Trail of Lies

by Margaret Daley

  Why did he have to come to her house?

  The chimes rang again, and she hurried to answer the door. Maybe she could get rid of him, and no one would be the wiser that he was here. But then she remembered the person who had dropped Patches’s collar through her pet door only an hour ago and knew someone was probably watching her place right now, especially since her cat had just been returned.

  Why couldn’t the man have better timing? Or better yet, no timing.

  Melora wrenched open the front door, coming face-to-face with a Ranger who filled her entrance with his presence, full of power and self-confidence. Her eyes fixed on the gun holstered at his waist, and she resolved not to do or say something she would regret.

  “To what do I owe this…visit?”

  “I had some news on the break-in.”

  “The one where nothing was taken.”

  His mouth tightened. “Only because I interrupted the man. Can I come in?”

  No, go away. With difficulty she held those words inside and said, “For a few minutes. I was on my way out.”

  He stepped over the threshold. “I won’t be too long. I just have a few more questions.”

  Starting to shut the door, she gripped its edge tighter. “I thought you were giving me an update.”

  “That, too.” He grinned, the shadow from the brim of his cowboy hat shading part of his face.

  For some reason she didn’t think his smile reached his eyes. Instead of going into the living room and sitting, Melora swept around after securing the door and planted herself in the foyer, crossing her arms over her chest. “What did you drive all the way out here to tell me?”

  “The getaway car was found abandoned about five miles from here. What fingerprints found in it could be accounted for with the owner and his family.”

  “So there wasn’t anything in it to help you find the person who broke in?”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  Patience. She got the feeling that Daniel was purposefully trying her. “Then what else?”

  “A phone number on a scrap of paper that the owner didn’t recognize, and he’s the only one who drives the car. He’d cleaned it out a couple of weeks ago, and other than his wife, no one else had been in it since then. She didn’t know anything about the phone number, either.”

  She pointedly checked her watch. “So you think it belonged to the guy in my house.”

  “A definite possibility.” His smile grew, and this time she was sure it touched his dark depths. “I called it.”

  She fortified herself with a deep breath. “And?”

  “It was one of your husband’s restaurants. The one on the Riverwalk downtown. Have you ever been to that restaurant? Do you know any of the employees there?”

  “Oh, is this the question part of your visit?”

  He cocked his head. “I do believe it is.”

  “Yes to the first question and no to the second one.”

  “You’ve been there, but don’t know any of the employees of a restaurant you own?”

  “My husband owned. The last time I went to that restaurant, the first one in his chain, was three years ago on its tenth anniversary. I know the manager changed shortly after that, and I never met the new one.”

  “You haven’t been back to his premier restaurant since then?”

  Dropping her arms to her sides, she drew herself up straight and looked him in the eye. “Yes. I told you I don’t know anything about my husband’s business. You’ll need to talk to the man overseeing it now if you have a question about it. That’s William Thompson.”

  His eyes narrowed and filled with doubt. “How convenient to deny any knowledge about your dead husband’s affairs.”

  The ruthless way he said dead shivered down her length. At that moment she wondered who was more dangerous— Daniel Riley or the unknown person watching her. The truth—what little she knew—needed to be shared with him, but she couldn’t say the words. They clogged her throat like talons around her vocal cords.

  “I’m sorry, but I was one of those wives that ran the home and let her husband run his business.” Because that was the way Axle wanted it—not her.

  “You aren’t worried about what happened the other day?”

  Yes, I’m terrified. But if she revealed that, she would be grilled with more questions she didn’t have answers to. “Of course I’m concerned about the attempted robbery and have taken measures to secure my house better.” Again, she made a big deal out of glancing at her watch. “Now, if you’ll excuse—”

  The blare of the phone charged the air. She flinched, not expecting the sound, but used the interruption to hurry into the living room to answer the call.

  “Hello.”

  “Hello, Melora.”

  She stiffened. The same voice—raspy, smoke-saturated—as the man who had broken into her house. She turned her back on Daniel and lowered her voice. “What do you want?”

  “I see you have company. I see taking Patches wasn’t enough. I’m through giving you warnings.”

  “I haven’t said anything.”

  “Good, because Kaitlyn is a pretty little girl. We wouldn’t want anything to happen to her—or you.” Click.

  Daniel listened to Melora’s murmured voice, too quiet for him to hear what she was saying. He strode toward the door the intruder had used, pretending an interest in its new lock. He slid a glance back toward her, her face pale, her hands locked around the phone. Terror looked back at him.

  “Thanks for reminding me. I should be there shortly. I was detained but he was just leaving. Bye.” She replaced the receiver in its cradle, lowering her eyelids to veil her expression.

  “I’ll ask you again. What are you hiding?” Tell me. Please.

  Her look stabbed him. “Nothing. Now I really have to go.”

  “Are you all right?” When her eyelids lifted, the terror was gone, but he sensed it was only banked until he left.

  She shook her head as though ridding her mind of something distasteful. “I will be when you leave.” For the third time she glanced at her watch.

  If the situation wasn’t so serious, he would laugh at the woman’s poor attempts to convince him she knew nothing and was late for some appointment. He sauntered toward her, took a business card from his pocket and stuffed it into her palm. “Just in case you lost the other ones.”

  She grabbed his hand, her eyes widening slightly, and returned the card. “I don’t need it. Save a tree.”

  The warm feel of her fingers on his jolted him. He snatched his hand back with the slip of paper in it. “Suit yourself. If I have any more questions, I’ll be in touch.”

  “Next time use the phone. It’ll save you the gas coming all the way out here for nothing.”

  “Another green tip.” He tapped the brim of his cowboy hat. “I appreciate the thought. Good day, Melora.” He started forward, paused and glanced back. “I thought I’d let you know that we’re looking around the area where your husband was found for his bodyguard. But investigating other possibilities, too. Thanks for the information about Gordon Johnson.”

  Her eyes brightened for a few seconds before she masked her surprise.

  As he walked to the door, he noticed her purse sitting on a table nearby. He detoured and stuck the card she’d given back to him into the side of the bag. “Humor me,” he said when she opened her mouth to say something.

  Without uttering a word, she grasped the handle and opened the door. Its closing behind him the second he stepped over the threshold couldn’t strictly be considered a slam but only a decibel or two off. He chuckled. He had her rattled and maybe she would finally slip and admit something wasn’t right. Ask me for help. He threw a look over his shoulder at the heavy wooden door. Please, before something bad happens to you.

  He started for his truck, panning the terrain before him. Melora was scared. Who had called and what had the person said to make her go white like that? His survey brought him no answers. Nothing out of the ordinary. At
least nothing visible.

  Melora bolted the front door and even went to the alarm system and turned it on. If someone came into her house, she would know it.

  Then the full implications of what the man on the phone had said hit her. He thought she was talking to the Texas Rangers. He knew the name of her cat and her daughter. He inserted all the personal information to unnerve her more. And his plan had worked.

  She collapsed onto the couch in the living room and squeezed her hands together so tightly her knuckles were white. Pain streaked up her arms from her locked muscles. Who was she kidding? Staying here wouldn’t keep her safe. She had to get away with Kaitlyn. They would harass her and hound her until she turned over what they wanted. And since she couldn’t give them what she didn’t have, they would be forced to accelerate their terror tactics, which meant her daughter was in danger.

  Finger combing her hair, she tried to think of a way to get away undetected. Start over somewhere else—as far from here as possible. She would have to get some money without being obvious and pack some of their belongings. Although clothes could be purchased wherever they ended up, there were a few things Kaitlyn would miss if she didn’t get to take them with her.

  Please, Lord, I’m begging You to help me.

  “Mommy, why are you coming into my school?” Kaitlyn held Melora’s hand as they marched toward the entrance Monday morning.

  “We’re going on an adventure.”

  “Is that why I have my favorite toys in my backpack?”

  “You’re so sharp, sweetheart.” Melora walked past the office and headed for the doors on the other side of the school. “I’ve got a cab picking us up so we can start our adventure.” But before charging out of the exit, she scanned the parking lot for anything unusual other than the waiting taxi.

  If her plan worked, whoever was watching her would be looking for her to come back outside in an hour since she often volunteered at her daughter’s school. That would give Kaitlyn and her some time to get out of San Antonio. She clutched her large purse under one arm and clasped Kaitlyn’s hand again before stepping outside.

  Rushing toward the cab, Melora did a visual sweep of the area, but she didn’t see anything unusual. At the taxi, she wrenched opened the door, guided her daughter in first then joined her in the backseat.

  After giving the driver the address of a car rental place where she had a reserved vehicle, she laid her arm on Kaitlyn’s shoulder and pressed her against her side. “Here we go. This is gonna be fun.” She forced a lightness into her voice while the clenching of her muscles mocked her words.

  But not ten minutes later while the cab was speeding down the highway, a large navy truck came alongside the taxi and began inching into their lane. The taxi driver lay on his horn, but the pickup kept coming until it bumped against the side, near Melora’s door. She swallowed a scream, not wanting to frighten Kaitlyn any more than the loud, crunching sound of the truck connecting with the cab already had. The pickup’s dark tinted windows prevented her from seeing the driver.

  “Mommy!”

  Melora cuddled her daughter closer to her. “Shh, baby, it’s gonna be okay.”

  “Hey, get over, buddy,” the taxi driver shouted and pressed down on the accelerator.

  For a few seconds he shot out ahead of the truck. Until it collided with the back bumper, sending Melora and Kaitlyn forward only to have their seatbelts catch and throw them back against the seat.

  Another slam into the rear right side and the cab driver lost control of his vehicle. It flew off the road and bounced over the rougher terrain alongside the highway. Kaitlyn’s sobs iced her blood while sweat beaded Melora’s brow.

  “I’m here, honey.” Heart pounding, Melora cradled Kaitlyn next to her and braced herself for the impact with the fence.

  As Daniel grabbed a cup of coffee and started back toward his office, Rangers Gisella Hernandez and Evan Chen came into the reception area. He paused in his trek, taking a long sip of his coffee. “What did you two find out?”

  “No one on staff at the restaurant fits the description you gave us of the driver of the white Honda.” Tall with dark hair and eyes, Gisella stopped near Daniel while Evan made his way toward the coffeepot. When he lifted the glass carafe and looked toward Gisella, she said, “I’ll take some.”

  “Anyone recently quit who did?” Daniel leaned against the edge of the receptionist’s desk.

  “Nope.” Gisella took the mug Evan handed her.

  “That’s what I was afraid of. It was a long shot, but I was hoping he worked there. More likely he was calling an accomplice.” Daniel crossed his legs as he sipped more of his brew. He wished that for once something on this case would come easy.

  “Or the person who hired him,” Evan said.

  “I want you two to dig into the backgrounds of everyone working at the restaurant. See if there is any connection to the others we know are involved in this case. I’m going to have a conversation with the William Thompson who runs the chain for the widow.” As the pair of Rangers headed for their offices, Daniel immediately pictured Melora’s ashen features the last time he was at her house. The person on the other end of the phone line had said something that had scared her. His gut told him she was in trouble. Whether she liked it or not, he would stay close.

  He stopped at Oliver’s cubicle and waited for the Ranger to finish his call.

  Oliver glanced toward him as he hung up. “I’ve been trying to locate Gordon Johnson. No one has heard from him in two years.”

  “Keep looking. He might have been involved in his boss’s murder. Let me know if the search at the animal rescue center unearths another body. I also want you to work on getting a warrant to wiretap Melora Hudson’s phone.” Daniel didn’t think they had the evidence yet to do it, but he couldn’t shake her frightened image from his mind.

  Oliver nodded. Daniel swallowed a few more sips of his coffee and went to his office to put his mug on his desk before leaving. No time like the present to see what Mr. Thompson knew.

  His cell rang as he stepped outside. Quickly he answered it. “Riley here.”

  “This is Mercy Hospital. Melora Hudson and her daughter were brought into the emergency room. She asked me to call you.”

  “Emergency room? What happened?” He lengthened his strides toward his truck in the parking lot.

  “They were in a wreck.”

  Daniel went cold. His gut knotted. “I’ll be right there.”

  Her body aching, Melora stood at the end of the bed in the emergency room as the doctor and nurse finished up with Kaitlyn. Melora fought the tears threatening her composure. She couldn’t do this anymore. They could have been killed today. The cab driver might have been. All she knew was that they’d rushed him into surgery.

  The sounds around her faded to be replaced with remembered ones from the crash—the crunch of metal, a hissing noise, her daughter’s cries when something came through the windshield, shattering the glass. She hugged her arms to her chest but nothing warded off the cold that encased her.

  “Melora, are you all right?” Daniel appeared at her side.

  She hadn’t even seen him enter the room in the E.R. She wanted to go into his arms—have them encircle her in a ring of protection. She stayed where she was, tightening the hold on herself. “Yes—no.” The last word came out in a squeak as the doctor finished cleaning the cuts on her daughter’s face, Kaitlyn’s wide eyes glued to hers, tears swimming in them.

  “I’m here to help.” He slipped his arm across her shoulder and brought her against him.

  She didn’t resist. She grasped on to what he said, hoping she was making the right decision because what she had done so far hadn’t kept her and her daughter safe.

  “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

  Melora peered at Kaitlyn. “Later. Right now I need to get my daughter home.”

  Jorge Cantana came into the room. “Melora, I just heard you and Kaitlyn were here. What happened?”

&n
bsp; When she saw her best friend’s father, Kaitlyn burst out crying. Melora shook her head at Jorge and rounded the end of the bed to draw her daughter into her arms.

  “Baby, I’m right here. You’ll be good as new in no time.” Melora kissed the top of Kaitlyn’s hair, the scent of antiseptic mingling with the aroma of her apple blossom shampoo. “Can I take her home, Dr. Phillips?”

  The older gentleman nodded. “I’ve written a couple of prescriptions for you two. But you both should be fine in a few days. If not,” Dr. Phillips glanced toward Jorge, “I’d call your family physician.”

  Her family doctor and friend stepped forward. “I’ll talk with Dr. Phillips. Right now, I think it would be a good idea to take Kaitlyn home. Do you need a ride? I can drive you.”

  “I’m taking them home,” Daniel said, drawing her attention to the Ranger still at the end of the bed.

  “I called him,” she said in answer to the question in Jorge’s eyes, purposefully not telling anyone who Daniel was. Although with his gun at his side and his silver star on his shirt, it was obvious he was a Texas Ranger.

  “Fine. I’ll call later to check up on you two. But don’t hesitate to call if you have any problems.”

  “I won’t.” Melora assisted Kaitlyn to stand, her arm around her to steady her.

  As she slowly walked her daughter from the room, Daniel came up to her side. “I’ll bring my truck around to the entrance.”

  She tried to give him a smile, but her mouth wouldn’t cooperate. She nodded instead.

  After Daniel left, Jorge approached. “Are you sure there isn’t anything I can do?”

  “No, we’re fine. But please don’t say anything to my uncle. I didn’t call him.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t want to worry him.”

  “How do you know Ranger Riley?”

  “How do you?”

  “I saw him at Axle’s funeral and asked Hank Zarvy.”