Текст книги "Cold Hearted"

Автор книги: Beverly Barton

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Teardrops fell from his big blue eyes and spattered across their clasped hands. When he put his head down on her chest, she forked her fingers through his dark hair and petted him as a mother would comfort a child. “Hush, now. Hush.”

“I had imagined what the baby would look like.” Devon told her. “I thought it was a girl and I knew she’d look just like you, only she’d have my dark hair and blue eyes. Dan would have loved her. He’d have spoiled her. All of us would have spoiled her.”

She soothed him with her touch, hating to see him suffering so. “I thought our baby would be a boy. Dan would have loved having a son, and if he’d looked just like you, nothing would have made Dan happier.”

Rick didn’t make a habit of eavesdropping and the only reason he had overheard Jordan and Devon’s conversation was because Devon had only partially closed the door. In a way, he wished he hadn’t heard a damn thing. But he couldn’t forget what he’d heard – Devon Markham had fathered Jordan’s baby and apparently Daniel Price had known.

Something was screwy about this whole thing. It didn’t make sense. But there had to be some kind of logical explanation. A top secret explanation? Apparently Jane Anne Price had known the secret, and possessing that knowledge had gotten her killed.

While Rick’s mind whirled with unanswered questions and tried to form scenarios that solved the puzzle, Devon came out of Jordan’s room.

“There’s no need to tell her that Darlene is going to stay here tonight, just in case she needs her,” Devon said. “Jordan will probably be asleep before Darlene comes back from the snack bar.”

“Whatever you think is best.”

“If Jordan didn’t insist that I go home, I’d stay.” Devon glanced at Rick. “Even now, after all she’s endured, she’s thinking of me.”

“Yeah, she is.”

As they walked down the corridor toward the elevator, Devon asked, “You don’t like me, do you, Mr. Carson?”

“I figured the feeling was mutual,” Rick replied.

“We’re very different types of men, aren’t we?”

Rick punched the elevator’s DOWN button. “I’ve got nothing against your type – fancy dressing pretty boys who get manicures and pedicures and know more about choosing a good wine than they do about sports and cars. I don’t like you because I dislike men who have affairs with other men’s wives and I can’t stand to see a man lean on a woman when he should be taking care of her, not the other way around.”

The elevator doors opened. Rick entered first, then Devon. Rick hit the GROUND LEVEL button.

“I don’t like you because you actually think that Jordan is capable of murder,” Devon said. “You aren’t very perceptive about people, are you? You’ve misjudged Jordan terribly. And as for me…” Devon laughed. “You’re half right about me, the part about my getting manicures and pedicures and knowing more about good wine than sports. And you’re right about my leaning on Jordan. We’ve been friends since we were kids and she’s always taken care of me. Don’t let her looks fool you. Beneath that small, fragile façade, she’s a strong, powerful lioness. She takes care of those she loves.”

The elevator hit the ground level; the doors opened. Devon exited first, then Rick.

As they made their way to the parking lot, Rick asked, “So I’ve misjudged Jordan, but got you pegged, is that right?”

“Would you believe me if I told you that, although Jordan and I love each other and have loved each other since we were seven years old, we didn’t have an affair?”

Rick unlocked the Jeep and waited until they were both seated inside before he responded. “Answer one question for me.”

“All right.”

In the semi-darkness, Rick looked at Devon and asked, “Were you the father of Jordan’s baby?”

Dead silence.

“No.”

“You’re lying,” Rick said.

“There are things you don’t know, things you wouldn’t understand. Jordan and I have never been lovers.”

“Whatever the big secret is, it’s only a matter of time before I find out. Secrets, no matter how well hidden or deeply buried have a way of coming out sooner or later.”

“You’re right, but it’s not my place to… Only Jordan has the right to tell you.”

“Whether you believe me or not, I really am on her side. I don’t want her to be hurt any more than she already has been.” Rick started the engine and backed out of the parking place.

“If you mean that, then believe in her and help her. She’s beginning to trust you. Don’t betray that trust.”

Keeping his gaze fixed on the dark road ahead, Rick didn’t continue their conversation. A strained silence developed between them. But oddly enough, Rick believed what Devon had told him – that he and Jordan had never been lovers.

Their baby’s sweet little soul was in heaven now. Gone to be with the Lord. Perhaps it would also be with Dan and with Robby Joe and others in the family who had gone on before them. She knew for sure that that tiny, innocent spirit would never be alone or feel sorrow the way they did.

Jordan’s heart was broken. Her heart was broken. But in time they would both heal. They would go on, as they had done time and time again. Together. And someday their lives would come full circle, back to the beginning. He was waiting for them, waiting for them to be reunited.

She sat in the darkness, alone and sad, wishing she could rewind time and bring back their baby. Devon had thought it would be a girl, but they had known it was a boy.

How many times had she dreamed of him, had al most been able to feel him in her arms? He would have been the center of their universe. They would have loved him, nurtured him, and protected him at all costs.

God took away the baby to punish you.

She jerked upright.

Who said that?

I did.

Her heartbeat accelerated. “Where are you?” she asked aloud.

I’m inside you. I’m your conscience.

She breathed a deep sigh of relief.

Oh, is that all? Hush up then. Go away and leave me alone.

She plumped the pillow behind her head and pulled the blanket up to her neck.

God took the baby to punish you for killing all those people. You didn’t think you’d get away with all those murders, did you? You had to know that eventually you’d have to pay for your many crimes.

I said hush up. That’s nonsense. The Lord knows that I’ve never killed anyone who didn’t deserve to die.

What about Dan? Did he deserve to die?

No, maybe not, but the Lord had issued him a death sentence. All I did was send him to his Maker a little ahead of time. But the others deserved what they got. They would have hurt us. I couldn’t allow that to happen.

Perhaps you’re right. I didn’t like Jane Anne Price. She wasn’t a nice woman. I’m glad you killed her.

She shouldn’t have tried to blackmail Jordan.

No, she shouldn’t have. But I took care of her. She won’t ever bother us again.

Ryan phoned Rick at eight the next morning and asked him to come to his house. “Steve’s on his way here. He needs to question Jordan about Jane Anne’s murder, but he’s willing to speak to you now and wait to talk to Jordan after she gets out of the hospital.”

Claire met Rick at the front door and took him straight to Ryan’s home office. She knocked on the closed door.

“Yes, come in,” Ryan said.

Claire offered Rick a token smile. “Go on in. He didn’t sleep more than a couple of hours last night after we left the hospital. We’re both very concerned about Jordan.”

“It’ll take time for her to get over losing her baby,” Rick said.

“That child meant so much to her… to all of us really.”

When Rick entered the office, Ryan rose from the brown leather chair-and-a-half near the double windows. He placed his nearly empty coffee mug on the side table and held out his hand to Rick. The two exchanged a cordial shake.

“Come on in and sit down. I expect Steve in the next fifteen or twenty minutes.”

Rick took the brown-and-green plaid wing chair opposite Ryan’s chair. “We need to persuade the sheriff to post-pone talking to Jordan as long as possible. She’s nowhere near ready for an interrogation.”

“I agree, but he’s doing me a personal favor not questioning her while she’s still in the hospital.”

“There’s nothing Jordan can tell him that I can’t. We were together when—”

“Can you tell him why Jordan gave Jane Anne a check for a hundred thousand dollars?”

Shit! He shouldn’t be surprised that they’d found Jordan’s check in Jane Anne’s purse. “Jane Anne was blackmailing her.”

“Damn that woman! I figured as much when Steve told me about the check.”

“You know why she was blackmailing Jordan, don’t you?”

Ryan’s gaze darted about nervously before settling on Rick. “She knew things about Dan, about his marriage to Jordan, that could have ruined Dan’s reputation.”

“Did she know that Dan didn’t father Jordan’s baby and that Devon Markham did?”

Ryan’s facial muscles tightened. “How did you find out? Did Jordan tell you?”

“Then it’s true?”

Ryan nodded. “It’s true. My brother was sterile, something he found out during his marriage to Jane Anne. But he very much wanted a child and so did Jordan. Naturally, Devon was the obvious choice for the biological father.”

“Jordan was artificially inseminated?” Rick asked, a few of the puzzle pieces falling into place.

“Yes, of course.”

“And Devon was the obvious choice because he and Jordan had been best friends since they were children.”

“Yes, there was that, but also because of Dan and Devon’s relationship.”

Click, click, click. The rest of the puzzle pieces fell into place.

“Your brother was gay,” Rick said, astonished that it had taken him this long to figure out the obvious. “He and Devon were…”

“Secret lovers, secret partners. That’s why he ended his marriage to Jane Anne. He gave her a generous divorce settlement to buy her silence.”

“And who else knows the truth about your brother and Devon?”

“Only immediate family.”

“Who knew Jordan’s child wasn’t Dan’s?”

“Claire and I, Jordan, Devon, Dan, and Jordan’s doctor.”

“No one else?”

“Not that I know of. Those who knew about Devon and Dan were told that Dan was the biological father, that it was his sperm that was used to impregnate Jordan.”

“Son of a bitch! Why the hell did Jordan marry a man she knew was gay?”

“I think that’s a question only Jordan should answer,” Ryan said.

“Why didn’t y’all tell me the truth to start with?”

“We should have, I know. But we’ve guarded Dan’s secret for such a long time that it became second nature to do so. And we had hoped that it wouldn’t be necessary to share the information with you or anyone else. The more people who know, the more likely it is to become public knowledge.”

“The senator’s dead. What difference would it make now?”

“Dan’s reputation meant more to him than anything. More even than his love for Devon. He could have gone public and lived openly with Devon, but he was afraid of what might happen. He doubted the good people of Georgia would re-elect him to the senate if the truth came out and he’d have had no chance of running for the presidency. After Dan died, we all wanted to protect what he held dear. And with Jordan pregnant… Think what the truth about Jordan’s baby’s paternity might have done to the child.”

A light rap on the door quieted Ryan and silenced Rick.

“Ryan, Steve’s here. He’s waiting in the living room,” Claire called through the closed door.

“Thanks, honey. Ask him to come on back.”

“He doesn’t know?” Rick asked.

“Good God, no!”

A couple of minutes later, Claire opened the door, smiled lovingly at her husband, and stepped aside to allow the sheriff to enter. “Would you like for me to bring in a fresh pot of coffee?” She eyed the silver coffee pot on Ryan’s desk.

“Not now, thank you,” Ryan told her. “Come on in, Steve.”

Corbett, dressed in brown slacks and a tan sport coat, held his hat in his hand. “I hate like the devil to cause your family more grief, but I’ve got to do my job.”

“I understand,” Ryan said. “I’d appreciate it if you could wait a day or two before questioning Jordan, considering she just lost her baby.”

“I sure wish I could do that, but I can’t,” Corbett said.

“Why not?” Rick asked.

“I guess Ryan told you about the check we found in Jane Anne Price’s purse.”

Rick nodded. “I’m sure Mrs. Price has a simple explanation for the check.”

“Sure hope so,” Corbett said. “And I sure hope she can explain why the scarf tied around Jane Anne’s neck, the scarf the coroner is pretty sure was used to strangle her, belongs to Jordan.”

Chapter 13

“It’s a damn shame that the sheriff’s wasting his time looking at Jordan for Jane Anne Price’s murder when we all know she didn’t do it,” Roselynne said, then popped the last bite of buttered biscuit into her bright red mouth.

Tammy watched as her mother washed down the biscuit with her liberally sweetened coffee. Her mother was a beautiful woman despite being nearly sixty. She was slightly overweight, but her skin was flawless, her hair silky blonde, and her makeup and clothes impeccable. Of course, Roselynne’s style was perhaps a bit too flamboyant for most women, but it suited her exuberant personality. Oh, how she wished she was half as attractive as her mother. It wasn’t fair that J.C. had inherited their parents’ good looks while she was the ugly duckling in the family.

“Somebody’s sure got it in for our Jordan,” J.C. said.

“What do you mean?” Roselynne asked.

“Well, somebody gave the Daily Gazette the information about Boyd and Robby Joe and Mr. Farris and Daddy Wayne. And my bet is that same somebody killed Dan’s ex-wife and deliberately used Jordan’s scarf to strangle the bitch.”

“Now who on earth would hate our Jordan enough to try to frame her for a murder?” Roselynne asked, a totally baffled expression on her face.

“I agree with your mother,” Darlene said. “Everyone loves Jordan and I can’t imagine anyone trying to implicate her in a murder. Perhaps the scarf that was used to kill Jane Anne Price wasn’t Jordan’s and instead simply a scarf just like Jordan’s.”

“Don’t y’all think it’s odd that the information about the scarf was released to the press,” Tammy said. “Now everyone who read the morning paper knows about it.”

J.C. snorted. “For once you’re right, Miss Straw-for-brains. You’d think the sheriff’s department would have kept that tidbit under wraps.”

Tammy both loved and hated her brother. Although he often was unmercifully cruel in the way he kidded her about her nervous condition – such as calling her Miss Straw-for-brains – he was equally nice to her some of the time. He would buy her little presents: a new music CD, a pretty sweater, a pair of earrings, her favorite candy. And when they’d been children, before Mama had married Daddy Wayne and she’d had to work nights, J.C. had taken care of Tammy. He’d fixed her meals and helped her with her homework and if she had a nightmare, he had sat beside her bed until she’d gone back to sleep.

“I hope Jordan isn’t putting her trust in the wrong person.” Darlene folded her linen napkin and placed it to the side of her plate. “Although I admit that Mr. Carson seems to be a good man and he’s been genuinely concerned about Jordan, we don’t really know him.”

“He isn’t one of us,” J.C. said. “Not part of the family. Of course, that could be a plus for him. By now, Jordan’s got to be damn sick and tired of the whole lot of us.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.” As she pushed back her chair and stood, Darlene gave J.C. a belittling glare. “We are Jordan’s family and she loves us as we love her. However, you have, no doubt, tried her patience almost beyond endurance and embarrassed her with your vulgarity and crudeness.”

“You’re not family, not the way we are.” J.C. smiled that cocky, devilish grin that meant he was up to no good. “You’re not Jordan’s mother. Hell, you’re not even her stepmother. You’re just some pitiful old woman Jordan feels sorry for.”

“J.C., you apologize to Darlene right this minute,” Roselynne said.

“No need to waste your breath,” Darlene told him. “Your hateful words mean absolutely nothing to me nor would your apology.”

Tammy didn’t especially like Darlene, although the woman had never been unkind to her. Actually, she mostly ignored Tammy, as if she didn’t exist. But Darlene despised J.C., probably because he took every possible opportunity to rile her.

There was something sad about Darlene. When she’d mentioned this, her mama had said it was because Darlene had lost her only child and when a mother loses a child, she never quite gets over it.

Did that mean that Jordan would never get over losing her baby?

She wished she could think of something special to do for Jordan. Make her a cake or buy her a present, anything that would show her how much she was loved. And Tammy did love Jordan, who had always been the best sister in the world. Oh, she knew they weren’t truly sisters, that they didn’t have the same mama and daddy. But Daddy Wayne had been Jordan’s real daddy and he had adopted her and J.C., so that meant she and Jordan were sort of real sisters, didn’t it?

Jordan did so much for everyone. She supposed the others thought she didn’t have sense enough to realize that without Jordan they would be destitute. She’d heard Mama say that to J.C. once when he’d been complaining that Jordan wouldn’t lend him a thousand dollars.

“Boy, you’d try the patience of a saint.” Their mama had shaken her finger in his face. “It’s not enough for you that Jordan puts a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, and clothes on our backs, is it? No, you expect her to pay off your gambling debts. Why, that girl is a saint, I tell you. Without her, we’d be destitute.”

Tammy and Mama agreed that there wasn’t anything they wouldn’t do for Jordan. They owed her more than they’d ever be able to repay.

“When Daddy Wayne died, she could have washed her hands of us,” Mama had said. “But she didn’t, did she?”

Sometimes she loved hearing J.C. laugh, but other times, like now, when he was laughing at someone, she hated the very sound of it. His laughter followed Darlene as she left the dining room. Holding her head high, she completely ignored J.C.

“That old biddy’s got a cob stuck up her ass,” J.C. said. “I swear, she’s the snootiest old heifer I’ve ever known.”

“I wish you’d learn to keep your mouth shut,” Roselynne said. “But you’re just like your father. He had a smart mouth, just like you. That man could cut a person to pieces with his sharp tongue. But mind what I tell you, boy, that mouth of yours is going to get you killed one of these days.”

J.C. got up, leaned over their mama’s chair and kissed her cheek. “But you love me, just like you loved him. And you’re glad I got his handsome face and his sweet-talking charm, aren’t you?”

Roselynne slapped him on the arm. “Just behave yourself. Jordan’s coming home this morning and it’s going to be rough enough for her, what with losing the baby and being a suspect in Dan’s ex-wife’s murder, without your adding to her problems.”

“She’s a person of interest, Mama, not a suspect,” J.C. corrected her. “And you don’t have to worry about our Jordan. She’s got the Price millions at her disposal. Ryan’s brought in half the Powell agency to keep the old homestead locked down. And I overheard Rick Carson and Ryan talking about bringing in Camden Hendrix. That guy’s made a fortune defending rich folks like Jordan and getting them off scot-free whether they’re innocent or guilty.”

“Well, Jordan is most certainly innocent.”

“You really think she’s not capable of murder?”

“Most certainly not.”

J.C. shrugged.

“Don’t you be mean to Jordan,” Tammy said. “Don’t you dare be mean to her.”

“Now, look what you’ve done.” Roselynne huffed. “You’ve gone and upset your sister.”

J.C. came over to Tammy and ruffled her hair. She stared up at him. He smiled down at her.

“I won’t be mean to Jordan. I promise. So don’t you worry, kiddo.”

She smiled. “Okay.” She liked it when J.C. called her kiddo. “I know you mean it because you’ve never broken a promise to me. Not ever.”

The hordes descended on them the moment they slowed down to wait for the electronic gates to open. They pounded on the SUV’s doors, jumped on the hood, and pressed their faces against the windows. All of them were shouting questions, their voices combining to create a horrendous roar like the sound of a monstrous beast. Devon, who was sitting in the backseat with Jordan, wrapped her protectively in his arms.

“My God, they’re like a pack of mad dogs,” Devon said.

“Hold on,” Rick ordered. “I’m going to gun it and get away from them.”

Jordan held her breath. The Jeep lurched forward, sending the people hanging onto the SUV flying off onto the ground. Rick barely managed to maneuver his Jeep through the front gates and onto the private drive without running over a reporter.

“The Powell agents at the gate will gather up anyone who came through with us by hanging onto the Jeep,” Rick said. “And they’ll escort them out.”

Devon grasped Jordan’s hand. “Don’t worry. You’re safe.”

“Yes, I know. I’m safe for now.” She looked at the back of Rick’s dark head and broad shoulders. She instinctively knew that as long as she was in Rick’s capable hands, she would be all right.

“You like him,” Devon whispered in her ear, so softly that she barely heard him.

She squeezed his hand, looked right at him, and nodded.

Rick pulled up at the front of the house, hopped out of the Jeep, and opened the back door. By the time he helped her out and he and Devon escorted her to the veranda, her family poured through the front door. Flanking Jordan, Rick and Devon formed a protective shield between her and the others.

As she looked among smiling, concerned faces and heard murmurs of “welcome home” and “we love you,” Jordan’s gaze connected with her brother-in-law’s. Ryan stood in the open doorway, his somber expression warning her of what was to come.

When she caught a glimpse of Sheriff Corbett standing in the foyer, behind and to Ryan’s left, her steps faltered. Rick slid his arm around her waist to steady her. She closed her eyes for half a second and prayed for strength.

“Y’all need to let Jordan get through and into the house,” Devon said. “Everyone can talk to her later.”

The sea of friendly, loving faces parted, clearing the path to the front door. When they reached the entrance, Devon paused, kissed her cheek and then relinquished his position at her right side.

Once in the foyer, Ryan reached out and took her hands in his. “I’m so sorry about the baby.”

Although she prided herself on being able to control her emotions, losing her child had punched holes in her steel armor.

She looked past Ryan and stared at Steve Corbett. Suddenly she noticed that the sheriff was not alone. A deputy, whom she recognized as Lt. Haley McLain, stood at his side.

“Steve’s not going to question you until after you’ve spoken to your lawyer,” Ryan said. “And Mr. Hendrix will be with you during the questioning.”

“Has Cam gotten here yet?” Rick asked.

“He arrived about ten minutes ago,” Ryan replied. “He’s waiting in Dan’s study.”

“Take all the time you need, Mrs. Price,” Sheriff Corbett told her.

“Thank you.” She glanced around, searching for Tobias. When she caught a glimpse of him near the rear of the foyer, she motioned to him. “Tobias, please see that Sheriff Corbett and Lt. McLain have anything they need. Coffee or tea and sandwiches and cakes. And ask Vadonna to prepare lunch for everyone.”

“Yes, Miss Jordan.” He looked at her with a combination of sympathy and worry. “Do you need anything? Just tell me and—”

“Thank you, no.”

Ryan fell into step alongside Jordan as Rick led her toward Dan’s study. Ryan opened the door and entered first. An attractive, sandy-haired man rose from the sofa and came toward her. He wore a tailor-made, dark blue, pinstriped suit that fit his broad shoulders to perfection. His silver-dotted yellow silk tie lay neatly against his white-and-pale-silver-striped shirt. The man’s attire proclaimed him as a person of wealth and good taste. His closed-mouth smile and the cunning sparkle in his light blue eyes attested to his self-confidence.

He held out his hand to her. “Mrs. Price, I’m Camden Hendrix.”

Keeping her gaze on his handsome face, she shook his hand. “Thank you for coming, Mr. Hendrix.”

“Yes, ma’am. Now, we can speak alone, just the two of us, or your brother-in-law may stay with us, whichever you prefer.”

“I prefer to speak to you alone.”

Mr. Hendrix glanced from Ryan to Rick. “Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse us, please.”

She sensed that both Ryan and Rick were reluctant to leave her. But when she walked over and sat down in the chair behind Dan’s desk and placed her hands in her lap, Ryan motioned for Rick to follow him. After they closed the door behind them, Mr. Hendrix turned and looked at her.

“You understand that anything you tell me will be—”

“Confidential,” Jordan said. “Client-attorney privileged information.”

He grinned. “Yes, ma’am. That’s correct.”

“Am I to assume you think I might be guilty?”

“We’re all guilty of something, Mrs. Price. But if you’re asking if I believe you killed your husband’s ex-wife, then the answer is simple – I don’t know. You tell me.”

“I didn’t kill Jane Anne.”

“All right. Let’s say I believe you. Tell me why you gave her a check for a hundred thousand dollars.”

“She was blackmailing me.” She kept her gaze focused on his face. “I thought perhaps you’d already spoken to Rick Carson and knew all of this.”

“I asked Rick not to tell me anything.”

“I see. Then I need to fill you in on the whys and wherefores, don’t I?”

“Right to the point,” Cam Hendrix said. “I like that. You and I are going to get along just fine, Mrs. Price.”

“Please, call me Jordan.”

Twenty minutes later, Cam invited Sheriff Corbett and his deputy into Dan’s study and the official interrogation session began.

“First, I need for you to clarify something for me, Sheriff Corbett,” Cam said. “Is my client a suspect in the murder of Jane Anne Price?”

Steve Corbett looked downright uncomfortable and after shifting about and heming and hawing, he finally replied, “No, sir, but Mrs. Price is considered a person of interest.”

Cam leaned back against the side of the desk, resting his hips leisurely on the edge as he crossed his arms on his chest. The sheriff pulled up a chair and positioned it in front of where Jordan sat behind the desk. Lt. McLain remained stationed by the closed door.

“Did you see Jane Anne Price the day she was murdered?” the sheriff asked.

“Yes.”

“When and where?”

“At the gates of the back entrance to the estate. And I believe it was around five o’clock.”

“Why were you meeting secretly with—?”

“My husband’s former wife was blackmailing me,” Jordan said. “I had arranged to pay her a hundred thousand dollars and meet with her away from Price Manor. But once my home was surrounded by reporters, I arranged to meet with her at the back of the estate. I gave her a check and I returned to the house. When I left her, she was very much alive.”

“Why was she blackmailing you?”

There it was, the one question she didn’t want to answer. She looked at Cam. He nodded.

“Having been married to Dan, she had certain information about his health that I preferred not to become public knowledge.”

“And what was that information?”

Jordan placed her hand over her belly, swallowed hard and said, “Dan and I very much wanted a child, but my husband was sterile, so we agreed to try artificial insemination. Jane Anne knew that Dan was not the biological father of the child I…” She curled her hand into a fist and lifted it off her stomach. “I paid her to stop her from revealing this personal information to the world.”

“But keeping this information secret certainly wasn’t important enough to kill someone to keep them quiet, was it?” Cam injected the comment into the interrogation process.

Sheriff Corbett gave Cam a hard glare, then turned back to Jordan. “The scarf used to strangle Jane Anne Price belonged to you. It has your initials on it and was purchased for you by your late husband at a specialty shop in Priceville.”

“The scarf is lavender silk and my initials are in dark purple,” Jordan said. “I haven’t worn the scarf since this past fall. I kept it in the top drawer of my dresser along with other scarves and several pairs of gloves.”

“Then anyone in the house could have taken the scarf,” Cam said.

Sheriff Corbett’s face turned beet red as he glowered at Cam.

“I think what you’re leading up to asking me is if I killed Jane Anne,” Jordan said, “and the answer is no. I met her, gave her a check, and returned to the house. Rick Carson, the Powell agent Ryan and I hired to privately investigate my husband’s death, saw the entire transaction. He followed me back to the house and we spoke in my study. We were still together when Jane Anne’s body was found.”

“I’d say you have all the information you need from my client.” Cam unfolded his arms, eased his hips away from the desk and stood. “I believe your next step is to verify what Mrs. Price just told you. I’m sure Rick Carson will corroborate her statement.”

“I’m sure he will.” Sheriff Corbett frowned, then glanced over his shoulder at his deputy. “Well, there’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to spit it out – it looks like we’re going to be reopening the investigation into the senator’s death.”

Jordan felt as someone had sucker-punched her.

“Since Mrs. Price and her brother-in-law hired a private firm to investigate Dan Price’s death, then I’m sure they welcome this news.” Cam gave Jordan a sideways glance, as if checking to make sure she was reacting properly.

“Yes, of course we do.” Jordan rose to her feet slowly and rounded the desk to stand beside her attorney. “I assume your department now has reason to believe that my husband did not commit suicide.”

“District Attorney Anderman has consulted with the GBI and they’re in agreement that there is now reasonable doubt concerning your husband’s death. In light of new… er… uh… new information, they believe that further investigation into the senator’s death is called for.”

“What new information?” Jordan asked, but she knew. Dear God, she knew.

“Mrs. Price, I don’t know what to say.” Sheriff Corbett shook his head and then rubbed his jaw. “It wasn’t my decision and I don’t want you or Ryan to think for one minute that I believe any of it. I don’t. But… considering your past and all, the suspicious deaths of your first husband and your fiancé and—”