Sweet Talking Lawman (28 page)

“And then home?” she
suggested.

He shrugged.  “I
don’t know.”

“Rafe,” Beth’s voice
took on that motherly tone that he’d come to recognize over time.  “You
need rest, as well.”

He switched off the
intercom and appeared in her office, an affectionate smile twitching his
lips.  “After I’ve seen Mesa and Bob, maybe I’ll be able to rest. 
I’ll let you know where I’ll be, but don’t hesitate to call me if you need me.”

Beth stood up and
followed him to the door of her office.  “Krystal is on duty and between
the two of us, we’ll take care of things until tomorrow. 
You need
rest, also.
”

He nodded.  “I
hear you, ma’am.”

She lifted one hand
and patted the back of his shoulder as he turned toward the exit.  “Then
you heed that advice, Sheriff.  We need you alert and rested, not
bordering on exhaustion like you are right now.”

At the hospital, he
hurried to Mesa’s room.  He pushed the door open and when he entered and
she smiled at him from her bed, he felt a weight lift off his shoulders so
quickly he wasn’t sure if he walked across the floor or if he floated to her
side.  Leaning over, he kissed her gently, his heart quivering with relief
at seeing her safe, at touching her and knowing she was warm and alive. 
He lifted his head and when he looked down at her, she shimmered in the mist
that coated his eyes.  He blinked several times to clear his vision as he
stood back up and cut his eyes around the room.  Uci sat in a chair on the
other side of the bed, her smile reassuring him that this was real and not a
dream.

“So,” his grandmother
spoke softly, her voice filled with joy.  “Exactly how long do Mesa,
Shirley, and I have to get this wedding planned?”

Mesa giggled, still
feeling the effects of the anesthetics from her surgery.

Rafe shrugged. 
“As soon as it can be arranged.  Tomorrow would be fine with me.”

Uci stood up, her
grayed head shaking in denial.  “It won’t be that fast, young man.  Every
woman deserves a beautiful wedding and I’m sure Mesa doesn’t want to walk down
the aisle on crutches, so…”

“As long as I’m
marrying Rafe, I don’t care if he has to carry me down the aisle.”  Mesa’s
voice cut in, surprisingly strong.  “The sooner the better for me, too.”

Uci harrumphed
loudly.  “Well, it
will
matter to Raale, to Shirley, to Jory and it
matters to me.  We’ll work fast, but the two of you might as well be
prepared to be patient.  It will not come together overnight.”

After a short visit and
taking time to check on Bob who was giving the nursing staff a hard time,
simply because he could, Rafe went by his office and picked up Spur before he
headed home.

After a quick shower,
he lowered the shades in his room and was asleep by the time his head hit the
pillow.

It was late afternoon
when the ringing of his phone jerked Rafe out of a deep sleep.  His brain
was foggy from the heavy slumber when he growled into the receiver. 
“Storm Horse.”

“Sheriff, I’ve got
some bad news,” Krystal Montgomery’s voice greeted him.

“Oh hell,” he growled
again.  “What now?”

“The hospital called
and the man named Fisher is dead.  They had him on monitors and all of a
sudden everything went off and when they got to him they couldn’t revive him.”

Rafe sat up on the
side of the bed, dropping his bare feet to the floor.  He swore
again.  “I’ll go there first and then come on to the office.  Would
you get something delivered to eat?  I don’t think I’ve eaten since lunch
yesterday.”

When he disconnected
the phone, he decided another shower might help him shake off the sluggishness
of near exhaustion, but it was only marginally helpful.

At the hospital he
stopped in to see Mesa for a few minutes and was relieved that she was awake,
but then he hurried to meet with the staff members who were connected with
Fisher’s care, to question them, while a forensic team arrived to process the
patient’s room.  It appeared suspicious because up until his sudden death,
the patient had been showing surprising signs of progress. Unfortunately there
had been no security camera in Fisher’s room, and the closest nurse had been
called away on what turned out to be a false alarm in a room down the
hall.  The coroner had assured Rafe that one of the first tests he’d run
would be a tox-screen to ascertain if there were elevated levels of anything in
the dead man’s blood.

Still feeling like he
was moving in a fog, Rafe then went to his office and spent only a few minutes
questioning Ralph Shiver, who was still belligerently and sullenly refusing to
talk.  He’d demanded to speak to his lawyer who, unfortunately, was away
from his place of business.

When Rafe finally
entered his office Beth followed him in, carrying a bag from the diner. 
He wasn’t sure what was inside, but his mouth began to salivate like crazy.

Rafe devoured the
chicken and dumplings, the fresh squash with onions, and the fried okra. 
He used the accompanying biscuit to sop up the broth left in his plate, and
then wished he hadn’t eaten quite so much.  His next thought was of Uci’s
seven layer chocolate cake, and for once he was thankful that it wasn’t
available at that exact moment in time.  Sure, it would taste heavenly,
but then he’d be totally miserable for at least two hours.

He spent some time
catching up on the unending paperwork but found it hard to concentrate. 
Finally, he gave it up for a lost cause and headed back to the hospital, but
only after Beth made him promise to go home from there and get some rest.

Mesa was sitting up
in the bed talking on the phone and when he appeared, she motioned him
over.  “Your dad just walked in so I’ll let you talk to him before you go
to bed.  Yes, and I love you, too, sweetie.  Goodnight.”  She
was smiling when she handed him the phone.

He grinned, knowing
Raale was on the other end of the line.  “Hey, baby girl.”

He listened for a
minute, occasionally nodding and offering a word of regret for their
separation.  “It’ll still be a few days before it’s safe for y’all to come
home, sugar, but now we know who some of the bad guys are.  We’ve just
gotta get them to tell us the names of the rest of them so we can lock them
up.”

Mesa could see in
those expressive brown eyes how much he missed their daughter.

“I know and I love
you, too.”  He chuckled.  “When you go to bed, close your eyes and
picture your mom and me there with you.  That’s what I’ll do and I’m sure
your mom will, too, and that way we can all be together for a little while.”

When he hung the
phone up he struggled for a minute, trying to control an almost overwhelming
fury because he’d been forced to send his child away to insure her
safety.  Slowly he relaxed and it wasn’t until then that he leaned down
and kissed Mesa, taking one of her hands in his.

“So, when does the
doctor think he might let you go home?” he asked, once he felt he had regained
control of his sudden burst of anger at the present circumstances.

From the other side
of the bed, Uci shot him a quick look.  “She’s not going home to her
house.  I’m bringing her to our house so I can look after her.”

Squeezing his hand,
Mesa smiled.  “Jenny came by today and she and Uci and I will start
planning the wedding while I’m there recuperating.  And the doctor said I
should be released tomorrow.”  The instant tilt to his lips and the warming
of his chocolate tinted eyes warmed her heart.

“Y’all just make sure
you get it planned to take place as soon as possible.  We’ve wasted enough
time being apart.”  Now that he’d accepted the fact that nothing in their
pasts could be allowed to mar their future, he couldn’t wait to make her his
wife.  He wanted his family to be one unit, sealed with a love resilient
enough to take it into the time to come, to make it strong enough to defeat the
trials and troubles that all families face.

He lowered his head
again and placed a tender, lingering kiss on Mesa’s lips, but then he stood up
and cut his eyes to his grandmother’s face.  “How’d you get up here this
morning?”

“I drove,” she
replied with an undisguised smirk on her wrinkled face.

“You know you aren’t supposed
to drive, Uci.  I’m the sheriff.  I’d have to arrest you if I saw you
driving.  The people of Morgan County expect me to enforce the law the
same for everyone!”  It was an argument they’d had before when she refused
to take the driver’s test and get her license.

“Relax Rafter,” a
smile melted the smirk from her aged lips as she saw the surprise on his
face.  “I took the test last week and passed.”

“And that’s
information you didn’t think you should share with me?” he said, sarcasm
straining his voice.

Uci shrugged. 
“I just did, besides, you’ve had a busy week.”

“At any rate,” he
continued.  “You need to go home and rest.  I’ll sit with Mesa
tonight.”

From the bed, Mesa
squirmed up a little higher on her pillow, sparking Rafe into action.  He
slipped one arm beneath her shoulders attempting to help her, but she pushed
his arm away.

“I’m not helpless,”
she snapped, aggravated by her, albeit temporary, debility.  “You’re both
going home tonight.  Jenny is coming to sit with me, since it seems I can’t
be left alone.”

As if on cue, the
door opened and Jenny appeared, her arms laden with snacks and magazines.

“So,” Rafe drawled,
“you two are having a party?”

“A sleep over,” his
baby sister shot back at him with a grin, “And, as always, you aren’t invited,
although you will be the subject of major discussions throughout the night.”

He grinned. 
“I’ll just bet.”

“Okay,” her look took
in her grandmother and her big brother.  “Outa here, both of you. 
Mesa and I are ready to kick this party off, so we’re kicking y’all out.”

Dutifully Rafe walked
Uci to the small second hand car he’d purchased a few years ago, hoping at the
time that Uci would see it as a means of independence.  And she had. 
She drove it regularly to the mailbox at the end of the quarter mile driveway,
down to the hay barn to deliver drinks to the men working there, and anywhere
else around the ranch she needed to go, but she had steadfastly refused to get
her license and drive it out on the highway.

He slipped one arm
around her thin shoulders, realizing as he did, that in spite of the appearance
of frailty, he could feel the strength that he’d always known was there. 
“I’m real proud of you.”  His voice was deep with emotion.

“I know.  I
should have done it long ago, but with you and Mesa getting married, I decided
I needed to become more independent.”

His eyes sparked with
warmth.  “But I didn’t ask Mesa to marry me until last night.  You
took the test last week.”

Uci shrugged. 
“I’ve always told you that I know you better than you know yourself.”

He chuckled,
recognizing the truth in her statement.  He followed her home, making a
mental note to tell her again how proud he was of her and to compliment her on
the careful way she handled the car.

When he finally
rested his head on his pillow a little later and closed his eyes, Rafe was
instantly asleep.  He slept deeply and the sounding of his alarm snatched
him awake.  His brain was still muzzy and if he hadn’t known better, he’d
have suspected that he’d been drugged.  He rolled out of bed and staggered
into the shower, hoping that would revive him, and it did.

When he walked down
the steps, dressed for work, Uci was just setting a plate on the table for
him.  He smiled as he kissed her cheek.  “I love waffles.”

Her ebony eyes
sparked with life.  “Yes, you do.”

The familiar
scratching at the back door drew his attention.  “How’d Spur get
home?  I completely forgot about him last night.”  He walked over
pulled the door open and bent to greet his enthusiastic four legged friend.

“Krystal dropped him
off right after we got in last night.  He walked this house several times
looking for you and I finally had to make him sleep in my room because I was
worried that he’d scratch on your door and wake you up.  He wouldn’t even
eat this morning.  I think he’s pouting because you left him at the
office.”

Rafe laughed softly,
patting the big bulldog on the heavily muscled shoulder affectionately. 
“I apologize for forgetting you, buddy.  I’ll try not to do that again.”

Having his family
restored, his morning patrol done and his marking spots marked, the animal
walked over to his food dish and began to gobble up the food Uci had placed
there for him earlier.

While Rafe consumed
his waffles and sausage, Uci joined him, a cup of coffee in her hand.

“You’ll need to get
in a supply of Cokes for Mesa,” the big man announced casually.  “She
doesn’t drink coffee.”

The old woman nodded
her head.  “Any other suggestions?”

He shrugged his broad
shoulders.  “Nothing I can think of.”

“Jenny called before
you got up.  She thinks the doctor will release Mesa before lunch and
she’s planning to stick around and bring her out here.  That way you won’t
have to worry about anything but getting this strange mess wrapped up.”  Uci
lifted her cup and sipped the steaming liquid.  “We want Raale and the
others home and that can’t happen until you find everyone involved.”

He nodded.  “I
really appreciate you and Jenny pitching in to bring Mesa here.”

“She’s always been
family to us.”  Mischief lit her twinkling eyes.  “And we’re anxious
for you to make it legal.”

One side of his lips
lifted.  “No more than I am.”  Then he frowned.  “I wasn’t sure
I could ever forgive Mesa for keeping Raale from me, but Jory got me thinking
by asking me what I’d miss if I didn’t forgive her.  I couldn’t stop
imagining that and it made me crazy.”  He lifted his eyes and looked at
his grandmother, and the smile that melted across his features owned his whole
face.  “I think I’ve loved her forever.”

The old woman got up
and carried her cup to the sink.  “Alright, then.  Get this evil
locked up and peace restored to our town so we can get this wedding planned.”

Rafe pushed away from
the table, crossed the space and slipped his arms around the slight form of the
woman who’d raised him.  “Yes, ma’am.  I’ll take care of that as
quickly as I can.”  He hugged her and then slipped out the back door, the
big dog right on his heels.

There had to be a way
to get the mayor to tell him who else was involved in the meth ring.  He’d
known Ralph Shiver for years and when he really thought about it, he had a hard
time giving Shiver credit for putting the ring together.  Hell, he had a
hard time running city council meetings.

As he slipped behind
the wheel, looking forward to a quick visit with Mesa before going to the
office, his cell phone alert caught his attention.  He opened it. 
“Storm Horse,” he said.

“Rafe, we need you at
the office as soon as you can get here.  Shiver’s lawyer showed up,
demanding a bail hearing and just generally raising hell.  He met with
Shiver for a few minutes and came out of the meeting like a swarm of killer
bees.”  The tone of Levi’s voice sent a warning chill across the back of
Rafe’s neck.  “After I got him settled down some, he left, and when I went
in the cell block a little later to take Ralph his breakfast, he was laying in
the floor as dead as a door nail.”

“Oh, crap!” 
Rafe gunned the SUV out of his driveway, flipped on his lights and siren and
headed to his office as fast as his vehicle would go.  What a nightmare
this whole mess was becoming.

“What lawyer was he
using?” he asked, putting the phone on speaker so he could continue the
conversation.

“Trey Cunningham,”
Levi replied.

Trey---you mean
Walter Cunningham the third?”  Rafe couldn’t believe his ears.

“Yeah,” Levi shot
back quickly.  “You remember him from school?”

“Not really.  I
remember him because he dated Jenny before she and Russ got together. 
He’s a jerk.  He doesn’t have an office in down does he?”

“No.  His office
is in Liberty and that’s where he lives now.  He’s a big shot over there,
from what I hear.”

Rafe shook his head
in disbelief.  “I didn’t even know he still had connections around
here.  Who’d have ever put the two of them together,” Rafe growled. 
His thoughts churned for a minute before he spoke again.  “That’s a hell
of a coincidence, him visiting Shiver and now Shiver’s dead.”

“Yeah, that’s kinda
what I thought, as well, and…never mind.  I hear your siren and the rest
can wait until you’re here.” Levi said as Rafe roared up to the office and
broke the phone connection.

Within seconds he and
Spur entered the door at a rapid pace.  He cut the dispatcher a quick
look.  “We need a BOLO out on Cunningham.  Not just locally but
statewide.  Find out what he drives and alert every law enforcement agency
to be on the lookout for him.  I’ve got some questions for Mr.
Cunningham.”

After closing Spur in
his office, Rafe let Levi lead the way through the building to the cell where
the mayor’s lifeless body lay on the bare floor.

“I already called for
some forensic people and the coroner.  He said he’s too busy and we need
to stop calling him,” Levi snickered.  “But he said he’d be here as soon
as he could get here.”

Rafe frowned, his
head shaking negatively as he studied the mayor’s lifeless body.  “I hope
to hell he doesn’t think we enjoy calling him.”

Lowering his frame
until he was squatting next to the body, Levi cut a quick glance up at his
boss.  “He was just being a smart-ass.  You know he’s got a warped
sense of humor.”

Hunkering down beside
his head deputy, Rafe nodded.  “You didn’t hear anything when the lawyer
was back here with him?”

“No, and it was quiet
after he left.  There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary except for
Cunningham raising hell all over the place until I could get him out of the
building.”

“You think maybe he
was doing that to keep your attention away from back here?” Rafe asked.

Levi shrugged. 
“It’s possible.  That’s how it worked out.”

^^^

The nurse bustled in
and collected Mesa’s breakfast tray and disappeared again.  Jenny was
folding the blanket she’d covered herself with during the wee hours of the
morning, when the building became so cold she was sure freshly butchered meat
could have been hung from the ceiling.

“What time does your
doctor usually come around?” she asked Mesa, already anticipating an early
release.

“I’m not sure, but
probably not as early as we’d like.”  She sat up on the bed and swung her
heavily bandaged leg around to the side.

“Wait!” Jenny
exclaimed, hurrying to the side of the bed.  “It’ll hurt like a
son-of-a-gun if you just let that leg drop off the side of the bed.  Let
me ease it down and then I’ll get those crutches the nurse brought you.”

“Well hurry,” Mesa
laughed.  “I’ve gotta go pee.”

Hobbling around on
the crutches was a new experience for Mesa and maneuvering into and, when she
was finished, out of the small bathroom took her several minutes.  Finally
she collapsed into a sitting position on the side of the bed.

“I certainly hope
that I don’t have to climb stairs using those blasted crutches.  Just
going to the bathroom was brutal,” she groused.

Jenny giggled. 
“You’ll build up those chest muscles in a hurry using them.”  A guffaw
burst from her.  “You’ll be needing a bigger bra!  Rafe is gonna love
that.”

Mesa’s face turned
pink, but she laughed, too.  “He’s more of a leg man.”

Jenny’s laugh gurgled
out stronger.  “Don’t kid yourself, sister. 
All
men are boob
men.”

They were both
surprised when the door of the room opened without the customary polite knock
that the nurses used to announce their arrival.  However, they were even
more surprised when Trey Cunningham entered the room, a smile spreading his
lips across his startling white teeth.

“Morning,
ladies.  I’m happy to see you up and apparently moving around so well this
morning, Mesa.”

A frown dropped
Jenny’s brows into a vee above her nose.  “Trey?  What are you doing
here?”

“You sure look good,
Jenny.  Russ must make you happy.”  A note of sarcasm leaked into Cunningham’s
voice in spite of his smile.

“He does,” she
assured him quickly, “but you didn’t answer my question.  What are you
doing here?”

He turned his
attention to Mesa.  “I heard you were probably going home this morning and
thought I’d drop by and offer an old classmate a ride home.”

“Thank you, Trey,”
Mesa said trying to be polite.  “That’s very thoughtful of you, but I
already have a ride home.”

He shook his head
negatively.  “I understand the sheriff is being delayed by an unpleasant
incident over at the jail.  He’ll probably be tied up there for hours.”

“What
happened?”  Mesa’s question was automatic.

Jenny moved to her
friend’s side.  “Then I’m her ride home.”  Her voice was emphatic.

Cunningham ignored
her.  “I believe someone said they thought the mayor had been murdered
over there,” he directed his words to Mesa.  “We can stop by and get an
update if you like,” he added, hoping his lie would encourage Mesa to accept
his offer of a ride.

Jenny heard Mesa’s
gasp and eased between the two of them.  “That’s enough, Trey. 
I’m
taking Mesa home, and as a lawyer you know you shouldn’t be tossing that kind
of information around, whether it’s true or not.”

His smile melted and
almost like magic, a small pistol appeared in his hand.

“I wanted to do this
the easy way, but just like that damn brother of yours, you can’t mind your own
business.”  His chilling voice was harsh.

Both women
experienced a flush of ice sweeping through them at the sight of the weapon in
his hand.

Using the barrel of
the pistol, he motioned for Jenny to move to the side.  “Get out of my
way, Jenny,” he ordered.

“You go to hell,” she
snarled as she stepped toward him and swung a tightly fisted uppercut at his
jaw.  She regretted not having boxing gloves on because she knew her hand
would hurt like blazes later, but she wouldn’t let that stop her.

The blow connected
and staggered the much bigger man causing him to fall back a step, but he
quickly recovered and brought the side of the gun up in a fierce, stunning
blow.  As it turned out, the defensive move was a lucky one and connected
soundly with Jenny’s head.

Mesa watched
helplessly as her best friend crumpled to the floor.

“Now, get those
crutches.  You’re coming with me.”

“Where are you taking
me?” she asked, reaching for the crutches she’d propped against the side of the
bed within easy reach.

“Just do what I tell
you and it won’t be necessary for me to involve that old Storm Horse woman in
any of this,” his snarled words chilled Mesa, knowing how close Mesa was with Rafe’s
entire family.

“I need to put some
clothes on.  Leaving the hospital in a gown that’s open down the back will
attract a lot of attention.”  She was desperately hoping to stall him long
enough for help to arrive.

Stalking over to the
tiny closet, Cunningham jerked the door open.  He snatched a shirt off the
hanger and flung it at her, followed closely by a pair of big legged pants that
Jenny had brought with her last night.  “Put those on.”

Mesa looked at him,
not willing to pull the gown off with him watching, since she was not wearing a
bra.

He read the
hesitation in her eyes and scoffed at her modesty.  “I’m not interested in
sex, Mesa.  At least not now.  Maybe another time or another place it
might have been interesting, but right now, I’ve got more important things on
my mind.  I’ve already killed two men, and getting my money from the Storm
Horse ranch and getting out of the country is much more important.”