Page 98 of The Killing Plains

Russ shook his head. “Lowell’s got no poker face—that’s why he’s a rotten gambler. When he saw Denny, he was floored. He thought Willis did it, which made sense to me, too, at the time.”

The brothers had debated what to do. Lowell wanted to bury the body on the property and pretend nothing had happened. When the Hoyers reported Denny missing, Russ could go throughthe motions of a search, conclude the boy ran away, and leave it at that. Delinquents ran off all the time.

But Russ had refused. He’d notified the county sheriff, who’d called in the Rangers.

“It’s nice to know you draw the line somewhere.”

Russ scowled and tossed the pebble over the cliff. “Keeping mum about Lowell is one thing. But you think I’d let Jolene Hoyer suffer not knowing what happened to her boy? Besides, once I saw the mask, I knew we had a serial killer. Whether it was Willis or somebody else, I couldn’t let some maniac go around killing kids.”

Colly studied his face. “I want to believe you. But you’ve lied from the beginning.” She gave him a hard look. “Is there anything else I need to know?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. I swear.”

“For God’s sake, Russ, the case was already closed. Why’d you ask me to investigate if you didn’t want this stuff coming out?”

Russ’s forehead puckered into a frown. “Momma and Avery convinced me Willis didn’t kill Denny. And I knew Lowell couldn’t have, because he didn’t know about the first rabbit mask, back in ’98. A killer’s running loose. He might—”

Colly cut him off. “Wait—you said Lowell was with you in Paint Rock the day Denny was killed.”

Russ nodded, confused.

“Now you’re saying you knew he couldn’t be the killer because of the rabbit mask? Why would that matter if he had an airtight alibi?”

Russ stared. “Like you said, he could’ve hired a hitman—”

Colly scrambled to her feet. “That Paint Rock alibi’s bullshit, isn’t it?”

He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes and said nothing.

“Russ—why?”

He was silent for so long that she thought he wasn’t going to answer. Finally, he sighed. “Lowell claimed he was in bed with ahangover most of that day. If the Rangers uncovered the embezzlement, I was afraid they’d think—” He shrugged lamely. “I didn’t see the harm in saying he was with me since I knew he didn’t do it.”

“I’m not the Rangers, Russ. Why’d you lie to me? You just swore there was nothing else.”

“It seemed simpler.” He looked up at her bleakly. “I know how that sounds. But if I told you I lied to the Rangers, you’d want to know why. The embezzlement’s got nothing to do with Denny’s murder. So I thought—”

“You thought you could use me to solve your problems while you made sure the family’s dirty laundry stayed in the hamper,” Colly snapped. “Is that why you showed up with wine last night? To play on my emotions, find out how much I know?” She felt something on her cheek and dashed the tears away angrily with her fingertips.

“Of course not.” Russ climbed to his feet. “I didn’t want to put you in the same bind I was in. Ignorance is bliss, and all that. I’m sorry, Col. I thought I was doing the right thing.”

“That’s your problem, Russ—you’re weak. Weak people are dangerous because they can always convince themselves they’re doing the right thing.”

Russ stared at her miserably, then stooped to pick up his hat. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. I need to think. I should demand your resignation. For now, you’re going to recuse yourself.”

“From this case?”

“From all police work. If you don’t want me telling everyone why, you better get the flu or think up some other excuse for taking a few days off.”

Russ was staring at the horizon, rotating his Stetson by the brim. “Okay.”

“Now get me the hell out of here. I want to go home.”

Chapter 26

They rode back to the barn in silence. Leaving Russ to unsaddle the horses, Colly walked quickly towards her car, hoping to get away without being spotted. Nearing the house, she was dismayed to see Iris, in brightly colored garden gloves and a wide-brimmed sunhat, pruning the rose bushes by the porch.

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