Trail of Lies (14 page)

“I know one thing—it was either him or us. He wasn't leaving without taking us out.”
Taking you out.

“What he did was bold. He had to realize he could get hurt with all that security in place.”

The memory of the man's crazed look filled his mind.
“I don't think he was thinking straight. I'm sure he was on drugs, especially by the way he kept coming toward me even after I shot him twice. Probably PCP.”

“I think he was the man watching me. Maybe the one who broke into my house.”

“His build fits. He looks similar to the sketch you gave of him.”

“What color were his eyes?”

“Brown.”

Melora dug in her purse, withdrew a tube and squirted some of its contents on the tip of her index finger. “The same as the man who attacked me.” She smoothed the antiseptic cream over his cut.

Daniel blew out a frustrated breath. “I wanted to capture him alive. Maybe he would have told us who hired him.”

“So you think that man was only following orders?”

“Yeah.”

Her gaze fastened on to his. “How do you do this day in, day out?”

“For people like you. I always wanted to be a Texas Ranger. My father used to regale me with stories of Texan history, and I became fascinated by the Texas Rangers as a boy.” The day he told his father he was going to follow his dream still was imprinted firmly in his mind. “He loved Texas, but he didn't want me to become a highway patrolman and he made that very clear to me. He threatened to use his power to keep me out. That's when I made it clear I would find a way around him.”

“With my uncle I did everything he wanted—even marrying Axle. I now realize I saw Axle through rose-colored glasses. Because Uncle Tyler wanted us together, I did, too. What a mistake.” She twisted her hands together in her lap.

All he wanted to do was draw her into his arms and
comfort her. Make her forget the past few years—scared, trapped in a life she couldn't get out of. “My mistake was becoming my father when dealing with Clay. I thought all I needed to do was tell my son what he should do, that was what a father's job was. And look at the mess I made of everything.” Which only confirmed he had no business being a father. His job was his life and he needed to be satisfied with that. As much as he wanted to hold her, the realization stressed how important it was to keep his emotional distance from Melora.

“At least my marriage produced one good thing, Kaitlyn. She's been worth all the hurt. I would do anything for her.”

Daniel sat forward scouring the area, not far from the entrance into the Lone Star Estates. “Clay and I might not be getting along, but I know what you mean. The day he was born changed me forever. I was suddenly responsible for another human being. It alters your perspective.”

“Having Kaitlyn has made me realize how much I want to be a mother. I don't want her to be an only child like I was.”

Melora wanted more children.
He shouldn't be surprised by that. She was a good mother.

The gates to the estates loomed before the SUV. The driver pulled up and punched in the security code that Melora had given him.

“A statement will have to be issued about the disruption at the funeral. Your uncle was well known in San Antonio.” Daniel leaned back, laying his head on the seat cushion. As his surge of adrenaline subsided, a throbbing behind his eyes pulsated to a rapid tempo.

“I'm glad to be back here,” Melora said with a sigh. “There's so much that still needs to be done.”

He was glad to be back at Melora's, too. A sense of
coming home enveloped him for a few seconds—until alarm overcame it. This wasn't his home—could never be. Melora needed a life of calm—a man who could be a good husband to her and a father to Kaitlyn and the children she wanted to have.

 

“You have worn my daughter out,” Melora said the next afternoon as she reentered the living room where Daniel and Gisella were meeting with Levi about the developments in the case since the funeral. Thankfully, her church hadn't been burned down because of what happened. The fire had been confined to two large trashcans in the rec hall. “She rarely takes a nap, but the second she laid her head on the pillow she was sound asleep.”

“Then you can join us.” Standing at the French door that led to the deck, Daniel turned from it and smiled, weariness about his eyes.

Melora wished she could erase the tired lines from his face, but he'd been up a good part of the night, coordinating the efforts to locate the gunman's residence after he'd been identified yesterday. She sat on the sofa, and Daniel joined her. Having him close gave her the sense of safety she needed to function. She still felt she had a target plastered on her back.

“Levi just told us that Clyde Walker used to work at your restaurant on the Riverwalk.” Daniel relaxed back against the couch.

Having a name for the man who had terrorized her gave her a sense this was almost over with. That she and Kaitlyn might get their lives back soon. “How long ago did he work at the restaurant?” Another connection to Axle's business.

“Six months ago. He told the manager when he quit he had a better job offer.”

“Doing what?”

“Working for William Thompson from what a friend said. We're checking on that and hope there's a paper trail we can follow.”

The manager her uncle hired to run the business. Although after all that had happened, she shouldn't be surprised, but she was. How many times would she feel betrayed by people who should have loved her and wanted her safe? First Axle and now Uncle Tyler. Who could she believe anymore?

“How did the guy get into the church with a shotgun?” Melora asked, knowing the careful security details the Texas Rangers had gone through before the funeral as they checked the church and each attendant. Although the governor hadn't attended the funeral, he'd made it clear the safety of the people there was a primary concern for the Texas Rangers.

Levi frowned. “A side door had been unlocked. The Ranger who was guarding it was knocked out. Someone in the church most likely took care of Trevor and let Walker inside.”

“Is the Ranger okay?” Melora asked, hating the fact another person had been harmed.

“More upset someone got the drop on him than anything else. That and the fact that the doctor kept him overnight in the hospital.” Levi clasped the arm of his chair. “We'll find who did this.”

“We can place Clyde Walker's car near Alicia's apartment the day she disappeared.” Daniel leaned forward. “Some of the traffic cams show his car near there. A neighbor saw her in the morning, and we found her place cleared out in the afternoon. He was in the vicinity right after noon, which means he could have done it. Better yet, he got gas not far from where the body was discovered later that same
day. Forensics is checking his vehicle for any blood or trace evidence connecting him directly to Alicia.”

“What about Uncle Tyler? Do you have an idea where he was the day my uncle was murdered?”

“There was a rifle in the trunk of his car that matches the caliber of one used to kill your uncle. Since the bullet was damaged too bad to make a perfect match, we'll have to be satisfied with that.”

“I'm going to see William Thompson right after this. I'll let you know what happens with the interview,” Levi said, pushing himself to his feet and donning his cowboy hat.

“Good. I need to stay here. We still have to find the flash drive.”

“If it's William behind all of this, won't the threat be over with?” Melora desperately wanted it to be true, but the doubt that entered Daniel's gaze told her otherwise.

“He might not be the only one. He may be the one behind your immediate threat, but until we discover what Axle hid, there's always a chance more can happen.”

More. More than being assaulted, run off the road and terrorized. Melora's shoulders slumped as she entwined her fingers in her lap. “Then we need to expand our search to the cabana this afternoon. The quicker we find the flash drive the quicker my life will return to normal.” She almost choked on the last word. She didn't know what normal was anymore. Hadn't in over two years.

“I'll walk you out, Levi.” Gisella stood, her attention trained on Melora. “We'll find out what's going on, Melora.”

After Gisella left with Levi, their low murmurs wafting to Melora, she squeezed her fingers even tighter together. Pain spread up her arms until Daniel covered her clasped hands with his.

“I second what Gisella said. I'm not going to let this go until I have all the people involved.”

She tried to smile, but her mouth wouldn't cooperate. The feel of his hand over hers, rubbing across hers as though he could massage the tension away, clogged her throat. He knew what to say to make her feel better. With him around she didn't feel alone, but she was so afraid she was coming to depend on him in such a short time.
What will happen when this is all over and he goes back to his other duties?

“If William Thompson is behind this, then that means my uncle was involved. He knew what was happening to me and didn't care.” There she said what had been bothering her ever since she'd heard William's name in connection with Clyde Walker. What little comfort she'd drawn from Daniel's touch vanished, stress locking her muscles in place.

“We don't know the extent of your uncle's involvement.”

Her gaze latched on to his as if it were a safety net. She wanted to believe her uncle, who had raised her since she was eight, didn't know anything about the danger to her personally. She started to say something when the phone ringing cut through the quiet. Gasping, she flinched.

“I can get it,” Daniel said.

She shook her head and reached for the phone on the end table by the couch. She needed to deal with her problems. All too soon, Daniel would leave, and she would have to face the wreck her life had become.

“Hello.”

“Melora, this is Juanita,” said a quiet, raspy voice, that didn't sound at all like her housekeeper.

S
omething's wrong.
“Juanita?” Melora said to let Daniel know who was calling.

Daniel withdrew his cell and made a call, signaling her to keep Juanita on the line.

“Don't bother trying to trace this. It's a throwaway phone. I had to call you. I couldn't disappear without letting you know I'm okay. I owe you that at least.” Juanita's voice grew a little stronger as she talked.

“Why did you leave?” Melora could remember all the times Juanita had helped her, been her friend, listened to her.

“Because they killed Señor Madison.”

“They? Who?” Melora's gaze linked with Daniel's.

“Don't know. Don't wanna know.” A long pause, then Juanita continued in a husky voice as though tears welled up in her throat. “I'm so sorry for everything. I shouldn't have spied on you for Señor Madison.”

“Spied on me?” The words tumbled from her mouth as though her tongue didn't quite work.

Daniel slid closer to her on the couch and placed his arm along the back cushion. His nearness helped to alleviate the betrayal swamping her at Juanita's confession.

“Yes, that's why I came to work for you. He wanted to
make sure you were all right. And then when your husband died, he wanted to know how you were doing, what was going on, especially after that break-in two years ago.”

“He knew about it?”

“Yes, and he told me not to worry. He'd take care of it. Then everything settled down until recently. I didn't understand all that was going on until I talked with my sister. She told me Señor Madison was part of a powerful group of people called the Lions of Texas. She heard him arguing with one of them over the phone the morning he was killed.”

“About what?” Melora couldn't keep her hand holding the phone from trembling.

“He demanded they leave you alone. That he'd find the flash drive. If not, they would regret it. When he was killed, she thought we might be next because we helped Señor Madison in the past.”

“Does Carmen know who these people are?”

“She only knows two of them from when they came to the house to talk with Señor Madison after Axle's death, but she won't even tell me who they are.”

“Were they the ones who killed Axle?”

“I don't know. But Señor Madison mentioned Axle paid for trying to double-cross them. That the flash drive probably was destroyed by now. That if it hadn't turned up in two years it wouldn't now.”

Had Axle collected information on a flash drive to use against the Lions of Texas to get a bigger share of the drug money? Perhaps Axle had tried to get rid of it when he was confronted by the person who killed him. If it was somewhere at the animal rescue center, the elements would have destroyed it by now.

“Carmen's scared. So am I, but we'll be safe for now. Don't try to find us. It won't do any good. Please be careful.
Trust no one. I wanted you to know that Señor Madison wanted me to tell him if you found a flash drive hidden by your husband or anything else I thought might be important.”

“Did he tell you what was on the flash drive?”

“He never said anything to me.”

Sweat drenched her palm that held the phone. “Please come back. Daniel can protect you.”

“No one can. The Lions of Texas are too powerful. I heard what happened at Señor Madison's funeral. These people are desperate, and he isn't there to protect you anymore. Carmen said he was so upset when he found out that the Texas Rangers were protecting you.” Tears choked her voice.

For a long moment silence greeted Melora. She thought Juanita hung up. “Juanita, are you still there?”

“Yes,” she said on a sob. “I'm so sorry. Bye, Melora.”

The line went dead. Dead like so many people she'd cared about at one time. The phone slipped from her nerveless fingers and fell to her lap.

“What did Juanita say?”

Daniel's deep voice brought her back to the present. She angled toward him, his familiar scent surrounding her in comfort. “She spied on me for Uncle Tyler. Juanita said that my uncle was mixed up in the Lions of Texas. Carmen has seen two of them meeting with him at his house, but Juanita says she won't talk. I think my talking to you got my uncle killed.”

He covered her trembling hands in her lap. “Your uncle was involved with some bad people. You did the right thing by confiding in me and getting help. This is too big for you alone to deal with. You have Kaitlyn to think about.”

Yes, she had to remember that. Her uncle had made his choice when he had joined a group of criminals.

Daniel's cell rang, and he answered it. “Thanks, Evan. It was worth a try.” He hung up. “They couldn't trace the call.”

“She told me it couldn't be traced and not to come looking for her. They were in a safe place. Is there such a place?”

“It's not as easy to disappear as it used to be, but it can be done.” He settled his hand on her shoulder, comforting, supporting. “Are you all right?”

“No. I don't know what to feel anymore. There are times I feel numb and other times I feel overwhelmed with emotions. Mostly I feel betrayed, especially by Uncle Tyler. But Juanita thinks I'm alive because he protected me. He probably convinced the Lions of Texas after they searched my house two years ago and didn't find the flash drive, that he could control the situation. He'd know if a flash drive turned up and could take care of it for them. Then Axle's body was found and you all got involved in the case. They must have felt I was enough of a threat that they would go against one of their members. So now what?”

“Find the information they will kill for. And why do they think you know where it is?”

“Then we should start immediately at the cabana. I haven't been there much since Axle's death. He used to throw swimming parties at the house and used it a lot then.”

“With our hot summers, you haven't used the pool since your husband died?”

“Kaitlyn and I swim, but we never go into the cabana.” Like the office, she thought of the place as Axle's domain. Suddenly, she sat forward. “What we're looking for just might be out there. I forgot all about how much Axle liked to spend time there, especially in the summer. It was set
up mostly for entertaining, but he might have hidden something there.”

“Good. That'll give us something to do while Levi brings Thompson in for questioning. There's also some other leads concerning Clyde Walker that need to be tracked down.”

Something in his tone caused Melora to pause in rising and look at him. “Does it bother you that you're here protecting me and Kaitlyn rather than out rounding up the suspects?”

The intensity in his expression zeroed in on her. “No. This is the place I need to be. I have capable Rangers working on the case with me. I don't have to do everything myself.”

“Mommy?”

Melora's gaze swung toward the entrance into the living room. With one hand Kaitlyn knuckled the sleep out of her eyes and with the other she clutched Mr. Snuggles. “Hi, honey.”

“Where's Gisella?” Kaitlyn wandered over to Melora and sat between her and Daniel. “She promised me she would help me make Christmas cookies today.”

“She did?” So many things had been happening lately that she felt her life careening out of control as if she were racing down a mountain with no brakes.

Kaitlyn exaggerated a nod, hugging the stuffed dog against her chest. “You can help, too.”

Melora glanced at Daniel over the top of her daughter's head. “Can I help with decorating them after you two bake them? Daniel and I have to clean out the cabana.”

Kaitlyn wrinkled her nose. “That place stinks.”

Melora started to say, “It does?” when she remembered one of the reasons she didn't like the cabana. Axle had smoked and the place always smelled of cigarettes. “Today isn't too cold so I'm going to air it out some.”

“Good or you'll stink, too.”

“Ah, there you are, Kaitlyn. I was in the kitchen making sure we had everything for the cookies. Are you ready?” Gisella stood in the living room entrance.

“Yeah,” Kaitlyn said with enthusiasm, then kissed Melora on the cheek then Daniel, whose eyes widened.

A grin split his face. “Thanks, Gisella. You've gone above and beyond your duty.”

The female Ranger winked at them. “Just find what we need to nab these people.”

Daniel chuckled. “I guess we'd better get down to business before they rope us into making cookies.” Rising, he held out his hand.

The contact with his palm brought back all the reasons she needed to steel herself against Daniel's charm. She'd trusted several people who all let her down. She couldn't do that again. Although she knew Daniel would keep her safe as possible physically, what about emotionally? Her heart was already connected to him, and she was afraid when that link was severed, the hurt would overshadow all that had happened in the past few years.

 

Beyond the large window at the front of the cabana the dim shadows of twilight settled over the pool area. After shutting the window, Melora pulled the blinds closed and instantly the large room seemed to shrink to half its size. As she panned the area, disappointment weaved through her. They had found nothing. Where could Axle have put the information? What had made him stop wearing the flash drive around his neck and possibly hide it? If it wasn't one of the Lions of Texas, who was his killer? A rival drug gang?

“What if there wasn't anything that Axle hid. That this
is all a big joke on us—on the people he crossed?” she asked Daniel.

“After we've checked everywhere, we might need to consider that. But either way the people who want it certainly don't want us to get to it first. Where do you think we should look tomorrow?”

Frustrated, Melora flittered her hand in the air. “I'm running out of places.” She skimmed the room as though it could reveal some hidden cache she'd previously forgotten. They'd checked the baseboards and for any loose tiles in the floor. They'd examined the walls, especially behind the pictures. She stopped at one arrangement of photographs that Axle had taken. Several were of his champion Arabian horse and the others were of his dog that had died about six months before Axle. He'd loved both of those animals to the point she'd felt more than she.

She marched across the cabana and took down one photo of the black gelding in the pasture behind the stable. Although she had neighbors on both sides of her several hundred yards away, the property went back several acres. Tearing into the back of the picture, she stripped away the paper, hoping there was something hidden there. Nothing. She moved on to the next photo and finally finished several minutes later with Daniel pausing in packing up the last box and peering at her.

“I'm desperate, okay?”

He closed the space between them and stacked the photos on top of each other. “Actually that wasn't a bad idea. He could have hidden something behind one.”

“Yeah, that's what I was hoping, but as you can see, that wasn't the case.” She lifted the top picture of Axle's hunting dog, Bailey. “He loved this animal so much he had him buried at the back of the property. Has a headstone and everything. He used to go out and put flowers on the
grave every Sunday afternoon.” She bit back, “he loved that dog more than me,” but it was the truth.

“Every week?”

“Yeah.”

Daniel pointed to the picture of the Arabian horse. “I've been down to the stable. I didn't see this horse.”

“I sold him about a year ago. I have a horse for myself and Kaitlyn that a neighbor's been helping me care for, but his stallion was high-strung and didn't like anyone but Axle. My husband used to spend a lot of time with him.”

“Then let's check both the stable and the gravesite out. We're running out of places and since he spent time at both those places, we should take a good hard look at them.”

“Most of Lightning's riding gear went with him. His stall is empty though.”

“Okay, then first thing tomorrow that's where we'll start.”

A knock sounded at the door. Daniel whirled around at the same time she did. He frowned and hurried to answer it.

“Clay, what are you doing here?” Daniel asked, surprise flashing across his face.

“I heard about what happened at Tyler Madison's funeral. Someone said a Ranger got hurt. I…” Clay's gaze swung to Melora then back to his dad.

Melora came up beside Daniel. “One of the Rangers guarding the back door was knocked out, but he's fine now. I'm Melora Hudson.” She held out her hand.

Clay shook it. “Nice to meet you.”

“How did you know where I was?” Surprise still lit his eyes as though Daniel couldn't believe his son was standing in front of him.

“The internet,” Clay said as if that were a no-brainer.

“Well, since you've come all this way, I hope you'll stay
for dinner. We'll have pizza.” Melora stepped to the side to let the young man inside.

“Sure.” Clay peered around the cabana with some cartons piled in the center of the room. “What are you doing in here?”

“I needed help boxing up my deceased husband's belongings. Your dad has been gracious enough to help.”

“Yeah, he's that kinda guy.” Clay's look seared into his dad. “Why didn't you call and let me know you were all right?”

“I wasn't hurt. I didn't think about it. I've been so busy with this case that…” Daniel plowed his fingers through his hair. “I'm sorry. I should have. I know you get worried when you hear about a Ranger getting hurt.”

A nerve in Clay's jaw twitched. “This was a mistake.” He spun around and trod toward the back door into the kitchen.

“Score points for my side. Not.” Daniel shook his head and started toward the house. “Maybe I can catch him.”