The lump in Kyle’s throat swelled. He swallowed several times but couldn’t dislodge it. “Thanks,” he finally murmured, his voice wavering. He winced and coughed. “On top of everything else, my allergies are worse with all this dust around here. It’s so dry.”
“We’ll make June work. You can go camping with me and the boys. Practice target shooting some more.”
“I’d like that.”
When Kyle disconnected, he placed the cell on the box and began tearing into the cartons, searching for his punching bag. He needed it before he destroyed something.
Standing in the field behind the coyote’s house, I watch as it burns, the dead man sitting in the lounger where I left him tied up. He didn’t last as long as I thought he would for such a tough macho man. The shock on the coyote’s face was priceless, especially in the end when I finished him off. But not before I got my money and the names I wanted.
In the early morning dawn, the sound of sirens in the distance signal that it’s time to leave. With one last glance at the flames consuming any evidence of my presence in the house, I walk away, my steps light for the first time in years, my spirit full of hope. I’ll be able to contain the mistake from my earlier moment of passion yesterday morning with Anna.
4
All around Liliana, darkness let go of its hold on the day. She lengthened her strides, the sound of her running shoes hitting the pavement almost soothing—until the blare of sirens disturbed the rhythm of her jogging pace. She slowed her gait and scanned the sky. In the distance, she spied the plume of dark gray smoke mushroom into the air, threatening to return the sky to predawn dimness.
Liliana reached her turnaround point and started toward her house, the murder case yesterday hounding each step. Who was Jane Doe? Why was she killed? About all they had was: an old black truck leaving the field, the killer wore a tan cowboy hat and spoke Spanish, the gun was a .38 and something about an evil eye. What, she wasn’t sure.
When she reached her front yard, she paced while downing half a bottle of water. The first rays of the sun peeked over the horizon. She turned in the direction of the fire and found the smoke in the air diminished although its scent lingered on the breeze. Durango didn’t need a brush fire. It might have rained some this month, but it was still too dry. It wouldn’t take much to have a real problem with a wildfire getting completely out of control.
Inside, she quickly took a shower and headed for her kitchen and her usual breakfast of peanut butter on a banana with a cup of strong black coffee. As she ate, she thought of what she needed to get done that day. She wanted to revisit the crime scene. Although she and Cody had gone through it again yesterday, she couldn’t accept there wasn’t a piece of evidence somewhere. Maria’s description of the murder reinforced her feeling the crime was a spur-of-the-moment decision, one of passion. The way he’d shot Jane Doe supported that—overkill.
Liliana rose to refill her mug, but the ringing phone detoured her steps to the stove. She snatched her cell from her purse on the desk and said, “Yes, Chief?”
“The fire captain called me a few minutes ago and reported a dead body in a chair in the living room. It’s still too hot to go into the house, but he thinks it’s murder.”
“Why?”
“Because the man in the chair was bound with barbwire. Someone wanted our victim to suffer.” The chief gave her the address.
“When can I get into the house?”
“Not until the fire department gives me the go-ahead, but you might go to the site and see what you can find until then.”
When she clicked off, she thought of calling the new Texas Ranger but decided not to. She didn’t know what was going on yet. Let him sleep in, and she’d call him later.
“Two murders in two days?” Half an hour later, Cody stopped next to Liliana outside the charred ruins of a one-story house.
“Who called you?”
“Not you.”
She slanted a look at him. “Sorry. I thought you might need your beauty sleep.”
He grinned. “I’m touched you would think of my well-being. We only met yesterday.”
“At the first murder scene. We need to stop meeting like this.”
“As the scene goes, there isn’t much we can do until the house is declared safe.”
“But we can start talking to the neighbors.” Liliana scanned the few homes on the street at the edge of town, conveniently isolated for the killer.
Although the places on Javelin Road sat on half-acre lots, they all needed a coat of paint, massive cleanup in the yards, and rotten boards replaced in their wooden houses—except the one directly across the street from the victim’s.
“And find out all we can about Victor Ruiz.” Cody took several steps closer to the smoldering structure, small wisps of smoke trailing upward from the charred pieces of the house. “Someone wanted to make sure Señor Ruiz died this morning.” He rotated toward Liliana. “Do you know anyone who lives on this street?”
She gestured toward the house directly across from the burned one. “Yes, Señora Emilia. She is a friend of my mother’s. I think we should start with her.”
As Liliana approached Señora Emilia’s, the living room curtains moved as though someone had been looking outside and stepped away. Liliana smiled, picturing her mother’s friend avidly following the commotion across the street. She was the poster person for the Neighborhood Watch.
Before Liliana had a chance to knock on the front door, it swung open about a foot and Señora Emilia poked her head through the gap. “Liliana, I was expecting you . . .” The older woman’s voice faded into the silence of an unspoken “but” as she studied Cody behind Liliana.
He leaned toward her. “I’m going to interview some of the other neighbors. I’ll see you in a while at the crime scene.”
Liliana nodded, his departure another reason she was beginning to like the man. He knew when to disappear and let someone else do the job. Señora Emilia opened the door wider and moved to the side to allow Liliana into the house while Cody descended the porch steps and strolled toward the place next door.
“He’s taken over for Señor Garcia, yes?”
“Sí.” Liliana trailed the family friend into her living room and took a chair across from the couch where Señora Emilia sat. The smells of baking bread and cinnamon teased her senses. Her mouth watered. “Did you make your cinnamon rolls?”
“Sí. I can get you one if you’re hungry.”
“No, I had breakfast, but I wish I could bottle that scent.” For a moment, the aroma masked the odor of the fire, the stench of death.
“How is it going? Your mama didn’t tell me about this new ranger.”
“That’s because I haven’t said anything to her. He wasn’t supposed to be starting till Monday.”
“But the murder yesterday changed everything, yes?”
“Can you tell me anything about your neighbor, Victor Ruiz?”
Dressed in a flowered smock, Señora Emilia smoothed her hand over her perfectly styled black hair, her forehead creased. “El bandido.”
Liliana waited a moment for her to elaborate on her comment, but when all she did was deepen her frown, Liliana asked, “Why do you say that?”
“When he looked at me, I saw evil.” The older woman shivered and folded her arms across her chest.
Evil eye? “Has he done anything bad you know about?” Señora Emilia liked to gossip with Mama, but she didn’t spread unfounded rumors. Liliana had come to respect her keen observation of people.
“Mal hombre coming all the time to his casa.” Señora Emilia’s eyes fastened onto Liliana’s, fear reflected in the dark depths. “I know I shouldn’t feel this way. Our Father wouldn’t approve, but I am glad Señor Ruiz is gone. It doesn’t surprise me he was murdered with the kind of company he kept.”
Liliana scooted to the edge of her chair. “Murdered? I didn’t say he was. Why did you say that?”
“Because Carla called me and told me. Her son o
verheard the firemen talking about finding a dead man tied up in the house.”
“Carla lives on Javelin Road?”
“Sí, her son was leaving for work and saw the fire. He called it in. I’m glad he did. My house could have caught fire, too. Fire department got here fast, yes?”
“I agree. I’ve seen a fire like that spread to other houses because of the winds.”
“Too dry here. I still remember my cousin in Fort Davis almost getting caught in that wildfire a while back. Burned his place down. Nothing left.”
“Señora Emilia, what is Carla’s son’s name?”
“Luis Morales. A good son. A bit shy. But he did good today.”
“Where does he work?”
“The hospital. He’s an orderly.”
Liliana rose, went to the closed curtains, and pulled them open. "Do you see him out in the crowd?"
Señora Emilia pushed herself to her feet and covered the distance between them. Squinting, she studied the people from the neighborhood milling around, several small clusters huddled together, arms gesturing as they talked. “Espere un momento.”
Her mother’s friend scurried toward a cabinet and retrieved a pair of binoculars. At the window she used them to survey the crowd. “No. He’s not there.”
Liliana imagined Señora Emilia doing that often, at least according to her mother. “Which one is Carla’s house?”
“Luis wouldn’t have gone home. He would have gone on to work. He is very good worker. When I was in the hospital for a couple of days last fall, he took great care of me. It’s just such a shame others don’t see how special he is.”
“I’d like to talk to Carla, too.”
“Oh. It’s at the end of the block. The brown one without rusted cars or junk stacked in the yard. I will not be sorry to see Señor Ruiz’s cleaned up. He’d only lived here four months and look at the trash.” The older woman shook her head, tsking.
That explained why she didn’t know much about Victor Ruiz. He was relatively new to town. “Does he have family?”
“A lot of people came and went from his place at all hours of the day and night, but I don’t think so. At least not here. He came from Brownsville.”
Liliana removed a business card from her pocket and fit it into the woman’s palm. “In case you don’t have my number at the police station. If you remember anything about Victor Ruiz, Señora Emilia, please call me.”
“We have been fortunate to avoid the violence other communities in the area have experienced. We are in for trouble, yes? I live alone and—”
Liliana clasped Señora Emilia’s arms. “Not if I have anything to do about it. If you get worried or see anything that concerns you, call me. I’ll be over.”
Her mother’s friend patted Liliana’s hand. “You are a good daughter for your mama.” A twinkle sparkled in her dark eyes. “Carla has been looking for a young woman for her son. You could do worse. Any man who loves his mama like he does would make a good husband.”
“I’m past the prime age to marry.”
Señora Emilia giggled. “I’ve heard it all. Who told you that?”
“Mama, just this week—again.”
“I will deny I said this, but don’t listen to your mama. You have a few good years left to marry and have bebes. You are twenty-five or six, yes?”
Liliana started for the hallway. “No, twenty-eight.”
“Well, in that case, when you talk with Luis, keep in mind he has plans besides being an orderly all his life.”
“I will, Señora Emilia. Gracias.”
When she left the house, Liliana stood on the porch for a moment and scoured the area for anything or anyone out of place. Nothing, other than the torched house and the partially burnt detached garage. Even the people were returning to their homes as the sun climbed higher on the eastern horizon.
She started toward Carla Morales’s house at the end of the block, spying Cody standing on a porch talking to a man who was shaking his head. Cody gave the neighbor a card right before he slammed the door in Cody’s face. He pivoted, a glimpse of a grimace beneath the shadow of his cowboy hat. He spied her and came toward her.
“I’ve struck out. No one saw a thing. That one,” he tossed his head toward the last house he’d been at, “doesn’t even admit to seeing the fire. How about you?”
“Not much better. Señora Emilia did share with me that Victor Ruiz was a ‘bad man.’ Lowlifes visited the victim at all times of the day. Ruiz hadn’t been in Durango long and was from Brownsville. He wasn’t on the police radar yet.” She resumed her strides toward Carla’s house. “She did say one thing that was interesting. That when Victor looks at you, it’s evil. That made me think of what Maria said about the evil eye. You think these murders are connected? What if Victor killed our Jane Doe?”
“Then who killed him?”
“The father of her baby?” The ME had confirmed Jane Doe had been pregnant.
“Maybe. Where are you going?”
“Señora Emilia told me that the man who called in the fire was Luis Morales. She knew about the murdered man without me saying anything because Luis told his mother about the dead body in the house. Luis is at the hospital. He’s an orderly, but I thought I would talk to his mother before seeing him.” Liliana stopped in front of Carla’s neatly tended place. “This is where she lives.”
“I’ll go to the hospital and talk with the son while you interview Mrs. Morales. When I’m through, I’ll be back. Hopefully by then the fire department will let us go into the crime scene.”
“Our fire investigator has been busy in the past year with all the wildfires around here.”
“Arson?” asked Cody.
“Most have started from carelessness. He says arson is the cause of one of the fires he’s looking into.”
“I’ll be back after I speak with Luis Morales.” Liliana hadn’t intended to turn and watch Cody walk toward attire of slacks, dress shirt, and tie, coupled with his cowboy boots and hat, the man looked impressive. Strong features with gray eyes the color of a brewing storm. Solidly built, not an ounce of fat on him. His tan and crinkles at the corners of his eyes attested to his time spent outdoors. She couldn’t imagine a man like Cody Jackson lying in a tanning bed.
As his vehicle pulled away from the curb near the crime scene, Liliana swept around and strolled toward Carla Morales’s house. But after she took a couple of steps, her cell rang. She smiled as she answered the call from the very man she’d been admiring.
“I forgot to ask you. Have you had breakfast yet?”
His husky Texan drawl sent a flash of warmth through Liliana. “Yes, but not enough coffee yet. Only one cup. The things I do for my job.”
He chuckled. “You need to let Chief Winters know about these sacrifices you make for the job. I’ll vouch for you.”
“He already knows. This is a small town. We almost don’t need the Durango Daily.”
“Almost?”
“I love the funnies, the food section, and the puzzles.”
“Interesting picture that draws of you.”
His voice held a teasing, light tone that sent her pulse rate up. “I’m not even going to ask what.”
“On the way back from the hospital, I thought I’d stop and pick up something to eat and drink. Do you want me to get you some coffee?”
“Where are you going?” Liliana continued toward the front door.
“I could stop at our friendly fast-food restaurant or do you have a suggestion that’s better?”
“Mom’s Cafe on Alamo Boulevard. It isn’t too far from the police station or the hospital. About halfway between them.”
“What’s the specialty?”
“Everything. I’ll take the largest cup of coffee they have.”
“Will you be okay until I get back? I wouldn’t want you to fall asleep on the job.”
She looked toward the burnt house. “I’ll manage. I want to talk with the firefighters after I speak with Mrs. Morales.”
/> “See you in about an hour.”
By the time she reached the porch, she received another call and half expected it to be Cody again. But when she glanced at the number, she closed her eyes for a few seconds then answered. “Hi, Mama.”
“Are you coming by for lunch today?”
Most Saturdays she had lunch with her mother. “Sorry. I’m at a crime scene and will probably be tied up for most of the day.”
“What happened?”
“Arson and a dead body.”
“Another murder?” Her mother spoke in a high-pitched voice.
Liliana heard the concern and hurriedly said, “But you don’t need to worry. We’ll find out who did this.” I hope.
“Weren’t you supposed to have this weekend off?”
Liliana pressed the doorbell. “Criminals don’t care what day it is and with Brock leaving early tomorrow I’m the only one responsible.” She would explain about the new Texas Ranger later. Knowing her mother, she’d get the drill. She didn’t have time now for it. Liliana checked her watch that read eight twenty. Surely, the woman was awake since she’d called to tell Señora Emilia about the fire. The lock clicked, and the door started swinging open. “Gotta go, Mama. I have people I need to interview. Sorry about lunch. I’ll take you next week.”
As the woman peeked outside, Liliana plastered a smile on her face and held up her badge. “Señora Morales, I’m Detective Rodriguez and I have some questions I need to ask you about the fire.”
The petite lady gripped the wooden frame and frowned. “I don’t know nothing. I was asleep when it happened.” Then she slammed the door.
Kyle stood in the entrance to the gym at the apartment complex and took in all the weight equipment. For once, his dad had been right. Much better than what he had.
“Hi, are you new here?” a soft feminine voice said behind him.
“Yeah,” he replied, glancing over his shoulder to see who it was. His gaze locked with the darkest brown eyes, large and round, with long, long black eyelashes. Beautiful eyes.
Shattered Silence: Men of the Texas Rangers Series #2 Page 5