They followed him into the office, and Turley closed the door. Kade’s jaw tightened at the way the man’s eyes lingered on Ellie’s breasts as she took off her puffy jacket.

Jealousy was an emotion Kade had learned to ignore when he had been married to Heather. Somehow it felt different with Ellie. Maybe because she wasn’t flirting with the other man to purposely spark his temper.

His gaze went to Turley. Ellie was a beautiful woman. Turley was just a man. Kade’s temper eased.

He sat down next to Ellie in folding chairs in front of Turley’s metal desk. The office was cluttered by metal shelves against the walls filled with an assortment of ore samples, heavy chunks of rock containing silver, lead, zinc, and any of a half dozen different substances, all covered with a fine layer of dust.

Turley sat down across from them behind his desk. “You asked me about Frank Keller.”

“That’s right,” Kade said. “You recognize the name?”

Will nodded. “Keller worked here for a while. He was our blast technician when we started the new tunnel. It was a while ago, though. At least six months.”

“Did you give the sheriff his name after the explosion?”

“It never occurred to me Frank would be involved. Like I said, he’s been gone for at least six months, and he never gave us any trouble. We parted amiably, and that was the last I saw of him.”

“Why’d he quit?”

“We got to a point we didn’t need him, and he’d only been hired for a specific project. He completed the work, we paid him, and he left.”

“Did he say where he was going?” Ellie asked. “Or leave a forwarding address?”

“He said something about a job in one of the mines in southern Colorado. Didn’t say which one. That’s all I know.”

Kade rose from his chair. “Thanks for the help, Will. If you think of anything else, I’d appreciate a call.”

He didn’t mention the dead steers or what had happened to Alejandro. Those were ranch problems, and so far he had no proof Keller was involved. If Keller hadn’t blown up the mine, maybe the events weren’t connected.

They left the mine supervisor’s office and climbed into the truck. Ellie’s seat belt clicked into place as Kade slid behind the wheel and fired the engine.

“Maybe Keller isn’t our guy,” Ellie said.

“Maybe not. We need to know more about him. He only worked the roundup a week or so before he was fired. Around the middle of September, I think.”

“If he was working in a different mine somewhere before that, why would he come back to Coffee Springs?”

“Good question. Maybe he was raised around here. He knew how to ride, how to handle himself out there or Wyatt wouldn’t have put him to work.”