Chapter 32
Thirty-Two
Lawson’s Ridge
Carter scanned the list of past and present workers on Lawson’s Ridge.
Kalo’s list covered the entire twenty-three-year span from before the time that the Lawsons were murdered to the present day.
It also added notes beside some of the people who he believed to be of interest to the case.
They all sat around the table in the dining room, which had been turned into a command post, staring at their laptops as they waited for Rio and Rowley to come online.
Jenna had called informing them of the gruesome discovery in the mountains.
Whatever had happened before Lawson had become suspicious of someone on the ranch was still happening.
It was becoming more obvious the Lawsons were murdered to keep them quiet.
He looked at the intent faces staring back to him from the screen.
“Jenna believes it’s time now to combine forces.
She’ll be joining us soon. We have no reason to believe that this is the same person who killed the Lawsons.
We have no evidence to prove women were murdered on the ranch in Lawson’s time.
All we have is what he wrote in his diaries.
Although we’ve investigated the places he mentions.
Most of them are overgrown now and we have no way of finding the exact spot where he believes bodies were buried.
We’re talking about thousands of acres. The old well he mentions has dried up but we will be climbing down there to get samples of the soil in the bottom.
If we find any bones, we’ll know it was a place to dump bodies, but this goes against the killer’s MO.
I figure the smell would be noticed the moment fouled water was drawn from the well.
This is something we can ask the people from Lawson’s time, but I doubt this was a killer’s dumping ground.
” He looked at Kalo. “Over to you, Bobby.”
“The four men who stand out as possible suspects are Bowman, Lovall, Greenwood, and Williams. Rio has already looked into their backgrounds and found nothing sinister about them, apart from the usual things that happen to cowboys, the odd bar fights and traffic violations.” Kalo stared into his laptop camera.
“All these men have already been interviewed. Some look suspicious; others look fine—but everyone has decided to keep them on the list.”
“So where do we go from here?” Rowley linked his fingers together on the table in front of him.
“I decided to expand the search after talking to Beth.” Kalo indicated to Beth with his chin. “I’ll let her explain.”
“Hi, everyone.” Jenna and Kane popped onto the screen. “Sorry we’re late. Who was talking?”
“Me.” Beth leaned back in her chair, her intent gaze staring into the camera, and gave then a quick update.
“With the search warrant, we were able to get the files from Mary-Jo Cutter. She was the payroll clerk then and still is now. She knows when people were hired and when they left. The first person to vanish was a woman by the name of Bonnie Jacques, a seasonal wrangler. I was able to trace her through her Social Security number, which was listed in the files. Her family told me that she often went missing for six to twelve months at a time, so they couldn’t put the exact date on when anything might have happened to her.
They did file a missing person’s report approximately six months after she apparently left Lawson’s Ridge.
I find it hard to believe that they didn’t contact Lawson to ask if she worked there and when she left.
Maybe they did but we don’t know. We need to ask what the four main suspects know about this woman.
If they remember her and anything that might have happened around the time she went missing.
Looking at the dates, I’m estimating that the Lawsons were murdered approximately five weeks after this woman went missing, then after they died, Wade Cutter takes his own life.
All accounts about him say that he was very distressed after discovering the Lawsons’ bodies.
There is nothing in the Black Rock Falls files that mention anything about his suicide, so we need to discover if anything was mentioned in any of the day-to-day work journals. ”
Carter shot her a glance. “Do you figure he knew too much and was murdered as well?”
“Well, being traumatized about finding the Lawsons’ bodies doesn’t sound like a serial killer, does it?” Beth shrugged. “Most of them wouldn’t care. They have no empathy. This man was working close to Lawson and may have been his confidant. That alone would have made him a target.”
“Hmm, I’m not so sure. What if he was involved in the Lawsons’ deaths and somebody took him out and staged it as a suicide?
What if a someone here wanted to put a stop to the killing?
Think about it, having his wife as the bookkeeper would be the perfect setup, wouldn’t it?
She knows which people were hired and when they left.
She could easily alter payroll records to cover up disappearances.
Some women are attracted to dangerous men and she could have been supporting Cutter, or covering up for him. ”
Carter rubbed his chin. “Possible.”
“Look at the Tarot Killer, a vigilante who removes dangerous people by killing them.” Jenna twirled her pen in her fingers.
“There are many men who would step up to stop a killer. Bowman, for instance, would be a perfect choice, mainly because he’d benefit from becoming the boss and he wouldn’t want women under his watch being murdered.
” She stared into space thinking. “If he murdered Wade Cutter because he knew he was killing women, it wouldn’t have been too difficult.
He could have easily lured Cutter into the forest and staged a suicide.
Cutter wouldn’t have suspected him. Then Bowman spreads the story of how distraught Cutter was, and he’s in the clear. ”
Carter shook his head. “That makes sense. I figure we need to keep an eye on his son. Just in case he’s following in his footsteps.” He popped a toothpick into his mouth. “And we know that psychopaths can run in families.”
“So we add Branch Cutter and his mother to the list for interviews?” Rio made notes.
“Who else are persons of interest, Bobby?” Kane twirled a pen in his fingers.
“People who interacted with everyone for a long period of time might have information we can use. All these people know each other and would know any dirt on them. If you can pry it out of them. The first one, Dr. Wyatt Hale, is a livestock veterinarian, but in an emergency, he might be called on to help an injured person. He’d be able to treat simple things like suturing wounds.
He might have noticed if someone had been injured, for instance, had their faces or necks scratched.
Another one is Jonah Pike. He is a machinery mechanic, so he might have noticed when machinery went out and came back covered in mud.
Then we have Hank and Bobby Lister. They are brothers who have been here for a long time and are employed as fence riders.
They’d know every inch of the ranch and be watchful for trespassers. ”
“That certainly gives us something to work with.” Jenna breathed out a sigh.
“We discovered a cabin in the woods that looks like a crime scene. Wolfe has processed it and we should be getting some results from him in due course. It matches the description that Zoe gave us about the place she escaped from and there’s every indication more than one woman was taken there.
So, we’re looking for someone that has knowledge of Stanton Forest. This is a deserted cabin, hidden away in a dead part of the forest. It is known by the locals and I believe most people would stay away from it.
This is local knowledge and might be a significant clue to finding the murderer. ”
“There are a couple of other people we need to include in our investigation. Susan Boswell, a seasonal wrangler left the ranch the morning after the murders. We need to hunt her down and find out why she left so suddenly. The same goes with Leo Moreno, a seasonal cook, and a man by the name of Rick Talbot, a contract truck driver used for livestock deliveries. He worked for Lawson for three years and then disappeared after the murders.”
“I’m hunting down relatives of Paloma Cortes. The woman mentioned by Lawson in his diaries as going missing.” Rio scratched his chin. “If she never returned home, it’s likely she’s buried on the ranch.”
“Okay, see what you can find out about these last few people. We’ll be at the ranch first thing in the morning and we’ll organize interviewing everyone on the list.” Jenna smiled at everyone.
“Great work. We’re heading to the hospital to speak to Zoe and get an update from Raven.
Rio and Rowley, see how much you can get done from the office.
I need you in town to handle any problems.” She and Kane left the call.
Carter stared into the camera. “Any questions?”
“Yeah.” Rio leaned forward in his chair. “Rowley knows Dr. Hale and Rick Talbot. They’re local, so we’ll hunt them down here in town. I’ll call Jenna when we’ve spoken to them.”
Carter nodded. “That sounds like a plan. Catch you later.” He left the meeting and looked at Rhett’s pale face. “Everything is moving along. We’ll have answers soon.”
“This is much bigger than I expected and we could have a serial killer living on the ranch.” Rhett shook his head slowly. “I’m not sure if it’s safe to have Julie staying here.”
“I’ve never once gone outside without carrying my weapon.” Julie leaned into him. “Uncle Dave and my dad have trained Emily and me to shoot straight. If I say so myself, I’m pretty good at it. He’s had us visiting the firing range since we were eighteen.”
Carter smiled around his toothpick. “And she has three FBI agents to watch over her as well.”
“When we’ve concluded these interviews, I’d like to speak to Raven.
” Beth closed her laptop and turned to Styles.
“He seems to have some idea where these old cabins are throughout Stanton Forest. I figure it would be a good idea if we searched them. This guy isn’t gonna stop killing and we’ve destroyed his safe place, so he’ll be looking for another.
We need to keep a close eye on who’s coming and going.
He’ll be getting desperate soon and if he’s living on the ranch, he’ll give himself away soon enough.
” She tossed her long blonde hair over one shoulder and fixed her eyes on Carter.
“And I so want to be there when he does. You in, Ty?”
Carter smiled at her. “Oh, yeah.”