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“I have no idea,” she said. The graffiti on the coop told them the reason was her. Whoever it was probably hadn’t realized she’d already finished the well—finished it and been paid. That shifted the liability to Jay, which was lucky for her, but she felt terrible for him. He didn’t have the money to withstand this kind of loss any more than she did.
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his freshly laundered coveralls and scowled at the hole. “Hendrix couldn’t be responsible for this, could he?” he asked. “He was pretty mad that he didn’t get the job—”
“No,” she assured him. “Hendrix wouldneverdo something like this.”
When Jay looked up, obviously surprised by her response, she knew she’d been too quick to defend her rival. To everyone else, Hendrix was her mortal enemy, and it would be better if they didn’t realize that had changed. “I mean,youdon’t really think he’d sabotage your well, do you?” she said, backing off so she wouldn’t sound quite as positive.
The way he shook his head showed a measure of uncertainty. “I don’t want to think that. But you should’ve seen him when he met me out here not too long ago... He was pissed that I had him bid on the job, then gave it to you.”
No wonder Hendrix had gone after her driller. She hadn’t realized he’d been quite that mad. “He might’ve been upset, but I can’t imagine he’d risk his career and his reputation over losing one well. That would be stupid. And Hendrix is anything but stupid.”
“True,” he allowed, somewhat grudgingly. “But...who else could it be? Who else would even know I’m having a well drilled out here?” He gestured at the graffiti. “And that you’re doing it?”
She winced as, once again, she read her name written in sloppy red paint. If Ben was finally back in town,hecould be responsible. She would’ve suspected Jordan, too. He’d also had both motive and opportunity. But she couldn’t see how he’d know she was working in this particular location. He wasn’t familiar with the area, had no idea what jobs were on her schedule. “I wish I could tell you,” she said.
She could’ve informed Jay she’d fired Ben—that, at the moment, he was far angrier than Hendrix. But she didn’t want to make a big deal of it. Jay might ask who’d helped her with the well if she didn’t have Ben, and then she’d have to admit it was Hendrix, which would seem weird since she hadn’t told him before.
Nothing good could come of heading in that direction. Besides, she didn’t want to cast any aspersions on Ben in case she was wrong. He’d certainly be able to tell that the well was finished. All her equipment, including her rig, had been moved off the site. But maybe he was so angry he simply didn’t care and was out to cause any trouble he could.
“Can you fix it?” Jay asked.
That depended on whether she could get whatever had been put down the well out. “I can try.” She had to reschedule her other jobs, anyway, until she could replace Ben. She’d been planning to take care of that this morning, then post notices online and in town. She just hadn’t had the chance to get started on that yet. She’d already given herself today as a cushion, in case she ran into problems drilling Jay’s well. At least a day in between jobs was customary for her. But it was already Wednesday, and she was supposed to repair a pump this week. She could also get an “out of water call” at any point and have to head over to another well. Fortunately, those types of calls could keep her in business until she could drill again.
“How much will it cost?” he asked.
She lifted her hands, palms up. “Depends on what I find. If I can get whatever it is out relatively easily, it won’t cost that much.”
He scratched the back of his neck. “And if you can’t?”
“Let’s hope I can.” She knew he didn’t want to hear that he might be looking at drilling a whole new well, not when this one had turned out so beautifully. That would cost him what he’d already paid, and there was no guarantee a second well would produce the water this one had, even if it was on the same property. “I’ll do what I can for you today without charge,” she told him. “And we can reassess the situation after I’ve diagnosed the problem and determine how we want to proceed.”
“You’re going to work for free?”
When she nodded, he visibly relaxed. After all, it wasn’t as if he could go to any insurance company. Most people didn’t carry insurance on raw land. That was rare, so rare she knew better than to even ask.
“Thanks. I appreciate your help.”
“No problem.” After all, she felt partially responsible. Whoever had done this obviously hatedher, not Jay.
She glanced once more at the writing on the coop. Was this Ben’s doing? Jordan’s?Averil’s?Jordan had connected with the woman she’d confronted for being a terrible friend to Talulah. Maybe the two of them had a few drinks, riled each other up and did this together.
That was somewhat plausible, but how would Averil know where she was working?
“Let’s just keep our fingers crossed it’s something I can handle in one day,” she said. “Then we’ll both get out of it relatively unscathed.”
“I’ve got my fingersandtoes crossed,” he said. “My wife is going to freak out about this.”
“You might want to install a critter cam after work in case whoever it is comes back. We don’t want any further problems.”
“Good idea. I’ll do that.” He pulled his key fob from his pocket. “I’ve gotta get over to the auto shop. I’m behind enough as it is. Will you call me as soon you know more?”
“Of course.”
She watched his truck bounce and sway over the ruts in the drive as he took off, probably a little too fast since he was two hours late for work, then squatted to take a closer look at the tire tracks in the mud around the well. She’d seen enough forensic shows to wish the police would at least attempt to match the tread to a specific tire, but she couldn’t believe the department in Coyote Canyon would go after a mere vandal using forensics, even if they were sophisticated enough to have the capability.
Still, the tracks were so clear she decided to take a picture before she tried to repair the damage that’d been done.
While she had her phone out, she received a text from Hendrix.
