“I’m not at liberty to say. In El Rio I’m the only one who knows where the witness is being guarded by the US Marshals.”
“You’re talking about the father of the teenager killed—Carlos Dietz?”
“Yes. There were a couple of other witnesses besides the father, but he’s the only one who will dare testify. He lost his only child. Two years ago, his wife died in a wreck. Guess who was involved in that?”
“Diego Mederos.”
“One of his henchman was supposedly driving drunk and got a slap on his wrist. There was some speculation it was Mederos who was also drunk. The car was his, and when he’s in it, he’s always driving. His fall guy served a year in jail and was set free a month before Carlos was murdered in front of his father. Carlos Senior was very vocal about the justice system failing him and his son.” She kneaded the muscles at the back of her neck. “I want to change that perception.”
Tory was wound so tightly Cade wondered when she would break. The Mederos case was costing her more than a large amount of time. “Then why didn’t the henchman come after Carlos?”
“Because most of the complaints were targeted at Mederos.”
Not a smart move on the father’s part. Cases like Mederos’s caused Cade to question the justice system himself. It was made up of people who were flawed, but in the end everyone had to answer to God. That knowledge always gave him some peace. “I’m going to interview him this afternoon while we’re in town.”
“He’s smart and cruel. Mederos won’t tell you a thing.” Tory bolted to her feet and began pacing.
Cade sensed the presence of someone else nearby. He looked toward the entry hall and tensed.
Michelle stood in the entrance, tears running down her cheeks.
Tory covered the distance between them and tried to hug her daughter. “Honey—”
Michelle pushed away. “Don’t. I hate your job. You’re in danger because of it.”
Cade rose and walked to them. “Worrying doesn’t solve anything. It’ll only make it worse. When we know what we’re really dealing with, you’ll be informed. Then we can decide what needs to be done.”
Michelle glared at him. “Were you even a friend of my dad’s? Or did Mom say that just to shut me up?”
“I certainly had to get your dad and my nephew out of enough trouble when they were growing up.” Uncle Ben’s gruff voice came from the end of the hall, but as he moved toward them, it softened. “They were inseparable. They went everywhere together. Their curiosity was mighty huge. Once they wanted to know what would happen if you poked a beehive. That was a painful lesson to learn.” His six-feet-six-inch presence took up a large part of the hallway. At sixty he was still in good physical condition and was an expert shot.
“You poked a beehive?” his daughter asked Cade as though she couldn’t believe he could have been that stupid.
He nodded once. “Guilty as charged, but in our defense, we were only four years old.”
“I don’t know about y’all, but I’ve worked up a mighty big appetite. I hope y’all are hungry. I fixed a lot.”
“That’s what woke me up. What did you fix? It smells great.” Michelle took a step toward Uncle Ben.
“That smell is our dinner. Chili. I slow cook it. My recipe has won several county fair competitions. I hope you’ll stick around to have some.”
“I gotta.”
“Good. I have a basketball hoop on the side of the barn. Cade and your dad used to practice here.”
When the two of them disappeared into the kitchen, Tory sagged in relief. “Now you see why we need to be careful about what we say if Michelle is around. She’s going through an emotional stage where everything is black or white. No shades of gray. On top of that, she inherited that curiosity Ben was talking about.”
Cade leaned close. “I wonder what else she inherited.”
Tory’s sharp look sliced through him. She pinched her lips together and stalked toward the kitchen.
Before he could follow her, a knock sounded at the door behind him. When he checked out the peephole, the look on Paul’s face didn’t bode well. Instead of asking the police chief to come inside, Cade stepped out onto the porch. He thought Michelle needed to know what was going on, but not the brutal facts. “Before you say anything, let’s go for a walk away from the house.”
Thirty yards away, Paul stopped and faced Cade. “We found a dead body on your ranch near the crash.”
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