Кэти Дэйли - The Secret Of Logan Pond

“I feel bad for the new pups,” Cass said. “They’ve obviously been treated badly by a human at one point or another.”

“Probably their prior owner. What sort of person would just up and move and leave them behind?”

“I don’t know. I guess there are all sorts of people in the world.”

I rested my back against the wall since I was still sitting on the floor, hoping the dogs would come out of hiding and approach once again. Cass sat on the floor next to me.

“I spoke briefly with Naomi when I first arrived. She’s offering wine if we want to stop by the house when we’re done here.”

“I’m guessing she wants something,” Cass smiled.

“I think she wants to be looped in on the Austin Brady case. I didn’t want to talk to her in the training room since there were other trainers around, so I told her we’d stop by when we were done here.”

“I guess I wouldn’t mind a glass of wine.”

“Do you have anything new?” I asked.

“Not relating to the Austin Brady case,” he answered. “To be honest, the reason I’m late is because I had to break up a brawl at Jack’s Place.”

“Brawl?” I asked. “Who was brawling?”

“A bunch of the guys. I guess someone spilled the beans about the new development that’s being proposed north of town. Of course, once the topic was introduced, those in the immediate area took sides. About half the patrons thought the development would be good for the town and good for the local economy, and the other half felt the development would mean the end of Foxtail Lake and the way of life it represents.”

I held my breath as Ginny slinked out from behind the cabinet she was hiding behind and slowly walked over to me. “It sounds like this development is going to cause trouble before they even get started.”

“Development in the area is and has been a hot topic for years. There have been large companies who’ve tried to establish a foothold in the area in the past. So far, those who are against such large-scale development have managed to hold them off, but it seems you get rid of one developer, and another one appears. In my opinion, it’s only a matter of time before someone manages to push through all the opposition and gets their foot in the door. Who knows, it might even be one of the three or four developers currently sniffing around.”

“I have to admit I’m torn,” I said. “On the one hand, I do love Foxtail Lake’s small-town feel, but on the other hand, a large resort will bring jobs as well as upscale offerings such as the new wellness center. I have a feeling if the resort on the north end of town doesn’t manage to get built, the life of the wellness center will be a short one.”

“I agree. And it is a complex issue with no easy answers. I just hope I can keep the pro-growth residents and the anti-growth residents from killing each other while the whole thing is worked out.”

“Maybe each side should choose a champion. Put them in the ring and let them duke it out, winner takes all.”

Cass laughed. “If only it was that easy.”

I began to stroke Ginny after she finally made her way onto my lap. Gus noticed the attention his sister was getting and appeared to be considering an appearance as well. Cass made cooing sounds to lure him out. I didn’t think that was going to work, but eventually, Gus approached him.”

“Where’s Milo today?” I asked.

“I was out near the house, so I dropped him off. I really didn’t want to take him to the bar, so it seemed like a better idea than just leaving him in the car while I went in to break things up.”

“Yeah, no telling how long that might have taken. Did anyone get hurt?”

“Other than a few black eyes, a bloody nose, and a bunch of bruised knuckles, I think everyone came out okay.”

Cass and I continued to chat about the proposed development until it was time to tuck the dogs in for the evening. Once we had, we made our way over to Naomi’s house.

“So tell me everything,” she jumped right in. “I simply cannot believe how this whole thing is unfolding.”

“Have you spoken to anyone about this other than the two of us and Hope?” Cass asked.

“Actually, after I got home this afternoon, I called and talked to Dex. He was careful about what he said, and I could tell he was holding back a bit, so after I hung up with him, I called and spoke with Toby.”

Cass blew out a breath. “I see. I hope you understand that we are trying to keep a lid on things until we can sort everything out. Not only are we researching Austin Brady’s disappearance, but now we have the added complication of Bobby Brighton’s death.”

“So, do you think they’re linked?” Naomi asked.

“Actually, I don’t think the two events are linked, but until I can prove what happened to Bobby, I need to consider the possibility that they are and proceed accordingly.”

“Why don’t you think Bobby’s death and Austin’s disappearance are related?” Naomi asked. “I heard either from Toby or Dex, at the moment I can’t remember which, that there was a possibility that Josh Underwood’s accident wasn’t an accident but intentionally caused, perhaps as a means of keeping him quiet.”

Cass’s lips tightened. “Yes, I heard that theory as well, so I pulled the original accident report and looked it over. It happened around ten o’clock on a beautiful spring evening. According to the report, a witness, who refused to leave a name, reported that he saw a white sedan come around the corner on the old prospector’s highway and veer into Josh’s lane. Josh overcorrected in an attempt to avoid a collision and ran off the road. Due to the sheer drop off, his car exploded on impact, and he died at the scene. I don’t think anyone suspected that the accident was anything other than an accident at the time. The white sedan didn’t stop, and the cop who investigated the accident noted that it was likely he’d been drinking. I’m using the term he in the general sense since we don’t even know if it was a man or woman driving the car and the only proof we have that the car even existed is an anonymous eyewitness statement, which isn’t a whole lot if you stop and think about it.”

“So, you think Josh’s accident really was an accident?” Naomi asked.

“I do. However, given the recent developments in Austin’s case and the death of Bobby Brighton, I am planning to at least entertain the idea that the crash could have been intentionally caused, but I really doubt that murder by automobile is how this will end up.”

“So, if you talked to Dex and Toby, they must have told you all about the mine?” I asked.

“Yes. They told me about the mine, and they told me about the hallucinogen. I still can’t believe Colin would do that.” She looked at Cass. “Are you going to arrest him?”

“No. Not yet, at least. All I have at this point is Larry’s word that the drugging even occurred. I plan to speak to Colin, but I want to get the report from the medical examiner as well as the lab’s report before I do. I’m not sure either will have any new information, but the last thing I want to do is scare Colin off if he is guilty before I have the proof I need to bring him in.”

“If he did do it, do you think he’ll go to jail?” Naomi asked.

Cass shrugged. “That isn’t up to me, but unless he actually did kill someone as part of the cover-up, probably not. He was just a kid pulling a prank. He couldn’t have known what would happen. And as for the cover-up, he was scared. Who amongst us hasn’t lied to an adult to cover up a mistake when we were twelve or thirteen? Having said that, I’d like to wait to speak to Colin about Austin’s death until I’ve solved Bobby’s murder. I’d really like to know for certain if they’re linked before I tip him off that I know about the drugs.”