Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Logan approached a kid about the age of Jake. He was huddled on the porch staring at the ground where Rip Jackson still lay. Snow had covered the old man, but it looked as if the kid had brushed it off in an attempt to rescue him. “Are you Lucas Meyer?”
The kid’s head bobbed up and down in quick jerks, never taking his eyes off the body.
Christ. No kid should have to deal with finding someone dead.
“You eighteen, Lucas, or do I need to wait for a guardian to question you?” Logan moved to the side of the cabin as he spoke until the kid had to turn his body to answer. With Rip Jackson out of his line of sight, the kid finally looked Logan in the eyes. He was scrawny, fair-skinned and fair-haired, maybe one twenty-five soaking wet. His eyes were haunted, red-rimmed from tears. “I turned eighteen last month. Both my parents are in Bozeman buying supplies. They won’t be back for hours.”
“All right. Tell me what you saw when you arrived, Lucas.” He started to turn back to look at Rip, so Logan barked out, “Eyes on me, kid. Nothing you can do for him now.”
The kid swallowed and nodded his head. “I help my mom with deliveries. We just live up the road about a mile, so she sent me to deliver Rip’s meal while she and my dad headed to Bozeman.”
Logan waited him out, knew from experience that witnesses to a crime tended to start at the beginning and work their way forward. It helped them retrace their steps, so Lucas had more to say.
“When I arrived, I didn’t see him at first. He was . . . covered with snow. I almost tripped—” he closed his eyes and took a deep breath “—I almost tripped over him. If I hadn’t been looking down, I would have stepped on him.”
“Did you brush off the body? Clear the snow?”
He nodded once. “I had to make sure. If he was still alive, I wanted to help.”
“You know Rip well?”
The kid shrugged. “He wasn’t much of a talker. I’d drop off his meals sometimes, that’s all. He’d open the door and let me in, then I’d ask if he needed anything else before I left, like I was told to do.”
“He ever have visitors when you dropped off his meals?”
“No.”
“Did you see anyone hanging around today?”
The kid shook his head then his brows pulled into a deep crease on his forehead and he mumbled, “Chance.”
Logan jerked solid, cocking his head. “Chance? You saw Chance Bear here today?”
“Not here, but up the road about a quarter mile or so. When I was headed here, I saw him walking through the trees.”
Logan could feel his blood begin to race through his veins. “You’re sure it was Chance Bear?”
“Positive. Chance is the only man around here with long dark hair.”
Logan’s breath stuttered, and Skylar’s words from earlier thundered through his brain.
“The length suggests it’s a woman’s hair.”
Possibilities ran wild through Logan’s head. Rip Jackson lived on the same property as Chance. If Skylar’s brother was involved with Duke’s disappearance, Rip might have seen something, causing Chance to retaliate.
“You’re positive it was a man and not a woman?”
The kid paused, considering. “Build and dress suggested man. He was wearing jeans, western hat, and a black down coat. I just assumed it was him since I was on the Bear Claw.”
“Are you certain enough you would swear to it in a court of law?”
Lucas stared blankly at Logan for a second, but he saw the exact moment it all clicked into place. He knew the kid would balk when he shook his head vigorously, backing away from Logan. He looked back at Rip Jackson and paled a bit more. “Are you saying Rip didn’t fall?”
“I’m not saying anything. Autopsy will tell me if I have an accident on my hands. I’m just making sure I cover all my bases in case this wasn’t what it appears to be.”
Lucas paled further. “I’m not sure who I saw, he was pretty far away,” he lied. “It could have been anyone. I really need to get going now, if you don’t need me anymore.”
He didn’t blame the kid for being scared. And if push came to shove, Logan didn’t think his testimony would help for the very reasons the kid used. But it finally gave Logan a starting point. A thread to tug. Chance could have just been out checking his property, but three deaths in two days were connected loosely to Chance, he realized. His father had died the day Logan arrived in Ennis, so his body was at the morgue, tying Chance to Frank. Duke was tied to everyone in Ennis due to his job, but especially Chance since he’d warned Logan the night he disappeared not to let his guard down. Now he had Rip Jackson, who lived on Chance’s property, dead at the bottom of his own fucking steps. He didn’t think exposure killed the old man. He could see an indention across his forehead as if he’d been hit or fell, striking his head on the wooden step. From what he could see there was no bruising or swelling, indicating he died almost instantly. The snow had covered any evidence to a crime for now, so he’d have to wait for the coroner’s report.