Keller County Cops Book Seven: Code of Vengeance (11 page)

The barista had slapped a sign on the door saying the shop was closed as soon as the EMTs deemed she was okay, and that plus a deputy stationed outside had kept the reporter and her crew from venturing inside after all the excitement died down.

Rick checked on the barista again before he exited the store. She claimed her head ached like a bitch, but appeared to be otherwise okay.

Thankful for that, he considered calling Keegan to check on her, but decided against it. She'd been pretty shaken up and probably needed time to decompress. Not only from the robbery, but also from the way he'd blindsided her outside the Kitty Kat Klub. She'd promised to come in to talk with him again tomorrow after court, and that would have to do.

"Damn it," he murmured when he realized he was disappointed he wouldn't get to see her until then. Why that was true, he didn't want to know.

Yet even as he pulled out of the narrow alley behind the Jumping Bean, he couldn't get her out of his mind.

*****

Keegan leapt to her feet the second the deputy told her she was free to go. The sheriff was busy talking to an investigator, so she took that as her cue to get out of there before she had to face him again. He'd treated her well enough once he'd taken off those stupid cuffs, yet she didn't relish him raking her over the coals again right now. She had to meet with him tomorrow anyway. No point in adding to her torture. She picked up her purse and walked out of the coffee shop without looking back at him. Just the thought of him made her hair stand on end.

She hadn't taken two steps out the door before Mindy Ravens, the evening anchor on WHBZ, waylaid her. "What happened inside the coffee shop this evening, ma'am? A robbery? A shooting? You were inside, so I'm sure you can tell us what happened."

"I-I'm sorry, but I can't talk right now." Keegan whirled and scurried toward her car.

Talking to the press was the absolute
last
thing she needed to do. If the reporter somehow identified her, she might unearth the connection between Keegan and Jenny, and the sheriff would have a field day. Keegan needed to get away
fast.

"Ma'am, please." The nosy heifer followed her to her car. "Just give us a statement. What went on inside the Jumping Bean today?"

Keegan ignored her and pulled out her keys.

"I only need a few words." Mindy fired Keegan a practiced smile and motioned for her cameraman to step closer. The reporter's eyes never left Keegan's face. "You were inside the Jumping Bean when the armed robbery took place. What can you tell us about the incident?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, come on, ma'am. Another customer who left the shop told me Sheriff Rick Blaylock played the hero and took down both alleged gunmen all by himself. Did you witness this incredible feat?" She shoved her microphone in Keegan's face.

Alleged, my hind leg.
Keegan resisted the urge to tell the woman to get lost and instead focused on the image of the strapping sheriff tackling the robber that danced across the screen inside her head. "Yes, I did. He was... very brave."

"The customer also told me a woman matching your description snatched up a weapon one of the robbers dropped and helped the sheriff get the suspects under control." Mindy lifted one perfectly groomed eyebrow. "Was that you, ma'am?"

"I'd rather not... no comment." Keegan's cheeks flamed.

Mindy moved the microphone so close it bumped Keegan's nose. "You picked up that gun and held the robber at bay, didn't you, ma'am? What's your name?"

"No. Comment," Keegan repeated, her nerves at the breaking point. She pressed the key fob and shouldered the reporter out of the way so she could open her car door.

The man with Ravens sidled around to the front of the vehicle and trained his camera on her. Mindy edged inside the arc of the door and got in Keegan's face again. "You know, if you did help Sheriff Blaylock subdue the alleged armed robbers, you're to be commended. Why won't you talk to me? Do you have something to hide?"

"You know, Ms. Ravens... no. Never mind. I've said all I'm going to say to you." Firing the woman another heated glare, Keegan slid into the car and grabbed the door handle. "Now, please move so I can close my door."

"Just one more question, please. I heard that--"

"No more questions!" Keegan yelled, anger winning out over her desire to keep her temper under control. She bumped the reporter's backside with the inside of the door. "Now, please get out of my way. I'm not going to ask you again."

"Fine. Be sure to watch our ten o'clock news on WHBZ. I'm filling in for Megan Murphy." She stepped back, and Keegan slammed the door.

Adrenaline fired through her like lightning as she started the car and skidded from the parking space. If she could floor the gas and run over that meddlesome reporter, she'd feel a whole lot better. She bit back the urge for retaliation and hurtled from the lot. Better to just go home, soak in a hot bath, and down a couple of glasses of wine instead of getting arrested.

So true. I'm in enough damned trouble already.

After the day she had endured, getting home and unwinding exactly the way she had imagined was heaven. She actually fell asleep in the tub as the water cooled and only woke up when her chin dipped beneath the surface and she spilled her wine. Smirking at her lack of grace, she climbed out of the chilly water and toweled herself dry.

Eager to get to bed, Keegan quickly donned her favorite soft cotton nightshirt, brushed her teeth, and applied moisturizer to her face. Brushing out her tangled hair hurt, but she suffered through it and soon climbed between the sheets. Her heart skipped a beat as she picked up the remote and turned on the TV. Mindy Ravens had urged her to watch the WHBZ news at ten. She longed to see if they'd used any of the footage of her trying to fend off that witch, yet she was terrified to find out if they had. She hated being in the spotlight.

Twenty minutes later, she climbed into bed and settled herself against the headboard so she'd have a better view of the TV. Her stomach churned as footage about the armed robbery ran in the number one spot thanks to Sheriff Blaylock's heroics. Then all at once, Keegan's face filled the screen and the anchor prattled on about how Keegan had helped the sheriff thwart the alleged armed robbers.

"You've got to be kidding me," she cried with a moan. "I look like something the cat dragged in. I can't believe she actually--"

"WHBZ news sources have identified Sheriff Blaylock's savior as Keller County court artist Keegan Riley, whose sister was stabbed to death last year in a case of domestic violence."

"Oh, my God." Keegan sat up and gaped at the screen.

With a devious smirk, Ravens continued, "Keegan Riley accused her sister's fiancé, Dirk Woodward, of murdering Jennifer, but investigators for the sheriff's department were unable to find enough evidence linking him to the crime, so he was never brought to trial."

"He did it. I know he did," Keegan muttered as the reporter paused to take a breath.

Ravens cocked her head. "In a related incident, Woodward was found dead early Sunday morning in a parking lot across the street from the Kitty Kat Klub, a location notorious for violence. Sheriff Blaylock attempted to shut down the strip club when he first took office, but the club's owner retained an attorney and successfully blocked his efforts."

"I'd love to strangle that bitch right now." Keegan clenched the covers so tight her fingers ached. "Maybe I can make
her
my next target."

The camera focused on the club, and then switched to a tape of Mindy standing in the empty parking lot. They'd probably shot this segment tonight after leaving the coffee shop.

"None of the intrigue surrounding Dirk Woodward appears to be connected to today's armed robbery, of course," she said, "but WHBZ News is determined to dig deeper into this story, so tune in to our reports later in the week to learn more."

The station switched to a commercial, but Keegan was too busy coming up with a way to get back at the reporter to pay much attention. She was still fuming five minutes later when her cell phone bleated from its nightly perch on her combination charging station/alarm clock. Before she could even reach for it, her house phone rang, too.

"Holy cow." She drew her brows together and snatched up both phones. The Caller ID on her house phone read,
WLKP,
the call letters for another network's affiliate in a nearby town, while her cell phone displayed what she guessed to be from a cell phone in Keller County
.
Her stomach tied itself in an intricate knot. Only a few people had her cell number, and one of them was Sheriff Rick Blaylock. She didn't know if the number on the screen was his or not. His card was hidden somewhere deep inside her purse.

She hung up the house phone without answering it, and then reluctantly accepted the call on her cell. "H-hello? Who is this?"

"Sheriff Blaylock, Ms. Riley. I was surprised to see you on the news tonight."

"Me, too. I just--" She broke off, dropped back against the headboard, and closed her eyes. Could this day possibly get any worse? "Mindy Ravens ambushed me outside the coffee shop. I noticed you somehow managed to evade her."

"Yeah, I did. One of my detectives brought my car 'round back so I could leave through the rear exit. I had enough fun with that fool reporter the night of Dirk Woodward's murder. Didn't want to talk to her again, even though she's been sticking to me like glue."

Keegan's stomach dropped the floor.

Oh, dear God. After that report, he knows about Jennifer... and my connection to Dirk. Mindy Ravens just broadcasted our connection over the airwaves and broadband for all the world to see. That woman should be locked up somewhere.

"Ms. Riley?" The sheriff's deep rumble held a hint of irony. "Funny how you forgot to mention your connection to Woodward when we spoke this afternoon."

"I-I didn't get a chance to tell you much of anything then, did I?" she snapped, her frayed temper reaching the breaking point. "If you remember, our conversation was rudely interrupted when those two jerks pulled their guns and held up the coffee shop."

"You know I remember." He paused. "We also spoke at the scene of the crime earlier in the afternoon, near the Kitty Kat Klub, and you didn't say a word about your sister or Dirk Woodward then, either."

"I didn't have time before you slapped those cuffs on my wrists."

"Are you saying you were going to tell me?"

"Well, I--" Irritated, she halted again. Of course she hadn't been planning to tell him, but to say it aloud made her sound like some sort of criminal, when
Dirk
and the man who had killed him were the ones who had committed murder. She hadn't killed her sister's fiancé, even though that had been her plan, and yet she wanted to hug the man who had because Dirk had deserved to die. She frowned. "I can't really say."

"I would've found out eventually anyway, you know. Surely you realize that."

"Of course I do." She wet her lips. Yes, he would've found out -- but not
tonight
. She would have at least had time to regroup and come up with a plausible story. After everything that had happened to her in the last twenty-four hours, she could barely remember her own name.

He hesitated. "Ms. Riley--"

"It's Keegan, remember?"

"All right, then. Yes.
Keegan."
He muttered a muffled curse, and then paused. "Look, I know you didn't kill Woodward, because one of the surveillance cameras captured his murder on video. My investigators are busy looking for the man who stabbed him. Still, I need to know if you arranged for that guy to kill Woodward in retaliation for what happened to your sister."

"No!" Her heart pounding, Keegan threw off the covers and jumped to her feet. "I'd never even seen that guy before. He just came storming out of the club and ran straight at Dirk."

"Why were you there in the first place that night? You never told me."

"Aren't we meeting at your office tomorrow?" She raked a hand through her hair and marched across the floor, the nervous energy bubbling up inside her making her whole body buzz. "Why can't we talk about it then? I was about to go to bed. It's been a trying day, and I need to get some rest--"

"Fine. I get it." He blew out a heavy sigh.

She paced back toward the bed. "Then you'll wait to finish my interrogation?"

"You must need time to come up with a story I can believe."

"What?" The accuracy of his words threw her for a loop. She halted. "No."

"I need you to tell me the truth, Keegan."

"I-I know." She swallowed back the urge to end the call and plunged ahead. "But why does it matter?"

"The truth always matters."

"Not necessarily." She sank down onto the edge of the bed. "Why do you want to know why I was there? I saw the murder and can testify against the man who did it. Isn't that enough?"

"Not exactly. I need to know if you're a credible witness."

"Oh."

"Yeah. 'Oh'," he said. "If the defense can tear you apart, you won't help our case one damned bit."

"I understand." She put a hand over her eyes.
What in hell am I going to do?

He hesitated. "Think about that overnight and then text me tomorrow like you promised. I expect to hear from you as soon as Judge Rouse recesses for the day."

"Of course." Keegan dropped her hand. "Goodnight."

"'Night, Keegan." The rough timber of his voice sent a chill rippling through her, and not because of her precarious situation. He disturbed her on a molecular level, stirring her senses into a whirlpool of confusion and kicking her good sense right out the window.

In an attempt to process their conversation, she sat on the bed with the phone in her hand for a good twenty minutes after ending the call. No matter how much she stewed over it, she could only come up with one conclusion: She either had to come up with a believable cover story or admit she had gone to the Kitty Kat Klub that night to kill Dirk.

"I sure as hell can't tell him the truth," she murmured, her stomach roiling at the prospect of seeing him again. "So I have to come up with a story he can swallow."