by JoAnn Ross
“Think the coach was the other guy?” Honeycutt asked. “The one whose pubic hairs were found on the Gallagher girl?”
“I had Jack get a sample before they prepped the guy for surgery. Right now, all we can do is wait for the lab results.”
“I heard Faith Prescott reading that message you wanted broadcast,” Desiree said. “Asking people to call in if they’d seen her with anyone the day she died.”
“That’s something.” He wondered if Erin Gallagher’s death would get Faith the news slot she’d professed to want so badly. Wondered if it would boost her out of Hazard into a larger market.
And why the hell should he care?
Because, dammit, he did.
He scrubbed his hands down his face.
“Will,” Desiree said. “You look like you’ve been rode hard and put away wet.”
“Now there’s a coincidence. Since I feel the same way.”
“Go home. You’re working on your second day without sleep. You need some rest so you can think clearly.”
“You have a problem with how I’m working this case?” he shot back.
“No. I have a problem with you running yourself into the ground. In case you haven’t noticed, Lone Ranger, this isn’t a one-man operation. So, why don’t you take some of that male-bonding law-of-the-pack stuff to heart and go home. Get some rest.” She wrinkled her nose. “Take a shower. Get something in your system besides caffeine and sugar. Then come back to work. Meanwhile, we can hold down the fort.”
“She’s right, Sheriff,” Honeycutt said. “If nothing else, you looked like shit on that TV report from the lodge.”
Will figured he must look bad if even his deputy was daring to say a critical word about his leadership. “Two hours,” he said. “Meanwhile, if anything at all comes up, I expect you to call me.”
“Yessir.” This time Honeycutt actually did salute, making it official. Will was now older than dirt.
“This honorable wolf pack member promises to notify the great leader Akela of any incident relevant to the pack goal of tracking down the Man killer,” Desiree said with a low bow.
Will shot her his middle finger.
Sam, he noticed, said nothing, but he knew he could count on the senior deputy.
The temperature had dropped precipitously since the impromptu news conference at the lodge. At least into the negative digits. Which had, fortuitously, driven the vultures back into the cozy, secure warmth of their dens. Given that because of the Ride the Divide race there wasn’t a vacant room to be had in town, he could only hope they’d had to return to Jackson, at least for the night.
His Cherokee beeped as he hit the remote. Will had just reached for the door when a hand landed on his shoulder.
39
“Let me get this straight.” Drew Hayworth leaned forward, his hands clasped loosely between his knees. “You’re married.”
“Yes. But my husband is filing for a divorce.” Faith wondered if her excuse sounded as lame to him as it did to her.
“Yet you had no way of knowing that was in the cards when you slept with Will Bridger.” Well, that certainly answered her question.
“No.”
“And it was more than just a one-night hookup?”
“It was for me.” She felt the flush rise in her face. “As I said, we’d known each other before, but it hadn’t worked out. But when we were together, it just felt so right. I’m not entirely sure if it was the same way for him…
“Wait.” She held up her hand. “Okay. That’s not entirely true. He said that what he felt for me was different.”
“If that’s the case, you probably should have expected him to be pissed off when he found out there was a husband out there.”
“ ‘An impediment,’ ” Faith murmured.
He lifted a blond brow, inviting elaboration.
“It’s from Jane Eyre. Right before the clergyman invites Mr. Rochester to pledge his vows, he asks the congregation if anyone knows of any reason why this couple should not, in the eyes of God, be wed. That’s when the stranger declares that the marriage cannot go on. That there’s an existence of an impediment.”
“That impediment being a mad wife in the attic.”
“Technically, it was the third floor. But I suppose it’s the same thing.”
“I may not know one Bronte sister from the other, but didn’t Jane walk away from the situation?”
“Yes. She left Thomfield Hall. Oh, she loved Mr. Rochester, of course. Despite his situation. But as she explained to him, principles and laws were not just for times when there weren't any temptations.”
“And Sheriff Bridger is nothing if not a man of laws and principles.”
“Tell me about it,” she muttered.
“So, you should have expected him to respond the way he did.”
“In the beginning, I didn’t expect to have to say anything. Because I had no intention of getting involved with him.”
“Because you weren’t attracted? Or because of the impediment?”
“I’m married. I didn’t believe I could do anything about that, at least not at the time.”
“Because you were afraid of your husband.”
"Yes.” She folded her hands and spoke firmly. Surely.
“And now you’re not.”
“Sal's changed.”
“Enough to make the marriage work?”
“No. Because I never loved him.”
“That’s got to be a tough thing to admit.”
She laughed, but the ragged sound held little humor. “It’s sure as hell not easy.”
“You wouldn't be the first person to get married for the wrong reason,” Hayworth said. “Undoubtedly you won’t be the last.” He stood up and crossed over to the couch, then held out both his hands. “You look wiped out. Why don’t you go home and get some rest. Things will look better in the morning. They always do.”
“I won’t get any sleep, worrying about what he’s thinking. The more we avoid the subject, the worse it’s going to get. I’ve already waited too long.”
“Which is why a day or two more isn’t going to make a difference,” he pointed out mildly. “You’re dealing with a damaged romance, Faith. The sheriff’s dealing with two murders which took place over a twenty-four-hour period. And a son who may or may not be a suspect.”
“He’s not.” Faith remained unmoved on that. “But you’re right. I suppose it would be selfish to expect him to stop everything so I can grovel.”
He smiled at that. Took hold of her hands and eased her to her feet. “I strongly doubt he’s going to make you grovel, Faith. I’ve watched him since he’s come back to town. He’s fair-minded. He’ll give you a chance to state your case. And if things have progressed, as you say they have, he’ll forgive you and move on.”
Faith certainly hoped so.
“There is one more thing to consider,” he said, as she shrugged into her parka.
“What’s that?”
“His pride may be hurt.”
“Because I didn’t trust him enough to tell him the truth.”
“He’s the sheriff, Faith. His sworn duty is to serve and protect. By keeping your secret, you prevented him from doing either one of those things. You wounded his ego.”
“Ah, the famously delicate male ego. The ‘Me Tarzan, you Jane’ syndrome.”
He laughed. “You just happened to have hit upon the one stereotype that’s unfortunately true. You can’t blame a man for wanting to protect the weaker sex. Even,” he said quickly, “when that weakness has been proven time and time again to be a fallacy.”
He toyed with one of the beaded pipe holders hanging on the pretty Christmas tree. “That’s one of the things I appreciate most about the Native American tribes. Even the ones who aren’t strictly matriarchal still share power with their female members. That’s something we males of European descent could learn to do better.”
“Well, I’m not going to argue with that.” She tugged on her gloves
. “Desiree and I have talked about her being a police officer. She’s seen a lot of prejudice over her years.”
“I can imagine.”
“But she insists Will doesn’t have a prejudiced bone in his body.”
“Well, then.” Hayworth shared another smile. “He sounds just about perfect, so my advice, given only because you asked, is that as soon as he has his killer behind bars, you tell him what you’ve told me, about your childhood, and how you’ve survived it, and I’ll bet, rather than be pissed off at you anymore, he’ll admire what you’ve made of your life.”
“I hope so.”
“I’ve not a single doubt.” He ruffled her hair. “Though I have to say, there will be a lot of men in Hazard down at The Watering Hole crying in their beer when you get taken off the market.”
“Off the market.” She punched him lightly in the arm. “Talk about your chauvinist statements!”
“Hey,” he said on a laugh. “You can’t blame me for the attitudes of these Wyoming cowboys.” He put a hand on her back as he walked her to the door. “Go home. Get some rest. Hopefully by tomorrow the sheriff will have arrested the killer, and everyone can get on with their lives.”
“I’d love to go home. However I still have a program to do.”
“No need. Let me fill in for you.”
It sounded so tempting. “Are you sure?”
“Sure. Besides, I get a lot more interesting callers when I’m on at night.”
“The crackpots, you mean.”
“A good therapist never uses that term,” he said easily. “Although, I have to admit, some of your callers do appear to live out on the far fringes of normality.”
Since Faith could not argue that point, they shared a laugh. As she drove away from the college, she felt a great deal better.
So much so, she decided that although Drew had advised against it, she was going to drop by the Sheriff’s Department and ask Will to at least give her an opportunity to explain, once he’d wrapped up his case.
40
Will spun around, his hand instinctively going to his sidearm.
“Christ, Desiree,” he said on an exasperated breath. “You should know better than to sneak up on someone that way! I could’ve shot you.”
“Which would’ve been the least of our problems. We need to talk.”
Will knew that she hadn’t approved of the way he’d driven away from the lodge crime scene without checking on Faith. “Look, if this is about Faith—”
“No. I just got a call from someone about the Gallagher girl. A potential witness the night she died.”
Her face was as grim as he’d ever seen it. “And that’s not a good thing why?”
“It’s Sam.”
Puzzled, Will glanced up at the office window. “Sam called?”
“No.” She dragged a hand through her dark curls. “Sam’s our new suspect.”
* * * * *
“I was with her.” They were alone in Will’s office. No way was he going to put Sam in the box. The deputy closed his eyes for a brief, painful moment. “The night she died.”
“What do you mean you were with her? Christ,” Will said, as the answer hit like a bullet between his eyes. “Are you saying you had sex with her?”
“No. She was just a kid, Will. There was no way I had any sexual feelings toward her.” Sam let out a long, tired sigh. “She had this thing. About older men. Like that complex about girls and their fathers.”
“The Electra complex?”
“Yeah. That’s what Dr. Hayworth called it when I talked to him about it.”
“You discussed Erin Gallagher with Hayworth?”
“I didn’t know what else to do,” Sam exploded uncharacteristically. “She worked for him. He’s a shrink. I figured maybe he’d have a handle on what I should do. Will, the girl wouldn’t leave me alone. Every time I turned around, there she was. Smiling. Flirting. It was like she’d decided to go hunting and I was in her crosshairs and she wouldn’t give up until she bagged me.”
And there were a lot of women, Will thought, who’d consider Sam a trophy animal. “What did Hayworth suggest you do?”
“At first he suggested avoiding her. But that only made things worse. Then he suggested talking it out. He’s big on talk,” Sam said drily.
“I take it that didn’t work.”
“I guess the fuck it didn’t. Considering I came home that night and found her naked in my bed.”
Could his night get any worse? The woman he was actually contemplating a future with turned out to have a husband, and the man who’d become the closest thing Will had to a friend since returning to Hazard had managed to put himself smack in the middle of a high-profile murder investigation.
“Tell me you didn’t fuck her.”
“That’s exactly what I’m trying to do.” Sam was obviously offended, but Will was too exhausted and too pissed off to care. “She said she’d made a big mistake and needed to move past it.”
“Move past it by having sex with you?”
“Apparently.”
“What kind of mistake?”
“I didn’t have any idea at the time. But given that her coach was in town, and from what she’d told me about him—”
“This wasn’t the first time you were together?”
“I pulled her over for drunk driving when she first came to town.”
“I don't remember a ticket.”
“That’s because I didn’t issue her one. I figured everyone deserves a chance, and besides, any other college kid can have a few too many beers at a kegger and get away with it. The minute Erin Gallagher’s name showed up on a police blotter, the press would be crawling all over the story.”
Will couldn’t argue with that.
“So, I confiscated her keys, to keep her from having a wreck, then drove her home to her apartment. When she had trouble standing up, I helped her upstairs to her apartment, put her into bed—fully dressed,” he added, in case Will might think the worst, “then left.
“The next day she tracked me down in The Branding Iron, looking for her keys. I bought her breakfast. We talked. Not about anything personal. Just school, Indian stuff. She seemed really interested in the Shoshone culture.”
“I’ll bet.”
“I may just be a rural county deputy, but I believe I just detected a bit of sarcasm.”
“Ever think you were the flavor of the month?”
“Of course. Which was one reason I never gave in to her feminine wiles. Another one was, I was nearly old enough to be her father.”
“That may have been the point.”
Sam shrugged. “That’s pretty much what Hayworth said. She didn’t exactly confirm it, but she’d been at the lodge that afternoon, and from what you said about the different pubic hairs found on her body, I’d bet the mistake she was trying to forget with me was fucking that Russian coach.”
Will ran the matrix through his mind. “Makes sense,” he agreed. “So, how come you didn’t tell me earlier? Like in the beginning.”
“Because I was hoping it was a slam dunk. That the big-city detective—”
“Which would be me.”
“Which would be you,” Sam agreed, “would be able to nab the bad guy and put him behind bars before anything got out.”
“So much for that idea.”
“I did try to talk with you earlier,” Sam reminded him. “Then you got that call about the Gallagher woman being killed and we had to go out to the lodge.”
Will cursed. “You realize I’m going to have to take an official statement on this?”
“Yeah. But there’s another problem.”
“Of course there is.” Will cast a quick, frustrated glance upward, wondering what the hell he’d done to deserve all this.
“The reason I didn’t mention anything about Erin stopping by is that I knew it would trigger an investigation into where I was later that night.”
“Okay. So, where were you?”
Will figured t
he only thing that could have his deputy looking so uncomfortable would be if he’d been spending his paycheck at the so-called massage parlor outside the county line.
“On the rez.”
“Okay. Alone?”
“No.”
Sam was, like most Native Americans, not all that loquacious on a good day. Which this was not.
“Want to tell me who you were with?”
“No. But obviously now that the shit’s hit the fan, I’m going to have to.” Sam sucked in a breath. “Leon Ducett.”
“The kid from the college? Who works at KWIND?”
“The ‘kid’ is twenty-three years old,” Sam said with uncharacteristic defensiveness.
“Okay. But this is the same guy who wasn’t available to work the news? Because he was supposedly spending the night with his girlfriend?”
“Yeah. And before you ask the next question, about why we kept our mouths shut for the past twenty-four hours, maybe you ought to ask yourself how eager you’d be to come out of the closet if you were a Native American homosexual in northwest Wyoming. The state where two heterosexual men brutally beat a gay college student, lashed him to a fence, and left him to die out on the remote prairie.”
“That case changed a lot of minds,” Will argued. “And look at all the people who went to that gay cowboy movie. Attitudes are changing. Maybe not as fast as we’d like, but they are changing.”
Sam tilted his head. His eyes were typically expressionless, but Will could feel the skepticism radiating from him. “And you’d be willing to let someone you loved risk that?”
When Will’s mind immediately turned to Faith, he knew that, however angry at her he was, it didn’t change the way he felt, deep down. That she had a husband complicated things. Fortunately, he’d always thrived on complication.
“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “But the fact remains that a deputy of the Hazard Sheriff’s Department may have information regarding a double homicide. We may be friends, but I can’t overlook that.”
“I didn’t expect you to. I just wanted to give you a heads-up.”