Homeward Hound

CHAPTER 36

For a Thursday the field proved large. Bugden, a new fixture, drew the people wanting to hunt it for the first time. The land, rolling, pleasant, rested east of After All, nudging toward the border with Farmington. The owners intended to build a bed-and-breakfast catering to the hunting crowd since if you stuck a compass point into the center of the property, made a circle of fifty miles, you could hunt with seven packs. Extend that circle to one hundred miles, more hunts than you can count on both hands. One hundred miles, hauling horses, takes about two hours. In a car it’s an hour and a half. The young couple with the bed-and-breakfast dreams might make a living out of this yet.

Jefferson Hunt cleared trails, built interesting jumps, all of which pleased Kylie and Christopher Smith. They currently lived in Charlotte, North Carolina, but would move, start building in the spring. The owners of Mousehold Heath, down the road, another young couple, hardworking, rented them a little cottage on their land.

Sister liked having young people in the mix. She especially liked it when they bought property.

The hunt, a few good runs, ended with everyone at the trailers. Betty’s yellow Bronco, per usual, held the food, and Walter’s truck, the drinks. As it was cold, everyone outside, this wouldn’t be a long tailgate.

Every now and then Ronnie Haslip could hunt a weekday fixture. For Kasmir, Dewey, Sam, and others with flexible schedules or their own businesses, a weekday hunt sparked up the day.

Ronnie swore he did better work after a hunt.

Dewey teased him. “How can a lawyer do better work? Everything is precedent. You don’t have to create anything.”

“You’re too harsh. One can interpret laws in new ways. Nothing really is written in stone.”

Kasmir joined them. “My freezers have been investigated. How about yours?”

“I don’t have one,” Ronnie volunteered.

“I do. Two. One at the office and one at home,” Dewey told them.

“Why would you have a large freezer at the office?” Ronnie inquired.

“Big staff. Meetings with clients, construction companies. Best to not run out of cold drinks and thank heaven for the microwave. If we need to serve food unexpectedly, we can.”

“Dewey, are you running the microwave?” Ronnie lifted one eyebrow.

“No, I am being sexist and encouraging my secretary to do it.”

The three men laughed. Then Kasmir said, “It is unusual. Ben Sidell, and by the way, I am impressed with his work, went through everything at Tattenhall Station. I asked him what he hoped to find. He said perhaps a few threads from the coat. As Gregory wore an old English coat, he had hoped that the dye might leave a mark. No colorfast then. Anything, anything at all. My freezers were of no help but Ben is determined to solve this and I’m glad he is.”

“Might take a long time,” Dewey remarked. “Real crime isn’t like Netflix, know what I mean? Impulsive anger, that’s easy but something plotted out, maybe not.” Dewey shrugged. “This seems the work of a looney but a looney with brains.”

“True.” Ronnie agreed. “I wish I had paid more attention to Gregory. You knew him, didn’t you?”

“I’d met him at fundraisers but I can’t say as I knew him. You had that explosive dinner at Farmington. That was the first time I’d been in his company without tons of people around. I think fundraising is the second-oldest profession. Soliden is generous to many nonprofits, which meant Gregory rarely got a break. Someone was always besieging him.”

Ronnie laughed.

“I admire people who run nonprofits. Even if one has a deep endowment, still endless fundraising. And so many of the nonprofits around here are small affairs, horse rescues, saving a pre–Revolutionary War house, that sort of thing. The director of the nonprofit always has her or his hat in his hand,” Kasmir noted.

“Milford Enterprises is nowhere near the profits of Soliden, but nonprofit people work it over pretty good. Given the pipeline uncertainty, I am currently of no use to them.” Dewey downed his hot coffee. “I need warming from the inside out. Temperature’s dropping. The weather report calls for more snow.”

“Saw that.” Kasmir caught Alida’s eye. She came over.

“Nice run once we got on the other side of that stone jump.” Alida smiled. “Sister’s right to create a variety of jumps. Although putting together a dry-laid jump takes some doing.”

“Does. You take them seriously though, don’t you?” Ronnie added.

“Anything solid.” Kasmir looked up at the sky. “Low clouds. I think the weatherman is right.”

“Well, some snow is one thing. A storm like we had for Christmas Hunt, I sure hope not,” Dewey mentioned. “Well, that and everything else at Christmas Hunt.”

“You know I was talking to Sister. She brought up something I would not have considered.” Ronnie leaned forward. “She said whoever strung up Gregory did it before the hunt, in the dark of the early morning, and he was smart and strong. Probably used a pulley.”

“Why would she say that about the early morning?” Dewey wondered.

“Because his tongue wasn’t down on his chest.” Ronnie added this detail. “She said she talked to Ben, who told her the longer a body is hanging, the longer the tongue gets. Gravity just pulls it down.”

“That’s a vile tidbit.” Alida grimaced.

“Is but it’s those little details that often lead one to the right conclusion. At least I hope it does,” Ronnie said.

“My conclusion is this is about the pipeline. No special insight there.” Dewey put his hands around the heavy Styrofoam cup. “Did you read in the papers where Soliden has moved the pipeline farther south?”

“We did.” Alida spoke for her and Kasmir.

“I think Gregory was going to do that anyway.” Ronnie threw that out. “He knew what a mess it would be going up against Crawford and you, Kasmir. Two powerful men. Then again, it really wasn’t the best thought-out route. Too much floodplain, too many historic properties, and then when Crawford brought out the ground-penetrating radar, that did it, although Gregory was gone by then.”

“Why didn’t Luckham just say so up front?” Alida asked.

“Corporate politics. He had a board to answer to as well as the drilling company, which wants the shortest route possible. As for his senior management, I expect they were with him,” Ronnie answered.

“Ronnie, then why kill him?” Dewey asked.

“Damned if I know.”

“What would you do if you did?” Dewey looked at him.

“Go to Ben. Look, what evidence we have points to this being someone in our hunt club or someone close. Sooner or later, he’ll make a mistake. They always do,” Ronnie replied.

“Just so he doesn’t make it during a hunt.” Alida pulled up the collar of her hunt coat for the temperature was dropping rapidly.