Best Kept Secrets(36)
"Are you so sure?"
"Yes."
"Careful. When you round a blind corner, you'd better
know what's waiting for you."
"Care to be less oblique?"
"It could go one of two ways. Either you won't measure
up to her, or you'll find out that being like her isn't all that
terrific."
"Well, which is it?"
His eyes swept over her. "Like her, looking at you reminds
a man that he is one. And like her, you use that to your
advantage."
"Meaning?"
"She was no saint."
"I didn't expect her to be."
''Didn't you?'' he asked silkily. ''I believe you did. I think
you've created this fantasy mother in your head and you
expect Celina to fulfill it for you."
"That's ridiculous." Her strenuous denial sounded juvenile
and obstinate. More calmly, she said, "It's true that
Grandma Graham thought the sun rose and set on Celina. I
was brought up to believe she was everything a young woman
should be. But I'm a woman myself now, and mature enough
to realize that my mother was made of flesh and blood, with
flaws, just like everybody else."
He studied her face for a moment. "Just remember that I
warned you," he said softly. "You should go back to the
Westerner, pack up your designer clothes and your legal
briefs, and head for Austin. Leave the past alone. Nobody
around here wants to remember that blight on Purcell's
history--particularly with that license hanging in the balance.
They'd much rather leave Celina lying dead in this stable
than--"
"This stable?" Alex gasped. "My mother was killed
here?"
It was clear to her that he hadn't intended to let that slip.
He cursed beneath his breath before answering curtly, "That's
right."
"Where? Which stall?"
"It doesn't mat--"
"Show me, damn you! I'm sick to death of your half
answers and evasions. Show me where you found her body
that morning, Sheriff." She enunciated the last word carefully,
reminding him that it was his sworn duty to protect
and serve.
Without another word, he turned and strode toward the
door through which she had entered the barn. At the second
stall in the row, he halted. "Here."
Alex came to a full stop, then moved forward slowly until
she was even with Reede. She turned to face the stall. There
was no hay in it, just the rubber-covered floor. The gate had
been removed because no horse was occupying the stall. It
looked innocent, almost sterile.
"There hasn't been a horse boarded in this stall since it
happened." Scornfully, he added, "Angus has a sentimental
streak."
Alex tried to envision a bloody corpse lying in the stall,
but couldn't. She raised inquiring eyes to Reede.
The skin seemed more tautly stretched across his cheekbones,
and the vertical lines that framed his mouth appeared
more pronounced than they had a few moments ago, when
he had been angry. A visit to the scene of the crime wasn't
as easy for him as he wanted to pretend.
"Tell me about it. Please."
He hesitated, then said, "She was lying diagonally, her
head in that corner, her feet about here." He touched a spot
with the toe of his boot. "She was covered with blood. It
was in her hair, on her clothes, everywhere." Alex had heard
jaded homicide detectives discussing gory murder sites with
more emotion. Reede's voice was hollow and monotonal, but
his features were stark with pain. ' 'Her eyes were still open.''
"What time was that?" she asked huskily.
"When I found her?" She nodded, finding it difficult to
speak. "Dawn. Around six-thirty."
"What were you doing here at that time of day?"
"I usually started mucking the stables around seven. That
particular morning I was worried about the mare."
"Oh, yes, the one that had foaled the day before. So, you
had come to check on her and the foal?"
"That's right."
Tears were shimmering in her eyes as she raised them to
his. "Where were you the night before?"
"Out."
"All night?"
"Since supper time, yes."
"Alone?"
His lips narrowed with irritation. "If you want more answers,
Counselor, bring the case to trial."
"I plan to."
As she brushed past him on her way to the door, he caught
her arm and drew her up against him. He felt hard and powerfully
male. "Miss Gaither," he growled in irritation and
impatience, "you're smart. Drop this. If you don't, somebody's