With the quarry closed for now, she only had a small window of opportunity. Might as well cause as much chaos as she could right now to keep everyone scrambling.
She didn’t need a plan for chaos either. Which was thrilling. All she needed was the end result. There were a number of ways to bring that about. Wouldn’t it be fun to find out which one worked?
Smiling, she carried her basket of flowers back toward town with the poison tucked safely underneath.
One job done for the day.
Only two more to go.
Who would die first?
MONDAY, JULY17, 1916•MEYERRANCH
Eliza practiced what she would say to Dr. Masterson today as she rode out to the Meyer ranch. A few hours of chiseling away at some rock should help her mind. It was all over the place.
The way Devin had looked at her again... she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it the last couple of days. Why, she’d almost thrown herself into his arms! If she wasn’t careful, her stomach would fly away, there were so many butterflies taking up residence.
She’d risen early and written up a hasty list with a few short notes for him to read over before meeting with Dr. Masterson. At least it covered the high points he needed to know.
She needed to tell him how much she appreciated him. For everything. But with all these new feelings swirling, she was afraid of saying too much. Especially if they weren’t in private.
She slowed her horse as she rode up to the gate of the Meyer ranch. It was shut and appeared to be locked. Two men stood there with rifles. Their faces were streaked with dirt and sweat as if they’d been in the sun a good while already this morning.
“What’s your business?” one man barked and then spit on the ground.
The threatening note came back to mind. She shook it off. “I’m Eliza Mills. Mr. Meyer has given me permission to dig on his property.”
The man nodded. “Yeah, we were told you’d be coming.”
The other man opened the gate.
As she rode her horse through, she questioned the first man. “What’s going on?”
He shifted from side to side for a moment, considering her question. “Mr. Meyer will have to tell you that, miss.”
The gate was shut behind her and she urged her horse forward. When she made it to the creek, Devin was there standing beside his horse.
She dismounted and hurried over to him. “What on earth is going on?”
He wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. “Not only were more of Meyer’s animals killed, but seven of his hired hands were found dead this morning.”
“What?” Had she heard him correctly? “Seven?”
“Yeah. The sheriff asked me to stay here because he wanted to question both of us as well. It sounds like they might be suspicious of Meyer. But I have no idea why. Other than the fact that it’s his land.” His attention shifted to something behind her.
She turned and looked. The sheriff and two others with badges on their chests walked toward them.
The sheriff eyed her. “You’re Miss Mills.”
She swallowed. “Yes, sir.”
“Meyer said you’re out here digging for fossils?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Have you seen Mr. Meyer be violent toward his workers?”
What? She frowned. “No. Never. He’s a very gentle man. Quiet. He seems weighed down with grief every time I speak with him. I don’t think—”
