Confessing to the Cowboy - By Carla Cassidy Page 0,21
She stood with her back stiff, her eyes dry as the minister began the service. Cameron had found her to be a sour woman who’d had little nice to say about her older sister. All Sarah had wanted was to get the funeral over with as quickly as possible so she could get back to her own life.
She was leaving town the minute the service was over. Good riddance, Cameron thought wryly. She’d had nothing to offer to help in any way, had confessed that the two sisters had fallen out years ago and had maintained only phone contact once a year at Christmastime since the falling-out.
Cameron couldn’t help but think of his brother, Bobby, and his heart ached with loss. Bobby had been two years younger than Cameron and the brothers had been close. Bobby was one of those people who could light up a room, who, no matter what your mood, could make you laugh.
Bobby had loved the ranch work but had understood that the ranch wasn’t Cameron’s calling. Ten years ago when Cameron had decided to run for sheriff, Bobby had been his biggest supporter. Cameron couldn’t imagine anything driving a wedge between him and his brother. Only death had been a powerful enough force to rob Cameron of that precious relationship.
He forced his concentration back to the crowd, this time trying to discern who wasn’t in attendance. Who wasn’t here was just as important as who was as far as he was concerned.
One person notably missing from the crowd was Thomas Manning, the loner who had moved to town months ago. Cameron frowned trying to remember if the man had attended any of the funerals of the victims. He didn’t think so. It might mean something, it might mean nothing.
A sigh of frustration escaped Cameron’s lips. A break, they just needed some kind of a damned break. They’d spent the past two days chasing down all the businesses that helped keep the café running smoothly. Nothing had come from any of those interviews.
As Ben Temple sidled up next to him, he gave his deputy a grim nod. “Nothing suspicious that I can see so far. What about you?”
“Nada,” Ben replied. “Other than the fact that Dorothy’s sister appears eager to dash, nobody looks out of the ordinary.” Ben raised his collar as a cold gust of wind swept through where they stood.
“You know, I thought of something last night. A couple of months ago I was in the café when Denver Walton asked Mary for a job and she turned him down.” Ben kept his voice low as the minister droned on.
Cameron whipped his head around to look at Ben. “How did Denver take it?”
“Not real well as I remember. He stormed out of the café and told her he wouldn’t eat in her joint again. Of course he was back the next day for breakfast acting as if nothing had happened.”
Cameron looked at Mary, then over to where Denver stood alone at the edge of the crowd. “I wonder why Mary didn’t mention that to me?”
“Probably for the same reason I’m just now telling you. She just didn’t think about it as any big deal,” Ben replied and then drifted away from Cameron’s side.
Cameron looked back at Denver Walton. For the past six months or so he was rarely seen without Madison Billings at his side. Maddy was a beautiful blonde from a well-to-do family who also had a snarky side that made her far less beautiful once you got to know her.
She and Denver had been an item until about a month ago when the two had broken up for reasons unknown. Funny, Denver was a native of Grady Gulch and about Cameron’s age, but Cameron didn’t know much about the man. They hadn’t run in the same crowd when growing up, and Cameron had no idea how Denver made a living other than spending Maddy’s money.
Definitely Denver Walton deserved a closer look. As did Maddy, he thought, reminding himself that there was nothing to positively indicate the killer was male.
Denver was a flirt and it didn’t matter if the waitress serving him was twenty or sixty, he used his considerable charm on all of them. Was it possible that Maddy had somehow taken offense to Denver’s behavior with the waitresses at the café?
On the surface it seemed utterly ridiculous, but at this point Cameron was willing to look at everything and everyone in an attempt to make sense. Besides, he’d seen Maddy go