Page 19 of Their Wicked Games

Lifting Cooper high into the air, Rowley smiled as his son giggled. “I’ll help you get them into the truck and then I gotta go. We’re interviewing suspects.” He settled the wiggling little boy into his car seat and clicked the harness.

“Okay.” Sandy kissed his cheek. “See you tonight. Don’t forget to eat lunch.”

Catching Rio’s eyeroll, Rowley straightened. His ears growing hot. He ignored Rio and waited for Sandy to secure Vannah. When she slid behind the wheel, he leaned in the truck’s window. “See you tonight. Love you.” He waited for Sandy to drive away and turned to Rio. “I know you have a thing about Emily Wolfe, and probably even considered marrying her sometime, but marriage is more than the sexual attraction that you have now. Having someone who really cares for your wellbeing is really special.”

“That’s why I like Emily.” Rio shrugged. “She doesn’t try to mother me. I’d find it embarrassing if my wife told me to make sure I ate in front of my work colleagues.”

Shaking his head, Rowley stared at him. “Then you shouldn’t marry her because the relationship you’re having right now sounds more like a business partnership. Trust me, you’ll need a stronger bond than that to make it through the first year.”

“What do you mean by that?” Rio glared at him, hands on hips.

Chuckling, Rowley sighed. “Marriage isn’t business as usual. It’s a life changer. Every minute you have to consider the other person and what your actions might do to upset the balance. When kids come along, you suddenly have to share them, their time and affection. It’s all about give and take. It also means you need to care so much you’d willingly die for them. If you can’t give that kind of commitment to somebody, then you should look for the person that you can.” He headed into the general store and walked up to the counter. A man in his mid-twenties came to serve him and Rowley smiled. “I’m looking for Lonnie Barlow, is he working today?”

“I’m Lonnie Barlow. What can I do for you, Deputy?” He pressed two hands down on the counter and gave him a puzzled expression.

Slowly pulling out his notebook, Rowley heard Rio coming up behind him and caught the troubled expression in Barlow’s eyes at the sight of him. He clicked the top of his pen. “We’re chasing down three people with crossbows sighted in the forest near the Devil’s Punch Bowl on Sunday morning. You hunt with a crossbow and are part of a crossbow competition team, so you’re on our list.”

“I see.” Barlow frowned. “I’m not the only person on a crossbow team, or the only shooter. I meet many at the range. I’ve seen you there as well. Are you part of the investigation too?”

Rowley shook his head. “No, I’m not and I’ve seen you around, but we’re hunting down teams of marksmen.”

“Ah, I see. There are only two championship teams in town and we all know each other. It’s friendly rivalry. Our team is sponsored by one company and there’s another, is all. The rivalry is within the teams as we compete against each other… we all do.” Barlow shrugged. “What exactly have these three people done? I wouldn’t be comfortable giving you their names if it causes a problem.”

“Oh, we have the names of the people in the teams you’ve mentioned. This is probably some other team and we just need to talk to them, is all.” Rio stared into the glass counter as if perusing the stock.

“Yeah, well it just happens I was in the forest on Sunday morning hunting wild turkey, but not near the Devil’s Punch Bowl. That area is designated for hikers.” Barlow shrugged. “I did hear tell there was a hunting accident, which I find hard to believe because most people who live in these parts follow the rules. I’d suggest you look for unlicensed outsiders, because they cause trouble for every hunter in the county.”

After speaking to the forest warden at the scene of the crime, Rowley was already aware of that fact. “Where exactly did you hunt on Sunday?”

“Near Bear Peak. I was with a few buddies from the crossbow club. We checked in with the forest warden station around six-thirty, again around eleven to have my tags checked, and I was home before twelve.” Barlow shrugged. “I didn’t see anyone else with a crossbow. The few people I did see had rifles and everyone was doing the right thing.”

Nodding, Rowley made a note of the times. He could easily check who was with him with the forest warden station at Bear Peak, and Barlow would know this, so he believed him. He glanced up from his notebook. “Did you bag any turkeys?”

“Yeah, the legal limit.” Barlow narrowed his gaze. “You’re welcome to come and look in my freezer, if you have a problem with that?”

“Nah, we’re good.” Rio raised one dark eyebrow at Rowley. “I figure we’re done here. Thanks for your time.”

Rowley stared after Rio as he strode out the store. He turned back to Barlow and took a card out of his pocket and handed it to him. “If you hear anything or see any rogue crossbow shooters, can you give me a call? That was an accident in the forest, and we need to find the people responsible. I’ll keep your name out of it if you call me with information.”

“Okay, sure.” Barlow pushed a card into his top pocket.

Outside, Rio was leaning up against his truck with his arms folded across his chest. Rowley went up to him. “What’s caught in your craw?”

“Nothing.” Rio blew out a long breath. “He’s not one of the killers. We have time to go and see Carl Harper before we eat. How far away is the lumberyard?”

Climbing into the passenger seat, Rowley waited for Rio to slip behind the wheel. He preferred to be driving his own truck, but it was his turn to ride shotgun. “It’s next to the recycling yard.” He busied himself with his notes on the next suspect. “Head down Main and I’ll direct you.”

“I know the way.” Rio backed out onto Main. “I have the map of the town in my head.”

Laughing, Rowley looked up at him. “Wow! You have a built in GPS. Cool. Then you have details of everything in that head of yours. I can’t imagine how good it would be to have a retentive memory like yours.” He closed his notebook. “Save me the time and give me the rundown on Carl Harper.”

“He did time in jail after a hunting accident in Blackwater. A Blackwater local accused him of stalking him in the forest.” Rio headed down Main. “At the time, the victim was in fear of his life and called for assistance. Before help arrived, Harper shot him in the leg with a crossbow bolt. The Blackwater sheriff arrested him and he did three months for aggravated assault.” He flicked a gaze at Rowley. “That’s the MO of one of the forest shooters, so we need to be careful with this suspect.”

Rubbing his chin, Rowley nodded. “He won’t have his crossbow at work, so we’ll be safe enough and I doubt he’ll be armed.” He grabbed a statement book as they parked outside the lumberyard. “You take the lead as you know all about this guy.”

Walking into the lumberyard brought back a flood of memories for Rowley. The smell of freshly sawn wood, the ever-present dust in the air reached them as they walked through huge metal doors. Inside, the sound of machinery was deafening. On one side under afor salesign sat a row of sacks overflowing with wood shavings. As a kid, he would come here to collect the wood shavings to use as kindling. At that time they were offered free and he used to take a sack to the pile and help himself, like most people in town with wood stoves. Things were sure different now. Under the huge saws cutting the lumber, a conveyer belt took away the sawdust and dumped it into a container. From there it was sent to the particle board factory on the other side of town. Any branches and leaves were put through the woodchipper and used on people’s gardens. Every part of the tree was used.

Men wearing helmets, goggles, masks, and gloves moved around under a sign that stated that visitors to the work area were strictly prohibited. Rowley recalled standing beside some of the great saws, watching as the giant logs slipped through. How times had changed. He followed Rio into the office and went to the counter. A woman sitting behind a computer screen looked up at him expectantly. “Is Carl Harper working today?”

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