Page 43 of Silos and Sabotage

“You don’t?” Creston Bolander’s voice grew testy. “I think it’s pretty obvious.”

It is?Gage eyed him curiously, wondering if he was about to point a finger at his youngest son.

“Oh, come on,” Mr. Bolander exploded. “The guy has been sabotaging my business for years. His latest escapade with one of my grain trucks is nothing new. I’m very sorry, by the way, that you were nearly run off the road.”

“It wasn’t your fault, sir.” Gage appreciated the apology, though. It was classy.

“It happened under my watch.” Mr. Bolander’s mouth twisted. “You’d think with the measures I have in place to protect my company and employees, that we’d be better insulated from stuff like this. And do you know the worst part about it?”

Gage shook his head, still not sure who he was accusing.

“He crashedmytruck through one ofhisfences,” Mr. Bolander snarled. “So, even though this is all his doing, I’m having to foot the bill for the fence repairs.”

Ah.Since the official police report cited damage to a fence on Radcliffe Industries’ land, Gage perceived that Creston Bolander was holding the owner of his biggest competitor accountable — not only for the sabotaged truck but also for Mick’s death.

He decided to explore that theory with his next question. “Will you describe some of the measures you’ve put in place to protect you and your company from Radcliffe Industries?”

There was no hesitation on Mr. Bolander’s part. “A non-compete clause, for one thing.”

Gage waited for him to continue.

Mr. Bolander grunted. “I know the running joke in town is that coming to work for me is like working for the mafia, but Walker Radcliffe left me no choice. Everyone thinks he’s like a god, donating scads of money to the homeless, orphanages, battered women’s shelters, you name it. But before my attorneys added the non-compete clause to our employee contract, he was also using his money to lure my best employees away. The sign-on bonuses and pay raises he offered them to jump ship were downright ludicrous. He was trying to shut me down, and no one will convince me otherwise!”

That certainly explained the bad blood between the two families. “From what I understand, Mr. Radcliffe has the same clause in his employee contracts.” Gage was curious to see his reaction to that.

“A classic tit-for-tat move.” Mr. Bolander wagged a finger knowingly. “The man doesn’t have an original thought in his head. He begs, borrows, or steals all of my best ideas, repackages them, and calls them his own. If he didn’t have coffers of old family money at his disposal, he would’ve never made it in the granary business. My company has been outperforming his for years. The only customer contracts he’s ever beat me out of are the result of backstabbing and outright sabotage.”

“Those are strong words, Mr. Bolander.” Gage could practically feel the animosity rolling off of him.

Creston Bolander spread his hands. “My semi-truck didn’t drive itself off the road.”

It kind of did, but Gage knew what he meant. “Do you have any proof that Mr. Radcliffe was involved?” It didn’t matter how much the two men hated each other. Without proof, Mr. Bolander’s claims were going nowhere.

The aging rancher’s shoulders slumped. “That’s where you come in. I want you to get the evidence you need to prove, once and for all, that Radcliffe Industries has been going to criminal lengths for decades to harm my company. While you’re at it, I want you to help me prove that Walker Radcliffe ordered the hit on my son.”

Gage straightened in his seat. “That’s a tall order, sir.”

“One I’m confident you can handle, Ranger.” The faintest of twinkles entered Mr. Bolander’s gaze. “Not only do you want to catch Mick’s killer as badly as I do, you have the benefit of being an outsider. Someone who’s not steeped in small-town gossip and petty biases.” He stood, indicating their interview was coming to an end. “You’ll have full access to everything you need on my end, of course. My employees, my facilities, and my land. Here’s my cell number.” He pulled a business card out of the breast pocket of his dress shirt and held it out to Gage.

A feeling of awe swept over Gage as he accepted the business card. After being stonewalled at nearly every turn in his investigation into Mick’s murder, it felt like he was being handed a blank check to move forward. “Before we get started, sir, I have a few questions to ask you.”

Mr. Bolander’s shoulders tensed. “When I said I was giving you full license to do whatever it takes, I meant it, so ask away.”

Gage fired off his first question. “Did you know Billy Bob returned to town a couple of weeks ago?”

“Unfortunately.” Mr. Bolander sounded resigned. “He probably won’t stick around for long. He never does.”

It didn’t sound like he knew his youngest son had skipped town. “Next question.” Gage shot it off, not wanting to give the man too much time to think. “Who else knows that Mick Lawton was your son?”

Mr. Bolander briefly closed his eyes. “Officially? Only his mother, Betsy. Others suspected it, but they could never prove it.” He met Gage’s gaze unwaveringly. “There are no phone call records. No letters. Though she served as my master gardener for over fifty years, she hasn’t spoken a word to me since her retirement.”

“But people suspect the truth.” Gage was both appalled and fascinated by the ugly small-town secrets Mick’s death was forcing to the surface. “That alone could’ve put Mick in danger.” Mick’s true identity would’ve threatened the succession of Mr. Bolander’s estate. His other two sons might’ve objected to the idea of their father’s illegitimate son receiving some share of their forthcoming inheritance. His ex-wife might object, too.

“You think I don’t know that?” Mr. Bolander’s expression darkened. “That’s why I didn’t legitimize him. That way my own family wouldn’t view him as a threat. Everything was going fine until Mick started dating Avery. I’m telling you, there was murder in Walker Radcliffe’s eyes every time he looked at them together. As much as it pains me to say it, I was glad when Avery miscarried and divorced my son. If that makes me an awful person, then I’m an awful person. Because the moment those two kids went their separate ways, it took Mick out of Walker’s crosshairs.”

“What do you think put your son back in the crosshairs?” Gage agreed there were crosshairs in play. However, he wasn’t yet convinced that Mr. Bolander’s biggest corporate rival was the one holding the scope.

“Believe it or not, a rumor.” Mr. Bolander looked mildly sheepish.

---