Chapter 22
Ian headedover to the MacKenzie's barn to pick up the tow bar Matt had said should be inside somewhere. With that in hand he headed over to the home place. He needed to get the plane moved over to the MacKenzie land so that he would be over there without suspicion and able to keep a closer eye on Matt.
The logistics of moving a plane that currently couldn't fly were his biggest issue. He had the tow bar, but needed a big truck. Plus, before he could ask someone to move the plane, he needed to map out the route. It would be a huge pain in the rear if they encountered a place too narrow for the wingspan of the plane. While it wasn't a jumbo jet, it was a bit wider than some of the country roads between here and his destination.
He took a critical look at the pseudo landing strip he'd cut out of the tall grass and decide it would work fine to pull the plane out and onto the asphalt over gravel road that led toward town.
With that decided, he got into his rental and began to map out his route. The road leading away from the home place was a bit narrow, but with pasture land on both sides and no trees close to the road, he felt sure the wings would safely navigate over the barb-wire fencing.
Making the turn onto the state highway to get the plane would be a bit tricky. And, come to think of it, he probably needed to contact Sheriff Carter about moving the plane on a state highway. It wasn't a particularly busy highway because the interstate was so close by, but it might present a problem.
He drove on making mental notes about places that might be tight, but felt that the plane could be moved without too much heartburn.
Pulling into the open area by the barn, he sighed. The grass here had overgrown the landing strip just as it had at his own place. Better get to cutting that grass down to expedite the plane transfer.
A hopeful look through the barn revealed there was no convenient bush hog inside. Or even a lawn mower. A scythe rested in one corner, and, with visions of the Grim Reaper dancing in his head, he proceed to cut the long grass old-school style.
As he scythed the grass, he came across several areas where the ground had been dug up and replaced. Odd. Who had been digging out here? Or was it Ham, looking for old animal bones? Or burying news ones? He stepped around the red ooze coming from the holes. Tracking that mess into his mama's house would get him into more trouble than he wanted to deal with.
He had cleared just over half of the way to the road when he stopped to take a breather, wiped sweat from his forehead and wished mightily for a bottle of cold water. He knew better than to be working this hard on a Mississippi summer afternoon.
If he stopped now, he could drive home, grab some water and come back out here in an hour much better prepared to work this hard than he was now.
He'd just reached the car when Matt's black Mercedes pulled to the side of the road and Matt got out.
"You'd best get out of this heat, son. You're face is red as fire and your dripping sweat all over."
Ian walked to the other man. "I was just about to do that. This turned out to be more work than I thought."
Matt eyed him with grudging respect. "You should have called me and I'd've got someone over here to bush hog it out for you. No point in you killing yourself like this."
Ian ran his hand over his wet hair. "I appreciate that. And I won't say no to some help with the rest of it." He motioned behind him. "Let me show you something I found. I'm not sure what it means. If anything."
They walked to the section where he'd found the digging. "What do you make of this?"
Matt walked around the area, looking at the disturbed dirt. Avoiding the ooze.
"No idea." He shrugged. "Might be the dog's been out here digging. Or maybe local kids playing some kind of treasure hunt game."
He walked back toward his car. "Come on, now. Get out of the heat. I'll get someone over here to finish this up."
He opened the door of the Mercedes, paused, then turned. "I owe you an apology for the way I acted the other night. You were in a difficult position what with not being able to tell Piper what you were really doing out in the yard."
Ian nodded cautiously.
"Come to dinner tonight at the house. I promise I'll behave myself and I'll ask Piper to fry up some chicken. Nothing fancy." He chuckled. "I know you'd get a better meal at home since your mama's one of the best cooks around, but I'll give you a reason to be around the house this evening."
"Has their been another attempt on your life?" Ian asked. How the hell was he supposed to protect this man under these circumstances?
"Nothing obvious." Matt assured him. "Just an uneasy feeling someone is lurking around. Watching."
"You need to tell Piper what's going on." Ian fumed. "Don't you realize you're putting her in danger by keeping it from her? She's walking around like everything's normal instead of being on the look out for anything out of the ordinary."
"You may be right." Matt admitted. "Come to dinner tonight. I'll let you know my decision then."
