Page 38 of Rough Stock

‘So how did they carry the bull?’ Amara asked.

‘The thieves had a low trailer, easy enough for the bull to walk on.’ Craig then asked Stone, ‘With a bull on the trailer, is that the same weight as towing a helicopter around?’

Again, Stone nodded in confirmation. ‘Less.’

‘This is good, Craig.’ Finn patted Craig’s shoulder as Amara scribbled down some notes while Izzy sat quietly. ‘Narrowing down the vehicle type is a great start. Did you follow those tracks down the firebreak?’

Again, Craig nodded. ‘Izzy and I followed it to where they had a truck waiting. Izzy took photos with her phone.’

‘I can email them to you for your files.’

‘Thanks. Constable?’ Finn gave a curt nod at the policewoman.

Amara scribbled down on the notepad. ‘Here’s my email address. Oh, should I order business cards, sir?’

Again, Finn nodded.

Izzy tapped away on her phone as Amara fired up her tablet and waited.

‘Got ‘em. Look, they’re date stamped, too.’ Amara held up the tablet and showed Finn and Stone.

‘Not my first investigation,’ mumbled Izzy under her breath.

Craig grabbed her hand under the table to soothe her prickly mood.

‘Did you see anything else?’ Finn asked.

‘Just the tracks. We followed them down the dirt road, and lost them here…’ Again, Craig tapped on the map. ‘We fixed the fence they left wide open. Although, Izzy warned me I may be tampering with evidence, I had to do something. I couldn’t let livestock wander on the road. But Izzy took photos before I fixed it.’ He had no idea what cops did as part of their job. Thankfully, Izzy did.

‘The photos are enough. I’ll get you a kit later, so you can do a plaster casting of tracks in the future.’ Finn gave the nod to Amara who scribbled down more notes.

‘Do I get any special gadgets, Bossman?’ Stone asked.

‘A muzzle might be a good start,’ muttered Amara under her breath.

Craig agreed. ‘What have you guys got?’

‘The constable and I interviewed the family and all the visitors to the property.’

‘I’ve checked out all of their alibis, sir—they’re solid,’ said Amara, still busily writing notes on her tablet.

‘Which leaves us with zip. You?’

Craig shrugged. Until Izzy nudged him with her knee under the table.

‘What?’ Finn narrowed his eyes at them.

‘Um, well, Izzy and I went to the local stockyards.’

‘Why?’ Amara asked.

‘Because in this town, if you want to find out anything about the cattle industry, the local stockyards will know,’ replied Craig.

‘I knew that,’ muttered Stone. ‘And Lydia makes the best cuppa and leather belts, too. You should see her about a police belt, Duchess. She did one for Policeman Porter.’ Stone pointed at her waist. ‘Do you do anything kinky with those handcuffs?’

‘I’m not talking to you.’ Amara again screwed her nose up at Stone.

‘But you just did.’

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