He didn’t have to be an electrician to see the problem at once. Condenser tubes ran in an S-pattern along the back, and Freon dripped from them, a slow, glistening ooze.
Bear saw it too and exclaimed, “What the hell?”
Sorrow stepped in. “What is it?” She smelled like shampoo, or lotion maybe—some female smell.
“The condenser,” said Sully.
“Yup. ” Billy had to force himself to focus. He studied it closely, wishing the light were better. “It must be cracked or…” His voice trailed off as he concentrated, running his finger along the tubes. Then he felt it—a sharp edge. Too sharp to be just a crack.
“Regular wear and tear?” asked Laura.
Sorrow challenged, “That wouldn’t explain both freezers dying at once. ”
“Not wear and tear. ” Billy stood and wiped the grime from his hands. “I think it was sliced. ”
“Someone cut it?” the girls asked in unison.
With a nod, he faced Bear and said, “Looks like you have a vandal on your hands. ”
Bear laughed outright. “Vandal? There are no vandals in Sierra Falls. Everyone knows everyone. This is just how it goes around this place. ” He looked at his daughter. “Isn’t that right, Sorrow? All hell breaking loose on a regular basis. ”
Billy didn’t buy it for a minute. Those wires had been cut, and it called into question every other thing that’d been going wrong lately. He’d stake his badge that the Baileys were up against something more menacing than just the usual chaos of a family business.
Bear may not have wanted to hear it, but Sorrow did. She seemed to get it, and was looking at him with widened eyes. “Who would destroy our freezers?”
“Nobody destroyed our damned freezers,” her dad said. “You’re not in the big city anymore, Sheriff. There’s no crime out here. It may bore you, but all the suspicions in the world aren’t going to make any criminals appear. ”
“Not to interrupt,” Sully said, “but what are we going to feed people?”
Sorrow pulled her shoulders back. “Billy said he’d drive me to Silver City for supplies. ” There was something in her voice—Resolve? Camaraderie?—that made him happy he’d offered.
“We can stock up,” he added. “Get a small replacement freezer till you can get a bigger one delivered. ”
“That doesn’t feed people right now. ”
Bear checked his watch. “Hell’s bells, girl. It’s 4:30. People are going to start showing up for Sully’s early bird any minute. ”
There was a moment of tense silence, then Sorrow said, “I could cook. ”
Bear shook his head. “Ain’t you been paying attention? All our food is spoiled. ”
“Just the frozen stuff. I can make pasta. ”
He loved how she stood up to her dad. The way she snapped right back at him had a way of defusing the man’s temper, till he seemed like nothing more than a harmless grump. “She makes a good pasta,” Billy said with a grin.
Sorrow’s sister pinned him with a wicked look. “When have you had her pasta?” Something in her voice made him self-conscious.
He was grateful when Sorrow broke in, “I’ve got all I need in the pantry. Some garlic, olive oil, a couple of cans of olives, some capers…I can make a puttanesca. ”
Bear hooted. “What the hell’s that?”
“Give the girl a shot,” Sully said, his voice almost comically somber.
“You, too?” Bear looked from his cook to his daughter and stiffened. It was like witnessing a lightbulb flicker to life above the older man’s head. “You’re serious. ”
Sorrow crossed her arms at her chest, and Billy fought the urge to gently pull them apart and give her shoulders a quick rub. And then stroke down her back to the curve of her waist…
Hell. He really needed to stop thinking like that.