The Lawman Returns by Lynette Eason Read Free Book Online

that.”
    “Like what?”
    “Like not calling ahead and telling your parents who I was. Like not waiting on the police to arrive before I decided to go in the trailer. Like—”
    “You weren’t thinking of yourself when you did those things. That’s not messing up—that’s putting others first.”
    She opened her mouth, then closed it. Opened it again. And shut it again.
    “What? I’ve rendered you speechless?”
    “Yes. A bit.” She relaxed a fraction. “But you’ve definitely given me something to think about. I’ve worked so hard to have a good reputation in this town. I don’t want to do anything to blow it.”
    “Your reputation matters so much?”
    She frowned. “Of course.”
    “As long as you’re doing the right thing, what does it matter what other people think?”
    She cleared her throat. “I know that’s the way it should work, but with my mother’s past and the way people still look at me sometimes—as though just waiting for me to prove I’m like her...” She lifted a shoulder in a slight shrug. “It just matters, okay?”
    “Fair enough.” Clay fingered the saltshaker, then set it down with a thump. “Do you have any idea at all who killed Steven?”
    She leaned back, and her frown deepened. She felt the tension returning to her shoulders. “No. Don’t you think if I knew something I would have told someone by now?”
    “Of course. Of course.” He raked a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. It was a dumb question.”
    “Yes. It was.” Sabrina paused. She stared at her coffee. “Steven was my friend, too.”
    “I know. I’m sorry.”
    She waved a hand. “I’m tired and feeling a little defensive tonight. I don’t know who killed him. I truly don’t have any idea. His death stunned me. I will say I think your first place to start is with Stan Prescott and Steven’s wallet, but...”
    “But what?”
    “There may be something else.” She sighed. “I spoke to Steven the day before he died.”
    Clay tensed and leaned forward, his gaze boring into her as though he could see inside her head to grab her thoughts. “What did he say?”
    “It wasn’t really what he said—it was more what I told him. ”
    “Which was?”
    She stared at him. Did she dare tell him one of her deepest fears?
    Clay leaned in. “Just say it, Sabrina.”
    “I think—” She paused. “I think I may have sent your brother to his death.”

FIVE
    S he blurted the words, then bit her lip and reared back against the booth as though she thought he might hit her.
    Clay didn’t move for a split second. Then he sucked in a steadying breath. “What?”
    She dipped her head, then reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose. “That was a really bad way to put it.”
    “Tell me.”
    “As they say, hindsight is twenty-twenty. The day before he died, we talked. I told him about a family I’m working with. Jordan’s family.”
    He stiffened. “Tony and Maria’s family.”
    “Yes.
    “The mom has custody, but they stay with their grandparents sometimes. I couldn’t get ahold of them tonight, which is why the kids are with your parents.”
    “Okay.”
    “The mom just got custody back and I make regular visits to check in on them, but that day I was going to see if Maria wanted to come be a part of the church play. They don’t live too far and—” She waved a hand. “Anyway, when I got there, Jordan wasn’t home, but Maria took me back to her bedroom. When I passed Jordan’s room, I thought I saw some kind of pipe on his dresser.”
    “Okay.”
    “Knowing the history of drug abuse in the family, I asked Steven to investigate it. Quietly. Because if it wasn’t true, I didn’t want to isolate the family. They were just starting to trust me, and if I were to start accusing their grandson of using or dealing drugs, all of my hard work would be down the drain.”
    Daisy Ann placed a platter of fries in front of them along with two hamburgers and a chocolate shake neither had ordered.