Read Online The High Country Rancher by Jan Hambright - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jan Hambright
Ads: Link
tutor the kid.
Travis rolled past him, braked in the driveway and climbed out of his car.
Baylor reined in Texas, climbed down and tied him next to the other horses. CSI Worchester was already walking toward his vehicle, and gave a wave.
“You’ve got company,” Mariah said as she came toward him.
“He’s my ranch hand for the summer. Come on, I’d like you to meet him. He’s a nice kid.”
They walked over to where Travis was rummaging in the trunk of his car.
“Travis, I’d like you to meet Mariah Ellis. She’s a detective from the sheriff’s department.”
“How do you do?” Travis shook her hand. “I didn’t know they made cops like you.”
Mariah pulled in a breath and smiled at him. He was a good-looking kid, with a close-cropped haircut, brown eyes, brown hair and a nice grin. She liked him. “Well, thanks.”
She turned back to Baylor. “I’ve got to get back to the station.”
“I’ll walk you to your car.”
He moved along next to her and she caught wind of his woodsy scent.
“I’ll let you know what Ryan finds out, ASAP. If that bullet belongs to Buckner’s rifle, we’ll arrest him immediately.” She stopped next to her car, and turned to stare up into his face. “Watch yourself.”
He smiled. “You do the same.”
“I will.”
M ARIAH LEANED BACK in her desk chair and stared out the window at the boring parking lot.
An unsettled feeling had dogged her since she’d climbed in her car at the Bellwether Ranch yesterday morning and waved goodbye to Baylor.
She felt like an idiot for kissing him back in the meadow, and she’d compromised her investigation to a point of no return. She’d lost what little objectivity she had left and she planned to tell her father, if she could get up the nerve. He was an intuitive man. He’d begin a line of questioning that would box her in and the truth would be the only way out.
The slap of his office door against the kick stop brought her head around.
“Ellis, get in here!” he ordered in the gruff tone of voice he saved for those times when he was agitated, but she knew it was just flash.
Mariah sighed as she stood up and strode toward the office. She doubted he knew about the kiss, so what had fired him up?
“Come in and close the door.”
She did as she was told and plopped down in the stiff brown chair in front of his desk, feeling like an unruly kid about to be grounded for a month.
“These showed up in the mail this afternoon.” He tossed a packet of bagged evidence photos down in front of her.
Mariah leaned forward and picked them up. Her breath caught up in her throat as she studied the images, flipping through them one by one.
“Can you identify them?” he asked.
“Yeah. It’s James Endicott and…Amy McCullough.”
A measure of disbelief rubbed holes in her thinking. How was it possible? How could it be? The images had been shot at night and showed a half-naked Amy locked in a compromising clinch with Endicott. Mariah flipped through the pictures one more time, noting that each was more intimate than the last.
Letting out the breath she’d been holding, shetossed them back onto her dad’s desk, feeling a weight descend on her. “Any prints? Any idea who sent them?”
“No on both counts. But they’re at least a year old. Amy McCullough died a year ago today.”
Mariah sobered. Her throat tightened. A wave of emotion plowed her over. The pain Baylor must be experiencing today, and now these.
“Endicott and Amy were having an affair.” The words were like acid coming up in her throat.
Ted Ellis thumped his desk. “This could be a motive for Baylor McCullough. If he knew his wife was sleeping with Endicott, he could have snapped. Maybe Endicott was justified in going after him for Amy’s death. Maybe he really did have something to do with it.”
Mariah’s heart squeezed in her chest and she tried to get her cop brain around it. She didn’t want to believe it, but there it was in full
Travis rolled past him, braked in the driveway and climbed out of his car.
Baylor reined in Texas, climbed down and tied him next to the other horses. CSI Worchester was already walking toward his vehicle, and gave a wave.
“You’ve got company,” Mariah said as she came toward him.
“He’s my ranch hand for the summer. Come on, I’d like you to meet him. He’s a nice kid.”
They walked over to where Travis was rummaging in the trunk of his car.
“Travis, I’d like you to meet Mariah Ellis. She’s a detective from the sheriff’s department.”
“How do you do?” Travis shook her hand. “I didn’t know they made cops like you.”
Mariah pulled in a breath and smiled at him. He was a good-looking kid, with a close-cropped haircut, brown eyes, brown hair and a nice grin. She liked him. “Well, thanks.”
She turned back to Baylor. “I’ve got to get back to the station.”
“I’ll walk you to your car.”
He moved along next to her and she caught wind of his woodsy scent.
“I’ll let you know what Ryan finds out, ASAP. If that bullet belongs to Buckner’s rifle, we’ll arrest him immediately.” She stopped next to her car, and turned to stare up into his face. “Watch yourself.”
He smiled. “You do the same.”
“I will.”
M ARIAH LEANED BACK in her desk chair and stared out the window at the boring parking lot.
An unsettled feeling had dogged her since she’d climbed in her car at the Bellwether Ranch yesterday morning and waved goodbye to Baylor.
She felt like an idiot for kissing him back in the meadow, and she’d compromised her investigation to a point of no return. She’d lost what little objectivity she had left and she planned to tell her father, if she could get up the nerve. He was an intuitive man. He’d begin a line of questioning that would box her in and the truth would be the only way out.
The slap of his office door against the kick stop brought her head around.
“Ellis, get in here!” he ordered in the gruff tone of voice he saved for those times when he was agitated, but she knew it was just flash.
Mariah sighed as she stood up and strode toward the office. She doubted he knew about the kiss, so what had fired him up?
“Come in and close the door.”
She did as she was told and plopped down in the stiff brown chair in front of his desk, feeling like an unruly kid about to be grounded for a month.
“These showed up in the mail this afternoon.” He tossed a packet of bagged evidence photos down in front of her.
Mariah leaned forward and picked them up. Her breath caught up in her throat as she studied the images, flipping through them one by one.
“Can you identify them?” he asked.
“Yeah. It’s James Endicott and…Amy McCullough.”
A measure of disbelief rubbed holes in her thinking. How was it possible? How could it be? The images had been shot at night and showed a half-naked Amy locked in a compromising clinch with Endicott. Mariah flipped through the pictures one more time, noting that each was more intimate than the last.
Letting out the breath she’d been holding, shetossed them back onto her dad’s desk, feeling a weight descend on her. “Any prints? Any idea who sent them?”
“No on both counts. But they’re at least a year old. Amy McCullough died a year ago today.”
Mariah sobered. Her throat tightened. A wave of emotion plowed her over. The pain Baylor must be experiencing today, and now these.
“Endicott and Amy were having an affair.” The words were like acid coming up in her throat.
Ted Ellis thumped his desk. “This could be a motive for Baylor McCullough. If he knew his wife was sleeping with Endicott, he could have snapped. Maybe Endicott was justified in going after him for Amy’s death. Maybe he really did have something to do with it.”
Mariah’s heart squeezed in her chest and she tried to get her cop brain around it. She didn’t want to believe it, but there it was in full
Similar Books
