Out for Justice

by Susan Kearney

  “I’m glad you’re going to be reasonable.”

  She bristled. “I’m always reasonable.”

  “I’m sure that’s true—from your perspective.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  He didn’t answer, which infuriated her. Sometimes she had the feeling they came from not just different parts of town but different planets. Maybe that was why he’d always fascinated her. He was so different from the college guys she’d dated.

  Wade’s voice remained soft but was threaded with steel. “Just so we’re agreed. When you go talk to the sheriff, we go together.”

  She nodded. “Who else is on your mental list?”

  “The short list? The fire chief. Andrew’s associates at Lambert & Church. Debbie West. And Mitch, the deputy I told you about.”

  “I vote we start with the sheriff. But I have to meet Cara for lunch.” Kelly checked her watch. “Why don’t I meet you at the sheriff’s station at two?”

  “What? You don’t want to invite me to do lunch?”

  She rolled her eyes skyward. “You wouldn’t be interested in our girl talk.”

  “You’d be surprised what interests me.”

  She waved him down the street. “Go away, Wade.” Knowing from experience that there was no faster way to discourage his company, she added, “Besides lunch, I have some shopping to do.”

  OVER TUNA SALADS and Dr. Peppers in Dot’s sandwich shop, Kelly filled Cara in, recapping her conversation with Doc about her brother’s murder and Wade’s offer to help figure out what had happened. The high-backed booth gave them some privacy, but Kelly kept her voice down below the croon of a Garth Brooks song over the speaker system, well aware that in small towns like Mustang Valley gossip traveled faster than e-mail.

  “So Wade and I are talking to Sheriff Wilson next,” Kelly told Cara, pleased with her progress and more determined than ever to keep asking questions.

  Cara snapped a bread stick and swirled it in her dressing. “Back up. Slow down. What’s with the Wade-and-me stuff?”

  “He offered to help. I accepted.”

  “This is Cara you’re talking to, sweetie.” Cara crunched down on the bread stick and swallowed. “I happen to know you’ve had a crush on that guy since practically forever.”

  “Had being the operative word.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  The two friends exchanged glances and both chuckled. Kelly saw no point in hiding anything from Cara. Her friend might disapprove, she might speak her mind, but they always backed each other up.

  When they were teenagers, Kelly’s parents had been a big factor in the boys she’d chosen to date. But perhaps she should reconsider their influence. After all, she was no longer a kid but a college graduate.

  “Okay. Wade’s still got these very cool gray eyes. I admit it, there’s a certain spark there. At least on my side. However, he’s still treating me like Andrew’s little sister.”

  “And you don’t like it?”

  “I like the way his chest and shoulders fill out his tacky T-shirt in all the right places.” She held up a hand to stall Cara’s protest. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t accept his help without becoming…involved. I don’t judge a man on just his looks.”

  “Wade’s not like those college guys you go with. He’s dangerous. I don’t like the idea of you and him together. It’s like trusting a hungry wolf to guard a newborn calf.”

  “Andrew trusted him,” Kelly countered.

  “And look where he is now.”

  Kelly didn’t bother to hide the pain that statement caused. “I can’t believe you said that.”

  “Sorry. My reporter instincts took over. Going in for the kill to win an argument is my specialty.” Cara reached over the table, her eyes filled with remorse, and patted Kelly’s hand. “But hurting my friend is unacceptable.”

  Kelly shoved her half-eaten salad away. “Apology accepted. I guess I’m overly sensitive these days.”

  “Of course you’re overly sensitive. Who wouldn’t be after losing their brother? You’re not yourself and that’s one of the reasons I’m worried about you hanging out with Wade. I’ll admit he can be useful. He knows almost everyone, and he and Andrew were tight.”

  “But?”

  “But you’re especially vulnerable right now. These last weeks have been rough. And you know Wade’s reputation is…”

  “Just say it.”

  “He’s a hard man to read, and at the same time he’s a gifted observer. I’ve seen him at work behind that bar. He can fix food and serve drinks and act totally absorbed in his work, but now and then it pops out how he’s exceptionally aware of his customers. It’s almost as if he senses trouble before it starts—like he has sensory antennae, alerting him to what is awry, out of place or simply off.”

  “Those aren’t bad traits.”

  “Yeah, but he keeps his own counsel and runs that saloon like it’s his own private kingdom. He’s always in charge. I’ve seen him toss out three-hundred-pound drunks without breaking a sweat or resorting to pulling the knife he keeps strapped to his ankle.”

  “He’s a skilled marksman, too,” Kelly added, recalling the picture Andrew had taken of Wade holding a trophy. “He wins the skeet-shooting competition at the state fair every year. But so what if he doesn’t need a bouncer at that saloon of his? Andrew says—said—Wade could be trusted. I figured if there’s trouble, he’s a good person to have on my side.”

  “Yeah, as long as he’s not gunning for you.” Cara drummed her fingers on the table. “Trouble has a way of finding that man. And the women, old and young, are still attracted to him like mares to a stallion.”

  “Give me a little credit. We won’t do anything that I don’t want.”

  Cara shot her a skeptical grin. “And what exactly do you want from him?”

  Kelly paid for their meal with a credit card. “We can discuss it while you help me pick out a thoroughly intimidating new outfit.”

  “You changing outfits for the sheriff or for Wade?” Cara asked.

  “Stop grilling me,” Kelly half demanded, half complained, knowing her friend meant well but would try to boss her until she put a stop to it. “I know what I’m doing.”

  “Sure you do.” Cara checked her watch. “I don’t have much time. Some of us have to work for a living.”

  Kelly rolled her eyes. “You love that job so much, if the Mustang Gazette didn’t pay you, you’d work there for free.”

  “And I’ve got an interview lined up with Mayor Daniels over his election campaign.”

  “You’re not working on one of your exposés where you’ve got to go undercover?” Kelly asked.

  Cara shook her head. “Not this week, but stay tuned. Anyway, how about I catch up with you later?”

  “Okay.”

  “And Kelly…”

  “Yes?”

  “Be careful.”

  “Would you please stop worrying? I’ll be fine.”

  SURELY THAT COULDN’T BE Kelly waiting for him in front of the police station, wearing an outfit Wade classified between summer-break bragging and Vogue good-looking? He swallowed hard and reminded himself that his friend’s little sister was taboo territory. The fact that Andrew was no longer alive to remind him didn’t entitle Wade to forget she was off-limits.

  Still, keeping his eyes above her neck was going to be more difficult than controlling a rowdy Saturday night crowd at the Hit ’Em Again Saloon. The contrast between her lace V-neck blouse and string of pearls that dipped between her breasts and her classic smile was almost enough to make Wade spin around and head elsewhere—except he’d promised Andrew to watch out for his little sister.

  Wade sighed and kept walking with his teeth gritted in determination. He considered himself fairly knowledgeable about women and their clothes, but Kelly had knocked him off balance for the second time that day.

  What in hell did she think she was doing? After working behind a bar he’d learned to recognize that
the way a woman dressed said quite a bit about her personality and her mood. Kelly always wore classy, expensive, designer stuff that said hands off. Now her expensive fitted lace blouse stretched across a chest that had suddenly grown ample—no doubt due to some clever underwires designed to tease and entice.

  Judging by the heat shooting directly south, he was “enticed” all right. Down boy. Kelly was still Kelly. First and foremost she was one high-maintenance lady. Her manicures alone likely cost more than his electric bill.

  He had no doubt she was dressing this way for a reason. If she thought the sheriff might be distracted, she would likely be proven correct. No red-blooded male could possibly look at her without his mouth watering. She still wore her hair up, but some of it now tumbled down, curling around her face, one jaunty lock over the corner of her left eye. And those knotted pearls that tucked into the hollow of her breasts taunted his fingers to touch.

  She waved at him and the movement caused her breasts to rise, drawing his gaze to her chest. “Nice.”

  She eyed him with a glint of amusement. “You think I look good in blue?”

  “I wasn’t talking about your shirt.”

  “Oh.” For a moment her eyes widened as if startled, then she eased into a dangerous smile and looped her arm through his. “Good.”

  He didn’t know what he thought when she didn’t act the least insulted by his direct reference to her assets. On the one hand, she seemed more touchable by showing a hint of skin, but contradictorily, he wanted her more than he ever had before. Sure, he’d noticed that Kelly was cute, but he’d never really considered getting together with her. First, there had been Andrew who wouldn’t have been pleased, and second, there had always been this unbreachable wall between them. However, the wall had cracks, ones he couldn’t seem to stop himself from peeping through.

  He frowned at her. “You going to tell me exactly what you’re up to before we go inside?”

  “Sheriff Wilson already thinks I’m a piece of fluff.” She didn’t sound resentful, just stated the obvious. “So I went out of my way to reinforce his attitude by buying this shirt.”

  “Why?”

  “Suppose he’s hiding more than the fact that my brother was murdered?”

  “Like what?”

  Wade didn’t believe that just because the sheriff wore a badge that he was an upright citizen. But he had no quarrels with the man, either. Wilson’s deputies left the saloon alone and Wade took care not to give them reasons to hassle him or his patrons. And he’d like to keep it that way.

  “I don’t know,” she said. Together they entered the Sheriff’s Department. “That’s why we’re here. To ask questions.”

  “Okay.” He wondered if she had a plan or intended to play this by ear. He also wondered if those tight jeans made her hips appear to sway more than usual or if she’d deliberately changed her walk to a sexy swagger.

  Kelly headed straight to the front desk, seemingly unaware of the attention several deputies gave her. “We’re here to see Sheriff Wilson.”

  “You have an appointment?” asked a male receptionist who wore a headset and didn’t look up from his computer.

  “No, sir. But it’s real important that I talk to him.”

  “I’m sure it is.” The male officer looked up, then looked again before dismissing her. “He’s busy, but if you care to wait…”

  Kelly leaned forward and whispered loudly, “You don’t understand, sir. This is personal. My brother died and I have so many unanswered questions. Sheriff Wilson would much prefer hearing what I have to say in private. However, if you insist, I could go public…”

  Wade clamped his teeth together to prevent himself from grinning. Kelly had insinuated that she had crucial information about Andrew and if the desk officer knew what was good for him, he’d give them immediate access to his boss.

  The officer pushed a few buttons on a speakerphone, then mumbled into his microphone before jerking his thumb down the hall. “The sheriff will see you now. Third door on your left.”

  Sheriff Wilson sat in a loose gray uniform behind his desk, a burning cigar in his hand despite the No Smoking sign on the building’s front doors. In his fifties, tall and rangy, he had tough, leathery skin that bespoke a hard life-style.

  His gaze wandered from Kelly’s face to her chest and stayed there until Wade cleared his throat. But that only earned Wade a scowl from Kelly before she turned a high-wattage grin on the sheriff.

  “What can I do for you, Kelly?”

  “Sheriff, I just wanted to thank you for all your help. It was kind of you to come to my brother’s funeral.”

  “I’m truly sorry for your loss.”

  Wade wondered where she was going with this conversation. He could tell Sheriff Wilson was just as curious and antsy. No doubt he had more important things on his plate.

  Kelly’s tone turned weepy. “My brother…he was very special to me. Everyone loved Andrew. I just don’t understand why anyone would have wanted to murder him.” She opened her purse, removed a tissue and dabbed at her eyes that brimmed with tears.

  “Murder?” The sheriff looked from Wade to Kelly, ignoring his smoking cigar. “Who said anything about murder?”

  Wade didn’t say a word, but marveled at how she was manipulating the sheriff with her antics. Kelly was just full of surprises. He recalled Kelly had starred in a play during her senior year of high school, but she hadn’t displayed this kind of emotional depth back then. Obviously, her acting abilities had improved and Wade wondered if she was playing him, too. But since he’d already agreed to help her, what would be her angle?

  Kelly sobbed and her chest quivered. “Wasn’t Andrew shot with an 11 mm gun?”

  “No, 9 mm.” The sheriff’s gaze snapped upward from her chest as he realized what he’d just admitted. He raised the cigar to his lips and puffed, probably stalling as he considered his options. “May I ask how you learned—”

  Kelly let the tissue trail over her neck. “I want to know who did it.”

  “The case is under investigation.”

  “Sheriff, I know you must be doing everything you can, but it’s been weeks and weeks. My parents will be devastated to learn that Andrew’s death wasn’t an accident and that his murderer is still free.”

  The sheriff didn’t exactly squirm in his seat but a bead of sweat broke out on his brow. Kelly’s father was a powerful man in Mustang Valley and the sheriff needed his support to keep his job. That he’d kept a secret about Andrew’s murder from Mr. McGovern wouldn’t sit well with Kelly’s father.

  The sheriff stubbed out his cigar in an ashtray, reached across his desk and patted her shoulder. “Look, there’s no point in telling your parents what really happened until I find Andrew’s killer.”

  “I don’t understand. His family knew him best. Surely we can help, and you haven’t even asked us any questions.” Kelly’s eyes opened wide. “Unless you consider us suspects?”

  “Of course not.” The sheriff spoke soothingly, patronizingly. Police procedure dictated that everyone would be a suspect until proven otherwise. “Sometimes it’s better to keep an investigation quiet. We don’t want to scare away the suspect. We want to catch him, right?”

  Kelly sniffled. “Yes.”

  “So let me do my job, okay?”

  Wade figured he’d been silent long enough. “Sheriff, I believe Kelly would like you to keep her informed of your investigation.”

  “Yes, please,” Kelly piped in, twisting the screws some more. “That would make me feel ever so much better in keeping a secret from Daddy.”

  Sheriff Wilson shook his head. “I’m not at liberty to share the facts in this case with you. However, after we catch your brother’s killer, Kelly, I assure you that you’ll be the first to know.”

  “Just how long do you expect that to take?”

  “I wish I could tell you. I’d like nothing better than to solve this case and put a murderer behind bars, but I won’t make you a promise I can’t
keep. I just don’t know how long our investigation will take.”

  Kelly stuffed the tissue back into her purse, her eyes once again dry. “Thank you, Sheriff. I guess there’s no reason to upset Daddy. For now. But promise me…you will place your best deputies on this?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Wade shook hands with the sheriff and escorted Kelly from the building. “That was quite a performance.”

  As soon as they strode out, she dropped the sexy walk. Her voice turned tart. “I’d hoped to learn more. A 9 mm is a real popular gun, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah. And considering this is Texas, that information may not help us much.”

  “Maybe I’ll learn more at Lambert & Church. I’m heading there next.”

  “Uh, Kelly.”

  “Yeah?”

  “You changing clothes again?”

  She winked at him. “Absolutely.”

  Chapter Three

  Kelly didn’t know if any of the partners would be in at Lambert & Church, but she assumed one of the associates would have time to talk to her—even if she and Wade arrived without an appointment. She’d changed into the conservative navy suit with gold buttons that she’d picked out that morning and added hose, shoes and a bag to match before pulling her hair back and up into a severe bun. In the rest room at the Mustang Gazette, she wiped off most of her makeup and peered at herself in the mirror. She looked like one of those clueless summer law clerks whom Andrew had always liked to tease. In other words, perfectly unremarkable.

  With Wade waiting for her to exit, she took a deep breath, hurriedly stashed her jeans and lace top in Cara’s office, then headed through the front doors of the busy building. Outside, the humidity had risen along with the temperature into the mideighties. Gray clouds scudded across the sky, threatening a May shower. Azaleas and bluebonnets bloomed in hanging baskets along the sidewalk. And the townsfolk nodded friendly hellos or tipped their hats to passersby.