Chapter 9 – Chris
After leaving Jennie’s place, I head straight to the station to see what I can dig up on Dave Braggart. When I walk in, I check the roster to see who’s working today. I’m hoping there might be someone on duty who worked the year Jennie and Dave were married.
I figure one of them is Nigel Henderson. He’s a detective now, but ten years ago, he was a beat cop. Fortunately, he’s in the office. I pop my head through his open doorway. “Nigel, you got a minute?”
He glances up from a report he’s writing on his laptop. “Sure, Chris. Come on in and have a seat. What can I help you with?”
I take a seat in the chair facing his desk. “I’m looking into a past case, and I wondered if you had any knowledge of it. Do you remember some trouble with Dave Braggart back in the day? It would have been right after he graduated from high school.”
Nigel scowls. “Yeah. He’d be hard to forget.”
“He showed up back in town today, at the diner.”
Nigel leans back in his creaky office chair and purses his lips. “Really?”
“He caused quite a scene in Jennie’s office.”
“I’m not surprised,” Nigel says. “I lost track of how many times we got called to their house for domestic disturbances. Finally, she got wise and divorced him.”
“She mentioned she had a restraining order against him.”
He nods. “She sure did.”
“Do you remember why?”
The old guy nods. “This was before you were with the force, wasn’t it?”
“Right. Well, he’s back in town, and I need to get up to speed quick. So, let’s have it.”
Nigel crosses his arms over his chest as he gets comfortable in his chair.
“Well, domestic violence for starters. Physical abuse. Emotional abuse. And well, you know—she accused him of sexual abuse. It was ugly. One of the worst cases of domestic abuse I’d ever seen.
She had bruises everywhere, cuts and abrasions, too.
After the divorce was final, Braggart left town with his tail tucked between his legs, and to my knowledge he hasn’t been back since.
Not until today, anyway. You’re gonna need to keep a close eye on that SOB. ”
Hearing him rattle off all of Braggart’s offences against Jennie makes me sick. I had no idea how bad things had been between them. It guts me to know she suffered through this when I wasn’t here to protect her.
“Thanks, Nigel.” Feeling numb, I stand and head for the door. “If you think of anything else I should know, give me a call.”
He salutes me. “Will do, Sheriff.”
It’s only two, and Ruth’s Tavern won’t be open for another hour yet. So I give Ruth a call hoping to catch her at home.
“Hey, Chris,” she says. “What’s up?”
“Did you know Dave Braggart’s in town?”
The line goes silent, and I hear hushed whispers, but can’t make out the words. Finally, she comes back with, “No. When did he arrive?”
“I’m not sure, but he showed up at the diner this morning.”
“Oh, my God. Did he speak to Jennie?”
“I’d say he did a lot more than speak to her. They got into it in her office.”
“Damn it. Is she all right?”
“She’s okay. Shaken, but she’s managing. I walked her home. That’s where she is now.”
Again, the line goes quiet, and I hear muffled talking. I imagine she’s filling Jack in. Jack hasn’t lived here that long, so he’d have no idea who Braggart is.
A moment later, she returns to the line. “She had a restraining order against David, but that expired years ago. She’ll probably have to get a new one. If he’s back, it’s because he wants something from her. He’s not going to stop harassing her until he gets it.”
“I’m trying to fill in the details. Can I stop by so we can talk?”
“I’m sorry, Chris,” she says. “I’ll have to say no. If Jennie wants you to know, she’ll tell you herself. It’s not my place.”
“I appreciate you trying to respect Jennie’s confidence, Ruth, but I’m worried about her. I saw Dave accost her this morning in her office. If I hadn’t been there—hadn’t stopped him—who knows what might have happened. Jennie was terrified.”
“She has good reason to be afraid. Talk to her, Chris. I can’t tell you what went on between them, but I will say it wasn’t good.
And that’s the understatement of the year.
Jennie is one of my nearest and dearest friends, and I won’t betray her trust. So you need to get her to tell you. Do whatever it takes.”
“I understand. Thanks.”
“For what it’s worth, Jack and I will keep an eye on her. So will Maggie. And if we have to, we’ll call in the others to fill in. We’re not leaving her unprotected. She dealt with him on her own the first time around. That was before we’d become friends. But we won’t let it happen again.”
After I get off the phone with Ruth, I go into the archives and pull the case files on Braggart from a decade ago. I pour myself a cup of black coffee and sit at my desk, ready for the long haul of wading through dozens of reports.
I am not prepared for what I read.
Domestic violence. Bruises. Lacerations. A concussion. Multiple visits to the hospital in Estes Park. Accusations of physical abuse. Accusations of sexual abuse. Finally, a restraining order forbidding Mr. Braggart from coming near Mrs. Braggart.
I can barely bring myself to look at the photos included in the reports. Vivid bruises on her face and wrists. Red, angry cuts. A swollen lip. A black eye. What in the fucking hell!
It’s sickening to think she endured this on her own. Physically, she’s no match for Braggart. He’s easily twice her size. Plus, he’s a bully. Emotionally and mentally, she’s no match for him.
This time, it will be different. She’s not alone. She has friends who will protect her.
Starting with me.
* * *
After leaving the station, I head out to the Braggart ranch outside of town. I’m going to have a chat with Dave. Maybe I’ll get lucky and find another reason to arrest him.
I’m guessing he’s staying at his parents’ ranch, even though they’re out of town right now. The Braggarts own a thousand-acre cattle ranch east of Bryce. They’re outside the township limits, but they’re in our county, so they fall under my jurisdiction.
When I pull through the main gate of the Triple B Ranch, I follow the long, winding drive up to the main single-story house. To the right of the house are several massive barns and a number of chicken coops. To the left of the house is forest. It’s an impressive spread.
The Braggarts are undoubtedly the wealthiest people in these parts. That meant their son, Dave, was by association the wealthiest kid in our school district. He was also the biggest jerk.
I park in front of the sprawling ranch-style home and walk up to the door. I guess I should say doors, as there are two of them, at least eight feet tall, hand-carved wooden monstrosities. I guess if you’ve got the money, go ahead and flaunt it.
I ring the bell, and a moment later the door opens. I doff my sheriff’s hat at the middle-aged Hispanic woman wearing a gray uniform dress and a white apron. I’m guessing she’s the housekeeper. “Ma’am. Is Dave here?”
The woman nods. “Si.”
“Would you tell him Sheriff Nelson is here to see him?”
She frowns, looking like she’d rather not do any such thing.
“Por favor, senora?” I give her a friendly smile. “I’m not looking for trouble. I just need to speak to your boss’s son.”
She reluctantly nods and steps back so I can enter.
“Just a minute, please,” she says as she walks away, leaving me alone in a spacious foyer with high ceilings and what I guess is expensive artwork hanging on the walls.
Overhead hangs a fancy chandelier dripping with crystals that shed refracted light on the walls and polished parquet floor.
From where I’m standing, I can see into what looks like a home office to the left, a dining room to the right, and straight ahead I can see part of a gourmet kitchen and a living room.
It’s not long before I see Dave walking toward me down the center hallway. He’s wearing a pair of cut-off denim jean shorts and nothing else. No shoes, no shirt. He’s holding a sandwich in one hand and a beer bottle in the other.
“My parents are out of the country,” he tells me as he talks around a mouthful of food. “You’ll have to come back in a month.”
“I’m not here to see your folks, Dave. I’m here to see you.”
“What for? I don’t think my business is any of yours.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Why are you here? From what I’ve heard, you left Bryce years ago and haven’t been back. Why now? Especially if your folks are out of the country. You obviously didn’t come back for a family reunion.”
His smile fades. “That’s where you’re wrong, Sheriff. That’s exactly why I came back—for a family reunion. I came to reunite with my wife.”
Hearing him call Jennie his wife makes my gut knot. “She’s not your wife. She hasn’t been for a long time. And the last time you were here, she had to get a restraining order against you.”
Dave scoffs. “That expired years ago. We’re gettin’ a fresh start, Jennie-bean and me.”
I’m not in the mood to play games with this clown. “Why are you really here?”
“I told you. I came back to reunite with my wife.”
“She has no interest in seeing you, so I suggest you take yourself back to wherever it was you came from. Vegas, if the rumors are correct.”
The man’s eyes narrow on me. “You shouldn’t believe rumors.”
It looks like I hit a sore spot. “Everything that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right?” I ask.
“Get out of my house, Sheriff.” He sneers that last word. “You have no business here.” He nods to the door. “Marguerite! Show the sheriff out.”
The housekeeper materializes out of nowhere as if she’d been lurking around the corner just waiting to be summoned.
“I’ll go,” I say. “But the minute you give me an excuse to return, I will.”
He points to the doors. “Get out!”
“Steer clear of Jennie—unless you actually want me to arrest you.”
“You arrest me? Ha! I’ll believe that when I see it. The son of the town whore isn’t fit to step foot in my home, let alone think he can tell me what to do.”