Death Rides Again (A Jocelyn Shore Mystery) (20 page)

“What are you thinking about?” asked Colin.

I came to myself with a small jolt.

“Nothing,” I said quickly. “Well, I was just wondering if the police are looking for the guy who did this to you.”

“I’m sure they are,” he answered, looking at me suspiciously. “Why do I not believe that’s what you were thinking about?”

“Probably pain is making you light-headed. You should let me call the nurse.”

“Not yet.” He ran his thumb along the back of my hand in a miniature caress, then said in a low tone, “I’m really glad to see you.”

I gripped his fingers tightly. “I wish you’d called sooner. You must have been in here for hours, and I didn’t know it.”

“I wasn’t thinking too clearly. Anyway, it took them a while to patch me up. You couldn’t have seen me earlier.”

“Then I would have waited in the hall.”

He searched my face, the blue eye wary and hopeful.

My throat suddenly felt dry, but I said, “Perhaps I should mention that I spoke with Alan yesterday. In person, actually. He drove down here yesterday evening.”

He drew in a sharp breath and waited.

“I, um. I sort of broke things off with him,” I said. I was having a hard time meeting his gaze.

The eye widened and his grip tightened on my hand. “‘Sort of’ or ‘really’?”

“Really.” I swallowed. “I’m not seeing him anymore.”

He closed his eyes and relaxed against the pillows. I hadn’t realized how tense he’d been before.

“And are you still seeing me?” he asked, although the smile playing on his lips told me he already knew the answer.

“That depends on whether you’ll be getting that tooth fixed. I’m not sure I’m okay dating a hillbilly.”

“Come here,” he said.

I leaned in. Releasing my hand, he lifted his fingers to caress my cheek and then gently pulled me closer for a kiss. Even bruised and smelling of antiseptic, he made my heart beat faster.

I brushed his lips very gently, then straightened. “I’m afraid to touch you. You’re just one big bandage.”

“I’ll be out tomorrow. Maybe you could drive me home in my Jeep. Kyla could bring your car, couldn’t she?”

“Yes,” I answered slowly.

“But?”

“I hadn’t thought of leaving so soon. My cousin’s missing, her husband is dead, and half my family is in jail. But I suppose there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it, so going home is probably a good idea. I can bring you tea and chicken soup,” I offered, not wanting to add that those represented the full extent of my nursing abilities.

“Make it beer and nachos, and you have a deal. But I meant home as in somewhere other than this hospital. I don’t plan to leave town until I have a chance to find the guy who did this.”

“I’ll help you,” I said with a little more vigilante rasp in my voice than I’d intended.

He smiled, but his eye shut briefly, then flickered open reluctantly.

I said, “You should get some sleep. I’ll just slip out and get something to drink, then be right back. Do you want anything?”

“No, thanks. You don’t have to hang around, you know. You should go check on things with your uncle. And I’d like to know about Travis, if they’ll tell you anything.”

“I’ll see what I can find out.” I rose, then turned back, struck by a sudden thought at the mention of Travis. “Colin, what were you doing canvassing houses this morning? I thought you were going to Austin to ask about Ruby June.”

“Now why would you think that?”

“Elaine said that one of Ruby June’s friends went to Austin for the weekend and that you were going to find her to see if Ruby June was with her.”

“No, I didn’t know they’d found a friend of hers. Besides, I wouldn’t have needed to drive in myself—I would have called the APD and had them send out an on-duty officer,” he answered sleepily.

“Elaine must have misunderstood,” I said. “Get some rest. I’ll be back in just a few minutes.”

I slipped out of the room, closing the door quietly behind me, then stood motionless, thinking hard. Why would Sheriff Bob say that Colin was going to Austin? Either he had misunderstood Colin’s plans or he had lied to Elaine, and it didn’t seem like the kind of thing you’d misunderstand.

The more I thought about Sheriff Bob, the more worried I became. If Colin had been going to the ranches near the track asking after Ruby June, surely he would have coordinated that with Sheriff Bob. And if so, that meant that Bob had known where Colin would be. What if the attack had not been a random mugging after all? Did that mean that the subsequent attack on Travis had not been about the race, but instead about protecting the identity of Colin’s attacker? And if the attacker was that worried about not being discovered, did that mean Colin might still be in danger? It couldn’t have been Bob himself, but what if he’d sent someone?

I struggled for a moment with a deep and nameless fear, glancing up and down the hall as though for signs of a lurking attacker. However, a moment later I was kicking myself for having an overactive imagination. Sheriff Bob was a decent man, a popular sheriff, an active member of the community, and a longtime friend of my uncle’s. He wasn’t trying to kill my boyfriend or the jockey who saved my boyfriend. I would go to the station as soon as Kyla returned with my car and just ask him why he’d thought Colin had gone to Austin.

I walked to the nursing station halfway down the hallway. A young redheaded nurse in flowered scrubs perched on a stool in front of a computer monitor. A little gold cross on a thin chain gleamed in the hollow of her throat. I smiled at her.

She looked up with a smile. “Can I help you?”

“I was just wondering if you knew how the jockey who was shot today is doing?”

Her eyes widened. “Isn’t that something else? That poor little guy. Just riding along, doing his best, and shot right out of the saddle. In front of everyone.”

“Yes, it was terrible,” I agreed.

“And they say that no one saw the guy who did it. But I heard they arrested someone just a little bit ago. A real sharpshooter. They say it would have taken a crack shot to do something like that.”

“Someone’s been arrested?” I squeaked, hoping Kyla hadn’t been right after all. “Who?”

She shrugged. “Someone from around here is all I know. I wouldn’t have thought a local would do something like that but I guess you never know about people, do you?”

“Maybe he didn’t do it,” I said faintly.

“They wouldn’t have arrested him if he hadn’t done it. Nope, sounds like he’s guilty, and I hope he gets the death penalty. My cousin and her kids were there and saw the whole thing. They’ll probably be scarred for life.” She sounded a little envious.

More likely they’d have something to talk about at bingo tournaments and Lion’s Club socials for life, I thought, but arguing would have been pointless. Instead, I returned to my original question.

“So, do you know how he’s doing? The jockey, I mean.”

“We’re really not supposed to discuss the patients,” she said, apparently remembering that she was on duty.

“I don’t want to discuss him. I just want to know if he’s still alive.”

“Oh.” She pondered this, then decided to answer. “Well, yes, he is. Or he was the last I heard. I know he’s out of surgery anyway, and the nurses on that floor said they thought he was going to make it.”

I breathed a sigh. “Well, thank goodness for that.”

She nodded.

I asked, “Where’s a Coke machine?”

“We don’t have one, but there’s a cafeteria on the first floor. You can get one there.”

I took the elevator this time and was just passing through the waiting area when Kyla entered, and for once she looked flustered.

“They’ve arrested Kel and stuck me with Uncle Herman. He’s in the car and so angry he’s just about ready to chew through the dashboard. You have to come save me.”

“They can’t have arrested Kel,” I protested. “You can’t arrest somebody just because they’re a good shot.”

“It’s not that,” she said. “You were right about Carl Cress—he didn’t kill himself. And the gun that did belonged to Kel.”

Chapter 7

HUSTLERS AND HUNTERS

I stayed at the hospital all afternoon with Colin. Although Kyla had not been happy about it, she eventually agreed to take Uncle Herman home by herself and to come back for me after dinner. The nurse and I somehow managed to persuade Colin to take his pain medication, and he slept while I sat in the mint-green chair. He urged me to go home, but it had not been very many weeks since I’d awakened in a similar bed to find him by my side. I did take a few minutes to buy a magazine from the gift shop, but I flipped through the glossy perfumed pages only briefly before closing it and letting it lie on my lap. I needed time to think, and the hospital room of a sleeping man was an almost ideal location.

Or so you’d think. I’d barely settled myself in when the door opened, and Sheriff Bob poked his head in. I sat bolt upright, and the movement made Colin stir.

Sheriff Bob approached the bed, holding his hat in his hand. I glanced uneasily at the gun on his hip, remembering my earlier ridiculous suspicions, then immediately felt guilty.

“Hi, Bob,” I said.

“Jocelyn,” he answered. “How’s he doing?”

“Pretty well, considering. They’ve got him on pain medicine. Do you need to wake him?”

He smoothed his white mustache with thumb and forefinger, then shrugged. “Nah, let him sleep. It can wait until morning. I mostly wanted to check up on him.”

“Have you found out any more about who did this?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No. It’s the damnedest thing, and the worst part is, it’s not even at the top of my list. I think the whole goddamn town has gone batshit crazy. Pardon my French,” he added.

“I’d have to agree with that,” I said with a touch of acid, “since you’ve arrested Kel of all people.”

He looked uncomfortable but stubborn. “I had no choice, not after we found his gun in Carl’s truck. I don’t like it any more than you, but there it is.”

“You can’t seriously think he’d shoot anyone.”

He coughed a raspy smoker’s cough that sounded like an attempt to eject a lung or two. “It don’t matter what I think. The evidence says I have to hold him. It surely doesn’t help that he threatened to kill a man in front of witnesses.”

I said, “If you arrested everyone who ever threatened to kill Eddy, you’d have to build a new jail.”

He barked a humorless laugh. “That’s the truth. Goddamn it, this is a mess and a half.” He looked down at Colin then started moving to the door. “Will you tell him I’ll be back in the morning?”

I nodded, then remembered my own question. “Elaine said you told her that Colin had gone to Austin today to look for Ruby June.”

Sheriff Bob paused in midstride and turned back to me. “No, I don’t believe I did. I told her that we’d probably send someone to Austin if we had to.”

I watched him. “She seemed pretty sure.”

He shrugged, his thin face impassive. “He didn’t go, so what difference does it make?”

I didn’t know the answer to that, so I sidestepped. “Did you find Ruby June’s friend?”

“Called her. She says Ruby June’s not there.”

“Says? No one went to check it out?”

“Ruby June is over twenty-one. If she’s kidnapped or in trouble, that’s our business. But if she’s just hiding, that’s hers. Now, I’ve got to get back to the station. You have yourself a good evening.”

I settled back into the chair, but popped up again after a moment, feeling edgy. I began pacing the tiny space at the foot of Colin’s bed, thinking hard and getting nowhere. Sheriff Bob’s answer had been reasonable. In fact, as Colin said, it would be unnecessary to send anyone to Austin when they could call the Austin police. But then why had Elaine been so sure? I remembered her happy relief when she’d told me, her gratitude to Colin for making the journey to Austin on her girl’s behalf. It did not make sense, but as Bob said, why did it matter? I paced and thought.

“Are you trying to wear a path in that tile?” asked a sleepy voice.

I stopped. Colin had awoken and was watching me.

“How are you doing?” I asked. “Can I get you something?”

The afternoon light was fading in the small room as the weak November sun dipped into the west, making him look gray and drawn on the white pillow. I hoped he didn’t feel as bad as he looked.

“I’m okay,” he answered.

I recognized guy-speak when I heard it. “That good, huh? I’ll go get the nurse.”

“And maybe some water?” he asked.

I had a fresh pitcher of ice on the bed tray. I’d refilled it twice while he slept so it would be ready for him. “You get ice chips.”

He wrinkled his nose, but didn’t protest as I raised his bed and then handed him a small cup of ice.

“Sheriff Bob stopped by. He says he’ll be back tomorrow.”

“I heard. I just didn’t want to talk to him.”

“That was sneaky,” I said, half shocked, half approving. “What if I’d said something I didn’t want you to hear?”

“All the more reason to listen. I never know what you’re thinking.”

This was probably just as well. I bent down to kiss the one unbandaged place on his forehead, and he wrapped his free arm around my waist and pulled me onto his chest. Off balance, I mostly fell on him, which made him give a gasp, but he refused to let me up all the same.

“I’ve been trying to get you into bed for weeks,” he said.

I struggled a little and at last managed to raise myself on my elbows to take some of the weight off his bruised ribs. I looked deeply into his eyes … well, into his eye. The left one was still covered.

“Is it everything you expected?” I asked in my most sultry voice.

He started laughing and let go, but only long enough to shift to one side to make room for me to cuddle against him. I looked at the good six inches of white mattress he seemingly expected me to occupy, and instead slid off, pulling my chair closer.

“Timing. It’s always timing with us, isn’t it?” he asked, giving me a wry look.

I nodded. “I think all that’s about to change though. As soon as you don’t look like the Mummy from Hillbilly Hollow, maybe we can start over.”

“I don’t want to start over,” he protested. “I want credit for the dates we’ve already been on.”