Colton 911: Caught In The Crossfire (Book 5)

by Linda O. Johnston

  The best thing would most likely be to get these people talking, hopefully more relaxed, and just pray that the sheriff got whatever help he’d hinted at on its way. Fast.

  She drew slightly closer to Casey, who remained standing with his gun still in his hand but aiming downward. She figured that if he moved it, Sean would shoot them.

  She looked then at the two women. Who were they? Georgia and Delilah, Casey had called them. Was Georgia the ex-fiancée he had been talking about? Would there be any way of appealing to them to get their apparent buddy to back off?

  First, though, she had a genuine question. “You were right that I’m a ranch hand,” she said, directing her gaze back to Sean. “Could you tell me why you stole the cattle?”

  “Money, of course,” Sean said, sounding almost gleeful. “Your boss knows how to breed some nice, valuable cows. We—” he gestured to the women near him “—need quick cash, so we figured some of Edison’s cattle would do the trick.”

  “And that was your idea?” she asked, even though whose idea it was didn’t really matter.

  “No, it was mine,” said one of the two women as she moved from behind Sean to beside him on his left side—as his right hand still held the gun. “I’m Georgia.” Melody was more convinced now that this was the same Georgia who’d dumped Casey when they were about to get married, especially when she sent a really nasty smile in Casey’s direction.

  Melody studied her. What had Casey seen in her?

  Well, she was somewhat pretty. Besides, hadn’t he mentioned that the woman who dumped him had been his childhood sweetheart? So he probably hadn’t known then that she was a potential thief—and killer.

  Georgia continued talking. “We’ve heard those Angus cows bring in bunches of money from other ranchers since they have lots of calves before they become expensive and delicious meat. That’s why we gave them a new brand. But now that word’s out about their theft, we decided to sell them to a slaughterhouse that wouldn’t pay attention to even their new brand and would give us a lot of money for them. We’d hoped to do all of it before anyone even knew they were missing. And we certainly didn’t take a lot of them. A dozen, from Mr. Edison’s huge herd? Why was he even paying attention?”

  Melody stifled an urge to go swat the nasty, less-than-intelligent thief right in her grinning face. “Because they are his,” she said with her teeth clenched. “And they’re valuable, as you said. And no one has any right to steal them.”

  “Oh, we have any right we want,” Sean said in a way so offhanded that Melody wished she had a way to swat him, too, without any of them harming her...or Casey, of course.

  But what were they going to do now?

  “Look,” Casey said, “we’ve got a kind of standoff here. Like I said before, why don’t we just end it? You can go your way and we’ll go ours—with the cattle, of course.”

  “Oh, there are a few other options,” Sean said. “Like we could shoot you right here and then continue with the cattle.”

  “Continue where?” Melody asked. “The ranchers around here will all know these cattle have been stolen. Local slaughterhouses, too. No one will buy them now, no matter what your prior plan was.” She moved closer once more to Casey, who’d started to ease slightly forward. Why? To grab the gun from that nasty Sean? That wouldn’t work.

  The guy had already killed one person during this fiasco of a theft, presuming it was Sean who’d murdered Pierce. He definitely had a gun, although she couldn’t be certain neither of the women had one. Maybe one of them had done the killing.

  And the two who hadn’t done the shooting were still accomplices in Pierce’s murder, right?

  “Oh, we’re just waiting now,” Georgia responded. “There’s a road just ahead, or are you aware of that? No matter. We’ve got a couple of big trucks on the way to pick the cattle up, move them...well, I won’t tell you where.”

  “Fine,” Casey said. “Go ahead. You can just leave us here, and—”

  “And you’ll find a way to notify your damn sheriff’s department and they’ll stop the trucks,” Sean hissed. “I don’t think so—not with you alive, at least.” He hadn’t moved the gun away from Casey, and now he took another step toward him.

  “Now wait,” Melody said, attempting not to sound as desperate as she felt. “If you promise not to hurt us, maybe I can help you. As you know, I’m a ranch hand, and—”

  “A useless ranch bitch, that’s what you are,” Georgia said, sneering at her. “Yeah, I’ll just bet that you could help. That you would help.”

  Useless ranch bitch? Melody found herself breathing harder. That insult reminded her of her ex-husband’s insults.

  Melody’s first impulse was to insult this cattle-rustling bitch in return. These thieves facing them down—including Georgia—clearly weren’t particularly bright, if they’d thought they would get away with it. Plus they were horrible—cruel to the cattle they were rushing off like this. And atrociously heartless. They hadn’t just killed a cow.

  They had also killed a man.

  Which indicated they wouldn’t have any qualms about killing Casey and her, too.

  So, though Melody felt she had to say something, it couldn’t be anything that would increase the tension in this situation any further.

  After pondering for a second or two, she said to Casey’s ex, “I do know how to handle cattle.” She wondered how he must be feeling to have this particular woman face him down in this situation as a definite enemy. Melody had hated her final confrontation with Travis, but at least it had been calm despite being nasty. “Let me help you, and I’ll—”

  “You can help us by shutting up,” Sean said, now pointing his gun toward her.

  Which she did, even as she grabbed Casey’s arm to make sure he didn’t attempt to protect her in some way and get hurt.

  She nodded, then puckered her mouth to show she wasn’t speaking any more, even as she held onto Casey even harder to keep him from talking, too. And she felt him straining at her grasp.

  What was he intending to do?

  Chapter 19

  Damn it all. If Casey had a choice right now, he’d throw his arms around Melody and escort her back into the underbrush to hide, then turn around and confront the deadly idiot standing on the grassy rise just ahead with his gun pointed toward them.

  But if he tried it, Casey felt certain Sean would simply shoot him in the back.

  Sean. Casey had known the SOB for a long time. He might not have been the smartest tool in the shed then, but he hadn’t seemed the type to turn into a criminal.

  But who knew? Casey clearly hadn’t been particularly discriminating back then, or even afterward. He’d become engaged to Georgia, hadn’t he?

  Georgia. There was no love lost between them now, that was for certain. Still, would she want to see Casey killed, especially by her own brother?

  Or would she be thrilled about it?

  Maybe he should sound her out.

  At least the cattle had settled down a bit now behind Sean and the others, maybe because none of the humans were yelling at each other, at least not at the moment.

  “So what’s this really about, Georgia?” he asked. He looked at his ex as if they were sitting across from each other at a restaurant having a serious discussion, rather than out here, opponents in a standoff, on opposite sides of the law. Both wore casual, outdoor clothing to keep them comfortable in the cooling November climate as evening approached, but Casey felt anything but comfortable talking to her. “Would you have stolen the cattle if you’d known I’d be the deputy to come after you?”

  She shrugged her shoulders beneath her hoodie and sent a wry look his way. The prettiness that had impressed him once now just looked plastered-on, a facade. Behind her, the cattle moved restlessly on the grassy, rolling turf under the cloud-strewn sky but fortunately weren’t going far, so no one needed to go
wrangle them at the moment. Georgia had said they would soon be loaded into trucks that were on their way.

  “I didn’t know you would be after me,” Georgia said. “And I didn’t know you wouldn’t. It simply didn’t matter. We need money. I did what I had to do to get it the fastest way possible. And besides, this has worked before.”

  “Really? This isn’t the first time you’ve stolen cattle?” Casey was surprised. Sure, the sheriff’s department had been involved in similar past investigations of other cattle that had disappeared, but not as many as this time, and not as valuable...and not owned by the town selectman.

  Georgia just shrugged, which provided the answer Casey sought. He wanted to keep her conversing with him, though. The more time they ate up in nondangerous dealings, the better chance they had to keep things sort of calm until backup arrived.

  How far away were they? Enough time had passed that they should be arriving soon, right?

  “Well, did you get money before? How do you think you’ll get any from this situation? You’ll have a lot of legal charges pending against you, and they won’t only consist of grand theft of the cattle. I don’t know which of you did it, but one of you shot and killed Pierce Tostig—and that’s first-degree murder for all of you.”

  Delilah suddenly moved in front of Georgia. “I had nothing to do with that,” she asserted. “I’m just in this partly because I’m married to Sean, and I do love him, but I’m mostly here because I’m an accountant.”

  “Then you cooked the family books,” Casey said, shaking his head at her.

  “Well... I do derive income from my own accounting business, and of course we file taxes, and—”

  “I get it.” Casey figured he’d enjoy letting the IRS know about that, too—not that it would matter much, when this family wound up in prison, hopefully for life. They’d need to spend any money they had on lawyers. Their tax bill would just be another cost they’d have to deal with.

  Interesting that Delilah made no attempt to distance herself from the cattle-rustling situation, but claimed, at least, that she hadn’t been involved in the murder. Which she was, just by being with those who’d committed it.

  “Yeah, I’m sure you do get it, Casey, dear,” Georgia said, this time shuffling in the grass to move in front of her sister-in-law. “But look. I’m sure that, as a mere deputy sheriff, you’ve got to understand what it’s like to need money. We’re just—”

  “You’re just committing crimes, for whatever reason,” Casey responded, not attempting to hide his disgust. “You know, I was pretty upset at first when you dumped me just when we were about to get married. And back then, you said it was because your wonderful brother here—” he gestured toward Sean with his empty left hand “—didn’t think a mere deputy sheriff was good enough. I wasn’t even as good as an FBI agent like Everett, who had no interest in you. I admit I felt hurt. Really hurt. But now? All I can do is thank you. I’m really happy I never married you—not a thieving, murderous person like you.”

  “Why, you—” Georgia seemed to dive for her brother’s gun, but Sean pulled it back, laughing.

  “Easy now, little sister,” he said. “Let’s not do anything hasty. Although I have given this some thought. I haven’t come up with any good answers about how best to end this, with this deputy sheriff—” he said the words in a mocking tone “—and ranch hand in a way that won’t involve my shooting both of you.” He raised his gun hand again slightly. “At least if I do, I can say it was all in self-defense, since you have a gun, too.”

  In response, Casey lifted his empty left hand as if attempting to wave off the threat, keeping his right hand, which held his gun, still pointed at the ground.

  “Look,” he said. “Let’s be reasonable. I know I shouldn’t tell you this since I’d rather you be apprehended right here and now, but I’d suggest you just let us go and get out of here. We’ve already called for backup, and they’re on their way. They should arrive at any time.”

  He saw Melody ease beside him and felt her touch his left arm. What was she trying to tell him?

  Was help not on the way after all?

  He didn’t dare look at her. He needed to keep his attention riveted on Sean and the women who were his backup.

  “Really?” Sean raised the gun higher and aimed at Casey’s head. “I bet you’re lying. And if you’re not...well, yeah, maybe I’ll let you stay alive now, as our hostages.”

  “Well, that’s certainly better than the alternative,” Casey said, attempting to joke. “And sure, if I thought it would convince you not to hurt us, I’d lie. But I’m not lying. And do you really want to take that chance?”

  Casey did manage a quick glance toward Melody, at his side. Her lovely face looked pale and drawn, but she nodded as if in agreement with him.

  No, he wasn’t lying. Last he’d heard, they did have reinforcements coming thanks to Melody’s conversation with his boss, the sheriff.

  But she’d had time by herself to talk to Sheriff Krester again. She surely wouldn’t have told him to call off their backup. But had the sheriff told her they weren’t coming?

  Casey had come to know Melody a bit in their few days together, believed he could read her thoughts at least somewhat from her face.

  And what he read there right now made him worry.

  A lot.

  * * *

  Okay, Melody thought. What should she do now?

  Telling the truth, the way she understood it, certainly wasn’t an option.

  Right now, though, she was getting even more terrified of Sean’s keeping his gun aimed toward them—especially Casey. They apparently had a history that might even make Sean happy to kill the man who’d nearly become his brother-in-law.

  She had to do something. Something to protect both of them. As a member of the sheriff’s department, and a guy the people confronting them knew and considered a likely enemy, Casey particularly needed that protection. But what?

  She decided to follow through with something she’d suggested before, if nothing else to buy a little time while they talked about it.

  Which could wind up being very little time.

  “Look, Sean. Georgia. And Delilah, too. You indicated some trucks would be coming down that road soon.” She pointed in the direction at the far end of where the cows stood. “I hate the idea of your stealing the cattle that way, but under these circumstances I’d rather you not hurt them while you’re loading them up. Let me help you.”

  “We did okay getting them here,” Georgia countered, frowning.

  “Except for the one that broke her leg that you then shot.” Maybe Melody shouldn’t remind them of that, especially in the enraged but muted tone of voice she used. But at least she didn’t mention their also killing Pierce.

  “Yeah, I think it’s a good idea for you to have Melody’s help,” Casey said. “She knows what she’s doing with cattle. And...well, I’d really like to know why you shot poor Pierce.” Casey apparently had no qualms about mentioning it, though, she realized.

  Melody waited tensely for their response.

  “Because he’d caught up with us,” Georgia growled, walking slightly down the small ridge where the three of them stood to confront Casey. “Before you did. He threatened us. He was armed, too—and he threatened to shoot us as soon as he confronted us. He seemed so angry about that dead cow, said we’d better give up right away, aimed at us...so Sean shot him.”

  So now they knew which one was the actual killer, Melody thought. She assumed they now had Pierce’s weapon, too, although she didn’t want to ask, didn’t want to call attention to the likelihood they had at least a second gun among them somewhere.

  “I see” was all she said. “Now when are those trucks supposed to get here to pick up the cattle?”

  Maybe they could somehow recruit the drivers to help them, depending on how and where they arrived.
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  She didn’t want to get into a situation where other innocent parties, like those drivers, were hurt or killed. Assuming, of course, they were innocent. They might have knowledge of the origin of these cattle, considering the fact they were picking them up in the middle of nowhere.

  Behind Sean and Georgia, Delilah was the one to look down at her watch. “In about twenty minutes,” she called. Apparently Sean’s wife was the most organized, possibly most intelligent one of them. Maybe, if Melody could start walking among them, she could get accountant Delilah to see reality and help her bring down Sean and Georgia—to potentially save their lives, she’d tell Delilah. Otherwise, the people coming as their backup might shoot first before attempting to arrest the armed thieves.

  “Okay, then.” She glanced around until her eyes lit on the three horses off to the side of the cattle. “Now, as you know, I don’t have a horse right here, and herding cattle is easier when you’re mounted. Can I borrow one of your horses?” They hadn’t agreed she could help them, but they hadn’t said she couldn’t, either. She might as well act as if it was now a deal.

  “What, and gallop away whenever a distraction takes our eyes off you? I don’t think so.” Sean sneered.

  “Besides,” Georgia said, “aren’t you a big-deal cattle drover? If so, you should be able to get them to go in any direction you want, just by waving your arms and calling to them.”

  Melody had in fact considered the possibility of racing off as soon as she could, but she’d have been too worried about Casey to try it. She wouldn’t tell them that, though. Or Casey. He’d been trying hard to protect her but might resent it if he thought she was further jeopardizing herself to protect him.

  “All right, if that’s how you want it,” she said. “I’d be more help to you if I could be on a horse but I can handle it this way, too. I might wind up giving you more instructions, though, since I won’t be able to handle as much myself.”

  “Oh, yeah, as if we’d follow your instructions,” Georgia scoffed.

  Melody just shrugged. She’d do what she could to help the cattle—and Casey, too, of course. She would also see what happened when the trucks actually arrived and she had an opportunity to see the drivers and maybe talk with them, and at least show them in some manner what was going on so they’d call for help without Sean and his gang seeing them.