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“Hang on. I’ll send one of the deputies down to look.”
Spence thought in the few minutes it took for a deputy to get down to the barn and for Dusty to get back on the line, he’d died a thousand deaths.
“It’s gone. I’m down in the barn. She’s got Mattie, Tank, Maverick and Rebel with her.”
“Four horses; who would she take with her?”
“The only three I can think of who would need those horses are Morgan, Etta, and Devon, but they’re nowhere close to here. The closest is Devon, and she’s just outside Toronto. They wouldn’t be able to get here much before tomorrow.”
“Not if they were flying. That’s why she took four horses. I’ll bet if you check the tack room, there are four saddles and bridles missing as well.”
Dusty’s footsteps as he ran to the tack room were clearly audible.
“Damn, Spence. Four saddles, four bridles, four saddle pads, a couple of lariats—everything they need to get to those mustang mares you were talking about. I’m sorry. You’re right; I should have known.”
“Don’t go there Dusty. It makes perfect sense that she’d need some sleep. The only person responsible for Harper’s actions, is Harper.” He ended the call and turned to Bill. “Change of plans; we need the coordinates to that abandoned stockyard.”
“Do you really think she’s gone after the mustangs.”
Spence nodded. “It’s the kind of thing she would have done with Dulcie. I can see Harper thinking this is a fitting memorial for her sister. Drop me off at the rental car agency we passed on the way in. Then go into town and start processing the guys we arrested.”
“You can’t go alone,” said Alice.
“If it is Pete, he’s the only one who’s a threat, but I do think he’ll try to take Harper out. More than likely, though, if he’s smart, he’ll make a run for the Canadian border and try to get to some country we can’t have him extradited from. Damn it. I should have seen it sooner. They had to have someone local. My guess is Pete was helping them hide in Yellowstone. He’d also know about the Zone of Death, not exactly something a bunch of foreign city boys would know about.”
“I’m sorry, boss,” said Bill. “I know you two were friends.”
Spence shook his head. “I knew he’d gone through a bad divorce and been crippled financially, but how bad could it have been that he’d kill someone to keep her quiet about something he’d probably have never seen the inside of a jail over.”
Bill steered the SUV into the rental agency’s parking lot.
“You two head back to town and start questioning those men. Make sure they are kept separate,” said Spence.
He watched them pull away, and ten minutes later, he was sitting in a cramped, baby blue Jeep Renegade. With the seat pushed back as far as it would go and the sunroof open so he didn’t feel like he had to duck while he was driving, Spence punched in the coordinates for the abandoned stockyard and a deadly confrontation he hoped he could avoid. He couldn’t help but think that if Pete Jenkins would murder to cover up his illegal activities, surely he would be willing to die.
CHAPTER14
Harper was waiting in the parking lot of the West Yellowstone Airport. The airport, while public and accessible to commercial craft, wasn’t exactly impressive. It was a single long, low building with one asphalt runway. It didn’t even have a tower. Harper was leaning against the trailer after having offered all four horses a drink of water.
“Ladies, I can’t thank you enough for coming,” she said as Etta, Morgan and Devon emerged from the building.
“I wouldn’t have missed this for the world,” said Morgan walking over to the front passenger side door. “Nobody will play with me anymore. I used to have so much fun being the Outer Banks’ resident wild child. Now I’m married to Nate, and nobody wants to piss off Police Chief Shephard.”
“I hear that,” said Etta. “I have the same problem being married to a Texas Ranger.”
“Well, he doesn’t have a badge, but Ronin’s propensity for punching out people who piss him off is well known.”
They all laughed, and Morgan raised her can of Diet Coke. “Here’s to flights of fancy and reckless behavior.”
Once they were all in the car and headed for the stockyard, Devon said, “It’s nice to finally meet all of you in person.”
The road to the stockyard was mostly intrastate highway, which meant less traffic at a better rate of speed than a backroad. They found a small trailhead parking lot which would be hard to spot, but from where they could easily reach the parking lot of the abandoned stockyard.
“Do you think we’re going to run into any opposition?” asked Etta.
“Doubtful. We’ll check it out just to be sure.”
Once they had the horses unloaded, Harper put each one’s saddle, bridle, and saddle pad next to them.
