“What do you think?”
He didn’t show her what was typed. “I’m not sure, but you were wise to call me. I’ll take this to headquarters. If you’re through here, I’d rather you didn’t come back until I’ve done an investigation. I’ll let you know when I deem it safe. Whatever you do, don’t tell Kellie. I understand she’s come in first at both rodeos so far. Let’s not throw her off track unless we have to. If I think she needs to know, I’ll get in contact with her.”
“I agree. Thank you so much for coming right over.”
After Nadine locked the front door, he walked her to her car then got into his own. On the way to the office, he phoned Vic, who’d put on his voice mail. Cy left him a message and asked if he’d meet him at headquarters if at all possible.
The second he got in his office, he opened the paper file on Kellie and searched through the evidence, but he didn’t see the report on the Sentra sedan. While he was studying the notepaper already in the file, Vic walked in.
“Hey, Vic—I’m sorry to bother you on a family day.”
“It’s all right. Jeremy is at his aunt’s house playing with his cousin Randy right now. For you to be here on Sunday meant your message was urgent. Have you gotten a break on the Ravelo case?”
“No. That’s why I’m back in Austin, but something else has come up and I’m afraid it could be serious. Here’s a pair of gloves.” Cy pulled them out of the box in his bottom drawer. “Take a look at this. Kellie’s mother found it with the mail when she went over to her town house this morning.”
Vic put the gloves on and checked the note, then looked at the envelope. “This was mailed two days ago from the Del Valle post office.”
“That’s only seven miles southeast of here. Where’s the paperwork on the Sentra sedan impounded the night of the takedown?”
“Maybe forensics didn’t send it up yet, but it should be on the computer. What are you thinking?”
“I’m wondering if Dan had a girlfriend who lives around there and was using her car.”
“I took a look at it. A 1999 model that looked like it’s been through a war.”
“Maybe she found out about Kellie and couldn’t stand the competition. This note has a scent. The other notes don’t. They’re not made of the same kind of paper and the language isn’t like Dan’s.”
His friend picked it up to test. “You’re right, but news of the arrests has been all over the internet and TV. If such a person exists, why would she send Kellie a note now?”
“I don’t know, Vic. It’s just a hunch, nothing more, but I don’t like it. I want to find the person who mailed this. For a start I need the name of the owner of that car.”
“I’ll phone Stan at home. Maybe he can tell us where the report is backed up in the system. I have his home phone number on a list in my office.” He pulled off the gloves and tossed them into the wastebasket. “Give me a second and I’ll get it.”
Vic had been gone only a minute when he came right back and handed Cy a file. “The report was on my desk. I guess they thought you’d be in Brownsville longer, so they gave it to me. It must have been put there after I went home yesterday.”
He sat down next to Cy and they pored over it. “The present owner is Martina Martinez with an address in Garfield, Texas. That explains the postmark when they moved the Garfield post office to Del Valle.”
“She has a rap sheet for petty crimes starting at the age of fifteen. At the present age of twenty-one, her last known address is 16 Spring Street, and her last known employment is a manicurist job at the Travis County Hair Salon.”
“Maybe he hit on her when he went in to get a manicure or another wig or some such thing.”
“That’s what I’m thinking,” Cy murmured. “Her car went missing the night we arrested Dan. I think we both know why she didn’t call the police to report it stolen.”
“No doubt she stole it off someone else.”
“Let’s find out right now. I’ll drive us.”
They left the building and took off. The GPS guided them to a small bungalow in a run-down neighborhood on Spring Street in Garfield. Cy parked two houses away from the actual address and turned off the engine.
“While you knock on the front door, I’ll move around the back so any escape is covered.”
“Right.”
They’d worked together for a long time and could read each other’s minds. Cy walked to the rear and planted himself next to the back door. It didn’t take long before it opened and the woman they’d hoped to find came flying out as he suspected she would. Cy caught her tattooed arm and forced her hands behind her back to cuff her. She let go with a stream of Spanish curse words, trying to kick him. By this time Vic had joined him. “I’ve called for backup.”
“Good. Martina Martinez, you’re under arrest for evading police during an official investigation. You have the right to remain silent until an attorney is present. If you don’t have one, the court will appoint one for you.”
An older Hispanic woman of maybe fifty hid herself behind the partially opened door. “What do you want with my Martina? She’s done nothing wrong.”
Vic’s hands were on his hips. “She shouldn’t have run when I asked if I could talk to her.”
“What do you want with me?” the suspect cried. “I haven’t done nothing.”
“Where’s the blue Sentra car belonging to you?” Cy questioned.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Your rap sheet says you’re the owner, but it showed up at a town house in Austin. The man driving it has been arrested for murder. The police already have your fingerprints on file from your former arrests. When they match them to the ones found in the car along with his prints, then you’ll be going to prison along with the guy for being an accomplice.”
“There’s no guy!”
“Sure there is. Is he your boyfriend? How about that threatening letter you mailed to Kellie Parrish from the Del Valle post office?”
She tried to spit at him. “You can’t prove I sent anything to that spoiled fresa.”
Convicted by her own mouth. Fresa meant “strawberry,” a derogatory term she’d written in her note.
“Your fingerprints will be all over that letter when it’s examined. What happened? Did he take off in your car to see Kellie and didn’t come back? Did that make you so angry you lashed out at her?” Cy heard sirens getting closer by the second.
“Shut your mouth, chota!”
Cy had hit a nerve. Nothing could have pleased him more than to be called a crooked cop. “We’ll let you tell that to the judge.”
Vic took her other side. They dragged her around to the front of the house while the older woman screamed at them. Neighbors in the area came out of their houses to see what was going on. Two police cars had converged on the scene. The officers took over and put her in the back of one of the patrol cars. After giving information for the incident report, Cy walked back to the car with Vic.
“I’ll ask TJ to get a warrant so the crew can search the house for signs that Dan might have stayed there from time to time. Someone needs to take down a statement from the mother.”
When they got back to headquarters, Vic left to go pick up his son. He invited Cy to come over to his house later and they’d kick back with a beer. That sounded good since Cy dreaded going home to his empty house.
He went into his office to leave a message on the captain’s phone about the arrest of the Martinez woman. Then he phoned Nadine Parrish to give her the news. She wasn’t the only one greatly relieved. For a second when he’d first seen that letter postmarked only two days ago, his heart sank at imagining there was still another stalker out there.
The two of them decided Kellie didn’t need to know anything about this until her tour of the circuit was over. Be
fore they hung up, Nadine informed him she and her husband were flying to Greeley the next Saturday to watch her compete in the rodeo.
Kellie’s mother could have no conception of the kind of pain he’d been in for the past two weeks. All he could say was he hoped she’d make the best time and he wished her well.
“I’ll tell her.”
With that phone call over, he was emotionally drained and left for his car. Before he turned on the engine, he received a call from Luckey and clicked on.
“I’m glad to catch you, Cy. Are you still in Brownsville?”
“Nope. I came home when my lead there went dry. It’s a good thing I did.” For the next few minutes he told his friend about the letter and the arrest of the Martinez woman.
“That must have knocked you for a loop when you saw another note.”
“I have to admit it did.”
“Does Kellie know about it?”
“Not yet. Her mother will probably tell her when she and her husband meet up with her in Greeley to watch her performance.”
“Why not you?”
“Because we parted company two weeks ago.”
“As in...”
“I won’t be seeing her again.”
“Cy...there’s something you ought to know.”
He inhaled sharply. “What’s that?”
“She phoned me last weekend.”
“Kellie what?”
“Yeah. I was on a case and couldn’t answer it. She didn’t leave a message. The next morning when I saw that she had called, I phoned her to find out what she wanted. At first she was apologetic for bothering me. Then she asked if you were down in Brownsville.
“I told her I couldn’t discuss a case, but assured her all was well with you. She thanked me and then just before hanging up she said, ‘I guess I’m having a hard time letting this go. After he saved my life, naturally I don’t want to see him injured or worse.’”
Cy bowed his head. In one week she’d broken down to Luckey. To Cy’s joy, the ice was cracking. He’d warned her they could never escape each other’s pull. After hearing this bit of telling news, the longing for her was so great he knew he had to do something about it. Knowing her folks were flying to Colorado next week gave him an idea, but he’d have to clear it with his boss.
“Thanks for being my friend, Luckey. I owe you.”
Chapter Eleven
14.00. Second place for the night at the Oklahoma rodeo. Not good enough.
Cynthia Lyman had taken first with a 13.95.
“It wasn’t your fault, Starburst.” Kellie threw an arm around her neck and fed her a treat. She’d been losing concentration and there was only one reason why. Instead of getting over Cy, her love for him was stronger than ever. She was dying to talk to him, to be held and kissed. But she needed to nail some first places at the three upcoming rodeos in Texas in order to maintain the highest average. That wouldn’t happen if she didn’t snap out of it.
The most despondent she’d been since leaving Austin, she walked Starburst back to the trailer and loaded her inside. Once she’d taken care of her, she drove to the RV campground where she and Cody were staying.
There were headlights behind her she could see through the side-view mirror on her truck. Someone else was coming into the RV park. She wound her way through to their reserved area. The lights stayed with her. Maybe it was Cody.
Soon she turned into their spot and could see Cody’s truck and trailer ahead in the distance. Her cell rang. She knew it was Cody. He always phoned her when he saw she was back. After stopping the truck, she clicked on without looking at the caller ID.
“I know...you don’t have to say anything, Cody. I didn’t have a good night.”
“14.00 nabbed you a second place. From where I was sitting, you wowed the audience.”
At the sound of the familiar male voice, she almost went into cardiac arrest. “Cy?” Kellie was trying to comprehend it. “You were in the audience tonight?”
“Yup. I flew into Oklahoma City and rented a car at the airport so I could drive to the arena and watch your performance. I wanted to join you while you were walking Starburst to the trailer, but I didn’t want to frighten you. I’ve probably made things worse by following you. Thus the phone call.”
Kellie was speechless.
He’d come all this way to see her.
She forgot everything and scrambled out of the truck. He was moving toward her. She couldn’t get to him fast enough and started running. He caught her up in his arms and swung her around like a bride.
“Cy—” But anything else she would have said was stifled by the hunger of his kiss. Delirious with love and wanting, she kissed him back without thinking about anything else. All she could do was show him what he meant to her. They melted together, trying to become one.
“I love you, Cy. You were right about everything. I miss you too horribly to let you go.”
“That’s all I need to hear. I’m in the middle of a big case and have to be back at the airport in a half hour to catch the red-eye from New York to Austin. It makes one stop here. We don’t have much time. Come and get in the car with me. We have to talk fast.”
She wanted to scream that it wasn’t fair to experience this much rapture, only to have it snatched away in so short a time. But this was Cy’s life. Even working a dangerous case, he’d come for her. She had to find a way to deal with it, because he really was her whole world.
After they got into the car, he pulled her to him. She needed his kiss as she needed air to breathe. What they were doing was devouring each other, but there wasn’t enough time to pack in all their feelings in a matter of minutes.
“I love you, Kellie. You’re so much a part of me at this point, I can’t live without you.”
“I can’t either, darling. I’ve been so afraid of loving you for fear I’d lose you. But Luckey told me something that straightened out my dilemma in a hurry.”
“He said you called him.”
“Obviously I couldn’t bear even a week apart from you. He told me about what was written on the application when he wanted to become a Texas Ranger. It said, ‘Decide you want it more than you’re afraid of it.’” She looked into those dark blue eyes. “I want you more...so much more you can’t even imagine.”
“Good old Luckey,” he whispered against her lips before driving his kiss deeper. After he lifted his head, he reached into his Western shirt pocket. “Will you marry me for real this time?” He held up a diamond ring.
She let out a cry. “It’s the same one you gave me before. I thought it was property from the agency’s warehouse.”
The smile she loved broke out on his face. “It’s not the same one, exactly. But it’s the same style, yes. I wanted the ring to look like the one you wore when we pretended to be man and wife. I think I wanted our marriage to be real from the beginning.” He slid it home on her ring finger.
Tears filled her eyes to feel it back where it belonged. “So did I. The blog piece I put on about our fake marriage wasn’t fake to me. I meant every one of those words you said were over-the-top.”
He pressed his cheek to hers. “I said them because I wanted to think you meant them, but I was afraid that dream could never become a reality.” He found her mouth and kissed her passionately, over and over again. “Have you put your disclaimer in the paper and on your blog site yet? I’ve been too busy to look.”
“No. I’ve been holding off. It’s because I haven’t been able to take back the words I wrote. I’m afraid they’re written in my heart forever. I could feel myself falling for you after your captain first brought me into your office at the agency. There you were again, the Ranger I’d bumped into in Bandera. You were the most glorious sight this cowgirl had ever seen, standing there in the sun in your Stetson.”
; “Someday I’ll tell you all the things I thought about you that day, but we don’t have much more time. How would you feel about getting married secretly in Fort Worth three weeks from now? I’ll arrange to take the weekend off.”
“Only the weekend?”
“I can’t take more while I’m still on this case. We could be married by a justice of the peace in the afternoon, then I’ll watch you win your last rodeo. We’ll honeymoon for a day on our way back to Austin. After Finals we’ll have a family wedding at the church and a reception.”
She burrowed her face in his neck. “I think it’s perfect, but I don’t know how I’m going to last until Forth Worth without you.”
“I’ll phone you every opportunity I get.”
“If you’re undercover, I don’t want to know about it.”
“That’s good. We’ll both be happier that way. Tomorrow I’ll tell my folks we’re engaged.”
“I’ll do the same and inform the parents we want to be married right after Finals. I’ll tell Mom to call your mom. The two of them will get together to plan the wedding.”
“My folks have been waiting for this day forever. I have a three-week vacation coming up whenever I want to take it. The last night of Finals will be Saturday, December 12. We could get married on New Year’s Day and take off for that long honeymoon you announced on your blog.”
She crushed him to her. “I can’t believe this is really happening.”
“You will.” After another kiss, “I have to leave for the airport now, sweetheart. Come on. I’ll walk you to your trailer.”
“You don’t need to do that. I know you’re in a hurry.” On a groan, she gave him one more kiss to last until they saw each other again in Fort Worth. “Never forget how much I love you, Ranger Vance.”
Somehow she forced herself to get out of his car. She ran to the trailer and opened the back to check on Starburst. The headlights of his rental car shone on her and her horse. When she couldn’t see them any longer, she turned to Starburst and half sobbed for joy against her neck.
The Texas Ranger's Bride (Lone Star Lawmen Book 1) Page 16
