Part 12 (1/2)
”Care to phrase that in non-Mr. Wizard terms?”
”Red fabric dye.”
”So what? Weston was wearing a new s.h.i.+rt. How is that important?”
”Didn't say it was important. It might be, but it might not. Found it interesting, that's all.”
”If Weston was shot at close range, does that mean he died fairly quickly?” Stella jumped in. ”Because that would affect the time of death, right?”
Mills took a swig of beer and nodded. ”Coroner puts Weston's death somewhere between ten am and noon.”
”Hmmm. And what about Weston's truck?”
”Oh, we found that this morning.”
”Really? Where was it?”
”Couple of hikers found it parked on a trail in the woods 'bout an eighth of a mile behind your house. The keys were in the ignition.”
”How strange.”
”Most folks leave their keys in the ignition 'round here, but I agree with the spot being strange. A man working on your house would want his truck-and, most of all, his tools-nearby.”
”Alice said that Weston's truck was at the house when she got there,” Nick recounted. ”Maybe that's when he unloaded his tools.”
”Could be,” Stella allowed. ”She said he hadn't started work yet when she stopped by.”
”Right. But does that mean Weston moved the truck after unloading it? I mean, why would he do that? It doesn't make any sense.”
”Alice?” Mills asked, his face a question. ”You talked to your real- estate agent today?”
”Y-yes,” Stella stammered. ”You know how you get a brief warranty time when you first move into a house? We wanted to see if we could get ours extended since we're not actually living there.”
”And that somehow led to you telling her about the Weston case, did it?”
”Yes. How could it not? After all, that's what's preventing us from moving in.”
”Doesn't mean you should have told her about the truck though, now, does it?”
Stella blushed bright scarlet.
”Oh, go on. You were saying that Alice saw Weston's truck at the house when she stopped by.”
”That's right.”
”What time was that?”
”Between ten thirty and eleven o'clock.”
”Interesting.”
The waitress interrupted briefly to deliver their food.
”It is interesting,” Stella continued once the waitress was gone. ”Especially given the time of death you just presented. The only thing we can't explain is what motive Alice Broadman would have for wanting Allen Weston dead.”
”I've lived here my whole life, and I can't think of any. She didn't mention or hint at anything to you?”
Stella didn't want to put Sheriff Mills on Alice's trail until she had explored her suspicions. ”No, not a word. But even if she had, it still wouldn't explain why Weston's truck was parked in the woods. Have you come up with any explanation for it?”
Mills lifted the bun from his burger and applied a generous dollop of ketchup. ”I can think of a reason or two, but they're only guesses at this point.”
”Care to share?”
”Sure would, but the State of Vermont wouldn't be too happy if I did. They're none too keen on us throwing around wild theories.” Mills slid the ketchup bottle to Stella.
”No matter. We can probably figure it out.” Stella poured the ketchup onto the side of her plate and pa.s.sed the bottle along to Nick.
”We can? I'm not even sure I know where to begin,” Nick said as he doused his burger and fries.
Mills chuckled and dove into his burger.
”At the beginning.” Stella bisected her burger and dipped half of it in the ketchup. The sight of the oozing red substance triggered a question. ”Sheriff Mills, you didn't mention it, but was there any blood in the truck?”
”Mrs. Buckley, I shouldn't ... oh, h.e.l.l. You'll just wheedle it out of someone else, won't you? No, there was no blood.”
”Then we can rule out that Weston was shot there and his body moved to the well later.”
”Hmm ... you're pretty good at this. You a fan of those TV detective shows?”
”Not really. But my job in New York required a.n.a.lytical thinking at times.”
”Oh yeah? What'd you do?”
Stella knew from experience that explaining the duties of a tapestry curator would either bore the sheriff or launch them onto another topic entirely. ”I'll, um, I'll tell you some other time.”
”So if there was no blood in the truck,” Nick said between chews, ”we can a.s.sume that Weston moved it there himself. Right?”
”Weston or his killer,” said Mills. ”The fact that it was found only an eighth of a mile away from the house would indicate that the driver wanted to hide that truck but still be within walking distance of the house.”
”Okay, but why would his killer move it?” asked Nick.
”To buy some time,” Stella guessed. ”If we had pulled up and seen Weston's truck, we would have discovered his body much earlier than we did. Moving the truck to the woods-to where it couldn't be seen by someone approaching the house-would have ensured the killer a safe getaway. Now, if Weston moved it ...” Stella took a bite of burger and pondered what possible reason a man would have to park his truck in the woods.
”Go on,” Mills encouraged with a twinkle in his eye. ”You've done a good job so far.”
”Well, the only reason I can think of is that he was trying to hide from someone. But that doesn't make sense, does it? He was working outside for all the world to see.”