Page 70 of River Legacy
The agent didn’t respond. “Did you give him permission to be piloting your plane?”
“No. I assumed my assistant Claude Duvall put him up to it.”
“You allowed Claude Duvall to leave in your plane, is that correct?”
“After he held a gun on both me and my daughter, yes, I let him go. He was upset. I didn’t want to see him get arrested. I figured I’d deal with him when I returned to Dallas.”
“You planned to have your plane sent back?”
“Yes,” Wendell said, trying to keep his temper. “If you’re asking if I knew it was going to blow up, how could I? Wasn’t it a malfunction?”
Again, Agent Brooks checked his notes before looking up. “There was a bomb aboard the plane. We believe it was activated from Billings once the plane was in the air and away from the airport.”
Wendell’s jaw dropped at what the agent was telling him. “Someone purposely blew up my plane?”
“I can see that this comes as a shock, but you were obviously concerned, otherwise why did you hire two bodyguards before your trip to Montana?”
“You’re saying this was an attempt on my life?”
“We believe so. I understand you’ve been getting threatening letters.” The agent continued. “You were worried enough to contact local law enforcement, who in turn contacted us.”
Wendell felt as if the earth under him was no longer solid. He gripped the edges of his chair as if hanging on. Someone had tried to kill him and would have if he’d been on that plane. He felt a shudder at the thought that Victoria could have been on it as well.
“Do you know a man by the name Arnold Schultz?”
He frowned, confused, and shook his head.
“He is the father of the man you employed as a bodyguard,” the agent said. “I understand he also had access to your plane as he is a pilot and often worked on it.”
Wendell felt sick to his stomach as he saw the direction this was headed. “I don’t understand,” he said.
“According to Brice, who we picked up in Florida and extradited to Dallas, you sent his father into bankruptcy after he sold you part of his business. You stripped the assets and, according to his son, told him to sue you. He tried, spending the last of his money, but you dragged it out in court until you knew he couldn’t keep going without the kind of money you had. Arnold Schultz died by suicide six months ago.” The agent held up his hand as if he thought Wen was about to object. Under other circumstances, he would have. But right now, he was too shocked at what he was hearing. “I’m only telling you why Brice Schultz said he wanted to kill you.”
“I didn’t know,” he said, a weak response at best. He could have argued that it had only been business.That he was only doing what wealthy men across the country did on a daily basis. The country had a history of tycoons who’d operated the same way. But he held his tongue.
“You might take this as a warning, Mr. Forester,” the agent said. “You have a history of these types of business deals. Arnold Schultz wasn’t the only one to take you to court but couldn’t afford to keep fighting.”
Wendell heard him loud and clear.Watch your back. There are no doubt others out there who want you dead.
Some as close as Powder Crossing.
Chapter Twenty-Three
When the hotel suite door opened, Wendell couldn’t help but stare. Charlotte Stafford had always been a beautiful woman. The years hadn’t diminished that beauty. Time had only accentuated it. She wore cowboy attire—jeans, a Western shirt and boots—but on her, it was all very feminine and sexy as hell.
But what had appealed to him the first time he met her was the spirit of fire that burned bright in her. She was the kind of woman who didn’t love easily, but once she did she loved with all of her heart. She was the kind of woman every man dreamed of.
Unfortunately, she’d always been in love with Holden McKenna over on Powder River. He’d never been there until recently. Now he owned her ranch, so he wasn’t expecting a warm welcome.
“Did I catch you at a bad time?” he asked.
She studied him with those beautiful green eyes of hers, her expression giving nothing away. She could invite him in—or pull a gun and shoot him. With Charlotte, one never knew.
“Wendell,” she said as if she’d been expectinghim. “Thank you again for letting CJ be buried on Stafford Ranch.”
“It was such a small thing to ask, especially given how everything went down.” He studied her for a moment. “It’s been a while, but I can say you haven’t changed a bit?” He saw something in those green eyes that assured him she definitely hadn’t changed, and he should be very careful. “I thought we should talk.”
She stepped aside to let him enter. “I’d ask what you were doing here, but I heard you’re now in possession of my ranch.”
