“As you said, she’s fourteen, Wyatt. It won’t be as easy to dictate to her as it was when she was little.”
“Mom, what are you saying?”
“Don’t go charging in, telling her what she can and can’t do. At least pretend to be listening to her first.”
Like his mother had listened to him when she’d gone off on one of her escapades. “Sure. I’ll listen.” He pivoted to leave.
“I know I wasn’t the most ideal mother to you, but you’ve given me a second chance with Maddie.”
His movement halted mid-stride. Throwing a look over his shoulder, he studied his mom, a shadow of regret in her eyes. He loved his mom, but they were very different people. “What’s this about second chances?”
“When I married Howard, I left you with Grams that summer and went on a two-month honeymoon. I was too caught up in the moment to see I should have spent time with you, preparing you for the change. You were only eleven. I should have given you a chance to tell me how you felt about me marrying another man after your father died. I know you didn’t think your dad could do anything wrong, but I . . .” Her voice faded into silence. She took up her mug and sipped at her tea, staring at a place in the middle of the table. “I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I did.”
Same mistakes? What was his mother talking about? “I’m not getting married and going on a two-month honeymoon around the world. Good night, Mom.” He hurried from the kitchen before she started crying. He never could handle that well.
On the way to his bedroom, he passed Maddie’s, the light from the hallway shining across her bed where all her stuffed animals sat. He paused in the doorway and flipped on the overhead light. Maddie had never been neat. She rarely kept her room tidy, but lately it had gotten worse. Tonight was no different.
Half of her stuffed animals, all with names, lay scattered on the floor around his daughter’s bed, unmade with the coverlet spilling onto the carpet. Clothes littered every surface in her room, flowing out of her open drawers. Shaking his head, he switched off the light and closed the door.
And now, he had to deal with Maddie wanting a tattoo.
The next morning the smell of a freshly mowed field teased Wyatt’s nostrils as he sat on Sergeant Pepper at the fence line to his neighbor’s property. Bob must have cut the grass early. He couldn’t blame Bob. It was going to be another scorcher with highs in the low hundreds. Which meant he needed to cut his ride short and head to the spot where Lillian’s body was discovered. The search for other bodies would take place early before it got too hot to work for long outside.
The sound of hoof beats invaded the quiet morning. He twisted around and saw his daughter galloping toward him on a strange horse. She came to a halt alongside him.
“I forgot today’s Friday. I borrowed one of Kelly’s horses. I figured you’d be here.”
He wasn’t sure if he should be pleased she was here or leery. What was behind this unexpected arrival? He didn’t want to have the conversation about getting a tattoo right now, even a henna one. If he could, he’d postpone it forever. “How did you do last night?”
“I got first place in barrel racing and second in roping.”
“That’s great. Did Nana take a video of your performances?” His mother had been gone this morning, and he hadn’t had a chance to check with her.
Nodding, Maddie shifted in the saddle, chewing on her bottom lip. “Did Nana talk with you last night?”
So much for postponing it forever. “Yeah, we talked some when I got home.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“Dad! She was gonna talk to you about me getting a tattoo.”
He opened his mouth to say no way when Maddie launched into an obviously rehearsed speech, “There are a bunch of us girls who are gonna get a small dolphin on our back. It won’t be visible most of the time. Please, Dad. Everyone is getting one.”
“Are they? If the tattoo isn’t going to be visible most of the time, then why have one?”
Her eyes grew large and round. “You don’t mind me getting one that everyone can see? I thought you might, so I figured if I did it on my back it would only be seen when I wear my bathing suit. One on my ankle would be even better.” She started to lean forward and throw her arms around his neck.
He held up his hand. “I didn’t say you could get a big or small one anywhere on your body.”
“I can’t.” She settled back in the saddle, a pout descending. “I thought . . . Why can’t I get one? Everyone is.”
“That’s fine if everyone else does. Just not you.”
“Why can’t I? What’s wrong with it?”
“I’m a Texas Ranger. It’s against the law in Texas. What did you think I would say?”
“But I’m getting a henna tattoo. That’s okay. It only stays on about three or four weeks. That way I could change where and what I want to have.”
A picture of a man’s tattoo—a snake entwined around a dagger—filled him with rage. He’d never forget seeing it when the man lifted his gun and shot Rebecca. “You just can’t and that’s the last we’re going to talk about it. I was heading back in. I have to meet someone in an hour.” He turned his gelding around to head back to the barn.
“I don’t understand. It isn’t like a permanent one. So what’s the harm?”
“I’ve given you my answer, and I don’t care to have a debate about it.” The image of the dagger and snake still burned in his mind as he nudged his horse forward.
Staying still, his daughter pressed her lips together so tightly they were a thin line.
He looked back. “Are you coming? Nana should be back from town and have breakfast ready.”
Maddie’s face scrunched up in a frown. “I’ll pass. I’m riding back to Kelly’s.” She urged her mare into a gallop and charged across the pasture in the direction of her best friend’s house.
If this was any indication of how his day was going to be, he might as well go back to sleep and wake up tomorrow. As he directed Sergeant Pepper toward the barn, he contemplated that thought until a few yards from the corral when his cell blared out his theme song.
“Sheridan here.”
“I got the autopsy back,” Daniel said, his breathing hard.
“What are you doing?”
“My morning jog before it gets blazing hot.”
“What does it say?”
“I’m having it emailed to me. I’ll see you in an hour and let you read it for yourself. But she didn’t die from an overdose. She drowned.”
“Drowned? Not an overdose?”
“Yes. She had drugs in her system, but they weren’t what killed her. I don’t know more than that until I get the report. See you soon.”
After hanging up, Wyatt dismounted and proceeded to take care of his gelding. Automatic movements he’d done dozens of times. But that fact didn’t seem to stop him from staring off into space. All this talk about tattoos brought the one memory he never wanted to remember to the foreground.
His wife’s murder—one he should have been able to prevent. She wouldn’t be dead if he hadn’t hesitated that day at the lake.
When would he forgive himself?
Never.
Kate resisted the urge to slam down the phone after another unsuccessful attempt to get funding for the program. She was beginning to suspect her mother had made a few calls and put the word out that this wasn’t a project people wanted to sponsor. She might not be able to get anything local so that meant she would have to search nationally for a source of money for Beacon of Hope.
There was a knock at her apartment door. She pushed herself off the couch, hurried toward the entrance and let Wyatt in. “I can’t believe it’s three already.”
“I’m a little early.”
“Come in. I just got back from the hospital, made a few calls, and was heading down to my office.” She’d decided to talk to possible sponsors in her apartment rather than downstairs where she could be overheard.
“Are you finished with your calls?”
“Sadly, yes.” The words slipped out before she realized the implication of them.
“Sadly?”
As much as she wished she could brush off his question, she couldn’t. There was something about his kind expression, the way he’d helped her last night that prompted her to say, “My mother pulled the funding for the program.”
“Your mother funds this operation?”
“Well, Winslow Foundation does, but she runs it.”
“Why did she do that?”
Kate gestured toward the couch while she took a chair across from the coffee table. “Because she heard about Cynthia’s suicide attempt. Actually, she’d been looking for an excuse to pull the money. She only gave me the funding in the first place because she thought it would fail and I would finally get the notion of helping these kids out of my mind and get back to being what a Winslow is.”
He arched a brow. “What is that?”
“A Winslow contributes to charities, but they never get down in the trenches and work with the people.”
“So you’ve been making calls to try and get funding?”
“Yes, and not very successfully. At best, I need money to tide me over until I can find a more permanent source. But I can’t even find that. It requires a lot of money to run Beacon of Hope. I do get some other funding, but not enough to keep the doors open. I still need to house the girls and feed them.”
“And I thought I had a tough day.”
“The case?”
“Partially, but mostly my daughter.”
“Ah, she wasn’t too happy you didn’t come to the rodeo.”
“Actually she didn’t say anything about that. She informed me she wants a tattoo. She’s only fourteen.”
“I gather you disapprove of a tattoo, and she wasn’t happy with that.” She could imagine asking her mother if she could get a tattoo. She probably would have been disowned. Winslows didn’t do that either.
“To put it mildly. And the law thankfully is on my side. She’s too young even for a henna tattoo, but that doesn’t stop her from wanting one. I’ve heard of some people having an allergic reaction to the dye. Eighteen is soon enough for her to make that decision—semipermanent or permanent.”
“So you’re going to turn over the parental role when she turns eighteen?” If only her mother would let her make her own decisions without trying to interfere in everything.
“Not totally. I don’t think most parents can. I can’t turn my back on her just because she turns eighteen and she’s considered an adult.”
His statement clearly came out of love, whereas she didn’t think her mother was capable of loving that way. Controlling, yes. “What went wrong concerning the case?”
“Nothing per se. The good thing is that the cadaver dog didn’t find another body in the field where Lillian was found.”
“So Rose could still be alive. That’s wonderful news. We have a chance to find her.” The hope she’d been desperate to keep hold of grew.
“I wish I was as optimistic as you are. We didn’t find her there. But she could have been killed and dumped somewhere else. Tomorrow they’ll search the lake to see if they can find anything there. We think that was the original destination for getting rid of Lillian.”
She sagged back against the chair. “Then what went wrong today with the case? I figure no news means Rose might still be alive.”
“Nothing turned up at the parks. People aren’t talking, at least not to me. Also, we got the autopsy back on Lillian. She died by drowning, possibly in a bathtub. There were a lot of drugs in her body, but an overdose isn’t the cause of her death. There was no indication she was held under. She wasn’t hit over the head and dumped into water either.”
“So it wasn’t murder?”
“I didn’t say that. I think she was given just enough drugs for her to pass out and then placed in water, which is murder in my book. Besides, someone dumped her and tried to bury her so she wouldn’t be found.”
“What a life these girls get to look forward to. If they only knew what was really in store for them. Next week I’m speaking at a year-round middle school. I try to do that at least several times a month to various groups. I hope one day there’s no need for my type of organization.”
“If you haven’t already, I’d like you to talk to Bluebonnet Creek Middle School where Maddie goes. I’m sure I can get the principal to agree to you talking with the kids.”
“That’s one I haven’t done. Set it up, and I’ll be there.”
He grinned. “That’s the best news I’ve heard today.”
“And the fact Cynthia is doing better. She’ll stay a few days, and I’ve got Jan Barton coming here to work with her. In fact, she has agreed to do more with the other students. I’m excited she’s volunteering some of her time. Just as my mother pulls the funding, I’m starting to get more and more top-notch professionals to volunteer their time to help Beacon of Hope.”
“Speaking of the other students, I’d like to talk with them, starting with any who are local or from Texas. They might not know anything about Rose, but if I can get a better picture of what’s happening from their side, it will help me while working on the task force.”
“I have one girl who has graduated and is working at a department store while going to junior college. She was my first success and she is from Dallas. She may know something, and I know she would want to help. Sometimes she goes with me to talk with the kids. Her name is Grace Johnson. I hope once she gets her teaching certificate that she’ll come back here to work.”
“I’d like to talk to her.” Wyatt rose and started for the door.
“Let’s get you connected with some of the girls. I have seven from Texas. Two of them from the Dallas area besides Rose.”
“Good. Oh, I forgot to mention we do have another lead. A rancher who lives next to where Lillian was found saw a white Chevy parked off the side of the road near where the van went off the highway. He didn’t see anyone in the car. He thought someone had car trouble and didn’t think anything about it. He remembers seeing the license plate as he passed it. It was a Texas one with the letters H-O-T. He laughed because that’s the way he felt already at four in the morning. It wasn’t there when we arrived a few hours later, and any tire treads were obscured by arriving police.”
“Then it could be connected.” Kate opened her apartment door and went into the corridor.
“I’m hoping. There haven’t been any white Chevys with that partial license number reported missing.” He fell into step next to her. “Who else lives up here? Any of the girls?”
“No. Two staff members and me. Susan, the nurse you met, and Harriet, one of my teachers.”
“So, if something happens to Beacon of Hope, you’ll need to find a new place to live?”
“That’ll be the least of my worries.” She pictured herself with her suitcases standing on her parents’ front porch begging to come in and stay. That would never happen, but the thought sent a chill down her spine. She and her mother didn’t look at life the same. She’d hoped that once she’d grown up she would be able to connect with her mom, but it had never occurred.
“You can set up in one of the classrooms. I’ll bring in Beth first. She’s been here two years and will graduate at the end of this year. The other one from Dallas is Zarah. She hasn’t been here much longer than Rose was.” She stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “I just remembered something. When Rose came here, I thought that she and Zarah knew each other. But they kept their distance and other than that first meeting, I never got that impression again.”
When Kate left Wyatt in the classroom, she went in search of Beth and found her in the rec room playing a video game with another girl. “Are you sure you’re all right with talking to Ranger Sheridan?”
“If it’ll help Rose, yeah.” Beth chomped down on a big wad of bubble gum.
“There’s nothing to be worried about.” Kate
paused at the door into the classroom.
“I’m not worr—” The seventeen-year-old peered at Kate and laughed. “Okay, maybe a little.”
Beth always smacked gum when she was concerned about something. “I know how leery you are of police officers. Ranger Sheridan is different.”
“I lived with my mother for almost fourteen years, and she didn’t know me as well as you do.”
“I figure if you talk to him, the others are more likely to. He wants to help with this whole situation, not just Rose’s.”
“I’ll do my best if it’ll stop someone going through what I did.”
Kate opened the door. Wyatt rose from his chair and reached out with his hand to shake Beth’s. By the time Kate left the classroom, her student sat relaxed across from Wyatt and even took the gum out of her mouth.
When Zarah, his last girl to interview, came into the classroom, Wyatt smiled and said, “Thanks for agreeing to talk with me.”
The fifteen-year-old girl mumbled something and sat across from him.
He stared at the top of her head. “As you know, we’re looking into Rose’s disappearance. Did she ever say anything to you about seeing someone she knew at Oiler Park?”
Zarah didn’t say or do anything for a moment. From what little he saw, her expression was blank. Then she slowly shook her head.
“How did you come to be here?”
The girl finally lifted her head. “The police raided a joint and took me in.” The slight upward tilt of her chin and the folded arms across her chest spoke of a person who didn’t want to be talking to him. “It was either come here to live or go into the foster care system.”
“Where are your parents?”
“I don’t know where my mom is. She left my pa years ago.”
“Where’s your pa then?”
Zarah shrugged. “I ain’t seen him either in years. He left me and my sister not long after my ma did.”
“Did Rose ever mention a girl named Lily?”
Zarah blinked and slid her gaze away for a few seconds before reestablishing eye contact. “Nope.”
Saving Hope: Men of the Texas Rangers Book 1 Page 8