Page 22 of Engaging the Deputy (Silver Stars of Montana #3)

Jaden wasn’t surprised when he went to the bike shop and found it closed. No sign of Emery. He drove by his apartment. No van parked in the lot. No answer at Emery’s apartment door. On impulse, he headed for Krystal’s.

Still no sign of the van, but Cody’s rig was parked next to Krystal’s and the curtains were drawn in the living room window. He didn’t bother to stop.

After driving around town and still not finding Emery or his van, Jaden thought about heading back out to the barn.

But the state crew was still there processing the place.

He told himself that Emery might have just been curious when he’d driven past earlier to see if the deputy had taken him up on checking it out.

What Jaden really wanted to do was to drive out and check on Livie. He felt antsy, like he always did when an investigation started coming together. It was the most dangerous time in any case, but especially in a murder investigation. He was getting close. Someone was getting nervous.

He pulled out his phone, opting to text Livie instead of showing up at her door.

You OK?

Making crab apple jelly with my mom.

My favorite , he texted back.

I remember. I’ll save you a couple of jars!

Great. Tell your mom thank you.

At loose ends, he checked in with his boss in Fortune Creek, then drove down to the café. His growling stomach reminded him that he hadn’t had anything since lunch.

Just the thought of Sharon Brooks’s crab apple jelly had made him hungry.

He thought about that one late night back in college when he and Livie had gotten into a care package her mom had sent.

There was a jar of the jelly and peanut butter, along with homemade bread.

He smiled at the memory. Best jelly he’d ever tasted.

Taking a seat in a booth facing the street, Jaden watched the sparse traffic as he waited for his meal order.

This time of year, off season, things were usually quiet.

He thought about everything he’d learned so far on the case.

He had a pretty good idea why Rob Perkins had been killed.

But it weighed on him that, while he had suspects, he still wasn’t close to arresting the person who had committed the murder or the person who had assaulted Cody. Were they the same one?

His food came and he dug in, reminding himself that he’d solved one old murder at Starling, though, thanks to Rusk.

He recalled the male remains. Make those two murders.

Remembering that Evangeline might have still been pregnant, he amended the thought.

Make those three murders. Solved, but he would never be able to prove it, let alone get justice.

Or maybe Elden Rusk had already gotten justice since he was trapped in his own guilt until he died.

As Jaden was leaving the café, he spotted Emery driving by in his van. Once in his patrol SUV, he sped after him. He started to hit his lights and siren, but realized Emery was headed to his apartment. He followed, parking next to him in the lot.

Emery didn’t seem happy to see him as Jaden climbed out and approached the van. The man’s scared expression gave him hope that Emery was ready to tell him the truth.

* * *

“Would you mind if I took a couple of jars of jelly to share?” Olivia asked her mother. She’d been antsy after they’d completed their work. She needed fresh air. Mostly, she wanted an excuse to see Jaden.

Sharon Brooks sighed. “Is there a handsome deputy on your list?”

Olivia grinned. “There is.” She told her mother about that night back in college when they’d opened her care package. At least, she told her the PG part. “He loved it. Said it was his favorite.”

“You won’t be late?” her mother asked, looking outside. It got dark earlier and earlier this time of year. The wind whistled through the bare branches of the trees. One limb scraped against the side of the house. “Something’s blowing in,” she warned. “Hate to see you get caught in a snowstorm.”

“I’ll be back long before that,” she promised and loaded a couple of jars into her bag, thinking she’d drop one off at the hardware store before it closed.

“Thanks for helping with the jelly,” her mother said as Olivia started for the door.

“It was fun,” she called over her shoulder and was out the door, headed for her car.

It had been fun making the jelly with her mother.

She remembered the two of them working in the kitchen together when she was a girl.

Her mother had sewn her a small apron to wear.

She’d been so proud of it, she thought now as she swallowed the lump that rose in her throat.

Climbing behind the wheel, she hesitated as she looked back at the house.

She could see the flicker of the television screen, the silhouette of her mother curled up in her chair to watch her stories.

Olivia told herself that she wouldn’t be gone that long.

Maybe the two of them could watch a movie together when she got back.

That decided, she headed toward town, hoping to get there before the hardware store closed. Then she planned to go by the grocery store to pick up some peanut butter and bread before going to Jaden’s motel. She knew it was risky. He might turn her away. Or even more risky, he might invite her in.

The jelly was just an excuse. He would realize that right away.

Hopefully, he’d hear her out. She needed to tell him she wasn’t leaving Montana.

That she’d quit her job in California before she’d come home.

That she loved him and was through running away—from being terrified that she would end up with her mother’s life.

The lights were still on at the hardware store as she parked and, taking one of the jars of jelly, headed for the front door.

The bell tinkled as the door closed behind her.

She saw that some of the lights had already been turned off, but the music was still playing softly, so she knew someone was still there.

“Hello!” she called as she headed toward the back, where the office was. “Jelly delivery!” No answer. Her footsteps echoed on the worn wood floor as she moved deeper into the building.

The lights were on in the office, but she didn’t see anyone. She caught a gust of wind coming down the hallway from the open back door to the alley. “Cody?”

* * *

“I think we should talk,” Jaden said as Emery climbed out of the van with obvious reluctance.

“I’ve had a rotten day, Deputy,” the bike shop owner said. “Can’t we do this in the morning?”

“I’m afraid not. We can talk in your apartment or go for a ride in my patrol car. Up to you.”

Emery raked a hand through his hair. “I guess it’s my apartment, then.” He started in that direction, walking as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Jaden suspected he did.

Once inside the apartment, Emery headed straight for the refrigerator, opening it and pulling out a beer. “Wanna join me?” When Jaden declined, he popped it open and chugged half of the can. Wiping his mouth, he said, “Let’s get this over with. What do you want?”

“Why did you drive by the barn earlier in your van?”

Emery frowned. “What barn?”

“The one Rob and Angie worked out of.” He saw the man tense.

“Sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Are you saying you don’t know what barn I’m talking about or that you didn’t drive past earlier?” Jaden asked.

“Angie’s restored furniture business? Yeah, I know where it is, but I didn’t drive by it today. I didn’t even have my van until an hour ago.”

“Who had it?”

Emery finished the can of beer and, with a loud burp, tossed the can in the direction of the trash.

His aim was off. The can hit the wall and clattered to the floor.

He ignored it and reached for another beer.

He took his time opening it before he looked up.

“This is a small town. We’re like family here. ”

Jaden saw the pain in his face. “I know it’s a small town. Hell, all of Montana is a small town. I understand local loyalty, but this is more than covering for a friend. This is murder and drugs.”

Emery walked over to the secondhand-looking couch and dropped onto it. He cradled the beer in his large hands, his head down.

“Who had your van earlier? You know I’m going to find out. Are you covering for this person because you’re also involved in the drug business or—”

“I had nothing to do with it. From the get-go, I told them to keep me out of it. I’ve got my bike business.

That’s all I need, all I want.” He stared down at the beer for a moment before he said, “Cody borrowed my van. He said he had some things he needed to haul.” He took a drink.

When he looked up, there were tears in his eyes.

“I know Angie and Rob were involved in the drug business,” Jaden said. “How is Cody involved?” Emery shook his head. “If you withhold what you know, it makes you an accessory. He just used your van and I suspect it wasn’t the first time.”

Emery dropped his head again. “I told you. I didn’t want to be involved.

I didn’t ask. But Cody’s been desperate to get out of that hardware store.

He’s worked there since he was a kid. His old man told him that if he left him to run it by himself, he’d sell it and wouldn’t give him a dime.

Cody had to stay, but he was at the point that he’d do anything to get out from under his father’s thumb. ”

Jaden wondered how close Cody was getting to breaking free of his father, the hardware store and this town.

“You told me that Rob owed a lot of people money,” the deputy said as he took a chair across from Emery.

“Did he owe Cody?” He took the man’s silence as a yes.

“How desperate was Cody? Was he desperate enough to murder Rob?”

The answer was written all over Emery’s face, even as he refused to believe it. “Cody couldn’t have killed him. He was trapped down in that root cellar. Someone attacked him. It had to be the dangerous people Rob did business with.”

Some of those “dangerous people” appeared to be locals, including Cody, the deputy thought.

But Emery had a point. How could Cody kill Rob?

He would have had to find a way out of the root-cellar hole, find Rob, kill him and climb back into the hole and get seriously injured so he still had an alibi.

Yet something Livie had said earlier teased at his memory. Something about the root-cellar hole.

* * *

Olivia was halfway down the hallway past the office when she heard voices in the alley.

It sounded like boxes were being loaded in a vehicle.

Cody or his father must have had a late order to fill.

She started to turn back, thinking she would just leave the jar of jelly on the desk in the office.

She was anxious to see Jaden. Her heart filled at the thought of their earlier kiss.

Before she could reach the office, she heard Cody’s voice. “Olivia?” There was a tension in it that made her turn to look toward the dark alley and the man standing in the doorway. “What are you doing here?”

She held up the jar of jelly. “I was just dropping this off as promised. I was about to leave it on the desk in the office.”

“How long have you been standing there?” he asked as he moved toward her.

“Just a few minutes. I could hear that you were busy. I didn’t want to bother you.” Why was he looking at her like that?

He glanced at the jelly, then at her. He seemed jumpy. “I was going to call you,” he said, still moving toward her. She fought the urge to take a step back. This was Cody, the boy she’d grown up with, her first real boyfriend back in high school.

She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. Cody had left the back door of the shop open. She could feel the chill of the wind along the hallway as if it were a funnel. “Why were you going to call me?”

He reached her, stopping just inches away, his eyes dark in the dim light, his expression reminding her of Halloween night when they’d argued.

From the alley, an engine started up, then another one, both pulling slowly away.

She could see that the back of each pickup was filled with boxes and shiny new equipment.

“We should take a ride,” Cody said.

Olivia shook her head. “I can’t. I was just—”

He grabbed her arm hard, cutting off the rest of her words. “I insist.”

She tried to pull free. “Cody, you’re hurting me.”

He jerked her to him, his body crashing into hers. She dropped the jar of jelly. It hit and broke, the smell of crab apple jelly filling the hallway. “Don’t fight me, Olivia. I don’t want to hurt you, but you are coming with me—one way or the other.”

“Tell me why you’re acting like this,” she demanded and tried to pull away from him.

She stepped into the jelly and felt herself slip, her feet sliding out from under her.

Cody still had a firm grip on her arm, so he was going down with her unless he released her.

He swung her around and slammed her against the wall as he struggled to stay on his feet.

His grip released enough that she broke free.

But as she tried to scramble away from him, he punched her, his fist connecting to the side of her head.

She saw the floor come up fast to meet her as darkness closed in around her eyes.

The last thing she heard was “Damn it, Olivia. I didn’t want it to end like this.”