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“In case things went wrong, Hammer took photos of her injuries. When Camille reached her sister’s house, the sister insisted she see a doctor, so the assault is documented.”
“Did Hammer kill Samantha?” Ariel asked.
“No, Paul Franklin did.”
Preston clasped her hand, probably for support. “Why? What did Trent ever do to Hammer and the others?”
“Since your brother owned Dave money, it was logical to think Trent killed him. Since Paul Franklin had no proof, he needed to make sure Trent spent the rest of his life in jail. It was why he blackmailed Dennis Ackerman into throwing the case.”
She turned to Benson. “Did you know about this?”
“Not until yesterday. Ackerman told me about throwing the case. If he didn’t, this man said he'd kill Anna. Dennis couldn’t take the chance that the man wasn’t bluffing.”
“He basically threw Trent under the bus to save his niece?”
“Apparently. Let’s hope Dennis tells the judge what happened now that Anna is safe,” Benson said.
Her head spun. “Why didn’t Hammer let Paul Franklin know that he was the one who killed Dave Franklin? He was just trying to save Camille.”
The sheriff leaned back in his seat. “Hammer was smart not to say anything. I’m not that familiar with these men, but I imagine Franklin wouldn’t care about the circumstances of his brother’s death. Dead is dead. He would have executed Hammer.”
“If we believe Hammer, Paul Franklin killed Samantha to get back at Trent for supposedly killing his brother?” she asked.
“That’s what Hammer claims.”
“Why did Hammer and his men come after Benson and Preston? Was it because they were with me?” she asked.
The sheriff leaned forward on his elbows. “We may never know, but I suspect it was to stop all of you from investigating. Hammer might have learned that Benson’s sister worked with Camille, but we just don’t know.”
“Did Hammer admit to running me off the road?”
“Eventually he did, but it wasn’t to kill you. He was trying to scare you.”
“He succeeded,” she admitted.
She looked over at Benson. “Is there enough proof to free my brother?”
“I think there might be. We're working on something. If it pans out, I'll let you know.”
That was rather cryptic.
“Where is Paul Franklin now?” Preston asked.
“I wish I knew, but we are looking for him."
CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT
Since Ariel hadn’t eatenmuch today, the men took her to the Double G Bar. The food was good and the service quick. While she wanted to ask how they shifted and how they were able to heal so quickly, having that discussion in a bar wasn’t the right place. Besides, she needed time to mentally digest all that had happened.
When Will spotted them, he came out from behind the bar and seated them. “Everything work out okay?”
Clearly, Benson’s entire family knew what had occurred, since the fight happened at the ranch. If she had to guess, Benson had told them that she’d freaked out and left them when she found out about their animal side.
“All good.”
She could speak for herself. “I was surprised at the turn of events and needed time to think things through.”
Will smiled. “You came around quickly. I can’t imagine having so much new information thrown at me like that.”
