Page 44 of Lawless Ride

“Like wrongful arrest, Sheriff? Is that what you’re saying?”

Patty was pissed at me, and I let it slide. Shit happens. Tanya screwed up other people’s lives with her cheating ways and karma bit her in the ass. She was a suspect and she made herself look that way screwing around with Tory Masters. Wasn’t me.

The snarky sister, Patty, had come to stay with her while Tanya got over the worst of it. They looked a lot alike, but Patty was a few years younger and a lot prettier than Tanya.

Harlan and I did a thorough search of Floyd’s home office and didn’t find much of anything. Harlan had taken pictures from every angle before the body was moved and we had the photographs to fall back on if nothing else.

Even if the office was full of prints, they wouldn’t be of much help. All our suspects were employees or relatives and couldhave been in Boyd’s office at one time or another and it wouldn’t prove anything. We moved on.

Ray Dangerfield was next up.

Boyd Construction Site. Shelby.

After calling the secretary at Boyd Construction and finding out where Ray Dangerfield was working, I drove to that address to bring him in.

The pickup bearing the Boyd Construction logo was parked in the driveway of a split-level house telling us we had the right address.

From the front, the house appeared to be empty. Maybe the residents had moved in with relatives while the renovations were going on. Anything was possible.

With no physical evidence to support Dangerfield’s arrest, I had to bring him in on suspicion of murder and hope he slipped up and gave me something I could use against him. Best to Mirandize him right off the bat.

Ray being the only other person who knew about the types of poison Josie had threatened her husband with, wasn’t enough to convict him of two murders.

We entered from the side door and followed the sounds of the electric drill. Ray was working alone with headphones on, and he was startled a little when he saw us coming towards him. He yanked the headphones off and gave me a nod.

“I’d like you to come with us to the station, Ray. I’m bringing you in on suspicion of murder.”

Ray smiled and it wasn’t a friendly smile at all. “Know what, Sheriff? You’ve got no evidence against me, or you would’ve pulled me in long before this. I ain’t going anywhere with you and your kid. Get out of here and let me get my work done.”

“Can’t do that, Ray.” I reached for my cuffs and while I was unhooking them from my belt, Ray took a hefty swing, crackedme in the jaw and knocked me backwards. My head hit the wall behind me with a thump, but I managed to stay on my feet. Hard head.

Wham.

Ray was looking up from the floor and Harlan had him in a choke hold.

“Roll him over.”

Harlan rolled Ray over onto his belly, stuck a knee in his back and I handed him my cuffs. Instinctively, I rubbed my jaw. By the feel of it, I was going to have a helluva sore face.

Ray gave us a dose of foul language and more trouble on the way to the squad. He fought against Harlan pushing him forward, but Max and Sarge helped us out with that. Ray seemed to be more afraid of the dogs than he was of us.

With a bit of extra effort, we got Ray secured in the back of the Bronco and I put both dogs in with him. There wasn’t anywhere he could go with Max on one side and Sarge on the other.

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek.

While I leaned on the wall watching in case anything else erupted, Harlan booked Ray Dangerfield, printed him, took his mug shot and entered him into the system.

“I want my phone call.” Ray was snarly and ready to fight for his freedom. He’d make a run for it if I took my eyes off him for a second. I wasn’t going to give him that chance.

“Sure, that’s your right. As soon as Harlan is done with you, you can make your call from the phone in the squad room.”

Harlan finished the prints and Ray wiped his hands on a paper towel to get the ink off.

“All done,” said Harlan.

“Come on, Ray.” I escorted him to the squad room and pointed at an empty desk. “Sit there and make your call.”

I listened to him talk to an attorney, then locked him up in the run. With Ray out of the way, I dictated the arrest report to Molly.

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