by Rita Herron
That made sense. “What is the date?”
“June 5.”
BJ rushed back to Maddox and gave him the information.
Maddox typed the date. “That’s it. Thanks.”
“I’ll look in Tyler’s room.” BJ crossed the hall. Her heart melted at the sight of the little boy’s sports-themed comforter and the assortment of trucks, cars and building blocks.
A set of what looked like hand-carved horses and farm animals stood on a shelf as if they were special.
She pressed her hand to her chest, her heart aching as an image of her son flashed back. She could see him building a castle with those blocks. Drawing a picture of the horse he wanted one day.
Tears blurred her vision, but she swiped at them and forced her feet to move forward. Sometimes the painful memories brought her to her knees.
But she had work to do. Tyler’s life might depend on them getting answers fast.
Using a small towel to cover her hands, she searched the little boy’s toy chest and dresser, then opened his closet. On the top shelf, several shoeboxes filled with toys were lined up.
She discovered another box in the corner, and she pulled it down and opened it.
Her pulse picked up. Two envelopes were tucked inside. She opened the first one and found Tyler’s birth certificate. Hope spiked. Surely Sondra had listed the boy’s father on the paper.
BJ flipped it open and gaped at the name listed as Tyler’s father.
Cash Koker.
Chapter Nine
Cash paced outside the guesthouse. He felt helpless and useless and he damn well didn’t like it.
If someone had planted evidence against him, no telling what BJ and Maddox might find in Sondra’s place.
He racked his brain to remember if Sondra had mentioned any particular man other than Ronnie who’d expressed an interest in her. But no one came to mind. Although she was young and attractive. There had to be somebody.
He should have pushed her to tell him what was wrong over the phone that night.
But he thought they’d have time.
BJ stepped from the guesthouse, her expression solemn. Suspicious again. Maddox followed, his jaw set.
Cash’s stomach clenched. “Did you find something?”
Maddox cleared his throat. “Sondra’s computer. But someone erased content. I’ll talk to Jasper and see if he found anything, then I’ll see if the lab can recover what was deleted.”
BJ was holding an envelope. “I found Tyler’s birth certificate tucked in a shoebox in Tyler’s closet.”
“So she listed Tyler’s father,” Cash said with a burst of hope.
BJ met his gaze with troubled eyes, then gestured toward the paper. “She listed you as Tyler’s father, Cash.”
His breath stalled in his chest. Dammit to hell. She’d been serious about keeping the father’s identity a secret.
* * *
BJ WANTED TO believe Cash, but this birth certificate made it difficult. “You said you weren’t Tyler’s father.”
“I’m not,” Cash said.
Maddox examined the document. “Then why did Sondra Elmore list you as the baby’s daddy?”
Cash rubbed the back of his neck. “I honestly don’t know. I figured she left the father’s name blank. Maybe she wanted me to have ties to Tyler in some way, but the DNA will prove the truth of the matter.
“That would explain why everyone is so adamant that Tyler is your child,” Maddox observed. “I don’t think I need to guess Elmore’s reaction to the whole thing.”
Cash stretched his hands in front of him and stared at his blunt nails. Scars crisscrossed his skin and one finger was completely crooked, as if it had been broken and never been treated. More burn marks stood out, cigarette burns that revealed more about his past.
“I wasn’t good enough for Sondra,” Cash said. “It’s not like I have a pedigree. I was a ranch hand. I had no idea who my parents were.” He grunted. “Not exactly what Elmore wanted in a son-in-law. He wanted someone who fit into society, someone to show off to his friends.”
“Sounds like the way Dad described Elmore,” Maddox said.
Was Cash Joe McCullen’s son, as well?
Maddox stowed Sondra’s computer in his SUV. “Cash, tell me about the argument you and Sondra had the day she died.”
BJ stiffened, hoping Cash had a good answer. So far, things kept stacking up against him.
Cash lifted his chin, his jaw hard. “Yes, we argued, but it’s not what you think. I suggested she ask Jasper to issue a restraining order against this guy Ronnie, but she said she couldn’t talk to Jasper.”
“Did she say why?” Maddox asked.
Cash shook his head. “Apparently Jasper’s father and Elmore were friends. She didn’t want her father to worry.”
“It seems odd that Jasper and Elmore are friends,” Maddox said. “The age difference is significant. Plus Jasper isn’t a rancher.”
“Apparently, back in the day, Jasper’s father and Elmore were roommates at some elitist boarding school,” Cash said.
Maddox made a low sound beneath his breath. “I see. So Elmore could have the sheriff in his pocket.”
“That would explain a lot,” BJ said. “Did Elmore have financial problems?” she asked Cash.
Cash rolled his eyes. “If he had money trouble, he certainly didn’t tell me about it.”
“What about Sondra?” Maddox asked. “I assume he supported her and Tyler financially?”
“Yes. She received a monthly allowance.”
“If she was rebellious and her father was controlling, why didn’t she try to get a job and move out on her own?”
Cash shifted. “I wondered that, too. When I first met her, she was in college, said she wanted to study journalism. But when she got pregnant, she changed.”
“How so?” Maddox asked.
“She dropped out of school. Started staying home more. At first she even seemed withdrawn.” He worked his mouth from side to side. “I asked her if something was wrong, but she claimed she was just tired.”
BJ raised a brow. “You said she and her father argued—maybe he told her he was cutting back that allowance.”
“I guess it’s possible,” Cash said. “Sondra depended on that money for her and Tyler to live.”
“Did the baby’s father contribute financially?” Maddox asked with a frown.
Cash shook his head. “She said she didn’t want anything from him.”
BJ made a disapproving sound. “She could have been frightened of him.”
Maddox removed his hat and scraped a hand through his dark hair, then settled his Stetson back on his head. “Do you think it’s possible that this guy took advantage of her, Cash? That they weren’t romantically involved?”
Cash jerked his head up, his eyes cold. “You mean do I think he raped her?”
* * *
CASH HAD NEVER considered that possibility. But it would explain the reason she seemed afraid to talk about Tyler’s father. And also the reason she didn’t want to disclose his identity or care that he wasn’t in her and Tyler’s life.
If Elmore thought a man had forced himself on Sondra, he would kill him.
Cash would kill him, too.
But surely Sondra would have told him if she’d been attacked.
Wouldn’t she?
Unless...she’d been a victim of date rape. She’d always said it was her fault she’d gotten pregnant, that she’d been stupid and irresponsible...
He’d assumed she meant that she simply hadn’t used birth control.
Maybe Whitefeather would find something inside Elmore’s house.
“Cash?” BJ said with an eyebrow raise.
“I...don’t know
,” he said honestly. “It would explain why she refused to talk about him. And the reason she was so upset when she first discovered the pregnancy.”
“Also the reason she didn’t move out,” BJ added. “Perhaps she didn’t feel safe.”
“Did you ever see bruises on her?” Maddox asked.
Cash struggled to recall the past three years. “A couple of times, maybe. Once I touched her shoulder and she reacted in pain, but she said she’d taken a fall off a horse.”
“You think her father hit her?” BJ asked.
Cash’s mind raced to comments between the father and daughter. He’d heard raised voices, and Sondra had been in tears a few times. “Elmore threatened to disown her when he learned about the pregnancy. But I don’t think he hit her. And in the end, he gave her the guesthouse and supported her, although he spent very little time with Tyler.”
“So if she wasn’t afraid of her father, she was afraid of Tyler’s daddy,” BJ said.
Cash balled his hands into fists. He’d tried to respect her privacy by not pushing her too much for the man’s name.
She might still be alive if he had.
* * *
BJ HATED THE train of thought her mind had taken. But they had to consider all the possibilities.
Elmore was a proud, astute man who valued his place in society, just like her own father.
How would her dad react if she’d turned up pregnant and decided to stay single?
He would be livid. He would have suggested a quiet abortion. He might have even cut her out of his life.
Just telling him would have made BJ ill.
Had Sondra felt that way?
Still, Tyler was an innocent little boy. How could Elmore not have loved that child?
Deputy Whitefeather appeared from the house, carrying a box.
“Did you find something?” Maddox asked.
The deputy gave a quick nod. “A few pictures of Sondra with a couple of different men. Thought one of them might be Tyler’s father.”
“Their names?” BJ asked.
“Not on the pics, but the lab can run them through facial recognition.”
“Good idea,” Maddox said. “Anything else?”
“Some notebooks, journals that belong to Sondra. I haven’t gone through them, but they seem personal.”
“Let me examine them,” BJ said. “Maybe she talks about the baby’s daddy in there.”
Maddox and the deputy agreed, and they walked to their vehicles together. Maddox’s phone buzzed and he stepped aside to answer it. Worry knitted his brow as he hung up. “Elmore agreed to let me put a trace on his phone in case of a ransom call.”
Whitefeather stepped up. “I’ll take the computer and pictures to the lab. I’ll also check Elmore’s bank accounts and financials. If he’s in trouble, and had an insurance policy on his daughter and/or grandson, that would be motive.”
“Keep me informed,” BJ said. “Just put the box in my car.”
“Could I see the pictures?” Cash asked. “Maybe I’ll recognize one of the men.”
“Sure,” Maddox said. “But let’s do it at the sheriff’s office. I don’t want any question over proper procedure or chain of custody.”
Whitefeather stowed the box in the backseat of BJ’s sedan.
BJ and Cash followed Deputy Whitefeather to the sheriff’s office, where he left the box in an interrogation room. Cash shifted as if he was growing antsier by the minute.
BJ spread the pictures across the table before they tackled the notebooks.
There were several candids of Sondra and Tyler at the park. Others depicted them riding horses, celebrating the little boy’s birthday and Christmases. Sondra was smiling and obviously doted on her son.
Oddly, there were no pictures of Tyler and his grandfather.
She shuffled further and found photos of Sondra and two different men. One was a tall, fair-haired cowboy who was standing close to her in one of the stables.
“Do you recognize him?” BJ asked.
Cash studied the photograph. “Mike Cranford. He works for Elmore.”
“Were he and Sondra involved?”
“No. The man’s gay.”
Hmm. Another picture revealed a shorter, stockier guy with reddish hair leaning in for a kiss. “How about him?”
“No clue,” Cash said.
BJ listened for jealousy in his voice but detected none.
Cash thumped his boot on the floor. “I wonder who took these pictures.”
BJ drummed her fingers on the table. “Good point.”
“What if Ronnie Thacker was following her and he took them?”
“That’s a possibility,” BJ said, her mind racing. “If she was romantic with one of these men, Ronnie could have been jealous. But if he took them, why did Sondra have them?”
“Maybe he sent them to her. And that’s the reason she thought he was stalking her?”
“Another good point.” A possible scenario flashed in BJ’s mind’s eye—of Sondra confronting Ronnie. Ronnie became upset, lost control and killed her.
Then in desperation, he’d come up with a plan to frame Cash.
* * *
CASH FELT LIKE he was invading Sondra’s privacy as he and BJ combed through his friend’s notebooks.
“Look for dates, references to men, to Ronnie, to any arguments with her father or anyone else,” BJ said. “If this is about Elmore, she may have heard something, an altercation between him and another rancher or person who wanted to hurt him.”
The lab tech texted with an address for Thacker. Biff Lenox, the man Elmore accused of working with the cattle-rustling ring, had disappeared.
“Let’s go,” BJ said.
Cash checked his watch as they drove to Thacker’s. Dammit, he wanted to find Tyler before nightfall.
“You should wait in the car,” BJ said as they approached the farm.
“No way.” Cash folded his arms. “I want Thacker to look into my eyes and tell me he didn’t hurt Sondra or Tyler.”
A debate settled in BJ’s eyes, but finally she conceded. “All right, but if you don’t control yourself, Cash, it’ll be the last time I allow you to go with me. If it’s necessary, I’ll have Maddox lock you back up.”
A dozen curse words rattled in Cash’s head, but he bit them back. He didn’t play by the rules. He never had. But at least BJ was on his side. He couldn’t afford to lose that help.
Farm and ranch lands spread for miles, signs of summer evident in the blazing sun, and how the lack of rain was frying the grass. Her SUV bounced over the uneven terrain.
A second later, BJ made a turn onto a long dirt road, but just as she did, a gunshot rang out. BJ screamed and swerved to the left. Cash jerked his head around to see where the shot was coming from and spotted a black pickup barreling on their tail.
Another gunshot pierced the back window. “Duck!” Cash yelled.
BJ dropped her head as low as possible and cut to the right, but another gunshot sounded. The bullet must have hit the tire because it blew, the sedan swerved out of control and they careened toward a boulder at the edge of the ridge.
Cash saw the drop off approaching and realized they weren’t going to stop in time. “Jump, BJ!”
Her eyes widened in panic. She was clearly too frightened to propel herself from the moving vehicle. He whipped his seat belt off, then hers, grabbed her hand and threw open the door.
He dragged her across the seat and yanked her out of the car with him. He wrapped his arms around her to protect her and took the brunt of the fall. Gravel, pavement and dirt clawed at him, and he rolled them toward the grassy roadside.
A second later, BJ’s car slid over the edge.
Chapter Ten
Terror
streaked through BJ as Cash dragged her from the car, wrapped his body around hers and rolled away from the ravine. The impact jarred her shoulder; gravel scraped her cheek and hands. A bullet zinged by her head.
“Stay down!” Cash shouted.
The weight of his body felt warm and comforting, yet whoever was shooting at them was still firing.
Cash’s breath gushed out as he lifted his head and scanned the area. BJ’s car had skidded to the edge and was hanging by a thread over the side.
“Crawl behind that bush,” Cash whispered next to her ear.
Footsteps crunched gravel. Terrified, BJ scooted toward the bushes. Cash slid his hand inside his jacket, removed a pistol and fired back at the man. Shock bolted through BJ. When had Cash gotten hold of a gun?
She didn’t have time to analyze the fact that he was violating the law because the shooter fired again. She hid in the bushes and tried to get a look at his face, but his hat sat so low on his head that it was impossible to see his eyes or even his hair color.
Cash released a round, and a curse rent the air as the bullet pinged on the ground near the man’s foot.
Their assailant fired into the bushes, and she scampered to the right and crouched behind a tree.
Cash moved quietly, sneaking up on the man. More noise suggested the shooter had pivoted and was stalking toward them.
A grunt followed. Cash attacking the man.
He grabbed the guys’ legs and dragged him down to the ground. They rolled and fought for the gun. It went off again, this bullet hitting a tree branch and sending leaves raining down.
Cash punched the shooter with his fist. Blood spurted from his nose and the gun flew out of his hand. BJ eyed the distance to it, but the man kicked Cash in the face and scampered toward it. His fingers touched the handle just as Cash reached him. Cash launched himself on top of him, flipped him over and slammed his fist into the man’s face once more.
The shooter bellowed, but managed to lift the gun and shove it in Cash’s chest.
BJ lost her breath. Cash grappled for the weapon and rolled, fighting and punching.
Just as they neared the edge, the gun went off again.
* * *