Twenty-Five

The lock on the front door rattled and Arn instinctively reached for the gun in his ankle holster. He forgot he’d left it on the kitchen counter, and he felt foolish. Ana Maria came into the house and walked into the half-finished living room that had once been Arn’s mother’s sewing room. It was the room in the house that was closest to being completed, and she dropped into the bean bag chair the “chair fairy” had left for Danny. “What you watching?”

Danny paused the recording. “Last year’s episodes of Days of Our Lives. Aiden just about killed Hope before Bo rescued her.” He jerked his thumb at Arn. “And Mr. Congeniality here is brooding.”

“I am not brooding,” Arn said. He absently smeared polish on his boots and turned to Ana Maria. “I’m just running Jillie and Don’s scenarios through my head.”

“We saw your special tonight,” Danny said. “The high sheriff’s going to be miffed with you giving Slade so much air time.”

Ana Maria uncapped a water bottle. “I wanted to knee that fool in the jewels tonight. If he keeps up with that baseless theory that Jillie was one of a rustling team, we’re never going to get anywhere.”

“We saw he was back espousing that crap,” Arn said. Under the bright lights of the TV camera, Slade had claimed as proof that Jillie was a member of the rustling ring the fact that no more sheep thefts had occurred since her murder.

“And he believes that the other half of the team fled after killing Don Whales,” Ana Maria said. “Just what I need on top of someone following me from work.”

Arn set his boots and shoe brush down. “Who followed you?”

Ana Maria didn’t answer, but she glanced at the front door.

Arn picked up on it and looked in the direction she did. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. One follow you in here or something?”

Ana Maria shuddered. “I didn’t actually see anyone following me. I … felt someone was back there.”

Danny turned off the television and stood. “You need something to calm you down.”

He left the room, and Arn turned his chair to face Ana Maria. “How do you know you were followed?”

“I just know it. Don’t ask me how. Call it women’s intuition or something.”

Arn knew her feelings were righteous. Back when he worked the street, he’d had several woman patrol partners. He’d learned that whenever they indicated things weren’t right, he should listen. And he’d had his butt saved more than a few times heeding their hunches. “When did it start?”

Ana Maria rubbed her temples. “This afternoon. I went to the sheriff’s office to meet with Slade about tonight’s airing, and as soon as I left, I felt it.” She held up her hand. “I know it sounds crazy—”

Arn laid his hand on her arm. “No, it doesn’t.”

Danny returned with bowls of ice cream for all and handed Ana Maria the biggest one. “This will help you.”

“It will?”

“Hell if I know,” Danny said. “But I’ve been looking for an excuse to have ice cream all night.” He took a small spoonful into his mouth. “Maybe it was Little Jim Reilly following you. He was stalking Arn.”

“That’s a possibility,” Ana Maria said.

“Maybe not.” Arn licked ice cream from the side of his bowl. “You say you never saw the person following you?”

Ana Maria waved the air with her spoon. “I’m probably overreacting, what with the killer still on the loose and me the focal point of the TV special. But no, I never actually saw anyone on my tail.”

Arn set his ice cream down. “Let’s go on the premise that someone is following you. If that’s the case, it’s hard to believe it’s Little Jim. Remember me telling you how clumsy he was when he tailed me? I made him right off, and confronted him even easier. That man’s not cunning enough to follow someone without being spotted.”

“Maybe he learned something when he tailed you,” Ana Maria said. “Maybe he got a whole lot cagier once you made him. After all, he wants to find his daughter’s killer in the worst way.”

“All the same, let’s go on the assumption that someone besides Little Jim is following you.” Arn motioned to Danny. “Double check all the window locks, and test the alarm.”

“I’ll get right on it,” Danny said and left the room.

“Maybe I’d better pack my revolver from now on,” Ana Maria said. “The sooner we catch this killer, the sooner we can all relax.” She finished her ice cream and sank lower in the chair. “Slade is convinced that the guy Jillie chased out of the bar might have been one of her rustling partners. That’s what she was going to squeal on the guy about.”

“Then why confront him that night in the bar?” Arn asked. “And if it was her partner, outing him would be as bad for her.”

Ana Maria shrugged. “Slade thinks the booze replaced whatever good judgment she might have had that night.” She stood and glanced at the front door as if expecting someone to come busting in. “What did Eddie Glass tell you about his new set of tires?”

Arn explained how Eddie justified buying new tires. “He told me to pack sand when I asked where he bought them. ‘You don’t believe me, you can kiss my behind,’ he told me. ‘Figure that out yourself, mister investigator.’”

“Well, I talked with him twice,” Ana Maria said, “and each time—besides hitting on me—he got a little too close in my space for my comfort.”

“Of course he hit on you. He’s a womanizer and you’re an attractive lady.”

“Then why did he preface it with ‘even though you’re not exactly my type’ before he insisted on shaking hands? I wanted to douse myself in hand sanitizer after that.”

“Don’t get on his bad side if you talk with him again,” Arn said. “The man’s got a temper. I’m thinking he needs more anger management therapy with Dr. Oakert. If I’d have pushed a little yesterday, he would have taken a swing at me.”

“That’s what Slade said. Eddie stomped into the jail today demanding they release Karen. The detention officers had to call in the street deputies to escort him out. Slade says Eddie holds us both accountable for Karen’s arrest.” She laid her hand on his shoulder. “I’m just glad you were able to get the best of her.”

Arn finished his ice cream and set his bowl on the floor. “She’ll be waiting a bond hearing, but keep your eyes pasted for Eddie. I’m thinking he’s not going to take his woman getting arrested lying down.”

“That’s what some chick at the bar told me who went home with Eddie just once.” Ana Maria wrapped her arms around herself as if she were cold. “‘He liked the rough stuff,’ this woman said. ‘Slapped me around, and pulled a hunk of my hair out.’ She said that Saturday night when she spotted Eddie come into the Boot Hill, she lit out the back before he saw her.”

The front door alarm chirped and Danny quickly reset it before coming back into the room. “So we got Eddie who is a possessive SOB,” he said as he picked up his bowl of melted ice cream. “And we got the guy who Jillie chased out of the bar as suspects.”

“And we got the third suspect,” Arn said. “What my training officer as a rookie told me. ‘There’s always that suspect you don’t see,’ Rolf Vincent used to say, ‘and that’ll be your real suspect, dummy.’”

“You’re suggesting there’s a third suspect we haven’t thought of?” Ana Maria asked.

“That’s just what I’m saying.” Arn finished his ice cream and picked up his boots and the brush.

Danny collected the bowls and set them aside. “We still don’t know what connects Don Whales to Jillie, except he was playing with his band at the Boot Hill that night.”

“Did you find out anything else about Don?” Arn asked.

Ana Maria grabbed a long reporter’s notebook from her purse and flipped pages. “Nothing new. Retired Army vet. Worked the motor pool in Iraq. Little disposable income. He formed his band not so much because he had a love of music but because he needed to make some extra money to supplement his mechanic side business.”

“I got it. I got it,” Danny blurted out. He stood and paced in front of Arn and Ana Maria as if he were addressing a jury. “How about this: Slade might be right—Jillie might have been one part of the Midnight Sheepherder, and her partner might have been Don. Maybe when she ran out the bar that night she never left with anybody, but waited for him until he was done playing for the evening.”

Arn nudged Danny. “You just might make an investigator.”

“Might.” Danny smiled. “How’s this—after his nightly gig wrapped up, Don and Jillie took a drive, maybe to steal sheep, and things went south between them.” He wrapped his hands around his thin neck. “And that was lights out for Jillie.”

Arn held his boots to the light. “I don’t know. I’m still convinced Don was murdered because he saw the killer that night in the bar. And it was just a matter of time before he realized it.”

“Or that third suspect.” Danny smiled. “See, it’s practically solved.”