by Diana Palmer
“You know Becky,” Bib said, smiling at her.
“Yes. Good to see you,” Brannon replied.
“He’s going to be ruined, absolutely ruined,” Becky blurted out. “What are we going to do?”
Bib held up a hand. “Don’t throw in the towel yet,” he told her with a faint smile. “First, we explore the options we’ve got.”
“What options, for heaven’s sake?” she moaned.
“There are always options,” Bib told her gently. “Sit down, Becky.”
She dropped into an armchair, but leaned forward as if she couldn’t bear to relax.
Bib sat down on the sofa. Brannon sat next to him, motioning Josette beside him.
“What does the reporter have, exactly?” Brannon asked, cutting to the chase.
“He has a sworn statement from an acquaintance of Jake Marsh’s, who says he overheard Marsh talking about a ledger that would prove I took kickbacks from mob affiliates to rig the vote and blackmail my opponent into quitting the race when I became lieutenant governor a little over two years ago,” Webb said gruffly. “The acquaintance says that Marsh doesn’t have the ledger, but he knows who does.”
“A ledger. Of course!” Brannon said, glancing at Josette, who looked equally surprised. It would certainly fit the few facts they had so far, including the apparent size of the missing evidence. Brannon frowned. “Is it true?” he asked, concerned. “Did you take kickbacks?”
Bib looked at him wryly. “You’ve known me for years. Am I the sort of man who would pay for votes?”
Brannon only laughed. “Of course not.”
“But I fired a man who was working on my election staff who tried to do that very thing,” Bib continued. “That was the week before the party, two years ago. The man was a friend of Jake Marsh, and an acquaintance of Dale Jennings. But I knew nothing about any ledger. I did know that Dale Jennings fought with Henry Garner about an item Henry said was missing from his safe, the day before Henry was killed. In fact, Henry and I argued over his keeping Jennings around. Henry wanted him close until he could make him give the ledger back. I was sure the man was up to something, and I said so.” He shook his head. “I’d give anything to take back that argument, even if it wasn’t a bad one.”
“We’ve managed to put that much together,” Brannon said. “Did you know that Dale Jennings’s mother was killed?”
Bib looked horrified. “The poor woman.”
“She was cheated out of her life’s savings, evicted from her home, her possessions were burned and then she was tortured to death for some information her killer thought she had.”
Bib put his head in his hands. “Dear God!”
“A man and woman were seen going into Mrs. Jennings’s apartment the day before her body was found,” Josette added quietly. “We’ve tentatively identified the man as Jake Marsh. We’ve also identified the contract killer who shot Dale Jennings, and the computer expert who manipulated files to get Jennings transferred to Floresville and out on a work detail.”
Bib’s face came up at once. “Who’s the killer?”
“A man named York,” Brannon said. “We’re certain he’s got his next victim targeted. I shot it out with him and Josie got hit. We had him in custody, but he escaped. We don’t know who he’ll be going after next.”
Bib clasped his hands over his knees, worried. “Marsh doesn’t like loose ends. Anybody who knows about that ledger is in danger.” He toyed with his wedding ring. He glanced at Becky and winced. “That puts you on the firing line with me,” he told her uneasily. “And Silvia as well,” he added, but carelessly.
“Speaking of Silvia, where is she?” Brannon asked.
“On another shopping expedition,” he said, and took a sip of his drink. “She’s buying a new wardrobe so that she can dress the part of a senator’s wife.” He chuckled hollowly. “I told her I was satisfied being lieutenant governor, but when the incumbent senator announced his retirement halfway through his term of office, she insisted that I run for it. Hell, I’ve only been in the state house for two years. I don’t want to go to Washington,” he added, staring at Becky broodingly. “Now, it looks as if I may not even be able to keep the job I’ve got.”
“The reporter promised he wouldn’t print the story yet, not until he could confirm it,” Becky said heavily. “At least he did come to me first. He could have gone ahead and printed his suspicions. He’s not a bad man, and he doesn’t want to make a reputation for himself by destroying lives. Besides,” she added with a smile as she glanced toward Brannon, “he likes Bib.”
“Nobody will like me if such a story gets in print,” Bib said heavily. “And I can kiss the senate seat goodbye. Funny thing,” he added, with a long look at Becky, “the senate seat was Sil’s idea, not mine. She wants the feeling of power it gives her to brush elbows with just the right people and wear clothes expensive enough to make the other women jealous.” He shook his head. “I just want out of politics after my term as lieutenant governor is over. I want to experiment with new agricultural machines and tinker with improvements for them. That’s all I ever really wanted.” He glanced at Brannon. “But I don’t want to go out under a cloud of suspicion. I haven’t taken kickbacks. I want you to help me prove it, whether or not the reporter prints what he’s got.”
“That’s a tall order, Bib,” Brannon said honestly.
“Somehow or other, it’s all tied to Dale Jennings’s murder,” Bib told him. “And I can’t help thinking that Jake Marsh is up to his ears in all of it, somehow.”
“I did have that much figured out,” Brannon replied. He glanced at Josette. “We’ve been putting in a lot of overtime on this case. We’re making progress. If we could just find the woman…”
Becky opened her mouth to speak, and Bib looked up, silencing her.
Josette frowned as she noticed a small ornate bowl of candy on the coffee table. She got up and moved closer to look at it.
“Oh, those are just mints,” Bib said easily. “Help yourself. I can’t stand them. Becky orders them from a sweets firm in France.”
Josette caught her breath and looked straight at Brannon. They both made the connection at the same time. Expensive mints, Mrs. Jennings had said. The woman who was trying to get that ledger from Dale liked expensive mints…!
Brannon stared at her evenly and shook his head. She got the message. She picked up one of the mints and opened the fancy package, sticking it in her mouth. She glanced at Becky Wilson, who was staring at Bib with her heart in her eyes. Becky wasn’t blond. But she could have been wearing a wig…
“Delicious,” Josette said, smiling. “Thanks.”
“They are, aren’t they?” Becky murmured. She was still looking at her boss. She drew in a shaky breath. “Who do you think the killer is after, Mr. Brannon?” Becky asked worriedly. “You don’t think he means to kill Bib?”
“That would probably defeat the whole purpose,” Brannon replied. “Think about it. That ledger must have information that could put the killer in prison, or he wouldn’t be willing to go to such lengths to obtain it, even to use in a blackmail scheme. I’d be willing to bet good money that it would exonerate Bib even while it condemned someone else. And that’s why the killer is so desperate to get it.”
“It’s probably someone on my own staff,” Bib guessed miserably. “But who do I know who’s desperate enough to get mixed up in murder to keep the secret?”
Brannon had a good idea. But he couldn’t say a word. Not yet.
“We’ll keep you posted. Meanwhile,” he told Becky, “string that reporter along. Try to keep him quiet, just long enough.”
“But where’s the ledger?” Bib asked worriedly. “Who’s got it? And what’s in it?”
“That’s what we still have to find out,” Brannon said. “But we will. I promise you, we will.”
Bib got to his feet, smiling sadly. “You always supported me,” he said. “Even when they were trying to make me into a murderer at Dale Jennings’s trial.
You never believed that I might be involved.”
“I know you,” Brannon said simply.
Bib extended his hand. “And I know you,” he replied. “You’re the best friend I ever had. I think I’m going to need one more than ever before this is over.”
“I’m not deserting you,” Brannon said, grinning.
“Neither am I,” Becky said firmly. “And I don’t care if Mrs. Webb likes it or not. She should be here instead of on another shopping trip. She’s never here! She’s never in Austin, either!”
“Becky, don’t,” Bib pleaded gently. “We both know that Silvia doesn’t care what happens to me. She only cares about the wealth and prestige.”
“She doesn’t care about anybody, except herself,” Becky muttered. “You should have had a houseful of kids…”
“I’d love that,” Bib mused, and he smiled at Becky in a way that made her flush and avert her face.
“We’d better go,” Josette said quickly, sparing Becky’s blushes.
“Yes. Take it easy. And don’t sign anything,” Brannon advised Bib.
“I have a law degree,” Bib reminded him.
“I know. But it doesn’t hurt to advise people—even lawyers.”
Bib nodded. “You be careful, too,” he added as he saw them to the door. “Two people are already dead—three if you count Henry. Whoever’s doing this won’t hesitate over another couple of people if they get in his way.”
“I know that,” Brannon said. He smiled secretively. “In fact, I’m counting on it. I’ll be in touch.” He hesitated. “One other thing. Did Silvia ever mention taking college courses?”
Bib laughed heavily. “Silvia? My God, she barely got to ninth grade, and there was no way she’d even talk about continuing her education. It would take away from her time shopping!”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
No sooner were Brannon and Josette in the SUV than she turned to him excitedly, fumbling her seat belt in place.
“Silvia didn’t go back to school. So why was she at that coffee shop, and on campus?”
“I’d like to know the answer to that, too,” Brannon said.
“And what about those expensive mints on the coffee table?” she said, flashing the wrapper that she’d pocketed. “Mrs. Jennings said that her son’s girlfriend loved expensive mints, and that she knew about the evidence! Becky orders those mints and you said yourself that she would do anything to protect Bib Webb…!”
“Anything short of murder,” he retorted, meeting her eyes in the overhead light as he revved the engine. “And she’s not blond.”
“She could have worn a wig,” she persisted.
“Josie, can you really see Becky holding a lighted cigarette to an old woman’s arms?” he asked.
She hesitated. “It’s hard to imagine her doing something like that,” she had to admit. “But it’s obvious how she feels about Bib Webb. And how he feels about her,” she added. “People in love do irrational things.”
He sighed. “She’s loved him for years. She and Silvia have never gotten along. In fact, Silvia’s tried repeatedly to get her fired, but Bib won’t have it. That’s another source of friction between them. Silvia’s ambitious. Becky isn’t.”
“Becky wants children,” Josette murmured, remembering the pain and hunger in the other woman’s eyes when she’d looked at Bib.
“So does Bib. Silvia can’t have kids. She took a bad fall years ago. She said it made her barren.”
She pursed her lips. “Do you think it did?”
He chuckled. “I don’t think a gunshot would faze her. She’s hard as nails and manipulative. Whatever she wants, she gets.”
“Maybe Silvia was at that coffee shop for a purpose. Does she cheat on Bib?” she asked.
He glanced her way as he pulled out of the Webbs’ driveway onto the highway. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“They had a photo of Jake Marsh in the file at the D.A.’s office,” she murmured, thinking aloud. “He’s very attractive, dresses well, apparently has exquisite manners for a man on the wrong side of the law. And they say he’s beginning to get rich, from all the interests he invests in. What if,” she continued, “the absent Mrs. Webb has an affection her husband isn’t aware of?”
Brannon scowled. He’d never considered that angle seriously, because of Silvia’s love of her social status. “She values her position in life above everything else. Would she risk all she’s got for a fling with another man? Especially a man like Marsh?”
“Danger attracts some women like honey attracts flies.”
He gave her a wicked glance. “Does it? Let’s test that theory. How about a nice game of billiards?”
“Oh, no,” she groaned. “Not back to the underworld again!”
“You went there with Grier,” he pointed out. “Why can’t you go with me? I’m just as mean as he is, and I can coax people to talk to me, too.”
“I like you better than I like him,” she said absently.
“Why?”
Josette met his searching eyes. “He can’t cook.”
He burst out laughing.
The billiard parlor, despite the hour, was full. If it closed, it closed very late. They found the diminutive Mr. Bartlett bent over a billiard table, making a tricky shot. He finished it, grinned and looked up, right at Brannon.
He put the cue stick down and held up both hands. “I never said a word against the Texas Rangers,” he said emphatically. “And I had nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with that attempted hit-and-run on Judd Dunn last month. I don’t know who did, either!”
Josie glanced at Brannon and was surprised at his demeanor. He was alternately teasing and mocking around her, but here, among the local underworld element, he looked downright intimidating. He didn’t smile as he moved closer to Bartlett.
“I don’t know. I swear, Brannon!” the little man repeated quickly.
“I never said you did,” Brannon replied, but he kept coming. “Let’s take a little walk.”
“Not until you swear in front of witnesses that I’m going to be able to walk, afterward! I’ve heard stories about you. I’m not taking any chances.”
Josie was intrigued. She’d have to ask someone about those stories, later.
“You’ll be able to walk,” Brannon assured the man. “No Texas Ranger would ever act like a street tough with any witness. We have a tradition to maintain.”
“Okay then.”
“What about this game?” a heavyset man complained.
“We’ll start over when I’m done” he was told.
Brannon and Josie followed the informant out into the dimly lit back alley.
“What do you want, Brannon?” the man asked uneasily.
“I want to know about Jake Marsh’s playmate.”
There was a harsh, indrawn breath. “Listen, Grier was down here a few days ago, asking me the same question…”
“And got zilch for his pains,” Brannon finished for him. He moved relentlessly closer to the smaller man, his eyes glittering, unblinking. He stopped an arm’s length from the little man and looked down at him. “But you’re going to tell me what I want to know. You don’t want to get mixed up in a murder. That’s not your style.”
“No,” the other man said after a minute. “It isn’t. I’m not going to take a fall for Marsh, I don’t care what threats he makes. But he’s got something on me…”
“It won’t do him any good if he’s in prison. Now, talk,” Brannon interrupted.
“All right.” The other man let out a long breath. “He’s got some rich woman in his pocket,” he said. “He says he’s made sure that she has to help him get his hands on that missing ledger. She’s got as much to lose as he does if that little package of dynamite shows up in the hands of law enforcement. More, even. He said she wouldn’t be rich much longer if that information got into the wrong hands.”
“Have you seen her?” Brannon asked curtly.
“Yeah. I’ve seen her. She’s a show horse, I can t
ell you that. She and Marsh both dress like fashion plates.”
Brannon glanced at Josette, who was frowning curiously. That didn’t sound like Becky. On the other hand, maybe the blonde computer expert Sandra Gates had a hidden wardrobe, and she really was blonde. And there was that expensive mint they found in her trailer…
“Does Marsh stake the blond?” Brannon asked.
“I don’t know stuff that intimate,” he said. “All I can tell you is that she’s as hard as he is. From what I hear, she was the one who tortured the old lady they killed.”
That was chilling stuff. Josette remembered the tough little blonde hacker, in her cheap trailer. A woman who’d think nothing of breaking the law to help free a convicted murderer might not stop at torture. But Sandra Gates was in Argentina and couldn’t be extradited.
“Have you ever heard of a woman named Sandra Gates?” Josette interjected.
“Gates? Yeah. She can do anything with a computer. Marsh uses her sometimes for investigative work, when he wants to get something on somebody. She’s tough as nails.” The little man looked worried. “Listen, Brannon, you aren’t going to tell Marsh I talked, are you? Because he’d send York after me…”
Another piece in the puzzle. That, and the expensive mint in Gates’s trailer, began to fit. A tough woman, he’d also said.
“I don’t sell out informants. One more question and we’re through,” Brannon told him. “How was Dale Jennings connected to Marsh and the blonde?”
The little man stopped to light a cigarette with hands that shook, blew out a puff of smoke and chuckled. “That’s the best part. Jennings was having an affair with her. Marsh found out and had some pictures made that they didn’t know about. Marsh said she went white as a sheet when they told her. Seems her husband wants a divorce and she won’t give him one.” He chuckled again. “If those pictures got out, she’d have to give him one, wouldn’t she?”
Josette’s eyebrows arched. If those photos were of Sandra Gates, did she have a secret husband? Or Becky Wilson? Now the puzzle started to fall apart again.