“Right. Both were clearly deliberate acts. I suppose, technically, Riccardo could have done both. He wanted very badly to leave. He had the most motive.”

“Then we could just examine the motive for the murders and attacks.”

Cookie walked in from the lobby. “I couldn’t sleep. Or maybe I’m afraid to sleep. What are you doing?”

I waved my hand over the notes and torn pieces of paper. “At this point, we’re just trying to figure out what’s going on. Bram saw someone get off the helicopter—”

“So that’s who’s out there. The killer!” Cookie said.

“Possibly. Probably.” Bram looked at her. “Are you sure you didn’t see the person who attacked you?”

Cookie closed her eyes for a few moments. “Mmm. I left Roy in his office . . . caught a glimpse of Gary, the assistant wrangler, leaving the staff housing . . . heard the horse on the road—”

“That’s it!” I held up the map I’d drawn. “Are you sure it was Gary?”

“I figured it was. I don’t know, now that you mention it. Why?”

Bram’s face was tight. “We found Gary’s body shortly after we got back to the ranch. There’s no way he could have been at the staff quarters, then shown up dead out by the cabins. He probably was the first person killed. The body in the barn would have been next, and we now know why you were attacked. You saw the killer.”

Cookie shook her head. “The irony is I didn’t recognize him. What’s the motive for killing, outside of preventing identification?”

My missing limb twinged with more phantom pain. “The most common reasons for murder are financial gain or greed, some kind of sexual gratification, or the desire for power or control. And of course the ever-popular cuckoo-for-Cocoa-Puffs crazy.”

“And we don’t have enough information to know which it could be,” Bram said.

I stood and stalked to the map, traced the three routes out of Mule Shoe, then turned to Bram and Cookie. “Regardless of the motive or reason, this has been a systematic attack, deliberate and lethal. We’re going to have to outmaneuver the enemy.”

“And how do you propose we do that?” Cookie asked.

“We don’t send just one rider or even a small group in just one direction. We already know he’s out there and can pick them off at his leisure. We’ll send three parties.” I pointed to the three routes. “It’s the only chance that at least someone will make it to civilization and get help.”

Bram held up his Glock. “We only have two weapons and three people that will need them.”

“We need four. The three groups going out on horseback and the one staying here with Angie and Cookie. It’s the only chance we’ve got.”