Chapter Nineteen
“You like whiskey, Jinx?” Billy asked.
“I’ve been known to partake,” he said.
“Join me for a drink. I bet you don’t miss this old place.”
They sat outside the bunkhouse, listening to the men chatting from inside. “Not at all.”
Billy craned his neck to try and peek inside the open doorway. “Keep it down in there.”
Keifer Abbott, Keller’s brother, the newest hand, came out and greeted Jinx with a firm handshake. “Good to see you, Jinx.”
“It's good to see you, too.” Jinx liked the young man. He had a good head on his shoulders and a strong work ethic.
Billy poured two shot glasses full of amber liquid. “Want one too, Keifer?”
“Nah, I steer clear of the stuff.” He propped himself against the rail around the porch.
“That’s what you say now.” Billy laughed.
Jinx swallowed the whiskey and squinted. “You need to stop buying that cheap whiskey.”
“Now that you’re a Rose, talk to the boss about pay increases,” Billy snorted.
“I’m not a Rose,” Jinx corrected.
“You agree, kid?” Billy looked to Keifer for support.
“Don’t get me in the middle of this. I just started and want to keep my job.” Keifer hurried back inside.
“You didn’t want to speak to me about pay raises, did you?” Jinx sure the hell hoped not.
“I wanted to speak to you about something that deserves a bit of confidentiality,” he said in a lowered voice.
“Okay.”
With a quick glance over his shoulder, Billy eased in so he could talk privately. “I’m not a snoop. I just want to make that crystal clear.” He poured himself another shot glass. “But there’s been a couple of rumors circulating among the crew. Now I can’t say I haven’t talked a time or two and spread the mustard seed, but I have a sense of loyalty to you. When I first got here, you were good to me and looked out for me, and I figured it’s only fair that I do the same for you.”
“I appreciate that.” Jinx stretched his legs and hooked his ankles. There was a dull ache in his wounded leg.
There was always chatter going around at the bunkhouse. Some of the cowboys were worse than a tabloid magazine.
“The rumors are about you and that Betty Crocker lady, Lanah.” His words were slurred. He’d had a few drinks before Jinx got there. “Look, I know you. And you’re a married man now. But you need to be aware it was Fletcher who spun that rumor. Sure as the nose on the center of my face, he sat right there,” Billy flicked a thumb toward the house, “and told a couple of fellows that you and that Lanah chick is having a baby. Now, I ain’t believing that cockamamie bullshit. But that’s not the crest of the mountain. At the Autumn Festival, I saw her and Fletcher together, and they seemed about as snug as a bug in a rug.”
Jinx thought over the revelation. Before he could put the pieces together, a gunshot rang out through the night.
Both he and Billy jumped in alarm.
“What the hell was that?” Billy craned his neck trying to ascertain where the shot came from.
“It sounded like it came from the lake.” Jinx jumped up. “Grab a couple of the men and meet me there.”
Jinx jumped in the side-by-side that he’d been using to get around the ranch and took off toward the water as fast as the vehicle would carry him.
He barely had it in park when he jumped out and hurried toward the clearing.
Once he got there, Keller had Freedom in his arms, and Rigs Fletcher lay lying face down. Standing above him was a tall, burly man holding a gun. Jinx had no clue what had just happened, but before there was an opportunity to ask any questions, his cell buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw it was Justice calling.
“Are you alright?” he asked when he clicked ‘talk’.
“Yes. N-no. Can you come to Kent Downs’ house? He’s been shot.”
*****
Justice sat on Kent’s couch, a warm blanket around her shoulders, and her hands clasped in her lap so she could control the shaking. The house was bustling with activity. After calling for help, EMTs showed up and took Kent to the hospital. He was miraculously still alive after sustaining a gunshot wound to his midsection. Would he survive though? She had no clue. The injury looked life-threatening.
Sheriff Dussan had already asked her a couple of quick questions when he first arrived, and he was back. “I know this must have you turned upside down, Miss Rose, but I still have some questions as we try to put the pieces of the case together.”
She nodded. Although she wanted to get as far away from the house as possible, she knew she was the only one who could answer the necessary questions. “I understand.”
One of the deputies came over and muttered something to Sheriff Dussan. His perplexed expression had Justice curious. When he stepped back over, looking caught off guard, she asked, “Was that about Kent?”
“No, no.” The sheriff scrubbed his beefy hand across his mouth. “Where was I? Yes. So you said there was an altercation between Kent Downs and someone and then you heard gunshots?”
“Yes. I heard raised voices, but I couldn’t make out what was being said. When I came out to investigate, I saw Kent lying on the floor covered in blood, and his bodyguard Tribe was gone. That’s when I called for help.”
“What were you doing here, ma’am?”
Sheriff Dussan was a short, rather rotund man who reminded Justice of a weasel, and she didn’t trust him any more than she would Kent. The two were in business together so she was careful not to tell him too much. She was glad that she had been in her right mind enough to take all the documentation, and laptop, that Kent had given her and hid it in her purse before anyone arrived. It was important to keep the information concealed.
“Kent asked me to come. We were discussing business.”
Sheriff Dussan nodded. “What about Fletcher? Have any idea why he’d want Kent dead?”
She lifted her gaze. “I have no clue.”
“He’s a hand at Sagebrush Rose Ranch, right?”
“Yes, but I have no idea why Rigs was here or why he’d want to shoot Kent.”
Another curt nod in response and he scribbled something on his notepad. “There’s been an incident at the ranch.”
She narrowed her gaze. “An incident? What are you talking about?”
“I’m heading over there as soon as I leave here, but from what I can gather Tribe found Rigs Fletcher and shot him dead on Sagebrush Rose. I don’t have all the details, but it appears Fletcher had an unhealthy obsession for your sister, Freedom.”
“Freedom? Is she okay?” Fear bubbled up inside Justice.
“She’s fine,” Jinx answered. He was standing in the doorway, and a deputy had stopped him from coming inside.
“Let him pass,” Sheriff Dussan told his deputy.
As hurt and upset as Justice was over what Kent had told her, she’d never been happier to see anyone. She stood as he approached and he dragged her into his embrace for a tight hug. She felt her reserve slip, and it took all her control not to collapse into his arms and allow the emotions to pour from her.
“What happened to Freedom?” Her words were muffled because she had her face pressed into his chest.
“I don’t know the particulars, but I know Freedom is safe.” He pulled away, just enough so he could skate his gaze over her for a quick examination. “Are you okay?”
She swallowed against the emotion rising in her throat. “Yes. But Kent…he was shot.” She was fully aware of the tremble in her voice. A part of her wanted to fall into Jinx and explain what she’d been through, but another part couldn’t get past what she knew he’d done.
“Is she free to go?” Jinx asked Sheriff Dussan.
He pushed his mini notebook and pen back into his pocket. “She’s free to go but I might have some more questions after I speak to Kent. I need to get over to the ranch anyway.”
“Let’s go. Let’s get you home,” Jinx told her.
Once they were outside, she breathed in the fresh air into her parched lungs. “I need to grab a few things from my car and then I’d like you to take me home.” She grabbed the items she’d taken from Kent’s house and covered them with a jacket so no one would see.
In time she would have all the answers she needed.