Page 11 of Claimed by the Lawman

Kace took a long drink of his coffee hoping to get his irritation with the man under check. “She found Susy’s diary.”

“Pfft. A diary. What does it say?”

“No clue. Not yet. Tyler told me Susy left a note too, but it wasn’t in the file. Have any clue where it might have gone?”

Mansfield smoothed his moustache and chuckled. “Hell, I don’t remember a note.”

“Both Deputy Payne and Mildred remember one.”

“Mildred should have retired years ago.”

“So no idea where the note is?”

Something flashed in Mansfield’s grey eyes. “What are you asking, son?”

“What happened to the note?”

“Are you accusing me of something?”

Kace eased back into the small chair, hearing the wood creak in resistance, much like the feeling going on inside of his gut. Whispers could be heard from surrounding patrons. “Now why would I go and do a thing like that?”

“Damned if I know. I was Sheriff for twenty years and nothing was ever lost. Maybe it was lost on your watch.”

“So then, you do remember the note, right?” Although he and Mansfield had remained civil after the election, he always thought the other man never got over the loss. Hell, Kace got it. When a person dedicated themselves to a career, it was never easy being pushed out.

Grumpily, Mansfield emptied his cup and placed it back down with a loud crack. “Yeah, I do remember a note after searching my brain. Maybe you should ask your old friend, Tyler Posey,” he placed a lot of emphasis on her name. “if she knows what happened to it or not. She certainly did focus on it enough. Some damned hair-brained idea that the girl didn’t write it. Makes no sense if you ask me.”

Kace counted to ten and back, remaining level headed, although Mansfield’s words did stick in his crawl. “Now how in the world would she know what happened with the note? Especially when she says her sister didn’t write it. She wouldn’t want it to come up missing when it’s a crucial piece of evidence. After all, wouldn’t she know if it was her sister’s handwriting? We could easily compare the note to the writing in the diary.”

“Don’t ask me. Maybe the boyfriend wrote it? Maybe Tyler herself did? She always had her panties in a bunch, pretending like that druggie sister of hers didn’t have a needle stuck in her arm twenty-four seven. You know how it is, son. You’ve worked enough cases to know what a person is capable of when they’re on drugs. I arrested that Posey girl at least a dozen times before she died. Never in her right mind either.”

Gritting his teeth, Kace reminded himself that wrapping his hands around Mansfield’s neck wouldn’t solve a thing. He’d been elected Sheriff because of his skill in catching bad guys and remaining calm. The last thing he wanted to do was bully someone to get information. However, he didn’t have to like how Mansfield disrespected Tyler or her sister. The Poseys were good people and just because some of them made mistakes didn’t mean anyone had the right to degrade them. Kace and his siblings had been hellions growing up but now they all wore a badge in one way or another. “No one is arguing that Susy had a bad habit, but what addict do you know would undress and hang herself off a balcony when it’d be easier just to use her drug of choice?” Up until now Kace hadn’t been one hundred percent sure about not reopening the case, that is until he wanted to swipe the smug grin off Mansfield’s pudgy face and feed it to him. That wouldn’t be enough to investigate the case further, but Kace could see how it didn’t add up that Susy took her own life. He’d have to read the diary and the note…that was, if it ever turned up.

“You think you can figure out what she was thinking?” With a wave of his hand, Mansfield smirked.

“Tell me what the note said then.”

Mansfield scanned his gaze around the room. “Just some bullshit that she’d let everyone down. Her sister. Brother. Father. Something about missing her mom. Wasn’t much but a couple of lines of feeling sorry for herself.”

“Apparently the letter was something for it to disappear, but stuff like that happens, I guess. I’ll just have to see what turns up in the diary.”

“You do whatever you feel you need to, son. You’re the one wearing the badge now, but keep in mind, townsfolk around these parts don’t like their tax dollars being wasted.” He stood and pushed his chair in. “You enjoy the rest of your day, Sheriff.” He tipped his hat and greeted several patrons on his way out the door.

Kace grabbed his to-go cup and headed outside himself, stopping long enough to watch Mansfield head down the sidewalk.

Making his way across the street to where his truck was parked, Kace climbed into the driver’s seat. From there he watched Mansfield standing on the corner, his jaw tight and his gaze narrowed into beady slits. Kace took a guess that the conversation at the diner discontented the man. Interesting…

Starting the engine, he turned the truck toward Tyler’s house. More than ever, Kace needed to see the diary.

~~**~~

“Hold him down and make him listen,” Isla Cooper said from the other end of the phone.

Tyler choked on the bit of blueberry bagel she’d just sat down to eat after taking a shower to wash off the sleepless night in the jail. The thought of holding Kace down made her body warm inside and she was grateful that her friend since high school couldn’t see her cheeks blush. She took a sip of coffee to wash down the bread before saying, “That could be a difficult task considering he’s tall and very large—all muscles. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you what?”

“That Kace had grown into quite a good looking male specimen.”

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