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Beau’s pulse slammed. There was no way that fatal bullet could be a match to Slade’s Barrett. But with Hoyt Axelrod determined to nail him to the wall, anything was possible. He’d been in the law enforcement business long enough to know how evidence could be manipulated by the right people.
“Did the sheriff say how the test came out?” he asked Tori.
“All he’d say was that he wanted to tell us in person.”
“I can leave now and meet you at your office.”
“Let me come out and pick you up. It’ll take longer, but I have a book that I ordered for Erin. I can bring it to her and we can talk on the way back to town.”
Beau acquiesced, although he was anxious to get the waiting over with. Even bad news was better than not knowing.
He took the cup back to the kitchen, changed and cleaned up from chores, and was back waiting on the porch when Will came outside.
“So she didn’t have any idea what Axelrod wants?” Will had been told that Tori was coming and why.
“All Axelrod wants is me behind bars and his fat ass in Congress. My guess is he’ll do whatever it takes to make himself look like a hero.”
“Even fake a ballistics test? That’s pretty serious.”
“Who’s going to call him on it? Tori? She can’t prove a thing. I’m preparing myself for bad news.”
“Beau, there’s something I need to say, and there might not be a better time to say it than now.” Will’s hands braced against the porch railing. “You know I put up a five-hundred-thousand-dollar bond against the ranch to make your bail.”
“I know, and I appreciate it more than I can say.”
Will cleared his throat. “I’ve been thinking, if things were to go from bad to worse, the ranch could survive the loss. I could take out a bank loan, sell off some land . . .” He fixed his gaze on Beau. “Anything I had to do would be better than having my brother spend his life behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit.”
Jolted by Will’s words, Beau stared at his brother. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
Will nodded. “If it’s looking like a conviction, don’t hesitate to run. I know you had to surrender your passport, but there are ways around that. You know them better than I do. And you know how to hide. If it comes to that, just go—until we can prove your innocence.”
Beau was not an emotional man. But he felt the salty sting of tears. “I don’t know what to say,” he muttered.
“You don’t have to say anything. If Dad were here, he’d do it in a heartbeat.”
“But the ranch, the land—”
“This isn’t about the ranch, it’s the family.”
Beau might have replied, but just then Tori’s station wagon pulled up to the house. Tori climbed out, dressed in tan slacks, a white silk blouse, and the designer sunglasses she favored. In one hand she carried a brown mailer with the logo of a popular online bookstore on the outside. “Here’s the horse book Erin wanted.” She thrust the mailer at Will. “See that she gets it, and tell her I’ll be back later for a visit.”
“We’ll plan on you for lunch,” Will said.
“We’ll see.” Her serious demeanor warned Beau she was expecting bad news. “Ready, Beau?”
“Just waiting for you.” Beau hurried down the steps and climbed into the passenger seat. Tori slipped into her place and started the engine.
“Call me!” Will shouted as she swung the vehicle around and started down the drive. Tori didn’t look back.
CHAPTER 16
The sheriff was waiting alone in the reception area when Beau and Tori arrived. His hair and mustache were freshly trimmed, his uniform crisp, his badge polished to a blinding gleam. He looked ready for a high-profile press conference, Beau thought. It wasn’t what you’d call a hopeful sign.
Beside him, Tori was as tense as a greyhound at the starting gate. Beau could tell she felt it, too—the dark sense of impending disaster.
“Come into my office, you two,” Axelrod said, stepping aside as if to usher them in the right direction. “We need to talk.”
They entered ahead of him. The room was small, much of it taken up by the massive solid oak desk and the two empty chairs that faced it. The walls were decorated with framed citations, awards, and photos of the sheriff with Texas dignitaries, including both the first and second President Bush. The blinds on the glass windows that flanked the door were closed. A prickle of anxiety crawled up the back of Beau’s neck as he waited while Tori took her seat, then lowered himself onto the remaining chair. Across the desk, Hoyt Axelrod smiled at them from his throne-sized leather chair. Lord, he’d even had his big horsey teeth whitened.
