CHAPTER.

24.

"I think it's about time for an explanation."

"What sort of an explanation, Ducky?"

They were sitting in her momma's hospital room, so Daisy kept her voice low. "Don't play dumb with me, Aunt Emily. We both know you've got a treasure trove of Pittsylvania County secrets stored in that brain of yours."

Her shrewd blue eyes were filled with laughter. "I'm not disputing that, Ducky. I'm just not sure which particular secret you're interested in at the moment."

"We can start with old man Dickerson and what you meant when you said he was responsible for the death of my daddy."

"I thought you didn't believe a word of that."

"I didn't, and I still don't. Fred didn't cause the accident. He wasn't at Fox Hollow when it happened. He wasn't anywhere near the place."

"Just because the man wasn't standing in the garden and didn't physically make that propane tank explode, doesn't mean he wasn't responsible."

Daisy tapped her heel on the floor with growing impatience. "So then how was he responsible?"

The shrewd blue eyes blinked at her. "Are you certain this is something you want to know?"

She stared straight back, resolved not to be sidetracked. "I think we're beyond that point, don't you? Considering Fred's deada"and Hank's deada"and my momma's lying unconscious in that bed over there."

"I suppose you're right, Ducky. I suppose there are times when what you don't know can hurt you. Although I doubt what I can tell you about Fred Dickerson is going to help you much."

Daisy leaned back on the seat of her folding chair expectantly.

"Fred had already been a recluse for a good long time when your daddy hired him," Aunt Emily began. "He didn't like talking to people or even being around them. That was obvious enough. But like all the rest of us, he still needed to eat and put a shirt on his back. Your daddy used to see him scrounging around for a decent meal and a dollar bill, and he felt sorry for him, so he started offering Fred odd jobs. Mowing in the cemetery, bushwhacking along the creek, digging out rocks from the fields."

"I remember that. I remember my daddy liked him and thought he was a hard worker."

"But Matt's daddy didn't like him," Aunt Emily said.

"He didn't?" Daisy frowned. "That I don't remember."

"There's no reason why you would, Ducky. You were married and living happily with your husband. Your pretty little head wasn't focused on an old wreck of a farmer like Fred Dickerson. Mine wouldn't have been neither, except your momma was worried enough to talk to me about it."

"She was? Did she tell you why Matt's daddy didn't like Fred?"

"She had a guess. A correct guess in my opinion. Your momma thought Matt's daddy was using the cemetery as a giant pot field."

Daisy chuckled. "That doesn't surprise me. Clean living was never Mr. McGovern's strong suit. He must have tried his hand at a hundred different schemes over the years. Cooking up home brew. Organizing gambling operations. Peddling insurance pyramids. Everything illegal but with the potential to make him a quick buck."

Aunt Emily nodded. "And the cemetery was the perfect spot for it. Back then it was all overgrown, so he could have planted whatever he wanted in between the gravestones. Nobody would have noticed. Nobody except your family ever went there. Not until your daddy hired Fred to tidy it up."

"I can't imagine Mr. McGovern was too happy about that."

"He wasn't. According to your momma, Matt's daddy wanted your daddy to fire Fred, but he wouldn't do it. The two argued about it. Your momma told me they squabbled for days, just like a couple of obstinate roosters. They were still quarreling the morning of the accident. They were so busy fighting with each other, they weren't paying enough attention to fixing that dang tank anda"" She paused awkwardly.

"I know what came next. There's no need to say it." Daisy sighed. "But you haven't answered my question. How was Fred responsible? It wasn't his fault something went wrong with the tank."

"It most certainly was his fault," Aunt Emily returned crisply. "Without Fred Dickerson, there wouldn't have been a fight. Without the fight, there wouldn't have been an explosion. And without the explosion, your daddy and Matt's daddy would still be with us today."

Daisy sighed again, more audibly this time. Aunt Emily clucked her tongue.

"Your momma agrees with me even if you don't. So did Hank. So did Fred himself. That's why he decided to live at Fox Hollow after the government took it from you. He felt a duty and obligation toward your family, so he wanted to watch out for the family home as best as he could."

She thought for a moment. "I wonder if that's why my momma asked Ethan whether Fred had been maintaining the place."

"Your momma always asks about the property whenever she hears somebody visited it."

"She's never asked me."

Aunt Emily reached over and patted Daisy's arm. "She doesn't want to cause you pain, Ducky, or burden you with more worries."

More worries? Daisy looked over at her momma sleeping soundlessly with the starched white sheet tucked snugly around her. There were so many worries already. Her health. The medical bills. The diner being closed. And now Joe and the other big-city folks and their unexplained interest in Fox Hollow. If her momma had been awake, Daisy could have asked her about a possible missing piece, some portion of the property that she might still own and could sell. But her momma wasn't awake, and the doctors didn't know when she would regain consciousness. They had done all the tests. Thankfully there was no sign of any permanent injury. She would be fine. They just had to wait for the healing process to move at its own speed.

"Aunt Emily?"

"Yes, Ducky?" She patted her arm a second time.

"Do you know anything about another piece of land? A part of Fox Hollow separate from the rest?"

The patting stopped. "Separate from the rest? I'm afraid I don't understand you."

"Bobby Balsam told me some big-city folks hired him to pressure my momma to sell the land, but that doesn't make a bit of sense to me."

"Big-city folks?" Aunt Emily raised a curious eyebrow. "Your momma wouldn't ever sell her land."

"Bobby said the same thing, and that's what puzzles me. Fox Hollow doesn't belong to her anymore. And I'm sure those big-city folks are aware of that. They might have been confused about it awhile ago, but they can't be now. Rick himself told them he's the new owner. So why are they still bothering my momma?"

Aunt Emily was puzzled too. "You're right, Ducky. That doesn't make a bit of sense."

"Ethan thinks maybe something funny happened with the forfeiture. A portion of the property got split off, and my momma went on owning it. But you've never heard about anything like that, have you?"

She shook her head regretfully. "I wish I could say I have, except I haven't. And that's not the sort of thing I'd forget."

"When Ethan first suggested it, I figured it was pretty improbable. If Fox Hollow had been divided into partsa"inadvertently or nota"I think somebody would have told us about it at some point, even if just by sending my momma a tax bill."

"Fox Hollow divided into parts?" Aunt Emily went on shaking her head. "Maybe there's been a mix-up with Chalk Level. Chalk Level has parts. It's got Fox Hollow and the cemetery and all those little parcels sprinkled around the edges."

"But everybody knows that. Those parts have been the same for ages. The only thing that ever changes about them is how many people are living in which single-wide. And as far as I'm aware, the big-city folks never asked about Chalk Level. They asked about Fox Hollow. The only person to ask about Chalk Level recently is Ethan, and that's because of what happened to Fred. Chalk Level was listed as his residence."

"In a way you could say it still is his residence. Didn't your momma agree he could be buried there?"

"She did. They couldn't find any of Fred's relations to send his remains to after the autopsy, so my momma told them they should just put him in the cemetery. She didn't like the idea of a person never being laid to rest, even if he wasn't family. There's certainly plenty of room for him. The place is huge. And how often is there a new grave? Hank was the first one since my daddy passed."

"That was very generous of your momma, especially considering the circumstances." Aunt Emily fussed with a few errant strands of hair. "Although I'm not sure how happy Hank or your daddy would be if they knew Fred Dickerson was sleeping beside them for all of eternity."

"He's not beside them," Daisy corrected her. "Fred'll be in one corner, and they're in another. But does that really matter at this point?"

"It matters plenty if the curse has moved along with thema"from Fox Hollow to the cemetery."

"What!"

"How many times have I told you not to gape, Ducky? You're not a baby seal waiting to be fed a mouthful of sardines."

"Aunt Ema""

"Nobody looks handsome when they're gawking. Not even you, Ducky. I'm sure Mr. Kinney would much rather have his romps with you when you know how to use your mouth properly."

"Aw jeez, Aunt Emily."

She smiled. It was that animated smile of hers that drove Daisy nuts. The one where it was nearly impossible to determine whether Aunt Emily was being terrifically canny or terrifically cuckoo. In this instance Daisy tended to think it was the latter.

"Cursed? The land is cursed and the curse could move? Be serious, Aunt Emily. You can't honestly believe that."

The smile remained.

"And there haven't been any romps between Ethan and me," Daisy added with some irritation.

"Not one?"

"Not one."

Aunt Emily wrinkled her brow. "Then I'm disappointed in you, Ducky. You haven't been using Mr. Kinney to your full advantage."

She rolled her eyes.

"Fiddle, fiddle. I'm only watching out for your best interests. The man is both attractive and convenient. I've said it before, but it bears repeating. He can help you get some of the answers you're looking for. And it's about time you tried bringing a new chap into your life, Ducky. Even if it's just for a couple of nice nights. You can't go on pining after Matt forever."

"I'm not pining," Daisy scoffed.

"Maybe. And maybe Fox Hollow isn't cursed. And maybe Fred Dickerson wasn't responsible for the death of your daddy. And maybe Hank's crash truly was an accident. But I doubt it. And when you think about ita"honestly think about ita"you'll understand what I'm saying. You'll agree with me too."

Daisy didn't bother arguing with her, knowing full well that arguing any further with Aunt Emily about sex and death and curses would be an utterly fruitless endeavor. And to be fair, not all of her words were kooky. She was most likely right about Hank. His crash most likely wasn't an accident. And Daisy was beginning to understand why. If Hank knew something about Fred and Fox Hollowa"and he gave the big-city folks trouble about ita"it could very easily have gotten him killed.

"Daisy? Oh good. There you are." Ethan stepped unexpectedly into the room.

Aunt Emily chortled. "My goodness. The timing couldn't get much better, now could it?"

Shooting her an admonishing glance, Daisy turned to Ethan. "Why are you here? I thought you were going to check with your office and we'd talk later at the inn."

"I did check with my office and it'd be better if we talked now. Assuming, of course, that's all righta"" He looked over at her mom.

"It's all right." Daisy rose from her chair. "Outside?"

"Outside."

Not heeding the admonishment, Aunt Emily chortled again. "Full advantage, Ducky. Full advantage."

Daisy was not amused, but she didn't respond, figuring that it would only encourage her. She followed Ethan into the hall.

"Can you leave?" he asked as soon as they were out of range of Aunt Emily's sharp laugh and even sharper hearing.

The question surprised her a little. "Leave the hospital?"

Ethan nodded.

"I suppose so. If it's necessary. I'd like to be here when my momma wakes up, but that could be hours from now. Why? What's going on? What did you find out?"

He hesitated as a nurse hurried out of a nearby room, then he dropped his voice cautiously. "I know why they want the land."

Daisy put her hand on his arm. "You do?"

"And I know how Mr. Dickerson was involved. I know what he did, and I know why they poisoned him."

Her grip tightened.

"But I need some help from you, Daisy," Ethan said. "I need you to take me back to Chalk Level."

CHAPTER.

25.

"Watch my phone, will you? They'll send the plat map as soon as they get it."

Daisy cradled Ethan's phone in her lap with as much care as if she had been holding a rare egg from an endangered swallow.

"Left on Highway 40?" he asked her.

"Highway 40," she answered absently. "Left." She wasn't thinking about how to get to Chalk Level. She was thinking about why they were going there. "Are you sure? About the drilling?"

"I'm not sure if they've started or how far they've gotten. But I am sure they requested exploratory drilling permits for uranium. I found them when I was looking for information on the forfeiture."