Poisoned Ground by Sandra Parshall Read Free Book Online

could have—”
    “Can you think of anybody who had a grudge against either of them?” Aside from yourself,Tom added silently.
    Hollinger looked at Tom, his eyes widening as if something startling had occurred to him. “The drugs. It could have had something to do with the drugs. I know they had the best intentions, trying to help sick people, but I was always afraid it might turn dangerous.”
    “Wait a minute.” Tom held up a hand. “What are you talking about? What drugs?”
    “Not the hard stuff, I don’t mean that. Pot. Marijuana. The Kellys have been growing the stuff and selling it for years.”

Chapter Seven
    Rachel was about to give Billy Bob a boost into her Range Rover when she spotted the strangers.
    A black SUV sat on the road. Three men in suits and ties stood at the end of the driveway and seemed to be studying the property, the man in the middle throwing his arms wide in expansive gestures.
    “What the heck?” Rachel muttered.
    At her feet, Billy Bob gave a low growl from deep in his throat.
    “Well, that’s definitely not an endorsement.” The bulldog had impeccable judgment when it came to people. Rachel wanted to get back to the vet clinic to check on a dog and a cat she had neutered that morning, but she couldn’t go anywhere as long as the strangers stood in her driveway. In any case, she wouldn’t leave and let them continue whatever they were doing. “Come on, boy. Let’s check this out.”
    Billy Bob kept up a low rumble in his throat as they walked down the driveway together. The gesturing man dropped his hands to his sides, and all three watched Rachel approach with bland expressions that gave away nothing.
    She stopped a dozen feet from them. “Can I help you with something?”
    The man in the middle, tall with close-cropped dark hair, flashed a broad smile that transformed his face from pleasant to handsome. He looked to be in his early thirties, barely older than Rachel. He said, “And you are?”
    Rachel stared at him for a moment. “You’re asking me to identify myself? I live here. You’re standing on our property, my husband’s and mine.”
    “Oh, sorry about that.” The man’s smile widened still more. He glanced at the growling bulldog, and when they made eye contact Billy Bob turned up the volume and bared his teeth. The other two men decided to play it safe and backed off the driveway into the road, but the guy with the smile stayed put.
    “My husband, by the way, is the sheriff of Mason County.”
    “Ah.” The man nodded as if he’d achieved clarity on a thorny issue. “I see. Does he happen to be at home?”
    Rachel folded her arms. “You haven’t answered my question. Who are you ? And what do you want?”
    “We’re with Packard Development.” He extracted a business card from an inside pocket of his suit coat and handed it to Rachel.
    The card identified him as Lawrence Archer, Property Acquisition and Management, Packard Resorts & Development.Frowning, Rachel regarded him warily, but his smile never faltered.
    “We’re taking a look around at potential locations for development,” he added.
    “This farm isn’t for sale.”
    He went on as if she hadn’t spoken. “It’s always best to work with the existing landscape instead of trying to remake it. For some purposes, a fairly level expanse of land is preferable, and plots of that description are few and far between in Mason County. This property isn’t ideal, but with a minimal amount of work it could accommodate a small airport and a heliport.”
    Rachel raised her voice as she took a couple of steps forward. “Either you didn’t hear me, or you misunderstood. This land is not for sale.”
    Her sharp tone triggered a fresh round of growls from Billy Bob.
    Now Archer took a step back, and his two associates moved farther away, edging toward the safety of the black SUV. Archer’s smile remained fixed as if it were an object plastered to his face. “We’d like to sit down with you and