Beverly Barton - The Outcast

Reece crossed the room to stand in front of the fireplace. "Have you already called the sheriff? Told him where he can find me?"

"I don't work that way, Landry. For whatever reason, Elizabeth has taken on your problems. She's determined to help you, and I'm determined to help her and protect her."

"The last thing we need is for you two to argue," Elizabeth said.

"I think Landry needs to know where I stand." Sam unbuttoned his charcoal gray pin-striped coat, exposing the pristine whiteness of his shirt, his tie a crimson stain against the purity. "If Elizabeth believes you're innocent, then I'm willing to do whatever it takes to find the real murderer. I think you should turn yourself in, but I haven't betrayed you and I won't. I don't like Elizabeth's involvement with you because I think you can get her in big trouble. I don't want her to stay with you. I want her to leave here with me this afternoon."

"I'm not leaving." Elizabeth placed her hand on Sam's where he'd rested it on the back of the sofa. "Tell us what you've found out, and then we'll all work together to figure out where we go from here." She glanced up at Reece. "Sit down."

Reece took the chair to the left of the sofa, the one closest to Elizabeth. Leaning back, he folded his arms across his chest. "Let's hear it. What has the great man found out?"

Elizabeth scowled at Reece. "Go ahead, Sam. Don't pay any attention to Reece. I haven't had a chance to work on his manners yet."

"How much have you told Elizabeth?" Sam asked Reece.

"About what?" Reece widened his eyes, a mocking grin on his face.

“About your past. About your life."

"She knows I'm a worthless bastard who's been convicted of murdering his father," Reece said.

"I know the whole story." Elizabeth felt torn between her need to comfort Reece and her need to make Sam understand her feelings.

Sam glanced at Elizabeth, then at Reece. "All right. Then it's safe to say it won't come as a surprise to hear that Reece Landry has a few enemies in Newell, enemies with money and power who are very pleased that he was convicted of B. K. Stanton's murder."

"That's all you've found out?" Reece chuckled.

"You've also got a few friends, including your sister. She's the one person who might be able to help us." Standing, Sam shoved his hands into his pants pockets. "Just from my preliminary inquiries I think there's a good possibility that you were framed, and I think your brother and his mother could be our prime suspects. After all, they, and your sister, Christina, stood to lose a lot of money if you weren't convicted of murder."

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked.

"My old man made a new will shortly before he was killed," Reece said. "But he didn't bother telling anyone, including me. The only person who knew, other than B.K. himself, was the family lawyer, Willard Moran." Reece tossed his head back, blew out his breath and looked up at the ceiling. "I think that's the reason B.K. asked me to come by his house that night. The night he was shot."

"He named you in his will?" Elizabeth wanted to put her arms around Reece, to comfort him, to share the pain he felt.

"B. K. Stanton left Reece one-third of everything he possessed." Sam paced back and forth in front of the fireplace. "After thirty-two years he was finally acknowledging Reece as his son."

Reece sat up straight, looked across the room and out the windows, his gaze not really focused. "Damn generous of him, wasn't it?" Reece laughed. "The really funny thing is that I think he did it because he knew how furious it would make Kenny and Alice."

"Look, bottom line here is that Stanton's whole family had reason to kill him," Sam said. "He and Kenny never got along. B.K. completely controlled his son's life. He even handpicked Tracy Burton for Kenny's wife.

"The man had been betraying Alice with other women most of their married life. It was no secret that she despised her husband." Sam glanced over at Elizabeth, never slowing as he paced back and forth. "And the whole town knows that Christina Stanton never forgave her father for paying off her fiance to dump her about ten years ago because B.K. didn't think the man was good enough for his daughter." Sam stopped pacing, then looked down at Reece. "And your stepfather had motive to kill Stanton. From what I've learned, Harry Gunn had threatened to kill his wife's former lover on more than one occasion."

"Good old Harry." Reece shook his head. He didn't know who he'd hated the most over the years-B. K. Stanton or Harry Gunn.

"So, it looks like we've got ourselves a full cast of suspects," Sam said. "I've set up an appointment with Gary Elkins in the morning. He's eager for us to work together. Your lawyer believes you're innocent."

"Does he?" Reece asked, glancing up at Sam. "Since Christina's money paid for his services, I was never quite certain where his loyalties lay."

"You don't trust anybody, do you, Landry?"

Reece stood, facing Sam. Two big, tall men sizing up each other. "Something tells me you're not the trusting sort, either, Dundee. You sure as hell don't trust me with Elizabeth, do you?"

Elizabeth jumped up off the sofa, standing in front of Reece and Sam, her body separating the two men, the three of them creating a human triangle. "We're going to have to trust one another. It's the only way we can prove Reece's innocence."

Sam turned, taking Elizabeth by the arm. "He's right about my not trusting him with you, kiddo. You shouldn't be in the middle of this mess. I want you to come with me, today. We'll both stay in Newell, if that's what you want, and I'll do whatever it takes to find Stanton's killer."

"Why don't you two talk this over," Reece said. "I need some fresh air." He grabbed his coat off the rack by the door and went outside.

Elizabeth turned to Sam. "Why did you have to ask me to leave again? I'd already told you that I'm staying with Reece." Never before had she been forced to choose between Sam and another man. Never before had she had reason to go against Sam's wishes.

Sam took Elizabeth by the shoulders, pulling her into his arms, stroking her hair the way a parent would comfort a child. "I'm worried sick about you, kiddo. I'm scared something really bad might happen."

Elizabeth hugged Sam, feeling, as she always had, safe and secure in his arms. "I understand how you feel, but I want you to understand how I feel. I really do think I'm falling in love with Reece. I know it's crazy for me to love him, but-"

"Elizabeth, Elizabeth." Sighing, Sam took her by the shoulders again.

"He needs me, Sam. There's just so much pain inside him. Anger, pain and fear." Reaching up, Elizabeth cradled Sam's cheek in her palm. "Remember the agony you were in six years ago when you came off your last assignment for the DEA? That's the shape Reece is in now, but for different reasons."

Elizabeth felt Sam flinch, saw the memories glaze his eyes. "It wasn't your fault, Sam. You didn't have a choice. You did what you had to do. But I have a choice. I'm not leaving Reece."

Sam swallowed, squeezed Elizabeth's shoulders and forced a smile. "He doesn't deserve you, kiddo."

Elizabeth flung her arms around Sam, hugging him fiercely. "I love you, you know that, don't you?"

"And I love you, too, little girl."

Reece stood on the front porch, the afternoon sun dimmed by the clouds, small, damp snowflakes beginning to fall. He had meant to stay out here, to give Elizabeth time alone with Sam Dundee, but the more he'd thought about the possibility she might leave him, the more determined he'd become to ask her to stay. He'd opened the door just a fraction and had seen Elizabeth in Sam's arms. He'd heard her tell him she loved him.

A knot of intense agony sprang to life in Reece's gut. Why the hell should he have trusted this woman any more than he'd ever trusted another?