framed by the rectangle. The entrance hall behind her was shadowy. Talk about abnormal; though she was obviously making a huge effort to smile at us, it seemed more like the grin of a skull. Her eyes were as round as quarters and tension screamed in every muscle.
Red alert. Our steps slowed. "Hey, you-all, come on in." All the natural enthusiasm she'd shown when we'd met here the first time had been replaced by an intense anxiety.
"We shouldn't have said we'd come by, we have an appointment in Dallas," I said. "Lizzie, can we come back tomorrow? We really can't miss this date we have."
I saw the relief on Lizzie's narrow face. "Well, just give me a call tonight," she said. "You-all drive on to Dallas."
"Oh, come in and have a drink," Chip said from behind her.
She twitched, and her attempt at a smile vanished. "Get back in the car," she said, "Get out!"
"You better not," Chip said, his voice calm and level. "You better come on in." We saw that he had revolver in his hand. That clarified our choice.
Chip and Lizzie backed up.
"I'm sorry," she said to me. "I'm sorry. He said he'd shoot Kate if I didn't call you."
"I would have done it, too," Chip said.
"I know you would," I told him. As we eased past Lizzie and stood in the square foyer, waiting for further directions, I understood what had fascinated me about Chip. His bones. His bones were dead. This was a strange connection, and one I'd never experienced before; or if I had, I hadn't understood its nature.
"Where is everyone?" Tolliver asked. His voice was as calm as Chip's.
"I sent everyone on the payroll to the farthest places on the ranch I could think of, and it's Rosita's day off," Chip said. He was smiling again, bright and hard, and I sure would have liked to wipe that look off his face. "It's just me and the family."
Shit.
Chip herded us all down the hall to the gun room. The light was still streaming in all the French doors, and the view was just as beautiful, but now I was in no mood to admire it.
Drex was standing there. He had a gun, too, which was a surprise. Kate was tied to a chair. They'd released Lizzie to lure us in the house. The ropes were loose around another chair.
"Good to see you again, Harper," Drex said. "We had a good time at the Outback, didn't we?"
"It was all right," I said. "It was too bad that Victoria was murdered after that. Kind of ruined my memory of the evening."
He gulped and looked upset, just for a split second. "Yeah, she was a nice woman," he said. "She seemed like a... She seemed good at what she did."
"She worked hard for you-all," I said.
"You think they'll ever find out who killed her?" Chip said. He smiled some more.
"Did you shoot Tolliver?" I asked him. There didn't seem to be much point in keeping quiet about it.
"Naw," he said. "That was my buddy Drex, here. Drex ain't good for much, but he can shoot. I told Drex to shoot you, but he seemed reluctant." He said the word slowly, as if he'd just learned it. "He didn't want to shoot a woman. Ol' Drex is gallant in his own way. I tried to correct his thinking a few nights later when you were out running, but damn if that cop didn't jump in front of you and take the bullet. I wouldn't have fired if I'd known he was a cop. I thought he looked sort of familiar, and it made me sick when I heard I'd shot a football player."
"Why shoot us at all?"
"Because you knew about Mariah, and you told. Maybe I could get Lizzie to forget about it if you died, but I knew as long as you lived she'd think about what you said at the cemetery. She'd wonder about her grandfather's death, and she'd ask herself who wanted him dead. Then she'd go looking, if she believed there was a baby. Lizzie would love to have a kid to raise, and she's all about family." He dug the gun into Lizzie's neck, and he kissed her on the mouth. She spat when he drew away, and he laughed.
"Why would I have to be dead?" I was genuinely curious.
"'Cause that's the way my baby is. She pays attention to things when they're right in front of her, but if they're out of