Trail of Lies

by Margaret Daley

  Then she noticed the blood on Daniel’s light blue shirt. She gestured toward it. “I’m sorry,” she murmured the same words her uncle had told her.

  Sobs overwhelmed her, and she went into Daniel’s arms again, seeking some kind of solace, something to take this pain away. He pressed her against him, whispering over and over that she would be all right, that he was there for her. His words gave her a feeling of safety she hadn’t experienced in a long time.

  When sirens invaded the quiet, Melora managed to pull herself together and step out of his embrace. She swiped the wet tracks from her cheeks and said, “I’ll be all right. I need to change and see about Kaitlyn and Juanita.”

  “I’ll take care of the sheriff. We’ll find who did this, Melora.”

  She started up the stairs, her legs wobbly. Clutching the railing, she peered back at Daniel as he made his way toward the front door. What would she have done without him here?

  Or was the fact he was here the reason her uncle was dead now?

  With Melora, Kaitlyn and Juanita upstairs with Gisella, Daniel stood back with Ranger Levi McDonnell while the body of Tyler Madison was taken from the house. The crime scene was being processed, the pictures taken. He already had someone coming out to replace the window. All the blinds were drawn, and law enforcement officers were out scouring the grounds for any evidence.

  “Melora has told me I can do whatever I need to secure this place. Money isn’t an object, but she doesn’t want to leave until whatever the people are after is found. She wants these people brought to justice.” Daniel shut the front door behind the deputies carrying out the body bag.

  Levi frowned. “How are we going to keep her safe if we can’t hide her somewhere?”

  “By protecting her here and finding the flash drive that people are killing to get a hold of. It wasn’t on Axle’s body when we found him so maybe he’s hidden it somewhere. That’s what someone thinks and they want it.” Daniel paced the entry hall, his nerves pulled taut, as though any second they would snap. “We can have people patrol the grounds and replace some of the windows with bullet-resistant glass. With the other ones we can keep the blinds closed, stay out of those rooms. She’s got a good security system, and her doors were already reinforced after the break-in.”

  “What do you want to do next?”

  “They’re getting desperate to kill her uncle in her home. Why did they? Another warning? Or was the bullet meant for Melora? No way to tell for sure. I’m going to her uncle’s house. She is his heir and has given me permission to do whatever is needed to keep her daughter safe.”

  “I wish we knew who the killer intended to shoot.”

  “We need to look into her uncle’s affairs. See if he was the target or Melora.” Daniel stopped and faced his fellow Company D Ranger. “She was standing a couple of feet away from her uncle. I need to search his home. See if there’s a reason someone would want him dead. I can’t rule anything out. I want you and Gisella to stay and guard them. I want two Rangers here at all times until we figure out what’s going on. Coordinate the security until I get back and see to any follow-up on searching the grounds. When all the evidence is collected, have Evan hand deliver it to the crime lab in San Antonio.”

  “Will do.”

  “I’m going to let Melora know what I’m doing, then leave.” Daniel headed toward the stairs and mounted them to the second floor.

  With dread he walked toward the den. When he’d left Melora earlier with Gisella, he hated seeing the bleak look in her eyes. She was trying to be upbeat for Kaitlyn, but it was coming out false and the little girl knew it. The child had been unusually quiet.

  Stepping just inside the room, he caught Melora’s attention while her daughter sat in front of the television watching a movie. Gisella nodded toward him while Melora quickly crossed the room and slipped out into the hall.

  “What’s going on? Did you all find anything outside?”

  Melora’s eyes, full of fear, caused his gut to churn. “Not yet but they are still searching. They’re through downstairs, however.”

  “Can Juanita clean up? She doesn’t want Kaitlyn to see anything and neither do I.”

  “That’s fine. Ranger McDonnell will be stationed downstairs while I’m gone.”

  The fright in her gaze took over her whole expression. “Why? Where?”

  “I want to check out your uncle’s house.”

  “You think they were after him, not me?” The creases in her forehead deepened.

  “Why did he tell you he was sorry? What was he sorry for?”

  “I don’t know.” She kneaded her fingertips into her brow. “Do what you have to. My daughter comes first, and I have to do whatever I can to keep her safe. They may have been threatening Uncle Tyler. He was scared when he talked to me. I’ve never seen him like that.”

  He turned to leave. Her hand on his back stopped his movement, and he pivoted toward her.

  “Stay safe. I’ll call the housekeeper and tell her you’re coming.”

  “Don’t.” The widening of her eyes caused him to add, “We don’t know who to trust.”

  “Fine. Call me if you need me to say something to her. Remember she’s Juanita’s older sister.”

  “What’s her name?”

  “Carmen Perez.”

  “Keep Juanita up here with you all. Give me the time to get to your uncle’s before telling her she can go downstairs to clean up.”

  “You can’t think she had anything to do with this. My uncle has been wonderful to her and her sister.”

  “I don’t know what to think, Melora.” He took her hands in his. “But I do know I’m not taking any chances with your life or Kaitlyn’s.”

  She nodded, some of the fear dimming for a few seconds as she stared into his eyes. “I know. That’s why I’ve put our lives in your hands.”

  With a quick squeeze, he left her to make his way downstairs and to his truck before he did something foolish like drag her into his arms and never let her go. The vulnerable look in her eyes tore at the wall he’d erected around his heart.

  Lord, please keep Melora and Kaitlyn safe.

  All he could do right now was turn her protection over to God and try to find some clue that would lead him to the person behind killing Axle and her uncle.

  Fifteen minutes later he rang Tyler Madison’s doorbell and a slightly older version of Juanita positioned herself in the entrance as though he would have to come through her to get into the mansion.

  “Carmen, I’m Ranger Daniel Riley.” He showed her his badge. “May I come in to talk?”

  “Señor Madison isn’t here right now.”

  “I know. I need to talk to you.”

  A question darkened her brown eyes. “Me?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Carmen stepped to the side to allow him into the foyer.

  Daniel entered and headed for the living room visible off the entryway. The housekeeper followed but hung back by the door. Doubt and suspicion molded her features.

  “Why do you want to talk to me?”

  Daniel waved his hand toward a chair. “I have some news. You might want to take a seat.”

  The color leaked from her face. “Has something happened to Melora? Juanita told me you were staying at her house.” She took the nearest chair.

  He shook his head as he sat across from her. “It’s not Melora, but Mr. Madison. He was murdered today at Melora’s.”

  “Señor Madison? Murdered? How?”

  “Someone shot him through the window while he was talking to Melora. Do you have an idea why anyone would want to kill Mr. Madison?”

  Something unreadable flashed in the woman’s eyes, before a composed expression descended over her features. She sat up straight, gripping the arms of the chair. “Señor Madison was a good employer.”

  “Melora has given me permission to search her uncle’s house.”

  Carmen opened her mouth to say something but instead snapped it closed.


  “You can call her if you want to verify that.” Daniel delved into his pocket and withdrew his cell.

  Carmen rose. “What do you need to see?” Stiff formality marked her bearing.

  “First Mr. Madison’s office. I understand from Melora he usually worked from home.”

  The older woman, with hints of gray in her dark hair, pinched her mouth into a frown. “This way. Please don’t mess up anything. Señor Madison doesn’t like…” Her voice hitched and her lips quivered.

  “I’ll do my best to leave it as I first saw it.”

  She opened a dark walnut door and stepped back. “This is,” she swallowed hard, “his office.”

  “Who else is here in the house?”

  “No one right now.”

  “In this huge house?” It was twice the size of Melora’s. He knew how many people it took to take care of a home this size because his parents’ was as big as Tyler’s.

  “Señor Madison sent them all away this morning. I just returned home an hour ago. They won’t be back until much later.”

  Interesting. “Do you know why?”

  She shook her head. “He took a call in his office then came out and told me to give everyone the day off. He insisted I go visit my daughter, too.”

  “Please come in and sit while I look through the office.”

  Her head held high, she gave him a frosty look. “I’m not going to do anything to interfere with your investigation.”

  “I may have questions for you.”

  She snorted and settled on to a hardback chair, clasping her hands in her lap.

  Daniel felt her gaze on him as he strode to the desk and rummaged through it. Nothing of interest. Glancing at the laptop and seeing it was password protected, he decided to take it with him and give it to one of the Rangers who was a whiz at computers. Next he turned his attention to the filing cabinet behind the desk.

  Half an hour later he discovered something that he doubted Melora knew about or she’d kept hidden from him. Her uncle had been a partner in the restaurant chain. What else had Tyler Madison been involved in? The illegal activities taking place through the business? He would have Evan and Oliver dig deeper into Melora’s uncle’s affairs. There might be a connection to the Lions of Texas. Could that be the reason he’d told her he was sorry? If he were connected to the Lions of Texas, the recent events happening to Melora would have troubled him. He didn’t doubt Tyler loved his niece, so did he have a falling-out with someone because he was threatening her?

  Daniel continued his search, finishing in the office and moving to the man’s bedroom. He wasn’t sure how he was going to tell Melora that her uncle might not be an innocent bystander in this whole situation. She was hurting already. This would make it worse.

  “Mommy, I wanna show Daniel the stable.” Kaitlyn stomped her foot and put her hands on her waist.

  “Young lady, that’s enough. We can’t leave here right now.” Melora faced her daughter in the middle of the kitchen, all the blinds shut, relieved most of the people were gone and her house was quiet again.

  “Why?”

  Because I said so, was on the tip of Melora’s tongue, but she gulped back those words and moved toward Kaitlyn. Drawing her toward the table, Melora sat and held her daughter’s hands. “Honey, we need to stay here right now. Daniel asked us to.”

  “Where is he?” Kaitlyn drew her eyebrows together while her mouth turned down in a pout. “He promised to teach me to play Go Fish.” She bent toward Melora and whispered, “Who is that other man here?”

  “I told you it was a friend of Daniel’s and Gisella’s.”

  “He’s big. He wears a star, too.”

  “Because he’s a Texas Ranger like Daniel.”

  Kaitlyn tilted her head to the right. “What’s going on?”

  She couldn’t keep everything from her daughter, but what should she tell her? The whole truth frightened her, so she could just imagine what Kaitlyn would feel. “Some bad men want something of your daddy’s. I don’t want them to have it.”

  “Robbers?” Her daughter’s eyes grew round.

  “Yeah. But we’re safe with Daniel and Gisella. Nothing is going to happen to us.” She hoped and prayed.

  “I know. Daniel is the good guy.”

  Yes, he was. A guy who was trying to protect them and get answers to what was going on. But at the same time struggling with his own personal problems. She wished she could help him with Clay. He’d done so much for her and Kaitlyn.

  Voices coming from the foyer intruded into Melora’s thoughts.

  Kaitlyn swiveled her head toward the doorway into the kitchen. “Daniel’s home.” She tugged her hands from Melora’s and ran out of the room.

  Melora heard Daniel’s greeting to Kaitlyn and her giggles. What was going to happen when all this was over? Her daughter was really starting to care about Daniel. She’d loved her great uncle Tyler but had never warmed to him as she had with Daniel. She was determined that Kaitlyn wasn’t going to get hurt anymore. It was bad enough that the two most important men in her life had been killed. Actually the same could be said for herself. Melora rose, resolved to keep her emotional distance and help Kaitlyn do the same. Somehow.

  Daniel’s large frame filled the kitchen entrance. Kaitlyn stood slightly in front of him with his hand on her shoulder. A huge grin transformed her daughter’s earlier expression into one of excitement and happiness. How was she going to tell Kaitlyn that Uncle Tyler was dead?

  “Daniel’s gonna teach me Go Fish.”

  The sight of her daughter’s eyes sparkling as though everything was right with the world brought home how important it was to keep as much as possible from her. Lord, give me the wisdom to say the right thing.

  Gisella appeared behind Daniel. “I thought you were going to show me your stuffed animals.”

  “Oh, yeah.” Kaitlyn leaned back and looked up at Daniel. “Can we play Go Fish after dinner?”

  “Sounds like a plan to me.”

  Kaitlyn went to Gisella, and they started for the stairs.

  “Are you staying here now, too?” her daughter asked the Texas Ranger.

  “Yeah. Is that okay?” Gisella asked.

  “Some of my friends have had sleepovers. Kinda like that?”

  “Yes.” But the rest of what Gisella said faded as the pair went up to the second floor.

  Daniel’s gaze zeroed in on Melora. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes,” she automatically said, then realized how false that was. She sank down into the chair and shook her head. “No, I’m not.”

  He sat next to her and scooted closer so they faced each other. Linking their hands together he said, “What have you told Kaitlyn? I don’t want to say anything you don’t want her to know.”

  “Nothing about today other than some bad men are after something of her daddy’s. I haven’t told her about Uncle Tyler. I don’t know how to—not on top of what happened to Axle. Although he was her father, she hadn’t seen him in two years and had already gone through some grieving before it was official he was dead. That’s not the case with my uncle. Any suggestions?”

  His thumbs ran across the back of her hands. “I’m the last person to ask advice where it concerns a child. You know how things are with Clay.”

  “When this is over with, you and Clay should come to dinner. Kaitlyn would think it’s a treat. One of her friends has an older brother and she has mentioned on more than one occasion that she wants a brother or sister.”

  “I can remember when Clay was a young boy right before his mother and I separated, how much he wanted a little brother to play with. He didn’t like being an only child.” One corner of his mouth tilted upward. “I hated being an only child, too. It can get mighty lonely.”

  “So are you beating yourself up over the fact you didn’t give your son a sibling to play with?”

  Daniel blinked. “According to him that was one of the many things I didn’t give him. The top of his list was my attention. The p
roblem with that is he was right. As my marriage fell apart, I spent more and more time at work. I wanted to become a Texas Ranger, and I knew there were only so many selected and that my father would try to stop me from doing that. He kept hoping I would give up my dream of working in law enforcement and join him in his company. Another person I couldn’t please.” Combing his fingers through his hair, he grimaced. “It seems to me I have a habit of leaving unfinished business between me and the people I care about. My dad died before we ever settled our differences.”

  “And you don’t want something like that to happen with you and Clay?”

  “Something like that. I regret my father and I didn’t reconcile and I don’t want my son to ever feel that way. There’s no way to change it now.”

  “Please do think about coming to dinner when things are settled.”

  “What are you up to?” Daniel asked with a grin.

  “You’ve done so much for me. I thought I would return the favor.”

  “And be a referee between Clay and me?”

  “No, just facilitate you two getting to know each other better. It’ll give my daughter something to look forward to. She misses her friends, especially Cara. I wish I could have Jorge, Beth and Cara over for dinner, but we’ll just have to wait until this is all over with. I can’t deal with others right now and play the gracious hostess like nothing is wrong. I know Jorge and Beth would understand but…” She couldn’t finish her sentence, knowing in her heart no one should come to her house—not after what happened to Uncle Tyler. All that had transpired recently overwhelmed her.

  He tightened his grasp on her hands. “I know this is hard on you and what I have to tell you isn’t going to make this any easier.”

  TEN

  Daniel looked away, his jaw set in a hard line. “You aren’t going to like it.” He drew in a deep breath. “Your uncle was a partner in the restaurant chain. Did you know that?”

  The accusation in his voice sliced through the haze his announcement had first created in her. She yanked her hands from his and bolted to her feet. “No. Are you sure about that? My uncle would have told me an important detail like…” She remembered all the times he tried to convince her not to sell, to keep things as they were. Why would he keep that a secret from her? She would have sold him the whole business. Shaking her head, she collapsed back into the chair. “I don’t understand all this. I can see Axle keeping stuff from me. He never wanted me to be involved in his affairs. Went out of his way to keep his business and family life separate.” She flipped her hand in the air. “Of course, now I see why.”