Cat on the Scent by Rita Mae Brown, Pt 8, as read by Nalani Brown

[Music] hello my name is nalani brown i'm the philanthropy coordinator at frank toby jones and we are picking up on chapter 42 of rita mate brown and sneaky pie brown's cat on the scent earlier that same night sarah in a rage had slapped her husband in the face and he slapped her back you forgot you forget your station madam he coldly turned his back on her you can't go out alone you hire a bodyguard or i will don't tell me what i can do and don't worry that i'll be killed whoever tried was a damn poor shot you can be insufferably smug and you can be a bloody nag with some effort she composed herself what happened at the meeting today surprisingly archie thought you joining us was a good idea once you had time to adjust to it and blair wants to consult his lawyer it would give you and me overwhelming control of the com the corporation and there is a small matter that you haven't invested your share of the capital ah ass he's a better businessman than i assume he would be i thought he was just a pretty face and an empty head what does he care what i put in or what percent of the stock we own he'll still make a boatload of money give him time so you'll persuade him actually i think you will the telephone rang sarah picked it up hello what are you doing calling here archie replied on the other end i'd like to speak to your husband ma'am she handed the phone to h it's archie hello arch forgive sarah she still believes you shot me he listened a bit chewed his lip nodding in agreement with archie's ideas finally he turned to sarah who had flopped down on the sofa and pointedly picked up a magazine he'd like to speak to you no he put his hand over the receiver sarah i insist you must get over this absurd notion that arch tried to kill me furiously she stood her magazine slithered to the floor she took up the phone yes i'm sure h filled you in on our meeting today yes i think it would be beneficial to all parties if we sat down and talked well i have nothing to say to you she glared at h who made appeasing gestures well i have a great deal to say to you he hurried his words before she could cut him off we need to talk especially if we're going to be in this business together that's up to blair bainbridge sarah hold on she covered the mouthpiece he wants to talk to me privately do i have to do this i think it would be the best for all concerned she removed her hand from the mouthpiece all right how about my office tomorrow afternoon make it friday i have a dentist appointment tomorrow fine friday my office she hung up the phone friday his office are you happy now yes the sooner we get this behind us the better his jaw tightened his eyes narrowed then just as quickly as the tension showed on his face he erased it it would be helpful if we knew who killed tommy van allen and why she flopped back down on the sofa bending over to retrieve her magazine you don't think it was archie vane tempest lowered his bulk next to her as i trust my instincts in business i have learned not to jump to conclusions we both know archie ingram doesn't have the guts to kill anyone in cold blood you're using these events to express other repressed emotions such as anger at the fact that i have kept you from my business i've shut you out for a large part of my life and i've treated you like a child yes you have she lowered her eyes then looked into his eyes again i'm turning over a new leaf if blair obstructs your inclusion in tiotan i'll start another corporation and you can be president he put his arm around her but i think he'll see the light of reason just as you will when archie speaks to you we're all we were all such good friends once let's go back to the way things were she put her head on his shoulder i'd like that chapter 43 tommy van allen's memorial service on thursday intended to be a subdued affair scandalized crosette because his widow chose not to attend it wasn't because she was too shocked to fulfill his last duty to her hus this last duty to her husband she just didn't care she'd already returned to aiken and she had given rickshaw carte blanche to ransack tommy's records she also allowed him to impound the porsche for a week he promised to send it to aiken after it had been searched big mim hosted a small luncheon after the memorial for val van allen her prize-winning peonies picked that moment to open miranda hogg and dauber strolled through mims magnificent gardens which undulated down to the lake the catamaran mims vim gently bobbed in the water the reverend escorted her young people today have no discipline mrs hogg and dauber's hazel eyes were troubled jessica van allen should have come to the funeral god knows she'll inherit all his money miranda if people no longer dress as they should it's an outward sign that they've lost all sense of propriety dress isn't superficial i quite agree even harry who does have manners falls down in the dress department poor dear she has to be dragged kicking and screaming to shop susan and i are considering putting silver duct tape over her mouth on our upcoming foray not like my dear departed her motto was shop until you drop herbs jones chuckled they sat on the wrought iron bench two old friends together what's become of the world herbert oh i don't know maybe every old person asked that question but it's a cruder and more vulgar world than i than i once was a boy but it's a cruder and more vulgar world than the one i knew as a boy it's more violent we thought the violence would end with world war ii now we turn it back on ourselves he drank in refreshing sight he drank in the refreshing sight before him if nothing else the gardens were flourishing he patted miranda on her gloved hand your tulips this year could have won national awards do you really think so you outdid yourself a sharp voice interrupted her enjoyment you two spooning i haven't heard that word since grade school her burst out laughing tally urkhart moving slowly but moving descended upon them just what are you doing down out here off by yourselves you don't appear to be grieving are you miranda usually not at all saucy had been emboldened by herb's praise no i've grieved enough in my life after a while you'll learn to say goodbye and be done with it when your number's up it's up i should have been dead years ago but here i am you'll outlive us all herb stood up offering her his seat tally balanced on her silver bound head cane lowering herself her silver hound-headed cane lowering herself next to miranda the sheriff is taking tommy's and blair's cars apart yes we've heard that too miranda shifted her position to face the vine the vinegary lady the vingery lady won't do a bit of good why is that her mildly inquired because science machines fingerprints oh it's all very impressive the how fills page upon page but it's the why that matters ah yes mrs hagendauber mused while watching two children paddle a dark green canoe at the far side of the lake such as why doesn't blair bainbridge call on marilyn he doesn't appear to be in love with anyone else she's certainly the most eligible young lady in the entire county i think harry is the most eligible young lady miranda surprised herself by contradicting tally she hasn't to sew tally grumbled then half smiled but she's far more interest but she's a far more interesting soul than my great niece don't tell mimsy though she laughed in earnest we ought to get harry out of that post office she's too intelligent for that job thank you herbert mrs hogendober said with unaccustomed sarcasm miranda your husband was the postmaster it's something else entirely oh she graduated from smith college in art history herb hoped this would explain his point of view without further insulting the memory of miranda's husband i graduated from mary baldwin tally said and i never worked a day in my life of course we weren't expected to then you did work miranda said of course i worked i worked harder than a steve than a stevedore but you know what i mean for money i think it's better now you do herb pressed yes people ought to be able to pursue their talents my point herb beamed harry is not pursuing her talents but perhaps she is tally said she enjoys life she appreciates the clouds and all the peonies and us she has before her every day at the post office the peerless entertainment of the human comedy i never thought of that of course not herbie you're thinking of your next sermon tally flickered her cane out at him now what are we going to do about this little mim and this bainbridge fellow she'll perish if she doesn't land him i tell her she's better off alone but i don't think a young woman like maryland believes that nor do i herb folded his hands behind his back naturally men need women women don't need men tally sounded triumphant fiddlesticks he restrained himself from saying harry headed down to join them why is everyone suddenly shutting up because we were talking about you tally replied only good things miranda smiled that's a relief mim trooped down to the lake a few moments after harry's arrival and what are you all doing down here i need you in the garden you are all the social spark plugs of croissette the small gathering looked up at one another with resignation then miranda piped up and what are you doing here mim dear came here to get away from all of them they laughed together which lightened the unexpressed tension and worry chapter 44 the day started quietly enough it had dawned crimson then gold harry knocked out her chores quickly then decided to walk to work giving the exceptional beauty of the morning peter complained long and loud about harry's decision pewter hated being snatched without wheels harry hadn't gone a half mile down the road before a low rumble captured her attention blair bainbridge snaked around the corner saw her and braked he opened the door from the inside hop in i've got the critters we'll squeeze in i've been dying to ride in his car murphy sat in harry's lap forcing tucker and pewter onto the small back seat blair turned towards the farm i've got to go to work you need the truck didn't you listen to the radio this morning no big storms are moving up from the south fast you need the truck when they come from the south they're wet how long before they arrive the weatherman isn't sure of course they always cover their butt there's a high off the coast and it might hold up for a bit oh goody murphy sarcastically said not fair that you're in the front tucker stuck her nose between the seats ah get over it selfish pewter leaned on tucker as they turned down the long dirt driveway are you coming or going harry asked ever hear the one about the duke who died in the prostitutes arms the bobby asked what happened and she said he was coming and going blair scratched his head did i get that right i don't know but you're certainly in a good mood i have 400 horsepowers and 5 750 rpm of course i'm in a good mood he pulled up next to harry's truck i'll see you later come on gang pewter stubbornly waited to be lifted into the truck i told you to take the truck nobody listens to me pewter stop bellyaching tucker found an old rawhide shoe wedged in the seat just under the unused middle seat belt harry turned the key that old familiar cough then shake was followed by the motor turning over see that pewter put her paws on the windshield what the blue jay is sitting on the lamppost by the back door because he sees us pulling out could be because mom throws out bird seed there for simon and the birds miranda was carrying a big tray into market shiftlets just as harry pulled into her parking space back in front of the post office let me help there's a second one on the kitchen table you fetched that one harry brought the flight flaky biscuits to the markets he wiped down the counter said hello to his former cat pewter and threw scraps to the animals h van temp is called to me called to tell me there's a reenactors meeting at his house tomorrow to discuss safety measures i like that he shook his head cynically are you going harry asked well i bought all that stuff for the oak ridge affair i suppose i ought to get my money's worth you could sell it pewter gave the realist pewter ever the realist suggested he fed her another small beef scrap she's a good mouser can't catch a bird though to save her life murphy stood on her hind paws to catch a tossed morsel tucker too grabbed a piece of meat from the air she was very quick did he ask archie to the meeting harry inquired i don't know the post office crew hurried to the frame building as rob collier tossed in the canvas sacks from the main office on seminole trail also called rap29 time to work harry started sorting the phone rang and harry picked it up cynthia cooper was on the line harry can you come with me this lunch hour sure what are we doing i'll tell you when i see you she hung up miranda will you mind mrs murphy and pewter and tucker for lunch cynthia asked me to go with her but she won't say why official business i guess at 12 cynthia picked up harry in the squad car harry asked miranda to cover for her for two hours within 15 minutes they were at the airport at the private hangar are you afraid of small planes cynthia asked no glad to hear it cynthia bent over to fit through the small door then reached up out to pull harry in this is bob green he's a pilot for fedex and is off time he still loves to fly hi hi the square jawed pilot nodded a greeting they taxied down the runway lifted off and were airborne in minutes harry on the passenger side looked down on the patchwork quilts of green beige and forest creeks and rivers glittered the tops of buildings at fashion square mall were flat boy hope we never get five feet of snow but those roofs wouldn't stress the load bet they can bob smiled or they will be lawsuits up the wazoo cynthia hand on the back of harry's seat leaned forward between bob and harry to handle tommy van allen's map you grew up here we're flying over these parcels tell me what you know bob flew over the first parcel a high meadow adjacent to sugar hollow well that used to belong to francie haynes an old lady who raised herefords the horned kid the horned kind hanes the black hanes yeah anything special about the land hmm not that i know of as they flew over the parcel harry recounted the history as she knew it bob can we go just up a little bit another thousand feet or so and make a big circle harry requested no problem coop look down can you see how the land folds together can you see the old reservoir at sugar hollow yes okay we're flying over the watershed see how everything drains essentially in one direction that's where the state and some in the country want to put the new reservoir between free union and earlysville i can see it let's go lower to sugar hollow bob pushed the steering wheel down and they gently descended really obvious here cynthia is strained to look over harry's head out the passenger window and i can see francie haynes land now wouldn't it make sense to sugar to use sugar hollow harry said from up here yes hey you two it's just us and the birds up here said bob the landowners are bigger and richer at the other place this is poor people used to be poor people i mean other folks are moving in now and let's not forget the contractors cynthia shielded her eyes as they turn toward the sun you know when the state writes the specs for these massive projects they write them so only a few firms can truly compete what a crock of that is sorry bob i don't know you well enough to swear fine by me so there's nothing special about these parcels of land some are in the watershed and some aren't but no there's nothing i know of that marks these off why harry asked i can't tell you that part since we're up here can we fly over tally urkhart's good idea cynthia raised her voice because the propeller noise drowned out the normal conversation the backside of little yellow mountain i guess mint springs is better is better coordinate okay within a few moments they were cruising over the verdant acres with miles of priss white fencing that constituted the irkhart place the old hay barn and stone stone buildings came up into view bob see that barn down there how hard would it be to land there i'm not asking you to land she hastened to add as he descended but how hard would it be cynthia asked not much of a strip a little like threading the needle between the two hills it would take a good pilot how about in rain and fog harry asked take a pilot with brass balls and a sure touch chapter 45 the map play open on rick's desk a pile of financial statements account books and the manila legal size folder was stacked on the floor next to his chair the watershed he rubbed his chin it's easy to see from the air cynthia said then added i checked the weather the night tommy van allen died or we think he died you doubt the word of the corner when someone's frozen like a fish stick yes he slapped her on the back that's what i like an independent thinker a storm came in quickly and hung on a long time that night and then today we just got up in time as we landed the clouds rolled down like a dirty gray rug was there any similarity of the properties from the air not really harry pepper you questions no she was pretty good he sat in his chair closed the door he paused until she returned i've read every comma semicolon period and smudge on van allen's account books he's clean he swiveled around what you're telling me is that tommy was a damn good pilot yes after seeing the small landing strip he was better than good cynthia affirmed h vayne and tommy already knew how to fly rick said out loud even though he was really talking to himself he had found no double set of account books he wondered if perhaps the other fellow kept accounts he was pursuing the drug angle and they were all part of the oak ridge reenactment at least tommy would have been she nodded and he continued coop we're in the ball car park at least but we still aren't on base could it be that these land parcels represent just what they appear to investments against future growth i guess i should say for future growth with the exception of two here bordering sugar hollow they're generally in this quadrant he took out a color copy he'd made of the map and put a ruler on the copy with a red pencil he drew lines and a pattern began to form see he slapped his thigh what i'd like to think this map represents i'd like to think this map represents drug customers but when we checked the farms before they were purchased no there's no way old ephrem childs would buy drugs i want to make this fit and i can't i'm not sure why some of these parcels have new wells on them and others don't i see that there are two roughly parallel lines i see it and i don't know what it means think about what you saw in the air was there anything to suggest this type of alignment something obvious like a low hill chain or a creek no besides if there were a creek it would be on the map we'd have noticed it before he dropped his forehead into his hand when's the next commission meeting next tuesday okay well we'll track this on the wall without saying anything has to be on the wall before anyone gets to the meeting we might at least flush out arch he smiled i think we're getting a little closer to our killer good idea she said with a little enthusiasm he fired his pencil at her end over end what nothing out with it i've inherited your gut feelings and this does not feel right maybe half right but not complete yeah i feel that way but the look on your face he's going to strike again i just know it something's off the wall like mrs wu's store something off the wall like mrs wu's store i think that was definitely part of this the fire destroyed all her files all those reenactor files well she does bring us back to the reenactors you're right in a funny way serial sex killers are easier to figure than this one rick mused but there may but there may have been sex don't forget the empty rubber packet in tommy van allen's trench coat nah i don't buy it coop sat on the edge of the desk i hope i'm wrong but this is far from over h vane better hire a bodyguard as she said that a loud clap of thunder startled them both and the heavens opened chapter 46 when the natural light struck sarah vaintempta's hair the blonde highlights glimmered like beaten gold her fingernails perfectly manicured complimented long graceful hands not only was she a beautiful woman she had a perfected young she had perfected young those whiles so useful in reducing men to putty since most men are taller than most women the first trick she mastered by fourth grade was the disarming habit of lowering her eyes then raising them as though only one object of her glance could fall forth such a promising response she modulated her voice so it was never loud never strident a bit soft so that she would have to strain so that he would have to strain to listen the more sophisticated snares such as inflecting each sentence subtly so that it seemed like a question only he with his superior wisdom could answer she acquired by 18. lowering her shoulder a tad in his direction also sparked fire in the mail of the species the fact that these were calculated postures as studied in an actresses blocking as an actress blocking on the stage never occurred to men ever a man is highly intelligent as series temptus devolved into a quivering hormonal puddle in sarah's presence her demeanor changed completely in the company of women her voice straightforward was not harsh but certainly not music to female ears she looked her friends straight in the eye she said what was on her mind she never once dropped her shoulder or slightly turned her body to make a woman appear larger her woman friends giggled when she'd switched gears the second a man entered the room her profound falsity although a subject of amusement to most in disgust to a few did not make women mistrust her each woman even harry knew why women performed as sarah performed it was an unequal world beauty short-lived was a weapon to secure food clothing shelter and status few women could stand alone and live well they had to be attached to a breadwinner although bright sarah was essentially afraid of the world afraid she couldn't move it on her own at the table move in afraid she couldn't move in it on her own at the level she desired she wasn't wrong few women have as much power or money as her age main tempest she'd hit the jackpot it was simple really she studied where the rich played since it was easier to get to florida from connecticut then to some other places like aspen she showed up fresh out of school then carefully edged closer and closer to the good parties she had also been careful not to do something stupid like sleep with the wrong man or take a job in a clothing shop that would diminish her mystery she'd attend polo matches at royal palm polo club in boca raton she'd watch alone hoping to catch a man's eye or that of an older woman needing an extra for a party usually men were needed as extras but occasionally a young woman was needed to pep up an older visiting gentleman one sunday at wellington west of palm beach she happened to be standing at a string of peony of ponies the groom called away by another groom needing help to catch a runaway left a pile of polo mallets on the ground they were organized by length and whippiness of shaft sir h main tempest thundered up manual 51 green sarah reached into the pile of 51s having the presence of mind to grab the one with the green tape carefully placed where the shaft meets the head h may notice immediate hvan noticed immediately that manual had been changed by the good fairy into one of the most beautiful young woman he had ever beheld the rest as they say was history an expensive divorce from wife number one who was after all showing wear and tear soon followed that was seven years ago soon very soon actually sarah would be showing wear and tear herself someone had someone whispered in her ear as she walked down the aisle that the price of marriage would be high she would never have believed it lord by surface glamour she didn't recognize the price was herself she'd lost herself once she realized it she panicked such women seek solace in religion booze drudge drugs charitable work children and of course other men when she walked through archie ingram's office door on friday she closed the door behind her she had made a point of never going into his office or calling him at his at the office did you shoot h no why not i'd never do such a thing you know that i wish you would she said in just throwing her purse on the desk he seized her by the waist drawing her to him she didn't resist she kissed him starting with the cleft in his chin i haven't seen you for two long weeks once the frantic mingling of body fluids was over they had time to review their predicament a black cloud seemed to follow archie wherever he moved as for her glad though she was that archie was out of his house sarah would never leave her husband that was what she told archie poor archie cried it's not that bad she ran her fingers through his hair it's not that good h is a vindictive combative man he'd stop at nothing to ruin you discretion in the better part of valor she's sighed he's old he's not as vigilant as he once was where i'm concerned probably probably because his testosterone level has dropped all will be well blinking back to tears archie moaned i hate that bastard i hate him because he's smarter than i am and i hate him because he has you he has me in body only but not in soul she quietly said maybe he frowned for as much as he loved her he was learning to distrust her but he knew i'd fall for the tiotan plan the money is good more money than i could dream of in in my job it wasn't until that meeting in crosstalk the one where harry's cat jumped on the table that i realized i had the most to lose h blair and tommy risk far less than i do but their profit is so much higher she smoothed her hair arch you'll clear a good 2 million and possibly more i can't see what you have to lose my reputation my political career i'll never be a governor ah she hadn't realized his ambition reached that high other men have overcome scandal this is virginia he snapped yes well there is that do you really think you could vault from the county commissioner to richmond yes i know i could get elected to the state of house of representatives for starters one step at a time but i blew it he wiped his brow maybe you can buy your way in doesn't quite work that way money helps but he smiled sadly you haven't lived here long enough sarah just gray stains through generations the reverse of that is all those silly empty snobs living off the grand deeds of their ancestors no one forgets anything here that's absurd she did not believe it sarah you're married to a powerful man people would like you even if you weren't but don't let surface acceptance fool you i can ride garden and shoot with the best of virginia's country squires she boasted so you can he gave up trying to teach her the real rules of the road archie was on the verge of giving up everything he felt so profoundly miserable sure you didn't try to kill him it was a brilliant plan she changed the subject a jocular tone to her voice no i didn't he pulled himself together re-tied his silk reptile brushed off his pants sarah you could have any man you want to play with why me you haven't you have imagination most men don't he nuzzled her neck what kind of imagination did tommy van allen have an imagination she drew back about what about you arch don't be absurd i know you had an affair with him she waited sighed lowered her eyes then raised them i haven't always used the best judgment he made me reckless of course i had no idea he was snorting coke i was shocked as the next person when the daily progress reprinted the autopsy results i never saw any sign of it but then i'm not sure i know the signs she sounded convincing is that why you went up in the airplane with him late at night with a storm coming to be reckless archie played his wild card for he didn't really know if she'd been with tommy or not he thought maybe he could trip her up no what'd you do give age sleeping pills i never flew with tommy are you suggesting i killed him maybe he got in the way of what she pulled back viewing him with dispassion your well-ordered life maybe he threatened to tell your husband he might have thought h would throw you out he'd have you all to himself tommy was reckless but he wasn't in love with me we occupied each other's thoughts for a while that's all you occupied more than thoughts tell me were you sleeping with him when you were sleeping with me no she lied well that's something at least sometimes if you let things alone they work out better my husband's an old man and strong as an ox he'll live to be as old as taliarcart i wish i did have the guts to kill him but i need him for what tiotan in for a penny in for a pound i can't back out no matter what i'm sacrificing blair's smart enough to run the corporation don't underestimate him and thank you for speaking up for me at the meeting she kissed him on each cheek and then the mouth i was only kidding about killing h i couldn't understand i could understand if you had shot him but i'm glad you didn't you certainly ran your mouth about it all over town arch what better way to cover up our tracks your tracks he coolly appraised her but couldn't protect himself from her beauty my tracks sarah you could have shot h you weren't at the reenactment i ran back for h's canteen prove it he smiled softly you were as bad as rick shaw she laughed it off i found witnesses who saw me running back to the tent you could easily have dug behind the hunter barn or into the woods or even in your range rover if you ran fast enough and managed to creep out of the woods you could have fallen in at the back of the marching line in that gown and hoop are you insane no you changed of course he breathed in sharply i did not shoot h vayne tommy was already dead if he had a motive it died with him you were the only person with the motive and what about blair if h were out of the way you and he could run tiotan two people would control the new water supply it's an interesting theory but if blair and i were in cahoots i'd know about it and he held up his hands in question unprotruded she said you could have killed tommy and tried to kill h and intend to kill blair all threads would be in your hands thank you for giving me credit for being that intelligent but i didn't do it i wouldn't do it and the rock bottom reality is i'm not smart enough to pull off a crime like that and not get caught you on the other hand are i didn't kill tommy van allen not even to cover your tracks as you say well then you'd be next on my list wouldn't you i think i would am i no darling i adore you can't you tell can't you tell when you hold me he sighed sarah i don't know what i know anymore you're angry at me because i won't leave h right now i can't archie we'd have a year of passion if we were lucky but sooner or later the outside world would tear us apart my way takes longer but the result is more solid h is an old man old and healthy old and frighteningly intelligent but still old she put her forefinger to his lips to silence him then kissed her forefinger and his lips simultaneously arch let me keep saying dreadful things about you it's the only hope we've got it's the only cover we've got you know the truth and you know every chance i get i'll come to you she ran her fingers across his lips then along the side of his jaw he kissed her hand that fool doesn't know what he has in you as long as you know it's funny i would have thought you'd have the affair with blair not me he's a lot better looking than i am he still didn't know whether to believe that ridley can't what ridley kent had told him chemistry she brushed her hair with a few practice flips of her wrist besides little mim would die we've got to leave her something ridley told me that you had a brief fling with blair archie couldn't stand it any longer he had to hear her response coolly too coolly sarah said ridley's put out that i refused his advances why listen to him i can't believe you listened to him i don't know his voice wavered well i do she kissed him again and then left for home chapter 47 the underside of a porsche is sealed it's as though the bottom is covered by a series of interconnecting skid plates the mechanic in white overalls removed one gray underbody rectangle rick peered up as the mechanic shona light couldn't hardly hide a tin of snuff up there the mechanic said would you like us to remove each panel mike gage the owner of pegasus motor motor cars politely asked the sheriff no i'll bring her down body panels make more sense of course blair bainbridge watched you aren't going to cut the upholstery are you he had cooperated with the search not demanding a warrant but he wasn't sure what he'd do if it went that far i don't know rick ducked his head in the car once it returned to earth there's no place to hide anything in those back seats hardly big enough for our cat somebody could remove the padding in the front seats and replace it with cocaine i think you'd be able to feel it though mike pressed down the seat harvey bring up the new targa let him fill those seats so he has a point of comparison within minutes a lush polar silver targa gutturally announced its arrival rick opened the door the smell of a new car made him giddy with possibilities dutifully he pressed on the seats then pressed again on the seats of blair's turbo blair clasping and unclasping his hands murmured look i don't know why you're doing this you know i'm not involved in drugs your buddy tommy van allen sure was cocaine cap cocaine packed behind his hubcaps come on it must have given you a charge to fake out everybody no blair replied flatly fast money fast cars look i don't sell drugs mike gage interrupted the increasingly tense exchange let me show you something rick see these air inlets on the front end yes rick press at the smallest loops in the middle could stash them all emotion could stash small amounts of coke in them but it would lead to undesirable consequences later mike had briefed rick earlier on the basics of an air-cooled engine blair spoke up if i was going to deal drugs i'd find a better place than that rick ignored him as mike continued to point out small areas where drugs could be secreted blair shifted his weight from foot to foot you know i'm innocent you knew about tommy rick pushed him tommy didn't run drugs it's crazy a porsche attracts attention it'd be crazy to carry drugs in a porsche if you don't calm down i'll haul you out of here rick threatened listen i'm allowing you to search my car out of courtesy you don't have a warrant i have nothing to hide so give me some credit mike looked away as rick scowled rick hesitated a moment then spoke to mike don't rip up the leather keep searching though mr bainbridge and i will be right over here in the squad car if you need me okay mike nodded blair slid into the squad car passenger seat slamming the door rick wedged himself behind the wheel would you like to tell me the purpose of teo tan i have tommy's maps i know you've sunk wells let's have it blair waited a moment then cleared his throat tiotan's purpose is to slot supply potable water to the northwest quadrant of the county while saving the taxpayers considerable expense we were intending to present our plan at the next water commission meeting next week in fact no new reservoir blair shrugged my hope would be no t.o tan could save this county a fortune in construction costs there's enough water running underground to fill the need millions of gallons rick dropped his head a moment then raised it sir h vein tempest said the same thing it is a good plan have you approached archie ingram he opposes any idea of 8th main tempest temptus rick didn't know of archie's involvement for age of eight tempest true to his word he said nothing archie's a weathervane blair sounded non-committal he's not the same man since his wife kicked him out wasn't impressed with the original rick's side a long sigh i'm a paid public servant i'm not supposed to harbor political opinions blair shrugged won't go past me changing the subject what are you going to do if the county rejects your concept i suppose you have supporting figures rich rick asked we do much of the 750 000 of peace we each put up to create tiotan went for a feasible study we used a firm out of atlanta atlanta washington new york and richmond were too close in the respect that too many people from albert mall work in those cities or have strong have strong cities there what we are about to offer this county is an economical is economical and sound and what if they reject it if we can get it on the ballot as a referendum i think will prevail despite the vested interests in reservoirs and dams but should we fail we'll sell the water as bottled water you'll have to tap dance again on that one environmental studies and water purity he shook his head we're so over regulated it's lunacy generations of virginians drank water right out of the ground they had more common sense they didn't build on drained marshland or put their homes where runoff would leak into the well people sit in front of computers and know nothing of the real world we're prepared for bottled water battle we've retained fernley stubbs and marshall in richmond then you're prepared he tapped on the steering wheel one member of your company is dead and no suspects one member was shot many suspects including mr ingram is there something about tiotan i ought to know no rick warned blair if i were you i'd look over my shoulder i don't think it's a coincidence but i still couldn't say why exactly unfortunately i don't know why either if our plan works it means a steady flow of profits as long as we live if one partner dies his share is equally divided among the survivors on the surface of that it would be motivation for murder blair have you seen this ticket before rick reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a white locker ticket number 349 blair examined the greyhound locker ticket no we found this in tommy's car i assume you went to the locker yes we found accounting books for cocaine deals that's too easy i know tommy van allen wouldn't sell drugs no way rick paused actually blair i think you're right but i have nothing else to go on i don't sell drugs tommy didn't sell drugs i don't know what this is about or why but it's not true is there something about teotin i don't know that might be bearing on this case blair for god's sake a man has been killed and another wounded tell me blair inhaled sharply archie is a hidden partner arch doesn't have that kind of money you other boys put up big bucks he put in work blair left it at that rick whistled he's using public office for private gain and hvan tempest risks nothing rt risks everything hvane risks the startup money that's nothing to him and you know it rick turn to face blair this changes everything i don't know i mean yes it compromises archie politically but people's attention span is two minutes look at all the crap politicians get away with rick i'd say archie ingram has more motivation to kill than any of you he'd be sitting atop a fountain of prophets it doesn't seem possible a lot of things don't seem possible but they happen anyway blair i'd be careful if i were you chapter 48 murphy slept on the divider counter her tail hanging down pewter on the back seat of the small table meowed in her sleep tucker snored under the big canvas mail cart harry felt like sleeping herself a low pressure system was moving in the front door swung open as her head nodded she blinked dr larry johnson waved i'm ready for a nap too harry where's miranda next door she's planning a menu for market he wants to complete sell complete meals it's a good idea and miranda will cook them part of them she works hard enough as it is and the garden comes first larry eyed murphy's tail tempting harry stood in her tiptoes leaning over the counter she's proud of that tail mrs hogendover entered through the back door hello she sang out mrs murphy opened one eye keep your voices down sarah and sir h main tempest came in with herb right behind them glad i ran into you larry said he walked back outside and returned handing main temp as his con confederate tunic top is this genuine homespun vayne tempest examined the material in his hands miranda flipped up the countertop and walked out to the front i can tell you i wish everyone would just shut up mrs murphy opened both eyes tucker lifted her head they complained when i bark miranda held the material in her hands rubbing it in between her forefinger and thumb machine how can you tell maine tempest held the other sleeve if this were spun on a home loom there'd be more slubs and the color dye wouldn't be eve as even also the boys in gray were als often called butternut dyes weren't color fast you see and dying could be an expensive process a foot soldier would wear homespun for so long that the color would go from a sort of light brown to a gray white over time harry joined them bet that stuff itches to high heaven your shirt would be spun from cotton probably better cotton than what you buy today miranda noted so you wouldn't feel your tunic so much harry took the jacket from vain tempus slipping it on herb laughed you'll drown in that mrs murphy sat bolt upright she soared from the counter into the mail bin wake up damn it pewter surprised and therefore scared spit it murphy tally and big mim drop by to pick up the mail you know what i don't understand tally put one hand on her hip if a man dresses a woman everybody laughs they'll pay money to see him if a woman dresses a man stone's silent oh if a man dresses as a woman everybody laughs they'll pay money to see him but if a woman dresses as a man stone silence by now pewter had hopped into the divider counter and murphy roused tucker who pat it out front to the people once a try harry handed the tunic to bib mim big mim i'll leave that to the boys that's it murphy crowed pewter blinked thought then she got it so did tucker that same afternoon as sarah fed the domestic ducks on her pond private investigator terrix salad discreetly delivered county commissioner tapes to her husband as he did once a week he'd bugged archie's office along with the others vane tempest did not fully trust arch and wanted to make certain he was getting his money's worth also this way he could keep tabs on the other commissioners surprisingly arch had not disappointed him he was really working for teotan's acceptance he was all business however this week's tape proved substantially different to rick handed over the legal size folder then swiftly left chapter 49 the brass buttons rolled around in the palm of her hand with a dull clink harry pushed them with her forefinger first virginia blair leaned against his 110 hp john deere tractor new of course like everything else on his farm their genuine cost 550 dollars wonder who wore them if he survived the war blair shrugged i don't know the warm sun skidded over mrs murphy's coat she glistened as she lounged on the hood of the 911 turbo neither human had yet noticed her chosen place to display her glories pewter prowled around blair's equipment shed with tucker she was on a blue jay kick determined to find and bait the rashes bird wherever she could she sharpened her claws on the side of the shed pewter could perform surgery with those claws looks like you're throwing yourself a hog into a whole hog into reenacting harry said i kind of thought it was silly at first but i felt something at oak ridge and harry that wasn't even a true re-enactment we weren't on sacred ground if you will i want to go to the seven days sharpsburg he looked sober at the word sharpsburg was the scene of the worst carnage in that bloodiest of wars i can't explain what i felt just just that i have to do this have you ever noticed that all the reenactors are white the combatants are mostly white i'll feel a little better about this when someone resurrects the 54th massachusetts harry cited all the black regiment renowned for its courage harry i'm sure someone is already doing that really i don't think this is a racist program his warm hazel eyes flickered maybe you're right she sighed maybe it's me maybe i don't like being reminded of war of a war of supreme foolishness a foolishness that soaked this entire entire state in blood so many battles have been fought here in virginia since the revolutionary war all that blood has soaked into our soil makes me sick kinda i think i fail to see the romance of it maybe it's a guy thing he smiled guess so she paused and swung up into the cab of the elegant expensive coveted john deere blair i've been thinking a guy thing she said louder and then she intended what if sarah was in uniform what if she shot h vayne what the animal stopped in the shed mrs murphy on the porch pricked her ears i know it sounds crazy but today in the post office when i tried on the jacket it occurred to me she could have worn the trousers under her hoop skirt stepped out of it of course she'd have to run back like mad to get out of the uniform stash it and then get back into her dress but it's not impossible heavy smoke covered everything you couldn't see the hand in front of your face sometimes and it was pandemonium who would notice one person sneaking off and besides nobody noticed age had been shot for quite a while she would have had time he blinked i don't know i never thought of it mrs wu made lots of uniforms too many to remember but she probably kept receipts if not records so what happens her story gets burned down blair wondered if sarah was capable of murder harry that's pretty extreme but why everyone jumped to the conclusion that it was archie ingram slowly his deep baritone low blair said well i don't know it's possible but why kill him she'll eventually inherit his estate anyway most of it he's a tough burden demanding one she is in the prime of life servicing h vein you'll forgive the expression may be losing some of its luster his face reddened mrs murphy carefully slid off the porsche hood she walked over to the tractor as pewter and tucker joined her harry stepped down from the cockpit nice huh beautiful if i had to pick between your porsche and your john deere it would be one of the hardest decisions of my life she laughed leaning against her giant rear wheel i think i better call coop don't do that he said too rapidly why not because you can't ruin someone's name like that she's not ruining her name mrs murphy said she's only conveying an idea coop has tacked hadn't thought of that mother you're not ruining her name and you're right pewter meowed harry picked up the cat putting her on her shoulder hush put me down she wriggled pewter stay put you'll get her mind distracted humans can't focus for long that's why we can't catch mice that's why they can't catch mice pewter glared at mrs murphy but settled down on harry's shoulder tucker lifted her nose in the air blair's body temperature is rising he's upset the other flaw in your theory is that if sarah shot at h vein then who killed tommy van allen player said there's no proof that the two murders are connected we've all been assuming they could have been related they're related we just don't know how tucker was resolute on this point blair blushed yeah what's the matter took her a while pewter dryly commented oh he clasped his hands behind his back nothing say would you like to borrow my tractor you could disc your fields in one third of the time he pointed to a disc its round metal spheres tilted slightly inward toward a center line murphy noted that's a quick change of subject harry eyed the huge implement which would make short work of her chores good farmer that she was she diced first before plowing she diced the fields for hay too they didn't need plowing but she was a great believer in working the soil thoroughly before planting if the hay was already established she'd merely thatch and aerate every few years she loved farming desperately wishing she could make a good living from it but she just squeaked by this is brand new hell you know how to use this equipment better than i do tell you what harry would feel better tell you what harry would feel better if she could make a trade i'll show you how to prepare that cornfield you want to put down in your bottom land then i'll borrow this baby she patted the green side of the square powerful tractor deal he stuck out his hand then withdrew it sorry i forgot my manners oh blair i don't care i think that stuff's out molded she referred to the fact that a man wasn't supposed to extend his hand to a lady but to wait for her to extend hers first big mim would kill me he grinned harry noticed archie's u-haul is he ever leaving today in fact bet you're relieved archie is curiously stubborn what a nice way of putting it harry smiled as she headed for her truck where is he going tally urkhart's what she'll let him live in one of her outbuildings if he'll restore it he said he needs a positive project i'm nervous the tiger walked out to harry's truck we've got to get her to call coop it was a little bit too late for that all right that was chapter 49 so we will pick up on chapter 50 next week of rita mae brown and sneaky pie brown's cat on the scent [Music] you

Channel: Kate Gray

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Keywords: Books, Book reading, Detective fiction, Cat on the Scent, Rita Mae Brown

Id: NbjZeaGdtUc

Length: 58min 42sec (3522 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 30 2020