Texas Sheriff's Deadly Mission

by Karen Whiddon

  Moving away from the others, he walked around the very edge of the tape. Someone had found what appeared to have been a shallow grave. He couldn’t tell if wild animals had unearthed the bones or if the elements might have played a part. Right now, that wasn’t his concern. He wanted to see if there were any personal belongings like jewelry that might be an identifier.

  Disappointed, he realized if there was, right now the dirt and earth obscured it.

  “What are you doing?” Rayna muttered. “What part of ‘Don’t disturb the crime scene’ did you not understand?”

  “I’m being careful,” he replied. Still, now that his curiosity had been satisfied, he moved deliberately back, away from the crime scene tape and the others.

  Rayna went with him. “It’s going to be nothing but waiting,” she said. “We can’t do anything until the Taylor County ME gets here. And since that’s a bit of a drive...”

  They could be waiting hours. He winced.

  “Do you want me to have one of my people run you back into town?” she asked. “There’s no reason you should stay. There won’t be any immediate determination of anything, I promise you.” She glanced back at the others. “I have to stay here. It’s my job.”

  Briefly, he considered. “Thank you, but I’d rather stay. If that is Nicole, I can’t abandon her now that she’s been found.”

  Eyeing him, she opened her mouth and then closed it. Her expression finally softened. “Understood. But, since we don’t normally allow civilians at crime scenes, I’m really going to have to insist you stay out of the way. Understood?”

  “Got it. Just so you know, I was only trying to see if there was a necklace. Nicole always wore one with a state of Texas charm and a heart. She never took it off.”

  “I didn’t see a necklace,” she said. “But I can’t brush the dirt away. I’ll tell the ME to keep an eye out, though.”

  “Thanks. I’d appreciate it.” And then he moved back, putting several feet between him and the crime scene tape.

  She watched him go and then turned back to rejoin her colleagues.

  Chapter 3

  Word traveled fast in a small town. All everyone talked about in the café the next morning was the body found in the field. By now, people had embellished and exaggerated, so half of what people asked Rayna bore absolutely no resemblance to the truth.

  “We don’t know yet,” she replied so many times that she asked for her coffee and breakfast sandwich to go. The general consensus seemed to be that the body was Nicole. She tended to agree with them, but of course she would have to wait like everyone else for the ME’s report.

  Just as the waitress handed over the brown paper bag, someone tugged on Rayna’s arm. She turned, swallowing her alarm when she saw Serenity Rune standing in front of her, an expectant look on her cherubic face.

  “They’re wrong, you know,” Serenity said, her soft voice pitched so low that Rayna had to strain to hear her. “Nicole Wilson is alive. I can feel it.”

  Rayna nodded her thanks. “Larry told me you’d said that. I can only hope that you’re right.”

  Driving to the sheriff’s office while eating her breakfast sandwich, Rayna thought about Serenity. Most people believed her harmless, an oddity who brought her own special brand of vibrance to the small town. Rayna had dealt with her more than a few times, always on unsolved cases. On those, Serenity had been right about three-quarters of the time, maybe more. Enough that Rayna listened whenever the older woman spoke. If Serenity said Nicole was alive, then Rayna could only hope she was once again correct.

  Which would mean the bones belonged to some other unlucky young woman or girl. The ME’s office had confirmed they definitely belonged to a female. Now they were all waiting for cause of death, the time and date of death and hopefully a positive identity. That was the hard part, the waiting. Because unlike on television, getting results back from an overworked medical examiner’s office took time.

  Luckily, Parker seemed to understand that, even though time apparently was the one thing his terminally ill friend didn’t have. She felt bad for him, having to wait around for answers. So much that she pulled every string, called in every favor she had to get the results back quicker.

  The phones never stopped ringing, not once, all day long. Poor Mary couldn’t keep up with the volume of calls so both her backups were called in to assist her.

  Rayna left strict instructions that they were to respond to all media inquiries with a stern and simple “No comment.” They could follow that up with the news that Rayna would do a press conference once she learned anything definitive, but that could take some time.

  In addition to the onslaught of phone calls, people started stopping by. With every ounce of her time occupied dealing with phone calls, Mary wasn’t able to fend off the numerous visitors. Most of them simply managed to make their way back to Rayna’s office, full of questions and concerns about the body.

  By the time the day was over, Rayna knew she’d be stopping by the Rattlesnake Pub for a drink before heading home. Of the two bars in town, she favored the Western atmosphere of the RP more than the ultramodern hipster decor of the newly opened place called the Bar. While she understood the owners, Mark and Shirley Prescott, trying to pull in some of the same trend seekers who traveled to Marfa to see the lights and stayed and opened art galleries, she wondered if they’d soon realize they weren’t in Marfa or Austin and realize what kind of clients they needed to cater to here in Getaway. Farmers and ranchers, cowboys and tradespeople, housewives and young parents: these were the kinds of hardworking people who lived in Getaway.

  Naturally the younger ones, the kids who came home from college for the summers, would love the place. Everyone else mostly went to RP.

  The bar was still half-empty when Rayna pulled into the lot. Good. After parking, she sent a quick text to Wanda to let her know she wouldn’t be home for dinner. Then, she began to make her way toward the entrance when she spotted the Harley. Shiny black and chrome, customized. Parker’s bike. Immediately, her heartbeat accelerated.

  Once inside, she stopped for a moment, blinking as she let her eyes adjust to the dim light. Several of the tables were occupied, as were a couple stools at the bar. She spotted Parker on one of the stools. The instant their gazes met, he waved her over.

  Despite the alarm bells going off inside her head, she went, taking the empty stool next to him.

  “Rough day?” he asked.

  “You might say that.” She signaled to Tony behind the bar that she’d like her usual, a tall glass of wheat beer with a slice of orange. “Everyone in town is speculating...” Aghast at herself for what she’d been about to say, she stopped.

  “I know. I’ve hung out downtown all day,” he said glumly. “I had lunch at the Tumbleweed Café. Evidently, enough people figured out who I am and why I’m in town. I ended up stuck at a table with about ten strangers, all of whom wanted to tell me their pet theories about what happened.”

  She grimaced. “That’s rough. I’m sorry. It was pretty much like that at the station today.”

  Her beer arrived, the tall glass sweating. She accepted it gratefully and took a long drink.

  “Are you going to eat?” he asked. “I’m starving and I’d love the company.”

  Considering, she nodded. “Sure.”

  “Do you want to eat here at the bar or get a booth?” he asked.

  “A booth,” she replied. “They have really good chicken wings and their burgers are good, too.”

  Two booths remained empty near the bar area, and they simply moved over to one of them. Parker waved to the server to make sure she understood they’d moved. With a wide grin, she brought them menus, barely even glancing at Rayna. Only when Parker looked away did she appear to realize she’d been standing there, entranced. She blushed, bit her bottom lip and rushed off toward the kitchen.

  Rayna
briefly considered teasing Parker, but decided she didn’t know him well enough and he hadn’t noticed his admirer anyway.

  They ordered cheeseburgers and fries, not the healthiest options, but Rayna was too hungry to care. She shared an easy camaraderie with Parker and thought that under different circumstances, they might have been friends. If she could get past her nearly overwhelming attraction to him. She could kind of sympathize with the waitress. She got exactly how the other woman felt, only she was better at hiding it.

  Mellowed a bit by the beer, her belly full, she allowed herself to relax and feel warm and fuzzy. Parker was good company, amusing and knowledgeable about a wide variety of subjects, so much so that she jokingly told him he ought to play the bar trivia game they ran every night at seven. Which was in ten minutes.

  “I like that idea,” he drawled. “How do you play?”

  “We have to go back to the bar,” she replied. “They have these connected electronic tablet things there.”

  “Let’s do it.” He signaled for the check. When she reached for her wallet, he waved her away. “This one’s on me. You can get it next time.”

  Next time. Blinking, she gave an internal shrug and allowed herself to bask in his magnetism.

  Once he’d settled up, they took their beers and wandered back over to the bar. The place had grown a little more crowded and there was only one empty stool. Parker told her to take it and he’d stand behind her. Heaven help her, but she liked the way she felt with his strong body pressed right up against her back.

  The trivia challenge started in five minutes. Parker ordered a second beer, asking her if she wanted one. Since she still had half a glass left, she declined. She couldn’t believe how excited the thought of watching him play trivia made her. She loved trivia, though she’d never been very good at it. She had a feeling Parker might be. Even better, the person at the barstool next to her got up, allowing Parker to have the seat.

  When the game started, she scooted in close. She and Parker sat shoulder to shoulder, which gave her a pleasant sort of thrill. She couldn’t resist glancing over at his muscular arms and wondering how they’d feel under her fingers.

  Parker won the first round handily, answering questions about bugs and birds and landmarks. “I’m seriously impressed,” she told him. “You’re really good.”

  “I have a wealth of useless knowledge,” he said, shrugging. “I enjoy learning new things, even if the only time that comes in handy is in a game of Trivial Pursuit.”

  The next three rounds seemed easy for him, too. As more and more players dropped out, Rayna glanced across the bar and spotted Scotty Randolph, Getaway’s only CPA. He continued to play, occasionally shooting a glowering glare at Parker. Which meant Scotty was Parker’s main competitor.

  Since Rayna had gone on a couple of dates with Scotty before realizing he was an insufferable know-it-all, she sincerely hoped Parker could beat him.

  By round six, Parker and Scotty were the only two still playing. A small crowd had gathered behind each man, and the bartender brought them both another beer on the house. Since Rayna had finished her beer and Parker still had most of the one he’d ordered earlier, he slid it over to her. She sipped occasionally on his instead of ordering another.

  In which country was Julie Christie born? Parker paused, studying the choices. “India,” he muttered, selecting that. Scotty chose England. And just like that, Parker became the Rattlesnake Pub’s new trivia champion. Tony flashed the lights above the bar and rang a huge dinner bell that had been installed there just for that purpose. “We have a new champ,” Tony announced. If Rayna remembered right, Scotty had held the title for a little over two years. She hoped he wouldn’t take the loss badly.

  The crowd went wild, whooping and yelling their congratulations. To cheers and applause, Parker accepted his prize—a gift certificate for a meal for two. Grinning, he thanked Tony and eyed Scotty across the bar.

  “Do you think he’s pissed?” he asked Rayna, low voiced. “He looks pretty mad.”

  “Give him a second,” she advised. “He’s got kind of a high-profile job in town, so I’m sure he won’t do anything to jeopardize that.”

  Parker tilted his head, apparently intrigued. “Oh, yeah? What exactly does he do?”

  “Everyone’s taxes and payroll. He’s a CPA.”

  “Ah.” Parker nodded. “I see.”

  “Hey, I didn’t say it was glamorous.” She laughed. “Just that everyone knows him.”

  Moving stiffly, Scotty finally got down from his bar stool and came over to shake Parker’s hand. Faintly relieved he hadn’t turned out to be a sore loser, Rayna nodded a brief hello. Instead of nodding back, Scotty pointedly ignored her.

  “You’re new in town,” he said, eyeing Parker quizzically. “Where’d you get so much trivial knowledge?” Shorthand for How does someone who looks like a biker know so much?

  Rayna laughed. Scotty ignored her. Somehow, Parker managed to keep a straight face. “I read a lot,” he replied, with a casual shrug. “How about you?”

  “Oh, I read of course. I also have numerous degrees from Tech. I loved learning so much that I just kept going back and getting degrees in something else.”

  Rayna braced herself. So help her, if Scotty asked Parker if he had any degrees, she might just have to intervene. In their small community, many of the hardworking ranchers and shop owners had only finished high school. Scotty had long lorded his prestigious education over them and wasn’t well liked for it.

  She glanced at Tony, who was too busy waiting on customers to intervene. If she got involved, she knew Scotty wouldn’t appreciate it and most likely, neither would Parker. She decided to sit back and simply observe.

  “What degrees do you have?” Scotty asked, his smug voice making her aware he thought he already knew the answer.

  “None,” Parker answered easily. “After high school, I enlisted in the Marines. I did two tours of duty in Afghanistan.”

  Just like that, Parker won again. There was nothing the citizens of a small Texas town respected more than someone who’d served their country.

  “Thank you for your service,” Scotty managed to say. He turned away and hightailed it back to the other side of the bar.

  Rayna and Parker looked at each other and burst into laughter. “This town is full of characters,” he mused. “Even more so than I remember when I came here as a kid.”

  “Did you stay with Sam?” she asked. “I imagine he was a wonderful uncle.”

  “Yes, and he was.” Regarding her curiously, he smiled. She felt the impact of that slow smile all the way down to her toes.

  Distracted, she glanced at her watch. “I’d better get going,” she said, not without regret. “My mother is watching my daughter, and I like to make it home before Lauren’s bedtime.”

  “I’ll walk you to your car.” He dropped a ten-dollar bill on the bar and took her arm.

  Part of her wanted to shake him off. The other part wanted to lean into his strong body, breathe in his scent and enjoy her brief moment of good fortune.

  Clearly, she would never learn.

  Outside, the night air still hot from earlier. They walked in silence to her car. The parking lot had gotten full, though most everyone had already gone inside.

  “I don’t know how I’m going to tell John that his baby sister is dead,” he said. “He’s fighting for his life. I’m afraid this might kill him.” Expression miserable, he swallowed hard.

  She touched his arm. “I suggest you wait until the DNA results are back. We don’t know for sure it’s her.”

  Gazing down at her, he appeared to be struggling to speak. And then he covered her mouth with his and kissed her.

  Shocked, stunned, and yes, aroused, she kissed him back, helpless to resist. Her arms somehow found their way around his neck, her body full up against his with her back agains
t her car.

  Somehow, they made it inside the car. Apart, no longer locked together like a couple of horny teenagers. A good thing, she thought, trying to catch her breath. Because if someone had seen them, she’d have been the topic of gossip for the next several days.

  “That was...” She struggled to express herself.

  Parker simply gazed at her, his expression hidden in shadows. “I want you,” he rumbled.

  Oh, hell. She knew she should manage to say something polite, maybe thank him, and then ask him to get out of her car so she could go home. But with her entire body thrumming with need, she couldn’t even find the right words. Or any words.

  He kissed her again. This time, she tried to resist. Okay, maybe half-assed, because somehow she ended up straddling him in the front seat of her car. When she realized, her entire body blushed. “At least we’re still fully clothed,” she said, climbing off him and moving over to the driver’s seat.

  “We can change that,” he said, his voice silky with invitation. And just like that, she knew what she wanted.

  “Not here, not in my squad car, where anyone could see us.”

  “My motel room.”

  She nodded. “The Landshark Motel, right?”

  “Do you want me to drive?” he asked. For a second, she thought he meant to follow her there. Part of her hoped he would, because once his physical presence was out of her vicinity, she might be able to summon up the willpower to resist him.

  “Um...” Warring with herself, not sure how to answer, she simply gazed at him, letting all her desire show in her eyes.

  He groaned. “Never mind. You drive. I’m so hard, I can barely move.”

  Damn. Any hope for resisting had just flown out the window. Mouth dry, she started up the car and drove them to the motel.

  Once there, they spilled from the car, moving as though drunk on lust. At the door to his room, he fumbled with the key but got it unlocked. Once he’d pushed it open, he pulled her inside.

  Now would be the time, she thought wildly, her entire body aching. Now would be the time if she was going to back out, to do it. But she wanted him, with his sexy hard muscles and come-to-me eyes. Oh, how she wanted him.