She stopped at the bottom of the stairs to the deck, shading her eyes to take in the two. It hadn’t escaped her notice last night that Luke had changed. He’d filled out, looking stronger, definitely confident and as always, handsome in an understated, very male way.
She could see that Luke didn’t like the idea of leaving her alone with his uncle given the family history. Of course he would be protective of the uncle who’d raised him and by now he would also know about his cousin’s arrest last night and who Buzz would blame.
McCall smiled to herself at the indecision she saw in Luke’s expression. But was he afraid to leave her alone with Buzz because of his fear of what his uncle might do? Or her?
“I’d like to speak to Buzz alone,” McCall said flashing her badge. She heard Buzz curse loud enough for her to hear.
“You coming out to arrest me as well as my son?” Buzz snapped.
Luke started down the steps to the shore. As he stepped past McCall, he said under his breath, “You sure this is a good idea?”
“I can handle Buzz.” The nearness of Luke Crawford was a whole other story, she thought as he brushed on past her.
“And I can handle the deputy,” Buzz said from his lawn chair.
McCall listened to the crunch of Luke’s boot heels on the rocky shore before ascending the stairs to the deck.
Buzz was a big beefy man with ham-sized fists and a predilection for violence—much like his son Eugene. As the former county game warden, he’d made more than his share of enemies since he had a reputation for being a heartless bastard who would have arrested his own mother.
McCall had heard stories about him roughing up poachers, claiming they’d resisted arrest when they swore they hadn’t.
“What do you want?” Buzz demanded scowling at her now as he got up and went through the open door into his house.
She stepped cautiously to the doorway and peered into the dim darkness.
The place wasn’t much larger than her cabin on the river and even more sparsely furnished. The only thing on the walls other than deer and antelope mounts were framed yellowed articles from newspapers and magazines featuring Buzz when he was a game warden.
He saw her looking at the write-ups about him and chuckled. “That’s what a real officer of the law looks like,” he boasted as he poured himself a mug of coffee but he didn’t offer her one.
She saw that he’d changed since he’d left his game warden job. He wasn’t in shape anymore and he’d aged. She thought retirement wasn’t working out so well for him.
“So what brings a Winchester out to see me?” Buzz asked, glaring at her.
She smiled, wondering at this hatred between the Crawfords and Winchesters. It made no sense. Especially when aimed at her since no one in town considered her a Winchester—including the Winchester family.
“I’m here about Trace Winchester’s disappearance,” she said into the cold malevolent silence.
Buzz had started to take a drink of the hot coffee, but jerked back at her words, spilling some on the floor and burning his mouth. He swore and put down the cup.
“Your name keeps coming up in my investigation,” she said. “I was wondering why that was.”
“No mystery there,” Buzz spat. “Your old man kept breaking the law and I kept catching him.”
“How many times was that?”
He shrugged. “I lost track.”
“Really? You were the only game warden for this entire county back then. You alone had an area the size of Massachusetts to cover, from Canada to the Missouri River Breaks. It would have been impossible to catch Trace Winchester every time he broke the law unless you made it a personal vendetta.”
“Maybe he was just stupid and got caught a lot.”
“Maybe. I guess it would depend on how many times you arrested him and for what.”
She’d checked the arrests before she’d driven out. They were public record. “Let’s see,” she said taking the list from her pocket. “Littering, trespassing, improper boat safety equipment...” She looked up. “You wrote him far more tickets than you wrote anyone else in the county.”
Buzz looked uneasy.
“It makes me wonder just what your relationship was with my father.”
“Relationship? I couldn’t stand the little—” He caught himself. “Trace Winchester was a spoiled kid who thought he was above the law. I was a law enforcement officer. You should be able to understand that.”
She nodded as she stuffed the list back into her pocket and took out her notebook and pen. “When was the last time you saw Trace?”
Buzz picked up his mug again and took a sip of coffee, letting her wait. “Hell if I know. Whatever date I ticketed his worthless ass.”
“You never saw him again? Like say the next morning?” she asked, her gaze riveted to his.
He stared right back. “That’s right.”
“You’re sure about that? You didn’t by any chance wait for him on a ridge south of town?” Was it her imagination or did she see fear contract his eyes?
“You deaf? I already told you. Quit wasting my time.”
“What exactly is your problem with the Winchester family?”
He blinked in surprise. “Why don’t you ask your mother. Or your grandmother. Oh, that’s right, Pepper disowned you.”
“Actually, I don’t think she went to the trouble.”
He sneered at that. “Your grandfather cheated my brother out of some land. Call Winchester was a crook and a liar.”
“Call’s been dead for more than forty years. What did that have to do with my mother? Or my father other than he was a Winchester and spoiled?”
“I didn’t say it had anything to do with your father.” His smile was as sharp as the filet knife lying on the counter next to him. “If you want to know what it has to do with your mother, well, I suggest you ask her.”
McCall studied Buzz for a moment, hoping he wasn’t another of her mother’s old boyfriends.
