Farmed and Dangerous by Edith Maxwell Page B

Lesotho.”
    â€œDoes it have a special name?” Alexandra asked.
    â€œIt does, but I don’t remember. It’s some kind of xylophone.”
    After the teakettle whistled, Cam fixed three toddies with peppermint tea, honey, and lemon, and brought them to the table. She got the cognac and added it to the collection.
    â€œAdd your own poison.” She grimaced. “Oh, that didn’t sound good, did it?” She poured a couple of glugs of cognac into her mug and set the bottle in the middle of the table. “Anyway, I’m done working for the day.” And she’d be alone tonight. Pete had to do the right thing.
    DJ joined them at the table. The young man always seemed upbeat and competent and interested in all kinds of things. She could see why Alexandra wanted to spend time with him.
    Alexandra poured a bit of cognac into her own mug and offered the bottle to DJ.
    â€œNo, thanks.” He smiled. “I’m working on staying present these days.”
    Did that mean Cam wasn’t present when she’d had a drink? Likely.
    â€œI’ve been studying permaculture lately, Cam,” DJ said. “You ought to look into it.”
    â€œA North Shore Permaculture Group contacted me about their Meetups, but I haven’t actually met up with them yet. Give me the two-minute thumbnail on what permaculture is and why I should utilize it.” Cam smiled at him.
    â€œIt’s a design science to take sustainability to the next level. Water management, permanent companion planting, the no-till method developed into an art form.” He smiled with an earnest look. “Seriously, we could do design work on your land in the spring if you’re interested. I need to accumulate a boatload of hours for my certificate.”
    â€œSwales and berms. Berms and swales. That’s all he talks about anymore.” Alexandra nudged DJ affectionately and then folded her forearms on the table. “So, Cam, who do you think killed Bev?”
    â€œThat’s the million-dollar question. The only person who would truly benefit would be her daughter, Ginger.”
    â€œBecause she’d get the farm?” DJ asked.
    â€œI expect so. Although she does have two brothers, come to think of it,” Cam said. “She wants to develop the property, build houses, I heard, and Bev didn’t want her to. She wanted to keep it farmland.”
    â€œGinger would kill her own mother?” Alexandra widened her eyes.
    â€œLet’s hope not. She seems kind of difficult, and I saw her arguing with her mom. She does go over and play guitar for the residents at Moran Manor, which is a nice thing to do. She played for them even before Bev moved there.”
    DJ sipped his tea. He tapped the side of the mug. “I might be able to do a little snooping. My brother Eddie worked on that housing project over in Newburyport. The one Ginger Montgomery built. He might know something about her. I’ll ask him tonight.”
    â€œDid you grow up here in town, DJ?”
    He nodded.
    â€œDo either of you know anything about Richard Broadhurst? My great-uncle said that he had an interest in acquiring Bev’s farm so he could expand his orchard, and that she was negotiating with him about that.”
    â€œHe’s my friend’s stepfather. Or was.” Alexandra pulled a cell phone out of her pocket and thumbed it with both hands. “There. I texted her. I’ll let you know what she says about him.”
    â€œThanks, guys. The sooner the police find out who actually killed her, the sooner they’ll stop harassing me about it.” And the sooner she could see Pete again. As she sipped her own tea, she thought about whether she even wanted to keep spending time with Pete. He was absolutely right. Hanging out with a state cop wasn’t going to be a smooth ride. It still smarted that he’d said he had to distance himself from her during the investigation. With any