“Hey.” Kane gently undressed his son. “Remember when Uncle Shane gave you the shots? It hurt some, but they’re to keep you safe. He’s a doctor and doctors like to keep kids safe. He’s not a baddie man, is he?” He lowered Jackson into the warm water. “Uncle Raven is a doctor too. He didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Her little boy looked exhausted as Kane splashed him with water. Jenna turned away and went back to the kitchen. She looked at Raven and shrugged. “Sorry about that. He doesn’t feel well.”
“In the field, I’ve had grown men call me a whole lot worse.” Raven smiled. “He’ll forget all about it in a few days. I came by to speak to you about a common suspect I figure we need to look at without delay. When I heard about Jackson, I came here rather than head to the office.”
Jenna nodded and went to pour coffee and put bread in the toaster. Kane had made breakfast for Tauri, but with Jackson so upset, they hadn’t eaten. “Coffee? I make a mean burned toast if you’re hungry.”
“Why don’t you sit down and I’ll get it for you.” Raven walked to the counter. “The next few days won’t be easy caring for Jackson with your shoulder injury. Rest when you can.”
Dropping into a chair, Jenna nodded. “Thanks, now what new suspect?”
“I found a link between this guy and our victims.” Raven turned to look at her. “It will break the case wide open.”
Twenty-Seven
Lawson’s Ridge
The rain had thankfully stopped as the ranch house and other buildings came into view. Rhett stared at an elegant ranch house with a wraparound porch. The house was set perfectly in the land to give the best views of the landscape and mountains. The construction of locally sourced timber and stone put the age of the building to at least one hundred years. He moved his attention across to the other buildings. A mixture of old and new took up more than a few acres of land. Some of the structures appeared to be recent, while beside them the buildings mirrored the main house.
Barking dogs rushed out to greet them and ran around the truck as Rhett pulled into the driveway outside a building with a black-and-white office sign above the door. Behind him, he heard a low rumble from Zorro’s chest. Moments later, a man stepped into the office doorway and called back the dogs. The man, maybe in his mid to late forties, had thick salt-and-pepper hair poking out from under his cowboy hat, faded Levi’s, and dust-covered brown boots. His face had the weather-beaten skin of a person who spent most of his time outdoors. His warm sheepskin jacket had seen better days but hung on a wiry body. Rhett slid from behind the wheel, conscious of Carter right beside him and Julie close behind. He headed for the man standing inside the office door. “Hi there. I’m looking for Ed Bowman.”
“You found him.” Bowman looked him up and down. “What can I do for you?”
Holding out his hand, Rhett walked toward him. “I’m Rhett Lawson. My pa left me this ranch and I figured I’d come and see my new home.” The handshake was firm but he dropped his hand and turned toward Carter and Julie. “I’m sure you already recognize Julie Wolfe, the medical examiner’s daughter, and this is my friend Ty Carter.”
“Nice to meet y’all.” Bowman looked closely at his face. “I remember you as a little boy and I can see your daddy in you now. How come it took you so long to come home?”
Not wanting to divulge any information to this stranger, Rhett just smiled. “I only graduated from college in May, but I’m here now and would like to take a look around the place, especially the house. My lawyer tells me it’s been kept in top condition and is ready to move into right away.”
“It has indeed.” Bowman indicated toward the big ranch house some distance away. “Sam Cross comes by every quarter and does a walkthrough. When he took over the running of your father’s estate, he had people come by to do an audit and checked against the last one completed by the previous lawyer. He seems to be a nice man, but I don’t figure he would take kindly to anyone cheating you.” He walked beside Rhett, gesturing with his hands. “I’ve been running the day-to-day workings since your father died. I’m guessing you’ll be taking over now?”
Shaking his head, Rhett took in the massive ranch house. It looked very grand with its shutters on every window. “I do not intend to become a rancher. I’m going to leave things as they are for the time being. I have my own career mapped out for me already and I’m not going to change mid-stride.” He turned and smiled at the man. “No one’s job is in danger. You won’t even know I’m here.”
“You’re planning on living on the ranch?” Bowman pushed back his cowboy hat and gave him an astonished stare. “It’s a large place for a single man to be rattling around in. It’s like a museum and, although functional, isn’t a place I’d like to sleep in alone.”
Was this man trying to warn him—about what or who? Rhett barked a laugh. “I don’t scare easy.”
“Maybe when you’ve seen inside, you’ll change your mind and live in town.” Bowman touched his hat. “No offense, but my wife says she hears things in that house. She don’t like going there alone.”
Finding it strange for the man to be dissuading him so soon, Rhett raised an eyebrow at Carter. “I’m sure in an old house this big, there will be quarters for household staff. I’ll ask Sam if he can arrange for a few to move in with me. I couldn’t possibly run the place alone, not when I plan to be working full-time in the near future.”
“Your own staff?” Bowman’s mouth hung open and then snapped shut like an insect-eating plant. “We already employ cooks and cleaners.”
Laughing, Rhett gave him a side-eye. “Nope, I need a housekeeper to cook meals for me and one or two cleaners. I’m sure there will be people in town glad to be living in a house like that.” He indicated to the house as they climbed the steps. “Is it locked?”
“Nope.” Bowman pushed a hand under the rim of his hat to scratch his head. “No need around here.”
Rhett pulled a notebook out of his pocket and a small pencil. He made a note to call a security team and to advise Cross what he required. He rested one hand on the ornate brass and porcelain doorknob, turned it, and opened one side of a pair of impressive large doors with stained glass panels. He expected to inhale a musty odor but instead the house had the fragrant smell of beeswax polish and lavender. Highly polished floors spread out before him to a staircase leading to the upper floors. Closed doors lined the foyer along a hallway with another door at the end. He stepped back out onto the porch and removed his rubber boots and slicker. He tossed the raincoat onto the porch swing and turn to look at Julie. “I don’t want to mess up the floors.”
“I’m not surprised.” Julie grinned at him. “This is how the other half lives.”
Once everyone had removed their boots and slickers, Rhett led the way inside. He turned to Bowman, who had also removed his boots. “I was hoping for a mudroom.”
“There’s one around back. Your pa used it when he went back and forth.” Bowman scratched his chin. “If I recall, there used to be a large mat just inside the door and on one side was a coat rack. There was a mat outside the door as well, but it got eaten by something over the years. I haven’t been inside since your parents died. We have a cleaning service that comes by every two weeks to keep it spick-and-span and in between my wife drops in to make sure they are doing a good job.”
Rhett nodded. “I appreciate you keeping everything going for my return.”
“It was what your pa wanted.” Bowman gave him a sorrowful look. “It was the strangest thing. He made all the changes to the running of the place not six months before he died. He must have had a premonition or something.”
