He's Got Her Goat Read Online Free PDF Page B

into the bathroom and ran out to the barn.” She rushed to Dunn’s side. “Blanche was milking and had clipped the doe’s ear in the stanchion, don’t you see?”
    His face was blank.
    She held up the folded towel. “Here’s the evidence. I threw the towel on the bathroom floor. I'm sure of it. Now it’s folded.” Dunn seemed to be processing what she said, and she could feel hope lifting her. “See? She was here. I told you.”
    “The bathroom, huh?” Turning, he walked back out to the living area before facing her again. He rubbed his chin while scanning the room once more. “The way I see it, we might want to let this one go,” he said at last.
    “What are you talking about?” Paige clutched the towel.
    “Well, Ms. Lindon, a woman who no one else has seen, who is older and shorter than you, who was volunteering to milk your goats for free, broke into your house to use the bathroom. Did I leave anything out?”
    In the pause that followed Paige accepted how hopeless the situation was. Still, she couldn’t swallow that letting it go was the right thing to do. “If this is officially reported, I suppose that’s good enough. Then if something else happens, I have documentation.”
    He nodded. “Alright, but I have a few more questions.”
    Paige felt her mind beginning to clear. She took out her cell to check the time and remembered it was dead. She had to get back. “How much longer do you think this will take? You see I left my booth with a stranger and . . .”
    The deputy lifted his hands as if stopping traffic. “Wait, you let a stranger milk your goats and another watch your booth? Don’t tell me you took candy from one of them.”
    She didn’t respond to his belly laugh except to fold her arms.
    Dunn grew serious again. “I’d suggest you hightail it back to your booth, close it for the day and then return here. I can watch the place till you get back. Then get a good night sleep, get your thoughts together and head down to the station for an official statement tomorrow. From the way I see it, you could use the break.”
    “No.” Losing two days of work was something she wouldn’t consider. And what if Blanche was looking for her next target right now? Someone else to lie to and steal from? No matter how tired she was, she couldn’t let that happen. There was only one decision. “I want to go to the station now.”
    “If you’re sure.” Deputy Dunn headed to his car. “We could do a search of mug shots if she’s in the system and maybe even get a composite drawing. It could take a while.”
    “That’s alright,” she said even though she knew it wasn’t, but what other choice did she have?

 
    Chapter Five

    M URKY WATER SWIRLED DOWN the open storm drain as Sterling walked over to the faucet to rinse out the wooden bucket and fill it again, so the pump would be ready for the next morning. There were still a few vendors closing up their booths. He guessed it was nearly eight, but that was only a guess. In his hurry to get this assignment over with, he’d forgotten his cell on his bed stand. One thing he knew— he was done waiting. Once he replaced the water, he’d catch the bus back home and be finished, whatever the consequences. Unlike the other assignments he’d taken, this didn’t feel right. The sooner he put this whole mess behind him, the better. It was Friday night. Certainly, the buses would run 'til at least ten.
    Without a handle, the full bucket was awkward to carry. He sloshed cold water against his shirt twice before he figured out he had to watch the water’s surface to keep it steady. Unfortunately, that’s why he didn’t notice the man standing by the goat soap booth until he was only a few feet behind his back. Paige was there too. Her face shown in the moonlight. She stared at her visitor with a look that seemed alien to the confident woman he’d met that morning. Neither seemed to notice Sterling in the shadows.
    Paige scowled. “I’d say yes to