Page 105 of Call it Reckless

Zane nodded his understanding.

Spring had successfully taken over the lingering days of winter. Colorful flowers filled baskets hanging from the streetlights. Normally, it was my favorite time of year. But now I still felt the chill of something evil happening in my town.

“Yoo-hoo, Deputy Braxton!”

I grimaced at the grating tone.Great. Just what I need right now.I plastered on a smile that I hoped passed for genuine. “Tillie. Nice to see you. I hope you’re doing well.”

“Well? Do I look well to you, Reid Braxton?”

Honestly, she didn’t look any different today than any other day. In fact, she looked a little more put together than usual. She had on a dark blue cocktail dress cinched together at the waist by a sparkly clip. She had on a tiara that I hoped to God wasn’t real diamonds, or she’d be a target for a break-in, and diamond stud earrings. She looked like she might be going to a tea with the Queen of England herself—except for the tennis shoes she wore, as well as a military camo jacket. I didn’t want to look too closely, but I thought I saw a tiny pair of ears and masked eyes poke up from one of the pockets in her jacket.

“Have you found your, er, uh,friendyet?”

“Found it? No. In fact, they’re all taking off. We have a big problem, Deputy.”

“What’s that?”

“We’re being invaded by aliens.” Her eyes darted left and right before she leaned in closer. “And they live down the road from me.”

I blinked several times at her. This was a stretch, even for Tillie. “Um, why do you say that?”

“Crop circles.”

“What?”

“What’s the matter, Deputy? Are you hard of hearing? I saidcrop circles.”

“Crop circles mean aliens?”

She looked heavenward and shook her head before refocusing on me. “I swear, don’t you police people keep up with the news? How else could crop circles happen?”

“Tillie, they’re usually an art form created by farmers in large wheat fields. But we don’t have any such farms around here.”

“I’m telling you, I know what I saw.”

I scratched the back of my neck. I might as well pretend to take her seriously or she’d never stop. “Okay, tell me how you saw them.”

“Last week, I was trying out my new flying doohickey.”

“Flying doohickey?” This was going to take longer than I thought.

“Yes. You know, those remote-control thingies with cameras on them.”

“A drone?”

“That’s it. My old one got caught in the trees, and I couldn’t get it down. My husband, God rest his soul, was so much better at flying those things, you know.”

I’d never heard anything about her marriage. “Your husband?”

“Oh, yes. He was an Army Ranger. Specialized in recon. Taught me everything I know.”

“Military reconnaissance. Your husband.” Maybe that explained a few things. Maybe he’d gone a little crazy himself and dragged his wife out into the middle of the mountains to live mostly off the grid.

“Yes, Deputy. Keep up. As I was saying, I got my new doohickey and took this one down by the pond at the back of my property. More space out there, you know. This one has farther range and all. That’s how I saw the crop circles. Like seven of them, four on one side and three on the other.”

“I see. And where are these crop circles?”

“Down the highway a little further, headed south, but before you get to that Allen boy’s farm.”

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