She pictured him naked, not on a bull, but lying in bed, waiting for her. She’d be in the bathroom slipping into something sexy—her black-and-red lace nightgown—and when she came out...
She’d bought the sexy nightgown for, um, uh...what’s-his-name, but never put it on. She’d decided he wasn’t good enough for such a gown.
Luke Beaumont was.
“Luke, I’ll walk you out. I need some fresh air.”
That wasn’t all she needed.
* * *
SHE TOOK KYLE’S statement at the office.
It was quick and to the point. He had been washing his hands with the hose and slipped his pocketknife into the pocket of his jean jacket. Then he’d hung it over a nail and had lunch. He hadn’t needed the jacket because it was warm while he was working, so at the end of the day he’d grabbed it off the hook and only noticed that his knife was missing when he hung it up at home.
Then she spoke with Aaron at her father’s house.
Aaron was on board, though Amber had to swear that she’d replace his Sooner hat if anything happened to it.
She also had to calm him down. If he caught someone stealing his hat, she told him that he couldn’t do anything. Nothing at all.
That didn’t sit well with Aaron.
While she was there, she checked every box of bottles lined up against the wall. They were all empty. Good for them.
Though she wondered where the filled jars were.
She remembered that while she’d been directing traffic at the courthouse, her father had come back from getting his license. He had sworn to her that he wasn’t moonshining, but she still just couldn’t bring herself to believe him.
Maybe she should follow him.
Follow her own father? What was she thinking?
She didn’t want to find trouble. She already had enough history for the state police to reject her for a permanent assignment.
She drove to her apartment and changed out of her uniform, read the paper and went over her notes on the case.
When Luke arrived with their sub sandwiches, he uncorked some wine and she got out the glasses.
Mmm...chardonnay. How did he know that she liked chard?
“A toast.” Luke held up his glass. “To you, Amber. Thanks for letting me stay here. Thanks for working on catching the rustlers, and thanks for getting help for my father.”
She raised her glass and took a drink, then toasted him. “To Luke Beaumont, for coming back to town and fixing up our finest landmark and tourist attraction.”
He laughed and drained his glass. He seemed more like a beer guy and was probably only drinking wine for her.
“Luke, let’s switch channels and talk about the bull riding fund-raiser. I noticed that the stands and the arena had some destruction.”
“I’m already on it. Just as soon as the barn and the paddock are done, I’ll move the men to the arena. Some of the chairs need to be screwed down again. Some of the bleachers need to be replaced and painted. It’ll be done before Labor Day.”
Amber’s heart sank. “But then work on your house will be delayed.”
“I have a crew working on that, too. I said I’d do the fund-raiser for an ambulance, and that’s what I’m going to do. I don’t want anyone going to the hospital in a hearse anymore. It’s a bad omen!”
Amber looked at her notebook. “I’m going to get posters made up and announce it in the local paper. It’s been a long time since the Beaumont Ranch had its famous annual rodeo. You can expect a fabulous turnout.”
“You’ll take care of traffic control and parking?” Luke asked.
“The Beaumont County Sheriff’s Department will direct traffic. Seniors at the high school will handle the parking.”
“Great. What else?” Luke asked.
“Barbecue. Can’t have a rodeo without barbecue,” she said.
“Smokin’ Sammy’s House of Hickory. They can take care of catering.”
“Great idea,” Amber said.
“Portable toilets. Get a bunch of them and spare no expense.”
She laughed. “I wrote that down already.”
“You’re way ahead of me. What else?” he asked.
“You need to contact your brothers and your bull riding pals and get them on board. I’ll put their names on the posters and on the press release.”
“They’ll love it. They’re all publicity hogs.”
“T-shirts. People love tees.” Amber wrote furiously in her notebook.
“That one’s easy.” Luke winked. “I’ll contact the PBR and ask them to send some people to run a merchandise booth, and they’ll bring items to sell.”
“Done.”
“We’re going to need an announcer,” Amber said.
Luke snapped his fingers. “That’s easy. I’ll do it.”
Amber smiled. “I was hoping that you’d say that.”
“You were?”
“Yes. You’ll be perfect.” Amber nodded.
“Perfect? You think I’m perfect?” He winked.
“As an arena announcer.”
“But I’m perfect?” he asked, eyebrows raised.
“Luke, I’ve never learned how to flirt with a man. What you see is what you get. I’m a cop. If you’re expecting cute banter from me, I just can’t do it.”
Luke stood and offered Amber his hand. “You’re a woman first. You’re a cop second.”
She took his hand. “What are you doing, Luke?”
He moved closer and took her in his arms and swayed. He was humming something, but she couldn’t quite identify the tune.
They swayed and he led her around her kitchen and the living room. She felt the heat of his hand on her waist and the pressure when he led her around. Luke was a great dancer. He pulled her closer and she could feel the warmth of his chest on her breasts.
Amber realized he was kidding, and she played along, but she was enjoying the dance and being in Luke’s arms immensely.
Luke kept on humming and twirling her around. She finally realized that it was “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” and she burst out laughing.
“Why are you laughing while I’m trying to seduce you?”
“If you’re trying to seduce me, why are you humming that song?”
“It just came to me.”
“Okay. Sorry that I interrupted. Go ahead.”
“Go ahead and do what?”
“Seduce me.”
He shrugged. “I kind of lost the mood.”
That was disappointing. She shouldn’t have said anything. “You were on ‘Old MacDonald had a cow.’”
He grinned slightly, but she knew she’d blown it. It was up to her to set things right. So she moved toward him, slipped her arms around his waist and gave him a kiss that would blast his boots off.
His lips were warm, his mouth open and inviting. She removed his cowboy hat and tossed it on the couch. Running her fingers through his hair, she drew him ever closer to her.
She just couldn’t get enough of Luke.
When she broke the kiss, he said, “I promise I won’t sing about Old MacDonald having a cow, if you kiss me like that again.”
“Deal.”
And she did.
Then Luke’s cell phone rang and he looked at the Caller ID. “I’d better get this. It’s Slim Gomez at the ranch.”
“Go ahead.” She needed to catch her breath anyway, but it was disappointing that the moment ended. But maybe it was for the best. He’d go back to the PBR, and she’d be working out of town.
Luke swore under his breath. “Are you kidding me? Dammit. No way. I’ll be right over.”
“Something wrong, Luke?”
“Let’s just say that Old Luke Beaumont lost five
more cows and two broncs, E-I-E-I-O.”
Chapter Fifteen
“I’ll go with you, Luke.”
“We’ll take my truck. It’ll drive over anything.”
Amber shook her head. “Aaron didn’t have a chance to even plant his Sooner cap. He was going to do it tomorrow while he worked.”
He opened the squeaky, rusted door to his truck and Amber got in. At least Luke had cleaned the inside and only a new battery was needed.
“It’ll be interesting to see what Chapman artifact will be placed at the scene this time,” Amber said. “Since Aaron didn’t get a chance to ‘lose’ his cap.”
He grunted.
“Luke, let me investigate, will you? And I’d like to speak with Slim once and for all. I haven’t been able to touch base with him yet. I want his version of what happened each time, and I’ll take a statement from him downtown.”
“Fine with me, but you don’t suspect Slim, do you?”
She shrugged. “No one is off my list.”
“Not even me?” Luke asked.
She winked. “No way. You probably had your stock insured and are after the payout.”
Luke slapped his forehead with a hand and his hat went flying.
“I knew I forgot something important—insurance!”
“Are you serious, Luke?”
“It’s too expensive to insure all of the stock.”
“You didn’t even insure your fancy breeding stock and some horses?”
“Nope. We musketeers are a little cash poor right now.”
“Musketeers?” she asked.
“One for all and all for one,” Luke said. “My brothers.”
Pulling up to the ranch, he said, “There’s Slim now.” Luke pointed. “Over there. You can see him by the light on the outside of the barn.”
“I know Slim. We did a lot of talking back and forth when Big Dan was an absentee owner. Do you mind if I do the questioning?”
“Suit yourself, Sergeant.”
“Thank you.” She laughed. “I know how it’ll pain you to keep quiet. And, Luke?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m really sorry. I promise that I’ll get to the bottom of this.”
They exited the truck and Amber felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. She should have done surveillance for the last couple of nights, but instead she’d been playing house with Luke.
She’d had to work until eleven, but after that she could have hidden out and watched the northeast pasture. But she was getting ahead of herself...
“Slim, what’s the story? Did the rustlers use the northeast pasture again?” she asked.
“Sí.”
Slim looked like he’d rather be anywhere else than talking to her.
She leaned against Luke’s truck and wrote in a small notebook. “They have a lot of guts using the same pasture and the same exit.”
“Sí.”
“Slim, who put livestock in the northeast pasture in light of the rustling going on?” she asked.
“Me. I never thought it would happen again. Never. Or I wouldn’t have done it.”
“You sure?” she asked. “Are you sure you’re not helping the rustlers?”
“Amber! What are you saying?” Luke stepped in between the two. “Slim is a long-term employee of the Beaumont Ranch. He’s my ramrod.”
“Luke, you horse’s butt, go away, and let me talk to Slim. Then the three of us are going to walk the route that the truck took. Find more flashlights, please.”
“Yes, Sergeant,” Luke said.
After Luke had left, she turned back to Slim. “I hope you understand that everyone’s a suspect, Slim. That’s how I work.”
“Sí.”
Amber got a couple more “Sí’s” out of Slim but, basically, he looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
Amber lowered her voice in an attempt to calm him. “Slim, you’re acting like you’re scared. Why?”
He shrugged. “I just have a lot on my mind and I should have moved the stock to a different pasture. It’s my fault.”
“What else is on your mind, partner?” Luke asked, returning from getting flashlights.
“My little girl, Luisa. She’s been sick.”
“Sick?” Amber asked. She hated to hear that. “She’s about eight years old, isn’t she?”
Slim looked on the brink of tears. “She is ten. Yes. Very sick.”
“Don’t beat yourself up, Slim, about turning out the stock into the same pasture. Let’s find out who did this.”
Luke handed out the flashlights. “Let’s go.”
It was quite a jarring ride to the northeast pasture, about a mile, over uneven terrain, but it was the perfect evening. They found the truck tracks and shone their flashlights.
“What’s that?” she asked. “On the right. Over there.”
They walked over to inspect the object.
“It’s a jar,” Amber said. “Like the type used for moonshine.” She slipped into her gloves, put a pencil into the jar and lifted it. “Smells like someone just drank out of it. It’s pretty fresh.” She dropped it into a glassine evidence bag. “More Chapman litter. I really have to talk to my brothers about trashing the countryside. A person littering in Oklahoma can be fined between $200 and $5,000 and jailed for up to thirty days.”
“Ouch,” Luke said. “But how do we know it’s a Chapman hooch jar?”
“It has a C on the bottom in red paint,” Slim noted.
Amber laughed. “Of course! C was a good year.”
Slim shook his head. “You aren’t taking this very seriously, Sergeant Chapman.”
“Oh, I am, Slim. I definitely am.”
“Aren’t you worried that your family did this...stealing, Sergeant?” Slim asked.
She shrugged. “To find three things on the scene that belong to my family seems awful coincidental. If they were the thieves, they wouldn’t be that stupid.”
Slim shook his head. “Sí, but it seems that they are guilty to me.”
She had another idea. “If we find another thing that belongs to the Chapmans on the scene, I’d definitely be convinced of their guilt.” She turned to Luke and gave him a clandestine wink.
“I’d be convinced, too, Amber. In fact, if one more thing is found that can be identified as belonging to a member of your family, I’d say that it would be time to make an arrest.”
“Absolutely,” she agreed. “And I can’t wait to do it. We’ll have a Chapman wing at the jail.”
Luke chuckled. “I thought there was already a Chapman wing at the jail.”
“You are so totally funny...not!” Amber said. She’d be more serious, but there were just too many Chapman items planted to make the scene believable. Her family wouldn’t be that stupid.
“Slim, back to you. I know that the Beaumonts’ staging and loading area is on the northeast pasture, and that the trucks have forever taken the same route on the side of the junkyard back to the highway—that’s why the high grass is tamped down. And Ronnie’s bandanna was found on those bushes. Kyle’s pocketknife was found on the tracks down there. And the Chapman shine jar was found over there.” She pointed to each area.
Slim shrugged his shoulders. “I do not know, Sergeant Chapman. I was not present when you found them.”
“Yes. This is true,” Amber said. “And, Slim, whenever you put stock out in the northeast pasture, the stock disappears.”
“Yes, but I will stop.”
“No. Don’t do anything different. We don’t want to spook the rustlers,” Amber said.
* * *
“I HAVE AN IDEA,” Amber said as they walked to Luke’s truck to drive to her apartment.
“What is it?”
�
��First, I’m going to tell Aaron to lose his hat tomorrow after all. And tomorrow night, we are going to do a little surveillance.”
“I take it that you suspect Slim?”
“Yes.”
“Dammit, I hope not.” Slim was a trusted member of the Beaumont family and was given everything he asked for. Slim wouldn’t steal from them.
“You’d rather that I suspect my family?” she asked.
“Yes. I mean no. I mean yes.”
Amber raised an eyebrow. “So which one is it?”
“Aw...hell. I don’t know.”
“I know that Slim has been a friend to your family forever, but sometimes good people do bad things for a reason. I’m going to find out that reason as soon as I can,” Amber said.
Her phone rang. “Hello?”
“It’s Fitz.”
“Yes, Captain?”
“Big Dan Beaumont just walked out of the hospital. He’s headed to his ranch.”
“How? What?” Amber asked.
“He put on his street clothes and hitched a ride from a friend of his, Brian Redding. He convinced Brian that he was just at the hospital visiting when his car broke down.”
“Obviously, Brian Redding didn’t know Big Dan’s recent history.”
“Are you with Luke?”
“Yes, sir. I am. We’re headed for my apartment.”
“No. You’re not.”
“That’s just what I said, Cap. I was absolutely not going to my apartment with Luke.”
“You’re going to find Big Dan, pick him up and bring him to jail. His probation officer Matty Matthews and his wife, Jill, happened to be out with Judge Bascom and Lena Bascom. Matty got a violation of probation typed up and signed in record time, along with a warrant. I have both in my hand.”
“I’ll let Luke know. He’ll be totally disappointed. His father was doing fairly well.”
“He shouldn’t have walked out of the hospital without prior permission from his probation officer,” Captain Fitzgerald said.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, Amber. I’m gone,” the captain said.
“Bye.”
The Cowboy and the Cop Page 14