Page 75 of Smokescreen

Olive studied the image. “I agree. That very well could be him.”

“Should we tell the police?” Tevin asked.

“Not yet.” Reid shook his head stiffly.

“Do you not trust them?” Trick said.

“It’s not that I don’t trust Sheriff Freeman. He seems decent enough. He’s one of the originals around here—his family goes back generations.”

“So why the hesitation?” she asked.

“I want to see this area for myself first. We tend to handle things on our own in a place like this. Plus, there’s a good chance if those guys suspect you saw the body that they moved it, especially if they had anything to do with what happened.”

Olive nibbled on the inside of her mouth before asking Tevin, “The men who did this to you . . . was one of them tall and the other short and stout?”

Tevin shrugged. “It all happened so fast it’s hard to say. But maybe.”

Trick jerked his head toward her. “You think those two guys from the livestock auction are the ones behind this?”

“I think it’s a good possibility. Especially since I know one of them was in town.”

“Makes sense.” Trick nodded slowly, thoughtfully. “Makes me want to get my hands on them and . . .”

He didn’t finish.

Just what were those men up to? How were they involved in all of this? And what was that gun they’d deposited in Skip Carson’s office used for?

They decided Tevin would stay at the house tonight. Hannah had already made up a spare bedroom for him, and he’d gone to lie down. Olive had talked to Tevin alone for a few minutes to make sure he was okay. He seemed to be.

She came back downstairs and found Reid in his office.

She stepped inside. “Can I have a moment of your time?”

His eyes wrinkled at the sides. “Of course. Have a seat.”

Olive shut the door and paused, drawing in a breath before starting. She couldn’t put off this conversation any longer. “Listen, when I was up in the attic, I browsed around. It was clear someone had been up there recently. I could tell from the scuff marks in the dust on the floor where someone had walked.”

“Okay.” Reid narrowed his eyes as if curious where Olive was going with this.

“One of the boxes contained some legal documents, probably left there by your parents. There were some tax returns inside and other papers like that.” She paused and swallowed hard. “There was also a copy of your father’s will in that box.”

Reid twisted his neck. “Really? I keep a copy of the will in my safe here in my office.” He nodded at the big metal box on the bookshelf.

“I thought it was strange that the documents were upstairs in a box instead of in a secure location. But they were there.”

“My parents were still old school, so I suppose there’s a chance they kept some old paperwork up there.” Reid paused again and narrowed his eyes. “Where are you going with this, Olive?”

She swallowed hard. “Reid . . . this copy of your dad’s will . . . it looked just like the copy Lucy had.”

He balked. “That’s not possible.”

“But it is. In this version of the will, Lucy was given a part of this estate.”

“Then someone planted that will!” Reid’s nostrils flared, but he otherwise kept his emotions in check. “I’m telling you the truth when I say my dad would never do that. This property meant too much to him. He and Lucy were never close, nor were they blood related.”

“Where does Lucy live now?” Obviously, Mitzi had looked into it and would know. But Olive wasn’t sure.

“Last I heard she was in Seattle. She does some modeling gigs, though she hasn’t been too successful. Still, she likes to claim that title.”

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