Colton 911: Cowboy's Rescue

by Marie Ferrarella

  Thompson sighed. He was letting all this get to him and he knew that an emotional crime investigator was a sloppy crime investigator, one who was liable to miss minute clues.

  “Yeah, me, too,” the chief answered, his tone losing some of its anger. “Good night, Cameron.”

  “Good night, sir,” Cameron answered, walking out of the police station. He eased the door quietly closed behind him.

  Cameron hadn’t been gone for more than two minutes before the phone on Thompson’s desk rang. He put a pencil—his use of pencils had been a running joke at the station for a while now—into the file he was reviewing to mark his place.

  He picked up the receiver on the third ring and cradled it between his shoulder and his ear. “Thompson,” he announced.

  “Chief?”

  Thompson recognized the voice as belonging to another one of his officers, Michael Juarez. Juarez had been part of the police force for only a year and a half. He had pulled the night shift. Everyone knew that usually meant that it was a good time to take catnaps and get paid for them.

  Thompson did his best not to lose his temper. “What is it, Juarez?”

  “I think you’re going to want to come down here, Chief. I found another dead body. It’s wrapped up the same way that your sister was.”

  The young officer sounded scared, Thompson thought. He was already on his feet. “I’ll be right there.”

  His gut instincts were right.

  For once, Thompson really wished that he was wrong. But it looked like this case was far from over.

  Maybe he’d finally get those answers about Emmeline’s murder.

  * * *

  Don’t miss the next story in this exciting series:

  Colton 911: Baby’s Bodyguard

  by Lisa Childs.

  For a short excerpt, keep reading...

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  Colton 911: Baby’s Bodyguard

  by Lisa Childs

  Chapter 1

  Her eyes wide and glazed with fear and death, she stared up at him—as if appealing to him for help. She wasn’t the only one.

  “Come on, Forrest,” his brother Donovan implored. “Whisperwood PD needs your expertise.”

  Forrest gestured at the body lying amid the piles of dirt where Lone Star Pharma had intended to expand their parking lot. The drug company had had to put their plans on hold once the asphalt crew had dug up the body. “This isn’t a cold case.”

  She couldn’t have been buried that long; the body had barely begun decomp. Not that he was that close to the scene, which the techs were still processing. He’d wanted to stay back—out of the way. But his brothers had urged him closer.

  “This isn’t the only body that turned up recently,” Jonah, the oldest of his brothers, chimed into the conversation. He and Donovan had picked up Forrest from their parents’ ranch and brought him out here. Now he understood why. They were trying to get him involved in the investigation.

  They stared at him now. And even though Donovan wasn’t biologically their brother, he looked more like Jonah than any of his biological brothers. They were both dark haired and dark eyed whereas Forrest’s hair was lighter brown and longer than their buzz cuts, and his eyes were hazel.

  “There have been too many casualties,” Forrest agreed.

  A dozen people had lost their lives due to the flooding and wind damage Hurricane Brooke had wreaked on Whisperwood, Texas. Despite being early in the season, it had been deadly.

  “That’s why we’re here—to help out because of the natural disaster,” he reminded his brothers. They were part of the Cowboy Heroes, a horseback rescue organization formed years ago by ranchers and EMTs. Forrest had volunteered to help the Heroes’ search and recovering efforts, not the police department. “And this isn’t a natural disaster.”

  Though this person might have been one of the people reported missing since the hurricane, the storm hadn’t caused her death. From what Forrest could see in the lights that the Whisperwood PD forensics unit had set up to illuminate the crime scene, the young woman had bruising around her neck and on her arms and legs. She hadn’t drowned or been struck by a fallen tree.

  She’d probably been strangled and maybe worse...

  A chill raced down his spine despite the warmth of the August night. And this had happened recently.

  “This is murder,” Jonah said. He must have noticed what Forrest had. “Just like the body that Maggie and I found last month.” He shuddered now. “And that one definitely falls within your area of expertise.”

  Forrest shook his head. “Not anymore.”

  A shooting had forced his early retirement from the Austin Police Department’s cold case unit. That shooting, and the pins that held together the shattered bones in his leg, were why he’d had to retire with disability and why, as a volunteer with the Cowboy Heroes, he was consigned to a desk, operating the telephones. He took the calls about what people were missing—loved ones and livestock. But he’d rather be out in the field with his brothers actually searching for those missing people and animals. Hell, he’d rather be back on the job. And they knew him so damn well that they all knew that.

  Jonah lowered his voice to a gruff whisper and murmured, “Not because you don’t want to.”

  Sure, he would love to go back to the job, but there was no way in hell that he could pass a physical now. Not with his leg.

  As if he’d read his mind, Jonah continued, “But you can now. The chief will give you a special dispensation to help out as an interim detective.”

  The special dispensation pricked his pride, and he clenched his jaw. “I don’t need you all doing me any favors.”

  “You’d be doing me the favor,” Donovan said. “I was just about to leave on my honeymoon when this call came in to the department.” Donovan only helped out part-time with the Cowboy Heroes; he was a full-time K9 cop with Whisperwood PD.

  “It’s a mini honeymoon,” Forrest reminded him. “You’re not going to be gone long.”

  “But even when we get back, I’m going to be distracted,” Donovan claimed. “Bellamy’s pregnant.”

  Jonah chortled and slapped their brother’s back. “That’s great! That’s wonderful news.”

  And with everything that had happened since the hurricane, good news was more than welcome.

  “Congratulations,” Forrest said, and he reached out and squeezed his brother’s shoulder. Donovan and Bellamy so deserved their happiness. They’d been through so much recently.

 
“Thanks,” Donovan said with a big grin. But then he glanced down at the body and shook his head. “She deserves someone’s full attention, and the police department and the chief are just stretched too damn thin right now dealing with the aftermath of the hurricane.”

  And the other dead body...

  The chief’s sister. Had someone else really murdered her? Or was serial killer Elliot Corgan messing with everyone from beyond his grave?

  Forrest wouldn’t put it past the sadistic son of a bitch. When he’d been on the job, he’d dealt with quite a few serial killers. They got nearly as much enjoyment playing mind games with law enforcement as they did killing.

  He glanced down at the dead girl. At least one thing was for certain; Elliot hadn’t killed her. He wouldn’t have been able to manage that from beyond the grave. Unless...

  “You’re already on the case,” Jonah said with a slight smile. “I can see your wheels turning.”

  Forrest glared at his big brother, but he didn’t deny it. Too many thoughts flitted through his mind. Was she one of the people presumed missing because of Hurricane Brooke? Had someone taken advantage of the storm to murder her, thinking that law enforcement would assume she’d been lost in the flooding that had followed the storm?

  Chief Thompson had been moving around the crime scene talking to the techs and officers guarding the perimeter. Ignoring the reporters who shouted questions at him from the other side of the police tape, Whisperwood PD’s top cop walked toward Forrest and his brothers. Thompson had been doing this job a long time, and his experience showed in the lines in his face and the way his shoulders sagged when he looked down at the body. He shook his head and sighed, and his Stetson slipped lower over his face.

  Forrest had realized some years into his career that it would never get any easier to see someone dead, especially murdered, and the chief just proved that to him. He let his own hat slide down to shield his face.

  Thompson turned away from the body to focus on Forrest now, his blue eyes sharp with intelligence and determination. “So you going to do it? You going to take the job?”

  His brothers stared at him, nodding and smiling to encourage his acceptance. They probably figured this would be good for him, would get him back doing the job he loved. But when he’d been shot, the job wasn’t the only thing he’d lost that he loved.

  That experience had taught him never to risk his heart again. So the job was all he had—even if it was just a short-term assignment.

  He nodded. “Yes, I’ll take it.”

  Not for his sake, though, like his brothers obviously wanted. But for hers.

  He stared down at the dead woman. To make sure she got the justice she deserved and that the killer would not hurt anyone else.

  * * *

  “He’s so cute,” Bellamy cooed as she cradled the baby against her chest and kissed the top of his head. He’d been born with a full head of soft brown hair—the same chocolatey color as his mama’s. He also had her big brown eyes.

  Rae’s heart swelled with maternal pride. “Yes, he is,” she said just as a yawn slipped out. He’d also been keeping her up nights with a bout of colic, and Bellamy’s bed was so comfy Rae was tempted to take a nap right there amid the pile of clothes and the suitcase.

  “Hey, you need to finish packing,” Maggie told her sister as she pried the baby from Bellamy’s arms. “You’re supposed to be leaving for your honeymoon.”

  “I will,” Bellamy said. “As soon as Donovan gets back from the crime scene.”

  Rae shuddered. “So another body’s been found?” Twelve people had died in the hurricane, but she’d thought all the missing had been accounted for—thanks to the Cowboy Heroes recovery and rescue efforts.

  Maggie had been one of the missing. Fortunately, she had been found alive. Jonah Colton hadn’t just rescued her, though. He’d also fallen in love with the former beauty queen. A pang of wistfulness tugged at Rae’s heart—not that she wanted anyone falling in love with her.

  She was too busy with her two-month-old son and her law school classes and her new job as a paralegal to fit a man into her life right now. Or ever...

  Connor was the only man for her. She smiled as he clutched his fingers around a lock of Maggie’s pretty blond hair. Like every other male in Whisperwood, he was drawn to the former beauty queen.

  Rae might have been jealous if Maggie wasn’t as beautiful inside as she was on the outside. She twisted her pretty features into comical faces as she cooed at the fascinated baby. Then she glanced up at Rae and a frown pulled down the corners of her mouth. “From what the chief told Jonah, it sounds like the death had nothing to do with the hurricane.”

  Rae gasped. “Was it...like the body you and Jonah found?”

  Maggie shuddered. “I hope not.”

  That body had been mummified. Rae hadn’t seen it, but just the thought of it had given her nightmares. She couldn’t imagine what Maggie had gone through because of that and the threats to her life.

  All the crime in Whisperwood was what had compelled Rae to take the LSAT to try to get into law school. Nobody had probably been as surprised as she was that she’d done so well that she had her pick of schools. Of course, she’d chosen to stay in Whisperwood with her friends. With her mom gone, they were the only family she had now—except for Connor. She’d already been pregnant with him when she’d taken the exam.

  Bellamy nipped her teeth into her bottom lip. “Maybe Donovan and I shouldn’t go away right now.”

  “No!” Rae and Maggie both shouted.

  Connor, startled, began to cry. Rae jumped up from the bed and took him from Maggie. Holding him close, she smoothed her hand down his back and murmured, “It’s okay, sweetheart. You’re okay.”

  He settled down with a hiccuping sob. Then the tension drained from his tiny body and he began to drift off to sleep like Rae had longed to.

  “You’re so good with him,” Maggie said with a smile.

  “You are,” Bellamy agreed. She looked more like Rae, with dark hair and eyes, and they’d known each other for so long, they were almost more like sisters than friends. “You’re amazing. I can’t believe how much you’re doing all on your own.”

  Rae smiled with pleasure and pride. But then she reminded her friend, “You’ve done the same.”

  Maggie’s mouth pulled down into another frown, and regret struck a pang in Rae’s heart. She hadn’t meant to cause any issues between the sisters. They’d already had too many.

  “I was never alone,” Bellamy said. “I had you, Rae.” She turned toward Maggie and smiled at her sister. “And you... I just didn’t realize what all you were doing for me.”

  “Rae’s right,” Maggie said. “You did all the heavy lifting on your own.” Taking care of their ailing parents. “You deserve this honeymoon. You deserve every happiness. Don’t let Donovan back out of going.”

  Bellamy smiled. “Not a chance. He’s determined to go. He and Jonah are going to work on convincing Forrest to step in and take over the murder investigations.”

  Maggie nodded. “Oh, that’s what big brother is up to.” She’d fallen for the oldest of the Colton brothers. “He said he was going to pick up Forrest.”

  Another little pang struck Rae’s heart at the mention of that particular Colton brother. It was probably just regret again. She shouldn’t have asked him to dance at Bellamy and Donovan’s wedding. But as one of the co–maids of honor, she’d wanted to make sure every guest enjoyed himself. That was the only reason she’d asked—not because he was ridiculously good-looking with his chiseled features and his brooding intensity.

  He hadn’t had to be so curt with her, though. Sure, she’d known he had a limp from an injury in the line of duty. But he still worked as a Cowboy Hero, so she hadn’t thought he was really handicapped. He could have held her and just swayed from side to side. It wasn’t as if she’d asked him to
two-step or line dance with her. But she shouldn’t have asked at all. The only reason she had was because of how alone he’d looked...even among all his family.

  And that loneliness had called to hers. Because even with her son and her good friends, she sometimes felt alone like that, too. Though that was better than falling for someone only to have them leave.

  “I didn’t think Forrest was going to stick around much longer,” she said. “Won’t he move on to the next natural disaster with the rest of the Cowboy Heroes?”

  “Whisperwood needs them for more than rescue and recovery efforts right now,” Maggie said. She shuddered again. “There’s a killer on the loose.”

  “That’s why we should postpone our honeymoon,” Bellamy said.

  “No,” Rae and Maggie said again, their voices soft this time, though.

  Bellamy sighed. “Okay, but you both need to promise me that you’ll be extra careful.”

  “Of course,” they agreed—again in unison.

  “I know Jonah won’t let anything happen to you,” Bellamy told her sister. “But you...”

  Rae smiled. “I can take care of myself.” She’d done it most of her life.

  Bellamy took the sleeping baby from her arms and snuggled him against her. “But you have Connor to worry about too and your classes. I’m really concerned about you living out there in the country alone.”

  “I’m not alone,” Rae reminded her.

  Bellamy pressed another kiss to the soft hair on Connor’s head. “He’s not going to be much protection against a bad guy—at least not for a few more years.”

  “Like twenty,” Maggie added with a chuckle.

  “I don’t need a man to protect me,” Rae said. She’d never had one. Her father had been more likely to put her and her mother in danger—at least financially—than to protect them. “I don’t need a man at all.”

  “You proved that by having this little guy on your own,” Maggie said. “I admire you.”