“That’s good to know but fast-flowing water is stronger than most vehicles. It can move a bus.” Carter followed her out into the hallway and along to the mudroom. He glanced over his shoulder at Rhett. “You know that, right?”
Feeling like an inexperienced kid, Rhett just nodded. He adjusted his shoulder holster before pulling on a jacket. He took a slicker from a peg in the mudroom and pulled it on, watching as the others did the same. They would be dry on the way to the ranch as he had parked in the attached garage beside Wolfe’s large home. He entered the address into the vehicle’s GPS and they headed out into the miserable morning. Storms had been intermittent throughout the night, but the rain had never stopped.
“I had some time on my hands last night and took the liberty of looking into the manager of your ranch.” Carter relaxed in the seat behind him. “Ed Bowman was a leading hand during the time of your parents. His ambition has always been to oversee the running of a ranch and he has the business degrees to back him up. I did a background check on him and on paper he is squeaky clean.”
Rhett peered at him in the rearview mirror. “That’s good to know. Did you dig up anything else about the hands working there?”
“Only about the two leading hands.” Carter met his gaze in the mirror. “Josh Greenwood and Dirk Lovall. Both have been there for over twenty years. All three men are in their mid to late forties and apart from bar fights and traffic tickets, I couldn’t discover anything sinister about them or any links to organized crime.” He cleared his throat. “When someone suggests they are being murdered for whatever reason, the first thing we look at is organized crime as most times threats come from that area. For instance, if your father had discovered someone adding a few extra items to his consignments of cattle, it would be reason enough to remove him. You have to remember that anyone in the illegal drug trade, for instance, or sex slavery is making a ton of cash—and they don’t want any problems.”
Rhett ground his back teeth as he turned into the road leading to the ranch. Water pelted against the windshield and suddenly the back and forth of the wipers was the only sound inside the cabin. “The problem is this is my ranch and my father wanted me to run it. I don’t want to be a rancher and would be happy to allow the manager to continue, but I do need a place to live and it seems rather stupid not to take up the opportunity of moving into a good home. What would you suggest I do to stay safe, if whatever happened during my father’s time there is still a threat?”
“The chances of whoever killed your parents sticking around for twenty years is remote, but you’ll need to watch your back until, you’re sure. I suggest you make like you’re stupid.” Carter smiled around his toothpick. “Keep your sidearm on you at all times, or in reach when you’re sleeping. I would suggest you bring in someone to update the security alarm system on the house.” He blew out a long sigh. “Go and meet with the manager and tell him that you’re happy for him to continue running the place and that you have no interest in being a cattle rancher. Maybe throw in the fact that you’ll only be living in the house and heading off to work each day like a normal Joe. Make like you don’t intend to interfere in anything they’re doing and you should be okay, but all the time, watch what’s going on. It would be normal for someone like you to take a ride around your property. I would guess there are horses there, but you could buy your own. Maybe take Julie with you for a ride. She is very observant and will likely spot anything that’s not right. If you find a potential problem, call one of us right away. Don’t even bother to go back to the ranch house. Take a satellite phone with you at all times and call.”
Nodding, Rhett drove through the gates with the lawson’s ridge sign out front, surprised to find a blacktop road leading toward a grand old house in the distance. The red roofs of many buildings peeked through the sheet of rain. White painted fences lined the driveway and beyond that acres and acres of lush green pasture spread out over rolling hills and onto the forest, the grass glossy and dense after the drenching. His stomach clenched as he got closer to the house. Finally, after all these years he’d discovered where he had originated from. This was the home he remembered through the fractured memories of a child. The windows made up of small panes of glass slotted into place, as did the massive green expanse. Somewhere inside his memory he recognized the windows and remembered sitting on the swing on the long front porch. He should have spent his entire life here with a loving family. Someone had cut that short and no matter what happened from this moment forward, he would discover the truth.
Twenty-Six
Seeing Raven on the security screen at the front gate surprised Jenna. After a bad night with her shoulder, she had planned to head into work to run the investigation, but as Jackson was running a temperature, she’d called Rio and informed him she’d be working from home. Sitting up most of the night, she’d already planned her day and delegated work to Rowley and Rio. They’d be going to interview two of the suspects: locksmith Rodney Wallace and past group attendee Jade Ellison. She had intended to leave Raven to run the office but sighed with relief at seeing a doctor on her front porch after Jackson woke at four screaming and holding his head. She was unsure what had happened, but he’d calmed when Kane held him. At first, they’d expected a bad dream as her son had received all his shots, but then when he went limp, quiet alarm bells sounded. Something was wrong. She wanted to take him to the hospital but Kane insisted on calling Wolfe. Had Raven been sent in his stead? She couldn’t imagine Wolfe doing such a thing without telling them. She pressed the gate lock and Raven’s department SUV headed toward the house. She headed back to the kitchen. Kane had laid Jackson over one shoulder and was rubbing his back like an infant. Her youngest son had his eyes closed and his crimson cheeks glowed. Just before Tauri had left with Nanny Raya to go to the res, Jenna had refused at first, wanting him safe at home during the bad weather, but when Kane discovered that the way to the highway and the road to the res were clear of floodwater, she’d agreed. In the last hour the rain had cleared at last. The weather report forecast occasional showers, so they’d be safe on the way home as well. She looked at Kane. “Raven is on his way.”
“He must have something important to discuss.” Kane checked his watch. “There’s no sign of Wolfe. He’ll need to go ahead with the autopsy without us.”
Jenna touched her son’s burning forehead and frowned. “Raven can go, and once Jackson settles, maybe we can organize a video link and watch it from here.”
“I can go.” Kane frowned. “Although with your shoulder, lifting Jackson will be difficult.”
Jenna shook her head. “No, I can’t lift him, and if I could, leaving me here without transport isn’t an option. What if something happens?” She turned at the knocking on the front door. “That will be Raven.”
She hurried to the door and flung it open. “Come in. Did Wolfe send you?”
“Nope.” Raven’s brow wrinkled. “Is there a problem?”
Jenna nodded. “Yeah. Jackson is burning up.”
“I’ll grab my bag.” Raven turned on his heel and ran to his truck. Moments later, he hurried into the mudroom. He put down his bag and shrugged out of his coat. “When did it start?”
Jenna led the way to the kitchen. “This morning, he woke hot and it’s getting worse.” She sighed. “We called Wolfe and he said he’d be along right away. I guess he’ll be here soon.”
“Maybe he got held up.” Raven followed her into the kitchen. “The going is slow out there, with the water over the road and all.” He placed his bag on the table and pulled out a few items.
Jenna chewed on her bottom lip as Raven checked Jackson’s temperature and then pressed a stethoscope to his chest. When he gently pressed the otoscope to the baby’s ear, Jackson reacted at once with a shrill scream. Horrified she stared at him. “What’s wrong?”
“He has an ear infection.” He pulled out his phone. “Hey, Shane, I’m at the sheriff’s ranch, Jackson has an ear infection. Can you bring meds?” He listened for a few seconds. “Great. No, I dropped by to discuss a suspect. I’ll be here for a time.” He nodded. “Yeah, that was my next step. Catch you later.”
“An ear infection will need antibiotics.” Kane frowned. “What are the next steps?”
“Wolfe is stopping to get the medication. You’ll need to get him into a warm bath. Not hot but the same as when he was an infant. We don’t want to see goosebumps or his temperature will go up. A bath will cool him down and if you have infant Tylenol, you can give him a dose now and follow the instructions to keep the fever and pain down. The ear is causing him considerable discomfort.”
Concerned, Jenna rushed into the bathroom for the Tylenol she’d purchased when Jackson was teething. The bottle was almost full. She turned as Kane walked into the bathroom. “I’ll give him this and then run his bath.”
“I’ll bathe him.” Kane roused his son so he could take the meds. “You’d better find out what made Raven rush here.” He squeezed her arm. “Don’t worry, Jackson will be fine, but I figure we need to be here until he turns the corner. The office can come to us.”
Running her hand down Jackson’s back and seeing his troubled gaze stabbed at her heart. They’d planned for situations like this and the boys came first. “I agree. I’ll make some calls once I’ve spoken to Raven.” She looked at Jackson. “You’ll feel better soon and Mommy and Daddy will be right here.” She bent to turn on the faucet.
“Ouchy.” Jackson touched his ear and his bottom lip quivered. “Uncle Raven is a baddie man.”
His sad expression tugged at her heart. “Uncle Raven didn’t mean to hurt you. He needed to look in your ear to see what was wrong. He’s a nice man and is getting medicine to make you better.”
“No!” Jackson turned back into Kane’s arms. “Baddie man.” He pointed at Jenna. “Bad Mommy. Go away.”
