Of course, they’d all met before through Andrew. But Daddy wouldn’t be happy to see her hanging out with the man he derogatorily called the saloon keeper, and Mom wouldn’t necessarily back Kelly up. But then again, she might. Like all the women in the McGovern family back to Shotgun Sally, Mom had a mind of her own and she could be ever so unpredictable.
“Mom. Daddy. I brought Wade over, and we don’t have time for dinner.” Kelly leaned over and kissed her father on the cheek. He raised his smooth, aristocratic cheek to her, but his dark hazel eyes were shadowed with concern.
Her mother, a petite blonde with Kelly’s blue eyes, stood and took two plates out of the china cabinet and set additional silverware. “Of course you’ll eat. We’re going to sit down together like a family and have a discussion.”
“Yes, dear.” Her father agreed, nodding his head with a firmness that told Kelly they might even know more than she’d suspected.
She and Wade were about to be ganged up on with all the Southern politeness that should have had them running in the opposite direction. But leaving without making some explanations wasn’t an option, though she felt like a child who had done something wrong and was about to be scolded and punished.
“Sit down. Have some steak.” Her father passed the platter to Wade.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Serving you dinner is the least I can do since you’re protecting my little girl.”
Protecting? Uh-oh. She shot her mom a how-much-do-you-know look.
Her mother rolled her eyes at the ceiling. Obviously, Kelly had really underestimated them this time. To say her mother was smart was an under-statement. She could complete the New York Times crossword puzzle in thirty minutes flat. Daddy always consulted her on his oil deals, and Kelly suspected her mother could have run the company better than he did.
Not that Daddy didn’t do a fine job. But like Andrew, he tended to see the good side of people and overlooked the bad, and she loved him for it. Besides, as a good family man, when it came to protecting his loved ones, he could be ferocious.
Kelly filled her plate with char-grilled steak, shoestring French fries and jalepeño stuffed olives. Her father poured them both a goblet of rich Bordeaux, then set the crystal wine decanter on the white linen tablecloth without spilling a drop.
Her mother passed the salad. “We know Andrew was murdered.”
They knew? Kelly almost dropped the platter her mother was handing her.
She and Wade exchanged glances, and he subtly shrugged, which she took to mean as, this is your family, I’ll let you handle them. Great. She’d always avoided confrontations by doing pretty much what her parents wanted. Early on, her idea of rebellion had been to carry lipstick and eye shadow in her purse and apply the cosmetics after she left the house for school. So she was accustomed to her parents’ approval and disliked causing discord. And deep down she knew that they wouldn’t be pleased with her spending time with Wade looking into Andrew’s murder or for putting herself in danger.
Normally she might have obeyed their wishes, but Andrew was too important to her to let the comment slide. His loss had shaken her safe world in a manner that had her questioning her life, her values, her goals. First and foremost in her mind was getting Andrew some justice, and she no longer knew if she wanted to attend law school, when staying in Mustang Valley near her parents, her friends and Wade seemed much more appealing. At least she needn’t make that decision right now.
“Sheriff Wilson told Mayor Daniels, who then told me.” Her father sliced his steak, but didn’t raise the meat to his mouth. “Your mother and I wanted to keep the news from you because we feared you’d go looking into Andrew’s death and put yourself in danger.”
“Which is exactly what you’ve done,” her mother said with both vexation and sympathy. “Did you think we wouldn’t hear about that stolen tow truck almost running you down?”
“I never could keep secrets from you guys,” Kelly muttered. “I only tried because I didn’t want you to worry.”
“We’re always going to worry about you,” her mother said.
“I’m not a little girl anymore.”
“Age has nothing to do with it. I’ll worry about you when you’re sixty.” Her mother paused, her eyes tearing, then she regained control of herself and continued. “Andrew was our son and we loved him very much. The pain of losing him will never go away. Never. It’ll be there whether we talk about him or not. It’ll be there whether we find out who killed him or not.” Her mother dabbed at her tearing eyes with a napkin. “And we don’t want to lose you, too. I just couldn’t bear it if anything else happens to this family.”
Fresh guilt stabbed Kelly and made her stomach quiver. “Mom, I could stop asking questions right now—”
“But it’s too late for that,” Wade said, inserting himself into the family conversation. “I don’t believe Kelly will be safe—not until we find out what happened to Andrew.”
“We agree.” Her mother reached across the table and squeezed her father’s hand. “That’s why we want to send both of you out of town.”
“Both of us?” Kelly’s pulse pounded with uncertainty. She’d always thought that her parents hadn’t liked Wade, hadn’t liked Andrew hanging out with him. Then she realized that they thought of Wade as protection for her. They didn’t know that she liked him in other, not so simple, ways.
“We don’t want you to be alone,” her father said, confirming her suspicions, and she did nothing to clear up their misconception.
Her mother outlined their plan. “We’ll hire a private investigator—”
“That won’t work and you know it, Mom.” Kelly picked up a stuffed olive and popped it into her mouth, chewed and swallowed, giving her time to form her reply. “People in Mustang Valley don’t talk to outsiders.”
Her father frowned. “Our first priority is your safety.”
“Look, if someone wants me dead and I leave, who’s to say they won’t follow me?” Her parents traded a long glance, and she could see they were worried about that possibility, too. “Besides, if I’m in danger, I’d rather be on my home ground with friends around me I can trust. Seems to me the best way for me to be safe is to find Andrew’s killer and turn him or her over to the authorities.”
Her father gave up all pretense of eating, threw down his napkin and shoved his chair back from the table. “Have you thought of giving the sheriff time to do his job?”
“If he hasn’t found anything by now, he probably won’t.” Wade kept his tone even and firm, but he sure didn’t seem to mind standing up to her father, which she appreciated, especially since he did it respectfully. “And I don’t trust the sheriff.”
She thought her father might rant. That he might throw Wade’s background in his face for not believing the law would help. But Daddy surprised her.
He swirled his wine in his glass, then shot a piercing stare at Wade. “Why don’t you trust Wilson?”
Wade held her father’s stare. “Our sheriff’s more concerned with the mayor’s reelection campaign than in solving Andrew’s murder.”
“Is that your only reason?” her father asked.
“Yes, sir.” Wade hesitated, as if choosing his words very carefully. “That’s the only reason I’m willing to state out loud.”
“SO THEN WHAT HAPPENED?” Cara asked while the two friends met in the reporter’s office the following day at the Mustang Gazette.
Kelly sighed. “We finished dinner without coming to any agreement. When we left the house Mom looked ready to burst into tears again and Dad looked…defeated. They want me to leave Mustang Valley, but I’m not going.”
“Good. So what’s next?”
“Wade had to order supplies for his saloon and pay a few bills. He dropped me off here, escorted me to your door and made me promise not to leave until he returns. We’re going to check out Jonathan Dixon, the guy who cheated in law school and now works for the mayor. Then we may head to Dallas, if Niles Deagen will t
alk to us.”
“Niles Deagen? The oil man?”
“And Debbie’s secret ex-husband.”
From behind her desk, Cara started typing on her keyboard. “I’ve got a file on him. Last year I was researching a story about oil and his name came up.”
Kelly came around Cara’s desk and peered over her friend’s shoulder at the monitor. “You have anything interesting?”
“Depends what you mean by interesting. I have Deagen’s home phone number and the address of his last lover.” Cara used her mouse. “Here it is. I’ll print out the file.” While they waited for the printer to spit out the information, Cara drummed her nails on her desk.
Kelly recalled going through Andrew’s box of stuff last night. Nothing seemed sinister, but the mayor’s campaign literature she found reminded her that Jonathan needed watching. Any guy that tried to cheat his way through law school obviously didn’t have good character. While cheating on a test was very different from murder, she felt Jonathan was their best lead.
“Do you have any information on the mayor?” Kelly asked.
“Like what?”
“His scheduled speeches and campaign agenda might help us track down Jonathan without asking too many questions and drawing more attention to ourselves.” Kelly checked her watch, wishing they had more time to chat. “Wade should be here soon.”
“Hold on and you can have the mayor’s stuff, too.”
“Thanks, Cara. Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. When Wade and I were over at Lambert & Church, Lindsey Wellington told us that Andrew had a client who wasn’t satisfied with my brother’s representation after he lost custody of his kids.”
“That would have been Sean McCardel.”
“Yes. Does he still live in Mustang Valley?”
“I have no idea but I’ll pull up the Mustang Gazette’s articles about him. And while we wait for the printouts, why don’t you tell me more about what’s going on between you and Wade.”
Had Kelly just wished for more time? Suddenly she couldn’t wait for Wade to arrive.
Kelly liked having parents and friends who were concerned about her—at least most of the time. This wasn’t one of them. Especially since last night had been a complete disaster. Wade had spent the entire evening trying to talk her into hiding while he tried to solve Andrew’s murder alone. His chauvinistic attitude had riled Kelly’s normally easy-going nature.
Kelly’s voice came out sharper than she intended. “Must you always be the inquisitive reporter?”
“I thought I was being the inquisitive friend,” Cara snapped, her temper clearly simmering, but her eyes showing Kelly’s unthinking remark had hurt.
“Damn, I’m sorry. Really, sorry. I shouldn’t take out my frustration on you.”
“No problem.” Cara’s eyes softened with sympathy. “You’ve been through a lot.”
Kelly realized that, as much as she tried to tell herself that her life was still normal, she was stressed out and had every right to be. She’d lost her brother. Someone had tried to kill her, and she and Wade…there was no “she and Wade.” “After I fought with my folks, Wade and I argued. Or rather he lectured and I refused to listen.”
“I take it you didn’t end the fight by making mad, passionate love?”
“I wish.” Kelly almost smiled at Cara’s sarcasm. “That man is so stubborn that I want to smack him almost as often as I want to kiss him.”
“Wow. You’ve got it bad. Maybe you should just take him to bed and work him out of your system.”
“You don’t understand.”
“So educate me.”
“He doesn’t want me.” At her admission, Cara’s lower jaw dropped, and Kelly held up her hand before her friend could press for more information. “I take that back. He wants me. He just won’t do anything about it.”
“No wonder you’re frustrated.”
“I’ll straighten myself out. I have a plan of sorts.”
“So what are you going to do?”
Kelly saw Wade entering through the office door and grinned at Cara, not caring if he overheard. “I’m planning a Shotgun Sally moment.”
Cara signaled her with a thumbs-up. “You go, girl.”
WADE WAITED until they were safely out of the Mustang Gazette, off the street and inside Kelly’s Jaguar before letting loose his curiosity. Kelly had this just-swallowed-a-rich-creamy-chocolate look on her face, and it stayed with her as they’d said goodbye to Cara and exited the building.
He strapped on his seat belt, glad he wasn’t driving so he could study Kelly’s face. “What’s a Shotgun Sally moment?”
“My ancestor had her own ways of dealing with men.” Kelly slipped on a pair of sunglasses, put the Jag into gear and merged with Main Street’s traffic. “She was a real aristocratic widow lady who ran a saloon for a few years. She stored a shotgun behind the bar, but she kept all those rowdy men in line without ever taking down the gun.”
“That’s hard to believe.” Wade had run the saloon since he was eighteen years old and was skeptical of a genteel lady keeping order among a bunch of wild cowboys, especially more than a century ago when times were even rougher. “But maybe the men were more chivalrous back then. Still, a drunk is a drunk, and most have no manners.”
She pushed the sunglasses high up on her nose. “Legend says Sally only fired her shotgun once. And that was a warning shot to keep her lover Zachary Gale from trying to run away from his promise to marry her.”
“And this is a woman you admire?”
“Absolutely. She’s a woman who knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to go after it. Since Sally didn’t have a father to make Zachary live up to his word, she did the reminding herself.”
Kelly seemed to find the legend amusing. Either that or she had something else in mind. Something she intended to keep secret, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. On the one hand he didn’t expect her to tell him every thought in her head. On the other, he didn’t like her holding back on him, either.
That he was worried about what she was thinking when he should have his mind on solving Andrew’s murder told him she was getting to him. Despite the sunglasses that hid her vivid blue eyes, and the way she didn’t seem to want to share what was on her mind, he suspected her Shotgun Sally moment had something to do with him.
What was she planning? Obviously, she wouldn’t tell him until she was good and ready.
So he picked on Shotgun Sally to test Kelly’s patience, just as she was testing his. “If Sally had to force Zachary to marry her, he couldn’t have been much of a catch.”
“Oh, he was,” Kelly insisted. “Zach just didn’t like commitment or the idea of giving up his freedom—at least that’s what my grandmother told me, and she heard the story from her grandmother.”
Wade chuckled. “Seems to me the ladies in your family may have romanticized things.”
“Sally was just being practical. She was pregnant and the baby needed a father.” Kelly defended her ancestor with a zest that made him believe her enthusiasm wasn’t so much about the story she told but about her planned Shotgun Sally moment—whatever that was.
A flying rock, followed by the sound of shattering glass caught Wade’s attention. He glimpsed kids fleeing the damaged storefront. “Turn left at the corner.”
Kelly frowned, but steered the car as he directed. “But campaign headquarters are—”
“I know where they are. I just saw a couple of kids throwing rocks.”
Kelly kept going, but mumbled something about having better things to do than chase down a few juvenile delinquents. But Wade thought he’d recognized a certain tattered green backpack on a skinny kid with short black hair.
The Jag turned the corner and the boys split into three directions. “Stop the car.”
Wade unsnapped his seat belt, opened the door and set off through the park at top speed. It took him a full sixty seconds at a flat-out run to catch the kid by his backpack and shove him up against the wall.
&n
bsp; Wade pushed his face right at the kid’s. “Damn it, Rudy. Are you part of the group that threw rocks at the doc’s place, too? What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Nothing.”
“You call throwing rocks nothing?”
Rudy shrugged. “You gonna let me go or not?”
“Not.” Wade gripped his shoulder, hard enough to make Rudy wince. “We’re going back to that store. You’re going to apologize and work off the damage you did.”
“And if I don’t?” The son of Wade’s dishwasher shouted with defiance, but Rudy was trembling so hard that Wade knew he was a hair’s breadth from bursting into tears. Rudy wasn’t a bad kid, but he hung out with the wrong crowd. While Wade wanted to give him a break, he knew the kid had to take responsibility for his actions.
Rudy drew his skinny shoulders back straight, waiting for Wade’s answer.
And of course Wade knew the kid wasn’t half as scared of the law as he was of his parents. So he spoke mildly. “Then I’ll just have to tell your father.”
The kid caved. His shoulders sagged and the fire went out of his eyes just as Kelly came running up, her eyes worried. “What happened?”
Rudy took one look at Kelly and his eyes turned crafty. “I’ll make you another deal instead.”
Wade yanked him toward the broken window. “You’re in no position to bargain.”
“The lady might think otherwise.”
“Do I know you?” Kelly peered at Rudy. In his baggy jeans and overly large T-shirt, he looked younger than his fourteen years. But Wade doubted they’d met.
“This is Rudy Waters. His father works for me.”
“I know you,” Rudy spoke up with a determination that surprised Wade. “You’re Kelly McGovern, and your brother got himself murdered—at least that’s what the sheriff told the mayor.”
Wade didn’t think the kid was making up lies to save himself. Unlike his hardworking father, Rudy habitually sneaked out, but the kid liked to eavesdrop. Wade had caught him doing so several times in the Hit ’Em Again’s pool hall. From experience, he knew that people never paid attention to what they said around kids.
Out for Justice Page 8
