Page 15 of Reckoning with the Cowboy
“So out in the middle of nowhere miles from here,” the deputy said with a sigh. “Sounds like a long drive. How exactly did you come by this information?”
Max had known the question was coming. As badly as he wanted to stay completely out of this, Grimes hadn’t left him any choice. “He called me.”
“Hecalledyou?”
“He lived with us when I was a kid. He was abusive to my brother and me. I have every reason to believe he killed my mother and buried her out there somewhere.”
Silence, then, “You told all this to the sheriff at the time?”
“Unfortunately, the sheriff sent deputies out to our place several times. They believed Grimes, not us boys, so no, I didn’t call him. I had no proof and, quite frankly, I didn’t trust him.” He feared he might have said too much.
“I see that this perp just got out of prison a few days ago,” Deputy Green said. “You really think he’s been driving up here all this time?”
“I do.” Max feared the deputy was trying to talk himself out of driving up to the homestead to see if Grimes was there. “I believe he is driving a gray van. He’ll be armed. If you check Grimes’s rap sheet, you’ll only see his criminal behavior. I’d take another deputy with you. This man is dangerous.”
The deputy chuckled. “Never ran across a dangerous one before.”
Max bit his tongue. “You’ll let me know when you find him?”
“Yep,” the deputy said, and the connection went dead.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Cordell opened the back door of Max’s house and stopped short. His brother had been on the phone, but now turned abruptly and went for his gun. Recognizing him, Max relaxed, but Cordell had seen the fear on his face.
“What’s happened?” he demanded as he stepped in. He could tell that his brother didn’t want to tell him. “Max?”
He watched him sigh and remove his hand from the weapon strapped to his hip. He said, “I’m going to tell you, but you can’t go off half-cocked and go racing down to Wyoming, guns blazing.”
Cordell listened as his brother first told him what he’d learned about Roger Grimes, ending with the phone call.
“What? That son of a— We have to go get him.”
“Easy. Don’t you think I want to? But I’m the law and I’m taking care of it,” Max said.
“How?” Cordell demanded.
“I called the Rawlins Sheriff’s Department.”
He scoffed at that. “I remember how helpful they were in the past.”
“The sheriff’s out for a week, but a deputy named Hal Green took the information. I’m hoping he’ll go there and check.”
Cordell shook his head and moved to drop onto the couch. “So we do nothing but wait for him to come after us?”
“I know you’d rather go to Wyoming and get yourself killed.”
“Or wait here like sitting ducks,” he offered as he reached for his phone. “After what you told me, I need to warn Josie.”
Max stopped him. “Let’s give the law down in Rawlins a chance first. If they pick him up for spending the robbery money, he’ll be sent back to Florida. No reason to worry Josie.”
“But for how long? He’s already served his time for the actual robbery.”
He could see that his brother knew he was right. But Max was digging his heels in. “I’m going over to the office, then patrol town. Stay here. Keep the doors locked. This could all be over in a matter of hours. Call me if there is any trouble.”
Cordell shook his head and got to his feet. “I’m not sitting here and waiting. But first I am going to call Josie. She needs to know. I’m telling her everything.”
“No,” his brother said, stepping to him. “Why frighten her when it could be over soon?”
