The Judge's Daughter

TEN

**READERS - please help me find my errors. I'm sure there will be a bunch in this chapter. Thanks!

Ellie was reminded again just why she was an impatient person. She wanted to know things now! Austin told her to stay here, and she would do as he'd asked. If only she had her gun with her, then she'd feel confident to help him.

She paced the floor, wringing her hands. Without having to ask, she knew the killer had something to do with the crash in her room. She had escaped him, and he was looking for something. She knew what it was now. It was her father's pocket watch – an heirloom given to him from his father, which was passed down to the firstborn son. Out of the few things she'd taken from the sheriff's office that day, the watch was the only thing of value.

Inwardly, she groaned as anger consumed her. Of all things to kill a man over! But because of what the killer wants, she figured it was Uncle Wesley who had killed his brother. Wesley was never as good as his older brother, and he knew it. The judge was always helping the greedy man, and her father finally became tired of it and withdrew his help. That was Wesley's motivation Ellie was certain of it. Why else had the man been so eager to move his family into her father's elaborate home?

But now she and Austin needed to prove that her uncle was the killer.

When she realized that proving it would be easy, she laughed excitedly. She had punched him in the nose and kicked his shin. The wounds on her uncle would certainly prove his guilt.

The door to Austin's room opened, and she spun around. He walked in, carrying her few belongings that he'd put in her room earlier.

"It appears," he said, pushing the door closed with his foot, "that the killer decided to ransack your room. Now, you need to look through your saddlebag to see what he took."

She shook her head and moved toward him. He stopped at the table and placed the saddlebag on top. "The killer didn't take anything because I know what he's after now."

Austin's eyes widened. "You know?"

"When he grabbed me at the park, he called me by name and said he wanted what I had taken from the sheriff's office."

Confusion filled Austin's expression, and he shook his head. "Are you talking about after your father died?"

"Yes. While Josie and I were at the sheriff's office, the morgue had brought over my father's items that were on his person when he was killed. When the sheriff and deputy had stepped out of the office, I took a few of those things. I didn't want them sitting in the evidence box. They needed to be with my sister and me."

She lifted her skirt high enough to reach to her thigh and the makeshift belt she had wrapped around her that held two of the items. When she pulled it out, Austin gasped and then chuckled.

"Is that where women keep their personal items?"

"I don't know about other women, but I felt I needed to keep these out of sight."

Austin nodded. "You were wise to feel that way."

She opened up the small pouch and pulled out her father's flask and the pocket watch. "There were a few other things, but I left those at home."

Austin moved to Ellie and took her in his arms. "Do you want to tell me the importance of these items?"

"The flask was a birthday gift given to him by his brother, and the pocket watch was something that was passed down through several lines, from father to firstborn son." Sighing heavily, she held back her agony as she picked up the watch. "I believe the killer is my uncle. This watch is the only thing of value that my father had on him when he died. I think my uncle felt that he should have the watch, even though he's not the firstborn."