“So are they builders, like constructing developments and stuff?”
“No, not yet, although I think there’s talk of it. Just not sure they’re all that gung-ho about it at this point.”
“You have to be pretty dedicated to want to,” she said.
“At the moment, they’re still all trying to make sure that everybody at the original level of bosses have homes,” he said. “They’re quite a crew.”
He proceeded to tell her some of Badger’s and his team’s story. She hung on every word, and he loved that about her. He didn’t know if she was truly interested, but it seemed like she was. By the time he fell silent, she was too. “That’s amazing,” she murmured. “And how very sad to think of a betrayal at that level.”
“Betrayal at any level is sad,” he said. “Just let me tell you about it.”
She winced. “Yeah, my wording wasn’t the best, was it?”
“But you don’t have to watch your wording with me,” he said. “That’s the good thing about us.”
She smiled. “Now that Jackson’s wedding is over, how do you feel about the whole mess?”
“Better for sure,” he said. “Still a little confused and, yes, I’ll admit a little angry, but I think still more so at my brother’s behavior than at hers.”
“Why is that?”
“I think because, in some ways, I expected it from her, after seeing how much she cheated on me, lied about the baby being mine—hell, how she married me to make Jackson jealous.”
“Ouch,” she said. “And I guess that’s to be expected too. Once you hear her lies, it’s hard to believe anything she says anymore, isn’t it?”
“Absolutely.” He smiled, looked at her, and asked, “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“How did you feel the wedding went?”
“I’m glad it wasn’t a bigger drama. I’m glad they didn’t make a bigger deal out of it. There’s been enough hard feelings over their relationship,” she said, “and it feels good that it’s done with. They’re off in their own little happily married world now, and they can play their own mixed-up games, and they can leave the rest of us alone.”
He burst out laughing. “Oh, my God,” he said, “that’s perfect.”
She smiled up at him. “Well, it’s true,” she said. “There’s been a lot of hurt feelings and upsets that none of us needed. So it’s nice to have the wedding over and done with, and we don’t have to see them again.”
“Deal,” he said. “At least not until we’re ready.”
“Agreed.”
As they approached the hill, he held a hand up and said, “I’ll go up alone, just so I can check it out first. You and the dogs stay here,” he warned.
She sat down immediately on a big rock. “Go for it,” she said. “I’m not hero material.”
“Ha,” Caleb said, “you’re more heroic than most people.”
And, with that, he headed up the hill. As soon as he crested the top, he crawled along the ground until he was at the edge, where he studied the other side. This really was a peak rising up between the two properties. And that often made people feel secure, but it should have made them wary. It was pretty easy to approach from this side and have them down there unaware of exactly what was happening. Caleb saw sanctuaries down below, and people were outside at the back of the main house. In fact, some argument appeared to be going on, but it was too far away for Caleb to hear or to see clearly.
Wishing he had brought binoculars along, he studied the area and sent Badger several messages. It looked like this could be easily connected to the murder at the rental house because all they had to do was carry the body to the property, and nobody would have known or seen anything. Surely the cops would have taken a closer look at the surrounding properties, but then Caleb didn’t know for sure about that.
However, would anyone consider carrying a dead body that far? Especially on rough terrain with a hill involved? But maybe somebody was on a dirt bike or a 4x4 or something, even a horse. They could easily carry the body from house to house that way.
Caleb didn’t know if the man had been killed first or if he’d been taken into the house and shot there. If he’d come willingly, it’s quite possible that he’d been sent and, at the same time, had been taken out by somebody he didn’t even know.
Caleb used his phone to take as many pictures as he could, even though he was a long way off, and he could only zoom in so close. He could download them later to his laptop and then zoom in closer. Realizing that nobody even looked in his direction or seemed to be aware of what was going on atop this hill, Caleb studied the layout, calculating how close he could get to the compound.
As he studied the far-left side of the property, he saw kennels and dogs chained up, all lying around, mingling, completely unconcerned about his presence. Then the dogs weren’t thinking that this hill was within their range of space to guard. Yet, when Caleb did climb down this hill, he was pretty sure the dogs would kick up a ruckus. He needed enough time to reach them, to look them over, and to locate the one he came to find.
If the other dogs were badly treated, he’d take them all too. But it was hard to know from this distance. Just as he turned to watch the humans again, two men stood in front of somebody seated, and then a shot rang out. The guy in the middle fell back. Even Caleb, from where he sat, could see that the man was dead.
Chapter 12
Laysha heard the shot and turned to look up the hill. She couldn’t see any sign of Caleb, and, with her heart in her throat, she wondered if he’d been shot. But he quickly scrambled down toward her, his face grim. She stared at him. “What was that all about?” she said, keeping the dogs close.
“A whole complex is down there. In the back of the main house, three men stood, until one was seated and was shot dead,” he explained. Suddenly he grabbed her arm and said, “Let’s go.”
“Were you seen?”
“I don’t know,” he said, “but he’s just murdered somebody else, so anything that makes noise right now will make him suspicious.”
“Are you sure it’s a him?”
He turned and said thoughtfully, “No, I’m not. I’m just assuming it was the same asshole we’ve been warned about.”
“What about the dogs?”
“I did see four off to the side,” he said. “One separated, and that might be the one I’m looking for.”
“We have to get it out of there before he shoots them.”
“I suspect he does that regularly, if they aren’t mean enough.”
“Great,” she said. “What about right now? While everybody is more concerned about the murder?”
“Maybe,” he said, “but not with you and the dogs here.”
“Well,” she said, “why don’t I leave you here, and you can go do your thing. I don’t know if you want to get close enough or if you need backup,” she said worriedly. “I don’t want to send you into anything that’s dangerous, but it seems like maybe, if the asshole’s really focused on dealing with the fallout from his recent actions, that maybe this is a good time.”