Out for Justice

by Susan Kearney

  “Exactly.”

  Kelly fisted her hands on her hips, careful not to wrinkle her silk blouse. “So you think all I can investigate is fluff?”

  “If the hat fits…”

  “…I’d wear it only if it were in style. But so what if I like fashion and gossip. That doesn’t mean I didn’t love my brother enough to find out what happened to him. Are you going to help me or not?”

  Cara nodded. “I just don’t want to see you hurt even more, but the last time I saw you this determined was the day you took your LSAT’s.” Cara looked her up and down, frowning at Kelly’s elegant blouse and frilly, ladylike skirt that ended at midcalf. “I’d say a trip to the mall is our first stop.”

  “IF ANYTHING HAPPENS to me, look after short-stuff.” Andrew’s words reverberated in Wade Lansing’s mind as he walked down Main Street and spied Kelly McGovern.

  Kelly looked different from the out-of-his-class woman that she always presented to the world. Instead of the feminine silk blouses and lacy skirts or designer dresses she favored, she was wearing jeans, boots and a tucked in blouse with a blazer. She’d done something to her standard shoulder-length blond hair, pulling it back softly with a clip that showed off her blue eyes and model cheekbones.

  Wade wished he’d questioned Andrew more fully during the short phone conversation the night of his friend’s death, but the bar had been packed and he’d been shy two waitresses. Still, he’d taken the time to ask Andrew why he thought anything might happen to him, but Andrew had told him it was probably nothing.

  Nothing, my ass.

  Andrew wasn’t prone to panic or exaggeration. He’d stumbled onto something he shouldn’t have and it had gotten him killed. And as much as Wade had liked and respected Andrew, his friend had grown up protected from the harsher side of life. Andrew trusted people, whereas Wade did not. Andrew always gave people the benefit of the doubt. Wade expected the worst, so he didn’t need evidence to listen to his gut, which told him Andrew had been murdered. He’d been around trouble too many times not to trust his instincts.

  As a kid, those instincts warned him to hide on Saturday nights so that his drunk father couldn’t find him until he sobered up. The few times he’d forgotten to hide had taught Wade to never let down his guard. He had few friends, but Andrew had been a good one, and Wade owed him more than one favor.

  Besides, watching Kelly’s back and cute little bottom was certainly no hardship. With her long slender legs, she should wear jeans more often. She’d always been attractive in that don’t-touch-me-I’m-off-limits-to-the-likes-of-you kind of way, which he’d accepted out of respect for Andrew. But today she actually looked approachable—if he could discount her five-hundred-dollar boots and the designer bag she’d slung over her saucy shoulder.

  The sight of Kelly’s new look not only reminded Wade of his promise to his friend but had his instincts screaming. He and Kelly didn’t patronize the same kinds of establishments or reside in the same part of town. Kelly probably hung out in Dallas’s or Fort Worth’s fanciest malls or perhaps at Mustang Valley’s finest steak house, but he’d rarely seen her on grounds he considered his turf. And why was she walking instead of driving her spiffy new Jag? What the hell was she up to?

  His curiosity aroused, he followed her down Main Street past the post office and the pharmacy, keeping his distance and a few shoppers between them, considering possible destinations. Kelly didn’t date guys from this side of town. She picked proper and preppie college boys with impeccable credentials and a family history as tony as her own. She’d only visited his saloon once to pull Andrew home during a family emergency. He recalled how out-of-place she’d looked in her lacy skirt and soft, sophisticated blouse, and yet she hadn’t hesitated to enter his rowdy bar alone, shoulder past several inebriated cowboys to demand that her brother accompany her to the hospital. Her granddaddy had had a stroke. She’d looked sassy and sad then, letting neither Andrew’s drunken state nor his lost cause of the moment, who’d been clinging to her brother’s arm, deter Kelly from her task.

  On the sidewalk in front of Wade, Kelly suddenly spun around and made a bee-line straight at him with that same determined pout of her lips that he so vividly remembered from years ago.

  He braced for a confrontation. “Hey, short-stuff. What’s up?”

  “Don’t call me that, please.”

  Kelly was always ultrapolite, but with him she usually sounded so irritated that she couldn’t quite hide that annoyance. In return, he couldn’t help feeling gratified that he was getting under that Cosmo girl skin. Maybe it was a remnant from his teenage years, but he loved bringing out the spark that she kept so carefully controlled. Watching her suppress all those simmering passions, he cocked one hand on his hip and pulled off her sunglasses.

  She maintained a cool, superior tone, but vexation and perhaps a gleam of fury shined in her vivid baby-blues. “What are you doing?”

  “I’ve missed your gorgeous green eyes,” he teased.

  “They’re blue.” She snatched back her sunglasses, her pretty polished pink nails shimmering in the sunlight. “Are you trying to distract me from the fact that you’re following me?”

  Ah, she might look like a fairy princess, even in those hip-hugging jeans, but she had a brain almost as sharp as Andrew’s. Wade reminded himself not to get so caught up in the glisten of her lip gloss that he underestimated her. “You caught me in the act.”

  She chuckled, her lips absolutely adorable and way-too-appealingly kissable. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

  If she was trying to embarrass him with the memory of her walking up to the car her brother had lent him and her getting an eyeful of him and Mary Jo Lacy in the back seat, she wouldn’t succeed. Of the three of them, she’d been the embarrassed one. Funny, he could barely recall Mary Jo’s expression, but Kelly’s had been a sight to behold. Her blush had started at her shapely chest, risen up her delicate neck, flowered over her cheeks and forehead. Her teenage-innocent eyes had widened in surprise before her lips had parted into a big round O.

  “So what are you up to?” He eyed her from the tips of her new boots to the designer sunglasses she’d grabbed and thrust up high on her forehead.

  “Nothing.”

  “Yeah, right. When I see Miss Kelly McGovern sashaying down Main Street on this side of town in blue jeans, I know something’s up. If I didn’t know you better, I’d think you had an assignation at the Lone Star Lodge.”

  “I don’t sashay. I don’t frequent that establishment. And I have better things to do than stand here and—”

  “Better things to do? That doesn’t sound like ‘nothing’ to me.”

  “My business is no concern of yours.” She turned around to dismiss him.

  He fell into step beside her. “Aren’t you even a little curious why I was following you?”

  “Not particularly.” She yanked down the sunglasses.

  “Okay.” He matched her, step for step, and didn’t say another word. He tipped his hat to a few of the townsfolk and waited. Wade hadn’t always been this patient. In his younger days he’d been known for his hot blood and his blazing temper. But he’d mellowed during his midtwenties. And he had the advantage here. She wanted to be rid of him, so she would either have to speak to him again or accept his company. He looked forward to either decision.

  Her floral scent floating between them, the sunlight shimmering off her blond hair, she stopped on the sidewalk and peered over her sunglasses at him. “What do you want, Wade?”

  Her respect? Her trust? Damned if he knew. “It’s not what I want but what Andrew wanted.”

  “Don’t play word games with me about my brother.” She almost snapped at him, and he realized that the unhealed wound in her heart was responsible for the rawness in her voice. She’d adored her brother, tagging after Andrew into her midteens, shooting hoops with them in the park and getting underfoot. Andrew hadn’t minded, and Wade had enjoyed teasing the prickly princess. But they hadn’t run
into one another that often. Andrew hadn’t brought his friends home much, and as Kelly’s popularity increased into her late teens, she’d found her own group of friends. Wade and Kelly might not ever have even spoken if not for Andrew—and now he was gone.

  “I’m sorry. I miss him, too.” Wade ran a hand through his hair. “Let’s start over.”

  “From ten minutes ago? Or eighteen years ago?”

  She was referring to the first time they’d met. At ten years old, Wade had been the terror of the schoolyard and a class-A bully, copying his father, his only role model up to that point in his life. Wade had caught a stray ball from a group of kindergarteners playing kick ball. No one dared ask him for the ball—except five-year-old Kelly. She’d skipped over in her immaculate yellow ruffled dress, smiled at him like an angel and had plucked the ball right out of his hands, murmuring a sweet thank-you. He’d been so stunned at her audacity that he’d just stood there and let her get away with it.

  Wade didn’t answer her rhetorical question. “I spoke to your brother the night he died.”

  “And?” she prodded.

  “He said that if anything happened to him that I should look after you.”

  Her tone turned all businesslike. “What do you mean—if anything happened to him? Are you saying my brother expected trouble?”

  “I’m not sure. He sounded more excited than concerned. I didn’t question him thoroughly.”

  “Why not?” Her voice turned sharp enough to slice and dice, and he refrained from wincing, especially since he’d asked himself that same question a hundred times.

  “The saloon was packed. I was shorthanded and I expected him to be over within the hour.”

  She stood still for a moment, clearly thinking. “Have you mentioned your conversation to Sheriff Wilson?”

  He shook his head. “I’ve spoken to Mitch, Deputy Warwick. He’s looking into it for me on the QT.”

  “Why on the QT?”

  He squared his shoulders and it only helped a little to know that she wasn’t prying into his personal life but trying to understand the situation with her brother. “Sheriff Wilson isn’t exactly a fan of the Lansing family. Deputies don’t like answering domestic squabbles.” And his folks had habitually fought every Friday and Saturday night. Deputies had stopped at his house as often as the local coffee shop.

  He refrained from mentioning that he’d never liked Sheriff Wilson, but Mitch was an all-right deputy. The man had compassion, probably learned the hard way since growing up half Native American wasn’t easy in these parts.

  To give her credit, Kelly didn’t fault Wade—at least out loud. “If you hear anything from Deputy Warwick, you’ll let me know?”

  “Sure.” He wished he could see her eyes that she’d hidden behind those sunglasses.

  “You needn’t worry about looking after me. I’m fine.”

  Once again Kelly dismissed him, her booted feet taking the steps, two at a time, up Doc Swenson’s front porch. Wade almost left her to her business. But when Doc opened the front door and stepped onto the porch, Wade decided this meeting had nothing to do with a personal medical problem.

  At eighty years of age and Mustang Valley’s only doctor, Swenson conducted his business inside where he’d converted two downstairs bedrooms into patient consultation rooms, or in the former dining room where he now performed autopsies for the sheriff’s department.

  The town desperately needed a younger doctor but like most small towns, Mustang Valley didn’t have the population to support one of the medical facilities to induce a physician to move here. Doc had delivered most of the townsfolk around these parts, including Kelly and Andrew. When Wade’s folks couldn’t pay the bill, Doc had treated the thirteen-year-old Wade’s broken leg for free. These days, for more serious problems, folks usually made the one-hour drive to Dallas or Fort Worth.

  Kelly shook Dr. Swenson’s hand. “Hi, Doc. Thanks for agreeing to talk to me. I know you’re busy.” When Wade stepped up on the porch beside her, she stiffened. “Excuse me, but I don’t remember inviting you to join us.”

  Doc put his hand on Kelly’s shoulder. “It’s better if Wade’s here. Just two hours ago, we had a couple of kids throw a rock through the front window. Probably just a prank.” He jerked a thumb at a broken pane temporarily fixed with duct tape. “But I’d feel better if Wade walked you back.”

  Wade nodded. “Yes, sir.” But he thought it odd that Doc believed she needed protection against a couple of juvenile delinquents and wondered if he had an ulterior motive.

  Kelly looked up at the porch roof as if seeking heavenly patience, then back at Doc and ignored Wade. “Fine. Doc, I wanted to ask you about Andrew’s death.”

  Doc gestured to a swing on his front porch. “Please, sit. I need to rest these old bones every chance I get—which isn’t often enough these days.”

  Kelly settled on the swing, careful to leave Wade plenty of room so they wouldn’t be touching. Normally he might have deliberately crowded her—just to irritate her some more. But he couldn’t do that with her looking so distressed about Andrew, and behaved himself, sitting on the opposite end of the swing.

  “Doc, the sheriff said my brother died of smoke inhalation.”

  Doc sat in a rocker and lit his pipe. “I assure you, he didn’t suffer any pain.”

  “You could tell that from the autopsy?” Wade asked.

  “Yes.”

  Kelly twisted her hands in her lap, noticed what she was doing and then grasped one hand firmly in the other. “I don’t see how Andrew could have fallen asleep at his desk. When I spoke to him at midnight, he was wide awake and excited and told me he was working on something interesting.”

  “Did he say what?” Wade asked.

  “No.” She focused on he doctor. “What else did the autopsy reveal?”

  Doc puffed on his pipe and blew out a ring of smoke. “Nasty habit. Don’t ever start. Smoking causes cancer, you know.”

  He took his pipe from his mouth and pursed his lips, eyeing her with a scowl. “I didn’t want to mention this at the funeral, and I’m not supposed to tell you this now, but Andrew didn’t die from the fire.”

  “He didn’t?”

  “He died from a bullet to his head.”

  “Oh…my…God.” Kelly turned white. “Andrew was murdered?”

  Chapter Two

  Murdered?

  Kelly’s suspicion had proven correct. Still, having her hunch confirmed proved a shock. Her nerves jerked as if a bomb had gone off and rattled her to the core. At first she feared she might faint, but then, with an inner fortitude, she inhaled a deep breath, squared her sagging shoulders and looked Doc straight in the eyes, listening to his explanation.

  “A bullet indicates Andrew’s death was an accident, suicide or murder,” Doc told them bluntly.

  Wade defended his friend. “It wasn’t an accident. Andrew didn’t keep a gun in the office and he certainly didn’t kill himself.”

  “Why was this kept a secret?” Kelly demanded with unconcealed bitterness. She might have turned white but she hadn’t fainted and her brain was working perfectly as the question burst from her.

  “Sheriff Wilson wanted me to keep the particulars quiet while he investigated.”

  “Is this the usual procedure?”

  “No, but it’s not that unusual, either. If the shooter thinks we’ve attributed Andrew’s death to the fire he started, to cover up the shooting, then the sheriff might have a better chance of catching the killer.”

  “That may be so.” Kelly stood, trembling with shock and indignation, wishing she hadn’t been so wrapped up in her grief, that she’d followed up on her suspicions sooner. “But he had no right to keep this from our family. I’d say the sheriff has some explaining to do. Thanks for the information, Doc.”

  “Anytime. And be careful. I don’t want anything happening to you.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “I’ll make sure she stays that way.” Wade shook Doc Swen
son’s hand and walked down the steps with her. She half expected Wade to try to talk her out of going to the sheriff, but he remained quiet.

  “What are you thinking?” she asked him.

  “I was making a mental list of all the people we should talk to.”

  “We?”

  “I’m not letting you do this alone.”

  “I appreciate your wanting to look after me, but…”

  He looped his arm through hers. “It’s not necessary?”

  “I’m not sure about that.” She wasn’t going to turn down help from any quarter. Wade could be useful. He knew about a side of Andrew that her brother had sheltered her from. He also heard things at the saloon that might be handy. On the other hand, he was big and strong, and she didn’t trust herself around Wade. Years ago she’d had a schoolgirl crush on him, but hadn’t even considered there could be anything between them since her parents had clearly disapproved of Wade.

  She trusted her parents’ judgment, so she really didn’t like the effect he had on her now. She liked the way he’d looped his arm through hers. She liked his intention to follow through on his promise to her brother. And she liked the concerned look in his eyes. Mix that with his flat-out determination to stick with her, and the man was downright irresistible. Yet never once in all the years she’d known him had he indicated even a smidgen of interest in her beyond as his friend’s kid sister.

  Considering her interest in him, she should keep her distance. He was all wrong for her. Yet she owed it to her brother to seek justice and, to be fair, she’d have a better chance of success if she accepted Wade’s help. Although she’d lived in Mustang Valley all her life, he knew people that she didn’t.

  As long as he proved helpful, she’d let him stick around. But if he interfered, tried to dissuade her or tried to take over, she’d dump him so fast his head would spin. Satisfied with her plan, she picked up her pace.

  Just to keep him from getting too familiar, she removed her arm from his. His touch might be gentlemanly and brotherly, but she didn’t relish the way she reacted to him. “Andrew was murdered. If I start poking my nose in where it doesn’t belong, the wrong person might notice.”