Hole in the Heart

by Carolina Mac

  “Tremor,” said Declan. “Must have been a tremor.”

  The doctor turned around and looked at the mess behind him. “I’ll have Eve clean that up.”

  “I’m interested in finding out why Misty can walk sometimes and not always,” said Declan. “She had a bad fall yesterday when she thought she could walk but her legs failed her.”

  “Then she’s not ready to walk,” said the doctor. “I’ve read Lee Chang’s reports and she has extensive motor damage. Some of which might never repair itself.”

  “But she did walk,” said Declan, “and then she couldn’t. I want to know why it’s sporadic.”

  Misty nodded her head and waited for an answer.

  “If the brain is repairing itself, it could be gradual,” said the doctor. “Give it time.”

  “And her speech?” asked Declan. “Will it return?”

  “Those questions along with many others can never be answered without exploratory brain surgery.” He flipped through pages on his calendar. I can open her up the week before Thanksgiving.” He picked up his pen and looked to Declan for confirmation.

  Misty’s blue eyes were open wide and blazing with anger.

  “Why don’t we get back to you on the suitability of the date after we talk it over with her family.”

  Misty nodded.

  Baker stood up and walked towards Misty. “Let’s see what’s working this morning and what’s not, little lady. Would you stand up for me?”

  Misty glanced at Declan and then back at the doctor. She shook her head.

  “No, you can’t stand up? Or, no, you won’t try?” His voice had a decided edge to it as he grabbed her arm in an attempt to haul her to her feet.

  She jerked away and made the little noise in her throat again and a mini tornado cleared everything off the doctor’s desk.

  “Perhaps it’s time for Misty to go home and rest,” said Declan. He grabbed the wheelchair handles and whisked her into the hallway.

  “Will you need a second appointment?” called the receptionist.

  “One was quite enough, thank you,” Declan called over his shoulder.

  Lady Bird Lake. Austin.

  DARRYL DORRELL sat and stared as the paramedics loaded his buddy, Wayne Mason, onto the stretcher and whipped him out the door of the condo and into the waiting ambulance. “Why are you here, you fucking bandito?” He spit the words at Blaine. “Did you solve the General’s murder? If not, you better get busy. We got rights.”

  Blaine ignored the question. “Who gave the order to kill Georgie Cardenas? Was it you?”

  “Cardenas is dead?” Dorrell chuckled. “Wasn’t me, but I’m happy he’s dead. Nothing but a waste of space like the rest of his amigos.” He pointed a finger at Blaine and laughed again. Not a pleasant sound.

  The crime scene techs came in and Blaine pointed to the gun Mason had been aiming at him. “See if that gun matches Georgie Cardenas from this morning. He’ll be autopsied tomorrow.”

  “Right,” said Sue. “I’ll mark it.”

  “Mr. Dorrell will sit on the porch or visit with a friend until y’all are finished with his condo.”

  “I ain’t moving a fuckin inch.”

  “You want to wait it out at DPS?” asked Blaine.

  “Try it and see what happens.” Dorrell stood up and flexed tattooed biceps.

  “Cuff him, Carlos. I’m tired of being nice.”

  Carlos pulled cuffs off his belt and he and Fletcher approached the big ganger. Blaine drew his Beretta to make a point.

  “Okay, okay, I’ll go out for breakfast. Make you happy?”

  Blaine glared. “This is my happy face.”

  Sonora. Texas.

  FARRELL called Mrs. Maxwell as soon as he left the breakfast room at the Hampton Inn and she agreed to talk to him at nine thirty. He sent Travis and Luke to keep an eye on Twin Auto and get a locate on Jeff and Joey, in case he decided to bring them in. He was leaning heavily in favor of bracing both of them again.

  He was a block away from the Maxwell residence when Sheriff Oxford called. “Morning, Sheriff, I intended to call you later with an update.”

  “This won’t wait, Deputy Donovan. I thought you should know right away that another girl has been reported missing.”

  “Okay. I’ll be in your office in half an hour.”

  He pulled into the Maxwell’s driveway and jogged to the front door. Mrs. Maxwell was waiting for him with coffee at the kitchen island. “Did you find something, Ranger Donovan? Is that why you’re here?”

  Farrell pulled out his notebook. “My partner is going over all the unsolved cases from the past four years and he’s extremely thorough. He phoned this morning and told me that before Lauren worked at the roadhouse she had worked for Twin Auto.”

  “Uh huh. That’s true. Is it important?”

  “Very important,” said Farrell. “Do you know why she quit her job there?”

  “Mostly because of her boss, Joey Golden,” said Mrs. Maxwell, “and she didn’t tell me the reason at the time. I read it in her journal.”

  Farrell raised an eyebrow. “Your daughter kept a journal?”

  “Yes, I found it not long ago when I was straightening up her room. I sit and read it now and then. I find it comforting.”

  “Would you mind if I borrowed it for a day?”

  Mrs. Maxwell’s brown eyes welled up. “I don’t know if I could give it up.”

  “I understand. What if I took it for the morning, copied what I needed and brought it back this afternoon?”

  “I… I guess so. Will you be careful of it?”

  “I will,” said Farrell. “Do you have a Ziploc I can use?”

  “Yes, that’s a good idea.”

  Austin. Texas.

  BLAINE was on his way back home, anxious to find out what happened with Misty’s new doctor when the Governor called. “I’ve heard rumblings that there might be a gang war heating up in the Capital city. I figured you would know better than anyone.”

  “I’m doing my damndest to prevent it from happening, Cat. That’s all I can tell you.”

  “All you can do is your best, sweetie. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

  “Sure, I’m taking it one murder at a time.”

  “Jeeze, that sounds ominous.”

  Blaine chuckled. “Doesn’t it? Going home for some breakfast. I already shot my morning ganger.”

  “Aw, shit, it is bad. Call me later.”

  “Hilder still hanging on?”

  “He’s a little quiet for me.”

  “Still waters n’all. Talk later.”

  Declan and Misty sat at the kitchen table having coffee when Blaine arrived home. The dogs kicked up a huge ruckus at the door, then settled once he was inside.

  “How was the new doctor?” Blaine asked.

  Misty shook her head and took a sip from her mug.

  “We didn’t care for him,” said Declan. “Not a pleasant person.”

  “Anything I should know about?” asked Blaine.

  Misty shook her blonde curls and made a face.

  “He suggested brain surgery,” said Dec, “and we opted out.”

  “Right,” said Blaine.

  Okay, it went badly.

  Sonora. Texas.

  AFTER his visit with Mrs. Maxwell, Farrell went straight to Sheriff Oxford’s office. “Sorry, I took a little longer than I thought, but it was worth it. We have some solid evidence linking Joey Golden to Lauren Maxwell.” He told the Sheriff about the diary.

  “I was never told about the diary and it didn’t turn up in the search of her room.”

  “Mrs. Maxwell only found it recently,” said Farrell. “Hidden away somewhere in the girl’s room.”

  “Okay,” said Oxford. “I’d hate to think I overlooked something that important.”

  “I’m going to read it, copy the relevant pages and return it to Mrs. Maxwell this afternoon,” said Farrell. “Tell me about the missing girl.”

 
“Her roommate came in this morning.” Oxford checked the notes in front of him. “A girl named Brooke Morales reported it. She said the two of them were at the movies last night, then they stopped in at the roadhouse for a drink and Robin was dancing with a lot of different guys and drinking a lot and wanted to stay longer than Brooke. One of the guys Robin was dancing with said he’d bring her home. Brooke went home to their apartment and Robin never showed up.”

  “She tried her cell and all that?” asked Farrell.

  “Uh huh. Went to message. Never happened before. Brooke said they weren’t party girls and they never stayed out all night.”

  “We were watching the roadhouse,” said Farrell. “Jeff was there—I can tell by the sling—but no Joey.”

  Sheriff Oxford grinned. “Did you shoot Jeff, so you could tell them apart?”

  “Hey, I had to do something.”

  “Do you want to bring them in again?”

  Farrell nodded. “I do. With this new evidence and another girl missing, do you think we could get a warrant to search Twin Auto for the gun that killed Benny Watson?”

  “I’ll make a couple of calls and if it sounds promising, I’ll get started on it.”

  “Thanks, Sheriff. Travis and Luke are watching the garage. As soon as I finish with the diary, we can go fetch the twins.”

  The Sheriff showed him where the copy machine was in the outer office. Farrell sat down at an empty desk and read Lauren’s journal. He worked his way through and jumped up and copied every page that mentioned Joey or Jeff Golden.

  July 20th.

  He starts every morning as soon as I get to the garage, and three or four times a day he comes into the office and makes remarks. He’s getting ruder and cruder every day. Today he was rubbing his pants while he leered at me. I hate working there.

  August 12th.

  Joey is disgusting. He comes into the office and locks the door, trying to scare me into going out with him. He’s touching me now or trying to. I pushed him away today and he was fuming.

  August 20th.

  Jeff talked to me today and said it would be in my best interest to go out with his brother. Joey likes me a lot and Jeff said he’d like to see the two of us together. I would not like it at all. I hate them. They rarely shave, and I doubt if they’ve heard of a shower.

  August 25th.

  Joey threatened me today. Either I go out with him or he fires me. He smiled at me while he said it. As soon as he left the office, I typed up a letter of resignation and left it on the desk. I’m not going back.

  August 26th.

  Jeff called and begged me to come back to work. He said the office is a mess without me and he’d keep Joey away.

  August 27th.

  Joey called and apologized. He said if I came back to work he’d be nothing, but a gentleman and he’d give me a raise. Should I believe him?

  August 28th.

  I copied my resume and started job hunting today. I’m not going back to Twin Auto.

  Farrell faxed copies of the pages to Jesse to add to Lauren’s file, then texted.

  “Sent you a fax to add to Lauren Maxwell’s murder book. Pages copied from her journal—recently found. Bringing the twins in for the second round. Wish you were here, boss.”

  Giddings. Texas.

  JESSE received Farrell’s text at the barn and headed to the house to read the fax. He missed being near the action, but he couldn’t have it both ways. He had to guard his health and take care of his daughter.

  He sat at his desk with the fax in front of him and read the journal entries. “Yep, Lauren Maxwell was scared of Joey Golden. Solid evidence. Good work, kiddo.”

  Farrell was a damn good investigator.

  Sonora. Texas.

  FARRELL headed for Twin Auto with Sheriff Oxford following behind in his squad. The Sheriff had managed to find a judge open to signing the warrant, and he’d sent one of his deputies to get it signed and bring it to the garage. Farrell alerted Luke and Travis that they were on their way.

  Farrell parked at the side of the garage and the Sheriff positioned one squad at the front and one at the back in case there was trouble. Travis and Luke pulled in and parked behind Farrell.

  “We’ll go in and ask them nicely to come in for another round of questioning,” said Farrell. “If it doesn’t work out, we’ll bring them in and charge them with resisting. At least they’ll be out of the garage while we search.”

  “Did we get a warrant?” asked Luke.

  “Sheriff Oxford got one for us and one of his men is bringing it over.”

  “Progress,” said Luke. “We might find the gun.”

  TRAVIS took the office while Farrell and Luke covered the garage.

  Jeff slouched behind the counter, his sling resting on the cluttered surface while he talked on the phone. He shook his head when he saw Travis and ended his call. “Why are you guys here again? We got nothing to tell you.”

  “We’ll talk about it when we get to the sheriff’s office,” said Travis. “Why don’t you walk out the door and get in the squad car and not give me any flack.”

  “I’m not going,” said Jeff. “This is harassment and I’m not being hauled in for questioning again. No sir. You can shove that idea right up your ass, cowboy.”

  “You can call your attorney to meet you at the sheriff’s office,” said Travis. “Now walk out the door and get in the car that’s waiting for you.”

  Jeff reached under the counter and pulled out a .38 Ruger. He pointed it at Travis and said. “I ain’t going anywhere with cops. I’m outta here.”

  Travis drew his Sig and ran behind Jeff to the back door hoping the deputies at the back of the building had him. Seconds behind, he watched Jeff disappear through the back door, then he heard the shots.

  Bang. Bang.

  Bang.

  Cautiously, Travis opened the door and nearly tripped over Jeff. He lay in a pile on the concrete pad at the back entrance. Shot in the chest and bleeding profusely, but not dead. Not yet.

  Beside the squad car, one of the Sheriff’s deputies was kneeling over his partner. Travis ran over to the squad and called it in. “How’s your partner?”

  “That asshole, Jeff, come out the door firing and shot Butch in the fuckin leg.” He pointed behind him. “Just missed me and put one through the window of my squad.”

  FARRELL and Luke entered the garage looking for Joey. One of the overhead doors was open and they walked right in, leaving Sheriff Oxford and his deputy standing in the opening. Joey and one other mechanic were on duty and they had two vehicles in the three bays. A silver Malibu and a blue Subaru. One bay was empty. Joey rolled out from under the Chevy he was working on and cursed the air blue. “You fuckheads here again? Get out of here and let me work. I ain’t talking to y’all.”

  “We’d like you to come to the office for a few more questions,” said Farrell. “Some new evidence has come to light, and we’d like to talk about it.”

  “Ain’t going and you can’t make me. I answered your questions last time I was there. You guys are harassing me and my brother and there’s a law against it. My attorney is gonna sue your asses.” Joey stood up, pulled a rag out of the back pocket of his coveralls and wiped his hands.

  “I doubt it,” said Farrell. “Benny Watson was your alibi in the Lauren Maxwell investigation and now your alibi is dead. You have to come up with a new one Joey and I’d bet you can’t do it.”

  Bang. Bang.

  Bang.

  Three shots.

  “Cuff him, Luke, and get him to the squad.” Farrell shouted over his shoulder as he took off running in the direction of the shots. He rounded the corner of the building in time to see Travis step out the back door and almost trip over Jeff Golden’s body.

  Travis wasn’t shooting.

  Farrell eyed the blood pouring out of Jeff Golden’s chest and pressed 911. “We need an ambulance.”

  Seven minutes later sirens sounded, and Sheriff Oxford directed the paramedics
to the back of the building. They attended to Jeff first and got him into the bus, then they started an IV and got the downed deputy onto a stretcher. Sheriff Oxford was visibly upset about his wounded deputy and sent the deputy’s partner to the hospital with him. “Jeff Golden is under arrest,” said Oxford, “attempted murder—two counts.”

  Farrell nodded. Now he had to get the other Golden off the street.

  AT THE SONORA Sheriff’s office, Farrell used the same interview room he’d used before but Joey Golden seemed to be the one asking the questions.

  “Where’s Jeff? Did you guys shoot him again? I heard shots.”

  “Your brother shot a deputy and the deputy returned fire. Jeff is in the hospital and so is the deputy he shot.”

  “I have to call Daddy.” Jeff jerked on the handcuffs. “Give me my phone call.”

  “You’ll get that call as soon as you’re booked, Joey. You’re being held on suspicion of murder.”

  “Bullshit, I didn’t murder anybody.”

  “You’ll have your chance to explain that in court,” said Farrell. “In the meantime, I want to know where you were last night while Jeff was at the roadhouse.”

  “None of your business.”

  “Do you know Robin Dawson?”

  “Never heard of her,” Joey said a little too quickly. “Why?”

  “She was at the roadhouse last night and she never made it home. You know something about that?”

  “I said I didn’t know her,” he shouted. “Are you deaf?” Joey had become red in the face and agitated.

  “Where were you last night? Do you have someone who will corroborate your whereabouts?”

  “Home with my Dad. He’ll tell you.”

  Farrell shook his head. “I’m not buying into the ‘home watching TV’ alibi, Joey. You have to come up with a better one than that.”

  TRAVIS and Luke were left to search Twin Auto with a couple of techs from the Sonora crime lab assisting. All available deputies were filling in for Sheriff Oxford and the deputies at the hospital holding vigil over their downed comrade.