Cowboy Famous: Book 4 (Cowboy Justice Association)

by Olivia Jaymes

  Reed Mitchell was the slickest, coolest son of a bitch Griffin had ever known. He made everything look easy – the job, women, fishing. Fuck, Griffin had never seen anything Reed wasn’t good at. And the kicker? Reed didn’t give a shit either way.

  He didn’t care if women chased him. Although they did.

  He didn’t care if he was the best shot of them all. But he was.

  Reed was also the most mysterious. Griffin had known him for over five years and yet didn’t know a damn thing that was truly personal. Reed played it close to the vest without being an asshole about it. The men knew that was what he wanted and they all respected it. Once Griffin had been having some drinks with Jared and Logan and they’d speculated about Reed’s past, coming up with ever increasingly outlandish tales. Logan had postulated that Reed had been some sort of spy and Jared thought Reed might be a genius on the run from foreign governments. Or several ex-wives.

  They’d probably never know.

  “You hate familial happiness,” Seth Reilly countered with a grin. “You should talk to a shrink about that. It’s a flaw in your character.”

  “One of many, I fear,” Reed mocked and then shuddered. “All this conjugal bliss makes me break out in hives.”

  Jared Monroe sat back and stretched out his long legs, a smile playing on his lips. “As long as it’s not contagious I’m fine with it.”

  “Not looking to find a good woman and settle down? Man wasn’t meant to walk alone.” Tanner Marks nodded as he studied the men around the table. “A good woman can be the making of a man.”

  “And a bad one can be his undoing,” Griffin replied. “But then you’re so happily married you can’t even think straight. It’s all that sex. It messes with your mind.”

  Tanner chuckled and popped a potato chip into his mouth. “I’ll go to my grave crazy but well laid, thank you very much.”

  “A man can have sex without marrying a woman these days, Tanner.” Jared snagged the bag of chips from the middle of the table and pulled them toward his end. “Trust me on this one. I know.”

  Jared certainly did know. His story was serial monogamy. He’d date one woman until she started to squawk about marriage and kids and suddenly Jared would have a new one on his arm. Generally the ladies lasted twelve to twenty-four months tops. All of them beautiful and all of them successful. Jared’s standards for perfection were way too high for anything else.

  “Can I interrupt with a little bit of business?” Griffin queried. “Dare resigned today. He’s moving back to his hometown, Valley Station. He’s going to take over for Sheriff Lionel Barkley.”

  The whole room seemed to erupt in talking all at once until Tanner pounded his fist on the table to bring them back to order.

  “Hell, that’s a surprise. Never thought I’d see the day Barkley would retire. I figured he’d go at his desk wearing a gold star.”

  “I think we all thought that but the town will be much happier having Dare,” Logan said. “He’s going to have a mess to clean up just like I did, God help him. And I know you’re going to be sorry to see him go. That puts you in a real fix doesn’t it?”

  “You have no idea,” Griffin groaned. “We’re already short resources. I’m fucked.”

  “Dare or no Dare I heard you’re screwed. Is it true about the television crew? Come on, you can tell us the truth,” Seth cajoled, wearing a shit-eating grin.

  Swearing under his breath, Griffin took another drink of his soda. He should have known that this wouldn’t stay a secret. He carefully explained the reasoning of the town council, adding that he hadn’t really been given a choice.

  “So maybe you’ll get a decent deputy out of this.” Jared shrugged. “I may be able to help you though. I got a call from an old buddy in the Army. He’s been a cop in Chicago but wants a more small town life. I don’t have the budget to hire anyone but I can have him call you if you’re interested. I can vouch for him. Hard worker and honest. He’d be a good addition I think if he can get used to the slower pace.”

  “Have him call me,” Griffin replied immediately. “What’s his name?”

  “Trace Hadley and I’ll call him tonight.”

  For the first time today Griffin thought things might be looking up for a change. He cleared his throat to get their attention. “I brought up Dare leaving for a reason. He’s getting his own town and it’s within the hundred and fifty mile radius of here. What do you think about inviting him to join the group?”

  The other five men looked around at each other as if to see if anyone had any objections but all nodded their assent. Tanner, the unofficial leader of the group, slapped the table. “Looks like we’ve added a seventh to our group. Let Dare know he’s welcome.”

  Seth leaned forward. “Since we’re talking about adding…Evan Davis has left the Marshal Service.” There was a stunned moment of silence before Seth continued. “They’d put him on desk duty since the shootout where he got hurt. That’s not what he signed on for and he was pretty sick of it. He’s now the sheriff of Marywood just about a hundred and seventy-five miles from here. It’s a little out of our usual radius but I’m sure he won’t mind the drive.”

  Logan shook his head in disbelief. “Never thought that guy would quit. They must have really screwed him.”

  Griffin had the same thoughts but hadn’t voiced them. Marshal Evan Davis had seemed to be dedicated to the job. For him to leave it must have been bad.

  “Anyone opposed to adding Evan?” Tanner asked, his voice booming over their murmurs. No one spoke up and Tanner pounded the table twice. “Passed. Looks like we’ve added two people today. If they even want to join us, of course. Shit, we might need to add a table.”

  Reed drained his soda can and tossed it in the trash. “Tell the new guys they bring the snacks.”

  “We take turns,” Tanner contradicted. “Now who had new business?”

  “Now wait a minute.” Logan’s face was split into a grin. “I want to hear more about Griffin’s pretty boy face showing up on television.”

  Griffin flipped Logan the bird. “It’s a fucking nightmare, asshole, just as you would expect. I spend all my time babysitting a bunch of civilians who don’t know one end of a gun from another—well one does, but the others…shit. I don’t have enough manpower as it is and now I’ve got cameras following me around. I’m lucky one didn’t follow me here.” Griffin stared hard at each of his friends. “Give me any more shit and I will bring the cameras next time. You can share in my hell.”

  Jared held up his hands in surrender. “I for one don’t want anything of the kind, so consider my lip zipped on the subject. I will offer assistance if you have issues with crowd control. I have a few junior deputies that could use the experience.”

  Tanner looked around the room after Griffin thanked Jared for the offer but all the men had shut their mouths. They weren’t stupid. “So? New business?”

  Griffin raised his hand and sighed. “I’m re-opening a cold case. Casey Charlock.”

  Tanner frowned. “That young girl whose body was found in a ravine after being missing for a few weeks? Do you have a new lead? That’s good news.”

  “No new lead.” Griffin shook his head, hating to bring up the reality show. Again. “I’m letting the contestants work on cold cases. Jazz chose this one. I wasn’t thrilled about it but it seemed to be important to her.”

  “Jazz?” Jared arched an inquisitive eyebrow. “Who is Jazz and since when do you make law enforcement decisions based on what’s important to pretty girls?”

  “How do you know she’s pretty?” Griffin quickly shot back but felt the cut of Jared’s query. Griffin was making decisions based on Jazz’s feelings and it made him nervous. He shouldn’t like her so much. Or be so attracted to her.

  Fuck.

  “Because you wouldn’t give a shit what she wanted if you didn’t want to go to bed with her,” Jared replied with a chuckle. “Blonde, brunette, or redhead?”

  “Blonde,” Griffin answered gru
dgingly. Maybe he was letting his dick do the thinking when Jazz was around. Opening up the Casey Charlock case with no new leads was only going to upset a lot of people in town. Nothing was really going to change.

  Yet he couldn’t forget the look on Jazz’s face when she’d shown him the file she’d chosen. When she’d said she had a kinship with Casey there had been a look in her eyes…

  Fuck, he was getting soft in his old age.

  “Blonde and buxom?” Reed leered. “Lucky you.”

  “Not lucky me. I wouldn’t have a relationship with someone I’m supervising. No way.”

  “I got involved with Presley,” Seth offered. “Look how that turned out.”

  His buddy wasn’t helping in the least.

  “Yes, look how that turned out. You don’t get enough sleep, you change diapers, fix bottles, and never get any time to yourself. Doesn’t sound like much of a deal to me.” In fact it sounded awful to Griffin. He’d already done his time changing diapers and fixing bottles, not to mention a bunch of other things he didn’t want to repeat.

  “I don’t want any time to myself,” Seth laughed. “I guess that’s the difference between you and me. Alone wasn’t that much fun.”

  “That’s where we’re different,” Griffin echoed, wanting to change the subject. “I’m re-opening the case. I may need some of your connections at the federal level for the forensics.”

  “I thought there wasn’t much there,” Jared said.

  “There wasn’t but maybe the FBI lab might be able to find something the state lab couldn’t. I’m open to any suggestions.”

  “I can give my buddy in Quantico a call.” Jared tapped his chin. “I might have a connection at the NSA I could check. He might be able to pull her emails and phone calls.”

  Everyone knew Jared had done something super-secret when he was in the military but not exactly what it was. He joked he’d have to kill them if he told them.

  They all wanted to live more than they needed to know.

  “Thanks. I’ll be honest, guys, this case has never ceased to bother me. There has to be something, anything out there that could help us. Casey deserves justice.”

  His friends nodded soberly and Griffin knew they were all thinking about their own cold cases. Every lawman had that one case that wouldn’t leave him alone. Casey Charlock was his.

  Maybe this time he could close the file once and for all. But first he needed to get his head out of his ass regarding Jazz. She was off limits and he needed to remember that, especially as they would be spending time together for this case.

  He could look, but no way could he touch.

  Chapter Nine

  Barney the cameraman was in the corner of Griffin’s office trying to be unobtrusive, but Jazz could see the sheriff’s gaze keep flickering that direction. She felt badly for him, really. It was clear he wasn’t comfortable in front of the cameras. He only seemed relaxed when they were absent or he forgot they were there.

  He also looked exhausted. Dark circles under his eyes and his broad shoulders seemed slightly hunched with fatigue. He was working some really inhuman hours from what she could tell. Even last night he’d sent her off to bed while he wrote up his paperwork for the shift. God only knew what time he got to bed. Deputy Dare had mentioned that Griffin had come in before dawn. There was a distinct possibility he’d never slept at all.

  “I know you’ve seen the photos in the file but there are more in here. Much more graphic. Can you handle it?” Griffin asked, his voice low.

  The room was silent except for the hum of the air conditioner. The other contestants were back at the hotel and the day shift had gone home. There was only the two of them, the cameraman, and Deputy Adam in the outer office.

  Jazz nodded yes but inside she wasn’t so sure. She’d seen the words of the medical examiner – death by strangulation. The pictures in the file had been mostly from a distance and been more concentrated on the crime scene than the body or the wound.

  He lifted the lid from the cardboard box and set it aside before digging in and pulling out several plastic bags.

  “These were the clothes she was wearing that day. The medical examiner found a few hairs on her shirt that were consistent with Casey’s mother.”

  The jeans looked muddy but otherwise normal. The blouse however had a vivid reddish-brown stain that could only be blood. Jazz felt her stomach lurch slightly but she took a few deep breaths and it settled down.

  “Margaret Charlock was a suspect?” Jazz asked as she carefully accepted a stack of photos from Griffin. These were indeed more graphic as he had warned but instead of feeling sick Jazz felt her anger grow. A young woman had disappeared and then been found murdered. Her mother hadn’t really cared much, if at all. If she had reported her missing right away, could Casey’s life have been saved? The injustice done to this pretty young woman made Jazz pissed as hell.

  She felt his large hand warm and strong on her shoulder. A zing of electricity ran through her body and she stiffened at the unwelcome awareness his touch brought. Her attraction to him was a non-starter. This was all about work and she needed to focus on the case. She needed to focus on Casey.

  “Are you okay?” he asked. “Your face looks a little red. Why don’t you give me those photos back? They’re kind of grisly. I’ve been doing this a long time so I’m used to it.”

  “No, it’s not that.” Jazz shook her head, wondering what he would think about her messy emotions. He always appeared to be in control. “I’m mad. What was done to her makes me angry. Shit like this should not happen.”

  Griffin studied her for a moment, and then to her surprise smiled. “Good. That’s not a bad emotion to have when you’re doing a job like this. We should be angry about what happened to Casey Charlock. A pretty girl just nineteen years old heads home from work and is never seen alive again. Keep that anger handy, Jazz. It can be your fuel when you haven’t had enough sleep, the clues dry up, and the case is going nowhere.”

  “Did you sleep last night?” she asked softly, their gazes seeming to collide and hold. Those silver-gray eyes didn’t look as hard and tough as they usually did. Griffin Sawyer looked almost…vulnerable.

  “I got a few hours,” he answered shortly, the moment between them gone as quickly as it had come. “In answer to your first question, yes, Margaret Charlock was a suspect. But we were never able to connect her with the murder. Casey lived at home so having a few of her mother’s hairs on her shirt wasn’t exactly a smoking gun.”

  “Did she have an alibi?”

  Jazz sifted through the photos and found one of the young woman smiling and laughing, sitting next to what must have been a good friend, their arms draped over each other’s shoulders.

  “It’s hard to say. The medical examiner had difficulty narrowing down the time of death exactly. Margaret Charlock was out and about the entire day her daughter died. She’s a real estate agent so she probably had opportunity. For me, the question is did she have motive? We couldn’t find one.”

  Jazz held up a picture of Casey with a young man at Christmastime. There was a decorated tree in the background and Casey wore a bright red sweater and bell earrings.

  “Is this her boyfriend?”

  “It is. Buddy Meltreeger. She’d been dating him for about nine months from what he said. From all accounts they seemed pretty happy. Until they weren’t.”

  In the photo they did seem happy. But Jazz knew that pictures could deceive.

  “They were fighting?”

  “They were typical teenagers. Breaking up and getting back together, a real on and off type of relationship. Buddy said they were in the off stage when she disappeared.”

  “Has he ever been arrested? Any anger issues?”

  “No, and none that we know of. His friends speak highly of him and all he’s ever had were a few speeding tickets. Not that unusual for a young man who likes souped-up cars.”

  “So we have no suspects?” This was going to be harder than Jazz had
imagined. She wanted to give Casey closure but it wasn’t going to be easy.

  “I didn’t say that.” Griffin plucked the photo of Casey and Buddy out of Jazz’s fingers. “Buddy isn’t perfect. He likes to drink and party. There were rumors of him being a little too friendly with other females.”

  “In other words your typical horny teenage guy,” she replied dryly. “Hardly a motive for murder.”

  “True. Margaret Charlock isn’t out of the woods either as far as I’m concerned. The fact that she never reported her daughter missing is a big red flag for me. What was she covering up?”

  “Maybe she just didn’t give a shit.” The words tumbled out of Jazz’s mouth before she could stop them. She bit her lip hard to keep from saying anything else. She’d gone and done it now. Opened up the proverbial can of worms.

  “You and I are going to have a talk about that statement someday, but I can see today isn’t the time or place,” Griffin stated. “You let me know when you’re ready.”

  Her mouth fell open and she forgot what she was going to say. He’d shocked her completely.

  “It’s your own business, and there’s obviously a story there, but I respect your privacy, Jazz.”

  “I’ve never met anyone like you.”

  More words she couldn’t seem to control. What was it about this man that made her say things better left unsaid?

  “I’ve never met anyone like you either.” Now he was smiling and she felt her heart start to pound in response. “How did you get the name Jazz anyway?”

  That was a pretty easy question. Comparatively.

  “My real name is Janine. But when I went into show business I wanted something different. Something no one else would be named.”

  His eyes narrowed and his gaze seemed to look deep inside her. “You wanted to become someone different than Janine.”

  It wasn’t a question.

  “Yes.” She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She hated discussing anything outside the official bio she used professionally. “I guess so.”

  He just nodded and reached back into the box, not probing further. Her breathing went back to normal but her pulse still hammered. She was getting used to it. His proximity seemed to do funky things to her equilibrium.