Landry's Law (6 page)

“And how do you know this, Shane?”

“Ruthie Nestor’s cousin LouAnn.”

“LouAnn?” Seth asked.

“When she and her family would come to visit the Nestors in the summer, I would go and visit LouAnn at the inn,” Shane explained with a guiltless grin.

Seth picked up the phone and called J.D. and ordered him to check the vents from Grayson’s room through the whole building if he had to.

“Thanks,” he told Shane.

Shane lifted his coffee mug in mock salute. “To LouAnn.”

“So,” Sam began cautiously. “What’s the deal with you and the Wyatt woman?”

“There is no deal,” Seth insisted. Though just hearing her name was enough to remind him of the feel of her warm skin as his knuckles brushed her nape when he’d helped her on with her coat. His body started to react, so he quickly dismissed the thoughts. “I need to get in touch with Cody.”

“Why?” Shane asked.

“Because right now Savannah is in the custody of the Feds. Cody is a Fed and I want some answers.”

“What about asking Savannah?” Sam suggested.

“Pointless,” Seth insisted. “Whatever secrets she has, she’s keeping them pretty close.”

Reaching into the desk, Sam retrieved his phone
book and handed it to Seth. Cody’s name appeared once, but there were more than a dozen phone numbers scratched out on the page. Seth dialed the only one left unmarked.

“U.S. Marshal’s Office, how may I direct your call?”

“I’d like to speak to Marshal Cody Landry. This is his brother, Seth Landry.”

“Hold, please.”

Seth broke down and tasted some of the cranberry-colored tea while he waited.

The female voice came back on the line, “I’m sorry but he’s out on assignment right now.”

“If he calls in for messages, would you please tell him to call me at work or at the ranch.”

“Does he have those numbers, sir?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

The line went dead right along with Seth’s brain. “I need a couple of hours of sleep,” Seth said. “Somebody get me if either J.D. or Cody calls, okay?”

They agreed and Seth sluggishly carried himself up to his old room. On the way he passed Chance’s old room. All the academic awards and dated posters were gone, replaced with stenciled bunnies and a crib awaiting the arrival of the next Landry. If he didn’t get a grip, Sam might single-handedly repopulate the ten-bedroom home.

Seth pulled off his boots and fell across the down mattress without bothering to turn down the covers. He was fast asleep a second after his head hit the pillow.

For more than two hours, his dreams were filled with visions of Savannah. He even imagined she was calling to him.

“…Seth?” The female voice seemed almost real. “Seth!”

Realizing it was real, he sat bolt upright in the bed. “What?”

Taylor nervously drew her lip between her teeth. “Sorry to wake you but—”

“The phone?”

She nodded, but when he started to get up she said, “Don’t hurry, Cody already hung up.”

“What?”

Even though it had been an hour since Cody Landry had called the ranch, Savannah still wasn’t prepared for Seth’s furious expression when he stormed through the door.

Peter White drew back, but Cody stood his ground, until Seth rammed him hard against the kitchen wall.

“Is this necessary?” Savannah asked, hoping to avoid violence between the siblings.

“Why did you keep me out of the loop?” Seth demanded. He held Cody by the lapels of his dark suit coat. “If you had information about the murders, why didn’t you let me know?”

Cody remained impassively silent.

Seth gave him a gentle shake. “Why, dammit?”

For Savannah, it all went a little too quickly. Somehow, Seth had gone from being the aggressor, trapping Cody against the wall, to having his arm twisted high behind his back by Cody.

“Calm down,” was all Cody said. It was spoken softly, but it was definitely a command.

Seth struggled briefly, then surrendered, though Savannah saw a dangerous glint in his ebony eyes.

“I’m calm,” Seth relented, then was let free.

Savannah was standing over by the green-and-white chair, loading things into an open moving carton.

“What are you doing?” he asked her.

“Packing.”

She watched as Seth looked at Peter White, then Cody, then fixed those dark eyes on her. “Care to tell me what’s going on?”

She saw a flicker of emotion cross Cody’s otherwise granite face. Peter just seemed to be his usual superior self. Savannah had never really liked Peter, even though she had him to thank for still being alive. He was one of those guys who was a little too smooth, a little too cocky for her tastes.

Cody wasn’t much of an improvement. Every conversation she had with him made her feel as if she had stepped into a rerun of Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd in
Dragnet. Yes, ma’am. No ma’am. I’m afraid we can’t disclose that location, ma’am.

It seemed pitifully ironic that of the three men in
the room, Seth was her preference. Probably because she had sort of gotten to know him. They had had one conversation. Not counting the times when he was busy accusing her of murder.

“Miss Wyatt is in federal custody,” Peter announced as casually as he might have said “This cabin is made of logs.”

“For what?” Seth asked, purposefully directing his question to Cody.

“I’m afraid the marshal—” Peter began.

“Why don’t you go check the oil in your car?” Cody suggested. His tone alone sent Peter out into the cold. “That guy is a real dipstick,” he said as soon as the Justice Department attorney was out of earshot.

It was the first time Savannah had heard Cody say anything spontaneous and unofficial. It was a side of him she hadn’t seen to this point in their years of acquaintance.

“So what’s going on?” Seth urged.

“The Rossi crime family,” Cody said.

Seth held up his hands, apparently needing more information.

“Miss Wyatt is our only witness to how the Rossi family was importing and distributing cocaine and heroine.”

She quaked just hearing the name of the infamous New York crime syndicate.

Seth looked at her, his expression one of total disbelief.

She stopped stuffing hatboxes into the container and said, “Thanks to the ongoing investigation from hell, continuances, motions, search warrants, wiretaps, attorneys, and the death of the only other witness, I’ve been in hiding for almost six years. And Peter says we still aren’t anywhere near ready for trial,” she told him bitterly.

Seth turned to his brother. “Why in the hell didn’t you tell me you were stashing one of your witnesses in my jurisdiction?”

“We don’t advertise,” Cody retorted. “I just hadn’t figured on them making three attempts on her life in three weeks.”

“They weren’t attempts on my life,” Savannah grumbled.

“She’s right,” Seth agreed.

Savannah was surprised and relieved to finally have someone on her side. Or at least willing to look at the overall picture. Thank heavens Seth shared her line of thought. If the Rossis wanted her dead, they’d have killed her, not her dates.

“What do you call Fowler, Whitlock and Grayson?” Peter countered when he returned, blowing hot breath into his obviously freezing hands.

Seth went over to the sofa and sat down to gather his thoughts. “If Savannah was the target in the Grayson shooting, she’d have been dead on the floor when I broke down the door.”

“You don’t know that,” Peter argued. “Perhaps the killer was held up taking Grayson out and didn’t have the chance to get to Miss Wyatt when you arrived. Or maybe this is a more elaborate plan. The Rossis frame Savannah for murder and her usefulness to me as a witness is null.”

“Gee, thanks,” Savannah snapped.

Cody and Seth exchanged a silent communication that wasn’t hard to read. Obviously Cody had respect for his brother’s opinions and found Peter’s murder setup scheme too far-out to be realistic.

“Okay,” Seth began again, speaking more slowly to Peter, as if he was an errant child. “Richard Fowler, the first victim and Harvey Whitlock the second one, remember them?”

“Yes?” Peter answered hotly.

“They were found floating in Brock Creek. Which, in case you don’t have a map, doesn’t run within ten miles of this cabin. The currents are fairly strong north of the inn.”

“Meaning?” Peter challenged.

“Meaning they were killed by the inn. Savannah always drove her own car to the inn. Meaning if someone wanted to kill her, they could have killed her and not bothered with the men she had dinner with. But that didn’t happen, now did it?”

Savannah cringed at the memories.

“Then there’s the matter of the trophies,” Seth continued, virtually chastising her government
attorney. “Our killer took a medal from Fowler, gems from Grayson and something from Whitlock.”

“What
something?
” Cody asked.

She heard Seth sigh. “We haven’t had much luck tracing Whitlock. Haven’t even been able to locate next of kin to figure out what personal item might be missing. But I guarantee something of Whitlock’s is in the possession of the killer.”

“I can work on that,” Cody said.

Seth nodded. “I’ll give you everything I’ve got. Whitlock’s personal effects and the inventory from his house.”

“Keep packing, Miss Wyatt,” Peter insisted, apparently ignoring the brothers Landry.

“You’re making her leave when you don’t even have all the facts?” Seth asked.

“Of course. I’m not going to let six years of investigative work go down the drain.”

“Not to mention keeping me alive,” Savannah reminded him curtly. “That was the purpose for disrupting my entire life, right?”

Seth rose and went to her. When he spoke, she could feel his warm breath on her face. “Do you want to leave?”

He took her hand, making it impossible for her to speak, so she just shook her head.

“She has no choice,” Peter said. “She’s a material witness.”

“She’s an American citizen,” Seth retorted.
“She’ll testify when the time comes, but until then, she stays here. With me.”

Savannah wasn’t sure which of them was more shocked. She had never expected Seth to come to her aid like that and judging by the look on his face, it was a purely spontaneous decision on his part.

Savannah was sent to her bedroom so the three men could talk privately in the kitchen. Her pulse was racing so fast she could hear it drumming in her ears.

Stay in one place for a while?
she thought excitedly. With Seth as my guardian? That thought was more than exciting. It caused a little thrill in the pit of her stomach. She paced the room like a caged animal waiting to be set free.

“Stop this!” she hissed in a harsh whisper. “What if I stay with Seth and they
do
know where I am? I could get Seth killed.” That thought made her heart skip a beat. “But his argument to Peter made so much sense. If someone wanted to kill me instead of my dates, they had every opportunity.”

With Richard Fowler, they could have just waited here at the cabin and killed her when she arrived home. With Harvey, she was a moving target from the time she left him on the bridge until she made it to her car. Savannah’s mind swirled. She all but raced from the room.

The three men fell silent the instant she arrived, mildly breathless. “Seth is right.”

“We can’t chance it,” Peter said. “You could be compromised.”

She stopped long enough to glare at the preppy annoyance. “
If
someone wanted to kill me, they’ve had a hundred opportunities since I moved here. I take classes two nights a week and I work every weekday at a shop in town.”

“You were told to blend into the community,” Peter admonished. “Not make yourself a presence.”

“A job and taking classes has made me blend. Look around you, Peter. If I stayed here and lived off my savings, don’t you think the townspeople would be suspicious?”

“You haven’t broken the contact rule, have you?”

Savannah lowered her eyes. “I haven’t called my family from here.”

“Nice operation you run,” she heard Seth remark to Cody. “I guess Christmas and birthdays are out, too.”

“Don’t push me,” she heard Cody warn. “I’m going to authorize this.”

“What!” Peter almost imploded. “You’re going to leave the safety of my only witness in the hands of some hick-town sheriff?”

“No,” Cody said calmly. “I’m leaving her in the capable hands of my big brother. You got a problem with that?”

Some of Peter’s indignation seemed to drain. “She needs to be in a safe house where we can check on her—”

“You mean smother her,” Cody commented. “Look, we did that to her for a year. I think it’s best to leave her here in Jasper, at least while we check into the murders. They may not even be connected to the Rossi investigation.”

“I think you’re deluding yourself, Marshal,” Peter groused. “So what do you suggest we do?” Peter demanded of Seth. “Deputize her so she can go to work with you? She needs to be watched constantly.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. White,” Seth drawled. “I’m sure my deputies can handle my little hick town while I devote myself to keeping your witness alive.”

“You’d better,” Peter warned. “If I lose her, I lose my whole case.”

“We can’t have that,” Seth said. Turning to Cody he said, “Stop by my office for the evidence. I’ll call Mable now and make sure she has it ready.”

The two men shook hands, then gave one armed hugs and slaps on the back before parting ways. Peter simply stuffed his ungloved hands in his pockets and stomped out into the snow.

This was it. She was alone with Seth. This was how it was going to be. Oddly, as she looked into his eyes, she wondered just how long it would be before she fell in love with him. Painfully, she knew that even if that happened, there was nothing she could do about it. As soon as she did her civic duty, she was going back home to her family. One look at
Seth told her that his roots were firmly planted in the rugged beauty of Jasper. She would never put him in the position of asking him to leave his hometown. Not when she knew all too well the pain of abandoning everything and everyone familiar.

Seth grabbed the phone and called his office as promised. J.D. still hadn’t returned from his crawl through the inn’s ventilation system, but Mable would make sure all the nonemergency calls were handled by J.D. or Greg, the other deputy. Then, surprising her, Seth told her to call in the state police on anything big, just to keep him apprized by radio or phone. It sounded as if Mable was trying to get more than that out of him, but Seth was tight-lipped.

He hung up the phone and looked over at Savannah, who was busy taking everything out of the carton and putting everything back in place. “Tell me about the no-contact rule,” Seth said.

She met his eyes. “I’m not allowed to contact my family in case the Rossi family has tapped the lines.”

He held her gaze. “So you were technically honest when you told White you hadn’t called from here.”

Savannah was wringing her hands, but he thought she had one hell of a poker face. “Of course I was telling the truth.”

“About this cabin,” Seth sighed, then raked his hair back. “You didn’t tell him about the pay phone outside the post office.”

She seemed genuinely shocked.

“I’m not a stupid man, Savannah,” he warned. “Remember that in the future.”

“How did you know?” she asked without apology.

“I watched you stuff coins in the phone. Then I got the LUDs from the phone company.”

“LUDs?”

“Local usage details. You called a business listing in Norwalk, Connecticut.”

Savannah hung her head. “My mother’s office.” Savannah lifted her face to his. “But I never spoke to her. I just listened to her voice and hung up.”

“Let me call Cody and square this with him. I’m sure they can check to see if there’s any tap on your mother’s office phone.”

Savannah ran over and grasped his powerful biceps through his shirt. Frantically, she asked, “I didn’t put my mother in danger, did I?”

Seth patted her hand, relishing in the feel of her touch, even if it was brief and in a moment of panic. Lord but she smelled good. Standing next to her, Seth could feel the heat from her small frame. It would have taken very little effort to move his hand to her waist, turn her a whisper to the left and place a kiss on her slightly parted lips.

Great, now I’m thinking with my slightly parted brain!
Seth made sure Cody knew about Savannah’s transgression. Then he suggested they go for a drive.

“Where?” she asked warily.

“I need to go to my place and pack a bag.”

“You don’t have to sleep here,” she said.

“Yes, I do,” he countered. “I’ll pack a bag, and make us something to eat, then we’ll come back for the night.”

“Handsome and he cooks,” Savannah teased. “If you also do all the cleaning and the laundry, you’re the man my mother told me to marry.”

Seth cleared his throat nervously. “I don’t think I’m marriage material.”

Savannah gave him a gentle nudge as they walked out the door. “I was making a joke, Seth, not a proposal.”

She climbed up into the Bronco. When Seth got behind the wheel, she said, “You know, the last time I was in this truck, you took me to jail and ordered my complete humiliation.”