Page 20 of Their Wicked Games

“He is.” The woman stood and frowned at them. “He’s not gotten himself into trouble, has he? I told my husband not to employ convicts, but he figures every man deserves a second chance.”

“They do.” Rio rested one hand on the butt of his pistol. “He’s not in trouble. We’re just trying to locate one of his friends, is all. Is there someplace we can speak to him in private?”

“Out front.” She lifted a section of the counter and walked through. “I’ll go and get him. You can wait outside. I don’t want him walking sawdust all through my office.”

They waited outside until she returned with a thick-set man in his mid-thirties. As he walked toward them, he removed his goggles and mask. He was covered from head to foot in wood dust. Rowley glanced at Rio. “We’d better keep this short. Dragon Lady will likely take the time out of his pay.”

Carl Harper had obviously being given instructions to take it outside and he led the way through the gate and turned around on the sidewalk to stare at them.

“Did you have to come to my place of work?” Harper balled his hands on his hips and paced around in circles. “Do you know how difficult it was to get a job?”

“I figure you got away easy, after stalking a man and then shooting him in the leg.” Rio straightened. “Or do you have a different sequence of events?”

“Man, I was given a court-appointed attorney who didn’t really care what I had to say.” Harper stopped pacing and glared at him. “The guy I shot just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, is all. He was wearing brown and green, which made him practically invisible. I was stalking a wolf in the forest but not him. He walked across my shot. I was aiming for the wolf, and the jerk ran up a slope right behind it. He alerted the wolf, which vanished, and the bolt caught him in the calf muscle. If I’d wanted to kill him, I’d have aimed for his heart or throat.” He shook his head. “Trust me, I don’t miss at that range.”

“Did you know him?” Rio glanced at Rowley and back to Harper.

“No, I’d never met him before in my life.” Harper looked from one to the other. “This isn’t about him though, is it? What have I been accused of doing this time?”

“We’re not accusing you of anything, Mr. Harper.” Rio stared nonchalantly into the distance before returning his attention back to him. “We’ve been speaking to your hunting buddies about a trip into Stanton Forest Sunday last.”

“Well, you can talk to them all you like, but I wasn’t in the forest last Sunday.” Harper folded his arms across his chest. Go speak to my neighbors. They came over and complained because I was making a noise. There was a leak in my roof and I was up there for all to see fixing it.”

“What time was this?” Rio made a few notes in his book. “For the record.”

“I don’t recall the exact time. Between nine and noon, I guess.” Harper glared at them with a disgusted expression on his face. “I haven’t seen my hunting buddies for a few weeks. The last time I saw either of them was down at the range. With the melt and all, it was so muddy down there, we gave it a miss.”

Rowley needed a piece of important information. “What type of bolts did you use the last time you hunted?”

“Twenty-inch carbon with LED nocks.” Harper snorted. “Anything fancier is too expensive for my budget. I use different types depending on the game or when I’m target shooting.”

Rowley kept his face emotionless. “Have you ever used an EVO-X CenterPunch premium carbon arrow?”

“Can’t say that I have but I’ve heard about it.” Harper narrowed his gaze on Rowley. “Have you?”

Watching Harper’s body language, Rowley nodded. “Just so happens I have, so you wouldn’t mind if we went by your residence and checked out your gear?”

“Go right ahead but you’d be wasting your time.” Harper slapped his gloves against his dust covered jeans. “Is that all?”

“Not quite. Have you been to the Devil’s Punch Bowl anytime in the last week or so?” Rio straightened. “The forest warden mentioned seeing three people carrying crossbows in that area.”

“Nope. Why would I want to go there? They don’t have a season for hunting hikers yet, do they?” Harper gave them a long stare and then snapped his fingers. “I heard tell of a hunting accident up that way. You figure I’m involved in that? I’m not. Now, if you’ve finished with me, I need to get back to work. They don’t like it when we take breaks.”

“Okay.” Rio handed him a card. “If you hear any gossip, give me a call.”

“Yeah, sure I will.” Harper turned on his heel and tossed the card into the woodpile inside the gate.

Rowley stared after him. “That went well.”

“He’s angry.” Rio headed back toward the truck. “Maybe he did the time but didn’t do the crime.”

NINETEEN

Jenna waited for Geoff Bannister, the bartender at the Cattleman’s Hotel, to walk to the end of the bar to serve them. He gave them a curious look as he came toward them. It wasn’t a place that Jenna usually entered wearing her sheriff’s department jacket. As he came closer, she placed her notebook on the bar and took out her pen. “Mr. Bannister?”

“Yeah, what’s the problem, Sheriff?” Bannister wiped down the bar moving his hand in circular motions ignoring a direct stare.

She glanced at Kane and raised an eyebrow. The body language of this man was very telling. He was hiding something for sure. “I’ll come straight to the point, Mr. Bannister. Were you in or around Stanton Forest on Sunday, in the vicinity of the Devil’s Punch Bowl?”

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