Organically Yours: Sanctuary, Book Five by Abbie Zanders (love letters to the dead txt) 📕

little over the top for their tiny, mostly rural, mountain town. As television show comparisons went, Sumneyville was more like Mayberry than Chicago or New York. It wasn’t the type of place where hardened criminals made videotaped confessions to be presented in a court of law.

They preferred to handle their own business in Sumneyville. The less outsiders involved, the better. In fact, Tina could only think of one instance in recent memory that hadn’t been handled in-house, and that was when the chief’s son had gotten a wild hair and thought it would be a good idea to go up to Sanctuary with an attitude and a gun.

They probably would have squashed that, too, if they could have.

That could explain some of the current animosity between some townies and Sanctuary, but there had been issues even before that happened. Everyone had a different theory. Some were completely ridiculous—like Rick’s ramblings about them stockpiling weapons (ironic!) and seducing women, for example.

Others seemed more plausible, like an age-old feud between Matt’s and Daryl’s granddaddies. Or the popular rumor that Matt had done wrong by Daryl’s sister, Hayley. Matt and Hayley had been quite the power couple back in high school before Hayley suddenly left town and Matt joined the Navy.

Matt and Daryl were probably the only ones who knew for sure. Matt wasn’t likely to say, and Daryl was likely to lie.

Tina and Doc waited. And waited. Tina got up and paced the small space several times—not just out of impatience, but also because when she sat too long, her joints got stiff and achy.

“What’s taking so long?” she asked, though she knew the answer.

Doc’s eyes followed her around the room. He knew the answer, too. Making them wait was a power play. A show of authority. Perhaps a punishment for bringing Doc along.

Well, fuck that.

“Come on. Let’s go. I’ve got things to do.”

Tina had her hand on the knob when the police chief entered with the fire chief right behind him. Neither showed surprise at seeing Doc there. In fact, they didn’t acknowledge his presence at all.

“Thanks for coming in, Bertina. We just need to ask you some routine questions.”

“Routine? There’s nothing routine about what happened,” Tina said and then asked a question of her own, “How did it start?”

“It’s still an open investigation,” Jerry Petraski replied vaguely, his eyes shifting momentarily to his brother-in-law. “You kept up with your inspections? Everything was up to code?”

“You know I did. You’re the one who did the inspections and signed off on the permits.”

“What about insurance?” asked Freed.

“What about it?”

“Do you have fire insurance?”

“Yes.”

“You kept it up-to-date?”

“Of course I did.”

“When’s the last time you updated your policy?”

Doc shifted in his seat. Clearly, he didn’t care for the chief’s questions any more than she did, but he remained silent.

“What are you implying, Chief?”

“Just answer the question, please.”

Tina exhaled. “About three years ago when I expanded the kitchen. Why?”

Fire Chief Petraski scribbled something into his notebook and then asked, “Have you had any trouble at The Mill lately?”

“What kind of trouble?”

“Malfunctions. Accidents. Unexpected incidents. Things like that.”

“No, not at The Mill,” she said carefully. “But there have been incidents at the orchards. And someone shot out my tire a few weeks ago.”

Petraski stopped scribbling and looked up.

Freed’s eyebrows pulled together. “What’s that now?”

“Someone shot out my tire,” Tina said slowly and clearly. “I was on my way up the mountain and—”

“Why were you on your way up the mountain?” Freed interrupted, shifting his eyes toward Doc accusingly.

“That’s irrelevant. As I was saying, I was on my way up the mountain, and someone was following me, so I turned the tables and began following them. That’s when they started throwing beer bottles back at me. They cracked my windshield, and when that didn’t stop me, they shot out my tire.”

It was Freed who said evenly, “You didn’t report it.”

“Yes, I did. I talked to Joe.” Beside her, Doc shifted again. “He took the information, but said since I couldn’t identify them, there was nothing he could do.”

An uncomfortable silence stretched out for several long moments before Chief Petraski cleared his throat and asked, “Can you think of anyone who would have it out for you? A disgruntled employee maybe?”

“What? No, I—” Tina thought of Eddie and clamped her lips shut. Eddie, who happened to be Joe Eisenheiser’s cousin and a volunteer firefighter. Suddenly, things became clear.

“Yes?” Chief Petraski prompted.

Beneath the table, Doc gave Tina’s hand a gentle squeeze and broke his silence. “Are you suggesting the fire was deliberately set?”

Petraski’s lips flattened. “I’m not suggesting anything until the investigation is complete. One more question: where were you last night, Bertina?”

She gaped at him. “Surely, you can’t possibly think I had anything to do with it. Why the hell would I destroy my own business?”

“Just answer the question, please.”

“I was home,” Tina said through clenched teeth.

“Can anyone corroborate that?” Chief Freed’s eyes flicked toward Doc.

“No. I was home alone until I got the call. Anything else?”

Petraski closed his notebook and sat back. “I think we’ve got everything we need. For now.”

“Good.” Tina stood up. “We’re done here.”

Doc’s hand on the small of her back felt good as they stepped out of the police station and into the sunlight. She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself.

“Well, that was fun,” she said sarcastically.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Doc

“Thanks for going with me,” Tina said. “I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome,” Doc replied as he opened the driver’s door for her. Thankfully, she hadn’t protested his tagging along.

Not that he’d asked.

Daryl Freed and Jerry Petraski—or Frick and Frack, as Smoke called them—were morons. Morons and bullies who, unfortunately, were in positions of power. They liked to remind everyone of that, using veiled threats and intimidation tactics instead of earning respect.

Like sticking them in a ridiculous interrogation room. Making them wait an inordinate amount of time. Casting vague insinuations.

Their plan had backfired. All they’d done was highlight the corruption within their own ranks. Doc was now certain that Joe Eisenheiser was behind the