Page 78 of Cry Wolf

But Brett couldn’t jeopardize Olivia’s career to hide Dania. And knowing Olivia, if he asked her to keep just Hayley and her baby, Olivia would overdo it.

“Is there anything else you need?” Gabe growled.

“No. I’ll give BB a call. Thanks.” He clicked off.

He pulled into the nearly full parking lot at Wheeler Land Management. People were already gathering for today’s auction. The Wheelers must have some prime cattle lined up to sell.

Should he park close to the land management building or the auction house? He settled for a space between the two, where he had a good view of people coming and going to both.

As soon as he turned off the engine, he tapped the office number on his cell.

“Marshals’ Office.” BB always sounded chipper in the mornings.

“Hi, BB. It’s Brett. I was wondering if you could help me and look into a corporation named Blue Skies? I think they have something to do with Matthew Tyler’s murder.”

“I’d be happy to.”

He knew he could count on her. “There’s something else I need you to do. And I know you’re tremendously busy, so don’t feel obliged.”

“Spill it.”

“Please don’t think I’m taking advantage, even if I am, because you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

“Oh, good grief, what is it?” Her voice rose a bit.

“Would you go to Gran’s and let Jasper out? He’s been cooped up since last night.” He wasn’t concerned about sending her there should Matt’s killer return. BB had a black belt in karate and was an excellent shot. She could handle herself if the fingerless man reappeared, and sending her would solve two problems. She would check out the place to make sure no one had broken in, and she’d see that Jasper was fed and watered.

“Of course. I like Jasper. I’ll even bring him into the office. It’s a bit lonely here with everyone gone.”

Brett knew he could count on her. But could he count on her to do one more thing? “Also—”

“I had a feeling there was an ‘also.’ What is it?”

“Would you mind, while you’re checking into Blue Skies, also checking into a Merle Skinner? He used to own a ranch in the area, but Blue Skies may have forced him out.”

“Sure. Searching for Dania has dug up unresolved issues for you, hasn’t it?”

“Yes, it has.” Regret rippled over him. “I should have done more for her back then.”

“You did all you could.” BB’s kind words helped.

His life was more of an open book than he’d thought. “Well, I might find her if I try to catch Matt’s real killer.”

“If you haven’t already.” She said it quickly, briefly.

“What did you say?”

“Forget it. I’m just worried about you.”

BB knew darn well he would never forget she’d said it. This was her way of signaling to him that the long rope Gabe had given him might be shortened sooner rather than later and to be careful without her actually having to say the words.

She cleared her throat. “I’ll see what I can find out about Skinner.”

“Just poke around a little. Oh, and don’t forget Jasper. Thanks.” He ended the call.

Crud. If BB believed he might have already found Dania, then Gabe did too. And that could be why he’d just shown up at Gran’s last night. That made sense. But then, why didn’t he say so last night?

Brett couldn’t sit here and worry about what people knew.

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