“She’s trouble,” he said.
Chester laughed. “Aren’t all women? But there’s nothing wrong with a little trouble. Especially if it comes wrapped up in a package like that. If I was forty years younger, I’d be chasing after that woman like a coyote after a rabbit, trouble or not.”
“Beauty isn’t everything.”
“True, but I think the deputy has proven she’s not just a pretty face. From what I hear, she’s doing a damn good job while Sheriff Willaby is out. She’s showing up in town every day and has taken a real interest in people’s well-being. She gets after folks when they need it, but doesn’t hand out tickets right and left like that idiot Willaby. And she found Boomer after he ran off.”
She was doing a good job. Lincoln couldn’t help wondering why. It couldn’t have been his lecture. She had proven she liked doing the opposite of what he wanted. But something had caused her to start taking her job seriously. Now he was worried she was going to take it too seriously. After she identified the bone as human, she had become almost ecstatic. Like she had discovered a diamond ring on a beach with a metal detector. He didn’t need the deputy butting her cute little nose into his investigation. It was his job. He would do it. Which meant he needed to stop beating around the bush and worrying about hurting Chester’s feelings.
He took a deep breath and got straight to the point. “The day you came back to check on Val, you talked to Sam, didn’t you?”
Chester spit a stream of tobacco onto the ground. “We’ve been over this, boy.”
“I know. I need to go over it again.”
“Why? I thought you’d given up on finding Sam Sweeney.”
“I was hoping to, but now I can’t. Boomer had a bone when the deputy found him.” He paused. “A human bone.”
Chester showed no surprise. He just stared ahead and kept riding. “And you think it’s Sam’s?”
“Yes. I also think there’s something you’re not telling me about Sam. And I need to know what it is, Chester. This might not be a missing person we’re dealing with anymore. It could be a murder.”
Chester glanced over at him. “And am I a suspect? Do you think I would kill a man for pulling some mean-spirited pranks, boy?”
“You threatened to fill him full of holes if he ever came back to the ranch. And he came back.”
“That was just my temper talking. I was angry about what he’d done to you boys . . . and angry at myself for not seeing what kind of man he was sooner.”
“But something happened that day between you and Sam, didn’t it? And I need to know what it is, Chester, in case the bone does turn out to be Sam’s.”
They rode in silence for several minutes before Chester finally spoke. “No wonder you’re a damn fine Texas Ranger. You’ve got good instincts, boy.” Lincoln had always loved getting praise from Chester, but not now. Now he wished he’d been wrong.
“Why did you lie to me and say you only saw Sam from a distance?”
“Because I did only see him from a distance. Like I said, he was leaving when I got there and there was no way I could’ve caught him before he left the ranch.” Chester shit another stream of tobacco. “It was only after he left the ranch that I caught up with him. And it took some mighty fast riding to do that.”
“You rode after him?”
“Damn right I did. I told him to stay away and he didn’t listen. So I rode hard and cut him off before he reached the highway.”
“But you swore you didn’t speak to Sam.”
“I didn’t. I just shot a few holes in his truck to teach him not to mess with the Double Diamond boys.”
“Jesus Christ.” Lincoln covered his face with his hand and massaged his temples.
“Now don’t be gettin’ your panties in a bunch. I didn’t hit him. Back then, I wasn’t half blind like I am now and I hit exactly what I aimed for. I aimed for the truck. Not him.”
“But the bullets could have ricocheted.”
“They could’ve, but they didn’t. Sam was just fine when he drove off like the hounds of hell were after him.” Chester chuckled.
“Dammit! This isn’t funny, Chester.” The horse felt his frustration and pranced sideways until Lincoln got her under control. “If Sam turns up dead, you’ll be a prime suspect if anyone finds out about what you did. And now that I know, I’ll have to report it.” He took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair. “Dammit.”
“This is why I didn’t tell you in the first place,” Chester said. “I knew if Sam turned up dead, it would put you in a tight spot.”
It did put him in a tight spot. Even if Chester hadn’t killed Sam, he’d shot at him. And that kind of evidence could lead to a conviction. The only way to make sure Chester wasn’t falsely accused was to find out what happened to Sam Sweeney. He was a Texas Ranger. He needed to get over his hatred of Sam and start acting like one. If it turned out Sam had been murdered, he needed to bring the murderer to justice.
Even if it was an old cowboy who he loved like a father.
When they got back to the Double Diamond ranch, he got dressed in his ranger uniform and headed into town. He wanted to look at Sheriff Willaby’s reports and see if the sheriff had discovered anything he hadn’t told Lincoln about. Something Deputy Meriwether had completely overlooked. Of course, he would have to get the password from the deputy without letting her know what he was doing. She was much too eager to be part of the case and he wasn’t about to include her.
He thought he would have to track the deputy down in town. But when he stopped by the sheriff’s office, he discovered the
