so much now with the state forest taking over bits and pieces.”
“I’ll get Bill,” Mary Ellen said, drying her hands on a towel. “He probably has a map.”
“What’s all this about?” Mrs. Farley asked.
“I don’t know, it could be nothing.”
But it could be something. She took out her phone and texted J.T. He should know about this other piece of the puzzle.
Bill came in with a worn-out map and spread it over the kitchen table. The map had elevation marks on it and areas were blocked out in thick black marker. It did resemble the pie pieces he’d drawn for her on the napkin earlier in the week.
Mr. Farley put on his reading glasses. “Okay now, here’s Deer Creek Road, so this is your piece.” He seemed to gauge the distance from the creek to a few smaller plots. “It’s either this one here or this one,” he said, pointing to two properties that abutted the far corner of her property line. “I remember we had to use the forest access road to get there, which was why we used Masterson’s place more often. It was bigger and nicer and easier to get to.”
Nadya raised her eyes and saw Mr. Farley’s abashed expression.
“You always knew who my father was?”
“I’m afraid so. When I found your mama walking to the clinic in the middle of August, I stopped and picked her up. I had no idea what she was doing on Deer Creek Road. When she told me where she was staying, I put two and two together, but we never spoke of it. She made it clear you were her child and she didn’t need or want any help from the father.”
“We wanted to tell you, but we had to respect your mama’s wishes,” Mrs. Farley said.
“You did the right thing. I didn’t need him when Mary Ellen let me share the best father in the world with her.” She smiled at him across the table and pretended not to notice when he wiped his eyes.
The house phone rang and Bill answered it. “Hello? Yes, she’s right here.” He handed the receiver to Nadya.
“Hello?”
“What’s going on?” J.T. asked.
“Mr. Farley is showing us where Hornblower’s hunting camp is. Coincidentally enough, it’s right next to my property.”
“Huh. Wonder why he didn’t mention that when he was giving you Nokas’s offer? Seems to me he’d have a pretty strong opinion about what you did with the land. Makes me think he got an offer for his land too.”
“Could they make it a stipulation that they’d only buy it if I sold my plot?”
“Maybe. It bears looking into further though. Good thinking.”
“Let me know what you find out.”
All eyes were on her as she hung up the phone. “He’s looking into it. No one has heard from Hornblower since Friday though.”
Bill was looking at the map intently. “The way I see it, the only way Hornblower’s property is worth anything would be if you sold. There’s no street access, and even with the access road, you still have to hoof it a mile or so in. That’s great if you’re a serious camper, but not if you’re trying to do anything with the property. I bet he doesn’t have electricity either. That’s the other perk of your property. It has access to the power lines.”
“Does anyone else find it interesting that he pushed this offer on you the day after you found out who your father was, then left?” Mary Ellen asked. “And immediately after that, things started happening.”
“It does look suspicious, but I just can’t imagine him knocking me down and keeping me there. The man who attacked me was big and strong.”
“Hornblower is younger than I am,” Mr. Farley said. “And I know for a fact he took down a buck and hauled it a good ways to his truck last October. If he’s strong enough to do that, knocking you down wouldn’t be that hard.”
“I don’t know whether to be insulted or flattered to be compared to a deer.”
“I don’t think that’s the issue at hand. I say we stay on guard whether it turns out to be Hornblower or not,” Mary Ellen declared. “And let’s get the map off the table so we can set it for dinner. Bill, you go start the grill.”
Nadya’s stomach growled loudly in agreement, making everyone laugh.
By the time J.T. got off his shift, his nerves were jangling. He’d done some checking into Hornblower and found some things that seemed off. He’d said he moved