Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX

A FTE R HE DISCONNECTED , the sheriff studied the list of names Holden had given him. He and the rancher had stepped outside, away from the man's family. Elaine had not found Holly Jo's computer password or a handwritten diary. The computer would have to be turned over to the FBI. Duffy had written down everything he could remember about his argument with Joe Gardner.

Stuart was anxious to talk to Brand Stafford, but in the meantime, he would follow up with Gus Gardner. Even though he suspected the kidnapper was on the list Holden had given him, he couldn't discount the one person who probably knew more about Holly Jo's life than anyone—her nemesis, Gus Gardner, the boy Duffy suspected had been bullying her.

As he started to fold and pocket Holden's list, he had a bad feeling the names already on it were only the tip of the iceberg. With a jolt, he realized that one name in particular was missing. "Why isn't Holly Jo's father on here? I'd think he would be a prime suspect." It was a question he hadn't wanted to ask in front of the others because his friend Cooper had told him he didn't even know what his father's relationship to Holly Jo was or wasn't.

"He's dead. So is her mother," the rancher said.

"Dead?" Stuart had warned Holden that this was going to dig up dirt from every dark hole in his life. It especially would expose everything concerning his ward. "How was it that Holly Jo's mother asked you to take her?" He saw the rancher instantly begin to clam up. "Didn't she or Holly Jo's father have relatives that would have taken the girl?"

"No."

Stuart swore. "I know you're holding out on me, thinking it's none of my business, but you're wrong. If you want to get her back, then you must tell me everything . What is your relationship to Holly Jo?"

"I'm not her father, if that's what you're asking."

"Holden—"

The rancher cursed and stepped away a few yards to look toward the river. The Powder River, the lifeblood of those who lived here, passed right through the heart of the McKenna Ranch.

Many still claimed that the river was a mile wide and an inch deep and ran uphill. The joke was that it was too thick to drink and too thin to plow. Captain Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition had named it Redstone River. But the Native Americans called it Powder River because the black shores reminded them of gunpowder, and that was the name that had stuck.

While Montana had prettier, deeper, wider and flashier rivers, the Powder seemed stubborn and steady as it began in Wyoming and traveled more than one hundred fifty miles to empty into the Yellowstone. In that way, the river had always reminded him of Holden McKenna.

"I rodeoed with her mother's husband," the rancher said finally. "I felt responsible for his death. Holly Jo's mother was pregnant with Holly Jo at the time. I owed her more than the money I sent each month to help them get by. It isn't something I'm proud of."

"How well did you know him?"

"Not well. Like I said, we both rodeoed. Can we just leave it at that?"

"No, I'm going to need his name."

The rancher cursed. "Robert ‘Bobby' Robinson. He was from Roundup."

"Where did he die?"

"Billings. We were up on the band of rock cliffs above the city called The Rims. He and I...we'd been drinking and...arguing. He lunged at me, I stepped aside, and he went over. I was young. I panicked when I saw that he was dead on the rocks below. I ran, okay? I didn't report the accident."

"Was anyone else there?" He shook his head. "And you're positive that he died?" He nodded. "What were you arguing about?"

"I don't even remember. Like I said, we'd been drinking after a rodeo. Bobby was a bull rider. His wife was nagging him to quit. He was in a foul mood. After he died, Holly Jo's mother moved to Missoula and raised her daughter there."

Stuart nodded. "I'll see what I can find out about his family." Right now, he was anxious to talk to Holly Jo's classmate from school, Gus Gardner. Friend or foe, Gus might know if someone had been hanging around the school, watching Holly Jo. Or if someone had contacted her from her father's family.

"Stay here," the sheriff ordered after a deputy arrived to be with the family. Another deputy was keeping an eye on the mailbox down the road in case the kidnapper tried to contact Holden again. "Let me know if you hear anything, and I'll do the same."

Stuart felt the clock ticking. What made it all the more difficult was his small sheriff's department. Shorthanded, he and his deputies had to cover the entire Powder River Basin. Two deputies from Yellowstone County had been brought in to help look for Brand Stafford after they'd checked the Stafford Ranch without finding him. Charlotte had gone to Billings for a doctor's appointment and was allegedly on her way back.

He knew from his law enforcement training that the first seventy-two hours of a kidnapping case were most crucial. But the first forty-eight hours were critical because that was when he had the best chance of following up leads while details were fresh in everyone's minds. The process had been compared to following a trail of breadcrumbs.

Right now those crumbs led to a boy named Gus Gardner, son of Joe Gardner and classmate of Holly Jo's. Duffy seemed to think that Gus had been bullying Holly Jo. He'd said that there had definitely been something going on between the two of them.

The moment Stuart drove up to the ranch hand's house, Joe Gardner came out. He was a string bean of a man, weathered and slightly bent for his age, having grown up as a ranch hand's son and becoming one himself after high school. In his forties, he looked tired as well as angry as the sheriff climbed out of his patrol SUV.

"Duffy McKenna has no business coming out here and accusing my son of anything," Joe began before Stuart reached the porch.

"He's upset because Holly Jo is missing," he said calmly. "I'm sure we can clear this up quickly. I just need to talk to your son."

The man hesitated for a moment before he turned toward the screen door and called, "Gus!"

The door opened at once. Gus had no doubt been standing just inside, listening.

Stuart scaled the porch steps, taking in the boy as he did. Stocky, blond and moody-looking, Gus appeared guilty as well as nervous. But it was the abrasion on the side of the boy's face that caught the sheriff's attention. "I need to ask you about Holly Jo."

"We already told Duffy," Joe said. "We don't know anything about her."

"I'm still going to need to talk to Gus."

Stuart looked to Joe, who quickly said, "You're not talking to him without me."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," the sheriff said, although he doubted the boy would be forthcoming in front of his father. "Let's sit down here on the porch steps," he said to the boy.

Gus looked reluctant but took a seat, his father towering above them on the porch proper.

Stuart started with the easy questions. "When was the last time you saw Holly Jo?" No surprise that it had been in school the day before. "Are you friends?"

Gus shrugged and mumbled, "Not really."

"Have you been hassling her or bullying her?"

"What?" Joe demanded.

The boy's reaction was immediate. His head jerked up, his eyes wide as if he was shocked by the accusation, and he shook his head fiercely. As Joe started to object, Stuart waved him into silence.

"Do you like her?" He watched the boy swallow and blush as he looked down at his boots and nodded reluctantly. "You know she's missing, right?" Another nod. "Is there someone who might want to harm her?" He watched the boy hesitate.

The words came out hesitantly. "There are these girls at school. Tana Westlake and her friends. They're mean to her. I told Holly Jo to stay clear of them, but she doesn't always."

He saw something in the boy's expression. "She stands up to them?"

Gus nodded and avoided eye contact again. "It only makes them meaner."

Stuart guessed, "You've taken up for her, and now these girls are after you as well." He watched Gus's mouth work, but no sound came out.

"Are you telling me you let a bunch of girls pick on you?" Joe demanded behind them.

Stuart shot him a warning look. Joe swore and stormed into the house, slamming the screen door behind him. But the sheriff knew he hadn't gone far and was still listening. "What happened to your face?"

The boy's hand went to the fresh abrasion on his cheek. "I fell down." It was a lie, but Stuart let it go.

"Have either you or Holly Jo told anyone at school about the bullying?"

"I wanted to, but Holly Jo wanted to handle it. I tried to talk her out of it."

"Do you know what she had planned?" he asked.

Gus shook his head. "She said it was better if I didn't know."

"When was this?"

"A few days ago." The boy kept his gaze down. "Do you think they did something to her?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out. Thank you for your help. Sounds like you're a good friend to Holly Jo. I'm sure she appreciates that."

Gus looked at his boots again as his father came out of the house and told him to get to his chores. "You make sure Duffy McKenna leaves my boy alone," Joe blustered.

"He won't be bothering Gus anymore," the sheriff assured him as he walked to his patrol SUV and climbed in.

On the way into town, the sheriff considered what he'd learned and what he would say when he got to the Westlake house. He knew this line of inquiry was getting him nowhere. But he had to follow up since there were little lies and big lies. When it came to kids, all lies seemed big.

Also, he'd once been a kid. He and Cooper and their friends had done irresponsible things that could have gotten someone hurt. The ransom notes with the letters cut from magazines seemed almost kid-like. Maybe the truth they wanted to come out was what Holly Jo had done to one of them—and had nothing to do with Holden's past. A long shot, but one Stuart had to take.

He was almost to the Westlake house when he got a call. Brand Stafford had been spotted in town. A deputy was on the way to check it out.