Page 36 of Homicide in Water Creek

He stood and walked around the desk, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her as if he owned her lips. She guessed he probably did.

“It’s only been eight hours since you left the ranch.”

“That’s all? Feels like much longer. I love you,” he whispered in her ear.

“I love you too, but we should maybe keep that on the down low for a bit so our granddaddies don’t catch wind of it before we tell them.”

“Well, if they catch wind of it, I’m fairly certain they won’t be surprised, but we’ll play it your way. What happened at the ranch today?” King motioned for her to sit in the chair across from his desk. “Did Jackson give the cowboys the bucking-chute lesson?”

She grinned at the memory. “He sure did, and I was in the office above the arena, watching the entire debacle. Chinos was definitely uncomfortable as they worked their way through the chute, discussing maintenance and what to look for when checking it to ensure it was ready for competition. He didn’t give himself away when they discovered his sabotage, though. As suspected, if someone had tried to use that chute, the horse would have run right into the gate, and the rider would have gone over the top, been stomped, or any number of other things, including a broken neck or death.”

“Dammit.” King rubbed his face and groaned. “That kind of sabotage tells me he’s definitely trying to shut you guys down.”

“Without a doubt, but we have no idea why.” Jacks fell silent, shaking her head in frustration. “I spent two hours going through the paperwork from every year we’ve been running the rodeo school. I was looking for anyone who might want to shut us down. While we’ve had a few guys who weren’t happy with the experience, mostly because they didn’t understand they’d actually have to work and not just play, no one stood out as harboring these kinds of sour grapes. The ranch is far enough from town that we don’t bother anyone. Besides, our cowboys spend money at the establishments, so the business owners aren’t going to stir up this kind of trouble.”

“No. If someone in town had an issue with the Double J, they’d go talk to Jackson.”

“That tells me this goes much deeper than sour grapes. Someone is deliberately trying to shut us down for unknown reasons, and they sent Chinos to do it.”

King nodded, a grimace on his lips. “Unfortunately, there’s no way to tell when he’ll strike next.”

“None,” she agreed. “Granddaddy hired Keene full-time to guard the students. No one will move around unobserved. The only way Chinos could do anything would be on a spur of the moment or by taking a chance that no one was watching him, which, of course, will not be a thing anymore.”

“How is Jackson going to explain that?”

“He made up a story about a disgruntled ex-student sending threatening letters. He also told everyone they would inspect the equipment every day before using it. He said it was only temporary, so no one got too twitchy about it. It will buy us a little time, but not much. Have there been any updates on Vonita’s case?”

King popped his lips. “Nope. We’re still looking for her rental. Until we have that, we don’t have the crime scene. Until we have the crime scene, we have no way to find the killer. Crime scene techs said the trunk’s interior was too contaminated to be useful for forensics. The man’s jacket she was wearing was confirmed as hers by her agent.”

“And you’ve had no success in tying Chinos and Vonita together?” she asked, knowing he hadn’t or he would have told her.

“Nope.”

“What does your gut tell you?” she asked. “Do you think they’re connected?”

“Despite what the evidence says, yes, I do. It’s too much of a coincidence that they both showed up in Water Creek around the same time.”

“Almost as if he were sent to do damage control?” Jacks asked, the idea hitting her full force. “Maybe someone knew Vonita was headed here?”

“It’s possible,” he agreed. “But we need more information before we can even start tying them together. Nothing plus nothing equals nothing.” His frustration was so evident in that sentence that she frowned, hoping what she had to say next would help.

“While I was watching the chute lesson from the office, something dawned on me.” Jacks leaned against the desk, arms crossed. “Chinos went from office worker to country cowboy overnight.”

“You’re right!” King exclaimed, leaning forward to mirror her stance. “That first night at the Whistle Wetter, he stood out like a sore thumb. He must have realized he needed to blend in.”

“Yes, but,” she said, standing and walking toward him. “Those clothes didn’t just appear in his bunkhouse.”

King shot to his feet, grasping her shoulders. “Chinos went shopping.”

“And since they get very little free time, it had to be somewhere close,” she agreed.

He grabbed his hat and set it on his head. “It’s time for a little retail therapy.”

“Want to take Little Suzie?” Jacks already knew the answer, but she loved to hear him laugh, which he did as she followed him out of the office.

“Not even a little bit,” he replied, grabbing his keys and holding the door open for her.

As she walked through, he kissed her lips as though unable to hold back any longer. When the lip lock broke, she smiled and winked. “Great. I can be a passenger princess for once.”