One More Dance by Roxanne Rustand (best ebook reader for pc txt) 📗

The words were stilted, still edged with ice, but it was a start. “I’ll call immediately if there’s any change. Okay?”

With a nod, Sylvia started to follow Casey out the door, then she turned back. Her face was still lined with fear and exhaustion, but there was a flicker of something new...as if those steel-gray eyes had softened, just a little.

Maybe there was hope after all.

JUST MINUTES AFTER Casey and Sylvia left, the sheriff arrived, his keys jangling in one hand with every stride and a scarred leather notebook in the other. Tom trailed behind, red-faced and breathing hard.

Kate gripped the arms of her chair and stood up. “The clinic has been broken into twice in twenty-four hours. Did you find any clues this time? Fingerprints?”

“I have a deputy going over the scene with a fine-tooth comb.”

“I was just there—right at the clinic.”

“I know. One of the deputies drove by earlier and saw your car.”

“How could it happen so fast?” But even as she said the words, she felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. “Was I being watched?”

“That’s my guess. But it gets even more interesting than that.” The sheriff glanced at Tom, then opened the notebook in his hand to review some notes. “When Jared’s SUV was pulled out of the ditch, we didn’t notice anything at first...as a lot of the paint was burned and the vehicle was badly damaged. And part of one side was buried in the damp ground.”

Her sinking feeling turned into a cold, hard fist that tightened around her stomach as she thought about the dead woman and the evidence that might have been discovered.

“We think we found evidence that the vehicle had been sideswiped—there’s some green paint residue. Do you remember you or your husband having any sort of minor accident when that could have occurred?”

“No. Never.”

He nodded, his lips pursed, as if she’d just confirmed what he’d believed all along. “Then we can look at the possibility that a second vehicle was involved—either accidentally or intentionally.”

“And given the other threats and the break-ins at the clinic, it seems likely that it would be the latter,” Tom interjected. “I’m worried about your safety, Kate. And about Jared’s, as well.”

Kate drew in a sharp breath. “I just sent Casey and Sylvia home. Alone.”

The sheriff tapped the microphone clipped at his shoulder and rattled off orders to a dispatcher, then signed off. “I’ve sent a deputy over there to keep watch, and we’re having that paint sample analyzed to determine the make and model of the car that might have been involved. I also have a deputy questioning people in town to see if anyone saw a suspicious vehicle at your clinic this morning as they drove by. But in the meantime, we need to talk about the possibilities here.”

Tom nodded. “The sheriff and I went through Jared’s records at the free clinic, Kate. There are a couple that look suspicious—a large farming corporation accused by a neighbor of illegally contaminating Silver Creek with feedlot runoff. The neighbor guy came to Jared for help when the county wasn’t taking quick enough action, I guess. There have been a lot of heated words—even some threats—back and forth between these two guys.

“Another case Jared has taken on is against a small meat processing plant in the next county. Two of the employees are trying to sue over being fired—unfairly, they say. Other than that, most of Jared’s pro bono cases have been domestic disputes or wrangles between neighbors.”

She blinked, taking it all in. It wouldn’t set well with those business owners if those little guys were now armed with a determined lawyer. Could someone from the corporation or processing plant have been desperate enough to attempt murder? And were they determined not to stop until no further threat remained?

Tom rested a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll keep looking through the records, and the sheriff’s department is continuing its investigation. But be careful, Kate. There’s someone out there who’s wanting payback. When your husband wakes up, do everything in your power to make him back off from those cases for a while. Understand? Everything—before something worse happens.”

“This is all just beyond belief,” Kate said. “Twenty years of peace and quiet—then a car wreck, a fatality, and now these break-ins all at once.” She shook her head. “Do you have anything at all on the woman who died?”

The sheriff flipped further back in his notebook. “No fingerprint matches. We found no personal ID on the body or anywhere in the car. There’ve been no missing person reports that even come close. And without a list of possible names, dental records can’t be tracked down for comparison.”

“The labels in her clothes? Anything in her purse—a receipt, maybe?”

“Nope.” He lifted a brow and gave her a piercing look. “Did you and Jared ever go out shooting? You know, target practice?”

“I don’t see why—”

“I’d just like to know, ma’am.”

“Some high school friend of Jared’s took us out to a range a few times, but that was years ago. We shot his rifles and some handguns at targets, but we’ve never gone hunting. Why?”

The sheriff hesitated, his eyes still fixed on hers. “Because we found a .44 Magnum in the glove compartment of your husband’s vehicle. Any idea why he’d be packing a gun?”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

SPEECHLESS, KATE STARED at the sheriff and shook her head.

“Did he ever mention being personally threatened? That he needed to carry a gun for protection?”

“H-he never said a word.” She paced a few feet away, then returned. “After the kinds of cases he’s seen in court, he’s always said that he’s totally against people carrying weapons.”

“Maybe he thought circumstances forced him to. Though I’m afraid there’s no record of any gun permits being issued in his name...and that opens up a whole other set of problems here.”

“I...” She fell silent. The free clinic wasn’t in the best part of town, and who knew what sort of lowlifes frequented