BooksBarbecue
Back The Last Goodnight Save as PDF
Chapters (50)
  1. Also by
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. CHAPTER ONE
  5. CHAPTER TWO
  6. CHAPTER THREE
  7. CHAPTER FOUR
  8. CHAPTER FIVE
  9. CHAPTER SIX
  10. CHAPTER SEVEN
  11. CHAPTER EIGHT
  12. CHAPTER NINE
  13. CHAPTER TEN
  14. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  15. CHAPTER TWELVE
  16. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  17. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  18. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  19. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  20. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  21. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  22. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  23. CHAPTER TWENTY
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  33. CHAPTER THIRTY
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  43. CHAPTER FORTY
  44. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  45. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  49. EPILOGUE
  50. Teaser Chapter

“You just watch over Alejandro,” Kade said. “The rest will take care of itself.”

They left Maria and headed back to the ranch, both of them quiet along the way. From the set of his jaw, Ellie knew Kade was thinking about Frank Keller.

“It’ll be dark by the time we get home,” Kade said. “In the morning, I’ll ride out to the pasture where the men were working, have Wyatt show me exactly where Alejandro was shot. With any luck, I can figure out where the bastard was hiding and be able to track him from there.”

“I’ll ride with you,” Ellie said. “We can go over the crime scene together. Two of us tracking Keller puts the odds in our favor. And if you run into trouble, you’ll have backup.”

“I can take one of the men.”

“You’re down two men already. I’m a detective. I have my own weapon, and I’m a damned good shot. Let me do my job.”

Kade looked as if he wanted to argue. In the end, he gave her a single stiff nod. Tomorrow they were going hunting.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

AT BREAKFAST THAT MORNING, KADE SPOKE TO THE MEN ABOUT Frank Keller. They remembered him from the short time he had worked the roundup. Kade told them he believed Keller was behind the shootings and an explosion that had happened up at the Red Hawk Mine. He told them the sheriff would be out sometime today to ask questions and take a look at the crime scene.

He asked Wyatt to handle the sheriff, then told the men he was going after Keller himself. With the ranch so shorthanded, he was taking Ellie as backup. She had proved herself during the storm, he explained, had shown herself to be as capable as any of the hands, and she had volunteered for the job.

Roy Cobb grumbled a little. Wyatt cast Kade a long, searching glance, but in the end, the men accepted his judgment. Kade had thought about telling them the truth, that Ellie was a private investigator from Denver he had hired to look into his wife’s murder. These were men he trusted. Men he had known and worked with for years.

But Heather had been killed eight years ago. Roy and Seth had both come aboard after her death, but the other guys were all working on the ranch at the time. Was it possible one of them had murdered her? He didn’t believe it, but until the killer was found, there was no way to know for sure.

Add to that, he didn’t want Ellie’s true purpose leaking to anyone in town. It wouldn’t be fair, not when she was doing her best to track down the killer.