Turning for Trouble: Book 7 of Cat Detective Familiar Legacy mystery series

by Susan Y. Tanner

  She pulled her hand back from Malone’s to take a long drink from her glass of ice water.

  “He saw me,” she repeated.

  “What matters is you got away from him, from them.”

  “Carmen had said we should run in different directions. The men might catch up with one of us, two if the men decided to split up looking, but we’d all at least have a chance at getting away. Carmen and the two younger ones scattered, but I went just far enough into the woods to find a good tree and climbed it. I knew I could sit quiet for hours if I had to and I wanted to stay close to the dirt road we were on. At least it would lead somewhere.”

  “Did any of the girls get away?”

  “All three, as far as I know. I hope they’re somewhere safe. When the driver got out, I could hear him cussing when he found the man with the gun laid out on the ground. A few minutes later, I heard him throw stuff out of the back of the trailer and pull out. I suspected he’d left the other guy right where he found him. I knew I couldn’t wait long in case he wasn’t dead and managed to get up so I climbed out of that tree. I was scared to death but I wanted my clothes and the little bit of money I had tucked into a seam of the duffle bag. Sure enough, the guy was lying right where I landed on him. I didn’t get any closer than I had to, but he didn’t move. I grabbed my bag from the pile of nasty blankets we’d been laying on and started walking. The truck wasn’t really parked in the woods, like I’d thought. Just beside a thin line of trees. Not too far past that was a parking area full of trucks and trailers.”

  With that Joss leaned back in her chair, watching Malone with wary eyes.

  “The rodeo. Where you climbed aboard my trailer.”

  Joss nodded cautiously.

  “You were brave. It must have been very, very hard to get back in a small, enclosed space.”

  Without speaking, Joss nodded again.

  “You were also very, very lucky that the trailer was mine.” Her mind circled back to Joss’ first comment. “What is it you need help to do? Find out if the guy lived?”

  “No. I don’t care. I didn’t mean to kill him but I don’t care if he’s dead or alive. But the foster parents ... I think they sold me. I went to sleep in the room they said was mine and woke up in a truck. Someone needs to know so they can’t do it again.”

  Malone felt a slow rage simmering in the pit of her stomach and wished she hadn’t eaten before hearing what Joss had been put through for greed. The girl’s story explained why there had been no Amber Alert for Joss. Her disappearance had probably been documented as another runaway. If it even had been at this point. She had no idea how often agencies checked in with foster parents. “I’ll help you, Joss. And I’ll keep you safe. Even if I have to lay someone out on the ground.”

  Joss smiled faintly, looking far less tense now that she had placed her problem with an adult she trusted. “I’ll bet you could, too.”

  In that moment, Malone knew if she never succeeded again at anything in her life, she would succeed at the promise she’d just made. Joss was counting on her and looking at her with such confidence it was almost scary.

  “Do you think you could help me get emancipation papers?”

  “We can work on that when we get done in Montgomery.” But where Malone’s mind truly went with Joss’ question wasn’t setting her up as an adult who had to make her own way. Joss needed a parent, at least one, who cared about her well-being. Malone wouldn’t be the first single person to adopt. “There are attorneys I trust back home in Georgia.”

  Home. As she said the word, Malone realized that somewhere along the miles, she’d made another decision as well.

  THREE HOURS LATER, Malone sat astride Jaz and watched Joss canter Gemini in ever-tightening circles. The fine-boned mare tended to be hyper and the corkscrew work-out, cantering big circles while slowly decreasing the circle size by easing her in toward the center with a steady hand on the rein, tended to settle her. Malone had learned early on if she started with smaller circles the mare fought continually for more room and more speed. Joss took instructions well and learned quickly. Which reminded Malone that Joss needed to be in school. Her future could be as bright as any other teen. Maybe homeschool if she chose to stay with Malone, then college. But they couldn’t get her registered for anything until the mess that had happened to her was straightened out and, hopefully, people were in prison for what they’d done.

  Maybe a name change with adoption would be safest for her. No one would ever need to know that the girl who had disappeared from south Louisiana was safe with her.

  “Malone.”

  She turned, startled, realizing that her name had been spoken for a second time.

  “Asa. I’m sorry. I was lost in thought.”

  Asa stepped up on the lowest rung of the tall pipe fence that enclosed the practice pen and crossed his arms along the top. “That girl is a better hand than most of the young men I have on my payroll. I might try to steal her away from you.”

  “She’s younger than she looks and I have to return her to her family at the end of the week but, you’re right, Joss is an awesome talent. I’ll miss her.” Malone wasn’t much for lying but Joss’ safety depended upon there being no possibility of an indiscreet word here or there. And cowboys, so taciturn in movie land, were, in reality, very good at gossip. She and Joss had agreed to a story and Malone would hold firm.

  A glance at Asa’s face told Malone his thoughts weren’t on Joss and her skill with a horse. His next words proved it. “I can’t figure out what the hell is going on around here, Malone. I’m hearing whispers here and there that Quinn’s death may not have been accidental.”

  Malone turned her gaze back to Joss so that her face was slightly tilted away from Asa. She wasn’t good at subterfuge. “Why would anyone want to hurt Quinn? Besides, there were a dozen or so people working those chutes. You know the association - Cade - is super careful that the workers aren’t short-handed anywhere. There’re enough hazards with what all of us do every day to be careless in the handling of an event.”

  “I’m not saying it’s true, but … there’s talk.”

  “I haven’t heard any gossip but, then, Joss and I got away from the grounds for several hours this morning. We needed some breathing room after all that has happened.” Two days, two deaths. She hesitated but Cade would need to know what rumors were floating. “What kind of talk?”

  Asa sighed. “That maybe something wasn’t right with his bull rope. Maybe it wasn’t secure. Hell, I don’t know.”

  “It was his rope, wasn’t it?”

  “Yeah, his cousin picked it up after.”

  “Did anything look odd about it?”

  “No. But one of the flank men said Quinn’s expression changed right as the bull made his leap out of the chute. Said it went from his usual daredevil ‘I’ve got this’ to real fear. The guy’s swearing something went wrong, and Quinn knew it.”

  “Maybe something did. Or maybe Quinn got careless this once.” Malone spoke softly sensing that Asa was truly upset by what had happened. They all were. But every cowboy carried his own rope and helped those working the chutes secure it around the bull. The gate wasn’t opened until they gave the nod. “The bull was one of yours?”

  “Yeah.” Asa pushed away from the fence. “Mine.”

  “That doesn’t make you responsible for what happened in that chute, Asa. Just like the owners of the horses I ride aren’t responsible if I get hurt or killed while riding or handling them.”

  His expression didn’t ease and she felt sincerely bad for him. He gave her a strained smile. “You be careful out there tonight. I won’t wish you luck. You don’t need it. Malone, you’re one of the best – to my mind, the best – but I’m wishing you real success. I’ll be watching.”

  For the first time, Malone wondered if the look in his eyes that she’d always passed off as pure flirtation wasn’t something more than that. Watching him walk away, she hoped not. She’d rather see his attentions turned solid
ly elsewhere – heaven knew there were plenty of women who’d had their eyes on him over the last few years – but Malone only ever thought of him with friendship. Asa was successful in business, good-looking, and athletic in build. The low gravel of his voice was appealing and his manners made a woman feel as if she were his sole focus in conversation. He was, in fact, all most single women would want in a man. But Malone had long ago decided she didn’t want the complication or the risk of a man in her life. Not again. And, if she ever changed her mind, Asa wasn’t going to be the one.

  As Joss rode up to the fence, Malone pulled her gaze away from Asa’s departure.

  “That guy’s after you.” Joss said knowingly.

  “I’m sorry for that,” Malone said honestly. “I’m not in the market.”

  “At least not for him.”

  Malone decided some comments were best left unanswered and she nudged Jaz into a walk. But she didn’t miss Joss’ knowing look as she made her escape.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  C ade walked into the show office and immediately noticed the new face. Detective Armand, he supposed. He gave her a quick nod and walked past the counter, into his office. To his surprise, she followed.

  She stood with her back to the doorway, one step inside. Cade realized at once that she had placed herself where she could be seen by his staff but couldn’t be heard by any casual listener. He studied her for a moment, realizing she had features that could be highlighted to real beauty but had somehow been downplayed by makeup. Interesting.

  “Rivers’ fiancée asked for the bell off his bull rope, said she’d had it engraved with both their names inside after he asked her to marry him. The family let her have it. She was pleased – heartbroken – but pleased to get it back.”

  Cade didn’t ask how she knew all that. Ryder had said she was good at her job. “And the rope with the damaged handhold?”

  “The locals are sharing information for now but not going public with it. Plain bell, no engraving.”

  “So not his rope.”

  “Not his rope. But Ryder is convinced it’s the one that was on that bull when the chute opened. Hendrix is halfway to believing it. Give me a task I can take back out front.”

  He looked at her blankly for a minute then nodded as he realized her meaning. “Flowers and a card with every staff member’s signature need to be sent to Rivers’ family.” He’d done the same for Roland Walker though the circumstances had been far different.

  She nodded and walked out. Her voice carried back to his office. “Mr. Delaney said flowers need to be sent to the cowboy’s family. Everyone needs to sign the card. I’ll go get a card. I don’t know how to order flowers or what to get.”

  With that she strolled through the front door, for all the world like a student intern who hadn’t a clue about office etiquette.

  Cade’s amusement at her tactics faded. He rocked back in his chair and stared at his steepled fingers, picturing again Dawson White’s face as he’d looked at the rope in his hand. Without a doubt, his expression had registered confusion. Was he trying to understand why a rope in perfect condition had failed the rider? Or was he wondering why the rope handed to him showed no sign of the sabotage he knew should exist?

  What had Trouble seen in the moments before Quinn had signaled the gatemen to throw the chute wide with a dip of his head? Some sleight of hand and a fast exchange?

  Or was it as simple as Quinn misjudging his readiness or the gatemen misjudging some movement for the nod that he was ready? And, if that were true, whose was the rope with the half-severed hand braid?

  Cade wished he could ask Trouble that question. Even as the thought came to him, he shook his head. He wasn’t crazy enough to think a cat could find a way to answer. Or was he?

  MS. RODEO DOESN’T TALK ENOUGH. I thought Ms. Gorgeous was taciturn but I’m finding there are new levels to that description with this case. I can’t always tell when I need to follow her and when I need to be about my own reconnoitering. I’m most comfortable when she and Joss remain together but Joss is grooming horses with Luke to keep her company and Ms. Rodeo is off on some mission.

  I slip into the show office on her heels, then into the corner office as she hesitates in the open doorway. Mr. Silver Eyes is engrossed in what appears to be a report of some sort. I see columns of numbers, likely financial information for this rodeo business he manages.

  She’s safe here but there are times the information my humans carry in their head could assist me in my investigations. Getting them to share can be a bit tricky. Perhaps someday, in the distant future, they’ll evolve to my own highly honed level of unspoken communication. For now, a master sleuth must find what means he can to remain informed. I leap to my usual comfortable spot in the wide-ledge of the window sill as she taps at the doorframe.

  “Cade?”

  “Malone.” He stands, ever the gentleman. “Come in.”

  He doesn’t sit until she takes a seat. I’ve learned enough to know that he came up through the rodeo ranks as a team roper. Either these contestants are not all as rough and tumble as they’ve appeared to be in my sojourn here or he has gained significant polish in the years he’s been in the business end of the sport.

  “Do you have a moment?”

  “A lifetime if you want it.”

  If I were human, I could not help but roll my eyes at such a response. I’m not surprised when she blinks, then opens and closes her mouth before finally saying, “It’s about Joss.” She must see concern in his expression because she hastily adds, “She’s fine. At least for now. It’s a long story.”

  He rises and walks to the door to close it to a mere slit of an opening. “That’s Aleta’s signal to run interference with anyone wanting to see me.” I win a bet with myself when he does not return to the chair behind his desk but takes the companion to the one in which she sits. They are now close enough to touch. It will be interesting to see if either makes that move.

  Time enough for such speculations later. I have a feeling she’s about to impart the type of news that I need my humans to share with me.

  “Is Joss upset with what’s been going on around here?”

  “No, it’s nothing to do with them.” She hesitates. “I think I’m going to need a good lawyer for Joss. I thought you might be able to help with that.”

  Not what either of us expected her to say. I would place a bet on that.

  “What has she done?” I hear concern but no condemnation. Good man.

  And an increasingly angry man at the moment. I watch his face as he learns Joss’ story, an ugly one of human greed and cruelty. I’ve heard of such things occurring but never been called upon to solve a case involving human trafficking. An ugly, ugly business. Uglier than murder, plain and simple.

  He listens and comforts and reassures. Even as she leaves us to prepare for her evening competition, I suspect she has yet to couple what happened to Joss with what has been happening around us here. But, when we are once more alone in that small office, he turns his gaze to me and I deduce, like me, he has pieced the picture together. “Trouble, I need to know who handed Quinn Rivers the damaged rope you brought to me.”

  He rises and takes his hat from the rack, twisting it in his hands for a moment, deep in thought. I can feel the fury strong within him, see it in his eyes. I follow him from the office, out into strong afternoon sunlight.

  I will be so bold as to acknowledge how easy it would be for me to identify the guilty cowboy to him. A leap and obvious pounce upon leg or back as we stroll the rodeo grounds. But my cooler head cautions that I must be subtle. The reveal cannot be coupled with an angry man on the hunt for guilt. I don’t know that he has himself in hand. It wouldn’t do for me to enable the guilty cowboy to link my action to a flash of knowledge in those knowing, grey eyes. Or worse to a flash of fists. As director, he has a reputation which must be protected for his own good and the good of the association. A cowboy kerfuffle is beneath him, as satisfying as that might be.


  For now, I shall follow and not lead. If our path takes us to the bucking chutes and cowboy Dawson, at some point, I will follow my inner wisdom in determining whether I act. Or bide my time for a better moment.

  WELL, Cade thought, it’s a start … Malone turning to him for help. He’d wondered more than once in the hours since they’d stood together on that sidewalk if he’d only imagined Malone’s brief response to his embrace, his kiss. He’d wondered what she’d been feeling since. He’d dared a lot in that moment and at least she’d not pulled away. But that one brief moment hadn’t been enough and he knew it never would.

  The first night of the competition, he’d been waiting for her at the end of the alley. But Tyge had stepped in ahead of him, a reminder of all the years the cowboy had been there for her and Cade had not. The two hadn’t noticed Cade as they’d passed by deep in conversation. He’d been jealous. Hell, he still was. But she’d come to him now. He’d let her slip away once, but he’d be damned if he would again.

  Unfortunately, Cade hadn’t a clue how or where to begin in connecting Joss’ tragic story to the murder of two rough stock riders. Yet he couldn’t shake a feeling, a strong feeling, it was there. Ryder was looking for traffickers. Cade’s mind had jumped to drugs, perhaps even guns, particularly in today’s political clime. But humans? With people he knew, perhaps intimately, as friends and comrades and business associates?