The Lawman Returns (9 page)

She shook her head before he even finished speaking. “I can’t. I mean, think of the imposition.” She cradled her wounded arm. “I don’t think so.”

“You can stay.”

Clay turned to find his father standing in the doorway of the barn. The man’s gruff exterior covered a heart as soft as a marshmallow. He knew this. He’d grown up with it. The hard shell and the soft interior. So his father’s determination to let Abe dictate how he ran his house bothered him. His father’s gaze locked on her arm in the sling. He shook his head. “Shooting a woman. Ridiculous,” he muttered.

Clay’s phone vibrated, and he pulled it from his pocket. Before he answered, he looked hard at Sabrina. “Please stay.” The he checked the caller ID. “Excuse me.” He lifted the phone to his ear. “Starke here.”

“We got him.” Ned’s voice rumbled with satisfaction.

“Prescott?”

“Yep. He’d stolen a chicken from the Harris farm and was cooking it down by the river when two hikers came across him. He didn’t see them, but they saw him and recognized him. We nabbed him just as he finished his dinner.”

“Good, then the county doesn’t have to waste money feeding him,” Clay said. He glanced over at Sabrina and Lance. Sabrina had her phone to her ear, her expression dark as a thundercloud.

Ned snorted. “Right. We’ve booked him and are holding him.”

“I want to talk to him.”

“Now, Clay, you know I can’t let you do that.”

“Then I want to listen in when you question him. Please.”

Ned’s loud sigh made Clay tense. If the man said no...

“All right, but you stay out of sight.”

“Thanks.”

Sabrina was still on her phone, her hand pressed to her head.

“Can you be here in about two hours?”

Sabrina hung up and paced from one end of the car to the other. Lance placed a hand on her shoulder and Clay straightened.

“Clay? You there?”

“I’m here. You said two hours. I’ll be there.” He hung up. “Good news.”

Sabrina turned, her eyes fiery. “Actually, bad news.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Someone just broke into my grandmother’s house and trashed the office.”

NINE

S
abrina wondered if her muscles would ever relax again. Her grandmother had assured her she was fine.

“What happened?” Clay asked as he helped Sabrina into the front seat of his cruiser. Lance had already taken off toward the B and B.

“Granny May had gone to the grocery store. Her boarders were gone doing whatever they do and when she got home, someone had gone in and wrecked the office.”

“How did they get in?”

“The door is unlocked during the day. Whoever did it just walked right in and helped themselves.”

“Was anything stolen?”

“Not that she can see.”

Fear for her grandmother curled in her belly. What had she done to bring this down on the only family she had?

When they pulled into the parking area of the B and B, Ned stood by his cruiser talking into his radio. Lance had parked himself on the front porch and Granny May huddled in her heavy down coat looking lost and alone. And mad.

Sabrina launched herself from the vehicle as soon as Clay came to a stop. “Are you all right?” She raced up the front steps and hugged her with her good arm. “Let’s go inside.”

“What happened to you?” Her grandmother touched Sabrina’s wounded arm.

Sabrina winced. There was no way she could keep her grandmother out of the loop now. She needed to know everything. “Someone tried to kill me today, Granny May.”

The poor woman shook like a leaf in the wind. “Oh, me. Oh, dear me.”

Sabrina’s heart tightened. She couldn’t remember ever seeing the woman so upset. She led her inside and seated her on the couch in the living area. Clasping her grandmother’s cold hands in hers, she asked, “Did you notice anything stolen?”

“No. Nothing.” She gave a shrug. “But I was only able to do a quick glance before they made me leave. It appears that was the only room that was disturbed. What do you mean, someone tried to kill you?”

“Someone shot at me today. Thankfully, the bullet only grazed me.”

“Why would someone shoot at you, Brina?” Disbelief shone in her grandmother’s eyes.

“We don’t know. Clay was with me, and we think it may have something to do with Steven’s death.”

Granny May gaped. “I don’t even know what to think.”

“I know. I don’t, either.” Sabrina looked around. “But I know one thing. You’re going to have to start locking the door when you leave.”

“But how will the guests get in?”

“We’ll get a lock with a code. You can give your guests the code.”

“And change it every week,” Clay said from the doorway.

Sabrina stood as Ned appeared behind him. “I want to see the office.”

Ned nodded. Clay motioned for her to follow him. “I’ll be right back,” she told her grandmother.

Clay took some blue booties from Ned. “We’re going to do this right.” He slipped the booties on his shoes, and Sabrina did the same. Next, the gloves. She shook her head as he helped her slide her uninjured hand into one. Her grandmother’s house was a crime scene. Again. It was all too surreal.

From the living area, she turned left to walk down the hallway past the stairs and into the first room on the right. Besides her bedroom, Sabrina loved this room the most.

Or she had.

She’d prepared herself for it to be bad, but this was— “Oh...wow.”

Books pulled from the floor-to-ceiling shelves, the sofa upended, one of the lamps thrown on the floor—and it looked as if someone had had a temper tantrum on top of it. Drawers had been yanked from her grandfather’s antique desk and dumped, the contents strewn from one end of the office to the other.

The laptop lay in the middle of the floor. Even one of the curtains had been pulled from the window. Sabrina blinked hard as tears raced to the surface.

An arm slid across her shoulders. She knew it was Clay, and she wanted nothing more than to lean into his strength and cry out her anger. Instead she sucked in a deep breath. “Who would do this? Why?”

“Looks like they were searching for something.”

She gave a slow nod. “You think that’s why they’re trying to kill me? Because they think I have something or know something related to Steven’s death and they want to make sure I don’t...what? Talk about it? Surely they know if I knew or had something, I would have already told or given it to someone.”

“Maybe you don’t know you have it.”

“But they know I have it and want to get it back before I find it?”

“Possibly.” He pursed his lips and looked around.

“And they think it’s in here?”

“Apparently.” He blew out a breath. “It’s all just speculation, of course, but I really don’t know what else to think. You and Steven worked with some of the same kids. Steven talked to Jordan and wound up dead, but you spent a lot of time with both Jordan and Steven, so maybe the people after you think one of them told you something.”

“But they’re not sure, so they set me up at the trailer.”

“And when that fails, they keep following you and wait for a good time to strike.”

“Like when we were up at the caves.”

“And since they’re not being very successful at killing you, they go looking for whatever it is they think you have.”

“Which brings us back to this office.” She looked around and shook her head. “I’m clueless.” Sabrina scrubbed her rubber-encased palm down her cheek as she tried to process everything.

Clay pinched the bridge of his nose. “Do you work at home?”

“Yes. Sometimes.” She pointed to the laptop on the floor. “And that’s what I use. Or did use.” With a gloved hand, he picked up the laptop, set it on the desk and opened it. Sabrina moved closer to him. “They weren’t after that. They would have taken it.”

He lifted his gaze to hers. “You’re probably right.”

“Do you think they were looking for something that would tell them where Jordan went?”

“It’s possible.”

She bit her lip. “We better check on his grandparents.”

“I’ll take care of that.” He got on his cell phone and called one of the other deputies on duty. After a short conversation, Clay hung up. “Leighann Sims is going to check on them.”

Sabrina nodded. She knew Leighann well. “Good. Thanks.” She bit her lip. “I’m worried about him.”

“We’ll find him.” He glanced at his watch. “Why don’t you pack a bag and explain what’s going on to your grandmother? She can come with us and the two of you can stay at my place. I’ll move back into the house, and you two can have the cottage.”

Sabrina shook her head. “My grandmother will never agree.”

“She will if it means keeping you safe.”

Granny May put up an argument, and Sabrina had to pull out the big guns. Guilt. “I won’t go without you, Granny May. I won’t leave you here alone now. I thought staying away would keep the danger from you, but it’s not working.”

“And you think if I come with you, the danger will stop?”

“No, I honestly don’t, but at least we’ll be surrounded by people who will do their best to keep us safe. If we stay here, we’re pretty much sitting ducks.”

Granny May twisted her fingers together, her anxiety level obviously through the roof. “What about my guests? I have to be here to cook for them.”

Sabrina thought fast. “It’s just breakfast. We’ll have it catered. Mrs. Anderson can take care of the food for tomorrow. This may not take long—I pray it doesn’t—but I do think it’s the wise thing to do.” She gestured toward her injured arm. “Someone is serious, Granny May. I don’t want to see you get hurt next.”

Granny May brought her hands up to cup her cheeks before she let out a low sigh and nodded. “Well, if it’ll keep you safe...”

“It’s the best shot we’ve got.” She paused and touched her arm. “No pun intended.”

“But what will I do all day?”

“Act like it’s a vacation. Put your feet up. Relax.”

Granny May stared at her as if she’d lost her mind but said nothing more about not going. She simply shook her head. “I’ll go pack and call Daisy Ann about feeding the guests in the morning.”

Relieved, Sabrina hugged her grandmother. “Thank you.”

After the woman disappeared to go pack, Clay tapped his watch. “I’ve got to go. Lance can take you two out to the ranch.”

“Where are you going?”

“Prescott’s in custody. I’m going to watch the interrogation.”

“What? Well, why didn’t you say so? Let’s go.” She grabbed her purse.

“Wait a minute. There’s no reason for you to go. You can just head out to the ranch, and I’ll be there after I finish talking to him.”

Sabrina pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. “No way. If Stan had something to do with shooting me, I want to hear him say it.” She clasped her hands in front of her. “In fact, I might just ask him myself.” She knew Ned probably wouldn’t let her anywhere near Stan Prescott, but that wouldn’t keep her from trying. “I want to know if he knows where Jordan is.”

“All right, I don’t have time to argue with you. I’ll call my dad on the way to the station and tell him what’s going on.”

“Wait a minute. If Stan Prescott’s in custody, then we don’t need to worry about inconveniencing you. Granny May can just stay here.”

Clay hesitated. “But what if he’s not the one?”

She ran a hand through her hair. “Why don’t we wait and see?”

Minutes later they were in his cruiser heading for the police station. The station now occupied the renovated former train station. Six years ago the town had voted to move the police headquarters to a more centralized location. The train station had undergone a one-million-dollar face-lift thanks to fund-raisers and private donations. Now it was a tourist attraction that found its way onto the lists of a lot of people who stopped in Wrangler’s Corner simply to see the place.

Clay parked, and she could feel the energy radiating from him. He was eager and ready to face the man he thought might be the one trying to kill her.

Ned met them near the interrogation room.

The two-way mirror provided privacy for Sabrina and Clay. Stan Prescott sat at the table, hands clasped in front of him, head bent. Sabrina couldn’t read him. He didn’t look mad, guilty—or not guilty. He looked...blank.

Ned stepped into the interrogation room and took a seat across from Prescott. “Well? You got anything to say for yourself, man?”

Stan didn’t even blink, just continued his empty study of his hands. Ned sighed. “Stan, we go way back. Will you let me help you out?”

At Ned’s kind words, anger blazed across Stan’s face and he straightened, his fingers curling into fists. Sabrina tensed. Clay did the same. As fast as the anger burned, it fizzled out. Stan slumped and shook his head. “There’s no help for me, Ned. I’m pretty much done for, I reckon.”

“I’m not buying that. There’s still hope. At least until they close the casket.”

Sabrina itched for the man to get to the point, but she knew what Ned was doing. Being friendly to get all the information possible.

After two or three more minutes of the small talk, Ned finally asked, “Do you know Sabrina Mayfield?”

“Nope.”

“Never heard of her?”

Stan sniffed and rubbed his face. “Well, sure, I’ve heard of her. Her granny owns that B and B on Main.”

“That’s right. Why’d you pull a gun on Clay and her when they were at your trailer?”

Stan snorted. “They were trespassing. I got a right to keep people off my property.”

“True, true, but you didn’t drop the rifle when Clay told you to.”

“I was afraid of him. Thought he was going to shoot me.”

“Should have,” Clay muttered.

“No, you shouldn’t have.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Ned leaned forward. “Do you know where Jordan Zellis is?”

“Who?”

Sabrina thought Prescott’s confusion seemed genuine enough.

“Really?” Clay shook his head. “He’s going to play that game?” He shoved his hands into his pockets. She wondered if it was because he was trying to refrain from going through the window to shake a confession out of the man.

“All right, then did you shoot at Clay and Sabrina up near the caves?”

“Shoot at them? No!”

“He does look outraged, doesn’t he?” Sabrina said.

“Outraged. Yes, he does.”

“He looks like he’s telling the truth.”

Clay raised a brow. “When you’ve had as much practice at lying as Stan has, you get real good at it.”

Sabrina looked back at the man and felt pity for him. He looked...sad. As if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. “I don’t think he’s the one who shot me.”

Clay looked skeptical. “Why not?”

She shrugged and sucked in her breath as her wound pulled. “Call it a gut feeling. I don’t know.”

“Well, I’m not going to discount your gut, but I’m partial to evidence.”

“But we don’t have any against him.”

Ned stood and paced from one end of the little room to the other.

“We’ve got his rifle,” Clay said. “Ballistics is comparing it to the bullets found at the scene.”

“They actually found the bullets up near the caves?”

“Yes.”

“Oh. That’s good.”

Ned turned and walked toward the door. He tossed a glance at the two-way mirror and Clay tensed again. “Here he goes.”

“What?”

“Watch.”

Ned reached into his back pocket and pulled out a plastic bag with a small black item in it. He tossed it onto the table in front of Ned. “One last thing before we finish. Why was Steven Starke’s wallet found in your trailer?”

Stan blinked, then stared at the sheriff. “I don’t know.”

Clay deflated like a punctured balloon.

“What?” Sabrina asked.

“He didn’t react the way we were hoping.”

“React how?”

“Like a guilty man.”