Page 55 of Texas-Sized Secrets

“Ready to go?” he asked.

She sucked in a deep breath and let it out before she turned a brilliant smile on him. “Yes. I’m ready.” Her voice shook, but she turned a confident expression toward Wayne. “Thanks. I’ll expect that estimate tomorrow.”

As the truck pulled out of the gravel parking area, Wayne stood by the door. Watching.

Mona waved through the rolled-up window. “What did you find?” she said through her smile.

Reed gunned the accelerator, sending the truck shooting out onto the highway. “Les didn’t call in sick.”

Her gaze shot to Reed’s profile. “What do you mean?”

“He was hiding in back of the shop.”

“Why?”

His jaw tight, Reed stared over at the woman beside him. “Probably had something to do with the bandage on his hand.”

Mona’s deep-brown gaze locked with his. “You think he was the one bitten by the dog?”

Reed nodded.

“Finally!” She clapped her hands together, her smile lighting the interior of the cab. “We have proof. Let’s go to the sheriff with this information. He can arrest them and be done with it.” Her head swung around as they passed the sheriff’s office without slowing. “Why didn’t you stop? Pull over.”

“Think about it, Mona. Do you really believe Wayne and Les have the intelligence and wherewithal to pull off this big of an operation?”

“They might not be the sharpest individuals Prairie Rock has to offer but, for now, they’re the only ones we know are involved in the rustling.”

“Someone with more influence and financial support has to be leading this effort. Until we find him, arresting Les and Wayne at this time won’t catch whoever is responsible.”

Her forehead creasing in a frown, Mona leaned back against the seat. “You think it’s a bigger operation?”

“Yeah. Who would have a tractor-trailer rig available to haul the cattle to market? Les and Wayne?” Reed shook his head.

The electronic tone of Mona’s cell phone sounded over the truck’s engine noise. She pulled it from her pocket. “Fernando?”

Reed slowed the vehicle, sliding over to the side of the road.

Mona’s brows furrowed. “You sure they’re not lost in the canyon?” Her gaze shot up to Reed’s, her lips firming into a tight line. “Okay. Thanks for trying.” She clicked the phone shut and stared ahead at the streets of Prairie Rock. “Not all the cattle escaped. Fernando and some of my uncle’s ranch hands rounded up what they could find. Fifteen of the steers are still missing.”

Reed shifted into drive and swung the truck back toward the center of town. He pulled into the county library and turned the key in the ignition, the engine noise stilled.

“Why are we here?” As she stared at the brick exterior of the tiny library, Mona’s brows furrowed.

“We need access to the Internet.” Reed climbed down from the truck and rounded to the passenger side. “We haven’t looked at the locations of all the cattle since before the storm. Perhaps now we should.”

Mona was already on the ground and headed for the library, her narrow hips twitching from side to side in the oversize shirt she wore.

Reed had never met a woman as stubbornly determined as Mona Grainger. As he trailed behind her into the cool interior of the small building, a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Once inside, Mona sat at the computer. “Did you happen to bring the GPS numbers?”

He pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to her.

Within seconds, she had the tracking site up and the first cow located. As expected, it was situated somewhere on the property adjacent to Rancho Linda. The same story held true for the next four numbers. On the fifth, however, the computer zoomed in on a position far from the Rancho Linda. Closer to Amarillo.

“What do you want to bet that steer didn’t walk all the way to Amarillo?”

Reed tapped her on the shoulder. “Let me.” When she got up, he took the seat and narrowed their search to a street address. “Let’s go see what we can find out about the delivery driver.”

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