Free Dying for Danish by Leighann Dobbs Page B

binoculars. No one needs to know the birds we are watching are the ones in the Toliver house."
    Lexy snapped on Sprinkles dog leash. Jumping out of the car, she left the door open for the little dog to follow. Cassie was already out. Removing her jacket, she tossed it in the back seat.
    “It’s so warm out, almost like summer!” She stretched turning her face up to the sun.
    Sprinkles tugged at the leash, eager to explore. The girls followed her lead, heading down the path.
    They walked in silence, enjoying the sounds of the birds, the earthy smell of the woods and the sounds of dry leaves crunching under their feet. They stopped to let Sprinkles explore and sniff along the way. Every so often, they got out the binoculars and trained them on the Toliver house.
    The path was close to the Toliver property. Now that the leaves had mostly fallen from the trees, Lexy didn’t need binoculars to see into the yard, but she used them to look at the house itself and the various out buildings to try to pick out anything unusual.
    After twenty minutes, Lexy sighed with frustration. “There’s nothing going on...we should head back.”
    The path had wound around to the back of the house. They turned to head back towards the car. About halfway back, Lexy noticed the path cut in right near the edge of the Toliver property, where they were building the new cabana. Lexy paused, looking at the construction site through the trees. She was so close, she didn’t need binoculars to see they were setting up forms to pour cement.
    She felt Sprinkles tugging on the leash. Looking down, she noticed it was wrapped around various sticks and vines, leaving the dog only about a foot of leeway. Lexy squatted down. “How did you do that, girl?” She was always amazed at how the dog could get her leash tangled in an impossible mess. This time was no different - somehow Sprinkles had weaved the leash in and around a cluster of thick vines. Lexy swore under her breath as she tried to unknot the mess.
    “Hey, there’s a truck idling out front with someone in the passenger seat!” Cassie, who had continued up the path, was now rounding the corner which had a view of the front of the house.
    Lexy worked harder at the leash.
    “It’s Bronson - he’s getting in the truck!” Cassie started jogging for the car.
    Lexy felt panic rise up in her chest. They had to follow him!  Giving up on the leash, she unhooked Sprinkles harness, scooped the dog up in her arms and ran for the car.
     
     
     
     

Chapter Fourteen
     
    Lexy peeled out of the parking lot, leaving a cloud of dirt in her wake. Bronson had a good head start, but the road didn’t have many intersections so Lexy figured she could catch up to him if she drove fast enough.
    “I wonder where he is going...and who is with him?” Cassie rolled down the window, the crisp air circling through the car.
    “That’s him up ahead!” 
    They had come to a long straightaway, the taillights of a big black pickup truck signaling to take a right turn were barely visible about a half mile ahead. Lexy stepped on the gas, praying the police had already met their speeding ticket quota for the month.
    She lucked out and the light was green when she got to the intersection. She turned right and saw Bronson’s truck about 3 cars ahead.
    They followed him straight down the road, taking a left when he did but being careful to stay a few cars behind. Lexy was surprised when he pulled into the upscale condo unit on the edge of town.
    “I wonder what he would want here?”
    “Don’t follow directly behind him - it’s too obvious,” Cassie said. “Go down this side road. We can keep an eye on where his truck is going by watching between the buildings.
    They didn’t have to go far. Bronson stopped about a half mile in. Lexy did the same. She held her breath as she watched his passenger door opened.
    “That’s Candice!” She said excitedly.
    The girls watched through Cassie’s open window as Candice