Showdown at Lizard Rock Read Online Free Page A

far. Hey, Jody,” she asked the officer in the passenger seat, “how about a pair of cuffs for Vandergriff’s ankles? I think he’s a runner.”
    Jody glanced around. “Cut the jabbering, you two. Katie, where in hell did you find that stripper’s outfit?”
    “Oh, is that what this is? It came in the lastclothes box sent over to the home. None of our residents could figure out what to do with it. Strippers actually wear this stuff? Can you imagine that?”
    The thought of Kaylyn Smith doing a striptease caught King somewhere in the area of his stomach, and lower. He tried to ignore the touch of her bare leg against his, but the sexual tension inside this small, confined area was increasing nonetheless. He wanted desperately to reach the jail so that he could get away from the woman who’d turned his carefully orchestrated world into a circus.
    He sensed a sudden mood change in her and knew that she was as aware of the growing tension as he was. She’d shifted her weight so that she could lean against the car door, as far away from him as possible. He considered his alternatives. He’d let them book her. Once she understood that he was serious, he’d drop the charges and let her go. That ought to bring this to an end.
    What happened to my damned clothes? he wondered abruptly as the police car turned off the highway and crossed a set of railroad tracks. Those boots had cost him four hundred and fifty dollars, and he didn’t want to lose them—not to mention the hat. He definitely didn’t want to give up the Stetson. And truthfully, in spite of his bravado, sitting here in his underwear made him feel as foolish as hell.
    But still he decided that he could afford to be forgiving. Kaylyn Smith couldn’t stop the Pretty Springs project. The land was his, and county officials had approved the project. He’d make a grand gesture. He’d concede that all of this scene today might in some way be his fault. Hell, he’d definitely concede. One way or another, he’d always been ableto convince the opposition that he was right. It was his charm.
    The car pulled into a parking lot, and Kaylyn stared at the police station. Spending the night in jail wasn’t something she was looking forward to, but she was willing if it would help her cause. She rubbed one bare foot against the opposite ankle. She felt an annoying tickle on her anklebone, a tickle that soon turned into a full-fledged, all-out itch. Even her bottom began to burn, and she shifted herself back and forth, trying to relieve some of the torture.
    “What’s wrong?” King asked sternly, turning to her. “Are you in pain?”
    “No, of course not. Something seems to be biting me.”
    “Let me see.”
    “No. Stay away.”
    “Don’t be silly. You’re breaking out in red splotches.” He leaned down and examined her ankles.
    “All right, cowboy. Stop ogling my legs.”
    He was grinning openly when he raised up. “Itching, stinging, little red bumps on your ankles? Does it hurt everywhere else, I hope?”
    “Uh … no!” she said, trying to still her squirming bottom.
    “That’s too bad. I think you may have a slight case of poison ivy from your little jaunt through the greenery around Lizard Rock. If you ask the police, I’m sure one of them will be pleased to apply some kind of lotion for you.”
    “Nonsense, I’ll do it myself.” She had a sinking suspicion that King was right about the poison ivy.
    “Not in jail you won’t. Prisoners aren’t allowed to have anything that could be fashioned into a weapon.Sorry, darlin’, it looks like you’re going to be a little uncomfortable for a few days.”
    Chief Newton led Kaylyn and King inside, through a tiny office and into a larger room in the back, which held three cells.
    “Whoo-eeee, would you look at that,” a boozy voice called. “Streakers. The boys at the bar ain’t never going to believe this.”
    Harold Willis, the town drunk, stared blankly at them and Newton. “You can put the