Right Motive by Christina Dodd

Author:Christina Dodd
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises Limited
Published: 2020-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

THERESA SMILED FONDLY as she watched the giant man come toward them. “Police Chief Dumas, my husband, Shawn Magnusson.” She caught Shawn’s sleeve as he stalked toward Dumas. “Shawn, Police Chief Dumas is a good man.”

Mr. Magnusson looked down at her.

Peace and calm passed from her to him.

The woman had a gift.

Mr. Magnusson removed his backpack and placed it against the wall of the shed. He extended his hand to Dumas and shook firmly. “It’s good to meet you, Police Chief Dumas.” He had an accent—Minnesotan, maybe, or the upper Michigan peninsula, that kind of singsong Scandinavian intonation that made Dumas want to drink lager and dance the polka.

Theresa was right. The guy must make monster-size footprints. He was easily six foot four, built like a body builder and Dumas’s hand was engulfed in his. “Good to meet you, sir.”

“Sir?” Startled, Magnusson grinned. “I don’t hear that very often. I’m Shawn. Call me that. First names—it’s an Alaska thing.” He released Dumas and opened his arms to Donatti. “Honey, give your ol’ uncle a hug.”

Donatti jumped at him and got crushed in his embrace. When he set her away, she was laughing.

So was he. But when he looked around at the damage, he quickly sobered. “What happened here?”

“Vandals. And a Bigfoot report,” Theresa said.

“Damn it to hell!” Shawn’s fair complexion changed to ruddy red in his cheeks and at the tip of his nose, and his blue eyes snapped. “What are you going to do about this?” he asked Dumas.

“In this particular instance of vandalism, I’ll apprehend the culprit today,” Dumas said. “Or die trying.”

“What about when it happens again?”

“If—” Dumas emphasized the if, “—other instances occur, I will solve them, too. But you will have to call them in. And press charges.”

Donatti rubbed her palms together.

Dumas met Shawn’s angry gaze. “But for the moment, sir, may I ask where you’ve been while this damage occurred?”

Donatti grimaced.

“In the woods tracking a poacher. It’s my job.” Despite his wife’s interference, Shawn was definitely projecting antagonism.

“Alone?”

“Yes. Alone.”

“Did you catch a poacher?”

“I caught a man walking the woods with a hunting rifle, but he had all the necessary permits and was practicing for the season.”

Theresa and Donatti snorted.

Donatti explained, “That probably means the hunter had yet to make a kill, he’d already removed it, or he’d hidden it very well.”

Dumas nodded. “We have poachers in Louisiana.” He turned back to Shawn. “For the last several hours, no one can verify your whereabouts?”

“No.”

“Do you have a vehicle?”

“More than one. I have a dogsled. I have a snowmobile. And I have a 2015 Ram pickup.”

“Color?”

“Gray.”

“Granite,” Theresa corrected.

The two men’s eyes met, and for one second, they were united in silent exasperation.

Women and their colors.

But united or not, Dumas had a duty. “Shawn, may I ask if you have any injuries on your shoulders and chest?”

“Chief!” Donatti sounded appalled, and as if the idea had never occurred to her. Maybe it hadn’t. Maybe only suspicious old police chiefs could connect the incident in town with this blond behemoth.

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