heard the details of what had happened, his heart sank. Incidents like this one were how blood feuds began. Michael gave him the GPS readings from his phone, which gave Riordan a clear location.
“It will take us at least thirty minutes to get there,” Riordan said.
Michael looked back at his mother, who was standing guard over their father’s body.
“We’re not going anywhere,” he said, and disconnected, then ran back to the scene. “I spoke to Constable Riordan. It will be at least thirty minutes, maybe more, before they can get here.”
Leigh thought about Jesse alone at their house.
“Samuel, please call Bella and ask her to go stay with Jesse.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, and then started walking until he had enough bars on his phone to make a call.
Bella answered on the second ring. “Hello?”
“It’s me,” he said.
“Are you okay? Did you find out what happened?”
He tried to say it without breaking down, but the truth was too appalling.
“Daddy’s dead. Mama found him in the woods, shot in the back. He scratched the name ‘Wayne’ in the dirt before he died.”
Bella gasped, and then started crying.
“Who’s Wayne? Why would someone kill your daddy?”
“Mama says it’s someone from her family. She’s gone all quiet. I’ve never seen her like this. It’s nothing but pure rage.”
“What can I do?”
“Mama asked if you would please go to the house and stay with Jesse until we can all get back.”
“Yes, yes, of course. I’ll leave right now. Oh, Sammie, this just breaks my heart. I’m so sorry.”
“So am I, honey, so am I. I’ll see you there later.”
He disconnected and hurried back to his mother. “She’s on her way. What do you need me to do?” he asked.
She pointed into the woods.
“Take Big Red. See if you can find where the killer stood. It has to be in that general direction. If Red can catch the scent, set him on it and see how far he’ll take you.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Samuel said, and ran for the dog, then headed into the woods as Michael and Aidan called their wives with the news. Like Bella, the other two daughters-in-law headed to the home place to be with Jesse.
It didn’t take Samuel long to find his daddy’s footprints because he recognized the boot tread, and even less time to find where the killer had stood when he shot him. He searched around the area and found an ejected cartridge. Rather than pick it up and possibly ruin a fingerprint, he marked the spot with a small pile of rocks, took a picture of the footprints, then set Big Red on the scent and held tight to the leash as the dog headed down the mountain.
It was easy to follow the trail because the killer had been running and making no attempt to hide his tracks. Samuel took note of the length of the stride as he paused more than once to take pictures.
Within ten minutes Red stopped and yipped. He’d lost the scent. Samuel followed him as he began circling the area, trying to pick it up again. The ground was hard and rocky beneath the trees, and when Samuel finally saw tire tracks from a motorcycle, his heart sank. The shooter was gone. The hunt was over. He pulled in the leash and then stopped.
“That’s good, boy. That’s good,” he said, patting the big hound. “Let’s go back. Let’s go find Mollie.”
The dog trotted beside Samuel as they headed back up the mountain, his tongue hanging. When they crossed a small creek Samuel stopped to let Red drink. A little rabbit hopped farther back into the brush, and a pair of squirrels scolded from the canopy above their head.
Samuel took a couple of steps upstream from Red and squatted down beside the trickling water to wipe the sweat from his face. As he leaned over to sweep his hand through the water, he caught a glimpse of his reflection. He’d always taken great pride in looking like his father, but now it was a reminder of their loss. He set his jaw as he sloshed the water on his face. Tears were rolling down his cheeks as he stood, mixing with the water droplets as he started back up the mountain with his dog. By the time he got back to the murder scene, cops were everywhere, and the ache in his chest was firmly entrenched.
* * *
Leigh’s silent vigil over Stanton’s body ended when the constable and his men arrived. Once she had given her statement, she had to watch from a distance as the crime scene investigators began taking pictures of everything from the name that he’d scribbled in the dirt to the position of his body. When the medical examiner rolled the body over and realized the shot had been a through and through, the crime scene officers began looking for a bullet, hoping it had hit a tree.
When Michael and Aidan offered to help look, their offer was rejected, so they went to stand beside their mother. They stood for a few moments before they realized she was too quiet, and began to get concerned.
Leigh’s expression was evidence of her contempt as she watched the officers stomping around the area and examining the trees in search of the missing bullet.
“Both of you, please, go help those fools find the bullet. It’s going to help us name the killer.”
“We offered. They told us to step aside.”
“Oh my God,” she muttered, as she ran a shaky hand through her tangled hair.
“You don’t think they’ll find it?” Michael asked.
She pointed.
“No. Just look at them. They can plainly see where Stanton is lying and a direct line of shot would be there.” She pointed toward the northeast. “And yet look where they’re at.”
Aidan frowned. “I don’t care what they said. I’m going to help search. This is ridiculous.”
“I’ll go with you,” Michael said.
They were on the other side of the clearing when Samuel came up behind his mother. He tied Big Red up and then slid a hand across her shoulder.
She spun immediately.
“Anything?” she asked.
“I found a cartridge casing, and then the trail ended a ways down. He got away on a motorcycle.”
“Where’s the cartridge?” she asked.
“I marked the trail and let it lie. I figure the crime scene investigators will need to bag and process it.”
Leigh paused for a moment, staring up at her second son, then she cupped his face. Her voice shook as she spoke.
“You and Bowie look so much like your daddy.”
Samuel pulled her into his arms.
“We love you, Mama. We’ll all be here for you and Jesse. Always.”
She drew a slow, shaky breath. There were tears on her face when she pulled away, but the fire in her eyes was even brighter.
“Do you have Bowie’s number on your phone?”
“Yes, ma’am. Do you want to call him?”
He watched a muscle jerk at the side of her jaw and then the tears began to fall in earnest.
“I can’t say the words yet. Will you call him for me? Tell him I need him. Tell him I said to come home.”
“Yes, I’ll call. I have to go find a signal. I won’t be long.”
Leigh watched him walking away and for a moment could almost imagine it was Stanton.
Oh my God. Stanton. How am I going to live life