Texas Ranger Showdown

by Margaret Daley

  “You don’t have.”

  “Yes, I do. Your grandmother will ask when I return and check your car.”

  She exited the SUV at the same time he did and met him at the front of his vehicle to head into the building. “When do you think you’ll be finished with my car?”

  “An hour or so. I don’t want to miss anything. When is your last client today?”

  “Five.”

  “I’ll come back and pick you up then.” He opened the main door for her. “Let me have your car keys.”

  She stopped just inside the one-story building and cocked an eyebrow. “Why?”

  “For me to take a spin around town.” He chuckled. “Although I would like to do that, it’s really for putting your top up when I’m through processing the car.”

  She plopped the keys into Ian’s hand and turned to go to her office. When he followed, she slanted a look at him. “This place is filled with people. I’ll be fine.” She nodded at Rob Owens, a male nurse at the clinic, and at Claire Sanders, the office manager, who was coming out of the break room and passed them in the hallway. “See?”

  “I’m sure you will be. I want to know where your office is because I’ll come here later.”

  Rounding a corner, she paused and unlocked the private entrance to her office. “Thanks.” When she started to close the door, he clasped her arm. The light touch of his hand on her skin produced goose bumps. Her gaze connected with his for a long moment, drinking in the sight of him after so many years—tall, well-built, dark hair cut short and hazel eyes that changed colors with his mood. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed him being in Longhorn. His presence made her feel safe, protected.

  He smiled, two dimples appearing in his cheeks. “Stay here until I pick you up.”

  “I will. If you aren’t here when my last patient leaves, I have files I need to update.”

  He stepped back, staring at the door as if he was going to come into her office instead of leaving. If she was truthful with herself, that brief contact brought forth feelings she’d had the summer after she’d graduated from high school. She’d begun thinking of him as more than just a good friend, but then everything changed for her.

  Quickly, she shut the door and locked it. When the phone on her desk buzzed, she hurried across the office to answer the call from the receptionist. “Is Charles Thorne here?”

  “Yes, he was running late and came in only a moment ago.”

  Strange. Charles was never late. “Okay. Send him in.” Caitlyn headed for the other door into her office and swung it open as Charles approached, his forehead set in a scowl.

  He flung himself onto the couch. “I wish I hadn’t gotten out of bed. Nothing is going the way it should today. I kept you waiting. I’m sorry about that. It won’t happen again.”

  “What delayed you?”

  “A traffic accident. It blocked the street for ten minutes.” Then he went on to mention every small thing that had thrown him off, starting with him getting up late because his alarm clock hadn’t gone off. “I always set it. Someone must have come into my room and clicked it off.”

  “Who might have, Charles? You live alone, right?”

  He shrugged. “I never don’t set it. That’s the only explanation that makes sense.”

  “This world is full of change. As much as you want to control every aspect, you can’t all the time. Did you stop and take deep breaths?” The last time she saw Jane leaving her office popped into her mind. Could she have done anything to prevent Jane’s murder? What if she could have—

  She wrenched her thoughts back to her patient across from her.

  “No, I didn’t have time. I was already five minutes off schedule. I tried rushing, but that made it worse.” He kept looking at his watch as his chest rose and fell rapidly. “And now with the accident, I’m fifteen minutes behind. I feel out of control. I can’t deal with this.” Red flushed his face.

  Up until recently, he’d been able to deal with small changes, thanks to a few techniques she’d helped him incorporate into his routine. What was causing this?

  “Dr. Rhodes, you have got to stop me!” He held out an arm, his hand shaking.

  Stop me! It was as if an arctic blast of wind swept through her office. She hugged herself to keep the trembling at bay.

  Those words again! Had Charles listened to her radio show? Or was it something else?

  * * *

  That evening, Ian escorted Caitlyn to his SUV at her office. “Did anyone from work say anything to you about the caller on your show this morning?” He opened the front passenger door.

  “The receptionist. She was on break and one of the nurses was listening to the end of my show. Creepy was their description.”

  “And yours?”

  “I’d have to agree with creepy. I’ve worked with people who have problems, a few barely functioning day-to-day, but there was something in the way the caller said those two words that set off alarm bells.”

  “I’ve talked with Sheriff Mason, who I’m assisting on this case, and we aren’t revealing that you received a photo of the victim with the words Stop me! on it. If he’s doing this for attention, we don’t want to feed into it.”

  “I agree. The press would have a field day with it. My patients could be affected by the publicity. That’s unacceptable.”

  Ian stopped at a red light and glanced at her, seeing that the events of the day had left their mark on her, based on her slumped shoulders, tired eyes and furrowed forehead. He wished he could have changed the circumstances and the killer had never brought her into the middle of the murder. Why had he? The thought left a hollow sensation in Ian’s gut. “How did your afternoon sessions go?”

  “Okay. My first client was later than I was, which pushed everybody back twenty minutes. Thankfully, the others after him are patient about waiting. A few of mine aren’t.”

  Ian made a left turn. “I got a call from my brother’s housekeeper, Alice. She wanted me to come to the ranch. Sean hasn’t come out of his bedroom all day. When she last saw him last night, he’d been drinking. Today when she knocked on his door, he didn’t respond. When she tried to turn the knob, it was locked.” Sean’s and his relationship had grown further apart as the years had passed and totally broke down when their father died last year.

  “And you want me to come?”

  “Yes, but I’ll understand if you want to go to your grandmother’s house instead.”

  “I’ll go see Sean. I’ve been worried about him. He’s becoming more reclusive.”

  “Yeah, especially since Dad died nine months ago. It’s one of the reasons I transferred here. He hasn’t dealt well with it.”

  “What are the other reasons?”

  “Nana. She’s beginning to be forgetful. Sean used to check on her frequently, but now he doesn’t. When Mom died, Nana stepped in and helped raise us, while Dad ran the ranch. I was six when she died, and my grandma is really the only mother figure I had.” His mother’s riding accident had affected him, but not nearly as much as it had Sean, who’d found her in the field behind the house.

  “With all that’s happened, I’d better call and let Granny know where we’re going. She knows about the photo. Have you talked to her about not saying anything about it?”

  “Yes, when I went back to process your car. Nana too.”

  “Good. I don’t want them connected in any way with the murder investigation.” Caitlyn dug into her purse for her cell phone.

  “Speaking of the investigation, we need to consider that one of your patients could be the killer.”

  She dropped her cell phone onto her lap and twisted toward him. “Because Jane was seeing me or because you think it’s one of my patients?”

  “Because the guy has pulled you into this.”

  “That doesn’t mean one of my patients is the murderer.
”

  “It doesn’t mean he isn’t. I’m concentrating my investigation on Jane. Who would want her dead? Who has she been seeing? But I have to investigate all angles. This afternoon, after talking to your neighbors—who saw no one by your car, by the way—I interviewed people where Jane worked.” Other than hearing that Jane was a wonderful, giving woman, who’d dedicated her life to running the Shephard Foundation, he’d come up with little information to help with the case.

  “Believe me, I want this person caught as much as you do. I’ll go through my list of patients and see if anyone jumps out at me. How about the phone number he used to call me this morning?”

  “He used Jane’s cell phone.”

  Caitlyn sucked in a deep breath. “I was hoping the caller wasn’t the killer, but I guess that’s wishful thinking now.”

  “Yes, since he left the photo and used her phone.”

  “And was in front of Granny’s house, while I was inside.” She folded her arms over her chest.

  He sliced a look toward her. “Call your grandma. Let her know we’re stopping at the ranch. Don’t tell her about the call coming from Jane’s phone. She and Nana don’t need to worry any more than they already are.”

  “Neither do I.”

  While Caitlyn made her call, Ian reviewed what little he’d discovered when he’d talked with Jane’s two closest friends. Terri and Zoe said they didn’t know where she went after seeing Caitlyn or anything about Jane’s whereabouts the day before. They both thought she’d stayed at the Shephard ranch yesterday, not feeling well. They didn’t know of her dating anyone seriously after Max and she broke up. Ian and the sheriff had met at the ranch Jane’s family owned, next to the Pierce family’s land, and gone through it. The only thing out of place was her missing car. He couldn’t find anyone who’d seen Jane after she left her therapy appointment.

  When Caitlyn finished talking with her grandmother, she shook her head. “I’ve changed my mind about staying with Granny. She wants me to and said if I didn’t, then she was going to come to my town house. With all that’s going on, I think we’d be safer next door to you. Did you say anything about me staying at her place?”

  “No, I only mentioned it to you earlier.” The sight of her reinforced all the reasons he needed to find the killer. As a child, he’d been her protector, and he would be now. The guy had involved Caitlyn. Why? He didn’t like any of his answers. “I figured I could talk you into it.” He smiled at her.

  Her eyebrows shot up. “You did? You’re awfully sure of your powers of persuasion.”

  “Well, if that didn’t work, then I was going to let Granny know about that time you broke her favorite lamp.”

  She shot him a glare. “Traitor! It was an accident. I knew how much she loved that lamp. Gramps gave it to her that year for her birthday. You know, I have a few incidents that I could blackmail you over.”

  He chuckled. “Yep, and that’s the reason I haven’t said a word.”

  “Smart man.”

  As he turned into the main gate at the family ranch, he slowed the car. After he’d moved back to Longhorn this past weekend, he’d come out to see Sean, but the housekeeper had told him his brother was gone. Today when she’d called, she admitted that Sean had insisted she say that or he would fire her. Alice had been with the family twenty-five years. For Sean to resort to threatening her didn’t bode well for this meeting.

  They hadn’t openly fought, but they had drifted apart with the state of Texas between them. Sean and he were only two years apart but, in many ways, they were strangers, even as they grew up, and especially after their mother died.

  Ian parked in front of the large two-story, white brick house with four white columns and switched off the engine. But for a long moment, he just sat there, gripping the steering wheel and trying to decide how to deal with his older brother—if he even saw him.

  “Worried?” Caitlyn asked.

  “Yes. We once had a good relationship, but over the years it’s deteriorated.” He explained what happened when he came to see Sean the past Sunday. “We’ve talked on the phone a couple of times, but when I make the call, it always goes to voice mail.”

  “Has it been that way since you left?”

  He shook his head. “Mostly since Dad’s passing last year.”

  “He could still be grieving.”

  “I thought about that, but I think it’s something else. That’s why I’d like you here. If I suggested he see you, he wouldn’t. He’s like Dad was. He won’t admit when he’s not doing well—physically or emotionally.”

  “I’ll do what I can.” Caitlyn scanned the pastures and buildings. “It looks like he’s keeping the ranch up.”

  “Yes, because the foreman we’ve had for years does a great job. I didn’t have a chance to talk with him on Sunday, but I will soon. He’s probably gone for the day. I don’t see his truck by the barn.” He rarely avoided an issue that needed to be dealt with, and he couldn’t avoid Sean any longer. “Let’s go.”

  Before Ian and Caitlyn reached the front door, it opened. Alice, petite with sal-and-pepper hair pulled into a bun, waited in the entrance. A frown carved deep lines into her face.

  “Sean’s in his room. I heard a crash followed by sounds like stuff being smashed against the wall and floor. When he didn’t answer my knock, I tried my master key. He must have a new lock. I couldn’t get in. I’m afraid he’s hurt.”

  As Ian headed for the staircase, he asked, “How long has he been in his room today?”

  “I heard him come home midmorning. I was in the kitchen and didn’t know until I heard a crash from the foyer. He knocked over a table by the staircase.” Alice gestured toward an empty place along the wall. “A leg broke as well as the lamp and the bowl on it.”

  Drunk, no doubt, since he’d been drinking yesterday. “Did you see him then?”

  “No, but I heard his door slam shut when I came into the front hall.”

  On the stairs, Ian pivoted toward the older woman. He didn’t want Sean to blame Alice for him being here. He didn’t know what to expect from his older brother anymore. “We’ll handle this.” As they ascended the steps, he grabbed Caitlyn’s hand. “I won’t take no for an answer. I want you to stay in the hall. If my brother attacks me, call the sheriff.” He passed her his cell phone. “Use my recent-calls list.”

  Ian approached the door and knocked. “Sean, it’s Ian. Let me in.”

  After a full minute, he repeated his request, waited twenty seconds, then put all his power behind a kick right under the lock. Nothing happened. He did it again. On the third attempt, the door flew open.

  As he moved into the trashed room, Caitlyn sidestepped until she could look inside, but she didn’t go in.

  It appeared as though no one was in the bedroom. Ian’s heart thumped against his chest, adrenaline pulsing through his body as he scanned the chaos of items smashed into shards on the carpet, all the objects on the tables and dresser swept onto it too. One nightstand had toppled over.

  When Ian rounded the king-size bed, he found his brother on the floor, lying on tousled sheets, blood staining the white linen.

  THREE

  When Ian stiffened next to Sean’s rumpled bed, Caitlyn came to the entrance with the phone in her hand. “What’s wrong?”

  “Call 9-1-1.” Ian knelt beside the far side of the bed.

  As she punched in the numbers, she hurried into the room. “What happened?”

  Ian reached down to check Sean’s pulse and breathing. “He’s unconscious and has a head wound.”

  Caitlyn reported the emergency, then returned Ian’s phone. “It looks like someone tore this place apart. Do you think he interrupted a robber?”

  Ian carefully rolled Sean onto his back, then glanced around. “Check the window to see if it’s unlocked.”

  Caitlyn inspected the locks, th
en turned back to Ian. “Unless he let them into the room somehow, no one got in here by the window.”

  He hovered over his brother, removing a sheet tangled around Sean’s feet. “Maybe he got up, tripped on something and, when he went down, he hit his head against the corner of the nightstand.” He examined the piece of furniture. “There’s blood on it.” When he shifted his attention to Sean again, he leaned down and sniffed the air. “He reeks of alcohol.”

  “I’ve never seen him drinking liquor.”

  “He hasn’t since he crashed his car into a tree when he was a teenager. He broke an arm and a leg. This is new, or he’s kept it a secret.”

  Caitlyn covered the short distance to the trash can and picked up a bottle of whiskey. “Is this what he’s been doing up here in his room?”

  “Probably, but last night he left the house and came home this morning. I’d say he was drunk then, since Alice said he knocked over the table in the foyer.”

  Sean groaned and tried to curl onto his side.

  Ian stopped him. “Sean?”

  His brother moaned, resisting Ian’s attempt to keep him faceup. “What in the—” He struck out at Ian.

  “Sean, it’s me. Ian.”

  Sean blinked his eyes open. “Leave me alone.”

  “That’s not going to happen.”

  Sean’s gaze fixed on Caitlyn. “What’s she doing here?”

  “I’m here to help,” she answered.

  “I’m fine.”

  Caitlyn moved closer, half expecting him to leap to his feet and demand she leave, but she would stay if Ian needed her. He’d been there for her earlier. She would be there for him now. “I’m not leaving until the paramedics check you out. You have a nasty bump on your left temple, and it’s still bleeding.”

  Sean tried to lift himself up on his elbow, but instead, he closed his eyes and fell back, wincing. “Leave me alone. I don’t need any help.”

  “Well, you’re going to get it whether you need it or not.” Ian rose. “I’ll get something to stem the blood flow.”

  Caitlyn squatted down where Ian had been. “You may have a concussion. If so, you need to have it looked at. Are you dizzy?”