Justice Inked (Cowboy Justice Association 7) (5 page)

Dare had been thinking the same thing. Rayne’s was the only store on this block that didn’t accept cash so it didn’t make much sense that she was broken into.

“We checked the other businesses and it doesn’t look like they were hit.” Dare picked up a chair that was on its side and set it upright before guiding Rayne by the shoulders into it. Her skin was still pale and her hands still shaky. He didn’t need her passing out on him tonight on top of everything else. “Have you had a dispute with a customer lately by any chance? Anyone not satisfied with your work and not want to pay?”

Smoothing down the skirt of her dress, Rayne shook her head. “The closest I’ve come to a dispute is when you and your sister argued here in the shop. It’s been busy but professional. Except for…you know…you.”

Jared quirked an eyebrow at Dare. “Want to tell us about that?”

Dare coughed a few times, heat rising in his face. Even at a moment like this, Rayne couldn’t leave it alone. He was here to help her and she was poking the bear. He could admit that he was in the wrong that day but he wasn’t going to admit it at this very moment.

“No, I do not,” Dare retorted. “It’s not pertinent to this investigation. Well, as soon as we’re done getting fingerprints you can start your cleanup. It shouldn’t take much longer.”

“Jared and I will help you clean up, sweetie. We’ll get this place ship shape before you know it.” Misty patted Rayne on the shoulder and grabbed her husband’s hand. “We can call in some help if you like. I bet Royce would help us.”

Jared was already on his cell talking to someone in a low voice.

“Caffeine.”

Dare leaned down closer to Rayne, not sure he heard her correctly. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

Rayne stood resolutely, her lips a mutinous line. “I said we’re going to need some caffeine. Lots of it. This will probably take most of the night and I’m hardly dressed for it. I think I have a change of clothes in the closet by the restroom.”

“I’ll make a coffee run,” Jared offered as he hung up the phone. “Royce is on his way and everything is set for Lizzie. She’ll be fine. Now what does everyone want?”

The sound of shuffling feet and the clearing of a throat pulled Dare’s attention from Rayne.

“Uh…Sheriff.” Deputy Billy stood uncertainly in the doorway between the front and back rooms. “I have a situation here.”

“What is it?” Dare had sent Billy outside to check the perimeter. The thief might have dropped a piece of evidence as they made their getaway. This strip of shops backed up to a wooded area that went all the way to the main road. A nice, easy drive away from Valley Station.

Billy’s eyes were wide and he was fidgeting on his feet. “I kind of found something.”

“Then
kind of
bag the evidence.”

The deputy didn’t move from his place in the doorway.

“Do you have a problem with that?”

Billy had been a deputy when Dare had been hired and he was a good kid but a tad green. Little things tended to shake him up that wouldn’t faze a more seasoned officer.

“It’s just…” Billy trailed off, staring at the floor before trying again, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. “It’s just that I can’t bag it up. I don’t think I should touch it, Sheriff.”

Dare didn’t need this shit. It was okay to feel empathy for a victim, but Billy was taking it too far. Rayne hadn’t been attacked or anything. She’d been robbed of material things. They could be replaced.

“Fine. Then tell me what and where it is and I’ll do it.”

Billy pointed over his shoulder. “Outside just about twenty feet inside the woods. It’s–it’s a body, Sheriff. He’s dead. Or at least I think he is. I called for an ambulance.”

Rayne gasped and fell back down into the chair and Misty’s hand had flown to her mouth in shock. Dare exchanged a glance with Jared, who had immediately put himself between the women and the door.

Suddenly things looked a whole hell of a lot different than they had a few minutes ago.

Chapter Five

R
ayne’s earlier numbness was beginning to wear off, and now she was fighting an overwhelming wave of emotion that was part rage, part horror, and a big dose of helplessness. The events of the evening had quickly spiraled out of control, and she was being forced to stay in her shop while Dare and his deputies made sure there wasn’t a killer roaming around outside waiting to pounce on her or any other citizen of Valley Station.

There was a dead man outside her shop. She could only hope that he didn’t have anything to do with her robbery but it was probably a long shot. It seemed too much of a coincidence.

“They’ve finished dusting for prints. We can start cleaning up this mess.” Jared placed his hand on her shoulder and she reached up to pat it, grateful for the support he and Misty had shown this evening. “Do you want to do the front room first?”

She wanted to curl up in the fetal position and cry until morning. She was tired of the universe kicking her ass whenever things were getting too good. She’d been happy, and apparently that simply wasn’t acceptable.

Of course, things were going better for her than the guy lying in the woods. His day really sucked.

“Yes,” Rayne sighed, standing and starting to sift through a pile of rubble. She’d already changed into an old pair of jeans and t-shirt that she’d left at the shop for those just in case moments. She hadn’t thought she’d be using them to clean up a robbery. And murder. “I need to see how much of this equipment will need to be repaired or replaced. I may not be able to even open for a few days.”

“Rayne, can I speak to you for a moment?”

Dare had appeared in the back doorway, a tentative expression on his face. She’d been pretty crappy to him earlier and she felt badly about it. As frustrating as he was to deal with he didn’t deserve to be her whipping boy when things went wrong in her life.

“Of course, Sheriff. What do you need?”

She stepped out of the back door to join him but he didn’t answer right away, appearing to struggle for words.

“I need you to take a look at our murder victim,” he finally said. “See if you know him or why he might have been here. Can you do that for me?”

It was the last thing she wanted to do but she couldn’t say no. This was a serious investigation and someone was dead. This wasn’t about her comfort level or lack thereof.

Her answer stuck in her throat so instead she just nodded. He seemed to understand her reticence and placed his arm loosely around her middle to guide her back toward the woods behind the building. The area was lit up by several mobile spotlights and a lone figure was covered by a black tarp. She stumbled taking in the scene but luckily Dare caught her, pausing long enough to steady herself before moving forward.

“Are you sure you can do this?”

No. I am not sure at all.

Lips pressed together tightly, she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to will herself to relax. “I don’t think I have much choice.”

He didn’t argue, instead leading her over to the tarp-covered body and reached down to take hold of a corner of the plastic. “Are you ready?”

Fuck no. How am I supposed to prepare myself for this?

Rayne had a feeling that her life was going to be separated into two sections from this moment on. Before seeing a dead body and after seeing a dead body.

“Let’s get this over with.”

*   *   *   *

“You know him?” Dare pressed, once they were back in her shop. Rayne’s stomach was churning at the sight of a dead man, his face still and ghostly white. She was sure to have nasty nightmares tonight.

If she slept at all.

The young man’s name, according to his driver’s license, was Patrick Moulton and he was twenty-nine years old. He wouldn’t be getting any older. That thought had Rayne’s stomach twisted into painful knots. The delicious dinner she’d eaten earlier was in danger of making an untimely reappearance.

“I don’t know him but I’ve seen him before.”

Sitting shakily down onto an office chair in the back room, Rayne pressed her clammy hands to her cheeks trying to make some sense out of the night’s events. She knew there were people out there that were violent. She’d been hit in the head by a homicidal woman who wanted Misty dead after all, but for some reason this felt closer to home. This wasn’t about Misty. Did that mean it was about her? And if so, why?

“Do you remember where? Anything you can tell us will be helpful,” Dare urged, settling into a chair across from her, their knees bumping. For once she didn’t mind his close proximity. His strong, no nonsense demeanor was comforting and oddly reassuring despite the fact that he got on her nerves. He had taken charge of the situation since the moment he’d shown up and every detail looked to be under control.

“He came into the shop about a week ago,” Rayne explained, sipping the coffee that Jared had placed in her trembling hand. “He wanted a tattoo of course, and he’d brought in a drawing. We chatted about it and then he left without making an appointment when my next client showed up. He said he’d stop back by when I had more time.”

“Go on. What happened when he came back?”

“He didn’t. Come back, I mean. He said he’d return the next day but he never did so I kind of forgot all about him. The only reason I really remember him now is because I recognized that tat on his neck.”

The man had a devil’s pitchfork inked on the side of his neck in red and black. It had been a simple design but she’d never seen one like it.

“What did he say when you talked to him? Did he ask any questions about the equipment or how much money the shop takes in?”

“We only talked about the design, the colors. The usual things. He didn’t act strange or out of the ordinary and he didn’t ask me anything personal.”

It had been like any other consultation and he had been like any other customer.

Dare tapped his pencil against the small notebook in his hand. “Did he say anything about himself? Anything at all?”

Rayne wracked her brain to remember the details of their all too brief conversation. Nothing about it had seemed strange so it had been filed under “Just Another Day”, which meant the retrieval of the memory was shaky at best.

“Not that I can remember. He’d had tattoos before obviously, so we didn’t have to have the usual first timer discussion. He knew what he wanted and I suggested a few tweaks since it was going to be on his upper arm.” Rayne blew out a breath. “That’s it, really. He said he’d come back to talk more but he never did.”

“And no one was with him?”

Rayne shook her head. It had been just another day.

“I’m really sorry, Dare. It was a normal client interaction. Nothing out of the ordinary or strange. He was a nice guy who didn’t trip any creep out wires. But we kept the conversation to business. He didn’t tell me anything personal and I didn’t ask.”

“It’s okay.” Dare didn’t smile but he wasn’t scowling either. He was actually trying to be nice, which was a switch. “The fact that you remembered him is great. He may have been here casing the joint and never had any intention of getting a tattoo.”

The guy had seemed genuine, but perhaps she wasn’t as good a judge of character as she had thought. She’d had Dare pegged as an asshole but he was acting more than decently at the moment.

“If his plan was to break in and steal then how did he end up…dead?” Rayne asked, still seeing his dead body before they’d pulled the tarp back over his face. “Do you think he had a partner?”

“There’s no honor among thieves, Rayne.” Dare stood and shoved the small notebook into his chest pocket. “There’s a good chance he had an accomplice. They might have argued and then a shot was fired. I certainly don’t think this was some sort of tragic accident.”

Jared stepped in between Rayne and Dare. “Is that all you need? She’s been through the wringer tonight.”

Please let him be done.
Her head hurt, her stomach was nauseous, and she wanted to sleep for a week, only waking up when this nightmare was all over.

“For now,” Dare conceded. “Once I get the ME’s report and the forensics I may have more questions.”

“That’s fine. I’ll see what I can pull for you on your victim’s background. It might be some help.”