Read A Lethal Time (A Samantha Jamison Mystery Volume 4) for Free Online Page A

farmer gear, either.
    He looked all around us. “You here alone?”
    I couldn’t explain it, but I suddenly didn’t feel right standing there, especially after he had stepped closer and was now in my personal Sam zone again. “As a matter of fact, I was about to catch up to the others you met earlier.”
    “Have you ever been to one of these rallies before?”
    “No, this is my first. I have to tell you, it’s different.”
    “How about I walk along until we catch up with them?”

 
     
     
    Chapter 17
    Why Not?
     
     
    That offer was too tempting for me to pass up, warning light and all. Maybe I could learn a thing or two while we walked. My writer’s curiosity about this individual, who represented not a scintilla of the one I had talked to that afternoon, was more than my nosy persona could handle. I could do the walk-and-talk thing easily. We were in a crowd and there was safety in numbers. After a brief explanation of who I was and how I got there, I asked him about his background.
    “Not much to tell. I bought the parcel from Robinson a few years ago when he complained it was becoming too much to handle. I guess that was when he knew something wasn’t right and his mental capacity was wearing down. Not believing my luck, I jumped on his unexpected offer. It was something I always wanted to try, raise some cattle.”
    “I never would have guessed. How’d you meet him?”
    “From working at the Smith property.”
    I turned to look at him. “That was convenient.”
    “Sure was. Plus, he said I could pay it off in time. I went for it. Of course, Sarah was upset, losing an extra set of hands like that, but I had to look out for myself. She can get sort of overbearing, if you know what I mean.”
    I smiled. “I had a dose of that when she first called me.”
    “I bet that call was interesting.”
    So I explained about the bizarre phone call from her and my subsequent visit to inspect her missing woods. Of course, he probably already knew, but he laughed anyway.
    “Initially, the whole thing sounded ridiculous, but it wasn’t. Have you had any problems at your place?”
    “No, not yet. Of course with cattle around, and my whole property being fenced off, I wouldn’t be an easy hit.”
    “I guess so.”
    “By the way, what made your horse jump the fence and take off like that?”
    “A pickup truck came way too close to my horse and she panicked, I guess.”
    “Where were the others you were riding with?”
    “Some were far in front and some had lagged behind.”
    I stopped walking and thought about what I just said. Why did that truck skim by me, and my horse in particular, and not the others? I started getting a prickly feeling.
    Jackson touched my arm and I jumped.
    “You okay?”
    “…Huh? Yes, I’m fine,” I said, and resumed walking.
    He saw the concern on my face and said, “You know you have to be careful nowadays. People text and talk on the phone like crazy and aren’t watching where they are driving or who else is on the road with them.”
    I thought about that. “You’re probably right.”
    But what if he was wrong and I was some sort of target?

 
     
     
    Chapter 18
    More Than A Stamp Of Approval
     
     
    I was still trying to brush off those thoughts when someone called out to me. I looked up to catch Hazel and Betty rushing toward me, annoyance written all over their faces. I turned to Jackson. “I sense bad news in the air.”
    “How are you so sure?”
    “It’s women’s intuition. We differentiate between the look and a look. I’ve learned interpretation is everything.”
    Hazel grabbed my arm and started dragging me toward a particular booth. In seconds, Betty had my other arm and was doing the same thing.
    “What’s going on?” I asked.
    “You want to see? Well, have a good look,” said Betty.
    “I think we should pick out a home for her,” said Hazel.
    I was confused. “What home? Whatever for?”
    They stopped moving at the entrance of a booth. I stood