Unbridled Murder

by Leigh Hearon

  “Sheriff Mullin mentioned that you were a superb reading tutor.”

  “I am. And I got a call on Friday from the school, asking me to reapply. I’m thrilled. I could really use the extra money.”

  Annie believed this unequivocally.

  “So how did you manage to show up at the feedlot so quickly?”

  “The old-fashioned way—someone told me. I really did want to see you off if I possibly could, so I got up at the crack of dawn—”

  “I know. And jump-started Donny’s car.”

  “Yup, I got the call at six o’clock and rushed over. She cannot be late for work. Her boss is a fanatic about being on time.”

  “But when Donny started to say where you were headed, you cut her off. So I assume Donny knows about the horses, too?”

  “Absolutely not. After I helped Donny with her car, I told her I had to get to Olivia’s to help with a sick animal. But if she’d said that at the bar, you’d have known the school story wasn’t true.”

  “Back to the question. How’d you know about George’s accident?”

  “I dashed to the grove, checked on the horses, and was barreling through town when I saw the entire police force peel out and head toward Loman. I rolled down my window and asked the last car to leave where they were headed. The nice deputy said the feedlot—George had had an accident. I just followed him there, at a slightly slower rate of speed. It was pretty clear what had happened as soon as I got there.”

  Annie assimilated all this. It made sense, and she wanted to believe Maria. She needed to feel that someone in this town told the truth. If she really wanted to check, she supposed she could ask for the name of the deputy Maria had spoken to, and confirm that their brief exchange had actually taken place. She didn’t much feel compelled to do so. As Marcus had pointed out, Maria did not give off the appearance of a cold-blooded killer.

  But then there was Danny Trevor. Maria had been just as shocked as she was when Olivia informed them he had been patrolling wild horses from the air.

  “Okay, I believe you,” she carefully told Maria. “But there’s one more thing I have to know.”

  “Shoot.”

  Maria had the ability to look always at ease, Annie thought, even under pointed questioning. She wished she’d been so relaxed during the hours Sheriff Mullin had been grilling her.

  “Danny Trevor. You knew him. I’m finding it hard to believe you didn’t also know about his contract with the tribe.”

  “I swear, Annie, I knew nothing about it. Sure, I knew Danny. He spoke at my son’s school one day when I happened to be a volunteer. We talked afterwards about where he’d flown and that kind of stuff. But we didn’t hang out together. And I honestly thought the tribe was hunting wild herds with ATVs only, like we saw today. If I’d known he was working with the tribe’s roundup gang, I would have called him on it. Anyway, Danny’s gone, and I doubt any other local pilot would agree to take up where he left off.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  The two women sat silently for several minutes. The tension Annie had felt earlier was nearly gone. The ATVs had not returned and Maria had answered most of Annie’s questions satisfactorily. She still felt she didn’t know the whole story, but she didn’t need to. All she had to do was pick up a trailer, load up, and go. And make sure that Eddie was transported ASAP. For the tenth time, she wished she’d asked Jessica for her six-slant instead of the four. But then, the foal probably wasn’t quite ready to learn how to load. It probably was better to return with Jessica and pick up Eddie, the mare and foal, and any other horses who happened to land in her lap along the way. Where all these horses would stay during the quarantine period and beyond was too much to think about right now. Annie looked down at the herd, calmly grazing together once more, although the pinto mare and her little one were still keeping their distance. The stallion, Annie was relieved to see, showed no signs of aggressive behavior. He was too busy preening.

  “Oh, look! The foal’s finally got the hang of latching on.” Maria pointed at the bucolic scene before them.

  “Excellent. Which reminds me, I haven’t eaten lunch.”

  “Let me get you back to the motel. We’ve given Marcus enough time alone. In fact, he’s probably wondering where you are.”

  * * *

  Marcus was just emerging from the shower when Annie entered the motel room. The sight of him wrapped in a scant towel made her want to tear off her sweaty clothes and drag him back into bed. Instead, she gave him a swift kiss.

  “Did you manage to sleep at all?”

  “I did. The maid came by just as I was coming in, but I told her not to bother cleaning the room. I hope that’s okay with you.”

  “Fine with me. The bed’s just going to get mussed up again, anyway.”

  He kissed her back, this time lingering more.

  “Very good point.”

  Annie felt much revived after her own second shower, and once she’d dressed, she joined Marcus on the small balcony outside the room.

  Marcus was scribbling on a notepad, his cell phone close by. When he saw her sit down, he flipped over the pad and smiled at her.

  “Company trade secrets?” she asked. “Don’t worry—they’re safe with me. I couldn’t understand them if I tried.”

  Marcus grinned. “Sorry, Annie. Business seems to follow me even on the dusty trails to eastern Washington.”

  “So I gather. Fortunately, I’ve got an angel of a caretaker who is doing all my work for me. All I have to do is write her a check.”

  “Yes, and I think the nonprofit should reimburse you for her time. This trip has turned out to be far longer and more complicated than any of us ever imagined.”

  Annie waved off his suggestion.

  “Happy to do it. And aside from Jessica, I am the right board member for the job.”

  “No doubt about that. So how did things go with Maria? Did you get things sorted out with her?”

  Annie frowned. “Pretty much. She owned up to being at the grove instead of the school the morning George died, and said she simply followed the line of cops going out to the feedlot. It makes sense. And it’s possible that she didn’t know Danny Trevor was involved with the roundup gang on the rez. I don’t know. In some ways, I think Myrna’s the more likely killer. I just wish I didn’t feel that I’m always getting half the story whenever I talk to Maria.

  “She’s got a right to her own privacy.”

  Annie considered this for a moment and reluctantly agreed.

  “Yes, she does. Whenever she asks me a personal question, I want to clam up, too.”

  “I’m sure of that. I feel privileged whenever you divulge the slightest tidbit about your misspent youth.”

  Annie swatted at his arm. “Very funny.”

  “And I know we’re not supposed to talk about it, but I also know you’re wondering as much as I am whether or not Tony’s death is somehow related.”

  She sighed. “I think they have to be simply because they both occurred so close in time. That, and the fact that we know both were murders. Have you talked with Dan? He just told me the FBI found the detonator near Snoqualmie Lodge. And you’ll never guess what it was—a rigged cell phone, can you believe it? Someone definitely wanted Danny Trevor dead. Both Trevor and George were up to their ears in the horse-selling business. The problem is that the list of people who hated what both did for a living is pretty much endless.”

  “Which is why Sheriff Mullin would be incredibly happy to find anything that links at least one of the deaths to you.”

  Annie nodded glumly, then sat up straight.

  “Wait, Marcus. There may be something that helps provide ex—ex—you know, the kind of evidence that proves I’m innocent.”

  “Exculpatory evidence?”

  “That’s it! Alvin said the test showing my rifle hadn’t recently been used was exculpatory evidence, and once the sheriff reviewed the security tapes, it will be, too. But I have photos, ones I took that day. When I
first discovered George’s body in the feedlot paddock—”

  Annie’s mind instantly went to that chaotic scene, and the sight of the two horses methodically pounding on what was left of the feedlot owner’s body. She unconsciously made a small grimace. Marcus was silent and waited for her to continue.

  “Anyway, I thought I would have to remove the body, even though I knew I should wait for the cops to do that. But I had no idea how long it would take for them to arrive, and meanwhile, poor George was being, well, pulverized, and the horses were going nuts. So I took a bunch of photos of the scene just to make sure the sheriff would know how it looked when I first saw it.”

  “Excellent, Annie! Did you hand them over to Mullin?”

  “No. I didn’t.”

  “Why not?” Marcus seemed surprised.

  “Frankly, I forgot. Maria showed up a few minutes after the sheriff, and we spent the next several hours just taking care of the horses. They’d been terribly traumatized by all the violence. First, we had to move them, then feed them, and we ended up cleaning all the troughs and doing other things just to make them more comfortable.”

  “Sounds exactly like something you’d do.”

  “Yes, well, after that was done, I immediately was escorted into Mullin’s patrol vehicle and subjected to several hours of questioning down at the precinct. I completely forgot about the photos, and when I did remember, I didn’t particularly want him to have them.”

  “Why? They might have made a difference in how Mullin viewed your status as a suspect.”

  “Maybe. But he was so suspicious of me from the start. I worried that if I told him about the photos, he’d think I was simply documenting the murder I’d just committed. Besides, I don’t think they show anything but photos of the Kubota and the placement of the body. But maybe there’s something on there I didn’t see when I was taking them.”

  “I take it you also haven’t shown them to Alvin, either?”

  “Again, I completely forgot that I took them. It’s weird. I must have wanted to block the bloody scene from my mind.”

  “So you haven’t looked at them since that day?”

  “I haven’t looked at them at all. Didn’t want to. Seeing everything in person was enough.”

  “Let’s take a look at them now.”

  * * *

  As Annie feared, she had a strong visceral reaction to looking at all the images she’d captured on her smartphone not so long ago. Once more, she felt the dark terror that had permeated the feedlot that Tuesday morning, when crazed and confined horses had raged against their confinement, desperate to be away from the sight and smell of blood that assaulted their senses. She could tell that Marcus was disturbed by the images, as well. But he continued to scan each one carefully, long after Annie’s appetite for revisiting the scene had vanished. Her appetite for food also had disappeared.

  “It looks like you used the burst mode on a lot of them,” he observed. Annie was still at the patio table, but she was leaning back in her chair, no longer desiring to look at the play-by-play recap she had created.

  “Yes. Hannah showed me how, and the horses were moving so fast in the paddock, it was difficult to find a focus. I hoped that one or two might come out this way.”

  Marcus nodded and continued his silent analysis of the images, slowly swiping each photo aside when he was done. Then he paused, swiped back and forth a few times, and stopped.

  “Annie, I do believe you may have captured a significant clue. Come over and look at this.”

  Marcus had not taken his eyes off her phone while he spoke. Annie reluctantly joined him. She hoped the photo wasn’t one of the close-ups of the body. She’d been so numb that day, the full effect of what she had seen hadn’t seemed as real as it did now.

  She pulled her chair closer, and Marcus pointed at a place to the far left in the image on the screen.

  “See that, up there? It’s a just a wisp of something red. Up in the corner, near that shack in back of the corral.”

  Annie peered at it and quickly saw the spot Marcus referred to. It was just a dot of red, visible through the heads and manes of horses flying by. It was merely by chance that it had been captured digitally. Another nanosecond, and the blur of horses would have shielded it from sight.

  “Now, let’s go a couple of images further.” Marcus advanced the roll of images slightly and stopped again.

  “Here it is again, the same red dot. Only now it’s moved, just a bit. See? We first saw it over by that shack. Now it’s closer to that second corral, behind the one you were facing.”

  Again, Marcus was right. It looked like the small red dot, but it had moved farther back and behind the second paddock.

  “You can’t tell what it is from these shots,” Marcus went on. “It’s not red-eye created by the camera; it’s definitely part of the physical scene. But in this image—” Marcus swiped the roll once more. “In this one, you can see what it is.”

  Annie looked at the image Marcus had just selected and gasped. The red dot now appeared on the other side of the screen, the far right, where the road leading out of the property began. Except it was no longer a red dot. It was a red bandana, and although the image was blurred, Annie could see that it was draped or tied around someone’s neck. One thing was certain. Whoever was wearing the bandana was running fast, and far away from the feedlot.

  CHAPTER 24

  SUNDAY AFTERNOON, AUGUST 14

  Annie stared at Marcus, unwilling to say what was racing through her mind. There was only one person they both knew who sported a red bandana, someone who Annie was sure had not shed one tear over George Fullman’s demise. Had her photos just proved that he was responsible for that death?

  Marcus spoke first, and quietly.

  “We don’t know if it’s Colin, Annie. And even if it is, it doesn’t prove he was involved in the murder.”

  All she could do was shake her head sadly. She couldn’t even voice her suspicions; it was hard enough thinking them. She hoped it wasn’t Colin. She hoped it was anyone but Colin.

  “At the moment, I’m glad you forgot to provide these photos to the sheriff,” Marcus went on. “But that doesn’t mean you might not have to. Tomorrow, I want you to call Alvin and get his advice. It may provide exculpatory evidence for you, you know.”

  “I don’t want to! Not if it implicates Colin!” Annie was surprised at the anger and, if she admitted it, fear in her voice.

  Marcus sighed. “You may not have a choice, Annie. But I’m not an attorney. Ask someone who is.”

  Ten minutes later, they were back in Annie’s truck, headed toward Andy’s Repair Shop. Both were silent, although Annie continued to think furiously about what the photos might imply. She was sure Marcus was doing exactly the same thing.

  Maria had told her she’d subbed for Colin that morning in the grove. Had she done so because she knew Colin planned to murder the feedlot owner? If so, didn’t that make Maria complicit in the homicide? Or had Colin really told her that he needed to be with his grandmother and Maria had bought the story? Yet . . . Maria was awfully quick with coming up with her own stories when she had to. Why should Annie believe this one now?

  And then there was the matter of Danny Trevor’s death. What if it was Colin in her photos, and he had killed George Fullman? Did that mean he’d killed Danny Trevor as well? Annie recalled Tony telling her that Rick had left earlier and another pilot, someone local, would be flying him home. It was the last conversation they’d had. What if Colin had rigged Trevor’s plane, not knowing that Tony was also going to be on board? If so, Colin must be wracked with grief and remorse right now. Had she noticed these emotions in the boy? No, she had not. But then, he’d barely shown any kind of emotion when she’d been around him. Besides, she didn’t know if it was Colin in those images anyway. But then, who could it be? And why, oh why, had she ever shown those stupid images to Marcus in the first place?

  “Stop thinking about it,” Marcus told her, breaking the sile
nce. “We don’t know enough to come to any sound conclusions, and the ones you’re reaching now are going to drive you crazy. Let’s concentrate on our present task. Which is making sure your local mechanic has done his job, and we can leave tomorrow, as planned.”

  She turned to him and nodded, trying to smile.

  “Cheer up, Annie. You’ll soon be reunited with all your horses and be a happy woman again.”

  “What about you?”

  She couldn’t believe she’d said that. Neither, apparently, could Marcus.

  “What about me? What do you mean, Annie?” There was definitely a tinge of curiosity in his voice.

  “I mean, will you have to leave as soon as we get back to the Peninsula?”

  “Why, Annie Carson. I don’t believe it. You actually prefer my company over your horses’?”

  His teasing rejoinder was just what she needed to get her mood back on track.

  “Well . . . not quite. But close. In fact, dangerously close, come to think of it. Let’s just say I would be happy if you could stay awhile. Besides, you’re due for another riding lesson.”

  “Hmm.” Marcus considered her reply. “Well, I didn’t bring any riding clothes.”

  “Not a problem.”

  “What? You keep an array of men’s riding clothes in your closet just in case a stray cowboy wanders by?”

  “Hardly. But all you really need are riding boots, and we’ve got plenty of local stores that carry them.”

  “I see. Well, then, I believe I can extend my stay a day or two. Not to ride, necessarily. Just to make sure you’re settled in all right, along with all your new horses.”

  She smiled and continued to drive, waiting for the nice woman inside her smartphone to tell her when to make the next turn. Marcus did a lot of things very well, but she doubted that settling horses was one of them. Then again, she might be surprised.