“Watch me.”
It was a grand exit, full of dignity and superiority. In actuality, she made it no further than the other side of the trees, but Darla did not have to know that. The minute she was on the other side of the tree line, Madison fell to her knees and sucked in a deep breath. Her head felt like it was splitting in two. Judging from the blood on her fingers, she decided that might not be too far from the truth.
From her side of the clearing, Darla Mullins screamed obscenities that would put any sailor to shame.
“I’m leaving,” she warned. “You don’t know the way out. You’ll be stuck out here in the woods, with that maniac on the loose… This is your last chance. If you don’t come back, this instant, I’m leaving you out here to fend for yourself.”
Making her voice sound as if it came from a distance, Madison cupped her hands over her mouth and threw an answer into the wind. “Thanks, but I’ve already called for a taxi,” she yelled. Genny, bless her heart, was already on her way, thanks to a quick text.
She listened as Darla cursed some more and huffed and puffed her way out of the clearing. She stomped noisily away, her heavy footsteps making quite the racket as she retreated down a different trail.
It wasn’t until all was silent that Madison began to worry. What if the maniac really did come back? What if Trench Coat was still out there, waiting to run her down? Suddenly not so brave, Madison struggled to her feet. She kept to the tree line, slowly making her way back in the direction she had come. She stopped occasionally, straining to listen for sounds of the dirt bike. She caught enough faint snippets from Darla’s angry tirade to know she headed in the right direction.
The longer she walked, the more her ankle throbbed. Her head ached. It was getting harder to focus and she felt light-headed. She was thinking of sitting down and resting when she heard the vague sound of a door slamming. She assumed that was Darla peeling out of the graveled gateway, but there was a sudden rushing noise inside her head. Why was everything so dark? It was still morning… wasn’t it?
Madison was no longer sure of anything, not even of where she was. All she knew was that she needed to rest.
She was still there, slumped at the base of a tree, when Genesis and Cutter found her five minutes later.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“Do you want to press charges on Darla Mullins?”
“What? No. No, I just want to forget this whole ordeal, including the fact that I ever knew her.”
Madison was propped up on the couch in the living room, nursing a major headache and a hot cup of coffee. After a fitful night spent in the hospital, she was still every bit as uncomfortable, but at least she was home. Brash sat nearby in a chair, jotting down notes in his ever-faithful pocket-sized spiral.
“Did you find the dirt bike?” she asked.
“Yep. It was registered to Luis Gonzales. He reported it stolen from his garage about a half a mile from the survey site. Said it was taken sometime over the weekend.”
“Did you find the coat?”
“Cutter found it stuffed into the bushes, not far from the bike.”
“Could you see blood stains on it?”
“Actually, it appeared to be a brand-new coat. Still, I’ve sent it to the lab in Austin for analysis.”
“I guess they can collect DNA and loose fibers and trace evidence to determine Trench Coat’s identity.”
Brash rolled his eyes. “You watch too many of those television shows, Maddy. It works great on TV, and in record time, too. But it doesn’t quite work the same in real life. And there can only be a match if Trench Coat’s DNA is already in the system. If he’s a law-abiding citizen, chances are we won’t catch him that way.”
“How can he be a law-abiding citizen and a cold-blooded killer at the same time?”
Brash shrugged. “This was a crime of passion. Who knows what made him crack? Up until he killed Caress, he may have been a pillar of society.”
“Her death may not have been premeditated, but he’s put quite a bit of thought in trying to kill me.”
“Unfortunately, I agree. That’s why I want to put you under police protection.”
“Do you- Do you really think that is necessary?” she gasped.
“I don’t want to take any chances, Maddy. He’s tried several times now. He seems to be hell-bent on keeping you silent.”
“Maybe we should make some sort of public announcement, admitting that I’m really no eye witness at all. I didn’t see the actual murder take place. And I have no idea what the killer even looked like.”
“I’m willing to give it a try,” Brash agreed. Then he added, “In addition to protection.”
“Brash, you have a police force of exactly three people. You don’t have the resources to offer me protection.”
“It will take some ingenuity, and I’ll have to call in reserve officers and maybe even get some help from the fire department, but I’m not taking any chances, Madison. This is your life we’re talking about.” The light in his blue eyes warmed her heart, even as the implications behind his words chilled her soul. Someone wanted her dead, and they showed no signs of giving up until they had succeeded or been caught.
“Thank you, Brash. Thank you for wanting to protect me. And thank you for not letting our… differences come between us.”
Instead of taking her words as a compliment, he took offense. He jumped from the chair and paced the room.
“Jesus, Madison! Just when I think your opinion of me can’t sink any lower, you prove me wrong! What kind of lawman—what kind of person?—do you think I am? Do you honestly think I would put our personal problems before your safety? You must think I am a total and complete jerk!”
“No, no, that’s not at all what I meant,” she tried to assure him. “Please, Brash, sit down and listen to me. Please.”
He remained standing. A pained expression filled his eyes. “I have to go back to the station and make a few calls. I asked Cutter to drop by and keep an eye on you while I’m gone.”
“Brash, please,” she begged.
There was a knock on the door, immediately followed by Genny’s voice. “Maddy? Cutter gave me a ride, so I can keep you company this evening. I brought hamburgers.” She held up a bag and smiled at Brash. “There’s one for you, too, Brash.”
“I’ll take mine to go. I was just leaving anyway.”
***
Working out the logistics of police protection proved to be harder than Brash expected. One of his reserve officers had the flu; another had thrown his back out after a particularly amorous Valentine’s Day. Given the man was over seventy, Brash begged off on hearing more details. By the time he went through the meager resources of The Sisters and half those of River County, he realized the job would fall upon him.
But if it meant keeping Maddy safe, he would give up all his sleep and half his meals to see it done. He ignored the little voice inside that said he would give up much more than that. He suspected— no, he knew—that if it came down to her life or his, he would take the bullet. He was falling for her and falling hard, but he was too stubborn—and too hurt—to admit it just yet, even to himself. He kept reminding himself that any woman who thought him capable of cheating didn’t deserve his love and devotion.
The trouble was, his heart refused to listen to logic.
***
The next few days were quiet.
Ignoring his doctor’s suggestion that he take a couple more days off from work, Brash worked his schedule around Maddy’s, which suddenly had gaping holes in it.
Quitting at Boundaries meant she was out of a job; even her surveillance on Donny Howell was over. As it turned out, when Brash passed him in the car with his friends that night, they were on the way to the emergency room. The simple dart game re-injured his back and was enough to convince the insurance company he had a legitimate claim. Her Friday afternoon runs for Miss Sybille notwithstanding, Maddy was temporarily without work.
Brash came up with a brill
iant solution: he hired In a Pinch to do some temporary work at the police station.
He would never confess as much to Maddy, but her salary came directly from his own pocket. There was no room in the department’s budget to pay someone to help with filing and organizing records, especially not with the ever-efficient Vina on top of both issues. The older black woman was the best department clerk he had ever known, but with only a minimum of begging, he convinced her to take a couple of days off to visit her newest grandbaby in Fort Worth. No one could ever fill her shoes, but Madison could at least answer the phones and do a bit of filing. And the way he saw it, it solved two issues at once: it allowed him to keep Maddy safe without pulling an officer from duty, and it gave her an income. Actually it solved three issues, for if anyone deserved a few days off, it was Vina Jones.
With her days spent at Police Headquarters and her evenings surrounded by either her family, Genny, Brash, or often Cutter, Madison did not hear from Trench Coat. There were no threatening phone calls, no suspicious vehicles circling her house or running her off the road, no dirt bikes gunning for her, nothing out of the ordinary happening around her.
The only surprise of the week was a phone call she received on Thursday.
“Madison?”
She recognized the voice immediately, even though she did not recognize the number on her cell phone. “Derron?”
“How are you, girlfriend? I’ve been worried sick about you!”
Madison wondered what his mother had told him about Monday’s events. She doubted Darla had mentioned her own tirade or the objects she hurled. Most likely, she had found a way to blame it all on Madison.
Madison gave an indirect answer. “Why would you be worried?”
“Mother said you came down with a severe migraine while out on the site. It must be bad, if you’ve been out all week! I heard you had to go to the hospital in Bryan.”
“My head was definitely hurting,” she agreed somewhat wryly. “But it’s better now.”
“Will you be coming back?”
“I don’t think so. I was only scheduled through tomorrow, anyway. Won’t Natalie be back on Monday?”
She heard the pout in his voice. “Yes, but she’s not nearly as much fun as you. I miss you, girlfriend.”
Madison laughed, surprised to know she actually missed him, as well. Derron alone had made her days at Boundaries bearable. “Maybe we could meet some day for lunch,” she suggested.
“If Dragon Lady will unchain me from this desk.” She could all but hear him rolling his eyes. “She’s been breathing fire ever since she came back without you. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear she missed you.”
“Good thing you know better.”
“You left some stuff here, dollface. Did you want to stop by and pick it up?”
The thought of returning to the office, even for a moment or two, turned her stomach. The thought of seeing Darla Mullins again made her head hurt. Putting a protective hand to the lump still tender on her skull, she did a mental inventory of the items she had left behind. Some of it she could do without, but there were a few things she hated to forfeit. “I might could swing by on Monday.”
“Perfect. Dragon Lady will be out that afternoon, so you might want to make it then,” he suggested.
“Thanks, Derron.”
“I really enjoyed working with you, dollface. Maybe you can fill in again sometime.”
“I doubt that, but I enjoyed working with you, too. See you Monday. And thanks for calling.”
“Sure thing, sweetie. Tootles.”
“Yeah, tootles,” she repeated with a smile.
Brash walked up in time to hear her salutation. “Tootles?” he questioned, eyebrows high.
By way of explanation, she merely laughed. “Derron.”
“Ah, yes. So how is he? I hear his friend flew back to Paris without him.”
With a groan, Madison pressed her fingers to her eyelids. “Thanks a lot,” she grumbled. “With everything that has happened since, I almost forgot about that little scene we witnessed. Now that you’ve reminded me, I won’t be able to get it out of my head!”
“Not sure how you could have forgotten it to begin with. I see it every night when I close my eyes.” A shudder worked through his wide shoulders.
Madison laughed at his expression, encouraged to see him joking with her again. She worried she had done irrevocable damage to their relationship. The last thing she wanted to do was to hurt him, but her emotional state was still so fragile after her disintegrating marriage to Gray. She needed time to heal, time to learn to trust again. She only prayed that in the meantime, she did not lose him; not when she already cared so much about him.
“So just for putting the image back in my head,” she informed him smartly, keeping up the light banter, “you now owe me lunch. Genny has a new recipe on the daily special.”
“Deal.” His eyes twinkled. “But only because I’m starved, and because anything Genny makes is delicious.”
The rest of the week went smoothly, with still no threats from Trench Coat.
Granny Bert left for her annual camping trip to Galveston with a group of friends.
Cheerleader try-outs were held Thursday afternoon. Bethani and Megan huddled on pins and needles, waiting for the results. When word came that both girls made the Varsity squad, Madison was certain their victory cheer could be heard all over town. And even though she was thrilled for her daughter, new worries besieged her. Come Monday, she was out of a job again; where would she come up with the money for cheerleader camp?
To celebrate, Shannon and Matthew Aikman hosted an impromptu barbecue on Friday night. They had mentioned getting together before now, but this gave the perfect excuse. Eager to throw Maddy and Brash together at every opportunity, the hosting couple was thrilled when the two arrived together. Maddy allowed them their moment of elation; she preferred no one knew the real reason Brash shadowed her that week. Let the rumor mill make of it what they may.
They would anyway.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
She thought the late night phone calls from George Gail were over. With the case surrounding Caress’s death growing colder by the day, and with no one even considering her as a suspect, George Gail’s obsession with being arrested seemed to lessen. Madison thought the after-hour interruptions were behind her, until her phone rang just before midnight, late Sunday night.
“Not again,” she mumbled groggily.
“Madison! Something’s wrong!”
It seemed something was always wrong where George Gail was concerned. By now, Madison knew to take her dramatics with a grain of salt. “What is it this time?”
“I’m not sure, but I need your help. Someone called Curtis out to the sale barn about an hour ago. Now I got this really strange text from him. It says ‘Need hemp. Hurry’.”
The only things Madison knew about hemp were that it could be used to make rope and it came from the same plant as marijuana. Since Curtis Burton hardly seemed like the type to smoke pot, she made a guess. “He needs a rope?”
“I think he meant ‘help’. He’s not very good at typing. Fingers are too long.”
“Have you called him back?”
“Goes straight to voice mail. I’m worried, Madison. Would you go with me to the sale barn?” When Madison took too long to answer, the other woman’s voice took on a wheedling whine. “Please? I’m really scared, Madison. What if someone sets another fire while he’s up there?”
“Maybe you should call Brash.”
“Didn’t you hear? There was a bad wreck out on the highway, Juliet side. Half of both towns and all the emergency crews are out there. From what I hear, it’s a real mess.”
“How do you always know these things?”
Half-way into the run-down of who was passing by and who called whom with the news, Madison interrupted her. “Never mind. Give me ten minutes and I’ll be over.”
“Thank you, Madison, you’re a real life saver!”
“It’s going to cost you.”
“I only have three hundred in cash. Is that enough?” the other woman readily offered.
Madison was going to demand a promise of no more late-night calls, but cash was good. “Just be ready when I get there,” she grumbled.
Brash, of course, would have a fit. He had finally agreed to drop her ‘protection’, but he warned her of being extra vigilant. Madison knew rushing out into the night would not meet with his approval. But, she reminded herself, he was on a call and would never know. With any luck, they would locate Curtis safe and sound and be back home within the hour.
At 12:13, Madison pulled up in front of the Burton’s ranch-style home. George Gail slipped inside the moment the car rolled to a stop.
At the sight of her, Madison was taken aback. “What-What are you wearing?”
“Sweatpants and pig slippers. Don’t worry, I brought boots to change into.” She held up a pair of rubber boots splattered with bright flowers and peace symbols.
“Not the shoes. The coat.”
She glanced down at her husband’s coat she was wearing. “It’s cold,” she defended herself.
Trying her best to ignore the trickle of worry that pricked her skull, Madison eyed the khaki coat once more before putting the car into reverse. She couldn’t freak out every time she saw a trench coat. She was being ridiculous to even consider the thoughts running through her head. George Gail was completely harmless. … Wasn’t she?
Of course she was. Madison brushed away her own foolishness as she watched her passenger slip off her pink piggy slippers and stuff her feet unceremoniously inside the rubber boots.
Slightly out of breath from the exertion, George Gail leaned back with a loud, “Whew! All better now. Especially if we have to crawl around in the pens.”
“Why would we crawl around in the pens?”
“I have no idea where he was calling from or what was wrong. For all I know, he’s being trampled by a pen of angry bulls!”
When the Stars Fall (The Sisters, Texas Mystery Series Book 2) Page 23