Body of Evidence Read Online Free Page B

count Boudreaux and Bobby Wayne fighting now and again. Orthe coyotes howling in the middle of the night. Or my turtles trying to escape their pen. Or the llama chasing my part-time helper. Or the goats escaping and eating all my potted plants. Nothing strange at all.” Then she glanced up and away. “Or the neighbor who’s protesting that new gator pen—nothing strange there. He just doesn’t get animal rescue, I reckon.” Her head came up. “Hey, maybe he sent that man to cut my fence.”
    â€œTell me more about the neighbor,” Anderson said. “And we’ll talk about those ornery gators and turtles later.”
    â€œRalph Chason? He moved next to me about two years ago. We got along fine—I mean we rarely see each other—until he found out I’d bought the extra land. He had a fit when he heard I was digging a pond back there.”
    â€œWhy should that bother him?” Anderson asked, his radar going up.
    She shrugged. “I think he likes to take long walks back there. He’s kind of a loner, some sort of artist. He works with wood and I’m sure he gets a lot of it from back there. Maybe he thinks I won’t allow him on the property. I do have to put up a double fence for safety purposes, but I’m willing to work with him about that.”
    â€œIt’s your land and your call,” Anderson said, making notes in his pocket notepad. “I’ll need to check on Mr. Chason, as your security consultant.”
    â€œDon’t go getting him all in an uproar,” she said, standing to remove their chili bowls. “Want some chocolate chip cookies and coffee?”
    â€œReal cookies with real chocolate?”
    She laughed out loud. “Yes, but they are made with wheat flour and organic brown sugar. You’ll never know the difference.”
    Anderson looked her over. She was so innocent in her hospitality. As if she had a law officer eating at her table every night. Her ability to trust strangers scared him. “Yeah, I’d love a cookie and some coffee.”
    Anything to keep her talking. He needed her to remember as much as she could about the happenings around here. Because he had a feeling some things were going on right under her nose without her even paying much attention. Things much worse than a cut fence.
    And that was not a good situation to be in. Not at all.

THREE
    J ennifer always got up early since most of her animals needed a good breakfast. Apparently, Anderson Michaels rose early, too. She saw him out the window, walking the property fully dressed in the work clothes she’d given him last night, and sipping a cup of steaming coffee. She, on the other hand, had stumbled into the kitchen and looked out the window at the rising sun, her eyes bleary from lack of sleep, only to see him blocking the sun’s warm rays.
    Kind of nice to see a good-looking man standing there outside her window, the fall sunshine haloing around him like an aura. Nice to watch, but working with him would be a whole different thing. Thus, her lack of sleep. She’d worried and fretted most of the night about drug runners overtaking her property and a tall Texas Ranger hanging around for the next few days. Now the source of those dark thoughts stood out in her yard, ready to get down to business. And that meant she had to get in gear herself.
    Gulping down her first cup of coffee, she hurried to get dressed. She had two volunteers coming to work the front counter and clean the supply closet and severalmore scheduled to help with the morning feedings and other maintenance work. Anderson wanted to brief all of them on the happenings and his presence here. They’d decided it made sense to alert everyone since Jennifer didn’t want her volunteers or workers to unknowingly walk into something dangerous. And this way, Anderson could get a fix on any regulars who seemed suspicious or jittery around him.
    After washing her face