The Lawman's Agreement (Entangled Scandalous) (10 page)

Zack stopped and drew Suzanne to his side. All around them, people moved from one place to the next, acknowledging their presence with a tip of the hat or a nod. Zack turned to face her and, immediately, her pulse began to race. With the slightest pressure of his fingertips, he raised her chin until their gazes met. “
Cher
, perhaps we should relieve the townspeople of any concerns they may have.”

He lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers, the precision of his kiss setting loose every emotion she’d spent the past four days trying to tamp down. Suzanne raised her hand and threaded her fingers through Zack’s hair until she could press her open palm to the back of his head.

She looked up at him and smiled, telling him, “I don’t think they noticed. Maybe we should do that again.”

…

“Well, at least we can agree on one thing,” Zack said. “That was definitely a prize-winning piece of pie.” He pushed the empty plate aside and drained the last of his coffee before pushing back the chair and standing.

“We still need to talk.”

“You’re right,
cher
, we do.” Zack drew her to her feet and into the parlor. When they were seated on the overstuffed settee, he said, “Let me begin by saying, you are one beautiful, intelligent, and enticing woman. I’ve spent the last four days just trying to get the image of your long legs out of my head.”

“My legs?”

“Among other things.”

A rush of heat rose to Suzanne’s cheeks and she realized, probably for the first time in her life, she was blushing. She needed to think, to regain control, before she lost her nerve and couldn’t say want she wanted to say. Felicity had been right…they needed to be true to themselves and find a way to be together without the townspeople finding out about it.

“I’ve been thinking about our agreement,” she began. “And of how well it was working before the other night.”

“We did have everyone fooled, didn’t we? Still do, as a matter of fact.”

“That’s the problem,” she admitted. “Perhaps the only ones we are truly fooling is ourselves.”

“How so,
cher
?”

“Prior to the other evening, we had a great relationship, friendship, going. We could go anywhere, see anyone, and pretend to be courting. Yet, beneath all that there was always this tension. There was always this question as to whether two kisses were enough for show and would the third kiss be only for us.”

“Guilty as charged,” Zack said, raising his hand in the air. “I admit, I did steal a couple of extra kisses.”

“And, we both enjoyed everyone one of them, even the ones for our audience.”

“Yes,
cher
, we did. And now that we’ve got things out in the open, I see no reason we can’t go on with our agreement.”

“Actually, I was hoping to alter our agreement.” She could see the concern in Zack’s expression and she rushed to relieve his worry. “After thinking about it for the past few days, I’d like to propose we add a physical relationship.”

“Physical? As in lovemaking?”

“Yes. Assuming you have no objections.”

Zack shook his head, his gaze locked on hers almost as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “No,” he said finally, “no objections at all.”

“Good. I think if we can address the physical tension between us…” Her words faltered when she realized Zack was staring at her mouth.

“I think I’d like to kiss you now,
cher
.”

Suzanne went willingly into Zack’s embrace, raised her head, and accepted his kiss. He licked his lips and hers, urging her mouth open with the gentle pressure of his tongue until he could deepen the kiss. They traded kiss for kiss, taste for taste until their ragged breathing fell into a complementary rhythm.

Zack reached for the buttons at the front of her dress, sliding the first two from their holes. Anxious to be of assistance, Suzanne reached for the next two only to have Zack still her hands and place both of her palms against his chest. Suzanne’s arms tingled, matched by the steady cadence of Zack’s heartbeat.

“Patience,
cher
. There’s no reason to rush.”

“We could, I suppose, start on our altered agreement tonight,” she suggested.

Zack stood then and lifted Suzanne off her feet and into his arms. He turned toward the bedroom, stopping at the doorway only long enough to say, “I do have one requirement for this altered agreement.”

“And that is?”

“Occasionally, you let me take the lead.”

Chapter Twelve

Zack slid from beneath the quilt to stand and stretch at the side of the bed. Moonlight slipped through the window, illuminating the room and the woman lying naked atop the bed, tempting him for one more toss between the sheets…to heck with the neighbors and what they would think. Suzanne’s gaze on his body made him wonder if the sight of a semi-aroused man made even the slightest impression on their plan to hide their physical relationship.

“I’ll be dressed and out of your way in a few minutes,” he said. Suzanne sighed deeply, the sound drawing his attention.

“I wish you didn’t have to leave.”

He chuckled, but the sound caught in his throat. “Me too. I’d like nothing more than to climb back into that bed and make love to you over and over again.”

He paused, hoping she too wished to tempt fate. When she said nothing, he pulled on his trousers. He leaned forward and placed a kiss to her forehead. “Try to grab another hour’s sleep.”

Rather than respond to his suggestions, she told him, “I’ve worked out a schedule.”

“A schedule for what?” Zack slid his arms into his shirt, and drew it around him, waiting patiently for her answer.

“For our physical encounters.”

“Excuse me?” He definitely didn’t like the way the conversation was going. “I’d always assumed something like making love should come naturally.”

“I have to protect myself from pregnancy.”

This time it was Zack’s turn to sigh deeply, certain he was about to receive yet another one of Suzanne’s anatomy lessons. “And, how do you propose to do that, Doc?”

“According to all the studies I’ve done on my pregnant patients, I believe there are certain times of the month when a woman is more vulnerable to conceiving. If my calculations are correct, and I assume they are, the first ten days after a woman’s monthly are the most vulnerable. During those times it would be dangerous for us to be together.”

“Well, tell you what,
cher
, you put together that schedule. I’ll have a look at it. If it fits into my schedule, then we’re all fine and dandy.”

“Your schedule?” she asked.

He buttoned up his shirt and slipped into his vest. Gathering his boots, hat, gun and holster into his hands, he started for the bedroom door. He stopped just short of going through, turned back to face her and explained, “I’m not a machine you can just turn on and off. I have a tendency to become aroused every time I kiss you,
cher
. So, if we have to schedule our lovemaking, we may also have to rethink our kisses, both for an audience and ourselves.”

…

Well, the morning certainly hadn’t gone as well as she’d hoped. Couldn’t Zack see how unreasonable he was being? The last thing either of them needed, given their agreement, was for her to become pregnant.

Hopefully, her full schedule would help keep her focused and her mind off of the marshal’s magnificent body. Just the sight of him when he’d slipped out of the bed had increased her heart rate, caused her pulse to race. The urge to forego her obligations had nearly caused her to draw Zack back to her bed.

Suzanne ushered the first of her morning appointments toward the exam room. She’d barely begun her exam when a knock sounded at the door. “Excuse me a moment, Mrs. Richards,” Suzanne said.

The elderly woman nodded, and Suzanne rose from her seat on the stool beside the exam table and went to the door.

“What is it, Kristine?” she asked.

“The marshal sent word that he’ll need your assistance in about an hour.”

“Did he say why?” Suzanne asked.

“No. Although there’s a rumor going round town there was a body found up on the property where the McCade’s are building their new hotel.”

“My word,” Suzanne exclaimed. “Send a message back to the jail. Let them know I can go there to observe, or they can bring the body here and I’ll perform a post-mortem examination, whichever they’d prefer.”

“I’ll get that done. What about the other patients? You have a full schedule this morning.”

“See if Doc Miller can come over. If not, we may have to reschedule them for tomorrow.”

Suzanne returned to Mrs. Richards and then saw the next two patients as well. She was about to have Kristine reschedule the others when Doc Miller arrived.

“I heard you needed some help, Suzanne,” he said.

“I’ve got a dead body coming in shortly. I may have to do a more thorough exam if it’s not apparent what killed the poor soul.”

“I can finish up with the clinic patients, if you’d like. I’d like to watch the post-mortem, if possible. We don’t get much call for them, and I’d be interested to see your approach.”

“I’d welcome your assistance, both with the clinic and the body,” Suzanne confirmed. “If you’ll take the next patient, I’ll get the operating room set up at the hospital.”

Zack, Deputy Bailey and Jake arrived less than an hour later. Once the body had been moved from the back of the wagon and into the hospital operating room, Suzanne met the three men there.

“Do you know what happened?” she asked.

“We’re still piecing it together,” Zack said.

Suzanne met Jake McCade’s gaze. “Was the man working on your construction site?”

Before Jake could answer, Zack said, “No. He worked at the lumber mill.”

“How do you know that?”

Rather than answer, Zack pulled back the sheet covering the man’s body. “It’s Sven Larson, the man we’d asked to keep an eye on things at the mill.”

“Oh,” was all she could manage. She drew a deep breath, set aside her emotions, and went to work starting at the very top of Larson’s body. “Well, first of all, the contusion on the back of Mr. Larson’s head didn’t kill him. It’s not extensive enough.”

“We found him face down in the creek at the side of the property,” Jake explained. “Could he have drowned?”

“That’s certainly something I’ll be able to tell once I’ve performed the autopsy, assuming that’s what you want to do, Marshal.”

“We need to get justice for this man’s death, doc. I want you to do whatever you have to in order to get the answers.” Zack turned to Jake and Pete and told them, “Why don’t you fellows head back out to the site and take another look around? See if there’s anything we missed.”

“Wait,” Suzanne said as the two men turned to go. She crossed the room and took two clean jars from the shelf above the sink. “If you could get me a sample of the water from the creek, I’d appreciate it.”

“What about the second jar?” Jake asked.

“I’d also like a sample of the water around the lumber mill for comparison.”

Deputy Bailey took the two jars from her hands, handing one to Jake. “Why don’t you get the sample from your construction site? I’ll ride up to the mill and fill the second jar.”

Once Jake and Bailey had left, Zack asked, “What can I do to help?”

“I know you’re a big, strong lawman, and you’ve seen your share of bodies. However, an autopsy is not for the faint of heart. I won’t even allow the nurses to assist. Doc Miller is going to give me a hand, but I’d rather you waited outside.”

“I’m not squeamish, doc. I can stand a little blood.”

Suzanne did her best to stifle her laughter but a short chuckle escaped. “He’s dead, Zack, there’ll be very little blood, possibly none at all, depending on how long ago he died. However, there will be lungs and intestines and, quite possibly an exposed brain.”

“Okay,” he relented. “I’ll take a ride back out to the site and see if Jake’s found anything useful. I’ll meet up with Bailey as well and bring back those water samples you requested.”

Suzanne reached up and laid her hand against Zack’s cheek. “I’d appreciate that, Zack.” When he turned to leave, she added, “If there’s anything untoward to be found in Mr. Larson’s death, I’ll find it.”

“I know you will,
cher
. You haven’t let me down yet, I don’t expect you will this time.”

Doc Miller removed the apron he’d placed over his clothes and washed his hands in the basin by the sink. “Well, that’s that,” he said. “The blow to the head was definitely not the cause of death.”

“As I suspected, Mr. Larson drowned. We drained enough water from his lungs we should be able to make an accurate comparison to the samples the marshal’s bringing in. Once we determine where he drowned, they can begin a more thorough investigation.”

“You seem especially vested in this case, Suzanne. Is there something you’re not saying?”

“Mr. Larson came into the clinic a week or so ago with a cut from a protruding nail at the lumber camp. When Zack and I questioned him, he insisted the site had been sabotaged. Zack asked him to keep an eye out for troublemakers. I can’t help but think that’s what got him killed.”

“Mr. Larson’s death wasn’t your fault, or Zack’s. The only one to blame is the man who killed him. You’d do well to remember that.”

“I know, but I still can’t help but think about it.”

Suzanne had just finished stitching up Sven Larson’s chest when a knock sounded at the door. “Come in,” she called.

“I’ve got those samples, Suzanne,” Zack said, walking slowly toward the table.

“It’s okay, I’m done.”

“What’s that?” Zack asked, nodding toward the three large jars sitting beside the exam table.

“The contents of Mr. Larson’s lungs, stomach and bowel,” she said simply. Suzanne did her best to remain stoic when Zack swallowed hard and turned his attention to the body instead.

“What did the autopsy show?” he asked.

“As I’d suspected, and Doc Miller confirmed, the blow to the head only stunned Mr. Larson, giving whoever hit him time to hold his head underwater until he drowned.”

Zack held out the two jars, the first one labeled “hotel” and the second “lumber mill”. “Can you tell from these where he was drowned?”

Suzanne took the jars from Zack’s hand and carried them toward the table in the back of the room before returning to retrieve the jar containing the contents of Larson’s lungs.

“I’ll compare samples of each under the microscope. The microscopic particles in the water will determine whether or not he was drowned at the hotel site, or the mill. However, if neither of the samples are a match, we’ve nothing to go on.”

“There aren’t that many bodies of water around here, short of the river itself. If necessary, we can take samples there as well.”

Zack settled himself on the opposite side of the table while Suzanne took out the items she would need to view the water samples. She went back and forth a number of times, making notes as she went in order to quantify her findings. Finally, setting aside the microscope, she raised her head and met Zack’s intense gaze.

“Your opinion,
cher
?”

“The water in Mr. Larson’s lungs definitely came from the lumber mill. Once I strained the contents and examined the samples under the microscope, it was fairly easy to determine where he was killed. In addition to the insects and particles you’d expect to find, there were also traces of sawdust. If there were any type of a struggle, or gunplay, you’ll likely find evidence of it a bit downstream from the actual mill.”

“Why downstream?” Zack asked.

“If he were killed closer to the mill, the sawdust would have been even more prevalent. And, upstream, there would be no particles at all.”

Zack stood and turned toward the door, a look of determination settling in his expression. “I’ll take Tom Stiles out to the mill with me to look around. We’ve got a good four hours of daylight left. Hopefully, that’ll be enough to find what we’re looking for.”

“I know Jake will be relieved to learn the man wasn’t killed on his property,” Suzanne said.

“He’d already shut down construction for today and tomorrow just to be on the safe side. I’m sure he’ll be happy to have everyone working again by Monday.”

“Is there anything else you need me to do for you?” she asked.

“Not at the moment. Sven Larson’s family is on their way from Jackson. I know they’ll want an explanation of what happened, and I’d appreciate your input when the time comes.”

Suzanne nodded, and then asked, “Should I wait for you?”

“I can’t promise anything,
cher
. There’s no telling how long the investigation will take. You go on home once you’re done here and, if it’s not too late I’ll come by and give you an update on what we found.”

…

Zack dismounted from his horse and tethered the animal to the hitching post outside the lumber mill’s main office. “You stay out here,” he said to Deputy Stiles. “I don’t want anyone walking in on my conversation with McLeary.”

“Gotcha, Marshal. I’ll keep everyone away.”

Zack entered the cramped office. McLeary sat at one desk and another man directly opposite.

“Marshal,” McLeary said, standing to offer his hand. “What can I do for you today?”

“Do you have an employee by the name of Sven Larson on the payroll?”

“Yes, we do. Unfortunately, Mr. Larson didn’t show up for work today. I was about to send someone into town looking for him. It’s not like Sven to miss a day. I thought he might be sick and at the clinic.”

Zack met the second man’s gaze and then turned back to McLeary. “Could you and I speak in private?”

“It’s okay, Marshal, this is Butch Collier, my new business partner. Whatever you want to say to me, you can say to him.”

“I didn’t realize you were in the market for investors,” Zack said.