By Friday morning, Raylene had a new game plan. Instead of searching the land around the copse of trees on the lower end of the property, she decided to take a stab at the top end. The entire two-hundred-acre parcel was dotted with small, wooded groves. Anyone of them could’ve been Levi’s hiding place, and the ones she’d already searched had all been duds. At thirty bucks a day for the metal detector, she needed to find something soon or give up.
She drove the length of the property, bumping along the rutted fire trail, taking Gabe’s advice to look for the older trees. The day was gloomy and cold and, in her rush to get out of the house, she’d forgotten her hat. Gabe had left a stack of folded bedding on the couch and had been in the kitchen, eating, when she’d ducked out. At least twenty times during the night she’d considered going downstairs and crawling under the covers with him, but he’d made it abundantly clear that their Sunday hookup had been enough for him.
When she crested the top of the hill, her mouth fell open. Someone had trenched a five-foot-deep hole around a cluster of oak trees. What the hell?
She punched Gabe’s number into her phone. “Did you come looking for my gold on your own?”
“What are you talking about, Raylene?”
“Someone was here…on the property, digging.”
He was quiet for a few seconds. “It wasn’t me.” He had an iron-clad alibi. Her. “What do you mean, digging?”
“Hang on, I’ll send you a picture.” She parked, got out of her truck, snapped a few images of the trench, and hit the send button.
“I don’t think gophers did that,” she said.
“Nope. Do me a favor, wait in your truck until I get there. And, Raylene, lock the door.”
For once, she didn’t think he was overreacting. From the looks of it, someone, or several people, had been here all night to have dug a channel that deep and that long. It had to be at least forty feet wide. But who? Everyone in town knew the lore of Levi’s Gold and had had ample opportunity to sneak through the fence and search the property. But like Gabe, most everyone thought the gold didn’t exist. Occasionally, a treasure hunter would trespass, but without the map there wasn’t much point in it. As it turned out, even with the map, the gold had remained as elusive as Bigfoot.
She hopped up on the hood of her truck and waited, not wanting to disturb any potential evidence. The thought did cross her mind that maybe Clay or Lucky were trying to mess with her, but she quickly dismissed the idea. What would they gain from digging a huge hole on her property? Furthermore, vandalism wasn’t their style.
Gabe came over the hill in his SUV, pulled in alongside her, and got out. A pair of wraparound sunglasses covered his eyes, but his body language told her all she needed to know. He was pissed.
“I told you to wait in your truck.”
“No one’s here, Gabe, relax.”
He searched the horizon, then crouched down to have a better look at the hole. “Has anyone seen you out here?”
“Only Lucky. No one comes up here. McCreedy Ranch has its own road, and guests of Lucky’s cowboy camp enter off Highway Seventy. But it’s no secret I’ve been up here looking for the gold. By now, you have to know that nothing in Nugget is a secret.”
He acknowledged that with a half grin, then whipped out his phone and sent a text. “I’d say this was the work of a pickax. Our pickax.”
“You think it’s the same person who broke into my truck?”
His head came up. “Where do you keep the map when you’re not using it?”
She patted the breast pocket of her jacket and he let his eyes linger on her chest, then snapped them away.
“You think that’s what he was looking for?”
“I don’t believe in coincidences,” he said and took the map from her for safekeeping.
“How would anyone know I have the map?” Only people in Ray’s inner circle knew of its existence, one of them being Flynn Barlow, who knew everything, because he’d been Ray’s estate lawyer.
Gabe shrugged, but she saw the wheels in his head turning and suspected he had a theory. She turned at the sound of a car and subconsciously moved closer to Gabe. He hooked his arm around her in a protective manner and the contact sent shivers down her spine. It was the first time he’d touched her since their night together, and her body instantly responded.
He absently stroked her arm until a Nugget PD SUV sent a cloud of smoke into the air.
“Did you call the police?”
“Rhys,” he said.
Rhys was Clay’s best friend, so she wasn’t counting on him caring much about someone trying to stake a claim on her gold. And yay! Jake was riding shotgun. The two of them stepped out at the same time. Unlike Rhys, Jake was in uniform, and Raylene didn’t miss him shooting her a dirty look.
Rhys followed the trench to where it ended at a gnarled old oak tree and stared down into the hole. “Raylene, what time did you get here?”
“About nine, give or take a few minutes.” She hadn’t been watching the clock.
“Gabe says you were with him yesterday morning at Sierra Heights and then you came over here. What time did you leave?”
“Just before it got dark.”
“About six, six-thirty?” Jake said.
“That sounds right.” Gabe had been making dinner when she got to the farm.
“You didn’t come back any time between then and now?” Rhys asked, and she wondered if he was trying to accuse her of digging on her own land. How ridiculous would that be?
“No.”
Rhys exchanged a glance with Gabe. Was he actually looking for verification?
“You see anyone or anything suspicious while you were here?”
“Just me and my metal detector.” She motioned at the back of her truck and saw Jake glance at the bed.
“Anyone besides Gabe know what you’ve been doing here?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’d wager a guess that all of Nugget knows what I’m doing here. But the only person besides Gabe who’s seen me here is Lucky.”
That perked Jake up. Apparently, he hadn’t known that his stepson had confronted her.
“Why was Lucky here?” Rhys asked.
“To talk to me about the sale of my land; it had nothing to do with the gold.” She could feel Jake watching her, drilling holes through her with his laser eyes.
“When was that?” Rhys pulled out a notebook.
She looked to Gabe. “Monday?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“You were here when that happened?” Rhys asked Gabe.
“Yep.”
“Lucky didn’t have any part of this.” Raylene nudged her head at the trench. She didn’t know that for sure, but it seemed awfully unlikely. Besides, she didn’t want to make trouble for him—not that Rhys and Jake would take her side over Lucky’s.
Rhys glanced over at Gabe and he nodded, confirming what she’d just said. Clearly, her word wasn’t good enough.
“You have any idea who might’ve done this?” Jake asked her.
“Zero. The story of the gold has been out there a long time. I don’t know why the sudden interest.”
Jake cocked his brows. “Why are you suddenly interested?”
Because I’m broke and desperate. “Call it a last-ditch effort before the new owners take over.” She looked at him, and then at Rhys. “Why are you even taking this seriously?” Unless there was an actual theft, or worse, she would think digging holes in someone’s vacant field wasn’t the top priority of a small police department that was already strapped.
Rhys contemplated the question. “We think this”—he eyed the trench—“and your break-in may be connected to something else.”
“Like what?” From all the weird body language she was witnessing, there was a whole conversation going on here that she wasn’t part of.
“A home invasion in Green River, Utah.”
A home invasion. How in the world had they come to that conclusion, and why would someone committing a home invasion in Utah know about her gold in Nugget, California? “Why do you think that?”
“It’s purely supposition at this point,” Rhys said, sidestepping the question. “But until we eliminate that possibility, you shouldn’t come out here alone.”
She darted a look at Gabe, wondering if he was following this. He gave nothing away. His face was completely deadpan.
“I’ll come with her,” he said. Four days ago, he’d tossed the metal detector in the trunk of his SUV and told her he was “done with this bag of dicks.” Apparently, that was Navy slang for an extremely odious task.
“What kind of home invasion are we talking about?” she asked.
Rhys hesitated for a moment, then said, “Robbery and murder.”
* * * *
Drew started his Friday morning with a heated discussion with his ex-wife.
“Raylene is selling the neighboring property to a company that wants to turn the land into a motocross track. Isn’t that reason enough?” Emily asked, her voice raised.
He gazed around the Ponderosa, hoping no one had heard her. Ten minutes ago, he’d thought it was a good idea to meet at the restaurant—neutral ground—for a rational discussion over why she was so adamantly against their daughter taking on the small task of feeding a horse.
“Let me get this straight. The woman’s not allowed to sell her land to someone you disapprove of, and therefore our thirteen-year-old daughter can’t spend time with her horse?”
“Disapprove of? Drew, the racetrack would be next door to us. Every day, we’d be forced to hear dozens of motorcycles driving in circles for hours. What part of that nightmare don’t you understand?”
“I sympathize with you, I really do. Hire a good lawyer and fight it. But it has nothing to do with Harper, so why punish her for your land dispute?”
“Oh for God’s sake, are you that dense? We are feuding with this woman. Clay is beside himself. Our livelihood depends on the ranch; this will make living here untenable. We have a stable full of horses Harper can feed.”
“That’s called a chore, Emily. This is a job, with a paycheck. Do you remember what that meant when you were Harper’s age?”
“I can’t even believe I’m having this conversation with you. Raylene Rosser is not the kind of person I want Harper hanging around.”
“Why? Is she a felon? A druggie? All I’ve been able to glean from your story is that she had a lover’s spat with a friend of yours and as a result everyone hates her. Jeez, Em, when did you join the real-life cast of Peyton Place?”
“A lover’s spat? She nearly sent him to prison for a murder he didn’t commit. When did you become Raylene Rosser’s defender?”
“I don’t even know her.” Now he was raising his voice, but this argument was ridiculous. “All I know is that she’s been good to our daughter, and she’s offered her a job that will help Harper adapt to life here…to the enormous changes she’s been put through. Harper’s practically bouncing off the wall with excitement over it. And the evil Raylene won’t even be here. That’s the ludicrous part of this. You don’t want Harper around a woman who lives in Los Angles. Isn’t that the whole reason she needs Harper to feed her goddamn horse in the first place?”
Emily started to laugh.
“What the hell is so funny?”
“Just that we never argued like this when we were married.”
He grinned, then studied the woman across the table from him, the woman who used to be his wife. “You look good, Em. Happy, healthy, loved.”
She reached across the table and took his hand. “I wish I could say the same for you. What’s going on, Drew?”
He sighed. “Kristy wants to do another round of in vitro fertilization.”
“You don’t?”
Talking to his ex about his marital problems was probably all kinds of wrong, but he needed someone to confide in, and no one would understand better than Emily. They’d walked through hell together and had come out the other side. “No. The God’s honest truth: I don’t think I can handle having another child right now, not when Harper needs me. Not after all we went through to get her back.”
“I had similar fears when I first got pregnant with Paige,” Emily said. “All I could think was how do I bring another child into the world when I couldn’t keep my first one safe? And there was guilt that Paige would somehow replace the memory of Hope.” She rummaged through her purse for a tissue and wiped her eyes. “Clay was so upset that I didn’t want another child, for a while I didn’t think we’d make it.
“Then I had a scare,” she continued. “I was cramping and spotting and my OB thought I was on the verge of a miscarriage. In that instant, everything changed. I felt such unconditional love for that baby growing inside me, and every maternal instinct kicked in. Paige was my baby every bit as much as Hope was, but they were two separate individuals. And loving one didn’t mean I couldn’t still love the other.”
“I didn’t know it was a difficult pregnancy. I’m sorry you went through that. And now?” He wondered if she and Clay were back on firm ground. They seemed solid, but sometimes people only saw what they wanted to see. And Drew wanted Emily to be happy. Lord knew she deserved a lifetime full of joy after the horror they’d lived through.
“Things couldn’t be more wonderful.” Her face positively glowed, and Drew knew her well enough to know she couldn’t fake it if she tried. “And it will be for you, too. This is just a hump, Drew. What do they say about marriage? Peaks and valleys.”
He stirred his coffee. “I don’t know. This is more like Mount Everest. She didn’t even come with me to Nugget this time.”
Emily leaned across the table. “Do you want to work things out?”
“Of course I do. I love her, Em.”
“Then you’ll make it work. Hear her out on the IVF, Drew. There’s room in your heart—in your life—for two children, take it from me. The day I met Justin and Cody was the day I started healing.”
“I’m glad. You’ve made a good family, and Clay’s a good man.”
“And Kristy’s a good woman. You’ll work through this, I know you will.”
He grinned. “The question is can you and I work through this issue with Raylene’s horse? Come on, Em. It would mean a lot to Harper.”
“I don’t know.” She played with the spoon on the table. “I think the responsibility would be good for her, but why does it have to be Raylene’s horse?”
“Because she’s the one offering Harper the job. Really, what would be the harm? I’ll take her to the barn on weekends, and Justin’s volunteered to do it on the weekdays. She’ll never be without adult supervision, and…it seems petty to say no because of your personal differences with this woman.”
“You don’t know the history, Drew, but since Raylene won’t be here I’m inclined to say yes and see how it goes. If it interferes with Harper’s schoolwork or her after-school activities, then Raylene will have to find someone else.”
“Sounds fair enough. What do you say I pick her up from school and give her the good news?”
“All right.” She looked at her watch. “I promised to relieve Clay of Paige by eleven, which means I’ve got to get going. Do you want Harper to stay with you tonight?”
“If you wouldn’t mind. Since Kristy didn’t come, I’d like to get an early start on Sunday, maybe get home to the Bay Area in time to take her to dinner.”
“I don’t mind. I’ll check in around bedtime.”
Drew nodded. So far, they’d done a good job of co-parenting, though Emily spent the most time with Harper. Secretly, he’d hoped that eventually he could make Nugget a more permanent base, which would be another bone of contention with Kristy. She liked it here, adored the house in Sierra Heights, but she was a city girl at heart. If it wasn’t for Harper, he wouldn’t consider relocating to such a rural place either. But surprisingly, Nugget had begun to grow on him. He liked knowing his neighbors, being part of a close-knit community, and walking out his door to find deer on his lawn.
“Okay. I’ve got what she needs at the house. I was thinking about taking her to Glory Junction tomorrow. You think Cody would like to join us?” He was a fine kid, and he looked out for Harper.
“That’s so sweet of you. I’ll ask him, but that boy’s social calendar could rival the royals’.”
Drew laughed. “This is a good place for kids, isn’t it?”
“It is.” She gave him a pointed look. “Something to keep in mind. We all look out for one another.”
They just don’t look out for Raylene Rosser, he thought to himself. “I’ll take care of this.” He covered the check with his hand. “You get going.”
He paid the bill, then strolled around the square for a little while, killing time before Harper’s school let out. The sporting goods store was having a sale on bikes, and he popped in to have a look. He’d been meaning to get Harper a bicycle for the Sierra Heights house so she could ride to the community pool in summer. Little by little, he was growing more comfortable with letting her do things on her own. Kristy was right: they had to stop smothering Harper.
He took out his phone to see if Kristy had called or texted, but there was nothing. He tried her cell and got voicemail. “Hey, it’s me. Just wanted to say hi and that I love you. I’ll try to get home early Sunday. Maybe we can go to that seafood restaurant you like.”
Drew hung up and continued to walk down the bike aisle. There wasn’t much of a selection for kids. They mostly carried adult mountain and road bikes. He helped himself to a complementary cup of cider by the camping gear and headed back outside. It was a good twenty degrees colder than Palo Alto, and he stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets, trying to keep them warm.
He started toward the Lumber Barron Inn when he bumped into the police chief. Rhys bobbed his head in greeting.
“Hey, did you ever find out any more about that backpack?” Drew asked him.
“I did, and I was going to call you about it, but since you’re here why don’t we go over to the station?”
Drew thought it sounded serious—then again, this was a small town, and the police were probably more conscientious about public relations.
“Sure.” Drew had nothing better to do, and he was curious about what the chief had found.
The station wasn’t much, just a non-descript building on the other side of the greenspace from the inn. Inside was equally bland, with a reception desk, a row of work stations, and a glass office in the back that belonged to Rhys.
“Have a seat,” the chief said, and Drew took one of the wing chairs in front of the desk. Rhys took the other. “There were a number of IDs in the pack, and it turns out that one of them holds a connection to a home invasion homicide in Utah.”
“A connection?” Drew was an attorney; he knew when law enforcement was being intentionally nebulous.
“That’s all I can say right now, but keep your eyes out. And if you see anything suspicious, call me or 9-1-1.”
“I have my daughter staying with me this weekend. You can’t give me more than that?”
“The identification belonged to the victim. There could be an innocent reason why the owner of the backpack had it, but until we can find the person and question him or her, we don’t know.”
“What about the other IDs? Do they belong to victims of other homicides?”
“We’re in the process of hunting that down.”
“Do you have reason to believe the person I saw is still in Nugget?” Drew’s hope was that he’d moved on, because the idea that a killer might have been in his backyard was very disturbing.
Rhys took a while to answer, then finally said, “Yes. At least, as of last night.”
“What happened last night?”
“Someone dug up Raylene Rosser’s property.”
Either Drew wasn’t following, or he was missing a big piece of the story. “As in vandalized it?”
Rhys exhaled. “It’s a long story, so I’ll give you the Reader’s Digest version. There’s an old legend that Raylene’s ancestor stole a gold claim from one of the miners in 1849, buried it on Rosser land, and was shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy before he could dig it up. Raylene’s getting ready to sell the parcel, and we think whoever you saw in your yard is here to find the gold before she or the new owner does.”
“You’re kidding me, right? This sounds like a bad TV show.”
Rhys brushed a fly away. “Welcome to Nugget.”
“Then you don’t believe this gold exists?”
Rhys’ mouth quirked. “About as much as I believe in the tooth fairy. But from time to time we get a few yahoos up here who have read the story of Levi’s Gold and hope to strike it rich.”
“What’s the link between the gold and the home invasion, other than the ID you found in the backpack?”
“Don’t know. We can’t even say for sure that the treasure hunter is even the same person you think you saw. But it’s a lot of coincidences.”
“Like what?” Drew wanted to know.
“You’re not the only one who’s had a sighting.”
“But other than trespassing, there’ve been no crimes committed?”
“Someone broke into Raylene’s truck the other night. They didn’t take anything, but we think they were looking for the map.”
“A map to the gold?” Drew laughed. “This just keeps getting better, doesn’t it?” But if this so-called treasure hunter was involved in a homicide, it wasn’t the least bit humorous.
“Just keep a lookout,” Rhys said. “But rest assured we’re on top of it.”
Drew didn’t know how reassuring that was, but he planned to watch Harper like a hawk and turn the security alarm on tonight. “Thank you, Chief. I appreciate you giving me the lowdown.”
As he drove to Harper’s school, he thought how there was always something. He supposed Nugget had less crime than the big city, but even the bucolic hamlet wasn’t an island. People had to remain vigilant wherever they were.
He pulled into the pickup lane in front of the school, where cars had already begun queueing up. There were a couple of women standing outside their SUVs and Outbacks, chatting while students burst through the school’s front door, searching for their rides. He saw Harper walking and talking with a couple of girls and tapped on his horn. Maybe he’d imagined it, but her face seemed to light up at the sight of him. Progress, he told himself. In the beginning, she’d been reticent to let him or Emily in, and for weeks would only call them by their first names.
He unrolled the window. “Hey, kiddo. I’m your ride today.”
“You’re here!”
“I’m here.” He leaned over and opened the door.
“What about Cody?”
Shoot, it hadn’t occurred to him to offer to take Cody home, too. “Let me call your mom and see what she wants me to do. Justin’s not driving him?”
“He’s got practice.”
“Okay.” He dialed Em just as Cody came up to the door.
“Hi, Mr. Matthews.”
“Hey, Cody. I’m checking with Emily to see about giving you a ride home.” He held up his hand. “Em, I’m at the school, and Cody’s here. You want me to run him home for you?”
“It’s out of your way.”
“So? I’ve got nothing else to do.”
“Then yes. It would really help me out, because I’m running late.”
“No problem.” He hung up and motioned for both kids to get in the car.
“Where’s Kristy?” Harper asked.
“She had to work, honey.” It wasn’t a complete lie. The last thing he wanted was for Harper to think they were fighting because of her. “You buckled in, Cody?”
“Yes, sir.”
He pulled out and took the back road to McCreedy Ranch. It was a pretty drive, and he enjoyed listening to Harper and Cody talk about school and their friends. He’d missed out on a significant part of her life, and to have her back, to hear her chatter about her day…well, he didn’t want to miss a minute more.
“Hey, Cody, you interested in joining us tomorrow? We’re planning to check out Glory Junction, maybe grab sandwiches at that bakery everyone talks about and spend an hour or two skating.” A couple of the resorts had outdoor rinks.
Drew watched in his rearview mirror as Cody checked something on his phone.
“I think I can rearrange my schedule,” he said, and Drew had to stifle a laugh. The boy had charm. Both of Clay’s sons were good kids; they adored Harper and looked out for her. “Thanks for inviting me, Mr. Matthews.”
“Hey, Cody, you can just call me Drew.”
“Okay.”
When they got to the top of Emily’s driveway, two big dogs came out to greet them. Cody opened the door and shooed them away. In the beginning, when they’d first brought Harper to the ranch, she’d been cautious of the animals. Now, she got out of the car, scratched one of the dog’s heads, and ran up the front porch stairs.
“I’ll be right back,” she called.
“Thanks for the ride.” Cody took off after her, his backpack flapping up and down.
A few seconds later Clay came out and waved. “You want to come in, have a cup of coffee or a soda? Emily ran to the store.”
Drew got out of the car. He didn’t want to be antisocial, but he was anxious to spend what was left of the day with Harper. “Thanks for the invite, but I’m fine.” He gazed up at the clear blue sky. “Beautiful day.”
“Yep, we’ve been enjoying mild weather for a change.” Clay came down from the porch and joined Drew on the driveway. “Thanks for bringing Cody home.”
“My pleasure.” Other than the kids, they didn’t have a lot to talk about. Drew didn’t know anything about ranching or livestock, and he assumed Clay wasn’t all that interested in Internet law. “Emily told me about the possibility of a motorcycle park going in near the ranch. If you’re looking for an attorney, I might be able to recommend someone.”
Clay nodded. “I appreciate it. Flynn Barlow, another neighbor who will be affected, is a lawyer, and I think he’s talking to someone about representing us. In the meantime, we’re appealing to the city, hoping they’ll block it.”
From everything Drew had heard from Emily, Clay McCreedy held a lot of influence in Nugget. His family was one of the original founders, and his cattle ranch was one of the largest in Northern California. Drew’s money was on Clay and his neighbors coming out on top.
Harper came out. She’d changed out of her school clothes into exercise pants, a sweater, and sneakers and was toting a small suitcase.
“Honey, you already have stuff at my house.” Harper was a bit of clotheshorse, changing outfits a few times a day. Her closet at the Sierra Heights house was just about full.
“I know, but I don’t have anything at your house to wear skating.”
Clay smothered a smile and ruffled Harper’s hair. “You have a good time.”
“Tell Cody we’ll pick him up at ten,” Drew said, and loaded Harper’s case in the trunk.
When they hit the main road he said, “I talked to your mom today, and we both agreed you could take care of Raylene’s horse.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. But only if you keep up your schoolwork and don’t let it interfere with your after-school programs.”
“I will and it won’t, I promise. Can we go to the barn and see Gunner? Please?”
“Sure. But let’s stop home first, drop off your stuff and get a snack. What do you think of having dinner out?”
“Can we go to the Bun Boy?”
“Great minds think alike.” He draped his arm around Harper’s shoulder. “Kristy’ll be jealous.”
But when they got home her BMW was parked in the driveway. Something told him her surprise visit wasn’t going to be good.