Free A Lawman's Justice (Sweetwater Ranch Book 8) by Delores Fossen Page B

about?” he asked.
    Annette didn’t smile, but it was close. “Jewell didn’t tell you? Interesting.”
    Seth took a step closer to Annette. “Tell me what?”
    “Marcel said Jewell’s lawyer had called him, that she wanted Marcel to visit her at the jail so they could chat. Oh, well.” Annette gave a dismissive wave of her hand, which, of course, didn’t dismiss anything. “Since Jewell’s lawyer told Marcel that it was important that she speak to him, I just figured she would have mentioned it to you. Since you’re her stepson and all.”
    And with that new zinger, Annette got in her car and drove away.
    “You really believe Jewell wanted to talk to Marcel?” Shelby asked him.
    A muscle flickered in Seth’s jaw. He stormed toward the car so fast that Shelby had to run to catch up with him. “I’m not sure, but I’m about to find out.”

Chapter Seven
    Seth hated the county jail. Hated that his mother was locked away in it. Now he had a new reason to hate it.
    Because he was going to have to ask his mother about Annette’s allegations.
    If Jewell had truly asked Marcel to see her just days before he was murdered, then Seth needed to find out why she’d wanted to talk to him. Since anything he asked would likely sound like an accusation, he was bracing himself for a conversation he didn’t want to have.
    Especially a conversation that would take place in front of Shelby.
    Seth had considered dropping her off at the sheriff’s office, but Cooper and his deputies had their hands full—again. Three dead bodies in less than twenty-four hours, and the two kidnappers who could give them answers were still nowhere to be found.
    “You can wait with the guards if you want,” Seth suggested to Shelby as they went into the visitation area.
    “After what happened last month, no thanks.”
    Yeah. He got that. Last month, a rogue guard had tried to kill Shelby’s brother, Aiden, and Jewell’s half sister, Kendall, when they’d come to visit Jewell. There’d been a thorough investigation, and several guards had been replaced, but the memory was still fresh enough to put Seth, and apparently Shelby, on edge.
    “Besides, I want to see Jewell,” Shelby added. “And yes, I know she won’t be friendly to me. Still, I want to hear what she has to say about Marcel.”
    Seth had figured that was what Shelby would want, and the truth was he wasn’t comfortable having her out of his sight. And no, it wasn’t because of that stupid kiss. It was because someone was clearly gunning for her.
    Someone who thought she was a traitor.
    Or maybe it was Hance just using that traitor label to throw suspicion off himself. If so, it was working. If something happened to Shelby now, the cops likely would think it was tied to her father’s murder.
    Not to Hance.
    Once Seth had some answers from his mother, he really needed to search for anything in this investigation that would give them a much-needed break. That way he could put Hance, Annette, Meredith or anyone else involved behind bars so Shelby would be safe.
    Shelby’s phone dinged the moment they sat down at the visiting table. “It’s a text from my brother,” she said reading from the screen. “He’s notified our mother of Marcel’s death. She wants to come home for the funeral.”
    Seth didn’t know a lot of the details as to why Carla had committed herself to a mental hospital, but this wasn’t the ideal time for a homecoming. Especially since the funeral and trial would be around the same time.
    “You think it’s wise for her to be here?” Seth asked.
    Shelby shrugged. “Probably not, but I doubt I’ll be able to talk her out of it. I got my hardheadedness from her.” She added a smile. A real one. She probably didn’t know that it lit up her whole face and made Seth wish they had more things for her to smile about just so he could see it again.
    But any smile possibilities were cut short when the guard escorted his mother into the room.
    Jewell