Chapter Twelve. Dinner was wonderful; we ate like kings and queens

Dinner was wonderful; we ate like kings and queens. Hannah beamed when she saw all the empty plates.

Mac sat back. "Hannah that was delicious."

Teri nodded in agreement. "I can't remember when I've had such a good meal."

Maggie got up and cleared the dishes. "I'll get the coffee."

Teri offered her help and followed her into the kitchen.

The rest of us went back to the living room and Mac got the fire going again. I sat in the huge chair by the fireplace and put my head back.

"Kate you need to sleep tonight, you haven't slept at all," Hannah said, giving me a worried look.

"I will tonight, thanks Hannah."

Teri and Maggie came in with the coffee. Maggie handed me a cup and sat down by the fire. She looked tired and drawn. I looked at my watch. It was eight-thirty. Once again, it felt like midnight.

"So, Kate, are you sure the intruder was a woman?" Mac asked.

"She wasn't strong enough to be a man and she was wearing perfume. Do you know any men who wear women's perfume?" I looked at Mac.

"Nope, do you?"

"No," I said.

He looked at Maggie, who shook her head. "I don't know many men at all," she said and I had to laugh out loud.

"Well, I knew a young boy who liked to wear his mother's hats," Hannah said absently.

We all stopped laughing and Maggie hung her head. "Aunt Hannah, please don't tell that story."

Teri and I were intrigued. "Go ahead, tell us," Teri begged. We leaned toward Hannah.

"Well, Eddy Walsh lived on our block. Walt, Tom, Nathan and I would go over to his house and there he'd be walking around in his mother's hats." She started to laugh, so did Teri and I, although we had no clue why.

Teri said, "And?"

She gave us a confused looked. "And what, dear?"

"And what did he do then?" I asked.

"Nothing, he just wore his mother's hats," Hannah said.

Teri and I sat there with our mouths open. Then we looked at each other and sat back. I looked at Maggie and she gave me an "I told you so," look.

Hannah stood and stretched. "I'll get the apple pie ready. Mac, my darling, can I bribe you for some assistance?"

Mac followed her into the kitchen. "Hannah, for pie I'd follow you anywhere."

"Don't speak too soon, Mac. You haven't tasted my pie. I could be a murder suspect."

Teri and I stared at the kitchen door and I blinked a couple of times.

"Well, that's Aunt Hannah," Maggie said.

"She is adorable. You're very lucky," Teri said.

"Yes, she has been a Godsend. That's for sure," Maggie agreed as she played with the ring on her finger.

"Do you have any idea who's doing this?" Teri asked.

"Teri, I wish I did. I've been racking my brain," Maggie said.

I got up and started pacing. I saw Teri lean over to Maggie, "She's in her thinking mode. Pretty soon she'll..."

"Run her fingers through her hair and rub her forehead," Maggie interrupted her.

Teri nodded. "She's already done that, I take it."

Maggie nodded with a wink and I could feel her watching me.

Mac and Hannah came out of the kitchen with dessert and Hannah fixed everyone a plate while we talked.

In the middle of our conversation, Hannah walked to the French doors.

"What's wrong?" I asked and followed her look.

"I don't know, I thought I saw a light down at the stable. My imagination, I guess."

Now my curiosity was piqued. I got up and went to the door. Then I saw it too. It was a faint light coming from the stable.

Mac was standing behind me. "What is that?" he asked.

"Shit! The stable's on fire!" I turned to Hannah. "Call the fire department."

When we got to the stable, the huge door was ajar. As I opened the door, smoke billowed out. The hay had caught fire. I quickly searched for something to put it out.

Mac and Teri grabbed a couple of horse blankets from the ledge and tried to smother the flames. There was smoke everywhere. I heard the horses and realized I needed to get them out.

Maggie and I ran to the stalls and opened them, then went in and opened the back door so they could run free. The last stall was Thunder. He stomped and reared as I approached. I looked through the smoke and saw something heaped in the corner of his stall. I tried desperately to get past Thunder. I couldn't see a thing. I got closer and Thunder reared again and, as his hoofs came down, I jumped out of the way.

It was then I realized the heap in the corner was Bedford. I needed to get Thunder out of that stall and out of my way so I could get to Bedford.

Maggie apparently realized this as well, and ran around to open the outer stall door. She grabbed Thunder's bridle and pulled him out of the stable so he could run free.

Maggie and I struggled to pull Bedford out of the stall. I looked up to see Mac and Teri, who were completely disoriented. The fire was out of control. If we didn't move fast, we'd all go up in flames. "Mac, forget it! Take Teri and get out!"

Maggie and I pulled Bedford safely away from the burning stable, but I couldn't see Mac or Teri. "Stay with him," I yelled to Maggie and headed back into the stable.

Just as I got into the stall, a heavy beam collapsed in front of me, blocking my way. I jumped back, knowing I couldn't get in. The smoke engulfed the stable and the flames seemed to be everywhere at once.

I ran around the front of the stable and was shocked to see the doors closed and a shovel jammed through the handles. I yanked the shovel free and pulled the doors open.

The smoke billowed out and Mac and Teri stumbled into the fresh night air.

In the distance, we heard the sirens.

"Ah, the cavalry, just in time," I said.

Mac and Teri were coughing as they collapsed on the ground, gasping for air.

Firefighters rushed onto the scene, trying to control the burning stable. The paramedics had Bedford on a gurney, wheeling him toward the ambulance with Maggie at his side.

"Bedford, you'll be fine," I heard Maggie say as I approached and stood next to her. He reached up and grabbed Maggie's wrist and pulled her to him. "Please Bedford, lie still," she said.

"I never told," he whispered. I leaned in, as did Maggie.

"Never told who?" Maggie asked. Bedford coughed violently and kept his vice grip on her wrist.

"Secrets, so many secrets." His voice came out in a desperate whisper.

Then he said something else that both Maggie and I could barely hear. It sounded to me like he said "love." I leaned back as he closed his eyes.

I stood there numbly staring at Bedford's still body. Finally, he let go of Maggie and the paramedics lifted him into the ambulance.

Behind us, the fire department soaked the smoldering rubble while Steve and his deputy directed the traffic. Mac was standing now, with his arm around Hannah, who was sobbing. Teri was close by.

We watched as the ambulance drove out of sight.

"You three look like hell," Steve said. "What happened?"

"Not now, Steve," Maggie said quickly. "I need to get Kate and her family to the clinic. You can drive. We should have gotten another ambulance. Aunt Hannah, please stay here."

"I'll leave my deputy with her," Steve said.

We drove in relative silence to the clinic. The ambulance was already there. The paramedics met us at the door as they were coming out. Maggie talked to them for a moment or two. When I saw her shoulders slump, I knew. I felt the tears catch in my throat.

"Let's go. You all need to get checked out. Doc's with Bedford," Maggie said in a tired voice. She looked at our questioning faces and shook her head.

She examined Mac and Teri first. "You're next," she said, and beckoned me into the small examining room.

I sat on the table and Maggie snapped on another pair of gloves. She reached up and pulled the dirty bandage off my forehead and I caught my breath and flinched.

She winced. "Sorry," she whispered, surprisingly gentle.

When she was finished, she stripped off the gloves, tossing them in a nearby wastebasket. She then turned to me. I took a deep quivering breath and, as I reached up to rub my forehead, she held my arm.

"Don't do that, you're filthy," she said.

Then, unexpectedly, she reached up and brushed the hair off my forehead. Her fingers lingered for a moment.

She gave me a worried look. "Are you all right?" she asked.

I nodded. "And you?" She said nothing, and when I saw her bottom lip quiver, my heart broke. "Bedford's dead, isn't he?" I asked. The tears welled up in her blue eyes and I whispered, "I'm so sorry, Maggie."

Maggie put her hand on my shoulder. "I know. I can't believe it. What a horrible accident, Kate," she said.

I thought of the shovel wedged through the handles of the stable door, and, of course, thought of everything else that has been happening since I drove into this town. "I don't think it was an accident, Maggie."

I looked into her eyes and saw the realization there. She blinked several times but said nothing. She just flopped down on the table next to me. Instinctively, I put my arm around her small shoulders and pulled her close. She clung to me and quietly cried for a moment or two. She looked up then with sad eyes and I reached down and ran my thumb over her cheek, wiping away the tears.

"C'mon. We need to tell Steve," I said.

Doc was talking with Mac, Teri and Steve when Maggie and I came out.

"Your family told me what happened, Kate. Could you see how the fire started?" Steve asked.

"No, but I don't think it was an accident, Steve," I said, and now all eyes were on me.

After everyone cleaned up, we sat at the kitchen table.

"Okay, Kate. Let's hear it," Steve said.

"After Maggie and I got Bedford out of the stall, I tried to go back in to get Mac and Teri. The stall entrance was blocked, so I ran around to the front of the stable. There was a shovel wedged through the handles of the stable doors. I had to yank it out in order to open them. It doesn't take a great detective, which I am not, to know someone put it there. And I'm thinking whoever it was started the fire."

There was silence around the table. Steve took a deep breath. "Any ideas?" he asked.

"Well, I think the only one who knew was Bedford," I said. I then thought of my conversation with him earlier in the day. "I had a talk with Bedford this morning after Chance found Miranda's jewelry. He said he talked to you and the deputies outside after the intruder incident. He was cryptic..."

"Who? Bedford? I didn't talk to him. I didn't see him until he was walking up to Maggie's car," Steve said.

"Okay, then he was not being cryptic, he was lying," I said.

"Why lie about that?" Maggie asked and I shrugged.

"Maybe he didn't want anyone to know what he was doing," Teri offered.

"What could he be doing at that time of night?" Mac asked.

"Well, because of his limp, he couldn't be the intruder, that's for sure," Steve said, and I nodded in agreement.

"But if he was outside, wouldn't he have seen something?" Maggie asked.

As I listened to everyone, my mind raced recounting the conversation with Bedford once again. "Yes, I think he probably would have," I said. "I think Bedford knew much more than we'll ever know. For instance, he told me that Maggie saddled her horse that morning. Maggie told me it was already saddled and ready for her. Did he lie? Perhaps. He lied about talking to Steve. What else was he lying about?

"After I met your Aunt Sarah, I overheard them. Sarah asked Bedford what he had said to me. He told her he said nothing, but then for some reason he brought up Alexander Winfield," I said and looked right at Hannah.

It was then I realized the Hannah had been conspicuously silent. I looked at her as she sat at the head of the table. Our eyes met and for an instant, I got that old feeling. Though it had been many years since my investigating days, I could still recognize that look.

Hannah knew something.