Texas Ranger Showdown

In fact, she’d hoped there could have been more between her and Ian, but she’d had to leave Longhorn suddenly. A relationship with him was never meant to be. Her job fulfilled her, and she was able to do what she loved—helping others.

* * *

As Ian parked in his grandma’s driveway, he noticed a retro Thunderbird with its top down parked at the curb in front of Sally’s home. He whistled. Beautiful car. Was that Caitlyn’s? The sports car had to be hers. It fit her personality. When he’d known her, she’d been serious but with a touch of mischief. How much had she changed? He certainly had, he reflected.

He rang the bell and, not a half a minute later, Caitlyn Rhodes opened her grandmother’s front door. A smile dimpled her cheeks and brightened her green eyes.

“It’s great to see you.” Caitlyn gave him a quick hug, then stepped to the side. “Come in. The dynamite duo will have someone to interrogate besides me now.”

Ian chuckled, taking in how much Caitlyn had changed since he’d last seen her five years ago at Christmas. Her usually long brown hair was cut shorter, which framed her face, emphasizing her attractive features from a pert nose to the longest eyelashes to full lips.

He realized he was staring and looked away, trying to tamp down his racing pulse. “Nana has done her share of drilling me for information long-distance.”

Caitlyn shut the door, clasped his arm and started for the kitchen. “You’re late. Prepare yourself. Being late in Granny’s house is frowned upon.”

She used to hook her arm through his in the past. Her touch felt familiar and yet...something much more. If only Caitlyn hadn’t left that summer, things would have been different between them.

“I’m glad you’re here finally. I have a patient at one, so I can’t stay as long as I wish.”

“I have unusual hours. Crime doesn’t work on a schedule.”

She laughed. “Neither does a patient’s crisis. I understand.”

When they approached the kitchen, he let Caitlyn go ahead of him, her arm slipping away from him. He missed the connection. She had always made him feel better and, after the morning he’d had, he needed that. After lunch, he’d talk to her about Jane.

He paused in the doorway. A place waited for him at the table, food already on his plate. He went to his grandmother, kissed her on the cheek and sat down across from her. Nana and Sally were two people who probably knew more than most what was going on in Longhorn. They had lived here their whole lives and were always involved in the church and town. Maybe they’d know something to help with his latest case. “Sorry I was late. I got delayed with a new case.”

Sally waved her hand. “Some things can’t be helped. I certainly understand.”

Caitlyn’s eyes grew wide. “He’s half an hour late and you don’t care, while I was only five minutes late and I got—”

Nana patted Caitlyn’s hand. “Honey, I understand. I’d be late if I had a creepy man call me on-air like you did.”

Creepy man? Ian shifted his attention to Caitlyn. “On your radio show?”

“You know I’m on the radio?”

He nodded. “I’ve even listened.”

Color flooded Caitlyn’s cheeks. “In El Paso?”

“Yep, we have a station that runs Share with Caitlyn. It’s always nice to hear a voice from my past.” He’d felt connected to his hometown—and her—while listening to her on the radio. He could have used her insight on the woman he’d been engaged to, who’d stolen his identity and money, then disappeared. But Caitlyn hadn’t been a therapist at that time. Thankfully, after years of being a law enforcement officer, he wasn’t as gullible as he’d been when he was in his midtwenties, but the incident wasn’t something he’d shared with anyone. “What did this guy say?”

“‘Stop me!’” Emma said before Caitlyn could. “But the worse part was the silence.”

“Nana, if I was on the radio, I’d have long silences too.” Ian caught Caitlyn’s gaze and held it. “I admire how you deal with all the different problems people call about.” When he’d been growing up, he’d often come to her for advice, so her career choice hadn’t surprised him.

She grinned. “Talking has always come easily to me. But I’ve had many people freeze up when they go live on the radio. Some I never hear from again. Others get over it and ask me to help them.”

“I hope that guy isn’t one that calls again.” Sally took a drink of her iced tea.

“You said you have a new case. What is it?” Caitlyn asked him.

“Now that the family has been notified, I can tell you. Jane Shephard was found murdered outside of town in a ditch.”

His grandma’s jaw dropped. “Jack is in Austin. Poor Ruth’s all by herself.”

“The senator is on his way home.”

Nana looked at Sally. “We’ll need to go to the church and organize some support for them. Jane was their only child. They will be devastated.” She rose and took her plate and mug to the sink.

“Yeah, we can’t go to yoga. We need to call the people on the church’s phone tree.” Sally joined her friend at the counter.

When they headed toward the hallway, Ian asked, “Do you want me to take you to the church later?”

“Yes,” Nana said as she and Sally began making plans.

Ian swiveled toward Caitlyn, who stared at a spot on the table between them, color drained from her face. “Jane was younger than me in school, but you were closer in age. Did you know her very well as adults?”

“Yes,” she said and lifted her gaze to his. “She’s—was one of my patients. When did this happen?”

“Based on her lividity when I saw her, she was probably killed between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m.”

“Make that between nine and ten. I had an appointment with her at eight this morning. She left my office a few minutes before nine.” Caitlyn shook her head. “I can’t believe this.”

“What can you tell me about her? Was anyone threatening her? Harassing her?”

Caitlyn stood and gathered up her dishes. “I need to talk to her parents first. I don’t think what we talked about had anything to do with her death.”

“I need to re-create her steps. Did she mention going anywhere after her session?”

“She was meeting a couple of her Dallas friends for lunch and shopping afterward.”

“Who was she meeting?”

“Terri Hudson and Zoe Adams.”

“Was she dating anyone?”

“The last serious relationship she had was Max Collins, but that ended months ago. Come to think of it, they got into a big fight at Longhorn Café right before Christmas. Max accused her of seeing someone else.”

“Who?”

“Frankly, I’m not sure. She didn’t discuss it, so I’m not sure she was dating another guy at the same time.” She took the dishes to the sink. “I’d better leave now if I’m going to make my appointment.”

“I’ll walk you out to your car.”

“You don’t have to. As far as what she was going to do right after seeing me, I don’t know anything more. She was dressed casually, as though she might be going back home until she met her friends for lunch. What was she wearing when you saw her?”

“Jeans, boots and a blue blouse.”

“That’s what she had on for her appointment.” Caitlyn grabbed her purse on the counter. “I can tell you that what she was seeing me for wouldn’t have made her a target for a murderer.”

“People murder for all kinds of reasons. Any insight into Jane would be welcomed.” Ian followed Caitlyn from the kitchen. “Having been away from Longhorn for years makes me realize I don’t know the town like I used to. Considering your occupation, I’m thinking you do.” A woman had been discovered killed with no obvious reason in a town where murder was very rare. He opened the front door and let Caitlyn go outside first. “If that caller hassles you, please let me know.”

“I’ll help you any way I can. Just like old times.” She strolled beside him down the sidewalk toward her car. “But I won’t need your help. For all I know, the caller doesn’t even live in Longhorn.”

He gestured toward her Thunderbird. “When did you get this baby? I’m jealous.”

“Nine months ago, when my program was syndicated across the country. It’s my one extravagance. I live in a two-bedroom town house. Nothing fancy.”

He put his hand on the door handle and glanced at her. “And I’m sure you’re going to let a good friend like me drive it soon.”

She laughed. “Not until I see how good a driver you are now. When we were growing up, speed was all you thought about when you got behind the wheel.”

“I’m older and wiser now. Plus, I’ve taken a driving course to teach me the finer points of a high-speed chase.”

“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?”

Ian smiled as he opened the driver’s-side door.

Caitlyn started to slip into her seat but halted halfway, her stare fixed on something in the car.

Ian looked in the same direction.

On the white leather driver’s seat lay a photo of Jane in the ditch, dead. Written across the top were the words Stop me!

TWO

Caitlyn couldn’t take her eyes off the same words she’d heard from the caller.

Stop me!

All the feelings of the morning began to overwhelm her, leaving her shivering despite the sunlight beating down on her shoulders.

A hand touched her arm. She gasped and jerked away, nearly falling on top of the picture of Jane.

Ian gripped her upper arm and kept her upright. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I wanted you to step away from your car. Besides the photograph, there may be other pieces of evidence left behind.”

She scanned the interior of her Thunderbird. “What?”

“Fingerprints. Maybe something else. This is clearly connected to Jane’s murder.”

Jane’s killer had not only called her show but had approached her car and placed the picture on her seat in the past forty-five minutes. Brazen. Another chill shimmied down her body. She would never again leave the top of the car down while not sitting in it. Longhorn had its crime, but generally it was a peaceful town.

“I have a client coming to my office in—” she checked her watch “—fifteen minutes. I try to always be on time, especially with this patient.”

“I’ll call the chief and have an officer stand guard while I take you to work. Do you know if any of the neighbors have security cameras that might show your car or the street?”

She shook her head. “However, there are a few older couples who are at home during the day. Someone might have seen the person.”

“I hope so.” Ian retrieved his cell phone from his pocket and walked a few steps away while talking to the police chief of Longhorn’s small force.

Could she be the next victim? Why would the killer call her at the station? Did he take Jane when she left Caitlyn’s office this morning? The desperate ring to his words replayed in her mind. Did he genuinely want help to stop him from murdering again or doing something even more sinister? She clasped her hands to keep them from shaking. She wanted to help others, but she didn’t have the answer for everyone. She’d found that out the hard way, especially six months ago with a patient, not long after syndication.

“An officer will be here shortly. We need to let our grandmothers know what happened.”

“I’ll go in and talk to them while you wait.”

As she left Ian, she quickly called her practice and told the receptionist she might be a few minutes late and to let Charles Thorne know. She hated not being there on time because Charles was one of her clients who was obsessive-compulsive. He detested change in any form. It would take half his session to calm him down.

Caitlyn entered her grandma’s house. “Granny, where are you?”

“In the den.”

She hurried toward the back of the house and found both ladies sitting near the desk as Emma hung up the phone. “Ian has to take me to work.” She paused, fortifying herself with a composing breath. “Because he needs to process my car for fingerprints.”

Before Caitlyn could explain why, Granny’s eyes grew huge and she asked, “Whatever for?”

“Someone left a photo on my front seat.”

Her grandmother pushed to her feet using the desk and chair to steady herself. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“It’s a photo of Jane’s body.”

Emma splayed her hand over her chest. “Oh, my! Why?”

This part she wished she didn’t have to tell the ladies, but it would come out eventually and Granny would be mad at her for not sharing it with her right away. “The words Stop me! were on the picture.”

Her grandmother collapsed onto the chair, her hand going to her mouth. Stunned into silence, she simply stared at Caitlyn.

“What’s my grandson doing about it?”

Caitlyn shifted her gaze to Emma. “Everything he can.”

“Tell him not to worry about taking us to church. We’ll continue to organize help for the Shephards from here.”

“Thanks, Emma. I’ll let him know.” Caitlyn turned to her grandmother, who still hadn’t said a word. “Granny, I’ll call you later from the office. Don’t worry. Ian is on the case.” She heard the front door open and the soft sound of footsteps coming down the hall.

Emma took her friend’s hand. “And, Sally, he’s the best. He’ll find the killer.”

Finally, Granny straightened her slumped shoulders and stared right at Caitlyn. “Make him stay with you. Protect you.”

Ian stopped behind Caitlyn. “Sally, I’ll do just that. Caitlyn and I have been friends for a long time. I won’t let anything happen to her.”

“You’d better not, young man.”

Caitlyn could see her grandmother was recovering from the news and was working herself up. “We’ve got to go.” She spun around, grabbed Ian’s hand and rushed toward the exit before Granny came after her. She didn’t stop until she was sitting in Ian’s SUV, while he rounded the hood and hopped into the driver’s seat.

“I take it she wasn’t too happy with the turn of events.” He started the vehicle and pulled out of his grandmother’s driveway.

“It’s not often Granny is speechless.”

Ian whistled. “You should consider staying with your grandmother until the killer is caught.”

“I can’t do that. It could put her in danger.”

“He called you after he killed Jane. Did it sound like he was bragging about murdering her?”

“No, not at all.”

“I don’t think he’s targeting you. I think he wants help. By putting the photo in your car, he’s again telling you to stop him.”

“Like he’s desperate? Or he’s taunting me?” She’d fought to put her life back together years ago and had—or so she’d thought. Now a killer wanted her to stop him. How?

“Both are possible.” Ian pulled into the parking lot next to the clinic where she worked. “I’ll walk you in.”

“You don’t have.”

“Yes, I do. Your grandmother will ask when I return and check your car.”

She exited the SUV at the same time he did and met him at the front of his vehicle to head into the building. “When do you think you’ll be finished with my car?”

“An hour or so. I don’t want to miss anything. When is your last client today?”

“Five.”

“I’ll come back and pick you up then.” He opened the main door for her. “Let me have your car keys.”

She stopped just inside the one-story building and cocked an eyebrow. “Why?”

“For me to take a spin around town.” He chuckled. “Although I would like to do that, it’s really for putting your top up when I’m through processing the car.”

She plopped the keys into Ian’s hand and turned to go to her office. When he followed, she slanted a look at him. “This place is filled with people. I’ll be fine.” She nodded at Rob Owens, a male nurse at the clinic, and at Claire Sanders, the office manager, who was coming out of the break room and passed them in the hallway. “See?”

“I’m sure you will be. I want to know where your office is because I’ll come here later.”

Rounding a corner, she paused and unlocked the private entrance to her office. “Thanks.” When she started to close the door, he clasped her arm. The light touch of his hand on her skin produced goose bumps. Her gaze connected with his for a long moment, drinking in the sight of him after so many years—tall, well-built, dark hair cut short and hazel eyes that changed colors with his mood. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed him being in Longhorn. His presence made her feel safe, protected.

He smiled, two dimples appearing in his cheeks. “Stay here until I pick you up.”

“I will. If you aren’t here when my last patient leaves, I have files I need to update.”

He stepped back, staring at the door as if he was going to come into her office instead of leaving. If she was truthful with herself, that brief contact brought forth feelings she’d had the summer after she’d graduated from high school. She’d begun thinking of him as more than just a good friend, but then everything changed for her.

Quickly, she shut the door and locked it. When the phone on her desk buzzed, she hurried across the office to answer the call from the receptionist. “Is Charles Thorne here?”

“Yes, he was running late and came in only a moment ago.”

Strange. Charles was never late. “Okay. Send him in.” Caitlyn headed for the other door into her office and swung it open as Charles approached, his forehead set in a scowl.

He flung himself onto the couch. “I wish I hadn’t gotten out of bed. Nothing is going the way it should today. I kept you waiting. I’m sorry about that. It won’t happen again.”

“What delayed you?”

“A traffic accident. It blocked the street for ten minutes.” Then he went on to mention every small thing that had thrown him off, starting with him getting up late because his alarm clock hadn’t gone off. “I always set it. Someone must have come into my room and clicked it off.”

“Who might have, Charles? You live alone, right?”

He shrugged. “I never don’t set it. That’s the only explanation that makes sense.”

“This world is full of change. As much as you want to control every aspect, you can’t all the time. Did you stop and take deep breaths?” The last time she saw Jane leaving her office popped into her mind. Could she have done anything to prevent Jane’s murder? What if she could have—

She wrenched her thoughts back to her patient across from her.

“No, I didn’t have time. I was already five minutes off schedule. I tried rushing, but that made it worse.” He kept looking at his watch as his chest rose and fell rapidly. “And now with the accident, I’m fifteen minutes behind. I feel out of control. I can’t deal with this.” Red flushed his face.

Up until recently, he’d been able to deal with small changes, thanks to a few techniques she’d helped him incorporate into his routine. What was causing this?

“Dr. Rhodes, you have got to stop me!” He held out an arm, his hand shaking.

Stop me! It was as if an arctic blast of wind swept through her office. She hugged herself to keep the trembling at bay.

Those words again! Had Charles listened to her radio show? Or was it something else?

* * *

That evening, Ian escorted Caitlyn to his SUV at her office. “Did anyone from work say anything to you about the caller on your show this morning?” He opened the front passenger door.

“The receptionist. She was on break and one of the nurses was listening to the end of my show. Creepy was their description.”

“And yours?”

“I’d have to agree with creepy. I’ve worked with people who have problems, a few barely functioning day-to-day, but there was something in the way the caller said those two words that set off alarm bells.”

“I’ve talked with Sheriff Mason, who I’m assisting on this case, and we aren’t revealing that you received a photo of the victim with the words Stop me! on it. If he’s doing this for attention, we don’t want to feed into it.”

“I agree. The press would have a field day with it. My patients could be affected by the publicity. That’s unacceptable.”

Ian stopped at a red light and glanced at her, seeing that the events of the day had left their mark on her, based on her slumped shoulders, tired eyes and furrowed forehead. He wished he could have changed the circumstances and the killer had never brought her into the middle of the murder. Why had he? The thought left a hollow sensation in Ian’s gut. “How did your afternoon sessions go?”

“Okay. My first client was later than I was, which pushed everybody back twenty minutes. Thankfully, the others after him are patient about waiting. A few of mine aren’t.”

Ian made a left turn. “I got a call from my brother’s housekeeper, Alice. She wanted me to come to the ranch. Sean hasn’t come out of his bedroom all day. When she last saw him last night, he’d been drinking. Today when she knocked on his door, he didn’t respond. When she tried to turn the knob, it was locked.” Sean’s and his relationship had grown further apart as the years had passed and totally broke down when their father died last year.

“And you want me to come?”

“Yes, but I’ll understand if you want to go to your grandmother’s house instead.”

“I’ll go see Sean. I’ve been worried about him. He’s becoming more reclusive.”

“Yeah, especially since Dad died nine months ago. It’s one of the reasons I transferred here. He hasn’t dealt well with it.”

“What are the other reasons?”

“Nana. She’s beginning to be forgetful. Sean used to check on her frequently, but now he doesn’t. When Mom died, Nana stepped in and helped raise us, while Dad ran the ranch. I was six when she died, and my grandma is really the only mother figure I had.” His mother’s riding accident had affected him, but not nearly as much as it had Sean, who’d found her in the field behind the house.

“With all that’s happened, I’d better call and let Granny know where we’re going. She knows about the photo. Have you talked to her about not saying anything about it?”

“Yes, when I went back to process your car. Nana too.”

“Good. I don’t want them connected in any way with the murder investigation.” Caitlyn dug into her purse for her cell phone.

“Speaking of the investigation, we need to consider that one of your patients could be the killer.”

She dropped her cell phone onto her lap and twisted toward him. “Because Jane was seeing me or because you think it’s one of my patients?”

“Because the guy has pulled you into this.”

“That doesn’t mean one of my patients is the murderer.”

“It doesn’t mean he isn’t. I’m concentrating my investigation on Jane. Who would want her dead? Who has she been seeing? But I have to investigate all angles. This afternoon, after talking to your neighbors—who saw no one by your car, by the way—I interviewed people where Jane worked.” Other than hearing that Jane was a wonderful, giving woman, who’d dedicated her life to running the Shephard Foundation, he’d come up with little information to help with the case.

“Believe me, I want this person caught as much as you do. I’ll go through my list of patients and see if anyone jumps out at me. How about the phone number he used to call me this morning?”

“He used Jane’s cell phone.”

Caitlyn sucked in a deep breath. “I was hoping the caller wasn’t the killer, but I guess that’s wishful thinking now.”

“Yes, since he left the photo and used her phone.”

“And was in front of Granny’s house, while I was inside.” She folded her arms over her chest.

He sliced a look toward her. “Call your grandma. Let her know we’re stopping at the ranch. Don’t tell her about the call coming from Jane’s phone. She and Nana don’t need to worry any more than they already are.”

“Neither do I.”

While Caitlyn made her call, Ian reviewed what little he’d discovered when he’d talked with Jane’s two closest friends. Terri and Zoe said they didn’t know where she went after seeing Caitlyn or anything about Jane’s whereabouts the day before. They both thought she’d stayed at the Shephard ranch yesterday, not feeling well. They didn’t know of her dating anyone seriously after Max and she broke up. Ian and the sheriff had met at the ranch Jane’s family owned, next to the Pierce family’s land, and gone through it. The only thing out of place was her missing car. He couldn’t find anyone who’d seen Jane after she left her therapy appointment.