by Fiona Brand
They cruised past several dealerships and finally pulled into a large gaudy entranceway lined with flags.
Rina stared at the glittering sea of vehicles. “Why this one?”
“It’s the biggest in town and it’s got the most choice.”
“As simple as that?”
“Some things don’t need a lot of science.”
JT’s tone wasn’t lost on her. “I didn’t use sex to get my license.” She examined the gaudy office of the dealership as JT pulled into a parking space. “You were tailing me again.”
“For most of the day. You got away from me for about an hour.”
He had obviously seen her go into the mall, but she had managed to elude him when she’d gone to check on Wendall Sayer’s office. “I was shopping.”
Hooking the strap of her purse over her shoulder, she reached for the door handle. JT’s “Wait there” stopped her.
Her stomach tightened as he walked around the truck, opened the door and helped her down. The touch was brief, the eye contact that went with it even briefer, but the effect of both made her heart pound.
The car salesman, apart from an appreciative but ultimately dismissive glance at her, concentrated solely on JT, despite the fact that she was the buyer. The lesson was salutary. It was clear that some things worked for females, but JT had been right; some situations were definitely male territory.
She interrupted Brad’s impressive sales pitch, all aimed at trying to sell her a small Japanese import or maybe a sports car. “I don’t want a car. I want a truck.”
Surprise flickered over JT’s usually impassive features.
The salesman made the mistake of laughing. “Honey, which color?”
And just like that, they were back in female territory. She smiled sweetly. “It isn’t one that you’ve got.”
JT put a hand to his mouth. It took her a few seconds to realize he was laughing.
He coughed. “Uh, I think we’d like to look around for ourselves for a few minutes.”
When the salesman backed off, JT lowered his hand. “What kind of truck?”
“Don’t dare laugh, but I like yours.”
“I use mine for rough country and carrying equipment. That’s the only reason I have it. Otherwise I’d probably get something more comfortable, like an SUV.”
“I’d still like a truck.” She cast her gaze over the ranks of cars. “And, actually, color is important. I don’t want a red one. People who drive red trucks have psychological problems.”
His hand moved over his mouth again. She deduced that he had seen the red truck that had almost rear-ended her the previous day.
“For driving around town, a car makes sense. It’s easier to handle, plus you’d have a secure trunk.”
She had a brief flash of tumbling in a car. Her fingers tightened on the strap of her handbag. “I don’t want a car.”
His gaze sharpened, all trace of humor gone. “What is it?”
She shifted her gaze to the sea of vehicles, uncomfortable with the impression that JT had somehow locked into her thoughts. And that, attractive male or not, like Alex, JT had a vested interest in her recovering her memory. “I remembered a couple of good reasons not to buy one.”
“I’d forgotten about the accident. Sorry.”
She met his gaze. The moment of focused awareness also told her that JT probably knew more about her and her past than she did.
Time for a change of subject.
He had told her he needed the truck for rough country and carrying equipment, but he hadn’t said why. Aside from his job as an agent, she had no idea what JT did with his spare time. “Why do you need a truck?”
He shrugged. “I own a ranch.”
Open spaces, the wholesome smell of grass and wind, and contented animals.
The car yard and the smell of hot asphalt faded. She was seven and on horseback for the first time, Esther coaxing her around the dusty pen, hair loose, eyes smiling, looking as at home in jeans and a shirt as she had in glamorous evening gowns. They had only ever visited a family friend’s ranch, never owned one, but Rina had lived for those holidays. Esther had had to drag her away every time.
A car engine revved. The smell of car fumes filled her nostrils. Rina swallowed against a sudden tightness in her throat. Despite the fact that JT was an agent, the ranch fitted. She couldn’t imagine him in an office.
After an hour of browsing and test-driving a couple of trucks, in the end she decided she wanted an SUV. She still liked the idea of a truck; she just wasn’t up to driving one yet.
The salesman, Brad, kept a low profile. The SUV she finally chose was silvery beige—not exactly a he-man vehicle, but not a girly one, either, and it had the compensation of a powerful engine.
JT checked beneath the hood, then requested the keys so they could take it for a test drive.
Climbing behind the wheel was an unexpected thrill. At first she stuck to residential streets, then moved onto busier roads. As she relaxed, she finally got what Denny had been talking about when he said she had to “feel” the car and the road. She wouldn’t say she was ready for heavy traffic, but for the first time she felt confident.
Half an hour later she had signed a check, completed the paperwork and was the owner of the SUV.
As she slid behind the wheel, JT ducked down at the driver’s-side window. “Follow me and I’ll make sure you get home safely.”
That was a good point. Apart from her driving lessons with Denny, she had walked everywhere she needed to go in Beaumont. She had absolutely no idea where the dealership was in relation to her home suburb. First thing tomorrow, she would have to buy a road map.
She let JT turn out onto the highway first, then fell in behind him. The late afternoon was fading into evening, and the roads were crammed with rush-hour traffic. When she finally turned into her driveway, JT cruised on ahead. As she locked the vehicle and found the keys for the front door she pondered what she would have done if JT had pulled into her driveway. She hadn’t issued any invitations. Apart from helping her buy the SUV, neither had he, but something had changed between them.
Twenty-Three
Two days later, at six in the morning, Rina’s cell phone rang. She had half expected to hear JT’s voice, but it was Wendell. He had found Baby.
Jackknifing into a sitting position, she listened as Wendell gave her a rundown on what had happened.
He had made some discreet inquiries about the man who had put the ads in the paper, Pedro Gomez. Gomez had disappeared and the house had since been rented out to new tenants. Wendell had abandoned that line of inquiry as a dead end, and had checked with the dog pound and the local vets. He had finally struck gold when he had investigated police complaints about barking dogs. A couple in an outlying suburb had been keeping a dog in their garage and the barking was upsetting the neighbors.
Wendell had called on the address. A woman had answered the door but she had denied having a dog, saying her husband had gotten rid of it because of the trouble neighbors had caused. Suspicious, Wendell had waited until after dark, then had investigated the rear of the property. The garage had had blacked-out windows and heavy locks on the door. He’d used bolt cutters and a set of lock picks to get in and had found a muzzled dog matching Baby’s description. Now he was about to board a flight to Denver, then he was picking up a connection to Dallas. He had managed to get Baby on both flights at short notice, but he would have to hire a rental and drive to Beaumont.
Rina listened while Wendell outlined the precautions he had taken, and the fact that he was certain he had gotten away without the owners of the property being aware that anything was amiss. She wanted to believe it was Baby. She wanted to believe everything was as straightforward and uncomplicated as it seemed. The blacked-out window, the locks and the muzzle didn’t point to the behavior of normal pet owners, but she had difficulty believing that Wendell had succeeded where JT, Bayard and a number of law-enforcement agencies, including the local police, had
failed. “Are you sure it’s Baby?”
“As sure as I can be. Winton isn’t that big a place. There’s a good chance that this is your dog.”
“What about Taylor?”
“I found the last place she stayed, the Winton Court Motel, and the license plate of her rental. According to the rental firm, the car hasn’t been returned. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help.”
With having to drive the last leg, Wendell wouldn’t get to Beaumont until close to nightfall. Rina arranged to meet him in Liberty, a town just over half an hour west of Beaumont. She had broken the rules in getting Wendell to act for her and retrieve Baby. She had entrusted him with her cell phone number, based on the logic that whoever was holding Baby already knew it, but that didn’t mean she had to behave stupidly. If the dog was Baby, she couldn’t allow herself to believe his retrieval was as straightforward and easy as it seemed. If there was a nasty string attached, she wanted to be prepared. Arranging to meet in Liberty was a start. It would put Wendell in unfamiliar territory, and it would protect her address.
She considered calling JT, but dismissed the idea. Her reasons for getting Wendell to do a little digging for her hadn’t changed. Until either Slater or Alex made contact with some kind of demand, it was the only way she could reach out to try and help Baby and Taylor and preserve her anonymity. If JT found out she had contracted a private investigator, he would close her down and she wouldn’t get another chance. He would contact Marlow. Once that happened, she would be moved out of Beaumont and put under twenty-four-hour security until the threat from Alex and Slater was neutralized.
Rina showered and dressed and tried to keep a lid on the growing hope that the dog Wendell had was Baby, but despite that she couldn’t stop smiling. Getting Baby back was like reclaiming a part of her family, and a piece of her old life.
After breakfast, she forced herself to do some chores and follow her routine, only this time she didn’t walk to the shops to get papers and groceries, she drove.
Getting into her own vehicle was a heady thrill, if a little nerve-racking, but she needed the practice if she was going to drive to Liberty then back in the dark. After finding a parking space she strolled around the shops and bought papers, magazines and a road map, then called into the local supermarket and bought a small bag of dog biscuits. Whether or not the dog was Baby, he would still need feeding. She asked the checkout operator to double-bag the biscuits so the distinctive wrapper wouldn’t be visible. If JT saw the dog biscuits, he would know something was up.
When she got home, Rina took a couple of painkillers and forced herself to lie down for a couple of hours, but she was too wound up to sleep. When five o’clock finally approached, she got up, showered and dressed, choosing tan cotton pants and a mid-blue shirt, muted colors that would cut down her visibility. At eight o’clock, the time she had agreed to meet Wendell, it would still be light for a good hour, so dark clothing would make her stand out. Rummaging through her drawers, she unearthed a blue baseball cap. As a disguise, it wasn’t much, but with JT watching her so closely, she’d had to abandon her plan to make another trip into town and buy a wig.
Standing in front of the mirror, she experimented with winding her hair on top of her head, then flattening it out so the cap would fit, but her hair was too bulky, and the cap kept sliding off. As a compromise, she pulled her hair back in a tight French braid, so that it lay flat against the back of her skull, and tucked the tail beneath the collar of her shirt. With her hair compressed, the hat came down a lot lower, shading her eyes.
Studying herself, she decided it wasn’t a disguise that would net her more than a few seconds of confusion from someone who knew her, but it did make her blend in. The shapeless shirt hid her figure, and with her hair pulled back and half of her face in shadow, she looked like a lot of kids who hung out at the mall.
There was no easy way to get out of the house without being seen. All she could do was bank on the fact that JT had to eat sometime. If he followed any kind of routine she was willing to bet he ate at the same time she had dinner, which was around six.
Checking her watch, she collected her bag and her cell phone, and packed a grocery sack with the road map, a peanut butter sandwich, a bottle of water, the bag of dog biscuits, and Baby’s food bowls and a spare lead and collar, which she’d kept along with the rest of his stuff. After glancing out at the road and the backyard, which were both empty, she stepped out of the kitchen door and walked quickly to the SUV. Slinging her purse and the bag on the passenger seat, she climbed behind the wheel. Adrenaline pumping, she slid the key into the ignition. The engine turned over smoothly.
Checking the rearview mirror, half expecting to see JT’s truck gliding in to block her, she put the SUV in reverse and depressed the accelerator. The SUV shot back, almost scraping the block wall to one side of the drive. Stamping on the brake, she jerked to a halt, drove forward a few feet, took a deep breath and started to back up again, this time taking it more slowly.
By the time she got out on the road, she was drenched with sweat and her heart was pounding. Putting the gearshift in Drive, she accelerated down to the first intersection, then took a left, heading for the highway, her gaze darting to the rearview mirror every few seconds. So far, so good. If JT had seen her, he should be behind her now.
Five minutes of nervous tension later, she turned onto the Beaumont Highway. A patrol car shot past in the opposite lane, lights flashing, siren wailing, and she remembered she hadn’t put her seat belt on. The last thing she needed was to get pulled over for an infringement. Dragging at the belt, she eventually got it fastened, then settled down to drive. According to her road map, Liberty was only a half-hour drive away. She had plenty of time to get there and get herself in place before her meeting with Wendell.
Thirty-five minutes later, she pulled over to the side of the road and checked her street map, looking for the popular chain motel Wendell had suggested. It was near the center of town, just a couple of blocks away. The map showed a residential area with a small park, which meant she should be able to find a place where she could watch the motel while remaining unobserved.
Putting the SUV back in gear, she waited for a gap, then pulled out into traffic. She drove a block, saw a shopping center and mall complex, and on impulse pulled in, braking hard as a truck filled with teenagers and pounding music accelerated toward the exit, cutting her off as she was about to turn into the parking area. When a second vehicle, a sports car also filled with teenagers, cruised past, she remembered that it was Friday night, which would explain why the town was so busy this late.
She made her turn, cruised slowly between ranks of parked vehicles and slotted into a space. The parking lot was more than three-quarters full. Several of the vehicles were silvery gray and beige, which made her SUV blend in nicely. Putting the drink bottle and the sandwich in her handbag, she locked the vehicle and proceeded on foot, walking past shops and cafés. A woman strolled out of the entrance of a supermarket just ahead, carrying a bag of groceries. On impulse Rina walked inside, grabbed a basket and walked down the aisles to the bakery. She loaded three loaves of bread into her basket, walked briskly to the checkout and paid for her purchases. She didn’t want or need the bread, but they would add to her disguise. If anyone were watching for her, they would be looking for a woman with long dark hair, not an androgynous kid carrying groceries.
Purse slung over one shoulder and carrying the sack of groceries, she walked through the car park. The sign for the motel glowed ahead. Slowing her pace, she studied the layout of the street, looking for possible places to conceal herself. The motel was on the other side of the road, which meant she didn’t have to expose herself by crossing the road. Checking her watch, she noted there was a good thirty minutes before Wendell was supposed to meet her there.
When she reached the edge of the small park that bordered this end of the mall, she strolled across the grass, as if she were taking a shortcut. When she reached the cover of a clump
of trees, she dropped the sack of groceries on the ground and began working her way closer to the motel, taking up a position behind a clump of shrubs that gave her a clear view of the entrance. Making herself comfortable on the ground, she sipped some water and ate the sandwich she’d packed. If Wendell did bring Baby, when she got him she would have to move, and move fast.
Ten minutes later, a dark blue sedan turned into the motel complex. She studied the vehicle as it turned, frustrated that she couldn’t quite see the driver, although he was definitely male. The car had been a rental, but there had been no sign of a dog. It was possible that Baby could be lying asleep on the backseat.
She checked her watch. If the driver of the sedan was Wendell, he was early. A further five minutes ticked by. No one else went into the motel or came out. Another few minutes passed, and she decided the dark blue sedan must have been Wendell’s.
Rina packed the wrapping of her sandwich and the half-filled water bottle away, took out her cell phone and dialed Wendell’s number. He picked up immediately. The blue sedan was his and he was waiting in the parking lot.
“I didn’t see Baby.”
“He’s in the trunk.”
Her temper flashed. Wendell had just crossed a line. He hadn’t struck her as callous when she had talked to him in his shop, but as far as Rina was concerned, anyone who put a dog in the trunk, especially in this heat, deserved to be shot. “Get him out. Walk him to the nearest streetlamp and tie him up so I can see him, then drive away.”