Author's note-

Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. Things have been pretty crazy at work lately. (I did four countries in three days last week. Top tip- don't work in sales/training unless you like to travel.) Also, don't help your sister move if you have stitches in your hand. You will bleed on something and make her annoyed. :lol:

Glad that you like the notes. I wasn't sure if they put people off the chapter. :)

Anyway, I'll shut up and let you get onto what you're here for. :)

Lou

Chapter Twenty Eight

Rachel frowned at the computer screen, willing the financial records she was looking at to make sense. Approaching footsteps drew her eyes away from the screen. Tim held up a pair of coffee cups. A brown paper bag dangled from one hand.

"Anything?" Tim asked, and sat one of the paper cups of coffee on her desk. "I brought muffins too."

He rolled his own chair over to join her at the desk. She reached for the coffee, holding the cup as she spoke. "Nothing yet."

Tim opened the bag, taking out two muffins. "Blueberry or lemon poppy?"

"Lemon poppy," she said in a distracted tone, eyes running over the computer screen again.

He handed the muffin over and sipped his coffee, frowning a little when it burned his mouth. "These are the financial records for the owner of the barn?" he asked, nodding towards the screen.

"Yup." Rachel turned the screen so he could see it better. "These are the bank and credit records for the last listed owner of that barn. I've been going through them for a while now. At first, I thought he was our man, but now I'm not so sure." She clicked onto another page. "Two years ago, he emptied his bank account of ever last cent. There has been no activity since that transaction."

Tim swallowed a bite of muffin. "So either he got smart and opened an account in a name we don't know about, or he's dead."

Rachel shrugged. "Lots of places to hide a body in the backwoods."

They both stared glumly at the screen. Tim blew out a long breath and reached for the keyboard. "Let's see if old Mister Higgs has any living relatives."

Rachel held up a sheet of paper. "I checked that already. He has a daughter living in Los Angeles, and a son living in Salyersville. The son has a record- mostly small, petty stuff, though he did get arrested for beating a man half to death in a bar parking lot." She raised an eyebrow. "Strangely enough, none of the eye-witnesses would come forward to identify him."

Tim dropped his empty coffee cup in the bin. "Sounds like we should pay Mr Higgs Junior a visit. Ask him what he knows about his old man's money. We got an address?"

Rachel smiled and handed him a printed sheet. "We sure do."

He folded it in half and tucked it into his pocket. "Then let's go."

The phone rang just as Rachel reached for her jacket. She picked it up, holding it between her shoulder and her ear as slipped her arm into one sleeve. "Hello? Rachel Brooks speaking." She changed sides, and repeated the move, tugging on the hem of her jacket to straighten it. "Hello, Art. Any news from the Fire Marshal about the barn?"

"It's still too hot for them to even start looking," Art said and sighed. "Did you find anything from the name?"

"Yes and no." She nudged her mouse to get rid of the screen saver. "Financials are a bust- he emptied his account two years ago. There hasn't been any activity on it since. We tracked down some family though- Tim and I were just leaving to speak to the son. He's a low level thug out of Salyersville."

A car engine coughed to life in the background. "I'm heading over to the hospital to speak to the girls. They were all pretty shook up, but some of them may talk. I'll get the family information so we can start calling people."

Rachel nodded. "How's Raylan doing?"

"Last I heard, the doctor was talking about surgery to flush his shoulder."

She winced on reflex. "Well, let him know we're thinking about him if you see him, okay?"

"Okay," Art said. "Go speak to the son. See if you can shake anything useful out of him."

"I'll do my best," she said, and ended the call. "Art. The remains of the barn are still too hot for the Fire Marshal to go in. He's going to speak to the girls."

Tim shoved his chair back behind his desk and locked his computer. "Let's hope one of them heard a name or something useful."

Rachel held up her car keys. "Let's go and rattle Mr Higgs Junior's cage."