Chapter Ten #2
A figure broke from the back of the room and ran.
“Creed! Heads up!”
“I got him!”
Hud moved through the house and out the back door to find Creed already kneeling over the man, cuffing his hands behind his back.
“I don’t know anything,” the man said into the dirt.
Creed grabbed his collar. “Are you Tanner Whitman?”
Silence.
Creed shook him. “I asked you a question.”
“Yes. I’m Whitman. And I don’t know anything.”
“About what?” Hud asked.
“About anything.”
Hud looked at Creed. “ID.”
Creed fished the wallet from the man’s back pocket, flipped it open and held it up. “Tanner Whitman.”
“Having my ID doesn’t mean I know anything.”
“You worked at Big Sky Tires,” Hud said. “You were part of the operation.”
Whitman’s head came up. “I wasn’t part of any rustling. I didn’t steal anything.”
“Who said anything about rustling?” Hud asked.
The air seemed to go out of Whitman.
“You switched tires on three different semis. Barely used tires. You want me to believe you never wondered why?”
Whitman was quiet for a moment. “Harold White told me to do it. First time I told him those tires were practically new. He told me to shut up and change them.” He looked at the ground. “After that I stopped asking.”
“Who else was involved?”
“I don’t know. He never told me anything and I didn’t want to know.”
“Why did the shop close?”
“White just showed up one day and said he was shutting it down. We got into it pretty good about that. I walked out and never went back.”
Luke crouched beside him. “Why’d you shoot at us?”
Whitman looked up. “I thought you were White’s men. I don’t trust that man. Haven’t for a long time.”
Hud looked at Creed, then back down. “Three trucks, three sets of tires swapped out, and you never put it together?”
Whitman shook his head slowly. “No.”
“I don’t believe you. You just said rustling. Nobody mentioned that word but you.”
Whitman said nothing.
“We’ll call Saunders,” Hud said, looking at Creed and Luke. “He can take him to the local jail.”
They both nodded.
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Whitman said.
“You fired on law enforcement. Even if you weren’t involved in the rustling, you almost killed one of us. That’s a felony.”
“I told you, I thought you were White’s men. I was protecting myself.” He looked up at Hud. “I don’t want to go to jail.”
“So, White’s men wear Kevlar vests with livestock agent stitched on them?” Creed asked with a smirk.
“I didn’t even notice the vests. I was too scared. I just saw someone at my door. Honest to God. Please, I can’t go to jail.”
“Cooperate and we’ll see what we can do about the shooting.”
“I’ll tell you everything I know.”
“When’s the last time you saw White?”
“Few weeks back. After I walked out, that was it. But those men he had with him, the younger ones, they scared me. Something was off about them.”
“Any idea where White might go if he needed to disappear?”
Whitman shook his head. “No. But there was one man who was always nervous. Jumpy, like he was waiting for something to go wrong.”
Hud and Creed looked at each other.
“First time I saw him he was wearing a suit,” Whitman added.
“Fitch,” they said together.
Luke crouched down. “Were you paid for changing the tires?”
Whitman’s expression darkened. “No. White owned the place but acted like he was broke every time I turned around. Those aren’t easy to change either. I was furious about it.”
“What did you do with the tires you pulled off?”
“Rolled them to the warehouse. They’d take them from there and burn them.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere in the woods behind the warehouse. That’s all I know.”
“We need to go back there,” Luke said.
“Once Saunders picks him up.” Hud nodded at Creed, who pulled Whitman to his feet, read him his rights and walked him to the truck. He rejoined Hud and Luke at the front.
“Saunders is on his way,” Hud said. “Said he’d bring a warrant for the house.”
“That’ll take time,” Luke said.
“We could ask Whitman for permission to search now.” Hud looked at Creed. “You want to try him?”
Creed walked back to the truck and leaned in through the window. A moment later he straightened and came back. “He said go ahead.”
“Good.” Hud turned toward the house. “Luke, stay with him.”
Hud and Creed moved through the house with their flashlights, sweeping each room. The place was a disaster, trash and clutter covering most surfaces, drawers left open, clothes on the floor. They worked through it carefully anyway.
“There’s nothing here,” Creed said, nudging a pile of papers with the toe of his boot.
“Hard to tell in this mess.” Hud looked around the kitchen. “Saunders needs to get a team in here. We don’t have time to go through all of this properly.”
He stepped outside and called Saunders. Kept it brief. When he came back Creed looked at him.
“He’ll get a team on it.”
“Good.” Creed looked toward the truck. “So where does that leave us?”
“Fitch.” Hud removed his hat and raked a hand through his hair before settling it back. “Nobody’s turned up a home address for him yet. Just the office. A man like that doesn’t sleep at his office.”
“I’ll call Dave. He can run a search.” Creed pulled out his phone.
“Tell him I want to talk to the woman White was seeing too. Mrs. Whittingham said she lives in Autumn Falls. Since we’re already here it makes sense to find her while we can.”
Creed nodded and stepped away to make the call.
Once Saunders arrived, he sent his team into the house and took Whitman into custody himself, loading him into the back of his vehicle without ceremony.
Hud watched them go. He felt the familiar pull of wanting to be somewhere else entirely. He wanted to go home. He wanted to sit across from Blair and say what he should have said before he ever left her standing in that bathroom. But there was still work to do.
His phone buzzed. Dave.
“I’ve got addresses for Fitch and Burch. In Autumn Falls. Burch’s first name is Debra.”
“Good. We’ll start with Fitch.” Hud pulled out his notepad. “And Dave, thanks for running those down.”
“Of course. How’s Luke? I heard there was a situation.”
“Whitman missed him. Barely, but he missed. Took a shot at me too, caught the doorjamb.”
“And he claims he’s not involved.”
“Saunders will work on him. He’ll keep us posted.”
“Alright. Talk to Burch after Fitch. And Hud, all of you be careful.”
“Yes, sir.”
He pocketed the phone and walked back to the truck. Creed and Luke were already inside. He climbed in, punched Fitch’s address into the GPS and pulled out.
“Fitch first thing tomorrow,” he said. “Then Burch. I’m too damn tired from the drive to be useful to anyone tonight.”
Creed and Luke didn’t argue.
****
Blair tucked her feet under her on Celine and Killian’s sofa and looked around the cozy living room.
“Not exactly how I pictured spending my Saturday night,” she said.
“We have wine.” Celine held up her glass. “That counts for something.”
“It counts for a lot. Please tell me there’s more than one bottle.”
Celine smiled. “You’re staying tonight, by the way. I’m not letting you drive home.”
“I wasn’t going to argue.” Blair swirled her glass. “I just don’t want to be in the way. It’s your Saturday too.”
“You are never in the way. Besides, Killian’s been in his office for two hours and I doubt he’s coming out anytime soon. When a case gets its hooks in him he disappears into it completely.”
Blair glanced toward the hallway. “Even on a Saturday night?”
“Even then. I stopped taking it personally a long time ago.” Celine curled her legs up beside her. “It’s just how he is. And when he finally comes up for air he more than makes up for it.”
Blair smiled. “That’s a good answer.”
“It is.” Celine topped off both their glasses. “Now. Tell me about Hud.”
Blair exhaled. “He was supposed to be back today but called to say they had more ground to cover. First Shelby, now back to Autumn Falls. He has to be exhausted.” She took a sip of wine.
“He wants to talk when he gets back and I told him we would. But I still can’t get past how he left last Saturday. ”
“I know.” Celine reached over and touched her hand. “Something is keeping him from letting anyone get close, and until he figures out what it is he’s going to keep doing it.”
“It made me feel like I was just another woman he’d taken to bed and was done with.
” Blair shook her head. “I cried into my pillow, Celine. I haven’t done that in years.
I wanted him to stay. I wanted to fall asleep next to him and wake up with him there.
” She looked down at her glass. “I don’t want something halfway.
I want what you and Killian have. If he can’t even spend the night, how am I supposed to believe he wants anything real? ”
Celine was quiet for a moment. “Have you told him any of that?”
Blair looked up. “No.”
“Then maybe that’s where you start.”
Blair stared at her glass. “What if he can’t give me what I need?”
“Then you’ll know,” Celine said it gently but without flinching. “But you won’t know until you actually have that conversation. Really have it. Not the surface version where you’re both being careful with each other.”
“I’m not good at that. Saying what I actually feel out loud.”
“I know. Neither was I.” Celine smiled. “But Killian was worth the discomfort of being honest and look where we ended up.” She nodded toward the hallway where the faint sound of his keyboard drifted through.
“You deserve someone who wants to be there in the morning. Someone who chooses you on purpose.”
Blair felt the back of her throat tighten. “What if he’s just not capable of it?”
“Then you walk away knowing you gave it a real chance. That’s better than wondering.” Celine squeezed her hand. “But I’ve seen the way Hud looks at you. At the diner that day, he walked over to our table. I noticed it before you did.”
“You never told me that.”
“You weren’t ready to hear it.” Celine refilled their glasses. “Give him the chance to explain himself. If he blows it I will personally help you move on. But I don’t think he’s going to blow it.”
Blair looked at her. “You have a lot of faith in a man who left me alone in my own bed.”
Celine laughed. “I have a lot of faith in the way he looked at you.”
“I just want him to talk to me. Tell me what he actually wants from this, beyond the obvious.” Blair shook her head.
“The sex is great, but I need more than that. I’m on the edge of falling in love with him, Celine, and if all he’s looking for is something casual I need to know now so I can walk away before it gets worse. ”
“I hope it doesn’t come to that. I think you two are good together. He just needs to be honest with you and with himself.” Celine paused. “And he needs to man up and tell you why he left.”
“I don’t even know when he’ll be back. I’ll be on pins and needles until I hear from him.”
“From what Killian says they’re close to wrapping this up. He can’t stop now, not when they’re this close.” Celine glanced toward the hallway. “As you can see from tonight.”
Blair smiled. “I know. And if we do work things out I’m going to have to find patience I’m not sure I have. His job scares me, Celine. What happened to Rawley could happen to him.”
“I know.” Celine’s expression sobered. “I worry about Killian every single day. Every time he goes out I say a little prayer until he walks back through that door.”
“How do you live with it?”
“At first I didn’t handle it well at all. But Abbie helped me see it differently. She said if I wanted Killian I had to accept all of him, including the danger that comes with the job.” Celine looked at her. “She was right. I would never ask him to give it up. It’s who he is.”
“It’s who Hud is too,” Killian said quietly from the doorway.
Both women looked up.
He smiled at Celine. “Sorry to interrupt. I needed coffee.” He looked at Blair. “For what it’s worth, Hud is one of the best men I know. Give him a chance to explain himself.”
Then he disappeared back down the hallway.
Blair looked at Celine. Celine smiled into her wine glass.