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“Yes,” he said. “What if the persons who abducted Reese intended to ask the family for money?”
The Hayes last name seemed to finally register. His eyes widened and he got a look of recognition on his face.
“You’re oftheHayes family of Hayes Cattle,” the sheriff said to Reese. “You should have mentioned that before. I’d like to offer my sincerest condolences about your grandfather. Duncan Hayes was a good man.”
“Yes.” Reese looked like she forced a small smile. “Thank you.” It also appeared as if it was taking everything inside her not to make a comment about the kind of man her grandfather really was. It must be eating her up inside to be told the man was such a good person when she knew the opposite was true at home.
“No, no one from the family has made a call to my office,” he said.
Darren had had an insider’s view to the family dynamic. Reese was the baby of the family. Everyone left before she came of age. Did she feel abandoned by her siblings? She must have on some level.
He hoped the twins stayed close throughout life. Their grandparents were older. They had Stacie if anything happened to him. But mostly, they had each other. They’d held hands the second they were placed next to each other. The image had melted his heart. Nothing else mattered—the second he laid eyes on those tiny angels, his heart had gone all in.
“With Mr. Hayes’s death, I’m surprised it’s taken this long for the vultures to come out if that was the original plan,” the sheriff stated. It looked like he’d made up his mind about what happened already. “My office will do everything in its power to bring these men to justice before it happens again. If I were you, I’d be careful from now on until these perps are under lock and key. If they tried once, there’s nothing stopping them from trying again.”
“Are you certain that’s what we’re dealing with here?” Reese asked. She tilted her head to one side, like she used to do when she disagreed with someone but didn’t want to call them out on it.
“It’s a theory that makes sense,” he responded.
She gave a slight nod, which told Darren she realized the sheriff had made up his mind at this point, and his idea was far-fetched. Arguing wouldn’t do any good. In fact, he went so far as to tuck his cell inside his front pocket.
“I’ve got a lot of work to do on my end,” he said. “Thank you for your statement. Is there a way I can reach you in case I have follow-up questions?”
“I don’t have my cell,” Reese admitted, looking a little more than flabbergasted that the sheriff was ready to walk out the front door.
“You can reach her through me for now,” Darren said, figuring the two of them were going to be joined at the hip over the next few hours, anyway. Possibly more. The thought should have repulsed him, or at the very least make him hot under the collar. With her here, he had a better chance of finding out what really happened so he could ensure it never happened again.
“Well, all right,” the sheriff said before nodding toward Reese. Was he incompetent? Red Courtright didn’t come across as the brightest bulb in the bunch. “If you’ll excuse me. I have work to do.”
Reese nodded and thanked the sheriff for his time. Her words came out almost robotic, but the sheriff didn’t appear to catch on. His grin was almost ear-to-ear before his face turned serious and he offered more sympathy for her loss.
Darren walked the sheriff outside, and then returned to the table.
“It’s quick and convenient,” Reese said, then added, “I’ll give him that much.”
“Shouldn’t be too difficult to prove him wrong,” Darren said.
“What am I supposed to do in the meantime?” she asked, her tone more defiant than defeated, even though he detected both. He’d always loved her quiet confidence.
“Stick around here,” he said, wondering if it was a good idea. There was no other choice if they wanted to get to the bottom of this thing. Trusting the sheriff seemed like the quickest way for Reese to end up abducted again. This time, the bastards would be more prepared.
Were they watching his house right now?
Chapter Seven
Reese blew out a breath that depleted all the air she had in her lungs. She gave herself a moment of self-pity, but she’d learned a long time ago not to wallow there.
Taking in a deep breath, she decided to regroup.
“I can tell we’re not working with a whole lot upstairs when it comes to the sheriff,” she finally said to Darren, pulling the straps of her robe tighter. Granted, she might have on a long T-shirt underneath, but she had no plans to give any sort of peepshow.
“Believe me, I noticed, too,” he said. “There’s a decent deputy we can call who I’ve worked with before when tracking poachers.”
“Except now that the high-profile name of Hayes is involved, I imagine the sheriff will want to run the show,” she countered. Red Courtright might not have the highest IQ, and that was just a guess on her part, but he had to be savvy to have been elected to this job. Savvy or connected to someone prominent in the community. Hell, it could have been her grandfather who’d helped the man get elected for all she knew.
“That’s a fair point,” Darren conceded. “Reaching out might put my deputy in a bad position, so I’ll table the thought for now.”
“Sounds like the best course of action,” she said, realizing she’d go stir-crazy if she sat here much longer and did nothing. Her friend’s name kept coming full circle in Reese’s thoughts. “I keep thinking about Camree Lynn.”
