The Texan's Return

by Karen Whiddon

  Aaron came wandering out of his room just in time for dinner. Hailey wondered if he planned to contribute any part of his paycheck once he got paid. They could all use the extra financial help.

  When dinner was over, Aaron jumped up and mumbled some excuse about feeling ill so he could retreat to his room. Once the door had closed behind Aaron, Hailey looked at all three of her siblings and shook her head. She couldn’t say what she wanted to—Aaron was their father after all—but she let some of her feelings show on her face.

  “Since I cooked, you three can clean up,” she said, smiling.

  “But what about the vigil?” Tara asked.

  Hailey’s cell rang, saving her from answering her sister.

  “Have you heard?” Mac asked, his voice pitched low, which meant he didn’t want Gus to hear.

  “Yes. Tara came home from school and told me. Apparently they’re having some sort of vigil, hoping the girl will be found.”

  “That’s been canceled,” he said glumly. “At least, according to Detective Logan. They found Aimee Westerfield’s body about a half hour ago. And Norman Toogood has been in police custody. Once the coroner figures out time of death, the police will know if there’s any way he could have done this.”

  “In other words, if he killed her before they picked him up.”

  “Exactly.” He paused. “I’m trying to decide whether or not to tell Gus. This will devastate him.”

  More than anything, she wished she could hug him, offering her embrace for comfort. Instead, all she could do would be to give him her thoughts. “It’ll be better if he finds out from you. You know this is going to be all over the news. Plus, Detective Logan is sure to mention it. Just tell him exactly what you told me. There’s still a chance this is Norman Toogood.”

  Mac sighed. “You’re right. Thanks, Hailey. See you tomorrow.”

  “Definitely.” She didn’t dare blow a kiss through the phone, not with three younger ears listening in.

  When she turned around, all three of the kids were staring.

  “Did they find Aimee’s body?” Tom asked. Tara, who’d gone awfully pale, gripped the kitchen counter as if she needed help to remain standing.

  Slowly, Hailey nodded. “Yes. But they have someone in custody. There’s a very strong possibility he might have been the one who did this.”

  “Did you say...” Tara swallowed hard. “Norman Toogood?”

  Puzzled, Hailey eyed her baby sister. “Yes. Why?”

  “Because everyone knows Norman. They’ve got the wrong guy,” Tara protested. “Norman wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

  Hailey was pretty sure her mouth fell open. It took her a second to collect herself enough to ask. “What do you mean everyone knows Norman?”

  Picking up that something might be wrong from the tone of Hailey’s voice, Tara cocked her head. “Sometimes he works as a janitor at school. He’s a really nice guy. All the kids like him.”

  The police must be aware of this little fact, right? Hailey texted Mac, asking him to check with Detective Logan, just in case.

  He texted right back. Will do.

  Great. Returning her attention back to Tara, Hailey took a deep breath. She needed to sound calm. If she alarmed her sister, she knew from experience that teenage hysteria or angst would develop.

  “This Norman Toogood. How often do you see him? Are you telling me he hangs out with the kids?” Which in itself was cause for alarm, as far as Hailey was concerned.

  Evidently Tara picked up on that. “I don’t know,” she said, with a shrug. “But I can tell you Norman is not a bad guy.”

  “Really?” Hailey allowed a little of her worry and anger to show. “Was he friends with Lola Lundgren? What about Aimee Westerfield? Did it never occur to you—any of you—that a grown man has no business being friends with fourteen-year-old girls?”

  From the stunned expression on Tara’s face, it was clear that it hadn’t.

  Suddenly exhausted, Hailey shook her head. “The vigil’s been canceled.” And the middle school would most likely make grief counselors available to the students if they needed them. “Please, finish cleaning up the dishes. Maybe we can watch a movie before we go to bed.”

  Clearly subdued, Tom and Tara immediately got busy. Only Eli continued to stare. Hailey was just about to ask him what was going on when he walked over and put his thin little arms around her. “I’m scared,” he whispered in her ear, casting worried looks at his two older siblings.

  Smoothing his short hair with one hand, Hailey kissed his cheek. “It’s all going to be okay. The FBI or the police will figure something out.” Hopefully soon, she added in her head. If Norman Toogood turned out to be the killer, the girls in this town would be safe.

  And if not... She didn’t even want to think about it.

  * * *

  Mac watched Gus doze and thought about how he would tell him what had happened. Honestly, he’d hoped to wait until he had actual details about the time of death. Unfortunately, in a quick phone call, Detective Logan had informed him that could take a while. Unlike TV shows, there was always a backlog. Even with the FBI helping to work the case, it could be four to six weeks.

  “Unfortunately, without more evidence to charge him, we can’t hold Norman Toogood much longer,” Logan continued.

  Mac’s heart sunk. “Don’t you have something?”

  “Only a video showing him with one of the murdered girls shortly before she was killed. That gives us a strong reason to suspect him, but not enough to charge him.”

  “Then we need to find something,” Mac replied instantly. “Hailey texted me that Toogood sometimes worked as a janitor in the middle school. He was friendly with several of the students.”

  “Yeah, we heard that. The FBI is in the process of interviewing some of the students now. So far, we haven’t turned up anything concrete.”

  Damn.

  “I’ll let you know if we learn anything else,” Logan had concluded.

  After ending the call, Mac wandered back into the living room. As he’d feared, the sound of his phone ringing had caused Gus to wake up.

  “What’s going on?” Gus asked. He appeared disoriented. Mac wasn’t sure if that was because he was still asleep or due to the lingering effects of his medication.

  “Do you need anything to drink?” Mac asked, part stalling technique, but also partly because his father’s lips were cracked. “Or your lip balm?”

  Gus fumbled around on his tray table, locating the tube of lip balm and applying it. “Much better.” He sighed. Then, narrowing his eyes, he took a second look at Mac. “What exactly is going on now?”

  Since there seemed no way to soften it, Mac told him everything. When he’d finished, Gus sat silently, eyes closed. “So they’re letting this guy go.”

  “Yes. They don’t have enough to hold him.”

  Gus sighed. “They didn’t have enough to hold me either, you know. They simply trumped up enough bogus evidence to make my charges stick.”

  Mac asked the same question he and his mother had asked a thousand times in the past. “Why, Dad? Why would they do something like that?”

  Every other time, Gus had answered, “I wish I knew.”

  This time, however, he sighed. “There’s something I need to tell you, son.”

  Hearing those words, dread coiled around Mac’s heart. What if, after a decade of believing his father innocent, Gus was now about to confess he wasn’t? An instant after having this horrible, inconceivable thought, Mac pushed it away. Not possible. Whatever Gus had to say, Mac was certain it wasn’t a confession.

  “I have a pretty good idea why I was set up to take the fall for a murder I didn’t commit. I had an affair with a police officer’s spouse.”

  Mac stared in disbelief. “Did you mention this to
your lawyer when you were on trial?”

  “No. Not then.”

  “Why the hell not? You could have saved yourself ten years in prison.”

  “If it could have been proven.” Gus scratched his balding head. “And back then, I didn’t think it was related. How could it be? This person wasn’t related to any of the detectives assigned to my case. And everything was so hush-hush. I didn’t think word would ever have gotten out. She wouldn’t have wanted her fellow officers to know this about her husband.”

  Confused, Mac wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly. “Are you saying you...”

  “Had an affair with another man?” Gus nodded. “Yes. I did. It’s been more than eleven years ago now, and it was a one-time thing. Short-lived, but intense. I’ll spare you the details about how I never intended for it to happen, and how it ended, but I think this may have been the reason the police put a bull’s-eye on me for the crime.”

  “Did Mom know?” Mac finally asked.

  “Of course not. There’s no way I’d want her hurt like that. That’s another part of the reason I never brought it up to my attorney.”

  Stunned and unsettled, Mac had no idea what to say. At least his mother had never known. When he didn’t speak, Gus filled the silence with more words.

  “I loved your mother,” Gus said. “And other women before her. But there have been other men since, in prison.”

  “Stop.” Mac held up his hand. “I don’t want to know. Really. Your personal life is your business. If you told me this information because you want me to use it to try to clear your name, then I will.” No matter how difficult doing so might be.

  “Hell, no.” Gus sounded shocked. “No one can ever know about that. Chief Brigham’s husband has a good reputation in this town. If people were to learn about his past indiscretion...”

  “The chief of police?” Mac asked faintly. He felt dizzy. Maybe he needed to sit down. He dropped into the chair next to his father’s bed and put his head in his hands while he tried to clear his head. “You had an affair with her husband? Why are you telling me this, Dad?” he finally asked. “If there’s no way I can use this information to help you, why bring it up now?”

  Gus stared at his son, his mouth working. “Because I wanted you to understand why I was railroaded. I also wanted you to understand me. Me. I’m a complicated person. I know nowadays, people are all for coming out and telling the truth, but people my age... We’re a little more buttoned up and private.”

  “I see,” Mac said, not sure he did.

  A moment or two passed quietly, neither man speaking, both lost in their thoughts.

  Finally, it was Gus again who broke the silence. “May I ask you something, son?”

  “Sure,” Mac asked dully. “Go ahead.”

  “Do you think less of me now that I’ve told you what I did?”

  The question hung out there, so heartbreakingly poignant it brought tears to Mac’s eyes. He pushed to his feet and carefully, gently, enveloped his father in a hug. “Of course not. I love you and will always love you.”

  Gus nodded, wiping away the tears that leaked from his eyes. “But you acted so shocked. I thought...”

  “I am shocked,” Mac replied, patting his too-thin, dying father on the back. “You gave me a truth that I hadn’t been able to see,” he said, aware he had to choose his words carefully. “I’m grateful to you for feeling safe enough to share that extremely personal information with me.” He took a deep breath. “But it’s still going to take me a while to get used to that knowledge.”

  Gus sighed, his eyes drifting closed. “Take all the time you need,” he mumbled. And then he was fast asleep. Mac stood for a moment or two, watching his father’s chest rise and fall. He still wasn’t sure how to take what Gus had told him. The complexity of his father made him wonder what secrets his mother had carried with her to her grave.

  Wandering outside to look at the setting sun, Mac fought the urge to call Hailey. Though he desperately needed someone to talk to about what his father had told him, this wasn’t his news to share. If Gus wanted Hailey to know, he’d either give Mac permission to tell her, or Gus would tell her himself.

  Gus slept through dinner, waking up only once to tell Mac he needed to use the bathroom. Mac took care of him, cleaning him up after, and offered him some food—anything Gus might want. Gus declined, though Mac got him to take a couple of sips from a protein shake.

  Afterward, turning the TV on, Mac sat through a show about people searching for a house in Ireland before clicking the set off. Again, he ached to call Hailey, if only to hear her voice. But aware he didn’t entirely trust himself not to discuss his father’s news, he decided not to. Instead, he went to bed early, positive he’d been in for a long night of tossing and turning. Instead, to his surprise, he closed his eyes and when he opened them again, morning had arrived.

  After his shower, he turned on the morning news. Of course, all they could talk about was the newest murder in the small town of Legacy. No arrests had been made, and one of the anchors speculated there were not even any suspects. The other anchor immediately said there was always a suspect.

  When the camera showed the middle school where both Tara and Tom attended, again he reached for his phone, wanting to call Hailey. But he knew she’d be busy getting the kids off to school, so he didn’t. He’d be seeing her in a couple of hours after all.

  When Hailey arrived, her usual sunny smile had gone missing. She’d pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail and wore a faded T-shirt and jeans with absolutely zero jewelry, not even the earrings he’d given her so long ago, which he’d never seen her without.

  She walked into the kitchen, right past a dozing Gus, and stood in the doorway. Her slumped shoulders and tired eyes spoke of her dejection.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” He ached to put his arm around her and pull her in close, but suspected this wasn’t what she needed right now.

  Swallowing, she started to shake her head, and then nodded instead. “I guess I do. This one hits too close to home. The girl that was killed also went to school with Tara. Not only are they the same age, but they resemble each other. A lot. Slender with blond hair, blue eyes and freckles.”

  Like Lola Lundgren had been. And a decade earlier, Brenda Green. He winced. “Since they had to let Norman Toogood go, I don’t think the police or the FBI have any viable leads.”

  “Which is ridiculous. Tara got called in to talk to the FBI. I was glad, because she kept insisting that everyone knows Norman and that he’s a good guy. She didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with a guy in his mid to late forties hanging around fourteen-year-old girls.”

  Mac winced. “If it’s him, he’s been careful not to leave any proof. Sooner or later, he’s got to mess up.”

  “You’d think so.” Exhaling out a little puff of air, she looked at him. Really looked at him. “How’d Gus do over the weekend? I know we’re working against time here, but I’m so hoping he can hang in there until they capture the right killer.”

  “Me, too.” Even thinking about it made Mac’s chest hurt. He thought of the secret his father had revealed yesterday and wondered if that had been a sign that Gus felt he was getting close to the end.

  “I hate that he’s suffering so much. Are you sure there’s nothing we can do for your dad to help him? I know you said you were trying supplements and juicing. Has any of that helped him?”

  “No.”

  “You’re positive there’s no chance he can get better?”

  Mac grimaced. “There’s no cure for pancreatic cancer. By the time they learned about Dad’s, it was too late to do the Whipple, which is an operation to remove part of the pancreas. People who are a candidate for that have a better chance. But Dad’s cancer has spread. It’s just a matter of time. I’ve researched it endlessly. Chemotherapy
would only give him a few months, and he decided he didn’t want that.”

  “Oh, Mac. That stinks.” She crossed the few feet that separated them and hugged him. His breath caught. He brought his arms around her, and they clung together silently, each drawing comfort from the other. His body stirred, because at the first touch he wanted more. He might have held on a bit too long, but she didn’t protest.

  As they stepped apart, Mac’s phone rang. “It’s Detective Logan,” he said. “I’ve got to take this.”

  Logan was brief and to the point. “We think we might have figured out another common denominator. After talking to several kids at the school, we learned some of the other janitors have been illegally providing the kids things like alcohol and cigarettes. The district contracts out to a service. We’ve got those people compiling a list of names. Once they get that to us, we’ll be bringing them all in for questioning. We’re hoping once we round up and charge that individual with that smaller crime, it’ll have a ripple effect.”

  “Are you thinking you might get a confession?”

  The detective sighed. “Either that, or cause the killer to finally make a mistake.”

  Chapter 16

  After cleaning up Gus as best she could, Hailey rushed to find Mac. As usual, he was in the barn, working on the custom cabinets. He looked up when she came in.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Your dad.” She bent over, struggling to catch her breath. “He’s really sick. I think you need to call the hospice nurse. I’ve got to get back to the house. I don’t dare leave him alone too long.” She didn’t tell Mac that his father’s breathing had changed, taken on that rattle Dolores had warned her about. He’d hear it for himself soon enough.

  As she ran back to the house, Mac ran with her. He took one look at his father before pulling out his phone to call Dolores. After he’d finished, he slid his cell into his back pocket and raised his gaze to meet Hailey’s. The bleakness she saw there made her stomach churn.