Chapter Eight
Sitting in his patrol SUV, Russ had just disconnected from his call with the lawyer when he saw her sister drive up. He was still upset with how his visit with Jack Marshall had gone and his conversation with attorney Josie Brand Lander.
He shouldn’t have been surprised as he watched Amy Sue park and get out of her SUV to head toward the front door of the dealership. He hadn’t expected their paths to cross so soon.
“This can’t be good,” he said to himself and, grabbing his Stetson, climbed out from behind the wheel to try to run interference.
Just inside the door, he spotted her looking at a black Cadillac convertible sitting in the showroom. “I took you for an SUV or pickup driver,” he said, coming up beside her.
She turned, startled to see him. “Detective Tate.” The woman got a lot into those two words. She thought that he didn’t believe her, that he wasn’t trying to find out the truth, that Jack Marshall was untouchable even from the law in this city.
She was right on only one of those. He was sticking his neck out and trying not to get fired because it would make it harder for him to prove Jack Marshall was a murderer and get the justice the dead woman deserved—if she was right about the man.
“Looking for a new car?” he asked.
“Sure, why not?”
He chuckled as he saw her gaze drift in the direction of Marshall’s office.
He noticed that the man had closed his blinds after their earlier visit, an indication he didn’t want any more visitors today.
Russ figured Amy Sue was the last person he would want to see and hated to think how ugly things could get.
He didn’t want to have to arrest her after Marshall called the chief.
“Can I interest you in lunch?” he asked and saw her surprise. He lowered his voice, moving a little closer. “I suspect we might be here for the same reason. Also you look hungry.”
She frowned, took another glance at the closed blinds of Marshall’s office and said, “I could probably eat something.”
Once outside, he said, “Let’s take your rig.”
“Don’t want to be seen with me?” she joked.
“Not for the reasons you’re thinking,” he admitted. He could well imagine what his boss would have to say about it. Wouldn’t look good, the detective and the eyewitness fraternizing, even if there was no official case.
It wasn’t until they were seated at a nearby fast-food restaurant in a back corner spot away from the other patrons who might come in that she asked, “Were you protecting me or Jack Marshall back there?”
“You. I’d already talked to him about being on your ranch. I left him in a bad mood. I figured you were safer having lunch with me.”
“He denied it, didn’t he?” She sighed and picked up her menu, not waiting for an answer.
“Your sister sent me the photos, but I’d like to see the ones you took.”
She peeked out from behind the menu, eyeing him for a moment before she put it down and pulled out her phone. It took her only a few moments to call up the shots she’d taken. Without a word, she handed him the cell.
The first picture was of vehicle tracks. They could have been of any one of a dozen from Marshall’s lot, so not helpful.
But the boot prints were definitely interesting. Those could be matched to a pair of Marshall’s boots. Unfortunately, all it would prove though was that he’d lied about going out to her ranch, which Russ already knew. Amy Sue had seen him when he’d pretended to shoot her.
He handed back the phone as the waitress came by to take their orders. He doubted Amy Sue was no longer hungrier than he was, but they both ordered burgers loaded and iced tea, hers with lemon.
“What were you going to do at the dealership?” he asked after the waitress left to turn in their orders.
Another sigh, before she said, “Rattle his cage, why? Were you going to arrest me?”
He shook his head. “Your sister told me you were in town.”
As if sensing Josie had told him a lot more than that, she said, “You think I’m way out of my depth trying to bring him to justice, don’t you?” When he didn’t answer at once, she added, “I am, but someone has to do it.”
“What makes you think I’m not trying to do the same thing?”
She rolled her eyes. He noticed they were the color of the Montana summer sky.
He had seen how attractive she was the night she’d come to the police station to report a murder.
But sitting here facing him in the restaurant, he realized what it was about her that that he liked so much.
She hadn’t worn makeup, didn’t need it. Maybe that added to the healthy glow he saw in that ingenuous face.
There was something so pure about her. The words farm fresh came to mind, and he almost laughed. She was too sweet and naive to go after a man like Jack Marshall, and that scared him.
She was staring at him, probably because she’d caught him staring at her.
“So, if you’re investigating, does that mean you believe me?”
He couldn’t miss the hope in her tone. As much as he would have loved to encourage that hope, he couldn’t do it. “Let’s just say, I have more questions than answers. I suspect you do, too.”
“So you don’t believe me. No wonder I didn’t think the police were doing anything,” she said, glancing away.
“I am looking into it. But I’m concerned that you are, too. I’d hate to see you put yourself in danger.”
She chuckled, her gaze returning to hold his.
“Why, Detective, would I be in danger? There was no murder, Jack Marshall was in Great Falls, and he’s never killed a fly let alone a woman, so what would I have to fear?
” Her blue eyes bored into him. “So why are you bothering to investigate if it never happened?”
“I’m a police detective. It’s what I do.”
She rolled her eyes again. “If you really are investigating, tell me something you’ve found out.”
Russ told himself that he wouldn’t be sharing police information he shouldn’t since there was no case, no body, no investigation. “I did wonder if Marshall had invested in the development where you tried to rent an apartment.”
“Had he?”
“No, but he knows the men behind the project. But that’s not against the law.”
She met his gaze again. He swore she had the bluest eyes he’d ever seen. “You know he did it, don’t you?”
He hadn’t expected her to ask him point-blank, and for a moment, he was taken aback. Amy Sue Brand might be a little naive about how big-city politics worked, but she was no shrinking violet, and that worried him.
“All the evidence says otherwise,” Russ said in answer.
She gave him a disgusted look. He thought for a moment that she would get up and leave, letting him find his own way back to his patrol SUV. Fortunately, their food came. He saw her making up her mind. Stay or go? She looked down at the burger and fries placed in front of her.
“Do you know how a person could get from Great Falls to Billings, murder a woman, and then get back to Great Falls quickly enough it would appear he’d never left?” she asked and picked up a French fry from her plate.
Staying, he thought with a hidden smile. He was glad, more than glad, and that worried him because he liked her. Both the chief and his partner had warned him about getting too involved.
“No, but it’s an interesting problem, don’t you think?”
She grinned at him. “You mean trying to figure out how a person could be in two places at the same time? Or simple math? When I checked the mileage between the two cities, there was no way he could have driven back and forth. He had to have flown, but there were no connecting flights that would have worked. So that meant—”
“—he flew by private plane.”
She cocked her head at him, her eyes gleaming. “Sounds like we both came to the same conclusion.”
“It’s the only way he could have done it, because I’ve checked out his alibi. Jack Marshall was at the conference in Great Falls. I know he flew there on Thursday and back on Sunday. He admitted to that, according to my chief.”
“But that doesn’t mean he didn’t leave for a while. Does he have his pilot’s license? Own a small jet, since that would be the fastest?”
“Jack Marshall does have his pilot’s license and owns a small plane, but not a jet. Sorry to disappoint you.”
Amy Sue shook her head. “I figure Jack Marshall is the kind of man that he knows someone with a jet who would have been happy to fly him back and forth—even in the middle of the conference.”
“No one has come forward,” Russ said.
“Because no one knows about the murder accusation against him, do they? The person has no reason to come forward with information.”
Clearly, she’d given this a lot of thought. “That’s true, and unfortunately, I don’t have probable cause so I can’t get a warrant from a judge to check the private flights and passengers to see how he could have committed murder before returning to Great Falls.”
“No body, no evidence other than that pesky eyewitness,” she said with a shake of her head. “You’re no longer saying alleged murder,” she said, smiling.
Russ shook his head but couldn’t help smiling. He’d said more than he knew he should have, but he wanted to be as honest as he could with her. She was right about one thing. She had no business investigating Jack Marshall. Neither did he. “I believe you saw a murder but what we need is—”
“A body.”
“That would definitely move things along,” he said. “But just a missing person matching the description you provided might be enough to get the department to investigate. Right now, there is no case, no body, no evidence, no investigation.”
“Except ours,” she said, and took a bite of her meal.
“That’s what worries me. If we’re right, you’re rattling the cage of a killer.”
She chewed for a moment, swallowed and asked, “Could you lose your job if anyone finds out what you’re doing?”
“I’m not worried about that as much as I’m worried Marshall will get wind of what we’re doing and come after you. After all, you’re the eyewitness. Without you…”
Russ saw her shudder at his words. From the beginning she’d known how dangerous it was. “I’d feel so much better if you went back to the ranch and—”
“I’m not safe there anymore either,” she said. “I’m not safe anywhere. That’s why I’m here in Billings. I won’t be safe until Jack Marshall is behind bars.”
“What if that doesn’t happen?” he had to ask.
“Knowing the lengths Jack Marshall went to to cover up his crime? From the moment I saw him coming out of the ranch road, I’ve felt it was just a matter of time before he gets rid of me.
I’m a loose end and from what I can tell, he doesn’t like loose ends.
So my life was in jeopardy the moment I saw him stab that woman to death. There is no going back from that.”
Russ understood, that’s why he was worried about her. Marshall had too much power as a prominent figure in this city, this state, and a far reach in politics. Even behind bars, the man would be dangerous.
He feared she was right. She wasn’t safe anywhere. Even if she stopped investigating the murder right now, she would still be a risk for Marshall. “We need someone to report this woman missing and soon.”
But even with that, he wasn’t sure it would be easy to tie her to Marshall. The man was too careful. Yet he had to believe there was a way to bring Marshall to justice, because he could see how much Amy Sue needed to believe it.
Smiling, he reached over and took her hand. “We’re going to get him. I’m not giving up, and I can see that you aren’t either.”
She shook her head. “I know you don’t like me rattling his cage—.”
“No, I don’t. He might decide to take care of you sooner than later.”
“Well, if he does, I know you’ll catch him.”
He squeezed her hand. “I don’t even want to think about anything happening to you.
” Color rose in her cheeks. He quickly let go of her hand, reminding himself that he was the detective, and she was the eyewitness.
“Please, Amy Sue, be careful. You’re still staying at the hotel, right?
” She nodded. “Don’t ever let him get you alone. ”