Cowboy cover up, p.7
Cowboy Cover-up, page 7
“Tuck and I were just talking about the case,” Ryan motioned for her to come sit with them. He locked gazes with her. “Do you need a hand?”
“No, I’m good. Thanks, though.” It was important for her to be able to do things for herself and especially after what had happened. Walking across the room might seem insignificant to some but doing it on her own, unaided, was important to her. She might have been knocked off balance last night, but she rebounded. She could sleep in her own bed and not be too scared to turn off the lights.
She walked to the chair opposite the men and took a seat. They brought her up to speed with the theories they’d been working on and they were right on track with hers; Darcy’s ex-boyfriend, a past renter, or a passerby who’d been watching the cabin.
“Everyone on the ranch will be investigated, including me and our roster of ranch hands, but it’s only to dot every I and cross every T.” Ryan clasped his hands together. “It’s unlikely we’ll uncover anything going on around here. Although, with Dad’s condition under investigation, there’s something in the air.”
Her mind immediately snapped to Ryan’s uncle. “How tall is Donny?”
“He’s on the short side for our family. Maybe six-feet tall with shoes on. I can show you a picture of him if you think it’ll help,” Ryan offered.
Alexis nodded her head. Ryan was to his feet and crossing the room to the mantel where several framed pictures lined the wood above the stone fireplace. The big house lived up to its name. All the rooms were of a good size. This room alone would take up Alexis and her mother’s apartment over the Dover’s garage. It was meant for a mother-in-law, but they’d rented it out to Alexis and her mother for years.
Her mother had liked the fact that the elderly couple was close by in case Alexis needed anything. Working the nightshift made her worry about her only daughter. Maybe a little too much, but Alexis had always prided herself on being able to take care of herself. She’d probably taken it to a fault since losing her mother. This trip had opened her eyes to just how much she’d shut the door on her past and closed herself off to new relationships.
That needed to change. Work should lighten up now that her boss’s sister-in-law could be around to pitch in. His wife had gotten through the worst of her treatments and was starting to come through the other side. Life was looking up.
Or at least it had been until last night.
Ryan watched Alexis for a reaction as he handed her the photo frame of Uncle Donny. He’d intentionally given her one of the whole family that had been taken last Christmas, minus Levi, so she had a basis for comparison.
She studied the man in the picture before shaking her head. “I’m positive it’s not him.”
Her response wasn’t all that unexpected. Ryan didn’t hold his uncle in high esteem, but he seriously doubted the man would murder two innocent women, especially so close to home.
But would he look the other way if his brother slipped and fell, hoping to step in and take over the ranch? That was unnervingly possible.
Even Uncle Donny had to know the family wouldn’t easily step aside and allow that to happen. Of course, he wouldn’t come at them directly. He’d figure out a way through a backdoor, find a loophole that allowed him to take control over the place.
Levi had been clear with his thoughts on the subject and Ryan couldn’t agree more. Uncle Donny would take over the ranch over their dead bodies.
“Sheriff Justice called Houston PD. An officer notified the Pruitts of their loss.” Tuck had already told Ryan.
Alexis took a moment of silence before she spoke. “Did they send over a description of Darcy’s ex-boyfriend by any chance?”
“The Pruitts said he’s tall and used to play high school football. Said he has more of a runner’s build,” Tuck informed.
“The guy I remember was thick.” She brought her hands out, palms facing each other. “He covered the doorframe.”
“You said you didn’t get a good look at his facial features.”
She shook her head. “No. It was too dark in the hallway.”
It was possible, and especially considering that she’d been on medication, that her mind had played a trick on her. Or he might have had on layers that made him look bigger than he was. The height matched her description but not his thickness.
“She talked about how possessive he’d become. He didn’t want her going to parties without him. She had to sneak out to see friends in the last few weeks of their relationship. He said a few things to her that didn’t sit well after the breakup. Darcy took in all in stride, saying she’d hurt him by being the one to end it. Angel had stronger feelings about the whole situation.” She leaned forward and rubbed her temples.
“Doesn’t sound like her sister liked Stevie,” Tuck observed.
“Her feelings for him were a lot stronger than that. Darcy stopped Angel from going into detail but I got the impression he’d been physical with her at some point in the relationship. Based on what Darcy said yesterday, his temper was the reason she finally decided to break it off. She also reminded her sister the relationship was over and that it wouldn’t do any good to keep rehashing it. Darcy was done with him.” Alexis reached down and absently stroked Rogue’s fur.
The dog had found a new best friend, which was odd because he generally didn’t take to new people. He was a friendly enough animal, but he usually kept a distance, assessing a person before he got too close. Maybe it was the trauma she’d been through or that Ryan had accepted her so easily, but Rogue stayed practically glued to her side.
Ryan’s chest swelled a little more because he liked that Rogue had accepted her as one of the pack.
“Stevie Patterson has a history of violence with women,” Tuck informed. “His last girlfriend took out a restraining order on him. The violence seemed to be escalating and she told the court she was beginning to fear for her life.”
Too bad he didn’t match the description of the man Alexis had encountered. Everything about him seemed to fit the profile. Darcy had ended the relationship after it got too heated. Stevie Patterson wasn’t having it. He decided that if he couldn’t have her no one could.
Ryan’s grip tightened around the frame as he walked over to the fireplace and placed the photo in its spot. His hand fisted.
The murders didn’t seem to fit a random killer profile. Smothering the life out of someone required getting up close and personal. It also meant he’d been methodical. He’d killed Darcy first and then Angel.
And then what? Had he planned to go upstairs or didn’t he realize Alexis was there?
Ryan couldn’t help but think the order of the deaths might be an important point to take note of. Granted, the guy might’ve levered the front door open and Darcy was right there, a victim of opportunity.
Or maybe Stevie was the murderer and he wanted to make damn sure she was dead first.
All Ryan knew for certain was that they were looking for a big man with a large frame who owned or had access to a dirt bike. Since his brother A.J. was managing the rental, he needed to get him in on this conversation.
Normally, his brothers and cousins would be coming and going. Life had been turned upside down since their father’s so-called accident. He texted A.J. to come to the big house as soon as he was available.
The response came right away.
I’ll be right there.
9
A.J. was a McGannon to a T. Tall and broad, with muscles for days. He had the carved from granite jawline like his brothers and cousins, and the hawk-like nose of his father. He was almost as good looking as Ryan, in Alexis’s opinion. Almost.
There’d always been something extra hot about Ryan. Despite being friends, she’d always known he was more tempting than a hot fudge sundae seven days into a diet. In high school, she’d just never seen him as boyfriend material. Then again, they’d been friends and there was no way she would’ve ruined it with a fling.
Ryan never got too attached to a girlfriend and there’d always been plenty waiting in line whenever he wanted a date. He’d never had to work hard at it. He’d date someone for a little while and then move on.
Once or twice, when he’d been in between girlfriends, she thought she’d picked up on something happening between the two of them. Neither one of them had acted on it. Both seemed content to keep their friendship and it was probably for the best.
Or was it? a little voice in the back of her mind questioned. Walking away from Ryan and Cattle Cove had nearly gutted her.
“Thanks for coming on such short notice.” Ryan walked across the room and gave his brother a hug. Alexis had always loved witnessing their family bond. There were a lot of McGannons and they all had distinct personalities. But when it came to having each other’s backs there was no question. Pick on one and it was picking on them all.
A.J. acknowledged Tuck before his gaze landed on Alexis.
“It’s good to see you around this place again,” was all he said but those words seemed loaded. She was just beginning to see how much she might have hurt Ryan and his brothers by turning her back on the town.
“Sorry about the circumstances,” she said but he shook his head.
“Not your fault.”
Alexis took in a breath and nodded. She knew, on some level, that she wasn’t responsible for Darcy’s and Angel’s murders and yet she couldn’t help but feel the weight of an unspoken burden. She couldn’t help but wonder why she was still alive when they were gone. She’d had similar feelings when her mother died.
Survivor’s guilt. That’s the term her counselor had thrown out.
She’d looked up the term online and could check a few of the boxes. She felt numb after losing her mother. She had difficulty sleeping. There were so many times when she thought her mother would walk through the door while Alexis was still in bed. Her mother would sit at the foot of Alexis’s bed and talk quietly about her shift.
The memory caused Alexis’s chest to squeeze. It suddenly felt like the air had been sucked out of the room and her lungs were closing in. She reminded herself to breathe, refusing to let panic set in. She flexed and released her fingers to ease some of the tension in her body.
Focusing on Ryan, who seemed to realize she was going under, helped keep her afloat. He locked gazes and a moment happened between them. In those few seconds, it felt like the past decade plus disappeared. Time stopped. They were teenagers again with their whole lives ahead of them. Their biggest problems were how to spend the weekend, or how long they should study for a Lit exam. Shakespeare had never been her favorite.
A few more breaths and she picked up on the conversation thread happening between Tuck and A.J. while he opened the laptop he’d brought. No doubt, he was planning to pull up all the registrations in recent months.
“I think we should look for lone renters,” Tuck said. “Anyone who might have rented the cabin under the guise of a fishing trip.”
“We’ve had a few of those. Not many,” A.J. supplied as his fingers danced on the keyboard. “Is there a description I should be looking for?”
“Does someone meet the renters?” Tuck asked.
“I do sometimes. For others, I leave the key under the mat. A lot depends on when a person is getting in and what their needs are.”
“How do you know who you’re renting to?” Good question.
“I always ask for a copy of their driver’s license to keep on file.” A.J. pulled up the rental files on his laptop and turned the screen to face Tuck. “I can pull up the pictures one by one.”
“Okay.” Tuck leaned forward. “If we get any hits on the description, we can have Alexis take a look. No use wasting her time viewing anyone we can rule out ourselves.”
“Your friend rented the cabin, right?” A.J. asked.
“Yes.”
“I only show two guests on the file,” he said.
“Oh, right. I came on board last minute.” She’d forgotten about that. “I joked that I got invited to help keep the cost down. Angel laughed and said she didn’t mind that part. We’d been talking more in the break room lately and she thought her sister needed to be around another grown woman who had her shit together.”
“Did Angel say how she found us?” A.J.’s question was a reasonable one.
“Someone at the office recommended this place. I’m not sure who she talked to. She handled all the finances for campaigns and worked pretty closely with quite a few of our clients to help them set realistic budgets. She might have mentioned a name, but it didn’t stick.” Alexis thought back and reached for discussion she’d had with Angel. Nothing came up. “I told her that I couldn’t come at first. A couple of days later she showed me a picture of the cabin and I recognized it. I told her that I needed the break and that I was familiar with the ranch.”
Tuck made a few notes and A.J. rocked his head.
“That explains why your name isn’t on file,” he said.
Alexis most likely would have changed her mind about going if she’d had to give her name. Being back on McGannon land was one thing. The family knowing she was there was something altogether different. The thought of running into Ryan and finding out he had a wife and kids had struck hard. She’d tried to reason her emotions away, telling herself that she only cared because it would be weird for him to be so grown up. And yet, a piece of her wanted to believe that he was still single.
Moving away from home was strange. Part of her had expected the place and everyone in it to be exactly the way it was when she’d left.
People said it was impossible to go home again and she finally realized how true that statement was because time stopped for no one.
“We’ll take a look here and see what we can find. We’ll let you know if there’s anything worth looking at.” A.J. would respect his renter’s privacy.
“Do you want to grab a cup of coffee or something to eat in the kitchen?” Ryan seemed to take the cue.
“I should probably keep something in my stomach. The painkiller usually makes me queasy if I don’t eat.”
Ryan offered his arm and she took it. She also noticed what looked like an approving glance from A.J. and she had to stop herself from telling him she was only there for the day. In fact, she needed to think about going home soon.
“Is there any word on my car?” she asked Ryan as soon as they were out of earshot.
“Are you in a hurry to leave?” There was an undercurrent of hurt in his voice.
“I can’t stay here forever, no matter how much I appreciate you and your family’s hospitality.” Thinking about Angel and work caused a couple of recent events to pop into Alexis’s mind.
“Right.” He didn’t think she’d be sticking around, did he?
“I’d like to keep in touch this time, Ryan, and I hope we can talk about that later, but I just thought of something that might be important to the case.” She tried to catch his gaze but he turned to make coffee, effectively blocking her from getting a good look at his expression.
Ryan kept his back to Alexis, not wanting her to see the disappointment. It came out of the blue and he chalked it up to nostalgia. The reality was that Alexis had a life in Houston. Ryan had a life on the ranch that he loved and their friendship had ended a long time ago.
It was good to see her again. Maybe he would get the closure now that had escaped him before.
“Yeah, staying in touch would be nice.”
“Okay, good. Because I just remembered that Angel had been getting a few little gifts at work and, thinking back, she was really cryptic about them.”
“What do you mean? What kind of gifts?” he asked.
“Things like little cards left on her chair after lunch. There was a chocolate rose left on her keyboard that I saw after my break. I thought maybe she had a secret admirer or maybe a stalker. And now I’m wondering if she wasn’t having some kind of secret affair,” she said.
“With someone at work?”
“Or maybe with a client. I’m not really sure. But it seems kind of strange that she said a client recommended this place to her and she’d been really cryptic about gifts she’d been getting from someone. She would immediately hide them. I would sometimes get back from the break room before her. I kept thinking with all the extra hours we’d been working I couldn’t see how she’d have time to date. Heaven knows I didn’t.” Her cheeks flushed and he couldn’t help but think the rosy hue made her even more beautiful if that was even possible.
“If she was having a fling with someone from work, wouldn’t you recognize them?” he asked.
“Yeah.” She blew out a breath. “That’s a good point. I mean, I don’t know who all of our clients are and especially not the ones she talks to. You know how it is in Texas. It seems like the average male height is six feet. All you have to do is walk into any grocery store on a given day and you’ll see someone who is big with a muscular build. Even my boss, Jeffrey, bulked up even more in the past year since his wife became sick. He said he had to work out all his frustrations at the gym while she was in treatment and he felt pretty helpless.”
“Understandable.” Ryan rocked his head. He couldn’t imagine the woman he loved getting sick and having to undergo lengthy treatments. The only thing worse than that would be having his child go through something horrible and not feel like he would be able to help. That would be hell for any parent and he wouldn’t wish it on his worst enemy.
Ryan made two cups of coffee and poured a glass of water for Alexis. He’d noticed that’s what she’d taken earlier.
He double-fisted the coffee mugs and brought them along with the water over to the table where Alexis sat. “Was it possible Angel was having an affair with a married man?”
“I feel like anything’s possible at this point.”
“The killer was angry. It’s the reason my mind kept snapping back to Darcy’s ex,” he admitted.
“Mine did, too. Probably because we know the killer was male. It’s the easiest place to go.”
“If I’ve learned anything from watching my brother and Ensley’s case, it’s that it usually winds up being the most logical person.” He’d also learned there were secrets in what used to be considered a sleepy little ranching community. And those in power would do almost anything, including cover for a murderer, to protect their loved ones.
