by Carolina Mac
Harrison didn’t open the door and I wasn’t strong enough to kick it in. I turned to my assistant for help. “Jody can you get this door open for me?”
“Umm…I don’t think so. I’ve never kicked a door in before and I don’t think I’m wearing the appropriate footwear.” He glanced down at his expensive trainers.
Why is Misty paying him?
“Forget it. I’ll use another method.”
Mumbling a spell I’d heard somewhere, I pulled out my wand and pointed it at the closed door. My memory wasn’t what it should be for someone nineteen years old.
Keeper of the gate beware
I need to pass with cause and care
Don’t lock me out
I have no key
Grant me access
Hear my plea
So mote it be.
When I finished reciting the spell for the third time, I tapped the lock with my wand and the door opened on its own.
With Jody right behind me and Pete beside my right leg, I walked into Clay Harrison’s room uninvited.
He jumped up off the bed where he was stretched out smoking a joint and staring at the tube wearing nothing at all. He grabbed for pants and hollered in my face while he tugged them on and zipped up. “Who are you and what do you want?”
I gave him a smile. “Two questions, Clay. Which one should I answer first?”
Clay Harrison wasn’t nearly as attractive as Vince Agostino. Clay was late thirties, a little chunky and he didn’t have a lot of hair. A quick unintentional glimpse of his package told me he wasn’t blessed in that department either.
“A smart-ass girl cop. Just what I needed to start my day off right. Get out of my room.”
“What? Before you call the cops?” I laughed at him.
Clay Harrison’s face was beet red. He was fuming.
“Nope. I’m not going. I want you to come to the police station and answer some questions about Kim O’Connell.”
“Who’s she? I don’t know anybody by that name.”
“Don’t lie to me, Clay. You know her because you told Vince to give her a ride home Friday night because you couldn’t make it in time.”
Clay smirked and he was even less attractive than at first glance. Short for a man, he was about five feet six inches. A day’s scruff covered his face and he definitely needed a shower.
With my hand on my Beretta I said, “If you don’t come willingly to the station, I’ll have to handcuff you, sir.”
He pointed to the table in front of the window. “Talk to me here. I don’t have time to go to the cop shop. Ask your questions and I’ll answer them here and now.”
“Okay, let’s sit down.” I sat and pointed to the only other vacant chair. Clay shook his head. “I’ll stand.”
“How long have you been seeing Kim O’Connell?”
“I’m not seeing anybody. It ain’t against the law to talk to women in bars.”
“No, it isn’t. But it is against the law to snatch them out of their beds against their will.”
“Ha. As if I did that. You’re talking to the wrong guy, kid. How old are you anyhow? Did you graduate high school?”
“Nope, I didn’t. I dropped out and went straight to the Chief’s office and got sworn in. I like being a cop and busting heads better than going to high school and getting fuckin detentions.”
Harrison chuckled. “As if you could bust anybody’s head. You’re a joke.”
Pete moved closer and growled.
“Get out of here and take your fuckin dog. This is my day off and I’m not wasting it talking to crazy girls with pink hair.”
“I’m not surprised you noticed my hair, Clay. You have a particular fondness for girls with long auburn hair, don’t you?”
The look he gave me said it all.
Back in my room, Jody pulled a beer can out of his jacket pocket. “When he wasn’t looking, I grabbed this out of Clay’s room, boss. His prints might be on the can.”
“Great job, Jody. The lab might have Clay’s prints from Kim’s room in the trailer and not know it because he’s not in the system. Let’s take the can to them and wait for a result. Then we’ll have solid proof he was in the O’Connell trailer.”
“Or proof he wasn’t there.”
I gave Jody a hand signal.
Forensic Lab. Junction.
The lab people in Junction didn’t know me and stiffened a little when I charged into their lab with a beer can in an evidence bag in my hand.
“I hate to bother y’all on a Sunday, but this is an emergency. I’m close to arresting a killer and I need the prints on this can compared to the prints taken from the O’Connell trailer Friday and yesterday.”
“Okay, Ranger Hart, but I’m the only one here and I’m working on something else. It’s going to take an hour or so.”
“I’ll wait.”
Jody and I sat down in the waiting area and Pete flopped onto the floor at my feet.
More than an hour passed before the lab tech appeared in front of me. I didn’t remember falling asleep, but I might have.
“Was there a match?”
“Yes. The same prints were on the door handle of the front door and on the bedroom doorframe. Do you want to tell me who these prints belong to?”
“Clay Harrison. Foreman of Harrison Paving.” I was on my feet wanting to hug the forensic techie boy. “I’m going to arrest his ass right now.”
The tech nodded. “Good one, Ranger Hart. He was definitely in the O’Connell trailer. Go get him.”
We jumped into the truck and I gave Jody a high five for scooping the beer can. “Nice one, Jodes. Harrison had his hand on the bedroom doorframe. We have proof.”
Lazy Jay Motel. Junction.
Jody and I were both starving by the time we made it back to the motel, but our stomachs had to wait until we made the arrest.
I parked the truck in front of my room and we ran down the other ground floor wing of the motel to room one thirty-two.
“His truck is gone,” said Jody. “He took off.”
“Fuck,” I hollered a little too loudly and one of the guys from the room next door to Clay’s stuck his head out.
“Who the hell is hollering outside my door.” A dark-haired hunky paving dude grinned at me. “Hey, girly, want to come in for a beer?”
“Sure. I was looking for Clay. Where did he take off to?”
“He’s gone ahead to our next job to set us up. He makes arrangements and books the motel and shit like that.” The cute guy reached into a cooler and handed me a Lone Star. Jody had taken a cue and wandered off with Pete, letting me work my magick on paving boy. “I’m Gilly.”
“Ted. Nice to meet you, Gilly. What did you want Clay for?”
“Umm…we were having a conversation earlier and I might have pissed him off. Don’t need him really.”
“You into Clay?”
“Definitely not.”
“Didn’t think so. He’s a little old for you.”
I chugged half my beer and chatted to Ted. He was a nice guy and cute too. “Where’s your next stop on the paving circuit, Ted? You guys move around a lot.”
“Yep, we leave here tomorrow afternoon and our next job is on route ninety-five north of Elgin. That’s east of Austin. Lot of repair work to be done on that highway according to the boss. We might be camped there for a while.”
I grinned, then finished my beer and stood up. “Thanks for the beer, Ted. Nice meeting you.”
Jody was watching TV in his room while he waited for me to grill Ted. He grinned and clicked off the sound when he saw me walk in. “I can tell by the look on your face you found out something good.”
“Pack up, Jodes. Harrison has gone to the next site to get ready for the boys. They’re finishing here tomorrow and moving on.”
“Where’s the next paving job?”
“Route ninety-five, north of Elgin.”
“Hellfires. We’re getting repaved.”
“Damned right we a
re. Get your shit together, Jodes. We’ll stop for food on the highway as soon as we get rolling.”
Nine Hemlock Way. Elgin.
On the long drive home I had called Farrell and told him what time we’d be arriving. He was drinking beer at our kitchen table and talking to Moonbeam when we got there.
I gave him a quick hug and grabbed a Coors out of the fridge. “I’m so glad to be back.”
“Where’s your assistant?”
“He took his stuff next door. He’s tired.”
Farrell pointed at a chair. “Sit down and tell Moon and me what happened to make you come back so quick.”
I told him about the beer can and the fingerprints and Farrell gave Jody kudos for that move. One for Jody. “And then I talked to one of the paving guys, Ted, and he told me Clay Harrison had gone to prepare for the move to the new job.”
“And the new job is where?” asked Farrell.
I hooked a thumb over my shoulder. “Up the road. Route ninety-five north of Elgin.”
Farrell grinned. “Holy shit. You can walk up the road and arrest a serial killer.”
“I want to find out what motel he’s using.”
“Did you put a BOLO out on Harrison’s truck?”
“I did, and I tagged it too.”
“Nice, Gilly. Let me see your phone. It might tell us where the asshole is right at this very moment.”
I handed my cell to Farrell and he fiddled with it and couldn’t seem to get a reading. “He might have swept his truck, little girl.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ll find the truck parked in front of a motel north of here tomorrow.”
“Yep, you will.” Farrell raised his bottle of Shiners and toasted me.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Monday, November 16th.
Nine Hemlock Way. Elgin.
Feeling pumped by the pending arrest of Clay Harrison, I was up early. Moonbeam had coffee ready and was shoving a pan of biscuits into the oven when I ran through the kitchen on my way to let Pete out of the sleeper.
The night before he was so happy to get home from Junction and sleep in his own bed. He wagged and wagged his tail as I said good night to him. “You were a good boy on our trip, Pete. I’m going to get you a special treat when I go to the store.”
I let out a sigh of relief as I sat down at my own kitchen table and took a sip of coffee. “I might be able to wrap this case up today, Moon, if I can catch up with Clay Harrison.”
“You look tired, dear. Was it dreadful in Junction?”
“We tried to prevent a murder and didn’t quite do it. I think Farrell and I are both upset about it. We came so close to saving Kim O’Connell and yet we failed to come through for her.”
“According to your story, she’s not officially dead, is she?”
“No. Her body hasn’t turned up in the Llano River.” That thought reminded me of another. “What’s the closest river to us?”
“I’m not sure.” The oven timer rang and Moonbeam turned to focus on the biscuits.
I checked a little map on my phone and the closest river was the Colorado. Not close, but it crossed the highway a few miles south of us. “Colorado.”
“Jody’s here.” Moonbeam crossed the kitchen and slid open the patio door. “Good morning, Jody.”
“It’s not time to work, Jodes. I haven’t even had breakfast yet.”
“I have no food and I’m out of coffee. No time to shop yet.”
“That’s a tragic story. I’ll spare you a cup of coffee and a couple of Moon’s biscuits.”
Jody grinned. “That’s all I need, boss, and I’ll be ready to track down a killer.”
“Damn right you will. I want a list of every motel in this area. We’ll be checking them all this morning.”
“The paving crew always hang at a roadhouse too,” said Jody. “What bar do you think they’ll pick?”
“Won’t matter a damn to us, Jody, after we arrest Clay Harrison. They can try every bar in Austin and we won’t give a flying fuck.”
Heads down in the dining room, Jody and I were listing all the possible motels in the area when the doorbell ripped me out of work mode and put me in pissed off territory.
“Ignore it dear,” Moonbeam said in passing. She greeted the visitors and led them past the open dining room door into the kitchen.
I gave a little finger wave and tried to pretend Cynthia and her tall, slim, auburn-haired daughter were not in my house.
I hope Clay Harrison doesn’t get a glimpse of Andrea.
My heart rate picked up at the thought of it.
Jody guessed what I was thinking and whispered, “She doesn’t live in a trailer park, boss. No worries.
“Easy for you to say. I’ve got one dead girl on my conscience already this week.”
“He’s coming to us, boss. We’re going to find him in one of these motels today and haul him off to the slammer.”
“I hope you’re right, Jody.”
Texas Star Motel. Elgin.
Jody had the list of motels in front of him while I drove and I figured we’d start with the ones right on route ninety-five. Texas Star Motel was closest to Elgin.
I parked next to the office with the flashing vacancy sign in the window and ran inside. Displaying my credentials on the counter in front of the clerk on duty, I explained who I was looking for.
“Harrison Paving is going to be doing roadwork in this area soon and I was wondering if the foreman had booked a block of rooms here in your motel?”
“Not yet, they haven’t, but I hope they do. We could use the business, and long term guests are best for us.”
“I agree. They would be. Thank you for your time, ma’am. You have a nice day.”
Jody turned the radio down when I slid behind the wheel. I’d noticed he always turned to a fifties station when he was alone in the truck.
How old was he anyway?
“Are they staying there?” he asked.
“Nope, not there. Where’s the next one?”
Super Six Hotel. Elgin.
I parked the truck close to the office, ran in, and had a similar conversation with the man behind the counter. No Harrison Paving on his books.
“Cross that one off the list.” I started the truck and put it into gear.
“The next one is not on route ninety-five north but a little way south of Elgin.”
“Sure, let’s check it out. Don’t tell me it’s near a trailer park.”
Jody smirked. “I’ll watch to see if we pass any.”
“What’s the name of the motel we’re looking for?”
“Value Inn.”
Value Inn. Route Ninety-five South.
I drove south through Elgin and kept going until a sign for the Value Inn came up on the righthand side of the road. “This might be the one he’d pick. Harrison struck me as a thrifty guy. Tight with a buck. I can spot those guys a mile away.”
“You have something against people being thrifty?”
“Comes from my former life, I think, when I didn’t have two nickels. Why? Are you miserly, Jodes?”
“I try to manage my money to get the most out of it.”
“I don’t care if people are frugal or not,” I said. “What I meant was, I can tell if they have that trait by looking at them.”
“That’s impossible.”
I shrugged off the debate as I parked next to the office of the Value Inn and ran inside leaving cheap Jody Smith in the truck.
Still don’t believe his name is Smith.
Placing my creds on the counter, I asked my question for the third time. “Just an inquiry, ma’am. Do y’all have bookings for Harrison Paving starting this week?”
“Why are you asking me that,” she glanced down at my ID again, “Ranger Hart. Are they wanted by the Texas Rangers?”
Ignoring her question, I plunged forward. “If you could confirm that Mister Clay Harrison booked the rooms, that’s all I need to know.”
“Yes, Mister Harrison
was here earlier, but I don’t think he’s in his room at the moment.”
“Which room is his?” I asked.
“Seventeen.”
“Thank you for your help, ma’am.”
“There isn’t going to be trouble at my motel is there?”
“Oh, no. I don’t think there will be any trouble. Did Mister Harrison ask you to recommend a roadhouse for his men?”
“You seem to know a lot about Mister Harrison, Ranger Hart. Why are you so interested in him?”
“Did he?”
“What was the question?”
“Did he ask you about a bar or a roadhouse when he was here booking the rooms?”
“Yes, he did and I usually recommend Calamity Jane’s down the highway. The owner is a friend of mine and we send customers to each other. It’s good business for both of us.”
“That’s nice. Thank you for your time, ma’am.”
I hopped into the truck and Jody gave me a look.
“Yes, they are booked here.”
“Did you ask about the bar?”
“Yep. Calamity Jane’s south of here on the highway.”
That brought a grin to Jody’s face. “Are we going there later?”
“Sure are. I’ll call Farrell and tell him we’ll be there around nine. He might have time to join us.” I pulled out my cell and was about to call when he called me.
“Hey, babe, did you find the motel?”
“We did. And the guys are going to hang out at Calamity Jane’s Roadhouse.”
“Makes sense,” said Farrell. “I know exactly where that is and it’s not far from y’all.”
“Jody and I are going later to watch Harrison.”
“Are you going to make the arrest without me?”
“I thought we’d do it together. That was the plan.”
“Umm…I have a busy night. I might not make it out there to Elgin.”
“That’s okay, Farrell. If you don’t make it tonight, we can do it tomorrow at the motel.”
“Umm…shouldn’t leave it too long,” said Farrell. “We should grab him as soon as we can. I’ll text you later and let you know if I’m coming. I’ll try really hard, little girl. I don’t want you trying to take him on your own.”
