Chapter Fifteen

It wasn’t far to the Dash farm and Joe made it in good time. But he’d been worried about his mate, who’d been quiet since Rocky and Mal left to question Hargraves again. Trundling slowly down the dirt driveway that was a mass of pot holes, he risked a quick look at Doc’s profile. “Are you okay,” he asked quietly. “You’re not still pissed at Rocky and Mal for trying to suspend me, are you?”

“No, babe, nothing like that.” Doc’s smile was quick but genuine. He rubbed his stomach. “Something we ate for breakfast disagreed with me and that doesn’t happen very often in breeds like mine. I’ve just got an upset stomach, that’s all.”

Joe frowned. It wasn’t common for shifters to get sick. “Would you rather sit in the car while I talk to the Dash’s. I could just say I am making routine inquiries. Ask them if they saw or heard anything weird the night Robert was killed.”

“A grumbly tummy is not going to stop me going in there with you,” Doc said firmly. “Mrs. Dash is a lovely lady, even if she is a little harassed raising seven children. Little Rosie was a surprise. Her boys are all fourteen to twenty years older.”

“See, that’s why you’re the perfect mate for me.” Joe parked in front of the tired looking house and pecked Doc on the cheek. “I know the names of everyone in town, but you’re the one who sees behind the scenes if you know what I mean.”

“I see them when they’re sick and often at their worst. It’s not unlike what you do.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen a lot of them at their worst,” Joe laughed. Despite the threat against him, he was in uniform, doing the job he loved. Better yet, he had his protective mate by his side. “I see someone is peeking out of the window at us. We’d better go in.”

“That’ll be Rosie. She doesn’t miss much, that little one.”

Joe noticed Doc seemed a bit stiff getting out of the car, but he didn’t say anything. A quick glance around the yard didn’t reveal anything unusual. The old barn at the side of the house needed a lick of paint, and there were a few broken railings on the porch in front of the house. No one seemed to be around, but then it was close to lunchtime, so the family was probably in the house.

“Doc.” It seemed little Rosie couldn’t wait for them to get to the house and had opened the front door. “Did you come to see my arm? I’ve been doing what you said. I haven’t lifted anything heavier than my dinner plate.” She waved her bright pink cast as if to show it was still in good condition. Someone had drawn a purple unicorn on it, which Joe thought was really sweet.

“I was in the area and thought I would drop in and say hello.” Joe loved to see the smile on Doc’s face. “And see, I brought my mate, Deputy Joe with me too.”

“I heard you got hurt too.” Rosie’s cute little face showed her concern. “Did the Doc give you a pretty pink cast like mine?”

“No, sadly not.” Joe sighed and then winked as he smiled. “I didn’t need a cast, but yours is very pretty. Is your Mom and Dad home? We’d like to say hello if they’re around.”

“Dad went out with Roe and Carmine, but Mom’s here.” Rosie grinned, showing she’d lost her two front baby teeth. “Come on, she’s in the kitchen.”

“Rosie, what have I told you about opening the front door?” It seemed Mrs. Dash wasn’t in the kitchen.

“But they’s not strangers, Mommy, they’re the Doc and Deputy Joe all smart in his uniform.”

“Thank you, Miss Rosie.” Joe smiled at the flustered Mrs. Dash. “I hope we’re not bothering you, Ma’am. I’m sure you’ve heard the news. The Doc and I are newly mated, and he decided to come with me on my rounds today. We were in the area and Doc told me about Rosie’s arm, so we thought we’d come and say hello.”

Joe was counting on Arrowtown hospitality and sure enough, Mrs. Dash smiled and indicated with her head back into the house. “If you can excuse the mess, you’re welcome to come in and have a cup of coffee. Brian headed out with the two older boys early this morning. Said something about fixing up the old barn on the back of our place. The other boys have gone riding. I’m expecting them back at any time for lunch.”

“We won’t hold you up long,” Doc said smoothly, “but a cup of coffee would be lovely. I didn’t realize a deputy’s work could be so time consuming. After you.”

Joe loved Doc’s courtly manners, and followed the two into the house, Rosie bouncing by his side. As Doc and Mrs. Dash went through the living room into the kitchen, Rosie tugged on Joe’s pants and put her finger to her lips. “I’m just showing Deputy Joe my new doll house, Mommy,” she said loudly, tugging Joe down a long hall.

“Make sure you’re not being a nuisance, Rosie.” Mrs. Dash’s voice had that tone Joe had heard a thousand times before. It was that voice mothers used to be polite, but honestly, they were grateful for a five minute reprieve. Trusting Doc to keep Mrs. Dash occupied, Joe followed the little girl into what was obviously a well-loved room. There were explosions of pink everywhere.

“You have a lovely room, Miss Rosie,” Joe said, looking around. It was a lovely room and Joe smiled, thinking while Rosie’s arrival might not have been planned, having a wee girl after six boys gave the mother a chance to splash out on the pretty things she’d probably longed for, for years.

“I needs to talk to you,” Rosie whispered loudly. “Your job is to catch bad people, right?”

Joe nodded.

“What happens to those bad people when you catches them?”

“That all depends.” Joe kneeled down so he was eye level with the little girl. “You know about laws, right?”

It was Rosie’s turn to nod.

“Well, then you know sometimes when bad people do bad things, and break those laws, they have to be punished, right?”

“Like when Jimmy broke my bestest doll and Daddy made him do work so he could buy me a new one.”

“That’s right. That’s called restitution.” Joe smiled. “Paying back someone who has had something taken from them.”

Rosie looked towards the door and then crept closer. “But what if someone did something really bad. Worse than smashing down my new doll house bad.”

Joe felt the hairs on the back of his neck stick up. “It would really depend on what that something was, Miss Rosie, and why the person did that bad thing. Sometimes good people do bad things for good reasons, and sometimes bad people make good people do bad things even if they don’t want to. Do you see what I mean?”

Rosie nodded, her eyes widening as she heard her mother calling her. “I think you need to get out to the old barn. You might find some bad people. I don’t like them here,” she whispered, “but remember, my daddy is one of the good people.”

Running out of the room, Rosie left Joe to follow at his own pace. It wasn’t ethical to question the little girl. She wasn’t a suspect. Chances are she overheard something not meant for little ears. It didn’t help that Mrs. Dash kept flicking guilty glances at him when she thought he wasn’t paying attention. Doc had barely finished his coffee when Joe stood up. “As you probably guessed, the sheriff’s department is still investigating Robert Quincy’s demise on the farm next door,” he said quietly. “We’ve reason to believe he had an accomplice. You haven’t seen any strangers around lately, or people who wouldn’t normally be on your farm?”

“Nobody I haven’t seen before.” Mrs. Dash’s cheeks flamed bright red.

“That’s fine. It never hurts to ask.” Joe pulled out his smile this time. “You won’t have a problem with me and Doc here taking a wander over your lands, do you? You know I’d never be one for disturbing stock and I’ll be sure to leave all the gates as I find them.”

Mrs. Dash’s eyes flickered to the wall clock and then the stove where a big pot of something delicious was cooking. “I don’t mind at all, if you think it’s necessary. If you see my Brian and the boys, let them know their lunch is ready.”

“I will do.” Joe held out his hand for Doc who was still seated. “Come on, babe. We’ll take a quick look around, so I can report back to Rocky that I’ve done it, and then I’ll take you back to town for lunch. What do you say?”

“That I’ve done more walking since you claimed me, than I’ve ever done in my life.” Doc laughed to show he was joking as he got up from his chair. “Thank you for the coffee, Mrs. Dash. Rosie, you remind your mom to be in my office in two more days and I can take that cast off, okay?”

“Two more sleeps.” Rosie jumped up and down. “Can you cut out the lovely unicorn picture for me like you did last time?”

“Your dad is very clever at making your cast look so pretty,” Doc agreed. “I won’t ruin it when we take it off your arm. Now, you be good for your mom and I’ll see you soon. Mrs. Dash.” Doc nodded.

“Thank you, Doc.” Mrs. Dash seemed happier now they were talking about other things. “We’ll see you soon.”

/~/~/~/~/

“Okay,” Doc hissed as they walked past the house barn headed for the hills beyond. “What was all that about? I thought you weren’t going to mention the investigation?”

“I wasn’t,” Joe said calmly, latching the gate behind them and reaching out his hand. Doc took it, not because he was under any illusions this was a romantic stroll, but because he needed the connection. “Rosie is worried about her dad. She wasn’t specific, and I didn’t question her, if that’s what you’re worried about, but she wanted to know what happened to people when they did bad things. She told me we should look in the old barn at the back of the property and then reminded me her dad was one of the good guys.”

“Mrs. Dash was as nervous as a cat on a hot plate,” Doc said, matching Joe stride for stride across the grass. “Is there a chance Myron’s got some hold on Brian, or one of his sons?”

“I don’t know, but we need to talk to Brian. Preferably alone and away from where anyone might see us. I don’t want anyone to hurt that wee girl and her family.”

Looking around, Doc couldn’t see any sign of anyone anywhere, but that didn’t mean someone wasn’t watching them. The problem was, his animal half was damn good at letting him know when strangers were near, but disregarded people he knew. As a doctor, he knew just about everyone in town. His heart sank at the idea Brian was their mole. Doc had only ever known him as a good man, just like his little girl believed.

They must have walked for about ten minutes when Joe stopped them at the top of a small hill. “The Forest farm is that way,” he said pointing to his right. “You can just see the roof of his house from here. Robert was killed in that third paddock from the house, over there where it meets the Dash’s land. The Dash’s far boundary is that way,” he moved his arm to the left. “The old barn Rosie told me to check out is just down that gully, tucked under the brow of that hill.”

“That’s not much of a distance for a running shifter,” Doc said, looking between the two points. “Someone could have easily climbed the Forest fence line, coated Robert’s horns and run back before anyone noticed. Knowing Forest and his mean attitude, he didn’t call the department for a while, thinking he could solve the problem himself. That delay would have given the accomplice plenty of time to hide on Dash’s property, especially if he was being helped by someone who lives here. I don’t suppose anyone thought to check at the time?”

“Rocky and Mal backed me up when we got the call, but with me down, Robert dead and old man Forest grumbling about his damaged fence, no one would have thought to look. There was no reason at that time to think Robert was working with someone else.”

“Seeing it from this perspective, definitely means the theory is plausible.” Doc immediately scanned the area as he felt Joe stiffen.

“There’re voices coming from the barn,” Joe whispered.

“Brian and two of his sons are supposed to be there,” Doc said, lowering his voice as well. “It could be them.”

“If it is, then Dash is having a right beef with one of the boys. Someone’s fighting. Come on.” Joe took off, sprinting down the hill, leaving Doc no choice but to follow. He would rather they crept closer – listened to what was going on instead of running hell for leather into a known fight. But then, this was Joe’s job, something Doc knew he was going to have to reconcile himself with sooner or later. At least Joe wouldn’t be facing any of this on his own, because if one person laid a hand on his mate, Arrowtown would quickly learn what a pissed off lizard could do.