Page 21 of River Justice

“I’m a light sleeper. He didn’t leave the ranch.”

“You and Brand Stafford?” The sheriff cocked his head at her. “What exactly is your relationship?”

“We just met this morning. I was having a look around the ranch when he finally woke up and saw me. He’d just come from the shower. Hadn’t even taken the time to get dressed.” She smiled. “I introduced myself, and we realized how much we had in common.”

“When you followed him last night, you’d never met?” She shook her head. “But you stayed in the house last night.”

“In the bedroom next to his. It was empty.” She shrugged.

“You broke in?”

“The door was open.”

“You don’t have a romantic relationship with him?”

“I’m trying to find evidence to prove that Charlotte Stafford killed my father. I don’t plan to stop until I see her behind bars with her son CJ. I figure one of the Staffords knows something, so I’m trying to get as close to the family as I can.”

Stuart leaned back, shaking his head. “I would think you wouldn’t have much good to say about the Staffords. Why would you give Brand an alibi?”

“Because I know where he was during the time the person went missing.” She studied him, eyes narrowing. “Why would you think Brand had anything to do with your missing person case in the first place?”

The sheriff didn’t answer. “You say you followed him home. Did he make any stops?”

“You mean the friend driving him home? Just one. They stopped at the McKenna mailbox. It looked like they put something inside and left.”

“Did you see anyone else around the McKenna Ranch mailbox?”

She seemed surprised by the question. The sheriff saw her start to say no, then change her mind. “I did see something. Tell me who’s missing.”

Stuart knew that there was no keeping a lid on this. Also, as strange as it seemed, Birdie Malone might be the key to finding Holly Jo. He had to take the chance. “Holly Jo Robinson, a thirteen-year-old ward of Holden McKenna’s, was last seen headed for the county road to the bus for a half day at school. But when the bus driver got to her pickup spot, she wasn’t there. We have reason to believe that she’s been kidnapped. Do you know anything about that?”

Birdie sat back, clearly surprised. “You asked about the mailbox. I saw another vehicle ahead of Brand’s friends. A vehicle stopped at that mailbox before Brand Stafford’s pickup reached it. I’d pulled off on the top of the hill to let the two pickups get a little ahead of me. I knew where they were headed, so I didn’t need to follow so closely.”

“Another vehicle? Can you describe it?”

“I wouldn’t have been able to, except that I saw it again later. It was a light-colored pickup, probably white, with a small, darker-colored camper on the back, maybe a burgundy red? I didn’t think much about it when the driver made a quick stop at the McKenna mailbox and took off fast. Then I saw the rig as I turned in to the Stafford Ranch. The moon was full. The pickup and camper had pulled off the road in a wide spot next to the river and cottonwoods just past the Stafford Ranch turnoff.”

“License plate?”

She shook her head. “Too far away. I wouldn’t even have noticed it except that it was two thirty in the morning. At the time, I thought it was someone looking for a place to camp.” Her keen gaze narrowed again. “I didn’t even think it was strange that they stopped to put something in the mailbox. But now that I know about the kidnapping... They left the ransom note in the mailbox, didn’t they? What did Brand drop off?”

“You’d have to ask him. Can you think of anything else about the pickup and camper that might help us find it?”

“I’m sorry, but if I see it again, I think I’ll recognize it.”

BRANDHADEXPECTEDto see his mother, but only the family lawyer came into the cell block. “What’s going on?” he demanded of Ian Drake, who shook his head and motioned him over to the bars, even though the other two cells were empty. It was just the two of them.

“Tell me about what happened at the café,” Ian said.

“It was silly. I asked why I was being hauled in for questioning, and the deputy started grabbing me.” He groaned. “The next thing I knew, I was in cuffs, and Deputy Dodson was telling me he was arresting me for resisting arrest and assaulting an officer of the law.”

“Those charges won’t hold,” the lawyer said.

“So why am I still here?”

“Holly Jo Robinson, the ward of Holden McKenna, is believed to have been kidnapped. They think you might know something about it.”

“What?” Brand cried. “Why would I? I don’t even know her. On my mother’s life, I swear I didn’t do anything.”

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