anxious eyes. Why hadn’t the machine resumed its noisy work? My heart beat faster. Surely it didn’t mean… couldn’t mean…
Outside, someone screamed. It had to be Mona.
Wolf’s footsteps thundered down the stairs, with the clatter of Daisy’s right behind him. We jumped to our feet and dashed through the family room to the sliding glass door. I pulled the drapes open. As far as I could tell, Wolf didn’t even notice us.
Kenner strode across the lawn in our direction.
Wolf opened the door. “Did they find her?”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Dear Sophie,
My brother built one of those big composting bins and spends his weekends adding manure and turning it. I don’t have time for that, but I’d like to add some organic matter to my garden. Isn’t there an easier way?
—Too Tired to Compost in Parsley Bottom,
West Virginia
Dear Too Tired to Compost,
Grandma Bauer didn’t call it composting, but she buried her organic kitchen waste in her vegetable garden each day. She covered it with soil and a screen to keep the raccoons out. It biodegraded without any help, adding nutrients to the soil.
—Sophie
I wished Wolf had thought through his words before he asked. It was such a simple question, but it made him sound as if he
expected
them to find Anne’s body buried in his yard.
Kenner’s eyes took a quick inventory of us. “Will we find her, Wolf? It would go a lot quicker if you would tell us where to dig.”
Nina gasped, and although I’m not a violent person, I wanted to punch him. Wolf didn’t seem to hear.
He looked in the distance, over Kenner’s shoulder. “They’re bagging something. What did you find?” He didn’t wait for an answer. He just took off running.
Daisy ran along beside him.
“Where’s the cadaver dog?” I asked.
“It didn’t find anything,” growled Kenner.
Hope restored, I ran to join the others.
I panted worse than Daisy after jogging in the humid air. Nina grabbed my shoulder for support and whispered, “I have got to start working out.”
I leaned forward to see what Wolf was looking at. A cop held a knife in his gloved hands. My heart sank. It had an extra long blade and a hefty weight to it. I knew because I had just used an identical one in Wolf’s kitchen.
“It’s just a rusty kitchen knife.” Nina released me for a closer look.
With a very sharp point. It could have easily been used as a murder weapon.
“That’s not rust!” exclaimed Mona. “It’s blood!”
“Nonsense.” Olive spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. “I’ve buried a good dozen of my kitchen knives by accident over the years. I bring them out to cut a vegetable off the stem, or they fall into my compost, and I bury them along with the peels.”
Wolf nodded at the cop—a silent message to put the knife away. “They’ll be testing it. We’ll know soon enough.”
“Or you could just tell us what you did to her!” Mona screamed.
Wolf ignored Mona’s outburst. His back ramrod straight, he ignored everyone and didn’t turn his head once on theway back to his house. I arrived two minutes after him, but he’d already locked the door and was in the process of drawing the drapes. He couldn’t have made himself more clear.
“He locked us out?” asked Nina, breathing hard. “He’s in a serious clinical depression. This isn’t like him at all.”
“Wolf?” I tapped on the glass. No response. I tried louder “Wolf? You have Daisy in there with you.”
The curtain swung to the side, the door slid open, and Daisy walked out. I thrust one foot inside, just enough to prevent him from getting rid of me right away.
“Listen. I know you don’t want to talk, but you can’t stay here. The press is already gathering and going nuts on your front lawn.”
He motioned me in and slid the door shut. “I have a place to stay, but I need help getting out of here without being followed. Would you swap cars with me?”
“Absolutely. As long as you don’t mind Daisy in your
Outside, someone screamed. It had to be Mona.
Wolf’s footsteps thundered down the stairs, with the clatter of Daisy’s right behind him. We jumped to our feet and dashed through the family room to the sliding glass door. I pulled the drapes open. As far as I could tell, Wolf didn’t even notice us.
Kenner strode across the lawn in our direction.
Wolf opened the door. “Did they find her?”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Dear Sophie,
My brother built one of those big composting bins and spends his weekends adding manure and turning it. I don’t have time for that, but I’d like to add some organic matter to my garden. Isn’t there an easier way?
—Too Tired to Compost in Parsley Bottom,
West Virginia
Dear Too Tired to Compost,
Grandma Bauer didn’t call it composting, but she buried her organic kitchen waste in her vegetable garden each day. She covered it with soil and a screen to keep the raccoons out. It biodegraded without any help, adding nutrients to the soil.
—Sophie
I wished Wolf had thought through his words before he asked. It was such a simple question, but it made him sound as if he
expected
them to find Anne’s body buried in his yard.
Kenner’s eyes took a quick inventory of us. “Will we find her, Wolf? It would go a lot quicker if you would tell us where to dig.”
Nina gasped, and although I’m not a violent person, I wanted to punch him. Wolf didn’t seem to hear.
He looked in the distance, over Kenner’s shoulder. “They’re bagging something. What did you find?” He didn’t wait for an answer. He just took off running.
Daisy ran along beside him.
“Where’s the cadaver dog?” I asked.
“It didn’t find anything,” growled Kenner.
Hope restored, I ran to join the others.
I panted worse than Daisy after jogging in the humid air. Nina grabbed my shoulder for support and whispered, “I have got to start working out.”
I leaned forward to see what Wolf was looking at. A cop held a knife in his gloved hands. My heart sank. It had an extra long blade and a hefty weight to it. I knew because I had just used an identical one in Wolf’s kitchen.
“It’s just a rusty kitchen knife.” Nina released me for a closer look.
With a very sharp point. It could have easily been used as a murder weapon.
“That’s not rust!” exclaimed Mona. “It’s blood!”
“Nonsense.” Olive spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. “I’ve buried a good dozen of my kitchen knives by accident over the years. I bring them out to cut a vegetable off the stem, or they fall into my compost, and I bury them along with the peels.”
Wolf nodded at the cop—a silent message to put the knife away. “They’ll be testing it. We’ll know soon enough.”
“Or you could just tell us what you did to her!” Mona screamed.
Wolf ignored Mona’s outburst. His back ramrod straight, he ignored everyone and didn’t turn his head once on theway back to his house. I arrived two minutes after him, but he’d already locked the door and was in the process of drawing the drapes. He couldn’t have made himself more clear.
“He locked us out?” asked Nina, breathing hard. “He’s in a serious clinical depression. This isn’t like him at all.”
“Wolf?” I tapped on the glass. No response. I tried louder “Wolf? You have Daisy in there with you.”
The curtain swung to the side, the door slid open, and Daisy walked out. I thrust one foot inside, just enough to prevent him from getting rid of me right away.
“Listen. I know you don’t want to talk, but you can’t stay here. The press is already gathering and going nuts on your front lawn.”
He motioned me in and slid the door shut. “I have a place to stay, but I need help getting out of here without being followed. Would you swap cars with me?”
“Absolutely. As long as you don’t mind Daisy in your
Similar Books
