Chapter 21
Twenty-One
After lunch everyone split up and headed out to complete their assignments. Jenna, Kane, and Carter made their way to the hay shed. Jenna glanced at her notes. “Tex Williams is the hay shed lead. I guess we ask him if we can speak to the women who bunked with Marie?”
“Leave it to me.” Carter popped a toothpick in his mouth and headed toward the man in charge.
Cattle and horse ranches all had the similar aromas.
To Jenna, being in a hay shed was like being at home, but this one was a hive of activity.
It smelled of dust, diesel, and sweat. As the workers moved the bales into position, dust and loose chaff danced in shafts of sunlight streaming through the cracks in the walls.
A few moments later, Carter arrived with four women.
They looked up as Jenna approached, their faces tight with worry.
Their attitude concerned her and she tried to put them at ease.
“Thanks for stopping work. We won’t keep you very long.
We just need to chase down a few things about Marie Reyes. ”
Jenna noticed their attention moving fleetingly toward Kane and back.
His size often intimidated people but he just stood beside her, arms folded with an unreadable expression.
The first woman introduced herself as Tove Ruuskanen, tall and fair with her blonde hair braided tightly.
Jenna liked her immediately. “I guess you’ve heard that we found a body in one of the cattle graves who we believe is Marie. ”
“We’ve been talking about nothing else since we heard the terrible news.” Tove’s Finnish accent clipped the words neatly. “How can we possibly help you?”
Jenna looked from one to the other. “I am trying to piece together a timeline of her activity on Thursday. We’re aware that she worked all day and ate dinner with you. It’s from dinner onward that we need to trace her steps. Maybe we should start with how well you knew her.”
“I am Turid Solberg.” Another woman stepped forward, removed her gloves, and pushed them into her back pocket and then brushed hay from her jeans.
“We only knew her for a few weeks, Sheriff. The four of us arrived on the same bus together, but I can tell you that she was friendly and talked to everyone.” Her Norwegian lilt softened the edges of her voice.
“What do you recall about Thursday night?” Kane looked at the third woman. “Did anything unusual happen?”
“Tiffany Emerson from New Zealand, nice to meet you.” She folded her arms and leaned against one of the posts. “When we were eating dinner, she asked everyone along the table if they knew anyone going into town. She wanted a ride to the bus station.”
Jenna nodded. “So she was in a hurry to leave?”
“Seems so. She was asking the guys.” A Canadian by the name of Susan Glysz met Jenna’s gaze. “She needed to get to Blackwater, but she didn’t seem upset or anything.”
“Did she say why she needed to go in such a hurry?” Carter raised both his eyebrows.
“Yeah, she had a job offer in Blackwater at the Broken Bridge Ranch.” Tove nodded. “She mentioned wanting a change of scenery. As far as I know, everything was arranged by phone.”
“Did any of you see who she left with?” Kane straightened and looked from one to the other. “Or overhear who offered to give her a ride—or suggested someone?”
“No.” Tiffany frowned. “She didn’t say anything to us before she left. She picked up her backpack from the bunkhouse, gave us a wave, and then walked off toward the equipment yard. That’s the last time I saw her.”
“There’s something else you should know about.” Susan lifted her chin. “It’s Zoe, Zoe Carpenter. She didn’t come back to the bunkhouse last night and we haven’t seen her. She’s usually working right alongside us during the day.”
“When did you last see her?” Kane’s jaw tightened and he exchanged a look with Jenna.
“Dinner.” Tiffany moved around uneasily. “She didn’t sit at the table. She just grabbed a plate and said she’d be back later but never showed.”
A ripple of unease crept down Jenna’s spine. “Did Zoe know Marie very well?”
“No more than we did, but they talked.” Susan shrugged. “Everyone does. We’re all stuck in the same bunkhouse. It’s not exactly the Hilton.”
Jenna needed to dig deeper, and she looked slowly from one woman to the other.
“This is really important. Do you recall Marie mentioning anything about being concerned about someone here at the ranch? She seemed to leave abruptly as if she was running away from something. Did she mention any concerns to you about anyone or anything?”
“She seemed a little on edge last week.” Turid frowned.
“The men here are always asking us to sit with them for meals or to go for a drink. It’s innocent enough, I guess, but it gets annoying after a time.
Marie used to complain about them being overly attentive.
This is something you come up against frequently when doing seasonal work.
At some of the places I’ve worked everyone has been really great and other times I’ve left early because of the sexist environment. ”
“Do you remember the name of anyone she complained about?” Carter tipped back his Stetson and eyed her critically. “No one will know if you gave us a name.” He glanced behind him. “Everyone has returned to the field. It’s safe to talk to us.”
“All she said to me was that the men were driving her crazy and wouldn’t leave her alone.” Tove pushed a strand of hair behind one ear and frowned. “If she’d said something to us, we’d have made sure she was never left alone with him. That’s what we usually do if someone is getting singled out.”
“Okay, that’s all for now.” Kane pushed his notebook back into his pocket.
“If Zoe doesn’t show by this afternoon, we’ll start tracking her down.
If any of you see someone hanging around, or a vehicle you don’t recognize, go straight to the ranch house and talk to Agent Carter.
” He indicated toward him. “He’s staying here for a few weeks until we get everything sorted. ”
The women’s subdued expressions spoke volumes. Jenna softened her voice. “You’re not in trouble. We just need to find out what happened to Marie and make sure that Zoe is safe.”
“Sheriff.” Tiffany’s expression filled with concern. “Do you figure something has happened to Zoe too?”
How could Jenna possibly answer that question?
“We’ll find her. Stay together as much as possible and don’t wander off alone.
If you speak to any of the other women, give them the same advice until we can sort out what’s happening here.
” As the women exchanged uneasy glances, Jenna followed Kane out into the sunshine.
“Two missing women in under four days.” Kane lowered his voice to just above a whisper. “Someone is hunting on this ranch.”
“And they’re escalating.” Carter shook his head slowly. “It could be any one of the forty people working here.”
The awful feeling of being watched crept over Jenna as she scanned the sprawling property, the distant forest rising to the familiar mountain range, and then back slowly to the maze of outbuildings. “Somehow, we need to find him before he strikes again.”