Page 5 of Lawman’s Witness

Turning to her sister, she said, “I’ve seen enough. Let’s go.”

Amy Sue looked relieved as they walked to her car. “He’s going to get away with murder, isn’t he?”

Josie feared her sister was right as they got in the car. Jack Marshall hadn’t left any evidence, including the body. “Come on, Sis, let’s give the detectives a chance,” she said as she started the engine “The killer made a mistake last night. He didn’t expect anyone to be around.” She glanced over at Amy Sue, wanting to believe it. “He would have been rattled last night almost getting caught, which means he could have made yet another mistake. There is seldom a perfect murder, especially with the latest forensics.”

“But don’t you have to be actually investigating the murder for that to happen?” There was an edge to Amy Sue’s voice that worried her. “I keep thinking about that moment when our eyes met. There was surprise, but not fear. I know now what I saw was arrogance. He killed that woman, and he knew he was going to get away with it. I hope you’re right about him having made another mistake last night. I can’t stand the thought that he might not be brought to justice.”

It was Jack Marshall’s arrogance that worried Josie. The man had seen Amy Sue. He’d seen her car, might even have gotten her plate number. With his connections he would be able to find her easily enough if he was worried the eyewitness was going to be trouble.

Josie suspected Jack Marshall had gotten rid of one problem and gotten away with it. What would keep him from getting rid of another one if Amy Sue became a problem?

Detective Russell Tate watched the SUV return with the two women. He’d been on his way to his patrol SUV but now stopped in the shadow of the police station, curious about them both. It was Amy Sue Brand, though, who had him wondering exactly what she saw last night. She didn’t seem like the type to make something like that up out of thin air, especially given all the details she’d provided.

Yet Jack Marshall couldn’t have killed anyone in Billings last night. He had an alibi, not that he needed it since there hadn’t been any sign of a murder. Nor so far was there a report of a missing woman—let alone a stabbed to death one. Russ had checked because Amy Sue Brand had seemed like such a credible witness.

It wasn’t like other people hadn’t come in off the street with stories they’d concocted. Some just wanted attention. Others had a bone to pick. He wondered if Amy Sue Brand might have a reason to want to see Jack Marshall behind bars. Wouldn’t hurt to do a little digging. Maybe there was a connection between the two even if it was no more than she’d bought a car from him.

He watched the two women drive away together in the younger sister’s SUV before going back inside. At his desk, he realized that something about Amy Sue Brand had gotten to him. He pulled his keyboard closer. He needed to know about her, because something was definitely wrong about all of this.

What he found was exactly what the woman had told them. After growing up on a ranch out of Dry Gulch, Amy Sue now lived and worked on the family ranch. He found a few articles from high school. She’d been in the business club, belonged to both Future Farmers of America and Future Homemakers of America, and had never married nor had any children. She helped out with local fundraisers by bringing homemade baked or canned goods. From what he could see of the newspaper and Facebook photographs, she’d won blue ribbons with her baking and canning at the county fair.

Russ smiled to himself at he studied a young smiling Amy Sue looking shyly at the camera as she held up a blue ribbon for her pickled beets. There was such a clean, innocent look to her. She looked as if she couldn’t tell a lie to save herself.

“What are you doing?” Detective Hanson said as he glanced at Russ’s computer screen.

“I can’t help being curious,” he said.

“Those big blue doe eyes get to you? Or was it her figure?” His partner scoffed. “You do have a weakness for the crazy ones.” Turning, he said over his shoulder, “I’m going home to get some sleep. You should do the same. We investigated, we found nothing in that house or on the premises. Jack Marshall wasn’t there, and no one was murdered. Leave this and Marshall alone, or you’ll be looking for a new job and me another partner,” Hanson said, and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Russ sat for a moment, smarting over that dig about the kind of women he fell for. “Thanks, Hanson, you’re such a compassionate guy. Really appreciate it,” he said to himself, and sighed as he thought of his ex. Maybe his partner was right about his last girlfriend, but Hanson was wrong about Amy Sue Brand. His gut told him that she’d seen what she said she had. What would it hurt to do a little more investigating?

While he was at it, he wanted to look into Jack Marshall as well. New to the department and the area, he was more than curious about the man from the television car ads. He’d never seen an eyewitness’s accusation dropped so quickly by a police department. Hanson had been clear enough. Marshall was off-limits. He knew that even as he typed the man’s name into his computer. Marshall was more than just a car salesman. He was a local legend.

What came up proved just how right he was. Jack Marshall’s smiling face appeared in article after article. An obvious do-gooder, he and his wife were involved in numerous benefits and even more organizations. Photo after photo of the pair dressed to the nines, smiling benevolently at the camera.

He definitely got it now. Jack Marshall was someone in this community, someone who could possibly commit murder and get away with it.

As he heard Hanson headed his way again, Russ quickly cleared his computer screen. He understood why his partner had told him to drop this. Hanson was from here and had been on the force for almost fifteen years. The cop knew what kind of trouble Russ could get in digging into Jack Marshall’s life.

The unemployed kind.

Amy Sue had hoped that once she returned to the family ranch, she could try to forget what she’d witnessed. She loved it here, loved growing things, but she also knew she stayed because it had always been a safe place.

Until she invited the wrong man to the ranch.

Since then, she felt off-balance even here on the ranch she loved. As she began to wash the early batch of spinach for dinner, she couldn’t believe that it was just a few weeks ago that she decided to attend the weeklong farmers co-op class in Billings and get out of her comfort zone.

She’d actually been excited. Even Josie had been encouraging for her to get out and do things on her own after she lost all confidence in herself last year. Who wouldn’t start questioning themselves after falling in love with the wrong man and almost getting herself and her sister killed?

Since returning from Billings, though, she’d found she was second-guessing herself about everything and much worse than before. Maybe she hadn’t seen what she thought she had that night in Billings. Was it possible the man had just looked like Jack Marshall? What if she was wrong and had accused an innocent man?

Putting the spinach into the strainer, she let out a curse. She wasn’t wrong. She knew what she’d seen. She knew whom she’d seen. But the police didn’t believe her—just as Jack Marshall had known they wouldn’t. He’d made sure of that. She thought of him standing on the balcony at that house, that almost mocking look on his face. Run to the cops and see where it gets you.

She’d watched him in her side mirror as she was driving away to get to the police. She recalled how unhurried he’d been, as if he hadn’t just killed a woman and there hadn’t been an eyewitness because he knew the police would believe him—not her.

“Is everything okay?”

Amy Sue turned, surprised to see her sister, then shocked to realize how late in the day it was. “You’re home already?” Lately, Josie had been staying more often in her room at the old farmhouse even though she had an apartment in town over her law office and lived at the newly renovated hotel with her husband. Amy Sue knew her sister staying at the ranch meant she was worried about her.