Chapter 1 #3
It didn’t take very long for authorized vehicles to start pulling in. Nor did it take very long for Joel and Timber to be pushed out of the way. He looked over at Timber and asked, “Why don’t you head back home? I’ll drop off the eagle and come back here and keep watch.”
Timber hesitated. “It would be nice to think I didn’t have to keep track of anything,” he muttered, “but I do want to keep an eye out here.”
“So you stay until I drop off the eagle. Then I’ll take over. Tell Toby that I may or may not get his stuff today.”
Timber snorted. “We’re kind of used to that too.”
“Exactly, so if we can oversee some of this and get some information, that would be good.”
At that, Richard walked over and announced, “I need a statement from both of you.”
“Fair enough,” Timber replied.
Joel added, “I hate to say it, but you also need to talk to Chelsea.”
“Why?” he asked, with a raised eyebrow.
“She’s the one who told us that this truck seemed to be camping out here.”
“Camping?” he asked, his tone sharp.
“Yes, I think she saw somebody at the driver’s door here.”
“Well, why didn’t you say so?”
“We didn’t get that far yet.” Joel glared at him and shrugged. “I’m telling you now.” At that, Joel turned and looked at Timber. “I guess the real question is—”
Timber immediately nodded, not needing him to say any more. “Yeah, the real question is whether she’s in danger because she may have seen the driver.”
“Well, crap.” Richard stared at them. “You guys really know how to build trouble upon trouble.”
“We don’t bring trouble, but we sure do find it,” Timber retorted. “Chelsea was out here thanking me for the help I’d given her and offering to come back and do some volunteer work,” Timber explained. “I highly doubt that should be classified as causing trouble.”
Richard shook his head. “You have so many people out here now that I can’t keep track.”
“We do have a lot of people, not a ton, but we do have quite a few. If you give me a photograph of the victim’s face,” Timber suggested, “I’ll talk to everybody and see if any of my people have seen him or recognize him.”
Yet Richard was hesitant to do that.
Timber snorted. “You don’t have the manpower to do everything,” he pointed out. “The least I can do is ask around,” he noted. “On the other hand, you’re welcome to come talk to all my men yourself.”
Richard groaned. “We just have to deal with it. So go ahead and ask. I’ve got to get a picture first anyway. And I’ll talk to Chelsea.”
“Chelsea’s probably back at the farm, but she’s working at the hospital later today,” Joel offered.
Richard nodded. “So the body will be transported to the morgue,” he thought out loud, frowning. “It’ll take them a while to do the forensics on this, and the vehicle needs to be towed into town.”
Joel added cheerfully, “And whether or not it’s stolen is another question I would love to know the answer to.”
“Aren’t you the guy who does that cyber stuff?”
“Some, but it’s more about a friend of mine,” he clarified, with a careless wave of his hands. “I do know quite a bit about that field. I considered going into it myself at some point in time. I’m just not into it right now.”
“Right, and you’re working for Timber? Doing what?”
“I am working with him,” Joel corrected, his tone cool. He always felt defensive whenever anybody asked him questions about what he was doing and where he was in life because he didn’t really have any answers. “Building infrastructure at the Haven.”
They discussed it a little bit further before Richard went over to the crime scene, came back with a photo of the victim, and held it out for them.
“Send it to me,” Timber said.
With that done, Richard said, “I’ll need Chelsea’s contact information.”
“You don’t have it already?” Joel asked, knowing that her mother’s case was still current and pending.
Richard winced. “Yeah, I probably do,” he muttered absentmindedly, staring at the picture of the dead man. “I didn’t expect to contact her over something like this again so soon.”
“None of us were,” Timber noted.
Richard nodded. “She’s been through a lot lately.”
“And yet she’s come out on the other side and is doing really well,” Joel declared.
“Good, glad to hear that. She’s a pretty tough cookie.”
“Oh, I agree with that too,” Joel added.
Richard looked over at him with half a grin. “I hear something in your tone. Are you interested by any chance?” Then he frowned. “That’s all right. I won’t tell her. However, you probably better move quickly, as lots of the guys have been talking about her.”
“What do you mean by talking about her?” Joel asked, his eyebrows raised.
“She’s a beautiful woman, and she’s single, which, around a small town like this, there will be talk and plenty of interest.”
“Great,” Joel muttered. He looked over at Timber, whose lips were twitching, and just glared back at him. “Don’t you say anything.”
“I’m not saying nothing,” Timber replied, with a huge grin. “Yet, as I told you this morning, you need to sort that out fast.”
“Whatever,” he grumbled, as he frowned at his buddy. Turning to Richard and the business at hand, he told him, “You want my statement now or later? As for Chelsea’s statement, maybe wait until the end of the day.”
Richard said smoothly, “Looks like it will be by then that I get to hers. I’ll take yours later. Nothing really to see here at the moment anyway. Once we get this off to forensics,” he noted, “it’ll take a bit because we don’t have a team here—which, in a case like this, just sucks.”
Joel nodded, knowing things always seemed to move so slowly here. “What about me?” he asked Timber.
“Head to the raptor center. That eagle needs attention first,” Timber replied, “and try to get the rest of the supplies that we need afterward if you can.”
“Got it,” Joel confirmed. As he got into his vehicle, Timber walked over to him. Joel asked him, “Why is Richard so cranky? Is there a problem?”
“Nothing new. Call Chelsea and tell her before she finds out from someone else.”
Joel nodded. “I told her that I would update her anyway.”
“Good enough.” And then Timber looked back at him as he walked away. “And Richard is right, you know?”
“About what?” Joel snapped, but he knew.
“Single beautiful women like that, coming out of that situation, are usually heartbroken and can be vulnerable. Believe me that there’ll be lots of interest in Chelsea.” With a smile, Timber jumped into his truck, turning it around and heading back to the Haven.
For whatever reason that warning irritated Joel as he drove into town. He had a special connection with Chelsea already. They’d spent most of their spare time together. It amounted to not much in terms of actual hours, not many at all, as they were both so busy.
Hell yes, he was interested. But that didn’t mean he was ready to start something. Then again, was anybody ever ready for that? He didn’t know.
The drive to Raptors Retreat was only fifteen minutes. By the time he drove into the yard, he wasn’t surprised to see he was expected.
An older gruff-looking woman walked over, her hand out. “I’m Ruth. Timber told me that you have an injured eagle?”
“Yes, found it on the road to his place. He could help with the wing but doesn’t have any space for raptors.”
“Right, they have special needs.” She watched him closely as he went to the back of his truck and brought out the animal carrier.
She looked at him approvingly. “And it’s important that we stay in our own lanes.
Only then can we make sure our specialized rescues get the funding and support that’s needed.
” She squatted in front of the carrier and nodded. “Let’s take him inside.”
She lifted the carrier like it wasn’t holding a massive bird and strode off in the direction of the closest building.
Curious, he walked around, studying the place.
Since it catered to birds, massive cages were all around him.
Surprised, intrigued, and impressed, he followed her into a treatment center, where an older man waited.
Together they opened the carrier and freed the eagle of both its cage and the blanket.
The exam was quick, followed by X-rays.
Joel hovered, watching the proceedings to ensure they could look after this guy and could bring about a good ending.
Ruth looked over at him. “We’ll fix the wing, and he should see a full recovery.”
He beamed like the suddenly protective father he was. “I’m so happy to hear that. Can you release him back at Timber’s place where we found him?”
“Sure. You can be there too, if you want.”
The older man smiled at him, as if seeing another animal lover too.
“I would like that.”
With the paperwork taken care of, he walked out feeling like today had at least one good ending. Now to get to town and pick up the rest of the supplies.
As he drove in, Chelsea phoned him.
“Hey,” she greeted him. “I’m dying with curiosity. Did you come up with any answers?”
“Yes and no. First let me tell you the good news.” He filled her in on the eagle’s plight and its trip to get its wing fixed.
“Oh my, I didn’t even see it,” she cried out. “I was looking only at the truck.”
“Well, good thing we found the truck so we could also help the eagle.”
Silence came, as they both mulled over that. Then he added, “Unfortunately I have news about the truck.” And when he filled her in, she gasped several times. “So be prepared to give a statement.”
“But I don’t know anything,” she cried out.
“I understand that, and I explained what you told us, but the authorities need to hear it from you. Plus, from Richard’s perspective, you probably saw the killer.”
“Oh my God, I—” She just froze.
“I get it. That’s the last thing you need, and we don’t even know who the victim is. I do have a picture that Richard sent to us, and he’ll come to talk to you later. If I don’t see you before then, he can show you the image too. We need to identify who this man is.”
“And why leave him there?”