Page 56 of Homicide in Water Creek

“But we have no way to link Vonita to Parenti, so that doesn’t make sense.”

Jacks turned and tapped the folder on his desk. “You sure about that?”

As much as he hated to admit it, the contents of that folder would either make or break this case, and they might also make or break him. When Jacks picked it up and waved it slightly in the air, all he could do was nod. It was time to remove Vonita’s mask and uncover the truth about his mother once and for all.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Jacks sat in the chair beside King’s desk and laid her hand on the folder. “Why does Maverick think you don’t want to read it?”

King rolled his eyes. “That’s not what I told him. When it came up, I said I was trying to deal with the Chinos stuff first, but I won’t lie, it feels like whatever’s inside there is dirty. Like there’s something in there I want nothing to do with, if that makes sense.”

“Considering what’s gone on here over the last month, that makes perfect sense. However, as the sheriff, it’s your job. Maybe look at it that way? Find the occupational distance you need to separate the personal side of things. Even though you didn’t know her, she was your mother. Like it or not, that makes it personal.”

“Now that we know who Chinos really is, I’m interested in seeing whether we can tie Vonita to either him or Parenti, keeping in mind that we aren’t certain who Chinos is working for.”

“He’s scheduled to call his boss tonight, correct?” Jacks asked, trying to ease him into reading the information in the folder.

“Yes, and if he follows the same routine, he’ll call sometime after chores are finished, around nine p.m. We have the phone tap set up, which will hopefully give us answers so we can bring this to a close.”

“We’d better see what’s in here, then.” Jacks opened the folder and glanced at the overnight envelope. “That sounds like a law firm.”

“Maverick said the same. Let’s set it aside for now. The rest of the paperwork was found in Vonita’s luggage. The county guys didn’t think it was related to the case, so they sent it over here.”

“Did they think it was personal?” Jacks asked, reading the first page. She froze, her hand trembling as she picked up the paper. This couldn’t be right. It didn’t make sense. There was no reason Vonita should have these land contracts. “King, I think I see why they thought that.”

She handed him the paper and waited while he read it.

“What the hell?” he whispered. “Were our granddaddies trying to sell the ranches without telling us?”

“I assure you, my granddaddy wasn’t. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t without my signature.”

King’s head shook, conveying his confusion. “My granddaddy would never sell to Vonita. Not in a million years.”

Jacks took the contract back and read it all the way to the bottom. “Look, there’s no place for me to sign. Whoever drew this up didn’t know I owned part of the ranch.”

“We’re missing something.” King set the papers down. “Why would she drive to Water Creek in a rental car with a stack of contracts to buy land she’s never been interested in before, knowing we’d never sell to her?”

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Jacks asked.

“Maybe she was being blackmailed by someone?”

Jacks nodded, her heart pounding at the thought. Did the Double J bring this kind of deception to Water Creek’s doorstep?

“Or,” King said, drawing a relieved sigh from her. Maybe there was an ‘or.’ “These aren’t her papers at all.”

“I don’t follow,” Jacks admitted. “But I’m not a cop, and maybe I’m tired.”

King laughed, which made her happy. At least she could still make him laugh. “I think we’re both tired, and you could be a cop if you wanted to be. You’ve got the analytical mind needed for the job. The point I was making was that someone could have planted these papers in her bag.”

“Possible,” Jacks agreed. “Her luggage was sitting unlocked in the trunk. It wouldn’t have been hard to slip this folder in. We’d be none the wiser that it hadn’t come from her.”

“Unita County probably should have thought of that, but to the naked eye, they look like legal land contracts. They wouldn’t notice the small inconsistencies as we do.”

“You’re saying the killer put them in her luggage to make it look like she was coming here to convince our granddaddies to sell the ranches to her, as a way to explain her death?”

“Or as a means to frame an innocent person as her killer.”

The one sentence sent a chill down her spine as both their gazes fell on the overnight envelope from the law firm. “We need to open it.”