The smell of the strong tea made her nauseous as she stepped to the door and locked it, then she picked up the cup of tea and carried it into the bathroom, where she paused before pouring it down the drain.
Tonight she could have used the mind-numbing effect of whatever drug Enid had put in it. But she could no longer allow herself that escape.
She dumped the tea and rinsed out the sink. The cup she left by her bed before going to the window to look out across the deep ravine to the rocky point in the distance.
It was over there, just across from the ranch, that her precious son had been murdered. Pepper thought of the third-floor room, the binoculars she’d found, and the feeling lodged deep in her heart that someone in her own family was involved.
Nothing else mattered but finding out the truth. It was why she’d made sure her granddaughter McCall had become acting sheriff. While they had never discussed it, Pepper had seen something in McCall’s expression. She didn’t believe, any more than Pepper did, that the alleged, now-deceased killer had acted alone.
And McCall, who was so like her grandmother, would never let a killer go free. Pepper was counting on her.
AS THEY ENTERED the house, Jack discovered his aunt Virginia had been waiting for them.
“I’d like to speak to my nephew,” she said, looking pointedly at Josey. “Alone.”
“Anything you have to say, you can say in front of my wife,” he said indignantly.
“It’s okay,” Josey said, touching his arm. “I’d like to take a look around the ranch.”
“Don’t go far,” Jack said.
Josey looked amused.
“I’m just saying this is wild country and you can get turned around out there in the dark.”
“Yes,” Virginia agreed with a tight smile. “My father disappeared out there on a night a lot like this one.”
“I don’t want you disappearing, too,” Jack said, only half-joking. “Also, there are rattlesnakes out there.”
Josey glanced at his aunt as if to say, And in here, too.
“What is this about?” Jack asked his aunt, as Josey left.
“Why don’t we step down the hall?” she said. “That awful woman might be listening. Both awful women,” she added under her breath.
They stepped into the parlor. Virginia closed the door and spun around, clearly angry. “Okay, you can knock off the act.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You aren’t Angus’s son, and even if you are, you’re not getting this ranch.”
Jack had to smile. “Isn’t it possible I’m just here to see my grandmother?”
His aunt scoffed. “You don’t have to pretend with me. She can barely stand the sight of you. She isn’t going to leave you a thing.”
Jack was tempted to say that it seemed to him that Pepper Winchester couldn’t stand the sight of anyone, maybe especially her daughter. “Frankly, I think she’ll try to take it all with her before she leaves any of us a dime. But even if I’m wrong, I’m no threat to you.”
Virginia looked skeptical. “Please. After that sympathy play you made at dinner? I see what you’re doing, but it won’t work. You’re wasting your time.”
“Is that why you pulled me in here? To tell me that?”
Virginia was tall like her mother, but without the grace. “Has my mother mentioned who else is coming to this gruesome reunion?”
“Your mother hasn’t shared anything with me.”
“Well, I’m worried.” Her gaze bored into his. “I heard Enid and Alfred whispering between themselves. They seem to think Pepper might not be of sound mind. I’m betting they’re thinking that they can somehow have her put away and take all her money.”
Jack wasn’t surprised to hear this. “God knows they’ve put up with her long enough. They probably deserve it.” Enid acted as if she was the lady of the house, not Pepper. It surprised him that his obstinate grandmother put up with it.
“What Enid and Alfred Hoagland deserve is to be fired before they steal her blind,” Virginia snapped. “What if they’ve somehow coerced her into making a new will and leaving everything to them?”
“I can’t see Pepper doing that under any circumstances. Haven’t you seen the way she looks at Enid? She detests the woman. And no one is going to have Pepper committed. It would require a mental evaluation, and I’d put my money on Pepper passing with flying colors.”
“You’d put your money on it?” Virginia said. “As if you had any money. I know that’s not your car parked out there.” She gave him a satisfied look. “I have connections. I had the plates run. That Cadillac belongs to the Galaxy Corporation. I assume you’re employed by them. Or did you steal the car?”
“I borrowed the Caddie with every intention of taking it back,” Jack said, bristling. He hadn’t expected this of his aunt.
“And your wife? Did you borrow her, as well?” Virginia asked with a laugh, then waved it off. “I was only joking. She’s right up your alley. I’ve seen the way she looks around the lodge, as if she’s putting a price tag on all the furnishings.”
Jack bit back an angry retort. It was one thing to come after him, but it was another to go after his wife. Even his pretend wife.
The irony didn’t escape him. He was defending a woman he’d picked up on the highway. A stranger he didn’t know beans about. But then, neither did his aunt.
“Josey likes antiques and comes from money,” he said, feeling that might be true. “I can assure you, she isn’t interested in Grandmother’s.”
“You don’t look anything like Angus,” Virginia said, changing tactics.
Jack laughed, determined not to let his aunt get to him. “I’m not going to argue this with you. My grandmother knows the truth, that’s all that matters.”
“Your grandmother is the reason you’re a bastard. She didn’t think your mother was good enough for Angus.”
He tried to rein in his temper, but Virginia had pushed him too far. “Pepper never approved of any of the women her
