“He was a legendary liar. Ask anybody.”
“I believed him. He sounded nervous and terribly afraid. We made an appointment to meet at the Last Chance, but when he saw you following me, he got frightened off.”
“So, that makes me Celina’s killer?”
“Or someone who’s covering up for the killer.”
“Let me tell you what’s wrong with your theory.” He lowered his feet to the floor. “Angus fired Pasty the other day. He was on a revenge trip, something you should be able to relate to, Counselor. He made up some cock-and-bull story that you wanted to believe because so far, your investigation hasn’t turned up one goddamn scrap of concrete evidence.
“You think the two murders are connected, right? Wrong,” he said. “Think about it. Last night’s killing doesn’t match Celina’s murder. The M.O.’s wrong. The guy who cut Pasty a new smile found out Pasty was humping his wife while he was working over at the potash plant near Carlsbad. We’ve got an APB out on him.”
It sounded so plausible that Alex squirmed under his direct gaze. “Isn’t it possible that this ranch hand witnessed my mother’s murder? He kept quiet until now out of fear of retribution, or simply because no one ever conducted a thorough investigation. Knowing what he did got him killed before he could identify the killer. That’s what I choose to believe.”
“Suit yourself. But waste your time on it, not mine.”
Reede made to stand up, but she said, “That’s not all.” Resigned, he sat back down.
Alex took an envelope out of her purse and handed it to him. “This came in the mail this morning. It was addressed to me at the motel.”
Reede scanned the letter quickly and handed it back to her. She stared at him in amazement. “You don’t seem very disturbed by it, Sheriff Lambert.”
“I’ve already read it.”
“What? When?”
“Day before yesterday, if I’m remembering right.”
“And you let them send it?”
“Why not? It’s not obscene. I figure even the postmaster general would agree that it meets postal regulations. It’s got the correct amount of postage on it. As far as I can tell, that letter isn’t illegal, Counselor.”
Alex wanted to reach across his desk and slap the gloating smile off his face. The impulse was so strong she had to curl her hand into a fist to keep from doing so.
“Did you read between the lines? The people who signed this, all”—she paused to count the signatures—”all fourteen of them, have threatened to run me out of town.”
“Surely not, Miss Gaither,” he said, feigning shock. “You’re just being paranoid because you found Pasty. That letter simply underlines what I’ve been telling you all along. Angus and Junior Minton mean a lot to this town. So does that racetrack.
“You get somebody’s attention quicker by kicking him in the bank account than you do by kicking him in the nuts. You’ve put some sizable investments in jeopardy. Did you expect folks to stand by and watch all their dreams go down the tubes because of your vindictiveness?”
“I’m not being vindictive. I’m conducting a valid and long-overdue investigation into a severe miscarriage of justice.”
“Spare me.”
“The district attorney of Travis County sanctioned my investigation.”
His eyes drifted over her insultingly as he drawled, “In exchange for what?”
“Oh, that’s good. Very professional, Sheriff. When you run out of viable ammunition, you resort to throwing sexist rocks at my character.”
With angry, jerky motions, she stuffed the letter back into the envelope and replaced it in her purse, snapping the catch firmly.
“I don’t have to explain my reasons to you. Just understand this,” she enunciated. “I won’t quit until I can draw some satisfactory conclusions about my mother’s murder.”
“Well, I wouldn’t worry about being mugged, if I were you,” Reede told her with an air of boredom. “As I’ve explained, Pasty’s killing had absolutely nothing to do with you. The people who signed that letter are pillars of the community—bankers, businessmen, professionals. They’re hardly types who would accost you in a dark alley.
“Although,” he went on, “I’d recommend that you stop cruising in hotbeds of trouble like you have the last two evenings. If you’ve just got to have it, there are a couple of fellas I could recommend.”
She released a slow, contemptuous breath. “Do you dislike all professional women, or is it me in particular?”