The Texas Ranger by Diana Palmer

personally involved in this case.”
    â€œFar more involved than I wanted to be,” Josette confided. “The murder victim was my date on the night he was supposed to have killed Henry Garner. I couldn’t give him an alibi, but I never thought he was guilty.”
    â€œI’ve read the file” came the quiet reply. “You suspected that Bib Webb was somehow involved.”
    Josette grimaced. “ That didn’t win me any points, I can tell you. I only mentioned that he was the man with the most to gain from Garner’s death, which was a fact. The media blew it into an accusation and went to town speculating on Webb’s involvement, which was dynamite, considering that he was running for lieutenant governor at the time.”
    â€œYes,” Linda said, frowning thoughtfully. “His opponent dropped out at the last minute, leaving him a clear field. I always thought the timing was interesting, especially since Webb fell behind in the polls after the trial.” She smiled at Josette. “As I recall, the prosecution was pretty rough on you when you tried to testify for Jennings.”
    â€œThey dug up a rape case I’d been involved in when I was fifteen,” she said, obviously surprising the other woman. She nodded. “Yes, I was pretty sure that would be in my file.” She leaned forward. “That boy did try to rape me,” she said firmly. “Ididn’t realize until much later that he’d slipped something into my Coke. It was like a forerunner of the date-rape drug.”
    The other woman let out a breath. “I wondered if it wasn’t something like that,” she confessed. “I’m glad you were honest with me. In fact, what I heard bothered me so much at the time that I tracked down that attorney, and had him tell me himself why the case was thrown out of court. He was very apologetic. He was young and the boy had family and friends who convinced him the boy was the wronged party.”
    Josette took a slow breath. “How nice of him. And only nine years too late.”
    â€œWomen are still getting a rough deal in a lot of places,” Linda said quietly. “But at least he’s off the streets—for good. The year before last, he had raped a young woman and strangled her almost to death in Victoria. He died trying to run away from the police in a high-speed chase.”
    Josette grimaced. “I know. I had a lot of calls from people in Jacobsville afterward. Including one from the district attorney who prosecuted the boy. He believed in me, right up until the verdict and even past it.”
    â€œAt least you were exonerated,” Linda said. “You’ve done well, despite everything.”
    Josette shrugged. “I had motivation. I wanted to be able to do something for other innocent victims.”
    â€œYou’re a trained investigator. Why aren’t you working on a district attorney’s staff? In fact, why aren’t you a district attorney? We have a female one here.”
    â€œI know,” Josette said with a grin. “If I still lived here, I’d have voted for her on qualifications alone.”
    â€œShe’s a tiger. So am I,” she confided. She leaned forward. “Is there some particular reason you’re marking time in state government?”
    She was persistent, Josette thought. She smiled sadly. “Just after I graduated from college, Dale Jennings’s murder trial made national headlines. I was an instant notorious celebrity, past and present, and made out to be a liar. Nobody wanted to hire me except Simon Hart. I’ve known him most of my life. He was the only person who was willing to take a chance on me.”
    â€œTough,” Linda said quietly. “I’m sorry. All the same, if you ever change your mind, we’re not prejudiced here. We’d be happy to have you.”
    â€œThanks,” Josette said. “I’ll remember