This whole situation was one fat Charlie Foxtrot. He didn’t know what to do to get himself out of it, but the addition of that little spitfire to the whole mess was enough to make him want to find a hole somewhere and bury himself alive.
You need to figure out what happened with Clint Kruger, clear your name of all wrongdoing, then get out of here. If you haven’t told the bloke who you are, you’ll never do it, the mental pep talk told him.
So why didn’t he quite believe it?
Chapter Six
Jolie had a fitful four hours of sleep. She couldn’t relax, and each time she did drift off she dreamed about Xavier killing Clint while the teenaged Sarah and a hazy figure of another, younger girl stood by, watching. The nightmare left her with a racing heart and the urge to jump out of bed and shoot. These types of dreams had plagued her after Ian was arrested. It had taken almost four months for them to fade, and now this. She couldn’t figure out which was the more disturbing part of the dream: seeing Xavier killing Clint or the mysterious girl hovering near Sarah.
Standing at the kitchen sink with a cooling mug of tea cradled in both hands, she stared out the window at the open field behind her home and saw nothing. Her mind raced with memories of the dreams, her conversations with Xavier, and how that man’s moods did strange and scary things to her. Not all of it was bad—in fact, it was oddly attractive—but it was weird. It was weird enough that she was beginning to think she was having a mental breakdown.
Fudge, just what she needed in a job like this. Especially in a town like Eider, where her every move and motive was always questioned—good or bad. It really sucked a rotten egg to be Eli Murdoch’s daughter.
A spot at the juncture of her buttock and thigh ached. She reached around and massaged it, hoping it wouldn’t bother her today. Unlike Jennings, her gunshot wound had healed quickly, but it still gave her fits now and again. Sadly, she hadn’t gotten it out of Ian whether he or his partner had shot her, nor which of them attempted to drown Jolie and Cassy in the icy river.
Jolie sipped the strong Earl Grey, the tangy, layered brew reminding her of that mysterious Australian and his two siblings camped out at the hospital. The more Jolie tried to crack his nut, gathering up the nuggets of information that dropped out, the more he clamped down and growled back. After he gave her the boot from his hospital room last night, she’d been ready to bolt and not look back. Every time she tried to do the right thing, be the cop Daddy wanted her to be, she let something like her temper get in the way, and she messed it all up. There was no more room for mistakes.
Outside, the sun’s arrival was greeted by a flock of roosting birds taking flight. When Jolie had graduated from the criminal justice program and completed her training as a law enforcement officer, she’d bought this little piece of ground from her parents. Daddy hadn’t been too keen on her living alone. Since Ian’s betrayal, both of her parents had changed. Mom was quieter and more reserved, and for a while, she’d been severely depressed. Daddy, on the other hand, became more demanding, aggressively demeaning Jolie at times, and it grated. Since her teen years, he’d been hard on her and her brother, even critical—more with Ian than Jolie—but in the last seven months, it had been worse than usual.
Unable to take the mood swings from both of her parents, she gave Daddy an ultimatum: let her buy it, or she moved away from McIntire County. Her one act of defiance. He caved in a heartbeat. As a gift, her parents helped her secure a loan that let her purchase a pre-fabricated house and have a basement installed for the house to sit on. Jolie had been living here only two weeks, and she loved it. The place still had that fresh construction smell.
But the silence did get to her. Especially after nights like last night. Maybe she should consider getting a dog. Or a cat. Maybe a few cattle to tend to the grass. Or a horse, though she’d never learned to ride. She could always ask Nic or Cassy to teach her. But Nic had her two little ones at home, and Cassy was due to give birth in a few months. Neither would have that kind of time.
A cat sounded like the more logical choice—independent and low maintenance, perfect for a companion, without all the work.
Sighing, Jolie turned from the window and padded over to her stove. She dumped the contents of her mug back into the teapot and left it. Returning to her bedroom, she dressed in her uniform, pulled her red tresses back into a loose bun at the nape of her neck, and headed out. She wanted to stop at the department to have a chat with either the sheriff or Con, if they were available, before going to the hospital to resume her guard duties over Xavier.
It might be best if she just stayed out of his room, to avoid a repeat of their encounter last night. Her hand and wrist still tingled where he’d taken hold of her, as if he’d branded her with his touch.
Jolie paused next to her vehicle and surveyed her surroundings. The late June morning held the promise of the heat to come; it was already 75 degrees and climbing. Today the McIntire County Fair kicked off with the sheep and goat shows, and tonight would be the ever-popular truck and tractor pulls. It was officially summer. Not so long ago, that had been her life from the end of the school year right up until the last day of the state fair. Tamping down her nostalgia, Jolie climbed into her car. If she ever found the right guy and had kids, she’d get the chance to do the fairs again, but until now, she had a job to do.
She spent her fifteen-minute drive rehashing her odd dream and the significance of all the players. It was as if her mind was trying to tell her something important. But not having been a witness to Clint’s death, how would she know anything about it?
She pulled into the lot, parked in her reserved spot, and then strolled inside the cool building.
Jennings was at his station, sans wheelchair, tapping away at the lone computer not hooked up to the dispatch system. He was a computer genius, and they’d relied on him to pull up hidden information on a suspect’s hard drive.
“Leg feeling better?” she asked.
“Not really, but I’ve got to stop being lazy and get moving.”
“Don’t push yourself too soon,” she said, poking his arm as she passed his desk on her way to the sheriff’s office.
Jennings spun and captured her hand before she could get out of his reach. “Jolie, I got a call from the pen,” he said, referring to the penitentiary where her brother was incarcerated. “There was an incident with Ian.”
She was moving on. She’d made peace with her role in her brother’s crime spree. So why did she still tremble every time her brother popped back into her life? “What happened?”
“They couldn’t give me details, but they need to talk with you. Your parents weren’t available, and you’re next on the list. Why did you give the department’s number as your contact number?”
Shaking her head, Jolie freed her hand from his rough hand. “Because I didn’t want to take a chance he’d call to harass me.”
“You know it’s reported if he does.”
“I know.” She ran her palms against the seam of her trousers. “It’s just safer to use the department.”
Jennings’s all-knowing blue eyes seemed to search her to the core. Of all the people working in the sheriff’s department, she and Jennings were the youngest, but he had more than three years of experience on the force. In fact, as kids, the two of them had practically grown up in each other’s back pockets. And now they were under Hamilton’s watchful eye. On more than a few occasions, her mom had asked why Jolie hadn’t tried to date Adam, and each time she shot her mother down. First, there was the awkwardness of dating someone she worked with, and second, Jolie held to the strict code of no relationships with fellow law enforcement officers.
“Did they want me to call back?” she asked.
“No, the warden insisted you go out there.”
“When?”
“Soon as you have time. Clear it with the sheriff first.” Jennings swiveled back to his computers. “Sounded serious, Joles.”
“It always does when it concerns
Ian.” She continued to Hamilton’s office.
The man himself was lounging on his sagging sofa with a thick stack of dispatch reports in hand. She gave a light tap on the doorframe and stepped inside. “Any news?”
He peeked at her around the edge of the pages. “Nothing of importance. Mostly just BS from people looking for their five minutes of fame.”
“We’ll find her, sir.”
Swinging his legs to the floor, Hamilton sat up. “Keep up that optimism, Murdoch. We’re going to need it.” He shuffled the stack and set it on the seat next to him. “What do you need?”
“First, apparently I need to make an appearance at the pen. Something about an incident with my brother.”
“I’ll make sure you get time today to get over there.”
Jolie pointed at the empty chair in the office. “May I?”
With a wave of his hand, Hamilton gave her a flimsy ‘go ahead.’ Jolie took a seat, mimicking her boss’s relaxed posture.
“What do you remember about the disappearance of Grace Maddox?”
Hamilton frowned. “Why?”
“This whole affair of Sarah missing, and now the death of her father, made me remember it. I can’t shake the fact that Grace was never found.”
“Murdoch, I don’t think the Maddox case and Sarah’s have anything to do with each other. Besides, you were just a kid when Grace went missing.”
“I wasn’t that young. Can you tell me what you remember of it?”
Hamilton shook his head. “I had just retired from the rodeo circuit. I was too new with law enforcement at the time. You’re better off talking with Con about that.”
“Talking to me about what?” Con sauntered into the room and parked himself on the sofa’s armrest, next to his friend.
“Do you recall that missing girl case a few years back?” Hamilton asked.
“Yeah, why?”
Hamilton gave Jolie a pointed look. She squirmed in her seat, scooting back until she wanted to meld into the wood. She wasn’t a fully trained investigator, so this was far out of her pay grade, but she’d opened this can of worms.
“Since Sarah went missing, all I’ve been thinking about was how this was kind of like what happened to Grace Maddox.”
Crossing his arms, Con’s features turned contemplative. “I didn’t think about that.”
“Do you think there’s a connection?” Hamilton asked.
“It’s worth exploring. Might want to put Cassy on that; Boyce is none too pleased she’s been overdoing it here the past few days.”
“Ah, but you were the one who was a cop at the time and living here,” Hamilton pointed out. “And let’s not forget you trying to limit Nic’s workload in her latter months of pregnancy, both times, and she ripped you a new one.”
“Cassy isn’t Nic; she can be reasoned with. I’ve got my hands full with this latest homicide, so I can’t be digging around in the past.”
Hamilton’s calculating gaze turned Jolie’s way. “The only other person close to that situation is the daughter of the former sheriff.”
“Sir, I’m not ready … I’m just a low-ranking deputy,” Jolie sputtered.
“Who can learn from some good investigators. Cassy’s been working through her K-9 handler training. Once she’s had the baby, she’ll be gone for a few months to finish up. Nash has no interest in it, and Jennings is my go-to man on the tech side. That leaves you.”
Her gaze slid from one man to the other; getting no backup from Con, she slunk down in the chair. “Sheriff, this was just a thought.”
“As Con said, it’s worth exploring. We can handle Xavier Hartmann for now.”
“Speaking of Hartmann, we need to get over to the hospital,” Con said. “Doc Drummond is okay with releasing him into our custody.”
This brought Jolie to her feet. “Do you want me to bring him here, sir?”
Hamilton shook his head. “We’ll do it. Now would be a good time for you to head over to the pen and find out what’s going on with your brother.”
Dread curdled in her stomach. “Okay. I’ll go.”
She was one foot out the door when Con called to her. Pausing, she looked back at the detective.
“We may have to consider talking with your da’ about Grace. He’s the only other person left who had anything to do with that case.”
Oh God, oh God, oh God. Were they nuts? Did they not remember who her father was? Since his heart attack and Ian’s imprisonment, Daddy had shut down all talk of police work or what Ian had done. The only thing he did mention was her future as the next sheriff, a discussion Jolie wasn’t keen on having lately. A conversation about a case that was never solved under Daddy’s tenure wasn’t a good idea.
“We’ll see, Detective O’Hanlon.” With a parting nod, she hightailed it out of the building, giving Jennings a backhanded wave on her way out.
Tucked inside her car, she stared at the steering wheel. A riot broke out inside her, and she had no way to get it under control. Right now, picking up Xavier would be an easier task than learning what had happened to her brother and a possible face-to-face confrontation.
Yep, the Australian was a far better choice.
• • •
“Gah! That food is rubbish.”
Xavier grinned at his sister. Ariel had dabbled in the culinary arts before deciding to be a mental health counselor. He did have to admit that he’d missed her skills in the kitchen. Probably why he enjoyed working at The Killdeer. Farran rivaled Ariel on her best day of cooking.
“It’s not that bad. The cinnamon rolls are … yummy.”
“Did you just call that lump of brick yummy?”
“Well … ” Xavier picked up the overbaked pastry and let it clunk back onto his tray. “It was. Must be a bad day in the kitchen.”
Rolling her eyes, Ariel dug into her overly large tote and produced a white sack. The tantalizing aroma of a snag bag hit him hard, making his mouth water. Damn, how he missed those sausage rolls. Living as an American for the better part of thirteen years, he didn’t get many chances to enjoy the delights from back home. He’d only recently been able to get a steady supply of Vegemite.
Ariel handed over the flaky pastry and tossed the bag to Zac, who pulled out a second.
Xavier savored his first bite. Oh, heaven.
“You’d get those all the time if you’d just come home,” Ariel said.
Washing down a mouthful with a gulp of coffee, Xavier shook his head. “I have unfinished business.”
“You’ve had unfinished business for thirteen years. In that time, you joined their military, got blown up, lost a leg, and moved here. And you still haven’t finished your business. If you haven’t done it by now, you’re not going to do it.”
“Ariel.” Zac’s voice held a hint of warning.
“What?” She glared down her nose at Zac. “He needs to hear reality. Mum is ready for him to be home.”
“So she can treat him like a child? Yeah, even I’d stay gone to avoid that.” He took a bite of his roll, flakes of pastry breaking off and fluttering into his lap.
Damn, baby brother had grown up. They’d all kept up via the wonders of Skyping and the occasional layover when one or the other was traveling, but Xavier hadn’t paid much attention to Zac’s growth into manhood. He’d left Australia when Zac was thirteen; now he was twenty-six and the spitting image of his father. Ariel had complained about the constant parade of females that shadowed their doorstep. Charming and flirty as he was, Zac didn’t cross Xavier as the womanizing type. He chalked it up to Ariel being an overprotective sister.
“Ariel, I’m a dual citizen. I can stay in either country, and right now I want to be here.” For now, anyway. If he ever got up the nerve to finish what he came to America to do.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, she cupped his sole leg. “X, we don’t have any idea what’s been going on around here, and not even you will tell us.”
Behind her, Zac shifted in obvious discomfort. Xavier�
��s “Spidey” senses went off. His little brother knew, and he kept it from Ariel.
Before she could push her prodding further, there was a knock on the door, but no one entered. Scowling, Ariel went to answer it, allowing Sheriff Hamilton and Detective O’Hanlon to enter.
“Family reunion?” O’Hanlon asked.
“Of sorts. What can I help you with, sirs?” Xavier asked and then polished off the last of his roll.
“Doc says you’re free to go. Thought you’d like to resume where we left off,” Hamilton said.
Taking a defensive stance, arms crossed over her chest and glaring daggers at the men, Ariel blocked his view. “Resume what?”
“Ariel, it’s none of your business,” Xavier told her.
“The hell, you say. When it concerns you, it’s all my business.”
You couldn’t miss the amused looks the two officials passed each other. Both men could understand his predicament with Ariel. Given half a chance, she could be as strong-willed as Nic and as bossy as Cassy. While his sister meant well, Xavier wished she’d stop mothering him.
Taking the unspoken hint, Zac stood and took hold of their sister’s elbow. “I believe that is our cue to take a walk.”
Without protest, Ariel allowed Zac to escort her out. But before she passed through the exit, she glanced back. Eyes crinkled in concern, she pursed her lips and exited the room.
Damn her for that look. She might as well have just stabbed him in the gut with a knife. He should’ve told her what was going on, but how could he, when he didn’t even know what exactly had happened? His little medical emergency had already set her off. He couldn’t give her more.
“Interesting sister you have there,” O’Hanlon said as he took up position next to the tiny closet.
“You have no idea.” Xavier swung his body around to let his leg dangle over the edge of the bed and grabbed his cleaned prosthetic. Zac had brought him a fresh set of clothes, including a pair of cargo-style shorts. No use in hiding his bum leg any longer. And with the heat going up today, he wanted to feel comfortable.
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