Downward Facing Death by Michelle Kelly Page A

of a daft idea? In a farming town?”
    Keeley took a long, slow swallow of her drink, her smile finally wiped off her face, and eyed Dan calmly, although inside she was cringing. Jack sat silent beside her, making no move to defend her. Not that she really expected him to. He had made his own dismissal of her business just as apparent, if not quite so rudely. Bambi at least offered some support, pushing his great head into her lap and looking up at her with his mournful eyes. She combed her fingers through the fur between his ears, grateful for small comforts. Perhaps she should get a dog—she had read somewhere that people with pets showed decreased stress levels and better immunity to disease.
    â€œI’m sure Belfrey, and Amber Valley as a whole, is big enough for us both, Mr. Glover,” she said politely. The conversation reminded her of her earlier one with Raquel. She wondered if every newcomer who tried to set up a local business that was perceived as a bit different from the norm was treated like this, and made a mental note to ask Megan how Crystals and Candles had first been received.
    Dan Glover nodded curtly, as if the matter was settled, but his brother wasn’t done. He leaned over the table toward her, a mean glint to his eyes that Keeley thought looked almost fanatical.
    â€œDo you know what people like you have done to the business of farming?” he demanded, each word rapped out sharply like a strike against her. “As if things aren’t bad enough, what with the floods and the bloody economy.” A drop of spittle had gathered at the corner of the man’s mouth as he spoke. His brother had nodded along throughout, his piggy eyes fixed on Keeley.
    She sucked in a deep breath before she answered, trying her best not to show she felt intimidated. Bambi had raised his large head and was looking at Ted Glover from under his shaggy fringe, his large body tense. No doubt he too had picked up on the man’s barely contained rage.
    â€œI’m sorry if you’re having problems, I really am, but they’re none of my making, Mr. Glover. And I’m not sure what you mean by ‘people like me.’”
    â€œBloody do-gooders!” he snapped, the whole of his face now as red as his nose. “Traipsing around the countryside, moaning about the way things are done, letting out the livestock, damaging machinery. Going on about animals’ rights as if we don’t have any ourselves.”
    â€œI don’t reckon Keeley here’s into any of that,” Jack cut in. His tone was amiable enough, but Keeley was sure she detected an edge of steel to it. Bambi must have sensed it too, for he let out a soft growl and narrowed his eyes at the farmer, who sighed and finally sat back on his stool.
    â€œSorry,” he said grudgingly to Keeley, not looking or sounding one bit sorry, “just a sensitive subject, that’s all.”
    â€œIt’s all right,” she said stiffly, sipping her drink—though it wasn’t, really. How on earth could her opening a little café have any impact, in the larger scheme of things, on the Glovers and their livelihood? She suspected Ted Glover was, quite simply, a bit of a bully, and his brother not much better. She should ask her mother about them too. Assuming her mother would tell her what, if anything, she knew.
    Thinking about Darla brought her attention back to the real reason she was here: Terry Smith. Now, though, she didn’t want to ask Jack questions, not in front of these two, who clearly thought her a blight on the local community, in any case.
    To her surprise, however, right on cue, it was Dan Glover who brought it up, but without the hostility she might have expected.
    â€œHow’s the police getting on with finding the killer, anyway? They must have some idea by now who it is, surely.”
    Keeley shrugged, not wanting to share any confidences with this pair. Or to admit that she