by Carolina Mac
“See you at nine.”
Annie turned, and Travis was glaring at her. “I know. He said we were done because of you, and now he wants to rethink it.”
“Give it up, Annie. Ty is a hot-headed cowboy and jealous as a green fuckin snake, just like his brother, Jesse.”
“But he loves me, and I don’t have anybody else.”
“You have me,” mumbled Travis.
FROM the interment at the graveside, the mourners moved on to Colorado Street and the media was light years ahead of them. Jesse rode in the back of the limo with Catherine and Chief Calhoun. He peered out the tinted window at the congestion on the street and said, “Look at this mess.”
Catherine leaned forward to talk to her driver. “Roddy, can you get through? They didn’t leave much room.”
“I think I can make it, Governor. Slow and easy. I don’t want to scratch up my baby.”
“I think the state can afford to fix a scratch, Roddy. Don’t worry about it.”
Halfway down the street a shot rang out and Jesse hollered, “Stop. Let me out.” He jumped out the backdoor with Chief Calhoun on his heels and did a three-sixty. “Where did it come from?” hollered Jesse.
“Did you see the shooter?” hollered the Chief.
“Nope, just heard it, and it was close.” Jesse circled the limo and pointed. “Too fuckin close. Look at the hole in the fuckin flag.”
“Jesus Christ,” said the Chief as he moved closer to take a look.
There was yelling across the road and men in dark suits were running in every direction. “Gene saw something.” Jesse waved his arm. “They’re chasing somebody down.”
“Get Catherine inside the mansion,” said the Chief, “and stay with her. Let Wyman handle the shooter for now.”
“Yeah, we better get inside,” said Jesse. He hopped into the back of the limo and took Catherine’s hand. The Governor looked a little pale.
“We’re they shooting at me?” asked Catherine.
“Don’t know,” said Jesse.
Yep, they were. Close too.
As soon as Calhoun was in and the door was closed, Jesse said, “Let’s get her inside the residence, Agent Roderick.”
“That’s what I was thinking, Ranger Quantrall.”
Special Agent Roderick parked as close as he could to the front entrance, hopped out and opened the back door of the limo. Catherine was a little shaky as Jesse held her arm and helped her up the steps to the front door.
“Take a couple of deep breaths,” said Jesse. “We’ll get through the day.”
“I need a glass of wine,” said the Governor. “Never mind a glass. I need the whole fucking bottle.”
Jesse chuckled. “Let’s go straight to the bar.”
“I’m with you.”
“I wish the short fuse was here. I’m no good without him in a crisis. He’s my strength.”
“And your shield,” said Jesse. “He soaks up a lot of flak.”
“I haven’t called him. He needs a break so bad after the last fiasco, but I can’t say I didn’t want to.”
“I’ve been talking to him,” said Jesse. “He’s laying low with Farrell, but they’ll be back before you know it.”
“Won’t be soon enough for me.”
They were crossing the large reception room, heading for the bar in the corner, when Mrs. Stokes came in with her children supporting her on either side.
Catherine turned towards the bereaved widow and said, “I’m sorry for your loss, Mrs. Stokes. Templeton was a good man.”
Mrs. Stoked pointed a finger and said, “He died because of you, Governor Campbell. He had a stroke in your office because you were working him too hard. He always complained about how much work you were shoving onto him.”
“That’s not true, but I’m sorry you feel that way.”
In order to avoid an even more embarrassing scene, Jesse propelled Catherine to the bar and left the Stokes family standing in the middle of the room.
“Shit,” said Catherine. “I’d love to tell her what her husband was really doing, but I can’t. What a day this is.”
Jesse handed her a glass of white wine. “Sit over there where I can keep an eye on you.”
“Mrs. Stokes was out of line,” said Chief Calhoun as he waited for his bourbon. “She’ll apologize later.”
Catherine leaned in closer. “We all know why he had the stroke. He couldn’t take the pressure Royce was putting on him.”
Jesse smiled and didn’t turn his head. “Here comes the esteemed Senator now.”
Royce made a beeline for the bar and Jesse and the Chief were ready for him.
“Senator, nice to see you,” said Jesse. Calhoun nodded and sipped his bourbon.
“Ranger Quantrall, Chief,” said Royce. He took a single malt from the bartender and kept on talking. “I’m glad you shut down that fucking Latino vigilante, Chief, but it wasn’t in time was it? Not quick enough to save my wife or my son.”
“You don’t want to get into that here and now, do you, Senator?” asked the Chief. “You might not like what my opinions are on the subject.”
Seadrift.
BLAINE went straight to his laptop when they returned to the beach house. The registration numbers from the mud boats led him to Gulf Marine in Houston. Their web page had a contact number for customer service and Blaine called.
“This is Ranger Blaine Blackmore calling, I’d like to speak to the manager please.”
“That would be Mr. Higgins. Hold on.”
A voice came on the line and the man sounded like he’d sold a lot of boats—friendly and outgoing. “Ranger Blackmore, a pleasure. How can I help you?”
“Maybe I can help you, Mr. Higgins. First a question, did you have an employee go missing a while ago?”
Pause. “Yes, we did, and as the days go by with no word from him, I’m extremely concerned. My finance manager, Kurt Martinez, is missing. Do you have information?”
“Possibly, sir. Did you file a missing persons’ report on Mr. Martinez?”
“Not me personally, but Kathy did, his wife. Kurt is a stand up guy and he’s never gone off anywhere without telling his wife. She’s beyond worried.”
“Understandable,” said Blaine. “The day Mr. Martinez disappeared, do you know where he was going?”
“As I told Detective Washburn, Kurt had a list of three or four customers who were delinquent on their payments. He’d done the reminders and the phone calls, but once in a while he’d go out in person and give the customer a last chance to catch up before we repo’d the boats.”
“Uh huh. And that’s what he was doing,” said Blaine. “Do you have the names on his list for that day?”
“Detective Washburn asked me the same thing, and no, Kurt had been with me for years and he worked independently. I couldn’t have asked for a better finance manager.”
“Okay, coming at it from a different direction,” said Blaine, “do y’all have a current repo list?”
“I do. I’ve been trying to do the finance job myself hoping Kurt would show up.”
“Would you mind emailing me that list, sir?”
“Are you working on Kurt’s case, Ranger Blackmore?”
“It fell to me by chance, Mr. Higgins, and I may have something.”
“Should I let Detective Washburn know?”
“I’ll do that right away,” said Blaine. “One other thing. What was Mr. Martinez driving?”
“A white Nissan Maxima.”
Blaine jotted it down. It would be easy to get the tag number from DPS. “Thanks for your help, and I’ll be in touch.”
“I’m thankful y’all are on this, Ranger Blackmore. Frankly, I’m worried.”
Kurt Martinez is dead, and I know who killed him.
His next call was to Missing Persons in Houston. He spoke to Detective Washburn and had a copy of the Martinez file forwarded to his email.
Austin.
JESSE and Chief Calhoun transported the suspect Special Agent Gene Wyman and
his men had chased down and caught a few blocks from Colorado Street. They didn’t find the gun, but Gene had men searching every inch of the streets around the capital for it.
Before leaving the Governor’s mansion, Jesse checked on his crew in Catherine’s private quarters and nothing had happened upstairs. He assigned Lily to shadow Catherine until he returned, and Luke and Carlos to monitor activity in the reception room, foyer and near the stairs in case anyone tried to gain access.
“I’m calling my brother to bring the dogs to me,” said Jesse. “As soon as Ty gets to headquarters, I’ll send Fletch with the dogs and the suspect’s shirt. We need the gun.”
“We’ll be ready, boss,” said Luke.
At headquarters, Jesse booked the guy on attempted murder charges. His prints came up in the system from the DoD. He had served in the military—Dean Hammett, thirty-six years old, address in east Austin, no criminal record.
He escorted Mr. Hammett to room one and attached his cuffs to the table. “Coffee?”
“Yeah, I could use one.”
“I’ll be right back.” Jesse strode down the hall to the lunchroom, poured two coffees and returned.
He sat down across from Dean Hammett and set up the interview on the recorder. He looked Dean over and there was nothing exceptional. Not too tall. Muscular guy with short brown hair, wearing jeans and an army t-shirt. Average. Nothing outstanding about the guy and that made him a perfect sniper. He’d blend in with any crowd.
“Let’s talk about what happened today,” said Jesse. He took a sip of his coffee and set the cup down. “Tell me why you took a shot at Governor Campbell.”
“I can’t tell you anything, sir. Sorry.”
“You following orders?”
“I can’t say.”
“Did someone send you to kill the Governor, or did you just get up this morning and decide to do it on your own?”
“I can’t say.”
“I bet the person who sent you will be pissed that you botched up the job and got your self caught.” Jesse watched for a flicker of a reaction and saw one in Dean’s eyes. Yep, he was scared of somebody.
“It might be best if I asked for a lawyer,” said Dean. “Can I have one?”
Jesse nodded. “Sure can, it’s your right.”
“Okay, I need a lawyer.”
CARLOS watched as the guests gave their condolences to the Lieutenant Governor’s family. They seemed to do that first, then they filled plates at the buffet and drank numerous free drinks at the bar. Same thing all afternoon and no disturbances, but he wasn’t letting his guard down. Jesse was sure they needed to be there, and the boss was seldom wrong.
Things were winding down. The Stokes family were in the foyer saying goodbye to several guests. The Governor stood with a glass of wine in her hand near the window chatting to two men in suits—probably senators—and Lily stood close by. She hadn’t been more than two steps away from Catherine all afternoon.
The conversation ended, the men walked away, and Senator Royce approached Governor Campbell. Carlos began his journey across the room trying to appear relaxed and casual. He was hurrying but trying not to look like it.
Royce was saying, “You’d be wise to hand it over, Governor. I’ll get it one way or another and it would be better for your well-being if you cooperated. I always get what I want.” He grabbed Catherine’s arm and twisted it.
She jerked away from him and cried out, “Ow,” you’re hurting me.” Her wine glass dropped from her other hand and crashed to the floor as she pulled away from Royce.
Lily was there before Carlos. She swept Royce’s leg, and he hit the floor with a grunt. Lily was on him in a flash and drove her fist into his throat. He moaned, and his head lolled to the side. Lily rolled him over and Carlos was there with the cuffs.
Carlos took Lil’s place, shoved a knee into the Senator’s back and snapped the cuffs on him.
“Call Jesse,” said Lil and ran to Catherine who had flopped onto a velvet loveseat and was rubbing her arm.
“Let’s go to the powder room.” Lil zipped the Governor out the closest door and into one of the main floor bathrooms.
“Thank you, Lily, and I mean that. Royce was scaring me.”
“The boys have him and Jesse will charge him. I’m sure of it. This is a good chance to give Royce a dose of reality and the boss will want to make a point.”
Catherine splashed cold water on her face and dabbed at her red eyes with a linen towel. “Royce will have an attorney at his side in seconds and be out of jail so fast.”
“Don’t be too sure,” said Lily. “Jesse has a whole other side. A tough side you’ve never seen.”
Catherine raised an eyebrow. “I’d like to see that. I admire Jesse Quantrall greatly.”
JESSE stepped out of interrogation room one into the hallway and came face to face with Senator Royce in handcuffs. He smiled at Carlos and glared at Royce, noticing the bruise starting to color on his throat.
Lily.
“What are we charging the senator with, Deputy Rios?”
“Assault on the Governor of Texas, threatening, disturbing the peace, public drunkenness, and anything else you want to add, boss.”
“I’ll think of a couple more on the way to booking.”
“I want to call my attorney,” said Royce. “You clowns are in more trouble than you can imagine.”
Jesse laughed and winked at Carlos. “Right now, Senator, the law is on the side of the clowns.”
Seadrift.
FARRELL sat on the porch, stared out at the boats bobbing on the sparkling water in the bay and called Annie to say hi. “Hey, Mom, I’m missing you a lot, but we’re having a time down here at the Gulf. Blacky got us a house looking right at San Antonio Bay and the beach isn’t crowded. Neil loves fishing and he’s got a new buddy.”
“Did he meet somebody?”
“He’s a runaway about sixteen and he was hiding in the house when we got here. I think we’re bringing him home.”
“Oh, do that. Can’t wait to meet him. What’s his name?”
“Casey.”
“I’m excited,” said Annie.
“I knew you would be, Mom.”
“You guys needed a break so bad. Try to get Blaine to rest a bit. He drives himself so hard.”
And he’s working on a case right this minute.
“Tell me what’s going on,” said Farrell. “I know Blacky’s trying his best not to call, because then we’d be going home in a nanosecond.”
“Yeah, you would be.”
“Okay, don’t tell me. What are you doing with those two tags I ran?”
“Getting locates on those two tonight. Nothing much. Knowing where the players are. That’s all.”
“Are those guys more gunnies?”
“Guys Royce was tight with, but we didn’t know who they were.”
“Okay, be careful.”
“I will. I have Travis with me. Love you, baby.”
“Love you, Mom.”
Mary caught the end of the conversation and rolled her eyes. She didn’t understand Farrell’s relationship with Annie and it was a point between them that wasn’t resolved. Might never be.
Blaine stepped out onto the porch and lit up a smoke. “Got the name of the missing guy. He was the finance officer for the boat dealership.”
“Aw, shit,” said Farrell, “Misty is never wrong, is she?”
“Batting a thousand, so far,” said Blaine. “But we’ll never find him if those bandits dumped him in the channel. The gators would get rid of him in minutes.”
“We going back there?” asked Farrell.
“Everything we have is circumstantial. We need to find the white Nissan.”
“That what the dude was driving?”
Blaine nodded. “They could have sold it the next day. I’ll put a flag on the plate and see where it is if it’s still in the system.”
“Dave probably changed the plates before he sold it, but maybe Tanya saw the c
ar,” said Farrell. “We could ask her if she wasn’t too high.”
“Possible,” said Blaine. “We need a plan.”
Austin.
JESSE and Fletcher met Tyler in the parking lot at DPS. They transferred Red and Bluebelle to Fletcher’s truck and he headed to Colorado Street.
Back inside headquarters, Jesse tapped on Jamie’s office door and waited until she invited him in. She greeted him with a dazzling smile.
“I heard you were here, but I didn’t want to interrupt.”
“Yeah, it’s been a busy day.” He told her about the guy shooting at Catherine.
“He’s downstairs waiting on a PD?”
Jesse nodded. “And I’ve got Senator Royce in room two waiting for his attorney to show up from Waco.”
Jamie checked her watch. “You’re going to be here late tonight. Have you eaten?”
“No, but I need to. Could you go with me before you go home?”
“Sure. I’m almost done for today. We’ll grab a bite, then you can come back for the interview. Come to my place later if you’re not too tired.” She gave him a glance, then said, “No. Go home. You’ve been working too long today already. I can see the signs now.”
Jesse smiled. “My caretaker.”
“Hey, somebody has to do it.”
Jesse returned from the steak house two streets over from headquarters feeling considerably stronger. He checked the interview room and Royce was gone. A couple of inquiries and Ranger Ruskin relayed the story. Royce’s attorney couldn’t make it until the following morning. The interview had been moved to eleven the next day.
“Good enough,” said Jesse. He left and on the drive home checked in with Catherine.
“All good, Jesse. Gene and one of his men are in the house with me. I’m secure in my apartment and not going out.”
“Great. Senator Royce is a guest of DPS tonight and I’m interviewing him at eleven tomorrow. We’ll catch up after that’s over.”
“I’m anxious to hear his explanation,” said Catherine, “and thanks for being there for me today. I never would have made it through without you.”
“You’re welcome.”
FLETCHER parked at the mansion and hoofed it inside to see who was helping him with the dogs. Luke volunteered and was ready to go in seconds.