Chapter 9

"Hey, Jo!"

Jo spun around, clutching her chest. "Raylene."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I didn't find anything over by the bins."

"Check this out." Jo pointed to the word "die" spray-painted on Carrie's trailer wall.

"Whoa."

"Whoa is right. We need to get Carrie out here." Jo made a mad dash for the house and found her friend standing in the kitchen.

"Did you find anything?"

Jo nodded.

"Bad?"

"Bad, unless you're into spray-painting disturbing stuff on your trailer wall."

Carrie's eyes grew round as saucers. "My work trailer?"

"Yes." Jo grasped her hand and led her out of the house, to the trailer where Raylene stood waiting. "In here."

Carrie followed Jo inside. She let out a small yelp when she spotted the graffiti. "What on earth…"

"I'm guessing you didn't do this."

"No. The trailer has been used as storage since I moved here." Carrie briefly closed her eyes. "I'm not losing my mind. Someone has been here."

"We need to call the police." Jo pulled her cell phone from her pocket. She placed the call to the Smith County Sheriff's Department. The dispatcher promised someone was on the way.

While they waited, Jo threw out theories about who it might be. Dozens of people had been at the property. Construction workers, reporters, roofers. But nothing else had been messed with except for Carrie's work trailer.

Deputy Brian Franklin arrived a short time later. Jo met him in the driveway and led him to the back. He questioned Carrie and then excused himself to question the on-site work crew.

Finally, he returned. "I have everyone's statement. No one seems to have any idea who would have messed with your trailer."

"But someone did." Carrie mentioned the tracking device. "I thought maybe it was someone else's, but am thinking now that the device fell off my van."

"Where is the tracker?" he asked.

"At my place," Jo said.

"I took a picture of it." Carrie ran inside and returned with her cell phone. She showed the deputy the photo she'd taken.

"Can you forward a copy to me?" He gave her the email address and Carrie promptly sent a copy.

"It doesn't look like your average tracker," Raylene said. "It was more sophisticated."

"And you would know because?"

"I'm a former bounty hunter."

"That's right. I remember now." The deputy turned to Carrie. "Are you living here alone?"

"I am."

"My suggestion is to find somewhere else to stay until we have a chance to investigate."

Carrie's brows furrowed. "This is my home. I have nowhere to go."

"You can stay with me," Jo offered.

"I don't want to…"

Jo cut her off. "You won't be imposing."

"Before I go, I would like to take a look at the surveillance footage from last night."

Carrie and the deputy left while Jo and Raylene lingered.

"I was thinking about Charlie Golden," Jo said. "We can't dismiss the fact the two just broke up."

"And we passed his car tearing out of here yesterday," Raylene reminded her.

Jo didn't want to believe Charlie was involved, but it was beginning to look that way. People did strange things in the name of love.

"There was something Carrie mentioned," Raylene said.

"About what?"

"The vehicle that stopped out front and turned around in her driveway."

"Which could have been anyone. Maybe someone was lost or curious about the place."

"After dark?" Raylene asked.

"True. If I was going to check out a place, I wouldn't do it after dark," Jo said.

"Hey." A breathless Carrie reappeared. "Deputy Franklin is such a nice young man. He said his dad is thinking about retiring which means he would be up for a promotion."

"Bill's finally retiring?" Jo asked. "Good for him."

"I was thinking," Carrie said. "I could stay at Claire's place. She has plenty of room at her house."

"It's up to you," Jo said. "I have empty guest bedrooms, not to mention a vacant unit."

"I hate to impose."

"It's no imposition," Jo said. "I would rather know you're safe than spend the night worrying about you being out here by yourself while someone is stalking you."

"I'll need to pack a few things. What about Mr. Whipple?"

"Your cat?"

Carrie chewed her lower lip. "I suppose he'll be all right here for a night or so on his own unless…"

"Someone breaks into your house." Jo waved dismissively. "Bring him along. I'm sure he and Curtis will hit it off."

"Thank you, Jo." Carrie hugged her. "Hopefully, it won't be for very long."

"You're welcome." Jo tapped the top of the empty padlock slot. "You'll want to track down another lock."

"I have several." Carrie removed a key from her pocket, unlocked a cabinet and pulled out a heavy duty padlock with a long shackle. "This one should do the trick. Good luck breaking this baby off."

"About the spray paint."

"I have the perfect product." Carrie rummaged around some more, pulled out an aerosol can, and began shaking it. "This stuff has a strong smell."

Raylene and Jo exited the trailer.

Carrie waited until they were a safe distance away. She aimed the can at the graffiti and doused it with spray. Grabbing a shop towel, she swiped at the "die." Seconds later, it was gone.

"That stuff works great," Jo said.

"Like magic."

"What do you use it for?"

"My forever creations…when I paint their nails. It removes dirt and grime so I can spruce them up."

"Out of curiosity, what is the most difficult taxidermy project you've ever worked on?" Raylene asked.

Carrie placed the can back inside the drawer. "Snakes."

Jo wrinkled her nose. "I think snakes would be at the top of my list. They're all scaly and creepy."

"I don't mind the scales. It's the complexity of their shapes," Carrie explained. "They lose their color and pigmentation during tanning, which is why I snap a photo of each piece I do. It helps me recreate the animal exactly as it was while still alive."

Raylene blinked rapidly. "You keep a photo?"

"Oh, yes." Carrie nodded enthusiastically. "I have pictures of every single one I've ever done and keep them in a photo album."

"That's interesting," Jo said.

"Back to the snakes. They're more difficult not only because of their structure and coloring, but I have to paint each scale by hand."

Jo grimaced. "You paint each snake scale?"

"Of course. Extra labor means a higher price tag, but people love their pets and will pay to keep them forever," Carrie said.

"What is the easiest?" Jo asked.

"Squirrels or mice, although not all taxidermists would agree." Carrie locked the cabinet. "I haven't taken on any new jobs recently. It's a good thing I set some cash aside from the sale of my house to keep me afloat."

"Speaking of house, Raylene thought of something," Jo said.

"When you showed Jo and me the video of the vehicle turning around, you made a comment about how it happened not long after you returned from running some errands."

"Correct," Carrie confirmed. "If someone was going to scope the place out, you would think they would wait until later, until I went to bed."

"It stands to reason," Jo agreed.

"Where do you park your van at night, after the construction workers leave?" Raylene asked.

"In the driveway."

"Can you show us?"

"Sure." Carrie slipped the shackle through the slot and secured it. "Good as new."

The women passed by one of the construction workers who was carrying a stack of boards toward the silo.

"Do any of the workers seem suspicious to you?" Jo asked.

"Suspicious?"

"Unusually curious, seeming to hang around, making odd comments, anything out of the ordinary."

"No. They're a good bunch. Of course, I don't chat with them often. Most of my dealings are with Barney," Carrie said.

"Barney hasn't fired anyone or had any sort of disagreement or dispute with his men while working here?" Jo pressed.

"Not that I know of."

"Yet, none of the odd instances started happening until construction began," Jo said.

"True." Carrie picked up the pace, hurrying to keep up with Jo and Raylene. "You two know how to get where you're going."

"We're not wearing ankle-breaking heels," Jo teased.

"Bad habits die hard," Carrie sighed. "I suppose I'll never be a country bumpkin like you."

"Country bumpkin?" Jo laughed.

Carrie's hand flew to her mouth. "I didn't mean it like that. You know. Someone who loves living on a farm."

"You're living on a farm now too," Jo pointed out.

"Then we'll be bumpkins together." Carrie slowed when they reached the driveway. She stopped in front of her van. "I park here at night or whenever I know I won't be in the workers' way."

Raylene slowly circled the driveway. "Not too close to the house yet not far away either."

"After the construction is done, I'll start parking out back."

"But for now, this is the spot."

"Yes."

Raylene shifted her gaze from the van to the front of the house. "Do you have motion detection lights?"

"One. It's on the back."

"But not on the front?"

Carrie shook her head.

"Someone could walk up to your house after dark undetected," Raylene said.

"I suppose so." Carrie's brow furrowed. "You're thinking I should install more motion detection sensors?"

"I would if I were you. Do you mind if I take a closer look at your van?"

"Not at all."

Raylene knelt next to the wheel well and ran her palm along the inside. She removed her hand, now covered in a thin layer of grime. "Do you have a flashlight I can borrow?"

"I have one in the house. I'll be right back." Carrie hurried inside. She returned shortly and handed the flashlight to her.

"Thanks." Raylene switched it on and beamed the light all around the inside of the tire's wheel well. After finishing, she checked the rear tire and then circled around to the other side to check the rest. "It looks clean."

"You were thinking there might be another tracking device?" Jo asked.

"Yeah. Carrie made the comment about the vehicle pulling up not long after she returned from her errands, which means if someone was stalking her, watching her, they had to have been nearby or using some sort of device to track her."

"Good point."

"Look around." Carrie swept her hand in a circle. "The fields are wide open. I would see them from a mile away."

"Which is why I thought there might be another tracking device." Raylene tilted her head, eyeing the back of Carrie's van. "There is one spot I haven't checked yet."

She stepped in front of the rear license plate and ran her hand along the back. "Bingo."

Raylene passed the flashlight to Jo. Using both hands, she wiggled the license plate. Seconds later, she removed her hand. In it was another black Trekki Tracker.