Sovereign Sheriff

“The heroine of Legally Blonde,” his sister informed him. “Everybody thought she was a ditzy blonde, but she went to Harvard Law School and outsmarted them all.”

“A lighthearted film with a significant message.” Saida slid an accusing glance in his direction. “It’s easy to underestimate someone based on stereotypes. Sometimes, the dumb blonde is the smartest person in the room. And the pampered princess is the most resourceful.”

Touché. He knew he’d been guilty of taking her lightly. There might be more depth to this princess than he’d thought.

Maggie said, “I love your pinkie ring. Is the design a royal crest?”

He’d noticed the ring before—a black onyx stone with a silver design that he’d at first thought was a butterfly. Looking closer, he saw that it was crossed swords.

Saida gestured gracefully, displaying the ring. “It’s similar to the crossed scimitars that are part of Saudi Arabia’s coat of arms, but this ring has no special meaning. I just liked the design, and I have earrings to match.”

“Does Jamala have crown jewels?” Maggie asked.

“An extensive collection, most of which is in the National Museum. There’s a story behind the Farrah Blue diamond. Any woman who wears the gem is guaranteed to have masculine children.” She gave Maggie a grin. “As if that’s good.”

“Tell me more,” Maggie said.

Jake finished his sandwich. Though she’d subtly rebuked him for stereotyping, he couldn’t help comparing Saida to the princess in One Thousand and One Arabian Nights. If he didn’t get away from her soon, he’d stay all night, lulled into a trance by her cultured voice. “Excuse me, ladies. I have work to do.”

Downstairs, he went through the house—pulling the curtains, locking the windows and dragging his thoughts back to the situation at hand. He couldn’t allow himself to be captivated by Saida’s charms or her promise of courtside seats. The fact that this kidnap attempt had been made here instead of California indicated that this crime was tied to all the others, including her brother’s disappearance. He needed solutions.

The antidote to Saida came when he heard his deputy pull into the driveway outside his house. Kent Wheeler was Jake’s most trusted employee and the person he’d called on his phone right after leaving the scene of the crash.

He opened the front door for the stocky blue-eyed deputy who usually wore a cowboy hat to cover his bald spot. Though out of uniform, Wheeler’s appearance was crisp and neat. His wife always ironed his jeans to leave a crease.

“What’s up, Sheriff?”

Before Jake could answer, Saida was halfway down the stairs.

“Good evening, sir.” She bestowed a mesmerizing smile on Wheeler. “Have you brought my luggage?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Wheeler wasn’t the sort of guy who would ever cheat on his wife, but he was staring at the princess with unabashed appreciation.

“Later,” Jake growled. “We’ll bring your suitcases upstairs later.”

“I appreciate it so much.” She turned and trotted back to the guest bedroom.

Staring after her, Wheeler said, “She’s something else.”

“She’s a load of trouble,” Jake said. “That’s Princess Saida Khalid, the sister of Amir. She was driving that car when it was forced off the road.”

“A real live princess. Whoa, I never thought I’d meet somebody like her.”

Wheeler remained at the foot of the staircase, looking up in case she might reappear. Jake might have to use his stun gun to bring his deputy back to earth. “Did you contact Jane Cameron?”

“Yes, sir. The forensic team arrived at the scene of the crash just as I was taking the luggage from the backseat. Jane wasn’t happy about having me disturb her evidence.”

She was involved with Prince Stefan Lutece of Kyros. Ever since they hooked up, the formerly plain Jane had been beaming and dropping hints that she’d be leaving her job and moving to one of the COIN nations. Though he didn’t doubt Jane’s professionalism, she’d probably been in the arms of her prince when she got the call. Jake couldn’t keep Saida’s arrival a secret; he needed to inform the COIN royals as soon as possible. Sheik Efraim seemed to be closest to Saida and her brother.

He sank into a chair beside the fireplace and checked the clock on the mantel. It was after eleven. This wouldn’t be a pleasant call. He and Efraim had argued before. They’d buried the hatchet, but not too deeply.

Using his cell phone, he contacted the front desk at the resort and left a message for Efraim to call him. “Tell him it’s an emergency.”

Disconnecting the call, he looked toward his deputy. “I’m putting you in charge of this investigation, Wheeler. Handpick the team you work with. We need to be careful about who we trust.”

“Understood. We don’t want a repeat of what happened with Amos Andrews.”

Andrews, a Dumont policeman, had played a part in the first wave of attacks and had threatened Jane Cameron’s life. In jail, he’d committed suicide under suspicious circumstances. Jake wondered if he’d been murdered to insure his silence—murdered by someone on the inside, another traitor.

Though he’d been sheriff for nearly a year, Jake still felt the simmering resentment from those on his staff who were loyal to the former sheriff. Every day was a battle to earn their respect. Not only was he the new guy but he was Arapaho, and old prejudices sometimes flared back to life.

Wheeler took a small spiral notebook from his shirt pocket. “Where should I start?”

“We’re looking for a black or gray truck with damage on the passenger side. And a black, four-door sedan.” The car had whipped past his house so fast that Jake hadn’t recognized the make or model. “Tomorrow morning, you can check with the local car rental places for information on midsize sedans.”

“Got it.” Wheeler scribbled in his notebook.

“Somebody knew about the princess’s arrival, which means there’s a leak. You’ll need to talk to the reservations people at the resort.”

“Again?”

“You never know. They’re supposed to be discreet, but somebody might have gotten all excited and blabbed. I guess she’s some kind of celebrity. She dated a guy on the Lakers.”

“The Lakers?” His eyes popped wide open. “Whoa.”

Jake wondered if his own reaction had been that obvious. “You look like you might run home and tell your wife.”

“No, sir, not my wife. Not unless I wanted to get whacked over the head with a frying pan. But I might be tempted to tell some of the guys.”

That was probably how the information had gotten out, but they needed to make sure there wasn’t a more nefarious explanation. “I’ll talk to the FBI. They can use their fancy tracing equipment to see if the reservations computer at the resort was hacked.”

From upstairs, he heard his sister giggle. At least somebody was having fun.

Jake’s phone rang, and he answered. “Jake Wolf.”

“This is Efraim Aziz. What is the big emergency?”

“Princess Saida is in town. She’s at my house.”

There was a moment of silence.

Efraim said, “My advice to you, Sheriff, is to saddle up and ride as fast and as far as you can.”

Chapter Four

Sitting cross-legged on the double bed in the guest room, Saida was enjoying her conversation with Jake’s sister. Their topics ranged from fashion and shoes to cultural norms in Jamala and the rights of women. If this had been a purely social occasion, Saida might have relaxed, but she was edgy—distracted by what was going on downstairs. With the door to the bedroom open, she could hear the murmur of male voices as Jake conferred with his deputy.

As usual, she was being excluded, and there seemed to be nothing she could do about it. Until Jake said it was safe, he wouldn’t allow her to leave the guest bedroom. He’d already shown himself to be capable of throwing her over his shoulder. What would come next? Tying her to a chair?