Free Lone Star 05 by Wesley Ellis

we can do it sitting down. But I’m not going to let you go until you tell me what’s wrong. I know I can help you. I just don’t know how—and won’t until you tell me.”
    â€œThad, I—” She couldn’t refuse him, she didn’t know why. Maybe it was the tilt of those broad shoulders, or that deep mellowness in his brown eyes. Something about Thad Hill told her to trust him. And she had learned from Ki to follow her instincts. Rarely had they failed her.
    Jessie nodded. “Sure. Let’s talk. You know who I am and why I’m here, but I don’t know about you.”
    â€œWhere shall we go?”
    â€œI have a room at the Skyler Inn. It’s quiet there.”
    Thad suddenly felt uncomfortable. He knew he sorely needed a bath—it had been over a week. And he didn’t want to go to the woman’s room smelling like a buffalo hunter.
    â€œI should get cleaned up some first,” he said. “I’ll go back to my hotel.”
    â€œYou can use the facilities at my place,” she offered, guessing the cause of his discomfort.
    â€œThat’s right kind of you, but—”
    â€œNo buts,” she insisted. “Come on. We can talk as you clean up. I have a feeling we can help each other some. What do you say?”
    He grinned. “Why the hell not?”

Chapter 5
    Within the hour he was sitting in a steaming bathtub behind a flimsy screen in Jessie’s room. She had smuggled a bottle of whiskey upstairs, against the rules of the house, and Thad Hill was enjoying a smoke and a drink as he soaked away the dust and grime of the past week. Jessie even sent his clothes out to be cleaned, so he could take his time in the tub. As he bathed, he learned her story. He listened closely to every word.
    â€œSo I had to find out,” she said. “He’s absolutely no help, though. A smart-mouthed boy is what he is. I do believe he did all those killings. But he’s not my brother. He sort of looks like my father, and he seems to know a lot about him. Still, his story isn’t true.”
    â€œSomebody could have told him those things about your family,” Thad suggested.
    â€œBut who? And who would gain by his posing as my half-brother?”
    â€œYou must have a better idea than me,” he prodded her. “Did your father have any enemies?”
    â€œMore than his share. He was a tough man, some said cruel. But I know he never deliberately harmed anyone, and neither did he cheat. He got what he wanted by honest means. Yet a lot of people hated him. In fact, they killed him. A group of foreign businessmen who wanted a share of his overseas profits. They’re a powerful cartel, with influence in Washington and state and territorial capitals all over the West.” Then it struck her. “Mueller! Of course, if he‘s—” She broke off.
    â€œWho? What?” Thad said from behind the screen. “You mean the Prussian fellow?”
    Jessie retrieved her father’s diary from her saddlebag. “Yes. You know him?” She flipped through the pages.
    â€œNo, but I’ve seen him around,” Thad answered. “I don’t like his looks.”
    â€œI’m not sure there’s any connection,” she went on, scanning the columns of names and dates in the book, “but why would a man like Mueller be here in Skyler just when a Starbuck turns up? If he is with the cartel, it makes a lot of sense—if he isn‘t, maybe it’s just coincidence. Somehow, though, I think there is a connection.”
    â€œYou know, Mueller has been spending a lot of time with that Joshua Carpenter, the Mormon bastard that runs this town.”
    â€œI had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Carpenter earlier today. He’s pretty fanatical, but valuable to have on your side rather than against you, don’t you think?”
    â€œI suppose,” Thad allowed, drawing luxuriously on his cheroot. He