“Yep.”
Despite Stella’s probing questions, Mattie thought Lovejoy had maintained an even keel. She wondered if he was having to work at it.
“You split off from Sheriff McCoy and me when we were riding down to go back to Timber Creek on Sunday afternoon,” Stella said. “Where did you go exactly?”
Lovejoy lowered one brow and squinted at her. “Now, you’re not thinking I shot that ram, are you?”
“I’m covering my bases, Ed. I’ve gotta figure out where each of the players who were up on that mountain were at all times, from the moment the partial remains were found Sunday morning until now. You get that, don’t you?”
Lovejoy frowned, apparently thinking for several seconds before looking at Mattie. “You know me, Mattie.”
“I do.”
“Am I the kind of guy who’d poach an animal out of season?” Not waiting for an answer, he continued. “I enforce the wildlife management rules and regulations, for cripes’ sake.”
“And Stella has a job to do. All we need from you is information.”
His face showed his distaste as he looked back at Stella. “I rode north to the meadow down below Redstone Ridge. I didn’t go anywhere near the trail that leads up to the backside. When I went up there yesterday, it was the first time I’d been there since last fall.”
Stella nodded as if in encouragement. “Thank you, Ed. Did you see anyone in that lower meadow?”
“I did not. I counted elk.” He shuffled through some papers and pulled one out to show her. “Do you want to see my report?”
Stella took the paper and scanned it. “Good. Just one more thing. May I take your rifle to have our lab test it to make sure it isn’t a match to the casing that was found?”
“Shee-ite, Detective.” Lovejoy stood abruptly, his chair shooting backwards. “What gives you the right to ask for it?”
“I think you know the answer to that question, Ed. I’ve got to rule things out as we go.”
“I suppose I don’t have much of a choice. If I don’t give it up, you’re going to think I’m a suspect.” He gave Stella a disgusted look, raising his index finger for emphasis. “My rifle is not going to match that casing. And if there’s any damage to that gun at all, even the tiniest little scratch, I’m going to hold you personally accountable.”
Calm and composed, Stella stood. “I appreciate your cooperation, Ed. We’ll get the gun back to you as soon as we can.”
Lovejoy stormed out of the room, and Stella quirked a brow at Mattie before turning to follow him.
“That went well,” Stella said as Mattie drove the Explorer away from the Wildlife Division building. “What’s your take on Lovejoy?”
“We have to look at him. He’s got horses, he’s got the rig, and he’s got the gun that might link to the ram. But he’s got no motive that I can see, and he’s not tied into California that we know of. I don’t think he’s our guy.”
Mattie observed Lovejoy in the rearview mirror. He was still standing, arms crossed, glaring after them from the parking lot. He’d insisted on putting the rifle in the gun rack himself, checking to make sure it was well protected by its case.
“Either way, let’s drop the gun off at the station,” Stella said, “and I’ll get a courier to run it to the ballistics lab. Then we’ll look up Mr. Gibson Galloway in Hightower. Hope the address he gave us is actually real.”
“I checked his arrest report for the rifles that were in the back of Galloway’s truck,” Mattie said. “He’s got a Remington and a Winchester 70 Featherweight bolt-action rifle.”
“Compatible with our ammo casing?”
“Both are.”
At the station, Mattie gave Robo a pit stop while Stella ran the gun inside. They were back on the road within minutes. Apparently deep in thought, Stella pursed her lips and stared out the passenger window. Mattie brought the Explorer up to speed on the highway, setting a course through the hay meadows around Timber Creek toward the foothills that surrounded Hightower.
The silence in the car gave her mind freedom to revisit Willie’s gravesite, leaving her despondent. There’d been no indication that Ed Lovejoy was connected to Willie. If ballistics proved that he didn’t shoot the ram, it would eliminate him as a suspect, which would also eliminate that lead toward solving Willie’s case. She hoped they could glean information from Gibson Galloway that would hold more promise.
TWENTY-ONE
They reached the address that Galloway had given, and Mattie turned into a short lane that led to a ramshackle trailer house with faded blue and white siding. No trees or shrubs grew in the yard to block the view, and behind the trailer she could see an old pole barn and a corral shored up with various types of boards and wire. The same pickup that she’d first seen in front of the Watering Hole was now parked beside the tumbledown corral where four horses stood, listlessly swishing their tails.
Mattie shook off her depression and scanned the property. It was important to remain vigilant. “Shall we stop at the house or at the barn?”
As she spoke, a man came from the barn and headed for the corral carrying a bale of hay. Sunlight glinted off his bald head, and Mattie immediately recognized him.
“Looks like that’s our guy,” Stella said.
Mattie steered around the trailer house and parked alongside Galloway’s pickup. “I think you should take the lead on this one. And leave the doors open in case I need to pop the cage to let Robo out.” She was referring to the remote popper button she wore on her utility belt. It controlled the door into Robo’s compartment, and she could release her partner with the press of a finger.
Stella nodded. “Good plan. You weren’t exactly in this guy’s good graces the last time you tangled with him.”
Leaving both doors open, they exited the car while Galloway kept a hostile eye on them. He tossed the hay to the horses, and then stood waiting for them at the fence, his hands on his hips as they approached. Mattie stayed back a few feet, positioning herself between Stella and the SUV.
“Good morning, Mr. Galloway,” Stella said. “I hope you remember us. I’m Detective LoSasso and this is Deputy Cobb from the Timber Creek County Sheriff Department.”
“I know who you are.” He didn’t offer a handshake, and Stella didn’t push it by offering one herself.
“You were a bit under the influence when we met and possibly not yourself.” Stella was giving him the benefit of the doubt, probably hoping to soften him up. “We need to speak with you and get some follow up information, if we could.”
“What if I don’t want to talk to you?”
“Then I’d have to wonder why not. I’m content to talk with you here today instead of taking you in for questioning, if you’ll let me.”
With a disgusted expression, Galloway turned his gaze from Stella to Robo, who remained standing at his window, staring back at the man. “What do you want?”
“Tell me why you were in Timber Creek Saturday night.”
“I told you guys that once. Didn’t anyone write it down?”
Stella offered a thin smile. “I need to confirm some things.”
“We were driving through town on our way back home. We stopped to have some food.”
“Driving from where?”
He shifted with impatience. “From Kansas.”
“And what were you doing in Kansas?”
“We were at a rodeo.”
Stella raised her palm slightly, as if encouraging him to open up. “Where exactly?”
“Dodge City.”
“What was the name of the event?”
He paused. “We were at the Roundup.”