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“Deputy Hines was walking down the sidewalk and noticed tools matching the description of stolen items in the bed of Tyler’s pickup truck.”
There was so much wrong with the statement that Nick opened his mouth to cut him off, but Cash reached over and squeezed his thigh. Burke’s eagle-eyed gaze noticed the gesture, which was the only reason Nick let it fly. Cash, it seemed, was not so inclined.
“Burke, you expect me to believe your deputy was just strolling by a Redemption Ridge pickup and looked inside the bed without provocation? And these stolen tools just happened to be out in the open for him to find? Don’t you find that odd? I also want to know how the deputy knew they were stolen tools. Were they rare?”
“The items had the owner’s name written on them in black marker,” Burke replied calmly. “He’s a contractor and labeled his equipment for easy identification on crowded jobs. Hines phoned the station and confirmed the serial numbers were a match from the police report.”
That information sounded pretty damaging, but the seizure itself was sketchy. Nick wasn’t willing to be silent any longer. “A good attorney will have this thrown out,” he told Cash. “The deputy still needed just cause to search an open truck bed.”
Burke cocked his head to the side. “Just what is it you do, friend Nick?”
“FBI. Special Agent in Charge.”
“I see,” Burke replied, sounding unimpressed. “But I don’t agree. Items left out in the open are fair game.”
“He needed a search warrant,” Nick argued. “If they’d been inside a locked car, your deputy wouldn’t have been able to break the window to inspect the serial numbers. He would’ve had to get permission from Tyler or get a warrant to search.”
“They weren’t in a locked car. They were right out in the open for my deputy to spot.”
“You mean the deputy that had to leave the sidewalk and lean against the truck or even stand on tiptoes to see inside the bed?” Nick asked. “These are tall trucks, not low-riders. The whole situation sounds fishy. I like our chances with a judge.”
“Guess we’ll see,” Burke said, crossing his arms.
“I don’t want it to get that far,” Cash said sternly.
“You’re right,” Nick replied. “Let’s discuss this with the county prosecutor.”
“I don’t want to do that either,” Cash said. “Nick, I can prove Tyler didn’t steal those tools, thanks to your buddy at the Bureau.”
“How?” Nick and Burke said together.
Cash chuckled nervously and licked his lips. “When the first theft occurred months ago, Samuel Jeremiah from Salvation Anew went to the press and accused someone from my ranch.”
“That guy.” Burke’s irritated growl raised his standing with Nick but only slightly.
“My crew has had some unpleasant interactions with the group even before the incident at the pet-adoption event. Nick put me in touch with someone at the FBI who investigates cults, and he gave me some invaluable advice to protect myself and the crew.” Nick got the impression this was the part he didn’t want Owen to overhear. “I installed tracking devices in every ranch truck, including my own, and can pinpoint exactly where the vehicles have been. I’ve also documented each reported theft and cross-referenced my vehicles’ locations during those incidents.”
Burke exhaled slowly, and Nick could tell he was relieved. “Does your crew know about the devices?”
“They don’t. I worried they’d misunderstand my motives. I think in the long run it worked out better for them. You can’t accuse them of working around something they didn’t know existed.”
“What about personal vehicles?” Burke asked.
“Only Finley and Harry have their own vehicles, but neither has a record and aren’t as much of a target.”
“Did you bring any of this evidence with you? I’m willing to release Tyler into your custody without booking him while we investigate further.”
Cash shook his head. “Owen said Tyler got arrested but didn’t know what for, so I didn’t come prepared. If you can give me the theft dates, I can get you what you need?”
“This theft was back in May,” Burke said.
Nick snorted. “And you guys thought Tyler was just carting the stolen tools around in the back of his truck for over three months? Sounds like someone planted them.”
Burke scowled at Nick. “Are you accusing my deputy of planting evidence?”
“No, Sheriff, I’m not.” Nick’s gut told him the cult was behind this, but he’d love to know what made the deputy decide to look in the truck’s bed.
“Receiving stolen property is also a crime, Agent Scott. Surely, they teach you that at Quantico.”
