Buzz Off - By Hannah Reed Page 0,100

saying, sounding proud.

“Like what?”

“I have the hives. That’s what’s most important.”

“Where are Manny’s beehives?” I asked.

“My parent’s farm out on Highway E. And I’ll get yours, too. Good thing I phoned in the fire alert or those idiots would have destroyed your hives. The board was going to vote against you, you know.”

“All this extra trouble just to get my two measly hives? Getting greedy will do you in.”

“You always had such a smart mouth.” Ray came closer.

“What did Kenny do to deserve to die?”

“We had a bargain. He was going to be my silent partner, buy the property, since Manny was dead and Grace would be easy to convince. I would raise strong bees using Manny’s research notes. We’d take over the entire territory. Then Kenny started getting suspicious, asking too many questions about Manny’s death. When I couldn’t produce the journal, he tried to back out. But a deal’s a deal.”

“So you shot him?”

“I call it tying up loose ends. Just like I’m going to tie up this one.”

“You’re the one who sent the e-mail to the cops, trying to frame me for Faye’s murder.”

Ray smiled and I wondered why I hadn’t ever noticed before how nasty his smile really was. “After I realized I killed the wrong woman, I thought it might be fun to see you in jail. Too bad the police chief didn’t bite.”

I had been scooting backward on the ground and circling so I could see Ben, all the time thinking of command possibilities while bees flew overhead like clouds. I noticed when Ray said that last sentence about the police chief not biting, Ben had reacted by perking up even more, to extra-high alert.

I could tell by Ray’s eyes that he was tired of talking, that he was building up to the moment when he raised the gun and fired.

This was my last chance to activate the K-9 cop.

“What did you mean,” I said, “the police chief wouldn’t BITE?!” I yelled the last word at the top of my lungs. Ray looked startled and confused. “BITE!” I yelled again, not screaming hysterically like I wanted to, but trying to sound loud and commanding.

Ray had his back to Ben. He couldn’t see that the big dog was on the move. Ben came at a dead run and hit Ray like a freight train, taking him down and attaching his jaw to one of Ray’s arms. I saw the gleam of sharp teeth.

Ben stayed down with Ray as I waded into the action and came out with the gun. Unlike my fear of dogs, guns didn’t scare me. Although I wasn’t sure where the safety was. Or if it was on.

Ray kept begging for my help, the rotten creep, but even if I’d wanted to, I had no idea how to stop Ben.

Finally, I heard a voice calling from behind me, from close by the building.

“Off!” Hunter shouted, and I turned my head to see he had a gun trained our way. It was as simple as that. Ben let go. “You’re supposed to be primping for our date,” Hunter said to me.

“Something came up,” I said. “How did you find me?”

“Tracking device under your truck. I got worried about you when the truck stopped in the middle of nowhere and didn’t move.”

“That is just too sneaky,” I said, more grateful than I ever thought I’d be to discover my movements had been followed without my knowledge. “Remind me to file a complaint later.”

And that’s how I was saved by a dog and his man.

Forty-three

As it turned out, Hunter and I never did getto go out that night. The paperwork, aka the red tape, took forever, and afterward we spent time piecing together what happened. It helped that Ray Goodwin was in a talkative mood, telling so many lies as he tried to pin the illegal stuff on his ex-partner that he tripped himself up and eventually the whole truth came out.

Especially when he found out that Kenny Langley was still alive.

I guess I’m not the world’s best pulse-taker after all.

Kenny, as it turned out, wasn’t guilty of more than choosing bad friends and offering to front money for a bad business deal.

Ray, on the other hand, had:• Made anonymous, threatening phone calls to Manny, which was a stupid way to handle a hostile takeover.

• Pulled off the robbery at the Chapmans’, stealing a camera and some cash to mislead the police, but making it obvious to Manny that he needed to hide his journal.

•