Page 53 of Luke

“Alright.”

Mick hung up and tossed the phone onto his desk. “Doesn’t matter if you have a man or not, Bryce. He can’t protect you.”

As he sat at the desk, his phone buzzed again, and he saw Craig’s number again.

“What?”

“He just went into an office building. He took the elevator and stopped on the third floor.”

“Find out what’s up there.”

“Alright. I wanted to make sure first.”

“You find out all you can about him first.”

“Yes, sir.” Craig hung up.

****

Luke strode into his office and took a seat at his desk. He turned on his computer and began searching for information on the trailer tracks. Unexpectedly, Creed plopped down in the chair across from him and handed over a folder.

“What’s this?” Luke asked as he flipped through the documents.

“It’s info on Frederick Hancock, Jr. He’s in too deep to get out.”

“In too deep with what?”

“Gambling debts. He’s buried in them.”

“I see.” Luke skimmed through the papers and let out a low whistle. “Damn. Looks like he owes a lot of money.”

“Yep. I think he might have something to do with the missing Shires. Figure if he had them stolen, he could sell them off to pay his debts. Horses like those can fetch a pretty penny. You know as well as I do, that one can be worth up to twenty thousand dollars, and there were fifteen taken.” Creed shook his head.

Luke raised an eyebrow. “Mr. Hancock also has cancer. I don’t know how severe it is, but if his son knows about it...”

Creed straightened up in his chair. “You’d think his son would know, but with all that debt, he couldn’t wait for an inheritance.” He shrugged. “My guess is that he had the horses stolen so he could sell them.”

“I agree.” Luke examined one of the papers again. “I think I’ll take a trip to Whitefish and have a chat with Frederick Hancock, Jr.”

Creed stood up. “He also has an ex-wife, who might have something to say about the man. Her number is in the file, but you better touch base with Dave first though. We’re not expecting any snow, but you know how quickly things can change.”

“I’ll do that now.” Luke headed toward Dave’s office and knocked on the door. Dave motioned for him to come in, andLuke explained the situation regarding the Hancock case. A few minutes later, Luke returned to his desk and arranged for a trip to Whitefish. He knew he’d have to inform Bryce later, but for now, he wanted to speak with Mr. Hancock.

As he left his office and walked toward the elevator, he entered Maggie Hancock’s number into his phone. He wanted to speak to her as soon as he could. He pushed the button for the elevator, and waited for it to arrive. Once the doors opened, he stepped inside and nodded at the man already in there before leaning against the wall folding his arms.

“Is this where the police station is?” the man asked him as he nodded at Luke’s holstered gun.

“No, sir. This is the livestock agency. The police department is a few blocks down Main Street, out the front doors, to the left, and the sheriff’s office is in the courthouse on the square. You can easily walk to either.”

“Oh, thanks. I’ll do that. It’s a nice day other than being cold. I got turned around somewhere.”

Luke nodded. “No problem.”

When the doors opened, the man stepped at, and Luke followed behind him. Once outside, the man headed in the opposite direction of what Luke had told him. He frowned as he watched him. Something didn’t sit right with him and when the man looked back over his shoulder, Luke was sure his gut was right, but he also knew the man could have changed his mind about walking and was heading for his car. Luke shrugged. Right now, it wasn’t a priority. Mr. Hancock was. Luke tried calling Maggie Hancock but had to leave a message, and he hoped she’d return his call.

He pulled his car up next to the porch and got out. Crossing the porch, he knocked on the door. Mr. Hancock greeted him with a warm smile, prompting Luke to remove his hat.

“Hello, Agent McCallister,” he said. “Come in, son.”

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