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Pellegrino Ranch. Shelby.

I was right on time for my three o’clock appointment with Marilyn Pellegrino—former barrel racing champion of the world—who now ran an instructional school for girls aspiring to the popular rodeo sport.

“Come in, Travis. Wonderful to see you.”

“Thanks, Marilyn. I’m sure you heard about Randy Quade already. News travels faster in Montana than anywhere else I’ve ever been.”

“What a tragedy. One of the nicest people in the whole county.”

“I agree, and his entire family is devastated. When I left the Quade ranch, one of the boys was staying with his mother.”

“Maggie Quade is lucky to have her boys. Sit down, Travis. I made coffee for us. Did you want to talk to me about something in particular?”

I sat down at the table in Marilyn’s warm, fragrant kitchen, and she set a mug of steaming coffee in front of me. I added a splash of cream and left it to cool down while I asked a few questions.

“In answer to your question, Marilyn, I do want to talk to you about something specific.”

“Okay, go ahead. I’ll help you if I can.”

“In her statement, Mrs. Quade described the horse thieves as a couple of big redneck types wearing bulky parkas.”

“Okay, I’m listening.”

“That didn’t help much, but what I’m asking you about is the truck and horse trailer they were driving.”

“Sure. I’ve seen a lot of them. They drive past my house almost every day, picking up or delivering.”

“Dark blue pickup truck pulling a dark blue trailer. Big one. They loaded six of Randy’s horses and were going back into the barn for more when Mrs. Quade ran out of the house with Randy’s shotgun and fired buckshot at them.”

Marilyn smiled. “Good for Maggie. She’s a feisty one. I feel so bad for her, she and Randy were so close.”

“Does the description of the truck and trailer ring any bells?”

“Uh huh. Thinking back a couple of weeks, could’ve been three weeks ago, two guys like you described drove in here with a dark blue rig. They parked and asked to see my stock, saying they were in the market for several rodeo horses.”

“They looked at your horses but didn’t buy any?”

“That’s not unusual in the horse business. Legitimate buyers will take a while to pick the perfect horse for themselves or for a family member.”

“Sure. While they were here, they spent time in the barn checking out your setup. Did they seem interested in your security?”

“Honestly, Travis, I wasn’t thinking along those lines at all when they were here. I was convinced they were potential customers, and that was the way I treated them.”

“Understandable.” I nodded. “You had no reason to think otherwise.”

“At the time,” said Marilyn.

“Right—at the time.”

“Do you think I’m a potential target?”

“I’m not ruling it out, girl, but you do have a lot of cowboys living here on the ranch, don’t you?”

“I have six hands full time and more when my season begins with the students.”

“Having your cowboys here would be more of a deterrent than Randy had at his place—only him and his wife. But if they are looking for vulnerable targets, they might choose a woman rancher on her own.”

“I see what you mean. Randy had summer help for hay and straw season, but those cowboys were by the day. The rest of the time, only Maggie and Randy.”