Read Online The Night Is Watching by Heather Graham - Free Book Online

rough days. There was a sheriff way back—but no real sheriff’s department, and the sheriff had to be an ex-outlaw himself to handle the trigger-happy gunfighters out here. Now, of course, we have our small-town department and the larger county department. The towns had their own sheriffs back then and county help amounted to praying that the militia might be on hand or the regular military if things went really badly. But then the outlaw days pretty much petered out in the twenties. We had a few more modern bank-robber types pass through in the thirties. In the forties, when a lot of local men went off to war, the town almost closed down. Now...” He paused with a shrug. “Now, we get a few bar brawls, a few fender benders, occasionally a domestic situation. But Lily’s a safe place. We have law-abiding citizens and tourists for the most part.”
    “So, you stay because you love Lily, you love the peace and tranquility or...?”
    “Or I burned out in Houston?” he asked her.
    “I didn’t say that.”
    “It’s easy to burn out in Houston,” he said mildly. “But no, I didn’t burn out.”
    “If you were friends with Logan and worked with him, you were probably pretty intense as a cop,” Jane said.
    “Intense? I think it’s a requirement. Anyway, I liked working in Houston. And I don’t mind being the sheriff in Lily. There is a lot here that’s good. I like the history, and the fact that my family’s from this area. Anyway, who knows what the future will hold?”
    The velvet curtains were drawn back by an usher as they spoke; people surged out of the theater area and into the bar.
    “Time for me to go,” Logan said, rising. He dug into his pocket and left a large bill on the table. “I’ll pick you up in the morning. Eight-thirty? We have a car you can use while you’re here if you want, but it’s down at the sheriff’s office.”
    “Thank you. I’ll build up the skull tomorrow, get a more realistic look at measurements and have a more accurate image of soft-tissue depth, at least,” she told him.
    “Thanks,” he said. “You should see the show while you’re here.”
    “I did watch a few minutes of it before you arrived. It’s really cute.”
    “Catch the haunted hayride, too.”
    “Sounds like fun. Maybe I will.”
    People were spilling out of the theater. He glanced at the crowd and grimaced. “Kind of a long day. I’m out of here. Good night.”
    “Good night.”
    He made a quick escape, and Jane soon realized why. It had been a full house and forty or fifty people were milling in the bar. It seemed a nice crowd; the show made people laugh and put them in a pleasant mood. Some people were going across the street to the saloon—too crowded at the Gilded Lily. She could see that the theater was good for all the businesses in the area. It brought those who then stayed at the Old Jail or other local bed-and-breakfast places or hotels and it brought people to shop and visit restaurants and use the stables.
    Liz came sailing by to ask her if she wanted anything else before the crowd got crazy. Jane said no.
    “I told you, you’re totally on the house,” Liz said, looking at the money.
    “Sloan left that.”
    “That man!” Liz groaned. “He always tips way too much. Well, Lily is his town, and he tries to make sure we all do well here. Wish he’d stay around!”
    “You don’t think he’s going to stay in Lily?” Jane asked.
    Liz shook her head. “No. Not forever, anyway. He’s popular here. He’s a man’s man, you know?” She laughed. “He doesn’t smoke, but I could’ve seen him as the Marlboro Man, sexy and rugged and good-looking. Don’t you think?”
    “He’s a very attractive man,” she replied, trying to sound noncommittal.
    “Be still, my heart!” Liz said, and then laughed again. “Oh, well. You sure you don’t want anything else—more tea, some coffee or maybe decaf?”
    “No, no, I’m fine, thank you. I’m going to call it a night.” She