Chapter Eleven #2
Rachel and Stetson made their way across the lobby toward them. Stetson shoved the small suitcase he was carrying into Roper’s hands. “Mom’s all yours,” he said. “I’ll see you tomorrow night at the big show. Good luck, man.” He rushed off as if he couldn’t wait to make his escape.
“I need to go, too,” Roper said. “I just wanted to be here when you arrived, Mother.” He brushed a kiss on her cheek. “I’ll see you later. Maybe tonight we can go out for a nice dinner.”
“You can join us in our room, if you like. I don’t plan to eat out.
It’s too expensive—what with all the noise and the people.
” Rachel sniffed the air, an expression of distaste on her face.
“It smells like cigarettes in here,” she said.
“And how does anybody stand that hellish noise from the casino? Get me up to the room, Cheyenne. We drove all night to get here. What I need now is a nice, long nap.”
Cheyenne took the suitcase from Roper and escorted her mother to the elevators. Since most people were coming down at this hour, they had a car going up to themselves. No sooner had the doors closed than Rachel impaled Cheyenne with her laser-like gaze.
“Have you been all right here? Has Roper been looking out for you?”
“I’ve been fine,” Cheyenne said. “And Roper’s been keeping a sharp eye on me. His room is right across the hall. You’ll see when we get there.”
“What about that young man? The one who owns the red horse? Is he behaving like a gentleman—and are you making sure he does?”
“Hayden? We’re just friends—barely that. Please, Mother, I’m not fifteen anymore. Can’t you please stop hovering over me?”
“If I’d done more hovering when you were eighteen, you wouldn’t have been allowed to go to that big horse show in Scottsdale with that … that devil. You told me he could be trusted.”
Cheyenne shook her head. “Please, let’s not do this. It was in the past. I’ve moved on. I should never have told you what happened.”
“You shouldn’t have kept it from me for so long. Almost two years, and then you tell me.”
Cheyenne would never forget the fight they’d had earlier that summer.
It had started in the kitchen, after supper, when Rachel had been giving her yet another sermon on the importance of remaining a virgin until her wedding night.
“Your purity is the most precious gift you can give your husband—anything less is second-rate, like settling for a used car instead of a new one. A worthy man, one who respects you, will want the best. And when he sees you walk down the aisle in that perfect white dress, he’ll know that you’ve kept yourself just for—”
Cheyenne’s self-control had exploded. “Stop it, Mother! You’re too late! I’m not a virgin! I’ll never be a virgin again!”
While Rachel had gazed at her in shocked disbelief, Cheyenne had poured out the whole story in brutal detail, sparing her nothing. By the end of it, Rachel’s pale face had been streaked with tears.
“You poor, poor girl,” she’d said. “This was my fault. I should never have let you go with him.”
“You couldn’t have stopped me. I wanted to learn about reining, and he’d offered to teach me. Then I found out what he really wanted.”
Cheyenne had left with her brothers on the rodeo circuit the next day. When she came home days later, Rachel had treated her as always, except that the words virgin and pure had disappeared from her lectures.
The elevator had stopped on the fourteenth floor.
Cheyenne ushered her mother out through the doors and down the long hallway.
As they passed the door to Buck’s room, she couldn’t help wondering if he was still in town.
She wanted to see him one more time, to thank him and wish him good luck with Fire Dance.
At least with her horse on his ranch, they’d have a reason to keep in touch.
She unlocked the door, carried Rachel’s suitcase inside, and set it on the luggage rack.
Housekeeping had cleaned the room in her absence.
Everything was in order. Rachel made a beeline for the bathroom.
While she was inside, Cheyenne took a moment to check her phone.
In the short time since she’d last checked, there were three new texts. The first one was from Hayden.
Hey, I didn’t mean to scare you off. I hope we can get together again while you’re still here. What are you doing tonight?
Dismissing the message until later, she scrolled to the next one. It was from Sam Rafferty.
Cheyenne, I need your mother to refresh my memory of what she recalls from the night of the crime. Please let me know when she’s available, the sooner the better.
Cheyenne hesitated, suddenly uneasy. Was Sam already putting a case together? Would her mother’s testimony help Roper or hurt him?
Mother is here but she’s tired, she texted back. I’ll ask her and let you know.
She left Buck’s message for last, hoping it was good news. She needed that today, and she needed to hear from him.
Fergus just left with Fire Dance in his trailer. The stallion was so tired he didn’t put up much of a fight. We even got some water down him. I’ll be staying here tonight, maybe leave with Chief tomorrow. Enjoy your family. Good luck to Roper.
Thank you, Buck. I love you.
She deleted the last sentence and sent the message as her mother walked out of the bathroom, wiping her hands. “How much is this room costing you?” Rachel demanded. “There have to be cheaper places around.”
Cheyenne sighed, reminding herself that her mother’s frugality had gotten the family through some rough times. “There are cheaper places. But trust me, you don’t want to stay there.”
“Hmmph. I can imagine.” She sat down on the bed.
“I got a text from Sam Rafferty, the FBI man,” Cheyenne said. “He needs to come up and talk to you again about the night Frank died.”
“I’ve told him all I know. Do I really need to do it again?” she asked. “Can’t I just say no?”
“This man is FBI, Mother. If he wants to talk to you, he can.”
“I was going to read my Bible and take a nap. But all right. I might as well get it over with. Tell him to come up. But I want you in the room while he’s questioning me. I don’t want him twisting my words around.”
Cheyenne sent the text. Sam replied immediately. He was on his way. A few minutes later, Cheyenne answered his knock on the door of their room.
All morning, as he weighed Darrin’s death against Hayden’s secret revelation, Sam had sensed that he was missing something—something simple and true that was right in front of him.
Desperate for answers, he decided to go back to back to the early interview that stood between Roper and his arrest for murder—his mother’s sworn testimony that, on the night in question, he’d been at home and never left.
Now, Rachel McKenna sat facing him in a high-backed, overstuffed chair, while Cheyenne hovered behind her. “Thank you for seeing me, Mrs. McKenna,” he said. “I’ll try not to take too much of your time.”
“I can’t see as I had much choice about seeing you, Agent,” Rachel said. “Now, let’s get this over with.”
“Fine.” Sam cleared his throat and switched on his miniature recorder. After the introduction, he began. “Mrs. McKenna, will you tell us, in your own words, what happened on the night in question?”
“Like I said, it was after midnight. My husband, my son, Roper, and I were home. My other four children were away at a rodeo.” Rachel paused, thinking.
“We were all in bed. I’d seen my son go to bed.
He slept in the next room, so I knew he was there.
I’m a light sleeper, and I never heard him leave the ranch, never even heard his truck. ”
“What about your husband?”
“Kirby was snoring. The man could sleep through a train wreck. He wouldn’t remember anything about this.”
“Can you tell us what happened next? What time was it?”
“I didn’t look at the clock. Maybe about two. I heard our dog barking outside. Big old mutt, just a ranch dog. He sleeps on the porch. Anyway, there’s this skunk that tries to eat his food. I figured he must be barking at it, so I thought I’d get up and run the critter off before it sprayed.
“I was about to get out of bed when I heard Roper moving in the next room, like he was putting on his boots to go outside and take care of the skunk himself.
The screen door slammed shut, and the dog quit barking.
I decided to wait for Roper in the kitchen to make sure everything was all right.
So I got up, put on my bathrobe, and sat down at the table.
“A few minutes later, I heard him come back inside through the kitchen door. I asked him what happened. He said the skunk ran off and he had to put the dog in the barn to keep him from going after it. After that, we both went back to bed. I lay awake for the rest of the night. If Roper had left after that, I’d have heard him.
” She frowned at Sam. “See? The same as I told you before. And it’s God’s truth.
My son is innocent, Mr. Rafferty. Now, are we finished? ”
“Just a couple more questions,” Sam said, remembering something Roper mentioned. “When Roper came back into the kitchen, do you remember what was he wearing?”
“He sleeps in his skivvies, but he had to pull on his boots to rush outside and grab the dog. He was wearing skivvies with boots to protect his feet. The kitchen was dark, but not that dark. I could see well enough to tell. That’s another reason why I know he hadn’t gone anywhere else. He wasn’t dressed.”
“And what were you wearing?”
“I told you, my bathrobe.” Rachel sounded annoyed and impatient to be done. “It’s the old-fashioned kind, blue chenille and long, with ties around the waist. I got it from my children last Christmas. And for the record, my son’s briefs were white Fruit of the Loom. Any more questions?”
“I believe that’s all.” Sam switched off the recorder and stood. “Thank you, Mrs. McKenna. I won’t trouble you any more today. Enjoy the Run for a Million tomorrow night.”