Chapter Thirteen
Reed hadn’t liked leaving Mona in the office with Wayne. But in broad daylight, with Mona acting as if she had legitimate business with the man, Wayne shouldn’t try anything, as long as Mona didn’t ask too many questions.
For a split second, a flash of panic surged through Reed and he almost turned back. No. She wouldn’t be stupid.
And they really didn’t have a viable reason to believe Wayne and Les were involved in the rustling. All they had to go on was the bartender’s observations.
After his eyes adjusted to the dark interior, Reed hadn’t seen anything damning in the shop that would link Wayne and Les to Dusty and cattle rustling. With casual ease, he’d walked back out in the sunshine, wind whipping dust into his eyes. Just as nonchalantly, he’d circled the back of the building, his hands in his pockets as if he was bored, waiting on the boss lady. Once around the side and out of sight, he’d sprinted to the end of the building and peered around back into the junkyard of old cars and spare parts.
A movement caught his eye. At first he thought it was a rat. In a way, he’d been right. Les Newton moved among the rusty hulls of old cars, ducking low to remain out of sight, staring at the back door of the building.
Reed had stood still to avoid detection until Les stepped out into the open. At that moment, Reed’s blood ran cold.
Les’s right hand was wrapped in a flesh-colored bandage.
The thought of Mona in the office alone with Wayne sent a blast of fear through Reed.
When Les had his back to him, Reed eased around the side of the building, and moved to the front, just as Mona stepped out of Wayne’s office. Reed entered the shop from the direction of the truck and hooked Mona’s arm with his hand.
She jumped, her eyes wide until she realized it was him.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
She sucked in a deep breath and let it out before she turned a brilliant smile on him. “Yes. I’m ready.” Her voice shook, but she turned a confident expression toward Wayne. “Thanks. I’ll expect that estimate tomorrow.”
As the truck pulled out of the gravel parking area, Wayne stood by the door. Watching.
Mona waved through the rolled-up window. “What did you find?” she said through her smile.
Reed gunned the accelerator, sending the truck shooting out onto the highway. “Les didn’t call in sick.”
Her gaze shot to Reed’s profile. “What do you mean?”
“He was hiding in back of the shop.”
“Why?”
His jaw tight, Reed stared over at the woman beside him. “Probably had something to do with the bandage on his hand.”
Mona’s deep-brown gaze locked with his. “You think he was the one bitten by the dog?”
Reed nodded.
“Finally!” She clapped her hands together, her smile lighting the interior of the cab. “We have proof. Let’s go to the sheriff with this information. He can arrest them and be done with it.” Her head swung around as they passed the sheriff’s office without slowing. “Why didn’t you stop? Pull over.”
“Think about it, Mona. Do you really believe Wayne and Les have the intelligence and wherewithal to pull off this big of an operation?”
“They might not be the sharpest individuals Prairie Rock has to offer but, for now, they’re the only ones we know are involved in the rustling.”
“Someone with more influence and financial support has to be leading this effort. Until we find him, arresting Les and Wayne at this time won’t catch whoever is responsible.”
Her forehead creasing in a frown, Mona leaned back against the seat. “You think it’s a bigger operation?”
“Yeah. Who would have a tractor-trailer rig available to haul the cattle to market? Les and Wayne?” Reed shook his head.
The electronic tone of Mona’s cell phone sounded over the truck’s engine noise. She pulled it from her pocket. “Fernando?”
Reed slowed the vehicle, sliding over to the side of the road.
Mona’s brows furrowed. “You sure they’re not lost in the canyon?” Her gaze shot up to Reed’s, her lips firming into a tight line. “Okay. Thanks for trying.” She clicked the phone shut and stared ahead at the streets of Prairie Rock. “Not all the cattle escaped. Fernando and some of my uncle’s ranch hands rounded up what they could find. Fifteen of the steers are still missing.”
Reed shifted into drive and swung the truck back toward the center of town. He pulled into the county library and turned the key in the ignition, the engine noise stilled.
“Why are we here?” As she stared at the brick exterior of the tiny library, Mona’s brows furrowed.
“We need access to the Internet.” Reed climbed down from the truck and rounded to the passenger side. “We haven’t looked at the locations of all the cattle since before the storm. Perhaps now we should.”
Mona was already on the ground and headed for the library, her narrow hips twitching from side to side in the oversize shirt she wore.
Reed had never met a woman as stubbornly determined as Mona Grainger. As he trailed behind her into the cool interior of the small building, a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
Once inside, Mona sat at the computer. “Did you happen to bring the GPS numbers?”
He pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to her.
Within seconds, she had the tracking site up and the first cow located. As expected, it was situated somewhere on the property adjacent to Rancho Linda. The same story held true for the next four numbers. On the fifth, however, the computer zoomed in on a position far from the Rancho Linda. Closer to Amarillo.
“What do you want to bet that steer didn’t walk all the way to Amarillo?”
Reed tapped her on the shoulder. “Let me.” When she got up, he took the seat and narrowed their search to a street address. “Let’s go see what we can find out about the delivery driver.”
“I need to get back to the ranch before long. Fernando can’t handle it all on his own, what with Jesse out of commission.”
“A quick drive down to Amarillo and we’ll head back to Rancho Linda to work that fence. Deal?”
“Absolutely. I want to nail whoever’s behind the rustling so I can get on with what I do best.”
Reed chuckled. “And what would that be?”
“Ranching.” Her voice was stern, but when she turned away, a smile played with the corners of her luscious lips. Lips Reed hadn’t been able to forget since the middle of last night’s storm.
* * *
B Y THE TIME they reached Amarillo, Mona was uncomfortable in more ways than one. On more than one occasion, she caught herself staring at Reed’s hands, imagining them as they skimmed across her naked skin. The heat inside the air-conditioned truck had nothing to do with the outside temperature. She should have let Reed go by himself to Amarillo.
When the truck pulled to a stop in the gravel parking lot of the stockyard, Mona was out on the ground. “I’ll meet you in the office area. I have to see a man about a horse.”
Reed’s brow wrinkled. “A horse? I thought—” His face reddened. “Oh, yeah. For the moment, I’d forgotten. I’ll wait for you.”
“No, go ahead and see what you can find out from the office personnel. I’ll only be a minute.” With the baby pushing against her bladder so hard she thought she’d wet her pants, she hurried to find the facilities.
As she entered the bathroom, she glanced back at the door to the office. Reed stepped through, looking confident and strong. Two things she wasn’t feeling too much of lately. For the first time, the significance of her pregnancy hit her square in the gut. What would happen to her ranch when she couldn’t ride out to check the fences and cattle? How could she manage? Tears welled in her eyes. She stepped into the stall and stood for a moment gulping in air, fighting back a wave of fear and self-doubt. She wasn’t strong enough. She couldn’t do it all.
The baby moved inside her, rolling from left to right. That little bit of movement brought her back to earth and to herself. No matter what happened, she had to look out for this life growing inside. The baby hadn’t chosen its destiny, but she had and no matter what, this baby would know love and its heritage, like her father had shown her.
She completed her business and hurried out to find Reed exiting the sale-barn office followed by a rotund man in a dirt-stained blue shirt embroidered with Charlie’s Auction over the left breast pocket.
The man had to be Charlie. He wore a straw cowboy hat and had a chaw of tobacco big enough to choke a horse lodged between his bottom row of teeth and his lip. “No, sir. We don’t deal in stolen cattle here at Charlie’s Auction. We have the newfangled chip readers and scan every steer and cow that comes through. Now, not all of them have microchips in ’em, mind you. Not all the ranchers can afford the luxury.”
Mona joined them.
“Charlie Goodman, this is Mona Grainger, owner of the Rancho Linda.” Reed stared hard at the man. “We have reason to believe some of the Rancho Linda cattle are in this sale barn without Ms. Grainger’s permission. Some that are microchipped.”
“We would have checked the registry when they were brought in. I’m sure you’re mistaken.”
“Then you won’t mind if we have a look around using your chip reader, will you?”
“Not at all, as long as I don’t have a shipment coming in. I’ll even get my helper to assist.” Charlie lifted a paper coffee cup and spit a dark stream of tobacco into it. “Just a minute while I find Gil.” Charlie left them standing in the front entrance to the sale barn while he ducked through a door.
Mona stared after the man. “Do you trust him?”
“My instincts tell me he believes what he’s saying.”
“But the GPS said the cattle were here.” Mona paced the short length of concrete flooring and back. “What if the GPS was wrong?”
“It was right.” Reed stepped through the door Charlie had gone through, leaving Mona to stand there with her mouth open or follow.
She followed.
Charlie climbed down from the metal catwalk, a bead of sweat trickling down the side of his face. “Don’t know where Gil got to. I’ll get the backup chip reader and be right back.” He hurried past them, breathing hard.
When he returned with the device, he led them from pen to pen scanning several cattle from each lot and comparing them to the numbers Reed had in his pocket.
By the time they reached the last enclosure full of restless steers, Mona’s spirits and energy were flagging. Had the GPS program been faulty?
Charlie ran his scanner over two animals in the last pen, neither of which indicated the presence of microchips. On the third steer, the device beeped and the numbers displayed, exactly matching one of the numbers Reed had with him.
Charlie’s brows furrowed. “You say these numbers belong to the Rancho Linda?” He pulled a pen and pad from his pocket and jotted down the lot number. “Follow me.”
Back in his office, he sat at a computer, the keyboard covered with a plastic protective shield, yellowed and stained with grease and dirt. He punched a few keys, bringing up a screen with the national registry of microchips. “Let me see those numbers you got there.” He took the paper from Reed and keyed the numbers. “Ms. Mona Grainger,” he read out loud. “Of the Rancho Linda. Care to show me your driver’s license to make it all official?”
Mona dug in her purse and pulled out the license. “Can you tell me who brought the cattle in?”
He glanced at her license and looked up at her face. “Sure can.” Pushing to his feet, he pulled a clipboard from the wall and flipped through several crinkled pages, stopping at the one with the same lot number on it as the one he’d jotted down on the pad. “Chase Molderhauer.” He pointed at the printed name and the signature. The page also contained an address and phone number.
Mona pulled a pen and paper from her purse and wrote down the information.
“I don’t have any idea how these cattle got past my crew here, but I can tell you, I don’t cotton to cattle rustlin’. You have the word of Charlie Goodman on that.” He looked down at the page, his lips tightening. “Gil Deiner was the man that checked that load of cattle in. I’ll be havin’ a word with him.”
“Mind if I borrow your phone?” Reed asked.
“No, go right ahead.”
As Mona watched, Reed dialed 911. “I’d like to report a crime.” He paused. “Cattle rustling.”
Mona felt a rush of relief. Finally, a real lead.
* * *
T WO HOURS LATER , a sworn statement by Reed, Mona and Charlie Goodman, and they were no closer to finding the man who’d deposited the cattle at the sale barn.
Reed finally took matters in his own hands. “If you’re done with us, we have work to do back at the ranch.” He herded Mona out of the Amarillo police station and over to the truck.
She looked as if she’d blow over at the slightest gust of Texas wind. Once inside the truck, she sat silently staring forward. Even before they hit the road north to Prairie Rock, she’d slid sideways, her head resting against Reed’s shoulder.
The woman didn’t know when to cry uncle. She needed a long bubble bath and an even longer night’s rest to recuperate.
Quietly, so as not to wake her, Reed pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed a friend who was with the Texas Department of Public Safety. “Hey, Jim, could you run a check on a Chase Molderhauer?”
His friend took the information, the sound of a keyboard clicking in the background. “You still with Sheriff Parker Lee out at Prairie Rock?”
Reed inhaled and let the breath out, weighing the consequences of lying or telling the truth. “No, I’m not.”
“Glad to hear you’re not with Parker Lee. He’s a class-A jerk. Why don’t you come on board with the DPS? We always have room for the good guys.”
“Thanks, but I’m working for a pretty amazing outfit right now.” He glanced down at Mona, whose head had found its way to his lap. Her breath warmed his thigh and her hand rested protectively against her belly. She was sound asleep. “If you could get me that information on Molderhauer, I’ll owe you big-time.”
“Not a problem. I’ll do some digging and get right back to you.”
“The sooner the better. And thanks, Jim.”
As he flipped his phone shut, a movement from the right caught his attention. He slammed his foot on the brakes, but his reaction was too late.
A dark gray pickup burst out from behind a clump of mesquite and sagebrush, slamming into the right front fender of the Rancho Linda pickup.
The force of the blow spun the truck around and sent it careening across the road into the opposite ditch.
Mona screamed as the truck tilted sideways on two wheels before bouncing to a stop upright, the engine dying.
“Get down!” Reed grabbed her head and shoved her down. Shots rang out, pinging against the metal sides of the pickup, one shattering the driver’s window.
The sound of tires squealing on blacktop was followed by a revving engine as the truck sped off to the north. Then silence filled the truck except for the sound of blood pounding against Reed’s ears. “Mona? Are you okay?” He sat up and helped Mona sit straight as well.
“Yes, I think so.” She pushed her hair out of her face, her eyes going wide. “You’re bleeding.” She reached up and touched his forehead, her fingers coming away with a bright red stain. “Let me take care of that.” She tugged at the hem of her shirt, ripping a strip of cloth off the tail. When she pressed it to his forehead, her face came within inches of his, her brow creased and worried. “We shouldn’t have come.”
“Who would have guessed visiting a sale barn would illicit such a reaction? We couldn’t have known.”
“But you might have been killed.” Her eyes filled. “All because of some stupid cows.”
He grabbed her hand and held it in front of him. “The cattle aren’t stupid. They’re yours and no one has the right to steal them. It’s my choice to work for you. If I didn’t want to, I would walk away.”
Her bottom lip trembled, her eyes liquid brown pools. “But I don’t want you to die.”
“I’m not going to.” He kissed her fingertips. “Trust me.”
She stared up into his face, one lonely tear trickling down her cheek. “It’s so hard.”
His chest constricted so tightly he thought he would have a heart attack. That one tear ripped at him until he leaned forward and kissed it away. “Quit worrying, boss lady, you were wrong about the cows.”
“I was?”
“They’re steers.” He pulled her against him and kissed her, giving up on all his resolve to keep at a distance. How could he when she looked at him with frightened doe eyes?
Surprising him even more, she kissed him the way she had the night before when they’d lain in each other’s arms with a storm raging around them. This woman had a truckload of worries on her shoulders and she worried about him. It was about time someone looked out for Mona Grainger.
He pushed her away and brushed the shattered glass from the seat. Then he shifted into park and twisted the key in the ignition. The engine turned over and died. Reed closed his eyes for a second, sending a prayer heavenward. Mona didn’t need to walk home, not in her condition.
He opened his eyes and turned the key. The engine started, coughed and roared to full power.
Once on the road, Reed hurried back to Amarillo to report the incident to the sheriff’s department. By the time they were back on the road to Rancho Linda, the sun had set and all the stars of the heavens shone down on them from a clear black sky.
Halfway back to Prairie Rock, Mona heaved a big sigh. “Do you think this nightmare will ever end?”
“Yes.” Of that he was certain. He wasn’t so sure about when or how.
The cell phone in his pocket vibrated against his chest before the ring tone sounded. “Reed here.”
“It’s Jim. Reed, I found something interesting about that name you asked me to check on.”
“Shoot.”
“I knew there was something familiar about the name Chase Molderhauer, just couldn’t put my finger on it. So I ran a scan against known offenders.”
“And?”
“Came up with nothing.”
Disappointment knotted in Reed’s gut. One more dead end. “Thanks for checking, Jim.”
“Hey, wait up. I said he didn’t show up in the known-offenders list, but the name rang a pretty big bell. I knew it from somewhere. So I did some digging and found a missing persons report for one Chase Molderhauer. The case was opened five months ago. As far as all the reports state, the man was never found. The family and state officials suspected foul play.”