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me up for ten years. He said to come here and say the house was mine. Don t know why. He paid for the plane ticket. Listen, I don t want no more trouble! I just want to go home! Not just yet, Tank told him acidly. First there s a little matter of assault and battery and some missing paperwork. Damned paperwork s under the mattress in the spare bedroom, he grumbled. And I m sorry I hit her, but she told me to get out. His face flamed. Ain t no woman alive talking to me like that on my own place! It s not your place, Merissa said with cold pride. She was shaking but her voice was almost steady. It s ours. And it will suit us both very well if we never have to see you again. You won t, Tank assured her. He looked at the man with icy eyes. He s going to jail for a long, long time. He ll get me a lawyer, Baker told him. He ll pay for it. He ll say those women lied. You want to take a look at Clara s face and run that line by me again? Tank demanded. Well, I ain t going to jail! He broke away from the men and took off out the back of the cabin. Carson, you re quicker than I am, Rourke began. Just as Carson started to the side of the cabin, there was a loud report. Tank swore once, violently. Stay with Clara and Merissa, he told Rourke. He and Carson ran around to the back of the cabin. Just down the trail there was a crumpled body. Carson went down on one knee. He felt for a pulse he knew he wouldn t find and got to his feet again. Better call the coroner, he told Tank, and deliberately stood in front of him. Judging from the size of the exit wound, it was a high caliber rifle. Get out of here, quick! he added. Go! He isn t after me! Tank went around the side of the house and up onto the porch. We d better get inside, he said. Bill? Clara asked worriedly. Dead, Tank said bluntly. I m sorry. Clara wept quietly. I m sorry he s dead, but only because he was once my husband. He was the most cruel human being I ve ever known. I can understand why, Tank said, looking at her ravaged, bruised face. I m sorry I wasn t here. He put an arm around Merissa, who was shaking, and held her close. He pulled Clara to his other side. It s going to be all right, he said softly. Nobody s hurting my girls on my watch. They both sobbed. He just held them closer. * * * THE SHERIFF CAME first, followed by EMTs, and a deputy stood watch over the remains until the coroner was able to get there. Sheriff Cody Banks was furious when he saw Clara s face. Any man who would do that to a woman should be shot, he muttered furiously. That s why I phoned you, Tank said. I meant to have him arrested for it. But he ran, and someone took him out. The same someone, he added heavily, that I think is after me. You want to run that by me again? Cody asked. Tank nodded. You can come to supper. We ll tell you everything we know. He indicated his two male companions. There s a lot going on. I wouldn t mind supper, Cody replied with a grin. I m so tired of burnt eggs and half-cooked bacon. You re not married? Rourke asked. Cody shook his head sadly. You know that new strain of flu that s going around, the deadly one? She was a doctor. She was treating a patient in a hospital down in Boulder. She died. I m sorry, Rourke said softly. Me, too, Cody replied. It was over a year ago, but it takes some getting used to. We d only been married two years. Tank looked at Merissa and imagined how he would have felt in Cody s position. It was devastating. What about Clara and Merissa? he asked the room at large. Are they going to be safe here? You want a gut reply, no, Rourke said abruptly. If he s brazen enough to kill one of his own accomplices, he ll kill anybody. He brought Clara s husband back here for some reason that we don t know. But it means he s targeted them. Maybe he knew the man s past and hoped he d kill them. He shook his head. Whatever the reason, they re in as much danger as you are. They can come and live at the ranch, Tank said. We ve got three spare bedrooms. It s a huge place. It s such an imposition, Clara protested. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |