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don’t know. What do you think?”
    He stuffed his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “Judy wasn’t home much the last month she lived with me. I think she was seeing someone else, but the baby could be mine. Can I see him?”
    â€œNo. This is still an open investigation.”
    â€œDo you have any suspects? Besides me, that is.”
    â€œI’m not at liberty to discuss the case.”
    His bottled-up anger slipped its leash. “I didn’t have anything to do with Judy’s death. Are you even looking for the person who did?”
    â€œI resent the implication that I’m not doing my job.” Her eyes snapped with suppressed irritation.
    He couldn’t back down. Not now. “Resent away. I want answers.”
    Mandy raised her chin. “Mr. Bowen, the best thing you can do is go home and let us do our job.”
    Once again, the pretty sheriff was throwing up a roadblock. If she hadn’t been so eager to pin Judy’s death on him, he might have accepted her suggestion.
    No, if he was going to get answers, he’d have to get them himself.
    â€œI’ll find out what I need to know with or without your help, Sheriff.”
    Mandy took a step closer. “Don’t get in my way, Mr. Bowen. If you do, you’ll regret it.”

THREE
    â€œT hat one’s gonna be trouble,” Donna said as Mandy came out of her office to watch Garrett cross the street to his truck.
    Mandy wasn’t happy he’d found out about the baby. It wasn’t like the child could identify his mother’s killer, but that didn’t mean he was safe.
    She picked up the phone and dialed the number for the pediatric floor. Her encounter with Garrett brought her protective instinct rushing to the forefront. She needed to make sure Colin didn’t get any unauthorized visitors.
    After leaving instructions with the nursing staff to notify her office if Garrett tried to see the boy, she hung up.
    For the past two days. she’d spent several hours each evening with the baby, reading Mother Goose stories he couldn’t yet understand, singing songs that seemed to soothe him. This morning, she’d stopped in to visit before coming to work. Somehow, she knew she needed to see his bright eyes and dimpled smile before she started her day.
    Colin had become firmly wedged in her heart. She wasn’t sure how she felt about the idea that he might be Garrett’s child.
    Donna crossed her arms over her ample chest. “I don’t trust Mr. Bowen any farther than I can throw him.”
    Fred and Ken came to stand beside Mandy. She looked at them. “Besides his arrest, what do we actually know about him?”
    â€œNot much,” Fred admitted. “His old man drank like a fish. He hit hard times after his wife ran out on him about fifteen years ago. He had to sell off some of the ranch. He died about ten years ago. I hear Garrett’s been buying some of the land back, bit by bit.”
    â€œHe doesn’t go to church,” Donna interjected.
    Mandy folded her arms. “I’ve seen his ranch. It isn’t exactly prosperous-looking. Where’s he getting the money to buy land?”
    Fred leaned his elbows on the counter. “We can look into his financial records.”
    Ken cleared his throat. “Besides ranching he’s a cattle buyer on the side. My uncle has used him a few times.”
    Mandy glanced at Ken. “What does that entail?”
    â€œIf a farmer or a rancher is too busy or doesn’t like traveling to the sale barns, he hires a fellow to do it for him. He’ll give the buyer an order for so many feeder steers or so many heifers. Guys who do it full-time can make good money if they don’t mind the travel.”
    Donna interrupted again. “All that traveling sounds like a good cover for running drugs.”
    Mandy held back a smile. At times, Donna could be overly dramatic. The dispatcher had moved from a