Ellie was confused. “Did I miss your call?”
“No, but you must have known I would be here to attend Barb’s funeral.”
“Oh.” She made a sound of surprise. “It never occurred to me,” she retorted with blunt honesty. “As far as I knew, you hadn’t spoken with Barb since you left Curry.”
“She was still an employee of mine for several years.”
Ellie brushed aside her astonishment that her father would make such an effort to respect the memory of his old secretary. The Barb she’d known was a pathetic drunk, but Colin would naturally remember her as an efficient, loyal woman who’d worked side by side with him.
“I’m not even sure when the funeral is,” she admitted with a pang of guilt. There’d been so much going on, she hadn’t had time to truly process the fact that the woman was dead.
“It’s tomorrow afternoon,” Colin said.
“So, you’ll be spending the night?” Ellie was surprised. Her father could easily have driven up in the morning and then returned home after the funeral.
“I have a room arranged at the motel.”
“I would invite you to stay with me, but I had a small fire at my house.”
Colin reached up to smooth his burgundy silk tie, his features tightening with disapproval.
“So I heard, although not from my daughter.”
He knew about the fire? “Who did you hear it from?” she demanded.
He waved aside her question. “That is not the pertinent point. Why didn’t you let me know that someone has been pestering you?”
Ellie paused. For the first time, she realized she hadn’t even considered calling her parents to tell them about her flat tires or the rats or the fire.
Instinctively she’d turned to Nate for comfort and support.
She should probably be worried about that, but right now, she had too much on her plate to give it more than a passing thought.
“There’s been a spate of vandalism in Curry,” she hedged.
His lips flattened. “I would say it’s more than just vandalism.”
“We both know that crime can happen anywhere, and I didn’t want to worry you.”
Her father didn’t bother to disguise his dissatisfaction with her explanation.
“It’s my duty as your father to worry.”
She swallowed a sigh. Duty.
Sometimes it would be nice to be a daughter, not a duty.
“I’m fine,” she said.
“For now.”
She shrugged, trying to pretend she wasn’t deeply worried. “I’ve taken precautions.”
Oddly, her father’s eyes darkened with anger. “There’s no need for precautions. You’ll return with me to Oklahoma City after the funeral.”
Was he serious? Ellie studied her father’s stern expression. There was an edge in his voice that warned he wasn’t making a casual offer.
“I can’t leave Curry,” she slowly retorted. “I have clients who are depending on me. And my house has to be repaired.”
Her father glanced around the reception room, his gaze lingering on the empty seats as if to emphasize the limits of her law practice.
“There’s no need for you to worry. I will take care of sending someone to close down your office and collect your belongings from the house.”
The words weren’t an offer of assistance. They were a command.
A familiar sense of frustration churned through Ellie. Colin Guthrie was a man who expected obedience. Not only in his courtroom, but in his home as well.
Her mother was willing to bow to his authority. It was what a proper wife was expected to do. Ellie, however, wasn’t nearly so accommodating.
She had the ability to think for herself.
She met her father’s gaze squarely. “I appreciate your concern, Father, but I’m not leaving.”
His nose flared with icy disapproval. “You’ve always been stubborn, Eloise, but while I was willing to allow you to assert your independence, the time has come for you to return home where you belong.”
He’d allowed her to assert her independence? Yeah, right. She’d fought tooth and nail for it.
She tilted her chin. “This is my home now.”
“Nonsense,” Colin snapped. “I didn’t invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in your education for you to throw it away in this backwater town with some rancher who will no doubt have you barefoot and pregnant in less than a year.”
Ellie flinched. Not because her father just blatantly claimed he’d bought and paid for her future—she’d heard it all before—but because his words revealed that he was aware she’d been spending time with Nate. Perhaps even that she was staying with him.
The knowledge made her feel . . . raw. Exposed.
“If you feel cheated, I can pay you back,” she informed him, her expression defiant. “It’ll have to be an installment plan, but you’ll get it all eventually.”
He sliced his hand through the air. A motion she’d seen him practice in front of the mirror.
“It’s not about the money.”
“Then what is it about?”
His gaze once again swept over her small reception area. “You are destined for more than this.”
Ellie refused to apologize for her highly successful law practice. She might not be sitting in a penthouse suite in Oklahoma City, or zooming her way to some political position, but she was happy. Which was more than her father could say.
“I think I should be allowed to choose my own destiny,” she said with a quiet dignity.
“Not when your choices are foolish.”
Ellie bit her tongue as Doris stepped back into the room. The older woman grimaced, clearly sensing the thick tension in the air as she hurried toward her desk.
“I think we should finish this conversation later,” she told her father.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s finished,” he said, lifting his arm to glance at the diamond-crusted wristwatch. Rolex, of course. “I need to check into my room, and then I have a meeting.”
Ellie lifted her brows. A meeting? With who? She knew better than to ask.
“Fine.”
Colin crossed the room, but as he reached the door he abruptly turned back to regard her with an unreadable expression.
“You were with Barb when she died,” he said. It was a statement, not a question.
Ellie clenched her hands. Who the hell had been tattling to her father? The sheriff? One of his old friends?
Impossible to know.
“I was,” she grudgingly conceded. “She called and wanted to see me.”
“Why?”
Ellie shrugged. “I didn’t get a chance to find out. When I arrived at her house I found her collapsed on the floor.”
Expecting that to be the end of the conversation, Ellie was caught off guard when her father continued to study her with his piercing gaze.
“She didn’t say anything?”
Ellie hesitated. She didn’t know why, but she found herself reluctant to discuss what’d happened at Barb’s house. Maybe because she didn’t know who was feeding her father information, or why they had been spying on her.
“Why are you asking?”
“Last words can be important,” he said in smooth tones.
Important for what? And to whom?
Ellie licked her dry lips. There’d been so many weird things happening that she couldn’t be sure if she was overreacting to her father’s strange behavior or not. All she knew was that she wasn’t ready to discuss Barb’s death.
“She mumbled something, but she was too far gone to make any sense,” Ellie said, skirting the edge of truth. Hey, she was a lawyer. She was a master at telling not-quite-lies.
Colin pursed his lips. He wasn’t satisfied, but he seemed to accept her answer.
“Did she give you anything?” he demanded.
“Like what?”
He shrugged. “If she wanted to meet with you I assume that she must have had a reason. Perhaps
she had legal papers she wanted you to help her with. Or even assistance with her will.”
Ellie frowned. “Why would she call me about her will?”
“You weren’t her attorney?”
“You know I’m a defense attorney.” She eyed him in confusion. “I don’t do estate planning.”
“Then she must have used Kenneth,” he murmured, referring to the previous lawyer in town.
Okay, it was official. She wasn’t overreacting. Her father was acting strange. Really, really strange.
“What’s your interest in Barb?”
“As I said. She was an employee. I’d like to make sure that her affairs are all in order and her expenses covered.”
“That’s very thoughtful.” She had to force the words past her stiff lips.
She must have done a poor job of hiding her disbelief. Her father sent her a sharp glare.
“I take my responsibilities for those I care about very seriously, Eloise. I hope you remember that.”
With his chastisement delivered, Colin left the office and headed toward his car. Instantly the sizzling tension in the air began to dissipate. Like the passing of a thunderstorm.
Ellie sucked in a slow breath.
Had the entire world gone mad?
Chapter Twenty-One
Nate left Ellie in a foul mood.
He wasn’t a complete barbarian. He accepted that not everything was about him. And it was perfectly reasonable that Ellie would want to meet her parents alone. Especially when she didn’t know why they were there. The last thing she needed was him putting pressure on her.
Still, he couldn’t deny a sense of disappointment that she hadn’t turned to him for support. She no longer had to face her demons alone. Even if those demons were her family. Besides, he wanted to talk to the older man. Colin Guthrie had been gone so long from Curry it was hard to believe he had any connection to the current troubles, but he could answer questions about Hopewell Clinic.
His foul mood wasn’t improved as he glanced toward his building to discover a large crowd standing in the street, gawking through the open door. Gossip spread like wildfire through Curry and by now everyone in town would know that a dead body had been found.
Nate clenched his teeth. There was no way to get to his truck without being seen. Which would mean a grilling by his friends and neighbors. Something he was anxious to avoid.
Squaring his shoulders, he took a step forward, only to come to a sharp halt. His gaze scanned the street. Directly in front of his building there were still a couple cop cars, along with a dark sedan that had official tags. CSI? FBI? It didn’t matter. He was far more interested in finding the rusty yellow Camaro that belonged to the Harper brothers.
Where was it?
If Larry drove to Curry, it had to be nearby, right?
Heading to the west side of the square, he angled across the street to dart into the nearby alley. He walked down five blocks before turning back toward his building. It seemed impossible to believe that Larry would park his car this far from the building, but he wanted to make sure he didn’t miss it.
He mapped out the area in a grid, searching each street until he reached the back of his building. The Camaro wasn’t there.
So how had Larry gotten to Curry?
Had someone driven him there and dropped him off? His brother? Whoever had killed him?
Or had he driven the Camaro and his killer disposed of it? That seemed the most likely, but why go to the effort? It wasn’t like they went to any effort to hide the body. In fact, they called the sheriff to make certain it was found.
He walked to the end of the alley, glancing toward Ellie’s office. He desperately wanted to make sure she was okay, but he forced himself to resist temptation. She was an adult. If she needed his help she would call.
Instead he forced himself to concentrate on Larry Harper.
Why had he come to Curry? Why had he been in Nate’s building? How had he gotten there? Where was Bert? And most importantly, who’d killed him?
The questions churned through his mind as his feet instinctively carried him around the square to the large building on the corner.
The Lodge.
Hmm. Had his unconscious mind led him here? Perhaps a nudge from his FBI training?
It was early afternoon, but there were already several people sitting in the booths, and in the back of the long room, shooting pool.
Nate instantly felt the weight of a dozen gazes as he stepped through the door and headed for the bar. He ignored the waves to try and gain his attention, sliding onto one of the high stools so his back was to the other customers. It also ensured that he could speak with Paula without being overheard.
The bartender wiped her hands on the apron around her waist as she turned from the stack of lemons she was slicing. She looked surprised to see him before she was offering a practiced smile.
“What can I get you?”
“Whatever you have on draft.”
With a brisk efficiency, Paula grabbed a glass and pulled one of the wooden taps to fill it with a golden brew. Then, with a flick of her hand, she had a paper coaster in front of him before setting down the glass.
“Here you go,” she murmured, reaching beneath the bar to pull out a bowl of peanuts. “Bad day?”
Nate glanced over his shoulder at the customers who continued to stare at his back.
“I assume everyone knows I’ve had a bad day,” he said, returning his attention to the bartender.
She offered a sympathetic smile. “Hard to keep a secret in Curry.”
Nate snorted. “You’d be surprised,” he said, thinking of the rash of recent murders.
At least one person in town was capable of hiding the truth of their evil nature.
She leaned forward. “Did they really find a dead body in your building?”
Nate picked up his beer and took a sip. It was cold and crisp with just a hint of wheat.
“It’s true,” he admitted, setting down his glass and using the tip of his finger to wipe away a bead of foam from the rim. He wanted her to think he was there to soothe his rattled nerves, not to pump her for information. “One of the brothers who was here with Daniel on the night he died, Larry Harper.”
He lifted his gaze in time to see Paula jerk at his words. Surprise? Or a pretense of surprise?
Hard to say.
“No shit,” she breathed. “Do they know how he died?”
Nate shrugged, not about to give out details that weren’t yet public knowledge. He might consider Gary Clark a pathetic excuse for a lawman, but he wasn’t going to deliberately undermine his investigation.
“I’m not sure.”
She grimaced. “It’s kind of creepy. First Daniel and now this Larry Harper. Makes you wonder if the two are connected.”
It was the opening that Nate had wanted. “Did you see either of the Harper brothers after that night?”
“Nope.” Paula gave a firm shake of her head. “And I would have noticed if they’d been here.”
“Have there been any strangers hanging around?”
Her gaze flicked over his shoulder, taking in the crowd. “Just locals.”
“What about a yellow Camaro?” he pressed. “Have you seen one parked around here?”
“I haven’t really checked.” Her gaze returned to study him with open curiosity. “Did you lose one?”
Reaching for his beer, Nate took a deep drink. He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting. Perhaps a description of a scary stalker lurking in a corner booth. Or a confession that Larry Harper had been in the tavern with whoever had eventually killed him.
It was clear, however, he was wasting his time.
“Thanks,” he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He tossed a few bills on the bar as he slid off the stool.
“Strange times in Curry,” Paula murmured, reaching for the money.
It was the faint jangle of charms that drew Nate’s attention to the silver bracele
t around Paula’s wrist. He abruptly froze.
“Wait,” he rasped, reaching out to snap his fingers around her forearm.
“What the hell?” Paula tried to yank free of his grasp, but Nate ignored her struggles as he lifted her arm to study the cheap piece of jewelry.
The silver links with dainty charms looked ridiculous around her broad wrist. Paula was a tough, tattooed woman who looked like she would hate anything frilly. But it wasn’t the fact that the bracelet seemed so out of place on her arm that captured his attention.
It was the fact that he’d seen one just like it.
In the same field where both Daniel and Mandy had been dumped.
“Where did you get that bracelet?” he demanded.
She glared at him in outrage. “Why?”
“It looks familiar,” he hedged.
“So what?” She gave another jerk of her arm. “I’m sure there are thousands just like it. I don’t make the kind of bank necessary to have custom jewelry made for me.”
Nate wasn’t convinced. What was the likelihood of two people in such a small town having the exact same bracelet?
“Where did you buy it?”
She scowled, her expression revealing that she was considering the pleasure of punching him in the face. A threat that Nate took seriously. He didn’t doubt Paula could hold her own in a fight.
“None of your business is where,” she snapped.
Nate met her scowl with one of his own. “It’s important.”
She faltered at his stern tone. It was his FBI voice. The one he used to intimidate hardened criminals. She muttered a curse before leaning across the bar, as if she was afraid someone might overhear her words.
“Look, I found it when I was cleaning one night,” she confessed. “I put it in the lost and found box, but when no one claimed it, I decided I might as well get some use out of it.”
Nate studied her petulant expression. Did he believe her? Not really. But he didn’t have any evidence to call her a liar.
“Do you remember when you found it?” he asked.
“It was weeks ago.” With an impressive burst of strength, Paula pressed her arm to the side, forcing him to release his grip or have his wrist broken. Once free, she sent him a warning glare. “I have work to do.”
You Will Suffer Page 19