Wyoming True - Diana Palmer Page 0,45

supply some interesting information about the bearer,” Jake noted.

“Yes, it might.”

* * *

CODY DROVE UP just as Ida was coming out of her bedroom. “I’m packing, but I needed to know how much to bring.”

“Enough for a few days. Sit down,” he told her gently, because she was limping again. There was a loud knock at the front door. “I’ll get it,” Jake told her.

She tensed. “What if it’s one of Bailey’s thugs?” she worried.

“It’s the sheriff. I just phoned him.”

“Why?”

“Wait and see.” He opened the door.

Cody Banks came in with a tall, broad-shouldered man with silver-blond hair and cold gray eyes.

“This is Dirk Coleman.” He introduced the other man. “I stole him from the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office down in San Antonio, Texas. Jake McGuire and Ida Merridan.”

Dirk nodded. His eyes went to the blood trail. He moved forward and went on one knee, intent on the evidence. He pulled out a blood collection kit.

While the investigator went about his task, Cody asked more questions, some he hadn’t thought to ask before. One was about the other cowboys who worked for her.

“Just two part-timers,” she said. “I only have a handful of horses, and they take good care of Silver and Gold and Rory and the other four. They’re almost like family. They’ve been here since my first husband bought the family ranch back and renovated it. He thought I’d like to spend some of my holidays here, and I did.”

“The palominos have been here for a while?” Cody asked.

She nodded. “About two years.” She grimaced. “Gold’s much better.” Her eyes sought Cody’s. “You don’t think Bailey might send somebody over to Mr. Colter’s to hurt her and Silver...?”

“If they did, and they ran into J.C. Calhoun, they’d be running for the border in no time,” Cody said flatly.

“I know J.C.,” Jake said. “We were in separate units in Iraq. He was a hell of a soldier.”

“Not a bad merc, either,” Dirk Coleman said without looking up.

“You know him?” Cody asked.

He nodded.

“And you’d know this, how?” Cody asked with faint suspicion.

“Oh, gossip.”

Cody didn’t add anything to that. His new investigator was very closemouthed. A good detective, but with a mysterious background. He never spoke of it, and his records only went back a good seven years. Before that it was difficult to find even a trace of him. It had puzzled Cody, but he was so desperate for help that he hadn’t paid much attention to the omission. After all, if the sheriff in Bexar County had recommended the man, and he was working for them, they’d have done an exhaustive background check on him.

“Did you talk to Ida’s lawyer?” Jake asked Cody.

“Yes.” He sighed. “Ida, he’s a really nice guy, and he has your best interests at heart, but he’s a civil attorney. He’s not really up on mob contacts and what they can mean in a situation like this.”

“Damned straight,” Dirk muttered as he finished collecting trace evidence. He bagged it and put his cell phone away—he’d been using it to collect visual evidence of the blood smear and the blood trail. He stood up. “I’d like to come back in the morning and talk to your part-timers,” he said. “Just to cover all the bases,” he added when she looked worried.

“You won’t, well, make them feel as if they’re under suspicion or anything?” she asked. “They’re such good men.”

Dirk cocked his head and looked down at her. Even with red eyes, she was beautiful. “I won’t make waves. But we need to know if there’s any connection. One of them might have a relative or a friend who’d do something for your ex-husband.”

“Oh, I see,” she returned, nodding.

He smiled. His gray eyes sparkled. He was very good-looking. “If your ex-husband was behind this, we’ll find out. And he’ll be very sorry that we did.”

She relaxed and smiled back. “Okay. Thanks.”

Jake moved closer and took her hand gently in his. “Yes. Thanks very much,” he added pleasantly, but his pale gray eyes, just a shade lighter than the investigator’s, were throwing off sparks.

Dirk laughed inwardly, wished them both a good night and went back out to the car with the evidence.

“He’ll get the blood to the state crime lab office,” Cody told them. “I’m almost certain there’s enough to get DNA from. I’ll let you both know when we get the results.”

“Thanks so much,” Ida said.

Cody smiled. “No problem. Good night.”

* * *

JAKE GLARED AFTER THEM. He turned back to Ida and the frown was quickly erased.