Half a Dozen...Horses? Book 1

Half a Dozen...Horses? Chapter 15...

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Chapter 15…

Silence stretched out between the two men as they both took each other’s measure.  James Colbert was the first to back off, shaking away some of the intimidation that was blowing his way from George.

“Dani Kennedi, the young lady that you found just on the outskirts of your ranch, I know she is here Mr Doyle and I must speak with her.  You standing there trying to intimidate me with your size is not going to deter me in this matter.”  George glared back down at the man and Jim took it as his cue to step alongside him to add his weight to the situation.

“Ah Jim Doyle, good afternoon to you.”

“You heard my father we don’t know who you’re talking about, the women we found was taken to the hospital and other then the sheriff informing us that she was ok, we don’t know where she is.”

The short balding man before them took a deep exasperated sigh and for a second it looked as if he was likely to roll his eyes at them but thought better of it at the last minute.

“Really? Look gentlemen, you may be able to stand here disputing my information but I have been waiting for sixteen years for this day, whereas someone else may be able to wait a few more days I will not, so unless Miss Kennedi is out for the day, I demand to speak with her immediately and by rights she Is the only person who can refuse to speak to me.  I deal with your kind every day of my life so you two don’t scare me and I am more than willing to wait her out indefinitely.”  The podgy man straighten up till his back was ram rod straight and glared back at the two men in front of him, showing absolutely no fear in face of the reality in front of him.

Both George and Jim growled low under their breath and turned to each other.  “Lawyer!”  The both spat out at the same time.

Mary felt the tension mounting and being one step removed from the conversation saw the miscommunication that had been made in front of her and quickly pushed her way between her two men reaching out her hand for Mr Colbert to take.

“Mr Colbert, do come in, I must apologise for their behaviour, you see it’s imperative that Dani’s location remain secret for her own safety in light of everything that is going on.”  Mary felt the glares hitting her back as she ushered Mr Colbert into the living room.

“Ah that would explain the Sheriff’s bazaar request that I wait until after I had spoken with Dani before announcing Dani’s discovery, is she in some sort of trouble Mrs Doyle, the sheriff wasn’t very forth coming with the information he gave me?”

“Mr Colbert, who are you exactly?”  Mary asked gently brushing off his questions and crowding him into one of the arm chairs.

“Well, James Colbert of Colbert and Sons I do believe I told them that at the door.”  He frowned back at her.

“Yes we got that of course, but what do you want with Dani?”

“Well that is strictly for Miss Kennedi’s ears but I’m her family lawyer and she is the sole heir to their legacy.”  He informed her with another straightening of his suit jacket.

“Ah…well now that changes the situation,  Mr Colbert I must inform you that Dani wasn’t just found wondering the streets along our ranch, she was found brutally beaten and left for dead.”  The audible gasp let her know that all the pieces had finally fallen together in the man’s head and she continued.  “So I think you can now see why it is imperative that her identity and location remain undisclosed until the men that hurt her are found.”