by CP Smith
“You don’t want to be called Chief?”
Logan sat in Duke’s chair, the leather crackling as he settled into it and picked up the sheet of paper. “Just Storm. This is temporary until you can find a replacement.”
Logan’s rank and serial number were printed on the paper, along with his discharge date. Duke had done his homework on Logan like he’d said.
“Temporary? I was under the impression Duke had personally picked you as his replacement.”
“I agreed to step in until we found out what happened to Duke,” Logan stated, finally looking up at the mayor. “I’ll cover for him until his disappearance is solved, but I’ve had my fill of policing people. I spent the better part of ten years with a gun in my hand, right now I’d rather pour a draft beer with my woman.”
“He’ll reevaluate his position once Duke is found,” Ty appeased, sitting next to the mayor.
Logan’s attention shot to Ty. “Reevaluate?”
“Don’t make any rash decisions when you’re less than a day on the job.”
“Precisely,” the mayor agreed. “We need someone with your experience. Settle in and see how it goes before you decide.”
Logan noted the gleam in Ty’s expression.
“You on the council, Ty?”
His gleam turned into a full on smile. “Youngest member in the history of Ennis.”
“Fucking politicians,” Logan mumbled under his breath.
“Have there been any new developments? Any evidence that points you in any direction?” the mayor asked, leaning his forearms on his legs. “Duke was a good friend. If someone killed him, as you and the Yellowstone police believe, I want them apprehended as soon as possible. Duke deserves that much.”
Logan understood how the man felt. He’d only known Duke a single day, but he respected the man from the moment he met him. “There’s nothing new, but you could help with that. I need keys to Duke’s home so I can search it, and a set of keys to his office. If you have time this afternoon to escort me over to his house so I can gain entry, that would be appreciated.
The mayor stood and dropped the set of keys he’d used to open Duke’s door. “These have everything you need on them. I took the liberty of going to Duke’s house and grabbing his spare key this morning.”
Logan looked up from the keys back to the mayor. “Did you touch anything while you were there?”
“Only the rock where he keeps his spare. I never entered his house. I know better than to tamper with possible evidence.”
Logan turned to Ty. “What about when you were searching for him yesterday?”
“Ask Ed Burk. He checked Duke’s house.”
A shrill ring filled the air as the office phone rang on Duke’s desk. Logan hesitated at first, then grabbed the receiver. “Ennis police.”
“He’s dead,” a voice rang out, it’s tone shocked. “Old Rip is dead.”
Seventeen
Revelations
THE BAR WAS packed for the third day in a row. The residents of Ennis were gathering in the one place they could drink and also come together while we all waited for news about Duke. I’d been inundated with questions the moment I stepped foot inside. From Josh, the town council, heck even deputies from Twin Bridges had been waiting. Logan had called the mayor before we left Yellowstone and updated him on our suspicions about Duke. The news had clearly made the rounds.
Big Sky Saloon had been the only watering hole in Ennis when the town was founded. Over time, Ennis had gained restaurants and another bar designed specifically for tourists, but Big Sky was the town’s bar. Had been no matter who owned it. When my father bought out the previous owner, nothing changed. When the residents wanted to celebrate, they came here. When they wanted to mourn, they came to Big Sky to be surrounded by friends. Weddings, funerals, graduations—Big Sky had seen it all. But this was the first time we’d come together because of murder. That’s not to say murder had never been committed in Ennis, but not on this scale. Not to someone so beloved by everyone. So linked and woven into the very fabric of all our lives.
“To Duke!” Ed Burk raised his glass of bourbon, and the rest of the bar followed suit.
“Best man I knew. Best fisherman I’ve known,” Dusty Banks followed with his own toast.
He wasn’t wrong about that. Duke had won many fishing trophies in his lifetime, including our own Ennis Fly-Fishing Tournament attended by hundreds of avid fishermen. I hoped with everything I am that when Duke had passed through the pearly gates, it was with a fishing rod in his hand and a stocked river waiting for him.
Josh was behind the bar helping me by restocking glasses, and Jake—who came in much calmer than I’d seen him in days after hashing it out with Logan—was rotating and restocking the bottled beer and wine coolers. Even though they were underaged, most of the town looked the other way when they helped me out when I was shorthanded. And with all that had happened, I needed them close. Needed the familiarity of the bar. The sound of a draft filling a mug. The hiss of bottle tops as they released their hold. The thud a glass made when it hit the surface of the bar top . . . Even Rocky the moose hanging over my shoulder, his big eyes following as I worked. I needed the one place that reminded me most of my dad. Of his place in this world.
When I’d left for college, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life. The only thing I’d ever been good at was art, so I’d majored in it. I figured I could get a job in one of the local school districts as a teacher when I graduated, but my father’s illness had put all of that on hold.
Searching the bar and the familiar faces scattered about, I realized my desires had changed since I’d left Ennis as a starry-eyed freshman. This bar, and what it represented and meant to this town, now held my heart. It had never occurred to me to follow in my father’s footsteps, but now that I had, you couldn’t pry me from this place. My father was in every inch of this building. And so was Duke. To give her up would be giving up those who had meant the most to me.
Glancing at the stool Duke always sat in, I raised my own glass of beer. “To a man whose heart was too big for this world. I hope he and my father are sitting on a porch somewhere while my mother gives them hell. We’ll miss you forever, Duke.”
Glasses clinked together and a round of murmured agreements filled the air as the front door opened and Logan and Ty walked inside. His gaze pinned mine immediately and he jerked his head to the end of the bar, so I moved to intercept him. His eyes were on alert, his demeanor stiff. Something had happened.
“What is it? Did they find Duke?”
The smallest part of me was still holding out hope that we were wrong about what had transpired. That maybe Duke had somehow survived and we just hadn’t found him. My heart dropped when his eyes softened, shook his head, then cupped the back of my neck and gave it a firm squeeze. “I have to head out. We got a call about a man named Rip Jackson.”
“You mean Old Rip? What happened?”
“Looks like he tripped and fell sometime last night. He never made it inside, Skylar. Was out in the elements all night.”
Air whooshed from my lungs. Another death? “He didn’t make it?”
“No, baby. A kid who brings him meals found him.”
“That makes five in one week.” An ominous feeling began to spread throughout my body. They said death came in threes, and we’d had five. If the old saying were true, would there be another death soon?
“Five?” Ty asked from beside Logan.
“Five deaths in a week, Ty. Do you remember there ever being that many deaths in a year?”
Ty didn’t answer me, but I could tell he was thinking about what I’d said.
“I need to get going,” Logan stated. “I wanted to check in with you before I left. Are you working the late shift?”
I nodded. “Jamie is on with me and so is Jared.” I glanced at Ty. “Are you playing tonight?”
“I’ll be here at seven.”
“Who’s Jared?” His tone was curious but he
ld a stiff edge. If I didn’t know better, I might have missed it, but I could tell Logan’s hackles had just risen. He was uneasy about an unknown male working with me for some reason.
“Jordan’s brother. He works weekends. He should be here any time.” I glanced at the clock and noted it was three minutes after five. “He’s late, in fact.”
Kenzie, Jordan Reay, Lacy Sullivan, Sarah Piechuta, and Elizabeth Burk had all been huddled in my office going over details for the carnival when I arrived. But they emerged from the hallway just as the door opened and Jared and Jamie stepped inside for work. I waved at Jamie as she headed to the back to store her coat and purse, then turned to Jared and looked at him through Logan’s eyes.
Jared, unlike his sister, was tall and broad, with arms and thighs the size of tree trunks. He was a paramedic on the day shift, but for some reason liked to work weekends at the bar. He was six years older than me, so I’d never paid much attention to him because of the age difference. But Logan’s reaction had me taking a good hard look at the man. I knew instantly Logan would stay on edge because Jared was hot. A sexy man with piercing green eyes. Eyes, now I was watching him, that seemed to have landed on Kenzie and narrowed. I turned to watch her reaction and caught her looking away, her face clearly paling even in the low light of the bar. Knowing Jared and Kenzie had dated, before Chance swooped in and got her pregnant, made the interaction interesting. I’d say from both their reactions, there were unresolved feelings.
When I turned back to Logan, he was watching Jared as well. His attention darted over my shoulder toward Kenzie and the girls, and he smiled knowingly. Without another word on the subject of Jared, Logan jerked me into his body for a quick, deeply satisfying kiss that curled my toes and numbed my brain cells. “Gotta run. Be good for me tonight.” This was said against my mouth before he released me and left. He left me feeling dazed and a whole lot turned on, so I followed him with my eyes as he headed for the door, sighing when his great ass disappeared from sight. Then Ty coughed next to me and I froze. I had forgotten he was standing there. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye—to make sure there wasn’t any lingering anger toward Logan and me—and caught him smiling like a loon.
“What?”
He reached out and ruffled the top of my head. “Just good to see you happy.”
It was such a relief to have my old friend back, I stuck out my tongue to cover my embarrassment, but I was secretly smiling as well. Being able to joke with Ty again, instead of worrying when he would blow up at some guy who had hit on me, was a relief. Knowing Ty had given up his own happiness these past two years to look out for me, still boggled my mind. I’d known deep down he wasn’t still in love with me. Could feel it in our interactions. So I wasn’t overly surprised when Logan explained everything to me on the ride up to Yellowstone, but I was still shocked he cared enough to put his own life on hold.
“We need to find you a woman,” I joked, half-serious.
Ty’s attention shot behind me and I swear his face heated with some unknown emotion. When he cleared his throat and mumbled, “See you at seven,” before turning on his heel and exiting the bar, I knew something was up.
I puzzled over his reaction and looked over my shoulder. Was there someone here who already held his heart? There were numerous women in the bar, along with Jamie, Kenzie, and the rest of her group, so I let it go. Ty was a big boy. If he liked someone, he could figure it out all by himself.
With Jared now behind the bar pouring drafts, I sent my brothers packing with Max and my truck keys so they could get home. I could get a ride with Logan after the bar closed or sleep here with him once he was done.
Since Jamie was gabbing with Kenzie and the girls, I headed over to have a word before they left. I’d been so busy the past two days, I hadn’t had time to help with any of the preparations for the carnival.
“What can I help with?” I asked when I joined their huddle. “I feel bad you’ve done all the work so far.”
“What did Logan say?” Jordan inquired nervously, ignoring my question. “Any word on Duke?”
It was clear I wasn’t the only one holding out hope Duke would be found safe and sound. “Nothing yet,” I answered, reaching out a hand to squeeze hers. “He stopped by to let me know he was headed to Old Rip’s place. Logan said he fell last night and died.”
A collective gasp sounded in the group.
“Rip Jackson?” Kenzie questioned. “He used to be Justice’s foreman and right-hand man.”
I’d forgotten that. Rip had seemed old for years, so it was hard to think about him as anything else, but now she mentioned it, it all fell into place.
“Doesn’t he still live on part of the ranch?” Jamie asked.
Kenzie nodded. “Justice had an old hunting cabin not too far from the main house. He let Rip live there when he worked for Justice, and he stayed after he retired.”
“Wait, you’re telling me Logan is headed to the Bear Claw?”
“Oh, boy,” Kenzie mumbled with wide eyes. We both remembered what had happened the night before at the football game.
Without another word, I headed to my office so I could hear. I needed to warn Logan what he was walking into.
_______________
Logan followed emergency services off the divided highway and through the main ranch gate to Bear Claw ranch. He could see Chance’s sprawling house off to his left and noted with the coming darkness it was lit from within. He’d only had a few minutes’ notice about where he was headed, thanks to Skylar’s phone call, though he hadn’t needed it. He knew she was concerned they’d have another run-in, but Logan welcomed it. There was plenty he still needed to say to her brother, but now wasn’t the time or the place. He’d shelve his irritation with the man while he was wearing Duke’s badge.
The road forked in front of him and the ambulance turned right, away from the main house. Skylar had said Rip Jackson lived in a hunting cabin not far from the main residence, so Logan wasn’t surprised when they’d turned. The trail to the cabin was slow going due to the snow, and Logan wondered how the kid had gotten through with Rip’s food. When they arrived, he caught sight of a four-wheeler and had the answer to his question.
Logan parked a distance away from the front, so the ambulance had room to leave, then climbed out of his truck and took a good look around. There was an old truck parked to the right of the cabin, he presumed was the victim’s. He scanned the area for footprints and found one set leading from the parked four-wheeler but no others. He didn’t know why he was looking for foul play, except for Skylar’s observation Rip Jackson’s death made five in one week. She was right, Logan decided, in a town with less than a thousand people, five in a short period of time was excessive.
Logan approached a kid about the age of Jake. He was huddled on the porch staring at the ground where Rip Jackson still lay. Snow had covered the old man, but it looked as if the kid had brushed it off in an attempt to rescue him. “Are you Lucas Meyer?”
The kid’s head bobbed up and down in quick jerks, never taking his eyes off the body.
Christ. No kid should have to deal with finding someone dead.
“You eighteen, Lucas, or do I need to wait for a guardian to question you?” Logan moved to the side of the cabin as he spoke until the kid had to turn his body to answer. With Rip Jackson out of his line of sight, the kid finally looked Logan in the eyes. He was scrawny, fair-skinned and fair-haired, maybe one twenty-five soaking wet. His eyes were haunted, red-rimmed from tears. “I turned eighteen last month. Both my parents are in Bozeman buying supplies. They won’t be back for hours.”
“All right. Tell me what you saw when you arrived, Lucas.” He started to turn back to look at Rip, so Logan barked out, “Eyes on me, kid. Nothing you can do for him now.”
The kid swallowed and nodded his head. “I help my mom with deliveries. We just live up the road about a mile, so she sent me to deliver Rip’s meal while she and my dad headed to Bozeman.”
Logan waited him out, knew from experience that witnesses to a crime tended to start at the beginning and work their way forward. It helped them retrace their steps, so Lucas had more to say.
“When I arrived, I didn’t see him at first. He was . . . covered with snow. I almost tripped—” he closed his eyes and took a deep breath “—I almost tripped over him. If I hadn’t been looking down, I would have stepped on him.”
“Did you brush off the body? Clear the snow?”
He nodded once. “I had to make sure. If he was still alive, I wanted to help.”
“You know Rip well?”
The kid shrugged. “He wasn’t much of a talker. I’d drop off his meals sometimes, that’s all. He’d open the door and let me in, then I’d ask if he needed anything else before I left, like I was told to do.”
“He ever have visitors when you dropped off his meals?”
“No.”
“Did you see anyone hanging around today?”
The kid shook his head then his brows pulled into a deep crease on his forehead and he mumbled, “Chance.”
Logan jerked solid, cocking his head. “Chance? You saw Chance Bear here today?”
“Not here, but up the road about a quarter mile or so. When I was headed here, I saw him walking through the trees.”
Logan could feel his blood begin to race through his veins. “You’re sure it was Chance Bear?”
“Positive. Chance is the only man around here with long dark hair.”
Logan’s breath stuttered, and Skylar’s words from earlier thundered through his brain.
“The length suggests it’s a woman’s hair.”
Possibilities ran wild through Logan’s head. Rip Jackson lived on the same property as Chance. If Skylar’s brother was involved with Duke’s disappearance, Rip might have seen something, causing Chance to retaliate.
