Falcon's Run

Glancing around, she forced her thoughts back on the ranch. She couldn’t do anything more for Carl, but the ranch needed her now. Seeing Stan and Michelle outside the barn pointing up at the weathered roof, she knew what had to be done next.

Making an impromptu decision, she headed to her truck. Maybe she couldn’t help Preston catch Carl’s killer, but she knew how to raise badly needed cash. Her first order of business—pay Rod Garner a visit.

Chapter Seven

As Preston drove west in the direction of the casino, he thought about Abby’s offer to talk to Garner. If he hadn’t been the kind who went by the book, he might have taken her up on it. The casino visit was bound to be a train wreck. He and Jennifer Graham, the head of security there, had a history. They’d dated for a while, and things hadn’t ended well. She’d wanted more—he’d wanted less.

Maybe he was going in the wrong direction. He pulled off the road, waited for a break in traffic, then turned around. All things considered, he might be better off talking to Rod Garner first. Garner and Carl had supposedly been friends, so that gave him some leverage. With a little luck, Garner would help the investigation along by giving him fresh insights into the victim.

If things went smoothly, he’d also try to persuade Garner to pull some strings for him at the casino. He had to convince Jennifer to give the department access to surveillance videos. Verifying that Carl had been there on certain dates and finding out who he’d come into contact with might help establish a motive and suggest a suspect. Of course, it was all speculation at this point, and he sure as heck didn’t have enough for a court order.

He was headed to Garner’s estate when his cell phone rang.

“I need your report, Sergeant,” Preston heard Police Chief Jenkins say as soon as he answered. “Miss Langdon and Sitting Tall Ranch are important to our community. They’ve put us on the map in a very good way. My own son works there as a volunteer.”

Preston updated him on what he had so far. “I’m en route to Rod Garner’s residence, sir. Garner was one of Carl Woods’s friends, apparently.”

“Interesting—a ranch hand and a millionaire former NBA star.”

“Not what you’d expect, sir, but I’ve learned that Garner is also one of the ranch’s benefactors. I think he’ll cooperate with the investigation.”

“Getting him on our side makes sense, Bowman. Garner’s got a lot of fans, and if he gets the word out that he wants this resolved, we might get the cooperation of people who wouldn’t ordinarily come within a mile of a cop.”

“Yeah, that’s my take, too. Unfortunately Garner also has a reputation as a troublemaker, so I’ll have to tread carefully.”

“Whatever it takes. Keep me updated,” the chief said, then ended the call.

As Preston pulled into the long, tree-lined driveway of the former basketball star’s home, he saw a familiar pickup at the far end. Sitting Tall’s logo was emblazoned on one of the doors.

Reaching the parking area, Preston glanced around and saw Abby heading down the cobblestone walk toward the front entrance.

He parked beside her pickup and called out to her.

Abby turned her head, smiled and walked back to meet him.

“We must have just missed each other on the highway. I didn’t expect to run into you here,” he said, glad to see her anyway.