“That’s not important. I know you were at the warehouse the other night. You’re the only one who knows I didn’t kill anybody.”
She spied a Methodist church ahead and pulled into the empty lot. Without switching off the ignition, she scanned the surroundings, making sure Cooper hadn’t followed her.
Satisfied he was nowhere to be found, she relaxed a little. “I did see you, Cooper. I know you were stealing cows, but I saw nothing that convinces me you didn’t kill Diego and your friend.”
“I swear I didn’t. And you’re right, Johnny Lorenzo was my friend,” he interrupted. “We stole cows, yes, but that’s it. You have to believe me. Can you meet me somewhere, so I can prove it to you?”
“How stupid do you think I am?”
“I swear, Jordan. I may be a cattle thief, but I’m not a killer. I figure whoever killed Johnny and Diego was looking to put out my lights, too. That’s why I was running for my life when you saw me. Johnny must have gotten a look at Diego’s killer.”
“Tell that to Maria Morales,” she blurted, unable to hide her anger over the anguish he’d caused the woman. “You took away both Rusty and Diego.”
“Rusty? Why would you think I killed him? He was my bread-and-butter.”
“So he really was the brains behind the cattle-rustling ring?” Even as she said it, she didn’t want to believe her brother had been right all along.
“I wouldn’t call him the brains, but he was the one who came up with the idea right after the old woman had her stroke. It was the perfect setup with his father working at the plant on the weekends.”
Considering the astronomical cost of around-the-clock nursing care, it made sense, but it still didn’t explain why Cooper had murdered three people, and possibly four, if you counted the waiter from the Cattlemen’s Ball.
“If you’re innocent, why don’t you turn yourself in? Then you can clear your name once and for all. I could call my brother Danny and have him meet—”
“No,” he shouted. “No cops. I won’t be hanging around long enough to convince people I’m not guilty, anyway. This time tomorrow I’ll be in the wind, and you and your brother will never hear from me again. That’s why it’s so important that you meet me now.”
“So you can tie up all your loose ends and kill me, too?”
“You’re talking crazy, Jordan. Why would I kill you?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because I’m the only witness who can place you at the North Texas Beef Distributors on Friday night. The only one who can positively identify you as the guy running from the building after you killed Diego and Lorenzo.”
“You have it all wrong.” He paused. “Time’s running out, Jordan. Are you going to meet me or not?”
God help her, she was about to do something she hoped didn’t come with too high a price. “Where?”
“In the parking lot of Hearth and Home off Texoma Parkway.”
She glanced down at the clock on the dashboard. “It’s one thirty, and I’m in Connor right now. It will take me about thirty minutes to get there.”
A minute passed before Cooper responded. “If you’re not there by two, I’m gone.”
She heard the phone go dead and immediately dialed her brother.
After listening to her repeat the conversation with Cooper, Danny said, “Hurry up and get to the 7-Eleven just past the Connor-Ranchero border. I’ll meet you there and hop into the backseat.”
“Bring Ray,” she said, remembering the last time she went by herself to meet someone she thought might be dangerous. If nothing else, it had taught her never to be that stupid again.
“I’ll do more than that,” Danny responded. “I’ll bring the whole damned police force.”
“No,” she shouted. “He won’t show if he suspects the cops are nearby. He made that perfectly clear.”
“He’ll never even know they’re around. Just hustle and get to our meeting spot.”
Somehow, knowing the Ranchero Police Department was coming didn’t instill any confidence in her. Alex had once dubbed the two that had investigated the break-in at her apartment as Dumb and Dumber. She had to agree. But it was too late now to argue about it.
Just past the WELCOME TO RANCHERO sign, she saw the 7-Eleven up ahead and Danny and Ray standing beside Ray’s Suburban. They hurried to her car when she pulled in, even before she could come to a complete stop.
“Let’s go. We’ve only got seven minutes left,” Danny said.
When they were close to Hearth and Home, both Danny and Ray slumped down in the backseat.
“Do you see him, Jordan?” Ray asked.
She scanned the nearly full parking lot. “It’s packed. I’ll have to drive up and down the aisles.”
“Check out the ends closest to the highway first. I’m sure Cooper wouldn’t be comfortable jammed in between cars where he couldn’t make a quick escape.”
At that moment, Jordan saw a police cruiser pass by on the main road, followed by two others close behind.
So much for no cops allowed.
“I don’t see him.”
“Call him.”
Jordan pulled into an end slot and redialed the number Cooper had used earlier. She was immediately connected to voice mail. “Cooper, where are you? I’m waiting in the parking lot.” She disconnected and shrugged. “Now what?”
“Nothing to do but wait,” Danny said. “Got any food? I’m starving.”
“I’m sure you can find a few French fries on the floor.” Teasing her brother made her relax a little, and she leaned back into the headrest.
At three, after several more calls to his cell phone went unanswered, they decided Cooper was not going to show. Danny phoned Officer Rutherford and called off the operation.
“If I saw the cops, trust me, Cooper did, too. I told you not to get them involved, Danny. Now we may never find out anything.”
“You’re probably right, but there’s not much else we can do right now. We still have an APB out for him and his car. Asking you to meet him here might have been just a ruse to throw us off about where he is right now. That would give him more time to make his getaway. I’ll call the Border Patrol and have them on the lookout, just in case he isn’t already in some villa drinking a margarita with some young senorita.”
Knowing Cooper might be long gone didn’t calm her fears, and she scanned the lot one last time before pulling out. “Now what happens to you? Will you hang around until they find Cooper and bring him in?”
“Probably not,” Danny answered. “It looks like the cattle theft ring has been shut down, at least for now, and my boss needs me back in Amarillo. I’ll let the police deal with chasing down Cooper and prosecuting him for murder.”
“We can’t let you go without a party,” Ray said, patting Danny’s back. “We’ll all miss you, kid.”
“I—” Danny’s voice cracked before he laughed. “I’d be an idiot to turn down a party.”
Jordan dropped Ray off at the 7-Eleven to get his Suburban, and she and Danny headed to the apartment, stopping only long enough to pick up a bucket of chicken. There was still no word from Cooper, although Jordan must have checked her phone a dozen times to see if maybe she’d missed the call.
By late afternoon, her thoughts were already off Cooper and back on her visit with Maria. It bothered her that she couldn’t understand what Maria had been trying to say.
And why did the photo of Diego and her sister upset her so much? That had to be the clue.
CHAPTER 22
With the response to Bella’s Baked Steak recipe keeping her busy, the week flew by for Jordan. For the past two nights, she’d gone straight to Sandy’s from work to help pack up the apartment. Although a couple of off-duty firemen were scheduled to move the heavy stuff on Saturday, Jordan and her friends were pitching in to help transport the rest of Sandy’s things.
The week had also been busy for Danny. Between wrapping up his investigation and getting ready for the trip back to Amarillo, he hadn’t
spent much time at the apartment. Cooper Harrison was still at large, and they figured he was probably holed up in some tiny village in Mexico. Although they’d found an offshore account in his name, surprisingly, it hadn’t been touched in days.
While cattle rustling in North Texas remained a problem, Danny’s bosses were convinced they had dealt it a crippling blow by putting Cooper out of business. Following a hunch, Danny had carried out a search warrant against Cooper’s friend, Blake Graham, Cooper’s accountant and computer expert.
The police discovered Blake had hacked into the files of Buddy’s Barbecue Pit and stolen Buddy’s secret, world-famous recipe for barbecued beef. Additionally, they’d found evidence linking the computer expert directly to the cattle-rustling ring. A paper trail revealed he’d hacked into the private accounts of several Texas ranches, as well as a few from out of state.
By placing legitimate bills of sale in their accounting files, Blake had made it appear as though the very ranchers who were victims of the theft were guilty of double-dipping. It was genius, actually, since proving they hadn’t sold the cows themselves and claimed the losses on their insurance policies had been nearly impossible.
Blake’s computer led the police to North Texas Beef Distributors where they’d uncovered even more evidence of the fraud. Apparently, he had also been manipulating the files there to show invoices for the stolen meat that was subsequently sold as legitimate. No wonder the company was doing so well.
When Carole Anne Summerville found out that Cooper had killed Diego and was on the run and that Blake was awaiting formal charges, she cut a deal with the DA’s office faster than they could spout off her Miranda rights. To avoid being charged as an accessory to the murders, she’d squealed like a baby pig in a hog-tying contest, leading them to several other cowboys who’d been involved in the operation. Jordan wasn’t surprised to see that Bobby Carvella, the ranch hand who had succeeded Rusty Morales as Lucas Santana’s right-hand man, was at the top of the list.
She was proud of her big brother, especially when he was given a public commendation for his work in bringing the thieves to justice. She’d taken off Thursday afternoon, and the gang had all descended on City Hall to watch the presentation. As the youngest boy in her family, Danny had always worked harder to prove himself. He deserved every bit of glory the city of Ranchero poured on him.
By the time Friday rolled around, Jordan was more than ready for a nice relaxing evening with her friends. At quitting time, she couldn’t get out of the office fast enough, stopping at Piggly Wiggly on the way home to pick up Danny’s favorite, German chocolate cake.
Although she was anxious to get back to a normal routine again, she’d miss her brother. It’d been nice having him around, even if they still fought like they had when they were younger. It was little comfort to know she’d see more of him now that he was sweet on Sandy.
When her apartment was quiet again, she would do more research on the latest treatments available for stroke patients with aphasia. The image of Maria pounding on the picture frame still tugged at her heart, and she was determined to do whatever she could to help, even if the results proved to not be completely transformative. To that end, she’d placed a call to a doctor in Dallas who specialized in stroke victim rehabilitation. Unfortunately, he was out of town and wouldn’t be able to return her call until Monday.
Danny wasn’t at the apartment when she got there, and she used the alone time for a power nap, which usually refreshed her. But this time she still felt exhausted when Danny got home and began banging things around.
She watched him pull out his suitcase and fling it on the couch. Tonight would be the last time she’d see him for a while. After the get-together, he planned to spend the night with Sandy and head out of Ranchero bright and early from there.
Slowly rising from the recliner, she walked over to where he was adding the finishing touches to his packing. Slamming the suitcase shut, he set it on the floor.
Reaching around him with her arms, she hugged him from behind. “You know how much I’m gonna miss you, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll miss you, too.” He turned and hugged her back. “I know I don’t always show it, but I love you, sis.”
Jordan swallowed hard, feeling the same way. “I’m going to remind you of that the next time you’re acting like a jackass.”
He laughed. “You wouldn’t want it any other way. Admit it.”
She would rather hang upside down from a tree the way he’d forced her to do sometimes when they were kids than admit it to him, but he was right.
Pulling away before they both got too sappy, she said, “I get the bathroom first. We only have a half hour before showtime at Rosie’s. You know how antsy the gang will be if we’re not there on time. I’m convinced they all have timers in their bellies that go off right at seven.”
“I talked to Sheriff Delaney today. With all the circumstantial evidence pointing to Cooper as the killer, he’s closed the case,” Ray said. “He told me it couldn’t have happened without you, Danny.”
For the first time since they were kids, Jordan saw a slight blush creep up Danny’s face. “Yeah, yeah. I had a lot of help, but it still looks damn good on my résumé.”
“Any chance we can talk you into moving to Ranchero permanently?” Victor asked. “I have a feeling you and I could get into a lot of trouble together, bro.”
Danny laughed. “I’m sure we could, but after the curtain debacle at Sandy’s, I think my sister would kill me if I lived any closer than the Panhandle.”
“She’d have to get in line behind me,” Lola said playfully. “For a minute out at the lake, I actually thought I had summoned up the spirits.” She paused, obviously realizing from the look on Sandy’s face that the girl still believed she’d said good-bye to her grandfather that night. “Forget I said that, darling.”
Jumping in to rescue her friend from that slip of the tongue, Rosie pointed to the kitchen. “So, who’s hungry?”
When they all shouted in unison, she added, “I thought since beef was the reason Danny’s here with us in the first place, it should be his parting meal. We’re eating Steak and Gravy, Jordan’s recipe.”
“Bella’s,” Jordan corrected. “Her recipes are the one good thing that came out of my Sunday visits at Santana Circle Ranch. They were a big hit with the people of Ranchero.”
“How much longer do you have to keep doing that?” Michael asked, grabbing a plate and heading for the kitchen.
“I think I’m through. Lucas wanted to get more people buying steak, and he’s accomplished that. The last time I was in Egan’s office, he showed me a report that confirmed a nearly twenty-five percent increase in local beef sales since I started publishing Bella’s recipes.”
“You’d think they’d want to continue with it if he’s already getting those kinds of results in just a few weeks,” Lola said.
Jordan grabbed her own plate and followed Michael. “The deal was for me to go out there four times, but I’d be surprised if I have to continue doing that. Technically, I have two to go, but with Lucas under the weather right now, I seriously doubt they’ll hold me to it.”
“What’s the matter with him?” Rosie asked, dishing out the food.
“Palpitations or something. Bella said he’s already taking blood thinners for atrial fib or some problem with his heart, so they lowered the dosage.”
Jordan sat down at the table and waited for the rest of the gang to do the same.
After a quick prayer, they began to eat, and all chatter stopped while they made pigs of themselves.
“I can barely move,” Lola said, pushing her plate away. “Rosie, you outdid yourself with this one.”
“Does this mean you don’t have room for dessert?” Rosie asked.
“Oh, hell no, darling. Did you get a look at the chocolate cake Jordan brought?”
“Oh yeah. I’ll get the coffee brewing. I even bought a bottle of Kahlúa and a can of whipped cream so we can have a pro
per sendoff for Danny.”
For the next hour, the talk centered on plans to help Sandy with her move the next day. Danny was leaving around five, hoping to be on the road before the sun came up. Jordan tried to talk him into sleeping in and leaving after breakfast, but he held his ground, wanting to get on the highway before it got congested with travelers trying to get home before Monday. Knowing he wouldn’t get much sleep, she prepared herself for an all-day worry fest until he called to say he was home safe.
“Ray, are you ready to tell everybody the news?” Michael asked.
All eyes turned to the retired cop, whose face lit up. “Lola and I are taking a cruise.” He shot his lady a look that promised more than a boat ride.
“I hate you, but that’s awesome,” Rosie said. “I’ve always wanted to go on one of those but never could afford it. When are y’all going?”
“In two months,” Lola responded when she finally broke eye contact with Ray. “We’re actually part of the hired help.” She turned to Michael. “Tell them about it.”
Michael leaned forward as if he was about to reveal a secret. “I’m sure you guys have heard about the Caribbean Cook-off we’ve been advertising over at the radio station?”
“Who hasn’t? That’s all you’ve been talking about for the past three months,” Rosie said before turning to Ray. “And you and Lola have hired on?”
“Yep,” Ray said. “Michael approached me last week and said the head of security for one of the big celebrity judges has to fly to a godforsaken village in Chile. Seems one of his kids is getting married and he won’t be available. They were going to cancel the trip, but Michael threw my name out there to Beau Lincoln’s people. I sat down with the powers that be yesterday and worked out all the details.”
“The Beau Lincoln who’s the head of Sinfully Sweet?” Rosie didn’t wait for a reply. “I absolutely love their brownies.”
“Yep, that Beau Lincoln,” Michael replied. “Lucky for you, he’s bringing some of his famous fudge on the cruise.”
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