Texas Tall - Janet Dailey Page 0,52

head beneath the ceiling, stepped outside.

One look at his grim face told her something wasn’t right.

“What did you see?” Erin was all eagerness.

“Mostly just snakes. Plenty of those. But no treasure. I could see all the way to the bottom, and it wasn’t there. Sorry, Erin.”

“Me too.” Her face fell. Her shoulders slumped. “I was really hoping I could help my dad with the ranch. I’ve heard him and Uncle Beau talking. I know they’re having money troubles.”

“Oh, honey!” Lauren hugged the girl, her eyes misting. Glancing up, she met Sky’s gaze. His jaw was set, his eyes guarded. She knew her man. He was troubled. And something told her it wasn’t just about the ranch.

“You saw something else, didn’t you?” she guessed. “What was it?”

He handed her the flashlight and pulled off his gloves. His gaze flickered toward Erin. He hesitated, as if weighing the wisdom of telling her, then decided to go ahead. “I saw bones,” he said. “They looked like human bones.”

CHAPTER 10

The door to Clay Drummond’s office burst open. Tori strode in like an Amazon in full battle gear. Even dressed in jeans and a baggy sweatshirt, with her reading glasses perched atop her rumpled blond mane, she was spectacular, Clay thought. But he knew she hadn’t barged in here to be admired.

Ignoring his invitation to take a seat, she loomed over his desk. One hand clutched a sheaf of papers, which she shoved in his face. “Take a look!” she said. “I’ve spent the past two days researching precedents for Will’s case. Here’s what I found—five similar cases in Texas alone to support a verdict of self-defense. Read them! This trial is a farce—a waste of time and taxpayer money!”

Clay took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay perfectly calm. “It wasn’t my decision to try this case, Tori. It was the judge’s. Will took an innocent man’s life. My job is to prosecute him to the full extent of the law. That’s what I intend to do.”

Standing, arms akimbo, she braced her fists on her lovely hips. “How long did we work together, Clay? How many times since then have we faced each other in court? I know how you like to win. But, as far as I’m aware, you’ve always done it honestly. This case feels different, almost as if somebody’s got it in for Will. What’s going on here?”

“As I told you, Tori, I’m just doing my job.” He straightened the papers she’d flung at him. “By the way, there’s been a new development. You’ll get the official word in a couple of days, but as long as you’re here, I may as well give you a heads-up. Abner and I have been reviewing the evidence, both physical and circumstantial. We’re in agreement that, along with the present charges against Will, we should add obstruction of justice.”

Tori went rigid. “Obstruction? Good Lord, Clay, how did the two of you come up with that?”

“Think about it,” Clay said. “First, Will contaminated the crime scene by covering the dead man with a blanket from his truck. Since his DNA, and who knows what else, was already on the blanket, there’d be no way to tell if he’d touched the body.”

“Will wouldn’t have been thinking about that,” Tori said. “His only intention was to keep Erin from seeing the man.”

“Second,” Clay continued, “Will sent a key eyewitness away from the crime scene before the sheriff arrived, giving her time to think about her testimony, maybe even change it, before her interview.”

“Oh, good grief! Why don’t you charge me, too?” Tori snapped. “I was the one who picked her up and drove her home. For heaven’s sake, Clay, Erin’s a child. She was scared and upset. Besides, Will had told her to get on the floor. He didn’t know she’d witnessed anything until I told him the next day.”

“I’m aware that Erin’s a child, Tori. I also know the girl would say anything to help her father.” He rose behind his desk. The feeling that he had this beautiful, powerful woman at his mercy was strangely heady, almost erotic. “One more thing,” he said. “Just so it won’t be a surprise, we’ll be calling your daughter as a witness—for the prosecution.”

* * *

The afternoon sun was sinking toward the caprock by the time Sky returned with Erin and Lauren from their canyon adventure. Tired and hungry, they unsaddled their horses, rubbed them down, and put them away.

He glanced at Erin as they left the barn, wanting