All About Zane (Travis County Legal Book 1)

by Avery J. Moon

  “What if I met you guys there? Would that be okay? Mom’s really scared, Gabe, and I really don’t think she has a clue what those two did.”

  A sigh came through the phone. “It might not be a bad idea at that. You okay to drive there or you want me to have you picked up?”

  “I’ll drive.” We hung up, and I explained to Molly what was going on.

  “Me and the kids will be okay. Go,” she said.

  I did.

  When I arrived, they ushered me into a conference room. Mom was sitting in there alone, looking scared and worried. I hadn’t seen Gabe and figured I must have beat him there. Most likely, he was still searching for Michael.

  A deputy with a notebook followed me in and stood by the door while I sat opposite Mom at the small table.

  “How are you holding up?” I asked.

  She gave me shaky smile. “How do you think? Nobody will tell me what is going on. My husband takes off and the Sheriff’s department shows up looking for him. What am I to think?”

  “That the sheriff really wants to talk with Lawrence for one.”

  “What on earth about?”

  I took a deep breath. “About Becca, Mom. And probably a few other things too,” I said, thinking about the garage fire. We didn’t know yet if Lawrence had been involved in that one. That could have been Michael acting alone. Sounded like the hot-headed kind of thing he would do.

  Mom’s hand went to her heart. “Becca?” She whispered.

  I decided to back up a bit. “Did you know that Michael was going to try to take Zane from her, Mom? Before she went missing?”

  She looked away, no longer wanting to meet my eyes. “Kids with two parents have a better shot in life, Colin. It is a fact.” Her hands grasped the coffee cup in front of her.

  So she wasn’t quite as innocent in all of this as I had hoped. I really prayed that was as far as her involvement went.

  “Well, from the look of things, when the court didn’t agree that Zane should be taken from me and Becca, Michael decided to go a different route.”

  I watched Mom’s face change as what I was saying sunk in.

  “No,” she said. “You’re wrong. She was his sister. He would never have hurt her.” Her pleading eyes finally met mine. “I know Michael gave the two of you a rough time growing up, but he never physically hurt you. He wouldn’t.”

  “Maybe he isn’t the son you think he is, Mom. Maybe he never was.”

  The conference room door opened and Gabe stepped in.

  He walked over to stand at my side and laid a hand on my shoulder in support. “So, any luck here?”

  I shook my head. “I haven’t been here very long.”

  Gabe pulled out the chair next to me and sat looking at Mom for a while without speaking. It was a good way to make sure he had her attention.

  As much as I wanted to ask if they had found any trace of them, I kept quiet. Mom was our best bet there, and the very fact that Gabe was there pretty much proved they were still out there.

  “Mrs. Lawson, has Colin told you why we are looking for your husband and Michael?”

  She nodded but gave him a defiant look. “You think they had something to do with Becca’s death, but you’re wrong. They couldn’t have. Michael wasn’t even in town when she went missing.”

  “As a matter of fact, we have proof that he was, Ma’am. And that he lied to us in his statement when he said he wasn’t.” He went quiet again, thinking. The next question seemed out of the blue at first. “Did you used to have a large brown and white rug? One about six feet long?”

  Mom’s brows drew together. “Yes, in my living room. It was pretty badly worn and Lawrence got me a new one for my birthday.”

  “And when was that?”

  “The last day in April. But what has that to do with anything?”

  “I’ll get to that in time. Where did you put the old rug?”

  She shrugged. “I’m not really sure. It might still be up in the attic. Or Lawrence may have put it out for the trash man. It was very old, not exactly worth saving.”

  Gabe nodded. “You told Colin that your husband came home for his survival bag. Is that right?” She nodded. “Do you have any idea where they might have gone? Do they have a cabin somewhere? Or a special camping site?”

  Mom leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. I knew that look.

  “I don’t think I want to tell you anything more until you tell me what makes you think they had anything to do with my Becca’s death. I simply don’t believe it.”

  “You have the right to an attorney, Ma’am, if you want one. But failure to answer questions in a criminal investigation would not be a smart thing to do. If they are innocent, then they should have no problem coming in to answer questions, now should they?”

  Her look wavered. The sheriff had a good point there. Innocent men generally didn’t go on the lam when the law came knocking.

  Mom’s eyes met mine once more. “Colin, can you give me one reason to believe any of this? Is that too much to ask?”

  I glanced at Gabe and he gave me a short nod.

  “Remember when I got the neighborhood women together and taught them some basic techniques to keep safe?” She nodded. “One of the things I taught them was to knock out the tail light if they were ever stuffed in a trunk. Remember?”

  She nodded again, more slowly this time.

  “When Becca disappeared, Michael was supposed to be at an out of state convention. He even rented a Cadillac to make an impression.”

  The conference room door opened again, and a female officer came in with fresh coffee and a plate of cookies. I smiled at her in thanks and helped myself to a sip of coffee before continuing. I noticed Mom wasn’t looking nearly so sure of herself.

  “As it turns out, Michael was late turning the Caddy back into the rental agency.” My eyes locked onto hers. “He had to have a tail light assembly repaired first.”

  She swallowed and turned away. “He could have had an accident. Or vandalism.”

  “The repair shop he took it to had their doubts, Mrs. Lawson, so they kept the assembly.” Gabe took over for me. “They kept it because there was a fair amount of blood in the replaced tail light. Michael told the man that it was his blood. It wasn’t. It matches Becca’s DNA, Ma’am. Becca was in the trunk of that vehicle.” He paused as my mother seemed to shrink within herself, her eyes clouding over. She was shutting down.

  “Then just tonight,” he continued, “there was a fire at that very repair shop. The man that changed the assembly for Michael was tied to his bed in the back and left to burn. Whoever set the fire didn’t think he’d make it out, but the fire department had a stellar day today.”

  Mom wouldn’t meet either set of eyes on her. She could have easily passed for an intricately painted statue.

  “Look, Mom,” I said, knowing that we weren’t going to get anything out of her in this state. “If you still think they are innocent, then you should want them to come in and talk with us, right? Clear their names and keep us looking for the right person? You want justice for Becca, too, don’t you?”

  It was a lot to ask. Justice for a daughter that might mean the loss of a husband and a stepson. Of course, to me, that would account for more of a win than a loss, but I’m not Mom.

  There was a glimmer of hope in her eyes. “They could straighten all this out, couldn’t they?”

  I hesitated. I’d never lied to Mom before and I really didn’t want to start now.

  “If they are innocent, Mrs. Lawson, then them coming in is to only way to prove that,” Gabe stepped in for me, bless him.

  She nodded slowly. “I’m not sure where they would have gone, honestly. They’ve been stacking supplies somewhere in case of an emergency. But they’ve never told me where that is.” She gave a sad smile. “I think they were afraid if the worst happened I’d invite too many friends to join us.”

  They’d probably been right.

  “Do you and your husband, or Mic
hael and his wife, own any other properties?” Gabe asked.

  She shook her head. “Not that I know of.” Mom thought for a minute and then said slowly, “I did overhear them talking once about a repossessed house that Michael’s bank had owned for a while. No one seemed to want to buy it because of the bad shape it’s in. I remember Michael said they could probably get it for practically nothing.”

  “How long ago was that?”

  “Last year sometime. Before Becca went missing for sure.”

  “Can you think of anything else that might help us find them? Anywhere they would go? Someone who would take them in?”

  Mom just looked at him blankly. “No, I’m sorry, but I can’t.” She hesitated and then reached out to touch Gabe’s arm. “Promise you won’t hurt them?” It was more whisper than anything.

  “I’ll do my very best, Mrs. Lawson.” Gabe hesitated. “With them being survivalists, I’m guessing they have weapons. Can you tell us what kinds?”

  She shrugged. “Michael likes his guns. Has a whole safe full of them. Lawrence has a shotgun and an entire collection of knives. He prefers bladed weapons.”

  Holy shit. My eyes met Gabe’s. When they found them, they’d be facing an arsenal.

  Not good.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN: The Bunker (Colin)

  Michael might think he’s a big shot at his bank, and to most people he is, but there are people over even him. Within minutes, the sheriff had the bank president on his way to the bank to pull the records of all bank-owned houses in the local area. Half an hour after that he had a couple of prime targets.

  One really seemed to fit the bill. An old-fashioned log cabin that didn’t even have working indoor plumbing. Instead, it had a well and hand pump outside, and an outhouse for restroom use.

  Just the type of rustic abode Michael would go for to prove his manliness.

  That was where the sheriff decided to start. This time I wasn’t taking no for an answer. I might not be able to run, but I’m a hell of a crack shot. Most likely a much better marksman than anyone in his department, with Gabe being the only possible exception.

  He handed me a rifle and a box of ammo and told me that if I didn’t follow his orders to a tee, he’d handcuff me and stuff me in the back of a squad car himself. I believed him.

  By this time it was about three in the morning, and we were really hoping to catch them sleeping. The cabin was pretty far out into the country on roughly four very wooded acres.

  I wasn’t looking forward to the hike in. Dark woods with hidden tree roots are generally not cane-friendly. Gabe never said a word, but he got in step right in front of me. I stepped where he stepped and managed to stay on my feet the whole way.

  There was a long gravel drive, but we had left our vehicles off the road at the end of it. We didn’t want to announce our presence.

  Gabe placed his men around the house so that all windows and doors were covered. His best deputy took the back door and Gabe and I approached the front.

  It worried me that only Michael and Joan’s car was there. The absence of Lawrence’s vehicle unsettled my thoughts of a happy and quick arrest.

  Well, happy for us.

  Every one of us, myself included, was wearing Kevlar. Unless they had armor piercing rounds or aimed for our heads, we should be pretty protected.

  Gabe took one side of the door and I took the other. You don’t stand immediately in front in this situation. My rifle was leveled at the door and I was more than ready to pull the trigger if needed.

  The door opened while Gabe was raising his hand to knock the second time. Joan stood in the doorway. A thoroughly distraught Joan. Until this very moment, I had never seen Joan without full face makeup and perfect hair. The Joan that opened the door was almost unrecognizable.

  She looked at Gabe and then at me and slumped against the doorway. “Oh thank God it’s over.”

  Not one to stand on ceremony, and the fact that he had a warrant in his pocket helped, Gabe pushed past her and into the single room cabin. There was no one there but her, and nowhere to really hide.

  “Where’s Michael and Lawrence?” Gabe asked gruffly, turning back to Joan.

  She stiffened, her eyes going back to me. “You mean you don’t have them?”

  “We wouldn’t be here if we did,” Gabe said. “Where are they?”

  Joan slumped heavily to the floor, crying. “They went after Zane.” She looked up to me, tears streaming down her face. “He says he’s not leaving without his son. When I saw you, I thought...”

  “Shit,” Gabe said leading the way back to the car at a run. I kept up as best I could. As he ran, he radioed instructions for his men to take Joan into custody. If she knew what was going on, then she was far from innocent. Either way, having her in hand was a good idea.

  Gabe made the run far faster than little old crippled me, but he was nice enough to start the car up the drive to meet me. I jumped in as quickly as I could and he peeled gravel leaving.

  With the men taking Joan in, that only left one squad car, two men, to back us up. While he was on the radio drumming up a patrol to go to his house, just in case Michael knew of our visit, I was dialing Molly.

  She answered on the first ring.

  “Is everything okay there?” I asked.

  “Yeah, why? Is there trouble?” she asked.

  “Could be headed your way, but hopefully not. Make sure the doors and windows are locked and don’t let Zane out of your sight until you hear from me, okay?”

  “You got it.” There was the briefest of pauses. “He’s coming after Zane, isn’t he?”

  “Yeah, but we’re hoping to head him off at our house. Just didn’t want you to be blindsided if he followed us earlier.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  “That Molly?” Gabe asked.

  I nodded.

  “She know how to shoot a pistol?”

  Molly must have heard him. “Yeah, I can handle a pistol. I had a boyfriend once that taught me to shoot. Revolver and automatic, too.”

  “Good,” and he proceeded to relay just where he hid his weapons. The man had one in each room.

  “Thanks,” Molly said. “That makes me feel better.”

  “Here’s hoping you won’t need them, and the sheriff is sending a car around to patrol, too, as soon as one gets free. Stay safe.”

  I felt guilty. I should be there, not playing a deputy. While I was fairly sure that Zane would be safe with Michael, I knew he would have no difficulty eliminating the extra baggage.

  Damn it. I had put both Molly and Matthew in danger.

  We rounded the last block to the house and Gabe slammed on the brakes and pulled to the side of the street. Lawrence’s car was parked several houses down from mine.

  God was with us. At least so far.

  The other squad car followed suit and Gabe told me to sit tight while they checked the car. He got out, gun drawn and raced to the vehicle to verify it was empty.

  His deputy doubled back to his car and grabbed a parking boot. If they got past us to return to the car, they wouldn’t be going anywhere. Not in that car.

  Gabe gave me the nod, and I climbed out, gripping my cane with one hand, and the rifle with the other. That is until Gabe took his police issue shotgun out of the back and traded my weapon out.

  Good thinking. The short-barreled shotgun would be much easier handled one-handed than the rifle.

  There was no sight of Michael or Lawrence, so Gabe and I got out of sight from the road and he tossed his keys to his men. “Move them out of sight.”

  I raised my eyebrow at him.

  He shrugged. “Your house is empty, so they should be back on their way to the car soon. It will be easier if we can nab them then.”

  It was a good plan, right up until we started smelling smoke.

  And then I remember that Gabe wasn’t entirely right. The house wasn’t totally empty. Dakky Dog was still in there.

  And I was moving, the sheriff by my side. H
e spoke as quietly as he could into the walkie on his shoulder, telling his men to alert the over-worked fire department of their second fire of the night.

  They wouldn’t be fast enough. The two men must have learned from their first failed attempt. This one was a roaring blaze by the time we got in sight. At least that was true for the upper side of the house where my bedroom was.

  I don’t think Michael intended for me to survive. Right now, my biggest concern was for Dakky Dog as I hadn’t had a chance to install a doggy door for her yet.

  Gabe tried to hold me back, but I shook off his arm, mouthing the word dog. He understood and let me go, covering my approach from behind. As the front of the house wasn’t far off the street, I figured my steps were up to their dirty work in the seldom used backyard. It wasn’t fenced and backed into a thin line of trees that separated our subdivision from the next one over.

  Working as quickly and as quietly as I could, I unlocked the front door and prepared to whistle. My preparations were wasted.

  As soon as the front door opening was wide enough, Dakota raced out past me, out the front yard gate which we had left open, and around the house. Gabe was on her tail. I was following, too, but not nearly so quickly.

  I turned the corner just in time to see our newest family member tackle a shadow standing in the trees. There was a great deal of cursing and yelling. I recognized the voice. My step-dad wasn’t too happy.

  Go, Dakota.

  Then I saw the ladder leaning on the side of the house up to Zane’s room. I glanced around, taking cover in the trees as Lawrence had, but there was no sign of Michael on the ground. Then I saw movement at Zane’s window.

  I wasn’t sure if Mike had heard his father’s distress, or simply finally figured out that the house was empty. Either way, he was backing out the window onto the ladder.

  The devil in me wanted to move the ladder and let him roast. If Gabe hadn’t been there, heaven help me, I think I would have.

  Speaking of Gabe, now that I knew where Mike was, I looked around for him. He had called off Dakky and had my step-dad unarmed and cuffed to the sturdy clothes line pole. I’d helped Becca cement that thing in. He wasn’t going anywhere soon.