by Aimée Thurlo
“Let’s go back to the office to view this,” she suggested.
As they walked back, Preston remained beside her, and although it was killing him, he didn’t touch her. He had to keep his mind on the job.
“The infrared images aren’t sharp, but these cameras were quick and easy to hook up, and we needed something right away,” Daniel said. “The cameras I plan to install next will have higher resolution.”
Once inside her office, Daniel immediately accessed the video, and they all gathered around to watch, even Bobby.
“Those are all my people going in and out of the barn. Even when we can’t see faces, I recognize them from their general build or the way they walk.”
They continued watching the feed. They saw the animals being fed, then as nighttime descended, no more people were about. Eventually, they spotted a lone figure, in shades of white, gray and green, moving toward the barn. He looked behind him once, then slipped inside.
“The tack room door won’t show from this camera angle so we won’t be able to tell if he went inside that area or not,” Daniel said.
“Play it back,” Preston said and looked at Abby. “Can you tell who that is?”
“No. I can barely see him and that loose hoodie hides his build.”
“I know who it is,” Bobby said.
They all looked at him.
“I can’t see his face,” he added quickly, “but look how he moves his shoulder in a circle, like he’s trying to work out some kinks. That’s Monroe. I’m sure of it. He hurt his rotator cuff chopping firewood on a camping trip and it still bugs him. I’ve seen him do that lots of times.”
“Wait a sec, guys,” Abby said. “Monroe’s the police chief’s son. He’s one of my hardest-working volunteers and he’s always the last to leave. Just because he went into the barn after hours doesn’t mean he vandalized the tack. He’d have no reason to do something like that.”
“Monroe was here when we arrived. You think he’s still here?” Preston asked.
“Probably. If I’m around, he usually lets me know before he takes off,” Abby said.
“I need to talk to him,” Preston said, remembering that Ilse and Monroe had been meeting on the sly.
“There’s no way Monroe’s responsible for what happened,” Abby said. “Let me go with you and we’ll both talk to him.”
“No, this is police business.” He could see the worry and fear in her eyes. Abby needed to believe that people were basically good and that right always prevailed. He’d been that way once, too—naive, trying to see the best in everyone. That had died the day his mother abandoned him.
Reality was a hard teacher. As a cop, he dealt with the worst in human nature almost every day and sometimes the good guys lost. That darkness had taken its toll on him, and bringing it into Abby’s life could destroy the woman he loved. He had to solve this case quickly, then move on.
Chapter Eighteen
As Preston approached, Monroe was emptying the wheelbarrow into the compost pile. “A word,” Preston said.
Monroe set the handles down and turned to face him. “Something wrong?”
“Why don’t you tell me?” Preston said, his voice deadly.
Monroe took a step back, refusing to look him in the eye. His face was turning red, but Preston couldn’t tell if it was anger, fear or embarrassment at the thought of getting caught. It didn’t matter.
“There’s no place for you to go, kid. Don’t even think of running,” Preston growled, shifting to the side and trapping Monroe between him and the pipe fencing.
“You know, don’t you?” Monroe whispered. “One word of this gets out and my dad will go nuclear. That’s why I couldn’t tell you.”
“Go on,” Preston said, wondering where this was all going.
“Ilse is ten years older than me, but that woman’s hot. The night Carl was killed we were both here late. She and I...well, it’s not really serious, but we’d been messing around. We’d meet here sometimes after everyone else was gone and Abby had turned in. That night in particular I really needed to talk to Ilse. I got engaged to someone else after some heavy-duty pressure from my parents, and I wanted to give Ilse the news myself—basically end it.”
“She never mentioned being here,” Preston said.
“We agreed never to tell anyone about that night or our meetings here. She was just keeping her word. Besides, neither one of us saw or heard anything that could help you find Carl’s killer.”
“Who else was around that night?”
Monroe shook his head. “We didn’t see anyone. We went into the hay barn, then spread a tarp on the ground and...said goodbye. After an hour or so we both went home.”
“You saw her leave?”
“She was getting into her car as I left.”
Preston nodded slowly, his gaze still on the kid. “So why did you sneak back in here last night?”
Preston saw the kid turn a shade paler.
“How...”
“Don’t waste my time,” Preston snapped.
“I got a text from Ilse asking me to meet her. I was afraid she’d get angry and tell someone else about us if I didn’t come, so I hurried over. She never showed up. That’s when I checked the text message again and realized it was an old one I’d forgotten to delete.” He brought out his cell. “I guess I was hoping I’d be a little harder to forget.”
Preston almost burst out laughing. The kid had moved on, but he still wanted Ilse pining for him. “Guy, she’s out of your league. Chalk it up as a pleasant experience and let it go.”
“Yeah, I know,” he said, “but it’s harder than it sounds.”
Daniel joined Preston as Monroe walked away. “I heard.”
Preston chuckled softly. “That poor kid. He still has a thing for Ilse, but the chief and his wife are making him go in another direction. Smart people.”
“So what now?”
“Install those other cameras here as soon as possible. In the meantime, I need to talk to Abby.”
“Be careful,” Daniel said in a quiet voice.
Preston stopped in midstride. “What do you mean?”
“You’re hard as nails—the one brother who never lowers his guard—but you’re different around this woman.”
He thought of denying it but then changed his mind. “Yeah, maybe so, but it’s not a forever thing. I just want to make sure she wins this fight.”
“We’ll be right there with you every step of the way.”
“Glad you said that, bro, because there’s something I need you to do for me.”
* * *
PRESTON STOPPED BY the station for the second time that day to check in with the lab people. After getting some updates, he realized that what the case needed now was legwork.
As he walked back to his SUV, he checked his watch. He wanted to run one personal errand before getting back to work. Abby’s courage had been continually tested and she’d held her own, but there was one more thing he could do to help her fight.
Preston drove into town and parked at the curb in front of a small store on Second Street called Southwest Treasures. Pablo Ortiz, a short, rotund man with gray hair and an easy smile, greeted him from behind the old-style oak-and-glass counter. The Zuni man had carved the fetishes he and his brothers all wore.
“What brings you here today?” he asked as Preston searched beneath the glass, studying the array of small fetishes there.
“I’m looking for White Wolf,” he said.
“That’s a special fetish. It’ll only fit someone who’s willing to protect her territory and her family at any cost,” Ortiz said.
“Hosteen Silver told us about it. It was the one worn by the only woman he ever loved,” Preston said.
“This morning I finished pol
ishing one I carved from white turquoise, a stone as rare as White Wolf herself.”
Pablo brought it out and showed Preston the intricate carving. It had delicate features and showed a standing wolf, ready for the hunt. Courage and passion were evident in its pose.
“This is perfect. I’ll take it.”
Ortiz placed the small fetish in a medicine pouch but not before sprinkling it with corn pollen. “This will feed its spirit and keep it strong.”
“Thank you, uncle,” he said, using the title out of respect.
It was almost dinnertime and he was on his way back to his SUV when his phone rang. It was Abby. He picked it up quickly.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yes. Daniel set up another camera by the house that’ll feed into his computer. He’d planned to hook it up somewhere else, then decided I needed it here more,” she said.
“I’m glad he was able to do that.”
“I also wanted you to know that I’ve asked Kyle to give Bobby a ride home.”
“So you’re alone?” he asked quickly.
“Not completely, no. Michelle is around. She took one of the horses out on a training ride, but she’ll be back in a while,” she said. “I just needed a little time to myself, Preston,” she said calmly. “I’ll be here at the house and can call 911 if necessary. One of the new cameras your brother put up also monitors the area around the house. I’ll be fine.”
“I get where you’re coming from,” he said after a beat, “but I wish you hadn’t done that.”
After hanging up, he looked at the medicine pouch. He’d respect her need to be alone and catch up with her later. His brother’s camera would let them know almost instantly if anything went wrong.
* * *
ABBY LOOKED AROUND the living room, enjoying the stillness of the moment. Realizing that she’d become afraid to be by herself, she’d intuitively known that she had to face that fear as quickly as possible. With precautions in place, she was glad for a little time to think things through.
She’d just sat down on the couch when she heard a knock at her door. She sighed. This had to have been the shortest alone time in history.
“It’s me—Michelle. Do you have a second?”
Abby opened the door and invited her inside. “Hi, Michelle. How did the ride go? Any problems?”
“No, not at all. Big Red’s a great mount. That horse has a kind spirit and does his best to protect his rider.”
“So what’s bothering you?” she asked, noting that Michelle seemed ill at ease.
“I’m going to have to cut the hours I’m spending at the ranch and get a part-time job elsewhere. I was hoping to hold my riding classes here and pick up some extra money, but I don’t have enough kids signing up.”
“Because you’re teaching here?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. I’ve stopped trying to figure things out, I just deal with what’s in front of me,” she said.
“That’s actually really good advice,” Abby said, “but if what you want is a steadier paycheck, I may be able to help. With Carl gone, I’m going to need a new head wrangler, and the animals here love you. Will you take his place? The pay isn’t great, but you’ll have lodging.”
Her expression lit up instantly. “That would be terrific.”
“It may be a week or two before you can start, though. We’ll need to clear out the bunkhouse and Carl’s office and that’ll mean going through everything there. The police may want to monitor that process, so I’ll have to ask.”
“I can wait, and if you need help with all that, just let me know.”
Michelle started heading to the door, then stopped and turned around. “You’ve helped me out several times, Abby, and I’d like to do something for you in return. I know you trust Detective Bowman, and you may even be falling for him, but I’ve heard some things about him that you need to know.”
“Like what?”
“The man’s in love with his job. That always comes first.”
She smiled. “And I’m in love with this ranch.”
“It’s more complicated than that. Your life here at the ranch, under ordinary circumstances, is a peaceful one, and that’s one of the many things you love about it. Detective Bowman’s a cop. He probably chose that job because of the promise of danger and excitement,” she said. “Abby, face it—you two are as compatible as snow and summer sunshine.”
“That’s why he won’t be around after the case is closed,” she said softly. “I’ve known that from the start.”
“It’s already too late for warnings, isn’t it?”
“I’ll be fine,” she said, walking Michelle outside and back to her pickup. “See you tomorrow.”
As Michelle drove off, Abby glanced up at one of the new cameras. It was well hidden, mounted high underneath a roof overhang, melding into the afternoon shadows but pointed at the house and its immediate surroundings.
She was walking back, lost in thought, when she saw one of the horses pacing, head down. Afraid that the horse might have the beginnings of colic, she hurried over to his pen. A closer look told her that the animal wasn’t sick. Abby glanced around, trying to figure out what was bothering him, and caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure going around the barn.
Afraid for her animals, Abby looked up at the camera, pointed ahead, then quietly headed toward the figure, cell phone in hand. Daniel, or whoever was monitoring the feed, would now know she was on the move, and on the way she’d call 911.
Unless her animals were threatened, she intended to stay behind cover, but she wanted to get a look at the person who was causing so many problems for her. Hopefully, it would turn out to be a stranger, not a traitor associated with her ranch.
Abby followed him as he headed past the pens and toward the shed just beyond the barn. Realizing he wasn’t after her animals, she decided to stay well back and stopped near the bales of straw they’d eventually use for bedding. When he passed by on his way back out, she’d be able to see his face and still remain hidden.
Minutes ticked by. Soon she heard a car pulling up, tires crunching on the gravel. She turned around to see who it was, but her shoulder struck a bale and the thump gave away her position.
Before she could move away, the intruder jumped her from behind and tackled her to the ground.
Abby fought back, kicking and trying to turn her head around to get a look at his face. As he pushed her back to the ground, he scraped her forehead.
Stunned, she turned her face away. It had to have been a watch or a ring. She’d felt the pain of hard metal.
Hearing approaching footsteps, Abby cried out. “Help! Over here!”
Her attacker jumped up and disappeared around the corner.
Abby sat up slowly, touching the dampness of blood on her forehead.
Preston ran up just then. “You’re hurt,” he said, seeing the trickle of blood running down her face.
“I’m fine. Go! Hurry! The guy ducked around the side of the barn.”
* * *
“I’LL BE BACK.” As Preston ran over, he saw the back door of the hay storage area swinging shut, but no one was around. He raced down the front of the stalls, passing the animals at a sprint. Suddenly he struck something with his foot, tripped and hurtled facedown onto the ground with a thud.
He scrambled back up, anticipating an ambush, then spotted the rake the suspect had obviously tossed into the path. He’d been checking the stalls as he passed and had missed the handle in the darkness.
Spinning around, he looked for the suspect. None of the animals appeared unduly alarmed, and there was no movement on the other side of the grounds. The runner was gone, and he had no idea which direction to search. Maybe the man had doubled back.
Preston raced back to the other end of the barn. He had to
make sure Abby was still safe. He turned the far corner and saw her still sitting there, holding a tissue to the cut on her forehead.
Before she could protest he lifted her into his arms. “I’m carrying you back to the house.”
Chapter Nineteen
Under the bright lights of her kitchen, Preston cleaned and inspected the long but shallow cut just above Abby’s brow. “It’s a head wound so it’s going to bleed a while, but it’s not deep,” he said, dabbing it with a damp paper towel.
Abby saw that his hands were shaking. Preston had a gentle heart, though he seldom let anyone see that side of him.
“I’m fine,” she said. “If I hadn’t been distracted, I might have been able to give you a better description of his face. All I can tell you for sure is that he was wearing some kind of weird makeup—green and black—in splotches.”
“They sell that stuff for bow hunters nowadays to break up their facial patterns, but this guy isn’t hunting deer. He’s afraid of being recognized,” Preston said.
Seeing that the cut had stopped bleeding, he finally took a deep breath. “I have to go back there and take a look around. I want to know what he was after.”
“He was headed to the shed by the barn, but I keep it locked. It’s not that there’s anything of great value in there. I just don’t want the kids inside. I have ant poison and things like that in there.”
“This confirms my theory,” Preston said. “The suspect’s after something he believes is here at the ranch. He wants to run you out because he needs the freedom to roam at will and look for whatever it is. It also explains why he stayed around so long after killing Carl that night.”
“He was still searching. I wish I knew what he’s after. I’d cheerfully hand it over to him if he’d leave me and the ranch alone.”
Preston grabbed a powerful fluorescent lantern she kept on the table. “I’m going to borrow this and look through the interior of the shed and barn.”
“I’m going with you. Two pairs of eyes are better than one.”
“Not necessary. I have Falcon’s gift, remember?”