The word hung in the air between them for several heartbeats. The intense look Cody gave her rendered her speechless for that brief moment. Swallowing to coat her dry throat, she turned away. “I think we’ve found just about all there is to find here.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Cody said after a long pause, his voice deeper than usual.
He moved toward the exit and held the door open for Liliana. She left the house without looking at him. For some reason, she needed a few seconds to gather her composure. The intensity pouring off him stole her breath. She drew in gulps of the warm spring air, filling her lungs to capacity.
“I’ll meet you at the station after I make the tire casts.” Cody strode past her toward his SUV.
She watched him leave then realized she was all alone in the middle of nowhere, arid land for miles around. What was Carlos growing here? She didn’t see any crops—only about thirty scrawny cattle.
Before this investigation was over, she would know everything she could about Carlos Salazar. Who had a grudge against him?
As Liliana pulled into a parking space at the back of the courthouse where the police station was housed, her cell beeped. After switching off her Chevy, she answered it.
“This is your friendly reminder about Joanna’s birthday party at five. The first thing she asked me this morning was if you were coming to her party.”
“Elena, am I that bad that you have to resort to reminding me?”
“No, not usually but I heard about the third murder and I know how you can get so involved in a case that you forget about your family.”
“One time does not make a pattern.”
“I can’t disappoint my daughter. You’re her favorite aunt.”
“I’m her only aunt.”
“Still makes you her favorite.”
Liliana pushed open her driver door and stepped out of the Chevy. “I’ll be there. I won’t let Joanna down.” Besides, she intended to let Samuel know how important her sister’s wellbeing was to her without openly accusing him of what she thought he was doing. “See you this evening.”
“Are you bringing Mama?”
“Yes and Rafael. Baseball practice should be over by then.”
“See you all later.”
Liliana slipped her cell back into her pocket and started for the back door. Juan stepped outside with a large plastic trash bag and swung it one-handed into the dumpster near the exit. Juan had cerebral palsy but worked hard not to let his affliction get in his way. She admired his courage and determination. “How’s it going?” She stopped beside the janitor, greeting him with a smile.
But Juan didn’t return her grin as he usually did. Instead, deep grooves creased his forehead. “Not so good.” His words slurred slightly and a drop of spittle glistened at the corner of his mouth.
“What happened?”
“My nephew got in trouble at school today and left. He’s telling my sister he isn’t going back.”
“He’s giving up the baseball team? I thought he loved playing.”
“I thought it would be his way to college. He has decided he wants nothing to do with school.” Juan moved toward the back door and opened it with his right hand while his lifeless left arm lay folded and plastered against his side then waited for her to enter. “Do you think your brother could talk some sense into José? He might listen to Rafael. He doesn’t think I know what I’m talking about.”
“I’ll say something to Rafael. I’m picking him up this evening. My niece is six years old today, and we’re having her birthday party tonight.”
Juan’s mouth tilted up. “Gracias.”
Liliana entered the building. “Anything for you. You ignore my messy work space.”
Juan chuckled as he shuffled past her. “You are mi amiga.”
Liliana sat for the first time that day at her desk. The long morning and afternoon at the crime scene underscored her exhaustion. That’s what I get for not sleeping last night. For that matter the night before, too. She’d certainly seen her share of dead bodies and had been elated at the lull in murders over the winter months. But the death of a woman with child bothered her more than usual. She’d been six months pregnant. The baby never had a chance. The way the killer had shot Jane Doe shouted it was very personal. A rejected lover?
Officer Hudson paused next to her. “Miguel Salazar is in the interview room and a reporter called from the Durango Daily.”
She was almost afraid to ask, “Anything else?”
“Other than the mayor has been on the phone with Chief Winters for the past fifteen minutes, nope.”
“I’m considering going to Colorado, hunting down Brock, and hauling him back here.”
“You could always track him using his cell.”
“I wouldn’t put it past him that he conveniently left it at home.”
“Ha! Me neither.”
As the back door opened and Cody came into the police station, Liliana flipped through her messages, decided they could all wait, and rose.
Cody set his cowboy hat on an empty chair behind Liliana’s desk. “Ready to see what Carlos’s cousin has to say?”
“We’ve given him enough time to stew.”
“It was interesting how he complained about missing work once we wanted to take him in for questioning, and yet he had all the time to go out to see his cousin to chat. I’ll take the lead on the interview.”
“Miguel goes to my mother’s church. He’s super-protective of his family. From what little I’ve heard about him, work and family are about all he does.”
“Is he married?” Cody’s long strides shortened the distance to the interview room quickly.
“Yes, with one boy, eighteen months old.”
Cody cocked his head toward Liliana. “How well do you know the Hispanic community in Durango?”
“Very well. I have a big family, and they’re quite social.”
“But not you?”
“What makes you say that?” Liliana started to reach for the doorknob. Cody clasped it first but didn’t turn it.
Instead, he angled his head until their gazes connected across the foot that separated them. “The way you said it. Like it was something they did, but not you.”
She toyed with whether to answer him or not. When she decided against it, she nodded toward the door. “I have a party to go to at five, and I can’t be late.”
He laughed. “I wouldn’t want to keep you from your—social life. A party sounds so much more fun than what I’m going to do.” He twisted the knob, but the door remained closed.
“Okay, I’ll bite. What are you going to do tonight?”
“Try to put together an edible meal for myself.”
“What about your son?”
“He texted me that he would be studying at the high school library tonight until it closes at nine. He’s grabbing a sandwich and heading to school at five. He already has a big project. I’m sure tonight I’ll hear all about that.” He pulled the door open.
“Is that normal?”
“Studying or complaining?”
Liliana entered the interview room, glimpsing Miguel with his forearms on the table, twiddling his thumbs. “Studying. I know complaining is normal for a teenage boy. I have a seventeen-year-old brother.”
“Yeah, it’s normal, just not at the library. But we only live a couple of blocks from the high school. In Houston, it was miles away.” Cody switched his attention to Miguel and slipped into the chair next to the man.
Miguel hunched his shoulders and tried physically to get as far away from Cody as possible without moving the chair.
“Señor Salazar, I’m Ranger Cody Jackson, and I’ll be working on your cousin’s case along with Detective Rodriguez here. We just have a few questions for you then you can leave. I understand you have a job to get to. When were you due at work today?”
Miguel blinked then dropped his gaze to his hands folded on the table, his thumbs pointing to the ceiling. “One.”
“That’s an odd time. What are your hours?”
“Usually seven to four, but today I took the morning off.”
“Ah. Do you normally do that?”
“No.”
“Then why today?”
“Well,” he started twiddling his thumbs again, the seconds evolving into a full minute before he finished, “I wasn’t feeling well this morning.”
“But well enough to go see your cousin. What would your boss say about that?”
“I was heading to work when Carlos called and wanted to see me.”
“Oh, I see. What did he want to see you about?”
“He didn’t say, but he was excited.”
“And you don’t know why?”
Miguel shrugged and looked toward the ceiling. “No telling with mi primo.”
“Yeah, no telling.” Cody glanced at Liliana.
Within his gaze, she saw an invitation to step in. She moved forward and leaned across the table. “Miguel, we need your help. Who would do this to Carlos?”
This time the man swung his attention to Liliana. “I don’t know. He doesn’t do nothing to others. He works hard, minds his own business.”
“What does he do?” Liliana sat in the chair across from Miguel.
“Raise cattle for my wife’s uncle.”
“All I saw was thirty or so.”
Miguel let out a deep breath slowly. “I know it don’t look like much. But he is—was doing better than my cousins in Mexico.”
“Who isn’t?”
“Sí, that’s why Carlos was so happy to be here. A dream come true working the ranch for my wife’s uncle.”
“But someone ended his dream.” Liliana cocked her head. “How was your wife’s uncle going to make any money off of just thirty or thirty-five cattle?”
“Before he got sick, he had started buying some to build the herd up. But he got sick before he really could.”
“Who is this uncle?”
“Alfredo Flores.”
“Ah, wasn’t he Cesar Álvarez’s foreman?”
“Yes. Señor Álvarez gave Tío Alfredo the land when he retired. It isn’t good for a whole lot, but it can support about fifty head of cattle. That’s all my wife’s uncle wanted. Señor Álvarez is generous with his retirement benefits to his longtime employees.”
“Where is Señor Flores now?”
“Staying with my wife’s mother.”
“Write down the contact information for him.” Cody slid a pad and pen toward the man who scribbled it down on the paper.
Liliana removed her card from her pocket. “Please call me if you can think of anyone who would want to hurt Carlos. If he’s mixed up in something illegal, we need to know.”
“Carlos? His younger brother and uncle died of a drug overdose. He won’t—I mean he didn’t touch drugs.”
“It can be a quick way to make money—and get killed.”
“Not Carlos. He wanted to start a family.” Miguel slipped her card into his shirt front pocket.
“Did he have a girlfriend?”
His gaze slid down to a spot in the center of the table, Miguel didn’t say anything for half a minute. “Not that I know of. He was fixing up the ranch first. I think he hoped Tío Alfredo would sell it to him in time.”
“Would someone have robbed him?”
Miguel shook his head. “He didn’t have much. Was his TV still there?”
“Yes.”
“He had a fifteen-year-old black truck that barely ran. I saw that when I came to the ranch. The only other things on the ranch were the cattle and two horses. From what I saw they were still there.”
“So robbery wouldn’t be the motive.”
“No.”
“Who is Anna?” Liliana asked, observing closely his body language for any sign of recognition.
Miguel opened his mouth then snapped it closed. “Anna? There is a woman at church named that. What’s she got to do with me or Carlos?”
“Are you talking about Anna Delgado?”
“Sí.”
Anna Delgado was fifty-five and a friend of her mother’s. She wouldn’t have written those letters to Carlos. “Does he know anyone else by the name of Anna?”
Miguel lifted his shoulders in an exaggerated shrug. “I don’t know. It’s a common name. How would I know everyone my cousin knows?”
Liliana rose and stretched out her arm toward Miguel. “I appreciate your help. Sometimes, you’ll think of something later. Please call if you do.”
Miguel closed his hand around hers and shook it. “Sí, if I can think of anything else. Am I free to go?”
“Yes.” Cody walked to the door and opened it for the man.
After Miguel left the interview room, Cody turned to Liliana. “He’s lying. He knows who Anna is. Possibly even who might have killed Carlos. Why would he keep that a secret unless Miguel or Carlos were into something illegal?”
“I don’t think he is. He has lived here for his whole life. We went to school together. He was a few years older than me, but he was a good kid.”
“Yeah, and from what you’ve said he’s a good man. I still think he’s lying, not telling us something. Good men can fall from grace.”
“And bad men can change.” Although she said those words, she really didn’t believe that. Her father hadn’t, and she didn’t think Samuel would. Maybe Miguel was protecting his family.
“True. But something is happening in Durango. What has changed?”
“The weather has gotten warmer. Otherwise, I don’t know.”
“In other towns around here, I would say probably nothing happened, but Durango is one of the safer towns near the border.”
“We have our share of trouble.”
“But not like other places. That’s one of the reasons I picked Durango instead of working nearer Brownsville.”
“You had a choice?”
“Yep.” He flashed her a smile. “I was planning on kicking back and relaxing for a change. Maybe only work eight-hour days instead of twelve to fifteen. I’m not so sure that’s gonna happen. The first full day I’m here there’s a murder.”
Liliana made her way to the doorway. “I guess you’ll have to save up your vacation time if you want to rest and relax.”
He fell into step next to her. “What do you do for rest and relaxation here?”
“We have a movie theater, a bowling alley. Soccer is a popular sport, even for the men. There’s riding, hiking, and boating around here.”
“What do you do for leisure?”
Pausing in the main room, she swung toward him. “Family takes up most of my free time, but when I get a chance, I like to take my camera and go hiking or biking.”
“You’re a photographer?”
“I wouldn’t go so far as to say that. But I like to take pictures.”
“Do you like to ride?”
“Yes, when I get a chance. Why?”
“Maybe you could show me some of the countryside when things settle down around here.”
“Do you have a horse here?”
He nodded. “Yep. Star of Texas. A quarter horse I’m boarding with Al on his land right outside of town—sixteen hands of muscle and attitude with enough stamina to track all-day and still run down a fugitive like a bloodhound. If I was staying, I’d buy some land so I wouldn’t have to board Star.”
“You aren’t staying?”
“At the most, I’ll leave when Kyle graduates in two years.”
So he’s passing through. She shouldn’t be too surprised by that. Durango wasn’t a post most Texas Rangers would want. Usually they got new rangers or ones like Garcia who were close to retirement and from this area so they didn’t mind being struck out in southwest Texas. “Then why are you here, if it’s only for a short time?”
“I needed to get my son away from Houston and certain people who weren’t a good influence on him. Also, I am here to solve Al’s shooting.”
“We haven’t been able to do that. Al and I have ta
lked about the case and there aren’t many leads.”
“Then you won’t mind a fresh pair of eyes on it. I owe Al. He helped me a lot when I first started out in the Texas Rangers before he moved back here. I don’t like the fact someone tried to kill him and has gotten away with it.”
Liliana stabbed him with a sharp look. “I don’t like it either.”
“But as far as my son’s concerned, he thinks I’ve been banished to the parts unknown.”
“This town has a lot to offer. I wouldn’t consider it being banished.”
“Banished is my son’s word. He thinks I should have turned down the assignment. He doesn’t know I sought it out when Al had to retire rather than come back to work.”
“Why haven’t you told him?”
“The right moment hasn’t come up.”
“Right moment? That seems like some kind of excuse not to tell your son why you came to Durango.”
One of his eyebrows rose. “You do speak your mind.”
“I don’t like to play games.” For most of her childhood, she’d had to live behind a facade, keeping herself suppressed because her papa expected a daughter to act one way only.
“Until his mother died a few months ago, Kyle lived with her except every other weekend. We spent a lot of our time together reacquainting ourselves. Then there were weekends where I had to work and we had even less time. It has been an adjustment for both of us—living together seven days a week. Kyle has a stepfather he looks up to and wants to be exactly like.”
“Does that bother you?”
“Yes, because this man is being investigated for being a part of a white supremacist group. For years, he’s been slowly indoctrinating my son with that kind of garbage. I’m losing Kyle—maybe already have—but I’m gonna try my best to make up for the years I wasn’t around. This isn’t only his step-father’s fault, but mine, too.”
“How old is Kyle?” Liliana asked as Juan brought a cup of water and poured it on her plant. She smiled her thanks, glad he remembered to do that or the cactus would die from lack of water. Hard to do but she was capable of doing it—had with two other plants.
“Fifteen. He’ll be sixteen in a month then he’ll want to drive. Being a highway patrolman before coming to the Texas Rangers, I have seen my share of accidents caused by young teens driving with little experience. It scares me to know he’ll be joining those ranks soon.”
Shattered Silence: Men of the Texas Rangers Series #2 Page 8
