Chapter 20
Tegan stopped where Ken was talking to Garth. When he reached the top, Ken motioned for them to follow him. They crossed the crest of the hill, and that was when Tegan put the brakes on. “Ken, is that man dead?”
“Yeah. Follow me and stay in my tracks. We’ve got a lot of work to do here.” Tegan did as he was instructed and made his way past the man before Ken made a cut in. “Do you know him? Either of you?”
Tegan nodded. “That’s the man I bought Max from.” He looked at the chest wound. “Did I kill him?”
Ken drew a deep breath and sighed. “I’m going to get the state crime lab up here, but off the top of my head, I’d say it’s possible.”
Barry shook his head. “There’s no blood trail, sheriff. None. He was shot right here.”
Ken looked around and then made a circle of the little camp where the man was lying.
Barry squatted down. “The bottoms of his boots aren’t muddy.” He pointed to all three of their boots. “He wasn’t the one who shot at us.”
Ken assumed the same position as Barry. “I’m a semi-good tracker, Barry, but you’re pretty damn observant. What else do you see?” Ken pulled out his notebook and started writing shit down. Tegan sunk down, too, as Barry continued, “He’s wearing cowboy boots, right?”
“Yeah?” Ken looked around. “And there are more than one set of boot prints. This …” Ken pointed to a waffle pattern near the small fire that had burned out. “I’ll get pictures of all this in case the wind comes up or a freak storm or something.” Ken looked up at the sky. He stared at the camp. “He’s been dead a while.” Ken moved forward carefully. “The blood has congealed. There isn’t a rifle here. The state crime lab will inventory what’s in the pack.”
Tegan glanced over and noted what Ken was talking about. He’d never actually seen a dead body—well, outside a casket, that was. The man who’d sold him Max looked waxy, and death’s grimace seemed to be frozen on his face. He stood up and leaned over so he could see the pack Ken was talking about.
“That looks like my jacket.” Tegan pointed to a jacket under the dead man. “The one taken from my house.”
Ken nodded. “All right. Gentlemen, I don’t know who shot at you. I don’t know why. But I agree with Barry. This isn’t the shooter.” Ken looked around. “Barry, can you take a look around and see if you see anything else farther out from the camp?”
“I can.” Tegan moved with Barry. “What are we looking for?”
“Right now, blood, any plants that have been stomped down.” Barry stopped and pointed to a tuft of high grass that had been tied together with a piece of the same grass. “Like this.”
Tegan sunk down when Barry did. “If this was back overseas, there’d be a small stack of rocks in the center. It was a message from a member of the unit. When you’re in a firefight and have to scatter to take cover, or you need to let your teammates know you’re still alive, we’d build these.”
Barry pulled out his phone and took a picture of the grass. He lifted the grass hoop from the tuft, and they both stood up. A small stack of rocks was planted in the middle. Barry turned white.
Tegan asked, “What? What is it?”
Barry shook his head and snapped another picture. “You see this, right? I’m not imagining it?” He pointed to blood on the rock on the top of the stack.
“No, I see it. Is it a message like you said?”
“Yeah. It’s that and more.” Barry stood up and looked down the hill. Tegan stared at the waves of dead grass that blew gently in the wind. Barry wiped his mouth and then looked down at the rocks again. Ken walked down beside them. “What’s up?”
Barry pointed to the rocks and told the story. He showed Ken the picture he’d taken before he’d released the tuft of grass.
“So, someone with military training made that?”
“I’d say so,” Barry said. “Andrew would be the best person to tell you for sure. He was in longer than me.”
“I’ll give him a call,” Ken said. “But if there’s blood inside that tuft and none on the outside, it was deliberate, right?”
“Think so,” Barry answered.
“What does it mean?” Tegan stared at the carefully stacked rocks.
“Could mean a lot of things.” Barry continued to stare at the long grass.
Ken took a picture of the stack of rocks and the blood. He stood up and looked at them. “The crime lab asked me to not search any farther. They don’t want us hicks to mess up the crime scene.” Ken rolled his eyes. “Of course, I can’t say much. I’ve never conducted a homicide investigation before, so I’ll follow their lead and learn more by sticking my nose in everything they do. You two can get back to Kate and your pup.”
Tegan put his hands on his hips. “I don’t like the fact anyone can come up this hill and take shots down on the stockyard and Kate’s practice.” He’d move her practice out to his ranch if he had to. “I don’t want to take chances with Kate, my guys, or the animals. This guy has already killed a calf, and now this guy.”
“I’m aware.” Ken shifted his cowboy hat to the back of his head. “We can block the access point from the road, so no vehicles can get up here.” He stared at the vast pasture and the high dead grass. “I don’t know how whoever did this disappeared so quickly.”
Barry looked like he wanted to say something but then shook his head. Tegan rubbed his face. “We can park and enter from the other side of the building. That would keep the building between us and the hill. But come auction day, there will be fifty to a hundred trucks down there.”
Ken’s frown grew deeper. “I’ll have a talk with Senior and let him know my concerns. How hard would it be to postpone the sale?”
Tegan shook his head. “A full day on the phone contacting people, but doable.”
“All right.” Ken nodded. “I have evidence to catalog and pictures to take, and yeah, I know they told me to not investigate it further, but it’s my county and my job to keep everyone safe. I’m also going to call Andrew and have him come look at that pile of rocks. That’s a good suggestion, Barry.”
“Thanks.” Barry started up the hill before he turned back and said rather cryptically, “People don’t disappear, sheriff. They hide. Sometimes in plain sight.” Barry’s eyes swept over the tall grass again, then he headed up the hill.
“Well, that wasn’t scary or anything,” Tegan said and slapped Ken on the shoulder. “Let me know if you need anything. I’ll be down at the stockyard until we get the mare looked at by Noah and that pup situated.”
“Thanks, and, Tegan?”
Tegan turned back to Ken. “Yeah?”
“I’m glad it wasn’t your bullet that took this guy down. Don’t do that again. If it had been you, it would have been a long, drawn-out process to prove you were innocent and protecting yourself. Don’t take the law into your own hands.”
Tegan put his hands on his hips. “Sheriff, I’ll deal with whatever happens, but if someone comes after Kate or me again, you’ll have your second homicide to investigate. That’s a fact. I’m not going to cower in the corner. I’ll protect what’s mine. I reckon every last one of us would.”
Ken nodded and sighed. “Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of, Tegan. It’s been a giving me nightmares kind of thing.”
Tegan couldn’t think of a word to say, so he just turned and followed Barry up the hill. The skin on his neck prickled, and he turned around. There was nothing out there past where the sheriff was kneeling to take pictures of the rocks again. Still, a chill went through him. He swept the area one last time and headed down to Kate.