Chapter 32
Colt
Michael got a phone call from one of his legal contacts, just after the sheriff left. Apparently, they’d been doing a little more ‘legal digging’ and found additional information that linked incredible shady shell companies to Bill’s sudden infusion of cash. It took a bit of routing and tracing by technological minds that owed Michael favors, but when they faxed over their information, we were astounded by the volume, and even had to refill the paper before we got the entire file that was faxed.
“Holy Jesus,” Michael said.
I stuck it all in two manila envelopes, determined to go to the sheriff, but I had one stop I wanted to make before I took this evidence there. I didn’t want Cheyenne going to sleep tonight with this weight that was stirring up her anxiety, so Michael and I hopped into my car and headed for Bill’s.
“You sure you wanna do this?” Michael asked.
“Remember what you told me at the bar?” I asked.
“I was talking about threatening someone with an actual lawsuit,” he said.
“Well, this will be an actual lawsuit. And I want him to see every inch of it coming. I want Cheyenne to go to bed tonight without a care in the world on her shoulders. She’s been through enough.”
“We all have,” Michael said.
We pulled into Bill’s driveway, and I laid my hand down on my horn. I had riled up all his horses before I hopped out of the running truck, and by the time we got to the porch, he had ripped the door open and was screaming at us. Cheyenne was right—the man looked pretty bad—but it only lit a fire under my ass to drive him into the ground.
“I think we need to talk, Bill,” I said.
“Get the hell off my—”
I shoved him into his home, and that’s when Bill’s tongue started flying.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? You caught your fucking guy, and you’re still messing with me? This is harassment and I won’t—”
I grabbed his shirt and slammed him into the wall, knocking the wind out of him. Michael put his hand on my shoulder, apparently wanting me to settle down, but I was done with him. He had the nerve to get pissed at us for barging into his home, when he had not only done it to Cheyenne, but had hurt her in the process.
“You’re gonna pay for what you did to Cheyenne if you don’t shut the hell up,” I said.
“What are you gonna do, Smith? Grab my arm and yank me around a little?”
I slammed him into the wall hard, and that’s when Michael pulled me off, then shoved the folders into my chest.
“Keep it together, Colt. Don’t give him a reason to countersue.”
“Countersue?” Bill choked out. “What the hell are you talking about? I could already take you to court for assault as it is!”
Michael laughed in his face before he put his finger in it. When I saw the set of Michael’s jaw and the way Bill cowered underneath that steely gaze, I could only imagine the monster he had been in the courtroom.
I was glad to have him on my side.
“I would destroy you in court, even without the shit in these folders,” Michael said.
“What folders?” Bill asked.
“These,” I said. “You see, Bill, we’ve been doing a little digging, and we’ve found some very interesting things.”
“You’re bluffing,” spat Bill.
“Apparently, you’ve come into a bit of money recently,” Michael said. “Enough to redo your entire farm and pay off your massive credit card debt.”
“And we figured out your shell corporations have some really shady names you definitely don’t wanna punch into Google,” I said.
Bill’s face began to pale, and I could tell he was about to vomit. At that moment, I knew we had him. I was going to be able to rid Cheyenne and the rest of this town of Bill Coates for good, and it lit a fire within my chest.
“If I were you,” I said, “I’d get out of town while I could. Our next stop is the Sheriff’s Department, and from what my lawyer has told me, he wouldn’t be surprised if both the FBI and the DEA rained hell down on your precious little farm.”
I knew I was pushing it by bluffing with the DEA, but I was glad that Michael held his ground with me. I thrust the manila folders at his chest to sell my point, and that’s when it happened. Bill grew pale and collapsed to the ground, and when he resurfaced, he was groveling on his knees.
“I was in so much debt and was about to lose my ranch. I didn’t know what to do,” he said, with tears streaming down his cheeks. “I was contacted by someone named Bob, who was interested in reinvigorating my barn if I just took care of some horses for them, and it wasn’t until they got to me that I realized they were stuffed with drugs.”
I looked over at Michael, who was staring hotly down at Bill. I was shocked and could hardly breathe, but Michael was in full-on lawyer mode. He was soaking in every single word Bill was saying, and I was glad he was there because the moment he said ‘drugs,’ I knew he had officially put Cheyenne in a situation where she could have lost her life without even realizing why.
“Keep going. Let’s hear the rest of it,” Michael said, switching to a voice of calm authority, an almost reassuring presence for Bill.
“There’s a drug ring out of Canada smuggling drug-filled horses over the border. This Bob told me he’d pay off all my debt and provide me with an exorbitant amount of money each month if all I did was take care of these horses until they were picked up. I’d get the horses, I’d take care of them, I’d get them fed and keep them clean, then they’d be picked up, and I’d get paid. I didn’t question anything because I needed the money! I didn’t care much for the horses. I know that sounds awful, but the money is what was driving me.”
“When did you figure out you were helping a drug smuggling ring?” Michael asked.
“When my first horse got sick,” Bill said. “He just collapsed in my barn and had this massively swollen bulb protruding from its stomach, and when it ruptured, plastic bags just started pouring out. It was horrible.”
I felt physically sick to my stomach. Bill was blubbering so hard snot was dripping from his nose, draining onto the floor he was slouched onto. I bent down and picked up the manila folders he’d dropped to the floor, then threw my gaze to Michael who finally looked over and met my eyes.
“So, the horse Cheyenne rescued—”
“Was stuffed with drugs I was responsible for. I hired Rick to set a small fire and let the horses out so I could coax mine into the woods, but the fire blew up out of control, and I watched the drugs go up in smoke.”
“You watched Cheyenne’s livelihood go up in smoke!” I roared. This weak, pathetic man was blubbering at my feet because he’d been caught smuggling drugs using the most beautiful animals this world had to offer, and he was still prioritizing his needs over the havoc he had created and all the lives his had kept in chaos all this time.
“Then fucking Rick got scared and ran off. and I didn’t know how to get the fire under control,” Bill said through his sobs.
“So, your horse died, and you lost the drugs,” Michael said. “Why keep after Cheyenne?”
“Because she was the whole fucking reason I was in trouble! Had that bitch just given me my damn horse in the first place, I would have never gotten into trouble with these men. They’re dangerous criminals; don’t you get it? They’re gonna kill me! They think I gutted that horse and stole the drugs for myself! If it hadn’t have been for your stupid girlfriend, my life wouldn’t be on the line right now.”
I reached down and grabbed Bill’s collar before I threw my fist into his jaw. I heard a crack underneath my knuckles before Bill started retching onto his hardwood floor, and Michael put his hand on my shoulder again in order to get my attention.
“It’s done,” he said. “I got it all recorded.”
He wiggled his phone in the air, and all I could do was hug him. I threw my arms around Michael in jubilation, while Bill continued to cry on his floor. Then, the reality of the situation hit me.
We had everything we needed for our lazy ass sheriff to put this man away for good.
I took my phone out and dialed the police, requesting to talk to the sheriff immediately. Michael handed me the folders before he peeled Bill off the ground and pinned him to the wall until we heard sirens in the distance. I took Michael’s phone from his pocket and, with all the evidence held tightly in my hand, was standing on the porch when the sheriff pulled up.
Boy, did I have a hell of a story to tell him.
“Colt, long time no see,” he said with a sarcastic smirk on his face. “Doing more of our work, I see.”
“Well, someone’s gotta do it, Sheriff,” I said, not amused by his attitude.
“Whatcha got there?” he asked.
“The truth, along with the evidence to back it up.”
I handed the folders to him, with a little more force than required perhaps, then pressed the ‘play’ button on Michael’s phone. Bill’s voice rang out, blubbering like a baby while he spilled his guts about the entire drug smuggling operation he’d found himself in. The moment the recording reached the part where Bill acknowledged he had continued smuggling after he knew about it, the lawman nodded to his deputy to go inside and arrest the man.
“We’ll take it from here,” the sheriff said.
“You better, otherwise I’ll be calling the FBI myself.”
“That a threat, Smith?” the sheriff asked.
“Nope, just letting you know. Just like I let Bill here know exactly what I’m doing if things don’t pan out the way I know they should.”
We stayed on the porch and watched Bill get hauled off by the deputy. I crossed my arms over my chest and watched while Bill struggled against the deputy, and when the sheriff started to read him his rights, he spat in his face. The sheriff shoved Bill into the car door before he threw him into the back, and it brought me great joy to finally see the lackadaisical sheriff exhibit an appropriate response.
He’d been far too lazy for far too long. Too bad it took him being on the receiving end of Bill’s behavior to get him off his thumb.
Our mission complete, we got into our truck and drove away. We had given all the evidence to the authorities, and I had assured Cheyenne’s safety by putting the man who had dared put his hands on her in jail, likely for the rest of his life. I couldn’t wait to tell Cheyenne everything that had happened and looked forward to being there when she collapsed in relief.
She deserved it.
We all deserved it, just like Michael said.