One Tough Texan

by MJ Rodgers

  She looked up at him. That warm, wonderful lust that filled his eyes made her pulse jump and pushed the shadows momentarily away from her heart. She wanted this. And so much more. But could he give her any more?

  Matt pulled her gently to her feet.

  “Where are we going?” she asked, a bit too breathless.

  He brought the palm of her hand to his lips and brushed it with a kiss that sizzled down her spine.

  “This business is far from over. Donald Tennisen, the driver of that eighteen-wheeler that rammed us, is Sharlyn’s brother.”

  “The same Sharlyn we met at the cleaners?”

  “The very same. She has some explaining to do. And I intend for her to do it.”

  MATT FIRST CHECKED AT Sharlyn’s home address. She wasn’t there. He headed for the cleaners. Another receptionist directed them to her office. Matt and Jamie found her there, slumped over the desk, her head in her hands.

  She looked up at them, her eyes rimmed in red and swollen. She had obviously been given the news about Timothy Palmer.

  “Get out of here!” she screamed.

  “If you don’t want your brother rotting in jail for the rest of his life, you’d better talk to us,” Matt warned.

  Sharlyn straightened and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.

  Her look conveyed surprise that Matt had connected her with her brother. After a nervous hesitation, she waved at the chairs on the side of her desk.

  Matt and Jamie sat in the standard metal-and-vinyl seats. Matt said nothing for a long moment as he concentrated on just looking at Sharlyn, a sharp gaze that he intentionally sent her way to make her sweat.

  And she was sweating, as well as shredding the tissue in her hands.

  “Donald’s lawyer says he’s going to get him off,” she tried with a faint bluster.

  “You believe in the Easter bunny, too, Sharlyn?” Man asked.

  “Why are you out to get him?”

  “Let’s just say it was a mite unfriendly of him to take it upon himself to come after me,” Matt said in an even, matterof-fact tone.

  “He wasn’t after you. He was just trying to scare her. You could have killed him, shooting at him like that.”

  “If I had wanted him dead, he’d be dead,” Matt said evenly.

  Sharlyn blinked several times, rapidly. She obviously believed it. “What do you want from me?”

  “Answers. Why did Palmer send Donald to scare Jamie?”

  “Timmy send Donald? Ha! That’s a laugh. Timmy wouldn’t even pick up the damn phone to call and warn her off. I had to do it. I had to do everything!”

  “You called me at the station?” Jamie said. “You sent me the card filled with soot?”

  Sharlyn turned to Jamie, her lip curling, her voice trembling with anger.

  “I’m only sorry it wasn’t filled with acid, you witch! You led them right to Timmy! You’re responsible for his death!”

  “Who are ‘they,’ Sharlyn?” Jamie asked.

  Matt was impressed by the way Jamie kept her cool, refusing to react to Sharlyn’s angry name-calling.

  “Who? You imbecile. The Mafia, of course! They’ve been after him and his family for years. And for years he’s eluded them as part of the witness-protection program. Until you came along. Until you had to shove his face and yours on that damn TV program!”

  “No, you’re wrong,” Jamie said. “Timothy wasn’t—”

  “Entirely truthful with you,” Matt cut in before Jamie could say any more. “Palmer wanted to see Jamie. Matter of fact he was real eager to rekindle their old flame.”

  Sharlyn switched to Matt in an angry, jerky movement.

  “You’re lying. Last thing in the world Timmy wanted was for her to find him. He was afraid from the first that she’d lead those assassins to him.”

  “You forgetting their intimate past together?” Matt said.

  “Intimate? That’s a laugh. They were both just kids when they met. She meant nothing to him.”

  “Do the names Creighton and Wilson ring a bell?”

  “What is this, ‘Jeopardy’?”

  “No, that’s what Donald’s in.”

  Sharlyn got the message. “Oh, okay, okay. They’re two of Timmy’s buddies over at the Hilton. So?”

  “Palmer sent them to see Jamie and set up her meeting with him. He invited her to his home.”

  Sharlyn shot forward in her chair. “It’s not true! Timmy loved me. He’d never let her set a foot into his house.”

  “You need Jamie to describe Palmer’s brick fireplace and mirrored bedroom for you, Sharlyn?”

  Matt watched his words sink into Sharlyn. Her mouth still twisted, her eyes still burned red. Only this time neither had anything to do with grief. She jumped to her feet, grabbed the picture of Timothy off the desk and threw it across the room. It smashed against the opposite wall.

  “The two-timing bastard! And after all I did for him!”

  Sharlyn reached for a stuffed bunny perched on the edge of her desk. She dropped it on the floor and stomped it as if it were a bug. She was reaching for a paperweight when Matt rose to take Jamie’s arm, leading her out the door.

  They left Sharlyn cussing up a storm and grabbing anything that reminded her of Timothy to smash against the wall or grind beneath her shoe.

  “What will happen to her?” Jamie asked when they were back in the rental car.

  “On the legal horizon, she’s looking at a charge of conspiracy to commit assault. On a personal basis, I’d say she’ll be getting over Palmer real soon.”

  “Wasn’t it cruel to lie to her about him and me?”

  “Cruel? Jamie, don’t be forgetting that woman threatened you and almost killed you when she sent her brother after you in that eighteen-wheeler. Besides, she didn’t strike me as being in any frame of mind conducive to answering direct questions. I wanted to know exactly what their relationship had been. I also wanted her to tell me about Creighton and Wilson.”

  “How did you know about the mirrored bedroom?”

  “Keele got the fire department’s report.”

  “I thought he was the one you’ve been calling. Where are we going now?”

  “To see Creighton and Wilson. Got a bone to pick with those two boys.”

  A LADY DEALER AT ONE OF the twenty-one tables at the Flamingo Hilton responded to Matt’s Texas charm and twentydollar tip by telling him that Wilson was a security guard who’d gone off duty.

  She pointed Matt toward Creighton’s office in the back. Nameplate on the door said he was an assistant manager.

  When Matt barged through without knocking, Creighton nearly fell off his chair. Matt had circled Creighton’s desk and pulled him to his feet by the scruff of his shirt before he could even think about pressing the button for security.

  Creighton’s face flushed crimson. “You can’t come in here! I’ll have the law on you!”

  “Now, I’m real pleased you’ve brought up the law, Mr. Creighton,” Matt said. “I just happen to know the office number of the local FBI. Shall I dial it and let them explain to you about the penalties for impersonating a federal officer?”

  All the wind blew out of Creighton’s angry bluster. “Oh, hell.”

  Matt released his hold on Creighton’s shirt and the man fell back into his chair. He looked up at Matt with small, dark eyes that seemed to be shrinking more into his head by the second.

  “I can explain.”

  “Come in and close the door, Jamie,” Matt said. “Mr. Creighton wants to explain.”

  Jamie smiled as she complied, taking one of the chairs in front of Creighton’s desk.

  “Little different from the last time we met, Mr. Creighton,” she said. “I didn’t realize then that you were such a gambler with the truth.”

  Creighton swallowed. “Look, it was just a joke. Harmless.”

  “This is your explanation?” Matt said. “It’s all right to pretend to be an FBI agent because it was just a harmless joke?”

  �
�You don’t understand. Timmy said Mrs. Bonner here was looking for him. He just wanted me and Wilson to discourage her.”

  “Was it your idea to use the witness-protection scam?”

  “No, that was Timmy’s. I swear to God. Well, you can ask him. He’ll tell you how it worked.”

  “How it worked?” Matt repeated. “You saying he’s used it before?”

  “It’s just that…he just has this thing against getting married, okay? So when a babe he’s been dating for a while starts talking about tying the knot. he tells them this story about how he’s on the run from the Mob, and if they catch up with him, they’ve sworn to kill him and any wife and kids he has. He tells them he won’t marry them and endanger their lives.”

  “And this works?” Matt asked.

  “Oh, yeah. Babes either quit bugging him about marriage or run like hell.”

  “And then he gets another…babe,” Matt said, his tone full of disdain.

  “What can I say? It’s a town full of beautiful showgirls. But don’t get me wrong. He only pulls the scam because he has a soft heart. He doesn’t like hurting them.”

  “Because the truth is they’re expendable.”

  “No, it’s not that way with Timmy. He cares for them. He just has this marriage-phobia thing.”

  “Was Sharlyn a showgirl before she hooked up with Palmer?”

  “Yeah. But, she’s a regular whiz with a calculator, too. That’s why Timmy brought her into his business and let her loose on his books.”

  “Why did Timothy agree to see me?” Jamie asked.

  “Didn’t he tell you?” Creighton asked.

  “Timothy Palmer won’t be telling anyone anything, Mr. Creighton,” Matt said. “He was blown up in his house this morning.”

  Creighton’s face visibly paled. He came forward in his chair. “What?”

  “He’s dead.”

  Creighton shook his head. “No. I can’t believe it.”

  “It’ll sink in. Now, when did you talk to him last and what did he say?”

  “I…I don’t have to tell you anything.”

  “No, you can talk to the FBI instead,” Matt said, picking up the phone.

  Creighton gulped. “No, no. Look, okay. I called him from the coffee shop right after you and Mrs. Bonner left so I could tell him what you said.”

  Matt put down the phone. “Where was he?”

  “At one of the other casinos, talking about a special job the manager wanted. I told him Mrs. Bonner wouldn’t tell us about what was in the locket.”

  “Finding what was in the locket was the reason he sent you, wasn’t it?”

  “It was the main reason, yes.”

  “Go on,” Matt said.

  “Timmy was disappointed we hadn’t found out. He was on his way home. He told me to send you around to the house, and he’d take care of it himself.”

  “How did he say he was going to take care of it?”

  “He didn’t think it would be a problem to sweet-talk Mrs. Bonner into handing it over to him. He remembered her as a nice kid. He was also concerned about how you had found him. He thought if he asked her right, she’d tell him. Most women tell Timmy what he wants them to. I mean what he wanted them to. Damn. I still can’t believe he’s dead.”

  “Since you obviously knew his witness-protection program scenario was a scam, how did he explain away the fact that he was using another name when he was down in Texas fifteen years ago?”

  “He. said the babe—uh, I mean, Mrs. Bonner—had just remembered his name wrong was all.”

  “And you believed that?”

  “Hey, man. It was fifteen years ago. Who remembers a name right after that long a time?”

  “How long did you know Palmer?” Matt asked.

  “Close to thirteen years. We got to be drinking buddies right after he came to Reno.”

  “But thirteen years ago he was only seventeen,” Jamie protested.

  “No, he was older than that, Mrs. Bonner. Had to be. Not that he looked it, I grant you. Still, that youthful face of his rather appealed to the babes.”

  “Tell us how you met him,” Matt said.

  “At a bar. We had a drink together, got to talking. He had some money he wanted to invest.”

  “Where did he get the money?”

  “A lucky streak at the roulette wheel.”

  “Was he a heavy gambler?”

  “No. He just took an occasional chance on something. Gut reaction kind of player.” Creighton paused to look at Jamie. “You have to be twenty-one to gamble here, Mrs. Bonner, so I knew right away he was at least that. Nevada casinos don’t make the mistake of letting anyone underage near the tables. They always check ID on someone like Timmy who didn’t look his age.”

  “So what happened with this money he had to invest?” Matt asked.

  “I told him about the problem of getting a good, reliable . cleaning company at the casinos. He heard opportunity knocking and got to the door first.”

  “He have any other drinking buddies?”

  “None consistent like he and I were. I was his closest friend. I told him things. He told me things.”

  “Like the scam he pulled on women?”

  “Yeah. He asked me to work it for him once before when a weekend romance got sticky. Lady was from out of town and married. She didn’t tell Timmy about the married part until she announced she was leaving her husband for him. When Reg and I got through with her, she was running back to that old man of hers in the South Dakota hills.”

  “What about this sidekick in these impersonations, Reg Wilson? What was his relationship with Palmer?”

  “Barely knew him. Wilson works for me. He’s a security guard here at the casino. I just brought him along for show. He’s dumb but willing.”

  “Did Palmer ever talk to you about where he’d been before he came to Reno?”

  “He was always kind of vague about his background. I didn’t pry. Matter of fact, I didn’t even know he’d been to Texas until he asked me to do the FBI thing with Mrs. Bonner here.”

  “Was he a Nevada native?”

  “No, I don’t think so. Not that he ever said specifically one way or another. Just an impression I got.”

  “Did he ever mention mama, daddy, brothers, sisters?”

  Creighton shook his head.

  “What about hobbies?”

  “Gambling a little, whiskey a little.”

  “Did he favor any particular team when it came to sports?”

  “He liked any team that won when he bet on them.”

  “Peculiarities, phobias?”

  “Other than getting married, Timmy didn’t fear a thing.”

  “You said he drank. Did he smoke?”

  “No, didn’t like his babes to, either. Sharlyn had to quit before he’d even go out with her. Hey, wait a minute.”

  “You remembered something?” Matt asked.

  “Yeah, there was something else Timmy was afraid of. Ash.”

  “Cigarette?”

  “No, volcanic ash. He’d seen a TV special on the Discovery Channel about it. How all these dinosaurs died because they breathed in volcanic ash from an eruption a thousand miles away. It was an excruciating death. The jagged edges of the tiny particles ripped apart their lungs. Really freaked Timmy out.”

  “Why would that TV special have such an effect on him?”

  “Because he was in a little town about forty miles south of Mount Saint Helens in Washington State when that baby blew. He said he was afraid he had some of that crap in his lungs. Got a chest X ray every year to make sure his lungs were clear. Real fanatical about it.”

  “NOW WE KNOW TONY was near Mount Saint Helens in 1980,” Jamie said once they were back on the road.

  “I was trying to remember when the volcano blew.”

  “I’ll never forget,” Jamie said. “It was May. The next few days all the teachers talked about were volcanoes and the destruction they brought. I found them fascinating.”

 
“Why fascinating?” Matt asked.

  “Up until then I bought the idea that humans were number one in the hierarchy on this old earth. Then I realized the truth. One real big cough out of Mother Nature and even the most powerful of human beings could be wiped off the planet.”

  “You liked finding that out. Why?”

  “It was a real comforting thought, knowing that those who beat me could be beaten. I stopped looking at them as all powerful. Once I understood that their place in geologic time—any human being’s place—was an insignificant unit, my perspective on a lot of things expanded.”

  “Is that why you went into biogeology? This early fascination with the destructive forces of Mother Nature?”

  “Destructive, yes. But not malicious. Take a volcano. As the hot molten rock erupts from inside the earth, it segregates water from rock and forms the atmosphere. Truth is, no matter how immediately traumatic or violent the process, a volcanic eruption is an essential source of life-sustaining conditions on Earth. Rocks have always been much easier for me to read than human beings.”

  “You seemed to read Tony quite well. All along, you said he wasn’t the one who’d been threatening you. And all along, you were right.”

  “I couldn’t see how cruelty could come from someone who had been so kind. Still, I never knew him. He wasn’t even fifteen when he was in Sweetspring. I should have tumbled to the truth when that computer-aged version of him was so far off. If he had been fifteen in Sweetspring, he should have changed over the years. And not just in his facial features. He should have become taller, broader, a boy growing into a man. He didn’t. That can only mean one thing. He had already reached his full physical maturity when I first met him.”

  “And possessed that Michael J. Fox quality of youthful appearance,” Matt said. “Yes, I’ve a feeling you’re right. Which opens up some real interesting possibilities.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like the fact that when Tony and the man and woman who said they were his folks were in Sweetspring, they were three adults using assumed names, not two adults and a teenager.”

  “I see. What were they doing there?” Jamie asked, not expecting an answer, just finding herself downright curious about that question for the first time.