Burnt River (26 page)

“I’ll never understand why you signed up. For John it made perfect sense, and Tyler didn’t really have much of a choice, but you never belonged over there.”

“I blame it on a total lack of imagination.” He pointed an unlit cigarette at Aiden. “The things I saw … It was not all right.”

Dylan’s dog barked and they both looked out the window. Another patrol car had pulled up. The officers chatted through their open windows.

Aiden looked at his watch. “The night shift has arrived.”

“I’ll be sure to bring them coffee in the morning.”

Aiden slid a piece of paper across the table. “This is the statement you gave to the officers at the scene. Is there anything you’d like to add to it?”

Dylan looked it over for a few seconds, his eyes barely glancing at the page. “No, it’s all there. Jessie stayed here last night so we were together all day. We were on the way to the ranch when we both got the same text from Tyler telling me to come to his house at sixteen hundred hours.”

“Was he usually so specific about the time?”

“No, that was a new one. I just figured he was going a bit commando. We’ve all been on edge because of what happened to John.”

“We found Jessie’s car out on Ethan’s property. Do you have anything to say about that?”

“She came to believe Ethan Green was her daddy and went to pay her respects. When I found her she was so drunk she could barely walk. Her mother wrote some bullshit about some hot springs in a journal so Jessie went to find them. She figured if they were real then all the other stuff her mother has been saying might be true as well. I don’t want to think what might have happened if I hadn’t shown up. Annie needs to stop spouting her bullshit.”

“You’re right that Annie needs to stop. They may have had an affair, but Ethan isn’t Jessie’s father. DNA doesn’t lie. The analysis from the crime scene came back this evening. Jessie and John couldn’t be Ethan’s children.”

“That’s really fucked up. Jessie believed it was true.” He fingered his phone. “I need to call her.”

“I’ve been trying, but she’s not picking up.”

“She’s pretty upset.”

“We all are. I’ve got a detective in the hospital and half the valley’s police force up here investigating crime scenes. Stuff like this doesn’t happen in Wilmington Creek.”

Dylan played with the lighter, but did not light the cigarette. “Macy Greeley? How is she?”

“They’re keeping her in the hospital tonight as a precaution.”

“I imagine her ears will be ringing for some time.”

“She’s okay. No concussion, but she has some bruising from the fall she took.”

“Tyler’s fallout shelter actually came in handy. Oh, the irony.”

“Did he talk to you about what he was doing out there? Aside from that particular project, he seemed fairly sane.”

“That’s because he was sane.” He shook his head. “I humored him. It was a pretty ambitious project for one guy and a backhoe, especially when you consider he was shipping out again soon. What happened, anyway? Did a gas tank explode or something?”

“It wasn’t an accident. We found a detonator beyond the fence line. It was set to manual. Detective Greeley saw Tyler. He was sitting in the front seat of his truck and appeared to be unconscious. His mouth was bound with duct tape. Given you’d received a text message asking you to come to the house, it seems probable that you and Jessie were meant to be there when it went off. What I want to know is why Ethan Green is targeting you and your friends.”

“You need to talk to Jessie.”

“How about you save me the time it takes to drive over there?”

“It’s not my story to tell.”

“You’re lucky I’m too tired to arrest your ass for obstruction.”

Dylan held out his arms, wrists facing upward, fists clenched. “I’ll go quietly. I’m too tired to resist.”

Aiden eased his chair back. “Are you sure Jessie is going to tell me what I need to know?”

“It’s about the only thing I am sure of.”

Aiden walked into the living room and looked around. “You stay out of trouble tonight. We’ve got two uniforms stationed out front. I don’t want you to take a shot at them if they come around back to check on things.”

Dylan tipped another can of beer into the empty pint glass. “I suggest you tell them not to come around back then.”

Aiden headed for the door. “Get some sleep. I’ll call you in the morning.”

*   *   *

Dylan’s dog let out a low growl, but stopped short of barking. Dylan shook himself awake. He was slumped down on the sofa with his rifle across his lap. His leg felt like it was on fire. He stretched it out in front of him. The pain was sobering. He focused in on it. He rubbed his eyes and glanced around the room. He stood up with difficulty and walked out onto the back porch, carrying his gun in one hand. His dog came along and stood beside him. There wasn’t much to see. The concrete porch was cool on his bare feet. He stepped out on the grass and walked along the length of the house.

His mother’s bedroom light was on. She’d opened the window. A slight breeze lifted the curtain fabric. At first he thought she might be talking in her sleep. Her voice was breathy and excited, rising and lowering in pitch and speed. He caught fragments, but they made no sense. She said,
I promise I’ll be there
more than once. He thought she might be on the phone to her sister in Boise. Last he heard, his aunt was pregnant with her third child, but still living on her own. She and Sarah hadn’t always gotten along. Dylan lit a cigarette and waited to hear more, but the conversation had ended. He went back inside. There was a missed call from Jessie on his cell phone, but she didn’t pick up when he returned the call. He tried Wade’s number and got hold of him on the first ring.

“Wade, it’s Dylan. How’s Jessie? I’ve got a missed call.”

“Far as I know, she’s sleeping.”

“You got cops keeping an eye on things?”

“There are a couple out front, plus Jeremy has some of our boys patrolling the grounds. You okay over there?”

“Aiden left a couple of hours ago.” He peeked out the front window. “There’s a patrol car parked out front.”

“Fucking Ethan Green. I always hated that asshole. Tyler and me, we had our differences, but I am sorry. No one deserves to go like that.”

Dylan found that he couldn’t speak.

“Dylan, you still there?”

“Yes.”

“I think you should come up here and stay with us for a bit until all this blows over. I’ve got a spare room.”

“I appreciate that.”

“You’re like family. Jessie needs you around. Would be good for Jeremy too.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. I’ve got my mom here. She needs me too.”

“Just so long as you’re looking after yourself.”

“I’m doing my best.”

“Well, I better get going. It’s going to be another long night.”

Dylan said goodnight and hung up. He’d slept for two hours. Anything could have happened. In the kitchen he prepared a fresh pot of coffee. He heard a door creak on its hinges and stepped out into the living room. The light in the hallway was on and the door to the spare bedroom was wide open. He picked up his gun and tucked it in the back of his jeans.

“Mom?”

He heard a loud thump and backed up against the wall. A closet door slid shut.

“Mom, is that you?”

Dylan reached for his gun at the same time his mother stepped out of the spare room. Her face was ragged from crying and she carried an empty suitcase. She stared up at him, her features fiercely lit by the overhead light. She pulled the headphones away from her ears. Her eyes were so alert she looked feverish.

“I’m going to my sister’s for a few days,” she said, bustling down the hallway toward her room. “I’m too scared to stay in this house another night.”

Dylan kept his gun pressed tight against the small of his back so she couldn’t see it. He took his finger off the trigger and closed his eyes for a second. His heart was pounding hard in his chest. He would say nothing that would keep her from going. She was right. She wasn’t safe in her own home. Seconds later he heard the clatter of metal hangers as she sifted through the clothes in her closet. The opening and shutting of dresser drawers soon followed. He couldn’t imagine her lasting long at her sister’s place in Boise, but she seemed to be packing like she was planning on going away for some time. He stood in the doorway and watched her move back and forth from suitcase to the dresser. She’d replaced her headphones and was singing. Her voice was the sweetest sound he’d heard in a long time.

21

Aiden stood at the end of Macy’s hospital bed with his hat in his hands. She’d been given a private room on the sixth floor, overlooking a rooftop courtyard. Morning sun cut through the haze. The Whitefish Range was visible in the distance.

“I’m happy to see that you’re still in one piece.”

Macy focused on a fixed point on the opposite wall. The headache wasn’t getting any better, but at least the dizziness had passed. “It was a close call.” She slipped out of the bed and nearly stumbled, her legs felt so weak. “We have to question everyone again. If Green is really responsible, someone around here must have been in contact with him.”

“We’ve already started. Anything you need?”

Macy turned away from Aiden. “The only thing I
need
is to get out of the hospital gown. Untie me.”

“Are you sure you’re well enough to leave?”

“One night in Collier County Hospital is more than adequate.” She grabbed her T-shirt off the back of a chair but stopped moving when she caught sight of the look on Aiden’s face. “What’s wrong? Haven’t you seen a woman in her underwear before?”

“It looks like someone took a few shots at you with a baseball bat.”

“It feels like it too. Nothing is broken though.” Macy tried to put on her shirt, but raising her arms hurt too much. “A little help.”

“They found the detonator out behind the garage. It was set to manual.”

“Meaning whoever it was saw me coming and decided to push the button anyway.”

“It looks that way. Your friend Ryan is pretty impressed with the hardware. Military. Very high-tech.”

“Candles were used to start the fire at Lindsay’s house. Our killer isn’t consistently high-tech.”

Aiden helped her into her trousers one leg at a time. “Maybe at Lindsay’s place he had to use what was on hand but Tyler’s murder was planned?”

“And we circle right back to motive again. Which is what exactly?”

“Tyler may have seen something. He was Lindsay’s only neighbor.”

“Then why not just shoot Tyler? An entire building was blown up. Doesn’t that seem like overkill to you? Have you checked out Dylan and Jessie’s story? I’m not imagining it, am I? They were there.”

“They drove up right after it went off. Tyler sent them a text earlier in the day saying he wanted them to meet him at the house at four. They arrived a few minutes later than planned.”

“I doubt Tyler sent that text. I’m guessing that Dylan and Jessie were supposed to be in the garage with Tyler when the bomb went off. We need to figure out why someone wants them dead.”

“I went to see Dylan late last night. According to the first responders, he lost it. Jessie managed to talk him down, but it was touch and go.”

“I remember that now. She impressed me. How’s Dylan doing?”

“Very calm. Almost too calm. He told me this felt normal to him.”

“That’s messed up.”

“We’ve got a unit watching his house. He’s got guns. They weren’t where I could see them, but I know they were there.”

“Did you ask him why he and his friends are being targeted?”

“He wouldn’t say anything. Told me it was Jessie’s story to tell.”

“Will she talk?”

“He says yes. I got a message as I was driving over here. She’s expecting us.”

“What about the search of Ethan’s property?”

“No sign of Ethan. Vandals have pretty much destroyed the place. Every window is broken. Drug paraphernalia, empty beer bottles, and blocked toilets. Looks like someone was using it as a meth lab at some point. No one has spent the night there in a long time.”

“You said his land was over a hundred acres? That’s a lot of places to hide.”

“Ray was true to his word. We had dog handlers, helicopters, and half of Flathead Valley’s finest out there searching the property. The only interesting thing we found was Jessie Dalton’s car.”

“What was she doing out there?”

“According to Dylan, she went to some hot springs where Annie and Ethan Green used to go. When he finally tracked her down she was so drunk she could barely walk.”

“All this time she thought Green was her father?”

“As far as I know she still does. We need to get over there and speak to her.”

“The DNA analysis came back?”

“Yes. Green’s profile is on the database. If he was any relation to John Dalton, his name would have come up in the report.”

*   *   *

Tara Dalton was waiting for them in front of the ranch house. She was sitting on the porch, wearing oversized cowboy boots and a rose-printed dress that was a few sizes too big. She half ran, half stumbled to the patrol car as Aiden pulled into a space between two pickup trucks. Hands on knees and playing at being out of breath, Tara informed them that her mother was in the tack room and that she was to take them to see her. She promptly grabbed them both by the hands and dragged them toward the stables.

“Mommy and Grandpa aren’t speaking.”

Aiden ruffled Tara’s hair. “You don’t need to worry. It will get better soon.”

Tara looked up at Macy. “Are you still sad about not being with your son?”

“A little, but it’s nice to see you again.”

“The lady that came to talk to me about Uncle John gave me sticker.” Tara pulled at a sticker shaped like a golden star. It was curling up around the edges. “She said I was very brave.”

“That’s because you were.”

“I think my mom needs a star.”

Tara let go of their hands and ran up to a chestnut mare with a black mane. Its big head was hanging out the low doors of the stables. Tara stood on a low stool so she could stroke its long nose. It responded by nuzzling at her dress. She giggled.