Amey placed the fabric on the ground and retrieved her revolver. With light, hurried steps, she approached the structure and saw a fairly large knothole in one wood plank. She stepped closer and looked in. She couldn’t see much, but enough to determine that there was no movement inside of the structure.
Coming around to the front, Amey opened the door and saw a copper still attached to a thump keg and worm box by copper piping. A fire was burning under the still. Which only meant one thing: moonshine. Someone was making moonshine in these woods, and she had no doubt that they were close by. No moonshiner would leave their operation for too long when a fire was burning. But would this person resort to killing to keep it secret?
She needed to report her findings to Lincoln, and quickly. Closing the door, she stepped back and picked up a branch off the ground. She took it and brushed the leaves along the ground, effectively smudging her footprints.
Amey retrieved the fabric before she started heading back in the direction she’d come from. It wouldn’t be smart of her to shoot into the air so close to the structure. That would surely alert their suspect that they were close by. They didn’t want to tip him off that they’d found his operation.
Attempting to walk up the hill proved to be rather difficult, but she eventually made it to the top. She traveled a short distance before she took out her pistol, pointed in the air, and fired.
10
Lincoln’s heart stopped when he heard the sound of Amey’s pistol discharging in the distance. Without the slightest hesitation, he turned in the direction of the shot and started racing through the woods. He hoped she wasn’t in immediate danger. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if anything happened to her.
He’d only known Amey for such a short time, but she had quickly grown to mean very much to him. How was that possible? He felt like he could share anything with her, knowing that she would not judge him. What a wonderful feeling that was.
Lincoln continued to race through the woods until he saw her in a small clearing. She was holding blue cloth under her arm and appeared unscathed.
He came to a stop in front of her, his breathing labored. “Are you all right?” he asked in between breaths.
“I am.” She held up the dirt covered cloth for his inspection. “I found the fabric.”
“Where?”
“At the bottom of a rocky hill,” she answered proudly.
“Good work.”
“Thank you.”
“Did you find any indication of why Doris was so far into these woods?”
Amey tucked the fabric under her arm. “I’m afraid I can’t answer that yet, but I did find something interesting.”
“Which is?”
She paused. “Someone is making moonshine in these woods.”
“Moonshine?”
“Yes, some people call it ‘mountain dew’.”
Lincoln’s eyes scanned the woods. “Where did you find that?”
“Not far from where I found the fabric, in that direction,” she revealed, pointing.
“How do you know someone was making moonshine?”
She offered him a look of exasperation. “Because I saw the copper still.”
“Was a fire heating the copper still?”
“It was.”
“They must still be in the process of fermentation, or else they wouldn’t have left the structure unattended.”
Amey nodded in agreement. “That’s what I thought, as well.”
“Moonshine is made from corn meal and grain,” Lincoln remarked. “Do you think the Crofts are making moonshine to supplement their income?”
“It wouldn’t be the first time a corn farmer did that,” she replied. “And it most definitely won’t be the last.”
“True, but do you think that Jonathon would go to such great lengths to keep their secret?” Lincoln pressed.
Amey shook her head. “I don’t think Jonathon is capable of killing anyone.”
“I agree,” Lincoln said. “Which begs the question, who is using these woods to make moonshine?”
A smile came to Amey’s face. “I guess we are going to have to wait and see who comes to visit the structure.”
“That sounds like a splendid idea.”
“There’s a possibility that these two things are not related,” he remarked. “It might just be a coincidence that the fabric was found so close to the structure.”
“I don’t believe in coincidences,” she replied firmly.
“Neither do I,” he replied, “and moonshiners are notoriously ruthless.”
“Perhaps the person killed Doris when they saw she was so close to the structure?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Lincoln said, holding his hand out. “Will you lead the way?”
She smiled. “Thank you, kind sir.”
He chuckled as he started following her through the woods. “I don’t think I’ve ever had this much fun on an assignment before.”
“Neither have I,” she replied. “As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve never been assigned a partner before.”
“Generally, partners are irksome, and they just get in the way.”
“Are you implying that you’re enjoying being my partner?” she asked.
He nodded. “I suppose I am.”
“Are you ready to admit that we’re friends yet?”
“I don’t know why you’re so insistent about being my friend,” he huffed.
Amey shrugged. “I suppose because I don’t have many friends.”
“I can see why, if you keep pestering them with requests to be their friend,” he said, but softened his words with a smile.
“That’s only with you.”
Feeling immensely pleased by her words, he asked, “Why is that?’
She glanced over her shoulder at him. “I don’t rightly know.”
“If you’re worried that I will give Archie a scathing review of your performance, then don’t be,” he said.
“Truly?” she asked.
He nodded. “Not only did you find the fabric, but you might have found the break in our case.”
Amey slowed her steps as she approached the top of the rocky hill. “The ground is a little loose here, so be careful when you go down,” she warned.
Lincoln followed her down the hill and found himself sliding more than walking. Once they were at the bottom, Amey pointed to the ground next to a tree and said, “That’s where I found the fabric.”
He glanced back at the sloped hill. “Perhaps Doris fell
