“I’ve lost my objectivity,” he said.
The captain’s gaze narrowed. “How come?”
Cole swallowed hard. “I’ve become interested in her romantically.”
Silence. Long and uncomfortable.
“I did everything I could to keep it from happening, but I couldn’t stop it. Don’t think Drew has somehow figured out who I am and seduced me. She didn’t want me near her and did her best to keep me out of her act. She has lost no opportunity to tell me she doesn’t trust men and has no intention of letting one into her life. She thinks I’m a useless drifter.”
The captain flashed his first smile. “That seems a very unlikely beginning for developing a relationship.”
“I didn’t say we had a relationship,” Cole admitted. “I can’t tell you how Drew feels about me.”
“But you think she’s innocent?”
“She’s not the kind of person to lie, cheat, or steal. She won’t let anybody do anything for her, not buy things for her or give her gifts. I realize this is no kind of proof, but it’s all I have to offer. That’s why I’m asking you to take me off the case.”
“Who do you think I ought to put on it? Hodges? Willis?”
Both men were known for being hard-nosed, even brutal in their pursuit of evidence. They were also known womanizers. There’d be trouble with Zeke or Hawk within twenty minutes. Though Cole often wished her brothers would find another interest in life, he had to respect them for their loyalty to Drew and their determination to protect her.
“How about Bill Walker?”
The captain grinned. “Bill should have been an accountant. He’s good for fraud, but useless with anything like robbery. Hodges and Willis are better.”
“They’re the kind of men you send after confirmed criminals when you want to bring them in dead or alive, not after someone like Drew.”
“Why not someone like Drew?”
“Because she’s too innocent to suspect what they’d be up to. They’d think nothing of trying to seduce her to get her to tell them what they want to know.”
“Could they?”
It was an insulting question, one that caused him to rise halfway out of his chair. “You’re baiting me. Why?”
“I don’t like to see a good officer go bad.”
“I’m not going bad. I just want off this case.”
“It’s all the same. It doesn’t matter why you can’t finish the job.”
“I’m trying to tell you, Drew isn’t behind the robberies. You’re on the wrong trail.”
“That’s not what the evidence says.”
“Then the evidence is circumstantial.”
“Maybe, but mere’s a lot of it. We’d have a good chance of getting a conviction on what we’ve got now.”
Cole knew he was bluffing. All Drew needed was an alibi for one of the robberies to blow the government’s case out of the water. He didn’t know what Drew had been doing or where she had gone, but he was certain she was innocent. If she weren’t, she was too smart to have forgotten to provide herself with an alibi that would be hard to disprove.
“We both know you don’t have a case,” Cole said. “You’re trying to back me into a corner. What do you want me to do?”
“Stay on the case,” the captain said. “If she’s not guilty, find out who is. Until you do, I can’t let off the pressure. She’s the only real suspect we have.”
“I can’t be around her, knowing I care for her, trying to persuade her to care for me, knowing all the time I’m looking for evidence that might put her in jail. That’s a lousy thing to do to any woman.”
“I’ll give you three days to make up your mind,” the captain said. “If you turn down the case, I’ll assign it to Hodges. Why don’t you go visit your parents while you’re thinking about it? I know they’d like to see you.”
Chapter Sixteen
“You can’t go to this party dressed like that, Drucilla. I don’t see why you won’t wear clothes that enhance your natural beauty.”
“I don’t have any natural beauty, and don’t call me Drucilla. You know I hate it My name is Drew.”
“You were christened Drucilla Eloise Taylor Townsend,” her Aunt Dorothea Rutland stated. “I know because I was there.”
Jake had filled his ranch house with comforts for Isabelle, but even their elegant sitting room paled in comparison to the luxury of the suite Drew’s aunt occupied in Memphis’s finest hotel—silk-and-velvet-covered beds, chairs, and windows, an Aubusson carpet on the sitting room floor. The suite had been furnished in the Louis XVI style, in gold, white, and blue. Jake and the boys wouldn’t have sat down for fear of breaking some of the fragile-looking furniture.
Drew stayed with her aunt every time they happened to be in the same town. Each time she prepared an excuse as to why she needed to skip this visit, but she never had the heart to use it Her aunt was a widow without children. She’d been heartbroken when her only sibling, Drew’s mother, ran off to marry a man the family disliked. She’d been devastated by the news her sister and niece had been killed by Indians.
She had found Drew less than a year after Jake and Isabella adopted her. She had done everything in her power to induce Drew to come live with her. She wanted to introduce Drew into the world of high society, to see her married to a suitably rich and socially prominent man, then to sit back and enjoy Drew’s children.
Drew had refused point-blank to leave Jake and Isabelle or be introduced into society. Her only ambition was to have her own ranch alongside that of her adopted family. Her aunt was horrified when Drew joined the Wild West Show. Not even her most tearful pleadings—or offers to purchase the whole state of Texas for Drew if she wanted—made Drew change her mind. Rather than give up on her crusade, Dorothea forsook the society of New York several times a year to travel to the cities where Drew appeared.
This was their sixth visit this year. Usually Drew could stay only a few hours, maybe overnight, but this time she was stuck for three days. Drew loved her aunt She was a truly genuine person whose concern for Drew was deep and abiding. But no matter how many times Drew explained why she wanted to stay in Texas, her aunt simply could not understand how her niece could prefer a cattle ranch to the salons of the wealthy and privileged. Nor could she stop trying to convince Drew of her mistake.
“I know what I was christened,” Drew said, “but I don’t feel like a Drucilla, and I don’t look like one.”
“You would if you put on a decent gown, let me fix your hair, and wore some pearls.”
That was something else Drew didn’t like. Every time she visited her aunt, she presented her with a new dress. Drew had enough dresses she’d never worn to fill several closets. That didn’t count the shoes, hats, and everything else that made up the wardrobe of a well-dressed young society woman. The clothes were tight, confining, and exposed too much of her shoulders and bosom. What’s more, they were meant to be worn only inside. Drew didn’t understand why any woman would choose to close herself up inside a house all day.
“You can’t go about in polite society dressed like one of those crazy Texans,” her aunt had declared. “I’d be a laughingstock.”
But Drew held firm. She’d go dressed in a simple white blouse and plain brown skirt or she wouldn’t go at all. She considered giving up her boots sacrifice enough.
“I don’t know how you can stand to dress like that,” Drew said of her aunt’s elaborate mauve silk gown, feather headdress, and elaborate jewels. “It would take me the better part of a week to get myself tarted up like that.”
“Honestly, Drucilla, I don’t know why you insist upon talking like a loose woman.”
Drew clenched her teeth and tried not to mind being called by her full Christian name. She was sensible enough to know her aunt would never change. There were times, and right now was one of them, when she was certain she couldn’t stand it another minute. But her soft heart always stopped her from leaving. Even without Isabelle gently pointing it out, Drew knew she was the onl
y family Aunt Dorothea had left.
“This is what all ranchers wear,” Drew said. “And please don’t start in about going into society. I told you from the beginning all I wanted was to stay in Texas and have my own ranch.”
“Then let me buy you one so you can stop performing in this terrible show. Theater people!” her aunt exclaimed, as though they all had some fatal and communicable disease. “I don’t know how you can stand to consort with them.”
“Most of them are very nice,” Drew said, “though you wouldn’t like them. You have nothing in common.”
“I should think not. I can’t understand what you find that’s so interesting about them.”
“They take care of each other. They even take care of me.”
“Thank goodness for that. I shudder every time I think of you alone among strangers, traveling to strange towns.”
Drew couldn’t help laughing. “I’m not alone. Hawk and Zeke look after me.”
Drew knew her aunt found it impossible to accept that a young woman of her family should depend upon a black man and a half-breed Indian for protection. Drew wouldn’t allow anything to be said against Zeke and Hawk, but her aunt nearly had apoplexy every time Drew called them her brothers. They had agreed not to talk about it.
“I still say you shouldn’t be doing anything so unladylike as traveling in a wild west show.” She spoke the words in a half whisper, as though she were afraid the maids would hear and broadcast her disgrace all over town.
“I like being in the show. I like it when people applaud my skill.”
Her aunt shuddered. “Please don’t mention that you shoot guns. I can’t imagine how any female could do that without suffering an attack of nerves.”
“If females didn’t shoot guns, they’d be killed by Indians, thieves, wild animals—”
Her aunt covered her ears. “Don’t say another word. You’ll make me think of what happened to your poor mother. I’ll have nightmares for a whole week.”
“I won’t talk about guns and Texas if you promise not to criticize what I do or the people I work with.”
Drew had grown weary of this conversation. They had it every time she came for a visit, but Dorothea never really gave up. She was just as stubborn as Drew.
“I was delighted when I heard you’d be here for three days,” Dorothea said. “Even though I hardly know anyone here, I managed to secure an invitation to another party, our second in three days.”
Her aunt was greatly pleased to have scored such a triumph. Drew felt she’d been consigned to purgatory. Her aunt lived in New York and Chicago, but she had connections in every major city from Boston to San Francisco. Usually Drew’s visits were too short to allow her to attend balls, parties, or even dinners. This time she had no excuse.
“Maybe you’ll meet a young man you could like.”
That was the real reason Drew dreaded going to parties. Her aunt was convinced if Drew met the right young man, she’d give up the Wild West Show and her idea of owning a ranch, and settle happily into the role of wife and mother. It was utterly beyond her realm of understanding that any woman could actually want to avoid marriage and motherhood.
Drew fixed her aunt with an unwavering gaze. “I’ve promised to go to this party. I’ve even promised to try to behave so I won’t embarrass you. But if you insist upon shoving me into the arms of one idiot after another, none of whom have anything to recommend themselves except their fathers’ money, I’ll cause a scene that will send all of your young bachelors running for the first wallflower they can find.”
“I don’t know where you learned to talk like that!” her aunt exclaimed, more upset by what Drew said than her manner of saying it.
“I learned it being around men in the dust, dirt, sweat, and heat of working with stubborn, cantankerous cows. Believe me, I can say things that would turn your ears pink.”
Her aunt covered her ears with pudgy hands. “Don’t. My nerves would be ruined for a week.”
“Then promise you won’t force any more men down my throat.”
“Drucilla, darling,” her aunt said with the resigned attitude of a woman who didn’t expect the request she was about to make to be heeded, “do you have to express yourself in such a manner?”
“It’s the way I talk. You wouldn’t want me to edit everything before the words came out of my mouth, would you?”
Her aunt looked as though she’d be profoundly grateful if Drew would do exactly that. “Please don’t talk that way tonight. If you do, nobody in this town will invite me anywhere ever again.”
“Why should you care? You don’t live here.”
“Bad news travels fast, especially if it’s something socially embarrassing.”
“Gossip,” Drew said. “That’s the trouble with the people you know. They lead useless lives. If they had something to do, they wouldn’t have time to worry about what I wear, how I talk, or that I work for a living.” This was another old argument. Drew hadn’t meant to let herself be drawn into it again. “Sorry, Aunt Dorothea, but you know how I feel about that.”
“It all comes from your mother marrying that man,” her aunt said. “If she hadn’t—”
“If she hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been born, we wouldn’t be having this conversation, and you wouldn’t have to worry about such an unsatisfactory niece as myself.”
“I don’t mind worrying about you, and you’re a wonderful niece.”
“But one who disagrees with you in practically every way.”
Her aunt sighed. “I don’t see why your father had to take your mother to Texas. There were so many other places he could have gone.”
“I don’t know either, but I’m glad he did. I love Texas. It’s the perfect place for me. Now let’s not argue about it anymore.” Drew stood. “It must be time to go to this party of yours.”
“It’s okay to be a little late. In fact, it’s more fashionable.”
“To hell with fashion,” Drew said. “I want to get this shindig over with.”
“I don’t know why you insist upon dragging me to things like this,” Cole said to his mother. “You know I hate them.”
“After running off and leaving me, the least you can do is escort me to a few parties when you’re home,” his mother said, a complaining edge to her voice. “You have no idea how hard it is to convince people you haven’t turned into one of those savages you go after.”
“I don’t work in Texas anymore,” Cole said. “I do undercover work for the government.”
His mother grimaced as though she had a bad taste in her mouth. “So you consort with criminals instead. Do you know how embarrassing that is to me?”
Cole cursed under his breath for at least the one hundredth time since he’d been home. He never passed near Memphis without stopping to visit his family. He had no qualms about turning his back on the kind of life his family expected of him, but he couldn’t ignore his family.
They had just entered the home of one of Memphis’s most prominent society hostesses. After climbing wide, shallow steps to a porch with wrought-iron railings, they stepped into a wide central hall that ran the length of the house. On the left, a double salon gleamed in candlelight dispersed from two enormous chandeliers. Chairs had been placed along the wall, and the carpets rolled up to allow dancing. A small string orchestra struggled to be heard above the din of conversation. Servants served wine cups, cooled with last winter’s ice, at the back of the hall. The men were directed to the library if they wanted something stronger to drink.
Everyone looked overdressed and overanimated.
Cole hated the continuous round of social events that made up his mother’s life. He would have much preferred to stay home, but he’d learned through experience it was easier to go along than to fight. Because he was an only child, his mother had never accepted his decision to turn his back on the way of life she considered superior to all others.
“Don’t worry. I’ll probably do something else soon,” Cole said.
“Something even more embarrassing.” His mother looked pained. “I wish you would come home and behave yourself.”
Cole didn’t reply. There was nothing to say that hadn’t been said many times before. He’d already decided he wouldn’t tell her he’d joined the Wild West Show. As far as his mother was concerned, people in show business were common, immoral, and probably criminal. He couldn’t think of a way to tell her about Drew that wouldn’t bring on a fainting spell.
“Maybe you’ll find a nice girl,” his mother said. “Once you have a wife and family to think of, you’ll feel quite differently about associating with such unsuitable people.”
Cole didn’t reply to that, either.
“I hope you’re not going to refuse to dance tonight,” his mother said.
“I don’t like dancing.”
“But you do it so beautifully. You’re always the most handsome man in the room. All the young women want to dance with you.”
His mother meant they wanted to dance with the Benton fortune. The fact that Cole wasn’t plug-ugly was a secondary consideration. “I don’t dance,” Cole said.
“Then talk to them.”
“How? They have nothing to talk about but parties they’ve been to, parties they haven’t been to, and the people who went to both. They never want to talk about things that interest me.”
“Most people find it very difficult to be interested in savages and criminals.”
His mother’s tone and expression implied that such things could only be of interest to the lower classes. Cole didn’t reply to that, either. He had stopped trying to explain himself to her years ago.
“I will try not to embarrass you,” Cole said. “But if Sibyl Owens corners me again, I’ll leave her standing, even if it’s in the middle of the room.”
“She’s a beautiful young woman,” his mother said. “Her family is the oldest in Memphis.”
“She’s also in search of a rich husband.”
“It’s so sad to see such an old family fall on hard times.”
“They wouldn’t be having such a hard time if her father and brother would stop drinking and gambling and pay some attention to their business,” Cole snapped.
Drew (The Cowboys) Page 20