“Nothing’s open. But there’s plenty of food in the fridge. Make yourself a sandwich. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

There was a slight pause. “Am I stopping you from working or…seeing someone? Because I can wait until you’re done.”

She glanced at the documents in Rod’s passenger seat. She had work to do, but she couldn’t leave Rafe at her place. With everything that’d been happening lately, she wasn’t sure it was safe. “I have to take care of a few things. But I’m coming to pick you up first.”

“Why don’t I crash on the couch and see you in the morning? It’s okay, you know. I’m used to staying alone. I don’t want you to think I’ll be a pain in the ass to live with or anything.”

She didn’t bother pointing out his bad language. If Starkey allowed Rafe to move in with her, she’d have plenty of time to work with him on that—and on going to school, keeping up with his homework and getting home safely at night. “No, I’d rather bring you with me. I’ve missed you. Besides, we’ll be staying somewhere else tonight.”

“We will? Where?”

“The Boot and Spur.”

“What’s the Boot and Spur?”

“A dude ranch.”

“You mean with horses?”

“That’s it. But I don’t think we’ll be able to ride. It’s closed for renovations.”

He seemed to be calming down. Later, with any luck, he might even tell her what had set him off in the first place. “Lock the doors until I get there,” she said.

“You’re the chief of police. Who’s going to be stupid enough to break into your house?”

“You’ve heard about the shootings.”

“But I’m not an illegal alien.”

Obviously, he wasn’t aware of Stuart Dunlap’s murder, and she didn’t want to discuss it right now. “Shootings can happen anywhere. Just do as I say. Lock the doors and don’t open them for anyone.”

“Okay.” He said it as if she was acting crazy. His father never locked their house, and he ran around town unchaperoned half the time. But Rafe was willing to indulge her. “I’m doing it now.”

“Good. I’ll be there soon.”

Sophia tossed her phone on the passenger seat and waited through two stoplights before reaching her own neighborhood. She was going right where Rod had told her not to go. But she couldn’t leave Rafe at the house alone. What if whoever had killed Stuart was involved in the smuggling operation with her stepfather? If he thought she was on to him, or would soon be onto him, he might be coming after her.

And there was a chance he’d break in and shoot before realizing that she wasn’t the one standing in the kitchen making a sandwich.

29

Leonard couldn’t believe his luck. Just as he was turning into Sophia’s neighborhood, he’d spotted Rafe Robinson riding a bike a few feet ahead and had known instantly that they were headed to the same place. He’d followed him to her house, even sat at the curb visiting with him. He’d insisted Rafe go inside so he wouldn’t have to “worry about you being out and about so late at night.” Then he’d driven around the block and parked where he could hear what went on inside. At that point, he’d known it was just a matter of time before Sophia and Rod returned. The Hummer was the only car that was missing, and they wouldn’t leave Rafe by himself for long.

Minutes later, he’d heard part of a telephone conversation that confirmed it. They were on their way.

A rush of adrenaline prompted him to text Gary, to let him know what was going on, and check his guns. He’d chosen the rifle at the feed store. Now he selected one of the two handguns he’d also brought. Sophia and Rod wouldn’t live to see the sunrise, at her place or the Boot and Spur. But it wasn’t going to be as easy to get away with killing them at the house as it would’ve been at the store.

The boy was another obstacle….

So what was his plan? Should he wait for them to get home and go to bed before sneaking inside? No. They’d mentioned staying elsewhere, at the dude ranch west of town. They probably wouldn’t hang out at the house for very long before going there. But dealing with three people could get messy very quickly.

He should let himself in now, get rid of the boy and be waiting for Sophia and Rod when they came home, he decided. They wouldn’t be expecting an ambush.

And it was always better to go with the un expected….

According to the clock on Rod’s phone, Bruce had left him sitting in the truck outside the Dunlap ranch house for nearly fifteen minutes. Since he didn’t even have a vehicle to drive back into town, he was about to head inside to see what the hell was going on, when his father finally emerged, looking even more drawn and worried than he had in the parking lot of the Firelight.

“Sorry that took so long,” he mumbled as he got behind the wheel again.

“Is everything okay?”

He shook his head. “It’s Edna. She…well, she’s being Edna. I didn’t want her to know you were here so I couldn’t ask you in. Not today, anyway. That’d be too much for her after…” He didn’t finish. “Anyway, I had to calm her down. She’s worked herself into quite a state.” He sighed heavily. “She’s taking this very hard, of course.”

So was Bruce. Only his was an inner battle, one that raged beneath a far more placid exterior. Rod could tell he was fragile by how gingerly and cautiously he moved and spoke. Every word, every step or gesture, struck him as deliberate, as if he’d shatter without perfect control.

Rod knew it’d be healthier for him to vent his anger and pain. And yet he understood why Bruce couldn’t, or wouldn’t. Edna was going to pieces. He had to be the strong one.

“Sorry,” his father said again, and started driving toward the central clearing, where all the farm equipment waited for a sunrise that would be anything but ordinary, when only two Dunlap men awoke on the farm.

Rod had never seen Bruce like this. His father certainly didn’t seem like the austere figure he’d regarded with as much awe as contempt ever since he was a little boy. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I finally got her to take a sedative. I think it’ll help her get through the night.” He spoke as though this was a major victory, or at least information Rod would want to know. But he obviously didn’t expect a response. It was just more of the pep talk he’d been giving himself all along: We’ll pull through it together. Sure we will. We’ll cope… We’re not the only family to have suffered a loss….




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