A Cowgirl's Pride (14 page)

The man’s stature visibly shrank. “Damn!” He
fished in his hind pocket, took out his wallet, and removed a card, which he
passed to Michael.

He studied the card for a moment then looked at
Trent
. “A Private
Investigator? Who are you working for, and what are you investigating?”

“I can’t tell you that! It’s confidential.”

“Have it your way. Hand over your weapon and let’s
go.” Michael hauled out a set of handcuffs.

Cal
applauded Michael’s instincts in suspecting the PI was armed.

“Now wait a minute…,” said
Trent
.

“No,
you
wait
a minute! This is private property. You come slinking in here under cover of
darkness and don’t provide answers, I have to suspect you were up to no good. Now,
take that gun out nice and slow and pass it here.”

Trent
unzipped his parka and reached inside, pulling out his handgun. He handed
it to Michael butt first. “There. Happy now?”

“Not yet, but we’re making progress. Have a
seat.”

Cal
sat with them at the table, keeping his gun trained on
Trent
.

Michael took out a notebook and pen. “Who are
you working for?”

“Roderick Kendall.”

“I thought so. What are you investigating?”

“Not what, who? He asked me to verify that a woman
lived here—a stripper named Leah Manning. Apparently she cut out before
finishing her contract.”

Cal
sat in stunned shock.
Leah? A
stripper? Dear God, what kind of life had she led out there? There must be some
mistake.
“You have a picture of this woman?”

“Yes.” He pulled a picture out of his wallet,
showed it to him, and passed it to Michael.

It
was
Leah! Why hadn’t she
leveled with him?

“What were you supposed to do if you found her?”
asked Michael.

“Report back to him.”

“That’s it?”

“What else is there? I run a reputable business.
Finding people is my area of expertise.”

“What else indeed? When did he hire you?”

“Three days ago.”

“And what if I tell you that
Kendall
was here two days ago? That he took a shot at our friend, Cal, here and sent a
hit man to deal with Leah last night?”

“If that’s true, then why did he hire me?” The
man looked confused.

“To reinforce an alibi, maybe. Has he rendered
your services before?”

“Yes, on several occasions.”

“I need names and dates. Chances are those
people are missing, maybe even dead now.”

“What? No way.
Kendall
is well-respected—an important businessman.”

“
Kendall
is a
murdering, drug dealing creep,” Michael said through gritted teeth.

“If he is, I certainly don’t have any knowledge
of it.”

A cell phone rang. The sound coming from
Trent
’s pocket.

“Aren’t you going to answer that?” asked
Michael.

“It’s probably Roderick. He’s an impatient man.”

“While you’re doing surveillance, where is he?”

“How should I know?”

“Wrong answer,” said Michael, toying with the
handcuffs.

“Look, he dropped me off down the road a ways. Okay?
Said I should come up the trail from the creek.”

Michael pierced him with an intense glare. “How
did he know about the trail?”

Trent
snickered. “How does he know about anything? He makes it his
business to know.”

“Which means—what exactly?”

“Ah, hell. He talked about a charter plane.”

“So he’s flown over the property?” Michael
asked.

“From what I gathered, yes.”

“How many others in the car?”

“His driver and bodyguard.”

“Are they waiting for you?”

“Yes. Look, all I was supposed to do was search
the outbuildings for her car, but when I opened the barn door, that damned dog
jumped me and I ran.”

Michael chuckled. “Yeah, that’s one excellent
round-up dog. Stay seated while I make a phone call to have your friends picked
up.”

“Damn! I guess I’d better tell you. He has a
scanner. Any radio activity and he’s out of here.”

Michael grinned. “Thanks for the info,
Erickson.”

He called his dispatcher to set up a roadblock
at the end of Route 519 before it joined Highway 2. Four other vehicles, two by
two, were instructed to proceed down Route 519 until they located Kendall’s
vehicle, a black Audi A7, plate number RK LCRS. No way would the bastard get
through that.
Cal
heard him advise radio silence, no lights, and warned that the three occupants
were considered armed and dangerous. He hung up and dialed again.

“Yeah, it’s Grayson. I have Trent Erickson here,
a PI. He’s given permission for us to access one of his files…yep, you guessed
it…give me your fax number and I’ll send it over shortly…okay, thanks.”

He returned to the table, ripped a page out of
his notebook, wrote on it, and passed it to
Trent
. “Sign it.”

“You can’t do this.”

“Yes, I can. You’ve been traveling with a
suspected murderer. You’ve admitted working for him…being on his payroll. I
have
every
right. You can either
co-operate and sign this now, or I’ll get a search warrant and have your entire
office ripped apart. Your choice.”

Grudging admiration showed briefly on
Trent
’s face. “This is
just for the one file?”

“Is all your work for
Kendall
in
one
file?”

“Well, no. There’s the club, the apartments, the
resort complex.”

“List the names of the files we can access. I’m
warning you, it had better be a complete list.”

Trent
listed the files. “There. That should do it. I also wrote down the
location of the cabinet key so they won’t have to bust it open. Can I leave
now?”

“Nope. Not until your story checks out. I’ll
make coffee.”

“Aren’t you going to fax that first?”

“Can’t. Luke keeps his office locked, and I
don’t have a key. He’ll be up soon, though. Don’t worry.”

Michael served their coffee, and the three of
them sat in strained silence, waiting.

Cal
kept playing everything over and over again in his mind. He
couldn’t believe Leah had worked at a strip joint of all places. The Mannings
were rich enough that she didn’t have to work, but she’d wanted to dance.
Ha! What kind of fool did that make me,
waiting for her all these damned years.

He’d fallen right into her trap, felt sorry for
her predicament, ready to pitch in and help raise her kid. Whose kid
was
she carrying?
Did she even know who the father was?
He gave his head a mental
shake. He wasn’t sure he was ready to hear the answer to that one. In fact, he
didn't think he wanted to see her at all.

He loved his job, and the Mannings had always
treated him fairly, but maybe it was time to move on, find work somewhere else.
Anywhere he wouldn’t have to face the torment that Leah put him through sounded
good. He was still attracted to her, or at least the woman he used to know. He
was beginning to realize this Leah was an enigma, a totally different person
from who he remembered if she could strip for a living. That wasn’t the type of
woman he envisioned raising
his
kids.
He didn’t need this crap…didn’t need it
at all.

Lucas was the first to join them, then Winnie
bustled in and started breakfast.

Cal
finished his coffee and rose to put his cup in the sink. “If you
don’t need me anymore, I’ll head out and start the chores.”

“Okay, sure. I’ll need to get an official
statement from you, but we can do that later.”

“Sure, see you around.”

He’d fed and watered the horses and mucked out
their stalls by the time he heard a vehicle pull in. Curious, he glanced out
and saw a police cruiser. Charlie got out and went up to the house and, as
badly as he wanted to learn the outcome of the morning’s events, he wanted to
avoid the house and its occupants even more. Especially Leah.

Maybe now was a good time to take that vacation
he’d been putting off. He could go somewhere warm, avoid the snow and the cold
for a few weeks and decide what to do. Another job sounded better the more he
thought about it. Another town even. If Leah really was home to stay, he didn’t
want to chance running in to her at odd moments.

He closed up the barn and walked the short
distance to the bunkhouse. Cookie, the bunkhouse cook, had breakfast waiting
for him.

“Early morning?”

“Yeah. Caught an intruder, or at least, Rounder
did.”

“Well, dig in before your food gets any colder.”

He filled a mug with what Cookie called coffee,
took his plate and joined the other wranglers at the long, buffet style table,
taking a seat on the bench running along one side.

Some of them commented on hearing Rounder
earlier, so
Cal
explained what happened.

“I was too wired to go back to bed so I tended
the horses and fed Rounder and her pups. I’ll need a few of you to load up some
feed and take it out to the herd.”

Nods of agreement greeted his words.

“Good. See you later.”

He crossed the room to put his plate and cup in
the sink, then went to his room and lay down on his bed. As soon as he had the
chance, he would talk to Luke about that vacation. The sooner the better. His
eyes closed against the glare of the winter sun streaming in through the window
and his mind conjured images of Leah as she’d been last night. So loving and
passionate, as if she truly enjoyed being with him. Maybe he’d done her a
disservice by believing the worst. Maybe, just maybe, Kendall had trumped up a
believable story to garner
Trent
’s
services.

Hope swelled in his chest. That had to be it. Once
he talked to Leah and allowed her to clear up the mess of lies, everything
would be all right. Wouldn’t it?

Chapter Nine

It was still dark outside when Leah arrived in
the kitchen to see her family sitting around the old oak table, eating their
breakfast. She smiled a greeting, which died quickly when she saw the stranger
seated with them. Automatically, she took a step back, feeling the need to
retreat…until the stranger spoke.

Trent
let out a long, slow whistle. “Wow! Your picture didn’t do you
justice at all.”

“My picture?”

Michael rose to make the introductions. “Yeah, Leah
Manning meet Trent Erickson, a private investigator hired to find you.”

She laughed uncertainly. “Gee, I didn’t realize
I was lost.”

The twins giggled, but everyone else remained
serious.

“Have a seat, dear, and I’ll get your
breakfast,” Winnie said as she stood and crossed to the stove, returning with a
plate piled high with sliced ham, cubed home fries, and gravy.

She took the only seat still vacant, pleased
that it was next to her father. “Thanks, Winnie.”

It was slightly unnerving, sitting there with
the stranger staring at her. “I take it Roddy hired you?”

“Yes, and I’m glad he did. I’ve never seen a lovelier
woman. You have the hair and face of an angel.”

The twins giggled again. Leah laughed.
“Flattery, Mr. Erickson?”

“
Trent
,
and it’s a fact.”

“Then thank you. I appreciate the compliment.”
She took a couple bites of breakfast and chewed slowly, trying to get her mind
around the reason for the investigator’s presence. How could she ask without
soliciting too many details in front of the children? “So, you’ve found me.
What’s next on your agenda?”

“Well, I don’t rightly know as yet. We’re
waiting on some files from my office and a phone call or two. Michael isn’t
willing to accept my story at face value.”

She sent a grateful smile Michael’s way and
tried to keep the conversation light. “You should be thankful. At least you’re
being treated to breakfast by one of the best cooks in the province.”

He patted his stomach. “Yep, best meal I’ve
eaten in a long time.” He turned toward her stepmother. “Thank you, ma’am.”