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  Myles looked to the alpacas in the neighbouring pens and thought they were odd-looking creatures, but believed Ethan’s assessment of them. This one had obviously trusted the wrong person and had paid the ultimate price for it.

  “He didn’t do it,” Ethan said, drawing his attention back. When Myles merely stared, he elaborated. “Rory. I know you’re thinking he did this, but I’m telling you he didn’t. He couldn’t. Not only do I know he isn’t a killer, but I’ve seen him on my ranch, with my cattle, my horses, and my dogs. He loves animals, and there’s no way he could’ve done this.”

  “He is a killer,” Myles returned.

  “You know what I meant. He isn’t a murderer.”

  Being honest with himself, Myles couldn’t picture Rory Bukowski being the perpetrator of this particular crime, but he wasn’t fully convinced of Rory’s innocence either. Although he longed to question Bukowski, Chase had warned him that, while neither Rory nor Zandra had mentioned it, Rory could potentially launch a harassment suit against Myles, and the RCMP, if Myles’s hunches proved fruitless. Unwilling to jeopardize his job, he couldn’t approach Rory over this, having absolutely no evidence against him, only the motive that he could be retaliating to not being hired by Saffron. That seemed a thin motive now that the violence had escalated to actually killing an animal, and, like Ethan, he just couldn’t conceive of Rory doing this.

  “As much as he looked good to me for the rest, I agree, I don’t see him doing this.” His words seemed to relieve Ethan. “That doesn’t mean I think he’s innocent. I just don’t think he did this.”

  “Christ! Why do you hate Rory so much? He hasn’t done anything wrong since being released. Look, I know you didn’t know him before he went to jail, but I did. I was shocked by what happened, but shit, I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the exact same thing in that circumstance. What if it was your sister? Be honest, if something like that happened to Anya, Heaven forbid, but if it did, how would you react?”

  “I’d kick the fucker’s guts out, and then feed them to him,” he answered, “but what you need to understand is that I’m responsible for the safety of everyone in this town. It doesn’t matter if I would’ve acted the same way. What does matter is that Rory is a convicted felon who is now living in my town, and I’ll protect my town at all cost.”

  “Okay, I get that, but he’s never done anything to lead you to believe he’s going to reoffend.”

  “He doesn’t need to. My suspicion is enough. Ethan, seriously, you used to be a cop. You know my fears aren’t baseless. I get that you’re good friends with Boone, but as far as I’m concerned, Rory is a viable threat to this community. If it’s not this, it’s something else, but I can guarantee you he’ll do something wrong. Do I have to remind you of the reoffending rate amongst released felons?”

  “No you don’t,” Ethan shot back harshly, “just as I don’t need to remind you about how many of those people didn’t have a support system to return to upon their release. Rory does. All he wants to do is build a life for himself, but this town, and especially you, aren’t giving him a chance.”

  Myles turned away, not willing to argue with Ethan. He liked Ethan, considered him a friend, and the situation with Rory was one thing on which they would never see eye-to-eye. Cole rounded the corner of Saffron’s house and, taking long, quick strides, approached the paddock.

  “Morning, Myles. Ethan.” The three exchanged handshakes, and then Cole frowned as he looked down to the dead alpaca. “Oh, poor girl, what happened to you?”

  Hopping over the fence, he knelt beside the carcass, and turned its head to see the neck wound better. Looking up at Myles, his face grim, he shook his head. “I’d like to tell you it was a clean cut, one slice, nice and quick, but I can’t. There’s at least five stab wounds in her neck, and it’s a mess, but none of them look hesitant. I could tell you more with a necropsy, but suffice it to say, whoever did this was brutal.”

  “You mean someone acting out in rage.”

  “I’d say so,” Cole confirmed. “Alpacas are hardy animals when it comes to withstanding adverse weather, and less than ideal living conditions, but they’re not that big and, really, it wouldn’t take much to kill one. Whoever did it hit one of the carotids, probably on the first strike seeing the blood spatter here, yet continued to stab her. That’s rage. Or someone intent on sending a message.”

  “A threat more like,” Myles corrected. Cole cocked his head at him. “Not up on the rumour mill, Doc? Ms. Bairstow has been the victim of previous acts of vandalism, including a threatening message painted on her barn.”

  “Shit. Seriously?” At Myles’s grim nod, Cole shook his head. “Poor woman. I’ll pop in to the house before I leave, and introduce myself. Any other animals here besides the alpacas?”

  “No.”

  “Okay, I’ll check the rest of them while I’m here, but they look fine.” He turned to Ethan. “Everything good at your place?”

  “Yep.”

  “Good.” Cole then addressed Myles again. “Do you want a necropsy done? I’ll do it if you think it’s necessary.”

  “I can’t say I do, but thanks anyway. It’s obvious what happened to this one, and, as none of the others seemed to have been harmed, there’s no point in you taking the time to do one.”

  “Okay then. I’ll ask her if she wants me to call the rendering plant to pick the carcass up.” Then he deftly jumped into the next pen and, talking softly, coaxed a few alpacas to him in an instant.

  Walking back to the house, Ethan glanced sidelong at Myles. “After hearing what Cole said, I’m sure you’re convinced Rory didn’t do it.”

  “I am. But who did? This man is escalating dramatically. He’ll attack her next. You know it, and so do I.”

  Myles stopped Ethan’s forward movement with a hand across his chest and the pair turned to one another. “I’m going to call the guys. We’ll keep it quiet, but I want her property patrolled at night from now on. I’m not including Rory in the group, and I don’t want to discuss it with you. Let’s just focus on the task, okay?”

  Glad when Ethan merely nodded, he repeated the gesture. “Okay, so you, me, Cole, Chase, Sawyer, the Carsons. I’m sure some of my constables will volunteer. Can you suggest any of your hands? Skip maybe?”

  “Sure, as long as he’s not out here on his own, which none of us should be, by the way, but yeah Skip for sure. If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not involve any more of my men. Not that I think they’re involved, but if word gets out we’re doing this, it’ll only scare the perpetrator away.”

  “Agreed. Okay, let’s just leave it at that then. I’ll call the rest, organize them into times most convenient for them, and then get back to you. Any night in particular you don’t want to be out here?”

  “Any night I’m not in bed with Zoë is inconvenient, but you schedule me when you need me.”

  “Will do,” he replied and the pair began walking again. He smiled inwardly to himself thinking if he had a woman like Zoë, he wouldn’t be keen on leaving her bed either. Wondering if he’d ever find a woman who would tolerate his long and erratic work hours, he abandoned the thought as soon as it surfaced. Maybe he would but there were more important things to focus on right now, namely keeping Saffron safe.

  Chapter 14

  “Oh Saffron! That’s terrible!”

  Tansy’s response did little to calm Saffron, and she started crying again. Zoë, who sat across the table from her, placed a comforting hand on hers. She felt as if she hadn’t stopped since this morning when she went out to feed the alpacas, and found one slaughtered. After her hysterical phone call to him, Ethan had come over, with Zoë. As Ethan dealt with Myles, Zoë had made a tea for Saffron, and the two had just sat down when Tansy called.

  “It was,” she said, sniffling. “Tansy, I’ll call you back later. Zoë’s here with me, and I don’t want to be rude by being on the phone.”

  “Okay, but call as soon as you can. Saff, I don’t like you
being there on your own. I’m scared. Please be careful.”

  “I will, I promise. I love you.”

  “Love you, too. Bye.”

  She disconnected the call, and then looked to Zoë. “Sorry, but I had to tell her what happened.”

  “Don’t apologize. I’m sure she’s worried about you.”

  “She is.”

  “I think you should stay with Ethan and me until you can hire someone who’ll be here at night.”

  “Thanks. I want to be brave, and not let this monster drive me out of my house but I’m so scared.”

  “You can stay with us as long as you need to.”

  “Thanks, really. And you’re sure Ethan will be okay with it?”

  “Of course. He just wants you to be safe and, really, until Myles can figure out who’s doing this, you’re not safe here on your own. I know Ethan was thinking about getting you to take one of his dogs for a bit, but after what happened to your alpaca, no, he wants you to be at our place. He told me that when we came here earlier.”

  “Okay. I have to take care of the alpacas before I leave. And I’m worried about them being here alone. If no one will be here at night, they’re sitting ducks, aren’t they?”

  Zoë shook her head. “Don’t worry about them right now. Ethan will take care of them. His men can handle everything for a bit. Saffron, the important thing is keeping you safe. We’ll do what we can for the alpacas, okay? Maybe Ethan will leave a couple of the dogs on your property at night to guard the alpacas. But you should definitely not be here alone.”

  After releasing a big sigh, Saffron shrugged. “I just don’t want to be a bother.”

  “You’re not, and stop suggesting you are. Trust me, if Ethan or I didn’t want you around, we’d tell you. I don’t know if you’ve noticed yet, but neither one of us pull punches.” She followed her statement up with a grin.

  “I have noticed that. You’re so strong, Zoë. I feel like if you were going through this you’d handle it a lot better.”

  “Don’t count on it. My reaction is to handle things on my own, but if I can’t, I run. Really. You’re facing this. So you’re plenty strong, trust me.” Then she shook her head. “Anyway, enough of that. Let’s talk about Saturday.”

  At the slight frown Saffron issued, Zoë’s brows shot up. “Oh no, you’re not backing out of going to The Goose this Saturday. A night out is exactly what you need to unwind some. Us girls having dinner, a few drinks, dancing, it’ll be great and you’re going. Now, do we need to do a little shopping, or are you set?”

  “No, I’m good. I mean jeans and a blouse will be fine for that place, right?”

  “Absolutely. Sweetie, it’s called The Scruffy Goose. How fancy do you think it is with a name like that?”

  Releasing a soft laugh, she marvelled at how Zoë calmed her. She seemed to possess a real knack for reading people, and Saffron appreciated her presence, especially today. As Zoë started rattling off the names of the women who’d be there, Saffron found herself eager to meet Anya, Myles’s sister, but apprehensive about meeting Zandra, Rory’s sister. Deciding to wait to see how Zandra reacted to her, she refocused her attention on the conversation.

  Chapter 15

  After thanking the bartender, Saffron turned with her pint of draught beer in her hand and almost banged into Zandra. “Sorry,” she blurted, still feeling awkward around the woman, having done her best to avoid her since they were introduced earlier that evening. Considering the group of women in attendance, she didn’t think it was noticeable she’d done so, but wondered now, at the odd look upon Zandra’s face.

  “Can I have a word?” Zandra asked.

  Nodding stiffly, not really wanting to speak with Zandra, but also not wishing to possibly cause a scene, she followed the woman a short distance from the bar to an empty table. There, Zandra flashed her a tight smile.

  “Look, I know you don’t think much of my brother, but I just wanted to say I’m sorry for the troubles you’ve had. You may not believe it, but Rory isn’t responsible for them. I truly am sorry you’ve experienced that though, it’s awful.”

  “Thank you,” she managed to squeak out in response, still unsure about Zandra.

  “And despite what’s going on between Myles and Rory, I hope that doesn’t impact our chances of getting to know one another. I mean Myles hates Rory, but I’m friends with Anya. We try to keep the trouble the men have out of our relationships with one another. Us girls have to stick together, right?”

  “Absolutely,” she returned, meaning it, even if she remained uncertain if she and Zandra would ever be friends.

  “Great,” Zandra enthused, “let’s get back to the others then.”

  Heading back to the table, they rejoined Anya, Faye, and Arden, all whom Saffron had just met tonight, having only known Zoë before.

  “Where’s Zoë?” Saffron asked.

  Arden pointed to the dancefloor where Zoë was dancing with Skip. Saffron thought Skip was a wonderful man, in fact she’d liked everyone she’d met on Ethan’s ranch. When she spotted Murray on the dancefloor close to the pair, he waved her onto the floor, and she turned back to the other women. Having a pact at least one of them would always be at the table to watch their drinks, she thought about volunteering to stay at the table, but then Zandra spoke.

  “All of you, go. Dance, have fun.” When none of them moved, Zandra made a shooing motion with her hands. “I mean it, go. Come back so I get out there a bit, but I’m fine to sit here for a while. Go.”

  Smiling gratefully at Zandra, the women hit the dancefloor, surrounding Murray who grinned like a kid in a candy store, making Saffron laugh. She couldn’t help but notice Arden seemed taken with Murray, and thought that was great. At the feel of a hand on her arm, she turned to Skip’s smiling face. He held his hands out and, with an enthusiastic grin, she stepped closer to him to dance with him.

  As Zoë bumped her in a friendly manner passing her to dance with the others, Saffron was glad she’d accepted Zoë’s invitation to this night out. Her friend had been right. This was exactly what she’d needed, a chance to get off the ranch, and relax for a bit.

  Chapter 16

  Ethan patrolled Saffron’s property with Kit, and Butthead, his trusty, if quite stupid, Boxer. It was his insistence that the men patrolled in pairs, and he’d volunteered to be with Kit due to the young man’s inexperience with, well, everything really. The youngest of the three Carson brothers, Kit out at night, and possibly encountering a dangerous man, was something Ethan wouldn’t see transpire, and so had insisted on being out with him, eager to keep a watchful eye on him.

  Saffron was back in her house, comforted with the nightly patrols, and although he would have welcomed her longer if she’d needed to stay, he was happy to have the house back to just himself and Zoë. Saffron’s visit had put a damper on his love life, ending his and Zoë’s fondness for spontaneously screwing anywhere in the house.

  He and Kit were on a second round of the property when Butthead barked and ran ahead of them. Nodding to Kit, ensuring he was ready to intercept the man as Ethan had previously instructed, they split up to entrap the intruder. Ethan spotted the man, near one of the covered alpaca pens, and Butthead closed in on him. In amazement, Ethan watched Butthead stop, bark in recognition, and then wag his stumpy tail.

  “What the fuck?” he muttered as he ran. Nearing the pair, he called out loudly when he saw who stood with Butthead. “Rory! Goddamnit!” Rory’s face registered shame, and he hanged his head as Ethan approached. “What the fuck! Start explaining yourself now. What are you doing out here?”

  Rory handed the apple piece he held to an alpaca, then bent to pet Butthead. “I’ll tell you, just you though,” he said as his eyes took in Kit’s approach.

  Sure, Rory was trespassing on Saffron’s property, but he was feeding treats to her alpacas. Ethan still couldn’t conceive of Rory purposely scaring or threatening Saffron, however, he damn well wanted to know what Rory was doing on her lan
d, uninvited, and at night. Taking in the shocked look on Kit’s face when he recognized Rory, Ethan knew he had to control this situation before Myles showed up. Turning to Kit, he regarded him authoritatively.

  “We’re heading back to the house. Don’t say anything to Saffron until I’ve had a chance to speak with her.”

  Kit looked uncertain, but didn’t say anything. As the trio headed to Saffron’s house, Butthead bounced happily beside Rory. One glance in their direction solidified Ethan’s certainty that Rory wasn’t responsible for Saffron’s woes, but he sure as shit needed answers from the man.

  At the house, he told Rory to wait on the porch while he talked with Saffron, and, leaving Kit out there too, rapped on the door. Saffron answered quickly, her face lined with concern.

  “Did something happen? You’re back fast. Did you see anyone?”

  “I did. Let’s go in, and discuss it,” he said.

  “Shouldn’t we call Myles?”

  “Not right now. Please, I need to speak with you.”

  Relieved she hadn’t spotted Rory, he followed her into the kitchen, and invited her to sit. Then he sat, and fixed her with a serious expression.

  “I found Rory on your property, feeding apples to your alpacas.”

  “Oh my God! It’s been him all along? We have to call Myles.”

  “Just hold on a minute.” There was a wild look in her eye, and he wasn’t certain he could reason with her before she called Myles. That was the last thing Rory needed, and he fought to keep his voice calm. “I told you I wanted to discuss this. Don’t do anything until I’ve had a chance to speak with Rory first.”

  “No way. You caught him red-handed, and I want him arrested.”

  “I caught him feeding apples to your alpacas.”

  “Right, to lure them to him so he can kill another one. I’m calling Myles.” She got to her feet, and he saw her eye her cellphone on the counter.