Pedro rose to his feet and went to put his arm around her in comfort. “I was so pissed, I made that flash drive, grabbed all my important papers, all Sally’s papers, my bank cards, and the cash I had hidden in the house. I found out that Randy had disabled my vehicle. It wasn’t just the four slashed tires, but he had done something to the engine and it wouldn’t even turn over. That’s on the film, and I set out walking. I had to be extremely careful.”
“Why?”
“Gus is a conspiracy theorist, that one, thinks the government is after him, and two, he believes that the laws don’t pertain to him. He spouts off some shit about not recognizing anyone’s authority. Also, his property is booby trapped. Holes with spikes facing upward, trip wires that either released something that flew through the trees, or blew something up.”
“Shit, crazy conspiracy theorist,” Jake called out to her.
“Yes. It took me several days to navigate Gus’s property to get to Sally. Randy found me, and he slapped me around, but I looked him dead in the eye, said I was sorry, then hit him in the side of the head with a log I carried. He went down, I stepped over his body to get to Sally. On the way past, I felt his neck, he was breathing and had a pulse, but he had a cut on the left side of his head, near his temple. I hopped up on Sally’s back and rode her out of there.”
“How did you end up on the road out of Fool’s Gold, and heading here?” Erin asked.
“I was heading to Aspen, but I was so tired, that I let Sally lead the way.”
“This road leads to Colorado Springs,” Jim said. “I’m not sorry Sally brought you here. I am sorry I wasn’t there for you.”
“Jim, I’m a big girl. Up until I met Randy, I was doing fine. He’s a smooth talker, and tells women what they want to hear.” She looked at the men taking notes, and looked directly at Jake when he looked at her. “Don’t quote me on this as truth, it’s just speculation, but I overheard Randy tell Gus several times how he controls women to get what he wants from them. There may be several other women out there that he’s tried to control like he did me. I fought back and got away from him.” She shook her head sadly. “I think I was the only one to do so.”
Pedro handed her a bottle of water, and stood by her side when people started asking questions. She answered as best she could, and then finally took her seat. She shoved her half-eaten pizza away, losing her appetite after her rendition of what happened. She might regret it later, but the thought of food right now turned her stomach.
“Thank you,” she said to Pedro, and laid her hand over his, which happened to be on his thigh. They shared a glance, then looked up when Erin spoke.
“I had you all come here because I wanted Myrna to have to tell her story only once. I also invited Jake and his men to listen so they could get all the information they would need to do what they do. I’m inviting Myrna Trenton to come work for us on New Double. I know we are strapped for hands there, and I have absolutely no clue how to go about setting up security at New Double.” She looked at each person there. “I trust you guys to come up with a plan.” She then turned to look at Jim. “I’m sorry, but I believe Myrna will be safer here.”
“So do I,” he agreed. He held up his hands and shook his head. “I only have twenty years’ experience being a cop. You guys and gals combined, have over one hundred. I’m not going to mess with something former military personnel can come up with. Just know that if you need anything let me know.” He looked around, then looked directly at Clark. “Do you need any arms?”
“Nope,” he said, making the word pop.
“I didn’t think so.” He nodded as he saw determination in every expression. “If any of you need anything from my office, don’t hesitate to reach out.” He looked around again, and turned to Jake. “Cogburn, what is your opinion if I head up to Lakewood and look into this Avery Mosher?”
“Personally? I would look into her, any partner she might have, and maybe even whatever district she’s out of, via the computer first.” At Jim’s shocked look, Jake settled back in his chair. “Think about it, Jim. Once Mosher knows you’re Myrna’s cousin, she’s going to tell you you’re too close to the investigation and she won’t tell you anything except to go home and hold Myrna’s hand. If she doesn’t do that, then she’ll throw it in your face that it’s out of your jurisdiction, she might even give you false information, or try to tell you that Myrna’s not right in the head, and is making it all up. From my perspective, she already thinks the Godwin’s have done nothing too serious to warrant any protection for Myrna. Again, just my opinion, but she probably thought she saved her ass by telling Myrna to install cameras.” He shrugged. “Just my opinion. You can bet that once I get back to my office, I’ll be doing a lot of digging, and I’ll also be reaching out to Hank.”
“Shit, you’re right.” Jim scrubbed his face. “So, Manchester, are you going to be looking into things?”
“Yes, I actually have friends in the Denver office, I can reach out to them, but not before I do my own computer check on the parties involved. This will give you, me, and Jake different angles to investigate from.” He turned toward Myrna and Pedro. “I’m former FBI. I propose that we do our investigations and meet in a week.” Duane turned to the others. “You guys can coordinate protection? I’ll still be here at Erin’s Way doing my normal job, like Jim said, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“What will the men do?” Myrna asked.
“Did you hear what I said earlier?” Jim turned to her to ask. “I said that between all the men and women here there is roughly one hundred years of military experience between them. I trust them to keep everyone safe.”
“We take care of our own,” Clark said. He looked around and nodded. “Shay, I’m going to need you in on this.”
“Yes, Sir,” Shay said, then grinned when Clark snorted a laugh.
“Jim was correct on us having all this experience, however, if you narrow it down, Commander, you have the most in leading more men that I have. I have fifteen years leading six men, including myself. You have what? Twenty years, and at one point, how many men have you led?”
“At one time?” Shay asked, but not one expected Clark to answer. They all watched as he shut his eyes,tipped his head back, and tapped his fingers on his thigh. When he opened his eyes, he looked directly at Clark. “Three hundred and seventy-five.”
“Will you be willing to step into your previous role as Commander on this mission?”
Shay looked around, and Cole took his question out of his hands before he even asked it.
“You’re relieved of your ranch duties until these people are caught.” Cole shook his head and held up his hand. “The safety of Myrna is more important than you saddling horses.”
“I’ll step in,” Myrna said into the quiet. “If you guys are going to put your lives on the line to help me, then it’s the least I can do.”
They broke up in groups then, the military people going in one direction, along with Jim, Jake, and Duane. While Erin, and several women came over to where Pedro and Myrna still sat.
“Pedro, are you okay with all of this?”
