Shotgun Sheriff--A Western Sheriff Romance of Intrigue

by Delores Fossen

  Her right eyebrow came up. “That’ll get the gossips going.”

  “Yeah.” It would. And it wouldn’t be pretty. “I figure having you in my bed will be worth the gossip.”

  Livvy’s eyebrow lifted higher. “You’re sure about that?”

  He was, but gossip was only part of it, and the look in her eyes indicated she understood that.

  “I’m a Texas Ranger,” she stated. “You’re married to that badge, and this town. You don’t have time to have an affair with me. Besides, judging from the way women around here look at you, you’re the number-one catch. Husband and daddy material.”

  Reed couldn’t disagree with any of it. He didn’t consider himself a stud, but being single, male and employed did put him in big demand in a small town like Comanche Creek.

  “What?” she questioned. “Did I hit a nerve?”

  “No. I want marriage and kids someday,” he admitted. Or at least he had at one time. Lately, however, those things seemed like a pipe dream. “What about you?”

  But she didn’t get a chance to answer. There was a knock at the door. “It’s me, Kirby.”

  The sound of his deputy’s voice sent them scurrying off the bed. “Did you find him?” Reed immediately asked.

  “Not yet. But there’s someone who wants to see you. He says it’s important.”

  Livvy grabbed her clothes from the back of a chair and hurried into the bathroom. “I need to dress, but I won’t be long,” she assured him. Since the bathroom door was off its hinges, she got into the tub and pulled the shower curtain around her so she’d have some privacy. “And talk loud so I can hear what you’re saying.”

  Reed unlocked the bedroom door, eased it open, and came face-to-face with someone he certainly hadn’t expected to see.

  Ben Tolbert.

  Reed drew his weapon, surprising Kirby almost as much as he did their visitor.

  Shane’s father stared at the gun, then him. Actually, it was more of a glare with intense blue eyes that were a genetic copy of his son’s. The dark brown hair was a match, too, though Ben’s was threaded with gray.

  “Did you come back to finish the job?” Reed asked.

  “I don’t know what you mean.” He tipped his head to Reed’s gun. “And is that necessary?”

  “It is.” Reed leaned in so he could get right in Ben’s face. “Now, you’re going to tell me why you’ve been harassing Sergeant Hutton.”

  “I haven’t been,” Ben insisted.

  Reed had to hand it to him. It certainly didn’t look as if Ben had just committed a B and E and then escaped on foot. However, Reed couldn’t rule out that it was exactly what had happened.

  “You want me to believe it’s a coincidence that you’re here tonight, less than thirty minutes after Sergeant Hutton was attacked?” Reed tried to keep the anger from his voice. He failed.

  “Call it what you will. I didn’t attack anyone, including that Texas Ranger. I’m just here to set the record straight.”

  Good. But Reed figured there would be a lot of lies mixed in with Ben’s attempt to explain anything. First though, Reed looked at Kirby. “I’ll handle this situation. Go ahead and help out the others by securing the place. I want the whole area checked for prints or any other evidence.”

  Kirby issued a “Will do,” and headed down the stairs.

  Reed heard the shower curtain rattle, and Ben’s gaze flew right to Livvy. His snarl deepened. “So, there you are. I understand you’re hell-bent on keeping my boy behind bars.”

  Livvy walked across the room and stood next to Reed. “Actually, I’m hell-bent on examining the evidence. Too bad I keep getting interrupted.” She paused just a heartbeat. “Did you try to kill me tonight?”

  “I already answered that. No. Got no reason to go after you. Yet.”

  That did it. Reed was already operating on a short fuse. He grabbed Ben with his left hand and slammed him against the doorjamb. “Threatening a peace officer’s a crime, Ben. One I won’t take lightly.”

  It took a moment for Ben to get his teeth unclenched. “I’ve done nothing wrong.”

  “What about burning down the cabin?” Reed challenged.

  “I didn’t do that.” No hesitation. None. But Reed wasn’t ready to believe him. Ben had one of the best motives for wanting Livvy out of town.

  “In the woods near the cabin, we found a piece of a shirt that belongs to you,” Livvy challenged.

  “Yeah. I heard about that. Jonah said I bought it from a charity sale. Well, you know what? Jonah was lying, probably to save his own rich butt. But I’ll be damned if I’ll take the blame for something that man’s done.”

  “So you’re saying you’re innocent?” Livvy clarified.

  “Damn right I am.”

  Ben began a tirade of why he was being railroaded, but Reed was no longer paying attention to him. That was because he had spotted something.

  Something that could blow this case wide open.

  Reed latched on to Ben and got him moving toward the stairs. “Ben Tolbert, you’re under arrest.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Livvy gulped down more coffee and hoped the caffeine would help clear the fog in her head. The adrenaline from the attack had long since come and gone, leaving her with a bone-deep fatigue that was worse because she’d gotten only an hour or so of real sleep. That probably had something to do with the lumpy sofa in the sheriff’s office break room that she’d used as a bed.

  But it had more to do with Ben Tolbert’s arrest.

  God, was he really the one who’d attacked her? If so, Reed and she would soon know. The tiny rip on the sleeve of Ben’s shirt had prompted his arrest.

  A rip that she was thankful Reed had noticed.

  She’d been too shaken from the attack to notice much of anything. So much for all her training. She’d reacted like a rookie, and it didn’t really matter that she was one. She expected more of herself.

  Livvy checked her watch again. It was 9:00 a.m. The start of the normal workday for most people, but Reed and she had been working this case most of the night. With luck, they would soon know if the small cut on Ben’s shirt had been made with her nail scissors. Well, they’d know if the Ranger lab could match the fibers. Reed had had one of the deputies hand-deliver both Ben’s shirt and the scissors, and any minute now, they should know if it was a match.

  “I’m not releasing Ben Tolbert until I’m sure he’s innocent,” she heard Reed bark. He was no doubt still talking to Jerry Collier, the head of the land office and also Ben’s newly hired attorney.

  “Then schedule an arraignment,” Jerry insisted. “I don’t want you holding him without making it official.”

  “I’m doing us all a favor. It’ll only create a mountain of paperwork if I officially arrest Ben.”

  “But you can release him until you get back that evidence.” And Jerry continued to argue his client’s case.

  Livvy, however, shut out the conversation when her phone rang. It was the crime lab, but the number on the caller ID wasn’t for trace and fibers, it was from the firearms section.

  “Sergeant Hutton,” she answered.

  “It’s me. Sam McElroy.” This was someone she knew well. A firearms expert who’d been examining the weapon that had killed Marcie. But Livvy hadn’t just sent him that particular gun. She had also couriered Sam the primary firearm that Shane used in the line of duty.

  “You found something?” Livvy asked.

  “I did. Your instincts were right. Someone tampered with the Rimfire pistol used to kill Marcie James.”

  Livvy let out the breath she’d been holding. She’d tried to stay objective, but because her feelings for Reed had softened to the point of melting, she’d automatically found herself rooting for his deputy. And, yes, that was a blow to her professionalism, but in the end, it was the truth that mattered anyway.

  “The fingerprints were planted on the murder weapon,” she said, stating a conclusion she’d already reached.

  �
��Yes,” Sam verified. “I compared the two firearms, and the grip pattern on the Rimfire is way off. There weren’t enough pressure points to indicate Deputy Tolbert fired the gun, even though it was in his hand.”

  “Probably placed there by the real killer while the deputy was unconscious.”

  Shane had been set up, just as he said.

  But by whom?

  Had his father been the one to kill Marcie? Maybe. But why would he set up his son to take the fall? Still, he certainly wasn’t the only suspect. Ben’s attorney, Jerry, was on the short list. So was the mayor. Billy Whitley. And Jonah Becker.

  “There’s more,” Sam continued. “I checked the lab, and one of the results was ready. I thought you’d like to know.”

  She listened as Sam explained the results of the sample she’d submitted after examining the cabin crime scene.

  Livvy thanked Sam, ended the call and got up from the desk so she could give Reed the news, but the moment she saw his face, she knew he had news of his own.

  “I’m getting my client out of jail,” Jerry insisted. “Now.” And with that, he stormed off.

  Reed scrubbed his hand over his jaw, drank some coffee and then looked at her. “I just got a call from the lab. The fibers on your scissors didn’t match Ben’s shirt.”

  Her heart dropped to her stomach. “But what about the rip on the fabric?”

  Reed lifted his shoulder. “It wasn’t caused by the scissors.”

  Livvy forced herself to take a step back. “Ben could have changed his shirt after he attacked me.”

  “Yeah. He could have.” But there was skepticism in Reed’s voice.

  Livvy shared that skepticism. Why would Ben have chosen to replace the shirt worn during the attack with one that was torn in such a way that it would only cast more suspicion on him?

  “I have to let him go,” Reed said. “As soon as Jerry and he sign the papers, he’ll be out. But I’ll keep an eye on him. And I’ll take some measures to make sure you’re safe.”

  She remembered his invitation when they’d kissed in her room. “You want me to stay at your place?”

  “Yes.” More skepticism. “I know what you’re thinking. It’ll set tongues wagging, but I’d planned on spending more time with you anyway whether that was at work or the inn. This just makes it easier for me to keep you safe because I’m not going to let Ben or anyone else have a go at you.”

  Livvy wanted to object. She wanted to remind him that she could take care of herself. But she wasn’t stupid. And she didn’t want to die.

  “I have news, too.” It seemed a really good time to change the subject. “The fingerprint pattern on the murder weapon doesn’t match the one on Shane’s service pistol.”

  She saw the fatigue drain from Reed’s face. “You mean he’s innocent.”

  She nodded. “That’s what the evidence indicates.”

  So why was she so reluctant to declare that Shane wasn’t a killer?

  All the pieces fit for him to have been set up. It was also obvious that someone else was out there, someone who wanted to stop them from learning the truth. Shane certainly hadn’t been responsible for those attacks because he had been behind bars when they occurred. But Livvy couldn’t totally dismiss the possibility that perhaps Shane was the mastermind who’d set all of this in motion.

  Still, there were others with more powerful motives than love gone wrong.

  “The firearms expert who called me about the gun also had the results from one of the lab tests,” she continued. “The blood spatter we found in the cabin was consistent with the head injury that Shane described. And it was his blood.”

  Now there was relief in his eyes. Reed looked as if he were about to shout in victory, but his mood changed again.

  Did he have doubts as well?

  “Thank you,” he said.

  He reached out and almost idly ran his fingers through the ends of her ponytail. It was the gesture of a man comfortable with touching her. A gesture that shocked Livvy but not nearly as much as her own reaction did. She moved in to the touch, letting his thumb brush against her cheek.

  It was intimate.

  And wrong.

  As usual, the timing was awful. They were both exhausted. Both had a dozen things to do that were important and related to the job. But it was as if those deeply seeded primal urges just weren’t going to leave them alone.

  “You know, I’ll be leaving as soon as we’ve wrapped up this case,” Livvy said. Not that she needed to remind him or herself of that.

  “I know.” And he seemed genuinely disappointed. “But Austin’s not that far from here. Less than an hour away.”

  Far enough, she silently added.

  If she stopped this now…but then she halted that particular thought because it was useless.

  She couldn’t stop this now.

  It was only a matter of time before they landed in bed, and her hope was that this heat between them would be so intense that it would quickly burn itself out and Reed and she could get back to normal.

  Reed drew in a hard breath, pulled back his hand and turned. “I need to do the paperwork for Shane’s release.” Then, he paused. “You’re sure he’s innocent?”

  “No,” she admitted. “But the evidence doesn’t point to him being guilty.”

  Reed nodded and walked away, leaving Livvy to wonder if she’d just given a killer a get-out-of-jail-free card.

  The phone on Reed’s desk rang, and Livvy glanced out into the reception area to see if Eileen was there to answer it. She wasn’t, so Livvy took the call.

  “It’s me, Ben Tolbert,” the caller said.

  Livvy tried to keep the strain out of her voice. “Are you already out of jail?”

  “Yeah, as of thirty seconds ago.”

  Her heart suddenly felt very heavy. “Where are you?”

  “I’m going nowhere near you. Where’s Reed?”

  “Busy. I’m surprised you didn’t see him because he was headed to the jail.” She’d let Shane be the one to tell his father that he’d been cleared of the murder charges.

  “I musta missed him. I didn’t exactly hang around the place after I told my boy I’d be gettin’ him out of that cell soon enough.”

  Sooner than Ben thought. “I don’t expect Reed back for ten or fifteen minutes, but I can take a message.”

  Silence. Several long seconds of it. “Tell him I’ve been doing some digging.”

  Livvy had to get her teeth apart so she could speak. “We don’t want you to interfere in this case.”

  “Well, somebody has to. You got the wrong man in jail, and I intend to do everything I can to prove it. So, consider this a tip. I heard from a reliable source that Billy Whitley faked historical documents that allowed Jonah Becker to buy that land—the land that’s causing all the ruckus with the Comanches.”

  Billy Whitley, another suspect. “Why would Billy have done that?”

  “Money, what else? Jonah paid him to do it. Jonah’s too smart to make a payment that could be traced back to him, but there will be a trail all right. You’re just gonna have to hunt hard and find it.”

  Maybe. If this was a legit lead. “Who’s your reliable source?”

  “Can’t tell you that.”

  “Then why should I believe you?” Livvy pressed. “You might be saying all of this to take suspicion off yourself.”

  “No reason for that. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

  The attack came racing back at her. The man’s scent. The rasp of his breathing. How he’d come at her. She’d been lucky not to have been hurt. Or worse.

  “I think Billy’s the one who set up my boy,” Ben continued, and that accusation immediately grabbed her attention.

  “Why do you think that?”

  “Because if Billy did fake those documents, then he’s as much of a suspect as Jonah.”

  “And your lawyer,” Livvy pointed out. “Jerry has motive, too.”

  “A lot of people have motive,” Ben admitted
, “but I’m betting Billy or his wife is responsible for this.”

  Yes, Charla could have been in on it. “Again, do you have proof?”

  There was another hesitation, longer than the first. “What’s the fax number there?” he asked.

  Surprised by his request, Livvy looked at the machine and read the fax number that she located on the top of it. “Why do you need it?”

  “Because I’m about to send you something. Consider it a gift.”

  Livvy didn’t really want any gift from a suspected killer, but it didn’t take long before the machine began to spit out a faxed copy.

  “The first page is a copy of the way the deed was filed decades ago,” Ben explained. “Look at line eight. When you get the second page, you’ll see how it was changed. It no longer says ‘the Comanche people.’ It lists ownership as none other than Billy and Charla Whitley.”

  Livvy didn’t say a word until both documents had finished printing, and her attention went to line eight on the pages.

  There had indeed been a change.

  “How did you get these?” she demanded.

  “I can’t tell you that.”

  “You stole them,” Livvy accused. Then, she cursed under her breath. “And if you did, that means we can’t use them as evidence. We wouldn’t be able to prove that you’re not the one who did the tampering.”

  His silence let her know that Ben was considering that. “What if I swear on my son’s life that those papers are real?”

  “That won’t stand up in court.” But it did in some small way convince her that Ben might be telling the truth, about this anyway. Livvy decided to put him to the test. “Shane will be out of jail soon. It appears someone planted his prints on the murder weapon.”

  “Are you sure?” Ben snapped.

  “Sure enough for Reed to be processing his release as we speak.”

  Ben paused. “Is this some kind of trick? It is, isn’t it? You’re just telling me what I want to hear. You want to hang my boy.”

  “I want to hang the person responsible for Marcie’s murder,” Livvy clarified. “And if that had turned out to be Shane, he’d still be in jail. That’s true for any future evidence we might find. But for now, the evidence isn’t enough for us to hold your son.”