Warrior Son

‘I have no idea,” she said. “The street was crowded and it happened so fast. One man said he thought it was a car backfiring, but I don’t think so.”

“Did you see anyone suspicious?”

“No. But like I said, it happened really fast and a car was coming so I had to roll out of the way.”

He didn’t like this one damn bit. First, she’d come to him questioning Joe McCullen’s death. Now a gun had gone off in the street and she’d fallen and nearly been hit by a car.

Too coincidental.

Roan clenched the phone with clammy hands. “Who else did you tell about the tox report?”

Tension filled the air. “Just you and Howard, the lab tech and Dr. Cumberland. But I haven’t seen him since I met with Howard earlier.”

“What were the results?”

“There was definitely cyanide in Joe’s system, Roan. Probably administered in small doses over a long period of time so as not to draw suspicion.”

Roan veered onto the road leading toward the McCullens’ ranch, Horseshoe Creek. He needed to find out who’d visited Joe on a regular basis.

“I know this will upset Dr. Cumberland,” Megan said. “He and the McCullens are good friends.”

“So how did he miss the fact that his patient was poisoned?”

“Like I said, it was probably administered in slow doses. Since Joe was already ill, Dr. Cumberland must have assumed his weakening condition was due to the disease.”

Roan’s mind raced. Barbara was his prime suspect, but her shock had seemed real. “But one question is still bothering me—why kill a dying man?”

“Maybe Barbara and Bobby knew about the will, but thought Joe was going to change it and take them out. She could have wanted him dead before he could make the change.”

“That’s possible. I put a call in to Joe’s lawyer to find out.”

His phone beeped. Maddox. “Listen, Megan, Maddox is calling. Let me talk to him.”

“Are you going to tell him his father was murdered?”

Roan hesitated. That was not a conversation he was eager to have.

“Not yet. I want some proof of a viable suspect before I go to him.”

“I don’t blame you. The McCullens have been through a lot. But they will want to know.”

He was well aware of that. “Don’t worry. I’ll tell him when the time is right.” He hesitated, then remembered her close call on the street. “Be careful, Megan. And don’t talk to anyone but Dr. Cumberland about this.”

She agreed, and he hit Connect to respond to Maddox. “It’s Roan.”

“I think I’ve tracked Romley down. I’m staking out a motel where he was last spotted.”

“Do you need backup?”

“Not yet. I’ll let you know if I do. Is anything going on there?”

Roan swallowed hard. He hated to lie, but...he wasn’t ready to divulge the truth. “No. I’ll ride out and check on the ranch soon.”

“Thanks. That security detail Brett hired should have it covered. But I’m worried about Mama Mary and Rose staying at the house while I’m gone. I tried to get them to stay with a friend, but they’re both as stubborn as they come. Mama Mary said no one would run her off from her home, and Rose insisted on staying with her.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll check on them.” In fact, Mama Mary was the one person who’d been by Joe’s bedside when he was ill. She’d lived with the family since before the boys’ mother passed and was the cook, housekeeper and surrogate mother. According to Maddox, she was as much a part of the family as anyone.

She would know exactly who’d visited Joe. And if he had other enemies, she could provide them with a list of names.

* * *

MEGAN COULDN’T SHAKE the uneasy feeling that someone had meant to harm her in the street.

The man from the bar, Tad Hummings’s brother?

She should report her altercation with him to the police. To Roan.

But...she had no real proof that he’d pushed her today. And he was already angry with her over the injustice he’d perceived she’d done to his family. If she accused him of pushing her in front of a car or firing a weapon at her, he would be furious.

She didn’t want to deal with that kind of rage. Or to falsely accuse anyone of anything.

She finished filing the results on Morty Burns and sent them to the sheriff in Laredo. This was his case, not one for Roan or Sheriff McCullen. But she was curious about the man so she entered his name in her database and ran a background check.

Information filled the screen.

Morty Burns, age fifty-nine, five-ten, a hundred and ninety pounds, no preexisting conditions.

He was married to a woman named Edith Bennett.

Bennett—why did that name sound familiar?

A knock sounded at her office door, but before she could respond, Dr. Cumberland stormed in.

“What the hell are you doing, Megan?” He slashed his hand through the air. “I just found out you ran more labs on Joe McCullen. I thought we settled that issue.”

Megan pivoted, forcing a calm to her voice.

She hadn’t let her father intimidate her and she wouldn’t let this man.

“I’m sorry, Doctor, but the fact that there were two different results bugged me. So I decided to run it one more time.”

Dr. Cumberland rammed his hands through his hair, spiking the white strands in disarray. “I can’t believe you’d go behind my back—”

“This is not about you,” Megan said. “It’s about your good friend Joe. If someone did hurt him, wouldn’t you want to know?”

“Of course,” he stuttered.

“I still don’t understand about the false negative.”