Bucking Bronc Lodge 04 - Cowboy Cop (13 page)

His look turned suspicious the moment he spotted Miles and Blackpaw. “What’s going on?” Banning asked.

The warden cleared his throat. “These detectives have reason to believe that you erased a name from the visitor log. A man who visited Robert Dugan.”

“That’s crazy,” Banning said in a terse voice.

“Listen to me,” the warden said just as coldly. “I know you’ve accepted bribes and sneaked in drugs for the men. But this is different. The detectives suspect this visitor killed a woman to help overturn Dugan’s conviction—”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Banning said.

“The hell you don’t,” Miles cut in. “Dugan paid you to cover up for him.”

Case glanced at Miles, then propped his fists on his desk and leaned toward Banning with an intimidating look. “If you did this, and this man turns out to be Dugan’s accomplice, you’re going to jail, Banning.” A nasty leer carved grooves across Case’s face, and Miles realized the weight he’d put on hadn’t diminished his capability to enforce justice.

A bead of sweat popped out on Banning’s forehead. “I told you I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The warden made a sound of disgust, then sat down at the desk and punched some keys on the computer. A few minutes later, he’d accessed a file of visitor logs.

Miles frowned. If Banning had erased the names on the written log, he’d probably also done so on the computer version.

“You’re not going to find anything that isn’t there,” Banning said.

Case pressed a few more keys, studied another file for a moment, then pivoted the screen to show them. “You’re lying, Banning.”

Miles noticed the date and his pulse jumped.

“How... What did you do?” Banning shifted nervously. “I—”

“You thought you erased it, but I had software installed to keep track of everyone who logs into the computer system and exactly what they do.”

“You spy on your employees?” Banning asked, shocked.

Case gave a clipped nod then stood. “I’m running a prison here, Banning. Safety and security have to be top-notch.” He pointed to the name on the file.
Pruitt Ables.
“So there’s no need to deny that you did erase it. Now who in the hell is this Ables man?”

Banning wiped the back of his neck and glared at Miles and Blackpaw. Suddenly a loud commotion broke out outside. Miles glanced through the warden’s window and saw several men shouting and jumping into a pile. The warden scowled, clicked his radio.

“What now?” he asked into the mike.

“Fight,” one of the guards responded.

A palpable awkwardness filled the room as they watched the scene unfolding. Seconds later, three guards pulled the prisoners apart. Miles’s pulse hammered as he saw the man at the bottom of the pile.

Roeder.

One of the guards leaned over him and checked his pulse. “Roeder’s dead,” he said over the mike. “Stabbed in the chest.”

The warden cursed, then turned back to Banning. “You have five seconds to tell me the truth.”

Banning paled and swiped at his forehead, then took a step back, panic on his face as if he was about to run.

A buzzing sounded, then another guard stepped in, folded his arms and blocked the doorway. “I mean it, Banning,” Case snapped.

“Fess up or I’ll arrest you for accessory to murder,” Miles said. “I don’t imagine you made friends with every prisoner in here. How do you think you’ll like spending time in the cell with some of the ones you didn’t buddy up to?”

Blackpaw grunted. “Especially now they know ratting you out got Roeder killed.”

Banning cursed. “All right, all right. But I didn’t have nothing to do with Dugan murdering those women.”

“What about June Kelly, the woman whose death enabled Dugan’s release?”

“I don’t know anything about that either,” Banning said in a shaky voice.

“But you covered up for Dugan’s visitor, Pruitt Ables.” Miles gripped the man by the collar.

Banning shuddered. “Dugan paid me a lot of money to erase the name. He didn’t explain why and I didn’t ask.”

“But you knew something wasn’t right,” Miles barked. “So who in the hell is he to Dugan?”

Banning’s chest rose up and down as he struggled to breathe. “Ables is Dugan’s half brother.”

Miles gritted his teeth. A half brother that none of them had even known existed.

A man who shared the same genes.

A man who might have killed Kelly to set his brother free. A man who might be helping him track down Timmy.

* * *

P
ANIC TUGGED AT
J
ORDAN
as she felt Haddock’s pulse one last time. Maybe she’d misread it, but no...there was no pulse. He was definitely dead.

Fear knotted her stomach and she scanned the area, half expecting the shooter to fire again. But a heartbeat passed and danger echoed in the air with only the sound of the whistling wind swirling around her.

She had to get back to the boys.

Adrenaline surged through her, and she pivoted, keeping her eyes peeled for an attack. Haddock had been protecting her and Timmy.

Had the shooter murdered him to get to Timmy?

Her hands shook as she pawed through some scrub brush and hurried back to the camp. She kept her gun clenched tightly in her hand but she needed her phone. She had to call Miles.

A sound behind her made her jump, but she spun around and realized it was an opossum. Another twig snapped from a limb above and fell to the ground.

She stepped on it and picked up her pace, racing back to the camp. Her breath stalled in her chest as she drew near it, and she raked her gaze across the sleeping bags beside the fire. At first glance, all the boys seemed to be safe.

And she didn’t spot Dugan or a shooter.

Relief warred with fear, and she forced a calming breath, then strode toward them. The two counselors had sacked out. Wayling and Malcolm were side by side while Rory lay on his side facing Timmy as if they’d been talking before they’d fallen asleep.

Gravel and dirt crunched beneath her boots as she approached. She leaned over Timmy, relief spilling through her when she realized he was sound asleep.

And safe.

But Haddock was still dead, and she had to contact Miles.

She tiptoed past Timmy, then made her way to her duffel bag and dug inside. A second later, she retrieved her phone and punched Miles’s number. The need to make sure Timmy and the others were safe clawed at her as she listened to the phone ring over and over.

Timmy began to stir and she knelt beside him and rubbed his back, hoping to ward off one of the nightmares that haunted him.

Finally after the fifth ring, the voice mail clicked on. She was just about to leave a message, then phone Brody, when suddenly a limb cracked behind her. The scent of the firewood mingled with something else—a man’s cologne.

She spun around and saw a shadow hovering above her, then suddenly a hard hand reached out and grabbed the phone away from her. A firm arm slid around her neck and he jerked her head backward.

“Hello, Jordan. Give me the gun, or Timmy’s dead.”

* * *

T
HE EXCITEMENT OF FINALLY
having a clue zinged through Miles. If he could find Ables, he might be able to prove he’d been working with Dugan. Or at least that he had killed June Kelly and that Dugan had been guilty of the other murders and belonged on death row.

“Thank you, Warden.” Miles shook the man’s hand. “This could be the missing link to this case.”

“I hope you find the SOB,” Case said. “I’ve seen a lot of men go through this place. Most guilty, although a few I thought might have been wrongly incarcerated. Dugan wasn’t one of them.”

“You believed he was guilty?” Miles asked.

Case nodded. “He was too slick. Too composed. If you ask me, he’s a sociopath.”

Which meant he had no conscience. That it hadn’t fazed him to kill the women.

And it wouldn’t bother him to take away his son’s life either.

Cold fear knotted Miles’s belly.

“Excuse me, I need to check on my son.” He turned to Blackpaw. “And let’s find out everything we can on Pruitt Ables.”

“I’ll call in a favor to an FBI agent I know. If anyone can dig up information about Ables, he can.”

Miles thanked him and the two of them worked their way back through security. By the time Miles stepped outside into the fresh air, he noticed Jordan had called. She hadn’t left a message, but still, alarm rippled through him and he punched her number. Mason called his friend as Miles walked to his Jeep.

The phone trilled and trilled but Jordan didn’t answer. Miles checked the time on his phone. Eight forty-five. She had taken the group for a hike and they were camping outdoors, but they should be settled down by now.

And why hadn’t she left a message?

The sky was growing darker. The boys might be asleep but Jordan probably wasn’t.

His nerves kicked in and he tried Haddock’s number, but it rolled to voice mail, too. Anxiety knotted his insides. One of them should be answering.

He jumped into his Jeep. “Let’s go. Jordan’s not answering and neither is the security guard that’s supposed to be watching her and the kids.”

Mason slanted him a concerned look, then Miles started the engine and peeled away from the prison. He tried Jordan again, but once more her message machine clicked on.

“Jordan, I’m on my way back, but I’m worried. Call me as soon as you get this.”

He sped up, the Jeep eating the distance, his fear mounting with each mile marker they passed.

If anything happened to Timmy, he’d never forgive himself. And what about Jordan? What if Dugan had hurt her?

Images of the dead women, of Marie butchered, haunted him.

Trembling with fear, he punched Brody’s number, tapping his fingers on the door as he waited. By the time Brody answered, he thought his head was going to explode.

“Brody, have you heard from Jordan or Haddock lately?”

“No,” Brody said. “Why?”

“I’ve tried both their phones but they keep going to voice mail.”

Brody made a clicking sound with his teeth. “Maybe they turned them off to sleep.”

“Haddock is supposed to be on duty. He should be available.”

Brody mumbled agreement. “I’m on my way home from town, but if you’re worried, I’ll call Wes Lee and ask him to ride out there.”

“Thanks,” Miles said. “I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

Miles ended the call, his heart drumming as he sped up again.

If Dugan or this Ables man had hurt Timmy, he’d forget jail. He’d kill the bastard and put him in the ground himself.

* * *

J
ORDAN’S HEART SPUTTERED
as Dugan gripped her neck tighter. She’d heard her cell phone ringing a minute ago. It was probably Miles checking in.

She had to stall. If she didn’t answer, he’d send someone to check on them. Struggling for courage, she tried to sound calm. Reason with the man. “There’s no reason to hurt that little boy, Dugan.”

“Aah, so you do know my name.”

“Yes, and you’re taking a terrible chance being here, especially if you’re innocent like you say. Or have you decided to confess?”

“Now, why would I want to do a stupid thing like that when I’m innocent?” Dugan murmured against her ear.

“You like to hurt women,” Jordan said, her voice hoarse from the way his hand was cutting off her windpipe.

“Women come on to me,” Dugan said with a brittle laugh. “Can I help it if I’m charming?”

“A charming,
innocent
man wouldn’t be holding me hostage right now,” Jordan quipped. “Or threatening to hurt a five-year-old little boy.”

He jerked her around to face him, his eyes wild. Jordan had seen pictures of him in his slick suits, his manicured nails, his polished expressions, and wondered if he had been innocent or guilty. If the police could have been wrong.

But the dark, sinister glint in his eyes indicated he was every bit the cunning, methodical sociopath Miles had painted him to be.

The sound of a horse echoed in the night, and Jordan froze, praying it was Miles. Then again, if he approached them, Dugan might kill him.

Dugan must have heard the horse too, because he dragged her back into the shadows of a tree and tightened his hold.

“You might as well give it up, Dugan,” Jordan said, fighting panic. “You’re not going to get away with this.”

“Oh, I have plans,” he said in that same low murmur. “Plans for you and the boy. And nobody is getting in my way.”

The horse slowed, and Jordan squinted to see who was climbing off.

Not Miles, but Wes Lee, one of the other security guards. Miles must have asked him to check things out.

“Haddock,” Lee called as he strode toward the campsite. “Where are you? Brody called and said Miles has been calling you and Jordan.”

Jordan tried to warn him. “Watch out—”

Dugan slammed his fist against her head, and she sank to the ground. A second later, a shot rang out.

Tears and blood trickled into her eyes as she tried to lift herself up to fight back. Then Lee collapsed onto the ground, and she choked back a scream.

Lee was shot. Maybe dead.

God help her. She had to figure out a way to save Timmy and the other boys herself.

She struggled to stand up, but her head spun, then Dugan punched her again. She staggered, gasping for a breath, so dizzy she felt sick. Before she could recover, he yanked her arms behind her and tied them together, then shoved her up against the tree.

He’d said he had plans for her and Timmy.

He had tortured and raped the other women he was accused of killing before he’d viciously slashed their throats.

Was that what he had planned for her?

And after he killed her, would he kill Timmy, too?

Chapter Eleven

Jordan swallowed back her fear. She would not let this man get inside her head. He thrived on terrorizing women, so showing him she wasn’t afraid was the only way to win.

The night sky twirled sickeningly as he strode over to Lee, kicked his gun away, then checked her phone.

A cry caught in her throat as he scrolled down her caller log. He was going to let Miles know he was here. That he had her.