Texas Tough by Janet Dailey

Author:Janet Dailey [Dailey, Janet]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2015-04-06T23:00:00+00:00

There was no question of keeping the discovery private. But Sky took the time to ride Quicksilver back to the paddock, unsaddle him, and turn him loose before telling Will and Beau about the body. Will made the call to Abner Sweeney, who, for whatever it was worth, was the law in Blanco County.

By the time Sky and Beau returned in Sky’s pickup, the land around the bog was fast becoming a three-ring circus. Sirens wailing, Abner Sweeney roared up in his sheriff’s Jeep, trailed by a Land Cruiser loaded with deputies and crime scene processing equipment. Hot behind them came the TV news chopper carrying the buxom Mindi Thacker and her camera crew.

Acting Sheriff Abner Sweeney stepped out of his Jeep. Pudgy and fortyish, with carrot-colored hair and a bumper crop of freckles, his attention seemed to be focused on the news crew. While one of his deputies began stringing yellow crime scene tape and the other two pulled on rubber boots and gloves, Sweeney stepped in front of the TV camera.

“Sheriff, what can you tell us about the situation here?” Ms. Thacker, dressed in a spotless white pantsuit, seemed to be vying with Sweeney for screen space.

Sweeney looked directly into the camera. “We’re still investigating what happened here,” he said. “But I can assure the public of two things. First and most important, with me and my loyal deputies on guard, the good citizens of Blanco County will be perfectly safe. And second, neither I nor my deputies will rest until the monster who committed this crime is brought to justice.”

“I’ll be damned,” Beau muttered in Sky’s ear. “The man’s a born politician.”

“For somebody who’s not supposed to be very smart, he sounds pretty impressive,” Sky said.

“It’s all hot air. I hear he spends most of his spare time reading sexy crime novels.” Beau nudged Sky out of camera range. “Let’s keep our distance. We don’t want to be cornered by Blanco County’s answer to Diane Sawyer.”

“I’m right behind you,” Sky said, remembering the last time Ms. Thacker had covered a story on the ranch. Beau had threatened her with legal action if she didn’t take her crew and leave. But with the sheriff and his deputies here, he didn’t have that option.

They circled behind the parked vehicles to a spot from which they could watch without calling attention to themselves. The buzzards had scattered, some to the air and others to the branches of the dead cottonwood, where they watched the drama below.

Wearing high boots, arm-length gloves, and face masks, two men were making a circuit of the body. One had a camera, the other a pole he was using to probe the muck. The deputy who’d been stringing tape prowled the outer edge of the cattails looking for evidence.

“There won’t be much to find,” Beau said. “That body looks like it’s been in the bog for weeks. You’re sure the man’s your missing cousin—the one who allegedly shot Jasper?”

“No doubt about it. I recognize the boots from the tracks I saw earlier.

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