Page 9 of Cowboy Mountain Man

“In the study.”

I keep my expression still.

Hope notices anyway. “Yes, I know. I left in a hurry.”

“Anything else?”

“My measuring kit. But I can replace that.”

“Is the tablet locked?”

“Yes.”

“What’s on it?”

“Client records. Inventory software. Notes for this job.”

I nod. “I’ll get it.”

“I can show you where⁠—”

“You just did.”

Her eyes narrow. It shouldn’t make me want to smile. It does.

“I also need to see what’s been disturbed,” she says. “I have photographs from before Mrs. Bell died. Her daughter sent them so I could identify a few pieces. Whoever’s been in the house might have taken things.”

“Send those, too.”

“You’re really determined to keep me down here.”

“Until the deputy clears the property.”

“And then?”

“Then I go with you.”

She leans back. “Everywhere?”

“Up the mountain.”

“I know how to drive.”

“I expect you do.”

“And walk,” she adds.

“That one was harder to establish from the booth.”

She presses her lips together. This time, I’m fairly sure she’s hiding a smile.

I shouldn’t be looking for it.

My phone rings. Deputy Ellis. I answer and listen while Hope goes back to her sandwich.

The house is empty. So is the barn. There’s evidence somebody’s been sleeping upstairs, but whoever it was has gone. No vehicle on the property. The deputy is photographing what he found.

“I’m coming up,” I tell him. “Client left a tablet inside.”