Page 68 of For Always
Naomi rubbed a hand over her husband’s knee.
“What does Jessie have to do with this, Tyler?” Clyde asked.
“There are two names on the ranch’s operating account,” Tyler said. “My dad’s and his ranch manager, Jessie. When Jessie left and Stephen took over the job, the names on the account were changed.”
Stephen nodded his agreement to that fact.
“My dad copied me on all the yearly financial reports of the ranch, as well as all the restructuring and expansion plans,” Tyler continued.
“And my mother copied me,” Jagger said from his spot close to the window.
When Tyler looked up in surprise, Jagger lifted his half-full glass of whiskey in a toast to his big brother.
“I admit to not paying a lot of attention to those reports over the years,” Tyler said, keeping his eye on Jagger. The slow way in which Jagger brought that glass to his lips and took a sip told Tyler his brother was guilty of the same thing. “But when I received news of my parents’ death, I went through them all.”
He took a deep breath and looked around the room, seeing that Monica and Alex were paying attention, but were also wondering what this had to do with the here and now.
“I noticed a few discrepancies in some of the earlier statements, but again, admit to not digging deeper into them. Not at the time. After Gabriella’s room at the resort was vandalized and the sheriff still had no leads on the murder or the vandalism that had occurred on the ranch a few weeks after my parents’ funeral, I was angry. So I hired a private investigator,” Tyler told them.
“Always taking charge,” Jagger stated.
“He is in charge now that you sold him your part of the ranch,” Dessie interjected. “Now, hush while he talks.”
“I gave the investigator all the financial reports I had in my possession, plus copies of some things I found in Dad’s office. I also told him everything that had taken place in the past months. I talked to the investigator yesterday and was given some eye-opening news. Jessie was stealing. For almost ten years he stole a total of 3.8 million dollars from the ranch, which is why Mom and Dad felt like they were struggling for a while. But Dad finally figured out what the problem was—his longtime friend and schoolmate, Jessie. I figure that out of respect for that friendship Dad decided to let Jessie retire gracefully, instead of having him arrested for embezzlement and being embarrassed around town.”
Clyde emptied his glass of whiskey.
“You knew didn’t you?” Jagger asked Clyde. “You knew Jessie was caught stealing and you didn’t say anything.”
Clyde gripped his empty glass. “George and I discussed options. But Jessie went to school with us. We all grew up together. There was a bond, a friendship and a level of respect.”
“Even though he was robbing my dad blind,” Jagger countered. “Loyalty knows no bounds around this place.”
“It was out of respect for Jessie’s family,” Clyde stated firmly. “Jessie’s father used to work with George’s dad. My father went to school with your grandpa and Jessie’s. We’re all family here in Hobbs Creek. Either by blood or by love. We all work together, support each other and take care of each other. That’s how it’s always been around here.”
“Until somebody decided my parents had to die,” Tyler said somberly.
“Jessie had a heart attack six months ago. He died before they could get him to the hospital,” Dessie said.
“Guilt is a motherfucker,” Jagger snapped.
Tyler didn’t comment.
“When Jessie died, what happened to his place up in the hills? Who paid to bury him?” Tyler asked Clyde.
When Clyde didn’t respond, Stephen did.
“Jessie’s son, Noah. He came back and took care of everything for his dad. Noah had left Hobbs Creek a few years after Jagger did and nobody had seen or heard from him since. Until Jessie died,” Stephen told them.
Tyler nodded. “Six months ago Noah Windmyr came back to Hobbs Creek. Three months later my parents were shot in the back of the head and burned in their truck just a few miles from Westwind. Three weeks after they were buried somebody walked onto this ranch and vandalized some property. A couple weeks after that, Gabriella and I were shot at while we rode in the early morning.”
Alex cursed and Gabriella sighed beside Tyler.
“Gabriella’s room at the resort was vandalized,” Tyler continued.
“But Brooke did that. She was a conniving bi—” Jagger said, cutting himself off.
“Right,” Tyler picked up where his brother left off. “That was Brooke. You had proof of that with the things you heard her say and the paint they found in the trunk of the rental car she was driving. But try as he did, Sheriff Alvarez was unable to find any evidence connecting Brooke to the shooting or the vandalism here. And Mom and Dad were killed before you and Brooke arrived.”
