Page 59 of Solid as Steele
“I don’t mind talking about the investigation.” Owen took a big bite of the roll and groaned. “Good.” He swallowed. “What do you want to know?”
“I’d like to know if you got your case files and what your LT had to say,” Mackenzie jumped in while her grandad finished chewing his bite of casserole.
Owen set down his roll and grabbed his mug to take a sip. “I got them, and he decided to let me proceed under his supervision. Means I have to check in with him a few times a day, and as he said, call him before I approach anyone that I might make mad.”
“Which if you’re doing your job right, could be most anyone,” her grandad said.
“Right. Still, if I don’t plan tomakethem mad, and they happen togetmad, I can beg forgiveness.” Owen grinned.
“Attaboy.” Her grandad smiled.
Her gran slapped her hand in his direction. “Now don’t encourage him, Artie.”
Mackenzie explained to her grandparents about Owen’s memory loss. “Anything in the files that helped you remember why you were in John Day?”
“Plenty.” He took a sip of coffee. “I’m investigating a murder in Camas. The guy, Jamar Bussey, was gunned down outside his house. Slugs recovered from the body are .308 Winchesters.”
“A rifle then,” Mackenzie said.
Owen swallowed his bite. “You know your guns.”
“Know enough,” she answered.
“Made sure all of my girls know their weapons,” her granddad said. “This guy have a sheet?”
Owen shook his head. “Not even an arrest for shoplifting.”
“A .308 is one of the most popular hunting calibers, especially for deer hunting,” her grandad said. “And makes sense that out in John Day you could be looking for a hunter.”
Owen nodded. “Which is why I initially went to John Day to visit OffGrid Outfitters where a Ned Leach works as a guide. He’s Jamar Bussey’s good friend and was visiting Bussey the week he was murdered. The two had a heated argument in a bar before Bussey was gunned down, and Leach had supposedly left town. I haven’t been able to confirm that he actually did leave, and he’s my number one suspect in Bussey’s death.”
Mackenzie set down her fork, and it clanked on her plate. “His job makes him a strong suspect then.”
“Yes, though my detailed background check on him shows he’s clean. But he wouldn’t return my calls, so I planned a surprise visit. Problem was, when I got here, he was out scouting for the spring hunting season and wasn’t due back for a week. His boss gave me coordinates of the location where I could find him, and I hiked out there. That’s where I was attacked.”
“It’s odd that he’d be scouting on the land where my rental property sits,” Mackenzie said.
“Apparently, OffGrid Outfitters has a hunting lease with the owner of the property for the outer reaches of their land. I didn’t find him, but after I found the remains and came around the butte, that’s when I was attacked and left for dead.”
“You think it was this Leach fella?” her grandad asked.
Owen nodded. “Don’t know who else it would be.”
“But how would he know who you were?” her gran asked.
“I figure his boss called Leach after my visit to give the guy a heads-up that I was looking for him and that he’d given me his location.” Owen planted his hands on the table. “But I’m just speculating, and that’s the first question I plan to ask Leach’s supervisor when I get back to John Day.”
“And the second question?” her grandad asked.
Owen gripped the edge of the table. “Where in the world can I find Ned Leach?”
The car came to a stop, and Mackenzie jolted awake, her mind struggling to figure out her location. She blinked and looked around as Owen shifted into park in the OffGrid Outfitters’ lot. A large sign with a logo that included a rifle, kayak, and fishing pole sat above an old log cabin with worn logs and green trim.
She stretched and looked at Owen. “I’m embarrassed I slept so long.”
“I’m glad you did.” He removed the key from his F-150 with all the bells and whistles and incredibly soft leather seats. “You needed it.”
“I’m sure you need sleep too, and I could’ve driven some of the way.”
