Texas Sheriff's Deadly Mission

by Karen Whiddon

  Another bit of serendipity. She and Sam had kept in touch since her days at the police academy, where he’d done a brief stint as one of the instructors. He’d been a father figure to her and he’d even told her he considered her an honorary daughter.

  He’d told her later that he’d heard the news of her mistake through the grapevine. When she’d been suspended without pay—which she couldn’t afford—his job offer had been a lifesaver.

  She’d accepted, only telling Wanda after the fact. Unsurprisingly, Wanda had been totally on board with uprooting her entire life and moving. She’d gotten tired of waitressing anyway and was looking forward to spending her days looking after her grandchild.

  Sam had kindly let them move into one of his rental houses, so they’d packed up their meager belongings into Rayna’s SUV and made the six-hour drive to Getaway.

  They never looked back. Lauren was born at Abilene Regional Medical Center, the closest hospital. Wanda made a new circle of friends, starting with the knitting club. And Rayna bloomed where she’d been planted, loving her job in the small-town sheriff’s department. So different from working in Conroe, a bustling suburb of Houston.

  Even Lauren seemed to thrive in the fresh air and uncluttered lifestyle. In short, her life had become happy. Even Jimmy Wayne and his dire threats seemed far away.

  Six months ago, she’d received word that he’d been killed in a prison fight. She’d been stunned, but not surprised. Most of all, she’d been relieved.

  Bundling up her sick daughter into her cruiser, she drove the few miles to the doctor’s office. True to his word, Dr. Delpeccio’s pickup was already in the parking lot, along with a few other vehicles that must have belonged to his staff.

  She got Lauren inside, letting her sick child lean on her for support. The instant she walked through the front door, one of the nurses shepherded her back into an exam room, where she took Lauren’s temperature, did a throat and flu culture, asked a few questions and went to get Dr. Delpeccio.

  The doctor came in shortly after, greeted Rayna with his gaze on Lauren. “Negative for strep or the flu. Seems to be a sinus infection with upper respiratory involvement.” He wrote out a prescription and handed it to Rayna. “The nurse will be back in to give her a shot. She’ll be good as new in no time.”

  Lauren started crying as soon as she heard the word shot. Rayna got her calmed down, fixed up, and they headed toward the front desk. “No charge,” the receptionist said, waving her away. “Your mama has already promised to bring us a couple of peach pies.”

  Of course Wanda had. Thanking them again, Rayna got Lauren, who still sniffled but already seemed a slight bit better, into the car. A quick stop at the pharmacy to fill the prescription, and then Rayna got Lauren home and back into her bed. After turning on the television, Lauren snuggled under the blanket and drifted off to sleep.

  “Sinus infection,” Rayna told her mother. “And thanks for offering to bake them pies.”

  “They love my pies,” Wanda said smugly. “Though honestly, I was going to bake them some even before Lauren got sick.”

  “Life in a small town,” Rayna and Wanda said together, smiling.

  Now that Lauren was on the mend, Rayna felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. With Wanda shooing her away, promising to look after Lauren, Rayna decided to go into work. Any absence in a department this small could cause a problem, never mind when the sheriff didn’t make it in.

  She saw the shiny black motorcycle the instant she pulled into the parking lot, and her heart skipped a beat. Clearly, Parker Norton had returned. Surely he didn’t expect results on the case in such a short time span. She figured he’d be persistent, but not have unrealistic expectations.

  Steeling herself, she straightened her shoulders and strode up the sidewalk, entering through the front door like she did every day.

  The instant she saw him, her insides went still. He stood as she approached, his expression serious. “Sheriff Coombs. Do you happen to have a moment?”

  Brusquely, she nodded. “Certainly. Mary, will you please show Mr. Norton to my office? I’ll be along in just a moment.”

  Mary nodded. “Please follow me.”

  Back ramrod straight, Parker followed the older woman. Watching him go, Rayna wondered. His military bearing seemed at odds with his biker appearance. Deliberate? She filed away the question for future reference.

  Right now, she figured she’d be explaining how investigations worked.

  After grabbing a cup of coffee, she stopped by to talk to Larry Newsome, who was on the phone. She waited him out, unabashedly listening in on his side of the conversation. He appeared to be talking to Getaway’s self-proclaimed psychic, Serenity Rune, whose real name was something like Gertrude Reddoch. Serenity frequently called the sheriff’s office with tips. More often than not, she was actually right. Because of this, Rayna had instructed her staff to always take her seriously.

  Larry finally hung up, slightly pale. “Hey, boss,” he greeted Rayna. “That was—”

  “Serenity,” she interrupted. “I got that. What did she have to say this time?”

  Larry swallowed. “She claims Nicole Wilson is still alive.”

  “Interesting.” This was news, no two ways around it. When they’d conducted the first investigation, Rayna sent one of her men to Serenity’s downtown metaphysical bookstore, florist and rock shop, all combined into one. At the time, Serenity had said she couldn’t see anything related to the missing girl.

  Evidently, that had now changed.

  Mary walked up. “He’s all yours, Rayna,” she said, and winked. “If I was twenty years younger...”

  Rayna’s entire body flushed, which meant her face had gone red, too. Being a fair-skinned, freckled redhead made it difficult to hide her emotions sometimes. “He’s Sam’s nephew,” she reminded Mary. “We owe him respect.”

  Abashed, Mary nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  Larry snorted. “I should warn you, he wasn’t too happy that you assigned me to work the investigation. I’m guessing he thinks you should handle it personally.”

  “Thank you.” Turning to head back to her office, she smiled at them. “I’ll get it handled.”

  Walking toward her office, she caught sight of Parker, sitting in the chair across from her desk, his back to her. For a moment, she allowed herself to admire his broad shoulders, his thick, dark hair, the masculine energy he exuded.

  Then she squared her shoulders, reminded herself she was the sheriff and walked into her office.

  “Sheriff Coombs.” Standing when she entered, Parker dipped his chin in greeting. “How’s your daughter?”

  A bit surprised, she waited to answer him until she’d gone around behind her desk and taken her chair. “She’s getting better,” she replied. “I’m guessing Mary told you why I wasn’t here?”

  “She did.” His easy smile faded. “As I’m sure you guessed, I’m here to talk to you about the investigation.”

  “I figured. We’ve already gotten started.” She let her pleasant expression change into a frown. “Larry said you seemed upset that he’d been assigned to handle it.” Might as well head him off at the pass. “I can assure you, Larry is a very capable law enforcement officer. He’s good at what he does.”

  “Maybe so. But Sam said you’re the best.”

  “I’m the sheriff.” She dipped her chin. “I have other responsibilities.”

  He held her gaze. “Maybe so. But I’d appreciate you making this a priority.”

  The raw pain lurking under his mild tone touched her. “I’ll oversee it very closely.”

  Instead of replying, he simply looked at her. She looked back, resisting the urge to squirm under his regard. Damn, he had beautiful eyes. Again, she felt that tug of attraction. She couldn’t help but wonder if he felt it, too.

  Danger
. Heeding her internal alarm, she straightened her spine and breathed in.

  “Would it help or hurt my case if I called Sam and asked him to talk you into handling it personally?”

  To her surprise, her mouth twitched in amusement as she tried not to laugh. Normally, she’d find this kind of thing—going to the old sheriff to try and coerce the current sheriff—annoying. Maybe it was the fact that Parker was so open about it. And so hopeful. His sexy masculinity didn’t hurt, either.

  Sheriff, she reminded herself. She’d worked damn hard to get where she was. She loved her life here in Getaway. She’d made a home for her daughter and her mother. She couldn’t let herself risk it because of a gorgeous bad boy with bedroom eyes.

  Something of her inner conflict must have shown on her face.

  “Same here,” he drawled. “You’re a distraction I can’t afford, Rayna Coombs. Not right now. But when the time is right, I promise you we will explore this thing between us. No matter how far down that road that might be.”

  Desire made her lower body tingle. She looked down at her desk, working on breaking the spell of longing he aroused. She waited until her heartbeat slowed, until she could think and see past the cloud of need that his declaration brought.

  When she spoke, her voice would be steady and professional. And she’d change the subject.

  “You know, I worked on the case the first time,” she pointed out, as if he’d never spoken. “I’m thinking it will be better to have fresh eyes. Larry might find something I overlooked.”

  Now it was he who fought the urge to smile. She could tell by the quick spark of laughter in his eyes and the way one side of his mouth curved in the beginning of a grin.

  Yet when he spoke, he matched her cool tone. “While you do have a valid point,” he said, leaning forward in his chair, “let me ask you something. If the missing girl was your family member; your mother, your sister or, God forbid, your daughter, would you rather look for them yourself or trust Larry?”

  He paused a moment, clearly letting that question sink in, before he continued. “I don’t know you yet, Rayna Coombs. But I’m betting you’d look over and over and again, as many times as you had to. I suspect you wouldn’t rest until you had answers.”

  He had her there.

  “That’s how I feel,” he said. “I’ve known Nicole Wilson for the last five years, since she was a thirteen-year-old tomboy. She’s my best friend’s baby sister and he loves her more than anything on this earth.” He took a deep breath. “He’s dying, Sheriff. Barely hanging on. He served our country at the same time I did. I hope and pray that I can bring Nicole to see him before he goes. Is that too much to ask?”

  Of course it wasn’t. Her heart melted, just the tiniest bit.

  “Let me see what I can do,” she relented. “I can take point on some of the investigative work.”

  “Thank you.” Though he calmly nodded, the relief shining in his eyes told her how much her decision meant to him. “I’d like to go with you, if you don’t mind.”

  “That’s not a good idea,” she began, ignoring the way her heartbeat kicked up a notch. “Civilians and police work—”

  “Sheriff.” Larry pushed her office door open and poked his head in. Behind him, she saw Mary twisting her hands together, her expression alarmed and worried. “Could I have a word with you?” Larry’s voice shook.

  “What is it?” she asked, pushing to her feet. Larry glanced at Parker.

  “It’s okay. We’re about finished,” she assured her officer. “What’s going on?”

  “Skeletal remains were found in the cornfield near the Ramsey’s farm,” he said, swallowing hard. “I’ve called for the county ME to get out here and sent Scott out to guard the scene until he arrives. But I thought maybe you should take a look.”

  Parker had gone utterly still. “Were they able to determine if this was a male or a female?” he asked. The agonized look in his eyes told her he thought he already knew.

  “Not yet,” Larry answered, pity in his gaze. “Judging from the size of the remains, they’re thinking female. But we won’t know for sure until the ME takes a look.”

  “I want to go out there,” Parker said, his eyes locked on Rayna. “Now.”

  “I understand,” she said, shooting a quelling look at Larry when he opened his mouth to speak. “You can ride with me.”

  * * *

  Parker wished he’d taken his motorcycle and followed the sheriff instead of riding shotgun in her patrol vehicle. He’d never liked letting someone else drive anyway—something about the lack of control. Especially in times like this, with his adrenaline pumping and hope battling...sorry, he wanted—no, needed—to feel his powerful bike underneath him.

  If the body turned out to be Nicole—and really, who else could it be?—he didn’t know how the hell he was going to break the news to John. Barely an hour ago, John had texted him, asking if he’d had any luck yet locating her. Because of the way Parker had phrased things, John thought Nicole had merely taken off to explore the countryside before coming to see him in Dallas. He had no idea his baby sister had truly gone missing. And Parker had done everything he could to keep things that way.

  John had enough to worry about, battling for his life. Though he’d begun to suspect something might be wrong, John hadn’t enough energy left in him to probe deeply.

  Plus, he trusted Parker. If you couldn’t trust the man who’d saved your life, then who could you trust?

  Parker despised the thought of letting his friend down.

  With the radio crackling various calls, Rayna drove down the same road he’d taken on his bike the day before. Past the stock pond where he’d considered skinny-dipping, turning onto an old dirt track between two fields. As they turned a corner, he saw the flashing police car lights ahead.

  His stomach clenched. Swallowing hard, he tried to prepare himself for the worst.

  “Depending how long the body’s been out here, you won’t be able to tell much from just looking at it,” Rayna cautioned. “From what Larry said, I think it’s mostly just bones.”

  He nodded. “How long would it take a corpse to get like that?” Praying she’d say far longer than Nicole had been missing.

  “That depends,” she allowed, her expression thoughtful. “If wild animals happened along or not, whether the body was in water or dirt or something else. That’s one of the reasons why the medical examiner is needed.”

  “I see.” He got what she was trying to tell him. Didn’t like it, but knew she was right. Until they knew more, all he could do would be to sit tight and wait.

  If not Nicole, then who? While he suspected in his heart that she was dead, he refused to accept it as truth until positive ID had been made. Even if the odds seemed stacked against him.

  “Does a county this small even have a medical examiner?” he asked. He remembered reading somewhere that Kent County was the sixth-least-populated county in the entire state of Texas.

  She glanced at him. “We send to Abilene. Taylor County sends someone. Kent County, like all the other smaller counties, uses a regional ME.”

  Which meant getting results back might take longer.

  Glancing at Rayna, who’d driven with quiet competence and single-minded intensity, he noted the tense set of her jaw. Naturally, she didn’t like this. Who would? But to her, it was more than an isolated crime. Someone—maybe Nicole—had been killed in her town, on her watch.

  “It’s not your fault,” he heard himself say, inwardly wincing.

  “I’m aware of that,” she responded tersely, barely glancing his way. “It still pisses me off. Unless this victim died accidentally, this means we’ve got a murderer in our town. While it might have been someone just passing through, it’s much more likely to be a resident.”

  Which meant she’d have to find out who.

  She pulled over behi
nd one of the other vehicles and parked. Turning to Parker, she unclicked her seat belt. “You can stay here if you don’t want to see the remains,” she offered.

  “I want to see.”

  One small dip of her chin to show she understood. “Fine. You can come with me. Stay close to me and out of the way, all right?”

  He agreed. Please don’t let this be Nicole ran on repeat inside his head. He kept close to Rayna, and they picked their way across the uneven dirt until they reached the small group of people clustered around what appeared to be a shallow grave in the middle of a field. Yellow crime scene tape had already been placed in a large rectangle around the area.

  At the edge of the tape, Rayna stopped so abruptly Parker nearly collided with her. “Wait here,” she ordered. “Don’t cross into the crime scene.”

  If he stayed put, he’d see nothing. Several people in uniforms blocked everything from his view.

  He thought for a split second, and then went after Rayna. Focused on her colleagues, she didn’t appear to notice. Everyone else seemed too intent on their tasks to pay much attention to a stranger following the small-town sheriff.

  The clustered group moved apart as Rayna approached. A couple of people greeted her by name.

  And then Parker saw it. Partially obscured by dirt, a skeleton. As far as he could tell, precious little flesh remained. Just from looking at it, he couldn’t tell definitively if it was Nicole or not.

  Had he really expected he could?

  Stumbling slightly, he bumped Rayna. She turned and glared at him, silently chastising him for not doing as she’d asked. But she was all business here, and returned her attention to the others.

  From what he could tell, mostly they all appeared to be waiting on the ME. No one wanted to touch anything. Couldn’t disturb the crime scene until Forensic could gather their evidence. Parker had watched enough TV shows to understand doing that would be taboo.