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“There’s a bullet hole in his chest,” Will said. “There’s money in his billfold. I don’t think he planned on dying.”
Anger surged through Seth. Every murder reminded him of how his family had not planned on dying that night. How fast it all happened, and he couldn’t do anything to stop it. Sometimes he felt like a coward for not running out and dying with them, but then his heart would remind him that he was left to catch their murderers.
“Look for a bullet casing,” Seth said as he began to search around the area, needing to focus on the investigation and not his own memories. “Unless the shooter was a long ways away and accidental, but I don’t think so. Looks like murder.”
The two men tramped through the grass to search the area, spreading out looking for anything shiny in the weeds. Ten minutes later, Will bent down.
“Bingo, here it is,” he said. “A Colt Peacemaker casing.”
“Save it. It’s going to be interesting to see what kind of gun Mr. White has,” Seth replied.
“What are we going to do with the body?”
It was a question Seth really didn’t want to think about, but knew they had to do something. “We’re going back to the ranch and get a wagon and then return to take him to the house.”
The law in this town was so incongruent that he wasn’t certain he wanted to notify the sheriff of the killing but knew he must.
“I’m sure Lily will want to give the man a proper burial,” Will said. “She’s going to be upset.”
“What about the sheriff?”
“What about him?” Will said. “Lily says he’s corrupt. I say we file a report with the Texas Rangers. We can telegraph in that we found a dead man and that we’re searching for his killer.”
Seth shook his head, thinking this was way too easy.
“After we telegraph the Texas Rangers about the murder. Let’s ask them to join us in Blessing. We’ll tell the sheriff after we send the telegram. I’m thinking we’re going to need some help with this case,” Seth said, knowing if the sheriff was being paid by Mr. White, it would take more than the two of them.
“You don’t think we can handle this alone?”
“Nope. Sooner or later, he’s going to turn the sheriff on us. Then Lily would try to protect us. Every way I look, I see nothing but trouble,” Seth said.
“All right,” Will said. “By killing Mr. Garza, Jim White was pretty much assured of getting the ranch. Until we came along.”
“That’s why we need the help of other rangers. We’re going to have a war on our hands.”
The birds continued to fly overhead, circling waiting for them to leave. A sense of sadness overcame Seth. No, he didn’t know the man, but from what Lily said, he protected and helped her at the ranch. No man deserved to die this way.
“This makes me even more nervous about leaving Lily alone at the ranch. Come on, let’s get going. We’ll come back for his body once we have a wagon,” Seth said.
“Let’s get some tarps to wrap him in. I know she cared about him, but I don’t want her to see him like this.”
“Absolutely,” Seth said, leading Garza's horse to his own saddle and tying her to it. “Let’s get back home. I don’t like to be gone for long.”
Now more than ever, he realized just how dangerous this situation was becoming. Jim White would do anything to get his hands on the Sweet B.
“Me either. Especially knowing that someone is trying to steal the ranch from her.”
Thirty minutes later when they rode into the yard, Lily met them at the door, nude. Her big sapphire eyes stared at the horse. “That’s Garza’s horse. That animal loved him. Where is Garza?”
Seth took her in his arms and she started to cry.
“What happened?” she cried.
Will wrapped her back half in his arms. “We found his body. I’m so sorry, he was murdered, Lily.”
“Nooo,” she cried. “Why does everyone I love die?”
That was a question Seth had never considered before, but it must feel like that to her. Would it happen to him and Will?
