which meant that Lucita had been telling the truth. Someone had deliberately harassed her, then driven away from the scene after she’d crashed. The idea was more than disturbing to a man whose job was to keep the peace and ensure the safety of the citizens of the county.
Who did he think he was kidding? Ripp asked, as he left the table to drop two pieces of bread into a chrome toaster. This wasn’t about the citizens of Goliad County. This was something far more personal. Something about Matt’s sister haunted him, riled him and even stirred his libido. For the first time since Pamela had broken their engagement four years ago, Ripp actually caught himself thinking of a woman in a sexual way and the realization shocked him.
The browned bread popped up with a loud snap. Ripp retrieved a container of butter and a jar of jelly from the refrigerator, spreading thick layers on both pieces before tossing them onto a saucer and eating both pieces while standing at the cabinet counter.
Okay, so he was still a red-blooded man after all, he thought as he dumped the crumbs into a waste basket. Looking at a woman and finding her attractive wasn’t anything to get worried over. It only meant he’d returned to the land of the living. It didn’t mean he was going to get involved with the woman. Hell’s bells, that was a laughable notion anyway. Lucita Sanchez was as far away from his social circle as a woman could get.
Still, he couldn’t let her continue to wonder if her recollection of the accident had been completely accurate. She had a right to know what had happened—and to know to be on her guard. But before Ripp let her know anything, he wanted to personally make an inspection of her car.
Glancing at the clock hanging on the opposite wall, he figured he had time to feed Chester, then jump into the shower and shave before he headed off to work. Hopefully, he’d have a few extra minutes to stop at Santee’s before Sheriff Travers sent him off on a different matter.
An hour later, Ripp stood inside the chain-link fence surrounding Santee’s salvage yard. Junior, the owner, had a special spot where he kept vehicles for the sheriff’s department. The small area was locked away from the slew of public autos that found their way to his garage and salvage, so Ripp was quite certain that no one had tampered with Lucita’s small red coupe since the accident.
That made his finding even more sinister as he squatted on his heels and stared at the busted area on the back bumper. Near the fracture were several streaks and residual chips of black paint.
Lucita had described the threatening vehicle behind her as black or dark-colored. She’d insisted the car had rammed her from behind and this damage confirmed that she’d been right.
His thoughts grim, Ripp walked back to his waiting truck. Once inside, he reached for the radio.
“Send Lijah over to Santee’s with a crime scene kit. I’ll be waiting here for him.”
The dispatcher quickly advised Ripp that she understood the order and the radio went quiet as he hung the mike back on the dashboard.
Even though the morning was still early, he figured if Lucita felt well enough to work today, she was probably already on her way to St. Francis High School in Victoria.
Ripp hadn’t taken down her telephone number. That wasn’t normal procedure. Acquiring the offender’s mailing address was the limit. And in spite of her being the sister of a close friend, he wasn’t a man to break the rules. But now he had pertinent information regarding her accident.
Quickly, he picked up the cell phone lying on the console next to his seat and searched for the number for the Sanchez house. It rang twice before Juan, the family cook, answered.
“This is Deputy McCleod,” he told the older man. “I need to speak to Matt. Has he left for work yet?”
“Wait. He might be gone. I’ll go see.”
Ripp could hear the clatter of the phone as the cook laid it down, then the noise of doors being opened and closed. Finally, after a couple of long minutes, faint voices sounded in the background, then boot steps grew closer and closer to the receiver.
“Matt here.”
“Matt, I’m glad I caught you,” Ripp told him. “Do you have a minute to talk?”
“Ripp! Sure I can talk. Is anything wrong?”
Of course he would think something was wrong, Ripp thought wryly. It was six in the morning. Not the usual time for a social call. “There could be,” he admitted. “How is Lucita this morning?”
“I talked to her earlier this morning right after I got up. She’s stiff and sore and has a little headache, but other than that she’s fine. She was determined to go into school this morning. She just signed a new contract with St. Joseph back in June and classes started at the first of this month. She doesn’t want to start missing days this soon on a new job. Are you calling to check on her or is this something about the accident?”
Since Ripp had driven Lucita home to the ranch, Matt must have assumed he’d taken a personal interest in his sister. The idea was a bit embarrassing, yet he couldn’t deny that Lucita had sparked him with something more than official law business.
Feeling awkward now, Ripp said, “Uh—well, I’m glad to hear she’s okay. But I have some news about her accident and I thought—I wanted to run it by you before I talked with her.”
Matt was suddenly wary. “Why? What is it?”
“Last night after I left the ranch, Lijah and I scoured the whole scene from the point where Lucita’s vehicle got into trouble to the spot where it actually left the highway. Your sister was right about someone following on her bumper, Matt. We discovered another set of skid marks.”
There was a long pause as though he was trying to digest Ripp’s revelation. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. And now I have something else to corroborate that evidence. I’m here at Santee’s right now. I’ve just finished inspecting Lucita’s car and I found damage on the back bumper. Black paint was left behind from contact with another vehicle.”
Matt muttered harshly. “Damn. Damn. I figured Lucita was right about the whole thing. She’s pretty levelheaded. So you haven’t said anything to her about this yet?”
“Not yet.” He paused as the memory of Lucita’s face swam to the forefront of his mind. On the ride to the Sandbur, she’d been mostly quiet, her pretty features set in grim determination. He’d sensed there were all sorts of dark fears swimming around in her head and he’d desperately wanted to reassure her, to promise her that she had nothing to fear. But he couldn’t make anyone those sorts of promises and he’d been left feeling frustrated and helpless. “Uh—last night I got the impression that your sister was a woman with a strong constitution, but this sort of news would shake anyone. I thought it might be better if this news came from you, Matt.”
“Well, you’re right about one thing—this shakes the hell out of me, Ripp. And it’ll do worse to Lucita. I don’t want her to know.”
Ripp was so stunned he pulled the receiver away from his ear and stared at it as though he wasn’t sure he’d heard his friend correctly.
“Matt! She has to know that someone was trying to harm her. The sheriff’s department has to investigate this matter. In fact, Lijah is already on his way over here to gather evidence to send to the crime lab.”
“Investigate
