Proof of Innocence: Yesterday's Lies / Devil's Gambit

“Then we have to find out the truth,” he decided.

“It’s not worth getting killed.”

Trask’s eyes followed the sound of the retreating footsteps and the skin whitened over his cheekbones as he squinted into the encroaching night. His one chance at finding the accomplice in Jason’s murder had just slipped through his fingers. When silence once again settled on the ridge, he turned his furious gaze on Tory. His grip on her shoulders, once gentle, was now fierce.

“Who did you tell that we were here?” he demanded.

“No one!”

“But your brother and that foreman, Rex Engels, they knew we would be here this afternoon.”

Tory shook her head and her green eyes blazed indignantly. She jerked away from his fingers and scooted backward on the ground. “I didn’t tell anyone, Trask. Not even Keith or Rex; they...neither one of them would have approved. As far as I know the only person who knew we were coming here today was Neva!”

The corners of Trask’s mouth tightened and he glared murderously at Tory. “Someone set us up.”

“And you think it was me?”

“Of course not. But it sure as hell wasn’t Neva!”

“Why not? She didn’t want you coming up here, did she? She doesn’t want you to look into Jason’s death, does she? Why wouldn’t she do something to sabotage you?”

He walked away a few steps and rubbed the back of his neck. “That just doesn’t make any sense.”

“Well nothing else does either. The anonymous note, the dead calf and now this—” She raised her hands over her head. “Nothing is making any sense, Trask. Ever since you came back to the Lazy W, there’s been nothing but trouble!”

“That’s exactly the point, isn’t it?” he said quietly, his mouth compressing into an angry line. “Someone’s trying to scare you; warn you to stay away from me.”

“If that’s his intention, whoever he is, he’s succeeded! I’m scared right out of my mind,” she admitted while letting her head fall into her palm.

“What about the rest, Tory? That shot a few minutes ago was a warning to you to stay away from me!” He looked over his shoulder one last time.

“If that’s what it was—”

“That’s exactly what it was,” he interjected. “Let’s go, before someone decides to take another potshot at us.”

“You think that’s what they were trying to do?”