Shotgun Sheriff

by Fossen, Delores

  “This is Sheriff Hardin,” he called out. “Get your hands in the air so I can see them.”

  He hadn’t expected the person to blindly obey. And he didn’t. Reed caught a glimpse of someone wearing a dark blue baseball cap.

  Reed shifted his gun. Took aim—just as there was a crashing sound, followed by a flash of light. Someone had broken the SUV window and thrown another Molotov cocktail into the vehicle.

  “He set the SUV on fire,” Livvy said, bolting out from cover.

  Reed pulled her right back. “He might have a gun.” Except there was no might in this. The guy was probably armed and dangerous, and he couldn’t have Livvy running right into an ambush.

  “But the evidence…” she protested.

  Yeah. That was a huge loss. Like Livvy, his instincts were to race down there and try to save what he could, but to do that might be suicide.

  “He could want you dead,” Reed warned.

  That stopped Livvy from struggling. “Because of the evidence I gathered from the cabin?”

  Reed nodded and waited for the rest of that to sink in. It didn’t take long.

  “Shane couldn’t have done this,” she concluded.

  “No.” Reed kept watch on the vehicle and the area in case the attacker doubled back toward them or tried to escape.

  “But someone who wanted to exonerate him could have,” Livvy added.

  Reed nodded again. “That means the fire starter must have thought you saw or found something in the cabin that would be crucial evidence.”

  That also meant Livvy was in danger.

  Reed cursed. This was turning into a tangled mess, and he already had too much to do without adding protecting Livvy to the list.

  In the distance Reed heard the siren from the fire department. Soon, they’d be there. He glanced at the cabin. Then at Livvy’s SUV. There wouldn’t be much to save, but if he could catch the person responsible he might get enough answers to make up for the evidence they’d lost.

  More movement. Reed spotted the baseball cap again. The guy was crouched down, and the cap created a shadow that hid his face. He couldn’t even tell if it was a man or a woman. But whoever it was, the person was getting away.

  “Stay put,” Reed told Livvy.

  Now it was her turn to catch onto his arm. “Remember that part about him having a gun.”

  Reed remembered, but he had to try to find out who was behind this.

  “Back me up,” he told her. That was to get her to stay put, but the other reason was he didn’t want this cap-wearing guy to sneak up on him. Reed wouldn’t be able to hear footsteps or much else with the roar of the fire and the approaching siren.

  Keeping low as well, Reed stepped out from the meager cover of the oak. He kept his gun ready and aimed, and he started to run.

  So did the other guy.

  Using the smoke as cover, the culprit darted through the woods on the other side of the SUV and raced through the maze of trees. If Reed didn’t catch up with him soon, it’d be too late. He ran down the hill, cursing the uneven clay-mix dirt that was slick in spots. Somehow, he made it to the bottom without falling and breaking his neck.

  Reed didn’t waste any time trying to save the SUV. The inside was already engulfed in flames. Instead, he sprinted past it, but Reed only made it a few steps before there was another sound.

  Behind him, the SUV exploded.

  He dodged the fiery debris falling all around him and sprinted after the person who’d just come close to killing them.

  Chapter Four

  Livvy dove to the ground and used the tree to shelter herself from the burning SUV parts that spewed through the air. She waited, listening, but it was impossible to hear anything, especially Reed. Beyond the black smoke cloud on the far side of what was left of her vehicle, she saw him sprint into the woods.

  Since Reed might need backup, she got up, grabbed the equipment bag and went after him. Livvy kept to the trees that lined the path and then gave the flaming SUV a wide berth in case there was a secondary explosion. She’d barely cleared the debris when the fire engine screamed to a stop on the two-lane road.

  “Sergeant Hutton,” she said, identifying herself to the men who barreled from the engine. “Sheriff Hardin and I are in pursuit of a suspect.”

  Livvy hurried after Reed but was barely a minute into her trek when she saw Reed making his way back toward her. Not walking. Running.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  Reed drew in a hard breath. “I couldn’t find him, and I was afraid he would double back and come after you.”

  Because the adrenaline was pumping through her and her heart was pounding in her ears, it took Livvy a moment to realize what he’d said. “I’m a Texas Ranger,” she reminded him. “If he’d doubled back, I could have taken care of myself.”

  Reed tossed her a glance and started toward the fire department crew. “I didn’t want him to shoot you and then steal the evidence bag,” he clarified.

  Oh. So, maybe it wasn’t a me-Tarzan response after all. And once again, Livvy felt as if she’d been trumped when she was the one in charge.

  By God, this was her case and her crime scene.

  She followed Reed back to the chaos. The fire department already had their hose going, but there was nothing left to save. Worse, with everyone racing around the SUV and the cabin, it would be impossible to try to determine which footprints had been left by the perpetrator.

  Reed stopped in front of a fifty-something Hispanic man, and they had a brief conversation that Livvy couldn’t hear. A minute later, Reed rejoined her.

  “Come on,” he said. “We’ll use my truck to take that evidence to my office.”

  Livvy looked around and realized there was nothing she could do here, so she followed Reed past the cabin to a back trail. It wasn’t exactly a relaxing stroll because both Reed and she hurried and kept their weapons ready. With good reason, too. Someone had just destroyed crucial evidence, and that same someone might come after them. The woods were thick and ripe territory for an ambush.

  Reed unlocked his black F-150 and they climbed in and sped away. He immediately got on the phone to his deputy, and while Reed filled in Deputy Spears, Livvy knew she had to contact her boss, Lieutenant Wyatt Colter.

  She grabbed her cell, took a deep breath and made the call. Since there was no way to soften it, she just spilled it and told him all about the burned cabin, her SUV and the destroyed evidence.

  On the other end of the line, Lieutnenant Colter cursed. “You didn’t have the evidence secured?”

  “I did, in the locked SUV, but the perp set it on fire.” She was thankful that she’d already stashed her personal items at the Bluebonnet Inn where she’d be staying so at least she would have a change of clothes and her toiletries. Of course, she would have gladly exchanged those items, along with every penny in her bank account, if she could get back that evidence.

  More cursing from the lieutenant, and she heard him relay the information to someone else who was obviously in the room with him. Great. Now, everyone at the regional office would know about this debacle.

  “Things are crazy here,” Lieutenant Colter explained. “I’m tracking down those illegally sold Native American artifacts, and I’m at a critical point in negotiations. But I’ll be out there by early afternoon.”

  “No!” Livvy couldn’t get that out fast enough. “There’s no need, and there’s nothing you can do. I have everything under control.”

  The lieutenant’s long hesitation let her know he wasn’t buying that. “I’ll talk with the captain and get back to you.”

  “I don’t need reinforcements,” she added, but Livvy was talking to herself because Lieutenant Colter had already hung up on her.

  “Problem?” Reed asked the moment she ended the call.

  “No,” she lied.

  He made a sound to indicate he knew it was a lie.

  Since it was a whopper, Livvy tried to hurry past the subject. “After I get thi
s evidence logged in and started, I’d like to question Shane about the murder.”

  Reed didn’t answer right away. He had her wait several moments, making Livvy wish she’d made it sound more like an order and not a request.

  “Shane will cooperate,” Reed finally said. He paused again. “And while you’re talking to him, I’ll call your lieutenant and let him know this wasn’t your fault.”

  “Don’t.” She stared at him as he drove onto the highway that led to town. “I don’t need your help.” Though she probably did. Still, Livvy wouldn’t allow Reed to defend her when she was capable of doing it herself. “I’ll call him in an hour or two and explain there’s no need for him to be here.”

  And somehow, she would have to make him understand.

  “This case seems personal to you,” Reed commented. “Why? Did you know Marcie?”

  “No.” But he was right. This was personal. Murders always were. “My mother was murdered when I was six, and she was about the same age as Marcie. This brings back…memories.”

  And she had no idea why she’d just admitted that. Sheez. The chaos had caused her to go all chatty.

  “Was the killer caught?” Reed asked.

  Livvy groaned softly. She hadn’t meant for this to turn into a conversation. “No. He escaped to Mexico and has never been found.”

  “That explains why you’re wrapped so tight.”

  She blinked. Frowned. “Excuse me?”

  “You think if you solve Marcie’s murder, then in a small way, you’ll get justice for your mom.”

  She was sure her mouth dropped open when she scowled at him. “What—did you take Psych 101 classes along with those forensic workshops?”

  He shook his head. “Personal experience. My dad was shot and killed when I was a kid. Every case turns out to be about him.” Reed lifted his shoulder. “Can’t help it. It’s just an old wound that can’t be healed.”

  Yes.

  Livvy totally understood that.

  “That’s why I jumped to defend Woody back there,” Reed continued. “He raised me. He became the dad who was taken away from me.” But then he paused. “That doesn’t mean I can’t be objective. I can be.”

  She wanted to grumble a hmmmp to let him know she had her doubts about that objectivity, but her doubts weren’t as strong as they had been an hour earlier. Livvy blamed that on their escape from death together. That created a special camaraderie. So did their tragic pasts. For that matter so did this bizarre attraction she felt for him. All in all, it led to a union that she didn’t want or need.

  “Oh, man,” Reed groaned.

  Livvy looked ahead at the two-story white limestone building with a triple-arch front and reinforced glass doors. It was the sheriff’s office, among other things. Livvy had learned from Deputy Spears that it also housed the jail and several municipal offices.

  Right next to the sheriff’s building was an identical structure for the mayor’s office and courthouse. However, it wasn’t the weathered facades of the buildings that had likely caused Reed’s groan. As he brought the truck to a stop, he had his attention fastened to the two men and a Native American woman standing on the steps. Another attractive woman with long red hair was sitting in a car nearby.

  “Trouble?” Livvy asked.

  “Maybe. Not from the redhead. She’s Jessie Becker, but her father’s the one on the right. He’s probably here to stir up some trouble.”

  Jonah was the owner of the cabin. And, as far as Livvy was concerned, he was a prime murder suspect. Even if he hadn’t been the one to actually kill Marcie, he might have information about it.

  Though she’d scoured Jonah’s bio, this was Livvy’s first look at the man, and he certainly lived up to his reputation of being intimating and hard-nosed. Jonah might have been wearing a traditional good-guy white cowboy hat, but the stare he gave her was all steel and ice.

  “You let somebody burn down my cabin,” Jonah accused the moment Reed and she stepped from the truck. “The fire chief just called. Said it was a total loss.”

  “We didn’t exactly let it happen,” Reed snarled. He stopped. Met Jonah eye-to-eye. “There was a phone stolen from the cabin before the place was set on fire. Know anything about that?”

  Jonah’s mouth tightened. “Now, you’re accusing me of thievery from a place I own?”

  “I’m asking, not accusing,” Reed clarified, though from his tone, it could have been either. “But I want an answer.”

  The demand caused a standoff with the two men staring at each other. “I didn’t take anything from the cabin,” Jonah finally said, “because I haven’t been out there. Last I heard, you’d roped off the place and said for everybody to stay away. So, I stayed away,” he added with a touch of smugness.

  If Reed believed him, he didn’t acknowledge it.

  “I’m Billy Whitley,” the other man greeted Livvy, extending his hand to her. He tipped his head to the Native American woman beside him. “And this is my wife, Charla.”

  Livvy shifted her equipment bag and shook hands with both of them. “Sergeant Hutton.”

  Unlike Jonah, Billy wasn’t wearing a cowboy hat, and the khaki-wearing man sported a smile that seemed surprisingly genuine. “Welcome to Comanche Creek, Sergeant Hutton.”

  “Yes, welcome,” Charla repeated, though it wasn’t as warm a greeting as her husband’s had been. And she didn’t just look at Livvy—the woman’s intense coffee-brown eyes stared.

  Livvy didn’t offer her first name, as Billy had done to her. Yes, it was silly, but she wanted to hang on to every thread of authority she had left. After what’d just happened, that wasn’t much, but somehow she had to establish that she was the one in charge here. That wasn’t easy to do with Reed storming past Jonah and Billy.

  And her.

  That left her trailing along after him.

  “I’m the county clerk here,” Billy continued. “Charla is an administrative assistant for the mayor.” All three followed into the building, too. “I handle the records and such, and if I can help you in any way, just let me know.”

  That such might become important to Livvy since Billy would be in charge of deeds, and the land that Jonah had bought might play into what was happening now. Of course, Livvy had a dozen other things to do before digging into what might have been an illegal land deal.

  Jonah caught up with them and fell in step to her left. Since the entry hall was massive, at least fifteen feet wide, it wasn’t hard for the four to walk side by side, especially with Reed ahead of them. “I’m not even gonna get an apology for my cabin?” Jonah complained.

  “I’m sorry,” Livvy mumbled, and she was sincere. Losing the cabin and the evidence inside was a hard blow to the case.

  Reed turned into a room about midway down the hall, and he walked past a perky-looking auburn-haired receptionist who stood and then almost immediately sat back down to take an incoming call.

  They walked by a room where Deputy Spears was on the phone as well, but he called out to her, “The castings are on the way to the lab. The courier just picked them up.”

  “Thanks,” Livvy managed but didn’t stop.

  She continued to follow the fast-walking Reed into his office. Like the man, it was a bit of a surprise. His desk was neat, organized, and the slim computer monitor and equipment made it look more modern than Livvy had thought it would be. There was a huge calendar on the wall, and it was filled with appointments at precise times, measured not in hours but in quarter hours.

  “You can put the equipment bag there,” Reed instructed, pointing to a table pushed against one of the walls. There was also an evidence locker nearby. Good. She wanted to secure the few items she had left.

  Reed snatched up the phone. “I need to call some of the other sheriffs in the area and have them send over deputies to scour the woods for anything the arsonist might have left behind. After that, I’ll take you up to the jail so you can talk to Shane.”

  Reed proceeded to make that call, but he
also shot a what-are-you-still-doing-here? glare at Billy, Charla and Jonah, who were hovering in the narrow doorway and watching Livvy’s every move. Livvy didn’t think it was her imagination that all three were extremely interested in what she had in the equipment bag. Still, Billy tipped two fingers to his forehead in a mock salute and Charla and he left.

  Jonah didn’t.

  “So, did you come to town to arrest me for Marcie’s murder?” Jonah asked her.

  Livvy spared him a glance and plopped her bag onto the table. “Why, are you confessing to it?”

  “Careful,” Jonah warned, and his tone was so chilling that it prompted Livvy to look at him.

  “I’m always careful. And thorough,” she threatened back. She tried not to let her suspicions of this man grow. After all, they had a suspect in jail, but she wondered if Shane had acted alone.

  Or if he’d acted at all.

  It wouldn’t be a pleasant task to challenge Shane’s guilt or innocence because if she proved Shane hadn’t murdered Marcie, then she would have to prove that someone else had. That was certain to rile a lot of people.

  She remembered the uncomfortable stare that Charla Whitley had given her. And the way the mayor had reminded her of Reed’s authority. She wasn’t winning any Miss Congeniality contests—and probably wouldn’t.

  “Good day, Mr. Becker,” Livvy said, dismissing Jonah, and she took out the bag with the sample from the blood spatter. If this was indeed Shane’s blood, and if future analysis of the pattern indicated that it was real castoff from blunt force, then that would put some doubt in her mind.

  Since Reed was still on the phone, Livvy secured her bag in the evidence locker, and with the blood sample clutched in her hand, she walked to the doorway. Jonah was still there, but she merely stepped around him and went to Deputy Spears’s office. She shut the door so they’d have some privacy.

  “I need this analyzed ASAP,” she instructed. “It’s possible that it’s Shane’s blood.”