AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“He was at a conference in Bozeman. I called the center, and they confirmed that Winston was there.”
“I’ll scratch Winston's name off my suspect list then.”
Since the murder happened in the middle of the night, Peggy couldn’t prove she wasn’t the killer. If statistics were correct, however, it wouldn’t be her, but Benson would keep an open mind.
Uncle Adam nodded. “How’s Ariel doing?”
Benson appreciated that his uncle was concerned about her. “Other than a sore ankle, she claims to be feeling okay. Liam Zano and Alex Carter are watching her. She’s at Tawny’s rescue center this morning, and then she’ll head to the clinic for work.”
“I’m glad Alex and Liam are watching her. Keep me informed if you learn anything else. And please don’t go to the casino alone,” his uncle warned.
“We won’t.”
The sheriff’s cell rang. “Hold on a minute. It’s Jude.”
Jude Weston was his cousin on his mother’s side. Uncle Adam said he was going to call his brother-in-law to see if Benson’s cousins were willing to do some reconnaissance at the casino. The work probably would be a welcomed change from milling lumber.
“What did you find out? He’s what?” His uncle looked up at Benson and scrunched his brows. “When did he die?…Shit… Any suspects?” His uncle listened for a while. “I think you’ve asked your share of questions. If we need to go back, I’ll have someone else go in. And thanks.”
His uncle disconnected. “Who died?” Benson asked.
CHAPTERTWENTY
Benson hopedhis uncle would say Hammer Schmidt was dead.
“Dave Franklin.”
“The man Trent owed money to? When did this happen?”
His uncle drew in a deep breath. “Two days before Samantha Ortiz was killed or so his source said.”
Shit. Benson pulled out the chair again and sat down. “Does the sheriff in Midvale think Trent killed him?”
“Jude didn’t say, but I have a feeling the sheriff might not even be aware Dave Franklin is dead.”
That made no sense. “How is that possible?”
“You know why. The Franklin Clan wouldn’t want an autopsy, and most likely, they just buried him somewhere. Ten bucks Paul Franklin is convinced Trent killed his brother. He doesn’t need tangible proof.”
Maybe Trent did kill him. “Since Trent is human, there would be no evidence of a wolf mauling.
“Jude said the people he spoke to were a little vague about things, but apparently, Dave Franklin was stabbed with the same kind of knife that Samantha was.”
Benson’s heart squeezed. “Are you saying that two of Trent’s kitchen knives were missing from his kitchen?” One of them was used to kill Samantha.
His uncle typed something into the computer and then swung the screen around. It showed a knife block with two empty slots where the knives should have been. “For real?” Benson asked.
His uncle shrugged. “It didn’t occur to us that there might have been a second murder—or rather a first murder.”
“No one is that careless. Who would use their own knife to kill someone anyway? I understand a killer might grab one of Trent’s kitchen knives once they were in the house, but Trent wouldn’t have taken his own knife to Midvale in order to kill Dave.”
“Probably not. He might have lost it a long time ago. I don’t think we have a complete set anymore.”
“That makes sense.”
“What are your thoughts on this new evidence?” his uncle asked.
“I have to admit my number one suspect would be Trent. He did owe the man a lot of money.”
