Air Ready (Caught Dead in Wyoming, Book 12) by Patricia McLinn

Author:Patricia McLinn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: traditional western mystery series, female sleuth, mystery romance humor series, cozy mystery dog, western murder mystery series, TV journalist mystery series, mystery novels best sellers
Publisher: Craig Place Books
Published: 2023-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Six

“Another satisfied customer?” Tom asked once we settled in the truck after getting my order. His look informed me he knew I was looking into Hailey’s parents’ deaths at her request. “Didn’t like all your questions?”

I grunted. Steamed, if I’m honest.

This young woman didn’t need to gush thanks, but courtesy would be nice.

“I want to ask you some questions, too, Tom. About Davon Everett.” O.D.’s younger son had been friends with Tom since they went to Two Rivers camp as kids.

He flickered a look toward the back seat. “I’ll come by the station after I drop off Tamantha for her program at the library.”

Fifty-fifty whether she was giving the program or in the audience.

“Thanks.”

“I like it when you ask questions,” Tamantha said from the back seat, setting herself apart from Hailey.

I swung around so I could look at her directly.

“Do you?”

She nodded, then amended it to, “Most of the time. Like you did at Fort Phil Kearny — like when you found out the reason they use its first name was because there was another Fort Kearny in Nebraska and even though one’s named after the uncle and the other after his nephew, people get confused.”

“When don’t you like me asking questions?”

“When you’re asking me. Because I already know those answers.”

“Always? Because sometimes we don’t know something that’s going on inside us or how we feel about things until somebody asks us and we stop and think about it.”

“Maybe,” she granted. “I’ll think about that.”

As I turned back to face forward Tom kept looking at the road, allowing me only his profile, with fans of wrinkles at the corners of his right eye and the right side of his mouth.

“Can I ask you something — a question?” came from the back seat.

“Okay.”

Swinging around again, I met Tom’s gaze for an instant, warning me of what was ahead.

“Mike’s back because he bought the TV station, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Not because you’re dating him again?”

“Tamantha,” her father scolded, “we talked about not asking questions that aren’t any of your business.”

“Elizabeth does.”

“I ask questions that are everybody’s business, because they’re for the good of everybody who lives here, for our society. So, say, someone works for the county but he’s not doing his job, you could say that’s not my personal business, but it is the business of everybody in the county, because we all pay him. But everybody can’t pay attention. So I ask on behalf of everybody.”

“Because that’s your job,” she summed up.

“That’s right.”

“My job is to take care of Daddy. And Roxanne,” she said of her horse. “But right now we’re talking about Daddy. And sort of taking care of me, too, because I didn’t like it when you dated Mike and stopped dating Daddy and I didn’t see you as much, even though you explained about how we’ll always be friends, no matter what. But it’s even taking care of you, too, because you weren’t as happy when you stopped dating Daddy. So it’s my job to ask questions, to take care of everybody by making sure you aren’t Mike’s girlfriend.

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