All the Lost Little Horses (A Desperation Creek Novel Book 2)

by Janice Kay Johnson

  “He didn’t try to prevent you from walking away.” Jed’s was the voice of reason, but also tender. “How could you have known, Linette?”

  “I couldn’t, but— Oh…hurry, Jed!” She ended the call. What had she rattled on for? Why had he let her? But the exchange couldn’t have taken as long as it felt.

  After explaining to Ken, she mounted and led him straight to the break. They propped up pieces to prevent any of the remaining horses from wandering out, then cantered back to the barn. They loaded his pickup. He thought he could figure out where Theo had parked. The intervals between him passing out of sight and reappearing told them the trailer hadn’t been far away from the break.

  She watched his pickup recede down her driveway and take the turn. Left standing there, she thought, My fault, even though she knew better. But right this minute— If I’d left him sooner. If I’d never told him my dream of raising horses. If she hadn’t waxed lyrical about the joy of being in tune with her mount, to the point where they seemingly read each other’s minds.

  It was her fault that she had freely handed him the knowledge of how to hurt her the most.

  No. She couldn’t blame herself for Theo, any more than she’d been responsible for her stepfather’s depredations. Or Jed’s desertion. She had sworn she was done with self-blame.

  And with trusting.

  Hands clenching into fists, fingernails biting into her palms, she wished she’d bought a gun when she had first considered it. Maybe then she wouldn’t feel so helpless now.

  *****

  Sitting in his department SUV out front of Rob Fullerton’s house, Jed got on the radio and made calls, too. He feared that Willis had had plenty of time to go to ground. He’d have had a place ready. As Jed had reason to know, there were any number of rural properties in this county for sale or rent, or simply vacant, like the ranch lands they had raided yesterday evening, and that was if he wasn’t living with a credulous woman, who would believe him when he said he’d bought the horses.

  Once Jed had done what he could from a distance, he barely cast a glance at Fullerton’s house before pulling away from the curb. He’d never made it out of his vehicle, but Rob could wait.

  Jed drove almost as far as the LB Kiger Ranch before turning around. It was nearly a mile closer to town before there were houses near enough to the road to be worth canvassing.

  As he asked questions and received in reply only shakes of the head, he mulled over the strangeness of this theft. Four days ago Willis – and Jed had no reason to doubt Linette’s identification – had let loose a bunch of horses for no other apparent purpose than to make sure at least one was killed. He’d made no attempt to steal any. Did he even like horses? Know how to ride? Jed would have to ask Linette – and hope she had some insight into Theo’s behavior.

  Jed was disturbed at how repetitive this theft seemed. The scumbag had been escalating from petty tricks to tasering a young foal and watching it die. Did he intend to do something spectacular and horrific with the four horses he’d gotten away with?

  Had Willis watched Jed and Niall installing the cameras, or spotted one? If so, he might have savored the knowledge that Linette would watch footage sooner or later. But Jed shook his head. Willis couldn’t have seen more than one camera, or he’d have guessed footage was being streamed. He’d taken his time coming and going until he filled his trailer, displaying no concern that someone might be watching right that minute – and might be waiting at his rig to arrest him.

  Having exhausted any hope from the canvassing, Jed called Grant. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to Fullerton. Can you do it? Lights were on at his house, before I got pulled away.”

  “No problem. Anything you especially want me to ask?” They discussed tactics for a few minutes. “You going to make it back to sit down with Hinton and his attorney?”

  “I’ll let you know,” Jed promised. “Worse comes to worst, I can put that off. Don’t suppose Hinton would mind.”

  Grant made a sound Jed took as amused. “No, I feel sure he wouldn’t. In the meantime, good luck hunting down this SOB who has it in for Linette.”

  “Thanks.”

  He called Linette every hour or so all afternoon to keep her up to date with the search – which had failed to find any trace of Willis. Jed had personally sought out every security camera he knew about, most of which were downtown, but none had captured a black pickup pulling a white, four-horse trailer. Clearly Theo was smart enough not to have driven at a meandering pace right down Fort Halleck’s main drag, being erratically stopped by the half dozen stoplights – the only ones in the county – while the horses craned their necks to see out, and be seen.

  Linette urged him to keep the appointment with Hinton and the attorney himself. “It’s important, too,” she said, despite the strain in her voice.

  Jed sat across the table from the two in the conference room and asked for acknowledgement that they knew the conversation was being recorded. Then he said, “Ms. Todd, I hope you’ve encouraged Mr. Hinton to cooperate. As he and Mr. Mason have both admitted to having roles in the cattle rustling ring, they will also be charged with second degree murder in the shooting death of Gary Webb.” It was unlikely that either man would be charged with Calderon’s murder, given that both had been in jail when it was committed. “That raises the stakes considerably.”

  “We want a deal,” she said. A tall woman with wild blonde curls controlled by some combs, Vanessa Todd looked to be in her early thirties. He hadn’t encountered her before, which made him wonder whether she might be new in town.

  “If Mr. Hinton agrees to name everyone he knows is involved, I can call the deputy district attorney to discuss what kind of deal we’re willing to cut with him.”

  She turned her gaze on Jimmy, who nodded.

  Jed excused himself to go out of the room to call Bruce Baldwin, a man Jed had worked with before and respected.

  They agreed right away that, if they could confirm that Jimmy Hinton hadn’t been there the night Webb was killed, they could withdraw that charge. Baldwin suggested a reasonably light sentence they could both live with, and Jed went back into the conference room to negotiate with Ms. Todd.

  Jimmy pushed back his chair and lurched to his feet when he realized he’d have to plead guilty to felony charges. “Fuck that! I’ll never get a job again!”

  Jed felt no sympathy. “You should have thought of that before you started stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of beef on the hoof.”

  “Tens of thousands of— But I only made a couple of thousand!”

  “Why did you take so little?” Jed asked reasonably.

  Hinton’s mouth opened and closed a few times. He dropped back on the hard wooden chair with a thump. “I never thought—”

  A common failing.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Jed left Hinton and his attorney alone again to confer. For what good it did, he kept an eye on the discussion through the glass. From her gesticulations, he had the idea that Ms. Todd was giving Hinton an earful. Unfortunately, she knew to keep her back to the window so he couldn’t lip-read.

  He had just propped himself up against the wall outside the room when his phone rang. Calling Linette again would have to wait.

  Grant, he saw, and answered.

  “Talked to Rob Fullerton,” his boss said. “Goes without saying, he was pissed, and I don’t blame him. First we suspect him of being a serial killer, then stalking Linette, and now being a cattle rustler.”

  Jed winced. He’d have been mad, too.

  “He denies having anything to do with the cattle rustling. He runs a few of his own, but he also makes decent money as a long-haul trucker. He admits to having a temper, but says he doesn’t steal. According to him, he and Mason have always butted heads. He showed me his record of truck runs, and he’s been gone even more than usual this past month. I verified some of the trips, and I believe him.”

  “I’ll take your word for it. Mason sounded spiteful.�
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  “How’s it going with Hinton?”

  “He and his attorney are talking right now about what they’re willing to offer and what deal they expect in return.”

  “Good,” Grant said.

  The attorney still seemed to be doing all the talking, her client looking cowed. Jed seized the chance to call Linette. “Just have a couple of minutes here,” he said. “Question for you. Back home, did Theo go out to the ranch with you and ride? Today he looked competent handling the horses.”

  “Supposedly he’d done some riding when he was a kid, and he did come to the ranch with me a few times. I don’t think he was all that interested in horses, though, and I had the feeling he didn’t like not feeling like the expert.”

  “There you were, showing him up.”

  “Stupid me, I was trying to share an enthusiasm, but…he probably saw it that way.”

  “Not stupid,” Jed said sternly.

  After a moment, she said, “Okay.”

  “Why do you think he came back today to steal horses? He tried to steal the foal the first time, when you jumped him, then let a bunch of horses loose the second time but apparently didn’t make even an attempt to get away with any of them.” He told her his thoughts on the escalation of attacks, which wouldn’t be news to her. Why repeat himself here?”

  “Because I’m so well guarded. He can’t get at me.” Her voice was soft, almost…broken. “That’s making him angry. If he’s the one who shot Troy, he’ll be mad that he made a mistake. His self-esteem demanded that he send the message that we can’t stop him.”

  “And he failed to make a kill shot.” Jed squeezed tight neck muscles with his free hand. Damn, he wanted—

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the attorney signal for him. “I have to go,” he said. “Stay safe, okay?”

  “You, too.”

  “Yeah.” He cleared his throat, wished she’d said, I love you, the way she once would have. His “See you soon” came out gruff.

  Doing his best to ignore the now ever-present ache beneath his breast bone, he entered the conference room.

  Ms. Todd said straight out, “We agree to your terms. Mr. Hinton was involved only in some of the cattle rustling incidents. He can tell you which. He does not countenance murder.”

  Jimmy started with obvious reluctance and a backpack full of excuses. Jed had heard them all before. But it became evident that the ex-bull rider hadn’t thought through how much the stolen cattle were worth and was starting to realize he’d been robbed, too. A couple of thousand dollars had sounded like a lot initially, but as a percent of the total take, was miniscule.

  “I already told you it was Mason asked me if I wanted to join them,” he said. “I don’t know all the guys. I only, uh, helped out three or, no, I guess four times. I mean, actually driving cattle through a fence break or loading them into a stock trailer. You know.”

  “Actually stealing them,” Jed said.

  He ducked his head and hunched like a turtle, but mumbled, “Yeah. That.”

  He explained the particular incidents he’d been involved in, and swore again that he wasn’t there the night the rancher was shot. Looking Jed in the eye, he said, “I can prove it, too. I have a girlfriend, see, and the tenth was her birthday. We had a party that went on half the night, and I never left her place.”

  He offered the name of his girlfriend and several of his buddies along with phone numbers.

  “You said earlier that you heard afterward about the shooting. I think you know who did it.”

  “It was…way I heard it, he didn’t mean to do nothing like that.”

  “He.”

  Another mumble, indecipherable.

  Jed waited.

  “Gene.” Jimmy sneaked a look at him. “Gene Baxter. He just kinda freaked out when he saw the old guy with a rifle. It’s…he said it was self-defense.”

  Jed just shook his head. “Who else do you know who was part of this gang?”

  He had four more names. Two, Jed didn’t recognize. Two he did.

  Brian Warring…and Jeremy Horner. An FHPD officer.

  Now there was a string Jed looked forward to pulling.

  *****

  Anxiety crawled under Linette’s skin like stinging ants. Working with any of the foals or horses was out of the question with fear rising until it nearly choked her. All the same, she went back to doing her chores, because what else could she do?

  What was Theo doing to her horses, sweet-natured and willing because she’d handled them from birth, taught them to trust. They’d never had reason to fear. She felt as if she’d betrayed them.

  Both Niall and Jed called to let her know they were running late, which meant she had to cook tonight. She let Ken Fields know when she was going in to start dinner, and he nodded as he continued to spread straw in a stall. She thanked him for fixing the fence today and working so hard. He nodded again.

  Once she reached the kitchen, she stood still for a long minute to remember why she was here. Oh, lord – what should she make?

  Steaks and baked potatoes would be easiest, she decided. She couldn’t imagine wanting to eat, but she owed it to Jed and Niall to cook anyway. The two men seemed to need vast amounts of food to fuel their bodies.

  Jed arrived first. She knew his footsteps even before he reached the kitchen. He held out his arms, and she flung herself into the haven of his embrace.

  “Damn, Linette,” he murmured, his cheek against her head. “I’m so sorry. I should have been here.”

  “No.” Swallowing, she pulled herself together enough to wipe the few tears she’d shed on his shirt and lift her head. “You have to do your job.”

  “Right now—” He broke off. “Sounds like Niall made it.”

  She let herself rest against him for another minute, hands fisted in his shirt. Then, with a sigh, she straightened and stepped away, calling hello to Niall.

  His appearance was her signal to put on the steaks to broil, giving both men a chance to go upstairs and change clothes. Jed returned in time to ferry some of the food to the table. Once she deposited the huge platter of meat in the middle, she pulled out her own chair as the men both did the same.

  Niall looked directly at her, his expression pained. “I heard about your horses. I’m sorry. I wish I’d been here.”

  Jed paused in the act of dishing up to study her.

  Did he guess what she’d think?

  It was true that if Niall had been here, if he hadn’t taken the job at Jed’s urging, he would have been monitoring the camera feed. Chances were good he’d have seen Theo before he got away with the horses. Even so, she couldn’t resent Jed’s choice, not when the cattle rustlers had murdered a man as well as wiping out a lot of small ranchers. She and Troy had been casualties of her assailant – Jed speak – but both were recovering just fine. He was making the best decisions he could. Besides – she could have insisted on adding that darned app to her phone, whether Jed liked it or not, and kept an eye on the camera feed herself.

  She hadn’t.

  So she managed a smile. “You can only do so much, and that’s been a lot.” Given Jed’s scrutiny, this was a good time to push her food around on her plate in hopes he’d think she was eating. Whatever else he felt for her, being protective was part of it, and going without what he considered adequate food or sleep would fall under that category.

  Niall accepted the serving bowl with fresh peas from Jed. “I heard some talk today that might be relevant,” he said, his voice becoming more animated. “Rumor has it that Chief Seward put a lot of money in one investment and lost it all.”

  Niall had Jed’s full attention.

  “That is interesting. Did this rumor say what he invested in?”

  “Something to do with electrical power, is all I know.”

  “Ah. I’ll bet it was that projected wind farm.” Seeing that Linette looked as blank as Niall did, Jed elaborated. “This happened before I moved here. Maybe three years ago?”

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sp; “Wait.” Linette set down her fork. “I did read about that. Supposedly this group was buying up large swaths of land, and leasing more from the state for a forest of those giant wind towers. Or is it turbines?” She gave her head a quick shake. “That corner of the county was supposed to be ideal because the wind roars through with no ridges or even hills to slow it down. I remember the project being a huge source of controversy. It could bring some real money into the area, but the people who lived where they’d have to look at it were kicking and screaming.”

  Jed nodded. “Right. The group announced they’d incorporated, they solicited investments, and then one day, they up and disappeared. Turned out there was no incorporation, they hadn’t purchased any land, and the state denied ever being approached about leases. People bought what the scam artists were selling without doing their research.”

  Niall smiled, not nicely. “Including Chief Harrison Seward.”

  Jed had an answering glint in his eyes. “The question of why he’d risk losing everything he spent a lifetime building has been a stumbling block for me. If his savings are gone…well, the ranch can’t be very profitable, given that he has a full-time job and has to pay other people to do a lot of the work for him. And let’s face it, retirement from a government job won’t let him live high.”

  “And what if part of his investment was money he borrowed against his retirement?” Linette suggested. She made herself put a bite in her mouth and chew, whether she wanted to swallow or not.

  “What if,” Jed echoed. A slow smile spread on his face. “Yeah, that’s a useful bit of gossip.” He nodded at Niall, who appeared satisfied.

  As they continued to eat, Jed first told them about Calderon’s murder, then updated Niall on his day, including his research on the two unfamiliar names Jimmy Hinton had given him, and his frustration at still having no warrant to bring in Gene Baxter or so much as look at his bank records.

  Linette listened, but had trouble taking in everything they said. What she’d seen on the camera footage ran in a loop in her mind. She wanted Jed and Niall to be talking about how to get her horses back, how to find Theo and arrest him. Instead, they talked about everything but.