sloppy job of cleaning it up, or assumed nobody would look too closely.”
“No prints?” Meg asked.
“No. Whoever it was probably wore gloves.”
“But why would anyone want Joyce dead?”
Seth shook his head. “I have no idea. There’s no money involved—no fat insurance policy or family inheritance. She and Ethan had sunk everything they had into the dairy operation, which was just beginning to show a decent profit. And of course Ethan is the first person the state police are looking at as a suspect.”
“How does he benefit?” Meg pressed.
“He doesn’t, as far as anyone can tell. He seems pretty broken up about losing her. In any case, he says he has an alibi. He was out of town, picking up some equipment, and he didn’t get back until Sunday morning, which is when he found his wife’s body. He has a receipt from the motel he stayed at.”
“He could have sneaked back in the middle of the night, couldn’t he?”
Seth shrugged. “It’s possible. But it looks as though Joyce had finished up most of the milking—except for that one cow—when she was killed, and that cow was pretty miserable by morning. So if Joyce was doing the milking at the usual time, then someone surprised her between five and six on Saturday night. Probably closer to six, since all the other cows had been taken care of. She must have been saving the little Guernsey for last so she could take her timewith her. But that’s not to say that Ethan couldn’t have come back, then left again.”
Meg sat back in her chair. “So what does that mean? Nobody benefits from Joyce’s death, including the obvious suspect, her husband, who has an alibi anyway. So who would kill her? Are you saying there’s some madman on the loose in Granford?”
Seth gave her a cheerless smile. “Let’s hope not.”
“So why was Marcus here, telling you? You’re not involved.”
“Tangentially, apparently, I am. Joyce seems to have led a blameless life. The only wild card here is her dispute with the town about that pasture she leased from Granford. When Marcus talked to Ethan the first time, he mentioned Joyce’s complaint. Marcus figured Ethan was pretty shook up and rambling. Now that he knows it was murder, though, he’s got to take another look at all possible motives, and that’s where I come in, as part of the town government. You remember, I promised Joyce that I’d check the history of that plot of land, but I haven’t had the time. Which is what I told Marcus.”
“It seems kind of far-fetched as a motive for murder.”
“He’s just being thorough, which is appropriate. It’s the only issue Joyce appears to have had with anyone—otherwise she was a model citizen. Filed all the right paperwork, paid her taxes, ran a clean operation. It makes no sense at all that someone would want to kill her.”
6
Seth sat silently for a moment before asking, “Was there anything else you wanted?”
Meg debated for a moment. Obviously Seth wasn’t in the best of moods, but on the other hand, Bree would skin her alive if she didn’t at least talk to him about using his land. “Actually, there’s something I need to discuss with you. Nothing bad,” she added hastily.
“What is it?”
Meg took a deep breath. “Bree wants a decision about whether we’re going to expand the orchard this year. Does your offer to use the field up there still stand?”
“Sure. I told you it did, and I’d love to see it put to good use. How much are you thinking about?”
Meg pushed Bree’s diagram across the table toward him. “We’ve got fifteen acres planted now, and we thought maybe we could add another two or three? It’ll take some clearing, and we’ll probably end up doing a lot of the work ourselves, and we don’t want to get overextended. But the new trees won’t bear fruit for a couple of years, so that’skind of a gradual phase-in.” Meg stopped herself because she realized she was babbling.
But Seth was smiling. “Whatever
“No prints?” Meg asked.
“No. Whoever it was probably wore gloves.”
“But why would anyone want Joyce dead?”
Seth shook his head. “I have no idea. There’s no money involved—no fat insurance policy or family inheritance. She and Ethan had sunk everything they had into the dairy operation, which was just beginning to show a decent profit. And of course Ethan is the first person the state police are looking at as a suspect.”
“How does he benefit?” Meg pressed.
“He doesn’t, as far as anyone can tell. He seems pretty broken up about losing her. In any case, he says he has an alibi. He was out of town, picking up some equipment, and he didn’t get back until Sunday morning, which is when he found his wife’s body. He has a receipt from the motel he stayed at.”
“He could have sneaked back in the middle of the night, couldn’t he?”
Seth shrugged. “It’s possible. But it looks as though Joyce had finished up most of the milking—except for that one cow—when she was killed, and that cow was pretty miserable by morning. So if Joyce was doing the milking at the usual time, then someone surprised her between five and six on Saturday night. Probably closer to six, since all the other cows had been taken care of. She must have been saving the little Guernsey for last so she could take her timewith her. But that’s not to say that Ethan couldn’t have come back, then left again.”
Meg sat back in her chair. “So what does that mean? Nobody benefits from Joyce’s death, including the obvious suspect, her husband, who has an alibi anyway. So who would kill her? Are you saying there’s some madman on the loose in Granford?”
Seth gave her a cheerless smile. “Let’s hope not.”
“So why was Marcus here, telling you? You’re not involved.”
“Tangentially, apparently, I am. Joyce seems to have led a blameless life. The only wild card here is her dispute with the town about that pasture she leased from Granford. When Marcus talked to Ethan the first time, he mentioned Joyce’s complaint. Marcus figured Ethan was pretty shook up and rambling. Now that he knows it was murder, though, he’s got to take another look at all possible motives, and that’s where I come in, as part of the town government. You remember, I promised Joyce that I’d check the history of that plot of land, but I haven’t had the time. Which is what I told Marcus.”
“It seems kind of far-fetched as a motive for murder.”
“He’s just being thorough, which is appropriate. It’s the only issue Joyce appears to have had with anyone—otherwise she was a model citizen. Filed all the right paperwork, paid her taxes, ran a clean operation. It makes no sense at all that someone would want to kill her.”
6
Seth sat silently for a moment before asking, “Was there anything else you wanted?”
Meg debated for a moment. Obviously Seth wasn’t in the best of moods, but on the other hand, Bree would skin her alive if she didn’t at least talk to him about using his land. “Actually, there’s something I need to discuss with you. Nothing bad,” she added hastily.
“What is it?”
Meg took a deep breath. “Bree wants a decision about whether we’re going to expand the orchard this year. Does your offer to use the field up there still stand?”
“Sure. I told you it did, and I’d love to see it put to good use. How much are you thinking about?”
Meg pushed Bree’s diagram across the table toward him. “We’ve got fifteen acres planted now, and we thought maybe we could add another two or three? It’ll take some clearing, and we’ll probably end up doing a lot of the work ourselves, and we don’t want to get overextended. But the new trees won’t bear fruit for a couple of years, so that’skind of a gradual phase-in.” Meg stopped herself because she realized she was babbling.
But Seth was smiling. “Whatever
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