by Geri Foster
“What if no money was taken?”
“But they said—”
He grew serious and his eyes burrowed into her. “Never mind what’s been said. If Coons is involved in this in any way, my guess is it has to do with money laundering.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Nancy claims the money wasn’t there. The FBI never clearly stated who owned the account. And no money has been found. If Spears and Coons are into something illegal that’s making them a lot of money, maybe they needed to account for some of it.”
“But how does that account for money laundering? If there was no money in the bank, how can Spears claim my father stole so much? Wouldn’t they still have to account for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars?”
“That would depend. The bank is insured. The FDIC would have deposited the money into that account to make up for what was stolen. Now, they legitimately have two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”
“Seeing Spears and Coons together doesn’t mean they’re in a racketeering scheme.”
“We know that the SUV that ran Kendall off the road belongs to Coons and that she’d just left Spears’ house when the accident happened.”
“That is strange.” She nibbled her bottom lip. “What do you think they’re up to?”
“My guess, since seeing Coons with John Tully, it has something to do with drugs. I think I’m going to pay John a little visit.”
“He’s out of your jurisdiction.”
“Doesn’t mean I can’t call on him.”
“Can I tag along?” She smiled. “I’ll stay in the cruiser.”
“I can’t keep driving around with you in the Sheriff’s car on official business. But, we can take my truck and it won’t be so official.”
“First, let’s stop for a quick bite. I’m hungry.”
He chuckled. “You’re always hungry.”
She lifted her chin. “That’s not a nice thing to say to a lady.”
He came to his feet and reached out his hand. “I’m only kidding. Want to stop at Gert’s Diner?”
“That’s as good as any place.”
“Let’s make it fast.” He glanced out the window of his office, “It’s getting dark and, if it starts snowing, the roads will be slick.”
In less than thirty minutes, they were on 35W heading toward Oklahoma and the weather so far had held. However, it grew colder as they approached their destination. The temperature on the dash of his truck said thirty degrees.
He glanced over at Rachel, who appeared deep in thought. No doubt she rehashed her visit to Webster’s and the hopes that he could help her dad. He considered that a possibility, but it wasn’t going to happen in a few days. It could take months, even years.
They pulled up to the trailer park where John Tully and his alleged girlfriend lived. If he had to guess, half the people in residence had outstanding warrants. He had checked, but John didn’t have anything but a few priors for drug possession, dealing, and a minor assault.
“I’m glad we didn’t pull in here with a police vehicle. They might start shooting at us.”
“Yeah, it kind of looks that way.”
The place stood all by itself, back off the main road about five miles. Twelve trailers were parked haphazardly in no particular manner. Trash and junk littered the place along with two stray dogs. Two of the trailers were abandoned and obviously hadn’t been lived in for years, since they were decayed almost to the ground.
There wasn’t a tree, a shrub, or a play area for children. The vehicles parked outside were mostly propped up on cinderblocks or too old and rusted to move. As soon as they pulled into the area, every light went dark.
So much for a welcome wagon.
“This doesn’t look too hospitable, does it?” Rachel asked. “I’m beginning to wish I’d stayed in town.”
“I know what you mean.” He drove to what he’d heard belonged to John Tully. He came to a stop and put the truck in Park. “Let’s see what happens.”
“You think he’ll shoot you?” she asked, worriedly.
He turned his gaze on her. “Why do you say that? He must know I’m not here to arrest him. But, you stay in the car. Anything happens, you take off back to town.”
She looked up as the sky darkened. “I think this is a bad idea. Let’s just leave.”
“Don’t be afraid. It’s part of my job.”
“Aren’t you scared?”
“No, not really. I have my gun if I need it.” He reached over and pulled on the door handle. “Remember what I said. Don’t hang around here if things get bad.”
“You keep your gun handy.”
Lucas cautiously approached the trailer and pounded on the flimsy door. From inside he heard feet hitting the floor and furniture being knocked over. No doubt they were hiding something and, if he was to guess, it would be drugs.
After a few minutes, he knocked again, this time louder. “John Tully, this is Sheriff Lucas Quinn. I have a few questions.”
After a long pause, John stuck his head out the door, his hand firmly grasping the edge. “Whatcha want, Sheriff?”
“I just have a few questions. Can you step out here for a minute, so we can talk?”
“I ain’t done nothing wrong.”
“I didn’t say you had. I just want to ask a few questions, that’s all.”
“This ain’t your jurisdiction. You got no authority here.”
The wind kicked up and snowflakes fell on Lucas’ face and melted instantly. “I don’t need anything to ask a few questions.”
“Well, what do you want?”
He couldn’t see that well because John was mostly hidden inside the trailer with no lights on but, from what he could see, he immediately got the feeling the man was into drugs in some way.
“I saw you and Coons in town. What’s your business with him?”
“I ain’t got no business with him. We just talked, that’s all.”
“So, the two of you aren’t into anything illegal?”
He suspected they were dealing in Meth, but they weren’t cooking it here because he didn’t smell the familiar odor of chemicals that burned your nostrils and made your eyes water. Not to mention all the other things it did to you.
“No, no. You can ask Coons. We just know each other.”
“And he wanted you to do some work on his house?”
“Huh?”
“When I stopped you the other day he said he wanted you to paint his home.”
“Oh, yeah, yeah, that’s what we were talking about.”
A woman yanked open the door and almost stumbled out, but Lucas put his hand out and stopped her. She was clad in a bra and bikini panties and nothing else. She was also high as a kite.
“Get back inside, Josey,” John hissed. “It’s the damn cops.”
She staggered backwards and he lost sight of her, but a quick peek inside told him they lived like animals. The place stunk so bad he wouldn’t go in there if invited.
“Okay, well, John, I only stopped by because I was curious. I thought maybe Coons was pushing you around and I don’t like that kind of behavior.”
“You sayin’ you’re here because you’re worried about how Coons treats me?”
“Sort of.”
“Well, I’ll be damned. That don’t make no sense at all. He treats me like a piece of dog shit. Always has.”
“Then why were you hanging around him?”
“That’s none of your business, Sheriff.” John’s face darkened. “If I was you I’d get the hell out of here before something bad happens.”
Lucas casually placed his right hand on the handle of his gun. “You threatening me, John?”
“Nah, I’d never do anything like that.” John stuck his head further out the trailer and scanned the street. “But this is a pretty desolate place to be in the middle of the night.”
“Oh, I didn’t come here alone. I brought backup.”
The junkie slunk back inside and hunched his shou
lders. “Bye.”
With that, he slammed the door and slid the lock into place. Lucas returned to his truck to find Rachel had locked the doors and hid on the floorboard.
He tapped on the side window and her head popped up. The dash lights clearly illuminated the concern on her face. She scrambled up on the seat and unlocked the door.
“I’m glad to see you. This place gives me the willies,” she said. “A guy came by and looked inside. He nearly scared me speechless.”
He scooted behind the wheel and put his arm around her trembling body. “Did he try the door?”
“No, I was watching you and I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye, I turned and there was a guy with his face pressed against the window.”
He backed the truck out and headed toward the main highway, his gaze flicking several times to the rearview mirror to make sure they weren’t followed.
“That’s not a place you want to be when the sun goes down.”
“Did you learn anything?”
“Not directly, but if I had to guess, I’d say John’s a Meth cooker and Coons is his partner.”
“John and Coons are into Meth?”
“I don’t think Coons goes near the stuff and he wouldn’t, if he’s smart. But I’d bet John and his girlfriend are hanging onto the dragon’s tail.”
“Were they making it in the trailer? That’s very dangerous stuff.”
He checked out their surroundings as he continued driving, answering, “I don’t think so, but I bet the cooking shack isn’t far.”
“That leads me to believe they make a lot of money, and where better to hide it than in a bank.”
“With the help of the Vice President.”
“How come in all this time they’ve never been caught?”
“I don’t know,” he glanced over at Rachel, who had moved closer to him. “Tomorrow is visiting day at the prison. I think we should pay your dad a visit.”
She swirled to face him, her eyes wide. “You want to come? My mom and I were already planning to go. It’s the last visitor’s day until after the New Year.”
“I don’t want your mom to know we’re investigating the bank robbery, but it’s vital that we speak to your dad. He holds all the answers.”
“He’s never talked about what happened except to say he didn’t do it. I know you’ve been visiting him by the way…thank you for that.” He glanced at her, surprised, and caught a blush on her cheeks. “Has he told you anything?”
“No, but he knows a lot more than he’s saying.”
* * *
Rachel didn’t like the idea of talking to her dad about what he had been accused of doing. She’d never broached the subject for fear she would hear something she didn’t want to know. Her mom felt the same way. They’d both decided during their visitations to keep the conversations light and casual.
No interrogation.
Now, Lucas wanted to change everything, and she wasn’t all that comfortable with the prospect of prying information from her dad. “Why didn’t you ever ask my dad about what happened?”
Lucas hesitated, then said, “I didn’t feel I had the right.”
“It’s the same for me and my mom. We’re both careful about what we say and try to keep his spirits up.”
“Yeah, well, now we have to change all that. He knows more than anyone about what really happened.”
“But my mom will be there. If she finds out we’re trying to open Dad’s case, it will really upset her.”
They eased into the city limits of Rainwater and cruised down Main Street. “Do you want to go home, or can you come to my place for a few hours?”
She knew better than to answer that right away.
Being at his house would be far too tempting and what if things were to get out of hand and something happened? Did she dare? She nibbled her bottom lip as she clutched the clasp on her seatbelt. “I’d be smart to go home. Besides, I haven’t spent that much time with my grandma and I’m sure my mom is busy preparing for the birthday party.”
“I’m not asking you to spend the night,” he said with a wicked grin. “However, if you insist.”
She slapped him on the arm. “Stop that. Now, you’re just flirting.”
He chuckled. “Who? Me?”
He didn’t take the turn off to her grandma’s house. Instead, he headed directly for his ranch on the outskirts of town. She grew more nervous as he pulled into the yard and Boomer came forward, barking, happy to see his master. He rushed around to open her door, then leaned down and scratched the dog behind the ears.
Boomer greeted her like a member of the family and the three of them dashed toward the house as the snowflakes fell quicker. Lucas opened the door and they rushed inside. The weather was taking a turn for the worse. After he shut the door, he headed across the room to light the fireplace. She felt uncomfortable and not certain where to sit or what to do.
“Make yourself at home,” he called out from the kitchen. “I’m just getting us a beer.”
She eased down on the couch and let out a deep breath. Today had been crazy and she had so much information to digest. Would Webster really help them? Were Coons and Spears really into something illegal? Had Spears tried to kill Kendall? And, more importantly, how could she hide all this from her mom?
Lucas returned and held out a longneck. “Here, drink this, you’ll feel better.”
She took it and smiled up at him. “Why not hot chocolate on a night like this?”
He held out his beer and studied the bottle. “I find beer much better when I have a lot on my mind.”
“We both do.” She tipped the bottle and took a long swig. It burned all the way down. “How do you feel about bringing down the Vice President of the bank?”
“Not good.” He sat beside her and propped his ankle on his thigh. “But, I’ll do it if I think he’s involved in what happened to Kendall, or if we can prove he’s the reason your dad ended up behind bars.”
“It just all seems so farfetched.”
“I know, but in my line of work, I’ve come to expect the unexpected. I never thought Spears and Coons were that shady.”
“Well, we haven’t learned that they are yet.”
“No, but I have pretty good instincts for this, and something is up with those two.”
“Now we have to find the proof.”
“I would say the truth has a way of working its way to the surface, but for your dad it’s been eight years and we don’t have all the facts about what happened yet.”
“What about the FBI guy you were going to talk to?”
“He had to put our visit off until tomorrow.” He put his arm around her, resting his hand on her shoulder. “I’ll find out what I can, but the FBI doesn’t like to admit they screwed up, so don’t expect a miracle.”
She turned to him. “Lucas, how are we going to keep all this from my mom?”
He looked away. “I don’t know.” Squeezing her shoulder he pulled her closer. “What if we told her?”
“No, no. I can’t get her hopes up like that. It would break her heart if it turns out we can’t do anything. I don’t want her to suffer anymore.”
“But, how are you going to keep it from her? If you go with her to visit your dad tomorrow, you can’t ask questions, and we need those answers.”
“Can’t you go visit him as an officer of the law?”
“I can, but I need a reason. And a guard will be present at all times. If I start asking questions about the bank incident, certain people might find out about the conversation.”
She didn’t want that to happen. If word got out about what they were doing, she didn’t think they would be safe. Not after what happened to Kendall. She also knew there was no way she could convince her mom not to visit her dad before Christmas.
Glancing up at Lucas, before she could get a word out his lips met hers. She didn’t pull away because there was such comfort and tenderness in their lips coming together that she didn’t want to move.
Instead, she allowed him to deepen the kiss and pull her onto his lap.
She placed her arms around his neck, careful not to spill her beer, as she relished in his touch. Enough was enough. No more fighting it. She loved this man. No matter how hard she tried to deny it or to pretend differently, Rachel Snyder loved Lucas Quinn.
Relieved to have finally admitted that to herself, she was just getting lost in everything Lucas when he released her and rested his head on the back of the couch. “Does this mean you’ll spend the night?” he searched her eyes.
Worrying her lip, she was all in, but there was still something holding her back. Something that almost got them in trouble the first go around. “I don’t know. Lucas, I’m not taking anything to keep from getting pregnant.”
“Don’t worry,” he smirked, quintessential cocky Lucas, and picked her up, carrying her to the bedroom. “I have condoms.”
She stilled. “Really?”
As if reading her mind, he looked right into her eyes, open and honest, as he replied, “Not in this house, Rachel. I never brought a woman here.”
She smiled. “So, I’d be the first?”
“Yes, ma’am. And if I have any say about it, you’ll be the last.”
Chapter 21
Lucas woke to a dream. Rachel Snyder was in his house, in his bed, and in his arms. He felt light-headed at the opportunity. But he knew he was a long way from getting her to stay.
He intended to work on that.
Even knowing convincing her to completely change her life was a long shot, he felt up to the task. There had to be a reason she’d never married, and he liked to think it was because of him. That her love for him had kept her uninterested in other men. Should his thoughts be announced, he knew the whole idea sounded conceited and abominable, but he had to hold on to hope that he could persuade her to stay and marry him.
Slipping out of bed quietly so as not to disturb her, he slid on his jeans and headed to the kitchen to start the coffee pot. He let Boomer out and went to the bathroom then threw on warm clothes. After brushing his teeth, he filled his cup and made his way outside to the porch.
Every morning began there, in the outdoors. No matter the weather. After yesterday’s spittle of the white stuff, he half expected to wake up to a blanket of snow, but instead the sun shone brightly and the temperature gauge near the door read forty-eight degrees.