Chapter 39
Thirty-Nine
Lawson’s Ridge
Thursday
After returning from mapping any inconsistencies in the landscape the previous afternoon, Beth and Styles had spent the rest of the day adding the coordinates of any disturbed ground to a map.
When Jenna had returned, Beth could tell by looking at her expression that they hadn’t gotten any information from Hank and Bobby Lister, the fence riders who had been employed since way back in Lawson’s time.
They’d not seen any strangers on the ranch.
Beth had considered that their emphasis on the word strangers might indicate that whoever murdered the Lawsons and the women worked on the ranch.
The two men, who spent their entire lives watching over the property for trespassers and broken fences, would have noticed if someone like Larkin, for instance, had been moving across Lawson’s land.
Beth couldn’t get the crimes out of her mind.
What type of killer were they dealing with?
When she went to bed on Wednesday night, she lay awake for a long time going over all possibilities in her mind.
With only Rhett and Julie in the house on Thursday morning, she’d spent her time alone in the command center using AI to analyze different possibilities.
Although in her opinion, nothing could replace the human brain when it came to detective work, the AI she used compared variables.
It was a useful tool for looking at a case or cases from outside the box.
One of the suggestions she received from the software was to create images of everyone involved around that time.
She had access to recent driver’s licenses and could use them to create a younger version of the people working at the ranch now.
It’s surprising how useful old images could be.
When people looked at old photographs, they recalled things that they would have normally forgotten.
She’d considered suggesting that Jenna should show some of the older workers the images of people who worked there at the time of the Lawsons’ death and of the women who’d gone missing around that time as well.
Perhaps it would jog a few memories. She’d collected quite a few but hadn’t found a photograph of Wade Cutter.
She left her desk to look for Rhett and found him chatting to Julie about her job interview.
When they stopped talking and glanced at her, she smiled.
“Do you know if there are any images of Wade Cutter around anywhere?”
“Yeah.” Rhett pushed to his feet. “In my father’s office is a picture of him and Cutter standing beside a prize bull.
It was taken at the county fair. I’ll grab it for you.
” He left the room, returning shortly with a photograph in a frame.
“Here you go. Wade is on the left. Branch looks just like him, doesn’t he? ”
Beth examined the picture and nodded. “Mind if I take it out of the frame and take a picture of it? I can upload it into my program.”
“Not a problem.” Rhett went to work removing the clasps behind the frame and handing her the photograph. He waited for her to capture the image and then replaced the photograph in the frame.
The professional high-resolution photograph would be perfect for her needs. She smiled at Rhett. “This is perfect. Just one more thing. Did your grandparents keep diaries? I figured they may shed light on what happened around the time your parents died.”
“No, apart from the usual stuff, the only things I found were tax and legal records.” Rhett sighed. “I wish they had kept diaries. It would have been an insight into my family’s life.”
Disappointed, Beth nodded. “Okay, I’ll get back to it.”
She went back to the command center, where she’d set up her equipment, and uploaded the photograph.
She had the images sorted into “then” and “now” files.
Instead of adding the image to the file of everyone’s younger image, the software had aged Cutter to what he would look like now, so he had then and now photos as well.
The AI had offered three separate images.
One clean-shaven, one with stubble, and the last one with a beard.
She stared at the image. What really happened to Wade Cutter?
Did he take his own life or was he murdered?
Did the teeth from the male person found in the pigpen belong to him—if so, was Bowman responsible?
Did he take him out like a fox in the henhouse?
It was something she’d do in a second. It didn’t make Bowman dangerous; he’d just taken out the trash.
At that moment, Rhett walked into the room.
She glanced up at him. “Any news from Jenna?”
“Nope. Jenna said it’s a waiting game right now.
The DNA tests will determine which way to go.
” Rhett stood with his hands pushed into the back pockets of his jeans.
“Some of our hands will be leaving the ranch today. Bowman needs to send the guys out for supplies. He’ll keep a list of who they are.
” He met her gaze. “Will you be okay alone for a few hours? I’m taking Julie home.
She needs to spend a few days at home before she starts her job on Monday.
As you’ve been stuck here for almost a week, I was wondering if you need anything from town. ”
Smiling, Beth closed her laptop and stood.
Carter, Styles, and Kalo had taken one of the choppers and gone to visit Jenna and Kane to talk about the case, although she suspected they only wanted to see how far he progressed with his rebuilding of another antique motorcycle.
“I would love to come with you, if that’s not too much trouble.
If you could drop me in town, I can collect a few things from the store. ”
“I might be away for a while. Will that be a problem?” Rhett rubbed his chin. “I have a few things to attend to myself.”
She slipped on a jacket to cover her shoulder holster and shook her head.
“No, take all the time you want. I’ve wanted to explore some of the antique shops in Black Rock Falls for such a long time.
We’ve been working nonstop on this case and a couple of hours away from the computer would be wonderful. ”
“It’s just after twelve and I won’t be through until about four—maybe later.” He smiled. “I have a job interview. I’m not sure how long it will take and I have a few other things to do as well.”
Overjoyed at the chance to be alone, Beth nodded. “Perfect. When I’m done, I’ll wait for you in Aunt Betty’s Café.”
“Great!” Rhett called to Julie to grab her things. “Let’s go.”