“Morning,” I said as I lowered my mug.
“Afternoon,” he replied. “We are eight hours ahead of you.”
“Course you are. So, how’s the German tour for A Brush of Blue going?”
“Incredibly well. They’ve sold out every club they play at and have added more shows.”
“Good. So last night we had the sheriff out.”
“What?!”
I relayed the previous night’s events to Landon. When I was done I took another swig of dark roast and wished I’d taken an aspirin. My head hurt still. The goose egg was noticeable and would, no doubt, be with me for a week or so.
“You really have a gift for small talk. Hi, boss, how’s the tour, someone tried to kill me and the professor last night,” Landon griped.
“It’s a gift.”
“Is everyone okay?”
“We are yes. My hat is in rough shape, but I think it’ll pull through.”
“That’s a relief. That is a damn fine hat.”
“That it is.”
“So what did the sheriff say?” I heard him exhale as if he’d taken a seat. Probably had to now that I’d dumped the bad news on him.
“Not much. Took our statements, said he’d look into any newcomers to Copper Falls.”
“Jesus. Did you tell him that someone shot at you? That seems important enough to make them do something more than drive around town giving tourists an evil eye.”
“No proof of there being a shot taken, but he did note it. I know Mark, he’s a good guy. He’ll do what he can, but I don’t hold out much hope. If the poachers were smart they’d be in Montana by now with Millicent’s tail bones.”
“Millicent?”
“The name the team gave to the Triceratops they’re digging up.”
“How can they tell if it’s a female?”
“Bishop says he has a feel for feminine things. Don’t ask me to explain him.” Or us. Or the strange need I have to nestle between his legs like my old barn cat. “Not to cast dispersions but it did occur to me that our neighbors would have knowledge of the site. We share the same boundary lines and roads. And we know how the McCrary’s feel about us and the hands.”
He took a moment to reply. “You have no proof?”
“Not a lick.”
“Then we’ll keep that suspicion to ourselves for now. It’s been quiet with the Hollow Wind for a bit, and I’d like to keep it that way.” I thought to say that it was quiet because there had been three feet of snow on the ground. Kind of hard to stir up shit when you’ve got snow up to your asshole. “Feel free to hire some extra hands to cover for the ones who are now on guard duty at the site.”
“Speaking of new hands…”
He exhaled deeply. “Fine, tell Kyle to bring his brother to the ranch but inform them that if this Will acts up just once, he’s gone. I will not tolerate bullshit at the Prairie Smoke.”
“We got enough bullshit without importing more. I’ll pass that along to Kyle. I have Aaron Yellow Horse coming out today to dowse for a new watering system. I’ll let you know how that goes.”
“Do you need me to come home now?”
“Nope. Nothing you can do.” Which was the God’s honest truth. I’d run this ranch for years while Landon played hockey in New York City. I could handle whatever came our way. “We’ll beef up security around the dinosaur and take care of the day to day.”
“I knew there was a reason I hired you.”