“Of course.” Head high, she strode over to the open door of the Maserati and lowered herself to the leather seat.
By the time the red car roared off down the lane, Sky was already leading the horses toward the long barn. After turning the mare over to a stable hand, he found an empty stall for Storm Cloud, unsaddled him, and gave him some hay and water. The gelding was too warm and too tired to misbehave. A sigh of contentment eased through the big body as Sky began rubbing him down with a towel. Sky usually found the job relaxing. But right now his thoughts were tumbleweeds in the wind.
Lauren’s departure had left him smarting, but she was the least of his worries. The discovery he’d made today had to be dealt with. That would mean involving Will, Beau, and ultimately the law—most likely the DEA, since Abner Sweeney didn’t seem competent to handle anything more serious than a traffic ticket.
But first he needed to talk with Marie. He’d hoped for a free afternoon to drive into town and catch her before the bar got busy. But it hadn’t happened, and now he couldn’t wait any longer. He would go back to the Blue Coyote tonight before closing time, and he wouldn’t leave until he found out what she was doing in Blanco Springs.
The little girl he remembered was long gone. He could only hope the hardened woman who’d taken her place would tell him the truth.
CHAPTER 7
It was ten-fifteen when Sky pulled his pickup into the parking lot at the Blue Coyote. The bar closed at eleven on weeknights, and the lot was already thinning out. As Sky switched off the engine he saw Abner Sweeney, still in uniform, stroll out the front door, cross the crumbling asphalt, and climb into a gleaming maroon Ford Explorer, so new that it still had the temporary license permit stuck to the rear window. Either Abner had been saving his pennies, or his promotion to sheriff had given him a nice bump in pay. Or maybe he’d just done somebody a big favor.
Never mind, Sky lectured himself. Having a new vehicle wasn’t against the law. And the reason he’d come here had nothing to do with Abner.
Marie was working. As Sky stepped through the door she glanced up to meet his eyes, then tore her gaze away. She looked drawn and harried, the scar a white slash against the olive skin of her face. Except for that scar and her grim expression, she looked much the way Sky remembered his mother.
Stella was nowhere in sight, but her half brother, Nigel, was on duty behind the bar. Sky remembered the boots and the tracks. There weren’t many biker types in a cowboy town like Blanco Springs. But the bar would have been open at the time Sky had heard the motorcycle. Nigel would have been working. So, most likely, would Marie.
Finding an empty booth, Sky sat down to wait. Marie was the only one serving seated customers. Sooner or later she would come to him. When she did, he’d have the twenty-dollar bill, with the note folded inside, ready to give her.
Blue pickup, parking lot, after closing—or tell me when and where.
Stella wandered in from the back hallway, tugging down her skin-tight denim skirt. Sky turned away, shifting his face toward the back of the booth. If the woman decided to corner him, that could keep Marie at a distance.
“What’ll it be, mister?” Marie stood next to the booth. Sky kept his eyes lowered as he fished the money with the note out of his pocket.
“Corona, no glass.” He handed her the bill. “Bring me back ten and keep the rest.”
“Thanks.” Her voice betrayed nothing as she turned away and headed for the cash register at the end of the bar. Sky cautioned himself not to watch her. Stella had sharp eyes and a suspicious nature. If Marie wanted to treat him like a stranger, he’d be smart to play along. It was clear that she didn’t want her boss to know about her connection to the Fletcher family.
Marie came back with the beer, along with ten dollars that she laid on the table. No reply note and no eye contact. Did that mean he was to wait outside for her, or was she blowing him off?
Sky sipped his beer, taking his time. Stella gave him a wink and a wave but didn’t sidle over and join him, which was all to the good. At ten minutes to eleven, he walked outside and sat in his truck with the lights off. Twenty minutes later the parking lot had emptied and he was still waiting. He watched the blue neon sign above the door flicker off. His fingers toyed with the keys that hung from the ignition. Maybe he’d struck out.
He was about to start the engine when a shadow peeled away from the dark shape of the building and moved across the parking lot toward him. Making sure the dome light was off, Sky opened the passenger door. Marie slid into the cab beside him, slumping low in the seat as if she didn’t want to be seen from outside.
“You haven’t changed much,” she said.
“I can’t say the same for you.”
Her fingers traced the ugly scar. “A little present from my ex-husband. He came at me with a butcher knife. I don’t have to tell you he’ll never do that again. Mind if I smoke?”
“Not as long as you blow it out the window.”
While Marie fished for a cigarette and lit it with a cheap, pink plastic lighter, Sky lifted the pocketknife out of his vest. “This belongs to you. I couldn’t help wondering if you dropped it on purpose.” He waited for her to answer. When she simply took the knife, he continued.
“Somebody out there shot a fine old man, Marie. Then they went off and left him to die—it’s a miracle he survived. Before I pass judgment and decide what to do, I want to hear your side of the story.”
Marie puffed on her cigarette. “It wasn’t me, if that’s what you’re thinking. It was Coy.”
Coy.
Another piece of the puzzle slid into place. Coy Fletcher, the second oldest of Marie’s brothers, was the bully of the family. Slow-witted and mean, he took pleasure in tormenting anything—or anyone—smaller and weaker than he was. After receiving some nasty bruises and a dislocated shoulder, Sky had learned to stay out of his way.
“It was an accident,” Marie said. “We were shortcutting across the ranch when we heard the ATV coming right toward us.”
“The old man wouldn’t have hurt you,” Sky said.