"I'm sorry Rachel-dear" Hana's little face fell as she wrung her hands. She tucked the turnip seeds away in a drawer. "You know I would if I could but… this is the third time" She frowned. Hana shifted the marguerite seeds off the counter.

"Maybe... a reduced price?" Rachel offered, her voice having the slightest shake. Hana lowered her gaze. "Mm… I'm sorry hun…"

"You know I'll pay you back" Rachel pleaded. Hana didn't look convinced. "I know I haven't paid you back the other times yet but I just need a little more money. I promise I will pay you back" Hana reached out and tucked Rachel's hand in hers. "I know you will honey but… I can't make money if I keep giving out my merchandise for free" Hana's smile was weak. "I will pay you back I promise-"

"I know dear-"

"It's just that the farm isn't doing so good right now and-" Hana's expression was unseen through her watery vision. "The crops haven't been doing so well and-" "I want to, I really do but-"

"What's going on out there?" Kosaburo came wandering into the front, his face beat red from the afternoon sun. Early fishing, his rod over his shoulder. Rachel was gripping Hana's hands. "Nothing dear" Hana tried to nod him off. He turned to face her. "Oh well look who it is. Plan on paying us back anytime soon for all those cabbage seeds you never paid for?"

"Dear!" Now Kosaburo wasn't known for his sududlties-and Hana knew this when they married- but this was not the time for such insensitivities! "Dear go give us girls some time alone" She smiled. Kosaburo knew that tone and shifted away into the kitchen, his buckets of left-over bait clanging. "Now dearie" Hana leaned in towards Rachel, who now had a tear clinging to her bottom eyelashes, "I would really love to help but I can't this time. I know you will pay me back. Take your time" Her insides were burning, Rachel felt her body's light convulsions and thought how ugly her face must look, red and strained from her tears. Some blonde strays clung to her hot wet face. "No, don't cry dear. I know it's hard right now, farm work isn't easy but I know if you continue to put the work in then it will all work out"

Rachel nearly collapsed onto the counter into Hana's arms but she couldn't bear to be in there any longer. "I-I..I need to go..." she barely connected the sounds. She ripped herself away from the counter, now dripped in wet tears. It was too hot in there. Kosaburo probably heard too. She had to leave. "Rachel dear-"

She didn't even shut the door when she left. She rolled into a ball upon entering her farm. Into the grass fields where her cattle were grazing, she hid her face beneath her hat. What was she going to do? The farm was suffocating. Only the grass was surviving. The cabbage seeds she was able to borrow didn't take, the trees died over the winter. The brumal winds stripped her home of its layered roofing. The home moaned as the wind scraped through. The same happened to her prized chickens in their coop. Gaps formed in the roofing and grew, leaving her poor chicks to die of exposure. A tongue lashing from Neil released her from any pride or self esteem she may have acquired during the three years she had been here. Most of her income has been spent making replacements for broken or damaged amenities on her land and in town. Dunhill was serious about improving the town and attracting tourist. He made sure the town was fixed up before she could focus on her dying crops or ill animals. She was barely able to afford the medicine for her cows that had caught a chill from the left over cool of winter when she let them graze in the early spring days.

I need money

All she could think. I need money it seemed everything got worse with every new day. One of her cows wandered to her and started licking her hat then her hair, stiffing it into a standing position. "Go, girl" she waved her arm. "I need money" She could hear her cow chewing on the cud above her. It let out a low moan in anguish and lowered onto the ground. Rachel rolled to avoid being crushed accidently. This was one of the ill cows. She pushed herself onto her knees and started rubbing the poor heffer on the side. "I need the money" she heard herself whisper. Her cow gazed at her through it's long eyelashes. She knows what she must do.

It was evening time, nature was speaking through the frogs croaking along the riverbank. The darkened sky still stretched pink towards the horizon. Not long now. It had been three days since her break down at Hana's. How she was able to survive was unknown. Her cows seemed closer to the brink of death and decay with every passing hour. The fresh growing grass was the one fortune on the land. It seemed to keep them living on a small grain of life. They chewed over and over, swallowed and gargled it back up. But sooner or later they really would digest it so she had to hurry. "She waited a few more hours. She was able to live off the eggs of her few remaining chickens. When the pink speckled sky drew dark and the stars gre bright, she headed out. Neil's home wasn't far from her withering farm, just up the path beside Hana's general store. She held the lantern low, as she would pass from the farm, Emma's home stood outside the gate. She didn't know how long Emma stayed up but she most likely would have gone to sleep by then. She partially covered the light with her gallon cowgirl hat. She wouldn't want to startle Emma with a strange light in the night. The streetlights happened to be in disrepair after an onset of hail a few weeks back. Rachel had searched through the grass for broken glass but had only managed to establish three new lights. One on the corner of Iroha's home, one on the path to where the animals are bought and sold, and one behind Hana's store. Most of the light was obscured by Hana's home. Lucky for her, she had only placed the streetlight by Rebecca's but hadn't wired it to glow efficiently, though it flickered.

No one should be wandering this area at this time especially since most of the paths are dark. She kept the light low though she lifted her hat. She checked all the open areas where someone could wander from. The gentle rustle of the leaves made her nervous. Neil's home was her destination, more specifically, the side of his home. When she rounded the corner she found what she was looking for. Milk Cans. 18,000G a set. This will do for now. This will fix everything. She can provide remedies for her ailing animals, lay new seeds, and pay back Hana-in full. She lowered the lantern into the grass. Neil also had boxes lining the side of his house. They were good for concealment. She straightened her hat. She knows what she has to do.

Of course she feels some guilt over this. Neil doesn't deserve to be stolen from no matter how antisocial and rude can be. Even though he's felt the need to stop into her barn four times a week for the past three years to make sure she's "doing it right"-long before her farm had become destitute. Even though he reprimanded her severely when she had left her heffer in the drizzling weather for ten minutes as she brought the crops inside. Even though he made her feel the slightest twinge of nervousness when she entered his animal market. Even though he lacerated her with verbal malice at her lowest moment for not having the money to buy medicine for her cattle, purloined behaviors were wrong.

But they sure felt good.

She had brought some rope and an old cart with her. Despite its shoddy materials, the cart didn't make a creak on the journey, which she was very grateful for. She began loading the cart. It jolted when the first milk can hit its wooden base. The cans were heavier than she thought. They were bigger and bulkier than she had estimated, raising well above her knees. She loaded the second, it rocked the entire cart. The clack of it against the worn wood startled her with its echo. She checked all entrances quickly. No one. She should've factored that in. Echo Valley is known for its tendency to echo noises from her to there. On a mainly silent night like this, the noise made her heart shutter. She glanced up to Neil's window, nothing. After a few moments pause she continued, more slowly than before. She was gentle with them, making sure she had hands in all the necessary places, but still they were very heavy. It seemed Neil had them actually filled with milk. She heaved, letting the silver containers rock her back, she tightened the muscles in her legs. Her body swayed. They were so heavy!

"Yeah these are pretty heavy aren't they?" She spun on her heels, the silver carton almost clattering out of her arms into the wooden cart. Ice ran through her veins the moment she witnessed Rod standing beside her. "Rod! What are you-" A silver milk can was nestled in his arms. "Isn't it a little late to still be working?" he laughed. "But that's just the way you are! Such a hard worker" He went and dropped the can in the cart making a wood-splitting creak as it lurched. "No, no Rod I-"

"Are you out here all by yourself?" He doubled back for another can. "Hey Rod can you lower your voice a little?" Rachel had her finger to her lips, her body cringing. "Huh? What I didn't hear you!" He laughed. "Oh, I wasn't expecting to see you here. I was up where I set up shop. My dogs were actin' funny and I realized I dropped some dog bones up there. I was getting them-" he flashed a smile and pointed to his vest pocket where a bone was poking out. "Then I thought I heard something and here you were!" He chuckled.

He dropped one of the cans into the cart. It made a clank and Rachel's heart stopped. "Hey hey Rod-"

"So why are you taking Neil's milk cans?" Rod turned himself to her and held his arms to the sides of him on the cart. "And why now?" he smiled. Rachel gulped. Of course, someone would have just had to show up.

"Well...you see…" She glanced around the grass. He stood there patiently waiting for an answer. Smiling, eyes wide like a child's. "I...uh…" The streetlight flickered, lighting up the path for a brief second. Rod adjusted his grip but remained otherwise still. "They...uh. They're mine"

"Then why are they at Neil's?" Rod chuckled. The fluctuations in his laughing voice kept her in a state of anxiety. "Well...because I, I let him borrow them!" she tried not to sound so self-assured. "Now, could you…" she held her fingers to her lips. "Oh! Yeah" he lowered himself to the ground above another can. "Yeah, wouldn't want to wake anyone up at this time" He loaded it up and shuffled to the cart handles. "Here I'll help you out"

"Thanks but I couldn't-"

"No, it's fine! I'd loved to help" Rod interjected. He patted a hand behind his head, blushing slightly. Rachel was well aware of his blooming crush on her. He always seemed to be trying to spend time with her. When she'd pass his pet market, he'd wave her down and spend the next twenty minutes roping her into chatting. They had a picnic once where he dropped that he'd make a good boyfriend for her. He is cute but she had her farm to focus on.

"Are we going back to the farm?" Yes, but Rachel would really prefer to go alone. She'd hate it if he saw the devastated land. "No, Rod really-" "Let me help" He insisted. He shook the handles, the silver cans rocked, clanking into each other. "Ok, ok" she sighed.

Here's the plan. She'll contribute to the walk with ideal banter then when they get within a few yards she'll snatch the cart from him and go on her merry way. Rod started jabbering about going on another picnic and dogs, then going on a picnic with some of his dogs, then dogs going on their own picnics in secret and we humans don't know. "Oh, are we here already?" She moved in and grabbed the handles. "Hey thanks- see you later!" She rushed in.

Finally! He almost ruined everything. No-she should've been more careful. Now with these cans she can start over-have her new beginning. She stored the cans in secret and went to rest. She sleep well that night. The best she has slept in the entire season in fact. She even left a thin trail of saliva on her pillow. After combing through her long hair-and washing the excess drool out- she headed out. The first thing to do is get rid of the evidence as quickly as possible. The morning air was crisp. As pleasant as it lasted, she could hear the faint cries of her ailing cattle. Before she could get the medicine she had to get the money. Lucky for her she never unloaded the cart from the night earlier. The only thing to do now is ship them. Handle in each hand, she pulled that nearly-broken cart towards the farm entrance, on the way she saw new reading supplements in her mail box. She snagged it. It would be good to know the weather for the upcoming days. The fresh air seemed to remedy some of her animal's symptoms but she couldn't risk a sudden downpour.

About to tuck it into her overall pocket, she saw writing in bright red. That'd be just like Tina to over dramatize an event in the local newspaper-which she solely publishes every week. Not to any fault of her own, she just tends to be easily excited. She rested the cart to see if there was another sighting of the phantom wild man in the forest-most likely Dunhill on an evening stroll in his bear costume that he thinks no one knows about. Maybe another rare moth was discovered. Either way it was nice to have someone interested in the valley.

She didn't have to search long, on the front page it read, "Surprise in the Valley" Curiosity peaked. "During the tranquility of the night of Spring 27th, a surprising event, unheard of occurred in the valley, took place" The 27th? Rachel scratched her chin. When was that? She's been so wrapped up in her farm that she had lost sense of time, not even knowing what today's date was. Oh! The 27th is Aaron and Alice's birthday. That wouldn't make it into the paper though-unless the sprites have been discovered. She chuckled. That would be unheard of. "A theft" Shit.

She crunched the paper in her fist in accidental panic. She brought it within an inch of her face. "The crime occurred between the late hours of 11:00pm and 1:oo am. The milk cans outside of Echo Valley animal entrepreneur, Neil [Last name withheld], had been stolen. The milk cans were made of valuable silver and contained fresh cow milk" Shit! Shit! Shit! She was now pulling her hair out in an upward fetal position. No way out, no way out. She heard a snap somewhere on the property and hurried the cans into her studio and hid there. She clutched the crinkled paper in her shaking hands. "The cans were seen being loaded into a cart" Shit! "Due to the time of night, the perpetrator was obscured by the deep darkness of the valley" She sighed in relief. Thank the Harvest Goddess! (who happened to be blissfully unaware of the situation). She regained composure and read on. "This is also due to the street lights not being repaired yet…" Well fuck you Tina. Did she really need to add the "..." at the end? Like no one knows that Rachel hasn't repaired them yet. She scoffed. Well why not you find all the iron and put them up yourself, Tina! No,no,no Tina didn't mean it like that. She was just stating the situation, there was no underlying accusation. "Even though it has been nearly one season since being damaged they remain unreplaced…" Screw you!

She focused her mine. It was dark, that means that whoever the witness was they didn't see who it was. Witness? Who was out between 23:00-1:00 besides her and Rod? Rod- oh shit! It hadn't occurred to her yet that he knows it was her! When he reads the paper-oh shit. She scanned through for more tidbits of info. "The perpetrator was seen holding a milk can and at the left side of Neil's home" She sighed. They don't know who it is. She relaxed her stiff shoulders. Ok, think. A shadowy figure holding milk cans… Could be anyone. There has been an influx of tourist coming to the valley since the travel agency has established, it would only be natural to assume it was one of them. Yeah, why would anyone assume it was a Valley member when there were no previous thefts? What motive would anyone here have- well besides trying to restore a rundown farm. "It seems that the motive is money- each can is worth 18,000G" Damn it. It's only a matter of time now. No, no, it's not like they have a picture or anything. "Turn to page 2a for a photo of the suspect" I thought it was dark out! She ripped to the next page- literally- she ripped out the pages above 2a. A large, dark shadowy picture was printed. Underneath it read: If anyone knows the whereabouts or identity of the suspect, please contact Dunhill- the town leader or contact the number below-" She returned to the photo. It was just a shadowy silhouette. The reflection of the silver can caught in the flicker of the streetlight. She scanned the image. There's only one person in the picture. The picture was just too dark to tell which one of them it was.

Ok, ok. Maybe this good. The less people they think are involved the better. She folded the individual papers and tucked them into her overall pockets. She stepped out of the studio. Even though no one knew it was her, she wasn't in the clear. Emma's gonna know if she ships the milk cans. Unless she can somehow distract her from logging them. No, that can have unwanted consequences. She doesn't know much about the process and the worst case scenario would be that she doesn't get paid-no worse, they get sent back to Emma and she knows that she's the only one registered to use the shipping boxes.

She bit her lip. She needs a partner in this. Rod's round glowing face came to her mind. Rod. Oh, shit, Rod! The newspaper. She went sprinting towards his home. When the blueprints for a cottage came in, Rachel thought it would be best placed diagonal from Rebecca's shop, by the path leading into another part of town. It wasn't too far and it was still early in the morning. She saw it over the stone pavings. It was near 7am, Rod would still be inside. She skidded some rocks in her foot's path and snatched the paper right outta the mail box. She could see a glimpse of the big print on the cover as she stuffed it into her overall pockets.

"Hey Rachel!"

She spun around, the glimmer in his goggles, the first thing she saw. "Rod! What are you doing here?"

"It's my house" he laughed. "What are you doing?" He had some rice on the corner of his mouth. Probably from risotto, or some other meal. "Well…" She began, she hadn't pre-created an excuse for this very scenario. "I just came over to…. I was going to go to the salon!" She pointed to the path leading into the west part of town-where Allen's salon was established. "Yeah, my hair is all stringy and the split ends!" she tried to laugh but the force of it made it sound like a dry cackle. "I think it looks pretty!" She blushed. "Like straw!"

Bastard. "...well anyways-I gotta go" she was about to make her get away. She turned to take the first step when she heard Rod open his mailbox. "Huh? Looks like Tina forgot about me" beads of sweat dribbled down her chin. "Hey did you get the newspaper today?"

"Naw, I didn't get it either" she waved. Hopefully he wouldn't see through her phony expression. She took some planned steps away. She didn't have any plans to go the salon but she couldn't linger there any longer. Rod didn't tarry there long either, "Well, I guess I gotta go up there an' get one" A wretched breath escaped her. "Wait, what-….I uh didn't hear you" Rod had walked beside her. "I'm going up to Tina's" He smiled at her. "Hey, we can walk together" Damn it. Allen's salon just happened to be near Tina's home. In the west side of town, Tina's home was on the highest level, right by the path into the forest. The salon was on the level lower.

She knew that she couldn't get out of this one. Rod would find out if he went there and it's not like she could just duck into the salon then to make her story look legit- Allen would never let her escape with the condition her hair's in. "Do you really need to go up to Tina's? I mean she's probably busy" she tried not to sound pushy.

"With what? It's not like she's filling our mailboxes"

"Yeah, well she could be on her way now" They were getting closer to her home. She knew her destination was coming up fast. Rod and Allen are friends so it's not like she can lie about going and plus he would notice if she didn't go in after all, he would essentially drop her off there. "Hey you know what Rod, I think I'm going to skip out on the salon. I have a lot of work to do" she said, a wide smile on her face. "OK, I'll catch you some other time" he went on ahead. Well at least if he was going to find out, she didn't want to be there. A sense of dread felt heavy on her breath. She felt the crisp edges of the newspaper when she shoved her hands in her pockets.

On his way up the path, Rod heard Rachel yelling. Behind him she was running towards the path but stopped short. "Hey, Rod come here" she called, waving her arm. He trekked downwards towards her. "Yeah what is it?" he asked with glee. Maybe she changed her mind… or maybe she wants to go on a date? "Yeah, hey look what I found" she held out the crumpled newspaper towards him. "Just remembered, I snagged your newspaper on the way to the salon, then you came out. Sorry, I was so eager to read it"

He took it from her. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" he smiled again.

"I forgot"
"You forgot you took it?"

"Yes"

"Didn't you take it on your way by, right as I came out"

"Yes"

"You couldn't have had it more than a few moments then"

"Oh! I uh…" she burst with laughter, "Yeah I just started reading it a few seconds before you came out!"

"And you forgot you had it?"

"Yes…"

Rod's eyes bore into hers for the most uncomfortable moments of Rachel's life. "Ah! You're so funny Rachel. That's why I like you" he chirped. "Yeah… I can't help it" He lifted the pages. "But why's it so crinkled?" He was reading it over. She watched him carefully. "I found it in my pocket" she explained as she trailed the path his eyes made along the print. He was skimming through. "Hmm. The paper sure seems lighter than usual" That's because the main pages are gone. He began walking back towards his cottage. "Well thanks Rachel" He handed it back. "Looks like nothing interesting happened" How he didn't notice that the front page was missing is beyond her.

"Oh! I gotta hurry" Rod straightened up. "Why? What is it?" Rod started jogging. "Oh, I gotta set up shop! I wanna be able to pay my bills this month. See ya" he waved her off. Well at least that's over. She was about to sigh in relief when she remembered who we would be working beside. Neil. She could see it now: 'So hey Neil how are you?" Rod would smile that boyish smile of his. Neil would sigh and roll his eyes like he does at Rachel. "Oh fine but my milk cartons- the ones I never use and just leave outside for months at a time in the rain and snow-have gone missing" Rod laughs, "Ha! No, I helped Rach take them back to her farm"

"Her farm!" Neil would shout. "Yeah, she said they were hers" "That bitch!" Then on the farm, Dunhill and everyone would come-with pitchforks- and surround her. "Rachel, I can't believe you've done this" Neil would seethe. "Wait- I didn't have a choice!-" "Yes you did and you choice to be a thief" Dunhill would snap back. She would her whispers among the townspeople. "What's worse is that you included Rod in on this" Enter in Rod, she didn't notice him earlier. He has a blanket over his shoulders and Allen's arm over his shoulder. "It's ok" Allen whispers in his ear. "She told me they were hers!" he says through sobs. "And I thought she was a good girl…" Hana cries.

"What 'cha doin' Rachel?" the voice snapped her out of her delusions. Tina was waving from atop the hill. Rachel grimaced and gave a small effortless wave. Seeing this, Tina began skipping down the mountain towards her, her hair bouncing with her. "Hey, did ya read my article?" She yelled over the wind. Rachel didn't answer immediately, preferring not to yell across the land. "Well, did you?" Tina came within a few feet. She yanked a newspaper out of her bag.

"Did you-"

"Yes, I saw"

Tina's eyes went wide. "Can you believe there was a theft? Here in the Valley?" Tina asked seeming concerned. Rachel was thinking of how to leave. Though Tina is a very nice person, something about her rubbed Rachel the wrong way. "Hopefully nothing on your farm is stolen" Something about the rising intonation in the statement made it seem less than genuine. Through the corner of her eyes she saw Tina watching her. "Maybe like iron"

"Iron?" Rachel felt the brim of her hat. "Well, of course- you need all that iron to make the streetlights" Tina smiled. "How are those coming along by the way?" She asked, her voice sweeter than Splenda, and just as artificial. "Don't worry, they're coming along fine" This precisely why Rachel feels unnerved by her. Tina fidgeted with her bag. "That's good"

Was she just trying to get the latest scoop? "You know Tina, I gotta get going" Rachel thumbed back towards the ranch. It was getting close to the time that Rod would set up shop. Well, she really had three hours or so, but she needed to the spare time to formulate some sort of plan. "Oh, ok. I was just going to tell you my theory to the thefts" Tina began to turn away with her hands on her hips. Rachel's brows rose.

"You have a theory?" Tina spun a finger through her hair. "I do" she replied. From inside her bag she retrieved a small pad and pencil. Rachel could see all the pages she skipped through. Stories and testimonies were scrawled to the edges, over laying each other. She flipped through them to one of the last pages. "Well?" Rachel asked.

"Do you remember the photo in the paper?" She withdrew a folded copy from the pad. Before Rachel could part her lips, Tina was holding the picture in front of her. The shadowy figure was looming in front of her. She tried to remember the exact instance that she or Rod made that pose, when the picture had to be taken. From the looks of it, the photo had to be taken from around Emma's house. "I took that last night"

Rachel shivered. So she was there. Of course, she knew it had to be Tina who took the picture but just the thought of being witnessed by her made her teeth clatter. "How tall does this person look" She asked. Rachel looked it over. Well she and Rod are about the same height, except that she is taller than him by a good inch or two. "Maybe 5'9" She offered.

And how tall are you?"

Rachel gazed up at her almost in disbelief that she would be so point-blank. She had the pad and pencil in hand, the pencil ready.

"5'7"

"Don't look so glum, I have to ask-it's part of the job! I don't think you're a thief" she says that but Rachel could see her scribbling it down. "Yeah… so when did you take that picture?" Rachel asked. "I was on an evening stroll" At midnight? "And happened to hear a strange noise coming from the the middle of town" Rachel remained silent. "Then I heard some talking…"

"Talking?" Rachel repeated. "Did you… hear anything specific?" she asked through controlled breathes. "Well, I only saw one person and I was too far away to hear anything specific" She said almost as if she put thought into every word. This unnerved her even more. "But, I did hear the clanging of the silver cans and the creaking of a cart"

"A cart" Rachel swallowed down all the saliva in her mouth. Her tongue being left dry. "Yes I heard it creaking and saw it coming around from Neil's home" Rachel felt her face getting hot. If it weren't for Tina maintaining direct eye contact, she would've glanced away. "I went to take another picture but realized I would be exposed during the flash. I hid away by the river for a few moments"

"But you saw them?"

"Them?" Tina stopped writing. "Well, I mean if you heard talking…" Shit. Tina looked at her for a few moments with no real expression. "Do you know something Rachel?"

"I didn't do anything!" Rachel backed away. Tina stepped forward. "I didn't ask if you did anything-just if you knew something" Rachel shook her head. Shit. Shit. Shit. It wasn't supposed to go this way. Tina was now looking at her like a criminal. She sighed and held up the picture. "You know this person does kinda looks 5'7" Rachel stifled her breathing. She waited to see what Tina would do next. Should she start pleading for forgiveness or for her to forget?

"And you know I think I heard the crate going near your farm" Why is she doing this? Rachel was about to ask. "What did you see?" she asked instead. Why deny it- Tina already deduced as much. "What do you know?" Rachel stood stiff lipped.

"Do you know who did it?" Tina asked again, her voice more stern. "What did you see?" Rachel bypassed her question. What she knew depended on what Tina saw. Not being able to win, Tina answered first. "I saw a crate coming from around Neil's place. I realized I'd be in direct sight so I hid back by the river. When I came back he or she was gone"

"So why are you accusing me?"

"Why are you being so suspicious?" Tina fired back. She ignored the question. "What makes you think I did it?" Before even finishing the last syllable, Tina began, "Rachel, how's your farm doing?"

"Fine" She gritted through her teeth. How dare she. Tina was scribbling away in her pad. "Those silver cans are worth quite a bit, 18,000G a pop" Tina rolled her eyes up to Rachel's. "You and I both know your farm isn't doing so well right now and how many people here own that type of cart? Not many"

"It wasn't me" she said in a bitter swear.

"Who else has a motive?"

Neil was skimming through the pages of 'Animal Daily' as he waited for any customers at his store. No one had come yet, though it was almost noon. Rod had been jabbering on and on endlessly about something or other. As nice as he is, the guy just is a little too friendly for his taste. Sometimes he wishes it was back when he sold animals by himself. "Aaah. That feels good" Rod was stretching his arms out. "It sure is nice today, too bad no one is itchin' for a new animal friend" Rod smiled. "Yeah, well there are days like that" Neil flipped through the pages. "Yeah well how am I supposed to afford my cottage if no one buys?" He laughed.

"Hmm. That is interesting Rod" The two of them looked up. Tina was approaching the markets, backed by Dunhill and Rachel. "Oh, hey looking for a doggie?" Rod smiled brighter than 100 watts. "You would like that wouldn't you?" Tina had a hand on her hip. His smile flickered for a few seconds and his eyes shone confusion. "Well, I would. I could to use the money" he chuckled.

Seeing the way the Dunhill and Tina exchanged looks set nervous sensation in his chest. Dunhill turned back to Rachel and she nodded. "Rod we're gonna need you to come with us" Dunhill said in a deep drawl. His eyes widened, his mouth was set slightly ajar. "Uh, but I have to keep my store"

"Rod come with us" Dunhill repeated.

His magazine now closed, Neil was watching it all go down. "What's going on?" he asked. Dunhill was beginning to lift Rod from his stool. "What is this about?" Rod lifted his arms. "Don't worry about it now Neil" Rod started cooperating. The group crossed through the patio area the two shops were on to Dunhill's house. Inside, Dunhill sat Rod down.

"Now, we already know what happened, so you should just tell us" Dunhill spoke.

Rod sat in a chair centered in the room, his eyes were shifting from one person to the next. "What do you mean?" Dunhill kicked his foot onto the spock of the stool. "Son, we already know what happened so you should just tell the truth" Rod fidgeted with his goggles. "Does this have to do with Neil?" Rod asked, for the first time not forcing a smile. Dunhill nodded. Rod lowered his gaze to the floor.

"I'll give it back, I just needed the money. I knew it was wrong. I'm so sorry" Rod bowed his head. What? Rachel hadn't expected this. She's the one with the cans, well not anymore. After her chat with Tina, they agreed to confront Rod with Dunhill at 10. Before that could happen, she hid the evidence. Specifically, she hid it in around the back of his cottage. She flipped the cart, leaving the cans hidden underneath. She already made an alternate story for the night of the crime just for when the truth inevitably surfaced. But she didn't know what the hell Rod was apologizing for.

"Just show us where they are" Dunhill's voice was gravelly like he was gargling rocks. He wandered towards the doorway, his footsteps heavy. He opened the door and held it. Rod understood and got off the stool. Tina and Rachel followed out. It would take about 5-10 minutes to get to the cottage. Rachel spent the time trying to figure the events to come. As long as she's ok in the end, it doesn't really matter to her. Rod seemed sullen with his head down and his hands clutched. The heavy air on the cottage became harder to breathe.

Dunhill turned the knob to the front door, nobody in the Valley ever locked their doors. Inside was dark and shadowy. The two girls followed in after him. He didn't move to turn the lights on. In the darkness, Rod's staggering figure almost disappeared. "It's in here" Rod's silhouette reappeared looming by the closet. Rachel was taken aback. She looked to Dunhill and Tina. Both of them were focusing their gazes at Rod, who was now opening the closet. The lights were still off but the light through the windows was just enough to discern basic shapes and colors.

The light from the window cast light in rectangles. Some scattered on Tina's thin frame. Rod was dusty in the darkness of the corner. The doors to the closet creaked when he pulled them. He lowered himself to his knees and reached in. He yanked out a wooden box. "Ok, ok let me look" Dunhill stepped in. He held out his arm with a stiff hand between Rod and the box. Rod nodded and rolled up onto his heels as he stepped back. "What is it?" Tina asked, the notepad already in her hands.

"Wait, you're not writing about this are you?" Rod looked to her. "Of course! There are no secrets in the Valley" Funny, for someone who hides in the bushes for hours at a time Rachel has never seen anything about her in the paper. Rod had a panicky expression. Their attentions were aligned by the sound of a scoff from Dunhill.

"Rod, where did you get all this?" Dunhill stood over the box. "What is it Dunhill?" Tina moved in. Rod stepped back and scratched at his face. Rachel joined the two. She couldn't stop a gasp from leaving her. She estimated nearly 24,000G in the box. "Where did you get this Rod?" Tina began her interrogation. He didn't answer immediately, instead shaking his head. "I was going to return it, I swear. I just…"

"Needed the money"? Tina finished.

"Where did you get all this?" Rachel asked. Who knew Rod was sitting on some fat stacks? "I just…What you need to know is how much debt I was in-" Rachel didn't wait for him to finish. "Did you steal this?" she asked. She felt the hypocrisy in her giving such a dirty look but she never would've expected this of Rod. But then again, most people wouldn't expect her of theft either. He hesitated. Rod barely parted his lips before Rachel asked something else.

"Where did you get this?" Rod bowed his head. "I've been taking money from Neil…" he whispered. "I'm sorry" "What do you mean when you say, 'taking the money from Neil'"? Dunhill stepped in. Rachel had almost forgotten he was there. Rod backed into the wall. "Rod, tell us what you did" Dunhill spoke. "You're not in any trouble" Bullshit. It took a few moments for him to begin speaking. Dunhill had everyone sit down at the table. The lights still hadn't been turned on. "I was working one day and Neil went to take his lunch break. He usually walks down to his house and it only takes about twenty or so minutes. One day he went and he left out the bag he keeps his money in" He gulped. Rachel couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Well there was some of it sticking out and… well I really needed the money" Rod looked up from his hands.

"Just continue the story" Dunhill said. Rod clenched his jaw. "...Well I took it-only a little. No one had been buying at my store and Neil's business was booming. Well he did it the next day and I took a little more and-"

"How long have you been taking money?" Tina interrupted. Rod wrung his hands. "Yeah, about that… I uh… never stopped taking the money. Yesterday was the last time" Tina scribbled in her notepad. "How long have you been doing this?" "A year" A smile forced on his lips. Sympathy overwhelmed Rachel. She was in the same situation. Dunhill shook his head. "That's a lot of money in there. You're telling me you've accumulated all that money from taking chump change from an animal shop?"

"Well…" Rod scratched the back of his head. "It seems that most people in the Valley don't want a pet or anything. When tourism boomed I was able to sell some doggies to families that stopped by and were in the hotel but I couldn't get enough. I uh… might have fudged some sales details to my suppliers" Dunhill's eyebrow rose. "As in?"

"As in… I might've edited my ledger so I could...keep some of the money" Rachel winced. She's not too familiar with this type of job but from what she could tell, he wasn't being too honest with his suppliers. She didn't know the details but apparently he could cheat them out of money. "'Might've'? Did you or did you not?" Dunhill leaned in. "I did".

"That's fraud" Tina stated. Rachel could see the shooting confetti in Tina's eyes. She could see it now, Fraud in the Valley: A Pet Dealer's Abuse-Inside Edition. "How did you scam them?" Tina was smiling despite her attempts to be serious. "Well, the animals are worth different amount depending on what it is like a horse is worth more than a dog which is worth more than a cat" Rod voice was dry, "I might've-" he glanced at Dunhill, "The company pays me for selling their animals but I still have to pay for the animals I request. Well not many people really need an animal friend so I was having trouble making money. I sold a cat to a tourist family but I charged them as if it was a dog"

"What was the difference" Tina asked. "About 1000G" That explains why Mr. Muffy was so expensive. That must also be why her dog was worth 4000G more than he was worth. Damn dog also had fleas. Rod was playing with his goggles. "And that went into your pockets" Dunhill crossed his arms. "How many times have you done this?" Dunhill stood from his chair. "Not too many times!" Rod pleaded. "I just really needed the money. I didn't know any other way"

"Rod, where are the cans?" Dunhill asked. Rod stopped talking. His eyes were wide. "What cans?" He stopped wringing his hands. "Neil's silver cans that were stolen last night" Rachel felt a hot sensation travel down from her eyes through her body. Rod immediately turned to face her. "What?" Rachel couldn't look him in the eyes. "We already know, you don't have to play dumb" Dunhill wasn't playing around. "Neil's cans? I just helped Rachel put them in her cart. She said they were hers" He stood up from his seat. He might've seemed angry if it weren't for the shake in his voice.

"Rachel already told us what happened. We just want to know where they are" Rod's face shot back to Rachel. "What did you tell them! You know that I was just helping you. I don't have the cans" Dunhill lowered his head. "You've been so truthful up until now" "I am telling the truth" Rod replied with a shout. Rachel rose slowly from her chair, catching Rod's attention again. "Tell them! Go on Rach tell them" he smiled, "Come on would I do that?"

"There's not much difference between a fraudster and a thief. Besides you've already stolen from Neil" Tina felt the need to mention. "I didn't do it. I ran into Rachel last night at Neil's house. She was having trouble loading her cart so I helped her out. I didn't know she was stealing them she told me they were hers but Neil had been using them"

"Rod!" Dunhill shouted. Rachel's skin almost was jolted from her body. His voice startled the others too. "Rachel may be down on her luck but she is no thief" Rod sunk his head. "She already told us that she lent you the cart because you had asked her for it. Then you went and stole the milk cans. She was concerned when she found out what happened and told us" Despite his mouth being set ajar, he was silent. Dunhill looked to Rachel, who's eye were wide and her frame shaken, "Are you ok Rachel?" She nodded after a small pause. Dunhill turned to Tina, "Let's look around. Rachel you too. Rod you stay here" Tina began sniffing around the kitchen. They are pretty big so they would be easy to spot, still Rachel hung back till a few minutes had passed. "Hey, I'm going to look around back"

She already knew where it was and was nervous about finding it first, but she couldn't wait around for Tina or Dunhill to wander out. "Hey, I found something!" She called. It was only a few seconds later that they were at the back door. Dunhill approached the cart. "Is this your cart?" He asked just to make sure. It was flipped over just like how she left it. He bent over and lifted the cart. The cans were now in plain sight. "I didn't bring those!" Rod shouted from the back door.

Dunhill just shook his head. Rachel felt a tinge of guilt but she needed money too. Maybe all the years of being nice, or all the sneaking and cheating that explained it but as Rachel approached the door again Rod snapped. "How could you!" He lunged at her- a full body lunge, like a feet-off-the-ground lunge. Rachel's body was knocked to the ground, Rod on top of her, the breath thoroughly knocked out of her. "I gave you a dog half-off!" Rod clawed at her, Dunhill was already behind him, yanking him up.

"The dog had fleas!" She shouted from the ground, her hair scattered in the grass. Tina ran to her side. "Those were high quality fleas! Give me them back!" Dunhill had him pinned. "Give me them back!" Rebecca came running out of her home to around the back. "What is going on over here? I can hear screaming!" Dunhill had him secured on the ground. "You! I sold you a dog too! Give him back!"

"What is going on?" Rebecca cocked her head. "You never appreciated him!"

"That's enough!" Dunhill lifted him up, having an arm around his neck, another hold Rod's arms. "When was the last time you came to buy food? Is he even alive?" Rod shouted. "What are you talking abou-" "Murderer!" Dunhill forced him in the other direction.

It was a few months later when things started to calm down again. After Fraud in the Valley: A Pet Dealer's Abuse went global, Rod's store had been investigated and shut down. The story was so captivating that Soseki left his retirement to work on the story. Rod had a few TV interviews. Being the forgiving people that live in the Valley, he managed to get a part-time job at Chez Clement, though he is not allowed to handle, count, see, or be near the money. The stolen money and cans had been returned to Neil. Her farm was still drying out so it no surprise to the Harvest Goddess when Rachel was found out a month later when Neil caught her trying to steal the cans again. She was put on agricultural probation. Lucky for her, a donation pool was put together for her farm-mainly the animals. Turns out to get help all she had to do was ask.