Chapter 5

Jo chose her words carefully. "Leah, listen to me. Don't talk to anyone. Nash is standing here. We're on our way over."

"Okay. Thanks, Jo. The police told me to hang around because they want to ask me some questions."

"I'm sure they do." Jo told Leah to sit tight. She ran inside to grab her keys and, by the time she ran back out, Nash had already pulled the farm's truck around and was waiting for her to climb in. "I only heard your end of the conversation. What happened?"

"Shane Barr, Dave's supervisor, was hitting on Leah. She told him she wasn't interested. He blamed her for ruining a bag of seeds. To punish her, he made her shovel cow manure, and then she said something about being sent to work in the milking parlor. She finished the shoveling and waited for him, but he never showed up. Next thing she knows, the cops are there and Barr is dead."

"Dead?" Nash tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "How did he die?"

"They found him with baling twine wrapped around his neck."

"Maybe he committed suicide or maybe it was something else," Nash said. "He wasn't popular. In fact, I remember Dave commenting about how he was a bully, but Kilwin said he got the job done."

"So Barr had enemies."

"If I had to guess." Nash cast Jo a side glance. "What are the odds he dies the day after Leah starts working there?"

"If someone was gunning to get rid of him and knew a former convict was moving in and taking up residence, then I would say pretty good."

They arrived at Kilwin Farms within a few minutes and found the place swarming with cops. An ambulance sat idling. The lights were off and Jo could see the EMTs talking to a group of officers.

Dave Kilwin was with them, along with what appeared to be several of the farm's employees. Leah stood alone near the side of the building. When she noticed Jo and Nash pulling in, she ran over. "This is awful. They carried him out on a stretcher. He's in the back of the ambulance."

"Tell me again what happened. Start from the beginning," Jo said.

"After you left, Mr. Barr gave me a tour of the farm. He kept making comments about how much he liked my hair and the way my jeans fit. I finally told him he was making me uncomfortable and to please stop." Leah snapped her fingers. "He changed just like that and started saying stuff."

"Like what?" Jo asked. "Give me an example."

"Threatening, about how he knew I was an ex-convict and would be watching me. Thankfully, he had me train with another worker all day yesterday and I thought everything was cool until this morning." Leah told them she was sweeping out the hayloft and Barr came storming in. "He blamed me for a bag of seeds someone dumped in the rain barrel. He took me over to the cattle barn, started chewing me out in front of two other employees, and then told me to go clean out the stalls. I shoveled manure for a while, as punishment, I'm sure. After I finished, I was supposed to clean the milking equipment but had no idea what to do, so I waited for someone to show up."

"Then what happened?" Nash prompted.

"The sheriff, some other cops, and an ambulance showed up. I ran over to see what had happened, and that's when I saw him, Mr. Barr." Leah's hands trembled as she rubbed the sides of her arms. "He wasn't a nice person, but I can't imagine anyone wanting him dead."

"Do you recall if he argued with any of the other workers, maybe someone got in trouble and he got onto them?" Nash asked.

Leah thought about it. "I heard another worker talking about him during our lunch break. He called him a jerk, but I don't specifically remember him arguing with anyone."

"A worker called him a jerk," Jo repeated. "Do you know who it was?"

"Yeah. Buzz. He was sitting with Jase, Mr. Kilwin's nephew." Leah bit her lower lip. "There was one more person, Sandi Ingram. She works in the office. When they saw me looking their way, they stopped talking about him."

"Buzz, Jase and Sandi," Jo said. "Have you talked to the police yet?"

"No. I guess I'm low on the totem pole seeing how I just started working here yesterday." Leah lowered her voice. "I'm sorry, Jo. I shouldn't have dragged you into this."

"I'm glad you did. You had nothing to do with this man's death. You barely knew him."

"Except for the fact that he assigned me the crappiest job—literally — and didn't seem to care for me after he found out I wasn't interested in him," Leah said. "I'm starting to wonder if taking this job was a big mistake."

Jo placed a light hand on her shoulder. "It's going to be all right. Yes, he may have been a jerk, a jerk to you and some of the other employees, but just because Barr made you shovel cow manure doesn't mean you were angry enough to take him out. There is also the possibility he took his own life."

"I don't think so. I overheard the police talking. He has some other injuries. I think they called them defensive wounds, but I wasn't supposed to hear that."

While they were talking, an officer made his way over. "Ms. McEllish?"

Leah stepped forward. "I'm Leah McEllish."

"I would like to ask you a few questions regarding Mr. Barr."

"Of course."

The officer cleared his throat and shot Jo and Nash a pointed stare.

"We would like to stay, if that's not a problem," Nash said.

"Joanna?"

Jo turned to find Sheriff Franklin standing directly behind her. "I'm surprised to see you and Nash here."

"My former resident, Leah, is working here at the farm. Understandably, she's upset about what has happened, so we thought we would come by to offer our support."

"Let's get on with this." The officer turned to Leah. "How long have you known Mr. Barr?"

"I started working here yesterday morning, which is when I met him."

"Was he your boss, your supervisor?"

"He was my supervisor," Leah confirmed.

"How would you describe your relationship?" the officer asked. "Was it pleasant? Strained?"

"It was." Leah struggled to find the right words. "He was my boss, and I didn't know him very well."

"In the short amount of time that you knew him, was there ever an instance where he may have said or done something to upset you?"

Jo could feel a heat creep up her neck. The officer was trying to lead Leah, to get her to admit to something incriminating. "I think you asked an unfair question. Leah hardly knew him, even if he gave her a crappy job or crappy jobs to do."

The officer cleared his throat. "I'm not talking to you."

"He made comments about my hair and my jeans. I told him he was making me uncomfortable. He seemed cool with it until today when he blamed me for ruining a bag of seeds and, I guess as punishment, he gave me an unpleasant job," Leah said. "I did it. End of story."

Jo silently applauded. Leah was holding her own.

"Were you reprimanded or written up, with the possibility of losing your job?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

The officer waved the sheet of paper he was holding. "You know nothing about this report Mr. Barr wrote about how you destroyed company property?"

Leah's eyes widened. "He wrote me up?"

"For destroying Kilwin Farm's seeds, valued at over two hundred and fifty dollars."

"Two hundred and fifty dollars?" Leah gasped. "I had no idea a bag of seeds cost that much. I wasn't responsible for it being ruined."

"Where were you between the hours of four thirty and six p.m. this evening?"

"In the main barn. I finished shoveling and waited around for someone to show me how to clean the milking equipment."

"You were alone? What about the office? Was anyone inside the office?"

"I don't know. I didn't go anywhere near there. I was in the milking parlor waiting for Mr. Barr to either show up or send someone to show me what to do."

"And when he, meaning Mr. Barr, didn't show up, did you go looking for him?"

"No. This is a pretty big place. I didn't have his cell phone number. He told me to wait there, which is what I did."

"Alone?" the officer asked.

"Yes. I would like to mention I heard one of the other workers calling him a jerk." Leah motioned to the group standing nearby. "I think it was him."

"We've already talked to the other workers." The officer studied his notepad. "Where were you most recently employed, Ms. McEllish?"

"I…"

Jo jumped in. "She worked for me for the past few years."

"And you are?"

"Joanna Pepperdine. I own Second Chance Mercantile and Divine Baked Goods Shop."

A flicker of recognition sparked in the cop's eyes. "You run a facility for former convicts."

"I do."

He placed a light hand on his holster, directing a whole new level of interest at Leah. "You're a former convict?"

"I. Yes, but I didn't destroy Mr. Kilwin's seeds. I had nothing to do with Mr. Barr's death."

"Don't go anywhere." The cop stalked off.

Sheriff Franklin waited until he was gone. "We'll get to the bottom of this, but I'll echo his statement to stick around."

The color drained from Leah's face as Sheriff Franklin walked away. "They think I got in trouble, was ticked at Mr. Barr and killed him. I could go back to prison. I'm still on probation."

"No, you're not." Jo grasped Leah's arms and gave her a gentle shake. "Your probation has ended. I signed off on it last month. Your record isn't coming back to bite you. The previous incarceration and this situation are unrelated. You didn't kill Mr. Barr. Yes, you might have been a little aggravated with him. Who wouldn't be?"

"But what if they think I found out he was going to write me up, have me fired, whatever, so I killed him?" Leah paced.

"You're innocent." A slow burn filled Jo. It was apparent someone at the farm had it in for Barr, took him out and was now trying to frame Leah. The setup was perfect. What better way to take someone out and then try to pin it on a former convict? "The truth will prevail."

The next hour dragged as Leah teetered between pure panic and a determination to clear her name. It was a terrible set of circumstances, yet Jo wasn't surprised. She thought about the worker Leah had overheard talking about Barr and asked her to point him out.

Jo found him and a few others standing off to the side, gazing in their direction, and a cold chill inched up her spine.

What if the three of them had it in for Barr, took him out and planned to use Leah as their scapegoat?

"Where exactly was Mr. Barr's body found?"

Leah led Jo and Nash around the side of the barn, past the corncribs and to a low set of buildings. The doors were open, and Jo could see tractors and equipment lined up inside.

"I think it was right around here." Leah pointed out a large ball of baling twine near the door.

The area was blocked off with yellow police tape, so they weren't able to get close.Jo pulled her cell phone from her pocket and snapped a picture. After finishing, she gauged the distance from the spot the supervisor's body was found and the location of where Leah said she was waiting for him.

The trio returned to their original spot. A familiar figure broke free from the group of officers and made his way over. It was Dave.

"Hello, Jo, Nash." He turned a concerned gaze toward Leah. "How are you doing, Leah?"

"I'm okay. I'm sorry about Mr. Barr."

"He wrote you up earlier today."

"I just found that out. He blamed me for destroying a bag of seeds, but I didn't."

"And he made you shovel cow manure as punishment."

"Yes," she said in a small voice. "I won't lie. I wasn't thrilled about it, but I also didn't kill him."

Jo almost burst into tears when Dave placed a light hand on her shoulder. "I believe you, Leah. Unfortunately, several of the other employees saw you arguing with Barr earlier today."

"He chewed me out in front of them but we weren't arguing."

"What happens now, Dave?" Nash quietly asked.

"Nothing. Leah is innocent. To be honest, Barr wasn't well-liked, but he got the job done. Some of my employees have filed complaints against him. In fact, it would be easier for me to say who hadn't lodged a complaint instead of who had."

"So any number of employees could have been angry, possibly argued with him and then took him out," Jo said.

"Maybe. Barr wasn't easy to work for. He's written up almost all the workers at one time or another. Leah just happened to be the most recent."

The officer called Kilwin back over, and Jo waited until he was gone. "Great. An unpopular supervisor gets taken out and Leah is on the radar. What else could possibly go wrong?"