Darlene Franklin - Dressed for Death 01 - Gunfight at Grace Gulch by Darlene Franklin Page B
Authors: Darlene Franklin
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some pages on the table. “Take a look. This is what I showed that nosey reporter.”
I looked at the letterhead from the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture.
“I’m not irresponsible,” Cord complained, as if someone had accused him of that very thing. “My business associates in Britain warned me as soon as the problem cropped up over there. I had my vet check my herds and sent a report to the state Board of Agriculture.”
I scanned the document. It was dated a year ago and gave the Circle G herds a clean bill of health.
“No one is going to spread lies about me and get away with it.” Cord slapped the desk with such force, I jumped. For a second he looked like the kind of man who could commit murder.
Audie looked as shocked as I felt.
“Sorry, bad choice of words.” Cord took a swallow of coffee and groaned. “I told Penn that he could print his lies if he wanted to, but I’d slap him with a libel suit before the ink dried on the printing press. He backed down when he saw the report.”
“Why didn’t you tell Reiner about this when he asked you?” Audie frowned at the report, eyebrows bent in concentration.
“I didn’t want to talk about mad cow where everybody could hear us, did I?” Cord downed the rest of his coffee. “I’ll take the report to the police station tomorrow.”
“No wonder you put such feeling into the reenactment.” Audie grinned. “The feud has been reborn.”
“It did feel good to beat Penn in that race.” Cord relaxed a bit. “But I didn’t kill him. Reiner’s going about this all wrong. I couldn’t have shot Penn, not the way it went down, even if I wanted to.”
A small voice inside me spoke up. He had a gun. I didn’t believe he shot Penn, did I? I had to admit that he had the opportunity. Unless someone else substituted real bullets for the blanks, and that brought suspicion back to Dina. There had to be another answer.
“I’ve been thinking about it.” Cord shook his head, a few damp curls sprinkling water in the air. “To be honest, I haven’t done much else since yesterday. I went riding to clear my head.” He shivered.
“Let’s start a fire before we talk anymore,” I suggested. “All of us are wet.”
“Good idea. I’ll take care of it.” Cord lit the kindling already stacked in the fireplace. Soon cheery flames danced in front of us. Audie lifted his hands before the fire as if trying to catch their warmth. His shirt had almost dried, but it still stuck to his back in patches. Cord settled back in his recliner and put his feet on the footstool.
Seeing the two men side by side, I was struck by how different they looked in spite of their similar blond good looks. Cord’s hair curled, whereas Audie’s fell in artfully styled straight lines. Cord’s blue eyes shaded toward navy, while Audie’s were the color of a limitless clear sky. Cord’s sun-burnished skin was darker than Audie’s strong Viking features. Powerful muscles rippled across both their backs. In a town full of handsome cowboys, perhaps I had taken Cord’s friendship too much for granted. I could hear Jenna’s voice. You got that right. I snorted in my coffee.
“Are you all right?” Audie asked.
“I’m fine.” My voice sounded even while my heart raced. How had I missed the similarities between them before? Maybe because although the two men looked alike, their occupations and personalities lay at opposite ends of the spectrum. Why either one of these handsome men should be interested in plain old me, I couldn’t guess.
“Have you come to any conclusions?” I wanted to get my mind back on the investigation. Thinking about the two men confused me. “What about the shots? You know about marksmanship.” I glanced at the medals on the shelf.
Cord sat up, the recliner footstool retracting into the chair with a thud. “Yes, I think so. Let me show you what I figured out.”
He directed Audie and me to stand a few feet apart in front of the fireplace. “I was
I looked at the letterhead from the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture.
“I’m not irresponsible,” Cord complained, as if someone had accused him of that very thing. “My business associates in Britain warned me as soon as the problem cropped up over there. I had my vet check my herds and sent a report to the state Board of Agriculture.”
I scanned the document. It was dated a year ago and gave the Circle G herds a clean bill of health.
“No one is going to spread lies about me and get away with it.” Cord slapped the desk with such force, I jumped. For a second he looked like the kind of man who could commit murder.
Audie looked as shocked as I felt.
“Sorry, bad choice of words.” Cord took a swallow of coffee and groaned. “I told Penn that he could print his lies if he wanted to, but I’d slap him with a libel suit before the ink dried on the printing press. He backed down when he saw the report.”
“Why didn’t you tell Reiner about this when he asked you?” Audie frowned at the report, eyebrows bent in concentration.
“I didn’t want to talk about mad cow where everybody could hear us, did I?” Cord downed the rest of his coffee. “I’ll take the report to the police station tomorrow.”
“No wonder you put such feeling into the reenactment.” Audie grinned. “The feud has been reborn.”
“It did feel good to beat Penn in that race.” Cord relaxed a bit. “But I didn’t kill him. Reiner’s going about this all wrong. I couldn’t have shot Penn, not the way it went down, even if I wanted to.”
A small voice inside me spoke up. He had a gun. I didn’t believe he shot Penn, did I? I had to admit that he had the opportunity. Unless someone else substituted real bullets for the blanks, and that brought suspicion back to Dina. There had to be another answer.
“I’ve been thinking about it.” Cord shook his head, a few damp curls sprinkling water in the air. “To be honest, I haven’t done much else since yesterday. I went riding to clear my head.” He shivered.
“Let’s start a fire before we talk anymore,” I suggested. “All of us are wet.”
“Good idea. I’ll take care of it.” Cord lit the kindling already stacked in the fireplace. Soon cheery flames danced in front of us. Audie lifted his hands before the fire as if trying to catch their warmth. His shirt had almost dried, but it still stuck to his back in patches. Cord settled back in his recliner and put his feet on the footstool.
Seeing the two men side by side, I was struck by how different they looked in spite of their similar blond good looks. Cord’s hair curled, whereas Audie’s fell in artfully styled straight lines. Cord’s blue eyes shaded toward navy, while Audie’s were the color of a limitless clear sky. Cord’s sun-burnished skin was darker than Audie’s strong Viking features. Powerful muscles rippled across both their backs. In a town full of handsome cowboys, perhaps I had taken Cord’s friendship too much for granted. I could hear Jenna’s voice. You got that right. I snorted in my coffee.
“Are you all right?” Audie asked.
“I’m fine.” My voice sounded even while my heart raced. How had I missed the similarities between them before? Maybe because although the two men looked alike, their occupations and personalities lay at opposite ends of the spectrum. Why either one of these handsome men should be interested in plain old me, I couldn’t guess.
“Have you come to any conclusions?” I wanted to get my mind back on the investigation. Thinking about the two men confused me. “What about the shots? You know about marksmanship.” I glanced at the medals on the shelf.
Cord sat up, the recliner footstool retracting into the chair with a thud. “Yes, I think so. Let me show you what I figured out.”
He directed Audie and me to stand a few feet apart in front of the fireplace. “I was
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