“What didn’t you say?” grumbled Cruz, his annoyance clearly growing by the second.
“Repeat what you said about Sam Jarvis,” Caleb ordered. “I believe you used the words oil and obsession.”
For a moment Marissa looked uncertain and then she said in a faltering voice, “I don’t know, Caleb. I promised Sam that I wouldn’t say a word. He came to me in my capacity as a real estate agent. That’s almost like a sacred oath.”
Cruz let out a hoot and rolled his eyes. “Sacred oath?” he scoffed. “When your mouth starts flapping, nothing is sacred.”
Marissa glared at Cruz, who smirked at her.
“Please, Marissa, it’s important,” Caleb pleaded, his left elbow jabbing Cruz hard in his side. He didn’t need Cruz botching things up with his insults.
“Okay,” Marissa sighed. “Sam Jarvis came to me a few months ago. He claimed to be interested in a piece of property I was showing, but the truth was he was sniffing around for information.”
“Seems he went to the right place,” Cruz said in a sarcastic voice.
Caleb sent him an annoyed glance and put his finger to his lips to indicate that he didn’t want to hear another word of interruption from Cruz’s mouth.
“As I was saying,” Marissa continued, “he was sniffing around for information. Strange thing was all he wanted to talk about was the Diamond Lil. He wanted to confirm a rumor he’d heard about oil being found on the ranch.”
“Oil?” Caleb asked with a raising of his dark brow. “To the best of my knowledge there’s never been oil on the Diamond Lil. Lilliana had other property that’s yielded oil, but not the ranch itself.”
“That’s true, Caleb,” Marissa conceded, “but I have it on very good authority that there were some prospectors out at the ranch some time ago...and my sources tell me that they found oil.”
“If there was oil on that ranch don’t you think that they would’ve dug it up by now?” Cruz asked, his inky colored eyes boring a hole straight through Marissa.
“Not everybody's motivated by the almighty dollar,” Marissa said coolly. “Some people might choose to preserve the land, and to forsake the oil.”
“Are you saying that Lilliana didn’t want to dig up the oil?” Caleb asked in an incredulous voice.
“From what I heard she didn’t even tell her family about the oil. The prospectors were out there for a week when everyone went down to Abilene for the rodeo show. I don’t think she wanted anyone to know what she discovered, although rumors spread like crazy in a town like Briarwood.”
“And we all know how most of em get started,” Cruz muttered.
Marissa paused to shoot Cruz another dirty look. “Evidently, Sam caught wind of the rumors. He came to me to confirm them, and while he was there he mentioned that he’d always dreamed of owning the Diamond Lil.” Marissa shivered. “It kind of spooked me out, especially since Ms. Lilliana was dying and all. He seemed so...intense.”
“I wonder why he didn’t just ask Lilliana since they were friends,” Caleb mused aloud, his thoughts running in a dozen different directions. Lilliana knew there was oil on the ranch but didn’t tell anyone. Sam Jarvis gets wind of the rumors and tries to pry information out of Marissa. If he wasn’t up to anything sneaky, Caleb mused, then why did he go behind Lilliana’s back and try to ferret information out of Marissa? Why hadn’t Lilliana trusted her own lawyer enough to tell him about her discovery?
“Maybe he did ask her. Maybe she wasn’t very forthcoming about the details and he wanted to dig a little deeper. Let’s face it, when Miss Lilliana didn’t want to talk about something she could be pretty fierce,” Marissa said with a chuckle.
“Marissa,” Caleb said, reaching for Marissa’s hand and shaking it. “Crossing paths with you today was a godsend. This information about Sam Jarvis is critical. Thanks for trusting us.”
“I guess your over-sized mouth came in handy for once,” Cruz dryly observed. “I’m sure it’s gratifying to know that your title of gossip queen of Briarwood finally paid off.”
“I didn’t start the rumor about you and Widow Jenkins. I just repeated it,” Marissa said in a raised voice.
“Hasn’t anyone ever told you that you shouldn’t repeat everything you hear?” Cruz spat out, his disgust evident by the cold glint in his eye and the way his gaze raked over her as if she were of little or no consequence. “Or is your little life so pathetic that you’ve resorted to peeping through other peoples’ windows to get your jollies?”
Marissa tilted her chin up and faced him head-on. “Don’t blame me for the gossip about you. Word has a way of traveling in a small town like Briarwood.”
“You little troublemaker,” he grunted as he pulled her towards him by the wrist, his anger propelling him to cross the line.
“What are you doing?” Caleb roared as he heard Marissa cry out in surprise and watched in disbelief as his friend blew up in anger.
“Mighty mouth roared one too many times for my liking.” Cruz said heatedly as a raspberry stain crept across his cheeks.
“Next time you’re out in public you might want to put a leash on your friend,” Marissa hissed as she picked her purse up from the table and stormed out of the diner. Caleb glared at Cruz and then raced out of the diner on Marissa’s heels, apologies tumbling out of his mouth as he walked her to her BMW. After thanking Marissa for her information on Jarvis and dodging a half dozen questions about his intentions towards her best friend, Caleb turned on his heel and reentered the diner.
“Have you lost your mind, Sheriff?” Caleb asked Cruz upon his return as he stared at his friend in bewilderment. He’d never seen Cruz act so wild, so totally out of control. “What did you think you were doing?”
Cruz simply looked at him with a blank expression etched on his face.
“Did you hear what I said, Cruz?” Caleb asked, a deep frown marring his brow as he studied the troubled look on his friend’s face. Cruz was sitting at the table frozen like a mummy, as if he'd run out of words after his outburst.
Numbly, Cruz nodded his head in the affirmative, even though he was clueless about what Caleb had said to him. He was still confused over what had just happened with Marissa Santana. It wasn’t like him to lose his temper like that. Especially with a woman. Not that she was any woman, he reminded himself. She was a nuisance and a big mouth. He had nothing to feel guilty about. After all, she’d started the war when she spread it all over town that he was having a romance with his step-grandmother. That was pretty shameless!
“I said that we now have a motive,” Caleb repeated. “The oil. Knowing there’s oil on the land is a pretty good incentive for scaring the the owner away.” Caleb scratched his chin, still trying to piece together all the elements of the puzzle. “We were right about someone trying to scare Sierra off the ranch, and I’ll bet you everything I own that it’s because of the oil.”
Cruz nodded his head in agreement and drawled, “Sounds like something a low-life, greedy coward might do. And if I’m not mistaken, I think we have a suspect.”
“Jarvis,” Caleb said through gritted teeth, his insides roiling at the thought of all the anguish Sierra had been put through. If he could prove that Sam Jarvis was responsible for the heinous acts at the Diamond Lil, he’d make sure he was locked up for the rest of his days.
Cruz shook his head, his features set in a bleak expression. “We don’t know for certain that it’s Jarvis. And even if it is - we’re going to have a tough time proving it.” Cruz toyed around with his food, pushing his tuna sandwich around the plate with his forefinger and wrinkling his nose in distaste at the heap of coleslaw that closely resembled a blob of mayo. Somewhere between the time Marissa had showed up at the table and the time he’d wrapped his hand around her wrist he’d lost his gargantuan appetite. He didn’t want to think about why. He didn’t want to think about the spirited pixie who’d glared at him as if he was a monster. He cleared his throat and continued, “After all, the man is up there in age. It’s pre
tty hard to imagine him sneaking around the Diamond Lil slitting the throats of animals. Not to mention the fact that he’s very well respected in the community with a squeaky clean record. Some folks just won’t buy it.”
“All we have is a theory,” Caleb conceded with a scowl. “A theory of one man’s greed to get his hands on an oil-rich property. The judge would probably throw the case out of court for lack of evidence.”
Cruz nodded in agreement. “That’s if the prosecutor chose to take the case, which is anyone’s guess as to whether or not she would. Yvonne is mighty particular of the cases she takes on. She doesn’t like to ruffle the feathers of all the fat cats in Briarwood who put her into office. And you can best believe that Jarvis is one of her biggest supporters.”
For a few moments the two men sat in companionable silence, Caleb munching on a sugar-coated donut and a plate of cold french fries while Cruz brooded over his coffee mug, barely touching his lunch. Caleb’s mind was whirling with all the possibilities. He wanted to nail Jarvis so badly it hurt. But how? He could go to Sierra and tell her his suspicions about Jarvis and his scheme to drive her away from the ranch. Why would she believe him now? Jarvis had convinced her he was an untrustworthy liar. And why would she have any reason to doubt Jarvis, a man she’d trusted and admired her entire life? His own credibility had taken a hit the moment Sierra found the deed. And it wasn’t as if he had any proof to speak of, Caleb thought with a frown. If he put forward his theory about Sam Jarvis, Sierra was likely to order him to stay away from her and the Diamond Lil. There had to be a way to prove Jarvis’ guilt, he brooded. There had to be a way to show Sierra that he was innocent of the crimes she’d accused him of. There had to be a way to redeem himself in her eyes, Caleb agonized.
The idea came to him swiftly, like a flash of lightning striking in a clear blue sky. He snapped his fingers with triumph and asked, “Cruz, do you remember that time you busted that bank robber who’d been holding up all the banks across the state?”
“Of course I remember. I’m not likely to forget it anytime soon either,” Cruz acknowledged as he signaled the waitress for another cup of coffee. “His name was Dexter Mooney and he’d robbed ten banks, shot and killed four people and amassed a small fortune in his holdups.” Cruz took a swig of his coffee and swallowed, a satisfied expression stamped on his face. “He made a big mistake when he came to Briarwood though. Days earlier we’d received word that he was in this area of the state, so when he barreled into the Savings and Loan we were ready for him. We had men working under cover in the bank, posing as tellers and bank officials.”
“The minute he raised his gun in the air I was forced to shoot him. That coward grabbed Evie, one of our female undercover officers, and held a gun to her head as he bolted from the bank. A few minutes later we followed the trail of blood and tracked him to an abandoned warehouse. After a couple hours of trying to negotiate Evie’s release and his surrender we smoked him out with tear gas after Evie broke free of him.” Cruz smiled with pure satisfaction. “I’m pleased to tell you he’s now serving a life sentence.”
“Chalk up one for the good guys,” Caleb said with a grunt of satisfaction. “To tell you the truth I was sitting here thinking-.”
“Oh no,” groaned Cruz. “Every time you sit around thinking you get this sudden urge to play cops and robbers. And nine times out of ten I’m your accomplice.”
“Give me some credit,” Caleb snapped. “Do I look like I’m playing? What I’m suggesting is that we move towards nailing this criminal’s hide to the wall before he does any more damage. The reason I mentioned the Mooney case is because I think we can nab Jarvis the same way you took out Mooney.”
“Are you suggesting that we use tear gas on Jarvis?” Cruz asked with a skeptical twist of his lips.
“No, but I am suggesting we smoke him out.” Caleb splayed his hands on the table and leaned forward, his posture exuding raw enthusiasm. “The only way we can prove Jarvis guilty is if we catch him red-handed in the act or if we find incriminating evidence against him. Am I right?” He waited for Cruz’s acknowledgement, then continued. “Jarvis is a lawyer, a businessman by trade. He’s too smart to get tripped up with incriminating evidence in his possession. Which leaves catching him in the act our only alternative.”
“You’re using a lot of we’s, Caleb. Since when are you a member of the Briarwood Sheriff’s office?” Cruz snapped, his eyes hard and unflinching.
“I can’t sit on the sidelines. Not this time. Not when Sierra is at the center of this mess. If this thing continues to escalate she could get hurt or killed,” he said in a strangled voice. “I can’t let that happen.”
“You really love her, don’t you?” Cruz asked quietly, his dark eyes glimmering with understanding and a hint of pity.
“Yeah, I love her,” Caleb said softly, seeing the skepticism on his best friend’s face. “I always have...there’s no doubt in my mind that I always will. Even if she won’t have me, I’ll still go on loving her.”
“She’s a fool if she won’t have you, Caleb, and I’ve a mind to tell her that the next time I see her,” Cruz said heatedly, his protective instincts towards his friend at an all time high. “By the way, you can count me in. If Jarvis is the snake in the grass who’s been terrorizing the Lil, I’ll personally see to it that he rots in jail for the rest of his days.”
“Not until after I get my hands on him,” Caleb growled. “Him and that weak-chinned son of his. Something tells me it’s no coincidence that Bryce is working at the ranch.”
“We’re going to do this my way, Caleb, or I’m bailing right here and now. I can’t have you taking matters into your own hands. I won’t look the other way because of our friendship. We’re going to do this by the book.”
Caleb glared at his friend, his light eyes darkening ominously like the sky before a rainstorm. Cruz met the steely-eyed glare with one of his own, his dark brows furrowed in anger, the hard, chiseled jaw tight with an unspoken fury. Edna, the waitress, chose that moment to saunter over to their table, check in hand, her pretty, round face lit up with a flirtatious smile. It was common knowledge in Briarwood that Edna was on the lookout for a husband, preferably one who was young, handsome, and in possession of a hefty bank account. It was also common knowledge that she had a huge crush on Cruz, a fact she heavily advertised all over town.
“Who’s buying?” she asked as she waved the check in the air, her heavily made-up eyes honing in on Cruz in open invitation.
“He is!” They both said in unison as they pointed a finger in the other’s direction. Both men were still scowling.
Edna looked at both men and shrugged, finally plopping the check down on the table next to Cruz, her arm deliberately brushing against his shoulder in an intimate gesture.
Cruz looked up at Edna, uncertain as to whether or not her touch was deliberate. Although Edna was a pretty woman, lushly figured and pretty in a cute blonde sort of way, she wasn’t his type. No, he thought as he watched Edna walk away, he much preferred petite, exotic-looking women. An image of Marissa flashed through his brain as a powerful emotion swept through him, one he couldn’t afford to analyze. He closed his eyes and tried to rid his mind of Marissa’s image, muttering softly as her face drifted in and out like a haunting vision.
“I promise not to go rogue,” Caleb finally agreed, his expression softer but not defeated, “if you promise me that we’ll have plenty of backup. I can’t run the risk of Sierra getting hurt,” he said intensely. “We have to make sure she’s miles away from the Diamond Lil when this whole thing goes down. I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to her.”
“I’ll do you one better, Caleb.” Cruz fumbled in his jacket pocket for a few seconds, his face splitting into a grin as he pulled out a gold badge emblazoned with the words deputy. “For the duration of our little sting with Jarvis, I’m hereby making you a deputy of the Briarwood Sheriff’s department.”
Caleb reached for the star, his throat clogged wi
th emotion as he accepted the shiny symbol of Sheriff Matt Cruz’s trust and unswerving loyalty. It meant the world to him that someone trusted him enough, believed in him enough to have faith that he would do the right thing. Too bad, he thought bitterly, that Sierra couldn’t trust him, couldn’t believe in him the way Cruz instinctively did.
“I won’t let you down, man,” he said gruffly as he fingered the gold star, his callused fingers grazing over the engraved words, his spirits lifting with his newfound responsibility. “Let’s do it!”
***
Sierra stood on the hilltop, her face turned towards the endless rows of headstones that dotted the landscape. The grass looked so shiny and green, she thought, surprisingly beautiful for a place that she’d once considered morbid. The day of her grandmother’s funeral she hadn’t noticed how beautiful everything was at Pinecrest cemetery or how scrupulously the graves were tended to by the caretaker.
She tried not to notice the graves with no flowers as she walked amongst them. It was too sad to think that nobody cared enough about their family members to lay flowers before their graves, or simply sit and talk for a few minutes. After all, she thought, it was a matter of paying one’s respects. But then again, she shouldn’t judge. What did she know about it?
For endless minutes she walked among the dead, feeling serene as she clutched a handful of tulips to her breast, a smile hovering on her lips. With slow, measured movements she began to make her way down the hill, past the cluster of dogwood trees, past the military burial sites with the American flags waving in the wind, heading straight towards Lilliana Rose’s grave.
Sierra took a deep breath as she reached the freshly packed grave. Lilliana Rose’s final resting place. Dear Lord. It was still so painful that her grandmother was gone. She still felt so raw. Grief. How long would she feel this way? How long would the pain of Lilliana’s passing last? Would any of them ever be the same?
She kneeled down in the dirt, wincing as the cold earth sent shudders through her body. She reached out and touched the marble headstone, her fingers tracing over the touching words engraved on it. Lilliana Rose- In Loving Memory. Your legacy lives on.
Through The Fire (Guardians, Inc. Book 2) Page 20