Hallowed Ground (31 page)

His brow furrowed with skepticism. He sunk a bit lower in the chair.

“But as long as you’re here, why don’t you tell me how you found out that someone shot Red, when it isn’t common knowledge.”

“Maurice, Don, and Dale stopped by soon as they heard it on the scanner.”

“I hate those damn scanners,” I said.

“Don’t matter. Keeps the cops in line if they think someone’s listenin’ to whatever they’re doing.”

After working in the sheriff’s office, I disagreed. He knew how I felt, but I wasn’t about to start another argument I couldn’t win.

“At least they’ll be earning the money we’re payin’ them tomorrow,” he grumbled.

“Why? What’s going on?”

“There’s gonna be a big protest in the afternoon where they’re buildin’ the casino. Lot of people showin’ up.”

“Who?”

“Citizens worried ’bout all these murders. Members from the other tribes organized it. Maurice said those fellas from the casinos up’n Deadwood will be there. Dale thinks the TV stations will show up.”

“Just what they need. More attention.”

He shook his finger at me. “Even you can’t deny none of this bad stuff happened before they broke ground.”

“Will you be there?”

“No. I’m helpin’ Red’s wife finish patchin’ the holes in the fence. The cows don’t know that Red’s dead and they’re still gettin’ out.”

For a fleeting moment I pitied him more than I hated him.

Then his accusing gaze narrowed on me. “What about you?”

I shrugged. “What’s it matter to you? Afraid I’ll somehow embarrass you?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Yeah?” I set my elbows on my desk, refusing to back away from him. “Maybe I’d give a shit
what
you thought if you hadn’t embarrassed
me
by smacking me around.”

“Maybe if I would’ve taken the strap to you more often you wouldn’t have such a smart mouth.”

“Like to see you try it now.”

“Don’t tempt me, girly.”

From my peripheral vision I watched his fist clench. Unclench.

Come on you son of a bitch, do it.

“I wouldn’t, if I were you.”

Kevin shadowed the doorway.

Dad scowled over his shoulder at him.

“Get out,” Kevin said. “I don’t give a flying fuck why you’re here, Doug, but no one comes into these offices and tosses around threats.”

Part of me bristled that Kevin had decided to come in and save me. I’d been doing fine on my own. I’d had it under control. I didn’t need his help.

My dad stood. Reached over and picked up his checkbook from the desk.

I flinched.

After he’d walked out I breathed again.

“You all right?” Kevin asked.

No.
“Yeah.”

“What was he doing here?”

“He wanted to hire me to find out who shot Red Granger. Pissed him off when I told him I couldn’t.”

Kevin frowned. “The news reports didn’t say anything about Granger being killed. They said he died unexpectedly.”

“The reporters didn’t talk to the Bear Butte County Militia. With their trusty scanners—no detail gets past them.”

“Speaking of murders in Bear Butte County . . . did you read the paper this morning?”

I shook my head.

“They released the victims’ names from the other shooting.”

His eyes caught the guilt in mine and he swore.

“You knew. You fucking knew and you didn’t tell me. Why?”

“You had other things on your mind, Kev.”

He was looming over my desk before I blinked.

“Don’t give me that bullshit, Julie. How did you find out?”

I had no choice but to tell him everything. I was tired of keeping secrets. Tired of running the damn business without his help.

“Martinez put the word out he was looking for Chloe. An anonymous tip came in on where he could find her, so we went.”

My fingernails dug into the foam armrests on my chair for support. Still made me dizzy and sick to think about it. “We got there and it wasn’t Chloe, but Rondelle. Dead. We saw her, saw the other bodies, before the cops did. Then we got out as fast as we could.”

“And while you were busy making your escape from a crime scene, you didn’t think to contact the cops on what you’d discovered?”

“That was my first instinct until we realized someone had set us up to find them. We’d probably still be at the sheriff’s department answering questions and it wouldn’t get us any closer to finding Chloe.”

“
We
meaning you and Martinez?”

I nodded.

“How do you know Martinez didn’t have something to do with it?”

“Because I was there. I saw the look on his face when he figured out it was Rondelle lying on the dirty floor with half her head blown off.”

He winced, but wasn’t finished conveying his scorn. “Don’t you think it’s pretty convenient he knew exactly where to find the bodies?”

I was as sick of defending Martinez as I was of defending myself. My temper flared. “Anyone who’s lived in the county knows where that shack is, or can tell someone who doesn’t know where it is how to get there, so I’m failing to see your point.”

Kevin stared at me as if I’d spoken Swahili. “He’s got you completely snowed, doesn’t he?”

“Who? Martinez?”

“No. The fucking tooth fairy. Yes, I’m talking about Martinez. How in the hell can you possibly justify trusting him?”

Because I needed to trust someone and you weren’t around.

Even as the words surfaced, I knew it was a cop out. I trusted Martinez. Period. In some ways I trusted him more than I trusted Kevin, which shocked the hell out of me.

“Back off.” I leveled my rapid breathing. “You told me you trusted my judgment with the agency. I did what I thought was right.”

“Well, it wasn’t.” He jammed a hand through his hair. Acted like he wanted to pull it out.

“Anything else you want to tell me?”

The information burst from me like a dam breach. “Rondelle supposedly ripped off the Carluccis, suspected members of an east coast crime family for a tidy sum of money. She double-crossed her old boss, Bud Linderman, by lying to him. Her association with Luther Ghost Bear of the Medicine Wheel Society got him killed, probably her ties with any one of those groups got Donovan shot. Oh. And grief has sent Harvey off his rocker. I suspect he’ll go on a rampage if he ever finds out who killed his sister.

“I’ve been followed, threatened, assaulted. I’ve had to deal with pissed off bikers, angry ranchers, my father, the sheriff, mob bodyguards, and a cowboy posse. Not to mention witnessing a man getting shot right in front of me and stumbling onto a gruesome murder scene that will haunt me for the rest of my life.”

I took a breath.

“This case has been an absolute fucking nightmare from day one. And I still haven’t been able to do the one thing I was hired to do: find Chloe Black Dog.”

That shut him up.

Silence stretched until I wanted to scream.

“But the good news is I saved fifteen percent on my car insurance by switching to Geico.”

He didn’t even crack a smile.

I sighed. Screw it. Screw
him
. I collected my cigarettes and stashed them in my purse as I rose to my feet.

“The bottom line? I’m in way over my head. I’m not exactly an old pro at this PI stuff, Kev, and you haven’t been around to mentor me. So, I apologize if I’ve made bad decisions. Write me an official reprimand and stick it in my employee file. But I will not sit here and let you berate me as an outlet for your grief over Lilly.”

By his look of incredulity, followed by the hard glint in his eyes, I knew I’d overstepped my bounds.

“Like you’ve never taken your grief out on me? How many times, no, how many
years
have I suffered alongside you? Am I even allowed to grieve, or is that strictly your milieu?”

The fact he was right didn’t make the truth easier to swallow.

“Dirty pool, Kevin. While it won’t do any good to defend myself, I will say that I didn’t ‘take out’ my grief on you. I let you in, which is a helluva lot more than you’ve let me do for you in the last few months.”

He closed his eyes. “Shit.”

I swept by him.

“Julie, wait—”

“No. I’m done waiting. Lock the door and set the alarm when you leave. I won’t be back today.”

My mantra of
don’t cry, don’t cry
didn’t work. Tears leaked past my defenses anyway. At least when Kevin wasn’t around we didn’t fight and I could pretend everything was lollipops and rainbows. Whatever ground we’d gained in getting our partnership back on track, we’d lost in the last half hour.

If this was another issue we’d sweep aside, pretty soon the bumps under the proverbial rug would trip us both.

After I’d calmed down I stopped in the sheriff’s office. Missy and I chatted amiably, more so than when we’d worked together. Without questioning why I was there, she ushered me into Sheriff Richard’s office and closed the door.

“I’m surprised to see you.” His gaze zeroed in on the Styrofoam box in my hand. “Whatcha got there?”

“A piece of heaven.” I opened the lid. Sugar, yeast, and cinnamon scented the air.

He licked his lips. “Must be a pretty important favor if you’re bribing me with a warm cinnamon roll.”

“It is.” I pointed to his coffee cup. “Need a refill?”

“Now you’ve got me scared. Julie Collins offering to wait on me? Snowing in hell for sure.”

“Ha ha.”

He held out his mug.

I poured us each a fresh cup. As he ate, I sat in the visitor’s chair and watched him.

Clean-shaven, hair slicked back, tan uniform pressed. Only the luggage beneath his eyes gave credence to my theory he hadn’t had much sleep in the last three days.

“Sounds like things have been pretty interesting around here.”

He grunted and shoved the last heavily frosted piece in his mouth. “Understatement of the year.

Don’t even have time to open my damn mail.”

I eyed the stack in his “In” box. “Any change in Donovan Black Dog’s condition?”

“He’s stabilized. Swelling around his brain is down. Tomorrow they’re gonna take him off the meds that’ve kept him in a coma.” He sipped his coffee. “Course, you didn’t hear any of that from me.”

“Does he have any family staying with him up at the hospital?”

“You looking for someone in particular?”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“His five-year old daughter, Chloe.”

Glaciers formed in his eyes. “Why?”

I wouldn’t get another lick of information until I explained.

“Okay, here’s my case in a nutshell: Donovan snatched her in a child custody dispute. I was hired to find out where he’d hidden her.”

“Dammit, Collins. Were any of the proper agencies made aware of this situation?”

My cheeks flushed with guilt.

“The mother hired you?”

“No. I was hired through the girl’s uncle.”

The Sheriff scowled. “Well? Spit it out.”

“That day up at Bear Butte I was trying to convince Donovan to turn Chloe over to me so we didn’t have to involve the ‘proper authorities’. Then before he told me where she was, someone shot him.”

“Where is the mother? Why hasn’t she come forward?”

“See, that’s the interesting part. Her name is Rondelle Eagle Tail and she’s the woman you found dead in the cabin.”

He lowered his cup very slowly. “Run that by me one more time.”

Felt like a high schooler in the principal’s office explaining why I’d skipped geometry. “Umm.

Rondelle is Chloe’s mother.”

“And you’re just coming to me with the information now?”

“Honestly, I didn’t think it mattered before. But as I’ve been trying to find this girl, I found out a bunch of stuff I didn’t want to know.”

“Start talking, Collins. Don’t leave anything out or you’ll be cuffed and in FBI custody just for my amusement.”

“But—”

“Talk!”

Crap. “Okay. One of the dead guys worked for Rondelle’s boss up in Deadwood.”

“Tommy Defiglio. Worked security at Trader Pete’s for the Carluccis. That’s not new information. Keep going.”

“You also know that Rondelle was employed by Bud Linderman right before she went to work for the Carluccis?”

He nodded. Glowered. His nostrils flared.