Page 1 of Kian

Chapter One

At his desk in the Clifton office, Kian Doyle sifted through various files. It had been six months since he transferred from Helena to Clifton, and he was happy to be working alongside his fraternal twin, Killian. Thankfully, his seniority, health benefits, and vacation days remained intact after the transfer.

“Kian? I know you’re starting your vacation Monday, but could you take a look at this file when you get a chance?” Dave Merkle, his boss, asked.

“Sure. What’s it about?”

“Two horses were stolen. I’m not sure how many people are involved, but more than one would be my guess. If you can review it, maybe when you return from your vacation, we’ll have a head start on catching them. I’d give it to someone else, but everyone is working on something.”

“No problem, Dave. I don’t plan on doing much during my first week off anyway.” Kian grinned.

“In my opinion, that’s the best kind of vacation. I’ll see you when you get back.” Dave walked back to his office.

Kian noticed Killian getting up from his desk and walking toward him. He shook his head.

“I’ll text you every so often,” he said as he looked at his brother.

“Alright. I won’t bother you.”

“That sounds good. You know how there are a lot of places you can’t get cell service, but I’ll try my best to keep in touch. I really need this vacation, Killian. It’s been five years since my last one. I plan on spending a week doing nothing and then looking for a house.”

“Sounds to me like he’s making excuses not to keep in touch, Killian,” Hudson ‘Hud’ Anderson said with a grin.

“I’m sure you know how that goes with having two brothers, along with a cousin here.” Killian shook his head. “It’s bad enough having one.”

“Keep it up, and I’ll just disappear,” Kian said, making his brother and Hud laugh.

“Okay. Let me know when you get back. Don’t make me come find you.”

Kian grinned. “Deal. I promise to text you but not every day.” He shrugged. “It will depend on where I am.”

“Fine by me. Have a good vacation.”

“I’ll definitely try.”

Killian nodded and returned to his desk.

They used to work together in the Helena office until Killian came to Clifton to help with a case two years ago. Once it was solved, Killian was offered a position in the Clifton office. He enjoyed the area so much that he accepted the job. One weekend, Kian visited his brother in Clifton and fell in love with the town.

After meeting Dave Merkle, Kian expressed interest in working in Clifton if any openings became available. And one did. Six months later, Kian was offered a job, accepted it, and never looked back. He had given his two weeks’ notice, moved to Clifton, and he was grateful he did. It was a great little town.

There weren’t many times that Dave sent them together on a job because of being brothers, but occasionally, he’d let them go together to check out a place. Kian knew it was the same with anyone related in the department.

By the third day of his vacation, he was bored. Sitting in his apartment perusing the file Dave had given him. He despised people like this. Rustling went on more than people realized, and the thieves stealing a person’s livelihood were some of the worst people he’d ever come across.

Kian had found livestock slaughtered for no reason. He’d been involved in a case a few years ago where two ranchershated each other and one of them hired men to steal the other rancher’s horses and kill them. Kian wanted to wrap his hands around the man’s neck. He was where he belonged. In prison.

The thing about the missing horses, was there were no trailer tracks. Two horses didn’t just disappear. There were several hoofprints in the pasture, but nothing else. No shoeprints and no tire prints of any kind. The only thing he could think was someone rode a horse to where the horses were grazing. Which meant it could be an inside job.

As he examined photos of the horses, his anger grew, and he hoped these horses would be found before any harm came to them.

“Assholes,” he muttered under his breath.

His cellphone buzzed and he picked it up to see Dave’s number.

“Damn, Dave are you calling me back to work already?” Kian muttered as he put the phone to his ear.

“Dave? What’s up?”

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