Meant to Be My Cowboy

by R. C. Ryan

  “Okay. Your choice.” He lifted his cell phone off the desk, all the while watching her expression. “Let’s see what time he’s free to meet.”

  Noble Crain stood as his wife ushered Annie and Jonah into his office.

  Annie was smiling broadly. “Good afternoon, Chief Crain. Jonah told me you have some news to share. He wanted to wait in the outer office so that we could meet alone, but since he already knows what I know, and since I’m staying with his family, I’m willing to share whatever information you have with them.”

  “That’s fine.” Noble indicated the chairs facing his desk and waited until Annie was seated before settling back down.

  Jonah sat beside her, his face carefully devoid of emotion.

  “To begin with”—Noble folded his hands on his desktop—“the feds have identified the victim of the million-dollar theft. His name is Richard Thornton.”

  “Richard?” Annie reacted as though she’d been slapped.

  “I believe you know him.”

  She nodded, swallowing several times. “He was one of my private banking clients. Just a sweet, charming man who retired some years ago and is living comfortably on his ample savings.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she lifted a hand to stifle her cry. “But a million dollars? That would wipe him out.”

  “Indeed.” Noble was watching her closely. “I’m told the bank had to make good on the theft.”

  “Oh.” She made a sound of relief. “That’s such good news.”

  “For Richard Thornton. Not such good news for the bank or rather, their insurers. But because their investigators have determined that it was an inside job, they had no choice but to reimburse him the full amount that had been taken from his account.”

  “An inside job?” She leaned forward. “They know who did this?”

  “The feds, after extensive interviews with the bank investigators, have determined that it was Mr. Thornton’s private banker.”

  She sat back as though a hand had shoved her hard against the chair. “But I just told you that Richard was one of my private banking clients.”

  “Exactly.”

  Her eyes went wide. “You’re accusing me of stealing from one of my own clients?”

  “He was the bank’s client. You were assigned by the bank to help him handle his finances. Isn’t that so? Don’t you have knowledge of all your clients’ bank statements?”

  “Of course I do. But I take great pride in my work and I’m not a criminal. I would never steal from my clients, especially not Richard. If you knew him, you would understand. He’s the sweetest man you’d ever meet. How could anyone want to harm him?”

  Chief Crain typed something into his computer before turning it around so that Annie and Jonah could see the screen.

  “The feds sent me this.” At Annie’s arched brow, he explained patiently, “I believe you’re familiar with East Bay Bank?”

  She shrugged. “Of course I know of it. This is the bank that sent me a statement showing a million dollars in an account in my name, even though I never opened such an account.”

  “Then how do you explain this?” He touched a finger to the prompt, which initiated a video. “This is a copy of East Bay Bank’s security tape from a month ago.”

  Annie and Jonah stared at the screen where a woman dressed in a bright red coat was shown meeting with a bank representative.

  Noble stopped the tape. “Is that your coat?”

  Annie was shaking her head. “I own a coat just like that. But that woman isn’t me.”

  “Let’s go on.” He pushed the button, and the woman, wearing a scarf on her head that covered her hair, her forehead, and much of her neck, and big sunglasses that nearly obscured her entire face, presented the banker with documents. The camera zoomed in on Annie’s name and her personal identification, including her Social Security number.

  She sat forward in her chair, shaking her head at the computer screen. “I know what this looks like, Chief Crain, but that woman isn’t me.”

  He turned the computer around. “Just a week after this was recorded on the bank’s security camera, a million dollars was wired to that new account in your name.”

  “Not only do I deny setting up that account, but I’ve never been inside that bank. Why would I, when I was employed at a competing bank?”

  “Your employer would certainly notice if a million dollars was deposited in one of their employee’s accounts. According to East Bay Bank, that very thing happened with the account in your name. A million dollars just happened to be deposited into an account in the name of Annie Dempsey.”

  With every word out of the police chief’s mouth, Annie’s shoulders slumped a little more until she was hunched over, as though holding herself together by a thread.

  “According to your former employer, Mr. Thornton wasn’t even aware of the theft until he’d been told by the bank investigators. Of course, it was kept quiet and never made the news, in order to spare the bank’s reputation. They have quietly restored his money to his account, and a new, trusted private banker is now handling Mr. Thornton’s account while the investigation continues.”

  Jonah had remained silent throughout this narrative. Now he asked, “So, Noble, you’re saying that the investigation is still ongoing?”

  The chief nodded.

  “Why, if they believe Annie is the thief?”

  “They’re convinced that she had accomplices.”

  “Arlen Lender?”

  At Jonah’s question, Chief Crain shook his head. “They’ve searched all their data banks. So far, there is nobody by that name in the San Francisco area. Either he’s using an alias or he has a record so clean he’s never had so much as a speeding ticket. Or”—he turned to stare at Annie—“Arlen Lender is a figment of the imagination.”

  “But,” Jonah said, “don’t forget that Annie was introduced to this man by the president of the bank.”

  “Actually, he was introduced to me by another bank employee. But it was at a company party at which the bank president was the guest of honor.” Annie lowered her head, as though feeling the weight of evidence piling up against her.

  Jonah kept his tone even. “Noble, are the investigators going to continue looking at every angle?”

  “They’re trained investigators, Jonah. But once they saw that security video, they became convinced that they’d found their thief. As Agent Mavis Johnson, in charge of the federal investigation told me, a million dollars is a mighty big temptation for even the most honest person.” He turned his piercing gaze on Annie. “They figure you were unable to resist the lure of a million dollars, until your conscience got the best of you and you ran. But that visit by Park spooked you, and now you want protection from Arlen by throwing him under the bus.”

  Annie looked at him in disbelief and her voice betrayed her shock. “Am I under arrest?”

  Chief Crain shook his head. “Not yet. But you are a person of interest. And if the evidence continues…” He laid his palms flat on the desktop and shoved his chair back. “You’re free to go, Annie. For now. But I would advise you to remain in town.”

  “You can find her at my family’s ranch, Noble.”

  The chief seemed about to say something before he caught himself and merely nodded.

  Jonah took Annie’s hand and helped her from the chair before leading her from the office.

  As they passed the chief’s wife, she was frowning, her lips pursed as though she’d tasted something vile.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Outside the chief’s office, Jonah turned to Annie. “You’ve hardly eaten a thing today. You must be hungry.”

  She pressed a hand to her stomach. “I just want to”—she looked around—“get away.”

  Once in his truck, they began the long drive back to the ranch, and Jonah decided to find a way to get her to talk. “Annie, I know it looks bad. Seeing that video had to be a shock.”

  She turned to stare out the side window, avoiding his eyes. �
��The authorities have already declared me guilty and are now looking for ‘my’ accomplices.”

  “Videos can be faked. We all know that.”

  “Do we?” Her voice lowered. “They’ve stopped looking, Jonah. They’re already convinced they have their criminal. I can deny all I want, but I know what they’re thinking. I could see it in the chief’s eyes. Hear it in his tone of voice. And his wife made her feelings obvious.”

  “MaryAnn Crain is a puppet who will repeat whatever her husband tells her.”

  “To everyone in town.”

  Jonah had no argument for that.

  He waited, choosing his words carefully. “I hope you realize that we have to tell my family what the authorities have found so far.”

  She nodded. “They’ll ask me to leave, and I don’t blame them.”

  Jonah reached over and caught her hand. “My family is far from perfect. We have all the flaws of families everywhere. But we’re also fair. I believe, once they hear all this, they’ll insist that you stay on where you’ll be safe from the gossip and innuendo.”

  “If they do, they’ll have to be on guard with their valuables, since they have a thief in their midst.”

  “A person of interest.”

  “Jonah, we both know that’s a mere technicality. The authorities, according to Chief Crain, have all the proof they need. Now they just want to tie up the loose ends before arresting me.”

  Though she turned her head away, he continued to hold her hand. It was trembling, he noted, and though she was struggling to be stoic, he could see that she was close to tears.

  Over supper, both Jonah and Annie were subdued, allowing his family to carry the conversation. Jonah had decided not to spoil their appetites with unpleasant news.

  When Meg suggested taking their dessert and coffee on the porch, Jonah saw it as the perfect opportunity to bring them up to date on the investigation. With twilight fast approaching, Annie could hide in the shadows and avoid feeling like she was under a spotlight. Though he knew it would be painful, he hoped he could ease her through the worst of it.

  Billy pushed the trolley onto the porch and began passing around cups of coffee and plates of his apple pie with vanilla ice cream mounded on top.

  “Ham, you get the first slice.” Billy handed it to the patriarch of the family and the others observed the smile of pure delight that crossed Ham’s features.

  “Um-humm.” Ham took a bite, then a second and a third, before letting out a deep sigh. “I do believe I could eat this every day of my life.”

  Meg, always the practical one, remarked, “If you did, it wouldn’t be a special treat, now, would it?”

  “Margaret Mary Finnegan, stop trying to be logical. This isn’t the time for logic.”

  Jonah cleared his throat. “Maybe this is the time to let you know that Annie and I met with Chief Crain today.”

  Everyone turned to him, including Annie.

  He accepted a plate from Billy and set it aside for the moment. “The authorities found a security video of a bank in San Francisco showing a woman in a scarf and sunglasses obscuring much of her face and hair, wearing a bright red coat, opening a bank account in Annie’s name. She had all of Annie’s information, including her Social Security number.”

  His family, he noted, had gone completely silent.

  “They’ve also located the victim of the million-dollar theft. He was a private banking client of Annie’s. The bank has already reimbursed him the money and is quietly linking their investigation with that of the authorities, in the hope of keeping this quiet, since it will bring unwanted notoriety. Within days of the theft, a million dollars was wired into the new bank account in Annie’s name.”

  Egan was the first to speak. He directed his question to Annie.

  “What did you say to the chief when you were told all this?”

  “I told him I know it looks bad, but I know, too, that the woman in the video isn’t me.”

  “Of course it isn’t.” Meg looked around at the others, daring them to disagree.

  “Thank you, Miss Meg. But Chief Crain doesn’t believe me. And neither do the authorities. They’ve already moved beyond me to try to find out who else is involved in this scheme.”

  Meg’s voice rose in disbelief. “He told you that?”

  “Not in so many words, but he made it clear that if I look guilty, I must be guilty.”

  “Rubbish.” At Ham’s outburst, the others turned to him.

  He pointed a finger at Jonah. “If you were writing a scene in one of those books of yours, and your character was doing something secretive, would you dress her in a bright red coat?”

  A smile tugged at Jonah’s lips. “Of course not, Ham. I’d dress her in something plain and drab.”

  “That’s right, boy. And you know why?”

  “People don’t forget a bright red coat.”

  “Exactly.” He turned to Annie. “I imagine you own a coat like that red one?”

  “It’s identical to one I own.”

  “Uh-huh.” He looked around at the others. “And I bet you own half a dozen more that are less…colorful.”

  Jonah interrupted. “But the authorities are fixated on this coat and the woman on that security tape. And once they’ve decided they have their perpetrator, it’s hard to get them to think beyond that.”

  “Then we need to nudge them, boy.”

  While the others began debating ways to turn the investigation around, Jonah suddenly turned to his grandfather. “Gramps, what about your old friend Newton Calder?”

  Avery, who had been listening without comment, nodded. “Wasn’t he the retired investigator who was the first to discover that Nurse Renee Wilmot had both motive and opportunity to harm me?”

  “It was indeed.” Egan got to his feet and began to pace before stopping in front of Annie. “My friend Newt is retired now, but years ago he was the lead investigator for the state police. That makes him uniquely qualified to do some private investigations from time to time. Not only is he well trained, but he is welcomed by the law-enforcement community as one of their own. As long as he’s willing to share his information with them, they’re willing to do the same.”

  He turned to the others. “I believe I’ll call Newt and see if he’s willing to lend a hand.”

  While the family sat quietly, he stepped indoors. Minutes later he returned to the porch, his face wreathed in smiles. “Newt admitted that he’s intrigued and would love to offer his services.”

  Annie was shaking her head. “I don’t know if I can afford…”

  Egan held up a hand. “What you can’t afford is having the investigation stalled. We’ll talk about Newt’s fee later. Right now, there’s no time to waste. I’ve given Newt permission to contact the authorities and let them know he’s working for you. He pointed out that this is important for two reasons. First, it’s a signal to them that you now have someone on your side who isn’t going to settle for easy answers. They can’t coast simply because they think you’re guilty. Second, you’re giving them notice that you want the truth as much as they do, and you’re willing to let the chips fall where they may as the bulk of evidence plays out.”

  “Oh, Egan, that’s brilliant.” Meg rushed over to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him full on the mouth.

  When she stepped back, the old man wore a satisfied smile. “Thank you, Meggie girl. But none of this was mine. That all came from Newt.”

  “Nevertheless, you were the one who called him.”

  “And Jonah was the one who suggested it.” Egan clapped a hand on his grandson’s shoulder. “Good work.”

  As the others began heading indoors, murmuring among themselves, Bo sat quietly, staring at the mountains in the distance.

  When all but he and Jonah and Annie remained, Jonah broke the silence.

  “What’s bothering you, Pop?”

  Bo looked over. “This has been a lot to digest.” He aimed his words at Annie. “You know your uncle and I
haven’t spoken in twenty years or more.”

  “I know. And I’m sorry that I—”

  “There was a time when we were good friends. We’d meet at Nonie’s for a beer while we talked about our work. We were young and ambitious, and while I was busy with ranch chores, he was struggling to build up his little family-owned bank to compete with some pretty big players.” Bo shook his head. “That all ended after I met Leigh. I was unaware that she was engaged to Des.” His eyes narrowed. “Both of us had kept our private lives private. And though I didn’t plan it, once Leigh broke their engagement and began seeing me, there was this yawning chasm between us that neither of us was willing to cross. We were no longer friends and he refused me a loan to buy the old Butcher ranch. And then when it burned…”

  “You can’t believe my uncle had anything to do with that.”

  Bo frowned. “He was a man scorned who’d made no secret of his fury.”

  “That’s a far cry from deliberately setting a fire. I’m sorry but I can’t listen to this. I think it’s best if I leave…”

  Bo stood and held up a hand to silence her. “You’ve a right to defend your uncle. And I’ve realized that this shouldn’t be about him and me. I had some misgivings when Jonah told us who you are. And even tonight, when he started telling us about all the compelling evidence against you, I began questioning myself. Why was I allowing the niece of my old enemy to live under my roof?”

  Annie scrambled to her feet. “I’ll go now…”

  He reached out a hand as though to grab her, then suddenly lowered it to his side. “I can’t force you, of course, but what I’m trying to say is that I hope you’ll stay.”

  “I’m not going to sever my relationship with my uncle. And I refuse to listen to more false accusations about him. That ought to be reason enough for you to ask me to leave.”

  “There’s a stronger motivation for you to stay. You’re safe here. Somebody went to a lot of trouble to set you up. If Newton Calder is as good as we think he is, those same people will become desperate when they find out someone is on their trail.”