Besides, Jim was my partner, and the cop in me won't let it go until I catch the bastard. And that's what I plan to do.'
Karen nodded vaguely, thinking he'd been straight with her and deserved the same treatment in return. Maybe it was time to trust him.
'The day Hector Padilla was murdered he left a letter with me to give to my father. He said it was from Jose Padilla.'
'Any idea what was in it?'
'None at all. What I do know is that my father hasn't spoken to his brother in his entire adult life.
Whatever was in Padilla's letter broke that silence.
My father paid a visit to Eugene the day he got the letter.'
'Something had him worried,' Kerney ventured.
'This afternoon I started doing some digging of my own. I got a copy of my grandfather's will from the probate court. He changed it the same month that Uncle Eugene was shot in a hunting accident and my father ran away to join the Army. Grandfather Cox left everything to Eugene. My father was completely cut out of a considerable inheritance.'
'Calvin Cox left nothing to his wife?'
Karen shook her head.
'My grandmother died of influenza when the twins were twelve years old.'
'So why do you think he did it?'
'I don't know. But cutting a son completely out of an inheritance is the act of a very angry parent.'
'I agree. What happened to Phil and Cory's mother? She could be a source of information.'
'She left Eugene when Phil was six and Cory was twelve, and just disappeared. It caused quite a scandal. Eugene packed Phil and Cory off to military school in Roswell as soon as they were old enough.
After college, Phil came back to run the ranch. Cory never came back from Vietnam.'
Karen waited for a response.
'Well?' she finally asked.
He stood up.
'Are you going to dig into this any deeper?'
'I'd like my father to come to me on his own,'
'I hope he does.'
'So do I.' Karen got up from the couch.
'Will you keep what I told you confidential?'
'As long as I can.'
'Fair enough. You don't remember me, do you?'
'Phil jogged my memory when I had dinner with him,' Kerney said.
'I remember three young girls who followed me around the rodeo grounds when I was here for the high school state finals. One of them had black hair and beautiful blue eyes, and made Cousin Cory introduce me to her every chance she got.'
Karen laughed and extended her hand.
'That was me. In my age of innocence.'
'Innocence doesn't last very long, does it?' Kerney replied, taking her hand in his.
'No, it doesn't. You'll keep me informed of what you do?'
'Of course I will.'
Kerney saw Karen to the door, said good night, changed into his sweats, and did a two-mile run. He mulled over his meeting with Karen and came to the conclusion that the woman had some fire and steel to her-appealing qualities that increased her attractiveness.
The knee felt better when he got back to the trailer. Jim's girlfriend, Molly, was sitting on the step.
'Hi, Mr. Kerney. The wounded hero has me running a messenger service.'
'Come in,' he said.
She sat in the overstuffed chair with an attache case on her lap. Kerney took a seat on the couch.
Molly glanced around the room and made a face.
'This place is a pit.'
'You don't find it homey?'
'You have mice.'
'The landlord has promised full eradication.'
'Good.' She cocked her head sideways and studied him.
'You don't talk like a cop.'
'Thanks, I think. What have you uncovered?'
Molly quickly turned to business, opening the case and shuffling through some papers.
'You wanted information on the Cox clan.' She paused and fixed her gaze directly on his face.
'Do you still want it?'
'You bet I do.'
'Haven't you been fired?'
'I'm unemployed,' Kerney confirmed.
'Then what good will all this do? Jim's so angry about you getting canned he's spitting bullets. He didn't know about it until he turned on the evening news.'
'Tell him to chill out. I'm going to stay with it.'
Molly gave him a delighted smile.
'That's great.'
She dropped her attention to the papers in her attache case and arranged them in order.
'Okay, here it is. Calvin Cox owned the local bank that carried the mortgage on the Padilla ranch. Before the property went on the auction block for back taxes. Cox bought it and immediately resold it to Elderman at an inflated price. Elderman passed the price increase on to the Forest Service. Both men made a chunk of money on the deal.'
'What have you learned about Eugene's hunting accident?'
'He was out alone when he got shot. When he didn't come home, Edgar went searching for him and brought him down the mountain.'
Molly flipped over a paper and studied her notes.
'When Eugene recovered enough to be questioned, he said he never saw who shot him. The state police speculated that whoever rustled Padilla's sheep shot Eugene.'
'Eugene wasn't a suspect in the rustling?'
'Nope. He was back home with a bullet in his spine the day before Don Luis left the hacienda for the meadows.'
'According to whom?'
'Calvin Cox, Edgar, and the doctor who treated Eugene.'
'What about Eugene's wife? Any leads?'
Molly shook her head.
'Vanished without a trace, but Jim's looking.' She put her notes away and got up.
'That's all I've got. Can I tell Jim my research assignment is over, please? I need to get back to my real job.'
'Only if you tell me something.'
'What is it?'
'Are you going to marry him?'
'Probably, but don't you dare tell him. I want to soften him up a bit more.'
Kerney grinned.
'I promise I won't.'
Molly stepped over to Kerney and kissed him on the cheek.
'Thanks for saving him for me, Mr. Kerney.'
Kerney blushed and patted her on the shoulder.
