Chapter 17

"Leah mentioned someone had been in Shane's office. Do you have any idea what they may have been looking for?" Jo asked.

"Not a clue," Dave said. "They jimmied the lock and broke in. I didn't notice it until I stopped by there this morning."

"I'm sure the authorities already went through the place with a fine-tooth comb."

"They did. If Robyn killed Shane and was picked up last night, who was in his office?" Dave motioned for her to follow him, past several livestock pens and a three-sided structure filled with bales of hay, to another outbuilding, this one only slightly smaller than the main barn.

"His office was apart from the main office," Jo said.

"He worked mostly in this area, so he liked to be close to the workers, easily accessible to whoever might need him," Dave explained.

A service door on the back side led to a small office. A rectangular desk took up most of the space with a metal filing cabinet and a faux leather executive chair squished in behind it.

Dave wasn't exaggerating. The place was a mess. The filing cabinet drawers were open and there were papers strewn everywhere…cluttering the floor, covering the desk, hanging haphazardly from the drawers. "What did the police say when you showed them?"

"They acted like it was no big deal," Dave said. "It was almost as if they didn't want to bother with it."

"Because they think they have Shane's killer in custody," Jo theorized. "Was it Detective Vine?"

"No. It was Deputy Brian Franklin. I don't believe he's involved in Shane's investigation."

"But he knows about it, I'm sure." Jo slowly circled the room. "What kind of information did Shane keep in here?"

"Personnel files, farming reports, receipts." Dave shoved his hands in his pockets. "This isn't the first time someone broke into Shane's office."

Jo spun around. "Someone broke in here before?"

"Yeah. About two weeks ago. Shane was fit to be tied."

"Did he mention who he thought it was and what they might be after?"

"No. Looking back, it was an odd situation." Dave told her at first Shane was furious, demanding all the workers be fingerprinted to try to figure out who it was. "Next thing I know, he's acting like it was no big deal and wants to drop it."

"So maybe Shane figured out who it was. After he found out, he let it go because whoever this person was had some sort of dirt on him," Jo said.

"Kinda makes sense, doesn't it?" Dave grabbed a stack of papers and glanced at the top sheet before setting them back down. "It wasn't Robyn, at least not this time, not if the cops picked her up last night and she spent the night at the police station."

Jo tilted her head. "You didn't know the police had picked her up until I told you?"

"Nope. Like I said, Deputy Franklin was the one who showed up when I called," Dave said. "I don't think he's involved in the case."

"You would think someone familiar with Barr's death would have been the one to take the call." Jo tapped her chin. "There's a good chance whoever broke into this office probably hasn't heard about Robyn being taken in for questioning."

"I think I know where you're going with this," Dave said. "What if the cops have the wrong person? What if whoever killed Shane is here at the farm? They broke in, trying to track down what they think might be incriminating evidence."

"Somehow there's a link between this break-in and Barr's death. I can feel it in my bones. I hate to think an innocent woman is going to be charged with his murder and there's a chance the killer will walk free."

"It's going to be all over the news in a matter of hours." Dave's phone rang. "Detective Vine is calling."

He pressed the answer button. "Dave Kilwin speaking."

"Yes, Detective Vine. I placed a call this morning. Someone broke into Shane's office overnight and tore it apart. Sheriff Brian Franklin came by, looked around and wrote up a report." Dave grew quiet. "No. No one seems to know who it was. I have no idea what they were looking for."

"I see. You've detained Robyn Colburne for questioning. No. I don't know her very well. She's been by the farm a few times to see Shane. What makes you think it was her?"

Dave grew quiet again. "I see. I understand. It's an active investigation and you can't divulge that information because she hasn't officially been charged. I'll let you know if any other odd occurrences take place." Jo's neighbor thanked the detective for the call and said goodbye. "He's not talking."

"Because he can't," Jo said. "He seemed interested in finding out about the office break-in."

"I got the feeling it was because he had to. Shane spent a lot of time on his cell phone. Vine and his team confiscated it on the first day," Dave said. "I'm going to guess some sort of communication between Robyn and Shane incriminated her."

"Robyn worked at Claire Harcourt's laundromat. She said Robyn spent a lot of time texting Shane and seemed upset when he hung around here after hours."

"There you go," Dave said. "She probably texted or left some sort of message for Shane implicating herself."

"Did Robyn come by to see Shane during working hours?"

"Occasionally. The workers have a break in the morning, an hour lunch and then another break mid-afternoon. Robyn didn't start coming around until she and her husband, Glen, separated."

"Glen is Divine's rural route mail carrier," Jo said.

"Yeah."

"It must have been uncomfortable or maybe even infuriating for Glen to have to deliver the mail here, knowing he and his wife split up because of her relationship with Shane."

"I consider Glen a friend," Dave said. "We chatted a few times about their split. I told him he was better off without her and he agreed."

"Did they have children?"

"No. No kids. It was a second marriage for both of them. I don't believe they've been married for very long."

"It's none of my business," Jo said. "But why would you bother getting married if you wanted to play the field?"

"You got me. From what I understood, they began seeing each other when they were both still married to someone else."

"You mentioned Robyn didn't start coming around until she and Glen separated," Jo said. "Did she swing by in the morning? After work?"

"During lunch. She came by some days during lunch. They would eat in his office."

"While the other workers ate somewhere else."

"Yeah. When it's nice weather, they like to eat outdoors at the picnic tables. During the winter months, they head inside to the break area."

"The breaks and lunch hour are at the same time every day?"

"Yep. Ten for the morning break. Noon to one for lunch and three for the afternoon break."

An uneasiness settled over Jo. It was too neat and tidy, wrapped up with a bow. Robyn would be dumb to threaten Shane and then kill him, even if it was in a fit of rage. There had to be something else, someone else. "How long has Sandi worked for you?"

"About a year. Why?"

"I'm not sure she's a huge fan of Leah's. While we were eating lunch, Leah and I both noticed her and Buzz sitting close together, looking in our direction."

"She can be a little cantankerous and opinionated. Sandi runs a tight ship around the office. Could be there's a little jealousy on her part."

Jo almost mentioned how Leah commented that she and Buzz sat close together and chatted privately every day during their lunch break, but decided not to. "We know one thing for certain. Robyn Colburne did not break into Shane's office, at least not this time." She passed by the window and noticed a small swirl of dirt spinning around in the soon-to-be planted farm field. "The wind is picking up again."

"I heard some big storms are coming. Good thing I cleaned the cellar out last week. I've already put the workers on notice to keep an eye on the sky in case things get bad."

"We're heading into storm season. It's never a bad idea to be prepared." Jo squeezed past the desk, studying the few pieces of office furniture.

"What are you doing?"

"Do you have surveillance cameras?"

"No, but I wish I did," Dave said. "There isn't much to steal from a farm. It's not like a thief is going to load a cow in the bed of their truck and drive off."

"True." Despite the seriousness of the situation, Jo grinned, envisioning a thief trying to lure a cow into their vehicle.

"I take that back. I have a box of old cameras somewhere around here, but they're not worth installing."

"What about hunting equipment?"

"Chief Tallgrass lets me hunt their property near the back of the reservation."

"Do you have trail cams?"

"I do."

"Trail cams work nearly as well as surveillance cameras. You could set some up and see what happens."

"As soon as the public finds out Robyn Colburne has been picked up, all other suspects will be off the hook."

"I would think once an arrest has been made, it would trigger even more searching, even more digging around. You could put the bug in everyone's ear that they need to stick close by because the investigation is heating up and the authorities are focusing their search on this place."

Dave rubbed the stubble on his chin. "I would like to know who is behind all of this, even if the police have Shane's killer."

Jo reached for a stack of papers. "All you need to do is plant a little seed of suspicion to get whoever it is to make a move and start snooping again."

Before Jo left, she told Dave she would try to come up with an idea, and he promised he would do the same.

She was halfway home when Claire called.

"Robyn is on her way to work."

"They let her go?"

"She was able to prove she was at her daughter's house the day Shane was murdered."

"Which means investigators are back to square one as far as figuring out who murdered him."

"Yep. I thought you might like to know."

Jo thanked her and returned home, where she found Delta and Carli laughing and standing at the stove with smudges of flour on their cheeks. A trail of white footprints trekked across the kitchen floor and an excited Duke ran around in circles.

"What's going on?"

"I accidentally tripped on Duke, who was right under my feet," Delta said. "I dropped a bowl of flour. It spilled all over him. He thought he was in trouble and tried to hightail it out of here and ended up tracking it across the floor. Carli tried to help and then we both ended up covered in flour."

"C'mon, Duke," Jo coaxed the pup out of the house.

Duke left a fresh set of powdery prints behind as he obediently followed her down the steps and out the back door.

The pup shook from head to toe, sending a dusting of powder into the air. Some of it stuck to his chin, coating his brown fur and creating a beard. Jo grabbed her cell phone and snapped a picture. "You look like an old man, now," she laughed.

Duke flopped over and rolled on the grass, rubbing the remnants of the flour from his fur.

Jo grabbed a clean rag from the pail near the door and began wiping him down. She wiped his chin and then his paws before giving him the all-clear to head back inside the house.

They passed by Carli, who was on her way out.

Delta stood in the center of the kitchen, broom in hand. "Carli left to go get cleaned up. Duke and I sure made a mess."

"I thought you were working with Courtney today."

"We flip-flopped during lunch. Courtney wanted to run into town with Gary. He and Carli finished putting everything away ahead of the storm, so she started helping me here in the kitchen."

"How is it going with Carli's flip pad?"

"She writes a little here and there, but she's also good at non-verbal communication. It helps that she can hear and understand what I'm saying." Delta emptied the dustpan's contents into the trash. "Maybe one day we'll figure out why she won't talk."

"Raylene told me she thinks Carli can read lips."

Delta's head whipped around. "Read lips?"

"Yeah. Carli was in the common area's living room while Raylene and Kelli were talking about a clogged bathroom drain in the kitchen. Carli came over and commented that she'd noticed it too."

"I knew it." Delta propped the broom in the corner. "After Gary left, I had to call him to add something to my grocery list. Carli and I were bringing clothes in from the clothesline, and she was way over on the other end of the yard. She ran over and reminded me to tell Gary not to forget the campfire supplies."

"Are you sure she couldn't hear you?" Jo asked.

"No. There's no way. I thought maybe she wanted to make sure I didn't forget, but looking back, she was reading my lips and knew I hadn't mentioned it," Delta said. "Isn't that something? What are we going to do?"

"If I call her out, she could easily deny it."

"Yep."

Jo stared out the back screen door, watching as Carli slowly began making her way toward the kitchen. "We need to catch her doing it. I need to call Carli and Courtney's probation officer to let him know the women have settled in and confirm he received their paperwork. I'm going to let her know I'm placing the call, and then step outside in full view of the kitchen where she can watch."

"And I'll be right here watching her while she's watching you." Delta lifted her hand in a high five. "Let's do it."