Free Seed No Evil by Kate Collins

company.
    Carol was a small woman in her midthirties with brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, no makeup, the same green T-shirt that the other staffers wore, with black jeans and sneakers. She answered the same basic questions we’d asked Brian with the same responses, prompting me to write “Ditto Brian” in Marco’s notepad.
    Our next stop was the reception desk, where we asked the Friendly Sisters if anyone could verify their whereabouts after they’d gone home for the evening. Both gave their husbands’ names and acted highly indignant about being questioned. Marco didn’t bother asking them anything else.
    â€œSo what did we learn?” he asked on our ride back to Bloomers.
    â€œThat I need to call my mom so she can organize a protest march and that I’m going to need to eat something when I get back. Other than that, let me get out the notes.”
    â€œA protest march because of the euthanizing?”
    â€œYou bet. We’ve got to stop that from happening.”
    â€œSunshine, let your mom worry about that. We’ve got a wedding coming up, remember?”
    â€œYou’re right. I’m sure Mom can handle it without me.”
    â€œWhat did you think of Stacy?”
    â€œToo early to make a judgment call, but off the top of my head, it seemed odd that she was so dry-eyed after just losing her beloved sister-slash-best-friend. Also odd was that she didn’t know what Dayton had done to make Bev so angry and why Bev wanted to fire Emma. I mean, if Bev ranted about Emma in front of her, you’d think she’d tell her why. And wasn’t Stacy quick to name Emma and Dayton Blaine as suspects? Exceedingly quick?”
    â€œBut you’re not ready to make a judgment call?” Marco teased.
    â€œHa. You caught me. Okay, I’d call her a viable suspect. Stacy has no proof of her alibi, just her word that she went to the mall.”
    â€œWhat’s your gut feeling about her?”
    â€œI don’t trust her. I don’t think she’s being up-front with us.”
    â€œAbout what specifically?”
    â€œFirst, about her sister being her best friend. If they were close, Stacy would be red-eyed and crying at the mere mention of her sister’s tragic death. Instead, she grimaced twice. It wasn’t until she described the gruesome detail that did her sister in that she showed any emotion, and I’m still not sure that was real.
    â€œSecond, she basically called Dayton Blaine and Emma Hardy killers, then backpedaled, like she was trying to find a way to soften her accusation. And would she really come into work the day after her sister died? Shouldn’t she be calling family or making funeral arrangements or something?
    â€œThen there was her defensiveness when I asked about the change in shelter policy. That woman loves animals. Did you see how she was cuddling that puppy when she first came up to the front counter? I’ll bet she keeps the dog in the cage beside her desk while she’s in the office. And she had several photos of her with two big dogs. That’s not a woman who would push for a kill shelter. So why did she lie about it?”
    â€œGood,” Marco said. “Then we’re on the same page.”
    I loved being on Marco’s page. “Who’s our next interviewee?”
    â€œDayton Blaine, if I can pin her down.”
    â€œDoesn’t she work for the Blaine family business? Can’t we find her there?”
    â€œShe’s a member of the board there. I don’t think either she or her siblings work, per se. The problem is that she serves on many boards, so she’s always on the go.”
    â€œIf you can get her on the phone, you can pin her down, Marco. You know how to use your charm.”
    â€œWe’ll see. Dayton may be used to people trying to work their charms on her. It goes along with the territory of being megarich.”
    My cell phone rang and I checked the