Read Online Bluegrass Peril by Virginia Smith - Free Book Online

“Then he would have bought another one.” He swung toward Becky. “Did he?”
    “No.” She spoke with confidence. “He would have asked me to do that, and he didn’t.”
    The detective nodded slowly, then held Scott’s gaze. “You’ll look around for it? Let us know if you find anything?” Scott nodded. “In the meantime, may we have this one? I’d like to show it to the coroner.”
    Scott lifted a shoulder. “Of course.” He switched his gaze to Mike. “Could you run over to Shady Acres and ask Mr. Garrett if we can borrow a couple of hoof picks for the afternoon?” Mike nodded. “And Becky, do you think you could pick up a couple of replacements?”
    “Sure.” She’d stop by the tack and feed store when she made the bank deposit.
    Jeff slid his pen beneath the clip and snapped his notebook closed. He looked at her. “We need to get some prints from you.”
    His expression held a hint of apprehension, as though he was afraid she’d put up a fuss. Truthfully, Becky had considered it after the mess they’d left in the office. But if having her fingerprints helped them catch Neal’s killer, she wasn’t going to argue about it. “Okay, let’s get it over with.”
    They headed toward the house and Scott fell in beside them. The girls returned to the barn, whispering together, and Mike headed toward the road and Shady Acres.
    Scott spoke in a low voice as they walked. “You know, if that hoof pick was the weapon that killed Haldeman, it supports my theory that he surprised a burglar. The grooming tools are kept right out in the open on top of that workbench. Either of them could have grabbed it during a fight.”
    Jeff kept his eyes ahead as he opened the door for Becky to enter. Foster smoothed down the edge of his mustache with a finger and answered noncommittally. “That’s one theory we’re considering.”
    In other words, the police weren’t going to discuss their investigation. Well, that was to be expected. Becky eyed Jeff as she stepped through the doorway. Would he discuss the case with Amber? Probably not. It would be unprofessional. But just because they were being tight-lipped didn’t mean she should. While Jeff took her fingerprints, she intended to tell him about Kaci’s visit.

EIGHT
    “I ’ll see to it, Darrell. Don’t worry about a thing.”
    Becky replaced the telephone receiver. Darrell Haldeman, Neal’s only living relative as far as she knew, had been notified of his uncle’s death by the state police. He’d called from his home in Texas to tell her he was making arrangements to fly to Kentucky the week after next. Instead of a funeral he’d decided on a memorial service to be held while he was in town. Becky would help with the arrangements on this end.
    She eyed Neal’s desk. Making service arrangements was one thing. Going through Neal’s personal belongings was a different story entirely. She’d shut the door to Neal’s bedroom and bathroom, and as far as she was concerned it would stay shut until Darrell Haldeman arrived.
    But the desk was another matter. Its drawers held information about the Pasture, and therefore she needed to go through it to see if there was anything that might help Scott in his role of temporary manager.
    Might as well tackle the biggest mess first. She sat in Neal’s desk chair and slid open the deep drawer on the right. She’d seen Neal toss papers unceremoniously in there, with no thought of maintaining any sort of order. “It’s my To Be Filed drawer,” he’d told her with a grin.
    “I’ll be happy to organize it for you,” she had offered.
    But he’d declined. “Nah, I’ve got personal papers mixed in with the business stuff. Nothing important, though. All the horses’ records are in their file folders.”
    If only Neal had been as organized with his personal records as he had been with the retirees’ folders she’d given to Scott this morning. She peered into the drawer. “What a mess.”
    She pulled out the