Smokescreen (Pros and Cons Mysteries #2)

Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

“ T hanks for coming.” Reid Harrison closed the door to his massive office before returning to the seat behind his thick, wooden desk at Thunder Ridge Ranch.

Olive and Trick followed him inside and took seats across from him.

They’d just arrived in town and, in order to stay in character, Reid had sent someone to the airport to pick them up. They’d both been escorted inside his massive house, and their luggage had been placed near the front door.

Olive preferred having her own vehicle to use while she was on assignment, but she’d have to make the best of this situation. Being pampered was part of her persona.

She’d flown into town to spend time with Reid under the guise of being his new girlfriend. Trick had flown here to begin his job. Since there were so few flights in and out of the local airport, it made sense that they’d arrived at the same time.

Olive glanced at Reid Harrison. Even though she’d spoken with him via video call and had seen pictures of the man, Reid was taller and fitter than she’d envisioned. He wore tight jeans with a blue-and-white chambray shirt. His hair was thick and dark brown but cut short. A neatly trimmed beard and mustache covered his lower face.

She supposed that, by all definitions, Reid was a cowboy—a very wealthy cowboy—who dressed the part because he wanted to, not because he worked the land himself.

He was the heir of the Harrison estate—which included more than five hundred thousand acres of prime ranch land in the heart of Wyoming. His property was located about an hour east of the Grand Tetons, and only fifteen minutes from Vulture Gulch.

Yes, the nearest town was named Vulture Gulch. The name evoked quite a few mental pictures.

The county had three thousand residents, half of whom were ranchers or worked on ranches. The rest were either retired or worked in retail shops in town.

“We’re happy to do anything we can to help,” Trick said.

Reid leaned back casually in his chair and steepled his hands in front of him. “As you know, I believe my ranch is being targeted—sabotaged, for that matter. I’ve been blacklisted from several different auctions, which seriously hinders my opportunities in the cattle market. One of my ranch hands is missing. And I have no idea what the motive is for these . . . these events . Someone clearly has it out for me. I need you two to figure out who is behind this before I lose my land or someone gets seriously hurt—or worse.”

“What’s happened here has been unfortunate,” Trick said.

“To say the least.” Reid’s voice remained casual, but his gaze looked preoccupied and heavy, as if recent events weighed on him.

“Tell us about your missing employee.” Olive had done her own research, but she wanted to hear what he had to say.

“Andy has been missing for two weeks now.” Reid slid a picture across his desk. “He was a ranch hand here, and he’s the one who was accused of injuring other livestock at the last auction.”

Olive picked up the photo and studied the image of the twenty-four-year-old with his shaggy brown hair and greenish-brown eyes. He wasn’t particularly handsome, not in a traditional sense, at least. His teeth were too crooked, his nose slightly too large, and his hair too unkept.

“Would he have injured livestock?” Trick asked.

“Never.” Reid’s voice left no room for doubt. “He isn’t a cruel person, and I definitely never asked him to do something like that. A man’s reputation means everything.”

Olive could appreciate that sentiment.

“Where was he the last time he was seen?” she asked. “What was he doing?”

“He went into town to pick up some supplies,” Reid said. “No one has seen him since.”

“His truck?” Trick asked.

“We found it on the side of the road between the ranch and the town.”

Olive wondered if that gun she’d seen those two men putting in Skip’s office had anything to do with Andy’s disappearance. She hadn’t heard about any other crimes happening in this part of the state recently.

“I’ll do everything I can to find out answers about his disappearance,” Trick assured him.

“I hope so.” Reid sat up straighter. “We’ve also had some minor incidents here at the ranch. Flat tires on my tractors. Our hay was contaminated with some kind of mold—thankfully we caught that before feeding it to the animals. One of our guys was doing some work in the barn when the ladder broke, and he fell and fractured a rib.”

Individually, those things might not seem like a big deal.

But put them together?

Something was going on. Something that could easily escalate.

“Trick, as we’ve discussed, the best place to put you here is working as a ranch hand,” Reid continued. “That way you’ll be able to overhear the gossip between the guys.”

“Gossiping cowboys? Seems like a paradox.” Olive flashed a quick grin.

“They’re worse than a bunch of schoolgirls with nothing but time on their hands.” Reid shook his head in disapproval.

“Good to know,” Trick said.

“We’ve hired four new ranch hands recently,” Reid continued. “Any of them could be responsible for the sabotage that’s taken place.”

“We’ll need their names so we can look into them,” Trick said.

“Be happy to provide that.” Reid turned toward Olive. “Your boss and I talked extensively about what your role should be. As I’m sure you know, we decided it would be best if you pretend to be my new girlfriend. It will be the perfect position for you to stay in the house and overhear the chatter among the staff here. Plus, it will give you access to my social circles.”

“So you believe the person behind this is someone close to you?” Olive questioned.

“It’s my best guess. But I don’t want to get tunnel vision either.” He paused. “Your agency comes to me highly recommended. I hear you’re the best.”

“We’re good at what we do,” Trick said. “If someone on your staff is behind this, then we’ll find them. If it’s not someone on your staff, we’ll still find them.”

Reid stood. “I know we still have a lot to discuss. Patrick, I’m going to have my foreman show you to the bunkhouse where you’ll be staying. While you get settled in, I’ll give Olive a personal tour of the ranch. I want both of your arrivals here to seem natural.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Olive rose.

She’d known before coming to this massive ranch that she needed to dress the part of someone Reid Harrison would date. She’d done her research and knew the type of woman Reid was usually attracted to.

Slender. Check. That was thanks to both her genes and her workout routine.

Polished. Also check. She normally left her brown curls wild and untamed. Sometimes she used a tool to make them soft and more romantic. Still other times she straightened most of her hair and only added a slight wave at the end. For this assignment, it would be straight.

Affluent. Another check. Tevin had made sure the backstory about her family’s very profitable vineyard lined up.

“Very well then.” Reid glanced back at Trick again. “I’m going to introduce you to Cooper Domenech, my foreman. Olive, if you’ll give us a minute.”

“Of course.”

As Reid and Trick left the room, Olive began wandering the office, soaking in as much information about Reid Harrison as she could. She’d already done research online about the man. However, seeing someone in person and going inside their home always peeled back another layer.

The man had an impressive library. Olive had expected mostly business books. Instead, his shelves boasted a number of classics and even a well-worn Bible.

After she perused the books, she paused beside some shelves displaying not only trophies of his champion horses but pictures as well. One of the photos showed Reid with his mom and dad, Carl and Loretta Harrison.

Loretta had died fifteen years ago in a horse accident, and Carl passed away of a heart attack only three years ago.

Reid had no brothers or sisters other than a stepsister from his father’s second marriage, which had only lasted five years before they had divorced.

“See anything you like?”

Olive turned at the deep voice. Reid leaned in the doorway with an almost cocky look on his face. He’d been watching her, hadn’t he?

“That was fast,” she said.

“My foreman was waiting outside just like I asked.”

Olive would guess Reid’s employees knew to be punctual and to do exactly what he said or else. It wasn’t that he seemed cruel. But he definitely seemed like someone who couldn’t be walked on.

“C. S. Lewis has always been a favorite of mine,” she told him.

Creating a bond between them would work in their favor—and finding things they shared in common would help make their relationship seem more believable.

He tilted his head to the side, part of his lip curled in a smile. “Is that real, or is this a part of your persona?”

A grin flickered across her lips. “It’s definitely real. Lewis is one of my favorites. Till We Have Faces is a masterpiece.”

Surprise fluttered through Reid’s gaze as he joined her by the bookcase. “I agree.”

As he got closer, Olive caught a whiff of his woodsy cologne. It was very nice—and very expensive.

The familiar scent made her mind flash back to Jason Stewart. He wore a similar-smelling cologne that she’d found tantalizing.

She’d never expected to run into her first and only love during her last assignment three months ago. But she had. Their time together had been sweet . . . or maybe bittersweet was the better word—especially since she’d had to leave Chicago soon after.

In her line of work, it was difficult to have any type of relationship other than that with her coworkers. She’d long ago extinguished the hope of seriously dating or settling down. Once she’d shelved that idea, she’d taken the key to that mental library and thrown it into the abyss.

It was the single life for her. It was best that way.

She also knew that thirty-six-year-old Reid Harrison was the type who’d had a lot of girlfriends. A lot of very beautiful girlfriends. Yet he’d remained single.

Olive found his relationship status interesting. The fact he’d never married didn’t fit her profile of him.

Reid seemed like the type who’d want a beautiful woman at his side, one who’d go along with the rest of the trophies in his life. Trophies including this ginormous house, this sprawling estate, and the best of everything the world had to offer.

If ranching was a kingdom, then Reid Harrison was the king.

Olive had several preconceived ideas about the man, and she was anxious to know if any of them were correct.

He studied her another moment, and Olive let him. She didn’t flinch or look away. Instead, she waited for his conclusions.

“Is this going to be awkward?” Reid pointed his finger back and forth between the two of them.

“You and me pretending to date?” She thought about it before shrugging. “Maybe. But you’re not a public display of affection type of guy, so that will make it easier.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Did you discover that in your research?”

“It was easy to see as I rifled through online photos of you.”

Five years ago, Thunder Ridge Ranch had been featured on a reality series where celebrities learned about living and working on a real-life ranch. The show had lasted three seasons and put Reid in the spotlight during a time when cowboys were all the rage.

Online magazines had featured stories on Reid, and reporters loved talking about his potential love life.

Reid had even dated a couple of actresses, but none of those relationships had stuck.

“Anyway, the fact you’re not into PDA will work in our favor,” Olive continued. “We’ll just need to get our cover story straight as far as how and when we met. All those details are important if we’re going to sell the idea our relationship is real.”

“Then how about we take a walk around the ranch now?” He nodded toward the door. “I’ll show you around, and we can discuss those things.”

Olive smiled. “That sounds like a plan.”

As they took a step toward the door, her phone buzzed.

“Excuse me a minute.” She stole a look at the screen.

The blood drained from her face when she saw the words.

I know who murdered your family, and you don’t. This has got to be killing you.