Best Kept Secrets(65)
mother's murder? He kept quiet until now out of fear of
retribution, or simply because no one ever conducted a thorough
investigation. Knowing what he did got him killed before
he could identify the killer. That's what I choose to
believe."
"Suit yourself. But waste your time on it, not mine."
Reede made to stand up, but she said, "That's not all."
Resigned, he sat back down.
Alex took an envelope out of her purse and handed it to
him. "This came in the mail this morning. It was addressed
to me at the motel."
Reede scanned the letter quickly and handed it back to her.
She stared at him in amazement. "You don't seem very
disturbed by it, Sheriff Lambert.''
"I've already read it."
"What? When?"
"Day before yesterday, if I'm remembering right."
"And you let them send it?"
"Why not? It's not obscene. I figure even the postmaster
general would agree that it meets postal regulations. It's got
the correct amount of postage on it. As far as I can tell, that
letter isn't illegal, Counselor."
Alex wanted to reach across his desk and slap the gloating
smile off his face. The impulse was so strong she had to curl
her hand into a fist to keep from doing so.
"Did you read between the lines? The people who signed
this, all--" she paused to count the signatures, "--all fourteen
of them, have threatened to ran me out of town."
"Surely not, Miss Gaither," he said, feigning shock.
"You're just being paranoid because you found Pasty. That
letter simply underlines what I've been telling you all along.
Angus and Junior Minton mean a lot to this town. So does
that racetrack.
"You get somebody's attention quicker by kicking him in
the bank account than you do by kicking him in the nuts.
You've put some sizable investments in jeopardy. Did you
expect folks to stand by and watch all then-dreams
go down
the tubes because of your vindictiveness?"
"I'm not being vindictive. I'm conducting a valid and
long-overdue investigation into a severe miscarriage of
justice."
"Spare me."
"The district attorney of Travis County sanctioned my
investigation."
His eyes drifted over her insultingly as he drawled, "In
exchange for what?"
"Oh, that's good. Very professional, Sheriff. When you
run out of viable ammunition, you resort to throwing sexist
rocks at my character."
With angry, jerky motions, she stuffed the letter back into
the envelope and replaced it in her purse, snapping the catch
firmly.
' 'I don't have to explain my reasons to you. Just understand
this," she enunciated. "I won't quit until I can draw some
satisfactory conclusions about my mother's murder."
"Well, I wouldn't worry about being mugged, if I were
you," Reede told her with an air of boredom. "As I've
explained, Pasty's killing had absolutely nothing to do with
you. The people who signed that letter are pillars of the
community--bankers, businessmen, professionals. They're
hardly types who would accost you in a dark alley.
"Although," he went on, "I'd recommend that you stop
cruising in hotbeds of trouble like you have the last two evenings. If you've just got to have it, there are a couple of
fellas I could recommend."
She released a slow, contemptuous breath.' 'Do you dislike
all professional women, or is it me in particular?"
"It's you in particular."
His bluntness was an affront. She was tempted to remind
him that his kiss yesterday hadn't conveyed dislike, but she
didn't. She didn't want to remind him of it. She hoped to
forget it herself, pretend that it had never happened, but she
couldn't. It had left her feeling drastically and irrevocably
altered.
No, she couldn't forget it. The best she could hope for
was to learn to cope with the memory of it, and the addictive
craving it had instigated.
His statement hurt her deeply. She heard herself asking,
"Why don't you like me?"
"Because you're a meddler. I don't like people who meddle
in other people's business."
"This is my business."
"How could it be? You were peeing in your diapers when
Celina was killed," he shouted.
"I'm glad you brought that up. Since I was only two
months old at the time, what was she doing out at the ranch
that night?"
His stunned reaction to the question was swiftly covered.
"I forget. Look, I'm due--"
"I doubt you ever forget anything, Reede Lambert, much
as you pretend that you do. What was she doing there? Please