Texas Prey

by Barb Han

  Rebecca didn’t blame her father. She figured he was surviving the best he could under the circumstances.

  Kevin and Chelsea’s love for each other seemed to run deeper. Instead of standing on opposite sides of the room, they stood together. He’d been ready to catch her when she’d fallen. No matter the outcome of their case, Rebecca believed that couple would survive.

  They were strong.

  It was a safety net she’d never known as a child. Up to now Rebecca had believed relationships couldn’t stand the test of time, not when something really bad happened, because of what had materialized with her own parents. And that made it harder to trust in her relationships.

  Maybe there was hope for real love, a true connection.

  Brody slowly opened the door. What was left of daylight filled the empty space.

  That there was no stench had been a comfort. She knew they weren’t going to find bodies.

  Was anyone inside? It was too quiet. Another piece of her heart broke off that this would be another dead end.

  Brody and Ryan stood in front of her, blocking her view. No doubt they felt the need to shield her from whatever horror might be inside the building.

  “What’s in there?” Rebecca asked as she tried to brace herself for whatever waited on the other side of that door.

  “I’ll keep watch out here in case he decides to come back to check on this spot,” Ryan said, turning to place his back against the wall.

  “Someone’s been here.” Brody took a deep breath and stepped aside.

  There was just enough daylight left to see clearly. Bugs flew around her. She slapped her left bicep and then her leg. Mosquitos seemed to be everywhere, poised to take advantage of a quick meal. Dusk was a feeding frenzy.

  Flies buzzed around her ears. Rebecca scarcely noticed. Her gaze was intent on the space she’d just stepped into. There was rope on the floor and empty juice boxes in the corner. Her legs almost gave when she took a step closer as horrible memories assaulted her.

  “Yes, he has,” she said through chattering teeth.

  Brody palmed his cell and checked his screen. “According to my map, Mason Ridge Lake isn’t far from here. He most likely wouldn’t walk there and back, so there might be a source closer. Hold on, let me zoom in. Okay, we have a farmhouse about forty yards from here. Maybe they saw something.”

  “He was freaked out by me being there. Kept mumbling that I wasn’t supposed to be around.” Shivers rocked her body just thinking about it. She’d worked to erase those memories for so long.

  Before she could ask, Brody was beside her. His arm around her waist steadied her.

  “Ryan, call it in. There might be DNA evidence that can positively identify him,” Brody called out. He turned to her and said, “Step lightly out of here. The sheriff won’t be happy we’ve trampled all over their evidence.”

  “They’ve never been able to find his DNA before,” she said. “He’s clever.”

  “These aren’t fresh. But, he might not have had time to wipe the place clean.” Brody pointed to the empty juice cartons. “And they should be able to identify the child based on those.”

  Good point. Identifying a child and possibly Kramer would go a long way toward making sure this never happened again.

  Brody helped her outside and held on to her while they waited for the sheriff to arrive. “That bothers me.”

  “What?” Rebecca asked.

  “That they weren’t able to find DNA evidence before.”

  “He’s too smart,” Rebecca said.

  “Which doesn’t exactly jibe with the theory of a transient. Kramer’s tricky. I wonder what else he’s has done.”

  “None of it has to make sense to us. We’re normal people and this guy is a calculating monster,” Rebecca said. “But the other issue I have is whether or not the sheriff will believe us. He could brush us off and say this could be from anyone.”

  “Unless the DNA on the juice boxes matches a missing kid in the database,” Brody said.

  Rebecca nodded, thinking about Jason and his parents, the agony of waiting.

  Ryan’s gaze moved from Brody’s arm to his face. “You sure that you two waiting around here is a good idea?”

  “We should head back to the festival. He could be there right now,” Brody said.

  “Absolutely not. I don’t want to leave. Not until we have answers,” Rebecca argued.

  “Ryan makes a good point. There’s nothing we can do to help. In five minutes, the place will be crawling with law enforcement, and we need to give them space to do their jobs.”

  As much as she wanted to protest, that made sense. Ryan’s head was rocking back and forth in agreement, too. Plus, the sheriff didn’t exactly believe her most of the time, anyway. Maybe it would be best if she was out of sight. “Okay, but let’s walk the woods. Maybe there’s another place nearby he stashed someone.”

  Brody shook his head. “He’s gone. He wouldn’t stick around.”

  “But we’re so close. He was here. What if he—”

  Brody’s arm tightened around her waist. He leaned down and said, “I can only imagine what you must be going through. I’m so sorry.”

  He whispered other reassuring words—words that steadied her racing pulse.

  “It’s just that we’re so close. I can feel it. He was here at some point, which means he comes back.”

  “He doesn’t know we’re onto him. And he won’t have time to disappear before we find him this time. We’re closing in. Plus, others are looking for him. He can’t hide with the festival workers anymore. If he’s around, we’ll find him.”

  True. She knew that. But everything inside her wanted to keep looking for him in the woods.

  She could hear footsteps and radio noise getting louder. “They’re coming.”

  “I didn’t think it would take long since they’re close by, watching over the festival,” Brody said.

  Ryan gave Brody a bear hug first and then hugged her. “I’ll stick around and give them a statement. You two get back to the festival.”

  “You sure?” Brody asked.

  Seeing the exchange between close friends struck her in a place very deep. She thought about what Brody had said a million times about some families being made from the heart instead of shared tissue. He was right about that. And a lot of other things, too. Most of all, he was right that no matter how much her heart ached to be close to him again, it was impossible to go back. Even though her pulse still raced with every brush of his arm against her.

  And her heart beat heavy in her chest.

  Because she also knew she would never feel like this toward another man for as long as she lived.

  * * *

  BY THE TIME she and Brody had finished walking the perimeter of the festival grounds with no luck Ryan had texted to say he was on the midway with the others.

  Dylan walked up to the group with his daughter in tow as they arrived.

  After hugs and greetings, Rebecca focused on the little girl to take her mind off Jason, Shane and the horrors that lay in the woods. Maribel had Dylan’s bold green eyes. She also possessed his dark hair with curls.

  Maribel beamed up at Rebecca and her heart literally melted.

  Bending down to eye level, Rebecca said, “I’ve known your daddy since I was this tall.” She held her hand up around four feet off the ground.

  “Really?” Eyes wide, rosy round cheeks, Maribel was a cherub incarnate. Her r came out as a w and it was about the cutest thing Rebecca had ever heard.

  “It’s true. You look a lot like him.”

  Maribel took a step toward Rebecca and threw her pudgy little arms around Rebecca’s neck.

  Rebecca hugged the little angel back. She heard Dylan say something about Maribel normally being shy with new people.

  Dylan inclined his chin toward the cotton-candy stand. Ryan took the little girl’s hand and led her out of earshot.

  Wiping away a loose tear, Rebecca said, “She’s beautiful, Dyl
an. You did good.”

  “I’m lucky,” Dylan agreed, but the look in his eyes said he was ready to change the subject. “You want to sit down over there?” He motioned toward a bench.

  “No. I’m fine. What is it?” The seriousness in his expression tightened a coil inside her stomach.

  A look passed between Dylan and Brody, causing an ominous chill to skitter across her nerves.

  “Tell me,” she said.

  “It looks like I found him.”

  “Shane?” Surely her ears were playing tricks on her. Dylan couldn’t possibly mean her brother.

  “We believe it’s him.” Dylan nodded.

  Brody was by her side, his warmth and his touch the only things keeping her upright.

  “I have a contact in the military who found the name Brody gave us, Randy Harper. I had an idea which branch he might be in because Dawson took me back to that restaurant outside of town, Mervin’s Eats. I brought Maribel, figuring we could gain the hostess’s trust easier if my daughter came along. It worked. The hostess started talking about a friend of hers who’d dated him up until the time he left for the service. She couldn’t remember his name or which branch, so I asked her to call her friend, and she did.”

  Air whooshed from Rebecca’s lungs as she tried to let his words sink in. Could they have found Shane? Was it even possible after all these years? Tears were already streaming down her cheeks and she didn’t bother to wipe them away. They were glorious tears of release. Tears that had been held inside far too long. Tears that needed to be set free. “Where is he?”

  “All we know right now is that he’s alive. He’s in the army out on a mission. I’m told he’s a great soldier.”

  “How can you be sure it’s him?”

  “We won’t know for sure until he takes a DNA test but she said he had a birthmark that looked like Oklahoma on top of his right foot.”

  “That has to be him. What are the chances someone else would have that?”

  “He doesn’t remember much of his younger years. She said it bothered him because he’d been told his whole life that his parents had been killed in an accident, that he’d been sent to live with his Uncle Kramer on the road, and that he was an only child but he could swear he had an older sister.”

  Rebecca dropped to her knees, put her face in her hands and cried.

  Everyone gave her space, even Brody. He seemed to know she needed a minute.

  The release was sweet as she finally let go. Shane, my baby brother, you’re alive. You remember me. I’ve missed you so much.

  When she could stem the flow of emotion, she wiped her face and stood. “What else?”

  “That’s all I know for now. We’re waiting for DNA confirmation, but that could take a little while since he’s deployed. My contact says we can make contact when he returns to base.”

  “Do we know when that will be?”

  “Sorry. That information is classified. My contact had no idea. My guess is a couple of days to a week at the most.”

  Rebecca threw her arms around Dylan’s neck. “I don’t know how to thank you. All of you.”

  “Us finally helping you has been a long time coming,” Dylan said, hugging her back.

  Maribel ran up with a big pink cloud-like puff on a stick. “Da-da!”

  Rebecca took a step back and laughed as the little girl plowed into her father’s legs with her cotton candy. He picked her up, not paying any mind to the pink splotches left on his jeans. Brody was right. Seeing Dylan with his daughter, the tenderness in his eyes, made her believe people could change for the better. She’d always loved her friend, but he was the last person she’d expected to see with a baby on his arm. “Seeing you with your daughter makes me think about life a little differently.”

  Dylan smiled one of those wide and genuine smiles. “Guess I never knew real love before.”

  Rebecca had. “You hold on tight to it.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  The little girl wiggled out of his arms and squealed as she ran through her dad’s legs.

  Brody and the others formed a protective circle around Maribel. He pulled Rebecca closer as his gaze surveyed the area. He had to know what she was thinking...he’s still out there.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “We need to find Lester. Maybe we can pin him down for information about Kramer’s whereabouts,” Brody said, his frustration outlined in his sharp sigh. “He might know where his aunt lives and I have a feeling Lester didn’t tell us everything.”

  “All I keep wondering is if his aunt lied to authorities before.”

  Brody’s lips thinned. “I want to know why she would do that.”

  “It’s a good deception. Places him away from the scene, gives him an alibi, and he gets free rein. Heck, he could’ve given her something to knock her out without her even knowing. I wouldn’t put anything past a man like that.”

  Brody stopped suddenly. “That’s him. That’s Lester right there.”

  “The guy with the white streak in his hair?”

  “Yes. Come on.” Brody clasped her hand tighter, as though he knew she needed the extra support. Every step closer to finding Kramer tightened the coil in her stomach. How could the man who’d taken away her brother and ripped her family apart so easily slip through the system?

  She wasn’t crazy and she was so close to being able to prove it. The man who’d haunted her for fifteen years was real and he was right there in Mason Ridge. “Kramer was ruled out as a suspect too easily back then. We have to find that bastard and bring him to justice.” Dare she hope they would find Jason? That Shane seemed to be alive and well was an encouraging sign. Rebecca said a prayer that the little boy was out there, somewhere close by, safe. She tried not to think about the fact that he’d missed a birthday with his family, or how many her brother had. A thought struck her. “I must’ve gotten too close when I found Shane—Randy online. That’s why Kramer came back for me.”

  “Makes me think he won’t leave until he finishes the job,” Brody said. “We can’t risk it, though. If he figures out we’re this close, he could disappear.”

  Brody touched Lester’s shoulder. The guy spun around a little too quickly, his eyes wild.

  “Sorry, it’s just me,” Brody said.

  Relief washed over Lester’s features, but he tried to play it off. “No problem. We’re all a little jumpy with this being the last night. So far, so good, though.”

  “This is my friend Rebecca,” Brody said, introducing her.

  After they’d shaken hands, he continued. “Thomas Kramer abducted her and her brother fifteen years ago. She got away, but they never found Shane.”

  Was Brody intentionally putting names and faces to the story? Lester’s expression softened.

  “I wish I could help you out, man. No one knows where he is.”

  “So you’re saying that you haven’t seen him at all?” Brody pressed.

  Lester’s gaze moved from Rebecca back to Brody. “Not me personally. One of the guys believes he did.”

  “Here?”

  “Yeah. Earlier, though. I’ve been watching out ever since,” Lester continued. “We put extra eyes on the campsite, too.”

  “That’s smart. Just in case.”

  “Sorry to hear about your family,” Lester said to Rebecca.

  “My mom took things really hard. She never recovered.” It was true. Rebecca also wanted to play the sympathy card in case this guy was holding back information.

  “Kramer’s aunt lied for him. Do you have any idea where she lives?” Brody kept pushing.

  “I have a kid of my own, a little girl. I can’t imagine.” Lester paused. “His aunt Sally doesn’t live far from here. She’s in Brighton. It’s why we’re extra careful here and in Sunnyvale.”

  “You must’ve heard what happened last year,” Brody said, glancing at Rebecca.

  She made the connection, too. Randy Harper was from Brighton.

  Lester nodded.

  “Did you know
Kramer very well?” Rebecca asked.

  “We thought we did. Apparently not.”

  “According to the police report, he had a son who died,” Brody said.

  “We didn’t know until years later about that. Way after the fact. It all started to make sense then.”

  “When exactly did you figure this out?” Brody asked.

  Lester shrugged. “Not sure exactly. Heard it through the grapevine and couldn’t be too sure of the source.”

  “And you didn’t think to go to the police with it?” Rebecca fired back.

  “No,” he said with a look of apology. “We thought it was all hearsay. Plus, if we don’t run a tight ship then we don’t get invited to places. None of us wanted to be associated with a person who abducts children. We couldn’t afford to have that hanging over our festival. None of us would have a job.”

  “Even so, why didn’t anyone come forward?” Rebecca asked. “That kind of information is pretty damning, don’t you think?”

  “We didn’t know for sure it was him. Besides, we believed that he was caring for his aunt.”

  “Didn’t you suspect anything when he suddenly showed up with a kid on the road?” Rebecca asked, mustering the kindest voice she could under the circumstances. The coil was tightening and it was becoming unbearable.

  “That’s the thing, he didn’t. Not for a few years, anyway, and we didn’t put it together back then. All of a sudden he would talk about his kid going to school, or playing some kind of sport. We figured we just didn’t know him well enough to get personal before,” Lester said.

  “If he didn’t take the kid on the road, then where’d he keep him?” Brody asked the question that was on Rebecca’s mind.

  “Must’ve been with his aunt Sally,” Lester said. “I actually know her address. It’s where we used to send his checks.”

  He pulled up her name on his contacts list from his phone.

  Brody entered the information into his cell, and then thanked Lester as he and Rebecca made a run for the truck.

  “Now that we have her address, we need to pay her a visit,” he said.

  “Do you think it’s best to investigate without involving the sheriff?” Rebecca asked.

  “Even if I trusted his judgment—and I’m not saying I do—the sheriff has to work within the law. We don’t. And I have every intention of using whatever means necessary to make her talk. If that’s where Kramer took Shane, then it stands to reason he’d take Jason there, too.”