The sheriff had stopped by to inform them he had spoken with the neighbors, and no one had seen anything. So far he had boot prints near the hole in the ground and tire tracks. No fingerprints and still no casings from the gunshots. It was unnerving how long this was taking. When would she be able to go anywhere without feeling like she had to look over her shoulder? Julien made her feel safe but she couldn’t fool herself into banking on that one-hundred percent. She was ever grateful to have a man like him nearby, but the threat was still out there. A dangerous one.
A fiftyish woman with short dark hair and black-rimmed glasses answered Wes’s door.
“Hello, is Wes home?” Julien asked.
“He’s out working the ranch. Can I help you?”
Julien showed the woman his DAI identification. “I’m a private investigator looking into a missing person case. Have you seen or spoken with Mrs. McKann recently?”
The woman’s eyebrows lowered. “No, I haven’t. And this isn’t the first time Charlotte left him.”
“How do you know she left?” Julien asked.
“She wasn’t here one day I came to work,” the woman said.
That did not mean something terrible hadn’t happened to her.
“What do you do here?” Julien asked.
“I’m their housekeeper. I sometimes cook for them, too.”
“How many times has Charlotte left in the past?” Skylar asked.
The woman thought a moment. “As far as I know, just twice.”
“Where did she go those times?” Julien asked.
“She has a friend, the one who reported her missing. Or she might have gone to her parents’. If she did, then she’s serious about leaving him this time. Her parents live in Maine.”
That was what they had been told before. The sheriff said the parents claimed Charlotte was not there.
“Why does she leave him? Are they having trouble in their marriage?” Julien asked.
The housekeeper glanced around the property, as though looking for signs of Wes. “Look, I’m not comfortable talking to you without Wes here.”
“Charlotte may have been murdered,” Julien said. “We’re trying to find her and we need help.”
“Murdered?” The housekeeper looked shocked.
“There hasn’t been any activity in her banking or credit cards and she hasn’t used her cell phone.”
The woman put her hand to her chest. “Are you suggesting that Wes may have killed her?”
“How is their marriage, Ms...?”
“Mrs. Anderson,” she said. “Cheryl Anderson.”
“Mrs. Anderson,” Julien said.
“Well, I’m not here at night, but I’ve heard them fighting in the morning sometimes. Charlotte complains about living so far from her friends and being lonely since he works such long hours. She wants to travel and have a social life. That’s probably what they fight about most. Wes isn’t very social. He’s sort of a lone wolf.”
That made sense, Skylar thought, given his surly demeanor.
“Wes isn’t a bad man,” Cheryl said. “He may seem as though he is, but what most people don’t see is that he is a fair man. A straight shooter. I’ve never seen him mistreat Charlotte, either. He pays me well and is always respectful. For the life of me, I can’t see him killing his wife, let alone anyone else.”
“How long have you worked for him?”
“Almost ten years.”
“Do you know if Charlotte ever had any affairs?” Julien asked.
Cheryl shook her head. “Like I said, I’m not here at night. I usually leave around six. If Charlotte left the house after that, I wouldn’t know. I never heard her talking to anyone on the phone during the day. She would go places sometimes, but she never told me where she was going.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Anderson,” Julien said. “Would it be all right if we walk around and maybe talk to a few of the other workers?”
“That’s not for me to say. You should ask Wes.”
“Thank you. Have a nice day.”
Skylar walked with him away from the house, glancing back as they neared Julien’s BMW. Cheryl had closed the door.
Julien walked past his car and headed for the stable. Apparently, he wasn’t going to ask Wes’s permission. Skylar doubted he would give his permission anyway. Cheryl seemed convinced Wes was incapable of harming anyone. She had acknowledged his unfriendliness, but after working for him for nearly a decade, she must know him pretty well. Maybe he hadn’t killed Charlotte. Maybe there was another reason she had vanished. Like an affair gone bad.
Entering the stable, Skylar saw a young man cleaning out a stall. He stopped working as they approached.
Julien went through the introductions. The man, probably barely nineteen, was Nicholas Barnes. He had worked at the ranch for a year.
“I haven’t seen Mr. McKann’s wife in a while,” Nicholas said. “I’ve heard talk that she went missing, but I didn’t see anything suspicious that day.”
“What about any other days?”
Nicholas leaned on his pitchfork and took a few seconds before saying, “Last summer, when I first started working here, I was getting ready to leave for the day when me and a couple of other ranch hands heard yelling coming from the big house. It was spring, so the windows were open. We could all hear them plain as day. She was hollering that his only activity was drinking alone, and he called her a spoiled bitch. They went back and forth about how she grew up rich and wanted a jet-setting lifestyle and he would never live that way. Calling each other names, until finally it got quiet. Next thing, we saw Mr. McKann getting into his truck and driving away. Folks in town said he spent a few hours at a bar and got into a fight.”
That matched what they had heard about Wes so far.
“What bar was it? And do you know who he got into a fight with?” Julien asked.
“The Rusty Lantern. I don’t know the man. Words were exchanged and things got ugly.”
“What kind of words? Did the guy have relations with Charlotte?”
“I don’t know. Apparently, the man said some things about her, though, and Wes. Something like Wes didn’t deserve her. I can’t remember exactly.”
“Can you describe the man?” Skylar asked. “Nah.” He shook his head. “It was so fleeting.”
“Anything else?” Julien asked.
“Yeah. Just about two months ago, I was out in the corral when the missus came storming out of the house. Mr. McKann was right behind her. I couldn’t hear what she was ranting about, but she was all mad. Mr. McKann grabbed her arm and stopped her. She tried to get away, but he kept a hold on her. I heard her yell, ‘Let go of me.’ He did and she got into her car and raced off. I didn’t see her for a few days after that. But then they seemed to have patched things up because about a week later, I saw him kiss her before she went somewhere. So, I guess things weren’t always rocky with them. Some couples are like that. They fight as passionately as they love. I have an aunt and uncle like that.”
“How is Wes to you? How does he treat everyone who works for him?” Skylar asked.
“Great. He pays us all a good wage and is always nice. Doesn’t smile much. Has one of those faces you can’t read, you know? If anybody messes up, though, he doesn’t go easy on you. He wants things done right and has no tolerance for anyone who’s lackadaisical, you know?”
Julien nodded.
“You think he hurt his wife?” Nicholas asked.
“We don’t know what happened to Charlotte, but we’ll find her. Thanks, Nicholas. You’ve been a big help.”
Skylar walked with Julien to the BMW. “Everyone seems to think highly of him.”
“Yes, but they also think he has an attitude.”
“And he’s a loner and Charlotte is a socialite. Opposites attract, but in this case, maybe it’s toxic.”
> “Maybe.”
Trotting hooves grew louder behind them. Near the BMW, Skylar stopped and turned with Julien. It was Wes and the scowl on his face said clearly that he was furious.
“What are you doing here?” Wes demanded, his horse sidestepping a few times before stilling.
“We were just asking a few questions,” Julien said calmly.
“About what? About how I murdered my wife?” he snapped.
“No, about the state of your marriage. Seems things haven’t been rosy between the two of you. More like War of the Roses.”
With his lips pursing white, Wes got off his horse and walked up to Julien, who didn’t budge. They stared each other down, Julien’s gaze steady and unflinching. Wes’s a black thundercloud.
“My marriage is none of your damn business,” Wes ground out. “I want you to stay off my property. If I see you here again, I’ll call the sheriff.”
Julien lifted his hands. “We have what we came for.”
Wes moved forward and Skylar thought he would start swinging his fists. She stepped between the two men, putting her hand on Wes’s chest. “We’re going now.”
He looked down and she had never seen such raw intensity in a man’s eyes. She saw anger born of pain. She saw a man who struggled with too many things that didn’t go the way he wished. She also saw a man who had reached his limit of endurance. And that is why she was convinced he could have killed Charlotte.
And that had been the body she had seen wrapped in plastic, just as Julien must be thinking, or he wouldn’t be investigating her disappearance. The same applied to the lawyer’s wife. Which body had the killer nearly buried? And where was it now?
Julien took a step back and took her hand in his.
“Hey,” he said. “Don’t worry. I will catch that gunman.”
Skylar moved her head into his hand, appreciating that he not only saw her trepidation but put her at ease—at least as much as she could be until the killer was found.
Chapter 8
The Rusty Lantern was an upscale bar in Waldon, Texas, not far from Skylar’s family ranch. Julien found it strange that Wes had chosen the place for a bender after fighting with his wife. It seemed more Charlotte’s type than Wes’s. Julien pictured him in something less classy, less pompous. Not a dive, but more casual.
Julien took great pleasure in walking into the Rusty Lantern with Skylar on his arm. And she was. She had her arm tucked in with his on this chilly evening. She wore jeans and a flowy white top that flirted with her waist.
He looked around as he always did and saw nothing or no one suspicious. When a young hostess approached, he spoke up immediately. “We’d like to talk with the owner or the general manager.”
“Oh.” Her face took on a concerned frown. “Is there a problem?”
He explained who he was and introduced Skylar. “We’re here about Charlotte McKann’s disappearance.”
He waited and watched the hostess’s reaction. She seemed not to recognize the name.
“Who?”
“Can we speak with the owner or the general manager?” Julien asked again.
“Oh, sure. Just a sec.” She walked off and a few moments later a man appeared.
“Jack Burman, General Manager,” he said, holding out his hand.
“Julien LaCroix, Private Investigator.” He shook Jack’s hand. “This is Skylar Chelsey, my...partner.” Much easier to introduce her that way than to explain that she was now his constant companion because she’d been shot at.
“You’re here to talk about Charlotte McKann?” Jack asked.
“Yes. In particular, we’d like to talk to the man Wes McKann got into a fight with last fall.”
“Ah. We don’t see that in this bar very often. We attract a more sophisticated crowd. From what I heard, Wes normally goes to Schmidt’s on the other side of town,” Jack said.
Schmidt’s wasn’t an establishment in ill repair, but there was no comparison to the Rusty Lantern. It suited Wes’s personality.
“Did he have a reason for being here that night?” Julien needed to confirm what Nicholas had told them.
“Benson Davett comes in on occasion. That night he was here with a colleague when Wes showed up. Wes sat at the bar awhile, drinking whiskey. He wasn’t drinking heavily, but he kept looking over at Ben’s table. He settled his tab and I thought he was going to leave, but he stopped at Ben’s table. I didn’t hear what was said, but one of the waitresses heard them. Wes told Ben to stay away from his wife. Ben said he didn’t know what Wes was talking about. Wes said Charlotte admitted to having an affair with him. Ben kept denying it, which angered Wes. He leaned down and grabbed Ben by the shirt, all but lifting him out of his chair, and told him to stop lying.”
Julien remembered the ranch hand’s remarks. Wes and Charlotte must have been arguing about that when Nicholas heard them yelling.
“Ben shoved his hand away and stood up. The two faced off,” Jack said. “Wes said he followed his wife to the Daisies Inn and watched Ben go to her room. Ben said he didn’t have to answer to Wes and it wasn’t his fault he couldn’t hang on to his woman. That’s when Wes hit him—clocked him good on the jaw. Ben fought back, but Wes is a big, strong man. He had him on the ground. One of my kitchen managers helped me pull him off.”
“Did Ben press charges?” Julien asked.
“No. I told Wes to leave and don’t come back. We can’t have that kind of behavior in this bar.”
Julien nodded. Well, Wes had ample motive to kill his wife. Except, why wait all those months? Had it taken him that long to plan the deed?
“Ben Davett’s wife is missing, too,” Julien said.
Both Charlotte and Audrey had vanished. Julien did not think that was a coincidence, not after hearing this story.
* * *
The next day, Skylar arrived back home after a long day of work. Julien had arranged for a bodyguard to accompany her while he delved into Audrey Davett’s case.
The bodyguard had gone home and Skylar entered her house, finding Julien in the kitchen with two open laptops. His shirt was unbuttoned at the top and partially untucked from his jeans. He looked like he had worked hard, too. Seeing her, he shut down the computers.
“How was your day?” he asked as he stood.
He caught her unprepared when he came to her and kissed her. Then he took a step back as though he had surprised himself. That quick zing of desire nearly had her forgetting how hungry she was.
“Good. Yours?” She went to the refrigerator.
“I spoke with the detective assigned to Audrey Davett’s case. A video camera at the mall showed her arriving and leaving the day she disappeared.”
Skylar took out some leftover Chinese and held up the two containers in silent question.
“Sure,” he said.
She put them in the microwave.
“Detective Sidney said Benson called the police when he got home late from work and Audrey wasn’t there,” Julien said.
Skylar took two waters out of the fridge and handed one to him. “No one else has seen her after that?”
“No. And Benson was at work during that time. Sidney confirmed that.”
“Did he have a nice life insurance policy on her?”
“I don’t know that yet. Sidney didn’t check since Benson was at work and had a solid alibi.”
Skylar thought the detective should have checked anyway. “Benson might have paid somebody. Did Audrey know he was having an affair with Wes’s wife?”
“I don’t know. Sidney is getting access to Audrey’s financial records. He’s also going to look into Charlotte’s. He’ll call when he has them.”
“How could the two disappearances be related?” she asked.
“I’ve been going over this in my head all day. Benson had an affair with Charlotte. Maybe he killed he
r after she threatened him in some way. Scar his reputation...expose his infidelity to his wife.”
“But why harm Audrey if he meant to keep her from finding out about his affair?” she asked.
“Maybe she did find out. Jack Burman said Benson denied any affair with Charlotte and got defensive when Wes pressed him.”
Skylar might believe Benson would be compelled to kill his wife to protect his reputation, but Audrey had been alive when Wes confronted him. The secret was out. There had to be another reason Benson would murder her—if, in fact, he had. She’d put her money on a sizable life insurance policy. And if the lawyer offed Wes’s wife, he did it because Charlotte had found out about his plan.
“I still think, if anybody killed Charlotte, it was Wes,” she said.
“Right now, I’d have to agree, but I need to know how—or if—her disappearance is related to Audrey’s.
“Speaking of which.” He held up a sticky note with a number written on it. “I’m going to call her parents.”
Skylar removed the food from the microwave and put the carton in front of him with a fork. “After dinner.” She went to the table, sitting opposite his closed laptops.
He sat adjacent to her. “Dinner with my lady.” He grinned at her and then took a bite.
His lady? He had sure taken to treating her like his girlfriend. “It’s nice not eating alone.” As a single person, she often ate standing up at the kitchen counter.
“It’s nice eating with you,” he said.
“Be careful what you say. This might turn into something neither one of us can walk away from.”
“Maybe we won’t want to walk away.”
And who would do the moving if that happened?
* * *
Julien took a cup of steaming tea from Skylar and put it on the coffee table. She sat beside him, sipping and looking at the news program on television. He took out his cell, keyed in Charlotte’s parents’ home number and put his phone to his ear. Lisa and Gerald Campbell lived in Bangor, Maine.
Her P.I. Protector Page 9
