Deke gathered them. “Thank you. You’ll get them back, assuming nothing incriminating turns up.”
Tommy’s eyes narrowed. “What are you investigating?”
Deke met his gaze. “Cattle stolen from the Hollister ranch.”
Tommy’s face paled. Rawley, shifting weight from one boot to the other, raised an eyebrow and studied the boy’s reaction.
“If you know who’s involved, you should tell us,” Rawley said quietly.
Tommy’s nostrils flared. “Fuck you. I don’t haveto say a damn thing.”
“Nice.” Rawley looked at Deke, then back to the kid. “Son—”
“I am not your son!”
Rawley stepped forward, inches from Tommy’s face. “You’re damn right you’re not because if you were, you sure as shit wouldn’t talk back to me.”
Deke stepped between them; hand raised. “All right. Let’s move on.”
Rawley straightened, eyeing the confiscated devices. “You’d better hope there’s nothing on these,” he warned, “because if there is, I’ll enjoy coming back to arrest your skinny ass.”
Tommy’s bravado faltered, leaving him pale and silent. Deke allowed himself a brief, satisfied smile.
“Now, Teddy’s and Johnny’s rooms,” Deke said, his voice firm with purpose. “Then I want to search Mr. Winchester’s home office.”
“Follow me. This is Teddy’s room, Johnny’s is the next one,” Mrs. Winchester replied, her tone resigned as she led them down a dimly lit hallway to two more rooms. Inside, the rooms were tidy but conspicuously devoid of electronics; both laptops and phones were missing, leaving only empty power cords dangling from outlets.
“Where are they?” Deke asked, his brow furrowing with concern.
“I don’t know,” Mrs. Winchester admitted, her voice tinged with frustration. “They barely speak to me, so I honestly can’t say.”
“Do they always take their laptops when they leave?” Killian inquired, examining the neat, untouched surfaces of the desks. He pulled drawers open, but Deke saw there was nothing there they could take.
“I’ve never seen them do it before, but I don’t keep an eye on them all the time,” she confessed, glancing around as if the devices might suddenly reappear.
Killian exchanged a knowing look with Deke. “They knew we were coming back. Winchester warned them.”
“I agree,” Deke replied, a hint of irritation in his voice. “Let’s see what we find in Winchester’s office, then we’ll look around town, though I doubt that’s where they are.” With a heavy sigh, he turned and walked to Derrick’s room, knocking gently on the door. It creaked open to reveal the boy, his expression a mix of curiosity and defiance.
“What?” Derrick asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.
“Do you know where your older brothers would be?” Deke inquired, trying to gauge the boy’s reaction.
“No, they don’t tell me anything,” Derrick responded, his voice flat with the indifference of someone who was used to being left out.
Deke nodded, sensing the truth in the boy’s words. “Would Tommy know?”
“Probably, but he won’t tell you.” Derrick shrugged, a resigned acceptance in his posture.
“It’s a waste of time to ask him, Deke,” Rawley interjected, his voice low and certain.
“For now, but once I haul his ass in, I think he’ll talk,” Deke replied, with a tired nod. “Let’s go downstairs, then head out after looking through the office.”
The men looked through the rest of the house but only found a laptop that belonged to Chet Winchester. They also took the maid’s phone,explaining it was necessary and if there was nothing incriminating on it, it would be returned to her. They drove through town, but didn’t see the other two young men. Going by their photos, they wouldn’t be hard to spot. To Deke, they looked like thugs, and he knew they were hiding for now.
****
The following day, Ava sat on the sofa, watching Ellie play with her dolls, when her phone vibrated on the coffee table. She picked it up to see Deacon’s number and just like that, her stomach was in knots.
