Ranger Guardian

by Angi Morgan

  His phone began vibrating. “That was fast,” he said in answer.

  “Hey, Heath. Just letting you know, man. The house you wanted us to surveil has already had four visitors. I texted the pictures. No car fitting the description or plate number you issued the BOLO for.”

  “I owe you one, Jason.”

  “Not for long. My daughter wants riding lessons. When she mentioned lessons, I actually told my wife I knew a real cowboy. Me and my big mouth.”

  “Anytime. We can ride a couple of times and let her see if it’s something she really wants.”

  “That would be terrific. How long you want me to hang around Rosa’s house?”

  Heath scrolled through the pictures—three men in dress shirts and ties, one woman. “I think we’ve got a start here. Thanks again.”

  “I’ll talk to my wife and we’ll make a date,” Jason said.

  “You’ve got my number.”

  “Let’s go with a heavy patrol in the neighborhood.”

  Heath hung up and first texted, then called Wade at the office.

  “What’s up?”

  “I’m at the FBI headquarters waiting on Kendall to get a Bureau-issued car.”

  “Thanks for checking in?” Wade asked it as a question, probably since that wasn’t the normal routine. “Okay, what do you want me to do with the pictures you texted? I assume they’re surveillance photos.”

  “You got it. I’m wondering if one of the men is Brantley Lourdes.”

  “Man, all you had to do was open your smartphone for that answer. He’s a pretty well-known guy. But I’ll run the other faces for you. While I let the program kick this around, how’s it working out with Kendall?”

  “It was a rocky start. Then I thought I’d done something good. Now we’re back to barely speaking.” Enough personal business. “Check if the others have ties to Public Exposure.”

  “You got it,” he said, clicking keys on his computer. “You two are all over the place. Why don’t you just tell her you want to move back home?”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “Sure it is.”

  “It’s not like I haven’t tried, man.”

  “For a married man, you sure don’t know anything about women.”

  “And you do? I seem to recall that you’re single and haven’t had a date in—”

  “Yeah. Got it. Minding my own love life. The people in your pictures are all board members for Public Exposure. I’ll text you their names and pertinent info. They’re from all over the country.”

  “Question is...why are they all in Dallas? And why are they all visiting a home of a suspect?”

  “Good question. When do you intend to find out?”

  “Soon. See you, man.” Heath hung up.

  A horn honked behind him. Kendall had kept her word to be fast.

  Just tell her you want to move back home.

  The thought was there. The courage...not so much. He was afraid she’d tell him why it wouldn’t work.

  Instead, he stayed focused on their investigation. “A buddy of mine at DPD is watching Saundra Rosa’s place.”

  “Already?” she asked.

  “I had some time while you were on your call. Anyway, he grabbed a couple of pictures of visitors, and I sent them to Wade. One was Brantley Lourdes.”

  “We only spoke to her an hour ago and he’s already making a house call?” She pulled out from the parking lot.

  “It gets better. Seems most of his board of directors for Public Exposure is here in town.” He tapped a knuckle against the window, giving her time to think.

  “You know I’m not someone to play hunches. I like good old-fashioned investigating and facts. But every feeling I have tells me that company is dirty.”

  They’d played this scenario before, back when they first worked together. His hunches had proved him right after a bet that it couldn’t be that simple. That bet had gotten him the first date with the love of his life.

  He didn’t do a lot of dwelling in the past, but working with Kendall was a constant reminder that he’d been in love from the first time he’d laid eyes on her. She’d been a rookie agent working one of her first cases and he’d been her backup at several remote locations. A little town south of Burleson serving warrants and looking for a handgun.

  Following one of his hunches about the gun’s location led to their first date. Yeah, he’d won the bet that afternoon and they’d both won that weekend.

  “Heath? Yo, Heath!” She snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Did you have nice trip? Ready to get back to work? So...if they’re all here in town, it looks like whatever’s going down will likely be soon.”

  “We’ll need a warrant,” she said.

  “It’ll be easier to get it through my department. You have a longer chain of command than I do.”

  “If I could just get my hands on some hard evidence that this is a cybercrime, they’d give me a lot more resources and a little more leeway.”

  “Good thing you know someone who has a little leeway then,” he answered.

  “You know, since we’re working together, I don’t mind you staying at the house.”

  That was sort of out of the blue. But he liked it. Riding to and from work, having dinner together... Wait.

  “I don’t want to put you out. I mean, it’s only convenient if you don’t stay at your mom’s.”

  “True. I... I think it’s a good idea. Especially after how upset Skylar Dawn was last night.”

  Did she want him to stay at the house to work things out? Or was it because their daughter was upset?

  Did it really matter? Did he care why he would be waking up with his girls?

  Nope.

  “Sounds good. I’ll even cook.”

  * * *

  THE BOLO ON Marrone paid off. Texas Highway Patrol spotted the car and picked him up south of Waco. He could be transported back to Dallas County Jail soon after she made a request. They could interview him while he awaited a hearing for his parole violation.

  Again, Kendall owed Heath for arranging the BOLO. If she hadn’t been working the case for more than six months, she might begin to get an inferiority complex.

  Late Tuesday afternoon, they easily procured the warrant. Hearing that their suspect had fled the city and had an outstanding violation, the Waco judge had no objections regarding extradition. They could collect it in the morning and question their suspect upon his return.

  “I still don’t understand why the Public Exposure board of directors met here in Dallas. It isn’t the main headquarters, and none of them actually live here.”

  “It may just be a coincidence,” Heath said.

  “You’ve never believed in a coincidence in your life. I don’t know how many times you’ve told me that.”

  “True. You want to take the munchkin out for chicken strips or pick up food on the way home?”

  She smiled. This was the normal routine when it was her husband’s turn to cook anything except breakfast. “I think she’d prefer to have you at home all to herself. I’ll make myself scarce.”

  Was that a look of disappointment that he hid by rubbing his face with his hand?

  A real look or one she projected onto him? She couldn’t let sentiment or wishful thinking get in the way of the case.

  “You seem to be thinking pretty hard, Agent Barlow. If you’re trying to tell me that my cooking’s not so good. Don’t worry. No illusions there.”

  “I wasn’t thinking that even if it is true. Would you mind dropping me at the house? I’ll send mom home while you take Skylar Dawn to dinner. She’ll get a kick out of that.”

  Kendall turned the SUV onto their street.

  “You got it.” His agreement sounded like a forced confession.

  “You don’t have to sound so thrilled abou
t it.”

  “Not a problem I get it.”

  “I don’t think you do.” She parked in the driveway and he practically jumped out of the car faster than stepping away from a bucking bronc. “Wait...”

  But he didn’t hear her. And she didn’t chase him. Instead she sent her daughter skipping to a fast food dinner and her mother home for the night before she could complain too loudly about it.

  Then she took advantage of an hour to herself, poured too much bubble bath into the tub and soaked until the water grew cold.

  Wrapping herself in her comfy robe, she promised herself the nap would only last a couple of minutes when her head hit the pillow.

  And not one time did she think of a way out. She couldn’t practice the right thing to say. Whatever was needed to be said to Heath—her husband and her partner on this crazy journey.

  Chapter Twelve

  The third day working with Heath began with him in their kitchen if the wonderful smells in the house meant anything. Kendall had never been a night owl. She’d always thought of herself as a morning person. Morning workout or run, coffee and a quick shower had always been her style. Then she’d met a man who fed livestock at the crack of dawn every day and made fun of how late she slept.

  This morning she could barely roll over. She’d experienced a total lack of sleep from tossing and turning. The awesome dreams of Heath seemed short-lived, and she struggled to get back to that place where everything was happy...and perfect.

  The smell of coffee and biscuits finally had her stretching across the twisted sheets and eager to find her travel mug. Her mother didn’t drink coffee. Just tea—morning, noon and night.

  Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. The smell beckoned her to get out of bed.

  Oh, God. I slept all night.

  Shoving the sheets aside, she pulled on running shorts and a sports bra. She needed a couple of miles to work out the kinks and get her blood pumping. But she could start with one of those fresh-baked biscuits—and coffee.

  “Hey, good morning.” She came around the corner, expecting Heath and Skylar Dawn. Taken off guard, she smiled at her mother setting a plate of food at the bar.

  “I told him you don’t eat like this in the morning, but he insisted.”

  “Morning, Mother. Don’t take this the wrong way, but why are you here this early?”

  “Heath called and asked me to come and take Skylar Dawn to school.”

  “I can handle that.”

  “I told him as much, but again, he insisted. He said to check your phone and that you didn’t have time for any exercise. He also left you this smelly stuff.” She pointed to a pot of coffee.

  My hero. Heath had found their coffeemaker from wherever her mother had hidden it. After moving it to the back of the pantry, her mother had bought a single-cup coffeemaker for the counter. It was the perfect temperature for a cup of flavored tea without any mess or boiling teapots.

  “Where’s Skylar Dawn?” She poured the brewed java into a mug and blew across the top.

  “In the tub. In fact, I need to check on her.”

  “Mother, I’m sure Heath gave her a bath last night,” she said a little louder, to carry down the hall where her mom was already headed.

  “She fed horses this morning and stepped in some—oh good Lord, you know what she stepped in out there. You should listen to your messages, darling. I’m not sure it’s really time sensitive, but he said it was about your case.”

  Kendall laughed on her way back to the bedroom and her phone. She was fairly certain that if—and that was a big if—her daughter had stepped in you-know-what, Heath had cleaned her up. But her mother was her mother.

  Another bath wouldn’t hurt Skylar Dawn. She’d play in the bubbles and smell like pink bubblegum at day care. No harm done.

  She checked her messages. “Another agency—yours—served a warrant on Marrone’s rental house. They found Saundra Rosa’s body. Don’t forget to pick up a Bureau sedan. Meet you there.”

  When Heath mentioned “body,” she scalded her tongue, forgetting the coffee was still hot. She hurriedly dressed, pulling her hair into a ponytail. She scooped her creds, keys and phone into a pocket. Opened her gun safe and holstered her weapon.

  “Gotta run, sweet girl.” She blew an air kiss to Skylar Dawn. “Thanks for taking her this morning.”

  “I guess his message was important after all.”

  “Very.” The door shut behind her as she ran to the SUV.

  Dang it. I forgot my coffee.

  * * *

  HEATH CHECKED HIS WATCH. “Special Agent Barlow is a few minutes away,” he told the medical examiner, not really knowing how long it would take.

  “I’ve got a couple of minutes. I know you want her to see the scene, but once transport arrives, I’ll have to move the victim.”

  “I understand.”

  He kept taking pictures. Every angle possible from where he’d been allowed. Then more of each room he could see.

  “It looks like she came for a visit and Marrone dosed her with something. We found a needle mark on her left arm.” Supervisory Special Agent Jerry Fisher had mentioned his theory several times to anyone who would listen.

  Too many times. An uncomfortable number of times.

  There was one problem with his theory. Bryan Marrone hadn’t returned to his house. Picked up south of Waco, he was dressed the same as he’d been the previous morning and in the same car. Jerry didn’t know that the Dallas PD had been sitting on this house until the BOLO for Marrone had been canceled.

  Absolutely a setup.

  Yeah, that bad feeling had returned.

  Heath kept avoiding direct conversation with Kendall’s supervisor. Besides the fact that he just didn’t care for his wife’s former partner, he didn’t want to give the agent an opportunity to tell him his services were no longer needed.

  The two players they had connected to Public Exposure were accounted for. One dead—honestly, he was sorry for that. Maybe if he hadn’t spoken to her or bought her a cup of coffee... It sounded heartless, but he hadn’t killed her. The only justice he could give was to find her killer.

  And it sure as hell wasn’t Bryan Marrone.

  He left the house with orange trim and saw Kendall walking through the police and onlookers, credentials in hand, “FBI” coming repeatedly from her lips.

  “Morning. Glad you could make it,” he greeted her without saying what he really wanted to say. Okay putting that into words right here wouldn’t have worked. But a guy could think about it.

  “Any theories as to how she was killed?” she asked, continuing her power walk up the sidewalk.

  “Plenty. I’ll let you decide for yourself.” He stayed put. No reason to crowd the small house with one more body.

  She turned, taking a backward step. “Did Skylar Dawn really step in you-know-what?”

  He laughed and nodded. “I bet your mother had her in the bath faster than the wicked witch melted.”

  He stared after his wife, liking the way she flashed her creds at the other staring officers. There had been plenty of times after they were first married that he’d watched men looking at her and simply pointed to his wedding ring. She was definitely a beautiful, confident woman worth admiring.

  Returning to his phone, he looked carefully at the body of a totally different type of woman. A young woman who loved pink and had unaccounted-for visitors yesterday.

  “Why did you run, Bryan Marrone?” he asked under his breath. “Who were you afraid of?”

  “Who’s afraid of whom?” Kendall asked, coming to stand next to him. She tipped her head slightly to look at him before blocking her eyes with her sunglasses. “Oh. Well, Jerry’s wrong.”

  “Yep.”

  “Is anyone checking out her house?”

  “Yep.” He pointed to three houses down,
where a do-not-cross tape had been hung.

  “Darn.” She snapped her fingers like she’d missed an opportunity. “I don’t suppose...”

  He nodded. “I took a look at it earlier. Everything looks comfortably messed up.”

  “‘Comfortably messed up’?” she asked with a tweak of her head.

  “Like someone looked for something but didn’t want us to know they were in a hurry. No phone. No laptop. But the TV was still there.” He handed her his phone.

  “Oh. I suppose you got pictures?”

  “Yep.” He stepped aside for the gurney that would remove the body. “I have a different adventure for you.”

  “The pink car?” She looked at him above her glasses and smiled.

  That was the super smart agent he’d fallen in love with—one step ahead of the rest. “It’s probably nothing.”

  “But an adventure nonetheless.” She winked. “My car or yours?”

  “You drive. Swing by my truck for my laptop. I’ll call Jason at DPD and find out where they towed the Pink Thing for repairs.”

  * * *

  IT TOOK THEM a good hour to drive to the repair shop. That in itself raised a red flag.

  “Why would someone who lived in Uptown have their car towed to McKinney? That’s just not logical, unless you have family or someone’s doing you a favor.” Kendall pulled on gloves before she began looking through Saundra’s car. “And Saundra didn’t have family.”

  “No one who works here has seen or heard of our victim. I didn’t get the impression that any of them were lying. Did you?”

  “No. Darn it. They seemed genuinely upset when you told them she’d been murdered.”

  “Um. I think that was because she owed them for the work they’d already started.”

  Kendall flipped the glovebox open. “Papers. Owner manual. Looks like she owned the car.”

  “She definitely liked pink.” Heath continued to take pictures of sneakers, a sweater, T-shirts and running shorts, all in varying shades of pink.