Conard County Justice

They want the same thing—

To bring a murderer to justice.

Major Daniel Duke doesn’t care that the Conard County sheriff’s office doesn’t want his help tracking down his brother’s killer. He refuses to be left out of the search. But Deputy Cat Jansen has her marching orders: keep the decorated army ranger from hindering their investigation. As the search heats up, Daniel and Cat discover they share more than a relentless pursuit of justice. But would they have to pay with their lives to find the truth?

New York Times Bestselling Author

RACHEL LEE was hooked on writing by the age of twelve and practiced her craft as she moved from place to place all over the United States. This New York Times best-selling author now resides in Florida and has the joy of writing full-time.

Also by Rachel Lee

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Missing in Conard County

Murdered in Conard County

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The Widow’s Protector Rancher’s

Deadly Risk

What She Saw

Rocky Mountain Lawman Killer’s

Prey

Deadly Hunter

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Conard County Justice

Rachel Lee

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-0-008-90520-0

CONARD COUNTY JUSTICE

© 2020 Susan Civil Brown

Published in Great Britain 2020

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

About the Publisher

Chapter One

Cat Jansen was sitting at the front desk in the Conard County Sheriff’s Office when trouble came through the door.

Rotation had brought her to this day of desk duty in the office. She wasn’t expecting to be too busy, which was one of the reasons she had decided to stay in this county after her mother’s death two years ago.

She had previously worked for a sheriff in Colorado but had left the job to come to Conard City to care for her ailing mother. Cancer was a brutal disease, and all Cat could say for the months she’d spent nursing her was that her mother hadn’t been alone. Then she’d taken a job as a deputy to the sheriff here. Today she busied herself with a day of paperwork and a few relatively minor complaints.

Until the big guy in an Army uniform walked through the door. She took a rapid inventory as best she could. Major’s oak leaves, a stack of colorful ribbons. He pulled off a tan beret as he entered.

His dark eyes reflected cold anger. More worrisome than rage, the coldness suggested a determination that wouldn’t quit. Oh heck, she thought. What had made this guy look like this?

“Are you the desk officer?” he asked in a deep voice, suggesting a rumble of thunder in the distance.

“Yes, I am.” An imposing man. And whatever had brought him so far out of his way was likely a serious problem.

“I’m Major Daniel Duke. My brother, Larry, was murdered a week ago.”

Well, that explained the steel in his dark eyes. “I’m so sorry,” she replied. “How can we help you?” But she had an idea. Definitely trouble. She could feel it brewing like a building storm.

“I want to know how the investigation is going.”

“It’s going.” She wasn’t permitted to give him confidential details of an ongoing investigation.

“Are you checking into the possibility of a hate crime? My brother was gay.”

A bald accusation phrased as a question. If she hadn’t felt so disturbed and chilled by the look in his eyes, she might have done more than sigh.

“Of course we are,” she answered. “I knew Larry. We’re not overlooking anything, believe me. But in all honesty, we’ve never had a crime of that type in this county.”

“Not yet,” he said flatly.

Which was a point she couldn’t argue. This county evidently always seemed peaceful until something blew up. It wasn’t as frequent as in heavily populated areas, but it still happened.

The major was framed against the front windows, the bright spring sunlight now casting him in silhouette. Not comfortable for her to look at.

She pointed to the metal chair beside her desk. “Sit, please. I’m having trouble seeing you.”

He came around immediately and sat. Now she had a clear view of his face. It had the chiseled appearance of someone in prime physical condition, and sun had put some slight lines at the corners of his eyes. He looked as unyielding as the concrete she suddenly imagined him walking through. She suspected he wasn’t going to hang around just to identify Larry’s body, which hadn’t yet come back from the medical examiner, and arrange a funeral. No, he had other things on his mind.

“I’m not going to leave this town until the murderer is caught.”

“We’ll find him,” she said with more confidence than she felt. So far they hadn’t uncovered any clues. At least none they could yet recognize. Maybe the ME would find something.

“You find him, or I will.”

Whoa. She felt her first stirrings of sympathy sliding away into apprehension. “Let us do our job. You do realize that anything you find probably won’t be usable in court, because you won’t have a warrant. You certainly don’t want to get in our way or get yourself in trouble with the law.”

He didn’t answer immediately. When at last he spoke, his voice was clear, flat, hard. “I don’t care what happens to me. This is about my brother. He deserves justice. The dead should get that. Justice. That’s one of the things Larry believed.”

She saw pain pass over his face, quickly erased, and she sensed that this wasn’t about his brother’s death. Not exactly. Something else was going on here.

She also wondered what could be done about this man. He’d only said he wanted to find the murderer. He hadn’t said he was going to do anything illegal in the process. What were they to do to prevent him? Jail him without a charge?

Never. So they were stuck with this cannon. Whether it was a loose one or not, she had no idea. She did suspect that a Ranger could probably cause more trouble than a typical man on the street.

“You need to talk to the sheriff,” she said, ticking possibilities over in her mind. “If you coordinate your efforts with ours, there may be a way for you to satisfy yourself.”

“Is he here?”

“He’s at a county board meeting.” To discuss funding for expanding the department by a couple more cops, hoping to get funding for a better dispatch situation. Sticking communications over in the corner with the coffee machines was becoming a problem. They needed better equipment, a place to put dispatch out of the line of fire and noise in the front office. She’d been kind of startled when she began working here to realize that the department had been so small for so long they were stacking most duties all in one room. Time to move into the twenty-first century.

But that didn’t answer her immediate problem. She tried to lighten things a bit. “He said he’d be gone an hour nearly an hour ago. Given it’s the supervisors and it’s about money, it may become a longer wrangle.”

His nod was short, sharp. The cold steel in his gaze hadn’t lessened a bit. Okay, then…

“I’ll wait.”

She figured determination was bone-deep in this man. He had come here on a mission, one he considered righteous. Short of being given official orders, he wasn’t going to be derailed. She hoped the sheriff would be able to find a way to steer him. From her position, there was little she could do or say without her boss’s approval anyway.

“Larry,” she said finally.

Those eyes became even sharper. “What about him?”

“I knew him. Only for the couple of months he was here, but we met in Mahoney’s bar one night. He was enjoying a scotch, and I went in there to eat a ham sandwich, maybe have a beer. I sat at the bar near him, and we fell into conversation.”

He waited.

“I liked him immediately. Nice man, but I probably wouldn’t want to be the target of one of his investigative pieces.”

The faintest of frowns flickered over the major’s face. “No one would.”

“Anyway, we hit it off. He told me he was a journalist and that he was here on sabbatical to write a book. He even laughed, saying every reporter had a book in their bottom desk drawer. He never said what he was writing about. Did he tell you why he came to the back of beyond?”

“No.” His expression shut down again.

“I saw him a lot while he was here. He liked Mahoney’s—said it was his nod to Hemingway, whatever that meant. Do you know?”

He shook his head. “Probably a literary reference. A few years ago, he joked to me that you couldn’t drink your way into a novel.”

She felt a smile ease the tension in her face. “Well, he wasn’t trying to drink his way into anything. He appeared to like the atmosphere, even played darts with some of the regulars. Never a heavy drinker. We talked whenever we ran into each other, sometimes meeting at the diner for lunch. I’ve known a few reporters, and they’re never wallflowers. He’d started making friends around here.”

“That’s Larry, all right.”

She suspected this man didn’t find it easy to make friends. But maybe she was wrong. Too soon to know, except that while she wouldn’t like being the subject of Larry’s investigation, she would hate being the subject of this man’s ire.

“He started having card games at his place once a week,” she went on. “He invited me, but I’m not into cards, so I didn’t go. Maybe six or seven guys attended. Never any problem from our perspective. Which I suppose means they were reasonably quiet and didn’t get disorderly. Not much of an analysis on my part.” She tried another smile. “We’re looking into those friends.”

“Good.”

“You never know what kind of resentments might come out of a card game. Especially if they were gambling, but since Larry invited me, I doubt it.”

“He was never a gambler that I know of. At least not that way. He gambled a whole lot in other ways.”

Cat wondered if she’d just told him too much about the friends. About the card games. Dang, this man’s mere presence was making her talk too much, maybe reveal too much. Everything about him demanded answers.

She had just decided to pick up some paperwork in order to truncate this conversation by comparing written reports to digital. Gage hated the duplicate work, both on computer and paper, but like it or not, the duplication was useful. Papers couldn’t be manipulated as easily as a computer file, but a computer file was more readily accessible.

Just as she was probably about to mortally offend the major, the sheriff walked through the door.

“How’d it go, Sheriff?”

“High school wrestling match. Partial success.” Gage Dalton was a tall man with a face scarred by burns. Long ago, when he was a DEA agent, he’d been the target of a car bomb. He still limped from his injuries, and even now some of his movements exhibited pain.

She spoke again before he could pass. Major Duke was already rising from his chair. Gage wasn’t going to escape this, either.

“Sheriff, this is Major Daniel Duke, Larry Duke’s brother. You need to speak with him.”

Gage raised a brow on the unscarred side of his face. “Come with me, Major. My office is open.”

The two men disappeared down the corridor, and Cat expelled a long breath, only just then realizing she’d been holding it. Tense. Lots of tension surrounded the major.

The dispatch desk crackled to life with a call. “Burglary at 1095 Elm Street. Need backup and forensics.”

Cat wished she were able to answer the call. She had a strong feeling she wouldn’t escape the major.

A HALF HOUR LATER, as she finished up comparing reports, Gage called from the hallway.

“Cat, could you come in here, please?”

Oh God, she thought. She glanced at the dispatcher, an elderly crone who smoked like a chimney under the No Smoking sign. She had learned quickly that Velma was a fixture who must be respected. A couple of deputies had told her that the only way Velma was going to leave her job was toes first. Cat had learned that Velma mothered them all.

“Good luck,” Velma said in her smoke-roughened voice.

Apparently, Velma had gotten the same kind of impression from their visitor.

Cat squared her shoulders and marched back to Gage’s office. Maybe, just maybe, he’d found a way to contain this man. It wouldn’t help anything to have the major interfering with the investigation. He could jeopardize the case.

“Hey, Cat,” Gage said when she reached his office. “Come on in, close the door and grab a seat.”

Close the door? Gage almost never did that. She followed his request, sitting only a foot away from Daniel Duke. Who, she had to admit, was attractive. He would have been more so if she hadn’t seen the subzero chill in his gaze.

She turned her attention to Gage, hoping he had a solution.

“It seems,” he said, “that Major Duke is determined to assist our investigation.”

Oh boy. Gage describing it as assistance probably didn’t bode well.

“I can understand the major’s concerns,” Gage continued. “If he wants to talk to people around the county, I can’t prevent him. There’s nothing illicit in that. But I’ve also made it clear that he’s going to have to stay within the law so he doesn’t destroy any case against a murderer. I’ve also made it clear that we will enforce the law, so he’d better not interfere in any way with our investigation. He won’t be helping if we have to arrest him.”

Cat nodded, glad Gage had made those points. Unfortunately, she sensed there was a big but on the way. Worse, her presence in this room probably pointed to involving her in some capacity.

She couldn’t zip her lips any longer. “Is Major Duke suggesting we can’t do our job?”

She knew that wasn’t it. This was a man who needed to take up his lance for the sake of his brother. He needed to be involved. Still, she wanted to make her disapproval clear.

“I don’t think that’s it,” Gage answered. “He’s just not constitutionally capable of sitting on the sidelines, are you, Major?”

“No.” A single syllable saying more than a page full of words.

“Anyway,” Gage went on, “I can’t prevent him from walking around asking questions or looking for some obvious clue that we need brought to our attention. Within the law, of course. So, we need to coordinate. You have a background in homicide investigations, Cat. You’ll be our liaison, keeping me informed at all times. And, Major, if Deputy Jansen says we need a warrant for something, listen to her. We can get a warrant fast enough from Judge Carter if there’s probable cause.”

Oh man, Cat thought, feeling everything inside her become as taut as a guitar string. A brick wall and a concrete one had just met, and she couldn’t tell which one of them had won. At least it appeared that Gage had gotten a few concessions.

But playing liaison on this? While she’d be glad of the change of pace, being more deeply involved with a murder investigation, she didn’t want to do it this way. What was more, she’d known Larry, and that had been the primary reason she wasn’t on the case. Why had Gage chosen her? Just because she had some experience?

She looked at Major Duke, fearing that trying to keep him in line would be like bull riding. Then she accepted the inevitable. This was her assignment, and even though it might put her on the wrong side of the investigation, in terms of her involvement, it was still important, and Gage thought it necessary. She had one burning question, however.

“How much information from our investigation should I share?”

“Whatever you deem necessary.”

On her shoulders, then. Lovely.

GAGE HAD VELMA call another officer in to take over desk duty. “Seems like you two may need a bit of discussion. Get yourselves over to the diner for coffee, maybe lunch.”

Cat smothered a sigh, figuring she was going to have to reinforce Gage’s limits over coffee, and probably endure a brain picking by Major Duke.

They crossed the street together and walked halfway down the block to the City Diner, known to everyone as Maude’s diner because of its cantankerous owner. Cantankerous or not, Maude was another of those people around here who was both a fixture and well loved. This kind of thing was also a part of the charm of living here.

For the first time, she faced the seated major across a table. She had a clear view in the light from the diner’s front windows. Mavis, Maude’s daughter, appeared in lieu of Maude but slammed down the coffee cups with similar disdain. She’d learned well.

They took their menus, and Cat remarked, “Everything is good, but everyone raves about the steak sandwich.”

Cat ordered the chef salad. A light lunch seemed best when she didn’t know how the conversation would go. Her stomach was already trying to knot. As she expected, Duke ordered the steak sandwich.

While they waited, he looked unflinchingly at her across the table. “You’d much rather volunteer to hike up and down Mount McKinley than be sitting here.”

Actually, she would. She loved the mountains. “That obvious, huh?” Might as well be blunt, although she was bothered by being so readable. She’d tried for years to suppress that tendency in herself.

“I can’t say I blame you.”

Well, well. The admission surprised her. “Then you get it?”

“Yes.” Their lunches arrived, and he sat back to allow the plates to be banged down in front of them. Coffee, dark and aromatic, filled their cups. She reached for one of the small creamers and dumped it in hers. Ordinarily she preferred her coffee black, but the way her stomach was feeling…

He glanced at his sandwich, then lifted half of it as though reluctant. He raised it partway to his mouth and looked at her over it. “I didn’t ever not get it,” he said before biting off a mouthful.

She paused with a container of blue cheese dressing hovering over her salad. “Then what was this all about?”

“Informing your office. Making a few things clear. Setting the boundaries I need to stay inside. Regardless, if you don’t get the murderer, I will.”

She believed him. She also feared what he might do if driven by rage. This man was trained to kill. “Then why do you want to know the boundaries? Isn’t this a pointless exercise if you just want to shoot someone?”

“I might like to prevent this bastard from ever breathing again, but I’d prefer to see him locked up for life.” He looked down a moment. “In my opinion, life in prison is a far worse sentence than a quick death.”

She nodded, stabbing her fork into a swirl of chef’s roll and salad. “I’d agree with that.”

“But I’m not leaving here without finding him. I have three weeks.”

“Now we’ve got a time limit?” She arched a brow.

“It’s good to know the boundaries,” he said, echoing himself and Gage’s earlier remarks. “For both you and me.”

She supposed it was. And now her favorite salad and dressing had become flavorless. It was then she faced needing to get a handle on herself. Most of what was going on was in her imagination. Maybe he hadn’t pressed as many buttons as she’d thought. Maybe he wasn’t here to rip up half the county in his search for his brother’s killer. Maybe he didn’t want to barge through this place like a furious bull.

It was time to find the common ground where they could work together. Because that was basically what Gage had handed her. A job that required finding that ground. With the major. She wondered how much of an eye she’d need to keep on him and if it was going to be full-time. She supposed she’d find out, but it would be a heck of a lot easier if she didn’t start out in complete opposition.

He amazed her by saying, “I guess I didn’t create a very good first impression with you.”

“No. You didn’t. You had death in your eyes.”

“Hardly surprising,” he retorted. He was already finishing the first half of his sandwich.

Cat had hardly made a dent in her lunch. She forced herself to take another bite before speaking. “Look, we’ve got to work together now. We need to find some mutual understanding.”

“I thought the sheriff had made that clear.”

“He set the rules. Repeatedly, if I know Gage. But this is about more than rules. You’re going to have to work with me on this. I can’t have you doing things and telling me about them later.”