Striking Range

by Margaret Mizushima

  He snorted his amusement and shook his head as if he was onto her game. But he didn’t shut down. “I looked into John Cobb’s record the same as you. I know it’s long, and he served a lot of time. I believe he or his brother pulled the trigger on your father the night he died, but Douglas Wray was clearly involved with that gang. Your dear old dad was a dirty cop, Mattie. I think you’ve got to face it.”

  Mattie shrugged. According to her mother, he’d been coerced and threatened, but she would never share that with Hauck.

  “I have no direct knowledge of your father’s shooting, but as far as I can tell, your mother is the only living witness. Unless you can find her, you are out of luck.” He folded his arms across his chest, telling her he’d said all he was going to.

  Mattie kept on her cop face. She had one message she wanted to send loud and clear, in case Hauck ever made contact with his cronies on the outside. “I think my mother’s dead. My grandmother and sister have hoped to hear from her for decades, and they’ve never heard a word. I think she would have contacted them if she were alive. We’ve all given up hope.”

  He shrugged as if it didn’t matter, even though he’d asked Mattie if she knew her mother’s whereabouts only days ago. “Maybe you’re right.”

  “What else do you know?”

  This time he snorted with laughter. “You’re kidding me, right?”

  Mattie slid forward to the edge of her chair, hard enough that it scooted on the tile, making it shriek. Robo jumped up to stand guard. “You robbed me of the chance to talk to John Cobb. Give me something.”

  Hauck narrowed his eyes, using that speculative stare she’d grown familiar with. “Oh, I have no doubt you’ll turn up something … or you’ll die trying.”

  She sensed the threat behind his words.

  “That’s about all I have to say, Deputy.” Hauck stood. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get some sleep. And from the looks of you, you could use some too.”

  Disappointed, Mattie stood and picked up her chair, turning to leave.

  “On second thought.” Hauck waited until she faced him. “Just a word of advice from an old cop to a younger one. If I were you, I’d be careful about investigating this any further. It’s been my experience that some things are better left alone.”

  Without acknowledging him, Mattie turned and walked away, Robo at her side.

  TWENTY-NINE

  Two days later, Wednesday afternoon

  Though it was her day off, Mattie had been at the station all day, wrapping up her part of the case and filing final reports. She also planned to meet with Sheriff McCoy and the rest of the team before Agent Lawson left town.

  Hauck had been transferred to a detention center in Denver where he would be housed in isolation awaiting trial. The investigation for kidnapping, child endangerment, and murder conspiracy charges that had been filed against him had been transferred to the CBI, who would be calling in the FBI to help locate the missing babies. The CBI would also get involved with investigating the murder of John Cobb to see if they could verify Deidra’s statement that Hauck had ordered a hit on him.

  Since she and Stella had been largely responsible for exposing Hauck, it was a shame that they were losing control of the investigation; but even though it was a disappointment, she knew this case was too huge for the department’s resources. If there was to be any hope at all of recovering the missing children, it was best left in the hands of the feds.

  But the charges against Hauck for Cole’s attempted murder would definitely stick, and Mattie thanked all of Cole’s angels for looking out for him. Since he would make a valuable witness against the accused when the time came, she feared for his safety even more now, and she planned to help his angels keep an eye on him.

  Mattie hit send on the last report she’d typed and glanced at the clock. Time to meet. Robo was sleeping on his cushion, curled into a furry ball with his nose tucked under his paw. She bent to place her hand on his side, and he blinked awake, looking up at her with sleepy eyes. He rose, yawned, and stretched before trotting to the door. He knew the routine.

  “Let’s go to the briefing room,” she said, sending him in that direction. He stopped when he reached the closed door and waited for her.

  Stella and Lawson were sitting at one side of a table with Brody and McCoy on the ends, leaving the other side for Mattie and Robo.

  Though the others were engaged in conversation, McCoy smiled at her as she settled in. He handed her a small black plastic envelope containing something hard and rectangular. “Thank you for working on your day off, Deputy.”

  “No problem,” she murmured, rubbing the hidden object between her fingers. “How’s Johnson feeling today?”

  McCoy sobered. “Rough. He’ll be in the hospital for quite a while, and then his mother plans to come take care of him at home when he’s discharged, so that’s good. But we’re going to need more help. I don’t think I’ll have trouble convincing the county commissioners to let me hire an additional deputy. When Johnson returns to the force, we’ll be more adequately staffed.”

  “We do need more help. I hope we can get it.” The object inside the wrapper felt like a name tag, so she decided to open it, keeping it below the edge of the table for her eyes only. It contained one of the gold name tags the department used, with black lettering that said DEPUTY MATTIE WRAY, K-9 UNIT. Her sight blurred with tears as she looked up at the sheriff. “Thank you.”

  “For when the name change comes through.” McCoy’s gaze swept the table to include the others. “Okay, let’s wrap up so Agent Lawson can get on the road.”

  Stella looked up from her side conversation with Brody and Lawson. “All right. The latest information this morning is that dental records confirm the charred remains recovered from the grave site up by the cave belong to Kaylee Cunningham. DNA confirmation is yet to come. Rick, do you want to summarize our interrogation of Deidra Latimer?”

  Lawson leaned forward. “Latimer has confessed to infant kidnapping in the cases of both Kaylee Cunningham and Rose Marie Harlan, but she continues to deny conspiracy to commit murder. Her statement says that both Kaylee and Rose were alive when she turned them over to John Cobb. She says she never knew of their demise or of their final disposal, and she transferred their infants to Hauck. She swears she doesn’t know how he sold the babies or to whom. She still claims she feared for her life and acted under duress. We’ve found similar cases of missing women and their infants associated with the midwife’s clinic in California, and those have been turned over to the California Attorney General’s Office for their division to investigate.”

  Mattie had suspected this would be the way it would go. “Did Deidra elaborate on how she seized Rose and Kaylee in the first place?”

  Stella nodded. “She knew both babies had been born, and she stalked the mothers’ homes, Kaylee’s in March and Rose’s in April. Since they both knew her, it was easy for her to lure them into her car when they took walks outside with their babies. She turned the moms over to John Cobb, who took them at gunpoint, and she transported the babies to Jim Hauck, who reportedly sold them to—and I quote—very good homes. The infant trafficking operation appears to have started about five years ago.”

  Long after her father’s death. “Have you turned up anything that ties Hauck to John Cobb’s activity thirty years ago?”

  Lawson shook his head. “I’ve turned up nothing that goes beyond this recent infant trafficking operation, and as far as I can tell, that’s when Hauck turned. Someone must’ve gotten to him, and his department is working on finding out who. I think he ordered the hit on John Cobb to protect himself from exposure. Cobb had little to lose, and he might have been happy to let you in on the secret. Why else would he have marked those spots on the map? I even wonder if he headed to his cell to retrieve it before he succumbed to the fentanyl.”

  Speculation about that might be all they’d ever have. “What does the prison investigator, Russo, have to say? Has he determine
d how Cobb was dosed with fentanyl?”

  “No. It’s still under investigation. Russo admits that smuggling fentanyl into the prison is completely possible, and it could have been forced on Cobb by any number of inmates.”

  Probably another permanent dead end. Mattie felt all hope of clearing her father’s name trickling away. But there were other detectives in San Diego she could contact. She would follow up in time, but for now she needed to spend time with the living, with her friends and family here in Timber Creek. And as soon as she could, she would go back to California to visit her sister and grandmother and maybe even go see her mother in Mexico.

  Though she and Cole had spoken to each other over the phone, they’d not spent more than five minutes alone together. They planned to remedy that this evening. As soon as the kids got home from school, they would all go visit the puppies. After that, they would return home to eat dinner with Mrs. Gibbs. Though typically Mattie lived for work, she could hardly wait for this meeting to end.

  After Lawson and Stella wrapped up the final disposition of the Hauck case, McCoy adjourned the meeting. Mattie hurried to her office to gather her things while her dog stayed with Rainbow in the lobby.

  When she returned, she lingered at Rainbow’s desk to make plans for dinner together on Friday. Stella and Lawson left the detective’s office and headed toward the front door. The two had been working together nonstop for days, and something about them caught Mattie’s eye.

  Their arms brushed as they walked closely together, Stella’s smiling face turned upward, his head bent toward hers. They held their farewell handshake far too long.

  Stella paused at the door, obviously watching Lawson walk to his car until she waved a final good-bye and turned. Her eyes met Mattie’s, and Mattie raised her brows. Stella winked, giving her a grin as she passed by to go back to her office.

  For the first time in days, Mattie felt truly happy.

  * * *

  Mattie thought the evening had been perfect. Little Velvet had definitely turned a corner and wasn’t looking back. She’d gained strength, could nurse on her own, and though smaller than the other pups, she was plumping up nicely. Mattie had enjoyed visiting with Mrs. Gibbs and the kids while they set the table and put the finishing touches on a delicious dinner, and then they’d all shared a cozy time in front of the fire in the great room watching a movie while the dogs slept on their cushions and Hilde the kitten nestled on Angie’s lap.

  And now she and Cole were headed into town for dancing at the Watering Hole, just the two of them—Robo had stayed at the Walker home with Belle and Bruno, even though he’d given her sad eyes at being left behind.

  “I don’t think I told you that Tonya’s dog Kip is going to live with Garrett and Leslie,” Cole said as he turned onto the highway.

  Surprised, Mattie turned to look at him. “How did that happen?”

  “Corey Greenfield called and asked if I could recommend a good home for her. Evidently Tonya’s parents didn’t want her either. She’s a great little dog, and I thought living on a cattle ranch would be just the thing. I called Garrett, and he agreed. He’d been thinking about getting a dog lately.”

  Mattie felt relieved. “That’s perfect for Kip.”

  “I thought so.” Cole grinned as he reached for her hand. “And now … I’ve made you happy and I’ve finally got you all to myself.”

  Mattie tilted her head back against the headrest and turned slightly so she could look at this man she loved. It infuriated her that her work had brought danger into his life.

  She studied his profile. “You always make me happy. This has been a perfect evening. I hope you know how much I love being with the kids.”

  He sobered, keeping his eyes on the road. “I can tell.”

  “But I’m glad we’re alone too … so we can talk.”

  The truck slowed as he apparently eased up on the gas pedal. “Yeah, you’re right. We do need to talk.”

  Mattie paused to gather her words. “I feel terrible for putting you in a dangerous situation. If Hauck had killed you, it would’ve been my fault.”

  Cole laced his fingers between hers. “No, Mattie. Nothing that happened was your fault, and you didn’t put me in danger. I choose to be on the sheriff’s posse, because it’s something I can do to help my community. It’s a decision Garrett and I made together after Grace was killed and Sophie was kidnapped.”

  Digesting his words, Mattie studied his face.

  He tossed her a quick smile. “Besides, it gives me a chance to be with you when you have to work overtime.”

  Mattie failed to see the humor, and his words made her sad. “Quality time. Tracking down bad guys.”

  The planes of his face turned serious as he continued to watch the road. “Yeah … not an ideal situation, is it?”

  “If Hauck had harmed you or … What if he still tries to get to you?” She swallowed against a sudden lump in her throat. “I can’t imagine going on without you in my life.”

  “I’ll stay alert, Mattie. He’s not going to get to me.”

  She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. “We both need to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

  He squeezed her hand. “Do you mind going for a drive? It’s too noisy to talk at the Watering Hole, and we can go dancing this weekend instead.”

  They’d reached the edge of town, and she didn’t feel like dancing. “A drive would be great.”

  Cole steered the truck around a block and turned onto the highway, heading back toward his place. They passed his lane in silence, Cole rubbing her hand occasionally with his thumb as he drove. A half mile farther he signaled left, telling her he was headed toward Lookout Mountain, a hill on the north edge of Timber Creek and one of her favorite spots.

  He released her hand to navigate the narrow road, and though the night was cold, she rolled down her window a quarter of the way so she could take in the fresh scent of pine as they made their way to the top. It soothed her.

  “There,” he said as he parked at the overlook.

  The lights of Timber Creek glowed below, cozy and quiet on a weekday night. He adjusted the heater as she rolled her window back up and nestled into the warm seat. She turned to look at him, and he leaned toward her, his eyes dark and serious instead of twinkling with their usual humor.

  He placed his hand on her cheek and kissed her, a kiss she could lose herself in, one that was long and deep and, by its end, one that showed her how much he cared. He settled back into his seat, turned off the truck engine, and grasped her hand.

  Mattie felt warm and loved, and she pushed away thoughts of Hauck and Deidra Latimer and the painful crimes they’d committed. She wanted to focus only on Cole and this precious time they could spend together.

  “I’m pretty sure now that Angie has her first boyfriend,” Cole mused, rubbing her knuckles gently with his other hand.

  “Ben Greenfield.”

  He turned to her, one eyebrow quirked. “Yep.”

  “I saw them together the other day. I could tell that Angie liked him.”

  Cole huffed an amused sound and looked back out the windshield. “It’s sort of obvious, isn’t it?”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “She’s old enough that I think I need to have a talk with her. You know …” He raised both brows. “The talk.”

  “Oh … yes, I suppose that would be up to you.”

  He smiled. “And I thought I should consult you before I do it.”

  “Me?” That was a surprise. “You’re kidding.”

  He chuckled. “No, ma’am, I’m dead serious and a little bit terrified.”

  “I wouldn’t know what to say.”

  “Maybe not, but I bet you could help me figure it out.”

  “Mm … I’ll have to think about it.”

  “But you’d be game?”

  “Sure. The last thing I want is for Angie to get hurt in any way.”

  He nodded, his face turning serious again. “Both of us have jobs
that require long hours and an irregular schedule. We can have our quiet times together like this evening, or our days and nights can be filled with chaos. I feel at a loss when I can’t see you or talk to you for days at a time.”

  A sense of alarm made her study his face. Maybe he’d grown tired of having a relationship with a cop. With her. She gripped his hand.

  “But there’s something that could change the situation that would make me tremendously happy.” He leaned forward, breaking her grip and flattening her hand on his chest above his heart before covering it with his own. “Mattie, would you marry me … and the kids and the clinic and Mrs. Gibbs and all the chaos our life together might bring?”

  His proposal truly floored her … and yet, at the same time, it felt like the most natural thing in the world. In a flash, she remembered how melancholy and sad she felt when they were apart. How terrified she’d been when she thought she might lose him. “Are you sure you want to marry a cop?”

  His eyes twinkled. “I’ve learned to love the idea. My life would be empty without you and your profession.”

  “Then yes, I’ll marry you and your kids and everything our lives together might bring us. But we’ll have to check with Mrs. Gibbs to make sure she’s still in.”

  She leaned over the console so she could wrap her arms around his neck to hold him as tightly as the awkward position would allow.

  Their kiss was full of love and passion and a promise for their future.

  ALSO AVAILABLE BY MARGARET MIZUSHIMA

  The Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries

  Hanging Falls

  Tracking Game

  Burning Ridge

  Hunting Hour

  Stalking Ground

  Killing Trail

  Author Biography

  Margaret Mizushima has a background in speech pathology and practiced in an acute care hospital before establishing her own rehab agency. Currently, she balances writing with assisting her husband with their veterinary clinic and Angus cattle herd. Her fiction has won contest awards, and her short story “Hayhook” was published in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers 2014 anthology, Crossing Colfax. She enjoys reading, yoga, and hiking and lives with her husband on a small ranch in Colorado, where they raised two daughters and a multitude of animals.