Blame It on Texas

by Christie Craig

  “She’s at school and then she goes to the sitter. I think your dad said it will be the same place you’ll be staying.”

  He frowned and looked at the door as if worried his dad might walk through it.

  “I’ve only known your dad awhile, but since I met him, he’s been talking about you.”

  He looked up, uncertainty flashing in his green eyes. “My mom said he wouldn’t take care of me when I was little. I don’t think he wants me, either.”

  Ellen swallowed a lump of emotion. “Sometimes mommies and daddies get mad at each other and they say things that aren’t true.”

  He looked back at the computer. “Do you get mad at Britney’s daddy?”

  “Yes. And I try not to say things, but it’s hard. I think your daddy is a nice guy.”

  “He yelled at Mama sometimes. I heard him in the other room.”

  “He probably shouldn’t have done that, but I’ll bet he’s sorry.”

  Tyler listened to the phone ring for the hundredth time. Frustrated at not getting anywhere on Zoe’s case, the calls to the government officials were getting him nowhere. Everyone was too busy to help out a PI. He’d even had his cousin run down the list of employees who had worked for Bradford during the kidnapping. One had a criminal past, and Tyler got excited until he found out the guy had died five years ago. That would make it kind of hard for him to be behind the shooting.

  Finally, Tyler decided to follow another lead with less potential. He called the Tourist Bureau for Shadows County and asked for the telephone number of any historian in the area.

  He was given the name Burnett Bankhead, who was supposed to be older than dirt, but who loved to chat about his town and the townsfolk and had even written a book on the subject. Unfortunately, Burnett was either not home, deceased, or hard of hearing, because he didn’t answer his phone. And he didn’t have an answering machine. Tyler hung up the phone in disgust.

  Austin leaned back in his chair. “I just got a call from that retired detective Phillips, who worked the Bradford case. He said he’d rather come in and talk, but he can’t come until tomorrow.”

  Tyler rubbed a hand over his face. “Great. Maybe that will pan out. I’m going to check on Zoe, and then I’m going to head over to the Bradford place and talk to Bradford’s security guy, Randall Windsor, and Mrs. Daniels.” He also wanted to go check on Sam.

  Dallas looked up from his desk. “I thought you didn’t want to talk to the family yet.”

  “That changed when I found Bradford’s PI at Zoe’s apartment.”

  Dallas nodded. “I’m surprised Windsor hasn’t called to give us hell. He was chapped when Bradford hired us.”

  Tyler looked at his list of questions. “And Windsor worked for the old man when the kidnapping took place.”

  Dallas frowned. “You think he’s behind it?”

  “He could be,” Tyler said. “Okay, I’m checking on Zoe and heading out.”

  Austin’s chair squeaked as he leaned forward. “Try not to bang the headboard into the wall this time. It was distracting the last time you checked on her.”

  Tyler scowled. The guys had given him hell all day. While he hadn’t admitted anything, they’d figured out he’d had sex with Zoe. He almost denied it but decided not to bother. He was sleeping with Zoe, and it was freaking amazing. Every other second, he was thinking about how good it had been. Mentally, he’d compiled a list of all the ways he wanted to pleasure her tonight. And if he could just stop thinking about her leaving in two weeks, he’d be on top of the world.

  “Do me a favor and one of you stay here until I get back. It should be before five, but just in case I get hung up. I don’t want her to be by herself.”

  Dallas looked up. “I’ll be here. I spoke with Tony about digging up the Bradford case files. He won’t give it to us outright, but if there’s something he thinks could be useful, he might help us out. You do realize that the statute of limitations on kidnapping has passed. If we find out who did this, they’ll be going after a murder charge for the kid in the casket?”

  Tyler sighed. “I know. But we’ll get him on attempted murder for shooting at Zoe.”

  Tyler walked out. He found Zoe in the kitchen, bent over, pulling their sheets out of the dryer.

  “Hey.” He studied her butt. She wore her jeans again, the ones that fit so damn well.

  She stood up and turned around. “Hey.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

  “I don’t know why you’re washing them,” he said when the kiss ended. “We’re just going to dirty them up again tonight.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You’re that confident?”

  “Oh, yes. I’ve already come up with my plan of seduction.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “I bought a book on Amazon about erotic massages.”

  “You did not.” She poked him in the stomach.

  “I did.” He leaned close. “They mention a lot of interesting pressure points.”

  She laughed, and he ran his hand down her back. “I’m going to run out for a while. I shouldn’t be long, five at the latest, but Dallas is going to stay until I get back.”

  “I don’t need babysitting.”

  He frowned. “If the PI tells the family I caught him going through your apartment, then they might suspect you’re here.”

  The humor in her eyes faded. “Have you gotten in touch with Mr. Bradford yet?”

  “No, they won’t let him on the phone. I’ve tried, but I was told he’s being discharged in two days.”

  “You think someone in the family is behind trying to kill me?”

  He hated admitting it, but he did. “I haven’t ruled it out yet.”

  Her frown deepened. “Then I don’t want you going over there alone.”

  “I’ll be fine.” He gave her a quick kiss and started out.

  “If someone shoots at you, duck and stay down.”

  “Got it,” he tossed over his shoulder, and had to force himself to leave. Because what he really wanted to do was to drag her to the bedroom and try out a few pressure points.

  Ellen knocked on the apartment door right at lunch. Zoe, still feeling overwhelmed at her night with Tyler, was pretty much hiding out.

  “I was thinking of grabbing some burgers for the guys and Rick’s son Ricky, and wondered if you wanted one.”

  “Nah, I had a banana sandwich a bit ago.”

  “A what?” Ellen asked.

  “A banana sandwich.” When Ellen made a face, Zoe added, “I think it’s an Alabama thing.” Then she couldn’t help but smile, remembering Tyler trying the delicacy.

  Ellen stared at her for a few minutes, then she arched an eyebrow. “Hmm?”

  “Hmm, what?” Zoe asked.

  “You and Tyler both have that same look about you.”

  “What look?” Zoe asked, but she suspected she knew what Ellen was talking about. It was the oh-God-I-had-fabulous-sex look. And it had been fabulous. But it had also been confusing. Oh, heck, she was so damn confused right now.

  Ellen chuckled. “It’s okay. You don’t have to say a thing.”

  Zoe pushed her own issue aside and remembered earlier when Rick had shown up. She arched her own brow at Ellen. “Fine. I won’t say a word. Just like you don’t have to explain the look you got on your face when Rick was here.”

  “I was… I did not look any different,” Ellen said, and then guilt followed by relief flashed and she chuckled. “Okay, why don’t we both plead the fifth?”

  “Sounds good,” Zoe said, but something about just chatting with Ellen about not talking about it felt right. But damn, when she left, she was going to miss more than just Tyler.

  Tyler had to wait for the guard to check before he’d let him through. Did Bradford think this was Fort Knox?

  Finally, the guard opened his bulletproof window. “Mr. Windsor is going to meet you at the entrance.”

  Tyler drove up to the house and eyed the grounds. He couldn’t help bu
t imagine Zoe running around the yard. Then he wondered if she’d be the same person she is now if the Bradfords had raised her instead of the Adamses. Generally speaking, Tyler didn’t care too much for people who came from old money. Considering Zoe’s giving personality, he had to admit the Adamses had done a damn good job with her.

  As Tyler got out of his car, he gave the grounds another glance, and a more dismal thought ran through his mind. Was this where the abduction took place? According to the press, the mother said Caroline had gone outside to play, and when she’d checked on the child a short time later, she was gone.

  Good to his word, Mr. Windsor appeared around the corner. When Tyler got a good look at the man, he got a sneaking suspicion that this visit wasn’t going to go well.

  “I was wondering when one of you guys would show up and fess up,” Windsor said.

  “And we were wondering why you didn’t come to see us earlier.” The older man started walking toward the house, and Tyler followed. They entered the first room on the right, an office.

  “Mr. Bradford isn’t here, but I almost guarantee that the first order of business when he does arrive will be to fire your asses.”

  “Really? What for? Taking a case? How did we know your guys were involved?” It was a lie, but it sounded good.

  “You nearly killed someone who was working for us.”

  “Bullshit. We fought a little. And we wouldn’t have done that if you had come to us in the beginning to do your checking.”

  “You do the hiring for security, that’s all. This was a private matter.”

  “What kind of a private matter?”

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but the chick was hanging out here. Following the boss’s limo.”

  “So you hire a PI to check into anyone who has an interest in the famous Bradford family? Isn’t that a bit much?”

  “The old man’s a bit paranoid. So yeah, we do.”

  “Do you also shoot up these women’s places and try to scare them off?”

  “We didn’t do that.”

  Tyler studied him and couldn’t tell if the old man was lying. “What about Mrs. Daniels?”

  “What the hell does she have to do with this?”

  Tyler couldn’t tell him what he knew, so he skirted the truth. “I figure she’s looking out for her old man, too.”

  “She’s looking out for her next liposuction, or some young stud who’ll tell her she looks twenty-nine. She doesn’t have shit to do with security.”

  Interesting, Tyler thought.

  “So what do you know about this chick?” Windsor asked, and Tyler got a feeling he might be hiding something.

  “I know someone has been leaving her threatening phone calls and that they shot up her apartment.”

  “That’s why she hired you?” he asked.

  “What other reason could there be?” Tyler asked.

  “Don’t know, but I thought maybe you could tell me why she was snooping around the place, besides the obvious.”

  “Obvious?”

  “Just tell me the girl left and went back to Alabama and won’t be wagging her little ass around here hoping to get the old man in bed and land herself a quick million.”

  Tyler’s insides tightened. “Why don’t you ask your PI what happens when people piss me off?” he growled. “Tell Mr. Bradford to contact us when he gets back.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  SOMEONE KNOCKED ON the apartment door. Before Zoe got it open, she heard a baby crying and pretty much suspected who was on the other side. Had Tyler’s sisters come back to ask about her intentions? And just what would she tell them now, Don’t worry I’m only going to take advantage of him for two weeks? Her chest hurt thinking about it.

  Zoe opened the door to a very worried-looking Sam holding a crying baby. Her daughter, Anna, stood at her side.

  “Come in.” Zoe smiled, and Anna stepped inside.

  “Is Tyler here?” Sam asked.

  “Is your cat here?” Anna asked.

  “Tyler went to run some errands.” She looked down at Anna. “Yes, Lucky is here.”

  “Can I see him?” Anna asked.

  “He’s kind of shy.” Zoe wasn’t sure how Anna would take Lucky’s appearance.

  “That’s okay,” Anna said. “All cats love me.”

  Zoe grinned.

  Sam frowned. “Why is it that I have seven siblings, and when I need one, not one is available?”

  “Have you called his cell?”

  “I got voice mail.”

  Zoe looked at her watch. “He said he’d be back by five. That’s less than two hours. Why don’t you come in and wait?”

  When Tyler got to his apartment, Sam wasn’t there. He tried calling her, but she didn’t answer. He decided to wait awhile, and, not wanting to waste time, he grabbed his phone to call the historian at Shadows County, hoping to get him this time. He saw he had a message. Someone must have called when he was meeting with Windsor.

  It was Sam, asking him to come by.

  He tried calling her back, but got her voice mail again. “Where are you, Sis?”

  Then he dialed Burnett Bankhead. The old man answered this time, and Tyler had to remember his approach. Unfortunately, lying seemed the best bet.

  “Mr. Bankhead, my name is Tyler Lopez; I’m a fellow history lover, and I’m helping a friend do some family research. Shadows County is always popping up. I was told by several people at the courthouse that you were the go-to guy.”

  Tyler didn’t know what questions he might ask that would give him something useful, so he decided to ask a bunch of them.

  For fifteen minutes, Tyler listened to the old man’s stories. Finally, Tyler got a word in and mentioned the Adams name.

  “Yup, we had some Adamses here. One of them really hung their hat in Barker County.”

  “Yeah, Barker came up, too,” Tyler said, hopeful.

  “What was their first name?”

  Burnett paused. “Ralph Adams. Father and son.”

  “Father and son?” Tyler said. “I don’t remember there being a Junior on the name.”

  “All I know is that they were father and son.”

  Tyler started running everything he’d learned about the other Ralph Adams. And suddenly something clicked—something that could answer a hell of a lot of questions, too. But just to be sure, Tyler asked one more question. “The father, didn’t he own a funeral home?”

  “Yup, he did.”

  Before Tyler hung up with the old man, he’d turned on his home computer to see if his theory washed out.

  Tyler had fifteen minutes before heading back to his office. But he’d wanted to stop by Tony’s office and see if he’d found the Bradford file. Tyler needed to confirm his suspicions.

  “Hey.” Tony looked up from the file on his desk. “I was about to call you.” He motioned for Tyler to shut the door.

  “You found it?” Tyler closed the office door.

  Tony frowned. “It’s ugly. But at least now I understand how they misidentified the body.”

  Tyler sighed. “The body was missing the head.”

  Tony’s eyes widened. “How did you know? I don’t think they ever let that leak out.”

  Tyler debated sharing what he knew, but maybe if he gave Tony what he knew, Tony would reciprocate. “Ralph Adams’s father ran a funeral home.”

  Tony leaned in. “And?”

  “A week after Caroline Bradford was kidnapped, a mother and a five-year-old girl were killed in a head-on collision with an eighteen-wheeler. The papers stated the victims were decapitated and burned.”

  Tony looked disgusted. “Ralph Adams stole a body from his dad’s funeral home and made it look like Caroline Bradford?”

  Tyler nodded. “It explains why no one reported another child missing. The mother and daughter would have had a closed casket. I’m betting the girl’s casket was empty.”

  “But why?” Tony asked.

  “I haven’t figured that out yet. B
ut it means it wasn’t planned. Adams couldn’t have known that a child’s body would show up. I know this sounds crazy, but considering that Zoe was never mistreated growing up, I can’t help but believe that he did it to try to help Zoe.”

  “Wait,” Tony said. “The body wasn’t found until weeks later.”

  “Considering he worked in a funeral home, he probably knew how long to wait for the body to decompose enough that very little information could be learned. How was the body located?”

  Tony pursed his lips. “An anonymous caller said his dog kept going over there and he’d smelled something really bad.”

  “He wanted them to find it.”

  “But why?” Tony asked.

  “Because he wanted someone to think Zoe… Caroline was dead.”

  “The cops?”

  “No, I think he wanted to convince the kidnappers that she was dead.”

  Tony shook his head. “But how would he have stumbled across a kidnapped kid? And if he had stumbled across the kid, why wouldn’t he have gone to the cops?”

  “Maybe he was part of it in the beginning, and when it got ugly, he couldn’t go through with it. Or…” Tyler decided to toss out his less likely theory. “Maybe there was a cop involved in the kidnapping.”

  “Come on, Tyler. You’re pushing it now.”

  “I’m just thinking out loud. The lead detective, a Sergeant Phillips, retired right after the case. And he wasn’t retirement age yet. He’s coming by to talk to me tomorrow.”

  “After a case like this, a lot of cops throw in the towel.”

  “Maybe.” Tyler looked down at the file. “Who were they looking at for the crime?”

  “All the employees were questioned. One of the lawn workers, Frank Campbell, had a record, but they could never find any proof of his involvement.”

  “I don’t think that fits. He died five years ago. So it would’ve been hard for him to be taking potshots at Zoe.” Tyler raked a hand over his face. “Is there anything else in there that wasn’t leaked to the press?”

  “One thing,” Tony said. “The day the kid came up missing, they found a clown mask in the weeds.”

  Tyler’s gut tightened.

  Tyler was five minutes late getting back. He’d made a quick stop to grab a bottle of massage oil. He stuck his head into the office to see Dallas. “Hey, I’m back. Did Tony call you and fill you in?”