Tess slumped into Gerard’s kitchen from the garage after being stopped twice by ranch hands on the long driveway to the house. They wanted to know if she was okay. True to his word, Sean had called to alert her protectors.
She felt as if she was being wrapped in a warm, down comforter by Sean and Gerard. She’d be surprised if Hans didn’t call her within the hour to check on her.
She heard the rumble of eight eager feet as Roxie and Romper raced each other to see who could jump up and lick her face first. As it happened, they both met her at the same time and nearly knocked her over.
“Yuck, Romper. What have you been eating?” She couldn’t help laughing as the larger male Doberman smiled up at her with devotion and adoration until Roxie knocked him aside and whined her welcome. Against her better judgment, Tess dropped to her knees and allowed the animals to smother her in their own brand of slobbering, whining, all-inclusive love.
She was interrupted a few moments later by the jingle of her cell phone. Why had she allowed Megan to set Sean’s ring tone to Christmas music? The doctor had an interesting sense of irony.
“Home yet?” Sean asked after she answered.
“Yep, covered in dog spit.”
“That’s the best medicine. Why didn’t you tell me I had your lip stuff on my face?”
Tess caught her breath, and then she burst into giggles. “Oh, Sean, I’m so sorry. I didn’t…honestly, I wasn’t, um, paying attention to…I was distracted.”
“Yeah, me too, but that’s okay, because your brother caught me in time to stop me from embarrassing myself.”
She groaned. “He’s going to milk this for all it’s worth.”
“Just because he’s jealous. I don’t think he’d mind if our Dr. Bradley wore bright purple lipstick and kissed him all over his face.”
Tess sank onto the center of the living room sofa so Romper and Roxie could each claim a side. “I’m going to have to watch that next time.”
“That’s exactly what I wanted you to say.”
She smiled.
“There’s going to be a next time, then?” Sean asked.
Oh, she hoped so. But she couldn’t bring herself to say it. Not yet. Not with so many questions and so much danger hovering.
“Tess, why don’t you call Megan to spend the night? Gerard’s probably going to spend as much time as possible at the mission. I’ll be going back there as soon as I tidy up at the station and do my damage control, then return to spell Gerard.”
“Sounds good. Tomorrow’s Megan’s day off. Dr. Bowling is volunteering the day.”
“If word gets out, he’ll be swamped. Everybody loves him.”
“Because he treats every patient like a human being. Like Megan does.”
“Yeah, like you do. Like Gerard does.” Sean chuckled. “I’m not sorry Gerard discovered makeup on my face.”
She sighed. “Thank you.”
“And you know what else?”
“What?” she asked, sinking more deeply into the soft cushion, feeling warm all over.
“I’m not sorry that I love you.”
She closed her eyes and laid her head back. “Neither am I.”
Three hours after his last talk with Tess, Sean slammed down his phone and leaned back in his office chair. No promises from anyone. It seemed every member of every form of media in the area was trying to dig more deeply into the Tanner Jackson death, and though he’d been assured that their reports would be grounded in fact and not hearsay, he’d also been harassed by three people to give them Tess’s cell phone number so they could talk to the source. He gave them something, all right, but it wasn’t Tess’s phone number. They were not amused.
He glanced at the clock and braced himself. If someone really did have a smear campaign planned for Tess, he was going to stop it in its tracks, but it was going to be ugly for everyone, especially the one person he most wanted to protect. He had to call her and talk to her about what he was about to tell the public.
Before he could touch the phone, it rang. He picked up to hear Gerard saying, “Bingo.”
“What?”
“Arsenic was found in the blood tests. Now we know how the poison was delivered.”
“How’s that?”
“Colleen came to help out in the kitchen today because we’re vetting our help so closely, and she just happens to love hot sauce on everything she eats. She caught the scent of garlic in one of the Tabasco sauce bottles, and she called my attention to it. I took it for testing, and we have our answer.”
“Someone put arsenic in the hot sauce?”
“That’s right.”
“Anyone could have done that.”
“Yep. It’s the only thing we keep in bottles and not individual packets. Anyone off the street could have done it.”
“Tess and I had a hot sauce competition last night, but we used the habaneras sauce Sandra Mancillas makes. Angel gave it to us himself.”
“No wonder you two didn’t get sick. They keep the good stuff for their favorite people.”
“What now?”
“Police. I’m calling the captain now.”
“May I report it on the air?”
“Do whatever you have to, just keep our suspect’s name out of it.”
“You trust me, then, huh?”
“With my life. Even with my sister.”
The clock was ticking. “Okay, then, I’m going to have to do this on the fly. It’s time for me to kick Joe from his microphone.”
Joe, of course, was confused when Sean whispered the change of plans next to his left shoulder.
“What, boss?”
“I’m doing the first portion of the evening news.”
“Since when?”
“Since three minutes ago. Out of the chair.” He tipped the big guy to the side, and Joe got up, scratching his head and frowning.
Sean took the DJ’s head mic, sat down and waited for his signal, ignoring the puzzled looks he received from other members of his staff, regretting the fact that he didn’t have time to call Tess and explain what he was doing and why.
The signal came.
“Good evening. This is Sean Torrance, owner of KSFJ radio station, with late-breaking news from the Vance Rescue Mission. An earlier broadcast from a Corpus Christi television station reported an outbreak of food poisoning at the rescue mission’s soup kitchen. The source of contamination has since been isolated and confirmed as arsenic by a local lab. The police are being notified and all workers and volunteers are being required to take a course in security protocol.” He only hoped his buddies on the police force would forgive him for getting the jump on them this one time.
“KSFJ advises other soup kitchens, shelters and missions in the region to increase security and closely vet all employees and volunteers with comprehensive background checks. It is our goal to protect and serve those in our society who are most vulnerable.
“The co-owner and founder of the Vance Rescue Mission, Gerard Vance, has assured me that security measures have already been taken to protect the people who depend on his mission for food and shelter. It is felt that the contamination was deliberate, and the method used to spread the poison has been removed.”
He swallowed and decided on some aggressive words.
“Due to incomplete substantiation, it was also reported earlier today by a Corpus Christi television station that a Vance family member, Tess Vance, was a person of interest in the poisoning at the mission, as well as in the death of her client, Tanner Jackson, a musician in Austin, Texas, earlier in the year. This station has an eye-witness account—”
He paused, both for effect and for courage.
“—that not only was Miss Vance cleared of any suspicion by Austin police immediately after Jackson’s death, but she served as a witness to the fact that the hit-and-run incident was, in fact, intentional, as he was crossing the street at the time of the incident to visit with Miss Vance, who was his fiancé.”
As soon as the words w
ere out of his mouth, he couldn’t help questioning himself, even as he continued with the report, including information about the threatening notes. There would be no dead air on KSFJ.
“Please stay tuned for more news as we receive it.”
Before he was finished, he signaled Joe to trade places with him, and the program continued without interruption.
He walked out of the station through the back door, calling over his shoulder that he wasn’t accepting calls. There would be a lot of them. He’d made a brazen move, and there would be waves from every direction. How could he explain that he had no choice? He had to turn the tables on Channel Eleven before they could continue to slice Tess’s character to pieces.
He’d had to reveal the engagement, the threatening notes. And he’d had to make that revelation with force to show that he had information no other media in the area possessed. He could only pray that the difference between the truth and rumor would be obvious to honest listeners.
Now it would be necessary to decide what to announce on the air tomorrow, and possibly for days to come, in order to keep the story moving in the right direction.
He would not say anything about the possibility that someone might have killed Tanner because of the engagement, but if Channel Eleven wanted a battle over the airwaves, they would get one, and on this one subject, he would win.
He flipped open his cell phone, pressed speed dial and stared up at the dark, starless sky.
Megan answered Tess’s cell. “Are you trying to get yourself maimed?”
“She heard, huh?”
“Both of us heard. You know Tess never listens to the radio, don’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“But tonight, she just had to see if anyone else was going to try to ambush the mission or rip her to shreds.”
“Ouch.”
“You can bet she was surprised.”
“She does realize why I gave that report, doesn’t she?”
“I don’t know what she realizes. I’m not sure she does. Give her some time.”
“Where is she?”
“I think she’s out in the barn with Romper and Roxie, preparing to commit suicide by horse.”
“She’s riding Scorpio?” Gerard’s palomino stallion was not good under a saddle.
“She’s considering it, but I’m counting on her common sense to make her rethink her options. It would be a painful death. I offered to let her use my pistol as an alternative.”
“I’m coming out there.”
“Doesn’t Gerard need you at the mission?”
“I’ll call him. He could probably use help, but there are enough vetted employees and volunteers willing to work extra shifts because of this mess. I think he can do without me long enough for me to reassure Tess. Have the police arrived?”
“They were here about forty-five minutes ago, talked to Tess about where she was yesterday, told her they already had the police report from Austin, and they just sat and jabbered awhile. You know how Benjamin Delmonico seems to have a thing for her.”
Delmonico had better back off. “So it was casual and friendly.”
“That’s right. One hurdle cleared. Head on out to the barn when you get here. She’ll need her animal therapy session, even if she doesn’t ride.”
“I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”
“Maybe that’ll give her time to get some of the angst out of her system before you offer yourself for target practice.”
After he disconnected, he called Gerard and explained his plan, promising to return to the mission so Gerard could go home and get some sleep.
It would be okay. As soon as he faced Tess.
EIGHT
Tess stopped at Scorpio’s stall and petted his soft nose. The gorgeous, golden stallion was a pussy cat when one wasn’t actually on his back trying to tell him which way to go. Tess felt so filled with furious energy right now that she’d probably be able to handle him tonight, but the last time she’d tried to ride him, she’d ended up face-first in the muddy pasture.
She reached for his bridle, then started to open his stall. For some reason, Romper and Roxie whined. She glanced at them to see if they might have heard something or someone approaching. Two pairs of dark, anxious eyes were directed at her.
She sighed. “You know, I can ride a horse, kids.”
Romper walked to the stall door and parked himself in front of it on his haunches.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake, Romper, I know how to take care of myself.”
Roxie whined and crawled on her belly to Tess’s feet. She rested her chin across Tess’s right boot.
“Since when do you dogs have such long memories?” Okay, Scorpio had thrown her more than once, and since the dogs went wherever she went on the ranch, they’d witnessed those ignominious incidents. Still, she couldn’t allow Gerard’s two Dobermans, who, come to think of it, took after their owner in many ways, to tell her what to do. Her life had been turned upside down enough today. She needed to regain some control.
She pulled the stall door open to the sound of Romper’s irritable growl. Yep, just like his owner. Scorpio nuzzled her face and actually leaned into her as she stepped up to his huge, warm column of neck and wrapped her arms around it, leaning against his solid body. She breathed in the air of the barn and allowed the scents of hay, grain, dust and horse hide to comfort her. She pushed this frightening, wonderful, horrible, painful day aside and allowed the memories of her childhood to fill her mind, when all was right in her world, and her biggest challenge was figuring out how to break the rules—meaning, ride her mare before her chores were finished.
A soft thud drew her attention to the half wall of the stall, where Hobbit, the fluffy, fat tabby barn cat landed with a leap from the upper rafters. The cat had a purr that could reverberate throughout the barn. Tess reached up and allowed Hobbit to nuzzle her fingers.
“You look sleepy, Hobbit. Did I interrupt your rest?”
The cat trilled, reaching out a paw in her customary bid for attention.
Gerard had nailed some boards diagonally from the side of the wall to the front, where he could sit and visit with his horse. Tess sank onto them, and immediately Hobbit climbed down to her lap while the dogs entered the stall and settled at her feet, apparently relieved she wasn’t saddling Scorpio. The horse nuzzled the cat and then Tess’s face, his forelock tickling her skin. His breath smelled as sweet as the hay he’d been eating.
With a sigh, Tess leaned back.
After growing up on a cattle ranch, she knew animals. She’d learned long ago that her mare, Josie, could pick up on her moods. So could two of the three mutts she and her brothers had rescued from the shelter and the two stray cats they’d given a home. When she had her heart broken by some boy in school—it had happened a few times—she’d go home and sulk on the front porch, and the dogs would surround her, one of them because he wanted his ears scratched, the other two for commiseration.
Or she could lie down on the living room floor, and her cats would lie on top of her or curl up against her side and purr until she felt better. And she always felt better after her therapy sessions.
Gerard accused her of having some secret animal charm, but Scorpio had proven otherwise. Of course, maybe she couldn’t transmit her closeness through a cold, hard saddle. Next time, she’d ride him bareback. But she decided, reluctantly, that wouldn’t be tonight. Romper might try harder to convince her to see reason, and she didn’t want the seat of her jeans ripped out by Doberman teeth.
Romper and Roxie weren’t mere pets. They had been taught not to trust strangers, and in order for anyone to get into the house, that person first had to be introduced to both dogs by someone they trusted. For some reason, since last March when Tess moved in, they had become much more possessive of her…almost as if they knew…
By the time she heard the sound of an approaching engine, she was feeling better, and Romper had wandered away, assured somehow that she had decided not to ride tonight.
It wasn’t until the engine died that she realized it wasn’t Gerard’s. He would have pulled into the garage.
So much for the therapy session. She gave an irritable sigh when she recognized the sound of Sean’s footsteps coming toward the barn. Scorpio snorted.
“Tess, you’re not planning to ride that spoiled brat tonight, are you?” Sean called from the barn door.
She gave Hobbit a final hug and lifted her onto the top of the wall. “Not the wisest greeting for you right now, Torrance.” She stepped forward and wrapped her arms once more around Scorpio’s neck, trying to soak up his strength, and then she picked up the bridle and waited for Roxie to precede her from the stall. Scorpio tried to follow, but she pressed his nose back and shut him in.
Sean was standing with his hand out when she turned around. He took the bridle from her and hung it on its peg, then turned back to her. “We need to talk.”
“I can’t talk right now. I feel as if I’ve been kicked in the stomach.”
“You said you trusted me.”
“That was before you betrayed me.”
“What part of ‘going public’ did you not understand?”
“The part that nobody mentioned on television today. The part about my engagement to Tanner, which will, most likely, make me Public Enemy Number One.”
“You were cleared by the police, remember?”
“But the police never found the killer, and in the eyes of the people who don’t know any better, if they can’t find the killer, they might well be overlooking the most obvious suspect. Aside from all that, you announced, over the most popular radio station within listening distance, information you were privileged to know only as a trusted friend.”
“There’s that word again. Can’t you continue to trust me? Don’t you know me by now? Will you at least give me a chance to explain why I did what I did?”
“Couldn’t you have done that before you gave the report? Thirty seconds to at least warn me?”
“Tess, I spent the whole afternoon, from the time I left the mission until two minutes before the news hour, calling the newspapers, television and radio stations in an effort to stop this bomb from exploding on us. They didn’t want to listen.”
Season of Danger: Silent Night, Deadly NightMistletoe Mayhem Page 8
