Immediately Jenna’s mind went on alert. Freshly turned soil could well be burial plots for dead cows, but they could also be burial plots for victims of crime. She nodded to Rhett. “I’m going to catch up with Dave.” Seeing an anxious look flash across his face, she reined in Seagull. “I forgot to ask if you’d ridden before.” But before Rhett could answer, Julie rode up beside her.
“Yeah, he’s ridden before. In fact, he spent some time as a foster kid on a turkey farm.” Julie smiled. “He knows his horses too, but Blackhawk came along when we purchased four for our own use, just to make sure they were sound.”
“We’ve been out a few times, which is just as well because when I came back after not riding for ten or more years, I couldn’t walk the next morning.” He laughed. “I sure looked like a cowboy then, bandy legs and all. Ty pushed me back on a horse and it got better from then on.”
Seagull pulled at the bit, dancing sideways, snorting, and doing everything to encourage Jenna to move faster. A white Arab, Seagull wanted to gallop the moment she could see an open stretch of green grass in front of her. Jenna turned her round a couple of times to get control and they cantered toward Kane and Jackson. “Hey, has Carter mentioned the patches of freshly turned soil all over this spread?”
“Nope.” Kane looked at her and raised both eyebrows. “I know what you’re thinking but that’s normal practice, and something the boys don’t really need to hear about.”
She turned to Carter. “Can you give Jackson a ride? I need to talk business with Dave. I only need five minutes.”
“Not a problem.” Carter rode closer and took the little boy from Kane’s hands and placed him in front of him on the saddle. Jackson laughed and bunched his fingers into the horse’s mane.
Jenna rode beside Kane as he urged Warrior forward in a canter and then pulled back to a walk twenty yards or so from the others. Jenna looked at him. “I want to take a look at the burned-out cabin where Rhett’s parents died, but we need to look at this place like a crime scene. People are coming and going here all the time. Look at this place. It would be paradise for a serial killer. There are so many places to hide a body.”
“Yeah, that ran through my mind as well.” Kane turned in his saddle to look at her. “Not that the records from twenty-two years ago are very good. In fact, most are nonexistent, but Blackwater and Louan both have records. If a list of people went missing around the time Rhett’s parents were murdered, we could look into possible burial sites.” He sighed. “I figure his father stumbled into something else. Maybe money is involved. Rhett may need to hire a forensic accountant to go through the books from around that time and see if he can find anything unusual.”
Jenna nodded. “Hmm.” She thought for a beat. “I’m still inclined to do a search for missing persons around that time. Just hearing about the graves for the cattle makes it so convenient for a serial killer. What if Rhett’s father discovered one of the bodies and was murdered to silence him?”
“Nah, a psychopath would kill him right away and not risk being exposed. I figure as Rhett’s father made a point of leaving a detailed letter for his son, he would have told his lawyer—and gone to the sheriff for protection.” Kane met her gaze. “If he was able to run this place, he was a smart man. I can’t see him taking chances with his family.”
Unconvinced, Jenna shook her head. “I guess this is another mystery we’re going to have to solve.”
Three
It took them almost an hour to reach the old cabin, and Jenna had made the right decision to leave Duke at home with Raya. Although Carter’s dog, Zorro, appeared to be having the time of his life. They could have taken Carter’s FBI chopper to find the cabin, but when Rhett mentioned the hands on the ranch had literally gone to ground when it arrived, they’d decided to take a trail ride. No one would suspect they’d be investigating a possible murder with kids tagging along. To calm the situation with the hands, Rhett had explained to Bowman that Carter maintained the chopper and was taking it out on test flights. He hadn’t lied to him. Carter did maintain the chopper and took it out on many flights. Rhett just left out the fact that Carter was an FBI agent. When making arrangements to visit the ranch, and to avoid attention, Jenna had suggested they head off as a family group, in the guise of going on a trail ride. The horses all carried bulging saddlebags, and when they reached their destination they would dismount and have a picnic. It would keep the boys happy and give Jenna time to search the ruins. She glanced around to see Tauri ride up beside Kane. Jackson had insisted on riding with him after Carter’s horse reared and sidestepped at a shadow. Now settled in front of Kane on the saddle her little boy kept up a “what’s that” conversation, pointing to everything in the vicinity.
They had passed a few scattered cabins on the way to what Rhett described as one of the back pastures. Jenna turned to Kane. “They look like hunting cabins. Do you figure anyone lives there?”
“Nope.” Kane adjusted his grip on Jackson. The little boy had started to wriggle a few moments ago. “They’re likely for holding equipment. When the men are out checking the fences or whatever, it saves them going all the way back to the ranch. Some of them might even have a stove, a few supplies, and a cot on the off chance someone gets stranded out here. It would be very unusual for someone to live here. Most of the hands live close to the ranch house. I noticed the layout includes a cookhouse and what I would call a mess, a building where people go to eat for regular meals. They likely feed everyone at a certain time but often people need a snack during the day and so there would be a kitchen open most times.”
They’d been traveling uphill for a time and now the way ahead flattened out onto a narrow plateau. On one side a sparkling river wound its way downhill, and on the other side woodlands stretched out to eventually join Stanton Forest in the west. The ruins of the old cabin, now covered in vines and overrun with grass and weeds, sat within a dilapidated fence. Once it had been a pretty hideaway or fishing cabin. A shiver went down Jenna’s back, and Seagull snorted and pranced. Beside her, Kane rested his hand on his weapon as he scanned the area. She moved up closer to him. “Do you feel like someone’s watching us?”
“I don’t feel it, but I did catch sight of a reflection in the woods.” His body language remained cool and calm. “As if someone has field glasses on us or maybe a scope.” He turned his face ahead but called Carter’s name. “I figure we might be under surveillance. I caught a lens flash at two o’clock.”
“Gotcha.” Carter maneuvered his mount toward Kane. “I’ll take the boys to Julie and Rhett. They can set up a picnic under the trees by the river. It’s well protected. Rhett’s smart enough to keep everyone behind one of the boulders. They should be fine. I’ll take my rifle and move along the riverbank and watch your back.” He took Jackson from him, and with the little boy giggling and whooping with excitement, they headed in the opposite direction.
Trying to act nonchalant, Jenna moved her mount closer to Warrior. “What do you see?”
“Not a scope.” Kane smiled and looked past her into the distance toward the river. “Field glasses. The boys are safe. Get closer, and when I count to five, gallop toward the cabin. Head around the back so you have the remaining wall between you and the forest. Hunker down. Five, four, three, two, one—go.”
Instead of following her, Kane turned Warrior toward the wooded area and galloped away. Jenna glanced over her shoulder and sighed in dismay. She assumed Kane would be beside her and not heading into potential danger without backup. She shook her head. “Why do you do this to me, Dave?” She reined in and Seagull stepped gingerly into the overgrown surrounds to the cabin. It had been twenty-two years since the death of Rhett’s parents and yet charred remains of the cabin were still evident.
The partly incinerated front door hung from rusty hinges. A strong lock with the key still in it remained. The hairs on the back of Jenna’s neck stood to attention, the key in the lock was on the outside. Someone locked them inside the cabin and set fire to it. How didn’t the sheriff see this evidence of foul play?
She glanced behind her as the sound of hoofbeats came closer. When Kane swung down from his mount, she waved him toward her. “Did you catch anyone?”
“Nope, but one of the ranch Jeeps took off in a hurry when he saw me. Someone is keeping an eye on us, for whatever reason.” He picked his way around fallen bits of charcoal-colored wood and debris. “What have you found?”
She indicated toward the door. “How did the sheriff miss that?”
“Maybe whoever murdered them opened it and pushed it back like that and didn’t mention it to the sheriff.” Kane pushed back his Stetson. “From what we know about him, and some of the others who followed, they weren’t the smartest pups in the litter. I’d say, seeing two people alone in a cabin out in the woods, he would surmise that they used the stove and accidentally set fire to the cabin. It only takes an ember to fall out of the grate to set these places ablaze.”
Shaking her head, Jenna walked around, trying to make out the original layout of the cabin. “Do you think it’s worth calling out Wolfe to take a look, and maybe Norrell?”
“Maybe.” Kane shrugged. “From what Rhett told us, there are still original members of the regular staff living here. Two people burning to death in a cabin isn’t something you’d forget in a hurry. I’d like to know what time of day this happened. I know they sent Rhett to his grandparents because of a threat that hasn’t been disclosed, so they didn’t come here for a romantic hideaway—and why would they leave the house if they believed someone was trying to murder them?” Kane removed his Stetson and pushed a hand through his black hair before replacing it. “Why were they here in the first place? If we can get to the bottom of those questions, maybe we discover what was going on here.”
Agreeing with Kane, Jenna pulled out her phone and took a few photographs concentrating on the door and the key in the lock. The place held a terrible sadness and she could almost hear the screams of Rhett’s parents dying. She wanted to be as far away from this terrible place as possible. The people who died here needed justice and she would do everything in her power to get it for them. Blinking away tears, she turned away. “This place doesn’t feel right, does it? I mean the entire ranch? I feel eyes on me every time I go outside, as if we’re intruding into something secret.” She sighed. “I’m not saying there are ghosts haunting the ranch seeking justice, but there’s an undercurrent that makes my hair stand on end. Do you figure we’re in danger?”
