Rugged Defender

“What convinced the sheriff that Justin didn’t do it?” TJ, the mystery/thriller writer, asked.

“Before I left her office, McCall gave me a copy of the coroner’s report. I’ve only glanced at it, but Drew was shot at close range in the chest. There was another shot fired either before or after. This one in the opposite direction. The bullet lodged in the wall next to the door.”

“That’s odd,” TJ said.

“That’s what I thought. I suggested to the sheriff that someone shot Drew with his gun, then dropped it in his lap to make it look like a suicide and was leaving, not realizing Drew was still alive. He picked up the gun and fired at his would-be killer. His shot went wild. He was still holding the gun when Justin appeared minutes later and took it away from him. Justin said he heard a vehicle motor leaving after he found Drew, but apparently no one else did since his father found him not long after, holding the gun.”

“Or Drew was drunk and angry. He fired the shot at the door before turning the gun on himself,” TJ said and shrugged. “Like you said, we’ll probably never know.”

“But what if someone got away with murder?” Chloe said.

Neither sister said anything for a moment.

“Wait, if you really think Drew was murdered, won’t this be dangerous?” Annabelle said.

“Maybe even more dangerous if Justin Calhoun decides to come to the New Year’s Eve Masquerade Dance,” TJ said. “There are apparently plenty of people in this town who believe he killed his brother. Justin might be the last person who wants you playing investigative reporter into his brother’s death.”

* * *

“WE’VE GOT TROUBLE.”

“I heard. Justin Calhoun is back in town. Someone saw him buying beer at the convenience store. Nici Kent was with him.”

“Bigger trouble than that.”

“Chloe Clementine. She’s an investigative reporter from some big California newspaper. She spent time at the local newspaper wanting to know about Drew Calhoun’s death. Then she went over to the sheriff’s office. I heard the sheriff gave her the coroner’s report on his death.”

“So what? The sheriff ruled it an accident. It’s been five years. It isn’t as if they would reopen the case because of some nosey reporter. Just keep your cool. Nothing’s going to come of this.”

“But what if this Clementine gets too close to the truth?”

“Then I’ll take care of her. You worry too much. Drew Calhoun got what was coming to him. There is no reason anyone would suspect we were involved. So chill out. She’s going to be asking a lot of questions, but we don’t know anything, right?”

“Right. It’s just that after five years—”

“I’m telling you it’s nothing. It’s over. We’re all in the clear.” But even as he mouthed the words, he could tell that they weren’t in the clear. There was a weak link and he was going to have to take care of it.

After disconnecting he considered his options. He wouldn’t do anything until he was forced to. Maybe all this would blow over. Or not. Still there was cause for concern. Something must have brought Justin Calhoun back to Whitehorse. The timing bothered him. He returns and this investigative reporter gets interested? There had to be a connection. Or someone had talked.

Chapter Five (#ud8076414-e6d6-5c39-a9a7-7063c412b4b7)

The next morning, Chloe woke more determined than ever. She knew her sisters were right about the possible danger, but that wasn’t going to stop her. In the first place, she didn’t believe that Justin was guilty no matter what anyone thought. In the second place, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong with the accidental death ruling.

Yesterday, she’d gotten the impression that the sheriff had thought it was a suicide but was willing to let the coroner rule it accidental. Bert didn’t believe that any more than he would have believed that his oldest son shot himself.

If she was right, someone had murdered Drew and gotten away with it. All she had to do was find out who wanted him dead five years ago. Even as she thought it, she recalled what the sheriff had said about Justin and Drew having an argument earlier in the day.

What if she was wrong about Justin and her investigation ended up leading her straight to him? Wasn’t that what the sheriff had been trying to warn her about?

It was a chance she was going to have to take.

She’d stayed up late last night going over the case file and coroner’s report on Drew Calhoun’s death. So when the phone rang, it took her a moment to wake up, let alone find it and answer.

As she hit Accept, she realized it could be Justin. “Hello?”

Silence.

“Hello?” She blinked at the clock beside her bed. Two thirty in the morning? A wrong number? A drunk butt-dial after the bars closed?

She started to hang up when she heard a raspy whisper and couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman on the line. “Stop nosing into things that aren’t your business. Drew Calhoun is dead. Leave it alone or you’ll regret it.”

“Who is this?” she demanded. But the caller was gone. She felt a chill as she disconnected. She hadn’t expected word to get out so soon that she was looking into Drew’s death—let alone to get a threatening phone call. Why would someone be worried about what she might find unless Drew really was murdered?

With a shudder she realized she just might have heard from the killer who would be watching her and waiting for her to get too close.

* * *

IT TOOK A while for her to get back to sleep. With daylight though, she was even more determined to get to the truth.

But where to begin? A name came to mind. She groaned, dreading it, but if anyone knew something back then, it just might be the woman Justin was seeing five years ago. She showered, dressed and had a quick breakfast before her sisters got up. It didn’t take but one phone call to find out where Nici Kent was now living. It was a short walk, since crossing the entire town took only about fifteen minutes on foot.

Nici answered the door with a scowl. “Really?” She didn’t look any different than she had yesterday at the soup kitchen—except she wasn’t wearing a hairnet.

“Really,” Chloe said. “I need to talk to you.”

“I can’t imagine why.”

Chloe smiled. “Let me in and maybe you’ll find out.”

Nici shook her head. “My sister’s kid’s been squalling all morning at the top of his lungs. You want to talk? Then we’d better take a walk.” She grabbed her coat and, pulling it on, closed the door and started down the steps.

They walked toward the park near the river.

“I was hoping you might be able to help me,” Chloe said. The morning was cold and clear. She could see her breath with each word. Hands stuffed into her coat pockets, she debated how to get Nici to talk.

“Help you?” The woman gave her a skeptical look. “I doubt you’d be dumb enough to ask me for money, so you must need—”

“Information.”

Nici laughed. “What kind of information is it you think I can give you?”

They’d reached the park and were almost to the footbridge that crossed the river. Everything close to the water was covered with a thick coating of frost, making the world around them a winter white. “Drew Calhoun.”

The woman stopped walking to turn to look at her. “Why would you be asking about him?”

Chloe could see that she was going to have to lay all her cards on the table. “I got a call in the middle of last night from someone warning me to stop investigating Drew Calhoun’s death. You wouldn’t know anything about that call, would you?”

Nici said nothing as she climbed up on the bridge.