“Good for Bobby,” I said, feeling slightly ill at the thought of hunting a bear.
“When the snow melted and access to his lodge was made possible via the gravel road, someone started vandalizing Garth’s place. Garth was sure it was Bobby and had threatened legal action if he didn’t cease and desist. I spoke to Bobby about the situation even though the lodge is outside my jurisdiction, and he swore to me that, while he would have broken windows and spray-painted threatening messages all over the exterior of the wooden lodge if he’d thought of it, he hadn’t thought of it and therefore hadn’t done it.”
“Did you believe him?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Bobby was the sensitive sort. He was a bit of a mess when it came to managing his own life, but he was also the sort to care about all living things. I think like Bobby said, he might have spray painted the exterior of the lodge if he’d thought of it, but I don’t really see him as having the initiative to come up with such a complex plan. In my opinion, Bobby wasn’t the one who vandalized Garth’s property, but Garth seemed pretty convinced Bobby had been the guilty party and was out for payback.”
“So, do you think Garth killed him over a little graffiti?”
“It was more than just a little graffiti. There was significant damage to the lodge, which cost Garth more than ten grand to repair, and he was madder than I’ve ever seen him. Plus, he does have a gun, a lot of guns in fact, and he doesn’t seem squeamish about killing things. But a person? I’m just not sure. I did speak to him, and he, of course, denied killing Bobby, but he’s been staying out at the lodge, making the needed repairs, and since he isn’t open for the season yet, he was alone.”
“So, he has no alibi.”
“Exactly. Still, I think it would be a mistake to jump on the idea of Garth as the killer too soon.”
“I agree. Who else are you looking at?”
“I spoke to a handful of men Bobby played poker with. The idea that he might have been cheating or that he owed someone a lot of money but refused to pay up had crossed my mind. None of those interviews panned out. I plan to speak to Colin Woodford tomorrow. We’d planned to speak to him anyway regarding Austin Brady’s disappearance. Given the fact that I will also be questioning him about Bobby’s murder, it might be best if I do his interview alone.”
“I understand. What about Larry? Are we still planning to head to Steamboat Springs on Wednesday?”
“I’m afraid I’m probably out. I want to help you with your story, but figuring out who killed Bobby and bringing them to justice is my main priority at this point.”
“Do you suspect Larry of being involved in Bobby’s death?”
“No. I did some checking and found out he was in Denver all weekend. If you want to speak to him about Austin, I don’t see a problem with that.”
“Maybe Dex would want to go and talk to Larry with me. He did know the guy.”
“That might actually be a good idea. Maybe Larry will talk to Dex, whereas he might not have willingly spoken to you or me.”
“So, are you still planning to do your shift at the shelter tomorrow?” I asked.
“That’s the plan at this point, although I will need to play it by ear and see how my day goes. I called Naomi earlier and filled her in on the situation.”
“I’ll be there, so if you don’t make it, the dogs will still get played with.” I nodded to the lawn where Paisley and Milo were playing. “It appears that Milo is getting his playtime in this evening.”
Cass smiled. “He does seem to be having a wonderful time. He had a busy day today, helping me search Bobby’s home, yard, outbuildings, and car.”
“Did he find anything?”
“All sorts of things, but nothing that points to his killer. I did find a tube of lipstick shoved under the sofa. Since Bobby was single and male and I’ve never seen him wear lipstick, I’m assuming the lipstick belonged to a visitor. Of course, someone who was at the house months ago could have left it behind. Still, given the situation, I’m having it tested for DNA.”
“Do you think you’ll find a match?” I asked.
“Probably not, but I figure it doesn’t hurt to try.”
“Can you tell anything from the slug that was recovered from his body?”
“Not really. The shooter used a handgun, and the shot was fired from close range. If we had a gun to match it to, that would help quite a lot, but so far, we haven’t found the murder weapon, so we are assuming the killer took it with them.”
“And none of the neighbors saw anything? It was the middle of the afternoon.”
“The neighbor on the right was out of town, and the neighbor on the left was having dinner with his mother. There are three homes across the street that provide a good view of the front of the house. A single mom with three children occupies the house in the center of the three. The mother claimed to have been in the back of the house where her home office is located, trying to get caught up with paperwork for most of the afternoon. She did hear the shot and went to investigate, but didn’t see anything. I suspect the killer left through the back door. He or she probably hopped the fence and had a car waiting on the street behind Bobby’s house. The woman did call 911 to report the gunshot.”
“And the kids?” I asked.
“The oldest son is eight. He said he saw a man with a blue hat knock on Bobby’s door, maybe twenty or thirty minutes before he heard the shot. He said the man had dark hair and wore a light-colored shirt and jeans, but he never saw his face and really wasn’t paying all that much attention. The woman also has two daughters, who are three and five. The three-year-old was down for a nap, and the five-year-old was watching cartoons on the television in her office.”
“And what about the other two houses positioned with a good vantage point to see the front of the house?” I asked.
“The neighbor to the left is a single senior. He told me he was home alone watching television when he heard the shot. He didn’t see anything, but he also called 911 a few minutes after the woman who’d been working in her home office.”
“And the other neighbor?”
“Wasn’t home. I have men canvassing the neighborhood. I’m hoping that someone else saw the man with the blue hat. Of course, just because he knocked on the door, doesn’t mean he’s the killer, but I am interested in tracking the guy down and having a conversation with him.”
“I guess you still have a lot of follow up to do.”
He nodded. “I really do. I have phone records and bank statements to go over, and a long list of people to talk to.” He looked at his watch. “I appreciate dinner, but I really should go.”
“I understand. Maybe I’ll see you at the shelter tomorrow. If you can’t make it, call me.”
He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “I will. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Chapter 10
Wednesday
I hadn’t seen or heard from Cass at all yesterday. I knew he was busy with the Bobby Brighton murder case, but I had thought that if he wasn’t going to make it to the shelter, he would have called and let me know what was going on. He had called Naomi and let her know he was tied up, and he’d ask her to tell me, so I suppose that was something. Still, I had to wonder if there wasn’t something more going on than just being busy.
Dex and I were going to Steamboat Springs today to talk to Larry. Dex shared that Larry hadn’t sounded happy about the visit when he’d called to set it up, but he had agreed to meet us for lunch and share what he knew. Dex had arranged to pick me up at the house, and we were currently driving toward our destination.
“Is Cass making any headway with the Bobby Brighton case?” Dex asked.
“I’m not sure. I haven’t spoken to him since Monday. I know he had quite a few leads to follow up on, but I have no idea if any of them went anywhere. I thought I’d try to call him after we get back.”