Page 44 of Wyoming Bodyguard
Charlie kept a firm grip on Madden’s shirt, but his shoulders dropped as his initial anger leaked from his system. “What’s Daniel got to do with anything?”
Madden stared around Charlie to lock his gaze with hers. “You want to tell him, or should I?”
Charlie spun toward her. “What’s he talking about?”
Dread soured her stomach. As close as she was with the other ranch hand, Charlie was even closer. The two of them had spent countless hours side by side, working the land and helping her family keep their ranch afloat. “We found out last night Daniel’s a person of interest. Deputies are looking for him, and he’s nowhere to be found.”
Charlie stared at her as if her words hadn’t registered.
“Have you spoken with him since yesterday?” she asked. Maybe Charlie had information he hadn’t provided before because he didn’t want to get his friend in trouble. But now, Daniel was knee-deep in this mess whether he meant to be or not. Charlie might have knowledge that could help uncover the truth.
“No,” he said, averting his gaze.
Something about his hesitation had her narrowing her gaze. She was tired of secrets. “Charlie, I need you to be honest. If you know where Daniel is, tell me. If he’s innocent, then we can clear his name. But withholding anything right now won’t do anyone a lick of good.”
Blowing out a breath, Charlie raised his eyes to the sky before finally looking her way. “I’m not lying. I didn’t talk to him. But I drove by his place after I left here and saw him with a big duffel bag, climbing into his truck. He was gone before I got a chance to flag him down. I know that bag. It’s the one he always uses when going away for a few days.”
“Do you have any idea where he might have gone?” Madden asked. “Friends or family who’d take him in if he was in trouble?”
Charlie shook his head. “He ain’t got many people in his life. He doesn’t speak with his brother, and his parents have both passed.”
“No friends?” Lily asked, an overwhelming sadness pressing down on her at the thought of someone she assumed she knew so well being so lonely.
More hesitation.
“Charlie,” Madden said, gaining the ranch hand’s attention. “Right now, the sheriff’s department is only labeling him a person of interest and not a suspect. That could change if we find him and get to the bottom of things. Daniel’s name can be cleared, and the deputies can focus on other leads. You’d be helping everyone, not ratting out a friend.”
Charlie dropped his head and kicked at the ground with the toe of his boot. “I really don’t know where he went, but he’s been acting different since his mama passed away last year. Moody and distant. Lost weight. Things you’d expect when grieving a loved one. But then his behavior was more erratic, more unpredictable.”
Lily locked eyes with Madden, and it was clear he’d come to the same conclusion. Charlie was right, people often behaved differently when grieving, but what he’d described also pointed to someone with a drug problem. “Did you ever talk to my father about this?”
Charlie nodded. “Brought it up once or twice. Then I minded my own business. I didn’t want to bring any more trouble to Daniel’s door. He was having a tough time, but it never affected his work. If anything, he worked harder. Was here more than ever before.”
“Did he spend a lot of time in the barn alone the last week?” Madden asked.
“Of course,” Charlie spat out. “We both do. Not like we babysit each other when we’re getting our work done. Why does that matter?”
Lily pressed her hands to her stomach as if the motion could stop the sinking feeling. “Someone cut the cinch on my saddle.”
“What?” Charlie’s hound-dog eyes nearly popped from his head. “How’d you know it was cut?”
Madden snorted. “Was pretty easy to put the pieces together when her saddle slid off Queenie. Luckily, she wasn’t hurt too bad, but someone’s tampering with equipment. Someone who could go in unnoticed and knew how to handle the gear. And now, someone with the ability to vandalize the outside of the barn without detection has come onto the property.”
Red crept up Charlie’s neck until it engulfed his entire face. “Someone will pay for this, and if it’s Daniel, so help me God…”
She rested a reassuring hand on Charlie’s arm. “I know.”
That’s all she could say, because she understood the pain and confusion at suspecting someone she trusted being the one behind so much suffering and betrayal.
“We need to call the sheriff’s department,” Madden said. “They’ll take a look at the scene before we can clean it.”
Lily stared up at the threatening message as Madden fished out his phone and made the call. They had better get here soon. Her life was in danger, her world in turmoil and her property destroyed. She might not have control of the first two issues, but she’d scrub the stain off her barn if it killed her.
Chapter 17
After the deputies left Tremont Ranch, giving Lily permission to paint over the threat scrawled across the barn wall, Madden convinced her to head into town for a little breather. Something he needed as much as she did after the chaos of the morning. But instead of a relaxing cup of coffee to calm their nerves, he found himself and Lily at the hardware store, debating over dozens of different shades of the same damn paint color.
“Why are there so many different shades of red?” Lily asked, her mouth in an adorable pout.
