Suddenly a Family

by Harris, Leann

“I’m not. It’s Luke.”

  A startled look crossed Toni’s face. “The homicide detective?”

  “There’s more to the man than looking at the seamy side of life. He grew up a farm boy in the panhandle. His garden is a tribute to that.”

  Odd, but Toni had never thought of Luke in the way J.D. just described him. For Toni, Luke was the tough detective who had a soft spot for his wife and children. Maybe she should look at Zach in another light. But what?

  “What’s changed?” J.D. asked.

  Startled, Toni glanced at her sister. “What makes you think anything changed?”

  J.D. folded her arms across her chest. “Because, baby sister, I could always read you like a book. And you have a look about you that says you just lost your best friend.”

  It was pointless to try to deny anything to J.D. Her sister had always been able to ferret out her secrets. J.D. was the first one who understood the guilt that Toni felt for surviving the accident that killed her date. J.D. also was the person who encouraged Toni to move away from home and try her own wings.

  “What’s happened between you and Zach?” J.D. persisted.

  Toni’s eyes met J.D.’s. “What makes you think something has happened between us?” Toni hoped she could bluff her way through this conversation.

  “Quit stalling, Toni. What’s happened?”

  What should she say? “Things have gotten complicated.”

  J.D.’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve slept with him, haven’t you?”

  Toni gaped at her sister.

  “I thought so. You have that look about you.”

  “And what look is that?” Toni demanded.

  “Lovesick.”

  “Well, if I remember correctly, you didn’t intend to marry Luke, but did. And I have the sneaky suspicion you found yourself in the same position that I’m in.”

  “You’re right.” J.D. looked out into the yard.

  “So, how did you and Luke work it out?” Toni asked.

  “When you come close to death, which we did on the case we were working on, it puts things into perspective. As a technique to solve problems, I wouldn’t recommend it. But, Toni, you need to decide what’s important and what you can live with. Then go after it.”

  “The problem is, J.D., I don’t know what that is.”

  “Then, sis, you’re in big trouble.”

  That she did know.

  Zach stretched out in the bed, missing the woman who usually slept on the other side. It was stupid, of course, but it was the truth.

  Damn, he was in trouble.

  The girls had missed Toni at dinner, but George distracted them enough to make them laugh. The card game afterward was quite a revelation. George played a mean game of Old Maid, but oddly enough, Zach’s quiet child, Lori, won most of the games.

  As the girls got ready for bed, it was obvious that they missed Toni. She’d been the glue that had held them together. Even Sam seemed to miss her.

  Zach rolled onto his side. The visions of making love to Toni last night crowded into his brain. Her smell, the taste of her lips, the smoothness of her skin, the exquisite pleasure that their lovemaking brought.

  He clamped down on the wild thoughts. What he needed to do was think about the problems at Anderson and think about how Ollie and Carl fit into the picture, not how much he missed Toni.

  His last thought as he drifted into sleep was that he was glad Toni would be back tomorrow.

  Ollie stared at the man. “They’re going to discover what we’ve been doing. I think we should cut our losses and run.”

  “You’re being stupid. No one can pin anything on you or me.”

  “Zachary Knight looked mighty angry when he came to the field. If he’d been alone, I don’t want to think what would’ve happened, him being ex-Special Forces.”

  “He wouldn’t have harmed you.”

  “Easy for you to say. It ain’t your butt hanging out. I want out,” Ollie demanded.

  “You should’ve done a better job sabotaging his brakes.”

  Ollie shrugged. “I want my share of the money.”

  “Fine. I’ll meet you out on the public road by the storage tank near field number three. I’ll have your money.”

  As Ollie drove away, the other man decided it was time to take Ollie out of the picture.

  He watched as Ollie drove up and parked beside him. He fingered the gun on the seat beside him. He hated that everyone was turning chicken on him. Damn them anyway.

  Ollie leaped out of his car. “You got my money?”

  The man raised the gun.

  “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” Ollie backed away, fear in his eyes.

  “I’m making sure that you don’t rat on me. Besides, I don’t want to share the money.” He pulled the trigger and placed a shot between Ollie’s eyes. Ollie collapsed like a rag doll.

  Calmly, the man got out of his car, retrieved Ollie’s keys, and put the body in the trunk.

  He thought about running the car into the sludge pit, but he heard the sound of a diesel engine and knew others would soon be here.

  With a final look around the area, he was satisfied that he hadn’t left any evidence to connect him with the murder.

  He thought about the journals Ollie had, but he didn’t worry about them. Those journals would only incriminate Ollie.

  Nothing pointed to him.

  Zach studied the computer printouts on Caprock. When he’d checked with the accounting supervisor yesterday, she’d also been concerned by the billings. Yes, indeed, what had been paid out to Caprock seemed a bit high, she’d agreed, but this time last year, there had been many cost overruns.

  “Zach,” his secretary’s voice came over the intercom. “Detective Phelps is on the phone.”

  Zach picked up the receiver. “Afternoon, Detective. What can I do for you?”

  “We found Ollie Townshed. His body was discovered in the trunk of his car. He had a bullet through his skull.”

  Rubbing his neck, Zach sighed. “So, now two of Anderson’s employees have been killed. Do you believe in coincidence?”

  “No. I think you’ve got a murderer there.”

  Zach rubbed his hand over his face. “Do you have any witnesses to Ollie’s murder?”

  “None. We found the car on the public road near your field number three. The officer who came across it called it in, and discovered Ollie was wanted for questioning. Further investigation led to the discovery of the body. I’m going to go back to his apartment. I’ll be able to search it now. Maybe the man left something that would identify his killer.”

  “I’ll bet money is what drove this murder,” Zach commented. “It’s been claimed that Ollie recommended a company named Caprock Service to keep up some fields. A substantial sum of money was paid to them.”

  “When we search his apartment, I’ll keep my eye out for anything that might clue us into what Ollie was doing.”

  “Do you mind if I join you in the search? I won’t interfere, but I might spot something that might tell us about Ollie.”

  After a moment, Martin said, “Sure. Why don’t you meet me at Ollie’s in about ten minutes?” Martin gave him the address of the unit.

  “I’ll see you there.” Zach was glad he’d rented a car yesterday. He checked his watch. It was a little after one in the afternoon. He had several hours before he had to pick up the girls at day care.

  As Zach walked out of the building, he saw Carl talking to a woman in the parking lot. The woman seemed upset from her body language and waving arms. Just as Zach was about to walk over to the couple, the woman turned and walked into the building. She motioned for Carl to follow her. The woman seemed familiar, but Zach couldn’t get a clear view of her face.

  But Zach somehow had a bad feeling about what he’d just witnessed.

  “They’re on to us,” Stephanie Norman snapped.

  “No, they’re not,” Carl replied.

  “That’s not what Ollie said to me this morning. Ap
parently Zachary Knight and his wife have been questioning him about Caprock and the billings for that account.”

  Carl’s nerves were on edge. He didn’t need this confrontation here in the parking lot. Had the woman lost her marbles to talk to him out here, where everyone could see them? He looked around and caught a glimpse of Zach as he walked to his car.

  “Why don’t we discuss this in a more private place?” He stepped closer. “If you aren’t careful, you’ll be the one to tip our hand. Is that what you want, Stephanie?”

  Her eyes darkened with hurt. “No.”

  “Then why don’t you go back to your office and pretend everything is fine. I’ll contact you later tonight.”

  In her eyes, Carl read her panic. He smiled through his irritation. He needed to keep the stupid woman happy for a few more days. Then he could be rid of her.

  He gave her a smile, then turned to go. As he walked away, he wanted to scream about the incompetence of some people.

  But then again, he’d already disposed of two loose ends. Pretty soon, he could walk away with all the money and no worries.

  As he drove to Ollie’s apartment, Zach wondered about that scene he had just witnessed. Why was Carl meeting this woman in the parking lot?

  When he got to the apartment complex, the police were combing through Ollie’s residence. Zach walked around the apartment for a few minutes and then decided to look through the pile of papers on the coffee table. Near the bottom were several bank statements. Glancing at each one, Zach noted that thousands of dollars were going through the man’s account.

  “Zach,” Martin called from the bedroom. “I think we’ve found something.”

  He hurried into the bedroom and stopped when he spotted the bound journal on the bed. It was the same kind of journal that they kept out in the fields to note the amount of crude in each storage tank. As he walked forward, Zach saw the name on the spine of the book—Anderson Oil.

  Zach looked at Martin. “Is that the missing logbook from field number one?”

  “It is, the very one we’ve been looking for since the murder of Wayne Thompson.”

  Picking up the book, Zach examined the entries. Although he hadn’t worked in the oil industry for long, he knew that this book could prove that someone had been stealing oil. He looked at Phelps.

  “We need to compare these figures with official records.”

  “Detective Phelps, I found some more items.” The officer set two boxes on the bed. In the first one was stationery for Caprock, along with envelopes and business cards.

  “Everything needed to step up a dummy corporation,” Zach said looking at the articles.

  In the second box were bank statements for Ollie’s checking and savings account, going back several years.

  “I wonder,” Zach began, “if we can make a connection between the balance in Ollie’s account and paid bills to Caprock?”

  “We can sure try. Do you have a copy of what Anderson paid to Caprock?”

  “I do. Why don’t we go back to my house and look through the files?”

  “Your house?” Phelps asked.

  “I’d rather no one at Anderson sees us. I’m sure someone within the company is orchestrating these thefts and I don’t want to tip them off. I have a copy of Caprock’s billing for the last year at the house. Since the death of Wayne Thompson, I’ve been going over Caprock’s bills trying to come up with a pattern.”

  “Okay.”

  “Besides, my wife used to work in the accounting department of Anderson, and she might see something that you and I might miss. She’s flying back into town tonight.”

  “Your wife?” Phelps asked.

  “Antonia Anderson Knight.”

  Martin’s eyes widened. “The daughter of George Anderson?”

  “Yes.”

  “When did this happen? There was nothing in the papers.”

  Zach shook his head. “Apparently, you don’t read the society column or go to First Baptist, do you, Detective? Because I assure you that everyone there knows of my marriage.”

  Martin shook his head. “Yeah, maybe I should go to church.”

  When the two men drove up to the house, there were two cars parked in the driveway.

  “Seems you have company, Zach,” Phelps noted as he walked by Zach’s side. The girls bounced out of Zach’s car.

  “Mom’s home,” Lisa shrieked, running to the house.

  Zach shook his head. “I don’t know who that other car belongs to.” The cream-colored sedan was nothing fancy, and looked like a government-issued vehicle.

  When Zach opened the front door, Lisa charged into the living room.

  “Momma, are you here?” she cried. Lori followed as fast as her cast allowed her to move.

  Toni hugged both girls. “How are you?” she asked.

  “We missed you,” Lisa answered. “But we ate with Grandpa last night. And played Old Maid. But you know what? Lori won most of the games.”

  Toni smiled at Lori. “Did you whip Grandpa?”

  Her smile sparkled. “I did.”

  Toni laughed. The sound warmed Zach more than he wanted. When Toni glanced at him, he thought he saw joy in her eyes.

  “You’re early,” he said stupidly.

  Toni’s eyes sparkled. “I caught an earlier flight.”

  Someone cleared his throat. Toni stood.

  “Zach, I’m glad your home. We have company from the city,” Toni said, indicating the woman. Toni peaked around Zach and looked at Detective Phelps.

  “We’ve got several city employees here, then,” Zach began. He turned and said, “Detective Phelps, I want you to meet my wife, Toni and—”

  The other woman stepped up. “Francis Getty. I’m a social worker with the city. I’ve come on a surprise visit to check on how you are getting along with your daughters. We wanted to investigate your sister-in-law’s claim against you.”

  “My ex-sister-in-law,” Zach corrected.

  She nodded her acceptance of the correction. She turned to Detective Phelps. “Are you with the city?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  Her gaze turned to Zach. “May I ask why you have a Midland Police detective accompanying you home?”

  Zach wanted to shift into his don’t-mess-with-me persona that he used while in the service, but when he glanced at Toni, he read the warning in her eyes to cooperate.

  “The detective accompanied me home so we could go over some evidence in a murder case. The victim was an employee of Anderson Oil.”

  Francis turned to Phelps. “Is that so?”

  Zach worked hard to cap his anger.

  “Indeed it is, Ms. Getty. We came here because Mrs. Knight worked for her father in the accounting department and we wanted her advice on the records.”

  “I see. Well, I would like to conduct some interviews with Mr. Knight, but we can postpone them until next week.” She pulled a business card from her purse. “Please call tomorrow and set up an appointment. We need to get this interview done so the court will have the information it needs.”

  “Daddy,” Lisa asked. “Is somethin’ wrong?”

  Squatting down, Zach smiled at her. “Nothing’s wrong. This lady here wants to see how well you’re doing now.”

  Lisa glanced up. “I like my new house. I’ve got a daddy, momma, grandpa, lots o’ cousins. And a dog. Go away.”

  Zach pulled his daughter close. When he stood, he still held Lisa.

  “Could I interview the children?” Ms. Getty asked.

  Zach started to object, but Toni smiled and turned to the woman.

  “Since we don’t have anything here for dinner, why don’t you talk to the girls while Zach picks us up something to eat?”

  Ms. Getty nodded and took the girls into the living room. Zach, Toni and Martin walked into the kitchen. “Is everything okay?” Martin asked.

  She glanced at Phelps. “You tell me.”

  “We have some papers we’d like you to look at,” Zach explained.


  Her eyebrow arched. “Oh?”

  “We found the logbook for the field where Wayne Thomas died.”

  “Where?” Surprise colored her voice.

  “In Ollie Townshed’s apartment.” Zach saw the wariness in her face. He slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his chest. He whispered, “They found Ollie’s body today. He’d been shot.”

  Toni jerked back and stared at Zach. “Oh, no.”

  Zach nodded toward the living room. “What are we going to do about that?”

  “Don’t worry. If Lori could beat my dad at Old Maid, she’ll hold her own with the social worker. Why don’t you let me order a pizza, then you go and get it? And I think we might include our first guest,” Toni added, looking at the detective.

  “I’d appreciate a meal.”

  “Good.”

  After the girls had been settled in their beds, Toni, Zach and Martin Phelps gathered in the study.

  Zach placed the logbook on the desk, then showed Toni the bank statements they had. “We found this stuff in Ollie’s apartment. I was wondering if you could tap into the company’s computer and check this book against what’s recorded for the field.”

  “Sure.”

  She accessed the company’s computer and, using Zach’s security code, she brought up the file. As they studied the entries, the discrepancies became obvious.

  “It’s not flagrant, so it wouldn’t stand out, but it’s there. The actual barrels versus what they put down for official count,” Toni commented.

  “Whoever was doing the stealing was smart. A little here and there, but nothing big to alert people to the scam.”

  Zach sat back. “Why don’t you bring up Caprock’s account?”

  As they reviewed the entries, Zach pulled out the report the independent engineer had given him. They compared the two.

  “It looks like Caprock did some work, but other times, they didn’t service the fields they claimed. Also, look here.” Toni pointed to two entries. “And here are those phantom fields.”

  Zach’s eyes narrowed. “Why didn’t someone in accounting catch these phony charges?”