Chapter 5 #2
The Uber driver let Gunner out at his house. He locked the door behind him as he went inside, then sat down and called his dad.
It was loud and raucous inside the Tumbleweed Bar when Jacob’s phone rang. He glanced down, saw it was Gunner calling, and walked through the hall and into their home to answer.
“Hey, son! What’s going on?”
“I want to come home. If that’s okay.”
Something was wrong. Jacob could hear it in Gunner’s voice, but he didn’t let on.
“Of course it’s okay. Your room is always ready. Are you heading this way today or—”
“I’m packing now. I should be there before sundown.”
“Drive safe,” Jacob said.
“Always,” Gunner said and disconnected, then pulled out two suitcases and started packing.
With his sports car in the body shop, that should slow down the men hunting for him.
Now he was glad he still had the 2018 Jeep Rubicon Wrangler, and a back exit from his two-car garage.
It led to a blacktop driveway across the backyard and into the alley behind his house, and he never drove that vehicle on the job, so no one would be looking for him in it.
All he needed was to get packed and set the lights in his house on timers so if anyone was looking, they’d think that he was home.
Within an hour, Gunner was driving through neighborhoods, taking back roads and old highways to get out of Dallas alive.
Once he hit US 287, he relaxed. It was a good five-hour drive on a four-lane highway all the way to Amarillo, but he wasn’t going that far north.
Once he got to Esterline, it was westbound on Highway 86 all the way home.
He stopped once for fuel and to get some snacks and took the time to call Asher.
He needed him to know the shit he was in and who to blame if this all went wrong.
As soon as he put his drink in the console and opened a bag of chips in the seat beside him, he made the call via Bluetooth, leaving his hands free to drive.
The call rang four times, and just as he thought it was going to voicemail, Asher’s voice was in his ear.
“Hey, little brother. Are you on the job?”
“No, I’m pretty much on the run from the job.
I found out this morning that there’s a contract out on my life and a fifty-thousand-dollar bounty to go with it.
A biker on a Yamaha took a shot at me on the Loop.
I ran his ass into the concrete barrier and sent him flying before we had a discussion about why he tried to kill me. ”
Asher was in shock and trying not to let on how suddenly scared he was for his youngest brother.
“Do you know who ordered the hit?” Asher asked.
“Yes. Burgess Dixon, but while I can’t prove it, I still paid him a visit after the fact.
I went to his office downtown, left his bodyguard unconscious and belly down on the floor with his hands cuffed long enough to have a polite conversation with the man himself, so if anything happens to me, it’s on him. ”
At that point, Gunner began relating the whole story, from the Feds’ missing witness to Yankee Dan being killed in a hit and run.
“Because I took the old man’s statement after he found the body, I’m guessing I became the last loose end in Dixon’s quest to clean up everyone related to that pending trial. ”
“Damn it, Gunner. What a nightmare,” Asher said.
“Yes, and I’m telling you now, I’m positive there’s a dirty cop in our department.
I don’t know who, but they were the only people who knew I was the one who brought the old man into the precinct to get his statement.
My lieutenant sat in on the statement with me, but I think he’s hesitant about admitting the dirty cop theory.
However, the hit and run on the homeless guy less than twenty-four hours after he found the body was suspicious, then the contract put out on me right afterward is an obvious sign that someone in the department is feeding Dixon info.
I can’t do background checks on any of them without the whole department knowing what I’m doing, so that’s where I am. ”
“You can’t dig, but I can,” Asher said. “As soon as you get to Crossroads, send me some names.”
“I will, and thanks.”
“Safe travels home. Call if you need me. Meanwhile, if I uncover anything suspicious, I’ll let you know,” Asher said.
“Thank you for hearing me out,” Gunner said and disconnected.
* * *
The Dillon and Peters families were on hold. They could not lay their loved ones to rest until the medical examiner released the bodies. It had only been a few days since the accident, but it felt like an eternity to all involved.
This morning, Garrett and Travis were at the stables with the farrier who was making his monthly round at the ranch.
For the time being, Trudy was dealing with the condolence visits while Holly stepped into her mother’s role, keeping books, paying bills online, and cooking for the family.
The house cleaning crew from Amarillo had just left the property, and Holly was transferring a load of laundry from the washer to the dryer when her cell phone rang.
When she saw Briscoe County Sheriff’s office pop up on Caller ID, her heart skipped.
“Hello?”
“Holly, this is Sheriff Reddick. We have just received the medical examiner’s findings, as well as finished up our investigation into the wreck. Is Garrett available to speak to?”
“Not at the moment. The farrier is here. But I could have him call you, or you could tell me what you need to say.”
“Why don’t you just let him know that I’m coming your way in about an hour. That will give all of you time to gather at the house for the results. I’m not trying to be mysterious, but the accident wasn’t as straightforward as we believed.”
“We’ll all be at the house when you arrive,” Holly said. “I’ll make sure of it.”
“Thanks. See you soon,” Reddick said.
Holly disconnected, turned on the dryer, then went out to the stables to get her dad.
Knowing there was something more to the wreck than they’d first believed made her anxious.
It didn’t change the reality of their world, but accepting a new reason for how it happened felt threatening.
She didn’t want to think about the new revelation as she entered the stables.
She heard her dad’s voice and a loud bang, followed by the sound of Travis laughing. Whatever had just happened, at least no one got hurt. Then she saw Travis leading one of the geldings back into a stall and started walking toward him.
“Where’s Dad?” she asked as Travis came out of the stall carrying a halter.
“In the corral with the farrier,” he said.
“Is he close to being done?” she asked.
“We’re on the last horse. He’s nailing on a new shoe. Why?”
“Sheriff Reddick is coming to the ranch to talk to us. He’s bringing the autopsy results. He’ll be here within the hour. Would you please tell Dad? The sheriff wanted to talk to him personally,” Holly said.
Travis frowned. “What does that mean?”
“I don’t know, honey. But we’ll find out shortly. I’m going back to the house to wait for him. Now, go tell Dad.”
Travis went to get his dad as Holly returned to the house to tell Trudy.
* * *
This trip back to Crossroads was one Sheriff Reddick could have done without.
The cause of death was unexpected on both counts, and both families were going to have to readjust to the actual truth.
He would stop by the Peterses’ home on his way back to the office in Silverton, but the Dillon Ranch was the farthest one away, so he was going there first.
He glanced at the Tumbleweed Bar as he drove through Crossroads, wondering how Jacob Kingston was faring, and had a sudden yen for some of Pearl Fallon’s coconut cream pie as he passed the Yellow Rose Café, but that would have to wait for another day.
Instead, he kept going west until he reached the turnoff on Highway 86 that led to the Dillon Ranch.
It was the only road in and out to the ranch, and he knew that tragedy would forever mark it as the place where Helen died.
He pulled up to the house and picked up the envelope containing Helen Dillon’s personal property they’d recovered from the wreck. As he got out, he settled his Stetson a little firmer onto his head against the wind, went up the steps, and rang the doorbell.
A few moments later, the door swung inward. Garrett Dillon was standing in the doorway.
“Matt, good to see you. Come in.”
Holly, Trudy, and Travis were already in the living room when Garrett led him in to join them.
“Holly said you have new information for us,” Garrett said.
Reddick sat. “I do, and I’ll get right to it. The autopsy on Helen revealed that she died from a massive heart attack. She was already gone before the wreck happened.”
There was a mutual gasp from the Dillons.
Trudy put her arm around her son as he dropped his head, and Holly reached for her brother’s hand.
“Oh, my God. It’s like she died twice,” Garrett muttered.
Trudy gave his shoulder a quick squeeze. “Only to you. For Helen, she was already with the angels before any of that happened. She wouldn’t have known it or felt it. You have to hold on to that.”
Holly shuddered. “I have been struggling with the image of her being hit head on, and imagining her shock and fear, knowing she was going to die. I am going to hold on to this and tell myself that the heart attack happened so fast she didn’t suffer.
Her body was still in the car when she and Lee collided, but knowing she was already gone helps take away that horror for me. ”