eyes narrowed, even as his lips stretched in a humorless smile. “Anything’s possible. Thing is, though, around here you might have a grudge, but you don’t mess with a man’s stock. That’s a killing offense in these parts.”
“Really?” Apparently some of the Wild West still survived out here.
“You get caught at it, somebody might take the law into their own hands. We have some rustling problems from time to time, and no jury around here would convict a rancher who shot a rustler. Or someone caught poisoning a rancher’s land or stock. No, you got a problem with someone, you’d best take it up with them directly.”
“So it was probably some kind of accident.”
“Probably. A bad one, though. If we ever found out where it came from, somebody would be paying for two Angus cows and maybe a little more, besides. I sure wish we could find out where it started.”
“Allison doesn’t think that’s likely.”
Tate sighed. “Mebbe not. Likely not. What little I know about that toxin gives me a real bad feeling, and the way it spreads makes it almost impossible to trace.” He cocked a brow at Jerrod. “So you went out with her on Saturday? You keeping an eye on her?”
“I thought she shouldn’t be out there alone. In case.”
“There’re a lot of in cases out there. Especially when the snow covers things. From prairie-dog holes on up. I don’t think cell phones work any too good out at the Madison place.”
“I didn’t think so. Which brings me around to something else.”
Tate nodded. “She ought to have a radio. I’ll stop by the office and talk to Gage Dalton. He’s the new sheriff.” Tate suddenly laughed. “Been a while since I retired, but he’s probably always going to be the new sheriff. Anyway, I’ll have a word with him. Chances are Allison won’t get around to it.”
He turned and dumped the dregs of his coffee into the sink. “I’ll think on what you said about a grudge. Don’t want to dismiss any possibility. In the meantime, you keep an eye on that young woman. I reckon you’re good at that.”
“It’s not exactly something I’ve done before, but I get the basics.”
Tate’s gaze measured him. “Reckon you do,” he said finally. “Who were you with?”
“Can’t say.”
“Like that, is it?” The former sheriff let it drop. “You need anything, give me a shout. And if you get to feeling sociable, I got a wife who loves nothing better than a guest for dinner.”
When Tate walked out, Jerrod was left holding his card. He stared at it, figuring he had just found an ally who could help with intel.
So Tate didn’t think it was likely someone had a score to settle with Madison. That was good to know, but it opened up some questions, like who and why? Just an accident?
It had been a long time since Jerrod had given much credence to accidents. Just like he wasn’t ready to give credence to the idea that they’d never be able to find the person who was responsible for the poison. It might be difficult, but not necessarily impossible. And what if the person responsible for the release had something to hide? Say, some illicit stock of the poison that wasn’t in collars at all. That would fit better with the idea of those cows ingesting some. In which case, somebody could have a whole lot of reasons for stopping Allison.
Remembering the way he’d felt watched out there, then later here on the street, he couldn’t dismiss the possibility out of hand.
Of course, it was always possible that he was trying to act on training that had no place here in his new life. Maybe he wanted to believe this because it gave him a purpose again.
If so, he might be worse off than he thought.
Grabbing his jacket, he decided to head over to the college and see if he could find Allison. Just a friendly gesture, an offer to take her out for lunch. It seemed the least he could do after that wonderful lasagna the other night.
Or maybe it was because his whole body was humming like a homing beacon, dragging him toward her.
He snorted, but didn’t fight it. She was interested in him, too, and she was a grown woman who could make her own decisions.
Whether he’d be good for her didn’t even enter into it. That was her decision.
Besides, he’d all but promised to keep an eye on her.
* * *
Allison stood looking at the back of her sporty SUV with dismay. Somebody had tried to smash the tailgate window. Trying to get at the samples? But why?
They hadn’t broken in, though. The car was still locked, the window was crazed with cracks and dented in at one place, but nobody had gotten in. So why?
It would be easy enough to take a swing at her car in the faculty lot. Even now, as lunch hour approached, there wasn’t another soul around. There rarely was except in the early morning or late afternoon. Unlike the student parking lot, this one was seldom busy.
Well, if they’d wanted the samples, it wouldn’t have taken much more work to get at them. Why would anyone want them, anyway? They might be dangerous, and it wasn’t as if she couldn’t just go out to collect some more.
Swearing softly, she pulled out her phone to call campus security. Dan Digby was going to be here shortly, and he’d be thrilled to find out that his trip had been lengthened by this. She probably wouldn’t even be allowed to open her car until someone had gone over it.
Not that the campus had much of a security force. There’d likely be another delay as they called the sheriff. She sighed this time. Just lovely.
She shivered a little in the cold. She really hadn’t dressed for standing out here long, but she didn’t feel she could step inside a building. What if someone saw this as an opportunity to get into her car and look for money or something? They might get exposed to that toxin.
Security didn’t keep her waiting long. Well, of course not. They generally had little to do on this small campus. Ben Herbert climbed out of the car, took one look at her and the window and said, “Climb in my passenger seat before you freeze. I called the sheriff.”
“I thought you would. Has there been a rash of this?” she asked hopefully. It would be so nice to feel this wasn’t directed at her.
“No,” he answered bluntly. “Probably some stupid kid who did it on a dare, though. You wouldn’t believe how much craziness happens on a dare. Maybe even fraternity hazing of some kind.”
She liked that idea. She slid into his car, which was still running and blasting welcome heat. Even though she was wearing lined gloves, she held them out to the heater vent. Too much cold, too much snow. If this was the harbinger of the kind of winter it was going to be, everyone was going to wind up wishing they lived in igloos. At least the heating costs would go down.
A sheriff’s car pulled up just minutes later. It was followed by a police car, this one piloted by the chief, Jake Madison. The deputy turned out to be Sarah Ironheart. Allison was almost amused by the fact that her
