Lone Star Standoff

by Margaret Daley

  She hadn’t seen him at the courthouse in over a month and had forgotten how tall and well built he was. Dressed in a long-sleeved white shirt with a striped gray-and-red tie, black pants, an off-white cowboy hat, brown boots and his badge pinned over his heart, he had a commanding air about him. The sight of him dressed for work reminded her of her husband, and a knot clogged her throat. That first year after Samuel’s murder, she saw Sean a couple of times a week while he worked the case.

  He paused a few feet from her, turned toward her and held out his hand. “It’s nice to see you again.” His dark blue eyes roamed over her features, and a slow smile spread across his tanned face. “Although I wish it were under different circumstances.”

  She shook his hand. “I agree, Sean. I have a home office where we can talk. My children are in the kitchen, and I don’t want them to overhear our conversation.”

  “I understand. Lead the way.”

  Aubrey passed him in the foyer, feeling dwarfed by his large frame. She was only five four while he must be at least six and a half feet, if not more. She waved her hand toward a brown leather love seat and two chairs. Although she had a desk, she usually ended up working on the two-cushion couch with her laptop and papers spread all over the coffee table.

  “When I’m not in a trial, I often work from home to be here for my two kids. It helps that my mother lives with me, and I’m only ten minutes away from the courthouse.”

  While he took a chair, she sat on the love seat, thinking they should switch places. He looked so big in the wingback. He took off his hat and laid it on the coffee table between them, then ran his fingers through his thick, short black hair. “Being the judge in the Bento Villa trial must be tough.”

  “Yes, it’s taken days to find a jury. The trial will actually start on Monday. When you leave, I’ll open the garage door and show you the dead rat in my car’s trunk. I didn’t touch it. In fact, I left a shopping bag in there with clothes I bought at lunch for my twins, Sammy and Camy. They’re four and a half. My mama takes care of them when I’m working.” When she and Sean had talked before, it had been centered on her husband’s case, but if someone was coming after her now, Sean needed to know everything about her family. They could be affected, too.

  “Is your son named after his dad?”

  “Yes, and Camy after my mama. Her name is Camilla.” Texas Ranger McNair had always been easy to talk to. Aubrey reclined back, trying to relax some of her tight muscles that had stayed with her since she left the courthouse. The only place she dealt with her job at home was in this office. When she walked out of here, her family became her focus—until someone had left that message in her trunk. “A dead rat has been used by the cartel before as a warning. I’ve also received a few hang-ups at my office in the courthouse since I was assigned to the Villa trial.”

  “Have you received calls like that at other times?”

  “Occasionally, and that’s why I shrugged them off this time. I know it’s not Bento himself, since he’s in jail and his communications are monitored. But the Coastal Cartel is big and ruthless.”

  “What’s the security for this trial?”

  “Extra guards at the courthouse and inside where the trial is. I’ve always felt safe at work. Someone coming after me won’t change the fact that Bento Villa is on trial for the murder of Hector Martin.”

  “This is a high-profile case.” Sean wrote something on the pad he held. “Can we narrow down the time and place where the rat could have been put in your trunk? Then I can check security cameras to see if I can catch the person on tape.”

  “During lunch, I usually eat in my office at the courthouse, but today I needed to get away. The atmosphere is tense. Since we were getting near the end of the selection of jurors, I announced a two-hour lunch period. I still ate in my office and decided to lie down on the couch and take a nap. Since this case began, I haven’t slept as well as I usually do. But I couldn’t fall asleep. So I decided to go shopping for summer clothes for the kids. The dead rat wasn’t in the trunk when I put that bag in there after visiting the store I usually get their clothes at.”

  “What store?”

  “Clothes Galore on Main Street.”

  “Did you go right back to the courthouse?”

  Aubrey looked away from Sean’s intense gaze. “No. I went to Sweet Haven Parlor and had a double scoop of cookie-dough ice cream in a waffle cone. Indulging always manages to cheer me up.”

  He chuckled. “I’ve been there before. Their ice cream is great.”

  “What flavor?” He made her feel at ease during this tense time.

  “Chocolate. Don’t tell anyone that’s my weakness.”

  She laughed. The sound surprised her even more. For the past thirty minutes, she’d been tied in knots, and in a brief time he’d gotten her to laugh. But she quickly sobered as he wrote on his pad. This visit was about someone leaving her a message. She couldn’t take that lightly.

  “I’ll check the security cameras at the courthouse and Sweet Haven Parlor, if they have any. Did you go anywhere else?”

  “No. I came right back and had only a few minutes to get to my office and put on my robe.”

  “When you drove home from the courthouse, did you stop anywhere and leave your car unattended?”

  “No. After this week, all I wanted to do was get home.”

  Sean stood and pocketed his notepad. “Show me your car.”

  “Let’s go out front. I’ll raise the garage door. If we go through the kitchen, my children will want to come with us. They’re curious and ask so many questions.” They reminded her of her husband in that way. He’d always proclaimed that was what made him a good investigator—and what had probably led to his death. She shivered at the thought.

  As she exited her office, laughter from the kitchen drifted to her. She smiled. No doubt Sammy and Camy were competing at clearing the dishes from the table.

  “Your kids sound like they’re having fun.” Sean opened the front door.

  “They love to compete with each other but are quick to stand up for one another when needed.” Aubrey put in her code on the pad at the garage. The noise of the door rising filled the quiet. She hoped her kids didn’t get curious at hearing the sound and want to check it out.

  As she approached the rear of her car, she popped the trunk. The odor of the dead rat overwhelmed her even more than before. Shivering at the sight, she pinched her nose and gestured toward the rat.

  Sean took pictures of it then put on gloves to handle the rat. “I need something to put this in. Can I use the bag your children’s clothes are in?”

  “Sure.” She moved toward Sean and picked up the bag to remove the outfits. As she pulled them out, something dropped onto the concrete. She heard it before she saw what came out of the bag. Clutching the clothes against her chest, she intended to kneel and pick up whatever fell.

  “I’ll get it.” After putting the bag with the rat on the floor, Sean squatted and reached under the vehicle. When he stood, he held his palm out flat toward Aubrey.

  She stared at her husband’s hammered-gold wedding band with her name engraved in it. It had been missing since his murder.

  The twins’ outfits fell to the concrete as her legs gave out.

  TWO

  Sean quickly clasped Aubrey’s upper arms and held her upright. Her wide, dark brown eyes stared through him while color drained from her beautiful face and her short dark hair lay in contrast to her pale skin. “What’s wrong?”

  She shuddered, opening her mouth for a few seconds but shutting it before saying anything. She took the ring from his palm. Tears glistened in her eyes. She closed them and inhaled a deep breath.

  “Aubrey?”

  She swiped a wet tear track from her cheek, straightened her shoulders and looked at him. “That’s Samuel’s wedding ring. When he was murdered, the killer t
ook his ring. My name is engraved inside. I didn’t think I would ever see it again, especially not among my children’s clothes.”

  No wonder she was stunned. “So whoever left the rat was either your husband’s killer or knew the guy.”

  “And neither is good news. Why now, after two years?”

  “A connection between Villa’s trial and Samuel’s murder?”

  “Possibly. Both involved drugs. Villa is a lieutenant of the Coastal Cartel.” Aubrey held up the ring. “And they’re sending me a message.”

  Sean glanced over his shoulder to where his SUV was parked in the driveway. Darkness had settled over the landscape. “Let’s go inside and talk about this. What kind of security system do you have?”

  “I have an alarm system with a couple of cameras inside, as well as motion detectors by the porch and garage.”

  “Any cameras outside?”

  Aubrey shook her head then turned her attention in the same direction. “What if they’re watching me?”

  “You need to get a couple for the front and backyard.”

  “I’ll call my company tomorrow and arrange for them to add them as soon as they can.”

  Sean scooped up the clothes at their feet and gave them to her, then picked up the bag with the dead rat. “Go inside. I’m locking this in my vehicle, then we’ll talk some more.”

  She nodded, but before she reached the garage entrance into the kitchen, a little boy with brown hair opened the door and poked his head out.

  “Mama, I’m hiding from Abuela.” Sammy clamped his gaze on Sean, and his eyes grew big.

  “Let’s get inside.” Aubrey hustled her son into the house and waited for Sean to leave the garage before putting the door down. “I’ll let you in at the front.”

  Sean hurried to his SUV, his gaze sweeping the terrain for anything unusual. He assessed several places where someone could possibly hide and watch Aubrey’s house. Not only did he lock his rear door, but also the evidence box built into his car under the back mats. Then he headed for the porch and started to ring the bell.

  Aubrey swung the door open before he could push the button. “I promised my son I would introduce you to him. He said you look like how his daddy looked in some of the pictures he’s seen. I told him you were a Texas Ranger like his dad, and he got all excited. Do you mind?”

  “Not at all.” His older sister in Amarillo had two boys, ages seven and nine, as well as a five-year-old girl. He loved visiting them. “Where is he?”

  “In the den with his sister and my mother.” She closed and locked the door. “This way.”

  He followed Aubrey toward the back of the house, realizing he was over a foot taller than her.

  Sammy stood in the entrance to the room with a big grin on his face. “Did ya know my daddy?”

  “I met him once, but I really didn’t know him. Everyone says he was a great Texas Ranger.”

  Sammy’s grin grew even bigger. “That’s what Mama says.” The little boy grabbed Sean’s hand and tugged him forward. “I gotta show ya somethin’.”

  Sean accompanied the child as they crossed the room to the fireplace. The boy pointed at the mantel to a photo of his father, wearing a long-sleeved white shirt with a blue tie and an off-white cowboy hat.

  “He has on his badge like you. And we have it!” Sammy pulled on Sean’s hand, guiding him to an end table with the star badge framed in a shadow box. “I’m gonna wear one when I grow up.” He thrust out his chest.

  “I felt that way when I was a young boy.” Sean turned toward the little girl standing next to Aubrey. “And you must be Camy.”

  She nodded but stepped closer to her mother. Seeing them side by side, he noted a strong resemblance between the two.

  “She’s shy with strangers,” Sammy said.

  Sean smiled and winked at Camy, whose eyes grew round as saucers.

  “I’m Camilla Roberts, their grandma, or as Sammy has been saying lately, their abuela.” The petite older woman with black hair and the same dark brown eyes as Aubrey stood and held her hand out.

  Sean shook it. “It’s nice to meet all of you.”

  “Camy and Sammy, it’s time to get ready for bed.” Camilla peered at her daughter. “The Texas Ranger is here to talk business with your mama.”

  While Camy went to her grandmother, Sammy stood still. “I’m not sleepy. I want to stay.”

  “Samuel Craig Madison, this isn’t negotiable. Go with Grandma now.” Aubrey’s firm voice emphasized the word now, which drew a big frown from her son, but Sammy left with his grandmother.

  “Sorry about that. My son takes his job as the man of the house very seriously. He thinks he’s supposed to know about everything that goes on here. Let’s go back to my office.”

  As they left the den, Sean said, “I understand. My father died when I was fourteen. I was the oldest male. I have two sisters, one younger and one older, and a younger brother. I thought I needed to protect them and be the man of the house, too.” Yet he hadn’t been able to protect his youngest sibling. He’d failed to accomplish his dad’s last request.

  “Sammy’s only four and a half. He got that idea from a kid at church about six months ago.”

  “Kids are growing up too fast today.”

  “You don’t have to tell this mother.” Aubrey walked toward the doorway. “I need to put these new clothes in the washing machine. The idea that someone might have handled them in addition to the faint odor of a dead rat are more than enough reasons to wash them before they wear them.”

  Sean glanced up and down the hallway before asking, “I wish you had answers to your husband’s death. It’s hard to get closure when there are so many unknowns. Do you mind telling me again about what happened? I haven’t had a chance to work on his case for a couple of months.” The influx of drugs had increased in the past few months, and he was determined to do what he could to stop the flow. He often wished there was more time in a day to do all he wanted. He’d even neglected Jack’s missing-person case.

  “Sure. Have you had dinner yet?”

  “No. When you called, I’d just arrived home.” He entered the kitchen.

  “Knowing my mama, she put the leftovers in the refrigerator for me to have later. It won’t take long to heat them up in the microwave. It’s lasagna. Mama is a great cook, a trait I haven’t inherited from her.” She crossed to the utility room and disappeared inside.

  Like the rest of the house, the kitchen was clean and neat, with little evidence they had just eaten dinner. He was glad that Aubrey had help with her children. He’d been there for his mother after his father died in a ranch accident. He’d tried his best to do what his dad had done at the family’s ranch and go to high school, then later college. Being a parent was hard, but being a single one was even more difficult. Reflecting on Sammy showing him the picture of his father and his badge brought a smile to Sean’s face. But then he remembered Camy’s shyness, and he thought about his younger sister, who’d been a lot like Aubrey’s daughter.

  When Aubrey returned to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, she shot him a look around the door. “Are you really hungry? There’s a lot here.”

  He nodded. “I’m always really hungry when it’s a home-cooked meal. Can I help?”

  “Put this plate into the microwave on three and a half minutes, please.” She gave him her meal with plastic wrap covering it.

  Ten minutes later, they were seated across from each other at the table in the alcove. The aroma of lasagna teased his senses, but before digging in, he bowed his head and said a silent prayer for help from God in solving what was going on with the dead rat and Aubrey’s husband’s wedding ring. He didn’t have a good feeling about this. Someone was playing games—possibly deadly ones—with her, and it was likely connected to the cartel.

  When he looked up, their gazes connected. He realized sh
e’d been praying, too. Sean took a bite of his dinner, savoring the delicious Italian dish. “Mmm. Tell your mom this is great.”

  Aubrey smiled. “I will. She loves to hear that. Once she thought about being a chef and having her own restaurant.”

  “Why didn’t she?”

  Her smile vanished. “My husband was killed. She told me the deal fell through, but I’ve always wondered if that was the case.”

  “Speaking of your husband, tell me again what you recall about his death.”

  She scooped up a forkful of lasagna and ate it. “When he didn’t come home from work, I tried getting in touch with him, and it went to voice mail. I left a message to call me. I thought I would get a return call, but as the night turned into the next day, I knew something was terribly wrong. Even before the kids were born, he always kept in regular touch with me throughout the day. I called the Weslaco office to see if they knew anything. They didn’t but said they would look into it and get back to me. I then called the Port Bliss Police Department and reported my concerns. That day was the longest twenty-four hours I’ve ever gone through.”

  Around the time of her husband’s death, Sean had received the notification of his brother’s disappearance. When the police described Jack’s destroyed apartment and the blood at the scene, he’d known his brother was probably killed, especially given some of the people he’d associated with. “Do you know what Samuel was working on? When I took over shortly after his death, I only found two open cases he’d been looking into.”

  “Which ones?” Aubrey reached for her iced tea.

  “A shipment of guns missing and the disappearance of Jack McNair.”

  She stopped in mid-motion and looked toward him. “Any relationship to you?”

  “My younger brother. Did Samuel ever talk about him? There wasn’t a lot in the case file on his death.” On the side, he’d been searching for any information on his missing brother and had come up empty. According to everyone he’d talked to, Jack just vanished one day.

  “Not that I can remember. When Samuel died, everything got crazy. I felt for months that all I was doing was going through the motion of living. Attending his funeral was one of the hardest things I’ve done. The coffin was closed due to the grisly nature of the murder.”