Trail of Lies

“Then, when she comes home, just introduce me as a friend who’s visiting.” He stood. “We probably should get moving if we want to be finished before they arrive. I’ll see what I can do about the door I kicked in. I wouldn’t want your daughter to see it and get upset.”

Her teeth dug into her lower lip as her eyelids closed. “Yes.” But she didn’t move for a long moment.

When she pushed to her feet and her gaze met his, for a few seconds he glimpsed fear in the depths of her green eyes. Weariness lined her beautiful features, triggering his concern. “I’m here to help you. You can trust me.”

Daniel’s words replayed through Melora’s mind as she called a locksmith and a handyman she’d used before to replace the door and locks and as she and the Texas Ranger worked their way through the house. She didn’t know the meaning of the word trust anymore. With the discovery of her husband’s body, the nightmare that had started two years ago with his disappearance was back to plague her.

For almost two years, she’d managed to live her life as if everything was normal. But it had never really been normal since she’d married Axle Hudson six years ago. She’d become trapped in a marriage to a man who had criminal connections and a cruel streak. Not even her uncle could have helped her. Axle had been like a son to him and her husband could do no wrong in his eyes. How would Uncle Tyler ever believe Axle was a criminal, especially when she had no proof?

Even she’d had a hard time believing Axle’s chain of restaurants might be a front for illegal activities. Not the man she’d loved. But once he’d caught her eavesdropping on one of his conversations while she tried to figure out what was going on. After that, the atmosphere in the house had changed. His subtle comments about the value of life and how he would hate for their daughter not to have a mother scared her so much. To the point that she’d started planning her escape from him.

Then Axle went missing. And if she’d still believed in God, she would have thought He’d stepped in and taken care of her problem. That all changed, however, when her house was trashed and she was threatened by two unknown men only days after she’d reported her husband’s disappearance to the authorities.

Keep quiet and stay put and you won’t end up like your husband—dead. The intruders’ words two years ago flashed in and out of her mind. They’d been after Axle’s flash drive then, too. She stumbled as she returned to the living room.

Daniel grasped her arm and steadied her. The brand of his fingers around her biceps zipped a fiery path through her.

She stepped away, needing space. “I told you the man didn’t take anything. My jewelry is all there. Even my husband’s coin collection is intact. And it’s quite valuable.”

“Still, it needed to be checked out. You must have interrupted him right after he came. Not much was even disturbed except in the office. Do you use that room much?”

“No.” She shivered. That had been her husband’s domain and the place where he had threatened her if she continued to snoop into his activities. After that, she’d avoided his office. “Other than a few important pieces of paper my uncle needed concerning the restaurant chain, I’ve left it as is.” She had been so grateful that her uncle had seen to Axle’s business. She’d wanted to sell it and distance herself as far as possible from what could be an illegal enterprise, but because her husband wasn’t dead, only missing, she couldn’t do anything. But that all changed last week when his body was identified after being found buried on a local animal rescue’s property.

“Your uncle? Tyler Madison? What does he have to do with your husband’s restaurant chain?”

“When Axle wasn’t found, I took over the temporary running of the business. My uncle was the one who helped me and found a top-notch man to run it until Axle turned up.” She stared at the door her attacker had disappeared through only an hour before. “I’m afraid business isn’t my forte. I needed someone who was an expert. Uncle Tyler had the perfect man.”

“Ah, so you don’t know much about your husband’s business?”

She shook her head. Axle had purposefully kept her in the dark about his dealings and finances. “Eating at the restaurants is the extent of my knowledge concerning them. But the business is part of Axle’s estate and my daughter’s legacy.” And she had every intention of selling the chain as soon as she could. She didn’t want her daughter connected in any way to something illegal. With the Texas Rangers suddenly interested in Axle’s business, all her fears that the restaurant chain was somehow tied to criminal activities were validated.

Daniel gestured toward the couch. “What does Axle’s will say? Who stands to gain from your husband’s murder?”

“My daughter, who is five years old. Everything was left to her in a trust. I have a yearly allowance and this house.”

“Did you know the terms of the will before your husband’s death?”

“Yes. But my uncle has provided for me in his will. Besides, I also have the trust my parents set up for me. I didn’t need Axle’s money.” Her only goal was to look out for her daughter and her well-being. Although exhaustion clung to her, she remained standing in spite of Daniel taking a seat. “Are you accusing me of killing my husband?”

“No, should I?”

TWO

Melora collapsed into the chair near her. The thought that someone would suspect she could have something to do with a murder stunned her. “I was surrounded by people in the days around my husband’s disappearance. My housekeeper who lives here. My uncle stayed with me when Axle didn’t come home and I couldn’t get in touch with him. The day he disappeared I was at a conference in Dallas. My daughter was here with Juanita, and when Axle didn’t come home, I had her go to my uncle’s until I could get back to San Antonio.”

“I just like covering all the facts and details of a case. I’ve been assigned to find out what happened to your husband.”

“Again, I want to know what case you’re working on.”

“One that could have far-reaching consequences. That’s all I can tell you right now.”

And she wouldn’t tell him that she had contacted the FBI in Dallas after her conference to tell them the little she knew about her husband’s activities. Axle had let her go to the conference since she was the chairperson of the committee working for the mayor on drug education. He’d known she wouldn’t do anything with Kaitlyn in his hands, that she would never leave her daughter behind in San Antonio. But also, she was sure Axle had her followed. That feeling had stayed with her during her brief time in Dallas and all the way back to San Antonio. She still felt she was being watched. All she wanted was for Daniel Riley to leave her and her daughter alone.

She massaged her temples. “I don’t know anything more and my daughter will be home any minute. I don’t want anyone upsetting her.” She pointedly stabbed him with her gaze. The door he’d used to come into the house was through the mudroom, which she could close off so Kaitlyn wouldn’t see the busted door.

“I’d like to talk with Juanita, but I’ll make sure Kaitlyn doesn’t know why I’m here.”

“I appreciate that. She doesn’t understand why her daddy was gone for so long and then last week we had a funeral for him.” The sound of the garage door going up rumbled through the house. Melora wearily shoved herself to her feet. “Juanita and Kaitlyn are home.”

He followed her into the kitchen. “I noticed your daughter was at the funeral.”

Yes, and Melora had noticed he had been there, too, with the other Texas Ranger, Anderson Michaels, who’d come to the Alamo Planning Committee in October. Another committee she was on. Axle had wanted her to project the right image to the world, and she’d never complained because she liked making a difference and helping where she could. In fact, she still tried to maintain as normal a schedule as possible although she’d buried her husband two days ago.

She threw him a glance. “Kaitlyn needed some closure with her father.” She hoped instead of Kaitlyn getting distressed because her father hadn’t come home that her daughter’s nightmares would stop since she’d gotten to say goodbye to her daddy at the funeral.

The knob on the door to the garage turned. Melora fortified herself with a deep breath and faced her daughter who raced into the room with Juanita trailing at a more sedate pace.

“Mommy, you’re home.” Kaitlyn threw her arms around Melora’s legs. “I had a great time at Cara’s.”

While her housekeeper made her way toward her suite off a back hallway, Melora hugged Kaitlyn. “I’m so glad. We’ll have to have Cara over here soon.”

“Tomorrow?” Her daughter bent back and looked up expectedly.

Melora forced a chuckle that fell flat. “We’ll see.”

Kaitlyn leaned around Melora, peering at Daniel Riley. “Who are you?”

He crossed the kitchen, a smile lighting his gray eyes as though they were pieces of silver. “I’m a friend of your mother’s.”

Her daughter tilted her head and studied the Texas Ranger. “How come I’ve never seen you?”

His shoulders lifted in a shrug. “That’s going to change today. I’m Daniel.”

She tapped her chest. “I’m Kaitlyn.”

“I thought so. Your mother talks about you a lot.”

Kaitlyn beamed. “Yeah, she tells me all the time I’m her pride and joy.”

“I can see why.”

“Have ya met Patches yet?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“He’s hiding. He does that all the time with someone new.” Kaitlyn stepped closer and lowered her voice. “Don’t worry. He’ll get used to you. Then he won’t leave you alone.”

Melora moved forward to break up the little bonding session. She wanted the Texas Ranger out of her house as soon as possible. “Speaking of Patches, aren’t you supposed to feed him, young lady?”

“Yeah.” Kaitlyn turned her full attention back to Daniel. “Would ya like to help? I’ll hold Patches while you pat him.”

“Hon, he needs to leave.”

Daniel shot Melora a look that said their conversation wasn’t over. “Yeah, I’m sorry I have to go. But I’m sure I’ll see you again, Kaitlyn.”

“Great! I’ll show you Patches then.” Her child hurried toward the utility room where Patches’s food was kept.

Once Kaitlyn was out of the kitchen, Daniel said, “I’d like to talk to Juanita before I leave.”

Melora peered toward where her daughter had disappeared. She needed to get rid of the man as fast as possible in case someone was watching the house. “Fine. I’ll take you back to her suite. After that, I’d like you to go. I don’t want Kaitlyn to know anything about today.”

“Don’t you want to find out who murdered your husband? Who broke into your house? It’s possible there’s a connection.”

While he studied her, she struggled to remain as calm as possible. “Of course. But I don’t see a connection. And I have to think of my daughter’s emotional well-being.” And her physical well-being. What if Kaitlyn had been here when the man had broken in? Both sets of intruders had frightened her, but the last one seemed more sinister—desperate almost, as though time was running out. Chills encased her in a cold sweat. Her heartbeat sped up. She didn’t know how long she could keep up the pretense that everything was all right. This facade she had to put on weighed heavily on her.

“I shouldn’t be long.”

Melora swept her arm across her front, indicating the hallway Juanita disappeared down, then started forward. “Her room is back here.”

The hair on her nape tingled under the Ranger’s hard gaze. He wasn’t going to let this investigation die until he’d turned over every clue he could get. Fear mingled with her frustration. She hadn’t wanted to say anything to Uncle Tyler about what had happened two years ago. She didn’t want him worrying or worse—trying to do something about it and getting hurt. He’d taken her in after her parents died when she was nine. He was all the family she had except for Kaitlyn.

Melora stopped in front of a closed door and knocked. Her housekeeper answered, peering first at her then Daniel, wariness in her dark eyes. Although she knew about the break-in after Axle had vanished, Melora hadn’t told her about the threat. And Juanita had never questioned why Melora hadn’t reported the break-in to the sheriff. Juanita was an American citizen, but she was leery of law enforcement. Some of her family had been deported back to Mexico.

“This is Daniel Riley with the Texas Rangers. He has a few questions for you. We had an intruder today, and Ranger Riley managed to chase the man away but didn’t catch him.”

Juanita’s attention remained focused on Melora for a few seconds. “I don’t know anything about a break-in.”

Touching her arm, Melora gave her housekeeper a reassuring look. “I know.” She bit back the words, “Humor him and he’ll leave.”

“May I come in?” Daniel asked, nodding toward the sitting area visible behind Juanita.

“I was getting ready to leave. I have to get dinner ready.” The housekeeper blocked the entrance into her suite. “I don’t understand what you think I know. I wasn’t here.” She shifted her gaze to Melora. “Was anything taken? Nothing was bothered in my room.”

“No, not that I can tell.”

“Who left first, you or Mrs. Hudson this afternoon?” Daniel asked, scrutinizing the housekeeper.

“I did with Kaitlyn. I had a few errands to run before the play date.”

“What errands?”

“Pharmacy and dry cleaners.” Juanita glanced at Melora.

“Did you talk to anyone?” Daniel shifted to hamper Juanita’s view of Melora.

“Just the cashiers.”

“Did you notice a white Honda Accord parked in this area when you left?”

Juanita tilted her head to the side and thought for a moment. “No.”

“No one unusual around?”

Juanita shook her head.

Daniel withdrew a business card. “If you can think of anything that might help us find the man who broke in here, please contact me.”

Pocketing the card, her housekeeper moved out into the hall and closed her door. “If that’s all, I’ve got dinner to cook.” She ambled toward the kitchen without giving Daniel a chance to say anything.

“She’s tough,” Daniel said with a chuckle.

“Yes, and observant, so if she said she didn’t see anyone, there wasn’t anyone out there.”

“What time did you leave this afternoon?”

“1:00. My meeting was at 2:00 and since we’re a ways out of San Antonio, I needed to leave early. And I didn’t see anyone, either.” She trailed after her housekeeper down the hall, again feeling the Ranger’s scrutiny.

“Either the man is good at hiding or he came after you left. Do you follow a certain routine?”

“No. This meeting, however, is public knowledge and so is my participation.” Remembering that the man had indicated he’d been waiting for her return made her fearful. Her hands quavered, and she had to curl them into fists to keep the Ranger from seeing her alarm.

“But the man wouldn’t know about your daughter and her play date?”

The question brought Melora up short. She gripped the frame of the door that led into the kitchen. “So you think he either didn’t care my daughter would be home or he was watching the place?”

Daniel skirted around her. “It’s a possibility we need to consider.” The pounding of her heartbeat nearly drowned out his next words, “I’ll keep you informed of my investigation.”

In other words, he’d keep in touch, possibly come back to the house. Alert whoever was watching her. She wanted to tell him she didn’t want the case pursued, but there was no way she could tell him her reasons. She didn’t know what to do anymore.

Why, Axle? Why did you get mixed up in something illegal? Those questions had rumbled around in her mind for the past two years, and she was reminded yet again that her judgment concerning her husband hadn’t been good. What had she missed? Why couldn’t she have seen what kind of man he really was?

“Mrs. Hudson?”

Daniel’s voice, full of concern, wrenched her back to the present—a present filled with a Texas Ranger who asked too many questions.

“Are you okay?”

She blinked. “What do you think?”

He peered over her shoulder at the housekeeper and moved close to her. “I think you’re scared and hiding something.” He tipped his cowboy hat. “Good day. I can find my own way out.”

Melora watched the man stride away, his steps long, economical, as though he never had a wasted motion. Dressed in tan slacks and a white, long-sleeve shirt with a black tie, he looked the part of a Texas Ranger down to his brown boots, his white cowboy hat and silver star he wore over his heart. Confident. Controlled. Capable—in any situation.

She wished she had those traits, especially right now. Then she would know who to trust, what to do. How to get out of the mess her husband had put her and Kaitlyn in.

Frustration churned Daniel’s gut. Everywhere he’d gone he’d run into dead ends. But he knew that Axle’s widow wasn’t telling him everything. Behind the exhaustion, he glimpsed fear. Of what? He intended to find out. Somehow he felt it was connected to her husband’s murder and possibly Captain Pike’s. It wasn’t just the break-in that had scared her.

Daniel could still remember the text message he’d received, along with all the Texas Rangers in Company D, from Captain Pike three months ago. His last one. Convene at my house, ASAP. Major case about to explode. When they’d arrived, they found him dead from a gunshot wound and another man critically injured. That man still hadn’t woken up or been identified. If only one of the Rangers had gotten there before someone had killed their captain.

Daniel pulled into the parking lot of the Texas Ranger’s station in San Antonio. On the way here from Melora’s house, he’d had Ranger Oliver Drew run the partial license plate numbers against white Honda Accords in Texas. He hoped the list wasn’t too long. He needed a break. After climbing from his truck, he strode toward the building, the temperature warmer than usual for the end of November, a hint of rain in the air.

Inside he found Oliver right away, sitting at his desk. “Did you get anything?”

“A list of seven vehicles in the San Antonio area—more for the whole state of Texas.”

“Seven. That’s not bad. First check them and see if there are any that have been reported stolen. Maybe the suspect was dumb enough to use his own car.”

Oliver chuckled. “You’re dreaming, but I’ll take care of this list for you. Captain wants to see you.”

Daniel looked toward Captain Benjamin Fritz’s office. As a lieutenant, Daniel often ran things by his captain. Pushing open Ben’s door, he stuck his head in. “You wanted to see me?”

“Yep, come in. I need you and Anderson to go back to the Alamo Planning Committee meeting. I don’t like what’s been happening. A lot of important dignitaries will be attending the celebration. Stress that, with the threatening letter the committee received in October and the phone call Hank Zarvy got a few weeks ago about the event, we want them to think about having a smaller, more intimate event for the 175th anniversary of the Battle of the Alamo. We think it would be better and far safer. I know the threats have been vague. Nothing but warnings that if we don’t cancel the celebration, something bad will happen. But we haven’t been able to trace anything.”

“Okay. I’ll check when the next meeting is and get on the agenda.” Daniel immediately thought of the last meeting he’d gone to. Melora was on the committee. Maybe he could talk to her afterward. In a different environment after she had time to think about the break-in, she might be more forthcoming with her information.

“How did it go with Mrs. Hudson?”

“She’s not saying much.” He went on to give Ben a detailed report of the break-in and his interview with Melora and Juanita.

“Get Gisella to help you with digging into Axle Hudson’s background and dealings. We need to know everything about him.”

“Especially if he’s a member of the Lions of Texas. You can certainly say he was a powerful person with lots of connections.” One of the first breaks in their captain’s murder case was the few details about the group they got from Eddie Jimenez, a low-level member of the Lions of Texas, who had tried to get the captain’s notes after the shooting. Eddie hadn’t been successful in getting what he had been after. When caught, the thug hadn’t been able to tell them who had killed Gregory Pike or who had sent Eddie after the notes, but the man did tell the Rangers that the group behind all this was called the Lions of Texas. According to Eddie the members were powerful—and very dangerous. Not much to go on, but a start. And if Axle was a member of the Lions, then getting to know everything about the man could lead to others in the group.

“Do you think Mrs. Hudson knows what her husband was up to? What got him killed?”

His image of Melora, frightened and vulnerable, didn’t fit with her being a cold, calculating woman who approved of her husband’s illegal activities. “I aim to find out. I don’t think the intruder was there to rob her place. Oliver is tracking down the getaway car.”

“Stay on her. Get to be her new best friend. Find out what she knows.”

“That’s what I plan on doing.” As Daniel headed toward the door, his cell rang. Noticing the call came from the sheriff, he answered it as he left Ben’s office. “Riley here.”

“We’re at Alicia Wells’s apartment. I think you should come take a look at the place.”

“She’s not there?”

“Nope, and it appears she left in a hurry.”

After the sheriff gave him the location of the apartment, Daniel slipped his cell into his pocket and started for the exit.

Oliver stopped him. “I tracked down the white Honda, at least I think it’s the one. It was reported missing this morning. It belongs to Paul Carson.”

“Has the car been found?”

“No.”

“Check Carson out and interview him. The man I chased was compact, five feet nine inches with medium-length black hair. See if he fits the description.”

Daniel hurried toward his truck. He felt as though Melora was the key to what was going on. He would stick to her like glue.

Thirty minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot of the building where Alicia Wells lived. When he entered the apartment, the sheriff waved him over and pointed at a spot on the rug, the size of a quarter. “Found this after I called you. We tested it. That’s fresh blood.”

THREE

“So you think it’s human?” Daniel scanned Alicia Wells’s living room.

“Yes. No signs of a pet. But the lab will have to confirm it and the blood type.”

“Why do you think she ran?” Daniel spotted a desk with some open drawers.

The sheriff stiffened.

“Because her clothes and most of her personal belongings are gone. I didn’t see this blood until a second walk-through.”

“So you’re thinking someone took her and made it look like she left?”

Sheriff Layton stroked his chin. “Possibly. I suppose there could be a simple explanation for the blood, like she cut herself. It certainly isn’t enough to kill her.” He flipped back the edge of the rug.

Daniel noticed several more spots of what looked like dried blood along that edge—not nearly enough to indicate she was seriously injured. But his gut feeling on this was they’d find Alicia dead. He hoped he was wrong, but the people they were dealing with wouldn’t hesitate to kill someone after they got what they wanted. “I’ll have my office look into Alicia Wells if that’s okay with you.”

“Fine by me.” The sheriff started for the bedroom. “I suspect Ms. Wells didn’t go willingly.”

“If Alicia gave someone the code and key to the house, that would explain the how of the break-in but not the why or the who.”

“You don’t think it was just a robbery attempt?”

“I think there’s more to it. Possibly connected to Captain Pike’s murder.” Halting at the entrance into the room, Daniel surveyed the open drawers, the empty closet, the rumpled coverlet on the bed.