Wanted by the Lawman (Lawmen of Wyoming Book 2)

by Rhonda Lee Carver

  She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and brought her legs up to tuck under her behind. Had she expected him to go easy? “He wasn’t always angry, but it happened so gradually that I chalked some of the issues up to normal. He’d always been a bit egotistical, but he also owned a whole bandwagon of charm. I’ve been threatening to leave him for six months, and that night I made my mind up that I could no longer live with him or be near him. He knew I was serious and that’s why he’d gone to the extreme of the handcuffs. I truly don’t know all of his secrets.”

  “But you were his assistant?”

  She met Zander’s gaze. “Yes, in name only. Looking back, I see he might have used me. I signed paperwork, handled meetings, social gatherings. Wow, I made life easy for him.” She swallowed against the painful constriction in her throat.

  “If you’re innocent, you have nothing to worry about.”

  “If?” She sighed. “I am innocent. Where Rory is, or what he did, I have no clue. I left my car, phone, clothes, and money just so I could sever the ties completely. I came here with a meager amount of cash and a dream.”

  “Do you have reason to believe he’s looking for you?” His jaw was set tight and worried lines appeared around his eyes.

  “It’s always a possibility. I don’t want to be with him, but I don’t want him dead either.”

  “Look, I’ll keep a closer eye on things around here. I spoke to Rudy and he’ll be keeping a watch too. But most importantly, if he tries to contact you in anyway, tell me. Okay?”

  “Sure.” She shifted in the cushion. “Why didn’t you tell me who you are?”

  He shrugged. “I didn’t see that it was important, but if I’d known that this would happen, I guess I should have.”

  “Does this mean that we can’t be friends?” Her chest tightened.

  “It means that it’s my duty to make sure you’re safe. Other than that, I’m not on this case with your ex so we can be friends. Does this mean you no longer view me as gum on the bottom of your shoe?” One corner of his mouth lifted.

  “I never thought of you as gum on my shoe, and I’m sorry you felt that I did. I think we need to start over with less secrets between us.” She stood and stepped over to him, holding out her hand. “Hi, I’m Wynn. Although I appear to be a grossly emotional, scatterbrained, a lunatic of a woman, I can assure you that under normal circumstances, I’m easy and fun-loving and have been told I’m intelligent, at least from the tests I’ve taken.”

  He took her hand, but instead of shaking it as she’d wanted, he simply held it in his warm, gentle clutch. “I’m Zander. Although I’m a Special Agent, that’s not all I am.” He winked.

  “Well, Zander. It’s nice to meet you.”

  ~~~**~~~

  Zander slid off the snow mobile and his boots crunched in the ice. He met Rudy who shook his gloved hand. “I’m glad you decided to come.”

  “Homicide’s not my thing, buddy.”

  “Hell, man. You know more about tracking criminals and investigating murder than anyone I know, including me. You know that too,” Rudy said, pulling his hat lower over his ears.

  “I’ll look, but I can’t promise anything.”

  “She’s over here. Looks like she’s been here for a while.”

  Stopping a few feet from where the woman’s body lay, Zander first examined the surrounding area, then bent down to take a closer look at the body. “When did you say she was found, Rudy?”

  “One of the cows broke out of the fence and the owner came out looking for her. He found her around seven this morning. I think she’s been here at least twenty-four hours.”

  “By the condition of the body, I’m guessing the same, but the medical examiner will be better at telling you exactly how long. With these conditions, sometimes it can be hard to tell. Got a positive ID?”

  “Sabrina Dexter. Found her driver’s license in her purse.”

  “Has anyone made a missing person’s report on her?” Zander asked.

  “No.”

  “Have you checked anything other than the purse?”

  “No. I wanted to leave the scene as intact as possible until you’ve had the chance to look over things.”

  Zander looked from the girl’s blue jacket down her jeans, to her snow boots. Although she was dressed for cold, she wasn’t bundled up for spending any time outdoors. “Do you have an evidence bag?”

  “Lansing, hand him a bag,” Rudy told his deputy.

  Zander turned the bag inside out over his hand and reached into the girl’s coat pocket. He pulled out a used syringe. “Does she live close?”

  “Nope. Over thirty minutes from here.”

  “It’s possible she came out here to buy a fix.” Zander stood, carefully withdrew the bag from his hand and around the needle. “And we know she wasn’t close to home. Rudy, order a rape kit.”

  “You think she’s been raped?”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. We don’t want to presume anything.” Zander realized that in areas where drug use was prevalent, many times deaths were chalked up to overdoses without any further investigation into the case. It wasn’t because of careless law enforcement as much as lack of training and limited resources. “Make sure all her belongings, even that shoe I see ten feet away are all with her. Everything needs examined for evidence.”

  “That was a used heroine needle you pulled out of her pocket,” Lansing said. “We’ve had problems with kids coming out here and shooting up.”

  Zander turned to the young deputy. “We don’t ever guess about a case. Assumption blinds us to the little things. Like that faint bruising on her neck and wrists.”

  “Fuck,” Rudy sighed and shifted in his boots.

  “Hell, that needle could have been used for heroin, filled with rat poison, or a shot she gave her diabetic grandmother today. We won’t know unless it’s tested,” Zander said with patience. He realized how hard it was to get skilled and trained deputies out here in the mountains. Not everyone had the desire to be out in freezing temps. “We have to treat this as a possible homicide until otherwise proven.”

  “Yes, sir,” Lansing said with a grin.

  “The nearest house is over two miles away.” Rudy pointed west.

  “And that leaves the question, what is a young girl doing thirty minutes from home, out here in the middle of a field in freezing temperatures with a lightweight coat and a pair of cheap snow boots? If she lived around here, she’d know she’d freeze in a matter of minutes, high or not.”

  “Hell, Cade. We’ve dealt with crazier shit, but I’m on your side. We’re finding too many victims.”

  “I know you’ve said kids come out here to party. Could be, but it doesn’t add up. There’s no evidence of a fire and that wouldn’t explain the tracks.” He waved for Rudy to follow him. He pointed at several of the faint tracks that could easily be overlooked. “See how the front of the boot print is deeper? And the pattern? That shows that she was running. Maybe running from someone? Then I see multiple footprints. Who was here on scene first, outside of the owner?”

  “I was,” Lansing said.

  “Lansing searched the entire side of the mountain for prints but there were none. Here are a few spots of splattered blood.” Rudy jetted his thumb through the air. “Looks like she took a face plant.”

  “How cold did it get last night? Below ten? If she was running and her lungs filled up with the cold, icy air, that’d cause her lungs to explode. Yet, it doesn’t explain why she’s out here in the middle of nowhere with bruises. Is that the man who found her?”

  “Yes, that’s Barnes. He owns the property.”

  “Hello, sir.” Cade approached the man. “I know you’ve already been asked questions, but do you care if I ask a few more?” The man shook his head. “Did you see or hear anything suspicious last night?”

  “No. The family and I were gone a few hours, came home and went straight to bed.” The wiry bearded, forty-something man readjusted his shotgun that he had leaning on his
hip.

  Zander looked back to Rudy. “Any thoughts?”

  “She put up a fight. She has broken nails. Her clothes and coat are ripped.

  “I agree. And she has asthma.”

  “How do you know?”

  Zander met Rudy’s curious expression. “Take a closer look at the spatters of blood. Ice crystals formed in her lungs. When a person runs they’re more likely to breathe through their mouth to obtain more oxygen. Breathing through your mouth in these freezing temperatures puts the lungs at higher risk, even for those who have normal lung function. Asthma causes the bronchial tubes to inflame and constrict, and cold air makes the inflammation worse.”

  “You couldn’t possibly have gotten that she has asthma from that.”

  “Her fingers had frozen around the inhaler. It’s still in her palm.”

  Rudy jerked his chin around toward the body. “Damn, I missed that too. I knew there’s a reason why I called you out here. Anyway, an asthmatic wouldn’t be out in these temperatures.”

  “True. Can you get me a list of all similar deaths in surrounding counties as well as in Crooked Creek? You said the closest house outside of this property is two miles?”

  “Do you think she could have run that far in these conditions?”

  “Depends on how badly she wanted to live. We need to find out where she came from.”

  “So, does this mean you’re helping me with this case?”

  “It means I can look. I know you and your department are overwhelmed and I’ll make the time.”

  CHAPTER 9

  DRAINED FROM LOOKING over the case files he’d received from Rudy, Zander wanted nothing more than to take a long shower and de-stress with a beer. He could see Wynn’s house and the lights were on. He hadn’t seen much of her in the last week, although he’d kept a close eye on things going on. He’d wanted to stop and see how she was doing, but he was swamped taking care of the horses and helping Rudy out with the unsolved cases. And yet, he knew his busy schedule wasn’t the real reason.

  He didn’t need the added diversion of a beautiful woman, or the worry about some crazed ex who was wanted by the law. His instincts warned him Wynn could turn his world upside down.

  Zander had a feeling she worried that her ex would show up.

  If Salvano came to Crooked Creek stirring up trouble, he’d find more than he bargained for.

  Climbing from his truck, he strolled up onto the porch and opened the door. “Susie-Q, I’m home.” He was met with silence.

  Shit. He’d forgotten that he and Wynn had made plans for her to take care of his dog today.

  Taking a step back out of the door, he looked over at her house. This worked out well. If she had his dog, that meant he had an excuse to stop over. Admittedly, he wouldn’t mind seeing her again.

  He stepped inside the house and left through the back door, taking the quicker way to the neighboring property. Once he made it there, he knocked.

  “Come on in,” Wynn called from inside.

  He opened the door and came to a halt. Wynn was touching a man…not just any man, but Deputy Lansing. “Hey there, Cade.” The young man dipped his hat.

  Zander looked from the deputy to his hand that Wynn was cleaning with a cotton ball. “Am I interrupting?” Zander really didn’t like the sudden rush of emotions pounding through him. Susie-Q had a perch at Wynn’s feet and hadn’t even stirred when he walked in. At least Wynn offered him a smile, one that could have made his body hard if she wasn’t holding the hand of another man.

  “Not at all.” She applied a bandage to Lansing’s hand, washed her hands, and dried them off with a towel. “I was patching up Jeff’s hand.”

  Jeff? She called the deputy by his first name? “Was there a problem that I missed?” Zander asked.

  “Nope. I was in town and wouldn’t you know, the rental broke down. Thank goodness Jeff saw me and stopped to help. That would have been one long, cold walk. Would you like a glass of tea? I was just making us one.”

  Zander closed the door behind him and pulled off his Stetson, holding it against his chest. “I have a few minutes. Thank you. What happened to the hand, Lansing?”

  “Clumsiness. I’m doing some work on a friend’s house and damn drill slipped.”

  “You should be more careful.” Zander didn’t even look at the other man. He was busily watching Wynn as she reached high into the cabinet. The way her worn jeans cupped her bottom should be illegal. Then he noticed he wasn’t the only one sneaking a peek. Lansing had his gaze locked and loaded on Wynn.

  Zander cleared his throat and the younger man jerked his gaze upward, looking a little flustered. “So, the car wouldn’t start?”

  “I told Wynn I’d call the rental agency in the morning. They’re closed.”

  “That’s a shame,” Zander muttered.

  “Not only did he come to my aid with a lift home, but I found out he paints like a pro,” Wynn said, no longer reaching into the cabinet. She was pouring water into a glass pitcher.

  “He does, does he?” There was a rawness to Zander’s tone that he couldn’t hide. That would explain the splatters of paint on the man’s black tee.

  Lansing grinned. “Well, I have some experience. Before I got hired on at the Sheriff’s department I had my own painting business. I couldn’t just carry in the container of paint without doing the gentlemanly thing and offer to help. Every pretty lady deserves a nice bedroom.”

  “Yeah, that’d be a catastrophe.” Zander didn’t care that his tone was rude. He caught Wynn’s narrowed expression as she stirred the contents of the pitcher. He guessed he deserved her questioning stare. What the hell was wrong with him? He had no skin in this so why was he acting like the jealous boyfriend? This was no different than when he’d sent his buddy over to help her with the furnace and wood…and yet, it was hugely different. Lansing was different. Zander wasn’t one to judge a man’s looks, but he’d gather the deputy didn’t have any trouble getting a date. He spent enough time in the gym. He probably wasn’t much older than twenty-five.

  Downing the tea that Wynn handed him, Zander needed to tighten the screw that was loose inside his head. He really hoped he didn’t make a fool of himself.

  Lansing pushed off the edge of the counter, placed his glass in the sink and flashed Wynn one of those smiles that showed off a row of toothpaste commercial worthy smiles. “I should be going. I won’t have another day off in a few weeks. Nose to the grind and all.”

  “Good luck with the case. I sure hope they figure out what’s happening to those young women. You’re working the case too, right Zander?” Wynn asked.

  “I offered the Sheriff a little help.” He realized he would break the glass if he didn’t release his hold some.

  “If you need any help, just give me a call. I left my number on the table,” Lansing was already to the door.

  Zander pointed at the hand Wynn had bandaged. “Better have that looked at by a doc. Looked pretty painful.”

  “Not after Wynn’s touch. I’m all better.” He wagged his brows.

  Fucking bastard. Damn. Zander needed to step out and dump snow over his head. He had never been a jealous man and suddenly his skin was green like the Hulk.

  “Thank you again, Jeff. Now that I have a phone I can call you if I need to,” Wynn said.

  Grr. Zander almost swallowed his tongue. Wynn smiled at the man and an icy pain ripped through Zander. He didn’t own her smiles, but he certainly had wanted to think that this one certain grin was only his. He was losing his mind.

  Damn, he was jealous. Rudy was right. Zander was a goner.

  Once the deputy made his exit, Zander stood against the sink and crossed his arms, narrowing his gaze on Wynn. “He seemed very helpful.”

  “Yes, he was. He also gave me a phone he had just sitting around, then took me to the store and I was able to get service.” Her eyes lit up. “People around here are so helpful.”

  “A knight in shining armor right here in Crooked Creek.”<
br />
  She blinked. “What?”

  “Oh, nothing.” He set his glass in the sink.

  “Don’t tell me nothing when I can see there’s something.” She crossed her arms over her chest and tilted a hip. “Are you angry that I went over and got Susie-Q? I thought we agreed that I’d help take care of her.”

  At the mention of her name, the dog popped her head up for a lazy second then laid it back down.

  “No. She needs more activity.”

  “Okay then, what?”

  “I’ve just had a rough day. That’s all.” And he needed to get his head on straight. He couldn’t tell her the truth, that he had been thinking about her, wanting to see her, and it had thrown him for a loop to walk in and find Deputy Lansing in the kitchen making himself valuable. Zander had offered to help Wynn, but his every attempt seemed blocked by her words, “I can help myself”.

  “Jeff told me about the young girl found dead over on the farm. Do you or the Sheriff have any clue if it’s drug related or is it homicide?”

  He stared at her for as long as he could without coming off as an idiot. She looked radiant with her eyes shining, her cheeks flushed, and the yellow blouse hugged the curves of her upper body. He placed his hat next to the sink. “There are signs of foul play, but we won’t know anything until the preliminary testing comes back from the medical examiner.”

  “’Do things like this happen often here in Crooked Creek?” she said in a lowered voice as she grabbed up the bandage wrapper and tossed it into the trash.

  “No, not often, although the drug epidemic is getting bad all over the place,” he mumbled.

  “For a man of the law, I’d figure you’d keep your door locked. I opened the door, called out Susie-Q, and I could have easily robbed you blind.”

  He shrugged. “You wouldn’t find much. Because I am a lawman, I don’t keep anything of value at the house.” He skimmed his gaze over her hair. “You’re covered in paint.”

  “I guess I probably am.” She plucked at her hair.