Page 48 of The Killing Plains

“I’m following you to the farmhouse,” he said. “I want to check things out. If this perp knew where you’d be eating dinner tonight, he must know where you’re staying.”

Even after they cleared the place and Colly shooed Russ away, insisting that she didn’t need him to spend the night on the sofa, sleep did not come easily. For once she’d been glad to have Satchel’swarm little body beside her as she dozed fitfully through what remained of the night.

Now, leaning against the headboard with Satchel in her arms, Colly felt herself drifting off again. She jerked awake with effort.

“Come on, Satch, let’s get you cleaned up.” She ruffled his hair. “We’re late.”

Forty minutes later, Colly pushed through the police station door, a Starbucks coffee in each hand. In no mood for small talk, she hurried past the elderly office manager and down the hall to Russ’s office, pausing for a moment in the open doorway. Her brother-in-law sat hunched over his laptop, staring intently at the screen. He looked tired, she thought, his face slack and wan, with dark rings under his eyes and a day’s worth of stubble on his chin.

He was so absorbed in what he was doing that he jumped when she sat down in the chair facing him.

“I didn’t figure you’d be in till later.” He pushed the laptop aside.

“Had to take Satchel to school. Might as well get to work.” Colly slid one of the paper cups across the desk. “Black with two sugars, right?”

Russ smiled wearily and scratched his stubbled jaw. “Thanks. Get any sleep?”

“More than you, by the looks of it.”

“How’s Satchel?”

“Not great. He didn’t need to see me covered in blood.” She shook her head. “I hope bringing him here wasn’t a mistake. The therapist thought he’d have separation anxiety if I didn’t.”

“Kids are resilient.” Russ pried the plastic lid from his coffee cup and blew on the steaming liquid. “Alice adapted better than me after Wanda died.”

“I just hope his flashbacks don’t start again.” Colly looked around. “Where’s Avery?”

“She texted she’d be late—said she’s running down a lead.”

“What lead?”

“Beats me. I figured it was something you told her to do.”

“Damn kid,” Colly muttered. “Any news from Earla?”

“Nothing yet.” Russ sipped his coffee. “She’s at the ranch now, going back over things. Thought I’d head up in a while, see how it’s going. I told Felix to give her access to the security footage. Wish I’d thought of it earlier.”

“Since when does the ranch have cameras?”

“I talked Momma into it after what happened to Denny. System’s only been up a few weeks, so it slipped my mind last night.” He began to turn the coffee cup slowly in his fingers. “You, uh—you okay?”

“I’ve been called a murdering bitch before—though never so creatively, I’ll admit.”

“Don’t make fun, Col. This wasn’t some idiot tossing a brick through a window. If there’s a homicidal maniac—”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We don’t know that Denny’s killer did this.”

Russ stared. “Who else could it have been?”

“Think about it. The Rangers closed Denny’s case. Most people believe Willis killed him—and Willis is dead. If the real murderer’s out there, he’d want to lay low and hope our review flatlines, not build some elaborate booby trap to stir up suspicion.”

“Unless he’s panicking because you’re here. Or he’s just crazy.”

Colly hesitated. “Various people might have reasons for wanting to scare me off.”

Russ frowned. “Got someone in mind?”

“You said yourself Lowell’s upset I’m investigating.”

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