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“Indeed, I do,” he assured her. “Call him. You’ll see.”
She laughed softly. “I was just remembering this song my mother used to love. Looking for love in all the wrong places...”
“Your only wrong place is headed back to Denver to stand trial. You’ll very likely be called to testify.”
“No problem there,” she replied. “I’ll enjoy it. I can’t believe I was that foolish!”
“People get lonely. Sometimes other people take advantage of it. I’m sorry things happened that way for you,” he said. “Miss Henry is very much like you. She’s a sweet woman.”
“Why, thank you,” she stammered.
“You’re most welcome. I can assure you that your brother is in excellent health, and the minute we’ve made certain he’s out of danger, I’m letting him go home. You should see his ranch, by the way,” he added. “He has some revolutionary ideas about cattle raising. They’re turning out better than any of us expected. You should come and see it.”
She laughed softly. “I’ll do that. I’ll look forward to meeting you, and that super detective who was working on the case. Mr. Lassiter, wasn’t it? His photo is on his dad’s website. What a very dishy man. Pity he isn’t older,” she sighed.
Cody laughed. “That’s life. I’ll be in touch. I’m certain that Dan Brady will be in touch, also, and don’t forget about the coffee.”
“I won’t. Thanks, Sheriff Banks.”
“All in a day’s work. Stay safe. And I’m truly sorry for not calling you about your brother.”
“He’s all right, so it’s not a problem. You take care, too. Goodbye.”
He hung up and glanced at Lassiter with a big grin. “Miss Whatley thinks you’re dishy,” he said.
“Ooops,” Lassiter said, grimacing.
“No worries. It’s not like that. She said it’s a pity you weren’t older.”
He chuckled. “I’m old enough. And she’s a nice woman, but I’m off women for the immediate future.”
Cody didn’t ask. He changed the subject to Bobby Grant’s arrest and what they both expected to happen next.
The little blonde trooper stopped by just as he was going out the door.
“Hi,” she said. “Got time for a cup of coffee?”
He grimaced, checking his watch. “Sorry, I’ve got a commitment tonight.”
“No problem,” she replied. “I’m by this way a lot now,” she added with a grin. “So I’ll try again another time.”
He smiled back. She was cheerful for a woman in law enforcement, he thought. He waved her goodbye and went to his truck.
HEDROVEOUTto the ranch to see Abby, his mind on Whatley’s near miss. Cody ground his teeth together as he realized that Bobby Grant himself couldn’t have made the attempt on Horace Whatley’s life, because he’d been in Florida with Whatley’s sister the whole time. Which meant he had somebody in Catelow who was willing to commit murder for him. He wondered who, and how Grant intended to pay the person when he was now in jail himself and charged with attempted murder and, if the charges in Colorado were added, and could be proven by evidence, first-degree murder.
He remembered his jailer’s kind offer to get Mr. Whatley a soft drink the night he was rushed to the hospital. That was, again, his first choice of suspects. He knew next to nothing about the man except for what a light background check had told him when he was hired. He’d never been in trouble with the law, the check revealed, and he was considered trustworthy by his former employer, a police chief in a neighboring state.
That didn’t help a lot. When the doctor had finally touched base with Cody, late last night, he was only able to tell him that the substance used was a rare and exotic powder which contained a neurotoxin. And, yes, it could cause seizures. Sometimes fatal ones, depending on how much was given to the victim.
Cody felt vaguely guilty, because the cute little blonde trooper had come by to return Cody’s handcuffs and he’d been talking to her while his jailer, presumably, had been poisoning Mr. Whatley. Well, honestly, he hadn’t been talking to her all that time. She’d waited in the office while he went out on a quick call to break up a fight in a nearby diner.
She’d been a little flushed when he returned, and he wondered absently if Lassiter had come by, because that was how women usually appeared when he’d been around. But when he asked, she said, no, nobody had come in and none of the prisoners had been unruly. She’d been thumbing through a pamphlet on drugs that she found on the sheriff’s desk. Nobody else had come in, although she could hear the jailer moving around in his area, away from the sheriff’s office.
Cody had enjoyed talking to her. She was very attractive and a little nervous. He felt guilty, because he was getting more attached to Abby by the day, and he shouldn’t be paying attention to other women.
Not that the trooper overly flirted. She was matter-of-fact about her job, although she seemed not to know the name of the trooper who was assigned to this area. But she was new, he considered, so that wasn’t really surprising.
She’d only stayed for a few minutes, and then she was off, smiling and shaking hands before she walked out to her car. She wasn’t driving a prowler, but then, she wouldn’t be, when she was off duty, and there was a shadowy figure in the passenger seat.
