Page 27 of Lawman’s Witness

Even as she told herself it was a bad idea, she pulled into the parking lot of Jack Marshall Auto determined to find out what this man had done to her and where Whitney had gone.

Jack was still fuming even after he finally got a decent take for the commercial. He couldn’t wait to call the chief of police. He was through fooling with Amy Sue Brand. Once behind his desk, he made the call only to be told that the chief was out of the office. He asked for Detective Hanson, but was told by a dispatcher that he was being put through to Detective Tate since Hanson was also out of the office.

“Wait,” he said, trying to stop her. “I don’t want to talk to Tate.”

“Sorry, but you’ve got me anyway,” the detective said. “What can I do for you, Mr. Marshall?”

Jack groaned and thought about hanging up. “When is Detective Hanson going to be in?”

“Not sure. He was called away on a family emergency. Maybe I can help you.”

“I’m being harassed, and I want her stopped,” Jack said with a curse.

“Her?”

“That Brand bitc—woman. This is the second time I’ve seen her in my showroom, but today—”

“Wait, I thought you’ve never laid eyes on the woman. Are you sure it was Amy Sue Brand? Oh, that’s right, you saw her the day previously to when she filed a report that you came to her ranch and made a point of pretending to shoot her?” Tate said. “You must have recognized her then since you were on her property.”

He bit back a curse. Hadn’t he known this was a mistake talking to Tate? “Why if I had threatened her on her ranch would she show up at my car dealership to harass me?”

“That’s a good question, since wasn’t the idea to scare her off?”

“Let’s not play games, Detective. Are you going to do something about her or not?” he snapped. “Or am I going to have to do something about you?”

“You aren’t threatening an officer of the law again, are you, Mr. Marshall?”

Jack gripped the phone. This cop was going down. He bit off each word. “This woman is after me. She’s trying to defame me. She’ll say anything to make me look bad.”

“Why would she do that?” Tate asked.

“How should I know? I’m a public figure. It wouldn’t be the first time someone was jealous of my success.”

“A woman who runs a ranch in Dry Creek miles from here?” the detective asked.

“I don’t know what her problem is, but she won’t leave me alone.”

“What would you like me to do about it?” Tate asked.

He tried to hold in his anger, but it bubbled up. He could feel the heat of it burning his face, roiling his stomach. He sometimes lost control when he got this furious, and he made mistakes. “Make her stop. Isn’t that what I pay your wages for?”

“I’d be happy to speak to her on your behalf,” the detective said.

“Speak to her? Lock her up! She’s dangerous! Next time she might come on my property with a gun and kill me.”

“Do you want to take out a restraining order on her?” Tate asked.

Wouldn’t the detective just love it if that got out about the woman who accused him of murder. He gripped the phone so hard he thought it would break. “Never mind. I’ll take care of it myself.”

“I wouldn’t suggest—”

But that’s all he heard before he threw his phone across the room.

Russ didn’t need his partner around to tell him that he was walking on dangerously thin ice. Jack Marshall was off-limits. The chief had made that clear, and he’d watched the way Detective Hanson was with Marshall. Careful. Almost coddling the businessman.

It made him sick. He could barely contain his contempt for Jack Marshall no matter how hard he tried. He knew it was going to cost him his job. But he desperately wanted to see the man behind bars before anyone else got hurt.

He immediately thought of Amy Sue. She wasn’t going to stop trying to prove the man was a murderer. He raked a hand through his hair. It wasn’t as if she didn’t know who she was dealing with. The woman was stubborn as some of the horses Russ broke on the ranch, he thought with a smile.