Cooper’s Redemption (Crimson Romance) by D'Ann Lindun Read Free Book Online Page A

might turn up there.”
    “Where is it?”
    “There’s one down in Delta, and there’s another the same day over in Monticello.”
    “It’d be easier to sell the cattle here in Colorado,” Cooper mused. “Although Delta’s pretty far away. Still, not as much hassle as crossing the state line.” Although Salt Lick was in Colorado, it sat only about seventy-five miles from Utah.
    “For a rustler, distance isn’t an issue.”
    “Keep your eyes open, will you?”
    “Will do,” Stone said. “I’ll call Pete right now and see if he’ll open up to me a little more than you. I’ll also tell him to keep an eye out for anything fishy.”
    “Thanks, let me know if you hear anything.” Cooper said and squared his hat in place, surprised by Stone’s helpful attitude.
    “I won’t tolerate thieves,” Stone said.
    • • •
    Sabrina Frazier wasn’t what Elizabeth expected. Wearing a pink sweatshirt with a barrel racing logo across the front, Wranglers, and bright red Ropers, the big-boned blonde looked like she’d be more at home leading a 4-H meeting than in the office that had her name and Private Investigator emblazoned across the door.
    “Can I get you a cup of coffee?” Sabrina indicated the pot with a nod.
    Elizabeth didn’t need more caffeine; her nerves were already rattled, but she took it to have something to do with her shaking hands. “Please.”
    Handing her a cup, Sabrina motioned to cream and sugar on a sideboard. “Help yourself.”
    After Elizabeth doctored her coffee, she sat. Sabrina studied her with calm, brown eyes. “Tell me what you need. I’m all ears.”
    “Do you have experience finding a missing person?”
    Sabrina side-stepped the answer. “Who are you looking for?”
    Elizabeth opened her handbag and pulled out the note her mother had left on Cooper’s door. “My mother left California to come here and settle her brother’s estate. She left this note on my neighbor’s door. This proves my mom was here, but no one actually saw her.”
    “It’s your mom who’s missing, then?” Sabrina scanned the paper. “Since when?”
    “I last spoke to her a little over a week ago.” Finally. Someone believed her. Cooper believed her, she remembered. “I need help. The area’s too big. I don’t know where to start … ”
    Sabrina sat forward and put her hand on Elizabeth’s. “Calm down, honey. I’m a local. I know this land like the back of my hand. Now, did your mom rent a car?”
    “No. She drove her own SUV so if she wanted to take anything back, she could.”
    Turning businesslike, Sabrina drew a yellow legal pad out of her desk. “I need to know when your mom left, and from where. When she showed up in Salt Lick. Anything at all.”
    Elizabeth filled her in, then paused a moment. “The only person who admits to seeing Mom is J.B. Cooper, my neighbor. He gave me that note.”
    Sabrina shot her a sharp glance. “Cooper? Up on the divide road?”
    Elizabeth’s heart sank. Here it came. Another lecture on how Cooper couldn’t be trusted. She didn’t want to hear it. He’d been straight with her. “Yes, the same.”
    “He seems like a decent sort,” Sabrina said. “I met him when he hired me to look into something last summer.”
    Amazed, Elizabeth stared at her. Sabrina hadn’t told her to run screaming from Cooper. After handing over a recent photo of her mom, she said, “There’s one more thing.”
    Arching an eyebrow, Sabrina waited.
    “Someone was murdered in my barn last night.”
    “Holy Pete! Are you kidding me?”
    “No, not at all.” Elizabeth told Sabrina everything. “I’m really frightened. The deputy, my cousin Tom, insists Cooper had something to do with it, but my intuition tells me he didn’t.”
    “I don’t know for sure, but I do know this, you better be extra careful,” Sabrina warned. “I’d stick close to home. Leave the searching up to me.”
    “I can’t do that, but I will check in daily. With my mom out there all alone,