Rugged Defender. B.J. Daniels

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СКАЧАТЬ only person who had reason to hate Drew. What about you?”

      “Me?” Nici shook her head and laughed.

      “Drew had scratches on him that the coroner believed were from a woman’s fingernails.”

      Nici looked down at her gloved hands. When she looked up she smiled. “Sounds like he got what he deserved.”

      “Let’s assume you didn’t kill him, then how about one of his friends or associates?” Chloe asked wriggling her toes in her boots to keep her feet warm. Nici didn’t seem to be the least bit cold even though she was wearing a much less insulated coat and thinner gloves.

      “Friends? I’m not sure Drew had any. But associates...”

      “Yes?”

      Nici met her gaze. “You do realize that there are some people in town who won’t like what you’re doing.”

      “I’m not worried about them.”

      “Maybe you should be.”

      “Tell me about his associates,” Chloe said.

      Nici took her sweet time, but finally said, “There were a group of guys he played poker with. I heard he got caught cheating.” She shrugged. “The man who caught him was one who’d lost the most money to Drew, a man named Monte Decker. He works at the bank.”

      Chloe didn’t know him. “Anyone else?” She waited, cold, her cheeks and nose feeling icy and her skin stinging. The air along the frozen creek felt as if it was at least ten degrees colder than in town.

      “Al Duncan. He bought a horse from Drew and later found out that it was lame. The day he bought it, the horse was so full of drugs, he couldn’t tell. Drew refused to give him back his money. Al was drunk one night down at the Mint threatening to kill Drew.” She shrugged again. “I’m sure there are more. Like Pete Ferris. Rumor was that Drew was sleeping with his wife. They almost got a divorce over it. Still might even all these years later.”

      “Thanks,” Chloe said as Nici pushed off the bridge railing making it clear that she was done. “I’ll walk you back.”

      “Don’t bother. I know the way.” Nici brushed past her but turned before exiting the bridge. “Seriously, why stick your neck out like this? Why stir this all back up? I can tell you right now Bert Calhoun isn’t going to like it—not to mention Justin. So I’m not sure who you think you’re going to make points with—”

      “Hasn’t there been a time when you did something just because it felt like the right thing to do?” Chloe asked her.

      “Whatever,” Nici said with a shake of her head before turning and leaving.

      Chloe stood for a few moments longer on the bridge, looking down at the frozen river. Fall leaves had gotten stuck in the ice making strange dark patterns. She thought of what Nici had told her. She heard her grandmother’s voice in her ear.

       Best be ready for the consequences when you go poking a porcupine with a stick, missy. Someone’s bound to get hurt and it won’t be the porcupine.

      * * *

      JUSTIN’S CELL PHONE rang as he was headed into town from the Rogers Ranch. He’d spent part of the morning having breakfast and visiting with Dawson’s mother, Wilhelmina. Willie was a tall, wiry ranch woman with a true heart of gold. She’d taken him in and fed him more times than he could remember.

      He’d always had the feeling that she would have loved to have given his father a piece of her mind. But had hesitated because she feared that Bert would take it out on him.

      He saw it was Nici calling and picked up. “Hey,” he said.

      “I thought I should give you a heads-up,” she said. “Chloe Clementine.”

      Justin felt his chest tighten. “What about her?”

      “You know she’s an investigative reporter, right? Well, guess what she’s investigating?” She didn’t give him time to guess, even if he had been about to. “Drew’s death.”

      Justin swore under his breath. “How do you know this?”

      “I just went for a walk with her. She wanted to know who hated Drew enough to want him dead.”

      He could see the outskirts of town ahead. “What did you tell her?”

      “I thought about not giving her anything,” Nici said. “But then I thought, it’s her funeral. So I gave her some names.”

      He swore again. “Who?”

      “Monte Decker, Al Duncan and Pete Ferris.”

      “Why is Chloe doing this?” He hadn’t realized he’d asked the question aloud until Nici answered.

      “She says all she’s after is the truth and that it’s the right thing to do. Some BS like that. But I can tell she’s doing it for you.”

      He swore. That was the last thing he wanted.

      “I thought the sheriff ruled Drew’s death an accident?” Nici said.

      “She did.”

      “So why is Chloe—She said that someone threatened her if she kept looking into Drew’s death.”

      “It wasn’t you, was it?” He had to ask.

      She laughed. “No, maybe if I’d thought of it and known she was looking into Drew’s death. So you didn’t know.”

      “No, but I’ll make a point of asking her what she thinks she’d doing when I see her. Thanks.” He disconnected as he entered Whitehorse and headed for the house where Chloe and her sisters had grown up.

      * * *

      CHLOE WALKED INTO Monte Decker’s office at the bank and closed the door. Monte was a forty-something rangy former Eastern Montana farm boy with a small bald spot in his short dark hair. He wasn’t bad looking in his expensive suit, although as he tugged at the neck of his shirt she got the feeling he wasn’t comfortable with his position. Or maybe she just had that effect on men, because he had a strangled look when he glanced up from the paperwork on his desk and saw her.

      “You probably don’t know me,” she said as she took a seat. Other than papers strewn across his desk, there was a framed photo of Monte holding a huge walleye. From the background, it seemed he’d caught it at Nelson Reservoir. Why it caught her attention was because it was the only framed photo on his desk. No wife and kids. No favorite old dog. Just Monte and a fish.

      “I’m Chloe Clementine.”

      “Clementine? Frannie’s...”

      “Granddaughter. I’m an investigative reporter.”

      Before that, he’d looked as if he’d expected her to ask for a loan. Now though, he leaned back and took her in, clearly speculating on why she was sitting in his office.

      “What СКАЧАТЬ