“The first one I saw was around six feet tall. He had a football-player build, with a clean-shaven face. His hair was light red...kind of strawberry blond. He had a thick neck and big hands. Other than that, I remember that he had light skin and freckles.” Makena remembered the men vividly because they were so different.
Colton nodded.
“The second guy had one of those 1970s mustaches on an otherwise clean face. Black hair with big bushy eyebrows. He had these puffed-out cheeks like he had a big wad of gum or tobacco in his jaws. His hair was short and thick and a little wavy. I remember that he was several inches shorter than Red. They were so distinct-looking and oddly matched. Opposites. That’s what I remember about them from that night.”
“Did you have a chance to hear their voices? Would you recognize them if you heard them?”
She shook her head.
“Cops?” he asked.
“I don’t know for certain. I can’t be one hundred percent sure. They looked like they were law enforcement. They had that cop carriage, if you know what I mean.”
Colton nodded. He seemed to know exactly what she was talking about. There was just a cop swagger. Being on the job, wearing a holster for long shifts day in and day out caused them to hold their arms out a little more than usual. They also walked with the kind of confidence that said they could handle themselves in almost any situation. They had the training to back it up.
“What shift did your ex work?” Colton asked.
“Deep nights. He requested them. Said he liked to be out and about when everyone else was asleep.” She couldn’t imagine anything had changed in the past few months since she’d been gone, considering the fact that River had been on deep nights for almost fifteen years.
“A couple of my brothers work in law enforcement,” he said.
“Oh yeah?”
“U.S. Marshals. They would help if we brought them up to speed.” Colton had scribbled down descriptions of Red and Mustache Man. He also made notes about River’s shift preference. Considering it was only ten thirty in the morning, River would be home and still asleep.
“I’m not sure it’s such a good idea.” A lot was coming at her, fast. She needed a minute to process. “Can I think about it first?”
He nodded and then moved on. “Could he afford the residence you shared on his own?”
“I moved into his bachelor pad and fixed it up. It’s likely that he’s still there. He doesn’t really like change.”
Colton checked the clock on his dashboard. It was almost like he read her thoughts. He started the engine of his sport utility. “I have a few calls to make that might go a little easier in my office. You okay with that?”
What he was really asking was would she stay with him? She could read between the lines. Since she had nowhere to go, literally, and no friends in town, she nodded. The honest truth was that she didn’t feel safe with anyone but Colton. Being with him was warmth and campfires despite the dangers all around.
She leaned her head back and brought her hands up to rub her temples. Her head hurt. A dull ache was forming between her eyes. The headache distracted her from her hip pain. Now, there was something. She was getting punchy.
Makena appreciated the fact that the ride to Colton’s office was short. She climbed out of the sport utility, her hip reminding her that it wasn’t quite finished with her yet.
The driver’s-side door of a blue sports sedan popped open two spots down, the driver having cut off the engine almost the minute she stepped out of the SUV. Makena flinched.
The person held something toward Colton. As the youngish man, early thirties if she had to guess, bum-rushed them, Colton tensed. His gaze bounced from being locked onto the guy he seemed to recognize and then across the rest of the cars in the lot. The way he watched anything that moved reminded her just how out in the open they were in the parking lot.
The jerk with what she recognized as his phone in his hand caught up to them. “Sheriff O’Connor.”
“Mike.”
“Sir, do you care to comment on your sister’s kidnapping and the recent crime wave in Katy Gulch?”
Colton stopped dead in his tracks. He turned to face the guy named Mike, who Makena assumed was a reporter. “That story has been dead for decades, Mike. What’s wrong? Slow news week?”
“Sir, I—I—I...”
“I accept your apology, Mike. Now, if you don’t mind, I have business to attend to in my office.” Colton turned his back on the reporter and started walking toward the building. He said out the side of his mouth, “But if there are any new leads, you’ll be the first to know.”
Considering Colton’s stiff demeanor, it was clear to Makena the story about his sister’s kidnapping was off-limits.
Mike stood there, looking dumbfounded.
Makena heard what was said, and she couldn’t help but think about the fact that Colton’s father had just died. She wondered if the two incidents were connected in some way. That had to be unlikely, given that Colton himself had said his sister’s kidnapping was decades old. Colton had also mentioned a kidnapping attempt on his newly minted sister-in-law’s adopted daughter and then there was his father’s death. A family like the O’Connors could be a target for any twisted individual who wanted to make a buck. A shudder raced through her. She could only imagine based on her experience of living in fear for the months on end what it must be like living on guard at all times.
Colton had mentioned that a couple of his brothers had gone on to become US marshals. He was sheriff. She had to wonder if their choices to go into law enforcement had anything to do with a need to protect each other and keep their family safe.
The minute Colton walked through the front door and into the lobby, a woman who seemed to be in her late sixties popped up from her desk, set the phone call she’d been on down, and ran over to give Colton a warm hug. The moment was sweet and the action seemed to come from a genuine place.
“Thank heavens you’re okay.” The woman had to be Gert, Makena guessed from the sound of her voice. It also made sense that she would be at Colton’s office.
When Gert finally released him from the hug, he introduced her to Makena.
“I’m pleased as punch to meet you. I’m sorry for the day you’ve had. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Water?”
“Coffee sounds great. Just point me in a direction and I can get my own cup.” Makena echoed Gert’s sentiments. Now that she’d had a minute to process the fact that her ex had tried to blow her to smithereens, she needed a strong cup of coffee.
“Don’t be silly. I’d be happy to get you a cup. I just put on a fresh pot.”
“If you’re offering, I’ll take a cup of that coffee, too.” He placed his hand on the small of Makena’s back and led her through a glass door that he had to scan his badge to enter. He hooked a right in what looked to be a U-shaped building and then led her halfway down the hall. His office was on the right.
“Make yourself comfortable,” Colton said. “Is there anything else you’d like besides coffee?”
“No, thank you.” The shock of the day’s events was starting to wear off. The annoying ringing noise was a constant companion as she moved to the leather sofa and then took a seat.
Colton moved behind his desk. “Professional courtesy dictates that I make a call to Mr. Myers’s chief before questioning him.”
“Won’t that give River a heads-up that you want to speak to him?” The thought of being in the same room again with her ex fired more of that anger through her veins. It needed to be a courtroom, the next time. And he needed to be going to jail for a very long time. One way or another, she would find a way for justice to be served and keep him from harming other innocent people. But the River she knew wouldn’t exactly lie down and take what was coming his way. Without a doubt, he’d deny any involvement.
The explosion and fire would have made certain there were no fingerprints. When she really thought about the crime, it was an easy way on his part to get away with murder. No one would know her in Katy Gulch. That meant she would most likely have ended up a Jane Doe. She’d quit her job and disappeared. No one would miss her.
She could vanish and there was no one to notice. How sad had her life become since marrying him, since her mother’s drawn-out illness, that Makena could die at the hands of her ex and no one would know?
The only person she knew in Katy Gulch was Colton. He would have had no reason to suspect a blast from the past. He wouldn’t have been looking for her. And if she’d been badly burned, which seemed like the plan, her face would have been unrecognizable anyway. It had been a near-perfect setup.
She flexed and released her fingers a couple of times to work out some of the tension. She rolled her shoulders back and took in a couple of deep breaths. She couldn’t imagine trying to hurt someone she supposedly cared about.
Colton’s voice broke through her heavy thoughts. She realized he was on a call.
“Yes, sir. My name is Sheriff Colton O’Connor and I need to speak with Chief Shelton. This is a professional courtesy call and I need to speak to him about one of his officers.” Colton was silent for a few beats. And then came, “Thank you, sir.”
A few more beats of silence, and then someone must’ve picked up on the other line. Gert walked in about that same moment with two mugs of coffee in her hands. She set the first one down on Colton’s desk, which was the closest to her. The other one she brought over to Makena, who accepted the offering and thanked Colton’s secretary for her kindness.
Gert produced a couple packets of sugar and a pack of creamer from her pocket and set them down on the coffee table along with a stir stick. Gert made eye contact and nodded. The sincerity, warmth and compassion in her gaze settled over Makena. It was easy to see the woman had a heart of gold. She disappeared out of the room after Makena mouthed a thank-you.
“As I said before, this is a professional courtesy call to let you know that the name of one of your police officers came up in the course of an investigation today.” Colton was silent for a moment. “Yes, sir. The officer’s name is River Myers. A few more seconds of silence followed. “Is that right?” A longer pause. This time the silence dragged on. Colton glanced at her, caught her eye and then nodded. She could tell there was a storm brewing behind his cobalt eyes.
After Colton explained to the Dallas police chief that he wanted to speak to River in connection with an attempted murder case, there was even more silence.
Colton ended the call by thanking the chief for his time and by promising that he would keep him abreast of his investigation.
“What did he say?” She waited for Colton to hang up before asking the question.
“He wished me luck with my investigation. He said his office was fully prepared to cooperate. And then he informed me that River Myers is on administrative leave pending an investigation.”
Makena gasped as all kinds of horrible thoughts crossed her mind. “Did he say what River was being investigated for?”
Colton’s earlier words that she needed to speak up so she could prevent anyone else from getting hurt slammed into her. Had River done something to another woman he was in a relationship with?
“The chief said he really can’t share a lot of details for an ongoing investigation, but in the spirit of reciprocity, he said an internal affairs division investigation was underway on two counts of police brutality and one count of extortion.”
Relief washed over Makena that River wasn’t already being looked at for murder. He was, now. “What does being placed on administrative leave mean?”
“It’s basically where he would be required to hand in his department-issued weapons along with his badge until the investigation is over and it’s decided whether or not any criminal charges would be filed.” Colton took a sip of coffee.
Makena brought her hand up to her mouth. If River had still been on the job, they would know exactly where to find him. “Does this mean what I think? That he’s out there somewhere? Going rogue?”
“That is a distinct possibility.” Colton’s grip on his coffee mug caused his knuckles to go white. With his free hand, he drummed his fingers on his desk. “I need to issue a BOLO with his name and description. I don’t want my deputies being caught unawares if they happen to run into him personally or on a traffic stop.”
Colton mentioned a couple of other things before jumping into action. Not five minutes later, he’d had Gert issue the BOLO, he’d started the report on the explosion, and he’d nearly polished off his second cup of coffee. Once he’d taken care of those preliminary details, he looked at her. “My next call needs to be to my mother. But first, I want to know where you stand. Will you stay with me until the investigation runs its course?”
The look on his face suggested he expected an argument. She had none.
“I appreciate the offer. You already know my concerns about bringing danger to your doorstep. And then there’s your boys to consider.”
“Don’t worry about my sons. For the time being, they’ll be safe at the ranch. I know my mom will pull through and yet she’s the one I worry about the most. I have two new sisters-in-law I forgot about before, who I can ask to pitch in. The ranch has a lot of security in place already, and I don’t mind adding to it. In fact, it might not be a bad idea for me to take you to my home there. Times will come up when I have to leave for the investigation or for work, and I want to know that you’re safe.”
Makena could stay on the ranch safely with all the extra security. She could not live with bringing danger around Colton and his children. “I’ll stay with you at your apartment or I’ll wait here at your office if you need to investigate someone without me there. But I won’t go to the ranch. It’s too dangerous for the people.”
Colton rubbed the scruff on his chin. He took a sip of coffee. “That’s fair.”
She hoped so, because it was the only offer on the table. If she had to sit in the office for an entire day, she would. There was no way in hell she was going to risk his family. Granted, River wanted her. But she couldn’t be certain that he wouldn’t use one of them to draw her out. It was a gamble she had no intention of taking.
Makena rolled up her sleeves and drained her cup. She set the mug down on the coffee table. She placed her flat palms on her thighs and looked at Colton.
“What’s next?”
“You tell me everything you can think of about your ex. His favorite restaurant. Whether or not he’s a fisherman and has a fishing lease. Is he a hunter? Does he have a hunting license? Who are his friends? And then, I go track him down.”
“Hold on there. I’m the best person to help find him. I want to go to Dallas with you.”
“Not a chance. The agreement we just made was that you would stay here while I investigate. It’s either here or my apartment. I need to know that I can trust you to do what you say you’re going to do.”
“I wouldn’t lie to you. I just thought it would be easier to track him down with me involved.”
“If you’re his target and he sees you, it could be game over.”
“I’m not arguing. However, trying to blow me to pieces on a timer once I thought I was safely inside an RV doesn’t exactly make me feel like he wants to be connected to my murder in any way. In fact, he seems to be taking great pains to kill me without leaving any trail back to him.”
“True enough. The explosion was most likely meant to cover his tracks. We also have to broaden the scope. You saw his friends...or...acquaintances might be a better word. You said yourself they were speaking in hushed tones. We can go after them, too. They might be acting on his behalf or they might be on their own.”
“Oh, I doubt anyone would do that. Not with River’s temper. He never struck me as the type to step aside.”
“We have to keep unbiased eyes on the case and we have to follow the evidence. Right now, you saw two people from your past in town three days ago and that spawned you to disappear into the RV.”
“Allegedly saw. I mean, they were far away and I can’t be one hundred percent certain it was them.”
“Okay. What are the chances the two guys you saw, even at a distance, weren’t the men you saw in your garage?” He was playing devil’s advocate. She could see that. Looking at the case from every angle probably made him a good investigator.
It was impossible for Makena not to lead with emotions in this case. For one, the explosion was targeted at her. And for another, River’s threats echoed in her mind. To her thinking, he was delivering on threats he’d made six months ago.