Meadowlark by Sheila Simonson Read Free Book Online Page B

crime
scene people."
    "Oh. Okay. Thanks." She didn't sound hopeful.
    I wasn't either. Tracing a man who didn't drive a car or use
credit cards was going to be difficult. I called Jay to tell him we had a
missing tenant.

Chapter 4
    I drove out to the farm Saturday afternoon around three. I
wanted to see it in daytime anyway. Bianca had asked me to stay
overnight, an offer I declined flat, with no qualms. Hugo's continued
absence was worrying but hardly an emergency. Bianca had
admitted everything was set for the workshop.
    The farm nestled in a meander of the Coho River. The tidal
stream emptied into Shoalwater Bay three marshy miles west of the
entrance gate. Above the open gate hung an arch of heavy timbers
with the pokerwork legend Meadowlark Farm dangling on a slab of
red cedar.
    I drove straight up to the cattle guard, past a pasture full of
ewes that looked as if they were about to produce quadruplets. A few
spindly lambs, much whiter than their mamas, watched me chug
uphill. At the cattle guard the graveled road dipped and rose in a
wide curve toward the house. The exterior of the huge edifice was
stained gray, an unfortunate effect. Bianca's house looked like a
beached whale.
    I parked in front of the main entrance and rang the bell.
Nobody answered it. I turned around on the porch, a stylized
verandah, and surveyed the countryside. It was at that stage when
deciduous leaves are just beginning to show and sun-yellow
forsythias and daffodils gild unexpected corners. A faint haze misted
what looked like an apple orchard to my left, and, to my right, as
promised, the house gave on a spectacular view of the estuary. As
was true everywhere in the region, the dominant winter color was
the dark, dark green of conifers, fading to blue in the distance.
Wintergreen.
    "Lark?"
    I started and turned. Marianne Wallace stood in the
doorway, looking anxious. "She's still out rounding up the kids."
    I was supposed to help Bianca question the interns about
Hugo. "Okay," I said. "My car...?"
    "You can leave it where it is today. The car barn's around
back." She gestured to her left. "Come on in."
    "Thanks." I stuffed my keys into my shoulder bag and
followed her through the main hall. She waved at the coat rack, and I
shed my jacket and purse. "Where are we supposed to conduct the
inquisition?"
    She was moving at the unhurried pace that seemed typical
of her. "Kitchen, we thought. I made coffee and spiced cider." She led
me across the dining room and through the swinging door that
opened on the kitchen.
    I stopped on the threshold, one hand on the door.
"Nice."
    "It is nice," she agreed. "Coffee?"
    "Cider sounds better." I sat on a blond chair by the big
butcher block table and admired a room that managed to be high
tech and friendly. The color-scheme was blond and hunter
green.
    Marianne ladled a cup of cider for me and gave me a
cinnamon stick as a swizzle.
    I inhaled deeply. "I love cinnamon."
    "It's cassia."
    "Huh?"
    "Most of the cinnamon used in this country is really cassia.
Tastes the same. Much cheaper."
    I hadn't the foggiest idea of the origin of spices and herbs
other than garlic. I sipped.
    "I'm worried about Hugo."
    I stared at her, curious.
    Marianne's round, pretty face drooped with distress. "Do
you think you'll be able to find him soon?"
    "I don't know. Not if he doesn't want to be found."
    She poured herself a cup of black coffee and perched on a
stool by the gleaming Jenn-Air range. "He should never have moved
out. I told him so."
    I said, "I think there are too many people for him here."
    "Yes, some of the time, but it was Del, too."
    I raised an encouraging brow.
    She sighed. "Del's always riding Hugo 'bout one thing or
another. Del don't know when to quit. I miss Hugo. And he's real..."
She groped for words. "Real fragile. I worry about him not eating. He
gets absent-minded about it, and then he has one of his stomach
attacks. And riding the bike to town in the dark--that's
dangerous."
    I murmured agreement. "Have