The Troubled Texan

by Phyliss Miranda

  “Your father was a renowned judge and should have known that you can’t always get the verdict you want but what is dealt you.”

  “You know what he told me when we had to change our strategy?”

  Deuce shook his head, and squeezed her hand.

  “His exact words were ‘I’d rather see you dead than a failure.’” She looked up at Deuce. “He even laughed at his own sordid humor. So when Hunter threatened me when the verdict came in, I felt as if I should have gone to the rooftop of the courthouse and shouted: ‘Well, Dad, I fulfilled your wishes!’ And I haven’t heard from either Mother or Father since.”

  “Come on.” Deuce stood and pulled her with him. “I brought home a couple of slices of Mrs. Grooms’s Special Chocolate cake.”

  “I didn’t see them.”

  “I hid them before I let you know I was home so I could surprise you.”

  “No, that wasn’t it. You knew I’d eat ’em up before dinner.”

  They shared a jovial laugh setting Rainey’s bad memories aside.

  After pulling a takeout box from the cabinet, he put slices of cake on two saucers and placed them on the table. Rainey got the forks and filled two glasses with milk.

  “Well, we finally got a preliminary report on the letters, but not on the purse.” He sat in the chair across from her.

  Rainey’s heart jumped in her throat. “It took them long enough. They were expected two weeks ago at least.”

  “The state crime lab is backed up, but—”

  “Not anything like the ones I had to deal with in LA. At least we’ve got answers now.” She softly asked, with her heart skipping every other beat, “So what did the report tell us?”

  “As we expected, lots of fingerprints. Of course, there were Sylvie’s and a dozen they could match in the federal database, but that only eliminated the obvious. Whoever deposited the letters used gloves because there were no unidentified fingerprints on either of the envelopes, but Hunter’s were on the letters.”

  “How can that be? There’s no way they would have gotten through San Quentin’s internal post office.” She shivered at the thought. “They have their own post office so it would have had to have come through there.” The raw sores of an aching heart seemed to open up and pull out all of the happiness Rainey had found inside. “What else did they find?”

  “The paper was regular ol’ laser printer paper that could have come from a million places. The words were cut out and attached using a glue stick that could be purchased anywhere from a truck stop to an office supply store. But the words were cut from a government document. Again, something easily obtainable and certainly available to someone behind bars.

  “We’re not getting the cooperation I would have thought I’d be gettin’ from San Quentin, so I called in a favor from a guy I know in the Bay Area. He’s a very thorough private investigator and I know he’ll get the information we need to fill in the holes.” Deuce pushed back his plate and took her hands again. “Trust me. Look at me, Rainey.”

  She raised her head to meet Deuce’s sharp assessing eyes.

  “I do, Deuce. I do.”

  Deuce’s phone rang. “I’ve got to take this, but we’ll have our answers soon. I promise.” As he passed, he kissed her on the top of the head.

  “Sheriff Cowan,” he said and walked towards his study.

  Rainey’s phone rang and she rushed to get it.

  “Hello,” she answered. The lady on the other end began immediately. “Mrs. Michaels, I’m a volunteer at the Kasota Springs Nursing Home and was asked to call you. I apologize for bothering you so late and doubly sorry that I don’t have all the details, but the lady you bring the strawberry shake to every day has walked away from the facility. She was asking for you and said she was going to come find you. That’s the last time we’ve seen her. They are notifying her son, but they wanted me to call you so you can be on the lookout for her. They wanted me to ask if she knows where you live.”

  Rainey’s heart beat out of control. “No. No she doesn’t know where I live. I’m on my way to the nursing home now.”

  She pressed the end icon, grabbed her purse off the stool and rushed to Deuce, who was just coming out of his study.

  “I’ve got to go to town.”

  “I’ve got to go in, too.” He had his gun belt in one hand and kissed her on the forehead before buckling it around his waist. “I hope I won’t be gone long.”

  They rushed to their automobiles. By the time Rainey reached the gate leading to the Farm to Market Road connecting the Slippery Elm to town, Deuce was at least a mile ahead of her.

  Something had upset him . . . and upset him terribly.

  Deuce skidded to a stop in front of the Kasota Springs Nursing Home and rushed inside to find the administrator waiting for him.

  “I’m so sorry, Deuce.” A worried look covered the woman’s face. “I don’t know exactly what happened. She was a bit upset today after you left. The lady who usually comes to visit her every day and brings her a strawberry shake didn’t come and that seemed to upset her.”

  Before Deuce could ask any questions, Elaine rushed on. “Your mother said she didn’t want to stay here any longer and that she was going to find either you or the lady.”

  “Did she have her location bracelet on?” He knew it wasn’t Elaine’s fault but the worry for his mother’s safety overshadowed his professionalism. “She damn well better have.”

  “She’s tried taking it off a number of times but as far as we know she has it on. I’ve got someone checking the GPS right now.”

  “Who is the volunteer who brings her strawberry milkshakes?” He took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair and without giving Elaine a chance to answer, he demanded, “Who is she?”

  “Deuce.” He heard Rainey’s voice behind him and turned in her direction. “Deuce, I bring Lydia a strawberry milkshake every day but didn’t today.”

  Rage ignited within Deuce like a wildfire blowback. “You have been coming to visit my mother behind my back.”

  Immediately, he could tell by the confusion on Rainey’s face that something was wrong. “I, I . . . oh, Deuce, I didn’t know Lydia was your mother. She told me that she had a son, but he never came to see her so I had no way of knowing she was your mother.”

  Tears welled in her eyes. A single one ran down her face. “I would have told you if I’d known.” She flinched and retreated backwards. “I’m sorry, Deuce, it’s my fault. I should have come today.”

  He swallowed hard trying not to reveal his mounting anger but reality set in. “We’ve got to find her. She could be anywhere.” He tried to control his temper, but it was getting harder and harder. He wasn’t sure whom he was madder at, Rainey for keeping it a secret that she volunteered at the nursing home or him for not telling Rainey the truth about his mother. But being angry wasn’t going to locate his mother.

  The administrator put her arms around Rainey and handed her a Kleenex.

  Deuce jerked the phone from his pocket and called the office. “Put an APB out on my mother. She’s walked away from the nursing home and we’ve got to find her. I want every available unit out on the streets and don’t come back in until she’s located.” He ended without even saying good-bye.

  A young man appeared from the doorway to Deuce’s left and said, “I’ve got a track on Mrs. Cowan. She’s in the area of the ol’ Rock Island Depot.” He disappeared as quickly as he appeared.

  “Let’s go.” Without thinking, Deuce grabbed Rainey’s hand, then turned back to the administrator. “Elaine, it’s not your fault. We’ll find her and I’ll let you know as soon as we do.”

  “You’re dragging me,” Rainey said.

  “Get in the car,” he said, but slowed his step. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her.

  Once they were in his county vehicle, he leaned his head against the steering wheel. “Rainey, I’m sorry that I yelled at you but I was upset.”

  “I know you are. But, Deuce, you kn
ow that I would have been thrilled to be working with your mother, if I knew it was her. But she told me she was Lydia Dunivan and she doesn’t look like the same woman I knew fifteen years ago.”

  He headed down Main Street towards the depot. “She isn’t the same woman and I shouldn’t have expected you to have recognized her.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Tears streamed down her face. “I’m so scared.”

  Deuce took his hand off the wheel long enough to grab hers and squeeze it. “I know. So am I. I should have told you about her but she was in such a delicate place. I was just trying to follow the advice of her doctors and the staff. I’m really sorry.”

  As they neared the depot, Deuce drove slowly with each of them watching for any sight of his mother.

  “I don’t want to scare her with my lights, so look as carefully as you can.”

  Deuce’s iPhone rang. He snatched it up and activated the speakerphone. “Did you find her?”

  “No, sir, but she’s definitely around the depot and hasn’t moved out of position but has been walking around.”

  Deuce presumed it was the young man from the nursing home since the caller ID was from there.

  When they reached the depot, Deuce turned off the lights and drove up as silently as possible. “The front doors are open.” The lawman in him kicked in. He punched a button on his radio and said, “Need backup at the Rock Island Depot.”

  “Ten-four, units on their way,” Jessup said.

  “You stay here,” he ordered.

  “Shouldn’t you wait on backup?” Rainey grabbed his arm.

  Deuce didn’t answer but drew his service pistol.

  “Then I’m going with you.”

  Before he could catch her, she had bailed out of the passenger-side door. He didn’t have time to wait.

  “I said stay in the car.”

  “I said I’m going in with you.”

  He silently entered the depot after announcing, “Sheriff. Hold your hands where I can see them.”

  In the middle of what looked like a glass shop hit by a tornado his mother sat on the floor with her hands held above her head.

  Deuce took a deep breath and hoped his heart would stop racing so badly. “Mother, what happened?” He was afraid of her answer. “How did you get in here?”

  Then he noticed the tears in her vacant eyes. “Young man, put away that gun.” She may have had tears in her eyes but her voice was strong. “I don’t appreciate it in the least.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He holstered his Glock. “Do you want to tell me what happened?” He gingerly approached her so he wouldn’t scare her any more than she already was.

  “And you tell those young men behind you that they need to put away their guns, too.”

  Deuce turned to see Danny and two of his deputies holstering their guns.

  “Guys go back to your units. We’re fine here,” Deuce ordered.

  Deuce’s mother pulled to her feet and used the corner of the counter for leverage. He took her walker to her and pulled up a chair for her.

  “Tell me what happened?” He tried to keep calm and speak with a softer than usual voice because he knew she was scared.

  “I don’t want to talk to you. I want to talk with the nice lady behind you.”

  Rainey stepped forward and squatted down to Deuce’s mother’s level. “Yes, Lydia. Would you tell me what happened?”

  “This is no way to run an antiques shop. You didn’t bring me my strawberry milk today, so I came to find you.”

  “How did you know where I worked?”

  “I don’t know, but it took me a long time and I had to ask a lot of people. I knew you were Mr. Chalmers’s wife and she owned the depot, so I followed the railroad tracks.” She looked from Rainey to Deuce and back. “You don’t think I did this, do you?”

  “Of course not, Lydia.” Rainey reached for her hand. “You would have never broken any of the glass because I remember how much you loved each and every piece.”

  The truth hit Deuce between the eyes and everything fell into place when his mother said that Rainey was Mr. Chalmers’s wife. She had told him about Rainey and that she brought her strawberry milk every day, but he never put two and two together. And he was an investigator!

  Rainey continued to hold Deuce’s mother’s hand. “Why don’t you let this nice young man take you to the Dairy Queen and get some strawberry milk and then you can go back home and go to bed. Miss Elaine is worried about you.”

  His mother nodded her head. “You know my son was supposed to come today but he had to play football. I saw him on television.” She looked past Rainey where Deuce was standing and said, “I’ve told you about my son, haven’t I?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Deuce wasn’t sure how much heartbreak he was supposed to take, but seeing the gentleness Rainey exhibited and how well his mother accepted her made it a whole bunch easier.

  “Deuce, just ask them to make a milkshake very thin. They’ll do it.” Rainey looked at him, still with tears in her eyes. “I need to sweep up some of the glass so you won’t get cut.”

  Rainey stood and grabbed the broom from the corner and swept her way to the door.

  “Let’s go, uh, Lydia.” He helped his mother from the chair and held her arm as she walked towards the exit. “Wait just a minute. Can you hold on to your walker for a second?”

  “Young man, you know I can.” She straightened her shoulders.

  Deuce walked back to Rainey and put his arms around her. Pulling her tightly to him, he whispered, “Thank you. I’ll be back as quickly as possible.” He wiped a tear from her cheek and kissed her lightly.

  No response. She picked up what remained of the bonsai plant, threw it in the trash. and began sweeping glass into piles.

  It took Deuce a while longer than he’d anticipated to buy the milk shake and get his mother settled in her room at the nursing home. He was tired and felt about as drained as he’d ever felt in his life. What a fool he’d made of himself. He should have told Rainey about his mother as soon as he knew Rainey was determined to stay in town. It was his fault and if Rainey walked out on him, he deserved it.

  What bothered him the most was that he’d been so angry and upset that he’d taken it out on Rainey. But when they got to the depot, as foolish as it had been, she was willing to put her life on the line for his mother.

  If only . . . if frogs had holsters they could just shoot the flies. He smiled thinking about how his father used to say that when Deuce was a kid.

  He got out of the county’s pickup with a sinking feeling that although Rainey hadn’t pulled away from him when he kissed her that she might well kick his butt from the Panhandle to the Rockies and back . . . but he deserved it.

  When he got to the door, she said, “Be careful. There’s still shards of glass everywhere.”

  Deuce went over to her and took the broom out of her hands. “Let me do the rest of the cleanup. After all it’s my mother who caused the damage. Why don’t you let me take you to your car and you go to the ranch and get some rest. I know this has been a grueling day for you.”

  “No.” She took him by the arm and stopped his sweeping. “I’ve got something to show you. I couldn’t imagine your mother being capable of doing this much damage, not to mention why she would do it. Surely not over me not bringing her a shake today. Did you notice the alarm wasn’t going off when we got here and there’s no way she would have known the code?”

  A spark of interest hit Deuce. “I should have but I was so glad to find her safe.” He took a deep breath. “Rainey, I’m sorry but I was reacting like a son, not as the sheriff.”

  “You acted the way any son should.” She smiled up at him. “The alarm not being triggered didn’t occur to me either until you left.”

  Walking behind the counter, she flipped the rewind button on the surveillance monitor. “Look at this.”

  Deuce studied the tape, frame by frame.

  “Damn it to hell.” Anger resurfaced all over Deuce.
“I should have known.”

  Switching back into full sheriff mode, he dialed the office. “Jessup, tell Danny and his team to go pick up both Sylvie Dewey and Gideon Duncan. And he knows the routine—keep them in separate interrogation rooms until I get there. I’m at the depot so it won’t take long.”

  He hung up. “Let’s get this place locked up for the night and if you want, you can watch the interrogation. I don’t know why they tore this place up, but I have a feeling that they also had something to do with the fire.”

  “Deuce, I know Sylvie was manipulated. I just know it. Couldn’t you see the fear on her face? Her body language on the security video screamed of being scared to death. She didn’t touch anything. I think she was forced by Gideon to participate,” Rainey said softly.

  Deuce wasn’t sure how Gideon and Sylvie fit into the picture, but he sure as hell was going to find out.

  Chapter Twenty

  Sun was coming to life in the east when Deuce and Rainey walked into the ranch house the following morning. They had spent the whole night at the sheriff’s department, but had learned nothing except Sylvie and Gideon didn’t have anything to say. To both Rainey’s and Deuce’s shock, neither asked for a lawyer.

  Rainey made two cups of chamomile tea while Deuce locked up his Glock.

  By the time the tea was steeped, Deuce returned and they sat at the kitchen table trying to unwind from their grueling night.

  “I don’t need to tell you that I can hold them forty-eight hours without charging them with anything.” Deuce took a sip of his tea.

  “I still think Sylvie was forced by Gideon to be there. You told me the first time that I met her that she couldn’t hurt a fly. She’s being manipulated by him. I just know it.”

  “Then why didn’t she turn on him to save herself?”