Rachel glanced back at Deputy Jones. “I’d like you to interview the cowhand in the bunkhouse right now and come back tomorrow to talk with the other ones about Johnson.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
After Stallings unlocked a door into a room with a bed, an armoire, a table and chair and a TV on a stand, he stepped back. “I’ll be on the front porch if you have any more questions.”
Dallas swept his arm wide as he said, “Where do you want to start?”
“I’ll take the armoire. It’s probably where he hung his clothes since there’s no closet.” Rachel donned her gloves.
While he searched first the bed and under the mattress, then the drawer in the table, he kept glancing at Rachel. The bruises on her face from this guy they were investigating were changing to bluish purple. He wished he could have caught this guy alive, not only for information on Brady’s whereabouts but because of what he’d done to Rachel.
She stooped in front of the bottom two drawers in the armoire and began going through his clothing. “I found something.”
* * *
When Rachel pulled up to her parents’ house, half the night had passed, but it had been a profitable one. She opened the driver’s door and reached to take in the piece of evidence she’d found in Johnson’s room: a photo of a woman who looked just like Michelle’s drawing—the one with dark hair.
Dallas parked behind her and climbed out of her dad’s truck. They met on the walk that led to the front porch. She slanted a look at him, seeing the exhaustion in his face. It mirrored how she felt.
As they walked, she grasped his hand. “I’m not mad at you anymore. I’m too happy at the leads we’ve gotten today. I feel we’re getting close to breaking this case wide open.” On the porch, she paused and stared at the photo she had of the female kidnapper standing in front of the Lone Star Tavern. “First thing in the morning, we’ll pay Lynn Davis a visit. She’ll be at Baby and Things tomorrow working. She has a connection through her second job to the kidnapper. This may be where she saw her.”
“And didn’t mention where she remembered seeing the woman there, most likely.”
“Lynn could be hiding something. There’s a possibility she’s caught up in the ring.”
Dallas brought their still-clasped hands up between them as he turned toward her. “I’m sorry. I should have waited for you to go to the Fowler Ranch.”
She grinned. “You won’t get an argument about that with me.”
“Did you put out we’re looking for the compact car?”
“Yes, statewide. Hopefully it’ll be found with the female kidnapper driving with the man who killed Johnson. But I don’t think those three are the only ones involved in this ring, especially if we can connect them to the other abductions in Texas.”
“We know that Johnson came from El Paso, where one of the kidnapping clusters was. That’s one connection.” Dallas’s eyes softened as he studied her.
Her heartbeat sped. Even as tired as she was, she would welcome a kiss. He lifted his free hand and cradled her face. The warmth of his palm against her cheek sent a thrill through her. Her eyes slowly closed. Anticipation of what would come flooded her system.
The sudden sound of a lock turning then the front door opening broke them apart. She stepped back.
“Well, it’s about time you two got home. I hope you were successful in getting more information about the case.” Her dad grinned as his attention shifted between them. He stood to the side as Rachel and Dallas walked into the house.
“We’re making progress. Tomorrow will be another long day.” Rachel kissed her dad’s cheek. “I’m heading to bed. Make sure I’m up by seven.”
“Okay. The same with you, Dallas? Just so you know, Rob and I are standing guard tonight. If you’re going to think tomorrow, you need rest.”
“Thanks, Bill.” Dallas followed Rachel up the stairs, catching her in the hallway. “I’m glad we aren’t going to sleep angry. Thanks for understanding my moment of insanity.”
“Put that way, how could I not forgive you?”
He chuckled. “Good night. On second thought, I want to be at Lynn Davis’s at nine tomorrow morning before going to Baby and Things before it opens. I’ll have a few Texas Rangers help with the store search.”
Rachel entered her bedroom and collapsed, so tired she didn’t bother to undress. The last thing she remembered before sleep descended was the look on Dallas’s face right before her father had interrupted them. She’d never seen that kind of caring in her late husband’s eyes.
Did Dallas really care about her that much?
* * *
Driving his vehicle, Dallas pulled up to Lynn Davis’s apartment in San Antonio. “There’s a chance that Lynn didn’t see the female kidnapper at the tavern but somewhere else.”
“Or she’s a good actress and knows who the woman is—may even be friends with her. Her car is here. That’s good news.” Rachel took a sip of the coffee she’d brought from home. “Five hours of sleep isn’t enough for me.”
“Me, either, but we’ll have time to sleep after we find Brady and Chris Rand. For one thing, I’ll feel a lot better when no one is after Michelle.”
“You think she’s still in danger even after her drawing has gone statewide?”
“Yes, because she can ID the woman in court when we find her.” Dallas and Rachel exited his new SUV. “Taylor has informed the San Antonio police about the case.”
“It’ll be nice to meet him today. He’s done a lot of background work on this case for us.”
“Yeah, we’ve worked together for several years.” Dallas took the stairs to the second floor.
Down the hall from Lynn’s apartment, an older man passed them in the corridor. Dallas knocked on Lynn’s door. After a moment, he pounded louder. Again after a minute, he knocked a third time, then tried the knob. The door opened.
He glanced at Rachel. “I don’t have a good feeling about this.” After drawing his gun, he eased into the apartment with Rachel doing the same.
Dallas stepped into the kitchen right after the living room while Rachel kept an eye on the short hallway to the right. When he didn’t find anyone, he motioned to Rachel to head toward the rest of the apartment while he covered her back. She stiffened in the entrance to the only room except the bathroom across from it.
Rachel, still staring inside, said, “Lynn is dead.”
TEN
All color washed from Steve Tucker’s face when Dallas knocked on the front door at Baby and Things with Rachel and the San Antonio police while Texas Ranger Taylor Blackburn planted himself at the back exit in case Tucker made a run for it. His store was caught up in this case. The question was how much did he know about what was going on?
Tucker crossed the main floor and unlocked the door. “I thought you got everything you needed last night. I don’t know anything about what’s going on. Believe me, I would tell you whatever I knew if I did. This is going to ruin my business.”
Dallas entered the shop first, with Rachel checking the parking lot one last time before she came inside, too. When they had parked near where the compact car had been last night, Dallas had found a pool of oil where Johnson’s vehicle had been. He’d taken a sample of the residue on the pavement to see if it was the same as was on the dirt road behind Lenora’s house.
“I’ll let Taylor and the other two Rangers in the back,” Rachel said and headed that way.
Dallas handed Tucker the warrant. “We’ll be searching the whole place. If you cooperate, this will go much faster and you might be able to open later today.”
The store owner’s mouth dropped. “What am I supposed to tell customers?”
“I would suggest nothing. Keep your closed sign up.”
“I have to tell them something.”
“Then tell them you were robbed and the police
are here to investigate the crime scene.”
Tucker opened and closed his mouth several times, but no words came out. “I’ve been cooperating. I haven’t done anything wrong,” he finally said in a gruff whisper.
“And I appreciate your help so far, but something is going on here. We have a tape of a man breaking into your store about a half an hour before we arrived last night. The man is tied to the kidnapping ring and one step ahead of us.”
Tucker sucked in a deep breath and held it for half a minute. While he released the air, he lowered his head, squeezing the muscles of his nape. “I didn’t realize anyone was taking my tapes and replacing them or erasing them. How could I? Nothing was taken from here.”
“We’ll try to be in and out as soon as possible. In the meantime, stay out of our way so we can do our jobs.”
“What about my employees coming in?”
“Sheriff Young will be interviewing them again. And speaking of your employees, Sheriff Young and I visited Lynn Davis’s apartment this morning and found her—” Dallas cleared his throat “—dead.” At this time, he didn’t want to go into details, but he wanted to see the man’s reaction. “She was murdered.”
Shock deepened the lines in Tucker’s face. “Who? Why?”
“We don’t know. Was she supposed to work today?”
“No, only Friday and Saturday this week. Can I tell the others when they show up for work?”
“Yes. When will they be here?”
“In the next fifteen minutes.”
Dallas made his way to Rachel and told her when the staff would be there. “Interview each one in the storage room. Taylor and the others will check it out first, then comb through the office.”
“What are y’all looking for?” Rachel asked.
“Anything unusual. Either someone is watching this store during working hours, an employee is feeding the kidnappers information about people who come in here or they have cameras for them to view the customers at a distance.”
“But if they come in every night and take the tape, they could see it on the footage, so why do anything else?”
“True, but how do they know who the person is unless they have an inside person or a way to record a visual and audio account of what’s going on in the store?”
“How about Lynn Davis? Maybe like Johnson, whoever is behind this ring is getting rid of loose ends. But she only worked here part-time. There could be another employee involved.”
“That’s possible. They seem to know when we’re closing in on a person and have gotten rid of them.”
Rachel frowned. “Watching us?”
“Probably. They were waiting for us on the road from San Antonio.” If they were following them, they were doing a good job. He could usually tell when there was a tail on him.
“It’s more than watching us. It’s like they know where we’re going before we arrive someplace. Lynn was killed only a couple of hours before we got there.”
“There could be a leak.”
Rachel closed her eyes for a few seconds. “Someone at the station or your office?”
“I don’t want to think that, but we may need to consider it. Up until today Taylor was the only Texas Ranger working on the case besides me who might know what we were planning. I’ve known him for years and can’t believe he would.”
Rachel pressed her lips together and looked away. “I can’t say that about my deputies. There are a couple who are new to the force this year.”
Dallas scanned the store, noting another employee had shown up for work. “Let’s discuss it when we’re alone. Maybe we’ll find something in here that will help us.”
Rachel nodded, then walked over to the San Antonio police officer who had Jan and Betty with him. Dallas followed her departure, admiring how well she was holding up under the intense circumstances.
For the next hour, Dallas searched the front right side of the store, checking for anything that possibly could be a hidden camera with a mic. Lynn could have told the kidnapping ring about Friday and Saturday customers, but Mrs. Rand had come in on Monday when Lynn wasn’t working. So if there was an informant, she would have worked Monday and Friday. There was something else to consider. Lynn was killed because she knew who the female kidnapper was. Did Lynn try to blackmail her or somehow alert the woman she knew she was involved rather than tell the police?
Dallas moved the stepladder he was using to the next section of the shelving and began inspecting every item and possible place to put a small surveillance camera. He especially looked for the kind of hidden camera devices on the market. Then he spotted a smoke alarm that had a pinhole on the side—which was different from the others in the store. He used the stepladder to check it out and removed it from the wall. Upon inspection, he discovered it wasn’t a working smoke alarm but a surveillance camera. It was recording what was taking place in the shop from a good vantage point.
By the time he was done, Dallas had found a couple of other cameras, disguised as a digital clock and a picture frame with a baby photo in it. Now they needed to find out where the signal was going. Who was watching Baby and Things?
Taylor Blackburn, one of the computer experts for the Texas Rangers, joined Dallas. “We’re finished in the office and the space in the back. Nothing. The sheriff is wrapping up her interviews. I see you’ve found some cameras.”
“Three. Their placement took in the whole main floor of the store. I’ve taken latent prints from the devices and sent them to our office. Now you get to do what you’re good at. Find where the Wi-Fi signals are going while I have another talk with the store owner.”
“I don’t know who’s going to have more fun. You grilling the man or me tracing where the signal is going.”
Dallas laughed. “To each their own.” He walked toward the rear to find Steve Tucker. How did the cameras end up in this place without his knowing? Or had he put them there?
Dallas stood in the entrance to the storage room as Rachel was writing something on a pad. Then she looked up. She rose, spoke to the SAPD officer, then approached Dallas.
“I’m finished. How about you? Any success?”
He smiled. “Three hidden cameras. Where’s Tucker?”
“Taylor said he was through with the office. Tucker hightailed it out of here, so I would say he was in there.”
“Let’s talk to him. Did you get anything from the employees?”
“Nothing new.”
“How did they take the news about Lynn Davis’s death?”
“Surprised and shocked. If one of them was faking, then she’s very good at acting.”
Dallas gestured for Rachel to go into the store owner’s office first, and after he did, he shut the door.
Tucker sat at his desk, talking on the phone. “We’ll be open later today. I’m sorry for the inconvenience. I’ll offer a twenty percent discount on anything you buy this afternoon.” He twisted around in his chair, spied them and said, “See you later,” then hung up.
Dallas approached Tucker. “How did these items end up in your store?” He showed the owner the photos he‘d taken of the smoke detector, framed picture and digital clock.
Tucker studied each photo on Dallas’s cell phone, then shook his head. “I have several smoke detectors throughout the store. The other two, I don’t know. I see the clock is on the checkout counter. I thought Jan put it there to keep tabs on the time. I haven’t seen the frame. I can’t tell where you found it.”
“It was on the shelf on the other side of the store from the checkout counter. Each item is really a hidden surveillance camera.”
“I didn’t put them there!” Tucker’s voice rose. “And I resent your implying I did.”
“I just want to know how they ended up in here. If you didn’t, who did?”
The owner rose and faced Dallas. “It has to have been recently. I’ve
been in my office a lot this past month. I’m working on opening another store on the other side of San Antonio as well as one in Houston. Do you think I would be involved with a baby smuggling ring if I was planning to expand? It could ruin my business.”
“Who are you working with about expanding your business?”
“My lawyer, Richard Snapp. Talk to him. He’ll tell you. In fact, when I’ve been away from the store this past month, it’s been to see him.”
“I’ll do that.”
Tucker scribbled the lawyer’s phone number and address on a piece of paper and handed it to Dallas.
“We’re wrapping things up, but Texas Ranger Blackburn may have to stay awhile longer.” Dallas told him. “You should be able to reopen by one.”
Tucker glared at him. “If my business that I’ve been growing for the past fifteen years hasn’t fallen apart.”
Dallas stepped out of Tucker’s office. Then, in the hall, Rachel said, “Let’s talk with the employees about the three photos of the hidden cameras. Other than that, I’m finished.”
“I’ll come with you, then we’ll pay his lawyer a visit.”
While Rachel showed each female employee the photos of the hidden cameras, Dallas assessed their reactions. When they said that they thought Mr. Tucker put them there, it seemed genuine, but Dallas had been lied to many times—and some he’d only discovered with further investigation. The problem was they didn’t have that kind of time.
Children’s lives were at stake.
* * *
Rachel entered Richard Snapp’s office with Dallas behind her. She shook hands with Mr. Tucker’s lawyer. “I’m glad you could make time for us, Mr. Snapp.”
“Anything to help the police. Steve called me very upset about what’s going on with his business. I’ve advised him to cooperate with you in any way. How can I help you?” He gestured toward a sitting area near a large window with a clear view of Hemisphere Tower, which dominated the cityscape of San Antonio.
While Dallas asked the lawyer a few questions about his business relationship with Steve Tucker, Rachel scanned the large office. The walls were laden with pictures of Richard Snapp at various places and with many well-known people, like the governor of Texas, a US senator and a former mayor of San Antonio. The lawyer must be well connected and involved in the community.
Texas Baby Pursuit Page 13