Colton shook his head. “We were watching a movie in their cabin when you texted. We told them the ranch was on lockdown due to a security drill.”
“Did they buy it?”
Colton scratched his temple. “They didn’t seem disturbed by it. The main house is far enough away that they didn’t hear the disturbance. Hell, if it weren’t for you texting us for backup, we wouldn’t have known either. This damn place is big.”
Storm agreed. “The shady-ass sheriff didn’t have his lights and sirens on either, so it’s unlikely the two know anything about it. Unless they were part of it.”
Jackson scratched the day-old stubble on his chin. “That doesn’t seem likely. It was definitely a man I tussled with last night. Plus, like you said, they were watching a movie with you when it occurred. That doesn’t mean neither of them set it up, but it makes little sense. Aja is probably the only person in the world who gives a damn about them. Why sabotage the good thing they’ve got going on?”
“People do all sorts of stupid stuff for any number of reasons.” Colton’s response, although surly, was true. People did things for reasons that made sense to them alone. However, the pieces weren’t fitting here.
It was looking more and more like Aja was right. Perhaps Brooklyn and Seneca were victims of this situation too. “How far are you in processing Aja’s room?”
Colton folded his arms, pointing briefly at Storm. “We finished a good bit of it before the sheriff arrived. We’ll finish the balcony and the surrounding area near the bottom of the attached staircase this morning. Without daylight, it was too dark to process the scene completely and go unnoticed by Seneca and Brooklyn. We did find a footprint while we were out there. We grabbed a couple of flashlights and made a cast. We also found this.”
Colton pulled a small evidence bag from his pocket and handed it to Jackson. When he unfolded the bag, there was a slender piece of gold inside the plastic. It appeared to be part of a women’s bracelet with the words “Mañana no está—” on it.
“‘Tomorrow isn’t’ what? Do we know what this means? Any sayings that use these words?”
Both Colton and Storm shook their heads. Although Storm was fluent and literate in Spanish, both Colton and Jackson understood enough to get by in a rudimentary conversation.
Storm held his hand out and waited for Jackson to place the evidence bag in his palm. “Granted the Latinx community is vast and differs across the globe, but nothing jumps out at me from this phrase. It could mean anything. And since we don’t have the other half, we might never know what it means.”
“Okay,” Jackson answered. “I’m gonna pull Gleason and Jennings in to take over the forensics. I’ll have them come pick up everything. I need them to get on that ASAP. We don’t want to lose any evidence.”
Both men looked at each other and then stared at Jackson. “Then what will we be doing?” Storm asked.
“Over the next few days, this ranch will be buzzing with people we don’t know. I called my brother and father as soon as I got up. They weren’t supposed to come out for another few days, but they’ll speed up the timetable on Aja’s security installation to tomorrow. Besides them, the construction crew starts then too.”
“We don’t have enough men to watch all those people.”
Storm was right. There were only three of them. Attempting to stake out so many people at once wouldn’t be possible in their small number.
“No, that’s why the cameras are going up first tomorrow. We need eyes. They won’t be able to secure the entire ranch tomorrow, but they’ll work together with the construction crew to seal off the three problematic access points we’re worried about.”
Storm raised a finger to interrupt. “If we’re putting in wireless cameras, won’t we have to get network access from Seneca? You really want someone we think could be involved with this case to have access to our security?”
“No,” Jackson answered. “My father’s loaning us one of his surveillance vans. It’s a plain white van, and he’ll have it outfitted to look like one of the construction crew’s vehicles. It has a private server that’s masked and undetectable. There’s no need for Seneca to know about any of this.”
“So what’s the plan for today?”
Jackson could feel the corner of his mouth lifting into a smile. That was Colton—direct and to the point.
“I’m gonna stick close to Aja. Wherever she goes, I’ll follow. I want eyes on her until we can get the security equipment and protocols implemented. You two will be on patrol duty most of the day. Until those cameras go live tomorrow, we have to keep an eye on those three access points. It’s not perfect, but it’s all we have until the equipment is up and running.”
“What about the front gate?” Again, the military man in Colton was thinking three steps ahead.
“My father is adding a security detail to the front gate and sending extra men to help you two keep eyes on those access points. No one gets in without credentials or prior authorization.”
Storm stepped closer before asking, “Who’s on that list?”
“Badges, emergency personnel, and the people living here. Either Aja or one of us needs to clear anyone else.” Storm and Colton looked at him, then each other, then back at Jackson again. “What?”
Storm leaned back as if he needed to create a little distance between Jackson and himself. “What about the parole officer, Mat Ryan? Doesn’t he visit the ranch to meet with Seneca and Brooklyn? Doesn’t he have to meet with Ms. Everett as their employer?”
A knot tightened in Jackson’s stomach at the mention of that man’s name. Yeah, all the points Storm made were correct. However, despite the man’s official role on the ranch, Jackson couldn’t shake the idea he needed to keep Mat as far away from Aja as possible.
He was being an asshole. He knew that. The man was a law-enforcement officer. That fact alone should’ve garnered him Jackson’s professional respect and courtesy. But every time he thought of how cozy the man seemed with Aja, it made his ire spike. No, there was no way he would give that spineless son of a bitch open access to Aja and her ranch. He could call first like everyone else.
