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Dorothy Garlock - [Dolan Brothers] (51 page)

BOOK: Dorothy Garlock - [Dolan Brothers]
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Sitting on the bench, legs crossed, Molly was acutely aware of being surveyed by the intense dark eyes. She remained silent, but the swinging of her sandaled foot revealed her uneasiness.
“Well?” she finally said.
Hod cocked a brow. Her features were tranquil, but he felt the tension in her. Had she sensed his discomfort, too? He was accustomed to being on guard, weighing his words, but somehow this situation seemed to be more important. It was as if the rest of his life . . . and hers . . . depended on her trust in him.
He’s a man who would know how to handle himself—in any situation,
she thought, as she waited for him to speak.
Daddy would like him.
“Do you really want to catch the men who killed your parents?”
“That’s a ridiculous question.” She rose abruptly to her feet. “If your parents had been killed, wouldn’t you want the men who did it caught and punished?” Their eyes met; hers were the color of the tea in her glass, his dark slits between thick dark lashes. Molly felt the moment freeze into silence.
“Of course I would.” He spoke softly, breaking the tension between them. Then, with his eyes holding hers, he lifted the glass and drank the last of his tea.
“Well?”
“I need your help.”
“I’ve told you everything I know.”
“There is more you can do. I would like for you to talk to a reporter from the
Kansas City Star
and tell him that you got a good look at the men who killed your folks and that you can identify them.” He met her gaze evenly.
“They would print that . . . and the killers would see it.” She spoke without the slightest bit of emotion.
“It would be dangerous. They will want to . . . eliminate a witness.”
Molly was silent. She looped a strand of hair behind her ear, an acknowledgment of her inner turmoil, but she answered without hesitation.
“You . . . want to use me for bait. It’s all right. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“You’ll have as much protection as I can give you.”
“I’d do it without your protection. I’ve got Daddy’s shotgun. If either one of them steps as much as a foot inside the store, they’ll get both barrels.”
He studied her for a long moment. She faced him, refusing to look away.
She may think that she could shoot a man now, but could she if push came to shove? It’s hard to take a life, even scum like Pascoe or Norton.
“It’s not a sure thing that they’ll come,” he finally said. “But I’d bet on it.”
“I don’t want Aunt Bertha to be here.”
“That’s up to you . . . and her. I’d send you both away, but someone in the area may know someone in KC and pass the word that you’re not here. The paper might get hold of it.”
“And they’d print it?”
“Hell, yes! They want to sell papers and don’t give a damn whether or not I make an arrest.”
“I wouldn’t go anyway.”
“I didn’t think you would.” Hod took his coat off the nail and slung it over his shoulder.
“When can I expect the reporter?”
“I’ll call him tonight. It’ll be a few days. He’ll want a picture—” He cut off his words at the loud blast of a car horn. “Who is that?”
“Sounds like the iceman. He comes about this time of day.”
“What’s his name?”
“Walter Lovik. Why?”
“Who else comes here on a regular basis?”
“The soda-pop man comes on Wednesdays during the summer.”
“How do you get your goods?”
“From a wholesaler in Liberal.”
“Do you call in the order?”
Molly drew in a shallow, aching breath. “Daddy used to go down there.”
“How many on your party line?”
“There were about twenty, but some have had to give up their phones. You sure ask a lot of questions.”
“It’s my job. I don’t want the iceman to know I’m here.”
“Then I’d better get in there. He’s a talker and will want to shoot the breeze for a while.”
“Molly,” he said as she passed him, “this is our chance to get two killers put away. I’ll do my best to keep them from getting to you.”
She shrugged as she looked into his eyes. This close she could see small specks of light in the black.
“I mean it,” he said softly and sincerely. His hand rested for a minute on her shoulder.
Molly left the gazebo quickly. She looked over her shoulder once on the way to the store. Hod Dolan had come out and was watching her. The man confused her.
Do minds touch?
she wondered. Had he sensed the tempestuous spin of her thoughts during that last moment?
Hod stared after her, wondering if he had imagined that for just an instant they had shared something warm and intimate. It was ridiculous to imagine that he’d felt it with this woman he scarcely knew when he’d not felt anything near that, with any other woman, even some that he’d been physically intimate with. He shook his head more to clear it than to deny his thoughts.
BOOK: Dorothy Garlock - [Dolan Brothers]
13.82Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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