Free Witness by Beverly Barton Page A

appreciated it.”
    A soft knock sounded at the door, breaking the intensity of Deborah’s and Ashe’s locked stares.
    â€œYes?”
    Annie Laurie cracked open the door, peeked inside and held out a bundle of mail. “I’ve checked through these. The one I put on top looks odd to me. Whoever sent it used one of Deborah’s business cards as a mailing label.”
    â€œHand me that letter and place the others on the desk,” Ashe said.
    Annie Laurie obeyed Ashe’s command. Deborah glanced from Annie Laurie’s worried face to the letter in Ashe’s hand. She waited while he turned the envelope over, inspecting it from every angle. He held it up to the light.
    â€œDoes this look pretty much like the other letters you’ve received?” he asked.
    â€œThe others were typed,” Deborah said. “This is the first time they’ve used my business card.”
    Ashe walked over to Deborah’s desk, picked up her letter opener and sliced the envelope along the spine. Lifting out a one-page letter, he laid the opener down, spread apart the white piece of stationery and read aloud the message, which had been typed.
    â€œDon’t show up in court. If you do, you’ll be sorry.”
    Deborah glanced at Annie Laurie who seemed to be waiting for something. “Is there something else?” she asked.
    Tilting her head to one side and casting her gaze downward, Annie Laurie smiled. “Megan stopped by to see you. She’s got Katie with her.”
    â€œOh.” Deborah returned Annie Laurie’s smile. “I supposeeveryone’s passing Katie around as if she were a doll. Tell Megan I’ll be out in just a minute.”
    Annie Laurie slipped out of the office, silently closing the door behind her.
    â€œWhat was that all about? Who are Megan and Katie?”
    â€œMegan is my secretary. She’s on maternity leave. Katie is her two-week-old baby girl.”
    Ashe shook his head. “You’ve just received another threatening letter and you’re concerned with coochie-cooing over your secretary’s new baby?”
    â€œI’ve received a letter very similar to the one you hold in your hand every day since Lon Sparks was arrested,” Deborah said. “And I get at least one threatening phone call a day. But it isn’t every day that Katie goes for her two-week checkup and Megan brings her by to see us.”
    Ashe grinned. God bless her, Deborah hadn’t really changed. Not nearly as much as he thought she had. And certainly nowhere near as much as she tried to make everyone think. Underneath all that tough, career-woman exterior lay the heart of the sweet, caring girl she’d been years ago. He supposed he should have realized that Deborah was perfectly capable of handling both roles, that sophistication and success didn’t exclude the more nurturing qualities that made Deborah such a loving person.
    â€œYou go visit with mother and baby,” Ashe said. “I’ll phone Sheriff Blaylock and let him know we’ll be stopping by around noon. We’ll let him add this letter to his collection.”
    â€œIt won’t do any good.” Deborah opened the door. “There are never any fingerprints, nothing unique about the stationery. They’re all mailed from Sheffield. And the typewriter isn’t much of a clue. Hundreds of people in this area have access to the same brand.”
    â€œWhoever’s doing this is experienced. He’s no amateur.”
    â€œBuck Stansell may be a redneck outlaw, but he’s a professional redneck outlaw.”
    â€œYeah, his family’s been in the business for several generations.” Ashe glanced around Deborah’s office. “Kind of like the Vaughns have been in real estate for three generations.”
    â€œDon’t assume that I’m taking the threats lightly,” she said, her hand on the doorpost. “I’m shaking in my boots.