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call the cops.  We show up, tell him to drop his weapon, he refuses, maybe even fires at us, and we’re forced to take him out.  Happens more often than you want to know.”
    I hoped I wouldn’t regret making the call.  “If I tell you my suspicions and I’m wrong, it could really mess up someone’s life, okay?”  Why I cared if I messed up Roger’s life was beyond me.  He’d put me through hell without a twinge of guilt.
    “Fair enough,” Dave finally said.  “I’ll see what I can find out.”
    “Thanks, Dave.” 
    I almost hung up when Dave’s voice stopped me.  “Hey, Kate, you still there?”
    “Yeah?”
    “Your suspicions wouldn’t also have anything to do with that girl who went missing two nights ago, would they?”
    “What girl?” 
    “Beth Messina.  She lives up in your neck of the woods.  Lockeford.  Her folks reported her missing yesterday.”
    “No,” I said.  “I hadn’t heard about her.”
     
    Just as I was about to fix a turkey and havarti cheese sandwich for lunch, my phone rang.  It was Monica.
    “My eleven-thirty cancelled.  Want to have lunch?” she said.
    “Bean Sprout Café?”
    “Hell, no.  Rosetti’s.  Ten minutes?”
    There was no point in attempting to negotiate.  I put the turkey and cheese back in the refrigerator.  “You buying?”
    “Is that the deal?”
    “You pick, you buy.  Besides, I’m broke.”
    “Again?”
    “Still.”
    By the time I got cleaned up and drove to Rosetti’s, Monica was already there, soaking a piece of bread in a plate of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  She was wearing her usual work attire: putty-colored coveralls, Roper boots and a pale-blue baseball cap with ‘Valley Veterinary Clinic’ embroidered across the front.
    “How’s Henry?” I asked as I pulled out a chair.
    “Grouchy, as usual,” Monica said.  “Never marry a cattle rancher.”
    “I told you he had an ulterior motive for proposing.  Only lady vet for a hundred miles who’ll work on anything bigger than a hamster.”
    “And here I thought it was my good looks and charm.”
    We both laughed and reached for more bread.
    “So?  How’d it go with Roger?  You kick him like I asked?”
     “No.  Too many witnesses.”
    “Aw hell.  That wouldn’t have stopped me.”
    “I can’t afford a lawyer like you can.”
    “Well, if I hear about him sniffin’ around here again, I’ll have Henry and his boys run him out of town.”
    “Don’t you dare.  Roger’s not… he’s having some psychological problems, and he still has his gun collection.  I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
    “What the hell brought him back here, anyway?”
    “His wife left him.  He probably won’t be back.  I wasn’t all the friendly to him.”
    “Friendlier than his wife, I’m guessing.  Just be careful.”
     
    After lunch, I drove to Home Depot and bought motion-sensor lights for both my front and back doors.  My Mastercard was declined because I’d reached my credit limit, so I stuffed it back in my wallet and fished out my new Visa card.  I prayed that my grapes would be harvested soon so I could finally get paid for my crop and pay off all these credit card balances and usurious interest fees. 
    I’d scheduled an electrician from Valley Springs to install an automatic gate opener next week.  Luckily, I’d taken out enough of a cash advance to cover both his and Andy Carmichael’s fees.  
    When I turned off the highway toward home, I crossed the railroad tracks that parallel Highway 12 and noticed an unmarked police car—Ford Crown Victoria with special plates and extra antennas gave it away.  It was parked near the bridge over the seasonal creek that cuts through my property.  I parked behind the car and got out of the Prius.  A man in black jeans and a black T-shirt climbed out of the unmarked car and walked toward me.  He was about fifty, with short-cropped salt and pepper hair and a muscular build.
    “Is there a problem?” I