Out of Time

by Shirlee McCoy

  “Trespassing? You know I wouldn’t do something like that, Susannah.” The words were slurred, the man obviously drunk as a skunk.

  “You are trespassing, Mitch. And you know it.” Susannah nudged Levi’s arm away, then helped the man turn over and sit up. Deep wrinkles and hollow cheeks told the story of too much excess. Threadbare clothes and duct-taped shoes told the story of something else. Desperation. Helplessness.

  Levi knew the feeling of both those things.

  Had known them since the day five months ago when his former captain, Gregory Pike, had been shot and killed in his own home.

  “I fell asleep. You know how that happens with me sometimes.”

  “You didn’t fall asleep. You passed out, and I told you that the next time you passed out on the compound I was going to call the police and have them take you away and dry you out.”

  “Now, you wouldn’t do that to me, would you, girl?” The man ambled to his feet, his movements slow and ungainly.

  “I should. I really should.” Susannah reached out and grabbed the guy’s arm, holding him steady when it looked like he might tip over.

  “Fell asleep is all. Woke up and thought I’d better get out of here before I got myself into trouble. Tripped and fell into the door. Knocked the lid off a trash can near the barracks. Sorry about that.”

  “Passing out, falling asleep, neither of them are things I want you doing here. Especially not after hours. Now, where were you? I checked this compound twice in the past couple of hours, and I didn’t see you.”

  “Behind the barracks.”

  “You weren’t there when we closed.”

  “Don’t know about that, doll. I came right in the gate. Just like I always do.”

  “Which gate?” She took Mitch by the arm, leading him back toward the chapel.

  “Houston Street. Came in near the museum. Couldn’t get inside the building, though.”

  “Because we’re closed.”

  “Then why’s the gate open?” Mitch’s words were barely intelligible, and Levi was surprised he was still on his feet.

  “That’s a good question.” Susannah led Mitch through the chapel, ushered him to the doors, barely meeting Levi’s eyes. He could sense her tension, see the frown line between her brows.

  She’d said she’d locked up, checked to make sure no one was there. Now they were escorting a drunk off the premises. That didn’t bode well for the overall security of the compound, but Levi wouldn’t say that. He’d tour the area with Susannah, make a thorough assessment of its strengths and weaknesses and come up with a plan of action that would satisfy the Alamo Planning Committee and the members of Texas Rangers Company D.

  “Do you want me to call you a cab? Have it take you to the mission for the night?” Susannah asked as she stepped outside the chapel with Mitch.

  “I got a place to stay, doll. Don’t you worry.” The guy stumbled away. Susannah watched him go, the seconds stretching into a minute before she finally turned to face Levi.

  “I need to go check that gate. You can stay in the chapel if you’d like. Look over the plans we’ve put together for March 6.” She looked drawn, her face leached of color, fear seeming to hover just beneath the surface of her eyes.

  Was she afraid of Mitch?

  Of Levi?

  Of the fact that there’d been a trespasser on the compound while she was in charge?

  “We haven’t finished the tour, so I guess I’ll come along. I wanted to see the garden where the ceremony will take place. I also need a count of gates and entrance points.”

  “There are six gates plus the entrance to the chapel.” Moonlight fell across her face, highlighting deep hollows beneath her cheeks. She was thinner than Levi remembered, her face leaner, her shoulders narrow. Not delicate, but not the tough tomboy who’d played street hockey with the neighborhood boys.

  “We’ll need a plan to make sure they’re secure on the day of the event.”

  “Already taken care of. We’ll have a Ranger assigned to each gate.” She turned and led Levi back through the chapel and out into the compound, her silence so different from the Susannah he remembered that Levi couldn’t wrap his mind around it.

  What had happened to the excitable little girl? The adolescent who’d poured her heart out to Levi as they’d sat on her parents’ porch swing?

  She’d disappeared. Left a quiet, somber woman in her place.

  A quiet, somber, beautiful woman in her place.

  But, then, he’d always suspected that she’d grow into a beauty.

  He didn’t try to fill the silence, just kept his peace as they walked toward a long, low building.

  “This is the long barracks. It houses our museum. The gate Mitch was talking about is just to the east of it. I locked it after we closed for the day, so there’s no way it could be open. Mitch tends to drink too much, and then he gets confu…” Her voice trailed off as the gate came into view.

  “It’s open.” Levi took the last few steps to the gate, scanning the street beyond. A few cars drove by and voices carried on the cold air.

  “I closed the gate as soon as the last visitor left. Made sure it was locked.” Susannah flashed a light on the lock and examined it.

  “Has it been tampered with?”

  “Not that I can see.”

  “Is it possible you forgot to lock it?”

  “I’ve been doing this for four years, Levi. I didn’t forget.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes.”

  “Maybe another security officer—”

  “We don’t work that way. If another Ranger had been here, I’d have known it.” She stepped through the gate, looking up and down the street as if she expected to see someone standing there with a key.

  “If you locked it, someone unlocked it.”

  “Or the lock is faulty.” She closed the gate, locked it and then tried to pull it open again. It held tight.

  “Looks like that’s not the case.” He gave it another tug for good measure.

  “I need to call my boss. Let him know what’s going on.”

  “We should get a team to scour the compound. Make sure whoever opened the gate isn’t still hanging around. Check to see if he left anything behind.”

  “Right.” She pulled out her cell phone, speaking quietly as she hurried along the path that led to the chapel.

  He followed more slowly, scanning the foliage and the deep shadows they created. It would be easy enough for someone to hide there. Easy at night, but easy during the day, too. He’d have security teams run sweeps of the grounds before and during the ceremony to make sure the compound was empty. Hopefully, it would be enough to keep their VIP guests safe.

  He frowned, eyeing the fence that separated the Alamo from the rest of the world and the buildings that jutted up above the compound. Not good from a security standpoint.

  He dialed Ben Fritz’s number, knowing his friend and the new captain of Company D would be interested in the development.

  “Fritz speaking.”

  “It’s Levi. I just arrived at the Alamo.”

  “How do things look?”

  “They’d look better if there hadn’t been an intruder on the compound.”

  “What happened?”

  “That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Seems one of the gates was locked and someone unlocked it.”

  “Are there security cameras on-site?”

  “I’ll check into it.”

  “Sooner rather than later, Levi. We don’t have much time to make sure the Alamo is secure.”

  “Trust me, I can hear the clock ticking.”

  “Good, because Hank Zarvy is breathing down my neck, asking for a detailed plan regarding the opening ceremony.”

  “He’ll get it.”

  “When you’re good and ready to give it? Because if that’s the case—”

  “You know I don’t work that way, Ben. Especially not when it comes to this case. Hank Zarvy is an annoyance I’m wi
lling to deal with if it means solving Greg’s murder.” He glanced at Susannah, saw that she’d finished talking to her boss and was watching him, not even pretending that she wasn’t listening to the conversation.

  That was fine. There was plenty she needed to know.

  “The Lions of Texas are behind all of this. We know that. What we need to find out is what they have planned for March 6. If we don’t, more people could die.”

  “We’re going to stop them, Ben, and we’re going to find out which one of them pulled the trigger on Greg. We need justice. For Greg and for Corinna.”

  “No one realizes that more than I do. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t tell Corinna that we’ll find her father’s killer.” Ben and Corinna were as close as any couple Levi had ever known, their love for each other a palpable thing. They weren’t the only ones who’d found love in the months since Greg died, and Levi was sure that if his old boss could look down from Heaven and see what had happened to the men and women of Company D, he’d smile.

  “We’ll get his killer. I won’t rest until we do.”

  “None of us will. Keep me updated on what’s going on at the Alamo.”

  “I will.”

  “And, prepare yourself. Zarvy wants to meet with you and the head of Alamo security. Breakfast tomorrow at his place. Eight o’clock.”

  “We don’t have time for meetings or hand-holding.”

  “We don’t have time to bury our heads in the sand and pretend the Lions of Texas aren’t a widespread and growing drug-smuggling organization. Thanks to Gisella and Brock Martin, we’ve found one of their drug entry points on the border and thrown a handful of their low-level operatives in jail, but we have a long way to go before we bring them down.”

  “A long way to go and not much time to accomplish it.”

  “Does that mean you’re going to be at the meeting tomorrow?”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “Not really.”

  “Then I’ll be there.” He disconnected, met Susannah’s eyes. “We’re scheduled to meet with Hank Zarvy tomorrow morning. You know him?”

  “He’s part of the Alamo Planning Committee, so we’ve met once or twice.”

  “He wants a briefing on our security plans.”

  “No problem. Maybe you can brief me on what’s going on while we wait for Chad to show up.”

  “Chad?”

  “Morran. He’s my boss. He’s called in a few other Park Rangers to help search the compound. They’ll be here shortly.”

  “We can start the search now. If someone is on the compound, I’d like to have a chat with him. Do you have an extra flashlight?”

  “Sure, but searching the compound isn’t going to distract me.” She met his eyes, her emerald gaze wary and filled with questions.

  “From?”

  “Let’s not play games, Levi. Something is going on. Something bigger than a 175th anniversary celebration and a few threatening notes.”

  “My office has been investigating an organization called the Lions of Texas. We believe they’re behind the threats.”

  “The Lions of Texas. Never heard of them.”

  “Not many people have. They’re secretive. No one knows who their top members are, but we do know they’re working to open the Mexican border.”

  “Toward what goal?”

  “They’re heavily involved in drug trafficking. An open border will make that easier. My captain was investigating them before he was murdered. Now, we’re finishing the job he started.”

  “Gregory Pike was your captain?”

  “I guess you’ve heard of him?”

  “I saw the story in the news a few months ago. I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “So am I.” Greg had been a great man, a fantastic captain, a wonderful father. Now, he was gone, and there was nothing Levi wouldn’t do to find his murderer.

  “Come on. We’d better get started on our search.” He pushed his sorrow aside, pushed his anger away, refused the guilt that always seemed to be just a memory away. If he’d been just a few minutes earlier, would Greg still be alive? It was a question he’d asked a dozen times a day in the weeks following the murder, but there was no answer. No way to go back and relive the moments after he’d received the text summoning him to Pike’s house.

  “Do you really think whoever came in would hang around and wait to be found?” Susannah pushed her Stetson down onto her head as they stepped into the compound again.

  “I don’t know what the motivation was for entering the Alamo after it closed, so I can’t say if the person would hang around. Has this kind of thing happened before?”

  She hesitated just long enough to make him wonder. “Six months ago, I was scheduled to open the compound. When I got here, the Houston gate was already unlocked. Someone had stolen the keys and used them to gain access to the compound after business hours. That time, we found out who was responsible.”

  “He’s in jail?”

  “He’s dead. Killed during a police standoff a month later.”

  “Was he a Ranger here?”

  “No.”

  “Then he knew a Ranger.” How else would he have gotten the keys?

  “He knew me.” Her tone was stiff, her expression unreadable. Whatever she was thinking and feeling was hidden behind a mask of indifference.

  Which meant it was a subject she cared deeply about.

  Or felt deeply about.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Not as sorry as I was.”

  “He was a boyfriend?”

  “He thought he was.”

  Her words sparked a memory. A news story that had broken a few weeks after Greg’s death. A woman viciously attacked, clinging to life in the hospital. A suspect leading the police on a high-speed chase through downtown San Antonio. All of it ending with the suspect dead.

  “He nearly killed you.” It wasn’t a question. He already knew that the girl he’d grown up looking out for had been brutalized and nearly killed. He already knew that she’d suffered things most people couldn’t even imagine.

  He knew, and he wanted to pull her into his arms, tell her everything would be okay.

  “Let’s try to stay focused on the present, okay?”

  “Ignoring the past can’t make it go away.”

  “Do you really think it’s possible for me to ignore it?” She laughed, the sound hollow and empty.

  “I think that you’re a survivor. I think—”

  “Don’t.” She raised her hand, stopping his words. “I’ve heard all those things a thousand times, and I really don’t want to hear them again. I just want…”

  “What?”

  “To go on with my life.”

  “Susie? You out here?” A man called out, and Susannah turned back the way they’d come, eager, it seemed, to end the conversation.

  “Near the gardens, Chad.”

  Seconds later, a tall, lean man in his fifties strode into view. He met Levi’s eyes, offered a brief handshake. “Chad Morran. I’m chief of security here.”

  “Ranger Levi McDonall.”

  “Not a good night to be at the Alamo, I’m afraid. We usually don’t have this kind of trouble.”

  “Better to have it now than on the day of the ceremony.”

  “True. You’ve already checked the area?” Chad ran a hand down his jaw, his gaze jumping to Susannah.

  “Not the entire compound, but we’re working toward it. So far, everything is clear.”

  “Good. How about we split up? We’ll finish more quickly that way. Ranger McDonall, you want to head east? Susannah, you check the gardens. I’ll check the west gates. When Marcus and Larry get here, they can join in the fun.”

  “I’m not sure I’d call this fun,” Susannah muttered under her breath, but Levi heard. She clutched a flashlight, her knuckles white as she started toward the gardens. She had a confident, brisk stride and easy movements, but he sensed her fear, wondered if it followed her the way his guilt followed hi
m. Clinging, clutching, refusing to be ignored. If so, it was a heavy burden to bear.

  He thought about going after her, asking her more about what she’d been through, what she was still going through, but he’d come to the Alamo to do a job. He couldn’t afford to be distracted.

  But you already have been.

  The thought followed him as he turned on his flashlight and walked across the compound.

  THREE

  Susannah had never been afraid of the dark. Not when she was a kid. Not when she was a teenager. Not even when she’d started her job at the Alamo and learned the shadows and silence of the compound at night. Now, twenty-eight years into her life and four years into her job, Susannah was terrified of the black corners of the garden, the dingy gray-yellow of the path.

  And that made her angry.

  Angry at herself.

  Angry at Aaron for stealing her sense of security.

  Even angry at God.

  She’d spent her life believing she’d weather any storm with her faith intact, her relationship with God certain even in the face of difficulties.

  And then Aaron had come along, and everything she’d believed had changed.

  The beam of her light jumped across the ground as she moved through the small garden. She trained it on a line of shrubs, following the greenery to the end of the garden wall. Nothing there. No one lurking in the shadows.

  Her radio sputtered to life, and she jumped, her heart pounding in her chest.

  “Susannah, where are you?” Chad’s gruff voice carried over the radio.

  “Just finishing in the garden.”

  “Find anything?”

  “No. Everything is in order.”

  “Everything is clear on my end, too. Marcus and Larry are here, so if you’re done, you can head home. I want the entire team here at six tomorrow morning. We need to figure out how this happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

  “I’ll be here, but I have a meeting with Hank Zarvy at eight. He wants a briefing on security measures for the opening ceremony.”

  “When did he set that up?”

  “He called the Texas Rangers to make the request, so I’m not sure.”

  “Request? Not much is a request when it comes from Zarvy.”

  “Fortunately, I don’t have to deal with him on a regular basis.”