Coming Home: Haven, Montana Series

by Jill Sanders

  She was also a better shot than him when it came down to it. He’d grown up around guns and had been taken on many hunting trips before and after Gavin Laster’s death. That was one thing his old man had insisted he know how to hunt and kill things, something he still struggled with to this day. Oh, he liked the being out in nature part of hunting, he just didn’t see much need to take down a beautiful creature, not when he had no need for the meat or hide like his grandfather Blackfoot had taught him.

  “It’s just up here.” His mind cleared as they stepped off the road. “We should see it by now,” he whispered, looking off into the dark. He flipped off his flashlight and tucked it back into the side pocket of the bag on his shoulder. He didn’t want to spook anyone inside with the lights. That is, if there was anyone inside.

  Mia had followed and tucked her smaller flashlight into her coat pocket.

  “I’ll go around the back.” He motioned to the large wooden building. “You take the front door.”

  He remembered that the old building didn’t have any windows, at least none that he knew of. He’d never been inside but had gone by it enough times that he knew the thing was large enough to host an illegal drug operation.

  “Wait five minutes, then go in,” he warned her. “Be careful.” He disappeared into the darkness.

  It was slow going moving around the massive building in the darkness as the snow continued to fall. The cloud coverage blocked out any light from the moon and stars that could have benefited them.

  He stumbled more than once as he made his way around the building. Finally, he reached the back-corral area where the Meier’s cattle used to enter the barn.

  Jumping over the low fence, he stopped and listened for any signs of movement. Since he hadn’t seen any vehicles outside and noticed a large area filled with tire tracks. They must have come up one of the side roads or trails. But, looking at the slew of mud and tracks, he was betting the place was empty now. Still, he knew better than to let his guard down.

  Moving towards the front of the building, his gun in his hands, he tensed when he heard a board creak in the distance.

  Holding his breath, he listened and heard lighter footsteps.

  “Mia?” He knew immediately it was her when he heard a soft curse.

  “Yeah,” she said, and he followed the sound of her voice and the light from her flashlight. “Better call Tom.” She sighed, shining her light on a body.

  His first thought was that someone else had OD’d, but then he saw the massive hole in Gary’s chest. The mailman was staring up at the ceiling with a frozen gaze.

  “God damn it.” Brian groaned. “Shit.” He pulled out his phone and called Tom.

  “Hey, did you have a problem getting home?” Tom answered the phone, lighthearted.

  “No, we’re up at the old Meier’s barn.”

  “Damn it, what are you doing up there in this weather tonight. I thought we all talked about—”

  He wasn’t in the mood to get berated.

  “Tom, you’d better get up here,” he interrupted. “We found Gary. From the looks of it, he was shot a few hours ago. You’ll need the coroner.”

  “What?” Tom’s voice changed. “Seriously? You found the drugs?”

  “No,” Brian answered, shining his light around the old building. “Whoever was here has moved on.” He could see that at one point, the operation had probably been there. Hell, maybe even as early as that morning. But now, the place was clean. Too clean. Which meant something had spooked them, forcing them to move on and get rid of one of their dealers. Maybe it was what happened to Darla? Maybe it was just bad timing. Either way, they were gone and now they were back to square one.

  “Shit,” Tom said softly. Then Brian heard his mother berate the man and him apologize to her for cursing. “I’m on my way…” He thought Tom was going to hang up, but then he came back. “You’d better clear out. I’d hate to have to explain to everyone else why you and Mia were there.”

  He silently agreed. “How are you going to explain finding Gary?” he asked.

  “I’ll think of something.” Tom sighed. “I’ll wait half an hour, then head up there and call it in.”

  “Thanks.” He nodded to Mia. “We’ll be cleared out of here by then.” He hung up and turned to Mia.

  “I’m not leaving here without a good look around,” she said, turning on the large flashlight he’d brought with them. He helped her comb the entire area, making sure not to leave any footprints or disturb any evidence around Gary.

  The fact that the old barn floor had been raked clear told them that whoever was running the operation knew what they were doing.

  “Back to square one,” Mia said as they made their way down the road towards his car.

  “Yeah.” He sighed and unlocked the SUV. “I’ll need to cover our tracks.” He handed her the keys. “You pull out and get on the road.” He pulled a shovel out of the back of the car.

  “Don’t be long.” She leaned up and kissed him. “I’ll wait for you at the turnoff.” She climbed in and started the car while he got to work covering their tire tracks. It wouldn’t do to have the investigators looking at them for the murder.

  Even if they could explain why they were there, he didn’t want too many more people in town to know what they were really doing in Haven.

  It took him less than ten minutes to cover their tracks and climb back into the SUV with Mia at the wheel.

  “Think you can get us down the hill in one piece?” he asked.

  She glared at him and threw the car into gear.

  “Why do you think they killed Gary?” she asked as they made it to the bottom of the road and turned onto the main road into town.

  “It could have something to do with Tom bringing him in for questioning after Darla confirmed that it was Gary who had given her the pills.”

  “True. Still, Tom says they didn’t get any more information from Gary on who the supplier was.”

  “The supplier doesn’t know that.”

  “Yeah. We’ve seen it a dozen times.”

  “Even if he had talked, I doubt we could have protected him. Not if the operation is as big as we think.”

  “What are you thinking?” she asked. “At least half a dozen people involved?”

  “Possibly more.” He shrugged. “Based on the size of the area cleaned out in the barn, I’d wager closer to a dozen.”

  “Right,” she agreed again as she pulled into the driveway. “What now?” She turned off the car.

  “Now, we wait.” He leaned his head back on the headrest. “Does this get old for you?” he asked, turning slightly so he could see her.

  Her eyes were locked straight ahead as if she was deep in thought.

  “It’s all I know. All I have,” she admitted.

  He shifted towards her slightly. “What if it wasn’t?”

  Her eyes moved over to his.

  “But it is,” she said, a look of determination behind her hazel eyes.

  His eyes ran over her face, and he could tell there was more than determination behind them, there was fear.

  “What are you afraid of?” he asked, taking her hand in his.

  “What’s there not to be afraid of.” She looked at their joined hands. “People are unreliable.” Her eyes avoided his. “If there’s one thing that has been steady in my life, it’s that lesson.”

  “Not everyone is cut from the same mold,” he suggested.

  “No,” she agreed. “But the ones I seem to find are.” She started to get out of the car, but he took her arm and held her in place.

  “Am I?”

  Her eyes met his and he could tell she was thinking.

  “Only time will tell,” she said, easily breaking free from his light grip and climbing out of the car.

  Chapter 17

  She hadn’t meant to hurt Brian, but the fact that he remained silent the rest of the night told her that she had.

  They waited for the call from Tom that everything
was taken care off, both of them lying in bed, unable to sleep.

  The call came around two in the morning. Brian jumped up from the darkness and answered the call.

  “Yeah.” He listened, and Mia could hear someone talking to him. “Yeah, thanks. Okay, see you in the morning,” he added before hanging up.

  “Tom?” she asked.

  “Yeah, we’re meeting him and my mom for breakfast where he’ll fill us in.” He shifted back into bed and surprised her by reaching over and pulling her closer. “Now, let’s get some sleep. We’re going to have an early morning.”

  Having his arms wrapped around her, feeling his chest rise and fall with each breath, hearing his heartbeat next to her, helped her fall into a deep sleep quickly.

  When she woke, Brian was already in the shower. Feeling slightly off-kilter, she showered in the other bathroom and dressed quickly.

  As they drove through town and parked at the Dancing Moose, they didn’t say anything more to one another.

  “Morning.” Brian walked in and kissed his mother’s cheek.

  Tom looked tired but still better than she felt after only a few hours of sleep. They picked a booth in the back of the diner so they could have a little more privacy.

  “Well?” Brian asked after they placed their drink orders.

  Tom sighed. “Gary was shot with a .22 straight to the chest. Even if you had shown up a few hours earlier, there was nothing you could have done. The bullet must have ripped directly through his heart.”

  “Poor Gary.” Rea sniffled.

  “Who else knows?” Brian asked, looking around the diner.

  “As of two this morning, just a handful of people, including cops and the coroner. So naturally, by now, everyone in town knows,” he said, glancing around himself.

  Sure enough, as Mia looked around the busy diner, the mood was somber.

  “Who knew he was being questioned for dealing?” Brian asked.

  “Only three of us at the office. We decided to keep that part to ourselves. His employer was bound to find out, after we had more evidence to charge him.”

  “Right. So, we still have this contained… partially,” Brian said. Obviously, whoever found out that he was being questioned about dealing is a suspect… Unless Gary went and told them himself…”

  “That would be stupid,” Tom added.

  “Right, and Gary didn’t hit me as the stupid type,” Brian said.

  “He was dealing drugs,” Rea added.

  “True.” Brian sighed.

  “From what we can tell, he’d been having financial problems. His wife, Shelia, mentioned something about possibly losing their house.”

  “Can you confirm, now that he’s…”

  “Been murdered?” Rea added, a tone of disgust in her voice.

  “Mom, it’s our job. We have to act…” Brian started.

  “Impersonal?” she supplied.

  “Well, yes, sometimes,” he answered. “If we get emotional, how can we do our jobs?”

  “Rea.” Mia reached over and took her hand. “I know this seems harsh, but if we’re going to honor Gary’s memory and catch his killer, we need to think practical.”

  Rea sighed and closed her eyes. “You’re right.” She smiled over at Mia. “The entire town will be getting together in the next few days to honor Gary. You might keep an eye out then and see who acts… strange.”

  “Great idea.” Brian smiled over at his mother.

  Just then, the waitress appeared again and took their order. But not before leaning in and whispering to Tom.

  “Is it true? Someone killed Gary?”

  Tom handled the woman gracefully without giving away too much information. The only people who knew how Gary had been killed had all been sworn to secrecy. If they were going to catch the killer, they had to either wait until they slipped up or outsmart them. Unless they got lucky.

  Still, as they ate breakfast, her eyes kept scanning the room. She didn’t know as many people as the rest of them, which gave her an advantage in some areas. She wasn’t biased for or against people. She didn’t overlook even the normal-looking housewife.

  To her, they were all strangers ready to be scrutinized. Several men came into the diner in a small group, laughing. Instantly, the entire diner quieted as they took seats at the bar top.

  “Those are some of the guys from the school,” Tom added quietly.

  “Troublemakers?” Brian asked.

  “Yeah, nothing like you used to be, but still…”

  “Enough to draw attention. Think they could be involved?”

  Tom glanced over at the trio. “No, but it’s worth looking into.” When he started to shift out of the booth, Brian shook his head.

  “Later,” he sighed. “I don’t want people seeing us as being close to the investigation.” His eyes moved over to Rea. “And if we’re going to make progress here, we need to do more to get me in with the dealers. Sorry, but I’m going to have to cause a scene if we’re going to get people to buy that I’m my old self.”

  Mia watched Rea’s eyes shift with uncertainty. “I… understand.”

  She watched Brian take a deep breath and then, after standing up quickly, he threw out a string of curse words.

  Mia, along with the rest of the table, was a little shocked.

  “I told you, I don’t give a shit what you think. I’ve had enough of you controlling my life. Come on Mia, let’s go.”

  Raising her chin a little, she figured it would help the situation if she joined in the fun.

  “No, don’t talk to your mother that way. She was just concerned for you.” Mia crossed her arms over her chest. “Screw off.” She jerked her head away and felt her heartbeat double as Brian glared down at her.

  “Fine, all of you can just go…” Mia almost laughed, knowing Brian had run himself into a corner. “Fuck off,” he finally screamed and tossed his almost empty plate onto the ground, shattering it and his glass, which toppled over. Then he stormed out of the building under the watchful eyes of everyone in the room.

  “Oh dear,” Rea said, tears sliding down her face as Tom tried to comfort her.

  When Tom tried to get out again and chase down Brian, Mia grabbed his arm.

  “No, let him cool off,” she said loud enough for everyone to hear. “I have the car keys. He can walk home and cool off.”

  She heard several people chuckle and knew that their point had gotten across. The gossip would spread as fast as the news of Gary’s death had in the small town.

  “I don’t know if I can handle something like that again,” Rea said softly after the tears had all dried up. “It’s too close to…” She shook her head and closed her eyes.

  “Hey.” Mia reached across the table and took her hand again. “He’s a changed man. In the past year…” She lowered her voice. “I’ve only seen him get pissed like that twice.” She took a deep breath and remembered finding the preteen in the back alley with a needle in his arm. “Once when it was well deserved and the other when he accidentally hit a deer.”

  “He always did hate killing animals,” Rea said with a slight smile. “That’s how I knew he was still good in here…” She tapped her chest. “Even with everything he’d done… I still knew.”

  “I’m sorry he hurt you.” It was strange, but defending Brian now somehow made her realize that pulling away from him was for the best. After all, she’d only known him for a year. What did she really know about him?

  Even if she knew that how he’d just acted was out of the ordinary, that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t go off and break her heart.

  “Thank you for breakfast,” she said, once they were standing outside.

  “Oh.” Tom snapped his fingers. “I meant to tell you—Darla checked herself into that clinic outside of Helena. I thought Brian would like to know.”

  “Thanks.” She smiled up at Tom. “I suppose I need to go see if he’s made it home okay.” She glanced down the road.

  The sidewalks were cleared
of snow and the streets had been plowed earlier that morning. How had she not seen how charming the town was before now? Holiday wreaths and lights hung on every streetlight.

  As she drove slowly through town, she glanced in all the little shops and wondered what it would be like to live there, permanently.

  Daydreaming, she found that she could just see herself shopping in a couple of the boutiques that filled the older buildings down the main street. There was even a larger store, Granger’s, that she and Brian had gone into together a few times to get some items.

  As she started to drive by it, she was slightly surprised to see Brian standing outside of the store, talking to a man she hadn’t met yet.

  She parked across the parking lot and waited until he was done talking to the guy.

  She watched the drug deal go down. Brian shifted the small bag of pills into his pocket smoothly as the dealer pocketed the cash as they shook hands.

  “Smooth.” She sighed and wondered why it was such a turn on that she knew Brian was working instead of scoring.

  The man went into the store and Brian started walking across the parking lot, but not towards their car. Instead, as his eyes met hers he mouthed, “Heading to the Spot” to her.

  She nodded and watched him pass in front of the car as if they didn’t know each other.

  She waited a few minutes, then decided to do a little of her own recon. She stepped out of the car and entered the store.

  Grabbing a cart, she started slowly walking the aisles of the store. She found the man near the back of the store, talking to one of the employees and, while she pretended to look at a bucket of hammers, she listened in.

  “Man, I told you, never come here during work hours,” the employee said, glancing around. Since she was kneeling over the bucket of hammers, they continued to talk. She had set herself up so that the row of mirrors showed her the men behind her easily enough.

  “I know, but I’m out. I just sold the last bag,” the guy said proudly.

  “Shit.” The employee wiped his hands. “Come back later tonight. I’m getting more after closing.”