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“I beg your pardon!” The reporter’s eyebrows shot up Her eyes were the brilliant artificial blue of colored contact lenses “This is a free country, and we have every right to—”
“I have every right to sue you for harassing et back to work You don’t have to talk to these huers”
As Lute scurried off, Beau was di hi news, but right noas too al threat, he had no idea whether it had any teeth, but for now, at least, it seeear and was headed for the van The reporter followed, ht yellow skirt But thedown the long graveled drive
They’d be back, andto have his hands full But for noanted to visit the bog, just in case the local law enforce
Saddling a horse and strapping on a pistol, he set out cross-country for the bog Taking the pickup would’ve been faster, but in a s like tracks or bottle caps or cigarette butts And the day ar Quail scurried out of his way, calling froe and cedar and the earthy smell of cattle
A good half irl’s body was gone, of course, but the seeping earth and rotting plant ered like a round, he wondered why he even bothered to look The rusty earth was crisscrossed with tire tracks from news crews, law enforcement vehicles, and curious spectators And before the body had been found, there’d been cattle and horses all over the countryside
Today the place was eerily quiet, the only signs of life a pair of red-winged blackbirds flashing a a cloud over the water Beau tethered his horse and walked toward the edge of the bog The daround was trampled with boot prints There was no way to tell if any of theed to the killer Aside from the pleasant ride, this adventure had likely been a waste of time
The tracks were thickest at the spot where the body had lain Beau stared into the hollohere the winter reeds remained bent and flattened He hadn’t known Jessica Warner, but he sensed a hard life that, given the chance,decent Her killer had robbed her of that chance, stealing not only her life but also her future
Dropping to a crouch, he used a stick to probe the soggy reeds No sign of blood The girl had almost certainly been dumped here But why? If she’d been killed in Blanco, there were plenty of closer places to leave a body Had the killer wanted her to be discovered on the ranch?
“Find anything, Beau?” The deep voice was friendly in tone, but it startled Beau enough to rab for his pistol His nerves unclenched as he recognized Hoyt Axelrod
“My deputies have been over this place with a fine-tooth co, I’d say knock yourself out” Axelrod nodded “How’s your brother doing after that snakebite?”
“Will’sto run things without him Especially now”
Axelrod scowled down at the crushed reeds “Da, even if she was
a whore This is just between us, but she had a packet of cocaine on her, tucked in her bra, when they brought her in You’re with the DEA, aren’t you?”
He nodded “So you’re thinking this thing could be drug-related ?”