Texas Baby Pursuit

by Margaret Daley

  Rachel recalled a pale blue one in the living room. Lenora had been clutching it yesterday while talking to them. “If y’all think of anything else that might help, please don’t hesitate to contact either one of us.”

  Dallas shook hands with both ladies. “Thank you for your help.”

  Annie stared at the photo she recognized. “We wish we could do more, but we’ll keep an eye out if that woman ever returns.”

  “If that happens, don’t say anything to her. Just call us.” Rachel gathered the pictures and put them back in the folder.

  When she exited the shop, she paused on the sidewalk and scanned the parking lot. Her eyes latched onto the billboard in a field nearby. “Was the camera successfully installed?”

  “Yes, I got a text. Done in the middle of the night.”

  “Good. Not an easy place to tamper with it.”

  “The footage is being monitored by the Texas Ranger headquarters. Someone will contact me if they see anything unusual on the surveillance camera.”

  Rachel crossed the parking lot. “One store down, two to go. Maybe we should also canvass all the places in this shopping center.”

  “And we still have to visit the employees of the other two places Lenora visited.” Dallas opened the drugstore door and waited for her to enter first. “I wish we had two sets of the drawings. It would make this go faster.”

  “When we go back to Cimarron Trail we can make copies at my station. I’m going to have a couple of deputies canvass Lenora’s neighborhood again with both versions of Michelle’s drawings. I’m also sending Deputy Jones back to Houston Fowler’s ranch and see if any of his employees saw the woman or remembered anything since Monday.”

  She and Dallas entered the drugstore and approached the manager in his office first to let him know what they were doing. When they showed him Michelle’s two pictures, he said, “I haven’t seen anyone like that in here, but then I’m often in the back of the store. Maybe one of my employees can help.”

  They talked to the rest of the employees in the store and came up empty-handed. Next, they headed for Baby and Things next door. When Rachel didn’t see the owner, she walked to Jan Thomas at the back counter and asked, “Is Steve Tucker here?”

  “No, he’ll be gone all day. Can I help you? Is this about the kidnapping?”

  Dallas stood behind Rachel. “We have two drawings to show you.” He placed them on the counter. “Have you seen these ladies before?”

  Jan tapped the illustration of the woman wearing sunglasses. “I’ve seen her somewhere, not necessarily here. She looks familiar. It was a while back. Was she involved in the kidnapping?”

  “She’s a person of interest in the case. If you remember anything about her or where you saw her, please contact us.” Rachel gave Jan another one of her business cards.

  “I will.”

  As Dallas and Rachel walked away from the counter, she slanted a look at Dallas, who was deep in thought. “What are you thinking?”

  “Something is off.” He scrubbed his hand across his nape.

  “Why do you say that?”

  “She blinked rapidly when she saw the first drawing, then she quickly went to the second one.”

  “The two pictures are similar. I agree with Annie that the sunglasses draw a person to that picture over the other one.”

  “Just a gut feeling that something is off. Nothing I can put my finger on.”

  Rachel hoped he was right, but she hadn’t seen anything when talking to Jan. “Or wishful thinking?”

  “Maybe, but I’m going to have my office look into Jan Thomas. Let’s show these to the other employees.”

  After they left Baby and Things, it took forty-five minutes to search the other places of business in the shopping center. They ended back at Dallas’s car with one last location to visit—an accounting office specializing in tax preparation.

  Dallas pulled on the glass front door. It didn’t budge. “No one is here.”

  “It’s lunchtime. Maybe they left while we were inside one of the stores.” Standing at the large window, Rachel looked inside. “I can’t make much out. This glass is meant to make it difficult to see into the office. But there’s a desk and chair outside a door that leads to the back.”

  “I’ll have headquarters run down any information on Kendall Accounting, Inc.”

  While he unlocked his car, Rachel walked around to the passenger side and climbed in. “Let’s go talk to Lenora, then get these drawings copied. We can split up and visit the employees who worked Friday separately, since the addresses are scattered all over the place. That way we’ll cover more ground.”

  “Sounds like a good plan.” Dallas pulled onto the street that led to the two-lane highway to Cimarron Trail.

  Rachel withdrew her cell phone. “I’m calling the ranch to see how our daughters are doing.” It rang five times before her dad answered. “How are things going, Dad?”

  Her father laughed. “I should be jealous. Katie has taken to Michelle so much she’s been ignoring Mom and me. In the barn Katie and Michelle held hands as they walked around checking on the animals. Even when Katie stumbled and fell down, she didn’t cry. Michelle scooped her up so fast into her arms and twirled her around that any tears were forgotten as Katie giggled. Tell Dallas he has a very special daughter.”

  “I will. So, everything is quiet?”

  “Yes, or I would have called. We’re planning to take Katie riding this afternoon after lunch. But only in the paddock near the barn. I’ll be leading the horse while Michelle walks next to Katie.”

  “Don’t have too much fun without me. We’re going to see Lenora, then to the sheriff’s station. We have more people to track down this afternoon. Give Katie a kiss and hug for me.”

  “Will do. Any progress?”

  Rachel told him about the two sisters identifying one of Michelle’s drawings of the woman. “After our visit to Lenora’s, we’ll be releasing the picture of the lady in both versions. Hopefully someone can tell us who she is and where to find her.”

  When she disconnected the call, Dallas asked, “How are they doing?”

  “Fine. Katie loves being with Michelle.”

  As they neared Cimarron Lake outside of town, Dallas scanned the stretch of blue water to his left. “We don’t live far from here. Michelle and I like to go fishing in a rowboat I have.”

  “How nice. Do you catch anything?”

  “Sometimes, but that isn’t why we go fishing. This is the time we share our days with each other.”

  Rachel twisted toward Dallas. “You tell her about your cases?”

  “Not the bad parts. Our chats force me to look at my day in a good light. When we return to shore, I don’t feel as jaded as I did when I started.”

  Out the corner of her eye, Rachel glimpsed a small moving truck pull into the other lane to pass them. “Looks like the driver is in a hurry.”

  When the white rental truck was side-by-side with Dallas’s SUV, the passenger’s darkened window rolled down and a man in a ski mask pointed a rifle at them.

  “Gun!” Rachel shouted.

  Dallas floored his gas pedal, surging forward. A blast sounded and a shot hit the back window.

  Rachel got her weapon and cell phone out. She called the station as the truck pursued them.

  “We’re under attack by a white rental truck on the highway from San Antonio!”

  Suddenly the larger vehicle rammed into the left back side, knocking her phone out of her hand and tossing her against her door. Then it hit them again, shoving the SUV off the road to plunge down a small incline, bouncing over rough terrain and landing in the lake.

  SEVEN

  As his car hit the water, Dallas let go of the steering wheel and looked at Rachel. Surprise overtook her expression. The front end of his SUV began to sink—fast. They had
less than a minute before they would be trapped underwater.

  He unsnapped his seat belt, then released Rachel’s. “Roll down your window. We’ve got to get out.”

  As he pushed the button to lower his window, he looked at her doing the same. Their windows were halfway down when the power shut off.

  With seconds ticking away, Dallas grasped his gun and used it as a hammer to knock out the rest of the glass. Rachel did the same.

  As water filled the car, Dallas held his breath and wiggled through the window at the same time Rachel freed herself from the SUV. He popped his head above the water. A shot rang out, a bullet slicing through the water inches from his head. While he ducked under again, he heard another gun going off several times, closer to him. Was that Rachel? He swam toward where Rachel would likely be. He hoped she was all right. The murky lake hindered his ability to see much.

  As he made his way to Rachel, every muscle tensed with the expectation of being hit any second. His lungs burned from lack of oxygen. He couldn’t stay down underwater too much longer, but he had no idea where the shooter was or if he was still there. Rachel had called for backup before the truck hit them. When would they be here? They were ten minutes from town.

  He could no longer hold his breath. He surfaced about ten yards from where they’d gone into the lake. He scanned the shoreline as the sound of sirens echoed through his water-clogged ears. No white truck was in sight, but a red car parked on the shoulder of the road while another pulled up behind it.

  Seconds later, Rachel popped up about five feet away. “You didn’t get hit, did you?”

  “No.”

  “The shooter was dressed in black with a ski mask on. I shot at him and ducked down real fast. I think I hit him, but I’m not sure.”

  In the distance, a police vehicle with flashing red lights barreled down the highway from town. “Let’s get to shore. The cavalry is arriving.”

  As he swam to the edge of the lake, another police cruiser joined the first one and another couple of cars had stopped on the shoulder. The two men first on the scene came down the incline and helped them from the lake.

  “Thank you. Did you see a white truck?” Rachel asked the guys, dressed in jeans, short-sleeved shirts and cowboy hats, who had stopped to help.

  The taller one said, “Yep, heading that way.” He pointed back the way they had come.

  “I saw a man in black at the edge of the road with a gun. His partner turned around and picked him up. The guy in black limped to the truck.”

  “Did you see what the driver looked like?” Dallas climbed up the incline as the first deputy sheriff’s car arrived.

  “The windows on the truck were too dark to see inside, even when he drove right past me as I was slowing down.”

  Dallas glanced at his watch. It seemed like an eternity ago, but in actuality, it had been only six minutes since they’d gone off the highway. Bruised and battered, he hurried as fast as he could toward Deputy Jones while Rachel questioned both of the men who helped them out of the water.

  “A person in a medium-sized, white delivery truck fired on us and ran us off the road,” Dallas told Jones. “It’s heading back toward San Antonio. No more than five minutes ago. You and I are going after the two assailants. Rachel and the other deputy can deal with this scene.”

  Jones nodded. “I’ll notify Deputy Ellis. He’s right behind me. I was on this road when the call came in.”

  Dallas hopped into the front passenger seat of the deputy’s car as Jones called Ellis about what they were doing. As soon as Dallas shut the door, the deputy sped away from the scene.

  After Dallas recounted the events again, Jones called for more backup. “You two must be getting close. Someone is getting very nervous.”

  “That’s what I’ve been thinking.” It had to do with the Chesterfield Shopping Center.

  Dallas’s gaze swept the expanse in front of the windshield. He didn’t want to be surprised again. He’d seen the white truck earlier pull onto the highway from a country road. Its appearance hadn’t been anything unusual, nor had its gradual progress to close the gap between it and his SUV.

  He sat forward when he glimpsed something white in a copse of trees on the side of the highway. “Slow down.” He pointed left. “That might be it. It’s not too far from where the truck started following us.” Closer to the grove, he tensed. “That’s it.”

  Deputy Jones pulled over and parked on the shoulder, the group of trees only yards away from them. “I doubt they’re in the truck.”

  “Me, too. But let’s hope there are clues to who was driving it.” Dallas climbed out of the cruiser, drew his gun and crept forward. The assailants might not be in the vehicle, but they could be hiding in the trees.

  As Dallas reached the truck, his heartbeat thumped even faster against his chest. “I’ll take the driver’s side.”

  Deputy Jones moved toward the right. “The door is open over here.”

  As Dallas approached the white vehicle, he put on evidence collection gloves, then grasped the handle.

  “There’s blood over here,” Jones called out.

  Dallas opened the door and hoisted himself onto the running board. There was blood pooled on the passenger’s side floor pad. Rachel’s shot had, indeed, hit one of the attackers “I’m calling this in, then we need to follow the blood trail. Check the back of the truck.”

  Dallas took a few photos of the inside of the truck, then called Rachel, hoping her cell phone was waterproof like his.

  “Are you all right, Dallas?”

  “Yes. I’m calling with good news. I found the truck and one of the assailants is definitely injured. We’re in a grove of trees on the left side of the road ten miles away. I need this truck gone over thoroughly. We’re following the blood trail.”

  “I’ll have Deputy Owens come out to the truck. I’m still interviewing the people who stopped and processing this area. Stay safe.”

  Her last words warmed him as he ended the call. He felt as though they’d worked together for longer than just two days. He hopped down from the running board and headed to the rear of the truck.

  Deputy Jones finished his preliminary search of the back. “There’s nothing here.”

  “Deputy Owens is coming to secure this site. I’m going to follow their escape path. When he shows up, come join me.”

  Dallas found the red splotches on the ground and tracked them, scanning the terrain around as he traced their escape. Deeper into the grove of trees the undergrowth thickened. The wounded guy had lost a lot of blood. He definitely needed medical attention. This might be the break in the case they needed.

  Another hundred yards away Dallas sighted a black lump on the ground up ahead. Gun in hand, he rushed forward. When he reached the downed man, he felt for a pulse. Nothing. He rolled him over, face up. Rachel’s shot hadn’t killed him. A slit to the throat had.

  * * *

  In her office at the sheriff’s station, Rachel reviewed the limited evidence surrounding the attempt to kill her yesterday and what little they had discovered this morning on the highway at the lake. Once they identified the dead man in the grove of trees, she hoped more information would be revealed about the shooter. He had no ID on him. Dallas was running his prints right now. They needed a break.

  If she hadn’t ached before, she did now. Two wrecks in two days. Her body was protesting the abuse with stiffness throughout her body and many of her muscles hurt. Pain radiated down her neck and through her shoulders.

  She leaned forward and, with her elbows resting on her desk, cradled her pounding head in her cupped hands. She and Dallas still needed to go see Lenora and the rest of the employees who had been working Friday at the shopping center. Michelle was redoing her two drawings since the old ones had been ruined when the SUV went into the lake. Dallas had snapped photos of the illustrations on his waterproof
cell phone, though, so they could show Lenora those.

  Her deputies had interviewed the people who had attended the committee meeting with Lenora and nothing panned out. She hadn’t thought it would, but the people who knew that Lenora would be at that meeting needed to be addressed, as did Mary Jane Martin, who hadn’t shown up at Lenora’s house with the papers.

  When a light rap on the door sounded, she raised her head as Dallas came into her office. “Did you get a match on the prints?”

  “Nothing so far.”

  Her shoulders sagged. She shoved her chair back and stood. “Let’s go see Lenora, then get the new drawings from Michelle. I want to spread them far and wide.”

  “Rob brought me Michelle’s sketches so we won’t have to go pick them up.”

  “Oh, good. Although I’d love to see Katie, this will give us more time to investigate.”

  “I’ve put a rush on the shooter’s autopsy. His partner must have killed him rather than leave him behind alive. He was a big guy. From the footprints found at the scene, the other person was supporting him the further away from the ditched vehicle they went. I guess he got tired of carrying the guy.”

  “Every man for himself. Doesn’t surprise me. We’ll need to see if any of the footprints from the tree grove match the ones from the dirt road we have already.” Rachel set her cowboy hat on her head and left her office.

  “From the other footprint, it was most likely a man—certainly not the woman at my sister’s house unless her feet have grown four sizes.”

  “I’ll have Deputy Jones check to see if the male footprint from the dirt road matches either of the ones from the recent crime scene.”

  “I think the dead guy was the female’s partner. The footprint in the grove was a boot like the one I saw on the dirt road.”

  “So, our lady kidnapper is still out there. If we find her, we could find Brady.” The idea they might be close to solving the case lifted her spirits and helped her to ignore the body aches. “Good thing my sheriff’s vehicle was here at the station. Let’s try not to trash this car, too.”