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He took her hand in his and pulled her along to the front door. When he rang the bell, Bib Webb
himself opened the door. He was holding a can of diet cola and he looked worn to the bone. His jacket
and tie were off, and the top buttons of his shirt were undone. His hair was ruffled, as if he d been
running a nervous hand through it. There were dark circles the size of apple slices under his eyes. He
looked miserable.
Come on in, he drawled. He managed a smile for Josette. Nice of you to come, Miss Langley,
under the circumstances.
Nice of you not to mind, Mr. Webb, she replied pleasantly.
Becky Wilson was standing nervously in the center of the living room, looking uneasy. She was
wearing a long, patterned dress that came to her ankles. It had a neat white collar and long sleeves.
Her dark hair was in a bun, and she wore glasses. She was the exact opposite of Silvia Webb, right
down to her nondescript flat shoes.
You know Becky, Bib said, smiling at her.
Yes. Good to see you, Brannon replied.
He s going to be ruined, absolutely ruined, Becky blurted out. What are we going to do?
Bib held up a hand. Don t throw in the towel yet, he told her with a faint smile. First, we
explore the options we ve got.
What options, for heaven s sake? she moaned.
There are always options, Bib told her gently. Sit down, Becky.
She dropped into an armchair, but leaned forward as if she couldn t bear to relax.
Bib sat down on the sofa. Brannon sat next to him, motioning Josette beside him.
What does the reporter have, exactly? Brannon asked, cutting to the chase.
He has a sworn statement from an acquaintance of Jake Marsh s, who says he overheard Marsh
talking about a ledger that would prove I took kickbacks from mob affiliates to rig the vote and
blackmail my opponent into quitting the race when I became lieutenant governor a little over two
years ago, Webb said gruffly. The acquaintance says that Marsh doesn t have the ledger, but he
knows who does.
A ledger. Of course! Brannon said, glancing at Josette, who looked equally surprised. It would
certainly fit the few facts they had so far, including the apparent size of the missing evidence. Brannon
frowned. Is it true? he asked, concerned. Did you take kickbacks?
Bib looked at him wryly. You ve known me for years. Am I the sort of man who would pay for
votes?
Brannon only laughed. Of course not.
But I fired a man who was working on my election staff who tried to do that very thing, Bib
continued. That was the week before the party, two years ago. The man was a friend of Jake Marsh,
and an acquaintance of Dale Jennings. But I knew nothing about any ledger. I did know that Dale
Jennings fought with Henry Garner about an item Henry said was missing from his safe, the day
before Henry was killed. In fact, Henry and I argued over his keeping Jennings around. Henry wanted
him close until he could make him give the ledger back. I was sure the man was up to something, and
I said so. He shook his head. I d give anything to take back that argument, even if it wasn t a bad
one.
We ve managed to put that much together, Brannon said. Did you know that Dale Jennings s
mother was killed?
Bib looked horrified. The poor woman.
She was cheated out of her life s savings, evicted from her home, her possessions were burned
and then she was tortured to death for some information her killer thought she had.
Bib put his head in his hands. Dear God!
A man and woman were seen going into Mrs. Jennings s apartment the day before her body was
found, Josette added quietly. We ve tentatively identified the man as Jake Marsh. We ve also
identified the contract killer who shot Dale Jennings, and the computer expert who manipulated files
to get Jennings transferred to Floresville and out on a work detail.
Bib s face came up at once. Who s the killer?
A man named York, Brannon said. We re certain he s got his next victim targeted. I shot it out
with him and Josie got hit. We had him in custody, but he escaped. We don t know who he ll be going
after next.
Bib clasped his hands over his knees, worried. Marsh doesn t like loose ends. Anybody who
knows about that ledger is in danger. He toyed with his wedding ring. He glanced at Becky and
winced. That puts you on the firing line with me, he told her uneasily. And Silvia as well, he
added, but carelessly.
Speaking of Silvia, where is she? Brannon asked.
On another shopping expedition, he said, and took a sip of his drink. She s buying a new
wardrobe so that she can dress the part of a senator s wife. He chuckled hollowly. I told her I was
satisfied being lieutenant governor, but when the incumbent senator announced his retirement halfway
through his term of office, she insisted that I run for it. Hell, I ve only been in the state house for two
years. I don t want to go to Washington, he added, staring at Becky broodingly. Now, it looks as if I
may not even be able to keep the job I ve got.
The reporter promised he wouldn t print the story yet, not until he could confirm it, Becky
said heavily. At least he did come to me first. He could have gone ahead and printed his suspicions.
He s not a bad man, and he doesn t want to make a reputation for himself by destroying lives.
Besides, she added with a smile as she glanced toward Brannon, he likes Bib.
Nobody will like me if such a story gets in print, Bib said heavily. And I can kiss the senate
seat goodbye. Funny thing, he added, with a long look at Becky, the senate seat was Sil s idea, not
mine. She wants the feeling of power it gives her to brush elbows with just the right people and wear
clothes expensive enough to make the other women jealous. He shook his head. I just want out of
politics after my term as lieutenant governor is over. I want to experiment with new agricultural
machines and tinker with improvements for them. That s all I ever really wanted. He glanced at
Brannon. But I don t want to go out under a cloud of suspicion. I haven t taken kickbacks. I want you
to help me prove it, whether or not the reporter prints what he s got.
That s a tall order, Bib, Brannon said honestly.
Somehow or other, it s all tied to Dale Jennings s murder, Bib told him. And I can t help
thinking that Jake Marsh is up to his ears in all of it, somehow.
I did have that much figured out, Brannon replied. He glanced at Josette. We ve been putting
in a lot of overtime on this case. We re making progress. If we could just find the woman&
Becky opened her mouth to speak, and Bib looked up, silencing her.
Josette frowned as she noticed a small ornate bowl of candy on the coffee table. She got up and
moved closer to look at it.
Oh, those are just mints, Bib said easily. Help yourself. I can t stand them. Becky orders them
from a sweets firm in France.
Josette caught her breath and looked straight at Brannon. They both made the connection at the
same time. Expensive mints, Mrs. Jennings had said. The woman who was trying to get that ledger
from Dale liked expensive mints& !
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