Outlaw Country by A. T. Butler

Author:A. T. Butler [Butler, A. T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-10-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

The day was getting away from them, the number of suspects and threads to follow was becoming too much for Jacob and Deputy Lowry to do together. Splitting up to continue the investigation was the only way they could be sure to find the murderer as soon as possible.

“Would you like me to open the door, Ms. Merritt? I wouldn’t want anyone thinking anything untoward was going on.”

She laughed lightly. “Mr. Payne. Being behind a closed door with a single man cannot possibly damage my reputation. I appreciate the offer, but no. I would rather this conversation take place in private. Particularly away from Randall Hall.”

That last sentence was so imbued with venom that Jacob was surprised, although given the warning he had received maybe he shouldn’t be.

“Why Mr. Hall specifically?”

She sat back against the settee and waved her hands impatiently. “He is just a nuisance sometimes. He already knows more than he should and I don’t trust him.”

Jacob watched her for a moment before asking another question. Though she seemed a little overwhelmed at the events of the morning thus far, she didn’t give away any sign or indication that she was deceiving him or hiding anything. Holly drew a plain white handkerchief from the end of her sleeve and dabbed at her forehead, wiping away the shine she had gotten from her heated exchange with Deputy Lowry.

“Tell me more about why you don’t trust Mr. Hall.”

She looked at him in surprise. Jacob supposed she had expected his line of questioning to be about her and her activities, but he suspected she had plenty of information on a range of topics that might be helpful. After a moment, he realized she was scrutinizing him. Holly took a long hard look at him, likely deciding whether or not he was trustworthy as well.

“It’s difficult to describe,” she said after a while. “Maybe it’s just my women’s intuition, but there’s something about him. I always feel as though he is trying to manipulate me into doing what he wants.”

“How long have you been here?”

“At the Golden Saddle? Oh, I think coming up on five years now? I came out west right after the war ended. I couldn’t stand to see the places I loved as a girl so changed, and in some cases, destroyed. I wanted a fresh start.

“But Randall wasn’t here then. He only bought the business in the last year. Right before you arrived in Tucson, I think.”

“That means that any statement he makes about your income, or ability to save money is only based on the last year?”

She nodded. “I want to believe he means well, Jacob, but…”

“I see.”

His brain was whirring. Whatever was going on between Randall and Holly, whatever reason one had to warn about the other, whatever actually happened in Timson’s room last night when either or both of them came upon the body, Jacob knew for a fact he was not being told everything.

“Tell me, Ms. Merritt, do you know how Randall might feel about you? Does he know you don’t trust him?”

“Oh, possibly,” she laughed.

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