“Okay.” She turned to the other men. “Do you have jobs, property, or cash to pay for this damage? You have the opportunity to settle now before it goes to court.”
“Nope.” Torn Shirt wet his lips. “Only my car and we can’t walk home; our cabin is in the mountains. The buck is ours legal. We have a Vehicle-Killed Wildlife Salvage Permit. I’m within my rights.”
Kane snorted and secured Torn Shirt. “Is that your car outside with the buck tied to the hood?”
“Sure is.”
“The buck out there has a bullet wound and some other damage.” Kane raised an eyebrow. “Care to explain?”
“He ran out in front of my vehicle. You check for yourself. Its leg is broken and I have a damaged headlight.” Torn Shirt looked at Jenna pleadingly.
“I have a Vehicle-Killed Wildlife Salvage Permit too.” The owner gave Kane an optimistic look. “I’ll take the buck for my own consumption as restitution for their part of the damage but I want a cash settlement from the rich dude you arrested outside.”
“That seems fair to me.” Jenna looked at Kane. “Fix it.”
“No way! I found it legal. It don’t belong to anyone. I don’t know why that crazy man started a fight.” Torn Shirt smirked at Kane over one shoulder. “Ain’t no law about picking up roadkill. My permit is up to date and paid for.”
Kane turned to the proprietor. “Take the buck. As he said, ‘It don’t belong to anyone.’”
“Sure, it’s better than nothin’.” The bar owner headed out the door.
“That ain’t fair.” Torn Shirt gave Jenna a puppy-dog stare. “Sheriff, you tell that son of a bitch he can’t do that, it ain’t fair.”
Oh, this is going to be fun. Kane bit back a grin and raised one eyebrow at Jenna.
“Okay, but it won’t be good eating after you leave it out in the sun for weeks.” Jenna gave Torn Shirt a tight smile. “You could remain in jail until your court case.”
“Oh, man.” Torn Shirt bit his bottom lip as if considering.
“Well, what’s it to be?” Jenna’s eyes flashed as she glared at Torn Shirt.
“I ain’t got much choice, have I?”
“You had the choice not to fight in the first place. I’m going easy on you.” She turned to Kane. “Get them into the back of my vehicle. I’ll drive your rig back to the office.” She held out her keys.
“Yes, ma’am.” Kane swapped car keys with a smile. Jenna called his black SUV “the beast” after the upgrades. It was fast, very fast.
With the three men secured in Jenna’s vehicle, Kane watched her drive away then went back inside to examine Rowley. He would have a shiner but looked okay. “Get some ice for that eye before we leave and ask the barman to look out for a Stetson, and to call if he finds it.”
“Yes, sir.”
With Rowley holding a bag of ice to his eye, they hurried back to Jenna’s rig. The men secured behind the bulletproof glass argued the entire trip back to the sheriff’s office. Torn Shirt and the man with the cut under one eye gave Kane their information without a problem before he handed them over to Deputy Cole Webber who took them to separate interview rooms, but the man who had attacked Kane glared at him, eyes blazing.
Kane pushed him down into the seat in his cubicle. “Name?”
“Ethan Woods. Those men took off with an eight-point buck I’d bagged.”
Kane sighed. “Did you tag your kill or report them as poachers to an FWP officer at the check station?”
“No.” Woods shot him an angry glance.
“The question on my lips for an experienced and I hope licensed hunter would be, ‘Why?’”
Woods’ face reddened and he gave Kane a look cold enough to freeze Black Rock Falls. “I want you to call my lawyer.”
“Sure.” A
fter entering the name in the arrest report, Kane looked him over. “Are you injured?”