Page 4 of Nothing Stays Buried
“I’d hope not.” Kane moved closer beside her. “The people who live on any remote ranch the size of this one are a community in themselves. We’re intruders, so we are scrutinized, is all.”
Jenna shook her head. “So the guy spying on us wasn’t a threat?” She glared at him. “How can you say that? He could have picked us off one by one.”
“No, he couldn’t have, but I agree he could be a threat.” Kane turned her to face him. “I wasn’t distracted at any time since we left the ranch house. I noticed him right away and gave chase. You don’t believe I would risk you and the kids, do you?”
Jenna shivered. “If there is a killer lurking on the ranch, working alongside everyone in plain sight, they might be waiting for one of us to venture out alone. Accidents happen on ranches. Herds stampede, people get crushed under machinery. The hostility is there; you can’t deny it.”
“I’m aware.” Kane indicated to the stand of trees where Carter had led the kids. “That’s why the kids are over there behind the trees. After seeing that guy watching us, maybe we’d better head back to the ranch house?”
“Not before I give the kids a snack. We did promise them a picnic. To be honest, I can’t wait to see what Rhett’s housekeeper will make us for lunch.” She forced a smile and leaned into him. “Can you manage until two? I can hear your stomach rumbling from here.”
“There are enough sandwiches for everyone. I’m not the only one here who likes a snack.” Kane smiled at her and linked his fingers. “Here, I’ll give you a boost.”
She placed her foot into Kane’s hands and he hoisted her onto Seagull. “Thanks.”
“It will be interesting to listen to the different stories the old hands come up with about this murder. As it was already written up as an accident, we’ll need to tread lightly and go in as interested friends of Rhett’s rather than sheriff and deputy.” He mounted Warrior and leaned toward her, squeezing her thigh. “There is one thing we need to do today and that is open the safe. As it was hidden away inside Rhett’s father’s dressing room, it makes sense it would be the most likely place to hide something of importance.” He scanned the area in both directions before moving out into the open and heading toward the river.
Following, Jenna moved up beside him. “Do you think you can pick the lock?”
“Nope, but I have a gizmo in the Beast that Kalo gave me.” Kane smiled. “Apparently, you just input the make and model of the safe and it runs it through a series of combinations. I hope it works because I haven’t cracked a safe for a long time. I could blast it out of the wall, but I think that’s going a little bit too far.”
Firebird, Tauri’s horse, whinnied as they approached and Carter rounded a boulder to greet them, with Zorro trotting along beside him, ears pricked and mouth stretched in a doggy smile. Julie and Rhett came along behind, with Tauri talking one hundred words per second. Tauri really liked Julie and she had the patience of a saint. “Rhett”—Jenna waited for him to look at her—“have you found a good place for a picnic?”
“Yeah, follow me.” Rhett led the way to a small crop of trees alongside the riverbank.
Jenna smiled. “We’ll be right along.”
“Was someone watching us?” Carter lifted his chin toward the woods.
“Yeah, but they left in a hurry when I rode out of the trees holding a rifle.” Kane shook his head. “Was it just curiosity or did someone send him to spy on us? After what we found at the cabin, I’d say the latter. Something happened in Rhett’s father’s time and it’s likely still happening now.”
Making an effort not to transmit that anything was wrong to her sons, Jenna jumped down from her horse, took Jackson from him, blew raspberries on his cheek, and handed the laughing boy to Kane. She glanced over to Rhett and Julie, and moving closer to Carter, lowered her voice. “There’s no doubt it was murder.” She scrolled through the images on her phone and handed it to Carter. “The sheriff must have been blind not to have noticed the key was on the outside.”
“We’ll need to watch our backs. I’d like to know the reason for the cover-up and how the sheriff was involved.” Carter’s brow wrinkled into a frown. “You’d need to be blind not to see the key in the lock. The problem is there are families living here that go way back. Generations have worked on this spread. Secrets passed from generation to generation—or some scheme they’re all involved in. I’ve been moving around as much as possible, and the folks here look way too prosperous. That’s not what I would expect.” He handed her back her phone. “Whatever Rhett’s father witnessed, it must have been worth killing him for.”
Four
By the time they’d ridden back to the ranch house, Jackson had fallen asleep. Kane carried him inside and laid him on a sofa, and Julie volunteered to stay with the boys. She found a movie Tauri wanted to watch and gathered a few snacks from the kitchen and waved everyone from the room. Jenna followed Rhett into the kitchen. They each grabbed a cup of coffee and sat at the scrubbed wooden table. She took a deep breath. Delivering bad news was part of her job, but when it involved a close friend, it made life difficult. She looked at Rhett. “I’m sorry to have to say this, but I found evidence to prove that the cabin had been locked from the outside. There’s no doubt in my mind that your parents were murdered. Have you found any clues to point to why this happened?”
“Unless it’s in the safe I discovered in the dressing room, no, nothing at all.” Rhett opened his hands. “It’s as if it never happened.”
“I don’t believe your dad witnessed a murder.” Kane placed his cup back on the table after taking a sip. “Anyone normal who kills usually does so in a fit of rage and is remorseful afterward, but if it’s a psychopath, it can be a frenzy or calculated and deliberate—and it’s likely if that type of person was committing the murder and happened to see your father watching, he’d have attacked him as well.” He looked at Rhett. “More likely he witnessed the aftermath, like the body disposal.”
“So what would be the motive?” Rhett pushed both hands through his hair and raked his head. “Why didn’t my father tell anyone he was in danger?”
“I can think of many reasons.” Carter removed his toothpick and sipped his coffee, eyeing him over the rim of his cup. “Maybe your pa wasn’t certain of what he was seeing and didn’t want to falsely accuse someone. From what I hear about him, he was a good man with a high standing in the community. For someone as young as him, that’s an achievement.” He raised both eyebrows. “If you consider the number of illegal schemes that could go on under the cover of a successful business like this one, anything is possible. For instance, if your pa had been involved, this place would be perfect for money laundering—but he wasn’t, so we can discount that one. I’m leaning toward the slave market. They have mostly young inexperienced people coming in as seasonal hands. They also employ women with young children. I noticed on one of my walkarounds that a daycare center has been included. This might be for the permanent staff, I don’t know, but it’s something to look into. How long has it been here and have children arrived with their parents? What I’m concerned about is the single mothers. Unfortunately, sex trafficking is a big trade. Women and children go missing all the time and are never located. You would be surprised how many cases I deal with involve sex slaves.”
“You figure that would be hard to prove?” Rhett’s shocked expression said volumes. He scrubbed a hand down his face and looked at Kane. “I’m sure my father wouldn’t keep silent about something like that.”
Feeling very sorry for Rhett, Jenna met his troubled gaze. “It would be hard to prove. With so many people coming and going over various time periods, he wouldn’t have known if someone had gone missing unless it was reported to him. If this was occurring, I would say it would involve someone in authority, mainly because they would be able to cover up the fact that the person didn’t leave on their own volition.”
“Covering such a timespan and interviewing so many people is going to take time.” Carter narrowed his gaze. “Kalo will be joining us soon, and he might be able to write software to assist us. He lives for that kind of stuff, and since he’s been working with us, he understands the way of things.” He cleared his throat and glanced at Jenna. “I’m here with Bobby because it’s our vacation time and we really haven’t got anything else to do, although I would like to go fishing for a couple of days.” He paused as if making up his mind what to say next. “Beth Katz and Styles are also taking a vacation, but they’ll be on call in case anything happens so they’re just going to places where Beth can buy things for her cabin. She has a place where she likes to go to paint and has been making it into a home away from home. Last I heard, they were close by in Blackwater. I’m sure they’d drop by if you needed any help. This place is huge. We can all stay here, and you know Beth: She’ll dig in places we didn’t know existed.”
Not wanting to drag the FBI into a cold case, she nodded slowly. “That’s good to know. I’ll certainly call them if we need them.”
“How are we going to approach the hands? Bowman and the others who have been here for a long time?” Rhett rubbed the back of his neck. “If they’re already watching everything we do, won’t bringing up the past be like poking the bear?”
“That’s exactly what we want.” Kane turned his coffee cup around in the tips of his fingers and then lifted it to his lips for a sip. “Sometimes waiting for the enemy to make a move is the only way to discover their position.” He gave him a long look. “Most of them should recognize us as local law enforcement. In fact, I’d be surprised if they didn’t, so it’s pointless to hide our weapons. Everyone knows we’re always armed and our weapons are in plain sight. As your friends, it would be normal for a new owner to give us the tour, but we’ll make sure we ask the right questions to the right people. It’s pointless speaking to the seasonal hands because none of them would have been here or maybe even been alive twenty-two years ago.”
