Page 9 of Smokescreen

“We’re happy to do anything we can to help,” Trick said.

Reid leaned back casually in his chair and steepled his hands in front of him. “As you know, I believe my ranch is being targeted—sabotaged, for that matter. I’ve been blacklisted from several different auctions, which seriously hinders my opportunities in the cattle market. One of my ranch hands is missing. And I have no idea what the motive is for these . . . theseevents. Someone clearly has it out for me. I need you two to figure out who is behind this before I lose my land or someone gets seriously hurt—or worse.”

“What’s happened here has been unfortunate,” Trick said.

“To say the least.” Reid’s voice remained casual, but his gaze looked preoccupied and heavy, as if recent events weighed on him.

“Tell us about your missing employee.” Olive had done her own research, but she wanted to hear what he had to say.

“Andy has been missing for two weeks now.” Reid slid a picture across his desk. “He was a ranch hand here, and he’s the one who was accused of injuring other livestock at the last auction.”

Olive picked up the photo and studied the image of the twenty-four-year-old with his shaggy brown hair and greenish-brown eyes. He wasn’t particularly handsome, not in a traditional sense, at least. His teeth were too crooked, his nose slightly too large, and his hair too unkept.

“Would he have injured livestock?” Trick asked.

“Never.” Reid’s voice left no room for doubt. “He isn’t a cruel person, and I definitely never asked him to do something like that. A man’s reputation means everything.”

Olive could appreciate that sentiment.

“Where was he the last time he was seen?” she asked. “What was he doing?”

“He went into town to pick up some supplies,” Reid said. “No one has seen him since.”

“His truck?” Trick asked.

“We found it on the side of the road between the ranch and the town.”

Olive wondered if that gun she’d seen those two men putting in Skip’s office had anything to do with Andy’s disappearance. She hadn’t heard about any other crimes happening in this part of the state recently.

“I’ll do everything I can to find out answers about his disappearance,” Trick assured him.

“I hope so.” Reid sat up straighter. “We’ve also had some minor incidents here at the ranch. Flat tires on my tractors. Our hay was contaminated with some kind of mold—thankfully we caught that before feeding it to the animals. One of our guys was doing some work in the barn when the ladder broke, and he fell and fractured a rib.”

Individually, those things might not seem like a big deal.

But put them together?

Something was going on. Something that could easily escalate.

“Trick, as we’ve discussed, the best place to put you here is working as a ranch hand,” Reid continued. “That way you’ll be able to overhear the gossip between the guys.”

“Gossiping cowboys? Seems like a paradox.” Olive flashed a quick grin.

“They’re worse than a bunch of schoolgirls with nothing but time on their hands.” Reid shook his head in disapproval.

“Good to know,” Trick said.

“We’ve hired four new ranch hands recently,” Reid continued. “Any of them could be responsible for the sabotage that’s taken place.”

“We’ll need their names so we can look into them,” Trick said.

“Be happy to provide that.” Reid turned toward Olive. “Your boss and I talked extensively about what your role should be. As I’m sure you know, we decided it would be best if you pretend to be my new girlfriend. It will be the perfect position for you to stay in the house and overhear the chatter among the staff here. Plus, it will give you access to my social circles.”

“So you believe the person behind this is someone close to you?” Olive questioned.

“It’s my best guess. But I don’t want to get tunnel vision either.” He paused. “Your agency comes to me highly recommended. I hear you’re the best.”

“We’re good at what we do,” Trick said. “If someone on your staff is behind this, then we’ll find them. If it’s not someone on your staff, we’ll still find them.”

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