The Missing McCullen

by Rita Herron

  “The DNA from Cash—was positive.” She smiled at Cash. “You’re a McCullen. You share the same mother and father as Maddox.”

  His breath left Cash in a rush. A dozen emotions flickered across Maddox’s face. He turned to Cash with an odd look.

  Cash didn’t know what to expect, but the tough-as-nails sheriff jerked him into a bear hug.

  “Good God, all these years we didn’t know you even existed.” Maddox’s voice thickened. “I’m sorry, man. We would have looked for you, found you sooner.”

  Cash’s chest swelled with unexpected pleasure, a feeling he’d never felt before. He had a family. A real family.

  Brothers. Sisters-in-law. Nephews.

  He even had a surrogate mother in Mama Mary.

  “I’m just sorry as hell that Mama and Daddy died without knowing we found you,” Maddox said.

  Cash slapped Maddox on the back. “I can’t believe it. I...never thought I had any family.” At least none that wanted him.

  But he choked back those words.

  Getting close, expecting things from family, not disappointing them—it all came with the territory.

  He’d lived his life not having to please anyone.

  Sure, it had been lonely as hell, but he’d survived.

  Maddox wiped at his eyes. “I have to let Ray and Brett know.”

  “Let’s clear my name first,” he said. He couldn’t face the disappointment or disapproval in their eyes if somehow he wound up going back to jail.

  Maddox studied him for a long minute. “All right. But we are going to clear you, Cash. And we’re going to find your twin. He’s one of us, too.”

  One of us? Cash had never been one of anything before. Not a family or a couple.

  Dammit, he wanted both. To be a McCullen and to have BJ by his side.

  The thought terrified him to the core, and he headed to the door. They had people to talk to about this other kid.

  Drew, a little boy who’d been in foster care like him. A child who had a brother he knew nothing about.

  They would fix that. They’d find that little boy a kidney.

  Once he was well and Tyler was home, maybe Elmore would take them both in.

  * * *

  COMPASSION FILLED BJ. Cash was a McCullen.

  In the midst of being framed for murder, he’d found a family. His family.

  One he’d been torn from years ago.

  And not just a family, but a respected one with a successful working ranch and a reputation for being fair and honorable.

  Cash parked at the hospital, then cut the engine and rubbed a hand over his face.

  “Are you all right?” BJ asked softly.

  When he glanced at her, he looked torn.

  “I don’t know what to do,” he said in a gruff voice.

  “What do you mean?” she asked softly. “The McCullens are good people. They want you.”

  His brow wrinkled. “What if I disappoint them?”

  BJ couldn’t resist; she brushed his cheek with her fingers. “You won’t, Cash. All you have to do is be yourself.”

  A heartbeat passed. “How do you know that? I told you, I’ve done things I’m not proud of.”

  She smiled slowly. “You willingly put your life in danger to save Tyler and me,” BJ said. “You’re tough and strong, and you’re fighting to find a lost little boy. That’s admirable.”

  He leaned into her hand. “I’m nobody’s hero, BJ.”

  “You’re Tyler’s,” she whispered. “Now, let’s see if the hospital staff knows anything about Drew’s father.” She and Cash climbed out and walked up the sidewalk together. “What if Spillman was Tyler’s father?” BJ asked. “Did you ever see the two of them together?”

  “No,” Cash answered. “Like I said, she dropped Tyler off a few times, but we didn’t spend much time together the last couple of years.”

  They stopped at the front desk to inquire about Drew. “Where is he?” BJ asked.

  “He’s on the third floor in the children’s wing,” the receptionist said.

  “How’s he doing?” Cash asked.

  The woman’s face fell. “He’s hanging in there. But I’m not at liberty to discuss his condition.”

  Frustration knotted BJ’s insides. “I understand. Maybe we could talk to the social worker in charge of Drew’s case.”

  She raised a brow. “How did you find out about Drew?”

  BJ leaned over the counter separating them from the woman. “We’ve been working with Sheriff Maddox McCullen on a case that may involve him.”

  The woman’s eyes widened. “I know Sheriff McCullen. He’s a good man.”

  “Yes, he is,” BJ said. “Has Drew had any visitors since he was admitted?”

  The woman looked down at her computer for a moment.

  “It’s important,” BJ said. “We’re trying to find this missing child—”

  “Are you talking about Tyler Elmore, the little boy on the news?” she asked.

  BJ nodded.

  The woman inhaled sharply. “Let me get the director.” She paged Dr. Ingles, then made a quick phone call.

  Heels clicked on the hard floor, then a middle-aged woman with a dark bob appeared. She spoke to the receptionist, then joined them. “I’m Dr. Ingles. You’re inquiring about one of our patients?”

  “Yes, the child named Drew. Can we go somewhere private to talk?” BJ said.

  Dr. Ingles nodded. “Let me tell the social worker to meet us.” She sent a text, then led them to her office.

  When the social worker arrived, Dr. Ingles introduced the twentysomething young woman, whose name was Candace Winterbottom.

  “Why do you want to know about Drew?” Dr. Ingles asked.

  BJ explained the situation. “Tests confirm that Tyler Elmore and Drew are half brothers. With both boys’ mothers being murdered, we’re working the theory that the two murders are related.”

  Dr. Ingles and Candace exchanged concerned looks. “Is Drew in danger?” Dr. Ingles asked.

  BJ hesitated. “I don’t think so,” she said. “But the father is a common denominator. We need to know his identity.”

  “Did you check the birth certificate?” Dr. Ingles asked.

  “Yes, but DNA proves the man listed is not Drew’s father,” BJ said. “We thought he might have visited Drew.”

  Candace shook her head. “Drew hasn’t had any company.”

  BJ’s heart swelled with sympathy for Drew. “How about inquiries into his condition?”

  Sadness tinged the woman’s eyes. “No inquiries. No relatives or friends of the mother’s. No offers to be tested for a DNA match.”

  “Perhaps his father doesn’t know about him,” Dr. Ingles suggested. “That happens more than you’d think.”

  “That’s possible,” BJ said. Although she had a bad feeling Drew’s father did know about him.

  And that he’d killed Drew’s mother because he didn’t want to be exposed.

  BJ and Cash followed Candace to Drew’s room. The little boy’s face looked pale against his dark brown hair. IVs and other tubes helped provide medicine and fluids, but it was clear he wasn’t well.

  Candace padded across the room to his hospital bed and gently raked his hair from his forehead. Cash stood ramrod straight in the doorway as if his feet were frozen in place.

  BJ’s heart melted. She crossed the room and stood beside Candace. Slowly, Drew opened his eyes. They were as green as the grass in the pastures on Horseshoe Creek. Did his mother or father have green eyes?

  “Drew, you have a visitor,” Candace said in a low voice.

  Drew’s eyes widened. “Someone came to see me?”

  “Yes.” Candace gave BJ a warning smile. BJ understo
od the silent message. She couldn’t give the child false hope.

  Still, she squeezed his limp little hand in hers.

  Who in the world could be so cold to take a mother away from a child?

  She would have done anything to save her son.

  Worse, what kind of a man wouldn’t help his own little boy when he needed a kidney to live?

  * * *

  CASH’S HEART ACHED for the kid. Drew reminded him of himself.

  He’d been sickly the first three years of his life, and no one had wanted him.

  At least his illness hadn’t been life-threatening. He’d suffered from asthma and an underdeveloped lung, but he’d outgrown both.

  Drew had nobody.

  Cash didn’t know what he could do, but he would see about changing that once they found the child’s damn father.

  BJ leaned close to the boy, talking in a low voice. That fancy lawyer he’d thought was stuffy was full of surprises.

  She’d shocked him with her passion the night before.

  And now...the tenderness in her eyes told him exactly what kind of mother she’d been.

  And would be in the future.

  Don’t go there.

  You don’t have your life together enough to even think about a relationship with BJ Alexander.

  What did he have to offer a woman like her, anyway?

  Cash’s phone buzzed. Maddox. “It’s Cash,” he said as he punched Connect.

  “Where are you?” Maddox asked without preamble.

  “At the hospital. We met Drew and spoke to the social worker. No one has inquired about him.”

  “Damn,” Maddox said. “Listen, Deputy Whitefeather just called. Elmore somehow slipped out but we’ve got a trace on his phone. He received another ransom call, Cash. He’s on his way to meet the kidnapper.”

  “I thought Jasper was with him,” Cash said.

  “He had to leave,” Maddox replied.

  “How did Elmore get the money so fast?”

  “I don’t know, but he could be walking into an ambush. I’m twenty minutes out, but on my way.”

  “Text me the GPS coordinates,” Cash said.

  Maddox did, and Cash glanced at the map. “I can be there in ten minutes.” He rushed back to the room to tell BJ he was leaving.

  She gave Drew a hug. “I’ll be back, sweetie. Hang in there, okay?”

  “Okay.” The kid hugged her with arms so frail they looked like they might break.

  They rushed outside, barreled from the parking lot and flew toward the river. Trees swayed in the wind as they neared the section of land where the river forked. Cash slowed and rolled to a stop. He’d hike in on foot and hide while waiting.

  A gunshot rent the air.

  “Stay put!” He grabbed his pistol from behind the seat, jumped out of the truck and darted through the trees.

  Another gunshot, and he spotted Elmore.

  Dammit to hell. The man was lying on the embankment, his hand over his chest, blood oozing through his fingers.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Cash quickly scanned the area near Elmore, and saw a figure darting up the hill on the opposite side of the river. He wanted to go after him.

  But Elmore was bleeding.

  Leaves rustled nearby. “I heard gunshots,” BJ said, as she came up behind him.

  “Elmore’s hit,” Cash said. “Call an ambulance. And get something to help stop the bleeding.”

  Cash jogged toward Elmore. His heart pounded as he scanned the hill where the shooter had disappeared. A car engine fired up in the distance, too far away for him to make it in time.

  Dammit.

  Elmore lay motionless, eyes closed, his bloody hand pressed over his chest. Cash checked for a pulse. Barely there, but Elmore was breathing.

  He patted the man’s face. “Mr. Elmore, who shot you?”

  Elmore groaned, and his eyelids fluttered as if he was struggling to open them, but failed.

  Footsteps crunched the dry earth. “Cash?”

  “He’s alive, but in bad shape. The ambulance?”

  “On its way.” She pressed a cloth to Elmore’s wound.

  “Elmore,” Cash said again “Who did this to you?”

  Elmore moaned again, and mumbled something, but Cash couldn’t understand him.

  A siren wailed, and BJ ran up the hill to meet the ambulance. Another siren followed, blue lights twirling and streaking the cloudy sky as Maddox approached.

  Seconds later, Maddox and the medics scrambled down the hill. That damned Sheriff Jasper was on his heels.

  “What the hell happened?” Jasper shouted.

  The medics checked Elmore’s vitals, tossed the bloody cloth aside and applied blood stoppers.

  “When I got here, I heard gunshots.” Cash pointed toward the right. “The shooter escaped up there. I heard the car take off but Elmore needed help.”

  “I told him to call me if he received another ransom demand. He should have let me go.” Sheriff Jasper wiped sweat from the back of his neck. “What are you doing here anyway, Koker? Did you shoot him?”

  Cash’s temper rose. “No, I was with BJ.”

  “BJ?” Jasper asked.

  Cash realized he’d used her first name. “My lawyer. She can verify my story.”

  “It’s true,” BJ said. “Cash tried to save Mr. Elmore.”

  Maddox cut in, “Did Elmore see the shooter?”

  “I don’t know,” Cash said. “He hasn’t regained consciousness.”

  “I’ll ride with him in the ambulance,” Maddox said.

  “No, I will.” Jasper squared his shoulders. “He trusts me.”

  Cash exchanged a wary look with Maddox, but Maddox agreed.

  “The kidnapper escaped with the money,” Cash said.

  Despair nagged at him.

  The ransom was paid—but still, no news of Tyler.

  * * *

  FEAR SEIZED BJ as the ambulance drove away.

  Was Tyler with the kidnapper? If so, why wouldn’t he have left the little boy? Because he’d never intended to return him to his grandfather?

  The reasons that came to mind terrified her.

  She and Cash drove toward the hospital in silence. Maddox was close behind.

  By the time they parked at the emergency entrance, the medical staff was rushing Elmore to surgery. Maddox met them in the waiting room.

  “Did he wake up?” BJ asked.

  “No.” Maddox looked grim-faced.

  “What did you find out about Frannie Cooper’s murder?” Cash asked.

  “Not much. The sheriff who investigated gave me a copy of the notes he took during his interviews, but I haven’t had time to go through them.”

  Jasper stalked toward Maddox, his jaw tight with anger. “I want to talk to you, McCullen.”

  Maddox gave a quick nod. “Of course. How about getting us some coffee?”

  “I’m not your errand boy,” Jasper snarled.

  “I know that,” Maddox said. “But we may be here a while. I have to call my deputy, then we’ll talk. I’ll meet you in the cafeteria.”

  Jasper stomped away and headed toward the cafeteria.

  “You have your hands full, Maddox. Let me look at those files while you deal with Jasper,” BJ said.

  Maddox shrugged. “I guess it won’t hurt.”

  Maddox hurried to his vehicle and returned a few minutes later with a file. “Let me know if you see anything.” Then he headed down the hall to meet Jasper.

  BJ carried the file to the seating area in the waiting room. Cash walked down the hall and returned with two cups of coffee. She handed him half the notes and she took the remainder.

 
“Frannie’s mother was an alcoholic who hadn’t spoken to her daughter in years,” BJ said as she skimmed the notes. “She was in and out of rehab, graduated to cocaine and overdosed the year after Frannie was murdered.”

  “Sounds like Frannie had a rough life,” Cash muttered.

  BJ nodded. “Frannie lived in an apartment. According to her neighbors, she loved Drew and did her best to take care of him, but on a waitress’s salary she couldn’t make ends meet. When Drew became ill, she missed so many days of work the owner fired her.”

  Sympathy for Frannie engulfed BJ.

  “Frannie found another job working the late shift at a brew pub, but one night she was shot in the alley behind the bar. The owner found her the next morning. Police determined the killer was probably a drunken customer, but never made an arrest.”

  “No security cameras?” Cash asked.

  “Apparently they weren’t working.”

  Cash cursed. “Dammit, BJ. Look at this.” He angled a paper with a list of people interviewed.

  BJ’s heart raced when she zeroed in on a familiar name.

  Sheriff Jim Jasper.

  * * *

  CASH’S HEAD REELED. “Jasper was in the bar the night Frannie died.”

  “Seems too coincidental,” BJ said.

  “Damn right it does.” Cash rifled through the notes to the interview with Jasper. “Says here that he was looking for a stolen car, and traced it to the bar.”

  BJ worried her bottom lip with her teeth, and glanced down the hall where Jasper had disappeared. “Did he know Frannie?”

  “Said that she just waited on him.”

  Cash’s mind raced. “Other than Tyler and Drew sharing the same father, Jasper is the only common factor between Frannie and Sondra.”

  BJ made a low sound in her throat. “Cash, what if Jasper fathered the boys?”

  Cash’s stomach knotted. He’d never liked Jasper. “I guess it’s possible. Since Sondra’s father and Jasper were friends, she probably thought it would cause trouble if Elmore knew they’d been together, especially if Jasper had taken advantage of her.” The pieces began to fit in Cash’s mind. “Jasper would also know how to frame me.”

  BJ drummed her fingers on the table. “That’s true. He would also have access to criminals, someone he could have paid to drug you, kill Sondra and pose as you for that camera. Someone like Taft or Spillman.”