That’s true for most of the residents, and the ones who were close to being physically his match either lack motive or opportunity.”
“Doesn’t take much opportunity to stab a drunk man,” someone said.
Dallas automatically stood, reaching for his gun, and he spotted the man in the doorway. Rudy Simmons. The Rocky Creek caretaker.
“Didn’t hear you come up,” Dallas remarked. He didn’t draw his gun, but he kept his hand poised over his holster and would keep it that way until he was sure the man wasn’t a threat.
“Always been light on my feet,” Rudy remarked. And apparently he still was because despite the fact he was wearing boots, he hardly made a sound as he strolled across the room toward them.
Dallas estimated the man was about fifty-five now but looked younger. There were threads of gray in his dark blond hair but few wrinkles. Everything about him was wiry and alert, and he definitely didn’t put Dallas at ease.
“Marshal Walker.” Rudy gave a dry smile and used his thumb to push back his battered cowboy hat that had probably once been white. It was a dingy tan color now. “You’ve come up in the world. From what I’ve heard, all of Kirby’s boys have. Figure those badges will keep y’all out of jail?”
“Their innocence will do that,” Joelle jumped to say before Dallas could speak. She stood, squared her shoulders and stared at Rudy. “And what’s this about Webb being drunk? I interviewed you for hours, and you never mentioned that.”
“Didn’t I? Must have slipped my mind.” His attention landed on the folders. “Find anything in those files?”
“If I did, it slipped my mind,” Dallas drawled.
Rudy laughed, but the humor didn’t make it to his eyes, and any trace of the laugh quickly faded. “I thought you were done with your inquiry,” he said to Joelle. “Figured you were on the verge of having somebody arrested.”
“Not yet. In fact, I wanted to reinterview you and Sarah Webb.”
That tightened Rudy’s mouth. “You’re not thinking I killed him?”
“Did you?” Dallas asked. He stood, slowly, but kept his gaze pinned to Rudy so he could see every bit of his response.
“I didn’t.” His jaw tightened even more. He pointed his finger first at Dallas and then at Joelle. “Nothing good can come from digging up all this old junk. In fact, it could be downright dangerous to your health.”
Dallas moved out from behind the desk, putting himself in front of Joelle. “Is that some kind of threat?”
“No threat, Marshal. Just some sage advice. Of course, you were never good at taking advice, were you?”
“Not from you. And not from your old pal, Jonah Webb. Who killed him?” Dallas demanded.
Rudy got a cocky look on his face. “Rumor has it, you. Or your foster daddy.”
“Rumors aren’t worth a bucket of spit.” Dallas was about to press for a real answer from Rudy, but the sound stopped him.
Footsteps.
A moment later, Sarah Webb appeared in the doorway. Good. They hadn’t had to go to the cottage, after all. Both of their suspects had come to them, and there was no doubt in Dallas’s mind that both were indeed possible killers. There were very few adults who’d had access to Webb, but Rudy and she fit the bill.
“I saw you drive up,” Sarah said, her voice soft. She gave both Joelle and Dallas a half smile, but she glared when her gaze landed on Rudy. “The truck with supplies just arrived. They need you to sign some papers.”
Rudy returned the glare and extended it to Dallas and Joelle. “They’re putting their noses in places they don’t belong,” he told Sarah.
“They’re trying to find my husband’s killer,” she pointed out.
Sarah stepped inside the room, and Dallas got a better look at her. The years hadn’t been as kind to her as they had Rudy. She was rail thin to the point of looking unhealthy, and the way she had her auburn hair pulled back from her face only made her features look more pointed and harsh. She’d never been an attractive woman and was less so now.
“They’re trying to pin this on someone other than them,” Rudy snapped back.
Sarah spared him another glance and went closer to the desk. As Rudy had done, she looked at the folders that Dallas and Joelle had been reading. She would have to be blind not to see the names on the files, and one of them was his own.
Sarah turned her gaze back to Dallas. “What Rudy isn’t saying is that