us happened in the past, Mr. Butler. This has nothing to do with it.” Sawmill was really on the defensive now. Dalton had struck a chord. She hadn’t thought bringing him into the equation would actually hurt her case, even though he’d insisted that it would.
“We don’t need him to find out what happened,” Dalton said, and his commanding voice sent another jolt rocketing through her, a jolt that couldn’t be more inappropriate under the circumstances.
“I do. I have no intention of working outside the law or putting my career on the line no matter how personal this case is,” she shot back. That was mostly true. She was willing to stretch boundaries when the time was right, but she wasn’t anywhere near there yet.
“There’s no incentive for him to open another murder investigation he can’t solve.” Now the cowboy had stepped on the sheriff’s toes.
But then her rational appeals were netting zero.
“All the resources I have are invested in keeping this town safe while I track down a killer,” Sawmill defended. “A suicide—” he flashed his eyes at Leanne “—no matter how upsetting or personal the case might be, has no place sitting in a murder jacket.”
“Are you calling me a liar?” Leanne was taken aback.
“I’m saying that your judgment is compromised and I don’t blame you. There’s a reason it’s against department policy to work on a conflict-of-interest case in every law enforcement agency in the country,” he said, again with that even tone.
It infuriated Leanne, but Dalton touched her arm once more and the spark distracted her for a split second.
“Who knows, you just might solve two cases at once. Forensics has come a long way,” Dalton continued and she was pretty sure the sheriff’s ruddy complexion became even rosier, another sign this meeting was going south. He was right about one thing. Keeping her emotions in check was going to be more difficult than she’d estimated.
“It has.” The sheriff’s tone was steadfast.
“Then we’re wasting our time here like I said before.” There was anger in his voice now as he spoke to the sheriff. “If you won’t believe a detective, I have no chance of convincing you. Besides, I tried once and we both know how that turned out.”
“These cases aren’t related,” Sawmill said.
“Really?” Dalton took a step back. “Same method. Same tree. Same knot. Hell, it was the same day at around the same time. Are you planning to look me in the eye and tell me this is a coincidence?”
Sawmill stared at him but said nothing at first.
And Leanne figured she and Dalton were about to be escorted out the way they had come in when the sheriff lifted his gaze to meet the handsome rancher’s.
He stared for a long moment without saying a word.
And then he issued a sharp sigh. “I owe it to you to take this seriously, Dalton. One of my deputies will pull her cell phone records. We’ll see who she was talking to leading up to last night. There are a few other pieces of evidence I can have processed. If anything comes up to change my initial opinion, you have my word I’ll open a criminal investigation. Between now and then, I’d like to keep this as quiet as possible.”
This was a huge win and she had no plans to push her luck. “Thank you, sir.”
“Let’s see if there’s anything there to be concerned with.” He held up his hands, palms out.
“Anything you can do is appreciated,” Dalton said before escorting Leanne out of the building.
Neither spoke until they reached the safety of the sport utility.
“It’s obvious that you two have history. Do you plan on telling me what any of that was about?”
The doors were locked and the windows were up.
Dalton turned the key in the ignition. “I’d rather talk about our next step. You shouldn’t leave your car at the lot today.”
“What are the chances we can go back to get it unnoticed?” She wondered how much damage there’d be if her name was linked to the case.
“Slim. Especially now that the sun has come up.”
“Did he get my license plate?” Leaving her car there could pose a problem, too.
“Not that I could tell. I was a little preoccupied.” She could’ve sworn a small smirk dented the corner of his lips.
If it did, he suppressed it just as quickly.
She’d been thinking about that kiss, about the contrast of his hard, muscled chest and the tenderness he’d shown when he pressed his lips to hers. About how good he tasted, like coffee and mint...and she shouldn’t be thinking these destructive thoughts right now.
“Where should we go?” She bit back a yawn.
“I’ll drop you off anywhere you want,” he said.
“Can we talk through what happened while the details are fresh?” she asked.
“The ranch needs me,” he said.
What was he up to?
“I can drop you off at your sister’s,” he said.
“After the way we left things, I doubt it,” she responded. “And since I’ll be sticking around a few days, I’ll need a recommendation for a place to stay while my sister cools off.”
There was no way Bethany was going to give Leanne access to Clara’s room after everything she’d said to her half sister.
Besides, Gary had most likely torn it apart already.
* * *
THE BLACK COFFEE burned Dalton’s throat as he took a sip. It felt good. Reminded him that he was alive. He took another, still trying to figure out what he was doing with Leanne West when he should’ve dropped her off so he could examine the photos on his phone in privacy. But then a part of him realized she had a right to know if he found something there. Besides, with her trained eye, she could be useful in evaluating them.
“Thanks for not dropping me off and leaving,” the detective said. “And for everything you’ve been doing to help so far. I never would’ve gotten that far with the sheriff on my own.”
Dalton nodded.
The detective ran her index finger along the rim of her coffee cup. She took hers with cream and two packets of raw sugar. He didn’t want to notice those details about her. She wasn’t a date. And even the women he’d spent time with never stayed long enough for him to figure out their coffee habits. He knew very little about the woman sitting across the booth from him in the empty café off the highway.
There were other details he’d cataloged about her. The fact that she didn’t wear a wedding ring. He told himself the only reason he noticed was because of the kiss—a kiss so hot he didn’t need to think about it, either—and a necessary apology that would have gone to her husband if she’d had one.
Dalton set his cup down. He also noticed that she’d picked at the hem of her navy blazer four times since sitting down and figured she was nervous. Was it because she was with him?
“If we’re going to work together, we should probably know some basics about each other, Detective,” he started, figuring information might come in handy if they somehow separated.
The detective blew out a burst of air. “Okay. First things first, call me Leanne.”
He nodded.
“I’m from Dallas, but you already know that. I have a six-month-old daughter.” She paused long enough to pull out her cell phone and show him a pic of a partially toothed little girl. “Mila.”
“Cute kid,” he said. His newly found half brother,