Chapter Twenty-One
Seth pulled into the mostly empty parking lot of the roadhouse. It was Sunday morning, overcast and cool despite the calendar saying that summer wasn’t yet quite finished. It was the regular meeting of the sheriffs and Seth had a great deal to report. After talking to Matt yesterday he hadn’t had a chance to bring his friends up to date.
The other men were already seated around a large table and Seth slid into his seat, bringing the conversation to grinding halt. All eyes turned to him, which had him wanting to bolt from the room. He never liked being the center of attention.
“What?”
Reed, newly back from following Seth’s parents, Ben, and Lulu to Memphis, chuckled and popped open a soda can. “I think we all just wanted to see the luckiest son of a bitch in Montana. You went to Vegas to get away from a killer but he conveniently dies in an unrelated accident and you get to gamble and see shows for the rest of the weekend.”
Seth and Presley had actually spent the majority of their time in bed.
“He wanted me dead,” Seth replied. “That doesn’t seem all that lucky.”
“It’s lucky to me,” Griffin declared. “You lead a charmed life.”
Seth had a great life but he wouldn’t go so far as to call it charmed. But he did feel like a lucky man just not for the reasons they were thinking.
Reaching for a soda from the center of the table, Seth quirked an eyebrow at Tanner and Dare.
“You two have been quiet. What do you think?”
Tanner stroked his chin and then smiled. “I think you could be called lucky.”
“I think you’re a pain in the ass,” said a scowling Dare.
“You think everyone is a pain in the ass,” Griffin pointed out with a smirk. “So that’s not anything new or special.”
“Well, they are,” Dare muttered, taking a big drink from his coffee cup. “Everyone. All the time.”
“I don’t how Rayne puts up with you,” Reed laughed. “She has the patience of a saint.”
Just the mention of his pretty wife had Dare smiling. “She’s no saint but she’s not a pain in the ass, either.”
“If she was you wouldn’t tell her. She’d kick your ass,” Griffin said. “Now are we going to get started? Jazz wants to go see a movie this afternoon.”
Tanner pounded the table twice to start the meeting. “Sounds like a good idea to get started. Any new business?”
Seth raised his hand. “I do.”
“Jesus, again? Who else is trying to kill you?” Reed asked.
Shaking his head, Seth gave Tanner a sheepish look. “No one that I know of. I’m actually looking into that original bank robbery with Danny and Lyndsey Harbaugh. You know the money was never recovered and we looked for a long time. I’m kind of…investigating the possibilities on that matter.”
Tanner cleared his throat and it looked like he was trying not to laugh out loud. “I think that’s a fine idea. Get some closure on the case and finally find out where Danny hid the cash.”
Tanner probably wanted to say a whole hell of a lot more but to his credit he didn’t. Although he did grin like a loon.
“That’s what I was thinking,” Seth said, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. “I’ll admit this has bothered me for some time. So yesterday I went and talked to Harbaugh’s former cellmate Matt Ardell. He had an interesting story to tell.”
Seth quickly filled them in, handing over the names of the two girlfriends to Dare so he could check them out and perhaps find their current whereabouts.
“Are these their full names?” Dare asked, scribbling the information down into a notebook of his own.
“I don’t know,” Seth admitted. “I’m not even sure that Matt has their names right. He’s a little strange. I just have my fingers crossed.”
“And you don’t have anything more on the fishing shack?” Griffin stood and strolled over to the coffee pot to refill his cup. “That’s a pretty large area to check.”
Dare was still making notes. “I can check the property records in the area but if he didn’t own it then nothing is going to come up. Maybe a friend or family member? Does he have anyone besides his brother?”
Seth shook his head. “Not that I know of. Stan didn’t mention anyone else that could pay Danny’s debt off.”
“Doesn’t mean there isn’t someone,” Reed pointed out. “Just means that the cartel didn’t know about them. Eric and Danny weren’t hatched. They had to have had parents even if they’ve passed on. And those parents might have had siblings.”
“I’ll check,” Dare said. “I didn’t turn anything up before but I didn’t dig all that deep. I do know the parents are dead but there might be a distant cousin out there.”
Seth brought them up to date on the Eric Harbaugh situation and how Evan had pulled off a miracle. Surely by now he was in protective custody. Seth made a mental note to call his friend and get an update.
“I think Eric Harbaugh is a luckier man than you are,” Griffin said. “His situation has certainly improved because of you.”
“I hope so.”
It certainly made Presley happy and Seth had to admit that it felt like he’d accomplished something here. He didn’t always feel that way in law enforcement but this was one of the better days.
“So what are your next steps?” Tanner asked Seth as the meeting drew to a close. Reed had updated the group on a series of home invasions and Griffin had brought up a rash of car thefts that seemed to be focused on early model vehicles, probably for the parts.
Tanner and Seth exited the roadhouse, pulling on their jackets. It had started to rain while they were inside. “I’m going to try and talk to the two girlfriends and see what they know. If they can’t help, I might go visit some of Lyndsey and Danny’s neighbors. They might know where that shack is.”
Tanner leaned against the bumper of Seth’s truck. “Do you think that’s where the money is?”
“It’s a long shot,” Seth admitted. “There’s no way Danny could have hid it there himself. Not when I was chasing him. It’s way too far out of the way from where I found him. But I suppose he could have given it to someone to hide there. The one thing that bugs me is that if the money is there why didn’t he head straight for the shack when he was released from prison? As far as we know he never visited there in the week or so he was out.”
“That we know of,” Tanner repeated. “With a cartel after me I wouldn’t have gone myself but sent someone I trusted. After all, they could have taken the money from the hiding place and killed Danny.”
“No honor among thieves.”
“Exactly, but I do think you’re right. This is a long shot but I don’t blame you for wanting to take a look. I would, too.” Tanner slapped Seth on the back. “I wish you luck because I think you’re going to need it. If the money was easy to find it wouldn’t still be missing.”
That was the crux of all of this. How did a sack of cash just disappear during a manhunt? Was it long gone and spent? Or had Danny managed the almost impossible and found someone he trusted to hide it?
So many questions and no answers. Typical day for a cop.
* * * *
“Is there anything you want to tell me, Seth Reilly?”
Presley gave her husband an appraising look as she tapped her foot on the floor, waiting for his reply. He’d told her last night that he’d worked all day and that’s why he couldn’t help out at the coffee shop. But Deputy Hank had stopped by this morning to borrow a large party tray for his wife Alyssa. She was getting ready to have a birthday party for their son. Hank hadn’t been there ten minutes before mentioning that Seth had taken the afternoon off yesterday. Presley had acted as if she’d known, but her husband had some explaining to do.
Frowning, Seth hung his jacket on the hook by the front door and then pulled off his boots. “I don’t think so. Why?”
“Are you sure? Because it’s better to just tell me than to let me find out on my own.”
“Really, I don’t have anything to tell you.” Seth looked truly perplexed. “Is there some reason you think I do?”
“Hank stopped by this morning. He mentioned that you took yesterday afternoon off. Care to share about that?”
A look of relief crossed Seth’s features. “Oh, that. It’s no big deal, and I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help yesterday. Are you mad?”
“Oh, that,” she mimicked. “I am not mad. I am suspicious. Do you remember that lovely talk we had in Vegas where we both agreed that we wouldn’t keep things from each other? Does that ring a bell?”
Disappearing into the kitchen for a moment, he reappeared with two bottles of water in his hands. He handed one to her which she took gratefully. She’d been cleaning the house all morning because it wasn’t often that Seth and both children were out of the house at the same time. She’d even managed to organize the play area.
“It does but I didn’t think this was a big deal. I went to see Danny Harbaugh’s former cellmate yesterday afternoon. I wanted to talk to him about where he thought Danny might hide the money.”
Honestly, Presley hadn’t had a clue as to why Seth hadn’t told her about taking yesterday afternoon off. She’s assumed it really wasn’t a big deal but she didn’t want them to go down a slippery slope and start not talking to each other again. About the important things, anyway. She didn’t need to know that his indigestion was flaring up again, although if it did she’d remind him to take a Zantac or a Tums. He never remembered and then he’d be up in the middle of the night, wandering the house.
But in her wildest dreams she’d never thought the reason would be that he was visiting with Danny’s cellmate. This was a shock.
“Seth, this is a big deal. When did you change your mind and decide to look for the money?”
He shrugged sheepishly. “In the last couple of days. Tanner’s right. It’s been bugging me for years and I’d like to find it.” He held up a hand. “Not for Eric Harbaugh, but just for closure. I don’t know how Danny ditched the money and made it so we couldn’t find it.”
Putting her hands on her hips, she sighed. “Of course, Tanner. You’ll listen to him but not to your wife. I’m going to try not to be too hurt by that. And does he know that you’re looking for the money?”
The color in Seth’s cheeks told the tale. “I said something this morning at our meeting. I was going to tell you.”
“Eventually.”
“I swear I am not keeping secrets again,” Seth groaned, falling back into his favorite chair, a brown leather recliner that had a perfect line of sight to the television. “It was just one of many things I did yesterday.”
“I’ll tell you what. I’m going to let this go. If…” She smiled, a little larceny in her soul. “If you take me dancing tonight. I want a night out on the town before the kids come back.”
“Ah baby, not dancing,” he protested but it was half-hearted. They were going. He just hadn’t admitted it yet.
“You offered in Las Vegas,” she reminded him. “So we can go tonight. It’s a Sunday so there won’t be a crowd.”
“I was hoping for a crowd,” Seth mumbled under his breath, “so that no one will notice how I dance.”
“Invite your friends. Griffin dances worse than you do.”
Seth’s friend always looked like he’d been hit with a Taser on the dance floor.
“I’m going to tell Griffin what you said,” Seth warned her with a grin. “But then I think he knows. I’ll give them a call and see who can join us. It’s last minute, though.”
That’s what made it so perfect. A little spontaneity never hurt anyone.
But now she had to figure out something to wear.