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
