Cowboy Reckoning

by Barb Han

  “Do you remember about when you last saw Oaklynn?” Ensley asked.

  “It’s been a long time. Her father went a little berserk after what happened. He became so overprotective that he pulled her out of school and her mother homeschooled her. Folks chewed on that decision a lot. They didn’t think it was good for her to be so isolated after her two best friends…” Aunt Penny’s gaze dropped to the table where she drew circles with her index finger. It was something she did when she talked about anything that could be painful.

  Levi remembered the first time he’d noticed her habit. His youngest brother, A.J., had been due to start kindergarten after a weekend during their childhood and their mother had been planning a party for him. She’d forgotten to pick up his balloons. She left and never walked through the door again.

  A freak storm produced a flash flood that had swept her vehicle off the bridge.

  “No one in town felt like they had the right to tell anyone else how to bring up their children let alone after what that family had been through,” Aunt Penny continued. “You know who I never really liked?” She wagged her finger. “Oaklynn’s older brother. I never did like that boy.”

  “Someone had to know the three of them were out there.” Levi looked to Ensley. “Is it possible they told someone?”

  “Anything is possible, but I doubt it. All three of them stood to be in a lot of trouble for pulling a stunt like that. I doubt any of them wanted to get caught and telling someone would be risky.”

  “Maybe we could piece it together.” Levi nodded toward Ensley’s journal.

  She picked up her pen and clicked it. She wrote the word, “Names.”

  Underneath it, she started a list. Ren, was first.

  “There was always something a little bit different about him,” she agreed. “He was a couple of years younger than me in school. That would make him…what?...about three years older than my brother. Since Cooper was twelve about to turn thirteen when this happened, that would put Ren at about fifteen or maybe sixteen.”

  She circled Ren’s name.

  Levi knew two of the kids’ throats had been cut. “Were there any marks on Oaklynn when she came out of the woods?”

  Ensley was shaking her head. “Not one cut, despite my brother and Greyson’s condition.”

  “Well, if Ren was fifteen that might be a different story than if he was sixteen and had a license.” Levi watched as Ensley wrote a dash next to Ren’s name along with the numbers, fifteen and sixteen.

  “Not to change the subject, but you know who rubbed me the wrong way besides Ren? It was the mayor’s son,” Aunt Penny continued.

  “Harlow Beckwith?” Levi asked.

  “Yes, his son. They called him Becks I believe. It’s been so long I don’t remember his first name,” she said.

  “Garth was his first name. Garth Beckwith, but, yes, everyone called him, Becks,” Levi clarified.

  “He was in my class. Didn’t he get sent to military school?” Ensley asked.

  Aunt Penny was nodding her head. “He got sent off somewhere. The mayor said it was military school, but I also heard that he was sent to a halfway house. I never really was sure what happened to him.”

  Ensley wrote down that name.

  “What about Oaklynn’s father? You said he went a little crazy. Understandably so, but in Greyson’s parents’ case they divorced and moved off in different directions—”

  “I read about that,” Ensley stated. “That the divorce rate was through the roof for couples who lost a child. I was surprised my father and stepmom stayed together. I guess adoption was their way to put the past behind them and try to move on.”

  There was so much sadness in her voice when she talked about her parents that it hit Levi in a place he’d tried to protect. With Ensley, the walls were coming down. He reminded himself that no matter how strong the pull was to her—and it was strong—his life was here in Cattle Cove and hers was in Tennessee.

  She’d been clear on the fact that she couldn’t wait to get out of town and he’d spent the better part of five years of military service with one thought on his mind, get home.

  Rather than fight the urge, he reached across the table and covered her hand with his. She tensed with contact and he wondered if she felt that same jolt of electricity he did. Part of him hoped so.

  Instead of recoiling as he’d feared, she relaxed her hand and linked their fingers.

  Aunt Penny’s gaze shot to their hands and then she smiled the smallest of smiles before refocusing.

  “Do you know him and his wife?” Levi asked.

  “We didn’t run in the same circles. You know what it’s like in ranching life. You see a lot of a few people—the people who impact your daily life and who you work beside. They ran that small farm and kept to themselves. After the woods, they shut down most social contact. In the beginning folks gave them plenty of space, figuring they needed time to heal. Everyone grieves differently and we all figured that was their way. Then, it seemed to drag on for months, then years. People got busy with their own lives. Oh, you’d still hear whispers every now and again about the tragedy that happened and that poor girl who survived.” Aunt Penny shrugged. “I guess it just got real easy to let them be.”

  “No word from them at all?”

  “There was some talk a while back that Mr. Stock was up to something. I don’t know that anything ever came of it. You know how small towns can be. People get bored.”

  “There’s nothing to watch on TV,” he continued for her.

  She was nodding her head. “People gather over at Maybelle Barnes’ Sweeties Candy Bar or Alfred’s DOUGH, the pizza place, and sometimes rumors get started. Everyone thought Mr. Stock was up to something but almost losing his daughter seemed to have put him on the straight and narrow again.”

  “What kind of talk?” Levi asked. “Like he was shorting suppliers or hitting his wife?”

  Ensley withdrew her hand and then picked up the pen. She clicked it a couple of times before making a note about Mr. Stock. Then, she drew a line and wrote, suspicious behavior.

  “I don’t know if he was a violent man. His wife kept to herself unless she was out with him. They seemed happy enough on the outside but then you hear about statistics like one in four women are being abused in marriages and it makes you wonder. Mrs. Stock only went out with her husband and I know he was strict on the kids.”

  Levi decided they’d gotten as far as they could there. He figured it was time to move onto suspects. “What do you know about Andy Whitfield?”

  “The tow truck owner? I know he’s gotten people out of a jam more than once. Why?” It seemed to dawn on her and she started rocking her head. “Right. He’s Lowell Whitfield’s nephew. I get it now.”

  “I really didn’t know Lowell Whitfield very well. It’s a shame what’s being written. Shame on him if he covered for his friends and lied about so-called accidental deaths that were murder. I read about Nancy Sidling’s death now being looked at as a homicide from four years ago.” Aunt Penny pressed her hand to her chest over her heart. “It’s just awful.”

  “Were Sheriff Skinner and Lowell Whitfield close?” Levi asked.

  “Tighter than peas in a pod. And they were friends with the mayor. The three of them were poker buddies along with Judge Cox,” she stated.

  “That’s convenient,” Levi stated. “And would make getting a search warrant tricky.”

  “It’s always bothered me how Sheriff Skinner tried to sell what had happened to your brother and his friend.”

  “Andy Whitfield’s son, we believe, damaged my car that was stranded on the side of the road possibly because someone tampered with it while I was in the meadow,” Ensley said. “He refused to send a tow truck when he found out it was for me.”

  “Well, that does seem really suspicious, now doesn’t it.” Aunt Penny seemed incensed. “Has the new sheriff been notified?”

  “She has,” Ensley stated.

  “What do you think
about her?” Aunt Penny asked Levi.

  “I was about to ask you the same thing.”

  “I’ve always liked the Justice family. I’ve never had a bad run-in with any of them. I’ve never heard anything but good about them. Did you say she was taking another look at the case?” Aunt Penny asked Ensley.

  She nodded.

  “Maybe you’ll get traction with a fresh set of eyes on the case. I’ve always believed that once someone gets locked onto an idea that’s all they ever see. They lose all objectivity. Even if he was trying to handle the case like a professional, and I’m not saying he was, Skinner was so determined to blame the kids for what happened that he might’ve missed crucial evidence.”

  “He was very busy proving his theory instead of following the evidence,” Ensley agreed. She blew out a frustrated-sounding breath. “All the new sheriff really has to go on are the photos from the crime scene since it happened so long ago. Obviously, the original crime scene has been trampled on dozens of times if not more.”

  “The sight became popular for a while on Halloween. Kids would dare each other to go into the meadow alone for a few years after. The community had to set up a watch after Randy Lobe’s boy came face to face with a hungry black bear.”

  People could be morbid and especially teenagers.

  Ensley’s face screwed up like she’d been slapped. “From everything I read, DNA technology has improved over the years. If there was any DNA on the tent or backpack, it might be reasonable to think prints could be lifted. If someone besides the three of them touched the tent or the backpack, we’d know who our killer was.”

  “There was a knife involved. Who wears a hunting-style knife on his hip?” Levi asked.

  Aunt Penny’s face twisted. “Just about every male I know in the county.”

  Almost everyone Levi knew had some kind of knife clipped to his belt. In these parts, it was handy to keep some kind of blade on the ready.

  On second thought, that might not be much help.

  “Okay, so that also tells me someone would have a knife on them at all times.” Ensley wrote the word down. “If a person accidentally stumbled onto the group, that person might already have a weapon on them.”

  “That would rule out premeditated murder,” Levi agreed. And yet, something wasn’t sitting right. “You know what, I feel like the kids had to know who their attacker was. Reason being, there were three of them, two of whom might have been young but were also fit and athletic, and a girl who was capable of screaming her head off for help.”

  “No one would’ve heard them in the meadow. It’s too far off the road,” Ensley stated.

  “What about the escaped prisoner theory. Are you certain the killer is from Cattle Cove?” he asked.

  “I researched escapees from Huntsville within the timeframe of the murders. There was one name, Desi Alessandro.” Ensley turned back the pages of her journal to the entry with the name.

  “Were you able to rule him out?” Levi asked.

  “Not exactly. But there’s no way to interview him now,” she stated.

  “Why not?”

  “Because he’s dead.”

  12

  Despite herself, Ensley remembered feeling that burst of hope that had been immediately shot down. “Desi Alessandro was killed in prison after he was returned to Huntsville a year after he escaped. I visited the prison and asked to speak to guards who said he bragged about hurting kids. Word got out and he was found strangled in his bed two days after he’d been locked up.”

  “Did he identify the kids?”

  “No, but he was found in San Antonio and it’s believed he was abusing his girlfriend’s children. They were five and seven years old.” Ensley picked up the pen and clicked it a couple of times—a nervous habit.

  “In my mind, the killer knew the kids and he knew the area,” Levi said. She needed a minute to unpack those words. It was unimaginable to think anyone could brutally kill another person. The thought someone who walked the streets of Cattle Cove or possibly the same halls at school struck her.

  A very large part of Ensley needed the killer to be a blank, faceless person and not someone she might’ve spoken to face-to-face.

  Penny’s cell phone buzzed. She glanced around and then fished it out of her apron pocket. The sound echoed, and Ensley realized Levi’s cell was going off at the same time. An ominous feeling settled over her as she watched the two of them exchange a glance before grabbing their cells.

  Levi checked the screen and immediately answered. He greeted his brother and went quiet.

  “What happened?” He got quiet and studied a spot on the wood table. “How did it happen?”

  Ensley stared at her notebook, feeling like this was a very personal moment for Levi. Considering Penny’s questions were similar, Ensley figured something big was going down in their family.

  Levi’s gaze shifted to Karma. “I’m coming to the hospital.”

  Those weren’t the words Ensley wanted to hear. Based on his tone, something grave had gone down.

  Levi ended his call moments before Penny. Her face was sheet-white and she looked shocked and a little dismayed.

  “It’s my father. There was an accident while he was out with his brother. I don’t know all the details yet and neither did my brother, Rylan. All we know is that our father has been transported to the hospital and my Uncle Donny is with him. He had to be sedated.” Levi’s gaze bounced from Karma to Ensley. “I need to go but—”

  “Don’t worry about us. I think he’ll stay with me and it’ll give me a chance to clear my head. I’ve been thinking about the case too much and I’m getting a headache. I wouldn’t mind lying down, if the offer to stay in the guestroom is still on the table.”

  He looked to Penny and said, “I can give you a ride.”

  “I’d like that. I’ll just grab my purse and we’ll be off. Okay?” She rocked her head and seemed to be gathering herself when she took in a deep breath. Her tone of voice said she was anything but that last word.

  Levi fished his keys out of his pocket and glanced around the table like he was checking to see if he was missing anything. Once again, his gaze landed on Karma and a hint of desperation passed behind his eyes.

  “We’ll be fine.” Ensley had noticed Karma was settled in between her and Levi’s feet at the table. Sticking around the ranch for a few hours wouldn’t hurt her investigation. She figured they were in a holding pattern at the moment anyway.

  The connection between Lowell Whitfield, Sheriff Skinner and the mayor shouldn’t surprise her. Throw in the judge and they pretty much had a lock on anything they wanted to get done or suppress. Her brother’s case had been labeled a tragedy instead of a crime. Minds had been made up.

  “Are you sure you’ll be okay with him?” Levi asked.

  “We’ll figure it out. Go see your father and don’t worry about what’s going on here,” she urged. “Just give me your phone number in case I need to reach you.”

  She fished out her cell and handed it over to Levi, who immediately added himself to her contacts. When he handed the phone back to her and their fingers touched, more of that electric current pulsed through her, sending a jolt straight to her heart.

  Trying to ignore what was happening between them wasn’t working, so she risked a glance into Levi’s eyes. That same current held them there rooted in that spot for a few seconds. Time stopped and the world was reduced to the two of them.

  It was undeniable they both felt the attraction. The pull was fierce. What they decided to do about it, if anything at all, was completely up in the air.

  Logically and logistically, trying to start a relationship was impossible. Her life was in Tennessee. Levi’s whole world was here at the ranch. She hadn’t even seen where he actually lived and despite feeling like she’d known him her entire life and the fact that being with him seemed like the most natural thing in the world, they were very different people.

  Long-distance dating was a thing—not a thing
she cared to dip into. Would she be willing to go there for the right person?

  It was worth considering for Levi.

  The moment happening between them broke with the sounds of feet shuffling into the room. Levi held onto Ensley’s gaze a few seconds longer before he dropped down to talk to Karma at eye level.

  “Be a good boy for Ensley,” he said.

  Karma’s ears perked up.

  Ensley realized they hadn’t asked Penny the one question that had been on her mind. “Hey, Penny. Do you know who in town drives a black truck?”

  “Yeah.” She seemed to be searching her thoughts. “There are a few. The first one that comes to mind is Oaklynn’s father.”

  Mr. Stock just moved to the top of the suspect list. A story was emerging. An overprotective father finds out his daughter lied to him. Furthermore, she was camping out overnight with two boys. Anyone who knew Oaklynn would realize nothing would happen. But a father might not see it that way.

  He could’ve been furious and figured out where the kids were. How? Ensley needed to think it through a little bit more. There were obvious holes. For one, how did he find out where they were going? Would Oaklynn have told the friend who was covering for her that night? It was a place to start. Granted, Celeste would have been traumatized by the event. She nearly lost her friend and two schoolmates died that night. But, asking her a few questions seemed far less traumatic than trying to get to Oaklynn, if they could get past her family, which Ensley highly doubted.

  There was another thing bugging her about Mr. Stock. Why was he so overprotective? Ensley understood him wanting to keep his daughter safe and the feeling of her entire world being shattered. Oaklynn probably didn’t want to leave the security of her own home after the killings. Maybe she believed the killer would come back for her. After her brother’s death, Ensley had had the same fear herself. It had haunted her for years, leaving her unsettled and unable to sleep. At some point, though, the TV had to be clicked off. Ensley had to learn to sleep without the bedroom light on. It had been important not to let her fears control her.