“I’ve got a summer job at Clucken House,” Eve said to Stella. “I worked until close at midnight on Friday and then opened at five on Saturday morning to work breakfast and lunch. Tyler and I branded calves in the afternoon, so I was beat and went to bed early … evidently at eight o’clock.” This last bit was said with a glance at her mother.
Lillian gave her youngest a thin smile tinged with sadness.
“All right,” Stella said, rising from her chair. “Does Nate have other family, Kasey? Someone we can contact for you?”
“His parents live in Montana.”
“I can call them,” Lillian said.
“No, I’ll do it,” Stella replied. “I need to talk to them anyway. If I could just get their phone number from you.”
“I have it pinned to the bulletin board in the kitchen,” Lillian said, rising from the sofa to go and Stella followed.
Mattie scanned the sorrowful family faces, her gaze lingering on Tyler. He had yet to shed a tear. Maybe he was a stoic guy, but his lack of emotion made her wonder if he’d had anything to do with his brother-in-law’s death.
She stood. “I want to tell you again how sorry we are. We plan to track down what happened to Nate and arrest the person who killed him.”
As Kasey looked up at Mattie, tears brimmed in her eyes. “I hope you can. I don’t want whoever did this to get away with it.”
Stella handed them each a business card before leaving. “Call me anytime if you think of something that might help us with our investigation.”
Lillian escorted them into the porch, pausing as she closed the door behind her. “Mattie, Stella … You’ve been very kind. You’re in a hard profession, and I appreciate what you’re doing to try to make things right for our family. It’s, it’s …”
Emotion interfered with Lillian’s ability to finish, and she covered her face with her hands. Sympathy made Mattie reach out to touch her arm. “We’ll do the best we can, Mrs. Redman.”
Lillian drew a deep breath as she withdrew her hands from her face. “I know you will. Thank you.”
Mattie said goodbye, following Stella through the porch, while Lillian returned inside her house.
Glad that the hardest task in her job was now over, Mattie drew a sigh of relief. As they approached her unit, Robo popped his head up in the window to greet them. His eager face never failed to make her feel better. Realizing how tired she was, she drew a breath.
What a night. And still much to do.
Stella climbed into the passenger seat and reached for her seat belt. “That was a tough one.”
Mattie turned the key to start the engine. “I’ll say.”
“I’m typically not convinced when a family member provides an alibi, but I think it’s safe to say that both Kasey and Eve were here when Nate was killed. I think we can clear Kasey as the shooter, but whether or not she’s involved with the planning still remains to be determined.”
“That’s true, but she seemed genuinely shocked by the news. I’d place my money on her innocence.”
“Agreed.” Stella used both hands to massage the sides of her neck. “Poor family. They’ve had it rough, and hard times still lie ahead. Lillian Redman looks tired. I wonder how she copes.”
Mattie had been struck by the same impression. “Love. It’s obvious how much she loves her husband. She loves her family, too.”
“Dedication. Can’t say I’ve ever experienced that for anything but the job.”
Mattie nodded, but remained silent. She had to admit that sometimes she wondered if it might not be easier to remain a loner rather than to get tangled up in the messy affinity of love and family. But then, she really wasn’t willing to go back to her life before falling in love with Cole.
“So what do you think about Tyler?” Stella asked.
“I think we still need to look at him. He could’ve changed his clothes and showered to pass the GSR test. We’ll have to check his alibi with Jasmine Pierce.”
“Didn’t seem too torn up about his brother-in-law’s death.”
“I noticed.”
“If the lab finds DNA inside that glove Robo found, we’ll need to get a sample from Tyler to compare it to.”
In total agreement, Mattie nodded.
“What do you think about this guy, Flint Thornton? Do you know him?” Stella asked.
Mattie told her what she knew while she drove out onto the highway.
Stella took in the information. “We need to talk to him. Does he know you?”
“He probably knows Brody better than me. I think he was the one who arrested him on the drunk and disorderly.”
“That’s all for the better. Before we go talk to him, I’ll do an online search to get to know our victim. I’m wondering about past customers. If Flint Thornton doesn’t appear to be involved with the shooting, maybe he can shed some light on other suspects.”
Mattie thought of something else that bothered her. “Why did Nate Fletcher return home tonight? And why didn’t Kasey know about it?”
Stella nodded and leaned back against the headrest. “I wonder if he was hiding something from her.”
It was a beautiful night, and Mattie stared out at the landscape while she thought about it. The moon lit the area beyond their headlights to reveal grassy meadows that stretched north to meet the first layer of foothills, rounded and rocky, their native vegetation reflecting silver in the moonlight. Above the foothills, towering peaks white-capped with glaciers provided a jagged skyline below a multitude of stars.
“Imagine owning all this land,” Stella mused. “And private access into BLM land? Do you know what that means?”
“Not precisely, but it has something to do with grazing rights that a rancher can obtain from the Bureau of Land Management. It’s government land that goes up into the mountains.”
“Is it legal for outfitters to take groups on hunting trips up into that country? Sounds like double-dipping into government land.”
“It’s entirely legal. I think ranchers pay for the permits, so it’s like a lease. They can use the land however they want. The government makes money off the program.”
“So Nate wasn’t breaking the law that we know of.”
“Right, but we don’t know much yet.”
“True. Well, let’s get back to the crime scene and see if Robo can tell us anything about that van. He’s given us a lot of evidence already, but let’s see if he’s got any more tricks up his sleeve.”
SIX
Sunday morning
By five thirty, the sunrise painted an orange glow on the eastern horizon, giving off enough light to provide visibility beyond the halo of lamps set up by the crime scene investigators. Brody and Stella had waited outside the perimeter while Mattie prepared Robo to work.
Ready to go, he stood beside Mattie outside the debris field that circled the van. Except for his short stints at work, he’d slept the night away in his compartment. Hovering at her heel with a waving tail, he looked much more refreshed than she felt.
“Let’s go to work, Robo.” Mattie had put leather booties on his feet again, and he high-stepped his way beside her. An evidence search was serious business, but still, Mattie had to suppress a smile.
Torching the van had transformed it into a twisted and blackened metal sculpture. Ash and sooty grime covered everything. The driver’s side door hung ajar, left open since Garrett had pulled out Nate’s body. Upholstery on the two front seats had burned away, leaving a metal framework with bits of scorched cushion.
After leading Robo to the open door at the back of the van, Mattie unclipped his leash and told him to search. He hopped inside and skirted the back of the van, sniffing at two plastic toolboxes that had melted around metal tools inside and a steel cage that looked like a large dog crate, torqued and distorted by the fire. He rounded the back area, giving the side panels a sniff before leaping outside. Nothing in back seemed to have captured his attention.