Page 1 of Hudson
Chapter One
Hudson Anderson sighed as the elevator doors slid open, the fluorescent light harsh against his bloodshot eyes. He pushed off the wall and stepped out. Another Monday. He swore he’d just gone to bed Friday night, the taste of whiskey still lingering on his tongue.
He usually took the stairs to get his blood pumping, but not today. His ass was dragging like a plow through clay soil.
Pushing through the glass door, Hud stepped into the Montana Department of Livestock office, the familiar smell of coffee and old paper files settling over him as he made his way to his desk. He nodded at the other agents, their faces already set, already deep in work.
His Stetson went on the brass hook. The creaking chair got hauled out and dropped into, scooting forward with a familiar squeak across the linoleum. The case files came up on the monitor, the blue light carving out the lines around his eyes.
The same files that had the whole department running around like chickens with their heads cut off.
He and Killian Doyle had inherited the case when Rawley Bowman took three rounds to his Kevlar vest. The vest saved his life, but a collapsed lung and two broken ribs meant every breath cost him something. Rawley still came in a few days a week, face pale and hollowed out but healing. There were still men out there they hadn’t caught.
Rustlers were moving through cattle ranchesacross the vast, windswept plains of Montana like they were nothing but paper targets. Silently, they’d slip onto properties in the dead of night, make off with thousands of dollars’ worth of prime beef on the hoof, and disappear into the darkness while ranchers slept soundly in their beds.
Rawley had gotten close enough to smell their sweat. Five men had been stealing in Clifton, and three of them were now dead. One survivor had talked. The other refused, jaw set like granite, giving them nothing. They needed more names because this was no small operation. It stretched across the state like a spider’s web, invisible until you walked right into it.
Hud’s brother, Deke, eased onto the worn edge of Hud’s desk, the varnish creaking under his weight. Overhead, the fluorescent lights hummed, casting pale light across stacks of files and half-empty coffee cups.
“Hey. We missed you at dinner yesterday,” Deke said.
Hud leaned back in his chair, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I know. Called Dad to let him know I couldn’t make it.”
Deke frowned, folding his arms. “What’s going on?”
“This damn case.” A slow exhale, fatigue carved into the dark circles under his eyes. “Every time I think we’re close, something pushes us two steps back. Rawley didn’t trust the guy, and honestly, who could blame him? That little prick set him up.”
Deke shrugged and dropped into one of the stiff-backed chairs across the desk, the vinyl seat squeaking under him. “Wish I could help, but you know Dave won’t let family work together.”
“I get it.” Hud’s fingers trailed over themanila folder in front of him. “Can’t blame him.”
“I can’t be out there with you, but if you need anything, intel, paperwork, whatever, just say the word. I’m sure Case feels the same.”
Hud nodded, tapping a pen against his knee. “I will. Killian’s on it, Eli’s been grinding away too, but three of us isn’t enough.”
Deke flipped through the folder, pages rustling. “Too bad Saunders had to head back to Autumn Falls.”
“Yeah. He was solid, knew this case inside out.”
Deke glanced out the window behind Hud’s chair. “You need more bodies.”
“Dave said he’d try to reassign some agents, but I need them here like yesterday.”
“We’re all swamped, Hud. But Dave will find you somebody. Maybe he can pull Saunders in for a stint.”
“Maybe.” Hud sighed, glancing up at the clock near the ceiling. Its ticking felt louder than it had any right to be. “I feel like I’m banging my head against a brick wall.” He tapped the folder. “This Harold White, Sr., he just vanished. No trace.”
Deke leaned forward, scanning the papers. “Is there a Mrs. White?”
Hud flipped another page. “Divorced, apparently.”
“Maybe someone needs to chat with her.” Deke raised an eyebrow. “Know where she is?”
“Kalispell. Remarried, according to this.”
Deke cracked his knuckles and stood. “I’ll see if Dave will send me there.” He strode toward Dave’s office, boots clicking on the linoleum, knocked on the glass door and disappeared inside when Davewaved him in.
Hud turned back to his files and waited.
