Melody's Six

“That’s why we’re doing this together,” Beck pointed out. “Three heads are better than one.”

“Three bullets were fired,” Mel jumped right into it. “First at the drone, then one shot passed between Spalding and me, and one took out a tire on the Jeep. Of those two shots, I can’t be sure which came first, the tire or the, um other one.”

Beck swore. “So the shooter could have been aiming at you.”

Dean could tell Beck was furious and more than a little concerned. Mel pressed her lips together, not quite meeting his gaze.

“I told her the same thing,” Dean said.

“And I disagreed,” Mel protested. “I can’t say for certain who the target was. The shooter wasn’t interested in killing me or Spalding. He wanted to scare us off though.”

“Well, he sure scared the scouting party,” Beck said. “The studio requested more security.” She paused. “Lattice Creek Ranch offered to fulfill that need.”

“Of course,” Mel said with a gasp. She caught Dean’s hand. “Atwell staged the shooting to scare Spalding and insinuate his people into the scouting group.”

“Makes as much sense as anything else,” Beck said. “I countered the studio’s concerns with an offer to send in security that is not undercover.”

“Tell me they agreed,” Dean said. He’d feel a whole lot better with allies nearby.

“They did,” she confirmed.

Dean breathed a silent sigh of relief as he pulled the other chair around to sit beside Mel.

“Jake and I are assigning a team,” she continued. “I’m not sure yet who is available, but expect them to arrive tomorrow. In the meantime, you two need to be prepared for anything,” she reminded them.

“All right, Mel. I can see you’re logged in now too. Let’s start with a review of the first video. We can’t rule out the possibility that the drone flew over an area Atwell didn’t want you to see and he ordered extreme action to keep his secrets.”

A cold fist of dread formed in Dean’s gut. That theory fit too closely with his concerns about Atwell recognizing Mel.

Mel shook her head. “Secrets or not, he can’t possibly want to drive Spalding away. He’s intent on hosting the entire movie production company when filming begins.”

“Doesn’t mean he wants us sticking around,” Dean commented. “Besides, if a bad vibe puts Garden of the Gods out of the running, it’s more money for him if they film here.”

“I suppose that’s true.” Mel pursed her lips, considering the situation. “All right.” She rubbed her hands together. “This morning we started out exactly where Spalding wanted us on the north side of Atwell’s property line. We intended to push the envelope and we did.”

Her head tilted as she followed the video.

“Here,” Dean said. “I’m dipping closer to Atwell’s house.” They were all quiet, watching the video.

“Spalding got irked,” Mel said. “So Dean brought the flight back to the director’s preferred course.”

“We caught more than I thought of the area between Atwell’s home and the dude ranch,” he noticed.

“In the moment, I thought there might be shipping containers. Possibly something under camouflage netting,” Mel said. “Hang on.” She stopped the playback and did what she could to enlarge the still image. “Can you see the shadows in the bottom right corner of the frame?”

“Interesting,” Beck murmured after a moment. “Can you get a closer look in person?”

Dean exchanged a look with Mel. Her smile, an intriguing combination of eager and sly, told him all he needed to know. She was ready and determined to get back on mission. “We can do that,” he said. “We’d planned to tag Atwell’s car tonight. We’ll swing up there first. After the emergency meeting.”

“Be careful,” Beck said. “I’ll want a report on whatever you find so Jake’s men are prepared when they arrive in the morning.”

“Will do,” Mel confirmed.

“Have you notified the authorities about Atwell?” Dean asked.

“I’m working on it,” Beck assured him. “Your observations are critical and I’ve been in touch with the right agencies. Everyone wants to be sure he won’t slip through when it’s time to pick him up.”

“And he’s proven himself slippery.” Mel frowned. “We’ll get you photos and everything we can find to make sure the take-down sticks.”

With the call ended, Dean stared at the image on her computer screen for a long moment. The idea of rooting around with the intent of uprooting Atwell’s secrets should’ve been a mood killer and yet it absolutely was not. Nice to learn he could be attracted to Mel and focus on the assignment at the same time.