Caroline Burnes - Texas Midnight

His watch showed nine o’clock. By his calculation, she was three hours ahead of him. That wasn’t bad, considering that she’d had a good six-hour start. He was steadily gaining on her. With a little luck, he’d have her before the close of day. And this time he wouldn’t be foolish enough to underestimate her.

He urged his horse forward into a steady lope. The footing was good, and he intended to make the most of it. Ellie had provided him with two of her best horses. Things were definitely in his favor.

He heard the chirp of the cell phone in his pack and stopped to answer it.

“Lem and the deputies are at the campsite,” Ellie said without preamble. “He’s mad as a hornet and threatening to put me in jail. Once he saw all the flats, it wasn’t hard for him to figure that someone brought you horses.”

“If Lem tries to blame you, I’ll straighten him out. You won’t do more than a day or two of jail time.”

“This is no time to be flip.” Ellie’s voice rose in anger. “I overheard some of the men talking, Jeremy, and they weren’t shy about saying that maybe you killed Henry.”

“Me?” Jeremy couldn’t hide his astonishment. “Me?”

“The man is dead in your home, and you’re out chasing a woman. They’re saying this Anna Red Shoes may be your accomplice. They’re implying that the scene in the bookstore was staged. By you. A publicity stunt.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

“I wish I were.” Ellie sighed. “Lem is very angry, and there’s more bad news.”

Jeremy waited.

“Blane Griffin’s heading the tracking team.”

“Oh, for pity’s sake.” Jeremy wanted to crush the small telephone. “Has he called a press conference yet?” It would be just like Blane to try to capitalize on the horrible murder.

“You guessed it. The television crews are arriving right now. They’re doing a live feed at the campsite. And they’re listing you as a wanted suspect.”

“Well—” There wasn’t anything Jeremy could say that wouldn’t offend Ellie. “Lem isn’t buying into this, is he?”

“I can’t tell for certain,” Ellie admitted. “He’s mad about the way you handled it. Blane has been gnawing on his ear all morning. They’ve even got a national news crew coming in. It seems that the popularity of your novel, the fact that Henry was your editor—all of that is national news. Even the tabloid shows are scheduled to come in. Blane had the nerve to ask if I would host a show in the bookstore.”

Jeremy wanted to bite nails—and then spit them into the lid of Blane’s coffin.

“The sensible thing to do is come home and handle all of this mess,” Ellie said.

“No.”

“Jeremy, you pigheaded son of a gun, you’re only making matters worse. You’d better get back home and take care of this.”

“No.”

“At least talk to Lem.”

Jeremy hesitated. He needed to talk with the sheriff, if only to protest his innocence. But talking would do no good. Lem would order him to come back, and when he didn’t he would be in a worse situation than he was now.

“I can’t do it, Ellie. I have to finish this. I’m gaining on her. I’ll have her by nightfall. I’m sure of it.”

“When Lem asks me for the number to your cell phone, I’m going to give it to him, and you’d better have a pretty speech thought up. I’ve seen you charm the pants off ladies and convince the moon to shine just for you. This time, Jeremy, you’d better be at the top of your form—you’re in serious trouble.”

“I’ll be back with her before tomorrow morning.” He punched the Off button and put the phone in his pack. Now it couldn’t ring. It was the only way he had of making sure he didn’t talk to Lem.

“Come on, Jetta,” he said to the mare as he pressed his legs on her. “We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

Though the tracking absorbed him, Jeremy still had time to worry. He conceded that perhaps he was guilty of rushing off half-cocked in his pursuit of Anna. But never in his wildest dreams had he thought that he might be considered a suspect in the killing of his editor. It was one of the most absurd things he’d ever heard.

Aside from the fact that he wasn’t psychologically capable of murdering anyone, the physical evidence was against such a possibility. What about the small footprints? He wanted to call Lem up and ask the sheriff about that. What did they think? That he’d bought a pair of lady’s boots and painstakingly made the prints just to leave a false trail? It was ridiculous! His anger skyrocketed.

This was all Blane’s doing. Jeremy had to hand it to the man. Blane had seen a perfect opportunity to even the score, and he’d taken it. Now he would receive the national attention that he so desperately wanted. At Jeremy’s expense.

This was all a media game to Blane, and Lem was so simpleminded that he didn’t realize it. Ellie had said one theory was that Anna Red Shoes was his accomplice. What straight-thinking person could ever believe that? Why would he need an accomplice? And why her? It didn’t make a lick of sense.

Well, when he caught her and brought her in, he’d straighten it all out. And there would be hell to pay. If Blane thought he could turn Henry’s death to his advantage, he had had another think coming. He was going to burn him bad.

Jeremy came to a small creek and let the horses drink. He’d cross the Guadeloupe River in a few hours. By then it would be very hot and he’d be ready for a quick dip in the April-cold water. The horses would need a little break, too. They’d been pushing steadily.

He checked his watch and urged his horses forward. He was pushing them hard, he knew, but if he played his cards right, he’d have the woman he pursued, and then Ellie’s horses could be returned to the pasture for a good rest.

For the moment, though, he had to ride hard, fast and with extreme caution. He couldn’t afford to approach Anna Red Shoes with less than total concentration.

ANNA STOPPED at the river and unsaddled Calamity. It was time to change horses, but she also needed a break. It was well after noon and she hadn’t eaten all day. The horses, too, needed some grass.

By her calculation she was at least eight hours ahead of Jeremy. No matter how good a tracker Jeremy hired, they couldn’t travel any faster than she was going. In places the terrain was too rugged. The ground was dry and hard, and on the steep inclines, the shale broke loose under the weight of her horse. That made going slow. But it would be as slow for her pursuers as it was for her.

She had time for a little bite to eat and, maybe, to stick her toes in the river. The Guadeloupe was a beautiful crystal-green, and though she knew the water would be cold, it was also inviting.

Once she removed the saddle and packs, the horses rolled in the grass that was just turning green. For all of the trouble she was in, the sight gave her a rush of pleasure.

The land around her was not familiar, but Anna didn’t doubt her ability to find her way to Maria Gonzalez’s spread. It was due west. To confuse the posse that she knew would be after her, she’d zigged and zagged a bit, but she was still on course.

She gave the horses a meager ration of the grain she’d brought and took out a peanut butter sandwich for herself. She wanted a cup of coffee, but she had no intention of taking the time to build a fire. Later, when she camped for the night, she’d indulge in something hot.

Sitting on a flat rock in the sun, munching her sandwich, Anna had a twinge of conscience. Jeremy Masterson had gotten what he deserved, but it bothered her just a little. She wasn’t in the habit of tying men up and abandoning them.

She hadn’t had any choice. Still, it worried her. It was early spring and therefore unlikely that snakes would be out—but anything could happen. She shook her head. Jeremy was too tough to attract a predator. Not even a bear could stomach that man!