Looking Through Darkness (20 page)

He joined her seconds later, handing back the .38, barrel up for safety, plus the six shell casings.

Pierre came up and patted her on the shoulder as she placed the weapon back in her purse. “Good try, Leigh Ann.”

She wasn't sure if it was her imagination or not, but she could have sworn she'd heard a sneer winding through his words.

“See you later, all. Wayne and I need to take off now,” Pierre said.

“I'm going to give you a pass on the truck,” Ambrose whispered. “You were at a disadvantage with those two watching over your shoulder, sending bad vibes.”

“Nah, a bet's a bet,” she said and managed a smile.

“How about a compromise? I'll help you with the attic and you cook dinner for me
and
Melvin tonight?”

She smiled and gave Ambrose a quick hug. “You're all muscle, but inside you're an old softie.”

He laughed. “Don't ever let anyone hear you say that.”

“Like it's a secret?” Jo teased, coming up.

Ambrose laughed.

“I'm going back to the trading post,” Jo said. “I want to email Ben and tell him about tonight, do some work, then head home.”

“Remember that you can call me—day or night,” Ambrose added.

“You're on my speed dial now,” Jo said, and waved good-bye.

*   *   *

Two hours later, Ambrose climbed down from the attic, covered in dust. “The truss beam is braced now, sandwiched between those one-by-sixes I found in your shed. I used long wood screws to attach the supports so they should hold just fine. I also dug out the buckshot and filled the holes with wood putty.”

“Thanks, Ambrose. Dinner's almost done,” Leigh Ann said as Rachel set the table.

“It smells wonderful!” Ambrose said.

“Texas chili,” Leigh Ann said and smiled. “I made homemade tortillas to go with it.”

“She gave me a taste of the chili,” Melvin said. “It's incredibly good. It has just the right amount of bite in it.”

“With or without beans?” Ambrose asked.

“Get serious, guy. Real Texas chili doesn't have beans! That's almost heresy!” Leigh Ann said.

He laughed. “Just testing.”

“We've got German beer, too,” Rachel said.

Leigh Ann crossed to the stove and stirred the cast-iron pot. “Whoa, I made enough here for an army. If we don't get someone else to help us eat all this up, Rache, we'll be eating leftovers for a week.”

“Too bad Ben isn't around, he eats enough for three people,” Ambrose pointed out.

“Well, we can't feed him, but what about Jo? She's having a real tough time of it lately, and could use a little more company. I gave her a call a while ago and she's still at the trading post, hoping to get a call from her sweetie. Why don't we put all this in the Jeep and take it over? We can eat there, do some brainstorming, and see what we can do about our situations.”

“I like that idea,” Ambrose said.

“Let me give her a call and let her know we're coming,” Leigh Ann said.

Jo answered on the first ring, which told Leigh Ann just how worried her boss and friend was about Ben. “It's just me again, hon,” she said and told her about their plans.

“Sam's here, too, working on the computers. If there's going to be enough for her, too, then come on over,” Jo said.

“Jo, there's more than enough in that Dutch oven for all of us twice over,” she said, laughing. “I always make extra.”

“Then by all means, get moving. Neither of us has eaten yet, and we'd love sharing your dinner.”

They set out less than five minutes later. By then it was close to eight and the sun had dropped over the horizon.

“I'm still worried about Jo,” Leigh Ann told Melvin, who'd chosen to ride with her to the trading post. “She's really going through a tough time. Waiting and not knowing creates a hell all its own.”

“I know,” he said, shifting the plastic container with the tortillas and honey he was holding on his lap. On the floorboard was a small cooler containing plates, bowls, and utensils. “That's why you wanted to take all this over there—comfort food, right? That's the heart of this meal?”

“Yeah,” she said, and glanced in her rearview mirror at Ambrose and Rachel, who were following in his red pickup. Rachel had custody of the large Dutch oven filled with chili. “I think Jo will enjoy it and she needs friends around her right now.”

“I've known Jo for many years and she's stronger than you think. If she takes a hard enough hit, she may go down, but she'll always get back up.”

“I agree that she's a tough cookie, but we all have our limits. Even you.”

He reached out and touched her arm gently. “I'm fine, and you need to stop worrying so much.”

That simple touch sent an intoxicating warmth through Leigh Ann. She needed Melvin, he brought something into her life she'd never had before—tenderness and gentleness.

“Jo has her tribe, her clan, and the teachings of our people to sustain her. In that respect, she may be better equipped to deal with hard times than you are. You tough it out—but she has a support system in place. Of course you have one, too, but it's harder for you to accept it. There are people, like me, who'd be beside you every step of the way if you'd allow it.”

In the privacy of the Jeep, she was acutely aware of everything about him. She felt alive and filled with a curious sense of expectation … or maybe it was hope. She wanted things to work out for her and Melvin, but there were still obstacles in the way, and not just the assaults on her following the discovery of Kurt's legacy. If only she could get him to break down his own barriers and let her in.

With a burst of determination, she shut the door on those thoughts. She had to stay focused, now more than ever. “Relying on others is hard for me. I'm not used to it and the one time I did, it was a disaster.”

“Kurt?”

She nodded. “I should have known better, but I was young and tired of always having to be the strong one at home. I wanted to marry my hero, the man who promised I'd never have to worry about anything because he'd always take care of me,” she said, and added, “Rachel and I went through really hard times back in Texas.”

“You never told me about that,” he said.

“Even now, looking back is difficult,” she said. “Dad was far from perfect, but Mom loved him and so did we. Then one day he decided he wasn't cut out for family life. He just split. Mom was never the same after that. She did her best by us though, and worked as long as she could, even after she got sick. I was only twelve and Rachel, eleven, but we took care of her.” She took a deep breath. “Mom's disability check didn't go far, so we got whatever little jobs we could get to keep food on the table.”

“Nobody helped you out?”

“Our town was dirt poor, but neighbors helped us fix up the house and drove us places when we needed it. As for my relatives … not so much. They all had a million excuses,” she said, then jutting out her jaw, recaptured her determination. “The mess I'm facing now comes from my own bad choices, and I have to clean things up. It's time for me to stop looking for someone to come to my rescue. I've got to be my own hero.”

“I understand where you're coming from. After what you've been through it's hard for you to trust, and accept help from a friend. Pride, and the fear that it'll make you dependent on someone else, sometimes gets in your way. Like they say, it takes one to know one.”

Leigh Ann glanced at him, then back at the road, realizing he'd given her another clue to what was holding him back. They were two souls wounded by life and looking for redemption … or maybe a miracle.

Nothing else was forthcoming, though, and if her ability to read his expression meant anything, he was brooding. A long silence settled over them, and lasted until they arrived at The Outpost.

 

— THIRTEEN —

They all sat around the large table in the break room, eating Leigh Ann's Texas chili and tortillas and drinking bottles of iced tea Jo provided from the cold drink cooler.

“This is really good,” Jo said, finishing her second helping.

“The Dutch oven kept it warm, though it's spicy enough to provide its own heat,” Leigh Ann said.

Sam smiled. “This is really first class. It's better than anything I've tasted in the caf
é
s around here. Care to trade for the recipe?”

“You've got one to share?” Leigh Ann asked, surprised. Samantha didn't strike her as a cook.

“Nah, most of what I eat comes with instructions that say, ‘peel back to vent,' but I found this really cool, free app for smartphones. It's a flashlight that uses the LED in your phone. It really works. It doesn't draw that much from your battery either, providing you only use it for a few minutes. I could load it onto your phone using the trading post Wi-Fi and save you data charges.”

Sam glanced at Jo and added, “You might want it, too, boss, since you're here late so much of the time.”

“Speaking for myself,” Leigh Ann said, “you've got yourself a deal. It sounds useful, and for free, well, you can't beat that.”

Sam downloaded the app and showed Jo and Leigh Ann how to use it as they all finished eating.

Once everyone was done Leigh Ann stood. “What do you say we do a bit of brainstorming while we rinse off dishes and get everything put away?” Leigh Ann asked. “I need some help figuring a few things out.”

“What's up?” Jo asked.

Leigh Ann told them what she'd found on Kurt's flash drive, the spreadsheet printouts, what she knew about his partners, and her missing rifle.

“I'm no detective, but if you'll let me look through that flash drive, I may be able to find any hidden or encrypted files. I'll work on it on my own time, of course,” Sam added, looking at Jo.

“Fine by me,” Jo said, “but Leigh Ann, why are you so sure Kurt's partners murdered him? You said the police checked the men's weapons and determined that the bullets fired from their rifles didn't match the one that killed your husband.”

“Here's what I think: They stole my rifle from the house prior to the murder, then used it to shoot Kurt. I know from the times I visited him there that he tended to leave his keys in his jacket or desk at work. Total Supply makes and sells copies of keys—the machine is in the back by the locks. Wayne or Pierre could have grabbed the keys while he was out of the office long enough to make a quick copy of the house key. All they had to do was wait until we were both out of the house, come in, and grab the weapon.”

“How would they have known where to look?” Sam asked.

“Easy. Gun owners tend to keep weapons close at hand in case of a break-in,” Melvin replied. “I'm guessing you don't have a gun safe, Leigh Ann?”

“No, I don't.”

“Okay, then bedrooms would be the logical places to look, in closets or under the bed. Rifles are too long to put in an ordinary drawer.”

“Makes sense,” Sam agreed.

Leigh Ann shrugged. “And that's where it was, under the bed. Right now, I'm guessing the only thing keeping me from being arrested is the fact that the rifle's still missing. They probably ditched it somewhere rather than risk getting caught with it. But if it turns up, even if there aren't any fingerprints on it, things are going to look bad for me. Let's face it, the police assume that I knew Kurt was cheating and embezzling money. In their eyes, I had a strong motive for shooting him.”

“If the partners still had access to the rifle, they'd have found a way to frame you with it by now. So let's focus on that money,” Ambrose suggested. “If Wayne and Pierre didn't get it back, which was why they kept asking you about Frank Jones, then where did it go?”

“You said that they denied that there was any missing money, so there's something else at play,” Sam said. “Clearly, they didn't want the cops taking a closer look at their books and personal finances. To me that suggests they figured that losing the cash was preferable to providing a motive for killing their partner.”

“Remember what my uncle said about Total Supply and those tribal contracts?” Melvin said.

“Of course,” Leigh Ann replied. “John suspects Pierre and Wayne might be paying kickbacks to tribal officials in exchange for inside information on contract bids. John was pretty sure that was why the company he works for kept getting undercut each time.”

“If that's true, little wonder Total Supply's trying to squelch any investigation,” Sam said. “But by continuing to ask questions, Leigh Ann, you've become a dangerous liability.”

“There's no turning back for me now. I can't be free of the past 'til I find answers and clear my name,” Leigh Ann said.

“I'll help you,” Sam said.

“So will the rest of us,” Jo said. “We've got your back.”

“And I'll have yours, too,” Leigh Ann said. Loyalty—it couldn't be bought, and that's what made it invincible.

*   *   *

After everyone helped clean up and wash the dishes in the big storeroom sinks, Leigh Ann said good night to Melvin. He'd be riding with Ambrose. Soon she and Rachel headed back home.

“Your job's secure and you work with a really nice bunch of people. I envy you,” Rachel said, balancing the box of dishes on her lap as Leigh Ann drove.

“They're terrific, that's true,” Leigh Ann answered. “But the trading post isn't exactly prospering. When Tom Stuart ran the place business was brisk, now not so much. Part of it could be the weak economy, but we've also been losing customers to the new superstore on Farmington's west side. Tourism is still down, too, maybe because of the recession, so our drop-in traffic has slowed.”

“Trading posts … Well, they do sound like a last-century type of thing. Maybe you need to modernize things, like setting up a coffee bar and Wi-Fi for the customers. You already have the store network.”