hell got complicated, didn't it? " "Yeah, it did, " Cole agreed. "And
it doesn't make any sense. They've got to know they were seen in the
bank earlier that afternoon. They all stood in line with men who would
remember them. Why did they go to all the trouble of rehearsing what
they were going to say? " "No, it doesn't make any sense. Which one
of them is lying? " "Maybe all three of them are. They're obviously
hell-bent on protecting one another."
"Or what? " "They're protecting someone else, someone we don't know
about yet."
"How do we find out the truth? " "They're going to tell us, " Daniel
said.
"Tomorrow, one way or another, Jessica and Grace and Rebecca are going
to tell us what they know."
"And if they don't? " "No one's going to get in my way, man or
woman."
Daniel's voice shook with emotion. "If I have to lock them up, by God,
I will."
"Don't do anything crazy." Cole saw the irony in his remark and let
out a harsh laugh. "I think this badge is changing me. I'm usually
the one doing crazy things, and now I'm cautioning you. I know how bad
you want those men. Hell, I'd feel the same way, but you've got to
keep it legal." Daniel disagreed. "I'm going to get them any way that
I can. I don't care if it's legal or not. Are you going to help me?
" "I already told you I'd help." The conversation ended when they
reached the hotel and went up to their rooms. Cole threw open his
window to get rid of the musty smell, then stripped out of his clothes,
washed, and fell into bed. Stacking his hands behind his head, he
thought about the women's answers to their questions. One thought led
to another, and he was suddenly thinking about Jessica. Damn but she
was a tempting woman.
He fell asleep hoping to God she hadn't been hiding under that desk.
Daniel didn't go to sleep right away. He spent a good hour pacing
around his shoe box of a room, feeling like a caged animal. He tried
to concentrate on the investigation, but Grace Winthrop kept getting in
his way.
He'd been stunned by the impact she'd made on him, and honest to God,
he didn't know how to handle it. Until tonight, he hadn't so much as
glanced at another woman, and he sure as certain hadn't physically
wanted any of them. Grace had gotten to him, though, and it seemed so
damned disloyal of him to have such unbridled thoughts about her.
He couldn't figure out why he was attracted to her. Granted, she was
pretty and her face was about the loveliest he'd seen in a long, long
time. She had a nice shape too. No doubt about it, she was well put
together, but she still wasn't anything like his sweet Kathleen. No
other woman could ever measure up to her. The unspoiled daughter of a
farmer, his wife had simple tastes and a passionate zest for life.
He'd been drawn to her robust laugh and her generous nature, and he had
immediately and completely fallen head over heels in love with her.
How he had marveled at the great gift God had given him, and he often