Picnic in Someday Valley (Honey Creek #2)(45)

As the door closed, he heard Dave say, “Bet you five it’s the mayor.”

Ranger Sandy James shook her head. “No doubt. No bet.”

Colby moved into the stairwell. “McBride speaking. I mean hello, Piper.” She’d never called him at work, and after their last words a day ago he doubted she’d ever call again.

“I’m calling about a legal question.”

He relaxed a bit. Answering a question about the law would be much easier than talking about them as a couple. “At your service, Mayor.”

“If you had a friend who said she heard a man talk about a crime he was going to commit, say he said he was going to kill a man, are you legally obligated to inform the police, or in my place, the sheriff?”

Colby needed to break her question down. “Did you hear the man say he was planning a crime?”

“No. He whispered it to my friend.”

“Did the person who told you what this man said know the potential victim of the crime?” Colby felt like he was trying to solve a code.

“Yes, but she didn’t know the guy who said he was going to kill a local rancher, Brandon Rodgers.”

Colby shifted his phone to his other ear. “PJ, just tell me what you know and then I’ll know what we’re really talking about. If it’s a crime I can take action. If it’s not, I’ll try to help you deal with the problem. Start with who is making threats.”

“I can’t. This guy was bald, skinny, and looked like a bum. That’s all I know. No name. This bald guy told my friend he was going to kill her after he killed Brand, so that’s two crimes. What do I do?”

“You saw the bald guy?” Now Colby was full into details.

“Yes, but I don’t think he saw me. I didn’t know him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him, but I’d know him if I saw him again. He’s one of those creeps who makes a woman hold her purse closer and walk faster. I was on the second-floor balcony looking down. I saw both him and Marcie. He was standing behind her, whispering what he’d do to her. By the time I got to her she was shaking and snow white. He was gone.”

“Where are you right now?” Colby’s heart was pounding.

“I’m in my office.”

“Good. Stay there. I need to get to my desk. I’ll call you back in five.”

“All right. I swore to my friend I wouldn’t tell anyone. So unless I legally have to, I can give you no details.” The phone went dead without even a goodbye.

Colby leaned against the cold brick wall and tried to slow his heartbeat down. Some man had threatened one of her friends and Piper had seen the man doing it. That could mean, if the man was serious, Piper might be in danger. Although Piper said her friend told her what the guy said, she had no firsthand knowledge of any crime. She might be safe.

Loving a woman like Piper Jane Mackenzie was like running live shooter drills in double time.

He pounded the back of his head against the wall. He’d used the L-word. Wrong. Once any man says that word, the woman starts planning the wedding. Colby had been too close to that trap before. He didn’t have time for any complication in his life, worst of all falling in love with a small-town mayor. He’d finally gotten to the place he’d always dreamed of being in his life, and nothing was going to slow him down.

When he got back to the office, Dave and Sandy were gone. Routine follow-up on a case was written on a note taped to Colby’s office phone. Be back in a few hours. Hold down the fort.

Colby spent a few minutes checking his facts before he called Piper back. She answered on the first ring. “PJ, you’ve got to tell me the whole story. Think of me as your priest. I’ll never tell anyone unless it’s a matter of life or death.”

“I can’t think of you as my priest. First, I’m Methodist and second, I’ve seen you naked.”

“Mayor, focus here. If I’m going to help you and your friend, I’ll need facts.” In his mind he could see her pouting. That cute bottom lip sticking out as she paced her tiny office as if her brain didn’t work unless her feet were moving. She’d have her shoes off and maybe her jacket. Man, those silk blouses she wore showed off every curve.

Focus! He silently yelled at himself. Focus.

When she didn’t say anything on the other end of the phone, he began in a very official voice. “As to the question of whether to report what a friend told you. No. You don’t have to report it. Your friend, the one who was threatened, could report it, but all that would happen would probably be a restraining order, and she’d have to be the one to file it.”

When Piper didn’t answer, Colby figured getting information out of her would be like interrogating a carrier pigeon. She was twice as smart as he was and knew the law. So why had she called him?

The answer hit him hard. Mayor Piper Mackenzie needed him. Both her brothers were rangers. Her dad was a lawyer and a state senator.

But she’d called him. When she was scared and worried, she called him.

Her voice finally came through the line, confirming his reasoning.

“Tell me what to do, Colby. I have to help my friend.”

“If I were you, I’d make sure your friend is safe. Anger usually blows over, and people who get mad are usually mad at the world. Maybe all the guy wanted to do was frighten her. People like him usually find someone else to harass after a few days or a few drinks.”