Cowboy Bikers MC #3 - Esther E. Schmidt
CHAPTER ONE
— Decker —
I place my forearms on the top board of the fence and one foot on the bottom board as I wait for my ex-colleague, Nick, to park his black SUV. Nick called me in the middle of the night to cash in a favor. A favor concerning a protection deal for a woman who is being tormented by a stalker.
She needs to go into hiding for her own safety, and he might have mentioned her health and work, but it was the middle of the night and I didn’t pay much attention since he was going to debrief me this morning anyway.
Hammer—my Australian cattle dog—is lying at my feet until the door of the SUV swings open. Hammer dashes up and barks while he heads for Nick. The smart man freezes when he sees my dog coming and I give a sharp whistle. Hammer instantly drops to the ground however, he keeps barking.
“New dog?” Nick chuckles uncomfortably before he adds, “Might want to make him hang back a bit, Muriel isn’t used to dogs.”
What kind of person isn’t used to dogs? Great. Already off to a nice start if she isn’t used to dogs, seeing as Hammer is practically my shadow. How the hell is she going to survive on a damn ranch filled with animals?
I shake my head. “If she’s going to stay here, she might as well get used to Hammer, he’s always around. Not to mention all the horses, Longhorns, and some wild animals running around on the ranch. Shall I recite everything that walks and crawls around here? The list will be long.”
I stay in place while Nick shifts uncomfortably and stalks around Hammer with a wide berth.
“She has some issues, but I know you will find a way to work around them. I really appreciate you doing this, even if it’s a favor I’m cashing in.” He holds out his hand and it forces me to step away from the fence.
I give him a firm handshake and a smack on the shoulder. “Don’t mention it. I’m always up for a challenge to rip me from my routine. Email or text me the details and give me the short recap right now so you can drop off the package and focus on the case you’re working on.”
He glances over his shoulder at the SUV, the tinted windows don’t give anything away of who might be hiding inside.
“Muriel Packsy, twenty-three years old and she sure doesn’t belong here. She’s a country singer and extremely popular. Her management gave the whole going into hiding part a twist and made her fans believe she’s retreating for a couple of weeks to work on some new material. No one expects any news from her for at least a couple of weeks. She’s done this a few times in the past so it’s nothing unusual. If anything, the fans are excited because she always makes a massive comeback with a load of new songs.”
I hold my hand up to prevent him from blabbering out more stuff. “Not interested in that shit. Tell me what’s going on with her to be placed in my care.”
“Stalker. Going on for eight months but it escalated last week. She recently released a new video and there was a male model in it who played the part of her lover. It showed a peck on the cheek and holding hands, nothing much. Except, the model went missing last week, then Muriel received a few letters which had a straight link to the missing model. That’s when we got involved but it all escalated when the model was found yesterday morning. Well, first the lips and hands were delivered to her doorstep and the body was discovered later, floating in the river behind the building where her penthouse is located.”
Fucking hell. I grab my Stetson and let my hand slide through my hair before placing it back.
“You guys have a good idea who the stalker is?” I let my eyes slide to the SUV, knowing I can’t see the woman but I can’t help wonder how scared she must be.
“Not a damn clue. She has a handful of obsessive fans, the usual shit celebrities have to deal with, but nothing stands out. We have a full team on it and with you taking Muriel, it gives us a chance to check out a few leads.” Again, with the uncomfortable shift.
“Why don’t you just spit it out, Nick?” I question because his whole demeanor screams...aw, fuck.