Heather looked at the notes she'd made on a yellow legal tablet, the ones concerning Pearl Voss. She still needed to type them into her computer so Steve could use his program to change the text to audio. She glanced at a file on the gold mine and stuffed it into a box. After examining her hair and makeup in the mirror, she checked the time, smoothed her blouse and headed to the conference room. Roy and Steve were probably already there.
She was only half right. Steve sat by himself. "Am I early, or is Roy late?"
"I'm not sure he owns a watch. Did you have a productive day?"
"I stayed busy. How about you?"
"Kate called. She's sending me the latest edit of my book tomorrow. We had a nice long talk about me writing something else."
Heather's mind went back to last December when she and Steve were guest lecturers at a womens’ mystery writers' conference. While there they solved a murder and Steve caught the eye of the group's president, Kate Bridges. He denied anything more than a teacher-pupil relationship, but Heather believed otherwise. Either way, Steve had found something to keep him occupied between cases.
"Did Kate want you to take notes about this case for your next book?"
"She wants me to work on short stories. Says I need to learn to walk before I try running with another novel."
The door opened and in shuffled Roy Voss. Gone was the smile and pointed banter. On his left cheek he wore a quartet of Steri-Strips. The swelling seemed minimal, but his countenance bore the look of a man whose luck had changed for the worse.
Steve invited him to sit down and asked about his face.
"I've been in worse shape. It's an occupational hazard for gamblers to run into people who think you're cheating them when they're drunk and making silly bets. It's not that way on the professional circuit."
"Do you goad your opponents the way you do your brother and sisters?"
He flipped a dismissive hand and leaned back. "All part of the game. I do that to get a read on people. Pressure causes them to reveal what's going on beneath the surface. Mae is easy, and so is Rance. I thought Sue Ann was, but she surprised me."
"That's interesting," said Steve. "You never saw her lash out like that before?"
Roy spoke in a somber tone with eyebrows pinched. "This has me worried. I haven't missed a tell so bad in years. It's shaken my confidence, and that's the one thing I can't afford to lose."
"You didn't answer Steve's question," said Heather. "Was Sue Ann violent when you grew up?"
He jerked back in his chair. "Heck no! All she did was play with the wooden animals Hector brought her. I'm sure you noticed, but she doesn't dazzle people with her brilliance. She always tried hard, but life didn't deal her the best hand."
"Do you think she's capable of harming your father or Hector?"
Roy stood and paced. "If you'd asked me that before yesterday's meeting, I would have laughed in your face. Today? I don't know. Like I said, I didn't see the punch coming."
"Are you going to press charges against her?" asked Heather.
His head came forward. "It was my fault. I mentally replayed what happened all day, and I still can't find her tell. It's driving me nuts."
Steve moved on. "Did Marvin Goodnight talk to you today?"
Roy nodded.
"Respond verbally," said Heather.
He threw up his hands. "See what I mean? I'm so rattled I can't even tell there's a blind man asking me questions."
Heather bit her lip. The words she held back would have served as payback for some of Roy's antics, but they wouldn't aid in gaining information.
Steve plowed on. "Did the police talk to you?"
"Yeah. Once at dawn and again around noon. I wasn’t very communicative the first time around."
"And what did you tell them?"
"I sat in on a game last night here in the hotel and lost a wad of cash. Against amateurs, no less. There were only two inches of scotch left in the bottle when Marvin came to my room this morning. I tell you, Mr. Smiley, this is serious. The Rocking V Ranch is jinxed."
"Do you plan on leaving soon?"
"I can't. Marvin said I'd need to stay until the sheriff said I could go."
Beads of perspiration formed on Roy’s forehead. He mopped his face with the sleeve of his shirt.
Steve used his soothing voice. "I'm glad to hear you'll be here for the reading of the will tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? Isn't this Monday? The first meeting was Thursday. He clenched his fist and popped out a finger with each day he recited. With the last finger extended, he said, "Monday."
"I made the same mistake," said Heather. "From Thursday at five until Friday at five is one day."
Roy banged his head on the table. "I can't count to five using my fingers. How can I count cards?" He looked up from his misery. "Mae and her attorney are going to pick my pockets. You've got to help me, Mr. Smiley. Don't let me agree to anything stupid."
"No one's going to force you to do anything," said Steve. "You can sit out today's meeting if you want to."
He nodded with vigor and stood to leave.
The door opened and Rance entered, dressed like he’d climbed down from a horse in the hotel parking lot.
"Sorry I'm late."
"You're early," said Heather. "We didn't expect you until five-thirty."
"I couldn't reach him," said Steve. "No worries. Roy was leaving."
"I want him to stay," said Rance, with more determination in his voice than Heather had heard before.
"All right," said Steve. "Roy can stay if he wants to."
Rance remained standing and tossed his hat on the table. "I'm sick of all this fussing and fighting. I want to finish rounding up the cattle, take ’em to auction and sell every last one."
"Whoa, cowboy," said Roy. "What's got into you?"
Rance took a red bandanna from his back pocket and scrubbed a layer of grime from his neck. "I'm ready for a fresh start. I'll take my fourth of the money from the sale of the livestock and leave anything else I might get to you and Mae and Sue Ann."
He looked at Heather. "Ms. McBlythe, could you draw up the papers and make it legal for me to renounce any other part of an inheritance I might get?"
Heather needed to stall for time. He'd second guess a decision like this the rest of his life. "I can draw up an agreement like that, but I can't do it today." She went to a refrigerator and retrieved two bottles of water. "You look parched. Have a seat and cool off."
He nodded in agreement.
Roy addressed his brother without sarcasm, something that sounded out of character. "This is a big decision, Rance. If you don't mind me asking, why are you willing to settle for so little?"
Rance paced like a caged animal looking for a way out. "That ranch has been a source of pain and misery for all of us. You know better than me how Daddy treated people, especially Momma and you and Mae. He slacked off on Sue Ann because of the way she is. By the time I came along, there wasn't enough left of him to do much harm. I had it the easiest because he pretended I didn't exist. Hector filled in as best he could, and now he's gone. Give me one good reason for staying and fighting over land that ain’t fit for anything but heartaches."
Roy walked to the windows, looked out and then turned. "You're right. I don't blame you for leaving, but don't do it like Mae and I did. Play your hand smarter. I bet you can get the whole herd if you don't fold. Then you can sell and start someplace else with more chips. Mae only wants the land, not the money from the cattle. I don't need it. If you want to be noble, split the money from the sale of the herd with Sue Ann."
Rance slowed his steps. "I'm afraid I'll do something stupid if Mae and her lawyer keep pushing."
Steve broke in, "What if you didn't have to listen to any more fighting? You could come to the reading of the will and leave as soon as Heather finishes."
Rance ran his finger down the side of the bottle. "I could do that?"
"Who's going to stop you?"
Eyes shifted back and forth as Rance slowed long enough to give consideration to Roy and Steve’s words. "I have my eye on a ranch fifty miles northwest of College Station. A two-way split from the sale of the cattle and what I have saved will be enough to get me a fresh start." His gaze shifted to a spot on the wall. "Why is life around family so complicated? Everything makes more sense when I'm on horseback."
Roy went to Rance and put his hand on the younger brother's shoulder. "Sleep on it one more night. You'll know what to do after you hear the second part of the will. I'll back you no matter what."
"Thanks, Roy." He straightened his shoulders. "I guess I was a might hasty in giving up too much. I'll take some of your advice, but not all of it." He cast his gaze to Heather. "I'd appreciate it if you'd pass this on to Mae. I want to give up my claim to any land in exchange for the cattle and horses. Sue Ann's getting the other half, but I don't want her to know it until Mae and Roy sign a release."
He turned to face Roy. "I'll leave it up to you to convince Mae to give up her portion of the herd."
Rance shifted his gaze back to Heather. "I'd like everything ready to sign at tomorrow's meeting. One less Voss for you to worry about might help speed things along."
Roy looked at his baby brother with what appeared to be admiration. His countenance shifted as his head tilted. "How did you figure out the reading of the will wouldn't take place until tomorrow?"
Rance shrugged. "Sundown to sundown is one day. Today is the fourth sundown."
The two brothers left together, talking about finding a cold beer and a hot meal.
Heather made sure Mae wasn't eavesdropping in the hall. She stretched and asked, "What did you make of that?"
"Rance is a man of integrity."
"I was thinking," said Heather. "It must be tough on him living at the ranch where his father and a man who took him under his wing were both murdered."
"He's not living at the ranch. He packed his truck this morning and is staying with a friend in Llano."
"How do you know that?"
"I spoke with Sheriff Blake today. Remind me to tell you what he said after we talk to Sue Ann and Mae."
"Why not tell me now?"
Steve dipped his head. "Sue Ann's going to knock in 3...2..."
Timid raps sounded.
"Missed it by one," said Steve.