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She made a sputter of protest but otherwise kept quiet.
“So, do you have an offer to make me?” the sheriff asked. “I don’t have to remind you that Texas is a death penalty state. If Dr. Haskell is convicted as a coconspirator, you could both be facing the same punishment.”
“I know that,” Beau acknowledged.
As Beau took in the sheriff ’s calculating smile, he felt the trap close around him. Hoyt Axelrod was holding all the trumps, and they both knew it.
Beau said, “If I plead guilty to Slade’s murder at the arraignment, would you grant Natalie full immunity?”
The sheriff ’s smile broadened. “Not good enough. Here’s the deal. You plead guilty to Slade’s murder and to the murder of Jessica Warner, and your girlfriend gets a free pass. Do that, and your service record and your history of PTSD should be enough to get the death penalty taken off the table. You might even get probation down the line in, say, twenty years. If you’re prepared to sign a confession, we can take care of this right now.”
“That’s enough, Sheriff!” Tori was on her feet, quivering with fury. “You’re in no position to bargain with my client! Any plea deal has to be made with the county prosecutor and cleared with the judge. You should know that.” She glanced at Beau. “Both of you should know that. This stops here and now!”
“Aw, now, take it easy, Tori.” The sheriff’s demeanor had turned warm and folksy. “I was only trying to put things in order for when Clay Drummond gets back from his daughter’s wedding on Monday. Once he’s here, we can wrap this mess up nice and legal like.”
Beau recognized the name of Clay Drummond, Tori’s former law partner and now, evidently, county prosecutor. He remembered little else about the man, but he could be sure Drummond would do anything within the law to put him behind bars. That included extending the plea deal the sheriff had offered.
Tori swept the ballistics report into her briefcase. “We’ll talk again when Clay is back in town,” she said to the sheriff. “Meanwhile, my client is complying with the terms of his bail. If you want this process to go smoothly, you’re not to harass him or Dr. Haskell. Anything you have to say to them is to be channeled through me. Do I make myself clear?”
“No need to be so feisty, Tori. We’re still friends, aren’t we?” The sheriff ’s smirk didn’t waver.
Tori flashed him a disgusted look and opened the office door to stalk out through the reception area. Beau quickened his step to keep up with her determined stride. Only as they reached the parking lot did she speak.
“Still friends, he says! For two cents I’d have given the man a black eye! And you!” She turned on Beau with fury. “You didn’t do yourself any favors in there, offering to plead guilty! What in heaven’s name were you thinking?”
“I’m not letting Natalie get dragged into this.”
He opened the car door for her. She slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine as he climbed into the passenger side.
“I know you’d do anything to protect her; she said she’d do the same for you, which makes her even more vulnerable. You saw how Axelrod tried to spook you into a confession so he could call his press conference and play the hero. What he did back there was way out of line.”
“You’re right,” Beau conceded. “He had me cornered and all I could think about was Natalie. But my first concern is still keeping her out of this mess. How would the county prosecutor handle a plea?”
“Clay’s a by-the-book kind of man. Whatever he does will be up front and according to policy. But make no mistake, he likes to win. And he’ll be out to get you.”
“So I could make the same deal with him?”
“No question. But Clay would have the power to make it stick, so if you’re crazy enough to take the fall, which would kill your brother, at least don’t be in a hurry. If you can wait Clay out, he may offer Natalie her own deal—immunity in exchange for her testimony against you.”
“You might suggest it to him and make sure she takes the deal. Knowing she’s out of harm’s way would at least give me a chance to fight this.”
Tori paused at the town’s only stoplight. “We have to fight this, Beau,” she said, swinging left onto the highway. “Listen to me. You mustn’t sacrifice yourself on a plea deal, not even to save Natalie. We can win this.”
“We can also lose.”
“Do you have a better idea?” Tori asked.
“Yes. Find out all we can about the real killer.” Beau forced a mental shift, trying to think more like a federal agent again. “It’s Friday morning. We have three days until the prosecutor gets back. Right now Lute is the only solid lead we have. We need to find him.”
Sky faced Stella across the bar. He’d already stopped by the trucking company and found no sign of Lute or the truck he’d driven. Stella had just confirmed that he was two days overdue.
“And the last you heard from him was four days ago?”
“That’s right, Blue Eyes.” She leaned against the bar, giving him a glimpse of her ample cleavage. “I phoned the ranch in Mexico yesterday. They said he’d left two days ago, a little late, but he should have gotten in before nightfall. It’s an easy day’s drive from there to the border. Mexico can be a dangerous place. I hope nothing’s happened to him.”
Her face looked older in the slanting afternoon light. Was she hiding something? Maybe not this time, his instincts told him. Stella was a good actress, but she seemed genuinely worried—if only about the truck. He decided to tell her what he knew.
“Beau has connections in the border patrol,” he said. “According to their records, Lute crossed the bridge from Piedras Negras to Eagle Pass three days ago. But he checked through the border as a pedestrian. He wasn’t driving anything.”
