“We thought of those things. We found a hammer inside the shop. It had been used to break the window. We were able to get some fingerprints off the hammer handle and a piece of broken pottery.”
“Pottery? Which shop was broken into?” Brody asked.
“I’m sorry. I thought I mentioned it,” Caleb said. “It was Sweet Sensations. Tara Mitchell’s shop.”
Brody’s stomach began to burn as nerves pushed through him. He had been down this road before. When trouble comes knocking somewhere, the law usually came knocking on his door first.
“Is Ms. Mitchell okay?” Brody asked.
“Yes. Shaken up a bit. There was quite a bit of damage.”
“Didn’t they take anything?” Trip asked.
“That’s the funny thing,” Caleb said. “They left a drawer full of money set up for the next day’s business. There wasn’t much there, but if they’d been after money, they walked right by it in exchange for tearing up the place. It was as if someone was hell-bent on revenge.”
“I don’t know that I could help you with any of this,” Brody said, smacking the notepad he’d been holding on the palm of his hand to keep his anger in check. “I haven’t left the ranch since yesterday afternoon.”
“We were up talking business until about eleven last night,” Trip said.
“Can anyone vouch that you were in the bunkhouse all night?” Caleb asked.
“No person. Unless you want to talk to the dam down at the end of the aisle here. She gave birth about four-thirty this morning to a fine foal.”
“That’s right,” Trip said. “I woke up to the news bright and early. Most of us were in and out of here all night making sure everything went smoothly. You can ask the other hands.”
“You’re not likely to get much out of the horse,” Brody said.
Caleb chuckled. “You had a busy first week.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Did anyone see you leave the property?”
“I just told you that I was here birthing a foal, although I have to say her mama did that pretty well on her own.”
Trip chuckled. Then he slapped Caleb on the back lightly. “Come on, I’ll bring you to the ranch hands. You can question them to verify Brody’s alibi. Then if you want, we will come in to take a peek at the new addition to the ranch.”
“That’d be good. I’m afraid I’m still going to need to bring you in for fingerprints. You do realize it’s the quickest way to eliminate you as a suspect if you’re not a match.”
Brody’s back straightened. “The best way to eliminate me is to run the prints you have. If I don’t come up in your database as a match, then I’m not your man. My prints are already on file.”
Sweet Montana Outlaw: Chapter Four
The prints are clean. Those four words had played through her mind since Caleb Samuel had come to Sweet Sensations while she’d been cleaning up the mess made during the break in.
She couldn’t fathom how that was possible. Caleb had told her Brody Whitebear’s fingerprints registered in the Montana criminal database. Of course, they would be given his arrest and conviction. But they were not a match. The person who’d broken into her shop was not in the criminal database. Caleb had insisted they would continue to search for the person responsible. But it definitely wasn’t Brody Whitebear.
And now, Tara not only felt like a fool for jumping to conclusions, but she felt awful for the problems she most likely caused for Brody out at Lone Creek Ranch. From what she knew, Trip Taggart was a fair man. But everyone had their limits and she hated to think she might have caused some irreversible damage for Brody. Regardless of how she felt about him, targeting him the way she had made her no better than the person who’d broken into her store and caused all that destruction.
The only way to remedy the situation was to face it head on. That meant going out to the Lone Creek Ranch again and facing Brody with an apology. She found Brody in the arena just as a few of the barrel racing students were finishing a session with Trip. Brody was sitting in the stands watching, so she waved to him when he caught her standing by the door.
She’d expected him to be upset with her, but she wasn’t prepared for the slap of anger that hit her with his cold gaze. He quickly got up from his seat and made his way over to where she was standing. Trip was still talking to the students in the arena while they sat on their horses and listened to every word. He glanced over as Brody made his way toward her, but said nothing.
When Brody reached her, he took her by the arm. “Let’s take this outside,” he said quietly.
She’d expected his grip to hurt given his obvious anger. But to her surprise, he was quite gentle. Tara wasn’t quite sure she’d be able to restrain herself.
Once outside, he spun around and glared down at her. “What are you up to now, Tara? Nearly having me arrested on the first week of employment didn’t work so you’re back to finish the job with some other lie?”
“I came to apologize,” she said, taking a step back. “I know you’re angry with me and you have every right to be. In this instance.” Guilt slid up her chest and threatened to choke her.
“You’re damned right I have a right to be angry. You have no idea what kind of trouble you nearly caused me.”
“I have no defense except to say that I was caught off guard, and I’m sorry.”
“You were caught off guard? What about me? My first week of work, at a job I really love by the way, and
