Rugged Defender

by B. J Daniels

  The sheriff said nothing as she watched it a second time. “Is your taillight still busted?”

  Chloe nodded. “I’ll try to get it fixed for my sister as soon as I can get it in the shop, but with the holidays...”

  The sheriff nodded. “I’ll take care of the repair. You can leave the car here. But if you have any further problems with him, you call me right away.”

  “Thank you.” She turned to leave but stopped when the sheriff called her name and asked if she needed a ride. Chloe shook her head no.

  Sheriff Crawford added, “Chloe, be careful. I still believe that Drew Calhoun’s death was an accident but sometimes just asking questions can be dangerous.”

  As she left, Justin called. She took the call outside in the cold rather than chance seeing Kelly. Last night’s snow was piled high all over town.

  “Where are you?” She told him. “Don’t move. I’ll pick you up.”

  * * *

  JUSTIN PULLED UP in front of the sheriff’s office and Chloe hopped into the passenger side of his pickup. She looked beautiful. The cold clear morning had her cheeks pink and those blue eyes glittering.

  “Is everything all right?” he asked glancing toward the sheriff’s department.

  She waved a hand through the air. “I’ll tell you later. First I want to tell you what I found out last night.”

  He glanced at her sideways. “I thought you weren’t going to do anything without me?”

  “I just went swimming with the new owner of the local newspaper out at Sleeping Buffalo.”

  Justin groaned as he pulled away from the curb. He listened as she told him about the rumor concerning the reopening of the mine. “So Drew didn’t have the money.”

  “But what if he’d thought he would be able to get it?” Chloe said. “What if he’d made promises he couldn’t keep? Apparently the group had to get the deal done before some EPA study that was scheduled. They wouldn’t have had to do the reclamation if they beat the deadline so there was big money to be made. But what if at the last minute Drew reneged and the deal fell through?”

  Justin nodded. “You could be onto something. I got hold of the ranch books. My brother had been stealing money for about two years before my father cut him off. I just saw my father this morning. He’s out of intensive care. He said Drew was desperate for money for some deal he was involved in and needed five hundred thousand dollars. Apparently my brother thought the deal would make him rich.”

  Chloe looked at him wide-eyed. “That’s a lot of money. That could be the deal. Quinn said the investors stood to make a whole bunch of money. If Drew couldn’t raise his part right before the deadline...”

  “Who were the other investors?” Justin said. “And how do we find them?”

  She seemed to give that some thought. “I know at least one place to start. Monte Decker at the bank.”

  * * *

  “MR. DECKER IS on vacation,” the teller told Chloe. The bank like the town was small. There was one counter with four tellers. Two offices at the front of the bank and several in the back. In a place where everyone knew each other, the atmosphere was casual. As far as she knew, the bank had never been robbed.

  “When will he be back?” Chloe asked.

  “I’m not sure. Is there someone else who can help you?”

  “No, I’ll catch him when he returns.” As she started out of the bank, she glanced into Monte’s office and noticed something that made her stop cold.

  The photo she’d seen on his desk of him and the huge walleye was gone.

  “I have a bad feeling that Monte is leaving town,” Chloe said as she climbed into Justin’s pickup parked outside the bank with the engine running. “Do you know where he lives?”

  “I know where he used to live.” He shifted the pickup into gear and started out of town. “Unless he’s moved, his family had an old place out by Dobson. His parents left him the land. I only know because Drew mentioned a few times how lucky we were that our old man had built something substantial for us to inherit, compared to poor Monte, who had to work at the bank to survive. Drew loved to lord it over Monte.”

  “And Monte was the one who allegedly lost all the money to your brother before he found out Drew had been cheating at cards.”

  Justin shook his head. “There was something seriously wrong with my brother. He was always like that. Everything was a competition for him. He had to win. If he was one of those investors, he must have seen it as a way to get out from under the ranch. Taking over Calhoun Cattle Company must have felt like a noose around his neck. But a mining operation where he could sit back and rake in the money without our father involved... That would have felt like his way out.”

  He slowed on the outskirts of what was left of the rural town. The businesses had shrunk down to schools and one convenience store. The bar had closed recently. Monte Decker’s place was down a long dirt road that ended at the Milk River. A gray Suburban was parked in front of the small old two-story house. As they pulled in, Monte came out with two large suitcases. He stopped when he saw them before continuing on to the back of the Suburban.

  “Going somewhere?” Justin asked as he and Chloe got out to confront the man.

  “Vacation,” Monte said. “Not that it is any of your business.”

  Chloe knew they couldn’t stop him from leaving town. “You need to tell us about the group of investors who was going to start mining at Zortman again.” She saw by his expression that she’d hit pay dirt and that Justin had seen it, as well.

  Monte appeared rattled. His gaze shot to the road into his property as if he expected more company. The sheriff? Or someone else?

  “We also know that my brother was one of the investors,” Justin said as if he too was sure they were right about all this. “At least he was supposed to have been one of them, right?”

  Monte slammed the back of the Suburban. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, his words lacking even a semblance of truth to them. “I need to get going.”

  “We know the truth,” Justin said. “The sheriff is on the way.”

  “There was nothing illegal about it.”

  “Not about the mining deal, but murder...” Justin said.

  Monte looked around as if searching for a place to run. When they’d pulled in, they’d blocked his Suburban. He’d have to take out part of the fence around his house to escape. That’s if they let him get that far.

  “Drew ruined it all for you, didn’t he?” Chloe said. “First he cheats you at cards and then he stiffs all of you on the deal of a lifetime.” She saw the answer in the man’s eyes. For Monte and who knew how many others, it had been a way out of the life they were living into one they’d only dreamed possible.

  “How much money were you putting up?” Chloe asked. “Were you using your money or were you getting it from the bank?” For a moment, she didn’t think he was going to answer.

  “It was my money,” he snapped indignantly. “Two hundred thousand, but it only bought me a minor share.”

  “But you stood to make a lot of money,” Justin said.

  “Nothing like the rest of them. It was a legit, good business deal.”

  “Then Drew screwed up everything,” Justin said.

  Monte swore. He looked caught, a man no longer believing he was going to get away. “We knew that we had to have all the money together before we could make the offer. We had to move fast. It was all about timing. We thought everyone understood that.” He looked like he might cry. “Like I said, I was only a minor player.”

  “So did they make you kill him?” Justin asked.

  “No!” Panic filled the man’s face. “You have it all wrong.” He looked down the road as if expecting to see a vehicle tearing toward them. Who was he expecting? “It wasn’t me!”

  “I believe you,” Chloe said, almost feeling s
orry for him. “But you know who did.”

  “And I’m guessing that you know it’s all over,” Justin said. “The one who pulled the trigger? You know you can’t trust him. Now that the sheriff knows, he’ll turn on you and when he does—”

  Monte took a step backward, holding up his hands as if to ward off their words. “I had nothing to do with killing Drew. I swear I tried to stop it. I—”

  Chloe didn’t hear the rifle shot until after she heard the thump of the bullet when it entered Monte’s body. She froze, too shocked to move as Monte grabbed his chest.

  But Justin must have known immediately what was happening and where the shot had come from. He grabbed her and pulled her behind the Suburban as another bullet hit its mark with another sicking thud. She heard Monte say something. Two more bullets struck the Suburban they were crouched behind, making a pinging sound. Justin had his arm around her, shielding her as he punched in 911 on his phone.

  Then, everything went deathly still.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “The gunshots appeared to be coming from up there,” Justin said, pointing to the foothills opposite the road from Monte Decker’s house. The sheriff nodded and wrote something in her notebook as Chloe stood off to the side, hugging herself to try to get some warmth back into her body. She couldn’t quit shivering.

  Justin had taken off his coat and put it around her. They’d sat in his pickup until the sheriff had arrived along with the coroner. Photographs were taken, the area searched and taped off. The coroner’s van had left with Monte in a black body bag.

  McCall had said that Chloe could remain in the pickup, but she’d felt too closed in. She needed the fresh air even if it was freezing cold. Nearby a deputy was digging bullets out of the side of Monte’s Suburban. She tried not to think about the bullets that would have to be dug out of Monte’s body during his autopsy.

  “Are you all right?” the sheriff asked. Justin was talking to another lawman.

  McCall had already taken her statement. “You need to get in out of the cold.”

  She nodded, but didn’t move.

  “I already asked you this, but I thought now that you’ve had time to think about it...” The sheriff was studying her. “Any idea who else might have been part of these investors you told me about?”

  Chloe shook her head. They hadn’t even been sure the rumor was true until they talked to Monte. He’d been so terrified they’d known they were on the right track. “Maybe one of the others who played poker with Drew.” That was her best guess. Nor did she know how many men had been involved. Not many, she thought. Otherwise it would have been harder to keep a secret. “Someone with more than two hundred thousand dollars to invest.”

  “So you don’t know how much Drew’s part was?” the sheriff asked.

  Chloe was sure that Justin had already told her. “Justin said his father mentioned five hundred thousand dollars. That’s how much he wanted to borrow against the ranch for an investment. Bert Calhoun didn’t know what investment.”

  McCall nodded and closed her notebook. “By the way, Deputy Kelly Locke has been suspended of his duties without pay for two weeks.”

  Was that supposed to make her happy?

  “If you have any more problems...”

  “You’ll be the first to know,” Chloe said, thinking Kelly was the least of her problems right now.”

  “Also I’d advise you to stay out of this investigation since it now involves a homicide,” the sheriff said. “If I have any more questions...”

  “You know where to find me,” she said and looked to where Justin had finished talking to the deputy. She excused herself and walked over to him. He put his arm around her and pulled her close, pressing a kiss into her hair.

  “I’m so sorry I got you into this,” he whispered.

  She pulled back to look into his handsome face. “I’m the one who’s sorry.”

  “I need to take you to your house. Why don’t you call and make sure your sisters are there? I’m not leaving you alone and I have a couple of things I have to take care of.”

  She worried what that might be, but maybe it had something to do with his father and the ranch. She was sure that the sheriff had warned him too about getting involved in her investigation.

  He looked into her eyes. “You’ll be all right?”

  Chloe nodded. She was shaken. It wasn’t every day that someone tried to kill her or that she saw a man gunned down in front of her. Not that she thought Monte Decker would still be alive if she and Justin hadn’t driven out to talk to him. Whoever had killed Drew must have known that Monte was a weak link in the cover-up. Monte would have never gotten to leave. Chloe and Justin had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  Fortunately, Monte hadn’t been killed before they talked to him. Otherwise they wouldn’t have had verification that their theory had been right. Drew was involved with the secret group who’d planned to get mining approval before the EPA got involved.

  First Drew. Now Monte. Who’d killed them? And what was that person going to do now? Whoever the killer was, he couldn’t know how much Monte had told them before he’d fired the fatal shots.

  * * *

  JUSTIN WAITED UNTIL she was safely in the house, making sure that her sisters were both home, before he left. He had two quick stops to make before he went to see his father. He called Nici’s house and found out she was doing community service down at the senior center.

  “I am so glad to see you,” she said. “Get me out of here.”

  “Is your time up?” he asked.

  “Close enough.” She called back to one of the managers and asked if she could leave. The woman said she could and that they would see her the next day and not to be late again.

  Nici mugged a face as they left. “How did you know I needed to see a friendly face?”

  “Maybe not so friendly,” Justin said as they climbed into this pickup. “Something’s happened. Monte Decker was killed this afternoon at his place.”

  “One of Drew’s poker-playing friends,” Nici said.

  “It’s all going to come out, everything,” he said. “I have to tell the sheriff the truth about that night. Nici—”

  “I told you I didn’t kill Drew.”

  “But you were there,” Justin said, meeting her gaze. “If you saw Drew’s killer...”

  She shook her head and looked away.

  He cursed under his breath. “Damn it, Nici, this is getting even more dangerous. Why, if you saw him, won’t you tell me?”

  She opened the passenger side door and started to climb out.

  He grabbed her arm. “I know you’re scared. You should be. If there is any chance that the killer knows you were out there that night... You’ve kept your mouth shut, but that person isn’t going to take the chance that you won’t talk now.”

  “I told you. I didn’t kill Drew. I didn’t see anything.” She jerked her arm free and got out, standing in the open doorway for a moment as she looked back at him.

  “I have to tell the sheriff, Nici. I should have that night.”

  She nodded and smiled. “Thanks for trying to protect me. You’ve been a good friend.” She slammed the door and took off walking, her hands deep in the pockets of her coat.

  Justin swore as he watched her walk away before he drove down to the sheriff’s office. After he made his way into the station, McCall motioned him into a chair.

  “This won’t take long,” he said, turning his Stetson in his fingers. “The night my brother was killed, Nici, Nicole Kent, was at the ranch. I saw her drive away just moments after I heard the shots. She’d parked just over the hill. I recognized her rig leaving.”

  “Why couldn’t you have told me this years ago?” the sheriff demanded.

  “Because she’d already been in trouble with the law and she’s a friend. Also, I d
on’t believe she killed him. But I’m afraid she saw the killer.”

  McCall groaned. “And there’s a reason she too hasn’t come forward?”

  “No doubt. Unfortunately, I don’t know what it is, but I’m worried about her given what’s happened and what we now know.” He got to his feet. “She knows I planned to tell you.”

  The sheriff nodded. “You realize your warning her has given her a head start if she’s on the run now.”

  “I’m sorry about that,” he said. “But she’s a friend and she needs a friend right now—maybe more than ever.”

  * * *

  “I HAD A bad feeling that this was going to be dangerous,” TJ said as the three sisters congregated in the kitchen. Annabelle made coffee while Chloe told them what had happened. She served the coffee with her latest batch of sugar cookies.

  “Monte knew who killed Drew,” Chloe said. “If we’d had just a few more minutes...”

  “Then the killer doesn’t know that Monte didn’t spill his guts to you,” Annabelle said and looked at TJ. “Doesn’t this mean he’ll come after Chloe?”

  “This is not one of my books,” her sister snapped. “But that is certainly a possibility. What does Justin think?”

  Chloe shrugged. “After we gave our statements to the sheriff, he brought me home. We didn’t talk much about it.” The truth was, she’d seen that Justin had something on his mind. Why did she suspect he knew something more than he was telling her and had been from the get-go?

  “Well, I hope this is the end of your investigation,” TJ said.

  “The sheriff warned me to cease and desist, but it wasn’t necessary. If you’d been there and heard... It was horrible. If Justin hadn’t pulled me behind Monte’s vehicle when he did...” Chloe cupped her hands around her mug of coffee needing the warmth. She still felt chilled.

  “So you have no idea who the other investors were?” TJ asked.

  She shook her head. “Whoever they are, they had to have gotten their hands on a sizeable amount of money to be part of the plan. Monte said he put two hundred thousand into the pot and he was a minor investor. Justin’s father told him that Drew had needed five hundred thousand.”