Page 30 of Outlaw Ridge: Reed
Hallie hadn’t wanted to stop her search of her mother’s storage unit, but it was obvious she was needed elsewhere. So, Reed and she locked up and used the keypad to change the code so that Luther wouldn’t be able to get back in.
And now they were heading to a ranch on Dearborn Road.
It was on the outskirts of Outlaw Ridge where apparently the owner, an elderly, widowed rancher, Helen Robey, had caught Corman trespassing and was now holding him at gunpoint. Jesse and Shaw were already responding to the scene and would make it there ahead of Reed and her, but Hallie very much wanted to hear what Corman had to say for himself.
As they sped toward the ranch, Hallie’s mind raced with all kinds of questions about Corman. Why had he been at Helen Robey’s property? Was Helen going to be his next victim? If so, then it appeared that Helen had stopped that from happening if she had the man at gunpoint.
Reed took a turn right before they reached the sign for Outlaw Ridge, and he drove about a half mile before she spotted the small house surrounded by acres of pasture. There was a car parked off the end of the road, just out of sight in a cluster of trees.
“The car is registered to Corman,” she said, doing a quick check.
So, he’d parked here and walked, or rather skulked his way to the house. That definitely looked suspicious.
Reed went closer to the house, parking behind Jesse and Shaw’s cruiser, and she immediately spotted both deputies. And the silver-haired woman with a shotgun pointed at Corman.
“Mrs. Robey, you really got to put down that gun,” Hallie heard Jesse say, and judging from his tone, it wasn’t the first time he’d issued that order.
Helen stood firm, her eyes locked on Corman, who was on his knees in the yard with his hands raised. Reed approached the woman with caution, putting up his own hands to show her that he hadn’t drawn his gun. Hallie kept her attention on Corman, searching his face for any signs of fear. But the only emotion she saw was anger. He was like a pressure cooker ready to go off.
“Is Corman armed?” Hallie whispered to Jesse.
“He was. I took a Colt off him,” Jesse replied just as Corman snapped, “I got a permit for that, and I want it back.”
That wouldn’t be happening any time soon, and for now, they had a situation to diffuse.
“Please give me the gun,” Reed told the woman. “We can take things from here.”
Helen finally tore her gaze from Corman and looked at Reed. “Hell, boy, I wasn’t actually going to shoot his sorry ass.”
“I understand,” Reed said, his voice and body language calm as if this were an ordinary event on an ordinary day. “The gun, please.”
On a huff, Helen lowered the shotgun, pointing the barrel toward the ground and then handed it to Reed. Hallie let out the breath that had clogged in her throat. Even though the woman’s intentions might not have been to shoot anyone, that didn’t mean it was safe for her to be holding anyone at gunpoint.
“Tell us exactly what happened, Mrs. Robey,” Hallie prompted.
The woman flung her now empty hand at Corman who was slowly getting to his feet. “I heard my rooster squawking, and I looked out the window and saw this idiot snooping around my house. Figured he was here to rob me or something so I went and got my shotgun. He tried to run when I stepped out the front door and took aim at him, but I convinced him real quick to get down and wait while I called the cops. Didn’t want his sorry ass gettin’ away, did I?”
“No,” Hallie agreed, and while she couldn’t endorse what Helen had done, she was glad Corman hadn’t been able to leave.
“Do you know this man?” Hallie asked her.
“Never seen him before in my life,” she answered. “Is he that killer everybody’s gossiping about?”
Possibly. But Hallie kept that to herself and looked at Corman. She also read him his rights, which didn’t do anything to improve his mood.
“Well?” she asked when she was finished with the Miranda Warning. “Why are you here?”
Corman swallowed hard, his pinched gaze flicking between Hallie and Reed. “I got a note…it said to come here to this address if I wanted to learn the truth about my sister’s murder, and as you know, the truth is in short supply.”
Hallie ignored the dig and went with another question. “Where’s the note and who sent it?”
“It’s in my pocket. And I don’t know who sent it. Somebody left it on my windshield,” Corman snarled. “It was anonymous, but I had to follow up. I have to find out what happened to my sister since it’s obvious you two fuckers don’t know what you’re doing.”
“Don’t you dare use that language around me,” Helen barked.
Reed stepped up, addressing Helen before things could escalate again. “Thank you for detaining him, Mrs. Robey, butwe need to take it from here. Why don’t you go inside, and one of these deputies will take your statement?”
Helen hesitated but nodded after a couple of seconds. “You better get to the bottom of this,” she warned, but the warning was all for Corman. Then, she shifted her attention to Jesse. “You can take my statement but no cussing like he did. I don’t abide by that f-word.”
