by Angi Morgan
Friends.
Mitch slid into the booth next to her, leaning on the table, that grin still on his face. “You’re surprised.”
“To say the least.” She raised her voice so they could all hear her. “I can’t say thank-you enough.”
“It’s the least we can do. We love this place as much as we love you, Brandie.” Kate put her son back in his seat.
The memories of Toby at that age swept her back. He’d spent most of his days in a playpen or swinging chair until he’d turned four and started at the day care.
“Oh, yeah, Sadie stopped by.” Mitch’s smile disappeared. “She said she was here to help, but she sure wasn’t dressed for it. Took off when Andrea and Pete pulled up, but she left you a note. It’s in the garage office.”
He seemed relieved that she hadn’t stayed. Come to think of it, at times he’d gone out of his way to avoid Sadie.
“Is that who that was? I thought there was something familiar about her,” Beth said through the service window in the kitchen. “I saw those expensive heels and leather skirt and just didn’t think of your waitress.”
Kate tapped her bright pink nails on the table. “That’s weird. I recognized her wig, but the way she was dressed, it never clicked the woman was Sadie.”
“Wig?” the people in the room asked together.
Kate looked up, surprised everyone didn’t have that piece of information stored in their brain. “You guys really never noticed? It’s a very good wig, but it slipped one afternoon a couple of weeks ago. From my angle in the booth I could see her real hair sticking out around her neck.”
“How could I have missed a wig? All this West Texas dust has clogged up my detective skills.” Beth laughed at her own joke.
Everybody knew she was the DEA’s representative in West Texas. She and Pete had both been abducted into Mexico just before Christmas. Mitch moved over to talk with the men and the women gleefully joined her in the booth.
“Like I said, it was a really good wig. But her hair’s a beautiful color so I have no idea why she wears it,” Kate said quietly.
“Well, I wouldn’t know.” Andrea played with her multiple necklaces. “She avoids me like the plague. Pete teased that she was afraid of mouthy women.”
They all laughed, but Brandie kept her head down, trying to avoid the conversation. She’d seen Sadie without the wig and didn’t know if her waitress would want so many people knowing, especially the county sheriff.
“Brandie, you look as guilty as sin. You already knew about the wig, didn’t you? Do you know why she wears it?” Andrea asked bluntly, which was her way.
“I shouldn’t say anything. It’s sort of private.”
“Was it breast cancer?” Kate asked.
“That was the first thing I thought until I saw how long her hair was. She told me she had a violent ex-boyfriend.” Brandie lowered her voice. It somehow made it feel less gossipy to talk about Sadie if all the guys couldn’t hear.
“Oh, my, a waitress in hiding with a mysterious backstory. I’m intrigued.” Andrea whispered, too.
The men cleared a path for the jukebox. They joked like it was a normal day. But it wasn’t. Their body language was sharp and on edge. Tensions were high waiting on a call that may or may not come.
“Did she mention anything else?” Andrea nudged her in the side.
“Just that she needed the extra money.”
“If I knew the tips were that good here, I would have taken a job months ago. That was a real leather jacket and skirt. Not to mention the matching Louis Vuitton bag and shoes.” Beth looked around the booth at their questioning faces. “What? I happen to like expensive shoes.”
“They were probably knockoffs, right? You can’t be certain they were the real thing.” Brandie had a hard time believing Sadie had been dressed so nicely. “She was constantly suggesting I take off early so she could close up the café and get a couple of extra tips. Why would she work here if she didn’t need the money?”
The three other women looked directly at Mitch who was helping maneuver the jukebox through the door. His lean muscles bulged as he lifted and pushed. He caught her stare and winked at her.
“She didn’t stand a chance even in that burnt-orange outfit.” Beth leaned across the table to pat Brandie’s hand. “The only person he ever smiles for is you. And honey, I was a foot model. Those shoes were the real deal.”
“Wait a minute. Beth, are you sure about that color?” Andrea asked.
“Very sure. It was exactly the shade of your college hoodie, Kate. I wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t been wearing those studded rolling boots. They’re sixteen-hundred-dollar shoes.” Beth twisted her long black hair around her finger. “Whoever that violent ex-boyfriend was he certainly had money.”
“It can’t be possible.” Andrea grabbed Brandie’s hand, gripping it anxiously. “Was Sadie’s real hair color platinum-blond?”
“Yes.”
“Pete! Oh, my gosh! Pete get in here!” Andrea jumped up from the table, impatient for the sheriff to return. “I think she’s that woman who was working with Rook the night he tried to blackmail my dad.”
Brandie’s heart latched on to the hope that the nightmare might actually be over soon.
* * *
MITCH JUMPED BACK into the café with his heart racing. He hadn’t heard a cell ring, but he was certain something had happened. Brandie was as white as a sheet.
“Do you have an address for Sadie, and her last name?” Andrea asked.
“I think she said she lives in Alpine, but it would be on her application,” Mitch answered, not understanding why they wanted to know about Sadie.
“What’s the matter?” Pete asked, finally pushing past the jukebox.
“Remember that blonde I described who was taking orders from Rook? It’s Sadie. At least I think she’s the same chick.” Andrea was as excited as a little kid on their birthday.
“You said she had long blond hair,” the sheriff said.
“She does. That’s what we were just talking about. Sadie has long blond hair. That’s the reason she never waited on me. She knew I could identify her.” Andrea noticed Brandie’s shaking hands and slid back into the booth.
“There was a tall blonde woman at Bishop’s place,” Nick added from the garage.
“The woman who took Toby stood just as tall as Zubict on that ridge. That would make her at least five-ten or eleven. It sure looked like she was a blonde.” Mitch couldn’t believe it.
“Sadie’s about that tall with the shoes she wears,” Brandie whispered, but everyone was quiet enough to hear her.
“Give me her address and I’ll get the local PD to bring her in for questioning,” Cord said to Mitch as he came into the café.
Mitch knew where the employee records were. It was a good thing Brandie didn’t have to tell him since she looked like she was about to be sick. How could Sadie be involved in Toby’s kidnapping or in Beth or Andrea’s abductions and still be bold enough to wait tables on the very people she should be afraid of?
Mitch handed Cord the application, and the Ranger stepped out the front door to make the call. Mitch couldn’t get to Brandie. Andrea had an arm around her shoulders. Exactly where he wanted to be.
“You really think it’s possible that this woman was working with Jones, Lopez and Rey?” Pete asked.
“You mean Rook, Bishop and King,” Mitch confirmed.
“Right. They used code names, but their fingerprints match them to the Mexican and FBI criminal database. Rey used both translations of his name. The arrogant bastard went by King King,” Pete said.
“They’re all chess pieces,” Mitch mumbled.
“Both men had multiple chess boards at their haciendas. We know that Rook was working with a group, but he won’t give up anything about them.”
“She’s been playing us all this time.” Mitch hadn’t been confronted with anything like this during his career. It was hard to conceive, harder to believe it was real.
“What do you mean?” Beth asked.
“She’s been playing everybody, us, these chess men. But what’s the most powerful playing piece in chess?”
“The Queen,” the group answered.
“Sadie, or whatever her name is...” Brandie said with the barest breath. “She’s been in charge all along. She considers herself the Queen.”
Sadie’s message. What had she said?
“Dammit, what did I do with the note she left? Office.” He hit the counter with his palm and locked eyes with the man still on the garage side of the jukebox. “Nick, I tossed the envelope—a blue one like for a card—on top of the loose papers on the garage desk.”
“Got it.” He took off running.
Looking around the room of intelligent people they all seemed baffled, but no one thought his conclusion was wrong. No one argued a different possibility. They were all just waiting, like him.
Nick had opened the envelope. He handed the card across the jagged glass to Mitch using a work glove.
“It’s a drawing. I think it’s silos.”
“That’s it? She doesn’t mention Toby? Or any exchange? Or demand what she wants? Are you sure there’s nothing else in the envelope?” Brandie pulled her hair back, landing her hands around her neck. Cutting herself off from comforting gestures Andrea tried to offer.
“Sorry. Nothing.”
“Show it to us,” Brandie said. “I don’t understand. Is that where Toby is?”
The women tried to calm her down. Cord took a picture with his cell, and Pete grabbed something to substitute for an evidence bag. Nick pulled while Mitch shoved at the stuck jukebox.
Mitch shoved harder. And harder again. Receiving a strange look from Nick when he threw up his hands and backed away.
“Hey, man. Maybe this isn’t a good idea right now,” Nick said. “You don’t want to wreck it more.”
“Dammit!” Mitch wanted to punch something. The anger and frustration he felt had nothing to do with a stuck antique. “We’re not going to get a phone call. It’s a riddle and if we’re going to get Toby back, we have to solve it.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“That was Alpine PD. No one matching Sadie’s description lives at the address on her application. That would have been too easy. I had another message. Your man Gary Zubict was found dead from a drive-by in San Angelo.” Cord closed his notebook and stuck it in his pocket.
Mitch had ducked out of the café to wait with Cord. The energy inside had gone from overly excited to flat and pensive. They all realized—especially Brandie—that knowing Sadie was involved didn’t change the fact that the woman still had Toby.
“If she was taking care of loose ends like Zubict, why risk coming here? What was so important about this note that she had to deliver it herself?” Mitch was still baffled. The picture made no sense. “What the hell does she want with the kid?”
Cord looked past him, indicating the open door where Brandie stood.
“I want to know the answer to that myself,” she said, standing next to him.
Mitch wrapped his arm around her shoulders, drawing her close to his side.
Brandie must have seen the way Cord shot his evil-eye warning. She pulled away to lean on the awning post, hands around the back of her neck, as tense as always.
“Silos in this country are few and far between. It will take us hours to check them all out.” Brandie grabbed the drawing. “I don’t know what to do.”
Cord pulled out the notepad again. “Let’s go with your theory, Mitch. If Sadie considers herself the Queen and smarter than us, then why did she set up all her men to fail? Hell, she had King shot in the back in front of you.”
“It sounds like she’s running the board. Taking out all the major pieces one at a time. She had us do it for her with Rook and Bishop. At each abduction we confiscated what we thought were major gun shipments. While we’re dealing with one set of problems—”
“That’s when we discover a second shipment heading across the border,” Cord finished.
“Wherever she has us looking for Toby...”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Cord slapped him on the back, took out his cell and started dialing as he walked to his truck.
“What did you two just figure out?” Brandie asked.
“She’s using the hunt for Toby as a distraction.”
“Sure doesn’t feel like a distraction.”
“You called your parents? I’m surprised they’re not here already.”
“We convinced them there might be a message or phone call at home. But everyone knows there won’t be.” Her cell was still in her hand. “That picture. Does it seem kind of amateurish to you? As if it weren’t thought out ahead of time?”
“Yeah, kind of last-minute, which doesn’t match the profile of a meticulous planner.” He reached for Brandie, but she paced in the opposite direction. “So maybe Toby’s kidnapping isn’t a part of her plan.”
“I know how to find her.” Beth burst through the café door. “The shoes. We can track her by her sixteen-hundred-dollar shoes. There’s got to be a record of a sale.”
The buzz returned as they went back inside. He waited, holding the door for Brandie. He was just opening his mouth to tell her to ignore Cord when she placed a hand on his chest.
“I think we should put a little space between us. It’s hard enough functioning with Toby gone. I can’t handle the questions and the looks. Let’s keep our focus on finding him. And I mean everyone’s focus. Don’t you think we can and should wait?” she whispered as the group got quiet.
“Sure.” He agreed, wanting the exact opposite.
Brandie’s whole existence was wrapped around what other people thought. She needed to think about herself and believe that her true friends would love her no matter what. But he’d respect her decision. He had no right not to. No matter what fantasy was in his head about their relationship.
* * *
“PETE, AS MUCH as I love you, sweetie, I can’t do any research with that archaic computer system at the courthouse.” Andrea gathered her things. “We’ll be at the house where I have a very competent system and high-speed internet.”
Brandie still stood around without a job. She absentmindedly picked up a few things and made another pile of broken objects. She wanted answers, and everyone was trying to get them. The least she could do was appreciate all their assistance.
“Thanks for helping, Andrea. I’d be helpless researching on a computer.” Brandie felt out of her element. Everyone was busy, but her best skill was running a café.
“I’m glad I learned something after three higher education degrees.” She laughed and joined Pete. “I’ll locate the silos and the future hubby over here will coordinate a search.”
While Kate spoke in a low voice to Cord, Beth was hopelessly attempting to strap Danver into his seat.
“Here, let me get that.” Brandie took pity on her, but secretly thanked her that she had something to occupy her hands.
“Thanks. I’ve been practicing and still can’t get the hang of this thing. Nick will be the designated car seat guru in our household.”
“Are you two...?” Brandie pointed to Danver.
“Oh, no, sorry. The wedding’s planned for my mom and dad’s summer break at the university. He wanted a short engagement, but I never imagined spring on a ranch could be so all consuming.” She looped the diaper bag over her shoulder. “You ready to go?”
“I’m staying here. If they won’t let me search for Toby, then I’m staying here.”
“That’s not what—”
“Right. But I decided to stay. I appreciate that everyone thinks I’ll be safer there with you. But Sadie’s not trying to kill me and if she wants to get in touch, I want to be close. I’ll feel like I’m contributing.”
Beth cupped her hands around Brandie’s shoulders, the most sincere look on her face. “Then I’ll stay here. Is that okay with you? I can do everything with Andrea by phone.”
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“Sadie pretended to be my friend while she was spying, learning our secrets and doing I don’t know what. If she doesn’t want anything from me then why hasn’t she called? Do you think it’s because you’re all here? Maybe she still has someone watching us?”
“It’s possible, but Pete has deputies patrolling close by. They would have seen someone who doesn’t belong in town,” Beth said. “I’ll stay, okay?”
“I’d cry my appreciation, but I don’t have any more tears. They’re all gone. I just know I’d go crazy forty-five minutes from town.”
“That’s okay. You’re saving me. If I went with Kate and Andrea I’d be in tears, too. I think Nick asked her to show me how to change a diaper.” She laughed.
Beth laughed a lot more now than when she’d first arrived in Marfa. She was good for Nick who seemed back to his old self after being shot over a year ago. Andrea and Pete were good together. Kate and Cord were icons. She wanted that type of love.
The real kind that took in each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Her mom and dad loved each other, but it was totally different from what these three couples had.
Mitch looked her direction. She needed to tell him she wasn’t leaving. He’d be upset and want to stay. So let him. Her inner voice was telling her she deserved him and all the comfort that he brought her. But Toby deserved his skill.
“Everyone knows what to do?” Cord asked. “Pete will handle all the coordination. His deputies are searching for twin water cisterns. There are a lot more of those around here than silos. If they find anything, he’ll contact you, Brandie.”
“Our primary objective is to find Toby,” Mitch said.
Brandie’s pocket vibrated and tweeted indicating she had a text message. Everyone held their breath while she slid her finger across the screen. “It’s my mom. Excuse me a second.” She went into the storage room and called as her mom had asked.
“I know you said you’d call when you had more information, but Sadie asked me to pass along a message.”
Her heart stopped. She couldn’t feel it beating in her chest. If the woman had called her mother, then she hadn’t wanted the people in that room to know.