! Think you can give me a ride? I need to pick up a few things and Weston don’t want me drivin’ until he gets that front tire fixed on the Jeep. There’s a spare on there now, but it’s bald, and he don’t trust it.”