Chapter 7

"Look. We were going to call—" Nash began as the group sat in his apartment with Sheriff Kenzie Gray.

Coy held up a hand to interrupt his brother, who was digging a hole big enough for all of them to be buried in. "Listen, Kenz. We'd only just discovered it ourselves when you arrived. We hadn't even had the chance to make a call before you were just… there."

"So, you weren't just standing around, gawking at it, doing your own crime scene investigation, calling in resources? I know who you are, Coy, better than most probably, and I know what you and Dillon do. Don't even get me started on what Captain America over here has access to as President."

"Captain America? Well, I do love this country and I suppose it's a step up considering where I was on your list ten minutes ago. I must be growing on you," Ransom teased, trying to lighten the mood.

Unimpressed, Kenzie shot him an unamused glare. "Not even a little bit. This has corruption to the nth degree written all over it."

"Kenz, we have no reason to lie or mislead in any way," Coy went on, offering Ransom a warning look. It seemed he, too, was only making matters worse. "Look, I told you how we came about it, and sure, we were taking in the scene a bit because we live here. We were shocked, and safety was suddenly a concern. Our priorities might be ordered slightly different from yours, but I'm sure you can understand why. Besides, gathering as much intel as possible only helps you build a case."

"Y'all need to let me do my job," she warned. "I appreciate the vote of confidence or lack thereof, but I'm not just some small-town Barney Fife, Stone. I know my way around a crime scene and a mystery."

"I don't doubt that for a second." Coy smiled, trying to earn her trust. "I know you're capable, but so are we –– I have resources that can only help, not hinder, this case."

"How about you let me decide that, Coy? This is my town, my case." She paused to consider his claims. "I have noticed some unfamiliar faces around town more and more. Have anything to do with you, Nash?"

Nash tensed up. "Why me?"

"Do I really need to answer that?" she asked. "I mean, just considering the circumstance that led to the gruesome discovery alone…"

"Just because I've had my share of bad luck doesn't mean I'm part of the local riffraff –– or in this case, visiting riffraff."

"So those plants you decided to put out back were just bad luck?" Kenzie questioned with a smarmy grin.

"Well, uh, you have a point there…" Nash scratched his chin and thought for a moment. "I guess, technically those there are bad luck given what we turned up when my brother decided to harvest them a bit early."

"Harvest? You mean destroying evidence?" Kenzie shot Coy a warning look. "This isn't looking good for any of you. Why do you think I came out here to begin with?"

"To offer condolences, you said so yourself." Nash shrugged.

"Right. And until I saw your makeshift crime scene sitting out there, it was also to tell you to get rid of those damn plants, Nash. You know how much time you'll get for those if anyone else finds out about them?" Kenzie asked.

"You knew about them?"

"Of course, I knew about them. I'm the Sheriff and it's my job to know. The only reason I didn't come out here sooner was because I knew Lilah was on hospice and time was dwindling. Figured I'd give the family time with her. But now that she's gone, and everyone and their Mama's dog will be out here dropping off casseroles, flowers, and Jell-O salad during your period of mourning, I thought it best to take care of it before someone else sees them. You're welcome, by the way. Your dead friend out there, however, changes everything. I can't look the other way when there's a potential murder case sitting out there like I can overlook those plants."

"I, uh, I understand." Nash nodded in agreement.

"I'll ask again, why wasn't I called? For that matter, when I showed up not ten, fifteen feet from ya, why didn't you say something?" Kenzie asked again, looking for a suitable response.

"For this reason, right here. Interrogation. Questions we don't have answers to." Coy went on the defense.

"Coy…"

"Everyone on this ranch, even beyond our family, is automatically implicated. Especially with dimwit over here and his fucking plants. There is little to no evidence sitting out there and if there is any, it's buried deep and potentially fragile." Coy ranted. "It's much easier to identify a body, call it homicide, and pin it on the kid and anyone else you want to attach than it will be to figure out what the hell really happened."

"Coy, I'd never wrongfully accuse anyone of a crime they didn't commit –– not without undeniable evidence to support the claim. Especially your family. I've known y'all our whole lives –– you're like family to me. I know you aren't a bunch of murderers. And equally, you know me and know I'm thorough, will get to the real answer, and that I'm more than fair. Sitting on those marijuana plants so y'all could be with Lilah should be proof of that."

"Kenz. You might be fair, but you have a boss, who has a boss, and an entire community to answer to. It doesn't matter how fair you are when we know politics will drive this thing eventually and you won't have much say in what happens next. I'm being cautious as much for you as I am for my family," Coy reasoned. "Just give me a few days. I'm already running this?—"

"I thought you said you hadn't had a chance to call it in, Coy. Who's being unfair and deceptive now?" she questioned.

"We haven't been even the least bit dishonest. We really had only just discovered it, and we were walking through our options before we called." Coy pulled out his phone. "By working it, I mean I'd already requested a team and resources. That happened with a couple of clicks of a button is all. That's as far as I got, you have my word."

"And I suppose your next line of defense or bargaining tool will be that your resources are faster and better than mine." She snorted.

"I'm sure you can handle this, Kenz, but?—"

"But your resources are faster and better than mine," she repeated.

"To be fair, I already have a digital analysis running based on pictures sent in and a team landing shortly to run a full boots-on-the-ground CSI to find out absolutely everything they can, completely under the radar. No one will even know they're in town, much less on the property."

Kenzie stood and walked to the picture window where she stood and watched Dillon playing outside with Cut's children. She smiled as if it brought back her own memories of playing on the ranch and the fun they all used to have together. She looked over her shoulder at Coy and suddenly locked in his stare. She studied him a moment with a soft expression and knowing eyes that spoke of trust and something else. As if a switch had been flipped, her stare hardened to the point it was like the light dimmed around them. Like she'd remembered something else that wasn't so fondly kept stowed away in her memories.

"I suppose if I try to push rank or jurisdiction, you'll just play your brother-in-law card and get this guy to make it a federal case and hand it over to you and your super elusive, off-the-grid, band of operatives and cockblock me that way."

"You really do keep tabs." Coy winked, to which Kenzie returned a glare. "No. One… That's not what I'll do, because I don't need my brother-in-law's card to pull rank and take the case. If you know as much about me and what Dillon and I do as you lead on, then you know I can do it without him. To be fair, I have clearances not even the President has. But I'd never do that. Especially to you. I don't need to play dirty to get things done. And two… I'd never… cockblock you, either."

"Got your attention, didn't I?" She shrugged off the derogatory remark. "Do me a favor, Stone. If I let you take the lead, you'll keep me in the loop the entire time and when it's time, you step aside and let me do my job."

Coy got up from his seat and stood toe toe-to-toe with her as if his offer was some kind of challenge. "I'll do you one better, Sheriff. I'll partner up with you. Work it together. My resources work better with local law enforcement cooperating."

Kenzie looked around the room at each of the men, finally landing back on Coy and extended her hand.

"Okay, you have a deal." She shook his hand. "For now."

Kenzie released his hand quickly and made her way to the door. Just before she stepped through the threshold, she turned to them and nodded her head at Nash. "Do me a favor, keep this one on a short leash. At least until we get some answers."

Nash rolled his eyes in dramatic fashion as he tossed his hands in the air. "Why does it always come back on me? A little bad luck, and…"

"Bad luck? Okay, Nash. You been looking for bad luck your entire life, boy." She laughed. "Hopefully, that bad luck doesn't take you down this time. I don't want to have to arrest you."

And Kenzie left, closing the door behind her. Coy watched her from the window as she made her way down the steps and instead of heading for her squad car, she headed straight for Dillon. He watched as the women reunited, shared a hug, and maybe even swiped away a tear. Kenzie even picked up the kids, tossed them in the air, and affectionately hugged both Nora and Devyn. She really had been like family to them –– more than that to him, once upon a time. After another round of quick hugs, Kenzie walked back to her police cruiser and looked up, making eye contact with Coy. There was something both familiar and haunting about her stare. It sent chills down his spine yet warmed that pinch loosening in his chest, but he didn't quite know what to make of that. Perhaps she was thinking the same thing, looking back at him.

"You really think this can land on me?" Nash asked, grabbing Coy's attention.

Coy looked over his shoulder and took in the concern smoldering in Nash's expression, but remained silent and turned his attention back to Kenzie as he watched her drive off the ranch.

"Oh, come on. The only thing I'm guilty of is a bad choice with those damn plants that I'm seriously regretting at the moment," Nash went on.

"Let's hope so little brother. Let's hope so," Coy said. "We just need to prove it."