she spoke up, she’d have to admit the tests she’d run. She’d have to admit that Dallas’s prints were on the knife. She would also have to confess to withholding evidence in a murder case. She’d be arrested along with Dallas.
“Joelle didn’t kill Webb,” Dallas said before she could speak up, “so the knife must be a fake. Or else someone planted evidence on it.”
“Possibly,” Owen admitted, sounding smug again. “But that’s why I’m turning it over to Marshal Warner here. I have someone retrieving it from the safe-deposit box as we speak.” Owen looked at Joelle, obviously waiting to see how she’d respond.
“Then we’ll wait for the test results,” Dallas insisted, and he shot her a stay-quiet look.
She wanted to pull both Owen and him aside so she could try to do the right thing, but Dallas’s iron gaze had her holding her tongue.
Joelle prayed that didn’t turn out to be a big mistake.
Marshal Warner gave them each a considering look. “I’ll accept custody of the knife and arrange for it to be sent to the lab. Since all of you were at Rocky Creek at the time of Webb’s death, it’s best if none of you has a part in this.”
Owen quickly nodded, stepped closer to Joelle. “And while we’re waiting for the results, Joelle and I can proceed with the marriage.”
“What?” she blurted out.
“Not a chance,” Dallas added. “She’s been drugged, remember? A medic needs to check her. She’ll need lab work. And we’ll need to take yours and Lindsey’s statements to figure out who put that drug in the drink.”
Owen’s eyes narrowed for just a split second, and then he must have remembered that Marshal Warner was watching his every move. “I hope you’ll be questioned, too, about kidnapping her. That wasn’t necessary, you know. I was already on the way to the church and could have handled the situation.”
Again, Dallas stepped in front of her. “Your idea of handling it would have had her saying ‘I do’ even though she was drugged out of her mind.”
Since this was quickly turning into an argument and because she was tired of having Dallas fight her battles, Joelle nudged him aside and faced Owen. “Dallas didn’t think it was safe for me to be at the church and therefore he won’t be questioned for kidnapping.”
She tossed Dallas one of those stay-quiet glares he’d been giving her since this conversation had first started. “That doesn’t mean I approve of what he did,” she continued. “I could have gotten out of the church by myself.”
Dallas made a yeah-right sound.
“This is all starting to sound personal,” Marshal Warner interrupted. “Is it?”
Harlan and Clayton looked away, leaving it to her and Dallas to answer.
“Joelle used to have a thing for Dallas,” Owen volunteered. “Old water, old bridge. She broke things off with him when she was a teenager, and she’s my fiancée now. As far as I’m concerned, the wedding will take place ASAP, right after a doctor confirms she’s okay, of course.”
Even though that was an accurate summary, there was something in Owen’s tone and expression. Maybe something about her dirty little secret.
Did Owen know?
Or was her guilty conscience coming in to play?
“Why don’t we step into the hall and discuss this?” she said to Owen. Joelle didn’t give him a chance to say no. She grabbed him by the arm and jerked him toward the door.
But the private conversation she’d intended suddenly wasn’t so private because Dallas stepped into the hall with them and shut the door. Not that she could blame him. He had just as much stake in this as she did. Maybe more.
“What game are you playing now?” Joelle immediately asked Owen. She kept her voice to a whisper and glanced around to make sure no one was within hearing range. Thankfully, they had the hall to themselves.
“No game,” Owen insisted. “I just want you to go through with our deal.”
“Our deal was for you to keep the knife hidden away until I could prove who really murdered Webb. Now that you’re turning it over to Marshal Warner, the deal is broken.”
“Maybe not. It’ll take a couple of days to get back the preliminary test results. A lot can go wrong during that time. The knife could be lost. Evidence could be destroyed.”
Dallas groaned. “And that will only make me or some member of my family look guiltier.”
“Not my problem.” The smugness was so thick now that Joelle was afraid Dallas might slug Owen. She grabbed Dallas’s