Page 45 of Shephard
Greg was convinced it would do some good. I knew better. Cane wasn’t just a womanizer. He was an attention freak.
A part of me wished we would have an early snow. What was I saying? I’d spent a better part of the morning with Pepper combing the area. At least the bully of a man had told me about the cigarette butt and piece of cloth, but there were no identifiable fingerprints. I’d pushed members of the lab in Roanoke to provide the answer as soon as possible.
Right now, there was no real evidence other than the weapon. Of course the serial numbers had been filed off, but I doubted it had been done by a true professional. The job was crude. That could add credence to Shephard’s thought the man usually provided security.
I hated to admit it, but if he hadn’t been with me the night before, my ass would be lying in the morgue right now. I’d been rude and intolerable with him, but the last thing I wanted to do was be forced to owe him for my life.
Twice.
“He won’t care. He’s a media hound and likely fucking that reporter.” Yes, I was also in a crude mood.
Greg shook his head. “Cane understands we’re all in a precarious position. You need to continue working with him at this point. Okay?”
I would prefer ripping Cane’s eyeballs out. “Fine.” Greg appeared awfully uncomfortable. “What else?”
“Well, I don’t mind telling you that we’re going to have a visit from the sheriff late today or tomorrow.”
“Why?” Greg didn’t answer right away. I laughed out loud. “I can guess.”
“He’s concerned as to the murders as much as you are.”
Right. The man was concerned about his re-election numbers.
“Now our little world is tops on his list of importance?” I had a bad feeling the FBI would need to get involved. The identity of the victims could certainly determine if the murders were considered their jurisdiction.
“Let’s not be sarcastic at this point. You and I both know with being understaffed, we need all the help we can get.” Greg was already exasperated. I’d yet to go through a full tourist season, but I understood half the time it was exhausting depending on the crowd. My boss looked it at this point.
“Yeah, that’s something we both agree on. If only we had an expert.” I shouldn’t be thinking about Shephard, but he was the kind of man that was tough to get out of my mind.
“You’re as close as we got. Even if you are a prima donna.” At least Greg could still offer a smile at this point.
He left my office and I sat back in my chair, flipping once again to the screen I’d been looking at earlier. I’ll be damned if the Feds were going to take this case. My case. But an expert was needed. What if… Yeah, I was playing with fire, but I sensed my mountain man wasn’t all bad. Although learning almost anything about him or his past, other than the basic crap in the local news, seemed as if it was going to take an act of Congress.
I’d put in a call early morning to a buddy I knew who could track down every scrap of information out there on Shephard. I thought I’d give it a college try, surfing through every site that might hold some information.
What I learned very quickly was that it seemed the man didn’t exist. I could probably get ahold of Shephard’s birth certificate to prove he was Shephard Fox, but other than that, it was as if he’d been erased from the system.
I knew enough about what were affectionally called spooks in the military. They were the men and women who often handled the most dangerous missions. Weaknesses weren’t allowed, which could be the reason for his disappearance from the world. However, he was obviously retired or he wouldn’t have accepted the position of operating the resort. And if my instincts were right, the reason there was no record of him had to do with his life after leaving the Marines.
I could be jumping to conclusions, but he was obviously skilled in several areas, his training some of the best I’d ever seen and so far, he’d done little to highlight that fact. However, the night before had thrown him. That was easy to see how much he was off his game. Time away or a tragedy he couldn’t get over? I knew that damn well myself. It hadn’t helped we’d rescued a civilian party goer. However, he’d been rattled to a point by being forced to save me.
Should I feel bad about that?
I drummed my fingers on the desk, glancing at Pepper. “Who is he, sweet girl? I know you trust him, but he’s not who he presents himself to be.”
She huffed in response. I rubbed my eyes and the moment I closed them, his rugged face slithered in.
He was way too gorgeous and talented for his own good. The night before had been…
Oh, shit. I couldn’t go there. I just couldn’t. My leg ached, my arm was scratched to shit, and every muscle was screaming for a long massage. And three unidentified men were dead. What was I doing? Fantasizing about a man who’d driven me crazy since we’d met. That didn’t bode well for my psyche.
It was time to do rounds, which meant cruising the normal tourist traps to ensure everyone was safe. With the incident with the drop-off, the surrounding area where the new victim had been found had been closed off. Thankfully, the small rockslide was a good excuse to be able to do so. They happened, although not that often. At least we didn’t have reporters camping outside our door.
I grabbed my keys, motioning to Pepper and exiting the building. The day was sunny enough that the tourists would be out in flocks.
Driving the tourist areas was part of my job. It was important and one I took seriously, unlike what I’d seen with Cane. Right now, doing so would increase my eyes and ears on the acreage of land without interfering with all the fun.
The night before played heavily in my mind, as did the fact the sheriff was coming to town. I knew we were in over our heads. Keeping the visitors safe and away from wild animals while not falling off a cliff was our job. But the murders were terrifying me and I hated to admit it. Even with everything I’d experienced in my life and career, I had a very bad feeling about this.