Page 26 of Shadow Angel
Not wanting to consider Beth’s looks, Ryder turned onto the industrial area and weaved through the backroads to get to Outlaws Saloon. “Maybe she doesn’t like men, but that’s not my concern. She talks down to me and it’s embarrassing. I told her I wasn’t a rookie and she has backed off some, but before she was intense. I don’t believe she’s interested in forming attachments here. I figure she plans to hightail it back to DC as soon as possible. She’s a city girl through and through.”
“Give her some time.” TJ looked at him as they stopped in the Outlaws parking lot. “She’s in an unfamiliar environment and all alone. No friends to talk to and they stuck her with Styles. He wouldn’t be too pleased having another agent living under his roof either. Man, they must be in close proximity twenty-four/seven and you know he likes to be alone.” He shrugged. “I’m not surprised she’s a little defensive.”
Nodding, Ryder could see his point of view. “Yeah, I guess. I know her main problem: she’s used to having things done yesterday and having a big-city team to back her. Maybe that’s frustrating for her and she takes it out on me? I don’t have the resources for an instant response but I’m doing my best.”
“That’s all you can do.” TJ smiled. “I’ve seen her nice side. She can be very charming when she turns off the FBI. Maybe tell her how you feel? Give her another chance and I bet a dollar to a dime you’ll be best buddies before long.” TJ pushed open the door. “Hang five, I’ll go and get Rowdy.”
As Rowdy Bright walked out of Outlaws, Ryder took out his phone and pulled up the image taken from the video of the killer. The team had averaged his height as six feet and weight at about one-eighty to two hundred pounds. Muscular but not cut like Styles or TJ, this man had some body fat but not a great deal. Wolfe had estimated his age between thirty and forty. The problem was the killer could be any of at least fifty men in town. With his face obscured and no tattoos, scars, or other identifying features, the naked man on the screen, wearing boots and gloves, was practically unidentifiable. The mask or something similar was available at many stores for Halloween. It had become a popular theme of late, so chasing down people who’d purchased the masks would be near impossible, if anyone kept records, which he doubted. He watched Bright’s body language as TJ guided him toward the cruiser. Ryder ran questions through his head and, rather than taking notes, activated the recorder app on his phone. He slipped the phone into his top pocket and opened his jacket.
“Is there a problem, Sheriff?” Bright slid into the back seat with TJ beside him.
Ryder looked at him. “Maybe.” He removed his phone and slid it onto the console between the seats. “I’m recording our little chat. It’s difficult to take notes in the cruiser.”
“Okay, whatever.” Bright lifted one shoulder and his cheeks colored. “I didn’t mean to touch that dancer. It was a mistake. I was pushing bills into her costume and it kinda just happened.”
Gathering his thoughts, Ryder turned in his seat to look at him. “It’s not about you groping the girls, and they’ll ban you if you do it again, but let’s cut to the chase, you do know why we’re here, right?”
“I’ve heard talk.” Bright leaned back in his seat, his hat in his hand. “I know one of the dancers is missing but I didn’t have anything to do with that. I like to watch them but I didn’t abduct her or anything.”
Narrowing his gaze, Ryder looked at him. “Who mentioned anything about abduction? What makes you think she was abducted? Has anyone mentioned her being taken?”
“Not exactly, no, but a couple of the guys said that two FBI agents interrogated them and mentioned she’d gone missing.” Bright turned the hat around in his fingers. “I had a private dance with Cassie last Friday night, is all. She was busy and had a full list of men wanting her to dance for them. Maybe you need to be looking at the others.”
Sighing, Ryder shook his head. “We’re working through the list, and while we’re here, I know you frequent the Silver Nugget Saloon out at Serenity. You were seen there Tuesday night. Is that a regular visit? Do you like to drop by the clubs when you stay over for work?”
“Yeah, me and a ton of miners.” Bright looked from one to the other. “Why?”
Ryder shrugged. “Because we need to know who else was there, and as you travel around the counties, you’d recognize people.” It was common knowledge around town that one of the dancers was missing. The miners had told everyone and gossip spreads like wildfire in a small town. The murders they’d managed to keep under wraps, and only the killer would know the truth. He watched Bright carefully. “Yeah, we believe someone abducted Cassie Burnham last Friday night and maybe the same person is responsible for Vicki Strauss’ disappearance as well. You’d know Vicki, right? You were on her list over at the Silver Nugget. Do you recall anyone who is usually at the club or do you know anyone who travels regular and visits the clubs on certain days like you?”
“I don’t know all the miners by name, but some take on odd shifts at different mines.” Bright swiped a hand over his chin. “Many come to town just looking for work and pick up the odd shifts. They’re not under contract. They’re mainly laborers.”
The man wasn’t telling Ryder anything he didn’t already know. “Yeah, that’s all well and good, but I need names. As your name is the only one on my list so far, I suggest you stop protecting people and give me the names of anyone you saw in Outlaws last Friday night and at the Silver Nugget last Tuesday, and don’t tell me you don’t talk to people. I hear you’re a social butterfly.”
“Darn it, my attention is usually on the girls, but I did sit and wait for both the girls you mentioned and chatted with a couple of the men, yeah.” Bright moved around in his seat. “I know Joe Crenshaw, mainly because we cross paths a lot of the time. I play pool with him some nights when we’re waiting for our turn, you know, for a private dance. There’s no sex involved if that’s what you’re thinking.”
Ryder shook his head. “Go on. Who else?”
“Two miners I know but they hang out with different guys. They stay at the same motel as I do. Some of the others have trailers.” Bright chuckled. “People call them snail miners, because they carry their homes with them everywhere they go.”
Impatient, Ryder glared at him. “Names and you can go.”
“Steve Smith and Jace Conan.” Bright looked sheepish. “You ain’t gonna tell them I ratted on them, are you?”
Shaking his head, Ryder allowed the implications to filter through his mind. “Did you say all these men had private dances with both Cassie Burnham and Vicki Strauss on the nights they disappeared? Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. They were on the list after me. I like to get in early when the girls are enthusiastic and don’t smell like the guys they’ve been sitting on.” Bright’s eyes flashed from one to the other. “Anything else?”
Trying to make sure he’d covered all the bases, Ryder held up a hand. “One more thing. You move around some, right? Do you know where all the old miners’ cabins are located?”
“Some, not all. There’s a ton of them all over.” Bright raised both brows and smiled. “Looking to buy yourself a secluded man cave? These dancers don’t mind a few extracurricular activities.” His eyes flashed with amusement. “I guess you’d be in the spotlight if you decided to take a dancer home, right? Being the sheriff and all?”
Annoyed, Ryder shot a glance at TJ, who was grinning like the Cheshire cat, and then back to Bright. “So you’ve heard talk about people using the cabins for as you say, ‘extracurricular activities’?”
“The subject has come up and don’t ask me who. Some places I just won’t go.” Bright shook his head. “It ain’t none of my business.”
Waving a hand, Ryder stared at him. “Okay, you can go.” He handed him a card. “Any talk, any names you can find for me, call me. Trust me, it will be in your best interests to cooperate.” He stopped the recording and waited for Bright to slip from the cruiser and shuffle back into the saloon. He looked at TJ. “What do you think?”
“I’m not a profiler but that guy has always been shady.” TJ shrugged. “Give the recording to the FBI. They’ll sort it.”
