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lovely.”
    “Thank you. I was sorry to hear about Edna, but I wasn’t sorry to find out the cats had been taken away. I was afraid they’d ruin the wedding.”
    “The wedding?”
    “I’m getting married next month. The reception will be here in my garden, but the stench from the barn can become quite unbearable when the wind shifts and blows in this direction.”
    “Oh. Yes, I can see that would be a problem. Congratulations.” I hadn’t noticed a particular odor, but maybe that was just because I was used to the scent of animals in my environment.
    “Thank you. Now what can I help you with?”
    “Did you happen to notice whether Edna had any visitors yesterday?”
    “I wasn’t home yesterday. I left early to do some shopping in Bryton Lake and didn’t return until late in the evening. I didn’t even know Edna had died until Jethro filled me in this morning.”
    “Jethro is the man who lives on the other side of Edna’s property?”
    “Yes. I’m afraid Edna and Jethro didn’t get along. In fact, Edna didn’t really get along with any of the folks who live in this area. When Jethro showed up on my porch this morning with a big grin on his face I knew something was up.”
    “Jethro was upset about the cats?”
    “The property line. A while back, quite out of the blue, Edna contacted Jethro and told him his well was actually on her property. Now, that well has been exactly where it is today for over fifty years, and up until now no one has given it a second thought, but Edna was thinking about adding another structure to her property and part of the permit process was to have the property assessed. It turns out the property lines on record with the county don’t match the fence lines at all. As soon as Edna found out about the well, she insisted that Jethro pay her a ridiculous amount to lease the property where the well was located or she would sue.”
    “I take it Jethro wasn’t happy about that.”
    “He was more than unhappy; he was downright angry. Edna wanted a fortune and his attorney told him that his only recourse if he couldn’t work something out with Edna was to move the well. But the cost of filling in the old well and digging a new one a few feet away was quite prohibitive.”
    I had to wonder if Jethro was mad enough to kill the woman who had been causing him so much trouble.
    After I left Tilly, Ellie and I headed back toward town. Neither Jethro nor Ned were at home, so I supposed I’d have to continue my investigation another day. Ellie needed to run a few errands before coming over to my place for dinner that night and I needed to go grocery shopping because the invite had been an impulse, so we parted ways but agreed to meet up at around six that evening.
    The Ashton Falls Market was a small, independent store run by a friendly man named Ernie Young. Ernie liked to chat while he checked you out, so more often than not he proved to be a good source of local gossip. Actually, one of the things I liked most about shopping in the local market was the hometown feel Ernie brought to the place.
    “Afternoon, Zoe. You having a party?”
    I imagined Ernie’s comment was prompted by the bottle of tequila and fresh limes in my basket. “No. Ellie and Levi are coming for dinner.”
    “I’ve got some nice-looking steaks on sale.”
    “I saw that, but I think I’m going to stick with a Mexican theme. I don’t suppose you have any avocados in the back? The selection in the produce aisle are pretty hard and I wanted to make guacamole to go with the tacos.”
    “Hang on and I’ll take a look.”
    I waited while Ernie went into the back. As with many small-town shops, the Ashton Falls Market was a good place to run into neighbors to discuss the latest news. Today, however, the only other customers were two women who must have been from out of town because I didn’t recognize them. It only took a moment for Ernie to return with two perfectly ripe candidates. “How about