His signature was scrawled on the bottom.
Sierra’s heart pounded as she processed what she was reading.
What if her grandfather hadn’t died in an accident? What if he’d been murdered because he was getting too close to the truth about Ralph Rousseau and his criminal actions? And why hadn’t he sent the letter?
A phone number was circled on one of his notes, with Call Mayor written beside it in urgent handwriting. The date next to it was two weeks before his death.
“He tried to warn Mayor Jenkins,” Sierra whispered.
She grabbed her phone and tried calling Rowan, but it went straight to voicemail.
“Mom?” Huck appeared in the doorway, dressed in his competition clothes and practically vibrating with excitement. “Is Mr. R back yet?”
“Not yet.” Sierra stood up, forced a smile. “But he’ll be here. He promised.”
“Okay!” Huck bounced on his toes. “I can’t wait! This is going to be the best day ever!”
Sierra managed a smile for her son, but her mind was racing. The evidence in front of her painted a terrifying picture—a criminal organization willing to kill to get what they wanted, and her family was standing directly in their path.
She tried calling Rowan again. This time, he answered on the fourth ring.
“Sierra? Is everything okay?”
“Rowan, I found something. In Grandpa’s office. He was investigating Ralph Rousseau, and?—”
“Slow down. What did you find?”
“Evidence. Documents, maps, newspaper clippings. Grandpa wasn’t just suspicious about Ralph—he had proof. Mining operations, shell companies, connections to murders in Idaho. He wrote a letter to the CBI two weeks before he died. But he never sent it.”
Silence on the other end of the line.
“Rowan? Are you there?”
“I’m here, Sierra.” His voice sounded pinched.
“There’s more. He tried to warn Mayor Jenkins a couple weeks before he died.”
Silence. Then, his voice turned hard. “Listen to me carefully. Take Huck and go to the rodeo. Stay in public, stay visible, and don’t go anywhere alone. I’m going to be late, but I’ll meet you there as soon as I can.”
She sank down into her grandfather’s desk chair. “Should I be scared?”
“No. Okay, maybe enough to keep you alert. But Sierra? We’re going to figure this out.”
She nodded, even if he couldn’t see her. “Hurry.”
“I’ll be there.”
They hung up and Sierra repackaged all the documents and locked them back in the safe. The frame went back on the wall, and the key went back into the picture frame. To anyone looking, the office appeared exactly as it had before.
But everything had changed.
Maybe she had a little of the old police commissioner in her genes. The war that had taken her grandfather’s life was far from over.
And she was ready to fight.
Twelve
Rowan had promises to keep. In other words, he needed to wrap this up and get back to the ranch.
