Lone Star Christmas Witness

by Margaret Daley

  She spied one of Ben’s favorite places to eat. “Turn into Danny’s Burger,” she said at the last minute.

  Taylor made a quick right into the drive-thru restaurant. “Good suggestion. In the midst of all that’s been going on, I haven’t eaten in hours. How about you?”

  Sierra heard Taylor’s words, but her attention was glued on the white four-door sedan with dark windows. She couldn’t tell who was driving from her angle, but the car slowed down and pulled up to the curb in front of the building next door.

  “Sierra?”

  “Huh?” Maybe when they left the drive-thru, she’d be able to see the driver through the windshield.

  “What do you want to eat?” Taylor pulled up to a speaker to place an order.

  She peered toward him. “Eat? I’m not hungry, but Ben will like a burger with cheese, mustard and pickles.”

  “Okay,” he said slowly, his forehead wrinkled as he shifted toward the speaker and told the young woman what he wanted.

  After he paid and took the bag of food, he handed it to Sierra. “We’ll be at my dad’s soon.”

  Sierra leaned forward, searching for the white car. She didn’t see it at the curb. Sighing, she relaxed, the scent of the hamburgers wafting to her. Her stomach rumbled.

  Taylor chuckled. “It’s a good thing I got a couple of extra hamburgers.”

  So focused on the white car, she hadn’t heard him order. “Good. Then you won’t mind me having one now,” she said with a laugh and withdrew a wrapped burger.

  “Go ahead. Enjoy. I’ll eat mine when we get back to Dad’s place.”

  As Taylor pulled out into the traffic, she lifted her hamburger and took a big bite. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied the white car coming out of a parking lot nearby.

  Hands shaking, she turned to Taylor. “We’re being followed.”

  FIVE

  Taylor stopped at a red light and flicked a gaze toward Sierra. “A white car in back of the red van behind us?”

  Her eyes grew wide. “You know about it, and you aren’t trying to shake it?”

  He chuckled. “It’s Nash. He’s another precaution in case someone was following us. He’s been behind us since leaving your house.”

  Her cheeks reddened. “Sorry.”

  “About what?”

  “Not believing you knew how to do your job.”

  As the light turned green, he threw her another quick look. “I want you to be aware of your surroundings. Two people, or in this case three, are better than one to make sure nobody is following us.”

  She finished her hamburger and tried to relax, but her shoulder muscles were tense, and her hands were fisted in her lap.

  “I know this is hard on you, especially with this latest news about Brewer. His keys were missing. It could be how the killer got into the clinic yesterday if the front door had been locked after the others without a key arrived. Nothing was random about the shooting. The killer planned it.”

  “Colin was a large man who worked out a lot. How did the killer get a jump on him, especially in public at the mall?”

  “The police don’t think he was attacked at the mall. There weren’t any defensive wounds on him—other than the bullet shot to his chest. He didn’t fight with the man who shot him.”

  “He was surprised or knew the guy.”

  “Possibly or both.” Taylor pulled his SUV into the garage at his dad’s.

  “I don’t see Colin in on this. That’s not him. I’ve known him for years.”

  “We’ll know more possibly when we get the information from the autopsy.” As Taylor exited the car, Nash drove past the house.

  Sierra climbed out and watched the detective drive away. “He isn’t coming inside?”

  “No, he’ll meet Dallas at the clinic in a while.” He paused at the door into the kitchen. “Yesterday was traumatic and hectic. I wish I didn’t have to ask you to do this, but I need you to go back to the clinic with me. After I checked your office, I closed the door, and no one has gone in because of the patient files. I told Nash I would deal with them once the legal papers are filed with the court. I couldn’t tell if anything had been disturbed, and when you were in there with me yesterday, you were distraught. I doubt you remembered much about that time. But I need you to go back in and verify that nothing has been disturbed.”

  “Oh, no.” Sierra put her hand over her mouth. The color washed from her cheeks.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I didn’t think about this yesterday. When I went into my office, the door was unlocked, and you said the same to me when you first went in. I always keep it locked unless I’m in there working. Although the file cabinets are locked and a person needs a password to unlock my desktop, securing the door when no one is in the office is another precaution of the privacy of the clinic’s patients.”

  “Who has a key to your office and the file cabinets?”

  “Besides me, Mindy, the receptionist, and my sister and Dr. Porter had one. If I’m not there, Mindy goes in and gets the patients’ files for the people who have an appointment. Did Mindy have her key on her? She might have opened it right before the—” she closed her eyes for a few seconds “—the shooting.”

  “I hate asking you to return to the clinic before the police box up the files, but I need you to. If the killer messed with or took a patient file, we need to know whose. It could connect us to the killer.”

  “Then we’ll go tomorrow. I’ll do anything to help catch this guy.” She turned, put her hand on the knob and looked back at him. “But Ben must not know where I’m going. I don’t want him to worry.”

  “I agree.” Taylor followed Sierra into the kitchen. “I wonder if Ben is up.” He walked into the dining room and came to a stop before going into the living room. Ben sat on the couch between John and Oscar while his dad and Dallas set up the Christmas tree.

  When Ben spied him and Sierra, he jumped to his feet and ran to them. He threw his arms around Taylor, then Sierra, and stayed pressed against her.

  “How are you feeling?” she asked her nephew while putting her palm against his forehead. “You don’t feel hot anymore. Are you okay?”

  Ben nodded, then took her hand and dragged her to the couch.

  After pulling out a wrapped hamburger, Taylor gave Sierra the bag. “This is for anyone hungry. How about hot chocolate?”

  Ben’s eyes brightened while Sierra said, “Sounds great.”

  “Son, before you make it, will you bring in the boxes of Christmas ornaments in the garage?”

  “Sure, Dad. John, will you help me? Dad has a lot of boxes.”

  John stood and followed Taylor from the living room. The second he stepped into the garage, Taylor faced his friend. “What happened when I left? How was Ben?”

  “He hasn’t been up long. At first he sat on the bed, hugging Oscar, but he wouldn’t leave. I told him you and Sierra would be back soon. I asked him a few questions about how he was feeling, but he didn’t respond. He turned away and buried his head against Oscar.”

  “How did you get him downstairs?” Taylor grabbed a box and passed it to John, then set a second one on top of it.

  “Your dad had already returned by then. When I told Ben that your dad was bringing in a Christmas tree, he got out of bed and went downstairs with Oscar beside him.”

  “So he never said anything?” Taylor carried two cartons toward the kitchen.

  “No. He sat on the couch and patted the cushion for Oscar. I’m not sure he would have come downstairs without your dog and the mention of the Christmas tree.”

  “Christmas was a big deal at Ben’s house, and he’s bonded with Oscar.”

  “And you, too. Tomorrow I’m going to try something different. I think decorating the tree today will be good for him. He was watching every move your dad and Dallas were making and no
dded when they asked him if it was straight.”

  In the kitchen, Taylor stopped. “Sierra doesn’t want Ben to know anything about the destruction at their house.”

  “It wouldn’t help. He’s not ready to handle anything else. I need to leave. I still have a few patients to see this afternoon. If you need me, call anytime.” John took his boxes into the living room. “I hate to leave, but I have to go. Ben, I’ll be back tomorrow. I can’t wait to see what you do with this beautiful tree.”

  After John left, Taylor returned to the kitchen and followed his mother’s hot chocolate recipe. If John can’t get through to Ben, how am I supposed to, Lord? I know I haven’t come to You in a few years, but I need Your help.

  As he poured the hot brew into mugs, Dallas came into the room. “I need to go. I’m going to the clinic to meet with Nash.”

  “Yeah, he headed that way. Tomorrow, can you stay with Ben and Dad while I take Sierra to the clinic?”

  Dallas nodded. “After what happened today at their house, neither Ben nor Sierra are safe. Nash has two officers collecting any video footage where Brewer’s car was parked in the mall lot. Maybe we’ll get a break soon. This isn’t random. The killer has an agenda that may involve more deaths. We have to stop him before that.”

  When the hot chocolate was ready, he asked, “Do you need any help with that before I go?”

  “Nope. I’ve got a tray.” Taylor carried in the drinks with a bag of mini-marshmallows clutched in one hand. He put the hot chocolate down on the table, then accompanied Dallas to the front door. In a low voice he said, “Call me if there are any new developments.”

  “Will do.”

  When Taylor returned to the living room, he sat where John had been, with Oscar between him and Ben. After taking a small sip of his drink, he asked, “Who’s going to help me put up the lights? We have to do that first.”

  His dad eased into a chair, swiping his hand across his forehead. “I put the tree up. I need a break.”

  Taylor looked at Ben. “Do you want to help me?”

  The boy ducked his head for a moment, then gave a nod.

  “Great. The strings of lights should be tangle free. I took extra care last year when I put them away.” Taylor opened a carton and frowned.

  “What’s wrong?” Sierra held her mug between her hands, blowing on the hot liquid.

  “Half of them are messed up.” Taylor held up a tangled ball of lights.

  “Are all of them like that?” Sierra took a drink.

  Taylor removed three strings. “These are fine, but—” he picked up another two and laid them by the first one he withdrew “—somehow these aren’t like the others.” He swung his attention to his dad.

  With a beet-red face, his father stared at his hot chocolate.

  “What happened, Dad?”

  “I loaned them to a kid down the street for a school play.”

  “Okay.” Taylor gathered up the ball of chaos and plopped them in his father’s lap. “Ben and I will hang up the other strings of lights while you work on these.”

  “I’ll help you, Robert. I did it for our family.” Sierra crossed to his dad.

  The whole time this exchange was going on Ben looked from one person to the next, his expression neutral.

  “Sounds fine to me. Ben, you and I have the easy job.” Taylor winked at the boy.

  That produced a small smile on the child’s mouth.

  Sierra caught the exchange and peered back and forth between Ben and Taylor. “Robert, do you have a radio? There’s a station that plays Christmas music twenty-four hours.”

  “In the kitchen. I’ll go get it, and then we’ll tackle this mess.” His dad set the heap of lights next to her.

  “Ready, Ben? We’ll take a break after we put up these strands until they get those untangled. That might be a good time to take Oscar out back.”

  Ben’s face brightened with the mention of the black Lab. With Oscar by his side, the boy made his way to Taylor.

  His dog sensed the anguish Ben was going through, as Oscar had done for him when TJ died. Taylor knew what both Ben and Sierra were going through. He didn’t want to lose his pet. But unless he came up with another way to help Ben, how could he deny the child, who was in so much pain, Oscar?

  * * *

  Sierra planted herself at the kitchen window that overlooked the fenced backyard as Ben and Taylor played fetch with Oscar. Her nephew had even smiled once when the black Lab returned with the ball, dropped it at his feet, then stood on his hind legs with his front paws on Ben’s shoulders and licked his face.

  After stirring the beef stew on the stove, Robert joined her. “Oscar is a special dog.”

  “That’s the kind of animal I need for Ben. Where did Taylor get him?”

  “From the shelter. He’d been found alongside a highway. Oscar had been abandoned and was less than a year old at the time. Skinny. Scared of people. Taylor took one look at him and immediately wanted him. When I saw the Lab for the first time, he reminded me of Taylor. Lost. Withdrawn. My son was trying to deal with the fact TJ was dying. I tricked him into going to the shelter. I told him TJ needed the dog, but it really was for him. As a kid, he’d always had a dog. He needed one again.” Robert straightened his shoulders. “That was the best thing I could do for my son. Taylor wouldn’t talk to me, but he did with Oscar. Probably because his dog wouldn’t talk back.” He smiled and winked at Sierra.

  “Ben needs a dog. He was supposed to get one for Christmas. Kat didn’t want to pick the dog out until right before the twenty-fifth. She wanted to surprise him on the day.”

  “From seeing Ben with Oscar, I’d say any time before that would be great.”

  “How can I with all that’s going on?” Sierra noticed in the short time she’d been at the window, the landscape darkened as night approached.

  “I have a friend who has a ranch not too far from here. His bull terrier had a litter eight weeks ago. Last week he had two left. We could take Ben out there and see if he likes one of them. I’m a firm believer a person needs to pick out his own dog. When Taylor almost instantly bonded with Oscar, there wasn’t another dog for him.”

  Sierra watched Ben and Taylor with Oscar between them as they headed for the back door. “What kind of temperament do bull terriers have?”

  “Sweet, a family dog. If you say so, I’ll call my friend about looking at the two left.”

  “Let me see what Taylor says first because if Ben finds one he loves I would want to take it then.”

  “And you’re worried about Oscar? You shouldn’t be. He loves other dogs, according to my son.” The back door opened, and Robert whispered, “I won’t call until you tell me to,” then louder he said to everyone, “It’s time for us to finish putting the ornaments on the tree. There are too many blank spots on the pine.”

  Taylor looked at Sierra, then Ben. “I’ll be in there in a minute. I need to feed Oscar.”

  Her nephew opened his mouth but didn’t say anything.

  “Do you want to help me?” Taylor asked as he retrieved the bag of food for Oscar.

  Ben nodded.

  “Bring his water bowl to me. I’ll take care of that while you feed him. Fill it up about three-fourths.” Taylor took the dish from Ben.

  “Robert, I guess we need to get started on the decorations.” Sierra left the kitchen and opened the box that had the number one written on the side while Robert delved into the second carton. “You are organized. These all look homemade to me. The ones in yours are store-bought.”

  “Again, that’s my son. He’s a very organized guy. A detail kind of guy.”

  “That’s good for an investigator.”

  “Yep, but so is the overall picture. I was a Marine MP for years and both skills were important.”

  “Are you the reason Taylor became a police officer?” Sierra p
ut her first decoration on the tree, a cardboard ornament with a picture of Taylor when he was young.

  “I never thought about it since I was a Marine first. I wasn’t surprised when he utilized his computer skills. He could take one apart and put it back in no time. This was when he was in elementary school.”

  “So that explains this ornament.” She held up a replica of an old desktop computer made from cardboard.

  Robert laughed. “When he made it, he insisted it go on the Christmas tree. It was his big hint that was what he wanted as a gift.”

  “Did he get one?” Sierra put it on the tree.

  “I’d already gotten him a similar one.”

  “I hope Dad isn’t telling you every story behind those decorations. We’ll never get the tree finished by Christmas,” Taylor said behind Sierra.

  The sound of his voice startled her, and she whirled around, facing him, Ben and Oscar. Her heartbeat galloped at the sight of Taylor with his hand on Ben’s shoulder as though the Texas Ranger had been part of their family for years rather than days. “Oscar must have gobbled his food down.”

  “That’s how Oscar eats ever since I’ve had him.” Taylor peered down at Ben and his dog. “We’re here reporting for duty. And, Ben, it’s a good thing we came. They haven’t put more than a handful of decorations on the tree. At the rate they’re going we won’t have it finished by Christmas. They need us.” Taylor headed for the box Sierra stood next to.

  Ben stayed still.

  Taylor glanced back. “Do you want to help?”

  Ben shook his head and moved to the couch. Oscar accompanied her nephew and laid his head in his lap.

  Taylor put an ornament on the tree. “That’s okay. Keep Oscar company for me.”

  Ben laid his hand on the Lab and stroked him over and over.

  As the decorations began to fill the branches, Sierra left one area empty. “At home Ben never left an area without an ornament. Let’s see if he moves a few later,” she whispered to Taylor.