Keith lifted a finger to her lips. “I’m responsible and it’s time to pay up. Believe me, it’s a relief that it’s all nearly over.”
Several other witnesses came to the stand, all painting the same picture that Keith was an ingrate of a son who had used his martyred father to protect himself.
When Trask was called to the stand, Tory felt her hands begin to shake. Until this point he had sat in the back of the courtroom and though Tory could feel his eyes upon her, she had never looked in his direction, preferring to stare straight ahead and watch the proceedings without having to face him or her conflicting emotions.
Trask seemed to have aged, Tory thought, her heart twisting painfully at the sight of him. He looked uncomfortable in his suit and tie. His rugged features seemed more pronounced, his cheeks slightly hollow, but the intensity of his vibrant blue eyes was still as bright as ever. When he sat behind the varnished rail of the witness stand, he looked past the district attorney and his eyes met Tory’s to hold her transfixed. For several seconds their gazes locked and Tory felt as if Trask could see into her soul. Her throat tightened and her breath seemed trapped in her lungs.
“Senator McFadden,” the D.A. was saying. “Would you describe in your own words why you came back to Sinclair and what you discovered?”
Trask tore his gaze away from Tory’s and his voice was without inflection as he told the court about the series of events that had started with
the anonymous letter he had received in Washington and had finally led to the arrest of Keith Wilson, as part of the Quarter Horse swindle that Trask’s brother, Jason, was investigating when he was killed five years earlier.
Reporters were busy scribbling notes or drawing likenesses of the participants in the trial. The room was filled with faces of curious townspeople, many of whom Tory recognized. Anna Hutton sat with Tory, silently offering her support to her friend. Neva sat across the courtroom, her face white with strain. Several of the ranch hands were in the room, including Rex, who had already given his testimony. At Rex’s side was his young wife, Belinda.
As Trask told his story, Tory sat transfixed. Though it was stifling hot in the old courtroom with the high ceilings, Tory shuddered and experienced the icy cold sensation of dejà vu. Trask’s shoulders slumped slightly and the smile and self-assurance that had always been with him had vanished.
This has been hard on him, Tory thought, realizing for the first time since Keith had confessed that Trask did care what happened to her. He was a man driven by principle and was forced to stalk anyone involved in the murder of his brother. And if the situation were reversed, and Keith had been the man murdered, wouldn’t she, too, leave no stone unturned in the apprehension of the guilty parties?
She twisted her handkerchief in her lap and avoided Trask’s stare.
“So tell me, senator, how you found out that the defendant was part of the horse swindle.”
“I had a private investigator, a man by the name of John Davis, look into it.”
“And what did Mr. Davis find out?”
“That Keith Wilson, and not his father Calvin, was a partner to Linn Benton and George Henderson.”
Tory felt sick inside as the questioning continued. The D.A. opened his jacket and rocked back on his heels. “Did Mr. Davis find out who sent you the first anonymous letter to Washington?”
“Yes.”
Tory’s eyes snapped up and she felt her breath constrict in her throat. Who was responsible for bringing Trask back to Oregon? Who knew about Keith’s involvement and wanted to see him go to prison?
“The letter came from Belinda Engels,” Trask stated. Tory took in a sharp breath. “Belinda is the wife of Rex Engels, the foreman of the Lazy W.”
“The same man who was sworn to secrecy by Calvin Wilson before he died?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you, Senator McFadden. No more questions.”
When Keith declined to cross-examine Trask, the senator was asked to step down. With his eyes fixed on Tory, Trask walked back to his seat, and Tory felt her heart start to pound wildly. Even now she couldn’t look at him without realizing how desperately she loved him.
The district attorney called Belinda Engels to the stand and Tory watched in amazement as the young woman with the clear complexion and warm brown eyes explained that she had spent five years watching her husband’s guilt eat at him until he became a shell of the man she had married.
“Then you knew about Keith Wilson’s involvement in the horse swindle?”
“No,” she said, looking pointedly at Keith. “I only knew that Rex was sure another man was involved. One night, not long after it happened, Rex woke from a horrible nightmare. Against his better judgment, he told me that he was covering for someone and that Calvin Wilson wasn’t involved in the murder. I just assumed that the other man was someone connected to Linn Benton. I…I had no idea that he was Keith Wilson.”
“And even though you knew that an innocent man was on trial five years ago, you didn’t come forward with the information.”
Belinda swallowed. “I…I thought that Rex might be charged with some sort of crime and I didn’t think he’d be given a fair trial because of his past…with his ex-wife.” Tory sitting silently, watched as the red-haired young woman struggled against tears.
“But you and your husband both knew that Calvin Wilson was innocent.”
Belinda leveled her gaze at the district attorney. “My husband’s a good honest man. He promised to keep Calvin’s secret. I did the same.”