The sheriff hesitated. “They said they weren’t responsible for Miss Weber’s kidnapping, and I have no choice but to believe them.”
“It had to be them,” Cowboy snarled, shaking his head in disgust. “If it wasn’t Stuart Nelson, then they’d be the only ones left who had any connection to Anna and would want to do her harm. What about all the threats they sent her?”
Sheriff Wells wrinkled his brow in confusion. “Threats?”
Everyone shifted their eyes onto me and I sighed. “After I had a run-in with the Barlow boys, I started receiving hostile notes in my mailbox. I thought they were just trying to intimidate me, though.”
“I want to see those notes,” the sheriff said.
“I’ll swing by Anna’s and bring them to you in the morning,” Cowboy stated, glancing over at Mandy. “I’m sorry. I know they’re your brothers, but they need to pay for what they did to her.”
Mandy shook her head. “That’s what the sheriff is trying to tell you. It’s not possible. They couldn’t have been responsible for the kidnapping. Both of my brothers have been locked up in County Jail since last night. They started a bar brawl over at The Backwoods and were arrested. They’re still in a cell.”
“Wait,” I said, trying to wrap my brain around this new information. “If what she says is true…”
“Then they both have rock solid alibis for their whereabouts,” Cowboy finished for me. “Which means there are no more suspects to investigate.”
“Actually,” Sheriff Wells began, a somber expression taking over his face. “Sorry, Cowboy. I hate to ask this, especially right now, but…well, where were you earlier this evening when Miss Weber was abducted?”
Apparently, Mandy hadn’t seen that one coming either because we exchanged a look of shock and confusion.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Cowboy asked.
“You were the last one to see the victim before she disappeared, the one who reported her missing, and the first responder on the scene. Not only that, but the Barlow brothers claim you were yelling at Miss Weber and beating down her door more than once over the past few days. Like I said, I hate to ask, but…”
“Oh, fuck me,” Cowboy said, rolling his eyes. “I left Anna’s house around midnight after my fire pager went off, but it was a false alarm. After that, I went straight back to Anna’s. Probably only took me half an hour at the most. She was gone and there was a lamp turned over, so I knew something had happened. That’s when I called the sheriff’s office and reported her missing.”
“And then? Where did you go after that?”
“I was driving around looking for her. What the hell do you think I was doing?” Cowboy glared at him, but Sheriff Wells set his jaw and stared right back, as if the man were waiting for a full confession. “Oh, give me a fucking break! You think I kidnapped Anna, tied her up, and left her in some old barn so I could report her missing and then blame it on her father?”
The sheriff shrugged. “Crazier things have happened.”
“Then how do you account for the blue Cavalier? I don’t drive a car and I would have had to leave my truck at Anna’s house.”
“True. But like you said earlier, the man who gave us this information is an ex-convict. Doesn’t hold a lot of weight at this point.”
I scoffed. “I can’t believe you’re even considering Cowboy as a suspect. He didn’t do it.”
But the sheriff continued with his questions. “Were you alone when you returned to Miss Weber’s home?”
“Yes, of course,” Cowboy responded.
“So no one can verify your whereabouts around the time Ms. Weber went missing?”
Cowboy blew out a breath. “Guess not.”
“Then that leaves me no choice,” the sheriff said, shaking his head. “Cowboy, I’ll need you to come down to the station with me for more questioning.”
“You’ve got to be shittin’ me!”
What? This couldn’t be happening.