Free Pursuit of Justice by DiAnn Mills Page A

to sort through. There’s an outhouse behind the barn that better fits my attitude.”
    He lifted a brow. Comic relief he could use. “And what would you find?”
    “More of the same. I’m sure.”
    “Excuse me?” Lydia’s voice seldom took a high note, but it rang with a tone of authority. “Are you two squabbling or trying to get along?”
    “We’re attempting civility.” Bella took the bottle of water that Lydia offered. “Neither of us has any answers. If we did, the killer would be in custody.”
    “I’m innocent. How do I prove that to you?” The bickering had to stop. Hurling words at Bella made him look immature . . . and guilty. Again he took another deep breath and asked God—no, begged Him—to muzzle his mouth. This time he began with control. “I apologize for my lack of manners. This whole thing has me upset, out of focus.”
    “Perhaps if I’d ever been in your situation, I’d understand.” She crossed her arms over her chest, then unfolded them.
    Carr desperately wanted to show her he wasn’t a killer-psycho, but how? “I want to cooperate, not alienate the investigators. Seems like I left my faith and my ethics in the barn.” What was she thinking? Had he dug himself in so deep that she could arrest him?
    “You know, the Spider Rock treasure is cursed.” Lydia’s voice broke the awkwardness while he waited for Bella to comment. She stood between them, first eyeing Carr, then Bella. “Those men may have been murdered, but the curse of the treasure makes this tragedy no surprise.”
    Bella slowly nodded. “Knowing more about the treasure—the legends, the history, and those involved—might provide the motivation for the murderer.”
    “You’re a smart lady, Agent Jordan.” Lydia turned toward the hall leading to her and Jasper’s room. “Now, if you two could discuss your differences instead of fussing like two children, this investigation might go a lot smoother.”
    Carr felt like he’d been disciplined by one of the sisters in parochial school, who had tried unsuccessfully to make him take his life and God seriously.
    Lydia started down the hall, then whirled around. “And Carr did not shoot those men. The sooner you accept that fact, the better we’ll all get along.”
    He hoped the stoic look on Bella’s face wasn’t the makings of an arrest. She could claim he interfered with the investigation or was hostile or who knew what else.
    Finally she met his gaze. “Lydia makes sense.”
    “About my innocence?”
    “About researching the Spider Rock treasure.”
    “The kind that leads to men getting killed?” Carr studied her—poised, a trained professional, type A personality. He didn’t like her, but he didn’t dislike her either. “I don’t know a thing about the Spider Rock legend.”
    Bella uncapped her bottle of water. “I have a little knowledge. Looks like I need to acquire a lot more. Right now, I’m checking with the deputies who sorted through the trash.”
    Silence weighed in heavily, and she wore the boxing gloves.
    He took in a gulp of air. “Can I help?”
* * *

    Bella walked outside into the heat, which reminded her of what she’d left inside Carr’s house. So many questions and so few answers. Aunt Debbie had told her that God had led her to this assignment, and the dear woman’s voice echoed around her.
    Learn more about the Spider Rock treasure? Memories slowly crept to the surface, despite the fact that she’d shoved them to the empty corner of her heart, then locked the door and hidden the key.
    She took a breath to calm herself and studied the ranch house. The two-story beauty rose up and sprawled out to well over six thousand square feet. If the circumstances were better, she’d have asked for a tour. Exquisite, but inviting. What she’d seen in the stone kitchen and the outdoor patio and summer kitchen said much for a man who liked to entertain, but Carr had chosen the life of a hermit. Well, until recently, when he decided to