Ten-Gallon Tensions in Texas: A Kate on Vacation Mystery (The Kate on Vacation Mysteries Book 3) (11 page)

The other guy was rolling around, clutching his knee and hollering. “Goddamn bitch broke my knee cap!”

Skip reached down and grabbed a hunk of his hair. He pulled the man’s face up toward his. It was Willy Carlton.

“You call my wife a bitch again, Carlton, and I’ll break a lot more than your knee cap.” He flung the man back down onto the street.

Willy scuttled backward a few feet. “We weren’t gonna hurt your lady. We was just tryin’ to scare you into leavin’ all this alone. Why’d you have to go and finger me to that spic sheriff?”

“Because that spic sheriff asked him to,” José’s voice came out of the darkness, hard and cold. He stepped forward, shaking his head. “I swear, Carlton, you and Sid musta got your brains out of a Cracker Jack box. You seriously thought you could take Skip down?”

Skip rubbed his sore jaw. “You get a whiff of his breath? He smells like a brewery.”

José sniffed, then curled his lip in disgust. “Tryin’ to get a little liquid courage, eh, boys. And instead you pickled the couple a brain cells you’ve got between you.”

Kate came out of the darkness and ran over to Skip. “Are you all right?”

He winced as she wrapped her arms around his waist. No doubt his stomach would have some nasty bruises tomorrow. “I’m fine,” he said, then kissed the top of her head. “But Willy here seriously underestimated you.”

“Sorry I couldn’t help sooner. I was looking for a clear shot at one of them, without hitting you.”

José leaned down and dragged Sid Collins to his feet. The man was holding his bleeding nose with both hands. Then the sheriff reached for Willy Carlton’s arm and yanked him upright.

Carlton howled when he tried to put weight on his left leg.

“What did you hit him with?” José asked.

“My foot,” Kate said.

“Your foot did that much damage?”

“I’ve got a brown belt in
aikido
.”

José let out a low whistle. “Holy moly. You wouldn’t like a job as a deputy, by any chance?”

Kate laughed. “No thanks.” Then her laughter turned to a half sob. She looked up at Skip. “My God, what if the kids had been with us?”

His jaw clenched at the thought.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Kate woke early the next morning and couldn’t get back to sleep. She slipped carefully out of bed so as not to disturb Skip. Pulling on a blouse and shorts, she grabbed her sandals and tiptoed out of the room.

In the kitchen, she left a note saying she was going for a walk, and let herself out the back door of her mother-in-law’s house.

She sat down on the porch steps and slipped her sandals onto her feet. Then she headed in the general direction of the business district. The only place that was likely to be open this early was the diner. Her mouth watered at the thought of the homemade apple pie she’d had there the other day. Maybe she’d treat herself to a piece.

There were puddles on the road. It had rained sometime during the night. The air was clean and clear.

Kate drew a deep breath, trying to convince herself that everything was okay. Willy Carlton and Sid Collins were in jail. And Sam Beauford was dead. All bullies were accounted for.

She shivered a little, despite the fact that the air temperature was already pushing eighty. She was getting a sense of what it had been like for Skip, growing up in this town, never really able to let his guard down.

There were more people stirring on Main Street than she’d expected. In the diner, the only seats available were two singleton stools at opposite ends of the counter. The locals were fueling up on coffee and eggs before their workday began.

Kate opted to get her coffee and apple pie to go. As she turned away from the cash register, she noticed one empty booth in the far corner of the crowded restaurant. She made a beeline for it, but stopped abruptly when she realized it wasn’t unoccupied after all.

Carolyn Beauford sat with her back to the room, eyes closed, breathing in the aroma of the cup of coffee held in both her hands.

“May I join you?” Kate asked.

The woman jumped a little, sloshing coffee out of her cup.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Carolyn gave her a weak smile. “I was daydreaming. Sure. Sit down.”

Kate sat, wishing she was wearing her new hat, although it would have looked a little silly with her sleeveless blouse and shorts. She hoped Carolyn didn’t think she disliked it.

“This place is a lot more crowded than I thought it would be this early.”

Carolyn’s smile was more natural this time. “Folks around here tend to be early to bed, early to rise. On weekdays at least.”

Kate searched her brain for a good opening. This was a golden opportunity to find out why this woman hated Sam Beauford. If she could get a lead that would solve his murder, maybe they would have some peace for the last couple days of their vacation.

“So you’re married to the youngest of the Beauford sons.”

Okay, that was kinda lame.

But Carolyn’s face brightened. “Yes, we were high school sweethearts.”

Kate chuckled. “So you’d gotten over Skip by then.”

Carolyn grinned. “Yeah, I moped around for a bit after he left for college. But Walt stole my heart the first time he smiled at me in algebra class.”

“He’s around your age?”

Carolyn nodded. “There was another son, in between Sam and Walt.” Her expression sobered. “Petey died in his teens.” She looked away, stared out the window, chewing on her lower lip.

There’s more to that story.

“What’d he die from?” Kate asked in a soft voice.

“Huntin’ accident.”

Kate noted that the woman’s accent was thicker than it had been a minute ago.

“That had to be rough on the family.”

Anger flashed in Carolyn’s eyes. “The boys were out huntin’ together. Sam blamed it on Walt, said he’d startled him and that’s why the gun went off. Walt said that wasn’t how it happened. But nobody believed him ’cause Sam was the favorite.”

Okay, that explains a lot
.
But does it explain everything?

“Their mother hasn’t been right in the head since. She almost never leaves the house.”

Kate sipped her coffee, waiting to see if the woman would say more.

Carolyn looked at her with another weak smile. “You’re awful easy to talk to.”

Kate smiled back. “I’ve been told that before.” She wasn’t about to tell this woman that she was a therapist. “Would you like some of this pie? I’ve already had breakfast,” she lied, “but I couldn’t resist.”

Carolyn hesitated, then reached for the fork from the unused place setting beside her. She took a small bite off the end.

Kate also picked up her fork and took a bite.

Carolyn rolled her eyes. “Best apple pie in town.”

Kate grinned. “I was gonna say best in the country.”

The younger woman snickered. “You sure you’re not from Texas? You exaggerate like a Texan.”

Kate laughed out loud and took another forkful of pie, then nudged the plate toward Carolyn. “Have some more.”

They alternated taking bites until the pie was gone. Carolyn drained her coffee cup. “Better be gettin’ over to the shop and open up.”

Kate rose with her. “Mind if I walk with you?”

The woman shrugged but coupled it with a friendly smile.

Out on the sidewalk, away from others’ ears, Kate decided to go for the direct approach. Keeping her eyes straight ahead, she said, “Sam Beauford did more than blame your husband for their brother’s death, didn’t he?”

Carolyn’s steps faltered but she kept moving.

Kate was about to give up on getting an answer when the other woman said, “Once he knew Walt liked me, he tried his damnedest to get me away from him. I let him know I wasn’t the least bit interested. But Sam wouldn’t let it be…”

Carolyn turned away, biting her lower lip again.

“You don’t need to elaborate. I can imagine.” No doubt the bastard had tried to kiss her, maybe fondled her, every chance he got.

Carolyn suddenly stopped walking. She looked down at the sidewalk for a minute, then swung around to face Kate. “The sonuvabitch raped me the night we announced our engagement. I never told Walt, for fear of what he’d do. But then one night at a family dinner, just after their father died, Sam got drunk and actually bragged about it. Walt decked him. And that witch of a mother of theirs took Sam’s side. We haven’t spoken to any of the lot since.”

She pivoted and started moving again.

Kate walked along beside her, trying to think of something to say. The Beaufords had taken dysfunctional family to a whole new level. Her heart ached for Carolyn.

Something else struck her, and she decided it was as good a thing as any to move the conversation elsewhere. “It seems like an awful lot of men in this town have died fairly young. Mr. Beauford, Mr. Bradley, Skip’s father…”

Carolyn glanced sideways, her eyes saying a silent thank you for the change of subject. “Texan men of their generation weren’t known for takin’ care of themselves. They smoked, and ate red meat at least three times a day, the fattier the better.” She paused. “And some of the men, like Skip’s dad, who worked at the plastics plant back in the seventies, they got cancer. Rumors spread that they were exposed to somethin’ there that was a carcinogen, but nothin’ ever came of it.”

“In other words, the plastics plant cleaned up their act and swept those employees’ deaths under the carpet.”

Carolyn nodded. “Yeah, but you didn’t hear that from me. Walt works there, remember?”

“Don’t worry. We’re not the litigious types.”

Kate wondered if Skip knew that tidbit of information. She wasn’t sure she should tell him if he didn’t. He already hated his hometown enough for other reasons.

She found Skip at the kitchen table, eating breakfast. The house was inordinately quiet.

“Where’s your mom?”

“She left a few minutes ago,” he said between bites of bacon and eggs. “She’s gonna swing by and pick up the kids and then they’re off on another outing.”

Kate winced at the cholesterol on his plate after the conversation with Carolyn Beauford. She debated how much of that conversation to tell him. Nothing had been said about confidentiality, but when women shared something like that, the assumption was that it would go no further.

She decided to keep it to herself for now. The skeletons in the Beauford closet had been there for a long time. There was no reason to believe that they were the cause of Sam’s death.

“So what are we going to do with ourselves today, Mr. Canfield?”

He looked up from his eggs. “I’m gonna have lunch with José later. I think he wants a soundin’ board to try to figure out this case.” The gold flecks danced in his eyes. “But in the meantime, it seems we have the house to ourselves.”

“You’re not too sore from last night’s encounter?”

He grinned at her. “I’m sure you’ll be gentle with me.”

~~~~~~~~

Kate woke in an empty bed. The clock on the nightstand read eleven-fifty. Skip had left for his lunch with the sheriff.

She rolled over on her back and stared at the ceiling for a moment, trying to decide what to do with herself until he returned. The house was so quiet she could hear the soft ticking of the grandfather clock in the living room at the other end of the hall.

Beneath the warm afterglow from Skip’s attentions was a distinct restless feeling. Two and a half more days of pretty much nothing to do.

Kate threw back the covers and headed for the bathroom to shower. Once dressed again in her blouse and shorts, only slightly wrinkled from having spent some time in a heap on the floor, she went to the kitchen and made herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch.

Sitting at the table as she ate it, she tried to analyze her restlessness. It was partly boredom, but also partly related to Sam Beauford’s death, and the cloud that hung over her brother-in-law and his family. She knew her mother-in-law was worried sick, and she hated to see her niece and nephews’ childhoods marred by tension and insecurity.

But mostly she was worried about what it would do to Skip to go back to Maryland with things so uncertain. Yes, he had moved a long way away–and she now understood that much better–but he loved his family. She knew he would feel torn, wanting to return to their own life back home, but also wanting to be here to support his mother and sister.

She gritted her teeth in frustration, wishing she’d left that damned high school reunion invitation in the recycle bin. Not that it would have made much difference. The events of the last few days would have played out anyway, whether they were here or not. And Skip would have felt even more torn hearing about them long distance over the phone.

She tried to think of something she could do to help. Her mind was a blank. Then the face of Joellen Bradley popped up. On police shows, they always talked about trying to understand the victim in order to understand the murder. Who would know more about Sam Beauford than his ex-wife?

She glanced at her watch. Not quite one o’clock. Joellen would be dealing with the lunch crowd at the steakhouse for maybe another hour.

Deciding that she wanted to be dressed a bit more professionally for this interview, Kate got up and headed for the bedroom.

An hour later, Kate left her mother-in-law’s house, decked out in the linen slacks and royal blue top she had brought to wear to church. She wondered where Skip was. Had his lunch with José morphed into some new approach to the investigation?

She made her way to the Bradley Steakhouse and pushed open the door. As she had suspected, only a few stragglers remained from the lunch crowd. The wait staff was busing tables and resetting them for dinner.

She found Joellen in a booth toward the back of the restaurant, nursing a cup of coffee.

“Hi, Joellen, how are things going?”

“Hey, Kate, how are ya? Have a seat.”

Sliding onto the opposite bench, Kate was again searching for an opening.

As it turned out, she didn’t need one. “Heard about those two fools jumpin’ you and Skip,” Joellen said. “I swear they haven’t got a brain cell between them.”