Ambush at Dry Gulch by Joanna Wayne

Author:Joanna Wayne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Jake paced his small office, so angry he could barely make sense of what Carolina was saying. “Go get Mildred. We need to get to the bottom of this.”

“I don’t think she’s even out of bed yet.”

“It’s seven o’clock. Go wake her,” he insisted.

“Isn’t there any way we can leave her out of this?” Carolina pleaded. “When I’ve asked about Thad’s life before they married, she’s never seemed to know much.”

“If she knows anything, I want to hear it.”

“I guess you’re right.” Carolina stopped to pick up their two empty coffee cups from the corner of his desk. “I’ll be right back—with Mildred and more caffeine.”

The fact that Thad Caffey wanted Carolina dead wasn’t a shocker. Nor was the notion that Caffey was capable of murder. This might even be the lead they needed for the police to find and arrest him. The coward might still be hanging out with the mystery sister, Jane, bragging on what he planned to do while waiting on the chance to catch Carolina alone.

It was the fact that Carolina had to deal with any of this that made Jake’s blood boil. He was not a violent man, but if he’d known Monday at the capitol what he knew now, he wasn’t sure he could have kept from beating the son of a bitch to a pulp. Not that Jake’s going to jail would have helped anything.

But he was damn tired of that two-bit criminal calling the shots. It was time for action. He was still pacing and considering his next move when Carolina returned with Mildred ten minutes later.

“I should have left the second he confronted us Monday,” Mildred said. “I’m so sorry about this.”

“I only told her I’d received a threat by phone from an unknown source,” Carolina said.

“Good. Forget the recriminations, Mildred. I didn’t call you in here to blame you,” Jake said. “I just need some facts about Caffey’s family.”

“Of course. I’ll tell you anything I know, but that won’t be much. As far as I know, it was just him, his mother and a sister.”

“A sister named Jane?”

“Yes. How did you know?”

“The caller mentioned her. Do you know where Jane lives?”

“She’s dead. She was murdered several years before we were married. Thad did tell me that much.”

That added a twist. “Who killed her?”

“No one was ever arrested for the crime. Thad didn’t talk about her much. When I asked about his family, he’d get upset, so I would just let the subject drop. I got the impression he and Jane were very close.”

“But you’re sure she was murdered?” Carolina asked.

“I’m sure he told me that. I never knew anything for sure with Thad. He lied to me more than once, sometimes about things that didn’t really matter. He’d just lie instead of admitting the truth.”

“How old was she when she was murdered?”

“Nineteen. She was two years older than Thad. Like I said, he didn’t talk about her much, but...”

“But what?” Jake coaxed.

“I think I reminded him of her. Sometimes he’d call me by her name without seeming to realize it.

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