by Carolina Mac
“Doctor Phinn told me you’re going by ambulance to Saint Michael’s tomorrow, sugar pop. That means you’re a lot better and I’ll be so glad when you’re close to home.”
“I feel better. Sometimes the pain is bad, but I can think now, and my brain isn’t so cloudy. I hate that feeling.”
“I’ll bring Misty as soon as you get to Austin,” said Annie. “You must be worried about her.”
“I am. Did you call Dec?”
“Uh huh. He and Lily took her home and she’s okay. He’s watching her like a hawk and by the sounds of things, Casey is fussing over her.”
Blaine grinned. “Casey calls her his voodoo queen.”
“I don’t know Casey yet,” said Tyler. “Guess I’ll meet him soon enough.”
“Carm loves him already and keeps him close to her. She thinks he’s too skinny and feeds him every chance she gets.”
“He’s a sweetheart,” said Annie. “He loves the horses and he’s a hard worker. He says he wants to be a rodeo cowboy.”
“Me and Paulie might give him some work,” said Ty. “We need an extra hand at the shows and our regular boys don’t like going on the weekends.”
Austin.
MARY POLITO arrived at the Governor’s mansion at ten minutes to ten and Emily, one of the housekeepers, let her in.
“I’m here to see Governor Campbell,” she said.
“She’s expecting you, Miss Polito,” said Emily. “She’s in the dining room.”
After Mary ate the huge breakfast the chef had prepared for her, she drank her coffee and worked on the speech with the Governor.
“If I say that Senator Royce was responsible for shooting Blaine and for numerous attempts on my life, can I say that in public without hard evidence?” asked Catherine.
“There is a lot of evidence pointing to him,” said Mary. “Jesse told me about the emails the lab found on his computer in the penthouse. And we know it was him and all the terrible things he’s done, there just isn’t anybody coming forward and confirming it. A lot of his men are dead or laying low. Senator Royce didn’t even flinch when his wife and son were killed. I think that shows he was off the track.”
“The girl that tried to shoot me in Laredo said Royce was behind it,” said Catherine. “She said it was all my fault that Charlie’s plans for Texas failed.”
“Do we have a name for her?” asked Mary.
“I can ask Gene. He took care of her arrest with the Laredo police department.”
“Okay,” said Mary, “when do you want to hold the press conference?”
“Let’s say… tomorrow at eleven. Does that give you time to write it? I’ll need an hour to read it over before I present it to the public.”
“Why don’t I write up a draft and email it to Chief Calhoun to see what he thinks? The best idea would be to have him standing beside you when you deliver it. That way it appears that the Chief agrees with what you’re saying.”
Catherine smiled. “You’re a smart one, Mary Polito.
Coastal Backwater.
FARRELL drove back to Big Dave’s place with Izzy Fagan following behind in her camo Jeep and towing her twenty foot jon boat.
“Think this woman is going to know the channels?” asked Travis. He sat in the back seat of Farrell’s truck with Red and Bluebelle.
“If she don’t, it’s a hundred bucks down the drain,” said Farrell. “If that’s the worst of it, we’ll find somebody else and start again.”
“Maybe they ain’t even back here,” said Carlos. “Makes more sense to cross into Mexico when they were so close.”
“Nothing from the border crossings,” said Farrell. “I’ve been checking every day. He shrugged. “Boss said search the backwater, and with the bus and the jon boat both being gone, they definitely came back here at one point.”
“That’s true,” said Carlos. “The boss is usually right.”
Farrell parked, and they jumped out to help Izzy launch her boat.
She backed down the slope to the edge of the water like a pro and eased the back of the trailer in, then jumped out of her Jeep and shouted out instructions. She glanced up and saw the dogs running around. “I didn’t contract for no dogs in my boat.”
“These are tracking dogs,” said Travis, “and we have to take them with us.”
“I’m gonna charge you extra in case they make a mess in my boat.”
“Whatever,” said Farrell in a tired voice. The heat and the stress was wearing him down.
Once the boat was in the water and loaded with the supplies from the back of Izzy’s Jeep, the boys and the dogs got in. Red and Bluebelle were a little antsy at first, but once the boat zoomed along smoothly, they settled and seemed to enjoy the wind in their faces.
Farrell enjoyed the wind. It was so hot and sticky in the channels he felt like puking and figured Travis and Carlos did too.
Izzy was silent as she drove the boat. Over the roar of the Merc, conversation was a lost cause anyway. After three hours of driving up and down wide channels busy with fishermen, narrow channels they could barely pass through, and searching the fingers of land in between with binoculars, they took a break.
Izzy dished out Cokes and bottles of water that she was no doubt charging them for, and they ate their own power bars.
Farrell gave both the dogs water and a couple of biscuits.
“No luck so far,” said Izzy, “but there’s miles we haven’t covered. Two more hours and this one section will be finished. Tomorrow we’ll go in a different direction if we don’t find them today.”
Giddings.
JAMIE arrived at Quantrall about five thirty and Jesse fetched her a cold beer. They sat on the front porch and talked about how the Royce thing had gone down. Jesse was happy to be dating somebody he could share all of his thoughts with—both personal and work related. Jamie was a comfortable fit for him.
“Want to go inside where it’s not so hot, sweetheart?” he asked her.
“Maybe we should. I think I might be sweating out my new shirt.” She giggled, and Jesse smiled.
Should I mention getting married or is it too soon? I jumped the gun last time around and look what happened.
As soon as Jesse opened the door, Charity ran into the foyer and hugged his legs. “Daddy, me.”
He picked her up and kissed her face. “I was only outside for a few minutes. Did you miss me that much?”
She snuggled her face into Jesse’s neck and wouldn’t look at Jamie.
“Let’s go into the dining room and have dinner.” He put Charity in her highchair and did up the strap, not that she’d ever tried to get out.
Jesse sat down beside Charity and Jamie sat on the other side in Tyler’s place.
Charity screamed. “Ty, mine.”
“She doesn’t want you to sit in Ty’s spot,” said Jesse. “I’m sorry.”
Jamie’s face was tight as she moved to another chair. “I think your daughter is spoiled, Jesse.”
Jesse felt the heat in his neck as he glared at Jamie.
Seadrift.
WORN OUT from their day of fruitless searching, the boys took turns showering before they went out to search for food.
“A goddam waste of time,” said Farrell. “Hope we have better luck tomorrow.”
“Do you think Izzy might have had a clue where they’d hole up and kept us away from them?” asked Travis.
“I thought of that,” said Farrell. “I’ll come right out and ask her tomorrow. If she’s fuckin us over, I won’t be happy.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Monday, June 29th.
Laredo.
BLAINE finished his breakfast of poached eggs and toast and yearned for Carm’s spicy tacos she made him every morning. He’d had a lot of pain in the night and the lower dose of pain killers weren’t doing the job.
An orderly came into the room with a nurse and they prepped him for the trip down to the ambulance. Doctor Phinn had pronounced him stable enough to make the trip to Aus
tin, but right at that moment, Blaine wasn’t confident he could withstand it. His opinion didn’t matter, he was only the patient.
They moved him as gently as they could from the bed he hated to leave onto the gurney. Trying unsuccessfully not to groan with pain as they moved him, the job was completed and he was on his way.
Seadrift.
BEFORE LEAVING for another sweltering day of searching the backwater, Farrell, Travis and Carlos loaded up with snacks, water and more bug spray from Izzy’s store.
Izzy’s better half, Billy, had changed it up this morning and wore his Duck Dynasty cap backwards, the filthy adjustable strap across his forehead like a streak of brown shit. He grinned as he rang up the purchases and seemed pleased they hadn’t found any trace of Big Dave or Whitey. “Think y’all are on a wild goose chase looking in the backwaters for those boys. They know the terrain a hundred times better than y’all and if they don’t want to be found, y’all will never see them.” He shook his head. “Nope. Never.”
“Thanks for the encouragement,” said Farrell. “Your wife will help us find them today, won’t you, Izzy?”
Izzy stared at her hands. “I’ll do my best.”
As they pulled away from the dock, Farrell looked Izzy in the eye and said, “If you have a clue where those boys might be holed up and you’re messing with me, I’ll put your ass in jail for aiding and abetting fugitives.” Farrell’s eyes narrowed, and he pointed a finger at her. “You’ll do minimum two years in prison and pay a fine so big it will cost y’all your store. You think I’m kidding? Don’t fuck with me.” Farrell watched Izzy’s face and picked up something.
Does she know where they are?
Austin.
GOVERNOR CAMPBELL and Mary met Chief Calhoun on the front steps of the Capitol where a huge hoard of media people had gathered in anticipation of the Governor’s speech about Senator Royce.
While Catherine organized herself behind the portable lectern, Mary handed out press releases to any of the reporters who wanted them. Some looked forward to what Mary had to say and others preferred to present their own take on things.
The Governor, dressed in a cream linen suit, her long red hair pulled back in a clip, presented the edited version of the speech she and Mary had written. In the interest of not ruffling feathers, Calhoun had removed some of the more troublesome comments. Catherine was outspoken and had a strong tendency to call a spade a spade, and according to the Chief, that wasn’t always the best option.
After delivering the speech flawlessly to a round of applause, she took a few questions.
“Was the attempted murder of Ranger Blackmore related to his investigation of Senator Royce?”
“Yes, it was,” said Catherine. “Directly related.”
“What about the senator’s murder? Have any suspects been arrested?”
“That’s a police matter,” said the Governor, “and I can’t comment on that.”
“What about the raids the ATF have been making? Are they random, or are they part of the Royce investigation?”
“When certain facts came to light during the investigation, the ATF were notified when their expertise was needed.”
“Who was the girl who tried to kill you in Laredo, Governor?”
“I can’t remember her name offhand,” said Catherine, “but she has been charged and her name is public record. I believe it’s in the press release Mary prepared for y’all.”
“Do you have anything to add, Chief Calhoun?”
“No,” said the Chief, “I think Governor Campbell has covered all the points. But I can say, Texas is a much safer place with the Violent Crime Squad on the job.”
ANNIE picked up Declan and Misty and drove to Saint Michael’s Hospital to meet the ambulance bringing Blaine from Laredo.
They waited while the nurses settled Blaine into a private room and when the staff were ready, they announced that Blaine was ready for visitors.
He smiled as they walked into the room, but Annie’s heart skipped a beat. Her son was pale, and exhaustion showed on his face. The trip had been hard on him and he needed to rest. “I’m glad you’re home, sugar, but I think you need time to recover from your trip. I’ll come back tonight.”
“Thanks, Mom. I am tired.” He held his arms out for Misty and she sat on the side of the bed and hugged him.
“Do you want to stay, Miss Misty?” asked Declan.
“Yes, I’ll stay and watch over him while he sleeps.”
JESSE had a meeting with Chief Calhoun at headquarters after the Chief returned from the Capitol. Jesse had Starbuck’s coffee waiting on the Chief’s desk when he walked in.
“Thanks, son. I could use a coffee.”
“Catherine’s speech went well?” asked Jesse. “Sorry I missed it, but I had to help Tyler catch up with a few things at the barn.”
“Mary put it together and it was well thought out,” said the Chief. He lifted the tab on his coffee and took a sip. “Are you still working on the email list of suspects?”
Jesse nodded. “I am, but after the fiasco Luke and Fletcher encountered, I think we’ll do one name at a time and the four of us will go. Royce’s groupies are turning out to be crazier than anticipated.”
“They’re nervous,” said the Chief, “because they know one by one, we’re uncovering everyone connected to the Royce group. The dominos are falling.” The Chief picked up a copy of the list and said, “Next one is Fred Parkin. He’s an investment banker with an office downtown.”
“Do we have a copy of his emails to Royce?”
“I’ve got them here someplace.” The Chief shuffled a lot of paper. “I had them sorted and now they seem to be unsorted.” He read through a few. “Here it is. Fred Parkin to Royce.”
“I want out of your insane plan. There’s too much violence and it’s all coming undone. Your wife and son are dead, isn’t that a wake-up call for you? You can’t keep killing people to get them out of your way. We’re all going down.”
“And Royce says to him.”
“The toughest opposition is out of the way. We’re almost home free. Pull it together, Fred. We’ll soon control the whole state.”
Jesse raised an eyebrow. “It sounds like Fred Parkin was wising up. Maybe he’ll roll and give us some of the others.”
“Uh huh. Possible. He’s worried about his own skin and he may be the weak link.”
“Okay.” Jesse stood up. “I’ll take Jamie and my two boys. If we present a larger front, he may come quietly.”
“Be careful.”
Elgin.
JESSE had called Parkin’s office for an appointment and was told the boss was working from home. Home turned out to be a large century red brick house out in Elgin. A Lone Star flag flew from the second storey balcony.
Jesse cut the engine of the Range Rover and spelled out how he wanted Parkin handled. “Extreme caution, boys. This guy wanted to get away from Royce, so he may be our key to uncovering a lot of information. Slow and easy. We need to find out everything he knows.”
“Got it, boss,” said Fletcher. “We won’t hurt him.”
Luke had been silent since the secretary was killed on his watch, and Jesse considered giving him the rest of the week off.
Jamie laughed and made light of Jesse’s warning. “His living room could be piled high with crates of grenades. What do we do then, Jesse?”
Smiling, but annoyed that Jamie wasn’t talking him seriously he said, “Don’t mess with me, Ranger Parnell. Get in there and sweet talk him into spilling his guts.”
Bad idea to work with Jamie on this.
“I’ll do my best.”
With his credentials ready in his hand, Jesse knocked on the red front door.
Fred Parkin greeted them with a big smile on his face while his three little ankle biters ran in circles yelping and yipping.
Jesse thought they might be Pomeranians, but he was no expert on small dogs.
Two of them peed on the hardwood floor in the foyer. “
They get so excited when I have guests,” said Fred. “Settle down girls.” He ignored the puddles of pee and stepped around them.
Jesse introduced the four of them. “We’d like to ask you a few questions, Mr. Parkin, about your association with Senator Royce.”
“I expected to see y’all at some point. If a murder investigation is thorough, all of the victim’s acquaintances would be questioned.”
“You were only an acquaintance?” asked Jamie.
Parkin motioned them into a cozy den that opened off the front hallway. “Have a seat in here. Y’all will be more comfortable.”
“Thanks,” said Jesse and he let Jamie go ahead of him. She sat down in a leather chair at the end of the coffee table and Parkin sat in the matching chair opposite her. Once he was settled, Jamie said in a sweet voice, “We’ve read your emails to Senator Royce, Mr. Parkin, and they’re a little ambiguous. Would you like to explain?”
“Sure, little lady Ranger, I can explain.” He hopped to his feet, pulled a gun out of his jacket pocket and pointed it straight at Jamie.
Jesse was on his feet and grappling for the Beretta in his shoulder holster. “Drop it, Mr. Parkin. Drop the gun.”
The air was tense and charged with electricity as Fletcher and Luke began easing their way towards Parkin.
He turned and waved his gun in their direction. “Stay where y’all are and keep your hands where I can see them.”
Luke and Fletcher stood still and waited for an opportunity while Parkin turned his attention back to Jamie. Parkin sighted Jamie in and Jesse did the same to Parkin. A stand-off.
Parkin started to say something when a sharp ring in his pocket cut through the air and he momentarily lost his concentration.
Bang. Bang.
The two shots overlapped and sounded as one.
Jesse pulled the trigger and hit Parkin center mass. Parkin fired at the same moment and Jamie dropped to the floor.
Coastal Backwater.
THE MORNING passed much the same as the day before. Twisting and turning through the myriad of channels and seeing only birds and fishermen and boaters. No sign of Big Dave’s jon boat or any yellow school buses.