Page 77 of Dark Side of the River

“What did you hear?” Cooper asked.

“That he shot Oakley, almost killed Tilly when he wrecked his pickup, and now he might not ever walk again.”

Cooper shook his head. “News to me.” The way rumors traveled in this county truly amazed him. Then again, he suspected Deputy Ty Dodson had probably been spreading a few.

“Can’t say I’m surprised, knowing what I do about that family,” the bartender said. “Heard a private investigator out of Billings has been asking a lot of questions about Charlotte Stafford’s husband who disappeared.”

Cooper pretended he hadn’t heard that. “What kind of questions?”

“That maybe Dixon Malone never left here. At least not alive. Strange no one has seen or heard from him.”

Cooper sipped his beer. “Who’d care enough to hire a private detective?” he asked, scoffing.

“Dixon’s daughter from his first marriage.”

That was news. “I guess I never knew that he was married before.”

Eric nodded, looking pleased with himself to be sharing the news. “The PI’s asking everyone who has any kind of connection to the Staffords.”

From the kitchen the cook called, “Order up!” and the bartender went to get Cooper’s burger.

“Now it’s got people wondering about Charlotte’s first husband, the old guy, Rake Stafford, the one she had her kids with. People are questioning now if he really did die of natural causes.” Eric lifted a brow as he set down the burger before reaching under the bar for ketchup and mustard. “With her second husband missing and her first one dead and buried...might have to dig the old guy up and see just how natural his death was.”

“Sounds like a whole lot of speculation,” Cooper said. “And very little evidence of wrongdoing.”

“Maybe,” Eric said. “But if they find out that Dixon Malone never left the Stafford Ranch, well, kind of opens up a whole can of worms, doesn’t it?” He laughed at his own lame joke.

Fortunately, a patron down the bar called to Eric for another drink. Cooper devoured the burger, finished his beer and left. He’d heard the rumors for years. Everyone wanted to make Charlotte Stafford a killer. Or maybe they just wanted to see her knocked off her throne. The fact that she was so seldom seen, yet had so much power in the county without leaving her ranch, made her a target.

But now a PI was looking into her second husband’s disappearance. Sometimes where there was smoke, there really was fire. He certainly hoped not, though.

THESHERIFFMADEit official as soon as CJ came out of surgery. He found Charlotte in her son’s room, with two attorneys. She was on the phone when Stuart walked in. He could hear her making plans to have CJ flown to a facility that specialized in neck injuries.

He read CJ his rights over the objections of his mother and the attorneys.

“Oakley isn’t filing charges,” Charlotte said indignantly.

“Well, the county is, Mrs. Stafford,” Stuart told her. “It was a shooting. Your son fired at his sister and hit her. I’m sure your lawyers will be talking to the prosecutor. Meanwhile, I’m just doing my job. It’s the law.”

She huffed and turned her back to return to her phone call. Her attorney started to argue, and Stuart held up his hand. “I’ll let your lawyers fight it out.” With that, he walked out.

CJ would probably never get more than a slap on his wrist. If his mother had anything to do with it, her son wouldn’t even spend a minute behind bars. CJ wasn’t talking on the advice of his attorneys. But according to Tilly, CJ told her that he’d fired a warning shot when he’d caught Oakley on McKenna property, thinking she was meeting up with one of the McKenna boys after he’d warned her to stay away from them.

Unfortunately, it sounded like something the trigger-happy CJ Stafford might do. That he might never have to pay for what he’d done wouldn’t sit well, especially with Cooper. But his friend had lived in this county long enough that he should know that Charlotte Stafford got what she wanted. It was no secret that she would move heaven and earth to protect her eldest son.

As Stuart was leaving the hospital, he saw Cooper drive up. He walked over to his friend’s pickup as Cooper put down his window. “How do you feel about getting a beer? I picked up a six-pack on my way here.”

“You know, I really could use one.”

“Your new deputy’s down at the bar, so let’s not go there.”

Stuart saw that gleam in Cooper’s eyes that he’d missed seeing for a long time. “You weren’t suggesting the fire tower?”

Cooper grinned. “Got to admit it did cross my mind. It’s been a long time.”

“Too long.”

“Hop in.”

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