The Silence of the Llamas (18 page)

“I’m sure the police were not happy to hear you lied on the statements. But coming forward about that was the right thing to do.” Dana’s tone was encouraging. “The activity on the computer will show that he was in the house during the time frame of the murder. That will be that. He’ll alibi out.”

“I’m not so sure about that. And neither is Ben,” Ellie said bleakly. “We had to hand over our computer and give the police access to our phone records and all that . . . but our attorney seems concerned.”

Ellie started crying again. She dabbed her eyes with a napkin. “Ben says it won’t prove anything. So what if they see e-mails or visits to our website? That could have been me, or anyone, on the computer. It’s not like he had a teleconference
for hours in the middle of the night. That would be the only way to really prove he was in the house all that time.”

“You have a good point,” Dana agreed. “But it shows something. Even though it’s not airtight. What about the security cameras? Were the cameras on that night?”

Ellie nodded. “They were on. The police took the CDs with the video from that night right away. Ben and I looked at the backup files, but we didn’t see anything unusual.”

Ellie sat back and sighed. “Why do we have to prove anything? What happened to innocent until proven guilty? Why do we need to go to all this trouble? It’s an invasion of our privacy. Ben didn’t do anything. He said this would never happen in the city, and I think he’s right. He thinks the police out here are just country bumpkins who can’t get out of their own way long enough to figure out who really did this. So they’re fixating on him.”

Maggie sympathized. Her own experience with the police in town had been much the same. But she didn’t want to fuel Ellie’s anxiety.

“What does your attorney think?” Maggie asked.

Ellie glanced at her and sighed. “He asked if there were any blocks of time that might be unaccounted for. Ben doesn’t really remember. He wasn’t on the computer the whole time. He went downstairs to make a snack. He dozed off awhile watching TV. It might have been the same time that Ridley was killed. The police haven’t told us specifically when that happened. Why would they?” Ellie sighed again and shook her head.

“Have they told you anything they’ve found out so far?” Lucy asked gently.

“Only that the spindle used to stab Ridley came from our
farm. It was one of the souvenirs we made up for the festival. I thought it was such a clever publicity gimmick. Now it’s being used to frame my husband for murder.”

Her eyes had filled with tears again, and she covered her face with her hands, shaking with sobs.

Dana leaned over and rested a comforting hand on Ellie’s back. “I know it looks bad but, you said it yourself, you gave out dozens of those spindles. Anyone at the festival could have taken one and used it to kill Ridley. That fact alone makes any case against Ben very weak.”

Ellie sat up and took a deep breath. They waited for her to calm herself. “Yes, I know. We thought of that. But I’m starting to think it was better when we lied. At least that covered the whole night, including the time Ridley was killed. I know it sounds terrible, but I would have stuck to that story for Ben. And a wife doesn’t have to testify against her husband in court,” she reminded them.

Ellie sounded desperate. But who could blame her? She and Ben were in a bind. Nobody said a word. Maggie felt so sorry for Ellie and wished that there were some way to help her. She sensed that her friends felt the same.

“The police are focusing on Ben more and more every day. And now that Ridley’s daughter’s in town, it’s going to get even worse,” Ellie added.

“I spoke to Janine Ridley today. She came into the knitting shop.” Maggie looked over at Ellie.

Ellie sat up, suddenly alert. “Really? Did she mention us?”

“Not at first. I told her that I knew you and Ben, and that I didn’t believe he had anything to do with her father’s death,” she added quickly.

“But she thinks so. I just know it. She’ll be pestering the police every minute to arrest him.”

“Ellie, it doesn’t work like that. Detectives are trained to ignore emotional relatives,” Dana assured her.

Suzanne had been quietly eating her pasta and now put her empty dish aside. “Follow the money. That’s what the police have to do. That’s how they can find the person who killed Ridley.”

Everyone looked at her. “What money?” Lucy asked.

“You’re kidding me, right? Don’t you hear that sound?” Suzanne cocked her head, listening. “Flapping wings high above? The development vultures circling, looking for prey. Property owners ready to sign on the dotted line. Once that open space zoning is off the books around here, they’ll swoop down for the kill. There’s huge money in this debate, ladies.” Suzanne took out her knitting and began to work—one of the fast and easy hat patterns, Maggie noticed. “Justin Ridley was definitely gumming up the works. A lot of people are secretly—and not so secretly—happy that he’s out of the way.”

“So you think his killer was connected to this zoning issue? Someone who wants the open space laws to expire and is willing to take another life to ensure that?”

“Yes, I do.” Suzanne stretched out a length of yarn and began stitching. “Someone who has a lot to gain and didn’t want Ridley and his group screwing up their payday. Maybe someone who has some bad history with him already?”

“But what about the rest of the Friends of Farmland? Eliminating Ridley doesn’t stop them. It might even energize their efforts,” Lucy pointed out.

“It could work either way, I think,” Dana said. “Sometimes
when a group like that loses its leader, it does fall apart. But Suzanne has a point. It could have been someone who had issues with him in the past for other reasons. This was just the last straw.”

Maggie sat in silence a moment, recalling her meeting with Janine Ridley.

“His daughter said she wasn’t surprised that he was killed. Isn’t that an odd thing to say? When I asked her why, she said it was because he was so different and some people react to that with fear and want to lash out.”

“This all sounds very likely to me.” Ellie’s voice sounded stronger and steadier than it had all evening, Maggie noticed. “People will do a lot of things when money is at stake. Even at the risk of turning Ridley into some sort of martyr.”

“Well, maybe he was,” Lucy said simply. “Not all martyrs were really nice guys—or women—you’d like to hang out with.”

“Saint or curmudgeon, this line of reasoning definitely lets Ben off the hook,” Maggie asserted. “What about your other neighbors, Ellie? Do you know of anyone who’s eager to sell their property if the laws expire? Maybe someone who also had issues with Ridley? Let’s try to follow the money and see where we go.”

Maggie sent a playful glance Suzanne’s way.

Ellie sat thinking a moment. “Good question. I’m not really sure. We don’t know all the other landowners around us very well. There’s a vineyard directly behind our orchard. Red Hawk Winery. They have a very good business going, so I don’t think they’re ready to sell. But there’s a farmer on the other side, Walter Kranowski. He grows potatoes and some
vegetables. Cabbage and kale, I think. I heard his wife died a few years ago and he’s getting ready to retire.”

“Or has some grown kids who are saying, ‘Hey, Dad, you’re sitting on a gold mine here. Let’s cash in these potatoes for some lettuce,’ ” Suzanne chimed in.

“Suzanne? That was a really bad one.” Lucy had also taken out her knitting. A scarf was starting to take shape on big needles, another charity fund-raising project.

Dana glanced at Suzanne, too, but didn’t comment on the pun. “How did he feel about Ridley and the Friends of Farmland? Do you know?”

“We haven’t spoken to him much. But one time we were chatting and Ridley’s name came up. It was clear that Mr. Kranowski didn’t like Ridley and also thought the man was an oddball,” Ellie explained. “He also made a few nasty remarks about the Friends of Farmland,” she added.

“Don’t you think the police questioned him and know all this?” Maggie asked the others.

“They took statements from all the property owners in the area after the murder. That’s routine procedure. But Kranowski isn’t in the crosshairs, the way they’ve focused on Ben.” Dana knew these things from her conversations with her husband. “He either alibied out, or they didn’t think his grievances against Ridley were the type to inspire homicide.”

“I wouldn’t cross Farmer Kranowski off the list yet just because our local police force has,” Maggie said. “Anyone else you can think of, Ellie?”

“There are the hippie organic farmers farther down the road, just past Kranowski’s place. They mainly raise goats and make
cheese. They’re definitely Friends of Farmland. But I think they’re pretty harmless. Angelica Rossi’s farm, Sweet Meadow, is over in that direction, too. We know what side of the question she’s on.”

“Yes, well . . . I still wouldn’t cross her off. She always seems nice enough. Very professional. But there’s something about her I don’t trust,” Maggie said bluntly.

“Me, either,” Ellie agreed. “But I have even more reason. I’ve told you about the rumors she spreads about our products. She’ll say anything. She doesn’t have any ethics or conscience at all. Not when it comes to business. Maybe she tells herself all’s fair in love, war, and business.”

“She was close to Ridley, too,” Dana pointed out. “They ran the group together. It is statistically true that most murder victims are killed by someone familiar. Someone they have a close relationship with.”

“I saw her come and go a few times from Ridley’s property,” Ellie recalled. “I wondered at the time if she was just using him to spy on my farm.”

“Did they have a romance or something going on?” Suzanne’s thoughts predictably turned in that direction, Maggie knew. But this time the question was pertinent.

Ellie shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“You never know. It could very well be,” Suzanne said to the others. “Which would make Angelica even more likely to be the killer . . . if you ask me.”

“I’m not sure if they were in that kind of partnership,” Maggie said. “But I do know there’s nothing like a common enemy to draw people together. Maybe they were working together to harass you and Ben?” Maggie said to Ellie.

“Yes, I wondered that myself. I even told that to the police,” Ellie added. “Not that it made any difference in their thinking.”

“Let’s just skip over why Angelica may have done it,” Suzanne suggested. “
Could
she have done it? She had easy access to Ridley and certainly knows how to handle a spindle,” Suzanne pointed out. “And we all saw her take one of the spindles from the festival. Which was, by the way, already coated with fiber from Ellie’s llamas and would have been an ideal weapon to frame Ellie or Ben.”

“That’s very true. Have the police questioned her?” Maggie asked Ellie.

“I don’t know. I guess we can get our lawyer to find out.”

Dana had also taken out her knitting. She was adding fringe to the striped scarf, which was otherwise completed. She looked up, energized by this line of reasoning. “Even if no one saw her around his farm at the time of the murder, she was one of his few friends. She could have come and gone without anyone knowing. Even his dogs knew her and wouldn’t have made a fuss.”

“Good point, Dana. We might be on to something.” Lucy turned to Maggie. “We know she has a tough side. Maggie saw it when Angelica pressed her to drop all the other organic yarns and carry her products exclusively.”

“But you refused her?” Ellie asked.

Maggie realized that Ellie had not been at the shop the night she related that story. “That’s right. I think Sweet Meadow is a very high-quality yarn. But I like to carry a wide selection and give everyone a chance. I’m not going to be told by anyone what I can and cannot sell. Some shops did take her deal. It was sweet,” she conceded. “But I didn’t like her yarn
that
much.”

“That’s our girl. Nobody’s going to push Maggie around,” Suzanne said proudly.

“Not at this stage in my life,” Maggie said with certainty. “Certainly not Angelica Rossi.”

“I wouldn’t doubt that she and Ridley were scheming together to get us off the farm. They both had their reasons for wanting us out,” Ellie said quietly.

“They could have been close but had some sort of falling-out,” Dana speculated. “It certainly would be to her advantage to try to frame you or Ben.”

“There you go. We’re not following the money now. But we are following the fiber. It’s almost the same thing,” Suzanne pointed out.

“In this case, it is,” Ellie agreed. “It’s all so confusing.” She paused and took in a long breath. Then she looked around at the circle of friends. “It’s fine to speculate like this. It does give me hope. But if the police aren’t thinking this way and looking into any of these possibilities, what good is it for me and Ben?”

Maggie and her friends exchanged glances. It wouldn’t be the first time they’d stepped in and helped the police solve a crime. Not that local enforcement ever welcomed their assistance. Quite the opposite. In fact, they’d been warned several times to mind their own business.

But the welfare of a friend—especially a knitting friend—was always their business. How could they not offer to help Ellie and Ben if it was within their powers?

“I have a good idea.” Suzanne sat up, her knitting in her lap. “Why don’t we all go to the town council meeting Thursday night? I bet most of the players in this game will be there.
Angelica Rossi, definitely. And probably Walter Kranowski. We can just sit and observe and try to figure out who’s really hot to unload their property. Or had bad blood with Ridley.”

“I planned on going anyway, out of curiosity. But now I have a real theory to work on. Reading body language and all that fun stuff.” Dana seemed excited about the prospect of putting her skills to use.

“I’m going to research the properties around your farm, Ellie, and do a few rough appraisals,” Suzanne told her. “Then we can match up the landowners with their likely payouts.”

“Great idea, Suzanne,” Maggie noted. “That will definitely give us a better picture of what’s at stake.”