Page 107 of Smokescreen

Sirens sounded in the background.

The sheriff would be here soon.

For now, the situation appeared to be under control.

Olive released the breath she’d been holding.

Maybe they really had cut this situation off before it accelerated.

“I’m glad you stopped this before it escalated further.” Sheriff Freeman stood in front of Olive and Reid as Wayne and Cooper were led to the sheriff deputy’s cruisers in the distance.

“Me too,” Reid murmured.

It had been fifteen minutes since law enforcement had arrived. In the meantime, Olive had cleaned up and changed her clothes. She didn’t want to stay drenched in gasoline any longer than she had to. Besides, the fumes were starting to get to her.

Now, she stood outside in the darkness as the time neared midnight. Ranch hands and household staff had all come outside to see what was going on. They stood on the periphery watching curiously.

As did Tevin and Hannah.

Everything had taken place so quickly. Wayne and Cooper were arrested. Some type of substance was put on the gasoline inside the barn to prevent it from accidentally igniting. Olive and Reid had updated the sheriff on everything that had happened.

This situation could have been so much worse.

As the sheriff spoke to someone on his radio, Olive turned to Reid. “You recognized Cooper in that video footage. How did you know it was him?”

“When Tevin zoomed in on the video, I saw a gold earring in the man’s ear.” Reid’s jaw tightened at the words. “That’s when I knew it was Cooper. Everything made sense.”

“I’m glad you put that together—and that you found him in time.”

“Me too. They were close to getting away with everything. That would have been tragic.”

The sheriff lowered his radio. “Jon and Edgar have both been picked up. One of my guys questioned them, and Jon spilled the beans. It turns out, Jon is related to Wayne. Jon admitted to borrowing Skip’s gun. After Edgar used the gun to kill Andy, he freaked out. They put it back in Skip’s office and hoped no one would ever make the connection.”

“I’m assuming Wayne is the one who blacklisted me?” Reid said.

Freeman nodded. “We don’t know that for sure, but it makes sense.”

“He started that rumor about the government buying up land also,” Reid said. “And I’d bet if anyone looked into those shell corporations, they’ll somehow lead back to Wayne also.”

“That’s my best guess,” Freeman said with a nod. “It’s a real shame how far he took things.”

A moment of silence passed, and Olive glanced around.

She was glad this community hadn’t been destroyed, in spite of Wayne’s efforts to fulfill his dream of starting a hunting preserve.

Dippy waved to them from the distance, and Reid called him over.

He stood nervously in front of them. “I’m sorry for my role in all this.”

“Did you figure out who this Justin guy was who was talking to you?” Olive asked.

“I can only assume it was Wayne or one of the guys working for him.” Dippy frowned. “The truth is, the other night, I saw Cooper with these two men in the woods—one was tall and the other short.”

Jon and Edgar.

“I’m not sure what they were doing out there,” Dippy said. “But they saw me and made up an excuse about checking out some erosion. I didn’t believe them. But I knew if I talked that I’d be in trouble.”

“You’re probably right.” Olive gave him a nod.