Last Chance Reunion: Texas Cold CaseTexas Lost and Found

by Linda Conrad

  “That’s nice. No need to be concerned about them, then.” Giving him a quick grin, she began inching out of the booth. “Let’s get training started. Sun’s up.”

  He reached for her arm to hold her in place. “Hang on. I found out something else, too.”

  “Oh? What?” She settled but looked ready to sprint at any moment.

  “I…uh… Well, I did a quick search through the websites of people looking to connect with lost relatives. And…”

  “You did not.” All the blood drained from her face. “Why would you do such a thing when I asked you not to?”

  He took hold of her hand again, squeezed and tried his best to provide the strength she needed. “You’ve been living a life in the shadows for too long,” he said gently. “Isn’t it time you came out into the sunshine and began living life to the fullest? Aren’t you the least bit curious to know where you came from?”

  Jerking her hand away, she scowled. “No. Besides, a murderer is probably chasing me. Or have you forgotten? Now is not the time to come out of the shadows.”

  Sighing, Josh gave in for the moment. The information he’d come across would wait awhile longer. But it had seemed so coincidental that he’d wanted to share the amazing news with her.

  He swallowed the information down and hoped the next part would go easier. “That’s the other thing we need to talk about. It’s time we contact the authorities. We can’t keep dodging whoever is stalking us for much longer. Law enforcement can protect you, Nina. You have to give them the opportunity. And you need to do it today. This morning.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “I agree.”

  That was easy. Too easy.

  “You do? Great. I know you’ve had some concern about which jurisdiction to contact and I’ve had an idea.”

  Pinning him with a strange look, she nodded. “Okay, let’s hear it.”

  “I thought I would go talk to Jim Reimer while you eat breakfast. He worked in Texas law enforcement for many years. I’ll bet he’ll know which jurisdiction would be the best to ask for help.”

  Actually, Josh had his own preference of which sheriff to seek out. But that was for a very different reason and he didn’t want Nina to feel that he was pushing her too fast. Better that he let a policeman give her advice.

  She stayed silent for a long time, staring out the window as the sunshine slowly filled in the shadows down by the river. He wished he knew what she was thinking.

  Finally, her expression softened and she gave him a real smile. “That’s a great idea, Josh. When were you thinking of going?”

  “Now. We can put off your training for a little while. Being sure you’re safe is more important.”

  *

  Surprised to receive a call patched through to her cruiser from the witness, Sheriff Lacie Chance did her best to keep the young woman who was going by the name of Nina Martinez calm and interested in staying on the phone.

  “So, you’re still in Texas?” she asked as pleasantly as possible. “Since we hadn’t heard from you, I thought you might’ve gone back to California.”

  “No. My…um…my team’s medic, Dr. Josh White, and I couldn’t find an open airport to fly us home. Then after a while, we decided to stay until I got stronger.”

  “I wish you’d called me earlier,” Lacie told her. “My husband’s family owns a big ranch with a private airport. We could’ve flown you home if you’d needed the ride.”

  “Uh…”

  Lacie could tell Nina was hedging. Something else must be going on in her head. Lacie reached the conclusion that she needed to bring the girl in. As fast as possible.

  “Have you run into any trouble since you left the hospital?” She would’ve bet her life on it.

  “A few things have happened that looked suspicious, yes.” Nina’s voice grew tense—wary. “Uh—I hate to be abrupt but I don’t have much time. I want to come in and give you a description of the man I saw before my memory fades. But I don’t have any transportation. Can you send someone to pick me up?”

  Wow. Lacie couldn’t have planned it any better. She needed to put this girl under protective custody. Soon. Before anything bad happened to her.

  And—she wanted to give her husband and his brothers a chance to meet Nina. Just in case she really could be their lost sister.

  “Tell me where you are and I’ll come for you myself.” She wasn’t taking any chances.

  Nina told her the name of the RV park where she was staying. Lacie was a little discouraged to find Nina was located in Jim Abbott County. That could present a touchy situation with Sheriff Hunt. But his county was huge in area, one of the biggest in Texas. And Lacie figured she could reach the girl before he could.

  “Sheriff Chance?” Nina apparently had something else to ask. “Would you mind picking me up about a mile down the road? I need to stretch my legs and I really don’t want to stay in this RV much longer.”

  “Sure. There’s a bridge over a dry arroyo about three quarters of a mile south of you on the highway. I’ll pick you up on the other side. Twenty minutes. Okay?”

  Nina agreed and hung up. Lacie made sure she’d captured the girl’s cell phone number then turned her cruiser to the north. Twenty minutes would be tight, but she wanted to reach Nina before the girl spent any more time than necessary out in the open.

  When she was five minutes from the spot, Lacie called Sheriff Hunt to alert him that Nina had called and was coming in to give a statement. Out of courtesy, Lacie offered to let him sit in on any testimony and volunteered to give him a copy of whatever description Nina came up with.

  Hunt was polite but distant. He didn’t seem terribly eager to talk to Nina but thanked her for the notice.

  After hanging up, Lacie began wondering about the other county sheriff. For an official who was supposedly in the middle of a murder investigation, Hunt seemed too disinterested on the phone.

  Sighing, she made a mental note to check out his reasons for inattention a little further. This whole investigation had so many twists and turns, she didn’t want to lose any of the threads.

  *

  As Josh climbed the RV’s stairs, he knew immediately that something was wrong. Things were too quiet. The place felt strange. Lost and abandoned.

  Where was Nina?

  Sixty seconds later, with the door still wide-open and a stiff breeze at his back, he’d searched every inch of the place. Nothing. Most of her things were still there but she and her backpack were gone.

  Damn it. Taking the backpack meant she’d planned to go. That she hadn’t just gone for a jog. But where would she go without him?

  Standing in kitchen, blankly staring out the windows, Josh caught himself absently rubbing the center of his chest. The sudden, blinding ache he felt there nearly took him to his knees.

  She’d gone. It almost didn’t matter where. She was in danger and she’d left without telling him.

  Obviously she didn’t care for him the same way he cared for her. He would never simply disappear without telling her.

  Drawing in a deep breath, Josh shoved aside the pain. His emotions weren’t of paramount importance. He loved her and he was not about to let her get hurt.

  Think. Where would she go on foot?

  What if the murderer had somehow found out where they were staying and abducted her? That was possible, wasn’t it? He needed advice.

  Turning, he sprinted back down the stairs and headed for Jim Reimer’s RV. The man had been full of good advice a little while ago when Josh told him their story and then asked for an opinion on where to go for help.

  Banging on his door, Josh was nearly out of breath by the time Jim answered. “She’s gone! Is it possible they took her?”

  “Hold on,” Jim said. “Breathe. She probably went to one of the sheriffs you mentioned.”

  “But she didn’t leave a note. What should I do?”

  “Did you try calling her cell?”

  Josh shook his head.

  Jim looked
down at the toes of his boots for a few seconds. “Take one of my semiautomatics.” He lifted his head and looked him straight in the eyes. “You remember how to shoot a gun from your time in the service, right?”

  “Yes, definitely.”

  “Then take one just in case and go look for her. If she’s on foot, she should answer your call. If not, drive to Chance. It’s a town about an hour and a half south on the highway. Find the sheriff’s office there and tell them the story and that your wife is missing. They’ll help. And they can put out a missing person’s bulletin after they’re sure she can’t be located.”

  Josh thought that was a terrific idea. He’d wanted to go see Sheriff Chance anyway. “Can you help me unhook the RV so I can leave here faster?”

  “Sure thing, son. I hope you find her.”

  Josh was determined to find her. She might not return his love, but so what? That didn’t mean he would ever leave her to be abducted or killed. His love was strong enough to keep them both alive.

  Chapter 9

  Curly, the hired hand who still waited in his truck by the side of the road, hung up his cell after talking with Sheriff Hunt. Curly was tired and more than a little frustrated by the sheriff’s unclear instructions.

  “Well?” His companion Buddy, sitting in the passenger seat, questioned him again in that whiny voice of his. “What’d he say?”

  “The boss said the girl should be on the move any moment. Wake up and look sharp.”

  “That’s not fair.” But Buddy sat up, feet on the floor and chin raised. “I am awake. The light on that danged machine on the dash ain’t moving. I’ve been watching. How’s he so sure she’s going now, anyway?”

  Mercy, Curly wondered what he’d done wrong to be saddled with this idiot for so many days. “None of your damned business how he knows. Just pay attention.”

  Curly started up the pickup but left it in Neutral.

  Buddy apparently wasn’t going to let things rest. “But what are the orders? Just follow again? That’s boring.”

  “Shut up. This time the boss says we shouldn’t let them enter Chance County. We’re to stop ’em if they head that way.”

  “But the county line’s only about fifteen minutes down the road. And how are we going to stop that great big rig?”

  Frustration rode up Curly’s spine. “How am I supposed to know that? But when the boss says stop ’em, we find a way to stop ’em.”

  “Hey! Looky there. That light’s finally started moving again. Here we go. Get ready.”

  Antsy and confused, Curly put the truck in gear but kept his foot on the brake until he found out which direction the big RV would take. He and Buddy were armed, but how the hell did a person turn around a thirty-foot rig? If they had another couple of pickups maybe they could stop them in a blockade. But it was far too late for that.

  Maybe they would get lucky and shoot out the tires; there weren’t many other cars or pickups on the road this early that would notice. But then what?

  Was the girl supposed to die? Were they supposed to shoot her if she insisted on going to Chance County?

  Damn it, Curly hated not having a plan. And he wasn’t about to kill anyone on purpose without direct orders. Especially not a girl.

  *

  Josh pulled out of the RV park and turned south. He’d called and called but got no response from Nina’s cell phone. He’d left her message after message to give him a return call. If she didn’t want him around, too bad for her. He was determined to find her—to help her.

  He tried the cell once more as he straightened the big rig out and started down the highway heading for the town of Chance. This time on his last voice mail to her, he reminded her that she’d left behind the bulk of her stuff. Even if she didn’t want to see him again, at least she should want her laptop.

  Still no reply. Shoving the phone in his shirt pocket, he fought with his nerves. What if her stalkers had come for her? Would they kill her? Was she still alive right now but with them and in trouble?

  A stray memory hit him then of shoving Jim’s handgun under the driver’s seat before he’d left the park. Instead of it making him feel stronger and better protected, it gave him a chill. He didn’t want Nina anywhere near weapons.

  The squeal of tires coming from behind him made him glance into the outside rearview mirror. A big white pickup was dogging him, pulling up too close and seemingly anxious to pass.

  Josh hadn’t been paying any attention to his speed. As he got lost in his thoughts of Nina, his surroundings had taken a backseat in his mind. Looking down, he discovered he’d been going way over the limit. He tapped the brakes, silently apologizing to the driver behind him, and eased off the gas.

  But slowing the RV’s speed didn’t appear to satisfy the pickup driver. The guy stayed right on his bumper, every now and then peeking out across the yellow line to check for any oncoming traffic.

  There wasn’t any other traffic, not coming from either direction, at this hour of day. “Go around, ass,” Josh muttered under his breath.

  Glancing up ahead, Josh saw a narrow bridge coming up. He slowed even more, stuck his arm out the window and waved at the pickup to go around before they came to the bridge.

  Once again the pickup poked its nose out from behind his bumper. But this time the truck roared up nearly even with the RV’s driver’s door and positioned itself there.

  “Go around,” Josh yelled as he stuck his head out the window.

  That’s when he noticed the man in the passenger seat held a weapon in his hand. Hey, weren’t those two the same guys Nina had pointed out at the truck stop?

  Suddenly what he’d seen registered. Gun!

  Slamming on the brakes, he jerked the RV’s wheel to the right just as the guy with the gun got off a round. A huge explosion, coming from directly under his seat, told him the idiot had managed to hit a tire.

  Hell. Josh fought the steering, but it was too late. He’d already sent the RV into a slide that was impossible to correct.

  The RV’s two right-side set of tires went off the roadway then and sank into sandy soil beside its shoulder. Popping sounds of fence posts, pulling free and banging against the aluminum sides of the RV, made him cringe as the rig kept up its momentum, out of control and heading toward the bridge ahead.

  Holy crap.

  They were trying to kill him. He unlocked his seat belt and reached under the seat for the .38. After shoving the weapon in his waistband, he put a hand on the door latch and prayed for a chance to jump. No way he was just sticking around to be killed in the coming wreck—or to get shot in the meantime.

  He cracked open the door just as the RV hit a bump.

  The rig leaned so far right he knew it would probably be too late to jump. The RV was going over on its side.

  Gravity fought against him as he tried opening his door wider. Air rushed in, along with the wail of aluminum crumbling under the pressure of rig against ground. Managing to put one foot outside on the running board, Josh took a deep breath and threw himself out the door.

  Dust and gravel and who-knew-what-else blinded him. Wind rushed past until he finally hit—something. The thudding sound in his ears was very likely the sound of every bone in his body being crushed. But he was too numb to tell.

  Air gushed out of his lungs, stunning him like someone taking a shovel to the center of his chest, and everything turned to black.

  *

  Nina felt antsy as she walked into Sheriff Chance’s office and took a chair. It wasn’t that the nice lady sheriff made her uncomfortable, far from it. But she’d been ducking Josh’s calls for over two hours now. As impossible as it seemed, not talking to him, or seeing him, or feeling him sitting beside her, was driving her totally insane from loneliness.

  After living most of her life in isolation, and being happy about it, she couldn’t believe that after just a few days she could’ve become so close to another human being. She felt as if she’d known him for years and could instinctively read his
mind and his heart.

  That was why she’d left him behind when she’d called the sheriff and jogged down the highway. She’d known he would insist on tagging along, or rather, running the whole show. And she couldn’t let him do that. Couldn’t drag him any further into her mess than he already was.

  She’d left him a long note explaining where she was going and why she felt sure going alone would be for the best. But even after giving him all her reasoning and spending more time than she should have on trying to explain things the right way, he’d still called her cell before the RV had even disappeared out of the sheriff’s rearview mirror.

  He’d wanted to talk her out of it. She just knew it. And hearing his voice might’ve crumbled her resolve. She’d been forced to turn off her phone after not answering his call and without listening to his voice mail. He’d only try to convince her she shouldn’t talk to the sheriff without him. And she was just as sure she should stand up and make this right on her own.

  However now, even in the presence of a sheriff she trusted, and sheriff’s deputies with guns, and a couple of secretaries who looked as though they could defend her with no trouble in the least, she missed Josh like she would miss her right arm if it’d been cut off. The whole world seemed to be closing in around her without him to help keep it at bay.

  The sheriff stepped back into the room. “Sorry. I had to make a couple of calls. You want anything? Water? A soda?”

  Looking up, Nina shifted her mind back to the present and shook her head. “No, thanks, Sheriff. I’m fine.”

  Or almost fine. She dug in her backpack for her phone and flipped the button that would turn it back on. Maybe he would still try to call again. But the phone showed at least six voice mails from him so far. Wouldn’t he stop after that many tries? Shouldn’t he stop?

  How stupid, she chided herself. Nothing like being a complete idiot and hoping a man would be ornery enough to keep calling when she’d plainly told him to stop. Well, maybe she would return his calls later tonight. They could talk things over. Eventually Josh would understand how she felt.

  “Please call me Lacie,” the sheriff said pleasantly, ignoring the phone in Nina’s hand. “I have a feeling the two of us are going to get a lot closer before this murder investigation is over.”