“I said I want this to be over with. Besides, nothing was taken, and I didn’t see the man’s face. I don’t see how you could get a conviction.”
“You make that sound like good news.”
The drill of his gaze bore through her. For a few seconds she wanted to tell him everything. But the intruder’s threat replayed through her mind and the words stuck in her throat. “I think I’m just trying to be a realist and not get my hopes up,” she finally said.
She needed to get out of here. How did she think she could have a conversation with the Texas Ranger and leave unscathed? He already thought she was lying to him. She wished she knew where the flash drive was hidden. If she found it, she might have a bargaining chip—something she could give to the police and hopefully end this nightmare.
“The Rangers at Company D are dedicated to getting to the truth. Our captain was murdered, too. We take care of our own.” His stare, if it were possible, hardened even more.
Melora swallowed with difficulty, leaving a dryness in her throat. “And I take care of my own.” She shot to her feet. “I need to go. My daughter went to kindergarten today and will be home soon.” Looping her purse strap over her shoulder, she clutched the handbag to her. “Thanks for the latte.”
When she started for the exit, Daniel quickly followed her. The urge to put some distance between them almost overruled her common sense. Running away from him would only send up more red flags.
“Where’s your car?” He fell into step next to her.
She scanned the street. Was that man across the street watching her? When the person in question turned, put some money into a newspaper stand, withdrew the latest edition then entered the building three feet away, she released a long breath. But then she spied another young man lounging against a brick wall, his gaze on her. She hurried her pace. The faster she could get out of here the better off she would be.
A few yards from her silver Lexus, one of her three-inch high heels got caught in a hole in the concrete. She stumbled, flailing her arms to stop herself from falling. Daniel grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her middle to steady her, her back pressed against his chest.
“Okay,” he said against the side of her neck.
His hot breath scorched her flesh, making her vividly aware of the man behind her. She wanted to melt into the safety of his arms. Then she remembered the other man across the street and wrenched herself from his loose embrace, whirling about to face him. “I’m fine. I don’t need your help.”
One eyebrow arched. “You don’t? I should have let you fall then?”
Yes. You should have stayed inside, she wanted to shout at him. What if they’re watching? What if they think there’s something between us? Those questions tumbled through her mind. She funneled her trembling fingers through her hair.
His nostrils flared at the sight of her shaking hands. He seized them and moved closer. “I can protect you, Melora. What are you afraid of? What do you know?”
She wanted to believe he could protect her and Kaitlyn—the rest of the people she cared about, but Axle had been so capable of taking care of himself, even had a bodyguard who protected him. And someone had gotten to him. Murdered him. “I’m fine. Good day, Ranger Riley.”
She pivoted toward her car, fumbled in her purse for her keys and then slipped behind the steering wheel. When she switched on her engine, Daniel knocked on her window and motioned for her to roll it down. She wanted to press her foot on the accelerator and speed out of the parking lot, but his hand was on the door handle.
She pressed the button. The window slid down, and she got a whiff of his clean lime scent. “I don’t want to be late.”
“Just in case you lost my card, here’s another one with my home and cell numbers on the back. Call me any time of the day if you need me or want to talk.” He offered the card to her.
She snatched it and started to roll the window back up but paused. “I do have a question for you. What happened to Axle’s bodyguard, Gordon Johnson? When Axle disappeared, he did, too. I never heard from him or saw him again. I mentioned that to the sheriff. They looked for him, but I never heard about him.”
“You think Gordon Johnson killed your husband?”
“It’s a possibility. Or…” She shuddered at the other likelihood—that another man was dead besides Axle.
He cocked one corner of his mouth upward, but his eyes remained cold. “Are you throwing me a bone so I won’t bother you anymore?”
“I kind of think of you as a pit bull. I don’t see you getting swayed by a mere bone. But you deal with that bit of information any way you want. I hadn’t thought about Gordon in a while. I figured he left town when the man he was supposed to guard disappeared.”
He straightened and tipped his cowboy hat. “Good day, Melora. I’ll be speaking to you soon.”
She rolled the window up and pulled out of the parking space with Daniel watching her drive away. The young man across the street still leaned against the building, scanning the street, his arms and legs crossed while he smoked a cigarette. As she turned into the flow of traffic, the young man grinned. A grin that reached into her chest and squeezed her heart in terror.
Later that evening Melora stood in the entrance to Axle’s office, surveying the territory that he’d made clear she wasn’t to disturb. Was the information in here somewhere? She looked right after the first break-in but found nothing. Although those first intruders had told her that Axle was dead, she hadn’t done anything to the office in case the men had been wrong. For months after that, she’d imagined Axle showing up one day, wanting to reclaim everything.
Now she needed to do something with the office. Box up the items. Get them out of her house. Erase Axle’s presence from her life.
“Mommy, where are you?”
Melora backed into the hallway. “I’m here in your daddy’s office.”
Kaitlyn’s footsteps pattered on the tile as she ran from the kitchen and across the wide foyer. She skidded to a stop, frowning. “I can’t find Patches. I’ve looked everywhere.”
“All his hiding places?”
Her daughter nodded.
“Maybe he’s still outside.” They had a small pet door he used when he wanted to go out, but usually he stayed in the house. “Sometimes he likes to go exploring in the neighborhood.”
“It’s dinnertime. He never misses that.”
Melora checked her watch, surprised that it was already six o’clock. “It’s later than I thought.” She spent the afternoon thinking about Daniel and the man across the street watching her. She couldn’t shake the grin of malice she’d glimpsed from the young man nor the warm feel of Daniel’s hands on her.
“Mommy, we have to find Patches. He’ll be hungry.”
Melora settled her hand on Kaitlyn’s shoulder. “Honey, he’ll come home when he’s hungry enough. Leave the food. We’ll see him shortly, I’m sure.” In all the time they’d had the cat, he’d always found his way home. He was probably in the backyard stalking a bird or squirrel. Thankfully, she’d never seen him catch one.
“Let’s go see when dinner is going to be tonight. Remember Uncle Tyler is coming over to eat with us?”
“Oh, good. I can show him my new book. Maybe he’ll read it to me.” Kaitlyn took Melora’s hand and tugged her toward the kitchen.
Stepping into the room, Melora drew in a deep breath. The prime rib smelled wonderful. Coupled with the aroma of Juanita’s delicious homemade biscuits, Melora’s taste buds were actually tempted, something that hadn’t happened in weeks—ever since the body had been found.
“When will Señor Madison be here?” Juanita turned the stove on to steam her vegetables.
“Any minute. Can you hold dinner for a while? I want to talk to him before we eat.”
The doorbell chimed. Kaitlyn whirled about and yelled as she raced toward the foyer, “I’ll get it.”
“Wait, honey, let—” But her daughter was at the door, thrusting it open before Melora
could finish her sentence. “You’re finally here.” Kaitlyn launched herself into her great uncle’s arms.
Melora slowed her pace when she heard her uncle greet Kaitlyn, but she would have to talk with her daughter about opening the door like that. What if that hadn’t been Uncle Tyler but that man watching her earlier? He could have snatched…
“Good evening, Melora.”
She blinked, suddenly realizing her uncle was standing in front of her, holding her daughter in his arms. The sight of him brought relief to her. She was safe with him here this evening. But she knew that feeling would only be fleeting. After all he’d done for her, taking her in and raising her, she wouldn’t endanger his life.
“Kaitlyn, Juanita could use some help with the dessert. Can you give her a hand? There’ll be time later to talk to Uncle Tyler.”
Her uncle placed her daughter on the floor. “Don’t forget I get to read that new book to you tonight before you go to bed.”
Kaitlyn raced for the kitchen, saying, “I won’t.”
The second she was gone her uncle’s sharp gaze zeroed in on Melora. “What’s wrong? Still not sleeping?”
She shook her head. “So much has been happening with Axle’s funeral, the reading of the will, the…” A knot formed in her throat. Tears jammed behind it.
Cradling her hands between his, Uncle Tyler moved close. “I’m here for you. What do you need?”
Moisture misted her eyes. “I need to get rid of Axle’s things. I want to sell the restaurant chain, too. Can you help me?”
“Of course, but are you sure you want to get rid of the business? It’s making good money.”
She didn’t want to tell her uncle the reason why she needed to sell the restaurants. She didn’t want to drag him into anything that could be dangerous. “I need to invest the money, with your help, in something I can understand. I don’t know the first thing about running a chain like Axle’s.”
“You don’t have to. That’s why I hired William Thompson to run the business for you.”
She drew herself up straighter, to stress she wasn’t going to let Uncle Tyler talk her into anything she knew she shouldn’t do. “I want to be able to comprehend what’s going on. Weren’t you the one who said know what you’re getting into before you take the plunge?”
He laughed. “Yeah, but that was the time you dove into the lake from the bluff. You could have hurt yourself if it hadn’t been deep enough or there had been rocks under the water.”
“The same principle applies.” She hooked her arm through his and headed for Axle’s office.
At the door, Uncle Tyler stopped and angled toward her. “Look, I can buy the restaurant chain from you. It would be a good investment for me.”
“No, it wouldn’t,” Melora said without thought.
He frowned. “You forget I’ve looked at the books and know what’s going on. I didn’t turn it over to William without watching out for your interests.”
But if something illegal was going on, she didn’t want her uncle tied up in it. She forced a smile to her lips. “You know nothing has to be settled right away. We have plenty of time to figure out what to do with the business. Maybe after the holidays.”
As he smiled the sparkle in his dark eyes showcased the appeal her uncle could exert effortlessly. His dignified look combined with his tall stature commanded people’s attention when he entered a room. Much like Daniel did. Like at today’s committee meeting. Even though Hank hadn’t gone along with what Daniel had requested concerning the Alamo celebration, she’d seen the respect in the older man’s expression when dealing with Daniel.
“Why are we in here,” Uncle Tyler waved his arm toward the office, “when I can smell Juanita’s delicious roast?”
“Before you came, I was in here thinking about what to do with Axle’s personal belongings now that he’s officially dead.”
Bushy white eyebrows slashed downward. “What?”
Melora laid her hand on his arm. “I know how much you liked Axle, but I’ve got to move on.”
“Are you getting rid of all this?”
“Probably not right away but after the holidays. I don’t want to disrupt Kaitlyn’s Christmas. This past week has been tough enough on her.”
“And not you?”
She didn’t want to lie to her uncle, but neither could she tell him the whole truth. “When Axle didn’t come home, I felt something was wrong. After a year, I came to accept that he was gone—probably dead. His body being found actually brought some closure for me.” Suddenly, she had a thought that slammed into her like the intruder who had tackled her to the floor. What if she found Axle’s flash drive? What would she do with it? Whatever she did could have far-reaching consequences, and above all she could never put her family in danger. She would have to consider it carefully.
Melora backed out of the office and closed its door as though if she didn’t see Axle’s possessions she wouldn’t be faced with the dilemma. “You’re right. We can wait to talk about the business and Axle’s things. Dinner should be ready. I know how much you like Juanita’s cooking.”
“Sometimes I can’t believe you persuaded me to let you hire Juanita away from me.”
She was thankful every day that he’d graciously giving his blessing for Juanita to come to work for her. The housekeeper had been the only person who knew what had really gone on in the house with Axle. That she and Axle weren’t the perfect couple they had presented to the world. That her marriage had been held together with threats.
As they entered the kitchen area, Kaitlyn stood by the pet door. Her mouth dipped in a frown. “Patches still hasn’t returned. Should I put his food in his bowl?”
“Go ahead, honey. He may come back while we’re eating dinner and want his own.”
“Okay.” With one last look at the pet door, Kaitlyn trudged toward the utility room, her shoulders slumped.
“What’s wrong?” Uncle Tyler asked as he watched his niece disappear.
“Patches hasn’t come home. She’s worried.”
“Does he often stay out this late?”
“Not usually. But you know cats are independent, especially male ones.”
Kaitlyn reentered the kitchen as Juanita placed the sliced roast on a serving platter. “Dinner is served. Kaitlyn, you need to wash up.”
Melora held out her hand to her daughter, saying, “Let’s go do it together,” and made her way toward the mudroom.
Inside it she looked at the entrance that Daniel used to bust into the house two days ago. There were no signs of forced entry now because the door had been replaced with a steel-reinforced one—not one easily kicked in. As she turned on the water for her daughter, she wished she could forget that day, but she couldn’t. The young man she’d seen watching her today only supported that.
The next morning after Juanita left to take Kaitlyn to school, Melora sat at the kitchen table drinking a cup of tea and trying to decide what she should do. Uncle Tyler again told her right before he’d left last night that he didn’t want to see her sell the restaurant chain, but if she was determined to, that he would buy it. She didn’t want her uncle caught up in Axle’s illegal activities. She had to protect him.
Lord, I know I haven’t talked to You in a while, but I need Your help. What do I do? I know this is cliché, but I feel like I’m drowning and going down for the third time. Please help me.
Melora closed her eyes and savored the quiet, wishing it brought her the peace she so wanted. Something hit the tiled floor and her eyes bolted open. She scanned the kitchen and saw nothing until her gaze fell on to Patches’s black collar at the bottom of the pet door.
“Patches?”
Silence returned.
She surged to her feet, nearly knocking over her chair in her haste. Covering the few feet to the bay window that overlooked the back yard, she peered outside. A flash at the side of her house secured her attention. Patches? Something else? Or someone else?
The idea that a person had
come up to her back door and pushed something through the small pet door knotted her stomach into a hard ball. She moved to the collar and picked it up, examining it for any hints of how it came to be on her floor. That was when she saw a red X across Patches’s tag. The collar tumbled from her grasp and struck the tiles again with a clunk.
FIVE
An hour later Melora prowled the kitchen, not able to sit, not able to think clearly. Was Patches dead? The red hadn’t been blood but a Magic Marker. She’d hidden the collar in a drawer. She didn’t want Kaitlyn to see it. She felt helpless.
Continuing to pace, she passed the wall phone and glanced at it. Call Daniel. Tell him what was going on. Maybe he could protect her, help her.
No, his presence would only make it worse. Hadn’t she been warned enough? Wasn’t Patches’s disappearance a clear threat?
She again circled the room, too restless to sit, her nerve endings on fire. She needed to figure out how she was going to tell Kaitlyn that Patches might…
A cry pierced the air, twisting Melora toward the back door. Patches shot through the pet opening and raced across the room. He hurled himself into her arms, his whines beautiful music to her ears. Burying her face in his fur, she breathed in the scent of the outdoors and smoke.
The memory of the man watching her at the Riverwalk, a cigarette in his hand, made her tremble. Had he taken Patches? As much as he exasperated her at times, having Patches in her arms was wonderful. Could the Lord be sending her a message of hope? She so needed it.
Finally having enough petting, the cat squirmed until she placed him on the floor, and he moseyed into the utility room where she heard him munching on his food. She wished she could right her world that easily.
With a sigh, she grabbed her cold cup of tea sitting on the table and pitched its contents into the sink. She still didn’t know what to do. Maybe if she called Daniel and only talked to him over the phone, stressing how important it was that they didn’t meet in person….
The doorbell chiming intruded into her thoughts. She wasn’t expecting anyone. Quickly, she planted herself at the window in the dining room that afforded her a view of the porch and driveway that circled in front of her house. The white Ford 150 truck mocked her. Then she saw Daniel standing in broad daylight for the world to see on her porch.
Trail of Lies Page 5