Cowboy's Pride (Welcome to Covendale Book 1) (14 page)

All the evidence, every coincidence and every lie, pointed to his guilt. He was going to jail—for months, maybe years.

He would lose the Leaning T.

Somehow he managed to follow Sheriff Tanner out of the office and down a few hallways, until eventually they came to the holding cells. There were four of them, two on each side of a large room, with a desk at the front end. The skittish deputy, Nick Donovan, sat behind the desk and pinned a wary stare on Cam as the sheriff led him through.

He was brought to the first cell on the left, which was already open. It reeked of disinfectant and hopelessness. Only one of the others was occupied—in the far right cell, someone was sleeping on the narrow cot. He walked through the cell door stiffly, and it slammed shut behind him. “Back up and put your hands through the bars,” the sheriff said.

He did. The cuffs were removed, and he lowered his arms slowly.

“Judge won’t be in on Monday, so we can’t get you arraigned until Tuesday,” Sheriff Tanner said behind him. “You’ll have to stay here until then. But if you make bail, you should have time to make some arrangements for your place before the trial.” After a pause, he added, “Is there anyone you want to call? Your mother, maybe?”

Cam turned slowly. His gut felt dull and heavy, as though a big rock had settled in it. “She’s been gone for six years, Sheriff,” he said. “I don’t think she’s going to come back and take care of the horses now.”

Something in the sheriff’s face changed, but it hardened again just as fast. “Guess you’d better think of somebody, then,” he said. “Because I can’t let you go until we talk to the judge.”

Sydney.
She was the only person he wanted to talk to, the only one who might care about any of this. He knew there was nothing she could do, but just hearing her voice would be enough.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t even thought to get her number in these last few days. And he did have to get someone out there for the horses and chickens. Three days was plenty long enough for them to starve to death.

He was going to lose them one way or another. But he refused to let them suffer a cruel death.

“All right,” he finally said. “Let me make that call.”

They brought him a phone, and he called Alex Walker, one of his part-timers. Alex agreed to head out to the ranch twice a day and take care of things, at least through Tuesday. He wasn’t sure beyond that.

When they left him alone, Cam sat on the flimsy bunk and faced the back wall, unwilling to talk to or even look at anyone. In less than a week he’d gone from having nothing, to everything, to worse than nothing.

And he didn’t even have the satisfaction of doing what they said—but beating the hell out of Tommy would be a cold comfort now.

The Lowells had won.

Chapter 16

Sydney stormed into the police station, clutching the slim bag Eddie Verona had given her. He’d explained what it was—evidence that Boyd Lowell had bought his way into the town selectman’s seat, and continued using his influence to rip off half the town and line his own pockets. They’d planned to have Cam turn it in to the sheriff after he got to the bank on Monday.

Now she planned to use it to get him out of here. Somehow.

The front lobby was empty. She figured she could stand here and shout until someone noticed she was here, or go in further and look for the sheriff. She decided on the latter. The door to the right of the big desk was open a few inches, so she headed that way.

Behind the door was a hallway. Nothing on the right, a frosted glass door halfway down the left marked RECORDS. There was a left turn at the end of the hall, and when she entered a wider corridor, she found a hanging sign that read HOLDING with an arrow pointing down another hallway.

That was where she needed to go.

A few minutes later, she walked into a big room with a desk at the front, and Nick Donovan behind it with his propped on the surface. He was leaned back, holding an open book over his head and reading with apparent concentration. The deputy didn’t notice her, but she didn’t care. She’d found Cam.

He was in the closest cell, huddled on the bunk with his back to the world. It broke her heart seeing him here, locked up like the animal the whole town thought he was. And maybe he did beat Tommy up once, a long time ago, but he hadn’t done this. No matter how it looked from the outside. He said he didn’t, and she believed him.

She couldn’t imagine what really happened, but she intended to find out.

Just as she opened her mouth to call his name, she heard Nick behind her. “Hey, what the…Sydney!” There was a thump, probably his feet hitting the floor. “You can’t be in here. You’re not authorized.”

Cam flinched. He turned his head slowly—and then he was on his feet, coming toward her. She put an arm through the bars, and he reached for her. “Sydney, I—”

Before he could touch her, Nick was there, pulling her back. “Ma’am, please step away from the prisoner,” he said. “There’s no contact allowed. And you can’t be in here.”

“Prisoner!” She jerked away and whirled to face him. “Nick, that’s Cam Thatcher. You went to school with him, and you know he’s not a criminal.”

Nick shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry, but…you didn’t see Tommy.”

“I didn’t touch him,” Cam growled. “Goddamn it, why doesn’t anyone believe me?”

Sydney looked at him with a sad smile. “I do,” she said.

“What the hell’s going on in here?”

The voice came from Sheriff Tanner, who’d suddenly materialized in the doorway opposite the one Sydney came through. “Sheriff, I need to talk to you,” she said, walking quickly away from Nick. “You’ve got to let Cam go. I have…evidence.”

“Sydney, don’t.” Cam sounded half-angry, half-desperate. “Whatever you’re doing, just stop before you get yourself in trouble. I’ll be fine.”

Somehow she knew he’d figured out what she had in the bag. But she couldn’t stop now. If she looked back at Cam and caught the misery in his eyes, she’d probably cave. So she stared straight at the sheriff. “Please,” she said. “You have to see this.”

“No! Sydney, they’ll just turn it around on you. Stay out of this.”

“You keep quiet,” Sheriff Tanner said, pointing a finger toward the cell. Then he sighed and ran a hand down his face. “All right, young lady,” he said. “But you need to understand that no matter what you have there, I can’t let him go until at least Tuesday when the judge is available to handle the arraignment.”

“Tuesday?” she whispered. “But that’s too late. He has to—” She stopped abruptly as the pieces snapped into place. Tommy and his father wanted Cam out of the way long enough to let the bank seize the Leaning T, so they could buy it. Boyd Lowell and Judge Price were close friends. He could’ve arranged for the judge to be “unavailable” until it was too late.

An idea started to form. It was completely crazy, but she was willing to try anything if it would stop the Lowells from ruining Cam’s life. “I understand,” she finally said. “Just let me show you.”

Shaking his head, the sheriff stepped back and held the door for her.

She expected another outburst from Cam, but he stayed silent. So she risked a glance back.

From what it looked like, he was too furious to speak.

There was no time to convince him she knew what she was doing. Besides, she really didn’t—she was running on wild hunches here. She’d just have to go through with it and hope he’d cool down enough to listen later.

Sheriff Tanner led her to his office. When they were both sitting, she put the bag on the desk and pushed it toward him. “Everything’s in here,” she said.

He raised an eyebrow. “Want to tell me what ‘everything’ is?”

“It’s…evidence,” she said. “Just look at it.”

Frowning, the sheriff unzipped the bag and pulled out a small pile of folders. Then a few stacks of microcassette tapes, held together with rubber bands. Then a bunch of photos paperclipped on two sides. He stared at the top photo a minute. “It’s Boyd Lowell,” he said. “And the mayor. Shaking hands. Miss Davis, are you here to waste my time? Because I’m not in the mood.”

“They’re not shaking hands,” she said. “It’s a payoff.”

The sheriff glared at her.

“I’m serious. Look closer.”

“Miss Davis…” He glanced down—and then looked again. He picked up the pictures and squinted. His expression lapsed into careful blankness as he put them back down slowly and opened the first folder.

After a long few minutes, he said without looking up, “What’s on the tapes?”

“Phone calls.”                                                 

Sheriff Tanner closed his eyes. “Where did you get all this?”

She hesitated. If the words ‘Eddie Verona’ came from her mouth, she’d probably be guilty by association or something. And she bet they wouldn’t even let her share a cell with Cam. Finally she said, “I found it.”

“You found it.” The sheriff stared at her. “Young lady, I believe that about as much as I believe your friend out there didn’t lay a hand on the Lowell boy.”

“Well, he didn’t, and I did. I mean, I found the bag. Not I beat up Tommy.” She drew a deep breath and told herself to stay calm. Babbling like an airhead wasn’t going to help her case, especially when she got to the crazy part.

“Spying on people and recording them without their permission is illegal,” Sheriff Tanner said. “Do you understand that?”

“I’m sure it is,” she said. “But finding something isn’t illegal. Neither is turning it in to the sheriff. Right?”

He drummed his fingers on the open folder. “These are very serious allegations,” he said. “If someone…
found
these things, and they were falsified, the finder could be in a whole lot of trouble.”

Sydney’s jaw clenched. “They’re not fake,” she said.

There was a long, awkward silence. At last the sheriff’s shoulders slumped. “All right,” he said. “I’m going to let your miraculous discovery story slide for now, because this appears to be legitimate. If it is, we’ll probably arrest Boyd Lowell.” He almost looked sorry as he added, “But this doesn’t implicate Tommy. It has nothing to do with Thatcher’s situation.”

“I know.” She breathed out slowly and tried to tell herself this was so crazy, it just might work. “Listen, Sheriff…can you do me a huge favor?”

* * * *

Apparently, not everyone in town had heard about the cancelled wedding yet. The receptionist at the hospital was happy to let Sydney know that Tommy was in a first-floor room for observation, and the nurse at the station walked her personally to the door. It was already open, but not enough so she could see inside.

She really hoped Tommy didn’t have a roommate. Otherwise, this would never work.

After taking a moment to compose herself, she knocked gently and pushed the door open. Tommy was in the bed closest to the door. The other was empty. So far, so good.

He looked like he’d been dozing, but he turned his head when she closed the door. His eyes widened—in surprise, not anger. He actually smiled a little. “Sydney?” he said. “Is that really you?”

She dug up a smile and pasted it on, resisting the urge to pat her pocket. This had to be natural and convincing. “Hi, Tommy.” She approached the bed, letting her smile falter into what she hoped was concern. “I heard about what happened,” she said. “You look awful.”

He sat up. Pretty easily, considering how gravely injured he was supposed to be. “You should see the other guy,” he said, flashing that weak smile again. “That’s a joke, by the way. Just trying to salvage a little pride.”

“Cam…” Her voice started to tremble, so she paused and silently gathered her resolve. She sat in the chair next to the bed, hands folded in her lap. “I couldn’t stay mad at you,” she said. “When I heard what Cam did, I got so worried. I just had to make sure…”

It wasn’t hard to produce tears. They were for Cam, but Tommy didn’t have to know that.

“Oh, babe. It’s all right.” His eyes gleamed suddenly—and she knew he’d bought it. Her racing heart eased a little. “Come over here,” he said, patting the side of the bed.

She did, showing just a touch of reluctance. It’d be harder keeping the charade up now, because she was furious that she’d been right. She figured Tommy would be happy to take her back just to rub salt in Cam’s wounds. And here he was doing exactly that.

“Hey. Don’t cry, sweetheart.” Tommy put an arm around her, the one that wasn’t in a sling. “Listen, I’m sorry about Steph,” he said. “It was just cold feet, you know? It didn’t mean anything.”

The blade of anger twisted harder, but she managed to hold back. “I guess…I understand,” she said. “We can still get married, right?”

“Sure we can.” His smile faltered a little. “But Syd, I have to tell you something.”

“What?”
Confess, you bastard.
Maybe he’d make this easy and spill everything now.

He sighed. “That New York job? It fell through. So we’d be staying here in Covendale, at least for a while.”

“Oh.” She didn’t have to fake disappointment. So much for easy.

“Don’t worry, though,” he said. “I’ve got the perfect place for us to live.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Where?”

“Well, I know how much you like the ranch. You know, the Thatcher place,” he said. “So my father’s buying it. He’s got a developer lined up to buy the land, but we get the house. How’s that sound?”

She couldn’t help it. She started shaking like crazy. “Oh, Tommy,” she managed, hoping it sounded like excitement. “That’s just…wonderful! I do love that place. But how could your father buy it? I mean, I didn’t think Cam wanted to sell.”

Tommy grinned. “He doesn’t have a choice. The bank’s ready to take it on Monday, and since Thatcher’s locked up, he can’t stop it.”

“Wait a minute,” she said, sounding a lot more convincing now. She was definitely breathless with anticipation. “What if he gets out on bail?”

“He can’t. Judge Price isn’t going to be around.”

“How do you know that?”

“Dad made sure he wouldn’t be.”

His face changed as he realized what he’d just said. Carefully schooling the triumph from her features, Sydney leaned in and whispered, “You did this all just for me, didn’t you? You knew how much I wanted the ranch.”