by Toni Leland
At least he'd made one good decision in the past fifteen years.
He headed south toward the fairgrounds and parked outside a small Mexican restaurant across the road. His business brain took over again. The boss's comment about Kellie disturbed him. Did it appear that he wasn't doing the job he'd been sent to do? McBee had a direct line to DEA-perhaps he'd been the one to send up a warning flag. Better watch what he said to the old guy.
Ed walked toward the restaurant entrance, the enticing aroma of spicy food sending an instant message to his stomach. He started toward a booth at the back, then stopped abruptly. Danielle White sat alone, staring straight at him with angry eyes. Shit, now what? He couldn't very well walk past her and sit by himself, but he sure didn't want to be trapped with her. Could he just turn around and leave?
The animosity faded from her gaze and she smiled that glorious smile.
“Come sit. I just ordered.” She chuckled. “I won't bite, I promise.”
A waitress appeared and relief curled through Ed's chest.
Danielle leaned forward, casually resting her arms on the table. “How's the Sutton case coming along? I haven't been involved much.”
He made note of the veiled comment, but put on an easy smile. “You will be, I promise. I'm still thinking the Brown girl is involved, but until we find her boyfriend, my hands are tied.”
Danielle cocked her head. “It must be difficult to be here and see your old girlfriend after all these years.”
Ed's jaw stiffened. “My personal life is not up for discussion.”
“Then why don't we talk about work-about how after ten years on the force paying my dues, working my way up to Under Sheriff, when the top job opens up, I'm bumped by an outsider.”
Ed quickly looked around at the other diners. “Not here, Danielle. This is inappropriate.” He rose and laid a twenty on the table. “I'm late. Dinner's on me.”
He strode out the door and jammed his hat down over his forehead. Women were the bane of his life.
Ten minutes later, he stepped into the grange building at the fairgrounds and scanned the crowd. The atmosphere was festive, lightening his mood somewhat. Then he spotted Kellie in the corner talking to Doc Browning. A jerk kicked through his gut and his sour mood faded. He stepped up to the bar and ordered a soda, glancing briefly at the dark eyed man next to him. A sinister looking guy in cowboy garb, a person who alerted Ed's nose for troublemakers. In a town swelling with thousands of visitors, this one stood out too much.
Picking up his soda, he turned to face the stranger. “Good party, huh?” He drank long and deep, then turned to look out over the crowd. “That beer looks mighty good.”
The man chuckled. “Yeah, but this one's for me.”
Ed laughed. “Don't think I've ever seen you around here. You come in from out of town?”
“Oklahoma City. Just passin' through, saw the billboard about the big doin's, thought I'd check it out.”
Ed's gaze dropped to the man's belt, and a memory stirred. “Nice buckle.” He squinted at the inscription. “You don't look old enough to have been a High School Rodeo champ in 1985.”
“Nah, found this in a pawn shop.”
“What do you do in Okee City?”
The man hesitated, a familiar glimmer of wariness darkened his gaze. “Oil company. I manage the vehicle garage.”
“Seems like hazardous duty, from the looks of your hand.”
The guy snatched his hand off the bar, accidentally smacking it against the edge of the counter.
“God damn!” He set his beer on the counter, shaking the injured hand. “Yeah, I burned it on an exhaust manifold.”
Ed nodded and looked back over the crowd. “That would do it.” He pushed away from the bar. “Well, nice talkin' to you. I'd better get along to the missus.”
The stranger raised his beer bottle and grinned. “Here's to the old ball-and-chain.” His cell phone rang and he pulled it out to glower at the display. His sharp features hardened, and Ed was struck by how menacing he looked. After gulping the last of the beer, the cowboy headed for the door. Ed reached over and grabbed the bottle off the counter.
~ ~
“Nice speech, Kellie.” Hyde dug into a plate heaped with beans, ribs, and potato salad.
“Guess I got a little wound up.”
“That's why you're so effective...Nice touch about the moccasins. The horses make it to Kentucky okay?”
“Yes and I had a long conversation with the vet in charge. These new techniques are mind-boggling. She says they've had a 90% success rate so far.” An ugly thought slipped into Kellie's mind. If Hyde had been more on top of current veterinary medicine, Dancer might still be alive.
Her friend's eyes clouded briefly, and she blanched, wondering if he'd read her thoughts. Shame washed over her. Blaming him wouldn't bring back her horse.
She lowered her voice. “Did you leave something on my desk yesterday?”
He nodded. “It's a horse stick. Our people make them to honor a favorite horse, either for courage in battle or when it dies...I want you to know how sorry I am that I couldn't save him. He was a proud and noble animal.”
The gesture of love and friendship softened the circumstances of the gift.
“Thank you. I'll treasure it.” She picked up her napkin, anxious to move away from the emotional subject. “Have you heard anything more from the labs?”
“No, but I did have a long conversation with that friend of mine I was telling you about. He considers himself kind of an amateur sleuth, so he's real interested in what's going on. Maybe you know that racetracks use cobra venom to block pain in injured runners so they can compete. The venom is refined, so it's not lethal, but he says if a contaminant gets into it or it's not processed right, the stuff could cause exactly what we've seen here.”
“Is there any way to test for it?”
“Not yet, but the Kentucky Equine Drug Council has organized a research project to do just that. Could be a real threat to the racing industry, I understand.”
Kellie lost her appetite and pushed her plate away, horrified at the obvious connection to Frank. “Do you think that's what we're dealing with?”
“Could be, but according to my buddy, some other similar toxins cause tissue necrosis and systemic shock, but leave no identity markers. Simple formalin, for one-and, it's easy to buy. Other possibilities include some rather exotic toxins from poisonous toads, snails, and spiders. Bottom line is, they all cause the immediate reaction, followed by tissue destruction and nervous system damage.”
Kellie sat in stunned silence, digesting the new information, but unable to ignore the fact that one of the poisons pointed a finger directly at Frank. She shook her head. How could she even think that Frank would do such a horrible thing? And for what? Just to make her miserable? Why did he stay on at the ranch? He could get a good job anywhere in this part of the country. And why do I keep him on? I could certainly find someone just as capable...For Sara-we do this for her.
“Kellie, you okay?”
She focused on Hyde's concerned expression. “It's a lot to think about. If we have no way of identifying the toxin, how can we treat the horses?”
“I think the hyperbaric oxygen therapy is the best bet.” He set aside his empty plate. “Right now, it's more important to concentrate on catching this lunatic before he or she hurts any more horses.”
“The sheriff's department is work-” Kellie spotted Ed at the door. Maybe she could talk to him for a minute, find out if he had any new information.
She saw Hyde's mischievous smile and a blush warmed her cheeks. “Don't you dare say a word!”
His cell phone rang and he checked the display, then stood up. “Gotta go. I'm on maternity call.”
Kellie nodded, then turned her attention back to the bar. A new wave of uneasiness settled in. Ed was talking to the dark eyed cowboy in the rumpled straw hat. This was the third time she'd seen him. Why did his presence bother her so much? She examined his f
ace, the hard expression, the sharp angles. He looked like any other cowboy around this area, but different.
Ed turned away and the stranger pulled out a phone, a nasty scowl furrowing his forehead as he headed for the door. Kellie scrambled to her feet, determined to catch Ed before he left the party.
“Hold up, Sis.” Cliff's voice was so close she jumped.
She glanced at Clarke's heaped plate and chuckled. “Miss down home cooking, do you?”
“I'm tired of living on arugula and tofu.”
Cliff eased his bulk into a chair, then cleared his throat. “Let's talk about the disposition of the land. I know you don't want to leave, but Clarke and I want our share so we can do the things we want. We shouldn't have to be tied to your hundred-and-sixty acres.”
Kellie started to reply, but he held up a hand. “I'm not finished. We met with a lawyer, and he's confident that we don't need your signature to sell our parcels.”
Disbelief roared through her brain. Her own flesh and blood would abandon her. How could they come to the place where they'd grown up and tell her of their plans to destroy the family heritage? A painful thought pierced her heart. Were they determined enough to try to destroy her?
She dismissed the traitorous thoughts and rose from her chair. “Don't be too confident-I have lawyers too.”
She swept across the room, seething with inner turmoil, blocking out the celebratory noise.
Ed's throaty voice arrested her anger. “Hey, where you headed in such a hurry?” His quirky smile faded when he saw her face. “What's the matter?”
She glanced back at the twins and sighed. “My brothers are at it again. They've hired a lawyer to find a way to break Dad's will.” She bit her lip. “They absolutely do not care about this land, or what it means, or what it cost.” She gazed at the empathy in Ed's eyes. “I can't bear the thought of being surrounded by housing developments.”
He touched her arm. “I might have some information on that. But more important, we just got a line on Tina Brown's boyfriend-a guy named Travis Mack. He works at a ranch outside Perkins, been there about eight months. He's off this weekend, but I have a deputy in place to question him when he comes back.”
~ ~
Travis rose up on one elbow and grinned down at Tina's flushed face. Perspiration sparkled over her forehead and upper lip, and her eyes had a dreamy glaze. Hell, if he squinted a little, she wasn't half bad looking. Especially if he avoided her little pig nose. But she was a damned good poke.
“Feel any better now, baby?”
A smile curled the corners her full mouth. “What do you think?”
He reached for the dark triangle between her legs. “I think I could go for seconds, that's what.”
She groaned and closed her eyes, arching against his touch.
Tina, Tina, Tina. What am I gonna do about you?
At dawn, he slipped out of bed, throwing only a cursory glance at Tina's bulk beneath the sheet. In the tiny kitchen, he lit a cigarette, then put water on to boil. While he waited, he peered at his hand under the weak light bulb over the sink.
The sucker hurt like hell, and didn't seem to be getting any better. The gaping hole in his skin had expanded to the size of a quarter. Fatty tissue and stringy muscle had become mushy and black. His stomach bucked. He'd better find a doctor today.
He turned his thoughts to his predicament. After hearing Tina's tale of interrogation, he knew the end was near. The law was closing in. Her goddamned big mouth had ramped up his timeline, but that could work in his favor. One final step and he could disappear again. Then, when the time was right, he'd own the Sutton empire.
A singsong voice drifted from the bedroom. “Traa-vis, come and ge-et me.”
The invitation stirred through his loins and he grinned. Why not? I always did like breakfast in bed.
Tina sprawled herself over the bed in a lecherous pose, and licked her lips as he approached. “Ooh, is that for me?”
Ten minutes later, he flopped onto his back. “Jeezus, woman! You're gonna kill me!”
She licked his ear. “But what a way to go.”
He pulled away. “Listen, I have to work today, but I thought we'd get some breakfast, then I have a little surprise for you.”
She squealed like a schoolgirl, and he controlled the urge to smack her. Two hours. That's all I need.
The Northside Diner wasn't busy at that hour on a Saturday morning, and he guided Tina to a booth in the back. She walked ahead of him, her big butt wiggling under Capri pants better suited to a teenager. He put the image of her naked body out of his mind. When they were seated, he leaned back in the soft cushioned seat and took a long drag on his cigarette.
“Tell me again what all the sheriff asked you about.”
Tina took center stage, embellishing her earlier story with comments about how the whole thing made her feel.
“And boy, I wish you could have seen the look on Kellie Sutton's face when I told her I had a permanent boyfriend. I'm so glad you're gonna back me up when they come to talk to you.”
She reached across the yellow Formica tabletop to touch his hand, and he jerked it away.
A frown spread across her chubby features. “You should really get that wound looked at. What'd you do to it, anyway?”
A hard knot formed in his stomach. “Burned it. Did you tell them where I work?”
She sat back in the booth. “Looks more like a bite to me.”
“Goddammit, answer me! What did you tell the cops?”
She jerked with surprise. “Just that you work someplace outside Perkins-come to think of it, you never told me the name of the ranch.”
Shit, lady. You only just realized that? “Not important. I'll call the sheriff later this morning.” He gave her a sheepish grin. “Sorry I snapped at you.”
She leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. “What's my surprise?”
“Something I've never shown to anyone. Eat your breakfast so we can get going.”
Chapter 14
Frank jerked his arm from the deputy's grasp. “God dammit, Jimmy, lighten up. I'm not going anywhere!”
His former high school varsity teammate shook his head. “Jeezus, Frank. What were you thinking? Campbell's so pissed I didn't need the phone to hear him yellin'.”
Frank crossed his arms, resisting the urge to confide in his old friend. “I told you, I'm here on business. Thinking about buying some beef cattle to upgrade my herd.”
The deputy snorted and pointed at Frank's revolver, lying on the front seat of the jeep. “And what were you going to do with that? Shoot the guy if the price wasn't right? Shit, you must think I was born yesterday.”
Frank settled his features into a buddy grin. “Come on, you know we've had some intruders at the ranch. I'm just keeping it handy in case I need it...and, anyway, what are you doing out here at the crack of dawn?”
The deputy's features sobered. “Can't say...all I know is I'm gonna miss watchin' my kid in the parade.” His face brightened. “Hey, you see Veronica at the barbecue last night?”
Frank's gut clenched. “I didn't go.”
His friend leered. “Whoo-ee, I don't know when she got back to town, but those boobs still set my Johnson to jigglin'!” He shook his head. “Never could figure out why you broke up after all those years-especially to marry the Queen of the Range.”
A hollow feeling crept into Frank's chest, opening up a part of his mind that he'd closed twelve years ago. Veronica Stepp had been the love of his life, and he'd blown it. How could he have known she'd dump him when he was no longer a celebrity? And what the hell was the matter with him now? Celeste could make the rest of his life worth living. His gaze drifted down the road toward the entrance to the cattle ranch. Travis Mack was somewhere on that property, the only remaining loose end. There had to be a way to ditch the deputy.
Frank leaned casually against the car door. “I don't suppose you have any inside information about the shit that's going on out at my
place, do you?”
A grin. “Now you know I can't talk about that. Campbell would have my job.” The grin faded and the deputy shook his head. “Him droppin' in from nowhere to take over has everyone in a tailspin-not that he ain't good, mind you, but Dani White has been first deputy for five years. It shoulda been her the commissioners appointed. I don't care if the guy does have a medal for bravery-it ain't right, givin' employment to outsiders.”
Frank scowled, but wisely kept his knee-jerk response to himself. The Golden Boy returns and the town falls all over itself.
The deputy's phone rang, and his face contorted into a puzzled frown as he listened.
“Okay, Chief.” He closed the phone and met Frank's gaze. “Speak of the Devil...We're going back to the station.”
“Okay, let me get my wallet and lock the car.”
He reached into the Jeep and picked up the gun.
~ ~
Wrapped in a towel, Kellie padded across her bedroom to the dresser, the long night weighing on every muscle. The disturbing conversation with Hyde had kicked her imagination into fast forward, and she'd wrestled until daybreak with the possibility of Frank's involvement. She stared at her drawn face in the mirror. Perhaps she could simply wear a mask for the day's festivities.
Rummaging through the bras and panties in the underwear drawer, her fingers bumped against something hard in the back corner. A murmur ran through her pulse and she closed her fingers around the hidden box. Withdrawing it slowly, her thoughts jumped back to the first time she'd laid eyes on the small velvet case. A time when she'd thought the world was hers, when love was all that mattered. When her perfect world had crumbled.
She gazed long and hard at the box. Did she want to open the past any more than she already had? The pull of memories was stronger than her reticence. The hinge squeaked, and she caught her breath as light glinted on the tiny solitaire diamond. Tears burned her eyelids, pain and longing surfacing, overpowering any vestige of control she might have.
