Cowboy Above the Law

by Delores Fossen

  Since Rayna was still looking pretty shaky, Court took her to the small break room at the back of the building, and he got her a bottle of water from the fridge. While she made her way to the sofa, he called one of the deputies, Ian, for an update on the shooter. But Ian didn’t answer. Hopefully, that was because he was making an arrest.

  “If you want to go out looking for the gunman,” Rayna said, “I’ll be fine here.”

  No, she wouldn’t be. She was probably close to having an adrenaline crash, and what he was about to tell her wouldn’t make that better. “The shooter could come to the sheriff’s office.”

  She inhaled a quick breath, almost a gasp. Yeah, that adrenaline crash was closing in on her. Court went to her, and keeping a safe distance away, he sank onto the sofa next to her.

  “He probably won’t come here,” he added. “But right now, we don’t know which one of us is his target. Either way, he’ll probably guess this is where we’d go.”

  Rayna groaned, pressing the back of her head against the sofa. “If he does show up, at least one of us can shoot him. But if he gets away, he’ll just regroup and come after us again.”

  Court couldn’t argue with any part of what she said. That was all the more reason to find out the person behind this. Maybe that was Alma. Or Mitch. But there was someone else on Court’s radar now.

  “Do you think it’s odd that Whitney showed up at the hospital when she did?” he asked.

  That brought her head off the sofa, and she stared at him. “You think she could have put together an attack?” Her tone made it seem as if that would be impossible, but then she huffed. “What would be her motive?”

  Court had to shrug. “You tell me. Are things solid between you two?”

  “Yes.” But Rayna hesitated. “No. They haven’t been the same since Bobby Joe disappeared.”

  Court had picked up on that vibe, but he’d wanted to hear Rayna confirm it. “Is that because Whitney believes you killed Bobby Joe?”

  “Possibly,” she admitted. “Whitney really liked Bobby Joe. She used to tell me how lucky I was to have him. Of course, that was before he hit me. After that, she didn’t seem to be so much in his corner.”

  He gave that some thought. “Is it possible that Whitney had feelings for Bobby Joe, that maybe she could have been jealous of you?”

  Rayna opened her mouth as if to deny that. She didn’t. “Possibly,” she repeated. “But it’s a stretch to go from jealousy to attempted murder.”

  True, but jealousy could be a motive. “Bobby Joe’s blood was in your house.” Of course, she knew that, but Court wanted to look at this in a different light. “Blood that had been cleaned up.”

  “Yes, and the prosecution said I’d done that after I killed Bobby Joe. Since I didn’t kill him, I’m guessing he put his own blood there and did the shoddy cleanup so that I would be arrested. But now you’re suggesting that Whitney could have done that?”

  “No. Just wondering if it’s possible. Whitney would have had access to your house.”

  “At the time, so did Mitch.” Rayna groaned softly. “Besides, what’s happening now might not even be connected to Bobby Joe. It could be happening because of Warren. If so, then Whitney couldn’t be a suspect.”

  Maybe. But Court was going to keep her on the list just in case. Whitney not only had access to Rayna’s place three years ago, she had access to it now. She could have possibly even gotten the code for the security system.

  “I know this isn’t comfortable for you.” Rayna’s voice was a rough whisper now. “It’s okay if you put me in someone else’s protective custody.”

  No. It wasn’t okay. He refused to let their past play into this. “I’ll do my job,” he said, but he hated that it came out rough and edged with too much emotion. “Or rather I’ll do my job better than I have so far. I nearly let you get killed.”

  “You nearly got yourself killed protecting me,” she corrected. “I don’t want anything happening to you because of me.” That certainly wasn’t a whisper, and she looked him in the eyes when she said it.

  That riled him. And gave him an unwanted jolt of memories. Memories of what used to be between them. Memories of Rayna. She’d always been a little fragile. Probably because of her troubled childhood. And while she was trying her hardest not to look fragile now, she still was.

  She continued to look at him as if she expected him to say that he would be pawning her off on someone else. But then her expression changed, and he saw something more than the feigned strength in her eyes.

  Hell.

  Rayna had almost certainly gotten a jolt of those memories, too.

  Court didn’t move. Neither did she. That wasn’t good. Because he was thinking about doing something, like kissing her. Thankfully, his phone rang, and it was the reminder he needed that kissing should be the last thing on his mind. Especially when he saw Rachel’s name on the screen.

  “Are Rayna and you okay?” Rachel asked the moment he answered.

  “Yes.” That was probably a lie, but his sister had already had too much bad news. “How about Egan, Mom and you?”

  Rachel gave a heavy sigh. “We’re at the ranch, and the shooter didn’t come after us. But Mom is, well, hysterical. Egan is with her now, but I had to call her doctor to come out here.”

  Court’s stomach tightened. He wanted to be there. No way though could he risk taking Rayna out into the open. “Tell Egan to stay there with her,” Court instructed. “The other deputies are out looking for the shooter, and I have Rayna here at the station. Griff should be here soon.”

  Silence. Except it wasn’t an ordinary silence. Rachel was obviously angry that Griff had known the truth about their father and hadn’t told them. Court wasn’t too happy about it, either, but he was going to cut the guy some slack on this. Yes, Griff should have told them, but the person who was at fault here was Warren. And now Helen might be falling apart because of what he’d done.

  “I don’t want to see Griff,” Rachel added a moment later. “Please let him know he’s not welcome at the ranch.”

  Court wanted to refuse to do that. After all, the McCall Ranch was Griff’s second home, but he’d go with Rachel’s wishes on this. Still, there seemed to be more going on that his sister wasn’t saying.

  “Is there something else you want to tell me?” Court came out and asked.

  He got another round of silence from Rachel. “No. I just made a mistake with Griff, that’s all. A big mistake.”

  Court definitely didn’t like the sound of that. Griff and Rachel had been skirting around an attraction for years. Mainly because Warren hadn’t thought they’d be a good match. But maybe something had happened. If they had indeed landed in bed without Griff telling Rachel the truth, then, yeah, it would have been a big mistake.

  “Let me know if there’s anything I can do,” Court settled for saying. “And call me after the doctor has examined Mom. I’ll be here if you need me.”

  He ended the call, and he glanced at Rayna. A reminder that Griff and Rachel weren’t the only ones who’d been skirting attractions. Rather than sit there and continue to let the heat build, Court stood, ready to find out if there was any news on the search for the gunman. However, before he could do that, the break room door opened, and Thea stuck in her head.

  “I just got off the phone with Alma Lawton,” the deputy said. “She’s on her way here now.”

  Good. That was a start. Now Court only hoped he could keep his emotions in check around the woman.

  “Alma’s not coming alone,” Thea added a moment later. “Her son and lawyer will be with her.”

  Court amended his earlier thought of “good.” He figured he’d have enough on his plate just dealing with his father’s mistress, but apparently that dealing was also going to include his half brother.

  “If she’s bringing her lawyer, Alma must realiz
e she’s a suspect in the attacks,” Court pointed out.

  Thea nodded. “She says she’s innocent.”

  “Of course,” Court grumbled, and he didn’t take out the sarcasm. “Did she say anything else?”

  Thea nodded again. “Alma says she has proof of who shot your father.” Then Thea hesitated. “She says it was your mother.”

  Chapter Seven

  Rayna had no trouble hearing what Thea had just said. And she supposed it wouldn’t be much of a surprise that Warren’s mistress was accusing his wife of attempted murder. Helen might be making the same accusations against Alma.

  But Alma had to be wrong about this.

  Judging from the way Court cursed, he felt the same way. “My mother didn’t know about the affair until today, a day after my father was shot.”

  Thea held up her hands in a “you don’t have to convince me” gesture. “Alma wouldn’t say what kind of proof she had, but they should be here any minute.” She stared at Court a moment. “You want me to be the one to interview her?”

  It was a reasonable request, since it was obvious that Court wouldn’t be objective about this, but Court shook his head.

  “We need to keep everything by the book,” Thea reminded him. “Remember, she’ll have her sheriff son and her lawyer with her.”

  Yes, and they might be looking for anything they could use to have any possible charges dismissed against Alma. Court cursed again and then nodded. “I’ll watch from the observation room.”

  Thea headed back toward the squad room, no doubt so she’d be there to “greet” Alma and her entourage. Court started there, too, but then he stopped and turned to Rayna. “You can watch the interview with me.”

  Rayna wasn’t sure why Court was including her, but then if Alma was guilty of trying to kill Warren, then that meant Alma had also been the one to try to set Rayna up. She definitely had a vested interest in hearing what the woman had to say.

  She thanked him and followed Court into the squad room just as the front door opened, and someone walked in. But it wasn’t Alma.

  It was Mitch.

  Rayna groaned. She so didn’t have the energy to deal with this hothead today. She braced herself for Mitch to start throwing insults and accusations their way, but he stopped in front of them, sliding his hands into his pockets. Court noticed what Mitch had done because he stepped protectively in front of her.

  “I’m not armed,” Mitch grumbled, but his comment didn’t have his usually venomous tone to it. “I just wanted to find out if you’d learned anything new about Janet.”

  “No.” Court huffed. “Rayna and I have been busy dodging bullets.”

  “I heard. And no, I don’t know who it was doing the shooting.” He also didn’t sound the least bit concerned, either. “Like I said, I’m here about Janet.”

  Court stared at him a moment. “You seem awfully interested in this woman that you hardly knew. Is there something you didn’t tell us about her?”

  Now Rayna saw the familiar fire in Mitch’s eyes. “I’m interested because someone murdered her. Just the way someone murdered my brother.” He shifted his attention to Rayna. “I just want justice.”

  Court drew in a long breath before he answered. “I want justice, as well. But for that to happen, I need more information. And right now, you’re the only person in town who seems to have known her.”

  “Your father did,” Mitch quickly pointed out.

  Court lifted his shoulder. “I haven’t been able to confirm that. Right now, I’m more concerned about what you know about her. Were Janet and you together or something? And I’m not talking about chatting over coffee at the diner. Oh, and before you say no, I’ll remind you that you said you saw her ID when it fell out of her pocket. I doubt she had that in her waitress uniform.”

  Mitch’s eyes were already dark, and they stayed that way. “So? We were together. That doesn’t mean anything.”

  “It means plenty,” Court argued. “Since Janet was possibly the one who help set Rayna up, then she could have been working for her lover. You. Not my father. You could have been counting on Warren never waking up so that your secret would stay safe.”

  “There is no secret,” Mitch said through clenched teeth. “This is just another case of the McCalls putting themselves above the law.”

  With that, Mitch turned to leave, but he practically stopped in his tracks when he saw the three people who were approaching the building. A dark-haired woman with a slender build flanked by two men. One was in a suit, and the other was dressed like a cowboy. A cowboy with a badge pinned to his chest.

  This was no doubt Alma, her son, Raleigh, and her lawyer.

  The corner of Mitch’s mouth lifted, and he looked back at Court. “Things are about to get fun around here. Don’t guess you’d let me stay for the show?”

  “How do you know those people?” Court snapped.

  Mitch blinked as if he’d said too much. “I don’t. They just looked like the fun-causing sort.” He strolled out, heading up the street away from their visitors.

  “Mitch is lying,” Court muttered. “I’ll get him back in here after Alma’s interview.”

  Rayna completely agreed with the lying part, and she watched to see if Alma or the men would have a reaction to Mitch. However, if they saw him, there didn’t seem to be any signs of recognition. Of course, Alma wasn’t exactly looking at Mitch. She had her attention zoomed right in on Court.

  Raleigh opened the door, and Alma stepped in. She never broke eye contact with Court, but she swallowed hard. “I didn’t expect you to look so much like Warren,” she said, her voice a delicate whisper.

  Actually, the rest of her looked delicate, too, with her pixie haircut and pale skin, and she was wearing a gauzy light pink dress. Rayna’s first impression was that Alma looked much too young to have a son who was in his thirties.

  Court ignored her observation and instead turned to Raleigh. Neither man said anything, but they seemed to be sizing each other up. Rayna did that as well, and she could see the strong resemblance. Both of them favored Warren.

  She silently cursed. For Court’s sake and the sake of his mother and sister, Rayna had been hoping this affair was all some kind of misunderstanding. Judging from his scowl, Raleigh had hoped the same.

  “Sheriff,” Court greeted.

  “Deputy,” Raleigh greeted back. “Who’ll be interviewing my mother?”

  “It won’t be you,” the guy in the suit said before Court could answer. “I’m Alma’s lawyer, Simon Lindley.”

  Thea came forward and shook her head. “I’m Deputy Thea Morris, and I’ll be doing the interview.”

  Raleigh and she exchanged a long look. The kind of look former lovers gave each other. Rayna was certain she’d given Court that same look a time or two.

  “I would have thought your brother, the sheriff, would have wanted to be here for this,” Simon remarked.

  “He’s busy.” Court’s tone was as icy as his expression. “My mother isn’t doing well, and my father is unconscious in the hospital. You might have heard someone murdered two women and tried to kill him.” His gaze shifted to Alma when he added that last part.

  Alma nodded. “Yes, I heard about Warren.” She didn’t offer any opinion about that and didn’t ask how he was doing. The woman walked to Thea. “Perhaps we can go ahead and start?”

  Simon looked as if he might stay and sling a barb or two at Court. He didn’t. He hurried after Thea and Alma as they went up the hall to the interview room. Raleigh, however, stayed put.

  “I’d like to listen,” Raleigh said. “I suspect you’ll want to do the same.”

  Court nodded and started for the observation room. Raleigh lagged behind and fell in step with Rayna. “You’re a person of interest in Warren’s shooting.”

  “Not anymore,” Court answered before she could say
anything. “Rayna was being attacked and drugged at the time of the shooting, and she was miles away at her house. No. I’m looking more at your mother for doing this.” Now there was some anger lacing his words.

  “And my mother is accusing yours of doing the same.” No anger in Raleigh’s voice, but he did take in a weary-sounding breath.

  “My mom didn’t do this,” Court insisted. “I don’t care what Alma says because my mother had no idea my dad was cheating on her.”

  Raleigh made a sound that could have meant anything, and the three of them went into the observation room. In the interview room, Alma and Simon were having a whispered conversation. Thea was already at the table, waiting for them.

  “Did you know about the affair?” Rayna came out and asked Raleigh. She wished she hadn’t said anything though because Raleigh gave her a sharp look. Maybe because he thought she had no right to be here. But Rayna stayed put.

  “No,” Raleigh finally answered. His jaw clenched. “We raise horses, and apparently Mom was meeting Warren on her so-called business trips.”

  “And you didn’t suspect?” Court pressed.

  “No. Did you?” Raleigh fired back.

  Even though they both had practically growled those responses, it seemed to bring them to some kind of truce. No, they didn’t like what had been going on, maybe didn’t even like each other, but they hadn’t known this train wreck was about to happen. By now though, they probably knew plenty about each other. Rayna figured they’d both used their law-enforcement channels for some background checks.

  “You’re not going in the interview room with your mother?” Court added to Raleigh a few seconds later.

  “No.” He paused, and she could have sworn his jaw got even tighter. “I’m guessing you were upset when you learned about the affair.” Raleigh didn’t wait for Court to answer. “Now imagine if you found out you were born on the wrong side of the sheets to a man who hasn’t acknowledged you or the affair for thirty-five years.”

  Court didn’t actually jump to offer an opinion on that, but Rayna figured he could understand that Raleigh wasn’t in a good place right now. He’d been lied to his whole life about his father, and now his mother was a murder suspect.