The Cowboy's Deadly Mission by Addison Fox

Author:Addison Fox
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2018-05-01T19:05:01+00:00

Chapter 11

A warm, soggy rain coated the air with thick humidity as Belle trudged into the precinct the following Wednesday. She felt wet to the bone and that, along with a layer of perspiration, had her feeling like a cat in a bathtub.

Irritated and more than ready to escape.

There was no question about it. Spring had fully sprung in southwest Texas.

“Don’t you look pretty as a picture.”

Belle wasn’t sure if their head dispatcher was trying to be funny, or if he meant it, so she went with her first instinct. “Aren’t you a funny guy, Willie?”

“Hey.” Willie’s hands went up in a don’t shoot gesture. “I was just trying to be nice.”

“As I look like a drowned rat, you can keep your platitudes to yourself.”

Willie let out a low whistle. “Wow, someone’s having a bad day.”

She wanted to be mad. Knew she was probably entitled to be. But being mad at the clueless Willie would take far too much time and effort and she wasn’t willing to give him either.

A lead had come in overnight. Someone who had come forward anonymously, claiming they knew a few of Jesse Abrogato’s contacts and a possible place near the border that he used as a drop point. Not quite a snitch and not really a hard clue either. She’d still grasped at it like a drowning person gasped for air. Only to realize by midday that she had nothing to show for it except for a bunch of sweaty work digging and clawing at some mud in a ravine down near the border, just outside of Midnight Pass.

Two weeks. It had been over two weeks since Abrogato’s body was found on Tate’s land and they were no closer to finding a killer.

“Belle?” The chief poked his head out of his office the moment she came near his door. “You have a second?”

“Of course.” She brushed her hair and hoped that it wasn’t quite as wild looking as she imagined. “Be right there.”

She dropped a few things off at her desk and shrugged out of her coat, curious why Chief Corden had flagged her so quickly. Although he was always willing to take downtime with his team—his approach was more hands on than desk jockey—he rarely summoned anyone into his office, acting as if he’d been waiting for them.

“What can I do for you, Chief?”

Chief Corden gestured toward his door. “Would you mind closing that first?”

“Of course.” Belle did as he asked, growing even more curious at what might be going on.

“I’d like to talk you about the current case, Belle.”

“Anything, sir. What can I tell you?”

“How did this morning’s lead pan out?”

She avoided the grimace that threatened, as well as the sense of failure that the time she’d spent chasing the lead was unproductive, and focused on the facts. “Unfortunately, sir, it didn’t pan out at all.”

“Do you think it was bad information?”

“At this point I’m not sure. The lead seemed solid. Although—” she broke off, hesitating for a moment. “Although at

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