“I wasn’t her boyfriend.”

  “Right. But you had been sleeping with her.”

  Cooper groaned. “He never said he was leaving with Leann?”

  “No, but he was never seen again after that night. His pickup was full of his belongings.”

  “Was his body...?”

  “No, he’s missing. That PI who’s been in town trying to find Charlotte’s husband, Dixon Malone, has become interested in Rory’s disappearance and Leann’s suicide case.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” Cooper said, running a hand through his hair. He didn’t need this. He really wanted to get back to the ranch and crash for a while.

  “Because you need to leave Leann’s death alone. This would only make it look worse for you if you insisted that her case be reopened.”

  “I told you from her notes that I found that she was leaving town with a man she said I wouldn’t approve of,” Cooper said. “That’s why I wanted her case reopened. This only makes me more convinced I was right and that she didn’t kill herself. She was murdered.”

  “Who had a motive, besides you?” the sheriff demanded. “Until you know that, I’d suggest you leave it alone. Otherwise, you won’t make it to the altar with your lovely bride. Let me handle this. I have to go.”

  Cooper swore. His first instinct was to go to the prosecutor—the one who’d been convinced he had killed Leann. But Stu was right. Unless he knew who had motive to kill Leann and her lover and dump his body who knew where, and his pickup in a reservoir, then he’d just be putting a noose around his neck.

  He lay back, staring out at the snowy road, the bare cottonwoods dark against the white. He couldn’t let this go. He knew in his heart that Leann hadn’t killed herself. How could he live with himself if he didn’t find out who had? They’d been friends. Didn’t he owe her that?

  But Stu was right. Until he had a suspect, he couldn’t go to the prosecutor. First, he had to be sure that Rory Eastwood was the man she was planning to leave town with. If so, then hopefully it would lead him to the person who’d killed not only Leann but also her mystery lover.

  In the meantime, he reminded himself, he was hiring contractors to build his new home with Tilly—and getting ready for a wedding where he was the groom. He called the sheriff back.

  “What?” Stu demanded. “I don’t have time to argue this.”

  “Just wanted to ask you if you’ll be my best man.” It had been on Tilly’s list, something else he hadn’t gotten around to doing.

  “I’d be honored.” His friend actually sounded touched.

  “I trust you to find Leann’s killer.” Silence. “You still there?”

  “Yeah. It’s just that you were even suspicious of me not all that long ago.”

  Cooper sighed. “You’re the sheriff and my best friend. You’ll find her killer.” He disconnected.

  * * *

  THE SHERIFF DISCONNECTED feeling good, definitely better about things than he had in a long time. Cooper trusted him to find Leann’s killer—if she’d been murdered. That his friend had taken his advice was shock enough. Cooper putting his faith in him meant everything. It wasn’t that long ago that his friend was insinuating that Stuart had reason to want to cover up Leann’s death.

  He actually felt a lump in his throat and that made him more determined to prove himself by finding out the truth. It wasn’t like he didn’t know where to start. A name came to mind immediately. Abigail Creed, his friendly nurse, whom he now knew was looking into Leann’s death. Wasn’t it time to find out why?

  He’d run a check on Abigail but had come up with nothing criminal in her background other than a couple of speeding tickets. As for her connection with Leann, he’d found nothing.

  If Abigail came here looking for answers, Stuart thought, she hadn’t found them. He’d investigated Leann’s death more than two years ago and agreed with the coroner that she’d committed suicide. Maybe Abigail had realized the same thing and was now ready to let it go.

  Or not, he thought as his cell phone rang and he saw that it was her and felt a strange chill as he picked up. “Sheriff Layton.” He really hoped she wasn’t calling about dinner at her place again. He wasn’t that naive.

  “I think you owe me a burger.”

  “Is that right?” That she wasn’t giving up made him wonder what she planned to do this time. He was certain lovemaking wasn’t on the agenda and never had been. But what the hell did she want from him?

  “I’ve heard that they make amazing burgers at a place in Baker,” Abigail was saying. “Any chance I can tempt you into taking me after work?”

  Stuart questioned why she’d want to get him out of town even as he realized this might be the perfect opportunity to get her alone and away from Powder Crossing and find out exactly what she was up to and why. “I could use a burger.”

  “Great.” She sounded a little too enthusiastic about the date—even for her.

  “I’ll pick you up. Five?”

  She was driving. Maybe even better. He wouldn’t be at a disadvantage behind the wheel in case she decided to—to what? “Sounds perfect. I’ll be ready.”

  He disconnected, fighting that gnawing feeling in his gut that reminded him that this woman could be dangerous. She’d already drugged him. Who knew what she might do on a two-lane stretch of highway with little to no traffic late this afternoon?

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHARLOTTE BREATHED A sigh of relief as she hung up from speaking with her lawyer. She’d been worried sick about what Oakley would tell him. Her daughter had been so furious with CJ that she could have said just about anything—not that she could blame her. What CJ had done was unforgiveable. What had he been thinking taking a potshot at her like that? He could have killed her and then nothing Charlotte could do would have saved him from prison.

  As she’d disconnected, she’d felt her son watching her, waiting, and now turned to look at him. She hadn’t heard him come down the hall. He looked tense until she said, “Oakley said exactly what I told her to say.”

  “You’re sure?” he asked, even as he looked as relieved as she felt.

  “I just spoke to our lawyer.” Charlotte had hoped Oakley would obey her, something she seldom did. Although it did surprise her. She thought about that awful fight Oakley had with CJ. She could have disabled him for life or worse. Whatever had made her come to her senses, Charlotte wasn’t going to question it.

  She was more worried about CJ. “We need to take you to Billings for your next checkup,” she said.

  “I don’t need my mother to take me.”

  “You’re not driving yourself all the way to Billings.”

  “Then call and move my checkup. I’m doing well. I want a little more time to heal. I don’t want to be poked and prodded right now.”

  She looked at him with concern. “Are you sure Oakley didn’t injure you worse?”

  “Yes, I’m fine, all right? Set it up for a few months from now. Being here on the ranch is the best medicine I could ask for.”

  Charlotte smiled, loving to hear that. She hated arguing with him. But she also worried about him.

  “Anyway, I know all these doctor bills, even with insurance, are costing you a fortune. That’s why I’m glad the new methane well is going in tomorrow. We should be getting a check from CH4. There are several sites they found last time that they believe are viable. I was thinking, since we didn’t get the Turner Ranch, I’m looking at some other property I’d like to personally invest in. I know you don’t like drilling on the ranch. We could drill on that land and use the extra money for this ranch.”

  It thrilled her, this interest CJ was taking in the ranch. Her first husband had taught her that a ranch needed to keep growing to survive. “I love that idea.”

  “It’s the smart thing to do,” he said, nodding. “I’ll take care of all the arrangements and dealing with the gas company and the workers. It’s the least I can do since I can’t do anything else from this chair. It might make me feel like I’m not completely worthless.”

  Charlotte’s heart went out to her son. She told herself that giving him more control over decisions had definitely been the right thing to do. Although she hated to drill on the ranch, buying property away from the ranch to drill on sounded like a good investment in their future.

  CJ asked for so little and clearly, he needed this. And he was right; they certainly could use the cash flow. Cattle prices were down. So much of her worth was tied up in land. She would have had to risk some of it to buy the Turner place—but that was behind her now.

  “Fine, you take care of that,” she told her son. “I’m going to have Boyle get the cattle shipped. There’s no reason to wait any longer.”

  CJ didn’t show any interest in the cattle side of the ranch. He didn’t respond as he wheeled down the hall toward his room. She heard him making a call and decided to go out to the stables in the hopes of catching her ranch manager around. Otherwise, maybe she would go for a ride.

  She almost called down the hall to ask CJ if he would be all right alone. But stopped herself. There was always staff if he needed someone and she was only a phone call away. She headed for the stables almost hoping she didn’t see Boyle Wilson before her ride.

  She figured Boyle had heard about the PI being in town asking about Dixon Malone, the man she was still married to but hadn’t seen for years. Boyle had always hinted that he knew what had happened to Dixon, but she’d ignored him.

  In no mood for his veiled threats, she entered the stables, glad not to cross paths with him today. She reminded herself that with Oakley’s testimony, CJ probably wouldn’t spend any time in jail—let alone go to prison. She couldn’t let CJ go to prison any more than she could let Boyle Wilson hold his suspicions over her.

  But as she started to saddle up, she realized that there was something she’d forgotten to take care of back at the house.

  * * *

  WITH TIME BEFORE he met Abigail for a burger, the sheriff decided to find out what he could about Rory Eastwood. Duffy’s visit this morning had him wondering. Someone had to know who Rory was planning to leave town with, he thought as he drove out to the airfield. The closest airport with a paved landing strip was in Miles City. The local airport had a windsock and a grass landing strip. CH4 had even built themselves a hangar for their plane. Unpaved, the strip was used by crop dusters and more recently, by gas company pilots who flew employees into the area.

  If he wanted to find out what he could about Rory Eastwood, it was the place to start since Rory had worked for the gas company—up until the night he allegedly left town with a mystery woman.

  Stu was hoping to catch one of the company’s pilots, Howie Gunderson, and lucked out. Gunderson’s pickup was parked next to the CH4 hangar. As he pulled in, he saw the hangar door was open, a small plane inside. Not Gunderson’s. His was sitting a short distance away.

  The pilot was in conversation with a man wearing a suit, no small occurrence this far from Billings. He parked and climbed out. The two men looked up, breaking off their conversation as he approached. “Afternoon,” he said. “Howie.” He looked to the other man. “I believe we’ve already met.”

  “This is Douglas Burton,” Howie said nervously. “He’s the CEO of CH4.”

  “That’s what he told me when he came by my office,” the sheriff said and turned to the CEO. “I thought you would have left the area by now.”

  “I was just getting ready to fly him to Billings,” Howie said before his boss could respond.

  Stuart kept his attention on Burton. “I’m glad to catch you, then. I wanted to ask about a former employee of yours. Rory Eastwood.” He saw the CEO recognize the name even as the man shook his head. “His pickup was recently found in a reservoir.”

  “Do you have any idea how many employees CH4 has around the world, Sheriff? You expect me to know all of them? Why the interest?” Burton asked.

  “I suspect foul play. But you probably wouldn’t know anything about that,” Stuart said.

  “I’m afraid not,” the CEO said. “We really need to get going.”

  Stuart looked at Howie but knew the pilot wasn’t going to be forthcoming in front of his boss. “Well, thanks for your time.” He turned and walked away, feeling the two men watching him.

  The sheriff realized that the man he needed to talk to might be at the hotel bar by this time of day. Sure enough, once he reached town, he saw the Texan’s pickup parked out front. He found the geologist for CH4 at the bar.

  Alfred “Tick” Whitaker was busy entertaining a couple of regulars. The Texan was a big man in his midfifties who had the gift of gab, Stuart’s father would have said. Tick also liked the ladies according to the local scuttlebutt. Apparently full of stories, abundant charm and plenty of spending money, Tick also liked to drink.

  The sheriff let him finish his story before he asked the man to join him at a table. “What are you drinking?” He told the bartender and motioned to a table away from the bar. “Need to ask you a few questions.”

  “What can I do for you, Sheriff?” Tick asked as he pulled out a chair and sat down.

  “Tell me about Rory Eastwood.”

  Tick didn’t even pretend not to know the man. “Wasn’t that something about his pickup being pulled out of a reservoir?” He shook his head. “I thought for sure you’d find his body behind the wheel. Only been a couple of years. Wouldn’t have decayed all that much that they wouldn’t have found something when they dragged the reservoir.”

  Clearly, he was fairly well informed. Stuart pretended to take a sip of his beer and watched Tick take a large gulp of his. “What was Rory like?”

  “Seemed like a fine enough guy, kind of full of it, you know?” He did know. He thought Tick was full of it, too.

  “Had a way with the ladies, did he?”

  The geologist laughed. “I wouldn’t say that. He was kind of shy around women. Hadn’t worked for the company long. That’s why I was surprised when he quit. It’s a good job that pays well.”

  “Heard he was telling people he’d fallen in love and was leaving town with her,” Stuart said and raised his beer to his lips, watching Tick over the bottle.

  “Why are you asking about Rory?”

  “It must be boring as hell being stuck in this tiny town in the middle of nowhere. I figured if anyone might have known Rory, it would be you since I heard that you both frequented this hotel bar.” Tick finished his drink and the sheriff motioned to the bartender for another one for him. “Also, you’re the kind of man that someone shy might confide in—especially when it comes to women. Bet he told you about her.”

  The bartender brought over the beer and took Tick’s empty glass before the Texan answered. “Not that I can recall.”

  “Guess you two weren’t as close as I thought.” He took a sip of beer. He wanted to be completely sober when Abigail picked him up later.

  Tick picked up his drink and took a gulp. “He didn’t want anyone to know.”

  “Why was that?” he asked.

  “She kind of had a boyfriend and she hadn’t told him yet.”

  “Or she hadn’t made up her mind yet?”

  “No, she was going with Rory. He quit his job and they were leaving town that night.”

  “So you saw him the night he was leaving.”

  Tick took another gulp. “Look, I don’t want any trouble. I’ve been advised not to talk about it. CH4 is worried that it will somehow come back on the company. The bigwig is in town...”

  “I’ve met him. This is just between you and me. Was it Leann Hayes?” He saw the answer in the Texan’s eyes and nodded. “I’m pretty sure you know I dated her some and so did my best friend. I need to know if she was leaving with Rory because she and I were friends. It wasn’t serious. But I did worry about her. She seemed to have a knack for picking the wrong men.”

  The Texan rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. The two regulars he’d been entertaining had left. The bar was empty except for the two of them and the bartender, who was fiddling with the television as he apparently tried to find a ballgame on it.

  “It was Leann, wasn’t it?” the sheriff said.

  Tick looked pained. “He never said exactly, but I suspected it was. Saw him with her once.”

  “What do you think happened that night?” Tick shrugged. “Was Eastwood the kind of man who would kill her and then take his own life?” He wasn’t surprised when Tick shook his head. “Then who wanted them both dead?”

  The Texan met his gaze. “There was someone else. Someone before she came to Powder Crossing. Someone she was trying to get away from.”

  That stopped Stuart cold. “Any idea who they were?”

  He shook his head. “Some past relationship that had gone sour, that’s all Rory knew. That night Rory was worried that she wasn’t completely over it. He was afraid that now that he’d quit his job and packed up to leave, she might change her mind. She sounded flaky to me. I figured he was probably making a mistake. I never dreamed someone would kill him.

  “If you ask me—” he leaned in and lowered his voice “—I think Leann killed him, ditched his truck, his body and then realizing what she’d done, killed herself. Or, maybe the person from this former relationship killed them both.”

  That definitely added a new dimension if Tick knew what he was talking about.

  The geologist seemed to remember his beer, drained it as he got to his feet. “Thanks for the brews. I’d appreciate it if you left this just between the two of us. Wouldn’t want to lose my job.”

  Stuart nodded as he felt a familiar roiling in his stomach. Someone before him, before Cooper. He and Cooper could have been on a long list of lovers Leann had left. That certainly put her death in a new light.