Tory felt the air in the room become thick with suspicion. “Trask—”
“What’s this got to do with anything?” Keith demanded.
The foreman disregarded Keith’s interruption and drained his cup, never once taking his eyes off Trask. “Calvin needed help with the Lazy W, I guess. And I needed a job.”
“And you’ve stayed all these years.”
“Yep.”
“Even after Calvin died.” Trask made it sound as if Rex’s loyalty were some sort of crime.
“I’m too old to jump from spread to spread.”
“Trask,” Tory interjected, her voice wavering slightly. “There’s no need for this. Rex doesn’t have to explain himself.”
“Just a few friendly questions,” Trask replied coldly.
Tory wondered what had happened to the warm caring man he had been only moments before.
“Well, let me ask you a few,” Keith cut in. “You seem to be pointing fingers at nearly everyone you meet, McFadden. But what about you? How do we know that the letter you brought here isn’t a phony? How do we know that you haven’t been the one calling Neva, sending threatening letters to Tory or shooting the calves?”
If Trask was outraged, he managed to hide it. His lips twisted into a grim smile but his eyes became as cold as the deepest well at midnight.
“And you think I took a shot at myself, too?” Trask returned.
“You could have hired someone to fire a shot when you were up on Devil’s Ridge. After all, you were the only one who knew you’d be up there. As for what happened to you—” Keith’s palm flipped upward as he pointed to the discoloration under Trask’s eye “—you could have hired that done as well, for authenticity’s sake!”
“You know, Wilson, you have one hell of an imagination,” Trask said with genuine amusement. “Why would I bother?”
“I think your motives are pretty obvious. Sure it looks like you’re on the up and up; that way you could worm your way back into Tory’s heart, not to mention the fact that you’d look good to the press. All the rumors and publicity that are bound to spring from your investigation aren’t going to hurt your career, are they? And they’ll serve to remind the voting public of the reason you were elected in the first place, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that you’re still the hard-nosed, filled-with-integrity candidate you were four years ago!”
“I just want to find out if another man was involved in Jason’s death.”
“You’ve got your vengeance and more,” Keith said. “Because my father wasn’t involved with Linn Benton or George Henderson.”
“Then why didn’t he say so, declare his innocence? He had his chance.”
“I…I don’t know,” Keith said, his cocky attitude slipping a little.
“So we’re back to square one, aren’t we?” Trask thought aloud. “Well, not for long. I intend to figure out what happened back then.” Trask’s eyes glittered so fiercely that Tory felt a needle of fear pierce her heart.
“And what if your anonymous letter is a phony? How about that?” Keith persisted. “Then you’ve brought us all this trouble for no reason.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Neither do I,” Tory said with conviction as she looked at the cut on Trask’s face.
“Oh, God, Tory, you can’t believe him, not again!”
“It sure takes a helluva lot to convince you, Wilson,” Trask said tiredly before returning his gaze to Tory. The warmth returned to his eyes. “Look, I’m going to be gone for a few days, do some checking around. But I’ll be back. And, while I’m gone, one of John Davis’s men will be here.” He looked pointedly at Rex and Keith before letting his gaze fall back on Tory. “I think you should call Paul Barnett and report what happened to the calf.”
“I will,” she promised.
“Here we go again,” Keith muttered as he grabbed his hat and walked out the door.
Rex shifted uncomfortably before wiping his hand nervously over his brow. “I just want to clear the air,” he said.
“About what?”