Sipping the remainder of his coffee, Carter nodded. “So, you’d know everyone working on the ranch, by name at least. Do you recall anyone by the name of Paloma Cortes from the early days or Bonnie Jacques?”
“That was a long time ago.” Ms. Cutter scooped up forkfuls of eggs, keeping her eyes down.
Her body language told Carter a story. She knew something or had something to hide. “As you know, we’ve been looking over the payroll records, and these two women came up as not collecting their paychecks before they left. They’re listed as seasonal workers. Is it unusual for seasonal workers to leave without collecting their paychecks?”
“To me, most of them were just names in a book.” Ms. Cutter shrugged and went back to eating. A long pause ensued before she looked back at Carter. “I would write out the checks and give them to Wade for Mr. Lawson to sign. They’d come back to me and I’d put them into envelopes, add the names to the front, and Wade would give them out. This only happens to the seasonal workers now as some of them only stay here for between one and three months. Some of them can’t take it for more than a week and just leave without telling anyone. They forfeit their paycheck. The other hands, I pay the money directly into their bank accounts.”
As Jenna had said, there were many ways a payroll clerk could alter records. On a ranch as busy as this one it was doubtful that anyone would notice a single seasonal worker not collecting their paycheck—or one deliberately not issued. With her husband overseeing everything, she could cover up missing women very easily. Carter’s mind went to the driver’s license Lawson had discovered and hidden in the tin box in the safe. As paychecks could be cashed in various places in Black Rock Falls using ID, it made him wonder just when Paloma Cortes had actually gone missing.
He noticed how irritated Branch had become over the last few minutes. He turned his attention toward him. “I imagine you must have been quite young when your father died. Do you recall much about him at all?”
“I recall him taking off his belt to me.” Branch eyed him over the edge of his cup. “That’s just about all. I hope you’ve finished hassling my mom. I can assure you she doesn’t know how to drive machinery and would have no reason to murder one of the seasonal workers.”
Shaking his head, Carter looked at him. “That was the furthest thing from my mind. We’re interviewing everyone from around the time that the Lawsons were murdered.” When the color drained from both their faces, he knew he’d struck a nerve. “Oh, you didn’t know they were murdered? Lawson left a letter with his lawyer. It was given to Rhett at the time of reading the will. After reading this letter we decided to investigate, and when we examined the cabin where they died, we found the key in the lock on the outside. If anybody had bothered to call out a forensics team or even someone from the fire brigade to examine the burned-out cabin, this would have come to light, but we can’t find any records to support this action.” He swung his gaze to Ms. Cutter. “Can you give me your recollections for around this time? It must have been a very traumatic time for you as I gather you would have known the Lawsons really well and also it was around the time your husband took his own life.”
“As far as I’m aware, the cabin was struck by lightning.” Ms. Cutter leaned back in her chair with her coffee cup in one hand. “We could smell the cabin the following morning. Most folks around here believed that one of the steers had been struck. That smell of roasting meat hung around for days. When Wade went out to look for the Lawsons, he took a number of men with him. There would have been no need for them to try and open a door. From all the reports I remember, most of the cabin was razed to the ground. Wade told me the Lawsons were just curled up all black and smiling at him. He had nightmares and called out in his sleep. He told me he kept seeing them. One night I found him banging his head on the wall. He just couldn’t get them out of his mind.” She shook her head slowly. “It was only a week or two after that that he took his own life.”
Carter frowned. “Did you identify his body?”
“No.” Ms. Cutter placed her cup back on the table, stood, and collected the plates. She lifted her gaze to him and swallowed hard. “He blew his brains out and there wasn’t much of him to identify—and I didn’t want to see what was left of him. If it hadn’t been for Ed—Mr. Bowman—I don’t know what I’d have done. He handled everything.”
Standing, Carter hadn’t finished yet. “Where is he buried?”
“In the forest—it’s what he wanted.” She collected his cup and turned back to the sink. “Is that all? Talking about Wade brings back bad memories. He could have gotten help but he left me with a baby—he didn’t even say goodbye.” She turned to him and tears glistened on her cheeks.
Carter touched his hat. “I’m sorry, ma’am. Thanks for your help. I can see myself out.”
As he walked back to the ranch house, he made a mental note of everything he needed to chase down. It made sense, if Bowman murdered Cutter to stop him from killing, that his so-called suicide wasn’t mentioned in any of the day-to-day journals. The death wasn’t reported to the sheriff because everyone on the ranch believed Bowman when he told them about the suicide. Carter rubbed his chin. He’d need to keep a close eye on Bowman.
Thirty-Five
Black Rock Falls
Sunshine sparkled over the rooftops as Jenna rode in the Beast toward the office. On Main, the apple pie with a cup of coffee sign on top of Aunt Betty’s Café glistened, welcoming people inside. As usual there was a line of people outside the bakery and the smell of freshly baked bread wafted along the sidewalk, filling the inside of the cab with a delicious aroma. Jenna inhaled. “The bread smells absolutely incredible. I wish I had the time to join that line and buy a loaf.”
“It’s not that busy all the time.” Kane slowed to allow a mother with three children to cross the road in front of him. “The best time to go there is around eleven. That’s when the cakes and cookies come out of the oven. They bake pies as well but they’re not as good as Aunt Betty’s. Maybe we should pick up a pile of pies and take them out to the ranch. I’m sure everyone would appreciate them.” He sighed as if imagining eating one right now. “I’ll give them a call when we get to the office and order them fresh out of the oven. What time do you figure we’ll be heading out to the ranch?”
Jenna smiled at him. “Let’s see if we can leave here by eleven and then we can take some fresh bread with us as well.” She turned away to wave at a bunch of schoolkids waiting at the bus stop. “Everyone in town looks so happy today. I wish we weren’t hunting down a killer.”
“You mentioned leaving Rio and Rowley in the office today to hunt down the two missing women and see if they’re alive. So what do you have planned for the suspects that Rowley knows?” Kane glanced at her and drove into the parking space outside the sheriff’s office. “Are we going to check them out before we head out to the ranch?”
Nodding, Jenna gathered her things and climbed out of the truck. She waited for Kane to lift Duke down from the back seat and they headed up the steps into the sheriff’s office. Inside, she went to the desk to speak to the receptionist, Maggie. “Do you have anything for me today, Maggie?”
“Not today. Things are really quiet around here at the moment.” Maggie smiled brightly. “Fingers crossed it lasts.”
“That’s good to know.” Kane headed up the stairs to refill their forensics kit with Duke on his heels.
Jenna made her way to the office area downstairs to speak to her deputies. Moments later Raven walked in the front door and hurried to catch up to her. She turned, looked at him, and bent to scratch his dog, Ben, behind the ears. “Is there any news on Zoe’s condition? I was waiting to see you before I called the hospital.”
“Yeah, I went to see her and I’ve spoken to the doctors during their morning rounds.” Raven removed his hat and placed it brim-up on the desk. “She still doesn’t remember anything, and to be honest, we’re not expecting her to, but she has recovered considerably overnight. The doctors will be constantly running tests on her throughout her stay. I asked them to extend her time at the hospital for as long as possible. I had two reasons for suggesting this. One, she’s in a very vulnerable position at the moment and we don’t know who kidnapped her. Second, it’s possible for memories to come flooding back in a rush. If this happens, she will be in the best place. She feels safe there and can get medical attention should the need arise. I’m also concerned about the head injury. It’s not to be rushed. She needs to rest.”
Jenna nodded slowly. “I agree one hundred percent. I’ll ask Maggie to arrange for a care package to be taken to the hospital for her and follow that up with an open order from Aunt Betty’s Café.”
“Oh, I purchased a burner phone for her from the convenience store until she can organize something for herself.” Raven sat on the edge of the table and scratched his beard. “I’ve added all our contacts in case she needs to get in touch with anyone. Also, Emily asked me if you could give her a call with an estimate of Zoe’s size. She wants to take her some nightclothes, a robe, and slippers. Maybe she can chat with Maggie and they can work out what they need between them.”
Surprised by his concern, Jenna smiled at him. “That is very good of you both, but please, allow the foundation to pick up the tab. It’s what it’s for and we have millions from donations. The generosity of Montanans never ceases to amaze me. It gives us the ability to keep expanding. In truth, we’ll never turn anyone away.” Jenna walked up to Rowley’s desk.
“That’s good to know. Okay now, what have you got for me to do today?” Raven’s brown eyes scanned her face. “Rowley here mentioned something about carrying out interviews with people who worked at Rhett’s ranch over twenty years ago.”
