Page 147 of The Lonely Road

“Kaz okay with that?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, ’cause Jessup will know you’re back in town. He’s got people.”

I look down at my empty plate of meatloaf. She makes it with lard, and it tastes amazing. Probably clogging up my arteries as I speak—but delicious nevertheless.

“Yeah, Jessup will know and won’t mind. He’s been hounding me. Wants me to finish the job.”

The Sheriff raises an eyebrow.

“He’s pissed that Taya didn’t back down—that the judge didn’t side with High Mesa entirely, and right now it looks like they’ll lose the next hearing.”

“Judges don’t like it when witnesses are intimidated. Makes them ornery. I know Judge Colbeck. He probably hit the roof when he read Taya’s brief about Trafton being on Clara’s land and scaring her sixteen-year-old daughter. Colbeck has a daughter. She’s sixteen.”

Before I can answer, someone shouts, “Hey, dirtbag, what you doin’ back here?”

I turn to see Jay Buck.

“Hi, Jay. How’s it hanging?”

Jay snarls at me and then sits at the counter.

“Clara and the kids okay?” I see the little boy with his wooden horse in my mind’s eye, and I’m just about ready to pour something hot over my own head.

“Yeah.”

“Do they need⁠—”

“Wiley is there.”

I look at him in confusion. “Your deputy?”

“Yeah. He’s there. The first night after Trafton was there, he stayed in his truck by their gate. Second night he slept in the guestroom.”

“Am I missing something?”

“You and Clara Whitman both. Wiley’s takin’ care of her and the kids.”

Understanding dawns. “Ah.”

“Ah is right! He’s a good man. I hope she’ll give him a chance.” He shakes his head, humor gone. “It’s been tough, losing Deke. They were…you know the kind of couple you look at and think, yeah, they’ve got it.”

That’s what I had with Taya—that rare relationship that glows for all to see. Now, I’m a dirtbag.

“What do you have on Trafton?” I ask the Sheriff.

He drinks some coffee. “He left the Meadowlark Motor Lodge six days ago. No forwarding. Paid cash for everything. His rental car was found at the Grand Junction airport, but he didn’t take any flight out that we can trace.” He considers me. “He’s local. Somewhere in the valley or near it.”

I think about this.

“I have an investigator. Former military. He finds people.”

“I’d appreciate that. Ask him to do it quietly.”

I nod. “That’s his default setting.”

“How you gonna handle Jessup?”