Tansy’s worry was quickly turning to despair.

Though she had gotten Dolly Strickland out of the house with that awful document as quickly as possible, she couldn’t help but notice the light in Sage’s eyes when she had looked at the numbers.

Tansy’s window to save the farm was narrowing faster and faster. She had to do something before it was too late.

She returned to the farmhouse to see Burton staring out the window, apparently lost in thought. His handsome face was strangely dreamy.

Cleo sat on the window seat beside him, the same look on her feline face. Cute.

“Hey, big guy,” she said. “Want to help me investigate?”

He blinked twice and then looked down at her.

“Yes,” he said. “What are we investigating?”

“You’re all in, aren’t you?” she mused.

“What does that mean?” Burton asked, looking at the door as if considering his idea of what it meant to be in.

“Never mind,” she said. “We’re going to investigate our missing bees.”

“This is a good plan,” he replied.

They headed out the door and Cleo trotted after them.

Everything was wrong. Tansy was out of money, out of time, she hadn’t even eaten breakfast.

But somehow things seemed bright anyway. The birds sang over the farm, the scent of the peach blossoms carried down the hillside.

And if she were honest with herself, the best part of the setting was the man beside her. His big, steady presence made her feel as if everything would be fine, better than fine. Even her cat liked him.

“Why are you smiling?” he asked.

She felt her cheeks grow warm.

“It’s nice out here, isn’t it?” she asked instead of answering.

“This planet is colorful,” Burton replied. “The sounds and smells alone would be enough to fill volumes.”

“What’s it like on Aerie?” Tansy asked.

“Aerie has a dry climate,” he said. “There’s just the sand and the crags. And the stars are so close. Compared to Earth it would feel as if someone had taken a picture of you with the light on, do you know what I mean?”

“Oh, a flash,” Tansy said. “Like taking a picture with a flash?”

“Yes, like that,” Burton said. “And there is contrast between the dark sky, the bright starlight and the dark sand. This planet is softer. Everything here is in shades of color and light.”

They had nearly reached the orchard. Tansy slowed her pace.

“Okay, now we need to really look,” she said. “And if you see something unusual, try not to touch it.”

“What are we looking for?” Burton asked.

“Clues,” Tansy said, realizing how vague that was as she said it. Her only experience in crime investigation was from watching TV shows and reading Grandma Helen’s old Agatha Christie books.

“Won’t the police search for clues?” Burton asked.

“Sage called the police the minute we realized the bees were gone, and they still haven’t come,” Tansy said. “I don’t know how seriously they will take this when they get here. If we want to recover the bees quickly, we’re going to have to do this ourselves.”

“I will look for anything unusual,” Burton agreed.

Tansy went to the spot where Bee Our Guest had deposited the crate last night. There was still a slight indentation in the ground, more marked in two corners, where it had sat.

She studied the soil, wondering if the box had been tipped.

She straightened and stood back to look at the surrounding area.

Burton was standing a few feet away, wearing the same dreamy expression he’d had back at the farm house.

Suddenly he blinked and then strode purposefully over to where Cleo was sniffing around in the grass.

“Tansy,” he said. “Cleo found something unusual.”

A small cartridge that looked almost like an iridescent purple ink pen was half hidden in a tuft of grass.

Tansy pulled a tissue out of her pocket and used it to pick the thing up.

Something was written on the side:

Cali-vanilla Dreaming

“What is it?” Burton asked.

“It’s a vape pen,” Tansy said. “People… smoke them. Like a cigarette, but it’s not really smoke since it’s not burning anything, just water vapor.”

“I see,” Burton said, sounding like he didn’t see.

Tansy felt instant sympathy for how new everything must be to him.

“Does anyone on the farm smoke vapor?” he asked.

“No,” Tansy said. “And this looks clean, it was probably dropped here recently. It is an excellent clue.”

Burton smiled proudly and then knelt to pat Cleo on the head.

“Good work, Cleo,” he told the cat as she wound herself between his ankles in feline ecstasy.

Tansy smiled at the two of them. Cleo wasn’t the friendliest cat. It was nice to see her take a shine to the big alien.

She scanned the ground again and noticed marks in the soil leading down the hill toward the roadway.

She followed them, slowly at first and then faster as she saw where they were leading.

At the bottom of the hill, close to the street, a stand of bushes flanked each side of the Martin’s Bounty sign.

Beside one there were obvious tire tracks in the moist soil.

“A vehicle was here,” Burton voiced Tansy’s thought.

“Not just any vehicle,” Tansy said, crouching to study the dirt.

The big front tire tracks looked like they could belong to any local farmer’s pick-up.

But the rear dually tracks could only belong to one truck in Stargazer.

“Gretchen Peterson,” Tansy said. “These are from Gretchen’s truck.”