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“I can get the list and bring it back for you. You’re understaffed, and Molly made me available to help out.”
“At the very least,” Sheriff Barron reached into a drawer and pulled out a brass star with Eagle Rock Sheriff’s Deputy engraved in the metal. “Let me deputize you. It might be important if we end up in court.”
Drake shrugged. “Sure. Any words of wisdom?”
“Don’t do anything illegal to collect any kind of evidence, or it won’t be admissible in court.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Sheriff Barron came to attention.
Drake shot to attention, his body ramrod straight, chin up, shoulders back and his hands cupped at his sides.
“Raise your right hand,” the sheriff said.
Drake raised his right hand, staring ahead, unmoving, serious.
“Do you so solemnly swear to uphold the values, laws and guidelines of the Eagle Rock Sheriff’s Department, the laws of the State of Montana and the government of the United States of America?”
“I do,” Drake said.
“I hereby appoint you as a Deputy.” He pinned the star to Drake’s chest, stood back and saluted.
Drake popped his best salute, pride swelling in his chest over that bronze star that could have easily come out of a kid’s toy box.
Sheriff Barron clapped his hands together. “Now, get out there and come up with some names of folks we can call on.”
Drake left the office with the deputy’s badge hanging crookedly on his T-shirt. Minutes later, he pulled onto the street where Margaret lived, slowing as he took in what appeared to be a disaster.
The cute white bungalow with the wide front porch looked nothing like it had the night before.
Someone had painted graffiti on almost every inch of the building’s exterior, the windows, steps and decking.
Margaret stood on her porch with a hose and scrub brush, rubbing at the graffiti. “Damn kids have no respect for private property.”
Drake climbed the steps and stood next to the older woman. “When did this happen?” He reached for her hand and held it as he inspected the splashes of red paint forming jagged words. His eyes narrowed. “Does that say what I think it says?”
Margaret nodded, her mouth forming a tight line. “Shut up or die.” Her face was pale, and every hard-earned line seemed to have deepened since he’d seen her snapping beans on a clean porch the day before.
“I hadn’t talked to anybody but you and Cassie since yesterday morning,” she said, staring at the damage, the hose hanging at her side. “Now, sweet Earl is dead, and this happened overnight. I sleep with a noise machine to drown out the sounds of the cicadas. I didn’t know I’d been tagged until I walked outside and found this.”
“Do you need help scrubbing it off?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No. You need to get out there and find who’s behind these attacks.” She pulled a crumpled paper from her pocket and handed it to Drake. “After you two left last night, I figured you might be back for more names.”
“That’s why I’m here this morning,” Drake concurred.
Margaret nodded toward the paper in his hands. “I think those are all the people who worked for Greenway on the two projects back then. We had other projects those years in Bozeman, Helena, Idaho Falls and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. My memory is a little fuzzy, but that should give you a start for those who worked at the Lucky Lady Lodge. Some of those people still live in Eagle Rock. Others have moved. I noted the last places I knew where they might be found.” She gave him a crooked, tired smile. “I hope it helps to nail the bastard.”
Drake nodded. “Thank you for this,” he said. “I’ll get to work interviewing each of them.”
Margaret touched a finger to the shiny bronze star. “I see you took a step on the wild side.”
“The sheriff thought I might need a little clout to conduct interviews,” Drake explained.
“A valid concern.” Margaret smiled. “Thank you for taking the lead on this.”
Drake grinned. “I can’t take credit. It’s been a team of people feeding information to Deputy Douglas. We’re still waiting for the medical examiner’s findings.”
