“My deputy had a run in with him last week.” When I raised my eyebrow, Sheriff Jackson grinned. “Guess he didn’t tell you that Delaney had to throw him out of the bar. He was getting a little too familiar with a lady who let’s say wasn’t feeling the same way. Deputy Payne put him in an Uber and made sure he came back to the ranch. He did check but the lady didn’t want to press charges. She said he was just a little too insistent and kept trying to put his arm around her.”
My hands clenched into fists at my sides as the anger inside of me was pulsing in time with my heartbeat. Loud and furious. The thought of him putting his hands, unwanted, on any woman made my blood boil. Knowing that maybe he’d been inside Tally’s cabin, though, and touching her stuff made me want to tear him apart. “Were any of my other guys with him?” I asked.
“Nope. Bit of a loner in town from what I can gather. Delaney said he drinks there a couple of nights a week, but always alone.”
Even if he wasn’t the one responsible for Tally’s lingerie, he was gettingfired. It was part of the hand’s contracts that they didn’t get in trouble with the authorities in any way, and him getting handsy with a woman who didn’t welcome it was not acceptable to me even if she didn’t press charges. It told me the kind of guy he was. The kind who watched my woman and touched her stuff.
“Do you think that’s enough evidence to prove he broke into my home?”
“Not on its own but he may have taken something, and you didn’t realize it.”
“What about the messages? Did you manage to find anything?” Scrubbing a hand through my hair, I was desperate to get out there and throw Glenn off our property. He had access to every place here. He knew our routines and schedules, so if this was him he needed to be gone as soon as it was possible.
“Sorry, nothing as yet. It’s a burner phone, well in fact, it’s a couple of burner phones. Whoever sends them alternates the number they send them from.” He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a plastic bag with Tally’s phone and handed it to her. “You can have that back now.”
“What about Declan?” Tally asked. “Did you check him out?”
“He had an alibi for last night.” He gave a resigned shrug. “Cast iron, so if we don’t find anything in Mr. Cameron’s stuff then we’ll have to follow other lines of investigation
He then turned to me. “Could you come with us to the bunkhouse, Wild?”
“Sure. Can I just get someone to come and stay with Tally?”
“I’ll be fine,” she insisted. “I’ll keep the door locked.”
Looking at her pale face, I made a silent promise that Glenn Cameron would never go near her again. He’d never even share the same airspace as her. He was still out there, and I didn’t want to leave her, but I had no choice, I really needed to take the sheriff to the bunkhouse
“Lock it straight after I leave.” Wrapping her in my arms, I kissed her forehead. “Promise.”
“I promise.”
“Okay Sheriff, let’s go.”
As we heard the door lock behind us, I hoped we found what we were looking for. I also made a promise that we would extend the trip to get the bull by a couple of days because I was going to make sure Tally could relax in the knowledge that she was safe.
Chapter 44
I Can See Clearly Now – Johnny Nash
Wilder
The stench of hard work, leather and men was potent the moment we opened the door of the bunk house and walked into the large, shared common area. It was so strong that you could practically taste it. Dishes spilled over in the sink as the dishwasher hummed away, a loaf of bread was alongside a dish of butter with a knife stuck in it, like damn Excalibur or something. The waste bin was overflowing and there were wet towels on the floor. I made a mental note to ream them all out about the state of the place. We had cleaners come in every couple of weeks, but there was no need to live like pigs.
“Jeez,” Deputy Malik groaned. “I wouldn’t want to live here.”
Cain, another deputy and old school pal of mine, chuckled. He’d grown up on a nearby farm so clearly didn’t find it as offensive. “You should smell slurry if you think this is bad.”
Sheriff Jackson grinned as he pulled on a pair of surgical gloves. “And wait until you go to an autopsy, Asif.”
Deputy Malik shuddered and put on a pair of gloves of his own.
“Yeah, sorry about the mess but apparently ten pigs live here.” Sighing heavily, I led them down the long hallway with doors lining it. “Glenn shares with three other guys in the big room at the end,” I said over my shoulder. “The newer hands share and as guys leave they then each get a room of their own. These two rooms here are the bathrooms, although the foreman's rooms both have their own showers.” I tapped one of the doors as we passed, Ray scrawled on a piece of tape stuck to it.
“So you currently have ten guys?” Sheriff Jackson asked.
“Yep. Two foreman who each have four guys working for them and they split the work schedule between them. Glenn is in Ray’s crew which is out on the land, while Davey’s guys are on roundup, getting the stragglers down from the high ground. That doesn’t include the half dozen or so who come in and do seasonal work for us. They all tend to be locals just looking for an extra dime.”
“My dad used to help Cal out on his ranch,” Cain offered. “Branding and calving season earned him good money.”
