Read I Caught the Sheriff for Free Online Page B

well
enough?”
    He cupped her chin with one hand and examined her eyes with
sorrow in his own. “You knew me well enough to make love.”
    The phrase melted her anger even more. If he could call
their liaison that, then her belief that what they had done was more than
fantastic sex was accurate.
    His fingers bit into her shoulders. “If that’s not right,
then how can you be so angry at me?”
    The certainty of his retort had her fuming at herself, her
job and him. She went for the only other explanation. “Would your wranglers do
something like this?”
    “My hands do as they’re told, here on my land. I did not
tell them to cross that bend in the creek. There have to be other explanations,
because this pipe is not my doing. And I wouldn’t put it past Larsson to do
this himself to make me look bad. You know full well that I’ve been complaining
that he’s damming up the flow to save what little water there is for himself
and his cattle. One way to take the heat off himself is to put it on me.”
    “Let me go,” she told him in a strangled voice. His logic
good, her heart still sore.
    “Once you know who did this, Lana, come back.”
    He sounded sad, sincere and hurting, all of which she’d
never imagined could be possible for powerful Alexander Coltrane. Could he
offer that and be innocent?
    When she didn’t answer, he gave her a small shake. “Promise
me.”
    * * * * *
    “Is that a lot load printed on the inside of that pipe,
Sam?” Lana lowered the magnifying glass and handed over one of the pieces of
the plastic piping she’d found on Larsson’s property to her deputy.
    He took his time examining the tiny print. “Sure enough.”
    “We can trace it then,” she concluded, overjoyed at the
possibility of some clue to the solution to this case. After the sleepless
night she’d spent dwelling on this, she had to make an airtight explanation of
it. Especially since she’d learned first thing this morning that the deputy who
stood before her had seen her leave the fairgrounds yesterday with Lex Coltrane.
Sam had made a bit of a joke of it, but after he heard her description of what
had happened out on Larsson’s ranch last night, he was not so jovial. The
possibility of conflict of interest was not one Lana welcomed. Now or ever. And
if she stood a chance of having a relationship with Lex, any hint of favoritism
could not stand.
    “I hope we can,” Sam told her with a curt nod. “Why don’t we
call the Farm and Tractor supply store?”
    “They carry a lot of things,” Lana said, but then she
reached for her office phone. Dialing information, she asked for the local
plumbing shop. “Hi, Jared? Sheriff Foster here. I have a question for you. Do
you carry plastic pipe?” She glanced at her deputy and nodded. “You do.
Wonderful. White? How many types?” She winced. “Three different manufacturers.
Hmm. If I bring you a sample of something I need to trace, can you help me
identify it?” A few minutes later, she hung up. “Let’s go.”
    “Do you need me, Sheriff?” Sam asked and pointed a thumb
toward the back of the jail. “I’ve got those two guys in lockup on that robbery
last night and I need to get them processed.”
    “Tell Jennifer to start the paperwork.” Their office clerk
had just arrived for work this morning and she could get the ball rolling. “You
have to come with me and you know why, too.” She wasn’t going to let anyone,
particularly her staff, even hint at favoritism. Everything here in the county
was going to be done by the book. She might be young, but too many here had
fought her appointment because of her age. Thirty was not exactly a spring
chicken. Besides, she wanted this job. Permanently. She knew she was still the
newbie, needing to prove her worthiness to everyone, including Lex Coltrane.
“Come on.”
    * * * * *
    Lex was standing on his property line looking at the white
pipe snaking over the caliche and grass when he heard a truck approach.
Turning,