Page 9 of Her Baby, Her Badge

“I’m giving the sheriff some info,” Dutton replied.

It wasn’t a lie. He had indeed given her those lists, and Grace welcomed picking his brain for possibilities as to the identity of the killer.

But it wasn’t the full truth, either.

Grace knew he was there because he was worried about the baby and her.

“Good,” Cassie said. “I hope you catch the killer soon.” She paused. “That’s why I’m here. I got a call from Wilson.”

Grace held back a groan. Dutton didn’t. “Was he whining to you about how Grace is handling the investigation?” Dutton asked.

Cassie nodded, and her face flushed a little. “He asked me to press the rest of the town council not only to oust Grace from the case, but also to push for the recall vote to try to get rid of her as sheriff. I reminded him that the town council doesn’t get involved in the day-to-day dealings of police business, but Wilson insisted this was a conflict of interest for you. He feels he should take over since it was his deputy who was murdered.”

“If you use that logic, then the lieutenant at SAPD should take over since his detective was the first death,” Grace quickly pointed out. She tried to keep any anger out of her tone. Hard to do, though. “Both bodies were in my jurisdiction. I’m staying on the case.” Grace didn’t bother to address the part about Wilson pressing her to be ousted.

Cassie nodded again. “I figured you’d say that. But I thought you should know he insisted he’d be calling other members of the council. And the Texas Rangers.”

“The Rangers?” Dutton asked.

“Wilson thinks Grace is out of her depth and that she should have already asked them for assistance.”

“I’m considering it,” Grace admitted. “But until two hours ago, it was a single murder that might or might not be connected to Dutton, me or the town. Once the current crime scene has been processed, I’ll consider whether or not to bring in the Rangers.”

The Texas Rangers were similar to the FBI, but on a state level. The Rangers only assisted when requested. Now that she had two bodies and the threatening note, Grace almost certainly would ask for support in processing the evidence. The Ranger crime lab could likely do that much faster than the county one.

“I hate to say this,” Cassie went on, “but Wilson sounded…enraged. He really despises you, Grace. You, too, Dutton. He still blames you for firing his father as ranch foreman.”

“I fired him because I caught him stealing supplies,” Dutton reminded her.

That’d been years ago, when Grace had been a deputy, and Wilson was indeed still sporting a grudge about that. Wilson felt as if that’d played into him not winning the election. Played into his father’s death, too, since he’d died a broken man about six months ago. His cause of death was a heart attack, but Wilson insisted it’d been brought on by stress caused by Dutton.

“I think Wilson’s going to push and push to make things harder for you,” Cassie said, aiming that comment at Grace.

Great. Just what she didn’t need, with a double-homicide investigation and with the town council breathing down her neck. Every move and decision she made would be scrutinized to the hilt. Then again, that had been happening, anyway.

Cassie checked her watch and then glanced out the window at the rain that was continuing to pelt against the glass. “Well, I should be getting home.”

“Late night for you,” Grace commented.

Cassie attempted a smile that didn’t quite succeed. “I was catching up on some paperwork. That’s where I was when Wilson called me.”

Grace didn’t ask why Cassie had decided to deliver the news of that call tonight, when it was already going on midnight, but she didn’t miss the longing glance Cassie gave Dutton. Yes, longing. Apparently, the woman still had feelings for him and wasn’t doing a good job of hiding it.

“Good night,” Cassie added and headed out.

Dutton waited until Cassie was out of earshot before he whispered, “Could Wilson have murdered those two cops?” he asked. “Cassie was right about him despising both of us.”

“He does indeed,” Grace agreed. She shook her head, though. “But it’d be beyond extreme for him to kill just to make our lives miserable.”

The moment she said the words, Grace realized there could be more to it than that. Wilson wanted her job, period. And he wanted to get back at Dutton for firing his father. So if Wilson had gone off the deep end—and that was a massiveif—he could be masterminding these murders to make Grace look bad while also dragging Dutton into the investigation.

“I think you should at least consider Wilson a possible suspect,” Dutton commented.

Oh, she would. Grace just wouldn’t put his name on the board, but she intended to look into the possibility that she was dealing with a dirty cop. Of course, that was just one thing she had to deal with. Another was standing right next to her.

She turned toward the board and tapped the note the killer had left. Specifically, she pointed to his name. “Because of that, I should put you in protective custody.Should,” Grace stressed.

“My house on the ranch is more secure than any place you could arrange for me,” Dutton quickly pointed out. “In fact, it’d be safer for you and the baby to be there, too.”

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