Chapter 31
Sleep that night had been elusive. After the police left, with the detective assuring her that although she couldn’t be counted out as the killer, they had other avenues to check and he’d get back to her. For the first time in several days, she found hope that she’d not be getting a chest tattoo.
Noah didn’t mention the failed seduction attempt. Instead, he tucked her into bed, kissed her forehead, and left her to hours of staring at the ceiling.
So when the bed moved as she was dragging herself out of a slumber, she was puzzled by warm stinky breath on her face.
Had Noah spent the night? If he had, the man needed to take advantage of a toothbrush.
She slowly opened her eyes and yelped.
A black and white face stared down at her from atop the mattress. Hoofs held down the comforter on either side of her, effectively keeping Harper from freedom as Harriet nipped at her hair.
“What. In. The. Hell!” Harper yanked her hair out of reach. Harriet said nothing but bleated a happy greeting. “How did you get in here? I don’t remember giving you a key!”
Yep, she’d passed losing her mind. She’d lost all brain cells. Or maybe she was dreaming?
Stinky breath disabused her of the notion.
Harper managed to extricate an arm from under the covers and pointed into the furry goat face. “Get off my bed!”
Goat legs wobbled.
“No, no, no, no, NO!” The goat bobbled. “I swear if you go down, I’m calling the goat chops factory for a pick up!”
Harriet dropped like a rock. Her head landed on Harper’s pillow, barely missing taking out Harper’s left eye with her tiny goat horn.
The interloper shuddered and went still. “Dammit!”
Chuckling sounded over her yelling. Standing in the bedroom doorway, arms crossed and looking slightly sleep ruffled, was the bane of her existence looking more delicious than a man had the right to be.
Yes, some of her restlessness last night had been sexual frustration. She’d never let him know that.
Now she just wanted to strangle him.
“Why did you let Harriet in my apartment? Why did you let her on my bed?” She tried to dislodge the goat. The farm critter currently had the corner of the pillowcase in her mouth and was using it for an anchor.
“As if I could keep her from you,” he said. “She’s kind of attached.”
“That wasn’t my question. Wait a minute.” Harper pointed at Noah. “How did you get in here? Do you have another key?”
Now she moved from annoyed to really ticked off. Her personal space had been doubly invaded and only one of them could turn a door handle. “Get this goat off the bed,” she ordered. She had to be upright in order to throttle them both.
Noah walked over and yanked the pillowcase from the goat. Goat slobber and bits of grass soiled the once pretty pillowcase. He then rolled Harriet over and pulled her off the bed onto her hooves.
An affectionate head scratch earned a frown from Harper. Clearly man and goat were on the same side.
Harper kicked free of the covers.
“In my defense,” he said and brushed goat fur off his shirt. “I was worried when you didn’t answer your phone. It’s almost noon. And I didn’t see her loitering in the bushes until she darted past me and into the house.”
“As if that’ll excuse either of you!” She crawled off the bed and stood. She stuck out a hand. “Give me the key.”
Noah dug in his pocket.
“How many more are there?” Harriet went off to find something to eat. Her hooves clacked toward the kitchen. That would be dealt with later. She had to deal with the intruder with actual cognitive thinking.
“Six,” he admitted and held out the key. “Maybe eight. Tenants lose a lot of keys.”
“Great.” She spun and stalked to the bed. Pulling off the comforter and reaching for the sheets, she ordered, “Go make sure Harriet isn’t chewing up the fake houseplants.”
By the time she stuffed the bed linens into the washer, Noah had corralled Harriet into the yard. She was happily checking out a small dog at the adjoining back fence.
“You aren’t allowed to keep farm animals in the city,” the neighbor women called out. “It’s against the law.”
Still stewing, Harper wanted to tell her where to put her ordinances, but Noah took her arm and pulled her away from the open door.
“She’s a therapy goat,” he called back and waved. “My girlfriend has debilitating PMS issues.”
The woman didn’t look convinced.
“I never had any issues before last week,” Harper said from behind him as he closed the door. “When you and goat chops showed up.”
That wasn’t true; she’d been at a cross roads and stressed out well before Noah and Harriet, and the murder. But she wasn’t ready to let go of her annoyance at finding a goat in her bed, or knowing that Noah had open access to her apartment.
She stalked to the coffee pot and stepped in something wet. “Crap. Harriet isn’t housebroken.” She lifted her foot. If she didn’t have bad luck, she’d have no luck at all.
Noah moved before she could get whipped up again. “Give me your socks. I’ll get the paper towels and the cleaning spray. You take care of you.”
Harper did as asked. She retrieved the liquid dish soap and garden hose out on the porch and disinfected her foot. The whole time she scowled at Harriet who played in the spray.
“I don’t like you at all.”
Harriet nudged her leg with her wet head. Harper’s hand may have slipped and landed between stubbly goat horns. She’d deny it with her last breath if caught.
Turning off the hose, Noah grinned evilly. “I caught you. I think a nice white wine goes well with goat chops.”
* * * *
By the time Harper came down from her shower, Noah had found a rope for the goat and made a pot of coffee. He added some vanilla creamer to her cup and sat.
He’d taken a long conference call about his case earlier so he hadn’t noticed right away that Harper was MIA. When he did reach out, and she’d been radio silent, he’d been worried. The goat had been a surprise but not entirely unexpected. He was sure he knew who was behind the goat visits and it had nothing to do with the case.
Not directly. As long as there was no harm in the game, Harriet was a distraction for Harper, and deep down, he suspected the reason was not sinister. Despite all the yelling, the goat was starting to grow on her, although she wouldn’t admit it to him or herself.
Harper flopped down on a kitchen chair and took up the cup. Several sips later, color came to her face. “Do you think Harriet uses some sort of internal GPS to drag herself across fifteen miles just to visit me?”
Skepticism tinged her face.
“I don’t.”
She took another swallow. “Yeah. Me neither. Something is up and when I have time to breathe again, I’ll figure out what.”
Noah let it go. If he was right, the connection was one she needed. She just didn’t know how much yet.
“I guess we’ll take her back.” Harper went to get her purse and keys. The trio headed off in the rental car. Before they got too far, she pulled in front of a pet store that was going out of business. Posters on the wall advertised everything was 75 percent off. “I’ll be right back.”
Harriet sniffed around the back seat and gnawed on the rope. Noah swore she made a happy sound when Harper returned, opened the hatch, and dropped an overstuffed bag inside.
“Come here, goat chops.”
Noah turned in the seat to see her rip the tag off a pink bedazzled collar and snap the thing around Harriet’s neck. She followed up with a matching leash.
When she caught him watching her, she grinned. “Estelle has no reason not to keep her goat controlled now.” She held up the leash. “Do you like the color?”
“It’s darling.”
She laughed and her mood lightened.
The goat rode the distance to the farm, breathing goat breakfast smell down the back of his neck. He’d been convinced he already smelled like barnyard and mown hay, after all the visits out to the place while sitting in goat hair. No amount of showering could convince him he was clean.
Now he had goat breath on his skin. Sexy.
Estelle took up her place on the porch with her usual scowl. He sensed she wasn’t completely surprised that they had Harriet, or that the goat had been missing at all.
Harper parked and pulled Harriet out of the car. Like a queen walking her prized poodle, she strolled like a catwalk model to the porch and looped the leash over the porch post.
“You are one strange girl,” Estelle said gruffly as she examined the new collar and leash.
“And you need to keep your goat contained.” Harper enjoyed herself. “This should help.”
“I’m not keeping her on that leash. I’ll be the neighborhood laughing stock.”
“Then you’d better keep her home.” She sent Noah a satisfied glance. “There’s no telling what could happen to her next time she’s out wandering alone.”
Noah suspected she wasn’t finished with her pranks. Oddly, he sensed that Estelle was amused. Although her lined face showed no emotion, her eyes gave her thoughts away.
Harper readied to leave.
“Hold up.” Estelle hobbled down the porch steps and gave Harriet a pat as she passed. “Do you have any news about Gerald’s case? Are there any suspects?”
Harper seemed surprised by the question. The older woman wasn’t locked on to Harper as the killer any longer. She appeared open to other candidates.
“We haven’t found the killer if that’s what you’re asking,” Harper said and inhaled the gentle breeze coming over the corn field. Her face went calm. “But we have interviewed several people and are collecting clues.”
Estelle seemed satisfied with that. “Good.” She gave a curt nod. “Thank you for returning my goat.”
She went back to Harriet and collected the leash. Harper watched Estelle lead the goat toward the barn and disappear inside the dim interior.
For the first time, Noah noticed how far from other neighbors the farm was, at least a mile from the next house. Without Gerald’s parents in the country, and an apparent lack of workers around the property, Estelle had to be lonely.
“Do you think she sees Betty Anne and the kids?” Harper said. Compassion touched her eyes.
He shrugged. “It’s a long drive.”
Harper glanced back at the barn. “I’d be cranky, too, if I had only a goat to talk to.”
From what Noah remembered, Harper knew lonely and family disconnect. Her parents died in a boating accident when she was young. The only immediate family she had was her brother and aunt and they lived out of state. A few cousins rounded out the picture. All in all, it wasn’t much.
“I hope so.” They climbed inside the car. “I’m just glad that you solved the Harriet thing with the new purchases.” He covertly watched her face as they drove off. “At least you won’t be bothered by her anymore.”
“Yeah,” she said wistfully. “There’s that.”
She didn’t look relieved.