Aretha Moon and the Dead Hairdresser: Aretha Moon Book 2 (Aretha Moon Mysteries) Linda Ross (books for students to read TXT) 📖

“I know it sounds crazy, but the police don’t have anything to go on, so no legal reason to search his property.”

“And you think we’re just the two people to do that in place of the police?”

“Come on.  It won’t hurt to have a little look around.”

“Oh, it’ll hurt all right.  It’ll hurt heaps if he catches us.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

We were on our way to Loren Haskell’s farm.  I had convinced Thelma that we would come in through the orchard and just look around the barn area.  I also promised to give her her Christmas present early if she did this.

 It was another cloudy day, which made it feel later than it was.  Thelma drove past the farm, slowing at the entrance so we could get a look at the barn.  There was a light inside, so Loren must be working.  We drove on past the orchard and pulled into a small lane that paralleled a field behind the orchard.

“Ready for a walk?” I asked, getting out of the car.

“I still think this is crazy,” Thelma said.  “What’s to stop this guy from killing both of us?”

“How fast can you run?” I asked.

Thelma crossed herself.

I muted my phone as we made our way up the orchard toward the barn.  We had to go slowly because the tall grass was dried and crunched when we moved through it.  The wind was starting to pick up, and I shivered, though I didn’t know if it was from cold or the prospect of running into a possible psycho killer.

It took us ten minutes to work our way up the orchard, staying far enough from the road that no one driving by would see us.  Thelma kept muttering about what a bad idea this was, and I tended to agree.

From our vantage point, we could just see the edge of the front door to the house, which faced the barn.  There were clanking sounds coming from inside the barn, so Loren was working on a new piece of iron work.  That should keep his attention occupied.

We started to move forward, and then the clanking stopped, and we froze.  In a minute, I saw Loren appear at the front door and go inside the house.  The door slammed behind him.

“I’m checking out the barn,” I said to Thelma.

“Are you crazy??!!” she hissed.

I was pretty sure I was, but I needed to do something instead of waiting for the psycho to come after me.

I slipped out of the orchard as quickly as an overweight, menopausal woman can move and stuck to the barn wall as I moved toward the front.  I looked around the corner and didn’t see or hear anything.  Hopefully, Loren was taking a long break.  I could hear little squeaking sounds from the orchard, which indicated either a large mouse or Thelma hyperventilating.

I hurried to the barn entrance and peered inside.  No Loren.  He was still in the house.  As quickly as I could, I went inside the barn and started looking around.  He had been working on another of the bird sculptures, which was lying on a wooden table.  Heat came from the fire, but provided little light.  My eyes were starting to adjust, and I moved around the perimeter, not sure what I was looking for.  There were several projects lining the walls, gates and arbors in various stages of completion, pretty much what I’d seen when I was here talking to Loren the last time.  I tried to remember what I’d said that might have set him off on this quest to scare me to death.  I think I’m a fairly normal person, and I didn’t think I’d said anything that would provoke a normal man.  But this guy wasn’t normal.

I had made my way to the back of the barn, and I saw piles of junk sitting there.  I nearly stumbled over something and looked down to see a pile of bricks.  Not just any bricks though.  These were iron, like the one thrown through my car window.

And then I heard a door slam.

Crap!

I hustled to the side of the open door and peered out.  Loren was walking across the yard toward the barn.  There was no other way out, and I was trapped.  I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.  He was going to come through the door any minute.

There was no place to hide, so I would have to hope he didn’t notice me and I could slip out after he was inside.  I flattened myself against the wall just inside the opening.  I would be on his left when he walked in, and the forge was on the right.  Hopefully he wouldn’t have reason to look to the left.

Flattened was probably a poor choice of words to describe my state.  My menopausal belly hadn’t been flat in years.  Okay, it had never been flat.  I just hoped it didn’t stick out so far that Loren noticed me standing there.  I shrank into the shadows as much as I could.

He strode into the barn carrying a cup of steaming coffee and went straight to his work bench.

I edged to the opening and slipped out, sticking close to the front of the barn until I rounded the corner.  Then I broke for the orchard as fast as I could.  I passed a burn barrel and a pile of junk, but I kept going.

When I got to Thelma she was still squeaking.  “Did he see you?” she demanded, holding her hand to her chest.

I shook my head, panting and out of breath.  “I saw those iron bricks in there, just like the one that was thrown through my car window.”

“Let’s go.  We can call Jimmy and tell him.”

“No, wait.  I passed a burn barrel