Fighting Chance (Misty Grove Book 1) Read Free Page A

two men in his office. “I’m in charge of the courts, Mr. Bowman. If Grimes needs to get involved, he does so at my request. I know you’re a distinguished citizen of this county, and with that in mind, I will bring up your case to him, but this is the last time you will be wasting county resources on petty grievances. Everyone knows you’re after Montgomery’s ranch, and if I find out you’re intimidating any county residents, you will be dealt with accordingly, and I don’t give a f—care what your standing is in the community. Clear?”
    “How dare you talk to me in such manner?” Bowman sputtered in indignation. Yanking open the door, he jerked his head at his henchman, who walked up behind him. “I shall talk to the DA and it is you who shall be dealt with.”  
    “Be my guest.” The idiot didn’t know it was the governor who had appointed him.  
    After the door slammed behind his unwanted visitors, Trent dropped to his chair and scrubbed his face in frustration, the day’s events catching up with him. He wondered how he could diffuse this situation before anyone got really hurt. He pressed his intercom. “Betty, can you locate Deputy Briggs and have him call me. Also, get the DA on the line.”
    “Uh-oh, old man Bowman causing real trouble?” Betty was his sixty-year-old assistant, who ruled the sheriff’s department with an iron fist.  
    “Oh, is there a fake kind of trouble?” Trent chuckled.
    His phone rang with an internal call from Betty.  
    “He blows a lot of smoke in different directions to see which one catches fire,” his assistant informed him when he picked up.
    “Do you know Cassandra Reed, Betty?”
    “Pretty girl. Visited the former sheriff a lot. She’s courteous to me and is friendly with a few deputies, especially the older ones. I know she’s tight with Frank. Otherwise she keeps to herself ...”
    Deputy Frank Briggs was the fifty-five-year-old officer who was in charge of court security and warrants. Trent couldn’t understand why he wasn’t the sheriff, because he clearly was the most senior and qualified.  
    “... hangs out with her twin a lot and mostly folks in Misty Grove.”
    “She has a twin?” Now why didn’t Brooks mention this.
    “Oh, yes. Lucas Reed. Good-looking chap, amiable fellow. When she’s not on the ranch with her twin taking care of the horses, she’s at the garage in Misty Grove.”
    “Foster’s?”
    “Yep, only garage in that town. Matt Foster. Now I’m not too sure about that guy. I’ve heard some rumors from other deputies that he’s a drug trafficker, but the former sheriff shut that down.”
    Misty Grove, for a small town, sure packed its own intrigues, unlike the regular kind of troubles here in Edington, the county seat. Trent wasn’t sure he wanted his assessment to be clouded by hearsay, despite his assistant’s well-meaning intentions.  
    “Listen, Betty, I need to head out soon. Can you get Briggs on the line?”
    “On it, Sheriff.”

    *****
    It was pushing 11:00 p.m. when all was said and done. Bowman didn’t issue an empty threat as he went directly to his connection in the legislative body to complain about the sheriff’s lack of response regarding Cassie Reed’s assault on his man. It would have all been squared away quickly if the DA and his assistant weren’t tied up in other cases and both Trent and Frank refused to bring in Cassie Reed for questioning, much less request for an outright warrant from the judge. It didn’t take five minutes after they’d all gathered in the District Attorney’s office when the prosecutor threw out Bowman’s demand to have Cassie Reed arrested. DA Grimes issued a stern warning against Bowman about letting his thugs trespass on private property again. The DA pulled Trent aside, out of everyone’s earshot and much to Frank’s chagrin. It was not lost on Trent that the older deputy had a protective streak when it came to one Cassandra Reed.
    “As soon as Montgomery