Reese glanced his way, then turned the opposite to look out the window. “Dead Heat Ranch. Private property.”
“Well, I’ll be damned,” he muttered as he grabbed his phone, turned on the camera, and zoomed in.
He snapped pictures of the senator’s car by the side of the road. He figured evidence of him being here would go a long way toward getting a confession if there was one to be had. Unfortunately, the senator was on the side not belonging to DHR. Otherwise, Brantley could’ve asked his cousin Jared if they could take a look at the game cameras they likely had posted throughout the property.
Several minutes passed as they sat in silence, Reese continuing to keep an eye on things.
“Looks like he’s comin’ back,” Reese noted.
Brantley turned on his phone again, watched the camera screen as it brought Harrison Rivers into view. He snapped a few more pictures to prove the senator was here.
“He looks pissed,” Brantley said.
“At least he’s not carryin’ a body.”
Brantley exhaled a mirthless laugh. That was definitely a good thing.
“He’s gonna know we’re followin’ him,” Reese said when the senator’s car did a K-turn on the narrow path, turning back toward them.
“Oh, he’s gonna know, all right,” Brantley stated, flipping on the headlights and starting the engine. He pulled forward, effectively blocking the senator’s exit.
Once he was close enough, he put the truck in park, opened the door, and stepped out. He grabbed his flashlight, flipped it on, then popped the snap on his holster and put his hand on the butt of the gun as he approached.
“Out for an evenin’ stroll, Senator?” he shouted to be heard through the closed window of the car.
The window slowly lowered, and the senator glared up at him, blinded by the beam of light Brantley shined into the car.
“You come to visit someone?”
The senator’s eyes were wide, his mouth open. He looked distraught. Or, more accurately, guilty.
“Where is she, Senator?” Brantley demanded. “Where’s your wife?”
The senator’s head snapped to the other side of the car when Reese’s flashlight beamed into the vehicle’s backseat.
“I don’t know,” Harrison said roughly, his voice trembling. “I … I just came out here to think.”
Brantley barked a laugh. “Like hell.” He lifted his gaze to the dark field. “Is her body out there? Is that where you dumped her when you killed her?”
“No!” he insisted, blocking the light from his eyes. “This is Magnus’s land. I just … I thought I’d look for her.”
Brantley glanced at Reese, shot the flashlight beam toward his face to see his reaction. When he shook his head, Brantley glanced back at the senator.
“That’s not Camp K-9 property.”
“What?” Harrison’s head snapped up. “Yes, it is.”
“Naw, you’re a couple miles shy of the trainin’ camp.” Brantley gazed down the road as though seeking it out. “Was that your intention? Dump her body on Magnus’s property so you could blame it on him?”
The senator’s hands returned to the steering wheel, his death grip turning his knuckles white. Brantley knew he was about to bolt, and he didn’t try to stop him. The guy already knew they were on to him, so where the hell was he going to go?
The car’s engine revved, and Brantley saw Reese step back out of the way to avoid being run over. A second later, the senator punched the gas, the car lurching backward.
Brantley moved to stand in front of his truck, watching as the senator did another three-point turn, aiming in the opposite direction. He figured there was no way out at the other end, or the guy would’ve gone that way in the first place. That, or he’d miscalculated where he was since he believed this to be Magnus’s property.
“Give me a minute,” Brantley told Reese. “If I get shot for trespassin’, just haul my ass to the hospital, would ya?”
With that parting shot, he carefully slipped between the barbed wire to the other side of the fence. With flashlight in hand, he did a quick skim of the terrain. In the distance, he heard a donkey braying, figured it was doing its job, attempting to warn off a predator. He kept his attention on the ground, followed the crushed and broken grass where the senator had likely trampled. It looked like something had been dragged through there, but the damage wasn’t recent. He went as far as he figured the senator had before turning back.
