Ellie crossed the bedroom to the dresser and studied the items on top—a wallet, set of car keys, pen and pencil, and some loose change. She picked up the pencil and used it to open the wallet. Frank Keller’s picture on his driver’s license stared back at her.

“The room is his,” she said. She went over to the closet. The slider stood open, revealing the clothes Frank had brought with him to Phippsburg.

She slid the metal hanging door open a little farther, then took down a hanger that held an XL size red-flannel shirt. “Look at this.”

Kade walked up, and Ellie pointed to a small chunk of fabric missing from the sleeve of the shirt. “What do you bet the hole matches the piece we found caught on that fence post out in the north pasture?”

“If it does, that proves Keller was behind the shootings.”

“There’s no chain of evidence, but it doesn’t really matter since Frank’s dead.” Ellie hung the shirt back in the closet.

“The question now is who killed him?” Kade said.

Ellie looked up at him. “And why?”

The whine of an engine sounded in the distance, followed by the noise of a second vehicle. “Looks like the law just arrived.” They went back to the living room, and Kade saw two Routt County sheriff’s SUVs pulling up to the house.

“We need to do this right,” Kade said. He rested his weapon on the floor of the living room, and Ellie did the same. Kade opened the door, they raised their hands, and both of them walked out onto the porch.

Neither of them wanted to get shot by the good guys.

* * *

The Routt County sheriff, Webb Fischer, took their statements. He was average height with a stocky build, unremarkable except for his blue eyes and leonine mane of thick gray hair. Kade made the point that if the rifle in the bedroom belonged to Frank Keller, the guy was left-handed. If so, there was a strong likelihood Keller hadn’t shot himself.

“The medical examiner’s in Steamboat,” Sheriff Fischer said. “He’s on his way here now. It’s only about a thirty- minute drive. We’ll know more after he examines the body.”

In the meantime, it didn’t take long for the sheriff to find out Frank Keller was the owner of a .308 Winchester registered in Denver County. The left-hand bolt said it all.

Kade answered more of the sheriff’s questions, and so did Ellie. Then Kade asked a few questions of his own.

“What about Earl Dunstan? He could have killed Keller, or even if he didn’t, he might know something about his death.”

“I’ve put a BOLO out on Dunstan as a person of interest, but he’s probably just off working somewhere. Earl does handyman repairs in the area. That’s how he makes his living.”