Out of a Texas Night

by Phyliss Miranda

  The double doors leading into the sheriff’s department area of the courthouse sprang open, reminding her of swinging doors in a saloon. The lawman pirate, still dressed in the costume he had worn at the festival, stomped to a white SUV with the county’s logo on the side and kicked the back tire twice. Suddenly, he slammed his fist into the side hard enough that it should have broken his knuckles, then leaned against the Ford with his arms crossed.

  Avery wasn’t sure what to do. If she tried to slip out of sight he’d likely see her and think she was stalking him. If he looked her direction, with the park lighting no doubt he’d notice her. If she stayed still, he’d know for a fact she was watching for him, which she wasn’t…. Or was she?

  He paced behind what she presumed was his service vehicle for several minutes before Sheriff Cowan and a robust deputy she had heard someone call Deputy Scott came out. The sheriff gave the pirate a soft slug to his shoulder, as if to say I understand, shook his hand, and drove off in a county vehicle headed toward I-40. Shortly thereafter, Deputy Scott’s county vehicle left the parking lot heading in the same direction

  Avery caught movement behind the building and the parked vehicles but with the lighting could only make out what looked like a young bearded man with pants hanging low on his hips. Could he be another undercover cop? Her professional instinct told her he wasn’t. There was no confidence in his stride, although he walked with purpose in the same direction as the sheriff had gone. She’d been around enough to know there was always an answer to anyone sticking around any law enforcement agency, although likely only a few knew the real reasons behind a visit.

  The whole scenario of the young man walking behind and away from the sheriff’s department bothered her...a lot. She knew Mr. Blackbeard was simply letting off steam. She’d done it herself many times in her career and knew it helped but didn’t alleviate the problems. They lingered like unwanted dinner guests.

  Suddenly, she became aware of him walking her way.

  He’d caught sight of her, and she couldn’t think of an excuse for being in the town square this hour of the morning, except for the truth. But, she wasn’t about to share the real reason with him.

  “Why, Miss Scarlett, would you be sitting in the park at this time of the morning?” He spoke in a deep, slightly authoritative voice.

  She’d been in the business too many years to give away her cover this late in the game, so she chose to deflect his question. “Mr. Blackbeard, I could ask you the same. Apparently, from what I observed, you’re none too happy at the moment.”

  His tall, black-clad figure stiffened. The muscles in his jaw tightened. “You’ve already pegged me as a cop, so you must know that things don’t go as well as we like plenty of the time. We have to face adversity. Let’s just say I was a little frustrated.” He looked squarely into her eyes then continued, “But then I think you know all about being a cop. You’re either married to one, divorced from one, or in love with one...but you know lawmen.”

  “Okay, let’s just say I know lawmen.” She changed the subject as quickly as possible. “I can’t keep calling you Blackbeard and I’m pretty sure you know I’m not Scarlett O’Hara, so I’ll begin. My name is...” She paused, not ready to give him her last name. “My name is Avery, and yours is?” she asked, as if she didn’t already know.

  “VanZant. Brody VanZant.” He eased his tall, athletic physique next to her on the park bench, making her very aware of his manliness.

  “So what type of business are you in?”

  Avery looked up into the sky scattered with glittery stars and hoped her nose didn’t grow for telling a lie, but then it wasn’t a total lie. She just embellished the truth. “I work for law enforcement in Houston. Right now, I sit at a desk and shuffle paperwork for the detectives. Filing mostly. I’m kinda like a secretary, but with the pay of a file clerk.”

  “They have a civilian filling that job?” He glanced over at her, making it abundantly clear he didn’t totally believe her.

  “I have a security clearance.” She deliberately diverted his attention back to her earlier question. “Wanna tell me what got under your skin so badly that you kicked the tires on your unit? Only, of course, if it’s something you wish to share or can share.”

  “I was checking to see if the tires needed air.” He tapped his fingers on his thigh. “But I think I have a score to settle with you.” He shot her a dazzling, devilish smile, and he rested his arm across the back of the bench, so close to her that she could feel the heat from his arm. “As I recall, when we negotiated a kiss it was forty dollars, then you gave me a second one for the same price, which made it eighty. Right?”

  “At this point you’ve proven to me that you can count and have an extremely good memory, so what score do you have to settle with me?” She turned toward him and raised an eyebrow.

  “Since I gave you a hundred dollar bill, you owe me another kiss—”

  “Technically, a half of one. Since the price was forty dollars each, you’d have a credit of only twenty dollars or half a smooch.” Avery couldn’t help but smile at the way she challenged the cop.

  “How about I donate the extra twenty and I get a, hum, let’s see…”

  His smile totally took her off guard, and suddenly she felt like she was rolling around in a field of spring wildflowers with Brody holding her hand. “You get a kiss, anyway.”

  “That’s a good idea, but with interest.” His arm circled her shoulders and he pulled her to him. Slowly, he explored her lips, leaving her mouth burning with desire. His lips seared a path down her neck and shoulders then worked their way back up. His tongue traced the soft fullness of her mouth before he pressed his lips to hers, caressing her more than kissing.

  After a lingering, unforgettable kiss, Brody pulled back and released her from his hold.

  The experience made her thoughts spin and her emotions whirl and skid, while being transported on a soft wispy cloud. She turned his head and drew his face to hers in a renewed embrace. She crushed her mouth against his in a slow show of passion.

  Leaving her body burning with fire, she pulled away. After taking a second or two to come back to reality and let her heart settle, she said, “The interest must have been one hundred and fifty percent, like a payday loan.”

  “If that’s the case, I still owe you.” He took her hands and held them together between his big ones, then said, “Just clear polish and no watch? I thought all women around here had to have their nails painted bright red and can’t do without a watch.”

  “Who needs a watch now days with clocks everywhere you go and with an iPhone?”

  Without warning, doors to the sheriff’s department opened wide and fast, just as they had when Brody had exited, and two uniformed deputies literally ran to their county units.

  One officer spied Brody and yelled across the street. “VanZant, we need your help. Something has happened to the chief. FM208 north of I-40.” The officer got into his unit and sped away like the other.

  Brody lightly kissed Avery on the forehead. “Sounds serious.” In one swift motion, he took her hand and helped her to her feet. “Can I drop you off somewhere?”

  She shook her head. “No. It’s only a couple of blocks and there’s plenty of streetlights along the way.” She smiled at him. “Plus, this is the most peaceful community in the USA.”

  Avery watched him take off toward his vehicle. When he reached his unit, he unlocked the back. With haste, he removed his pirate shirt and vest, exposing his gun and holster in his back belt, just as she had expected. She had no doubt he had a second personal weapon within easy reach. In a matter of seconds, he’d added a polo shirt topped by his bullet-resistant vest.

  She observed his every movement until he headed out with full lights flashing in the direction of the other units.

  It was then she thought to herself, That’s the road that separates Mesa’s fam
ily ranch from the Slippery Elm. There must be something seriously wrong when they all head out running hot.

  She sank to the bench feeling empty inside and watched his county unit head in the direction of the others, all racing towards FM 208.

  And there was nothing she could do to help. She had no county jurisdiction and had lied about her job, so Brody wouldn’t put two and two together and find out not only her real position with the Harris County Sheriff’s Department but the fact she came from one of the town’s founding families. It would be easy for him to check on her and find out she had been involved in a departmental shooting, but she’d been very careful not to give him her last name.

  Helplessness cloaked her. She realized that there was nothing, absolutely nothing, she could do to help them with the emergency involving Sheriff Cowan. She felt totally helpless, and it was not a good sensation. Oh, how she’d change things, if she could go back in time.... If only!

  Chapter 6

  Before Brody got into his county unit, he looked over his shoulder and saw the woman who claimed her name was Avery standing beside the bench looking up into the sky as if praying. A woman he had kissed several times, yet he didn’t even know her last name, where she lived, or if she even resided in Texas. He’d never seen her before, but then he spent most of his time in Amarillo sleeping during the day and running sting operations at night.

  But that was about to change.

  He’d already told Deuce that he’d make an effort to do less work with the Joint Task Unit and spend more time with the Bonita County Sheriff’s Department as its only detective. But now, the way he and Deuce left their last conversation, the sheriff had made the decision for Brody to return full time—especially in view of Tommy’s crappy attitude.

  Miss Avery had distracted him, yet the minute he drove away his full attention went to the possibilities of what lay ahead. Could the sheriff have been hit while he was walking along the highway, looking for evidence Tommy threw out of the car? Fallen down a ravine? A thousand what ifs ran through Brody’s mind. Regardless of what Brody thought, Chief Deputy Scott would not have called out all units, including Brody, unless there was some type of search and rescue. Nothing fit together.

  The one thing Brody didn’t like in the least was that if something had happened to the sheriff, the last person to have made a threat against him was Tommy Mitchell. Worry kept getting in the way of logic as Brody raced to catch up with the other deputies.

  By the time he got to the site, there were a dozen or more vehicles on both sides of the road, some with their lights flashing, others probably owned by the Bonita County Deputy Reserves. An ambulance pulled up behind the county’s fire truck.

  Long before daylight, Chief Deputy Scott had everybody squatting in a circle with flashlights illuminating a county map. He’d already sectioned off the coordinates around FM208, which ran through three ranch properties.

  “What happened?” Brody hesitated even asking because he was scared of the answer, but he had to put on his law enforcement persona and forget anything personal. His number one responsibility was to protect the citizens of Bonita County.

  “The dispatcher, Raylynn, had just come on duty when she got a call from the sheriff, who said he’d located something out on FM208 involving the trespassing on the Jacks Bluff. He didn’t say what it was, just asked that a unit be dispatched immediately to help him process the scene.” Scott squared his shoulders. “It didn’t take long after I got here to discover help was needed.”

  Brody’s worst fears seemed to be coming closer to reality than he wanted. “Raylynn didn’t say what Deuce found?”

  “No. His phone went dead, so I headed out here.” A worried expression spread across Scott’s face. “When I got here, I found the sheriff’s unit with his phone smashed on the ground by the driver’s side, along with some traces of blood. Not a lot, but enough to be concerned about. That’s when I sent out an all-units-available request, including the reserves.”

  Brody’s heart felt as if it were being hoisted out of his body much like a mechanic would pull an engine out of a pickup.

  Could Tommy have made it back to the area and hurt the sheriff? After all, the kid had threatened Deuce. Impossible.... No way had Tommy had enough time.

  Chief Deputy Scott interrupted Brody’s thoughts. “Work in pairs and be thorough.” He addressed the whole group, including quite a few reserve deputies who they’d managed to get in touch with. “From the footprints near his unit, it looks like he might have been dragged, so we’ve got to search around and under every mesquite bush plus every inch of prairie grass. Anything that blood could cling to. Pay particular attention to any stands of cottonwoods. Any place an unconscious man could be hidden. There are plenty of extra batteries for your flashlights, so be sure to take a good supply with you.” He paused for a moment and then said, “Remember light is power.” Scott looked up at the whole group. “Let’s get going. Time is essential. Report back to dispatch every thirty minutes.”

  It wasn’t what Chief Deputy Scott said but what he didn’t that disturbed Brody. Scott no doubt kept his private thoughts to himself, just as Brody did.

  After the group dispersed, Brody said to Scott, “If we don’t find him right away, I can have the DPS chopper with the infrared cameras in the air within five to ten minutes and here shortly thereafter. Just give me the nod, Scott. All I have to do is give the APD Sgt. Clark a call.”

  They exchanged looks that Brody thought said the chief deputy agreed, but what he said was different. A very firm “No!” came from his lips before he continued, “Let’s wait. I’ll team with you, VanZant.” After making sure everyone else was out of hearing range, Scott said low and emphatically, “Tommy Mitchell’s car was nowhere to be found. It was definitely right up the road when I brought him in.” Scott tensed his jaw, showing his frustration. “It wouldn’t have been all that long of a walk for him to have left our offices and hoofed it back to the car. Damn it to hell, I wish I’d had his car impounded but didn’t have any reason.”

  Brody nodded, not wanting to say anything, afraid Scott might hear the reservation in his voice. “Let’s head back to where you last saw Mitchell’s car and see if we can find anything. Obviously, the chief did.” He ground the words between his teeth. “I hope the rain that crossed over here didn’t wipe away any evidence. Scott, can I see the map before you fold it up and head back to the car?”

  Chief Deputy Scott hesitated before unfolding the map and spreading it out on the hood of his vehicle. “Sure.”

  Brody took a long, careful look at the coordinates on the map. “Why isn’t this area being searched?” Body pointed to a spot between two pump jacks little more than a half of a mile at best north of a ravine.

  No doubt questioning Scott was a mistake, as he jerked up the map and said, “Oh, I checked it out already. Just forgot to mark it and with so much help, I can’t remember who I assigned to recheck it. Hey, VanZant, I’m sorry I barked a little, but I’m really concerned about the sheriff, particularly in view of what happened back at the office....” Not waiting for a reply, he folded the map. “Let’s get moving before someone messes with any evidence that might be around.”

  Methodically, the two lawmen divided up and carefully searched the area to where Scott had seen Tommy’s car last.

  Finding fresh tire tracks, Brody motioned to Scott to come to the other side of the road.

  “Fresh muddy tire tracks on both sides of the asphalt, so this happened after it rained out here, but I don’t think we even had a sprinkle in town. Looks like he turned around and went back to his place,” Scott commented. “Shit-fire-alive, there looks like a second car stopped on the asphalt. See the muddy track?” He pointed to the ground. “But there’s no way to identify the tire tracks if someone brought him out here to pick up his vehicle. He could have walked home like he said, but then who took his car home?” The chief deputy remo
ved his hat, ran his fingers through his hair, and put his hat back on. “Everyone has reported in twice and dispatch has called me. Nothing found by foot search, so there’s little left to do but suspend the search until we can round up more help.”

  “We could get the county horses out. It’d be faster than on foot,” Brody suggested.

  “No!” Concern swept across Scott’s face, yet his answer was harsh and emphatic. “Not until it’s daylight. It’s too dangerous.”

  Brody knew he frowned at Scott’s tone, but he couldn’t let Scott’s instructions slide without making a rebuttal. “We could have them ready for daybreak, which isn’t but an hour or so away.”

  “No!” The tone of Scott’s words left no doubt in Brody’s mind that the chief deputy was exhausted either with worry or with Brody.

  Chief Deputy Scott turned and walked away.

  “I can still call in favors,” Brody called loudly.

  Without waiting for Scott to snuff out his suggestion, Brody took out his phone and made a call to the tactical flight officer in charge of the helicopter. He got an immediate response and was told he could have the chopper in the air and flying over the coordinates Brody gave him before daybreak.

  Brody reported back to the chief deputy, but instead of being grateful for the help, he directed Brody to check on the folks at the Jacks Bluff, while Scott said he’d go over to the Slippery Elm, Deuce and Rainey’s ranch.

  They agreed that the time wasn’t right to tell Rainey about Deuce, because there could be nothing wrong. It would serve no purpose to upset her needlessly. Scott had already done an outside surveillance to make sure everything was okay.