Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

I t was nice to have Jenny stay for lunch and to help with cleanup for a little while. There was still so much to get done, and for Bailey, it was a constant struggle to keep from getting frustrated or overwhelmed. It truly made a difference, however, to have two of her friends there to keep conversation going and to make her laugh. Oh, they were both in rare form. Bailey didn't think she'd laughed that much in a long time.

When it was time for Jenny to get back to work, she left but returned minutes later.

Bailey jogged out to her squad car. "Did you forget something?"

"This was taped to your mailbox." Jenny handed a piece of paper over, a hopeful look on her face.

Bailey took one of the flyers she'd printed out about the lost goats. At the bottom was a note that said, "I think one of your goats wandered onto my property. Drop by anytime. We're keeping her safe."

Below that was a name, Fred Anson, and an address and phone number .

Bailey shook her head in wonder. "Wouldn't that be something if Petunia were still alive? Oh, the boys would be so relieved. What are the odds that it's someone else's miniature goat?"

"Probably not good," Jenny said with a chuckle. "I hope it works out. Make sure Nate goes with you, okay? Let me know."

"Will do. Thanks again."

Back inside the store, she showed the flyer to Nate. "Do you mind if we take a break and head over there? If it is Petunia, it'd be good to make sure she's okay before the vet's office closes."

"Sure, not a problem." He dusted his hands off on his pants. "Do you know Fred Anson?"

"Not really. I think we met them right after we bought this place, but we never really chatted."

"So he's never expressed an interest in buying your land?"

She blinked at him in surprise. "No, not that Joe ever mentioned. I hadn't even thought about a neighbor being behind all of this."

"I'm just looking at options. I can see someone wanting to buy adjacent land to expand what they own, especially if they have significant mineral rights. It'd be easy to get onto your property and back home in the middle of the night, too."

Bailey had a hard time accepting the possibility. "So you're thinking that Fred could've vandalized the goat pen and taken Petunia to his property himself?"

"I'm saying it's a possibility. I'm going to call the station and have them run a background check on him. See if anything pops up. Then we can go over and see if the goat he found is Petunia. "

"That sounds good."

Nate dialed a number on his phone. "Hey, Logan, I need you to run a background check on someone…" He walked to the back of the store until Bailey couldn't hear what he was saying anymore.

Seth was practically hopping up and down in excitement. "Oh, I hope it's Petunia! I'll bet the other goats will be so happy to see her again!"

She knelt at his level. "You need to remember that the man may be mistaken. It could be that he's found a different goat. We won't know until we get there."

"But I can hope. My teacher at church says it's always important to have hope."

His simple faith and positivity brought a smile to Bailey's face. "Yes, we can always have hope." She ruffled his hair.

While she waited for Nate to finish his phone call, she called Fred to make sure he was home and that it was okay to swing by. She'd just ended the conversation when Nate walked up.

"I spoke to a friend in the IT department. Nothing jumped out about your neighbor—no criminal record. Aside from a couple of parking tickets, his record is clean. It seems like a big leap to go from that to vandalism and issuing threats."

It did seem far-fetched. Then again, a few days ago, she'd never have imagined someone would be targeting her family like this at all.

They put a large crate in the back of Bailey's pickup truck, and Nate offered to drive it over to the Anson's place. The gate was open at the entrance, and a man was waiting on a four-wheeler. He lifted a hand in greeting and stepped down .

Bailey turned to look at the backseat. "You boys stay here. We'll be right back."

"It's good to see you again." Fred greeted her with a kind smile and shook her hand. The skin on his palm and fingers was covered in callouses. Judging from that and the well-used four-wheeler, he probably did a lot of hands-on work. "It's been a while. I was sorry to hear about your husband."

"Thank you." Bailey swallowed past the lump in her throat. "This is Nate Walker, a family friend." She waited for the men to shake hands before she continued. "I can't believe you might have found our missing goat. My sons have been so worried about her."

"You can imagine our surprise when my wife found her eating the bushes in her rose garden." He laughed with a shake of his head. "If you all want to follow me, I'll lead you to the shop around back. I really hope she's yours. I can't imagine too many miniature goats running around."

With that, Fred got back onto his four-wheeler and waited for them to rejoin the boys in the truck. They followed him past the house and garage and around the corner. A building that looked like a large shed came into view and there, in a small pen beside it, stood Petunia.

"It's her!" The triumphant cry came from Seth shortly followed by a joyful shout from Jordan.

Bailey breathed a sigh of relief. "Praise God." Not just because the goat was safe but because her boys no longer had to worry about their pet.

They piled out of the truck, and as soon as Petunia spotted them, she let out a series of long bleats.

Fred laughed loudly. "I guess that answers that question. I'm really glad you called me so quickly. I'm not sure that pen was going to hold her for long. "

The three adults watched as the boys ran to the goat and petted her through the slats in the fencing. Bailey had no doubt Fred was right. Petunia could get out of that pen anytime she wanted to.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Anson, for taking the time to keep her safe and let us know you'd found her."

"Not a problem at all. I'm happy to help. My wife went by your store the other day for sunflowers and mentioned the flyers you'd handed out. I'm just glad we found her."

Bailey was about to call the boys over again when Nate lightly touched the small of her back before speaking.

"Mr. Anson, has anyone asked you about selling your property recently? Or asked you questions regarding Thompson Family Farm?"

"I get an inquiry or two every year asking if we're interested in selling." He shrugged. "There's no doubt someone could buy this place, split it into lots with new homes, and make a fortune. But Ginny and I aren't interested in that. We raised our kids here and enjoy having enough room for them to stay with the grandkids when they visit. You know what I mean?"

"Absolutely." Nate gave him a nod. "Can't say I blame you. And no one has asked you about the Thompson farm?"

"Not a soul." Fred looked over at the boys who were still lavishing the goat with praise and pats. "Your sons remind me of my own kids when they were that age. Time sure does fly by. I have grandkids not much older than them now."

"It sure does." Bailey couldn't believe how much her boys had grown and changed over the last year or two. "Thank you again for taking care of Petunia. We'll get her loaded into the truck and out of your hair."

She hadn't really thought Mr. Anson was behind everything, but as soon as they'd spoken to him, she knew there was no way he was responsible. In some ways, it would've been easier if he had been.

Someone out there was determined to force Bailey to sell her home or destroy her business in the process. She prayed that they'd get a breakthrough in the case before things got worse.