Cowboy Reckoning

by Barb Han

  “Is there anyone in particular on your mind this morning?”

  “My mind just keeps going back to Oaklynn’s father. I mean, the killer had to be someone familiar because there were two of them, three if you count Oaklynn, and only one of him. It would take someone pretty savvy to be able to trick all three of them.”

  “Wouldn’t Oaklynn know who her own father is?”

  “That’s not the right question. You saw how protective Boyd was of his father. It reminded me how tightknit families are in Cattle Cove. Maybe she’s protecting her father. Maybe she thinks she doesn’t have a choice. Think about it; who keeps their kid home and never lets them go back to school? My parents tried everything to get back to a ‘normal’ life.”

  “I keep going back to motive. What motive would her father have of killing two young boys? Granted, they were out with his daughter in the woods. But your brother and Cooper weren’t the kind of kids who would lure a girl out to a remote place and take advantage of her. That is literally the only reason I could think of that might make her father go a little crazy and possibly, in the heat of the moment, kill them. But this is Cooper and Greyson we are talking about. They were good kids. They didn’t seem to step out of line. It’s hard to believe anyone would have it out for them and especially one of their best friend’s father.” Levi saw Ensley’s shoulders sag more and more. He didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but it just logically didn’t fit together. If Mr. Stock was the killer, he and Ensley were missing something.

  “All good points. But I think there’s something there. Something that we’re missing.” Ensley’s cell phone buzzed. She checked the screen and frowned.

  “Who is it?” Levi asked as he took a sip of coffee.

  She showed him the screen. The number looked familiar, but he couldn’t place it.

  “The sheriff?” Ensley asked.

  “I gave the sheriff my phone number yesterday when I was giving her my statement.” Ensley took the call and put the phone to her ear. She immediately locked gazes with him and nodded. “Do you mind if I put you on speaker? I have Levi here with me.”

  The sheriff must not have objected because Ensley set the phone in between them and hit the button for the speaker.

  “I’ve had a chance to review the file and look at the case with the perspective of a fresh pair of eyes on the evidence,” the sheriff began after greeting Levi.

  “I thought the file was missing,” Ensley quickly interjected.

  “It was right where it was supposed to be when I looked for it,” the sheriff said, arching her brow.

  Ensley issued a sharp sigh. “So, we were lied to.”

  “It seems so,” the sheriff confirmed.

  “Does that mean you found something?” Levi asked the sheriff.

  “There’s something that’s bothering me from the crime scene photos. Keep in mind that I’m at a disadvantage not having been there in person. However, there was a backpack and I’m hoping you can tell me who it belongs to.”

  “What kind and color?” Ensley perked up.

  “It was a black and royal blue camo.”

  “That was Cooper’s,” she said.

  “Are you certain?”

  “Yes. He loved that thing. He got it as a present before going into middle school and kept it through what would’ve been his third year. He planned to take it all the way through high school.”

  “Was it possible that this particular one belonged to one of the others?”

  “No. Greyson was obsessed with hockey and had a green backpack from the Dallas team. Oaklynn’s was purple and her grandmother had stitched a horse on it for her. Oaklynn had had it since she was in elementary school but wouldn’t let go of it because her grandmother passed away the summer before middle school. It was important to her and she never went anywhere without it. I remember that thing explicitly because I can’t count the number of times I had to ask her to move it off the kitchen counter so I could make dinner. It grossed me out thinking of all the bathroom floors she’d probably set it on while using the facilities. Why? What do backpacks have to do with anything?” Ensley asked. Her right brow was arched.

  “The backpack was tossed into a tree. I have a theory about it that I hope will lead us to answers.” The sheriff hadn’t used the words, to the killer.

  “What’s your theory?” Levi asked. “And how can a backpack in a tree lead you to where you want to go?”

  “Someone picked up the backpack and threw it in the tree. My theory is that they did it to mark the spot of the killings.” Those last couple of words had Ensley sitting ramrod straight.

  “Why would they do that?” she asked.

  “So they could find the spot again. Re-live it. Sometimes it’s so they can know when searchers were getting close so they could lead them away from the bodies or enjoy watching them be found.”

  It made sense that if someone had gone to the trouble to mark the scene, they might still monitor the area if they live here.

  The sheriff continued, “It’s possible a killer struck the boys and Oaklynn got away. I’ve read the files and the reports from the psychiatrist she spoke to. Oaklynn remembers hearing voices and loud shouting. She said it sounded like they came from inside a tunnel. It’s possible her mind blocked out many of the details because it was in shock. She said she couldn’t be certain if the boys were shouting at each other or someone else.”

  “Levi mentioned something yesterday that has been sticking in my mind,” Ensley began. “He thinks my brother and Greyson were killed by someone familiar to them.”

  “That wouldn’t conflict with my theory. Although, to be fair, a murder weapon was never found. I did go back to the evidence room and was able to find the backpack still in a Ziploc. I’m packing it up and sending it to Quantico for analysis. DNA technology has come a really long way in the past ten years. The texture of the material isn’t great for lifting prints, so I’m not making any promises, but my hope is that we can get at least a partial.”

  “How long will that take?” she asked.

  “Investigations aren’t like what you see on TV. It can take weeks or even months depending on how backed up they are at Quantico. I’ll follow up and stay on it but it’s not uncommon for this to move slowly with their backlog.”

  Ensley blew out a frustrated sigh. She picked up the journal and pulled out the picture of her brother.

  “I’m sorry I don’t have a definitive answer. But this is a direction that I feel good about. This is progress and these things take time.” The sheriff was overexplaining, no doubt not wanting to get Ensley’s hopes up but at the same time wanting her to know work was being done.

  “I appreciate everything you’re doing to find my brother’s killer.”

  “You’re welcome. But we’re just getting started here.”

  “Is it possible at all to see Oaklynn?” Ensley asked.

  “That’s a little difficult right now for obvious reasons. Not the least of which is that her father fiercely protects her,” the sheriff said.

  “I understand. But I wonder what would happen if she saw me again. And I also wonder if she’s at home because she wants to be. She’s an adult now. She could come and go as she liked.”

  “I’ve been into the store to buy goat cheese and she shies away from working the counter, but I haven’t seen any signs that she’s being held against her will.”

  A look passed behind Ensley’s eyes and Levi knew exactly what she was thinking.

  “One other thing. Boyd Whitfield confessed to taking his father’s truck without his knowledge and vandalizing your car,” Sheriff Justice said.

  “Why would he do that?” Ensley’s question was the first that popped into Levi’s mind.

  “Confess or commit the crime?”

  “I guess my first questions are why would he care if I’m in town and how did he know who the car belonged to?”

  “He claims that he overheard his father refusing the call. Said he didn’t know
who you were—”

  Ensley issued a sharp sigh.

  “I never said I believed him,” the sheriff quickly added, and the comment seemed to give Ensley a boost of confidence in the sheriff’s ability to read people.

  “The coincidence sounds sketchy if you ask me,” Ensley said.

  “Right,” Justice agreed.

  “It also gets his father off the hook.” Ensley tapped her finger on the wood table. She picked up the pen and clicked it a few times.

  “I do find it interesting that he would come forward voluntarily.” Based on the sheriff’s tone, she wasn’t buying any of this.

  “Did he give a reason?” Ensley asked.

  “Claimed it was a harmless prank. Says that as soon as he learned it was in front of the ‘haunted’ site he wanted to play a joke.” The sheriff’s emphasis on the word, haunted, gave the impression she wasn’t thrilled with repeating the word.

  Ensley clicked the pen a couple more times. Her grip on it caused her knuckles to go white. Levi sat as he watched her go through all of this, suffer through all of this. He wished there was something he could do to take away the pain in her eyes and in her heart. The frustration he’d felt when Karma first came to the ranch and Levi had no idea how to help the dog resurfaced.

  Levi clenched and released his fists a couple of times to try to ease some of his tension. It was also a good way to keep his hands busy because they wanted to reach out to Ensley.

  A moment of silence passed before the sheriff spoke again. “I’ll be in touch if I have any other questions. Sit tight for me. Just because we’re waiting on this particular piece of evidence to come back doesn’t mean I won’t be doing everything in my power to go about it another way.”

  The sheriff’s reassurance seemed to strike a chord with Ensley. She thanked Sheriff Justice again. After ending the call, Levi couldn’t help but wonder if this was a good idea. His heart went out to Oaklynn. She’d survived losing her best friends at a critical age. The killings seemed to make her afraid of her own shadow.

  Levi didn’t want to add to Oaklynn’s pain. But at the same time, if her family ran a store anyone should be able to stop by. He looked up at Ensley and asked, “Are you hungry for some goat cheese?”

  Ensley tucked the picture of her brother inside her journal. Her movements were fluid, rehearsed. She moved with the kind of ease that said she’d been performing this same motion for a long time. She carefully closed the elastic band around to close the journal and secure the pages and then stood up. “I’d like that very much.”

  Levi glanced down at Karma. His skills were about to be put to the test. He hoped Karma was ready to interact with more people. There was no way he was leaving his dog to fend for himself.

  Tricky didn’t begin to describe the situation. Common sense said Levi should ask one of his brothers to step in to help Ensley. Logic wasn’t ruling his decisions at the moment.

  He would worry about unpacking that later. Right now, he had an errand to run.

  Just as they got ready to leave, Aunt Penny walked in through the back door. She’d been at his father’s side all night and looked like she was staying awake on a thread. The memory of seeing his father in a hospital bed slammed into Levi like a rogue wave. He issued a sharp breath.

  “How is he?” Levi asked.

  “The good news is that he’s not worse. The bad news is that he’s not better. Although, the doctor seemed to think that was positive.” She put her hand on the counter like it was the only thing holding her upright. “The doctor says that with the kind of blow he took to the head we’re possibly in for a long road. They never know how someone’s body or brain is going to respond. For now, he’s breathing through a tube and he’s being monitored closely. I’m sorry I don’t have better news.”

  Aunt Penny’s easy smile had been replaced by deep worry lines. She tried to force cheer in her voice but it was too hoarse to pull it off. She sounded like she needed to go straight to bed.

  “Thank you for the update.” Levi wasn’t due to be at the hospital until later that night but he appreciated every little update that Penny and his brothers sent.

  Aunt Penny looked to Ensley. “How are you holding up?”

  Ensley inclined her head quietly. “I’m hanging in there.”

  “Sometimes that’s the best we can hope for.” The look of solidarity that passed between the two women caused Levi’s chest to squeeze. Aunt Penny had stepped into the role of surrogate mother and his heart warmed at the thought of two people he cared about most getting along. The notion was foreign because he’d never cared what other people thought about who he dated, and he and Ensley weren’t exactly a couple no matter how much his heart wanted to argue different. She was special to him. The pull toward her was stronger than anything he’d experienced before. And he knew in his heart she was different than anyone else he’d ever spent time with. Their circumstances couldn’t be more opposite. He could never imagine leaving the land that was part of his soul any more than Ensley could see her life back here in Cattle Cove.

  Levi shook it off and checked the fridge. “There are a few leftovers in here. Do you want me to heat something up for you?”

  She was already shaking her head before he finished his sentence. “Nothing for me, thanks. All I need is a toothbrush and a soft bed. I came home to grab a toothbrush and get a couple hours of sleep before heading back.”

  “How about Uncle Donny?” Levi didn’t trust his uncle as far as he could throw him.

  “He isn’t saying much. He’s resting and they put him on some pretty heavy medication. I wanted to warn you that he will most likely be released and back here at the big house in a couple of hours.” She paused long enough to issue a sharp sigh. “For what it’s worth, he’s beside himself.”

  Levi bit his tongue. He would just bet that Uncle Donny was concerned about the free ride ending that he’d been on due to Levi’s father’s good heart. Though this really wasn’t the time to point it out.

  “What about the others? Everyone doing okay under the circumstances?” As the oldest, Levi had always felt a sense of responsibility to look out for his siblings and cousins.

  Levi figured he and Ensley would be away from home for the next few hours at the very least and he was fine with not seeing Uncle Donny for a while. Levi was still trying to figure out how his uncle could’ve been in the exact same barn and not seen or heard anything from Levi’s father. Levi figured he could scratch his head all day wondering what made his Uncle Donny tick and come up with no answers. The man was the exact opposite of all five of his sons, his brother, and all of his nephews.

  But he guessed every family had a Donny.

  “I hope you can get some rest,” Levi said to Aunt Penny. He had a feeling they were going to be in for a long ride on this one.

  “I’ll just get a couple hours of shut-eye, then eat something and head back over. Think you’ll be staying here at the big house?” Not much got past Aunt Penny, and especially not the fact that Levi didn’t care much for his uncle despite never uttering the words out loud. He would never insult the man in public for fear it might hurt his cousins.

  “We’ll be here.” Levi wanted to make it clear to Ensley that he wanted her to stick around.

  Aunt Penny nodded before starting across the room. She stopped mid-kitchen and then turned to face Levi who was already at the door, Karma by his side, and his hand linked with Ensley.

  “Oh, one more thing. I was talking to Sheila’s mom, Ruth, about folks in the town. Ruth is a nurse at General and she’s been around for a long time. She told me that Garth never did go away to military school like we all thought.”

  Levi’s pulse kicked up a few notches at the revelation. “Where did he go?”

  “You’ll never believe this. He was sent off to a halfway house. Apparently, he spent a little time at the psych ward here in the hospital. He was considered a danger to himself. A doctor at the hospital was going to commit him, but the mayor intervene
d and it was agreed that he would go to a halfway house nearby instead.”

  The muscles in Ensley’s hand contracted.

  “Did she say anything about the timing?” Levi was performing a mental calculation.

  “According to Ruth, it would’ve been around the time of the murders.”

  Levi could feel Ensley’s gaze on him before he even turned to look at her. He nodded, taking this new information into consideration with what they already knew. If Garth Becks as they called him, was in a halfway house nearby, it’s possible he could’ve had access to the meadow.

  “We need to know the exact timing.” Levi said low so only Ensley could hear him. His mind already started spinning. It would be impossible to get information from halfway houses about a patient and no one at the hospital would be able to discuss a patient’s file. Also, this happened ten years ago. And yet, Levi found that bit of information unsettling.

  “Thank you for letting us know.” There had to be some way they could look this up and verify the information. He tightened his grip on Ensley’s hand and walked her out to the truck.

  After tapping the key fob to unlock the doors and opening one for Karma, Levi stepped back letting the dog perform the ritual that would allow him some peace.

  Garth Becks, the mayor’s son, in a halfway house two towns over around the time of the murders. Interesting.

  “We need to stop by the sheriff’s office and clue her in to this new piece of information,” he said to Ensley.

  “You know this possibly implies a town-wide cover up at the highest levels of leadership.” Ensley’s words were exactly the same ones rolling through Levi’s mind as he navigated onto the main road.

  15

  The farm was on the west end of Cattle Cove. From the road, a large pasture and acres of rolling hills were visible. The front gate was opened, and an iron sign hang over the drive with the words, Stock Farms.