“Thanks, Bessie, but I won’t be staying that long.” He kept thinking about Tucker and Carson. He hoped to hell that they weren’t driving. But they’d been headed down the street toward the bar. He figured the two had already finished off a six-pack on their way into town.

  “What can I do for you, son?” Earl Ray asked.

  Jaxson could understand why the man was the most beloved in town. He was always cheerful and ready to help anyone in need. “Were you around when the new flooring was put down in the storage room at the store? It would have been seventeen years ago from what I’ve been told. Do you recall who did the work?”

  Earl Ray nodded. “I remember Vi being upset about the dust and the noise. Seems it was a couple of ranch hands. I was just thinking about that. I’m pretty sure AJ Crest put down the floor. He had a couple of young cowhands working with him. Not sure, but they could have been Tucker Price and Carson McCabe. You know Carson’s father is the Eaton ranch manager and AJ is married to Tom Eaton’s daughter, Deanna.”

  “You really think it was Tucker and Carson. They would have been awfully young,” Jaxson said.

  “Just boys, but they’d probably been wielding hammers since they were toddlers out there on the ranch. I’m pretty sure it was those three, with AJ in charge and the other two doing the grunt work. Have you spoken to them?”

  “Not about this. I’d heard the job was done by local ranch hands, but I didn’t have any names before.”

  “Is this about the remains under the floorboards?” Earl Ray asked quietly.

  Jaxson nodded and pulled out his phone. He showed Earl Ray the photos of his father and Amy.

  “Luna showed Bessie and I these,” he said, handing back the phone. “Sorry, neither looks familiar. Wait a minute.” He took the phone again. “The girl. There is something about her. I kept thinking of her after Luna showed me her photo. Think I might have bought her something to eat at the café. This time of year, we start getting stragglers coming through town either looking for work or heading somewhere on a shoestring. I often help them out with a meal—and advice,” he added with a laugh.

  Earl Ray looked again at the girl’s photo. “There is definitely something about this one,” he said with a shake of his head. “Desperation? I can’t remember her story, but I think I was worried about her.”

  Jaxson thanked Earl Ray and left the café. As he did, he checked the text he’d gotten on the way here. Luna had news. He started down the street toward her salon when he saw Carson and Tucker in front of the bar next to a ranch truck. Dave appeared to be having a serious discussion with the two of them.

  Jaxson knew trouble when he saw it. He hesitated only a moment before he hurried down the street to see what was going on. He already had a pretty good idea he knew.

  * * *

  BACK AT THE MOTEL, Ken studied the report from the crime lab on Vi Mullen’s murder, hoping for something concrete he could use in his investigation. The problem was that the store had too many fingerprints of everyone who ever touched the boxes in the storage area. So basically a dead end since there was no way of knowing if the killer’s prints were among them.

  As for the lone bloody partial footprint, the lab had concluded it was made by the worn sole of a cowboy boot. They could only guess at the size, but estimated it could have been a female with size nine. Or a man’s size ten to twelve. So basically an average man’s foot size or a little more than average woman’s.

  His cell phone rang and he saw it was the crime lab. Had they discovered something more? Something that might actually help him solve these cases?

  He could really use some good news right now. There was so much pressure from the governor to turn the entire investigation over to the state boys. It was almost a temptation. Let them try to figure this all out.

  But he wasn’t ready to give up. He couldn’t blow his chance to prove to everyone what he could have done as marshal—if they hadn’t overlooked him. True he had gotten thrown more than one murder—and a mess of a case. However right now he was feeling optimistic. With Gray’s help and whatever the lab had for him, he thought they might actually solve it all.

  He quickly picked up. “I was just reading your report. Not much to go on.”

  “No,” the lab tech said. “Not on that victim, but I do have good news on the remains. We were able to match the DNA to a missing teenager from Idaho. She disappeared seventeen years ago. The coroner had estimated her age at the time of death from somewhere between sixteen to eighteen. She was days away from her seventeenth birthday the last time she was seen. Her name was Amy Franklin. She was a junior at Blackfoot High School.”

  “Any living relatives?”

  “Her mother is the one who called the police that she was missing. She is still alive and needs to be notified. I’ll text you the information.”

  Ken tried to feel relieved. At least he was making some progress on the second victim. But he still had no idea how this Amy Franklin had ended up under the floorboards or what she’d even been doing in Buckhorn.

  Maybe her mother might have some idea.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  TUCKER PRICE SAW the deputy coming and stepped back from the ensuing argument. Jaxson saw him try to warn Carson McCabe, but the ranch hand was standing nose to nose with the bar owner. The argument looked as if it was about to turn physical.

  “What’s going on here?” the deputy asked loudly.

  “Just trying to stop these boys from driving drunk,” Dave said without looking at him. He was still facing McCabe, who apparently wasn’t giving an inch. He glared at Dave, both hands bunched into fists. Clearly he was looking for a fight—often alcohol-fueled if history was repeating itself.

  “I can settle this argument real quick,” Jaxson said. “You want a ride in the back of my patrol SUV, Carson?”

  For a moment neither Dave nor Carson moved. Then slowly the ranch hand opened his hands, flexing his fingers, before he stepped back and turned to the deputy.

  “Just having a little disagreement is all, Deputy,” McCabe said.

  “Then hand over your keys to Dave and call someone out at the ranch to come pick the two of you up,” Jaxson said.

  For a moment he thought the ranch hand was going to argue the point. But he sighed, smiled and said, “Waste of time since we haven’t had that much to drink, but I guess I’m not being offered an option, am I, Dave?” He reached into his pocket and dropped his keys on the ground at Dave’s feet—ignoring the man’s outstretched hand.

  “What is it about you, Carson?” Dave said. “You want to get eighty-sixed from the only bar in town?”

  “Step back, McCabe,” Jaxson ordered as he moved between the two men. Carson was still looking for a fight. Jaxson wouldn’t have been surprised if the ranch hand attacked the bar owner the moment he reached down for the keys lying on the ground.

  Picking up the keys, the deputy shook his head at McCabe. “Best make that call.” He looked past him to Tucker Price who was leaning against the ranch pickup. “You’re not planning to drive anywhere, are you, Price?”

  Tucker shook his head. The two men locked gazes for a long moment. If Jaxson had wondered how long Tucker Price had been hoping to come between him and Luna, he no longer did. There was challenge in the rancher’s expression.

  “Don’t the two of you have work to do out on the ranches?” he asked, pulling away from what he knew could easily become another standoff.

  Not to mention that right now he and Luna weren’t exactly together. His own fault, he thought with a curse. With his future up in the air, he couldn’t be sure he could repair the damage he’d done, but he was going to damn well give it his best shot. He didn’t need Tucker stepping in.

  Then again Luna could date anyone she pleased.

  Tucker made a call for a ride and Jaxson and Dave went into the bar.

  “I don’t think they’re going to give you any more trouble today,” he said as the bar owner went behind the bar and he took a stool. He figured he’d better stick around until the two outside were gone. “Mind if I see those keys?”

  Dave handed them over. Since it was an older ranch truck, the key ring looked a lot like Johnny Berg’s drawing, but with more keys. He handed it back.

  “Did you ever find the owner of that set you found in the back of your drawer?” Jaxson asked.

  “Not yet. I suspect whoever left them just had more keys made at the hardware store over in Lewistown. Or used their spare set.” He offered him a beer, but the deputy declined, saying he was still on duty. “Any closer to finding Vi’s killer?”

  Jaxson shook his head. “We’ve spent days interviewing people. Right now it seems impossible that there is a solution in all of it. And yet, I know how this works. Suddenly there is a thread that connects a string of clues together and wham! There’s your killer. Or it becomes a cold case because there are just enough missing clues that there appears to be no thread and the case goes unsolved.”

  At the sound of the bar’s front door opening, they both turned to see Jory Price and a ranch hand from the Price spread. Dave tossed Jory the keys. “Can you get your brother home?”

  Jory made a face but nodded as he caught the keys.

  “McCabe shouldn’t drink,” Jaxson said as Jory and the ranch hand left.

  “He is a mean drunk,” Dave agreed as he stepped behind the bar. “But I suspect there is more to it. Have you met his old man? I’ve heard he’s hard to work for and probably even tougher on his own son.” He shrugged. “It’s why I haven’t eighty-sixed Carson. Yet.”

  “You’re probably too nice to own a bar,” Jaxson said, smiling, as he climbed off the stool. He thought of Luna’s text. Now that things had settled down here, he was anxious to see what she’d found out. He just hoped she was back at the salon by now. He didn’t worry about her as much during daylight, but he still worried.

  * * *

  KEN SAW THAT he’d gotten a text with the information about Amy Franklin’s next of kin. He wasn’t looking forward to telling Amy’s mother that her daughter’s remains had been found. When Shar called, he was almost relieved to put off the other call. Still he considered not taking his former girlfriend’s call.

  He’d figured by now she was either with the man she’d brought to his house after the bars closed that night or she’d picked up someone else at the bar where Ken had met her.

  He’d thought of that first night often since the awkward scene at the house. It hadn’t surprised him that she was running around on him. He’d caught the last act of an argument between Shar and some man at the bar that night. The man who she’d called Bud had slammed her against the bar, threatening to kick her ass.

  Bud had clearly been looking for a fight and Ken had been ready to give him one. But once he’d pulled his badge, Bud had backed off, storming out, saying it wasn’t the last Ken or Shar would see of him.

  Shar had gone to the ladies’ room, cleaned up and came out appearing none the worse for wear. She’d taken a stool down from him and thanked him, back ramrod straight, a determined look on her face. Buying her a drink had seemed like a nice thing to do. She’d thanked him politely with a nod and a smile, and they’d both enjoyed their drinks and the music for a good ten minutes before she moved down to pull up a stool next to him.

  He’d known the kind of woman she was even before they left the bar together. She’d moved into his place the same way she’d moved down the bar. The woman had a lot of practice at moving in—and on.

  So why was she calling? “Hello?”

  Silence, then, “It’s me... Shar.” He said nothing, waiting. “I’m sorry. You were nice to me, and I was... Well, we know how I was. I really need to see you. It’s important. I don’t want to do this over the phone. Also, I still have the key to your place. I figured you might want it back.”

  “You could have just left it at the house.”

  “How’s the investigation going?” she asked.

  He sighed and realized that he’d missed having someone to go home to who would ask about his day. “Confusing. We’ve collected a lot of information, but I can’t see how any of it ties together and leads us to the killer. Killers, actually.”

  “There’s more than one?”

  “Two bodies almost twenty years apart so I’m assuming two killers, but you never know.”

  “You sound tired. Call me when you’re coming home. I’ll meet you at the house. Don’t worry—no drama. I wouldn’t bother you, but it’s important. Also I hate leaving things the way we left them.” She let out a nervous laugh. “Is that okay?”

  He wasn’t sure if he believed there wouldn’t be drama. Or that she just wanted a more adult parting. It didn’t seem her modus operandi. Maybe she really was sorry. Maybe she really did have something important to tell him.

  Not that he had any intention of taking her back. He wasn’t a complete fool. He disconnected, not sure how he felt. Confused more than anything. He couldn’t imagine why she wanted to see him. It had to be more than an apology and a goodbye. Maybe she thought he would weaken. Not likely.

  But closure would be good. He texted Jaxson. Have to run home. See you in the morning. He told himself he needed a break from the case. He wasn’t getting anywhere with Vi Mullen’s murder. He’d been waiting, hoping for a DNA match on the mummified body before worrying about the cold case murder.

  He also needed to get his key back from Shar. A conciliatory ending between them would be nice.

  Ken hoped he wasn’t making a mistake as he called Shar back. “I’m headed home now.”

  “That’s great,” she said, sounding pleased. Too pleased? “Call me when you’re almost to town. I’ll meet you at the house. I have something for you.”

  “Shar—”

  “Don’t worry. It’s not a bribe, Marshal.”

  “Acting Marshal.”

  She chuckled. “But for how long? Once you solve this case... See you later.”

  He disconnected, feeling better than he had in a long while and warning himself against the feeling. People didn’t change. He knew that firsthand. He needed to be very careful tonight.

  Armed with the information he needed and a good hour’s drive, he called Naomi Franklin to tell her the news about her missing daughter.

  * * *

  LUNA CHECKED HER appointment book, glad to see that her day was almost over as Darby Cole was leaving. She’d just got through showing the newspaper woman the photos of Owen and Amy. Darby hadn’t recognized either, but she hadn’t been in Buckhorn long. It had been a long shot that the journalist might have any knowledge of Owen or Amy.

  Before the salon door closed, a woman stepped through. Luna turned and felt a start. It took a moment for her brain to tell her that it wasn’t Vi Mullen standing in her doorway.

  The woman laughed. “Identical twins, but I’m guessing you’ve got that now.”

  “You must be the Vera Carter I’ve been hearing about,” Luna managed to say, even though her heart was still pounding as if she’d seen a ghost.

  “Don’t believe everything you’ve heard about me,” the woman said, stepping in to let the door close behind her. She even sounded like Vi. “I was hoping you could do something with my hair.”

  She’d just been thinking about closing early but wasn’t about to turn down the number one suspect in Vi’s murder investigation. “What did you have in mind?”

  “Apparently Vi and I had the same exact haircut.”

  “Darn close,” Luna agreed.

  “Then let’s fix that,” Vera said with a flourish as she whipped off her jacket, hung it on one of the hooks by the door and headed for the chair. “Maybe something like yours,” she said as she sat down and gazed at Luna behind her in the mirror.

  “A pixie cut?”

  “Why not?”

  Luna spun the chair around, opened the cover on the sink and turned on the water as Vera lay back.

  “So did you know my sister well?” the twin asked with a smile.

  “We got along.” Cocking an eyebrow, she asked, “Are you looking for her killer?”

  “Not hardly,” Vera said. “Just curious. I’ve heard Vi had trouble making friends.”

  That was putting it mildly, Luna thought. “Did I hear that you’re planning on selling everything, including the store, antique barn and her house?” she asked as she began to shampoo Vera’s short dark bob.

  “I can’t believe the way news travels in this town. As Vi’s only true heir, I have a lawyer working on it.” She must have seen Luna’s surprised expression. “Oh, haven’t you heard? Tina isn’t even a blood relation to Vi. Only in Buckhorn would babies be switched. Vi’s daughter was stillborn. The county nurse had just delivered a baby from Earl Ray’s wife, Tory, who’d kept her pregnancy a secret even from him. Didn’t want kids. I get it. So the county nurse switched the babies.”

  Luna was stunned. “So Earl Ray is Tina’s father.” She thought of all the times she’d seen the two of them together as she rinsed Vera’s hair and massaged in the conditioner. “How long have they known?”

  “A while now, I guess.”

  “What does that mean as far as Vi’s house and businesses?”

  “Our Daddy set up everything in a trust so neither of us could sell without the others approval. He knew Vi would never sell and leave. But Vi’s gone.”

  That was fortunate for Vera, she thought as she rinsed Vera’s hair, wrapped it in a towel and spun the chair around.

  “I heard you’ve been dating the deputy who’s investigating the case. He and that acting marshal getting any closer to finding the killer?”

  “Not that I’ve heard,” Luna said as she began to cut the woman’s hair. “I heard you were the number one suspect though.”