That she believed him capable of poisoning Carpenter’s cows hurt. But he didn’t want to think about that. Pushing the pain inside, he waited his neighbor out.
Carpenter straightened again, stuck the blade of grass between his lips and rolled it to the corner of his mouth before he went on. “You’re smarter than you look, Pettit. Something came to my attention this morning that put me of the same mind.”
Sly tipped his hat back and pulled off his shades. “What’re you saying?”
Carpenter, too, removed his sunglasses and looked directly at Sly. “That someone who wanted to do me serious harm set me up by poisoning your cattle and making me look guilty. When things didn’t go as fast as he wanted, he upped the ante and poisoned some of mine.”
Sly swore. “You must have made some nasty enemies.” Given Carpenter’s sour disposition, not hard to believe. “Just who is this crazy person?”
“A son of a dog by the name of Pitch Alberts.”
Sly had never heard of the man. “I’m not familiar with him.”
“You wouldn’t be. About a year and a half ago, he came into town looking for a job. He worked for me until mid-November of last year. That’s when I found out he was stealing hay and cattle feed from me. Of course, I sacked him. He didn’t have any money. I knew he’d never pay me back for what he’d stolen, and the loss wasn’t big enough for me to press charges.
“Pitch didn’t appreciate losing his job just before the holidays, but that was his fault. I told him he was lucky I didn’t call the sheriff.”
Sly probably would have done the same thing.
“Pitch hadn’t crossed my mind since, until Eddie, a guy on my summer crew, said he ran into the guy last night at a bar. Pitch had had a few and was bragging that he’d fixed my wagon. From there it was a matter of putting two and two together.”
Sly shook his head. “I trust you’ve been in touch with Sheriff Dean.”
“This morning, right after Eddie told me. The sheriff’s been out searching for Pitch, to take him in for questioning. As yet, that’s all I know, but I’d stake my ranch he did it.”
“If that’s true, then I owe you an apology,” Sly said.
“I’ll take it. I’ll owe you one, too. By the way, my lawyer advised me to keep all this to myself for now. I wouldn’t want Pitch suing me for slander.” The corner of Carpenter’s mouth lifted, the closest he’d ever come to smiling.
“Copy that. I’ll do the same, then. Keep me informed.”
“After my lawyer, you’ll be the first person I’ll contact.” They shook hands and parted almost amicably, Sly in a much bettermood than when he’d arrived. Things hadn’t turned out at all as he’d expected, and he shook his head at that.
Regardless, he still needed the new drainage system and still didn’t want to borrow money to pay for it. He’d been so focused on either getting reimbursed by Carpenter or taking out a costly loan that he hadn’t considered other options. There had to be another way.
His mind spinning, he returned home. Sitting in the truck in his driveway, he phoned Dave and filled him in. “I’ll keep you updated,” he promised.
Then he contacted Bob Haggerty, the engineer who owned the drainage-system company, and set up a meeting for later that afternoon.
It was a relief to have the answers to all the questions he’d had for months now. Lana would want to know what had happened, and Sly itched to fill her in. But he and Carpenter had agreed to keep it quiet for now. Besides, after the other night, Sly wouldn’t be telling her anything.
His high spirits nose-dived and his chest constricted. He felt as if he was suffocating. If not for a recent physical and the news that he was as fit as a kid half his age, he’d have called his doctor.
There was just time to fit in a ride on Bee before the meeting with Haggerty. He stalked toward the pasture and whistled for his horse. He rode her bareback, racing into the wind until finally his mind cleared and he could breathe again.
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
Over the past few days,Lana had tried to act as if she were fine and nothing had changed. Apparently, she sucked at faking happiness. Jasmine and Brittany tiptoed around her with sympathetic expressions, and even the most rambunctious kids behaved.
By Friday she was a basket case, in need of a friendly ear. After a quick SOS to Kate, she went directly from work to her friend’s apartment for pizza and sympathy.
“Our dinner should be here soon,” Kate said when she let Lana in. “Sit down and tell me what’s wrong.”
Out of habit, Lana placed her hand over her stomach, but even the beloved child growing inside failed to bring her comfort.
Kate’s eyes widened a fraction before she gave Lana a stricken look. “You’re okay, right?”
