was given a phone and a telephone directory which also listed Jacobs County, of which Jacobsville was the county seat. She looked through it until she found a listing for Hart Ranch Properties, Inc. That had to be it.
She dialed the number and waited. A deep, drawling voice answered, ‘‘Hart Ranch.’’
‘‘Uh, I’m calling for a Mr. Leo Hart,’’ she said, having found his driver’s license in the wallet his assailants hadn’t had time to steal. ‘‘He’s at Houston General…’’
‘‘What happened?’’ the voice asked impatiently. ‘‘Is he all right?’’
‘‘He was mugged. He has a concussion,’’ she added. ‘‘He can’t give the staff any medical information…’’
‘‘Who are you?’’
‘‘I’m Meredith Johns. I work…
‘‘Who found him?’’
‘‘I did, actually. I called the ambulance on his cell phone. He said to call his brothers and he told me where they were…’’
‘‘It’s two o’clock in the morning!’’ the voice pointed out angrily.
‘‘Yes, I am aware of that,’’ she began. ‘‘It only happened a little while ago. I was walking down the street when I saw him on the sidewalk. He needs his family—’’
‘‘I’m his brother, Rey. I’ll be there in thirty minutes.’’
‘‘Sir, it’s a long way to Houston from where you are. If you drive that fast…!’’ she said at once.
‘‘We have an airplane. I’ll get the pilot out of bed right now. Thanks.’’ He added that last word as if it hurt him, and hung up.
Meredith went back to the waiting room. Ten minutes later, she was admitted to the room where the victim had been examined.
‘‘He’s conscious,’’ the attending physician told her. ‘‘I’m going to admit him overnight, just to be sure. Any luck with his family?’’
‘‘His brother is on the way, in his own plane, apparently,’’ she said. ‘‘I didn’t get a thing out of him. Sorry.’’
‘‘People get upset and they don’t think,’’ the resident said with a weary smile. ‘‘How about staying with him? We’re understaffed because of that respiratory virus that’s going around, and he shouldn’t be alone.’’
‘‘I’ll stay,’’ she said with a grin. ‘‘It’s not as if I have a hectic social life.’’
The resident pursed his lips and smirked at her outfit.
‘‘Halloween party,’’ she said, grimacing. ‘‘And next time I get invited, I’ll have a broken leg, I swear it!’’
Forty-five minutes later, there was a problem. It was six feet tall, had black hair and dark eyes and it erupted into the hospital cubicle like an F-5 tornado, dressed in jeans and boots and a fringed rawhide jacket thrown carelessly over what looked like a beige silk shirt. The wide-brimmed hat slanted over those threatening eyes was a Stetson, one of the most expensive made, with its distinctive feathered logo pin on the hatband. He looked impressively rich, and excessively angry.
The man was livid when he saw his big brother, still drifting in and out of consciousness, on the examining table. He gave Meredith a scrutiny that could have peeled paint off old furniture, his eyes narrowing contemptuously on her costume.
‘‘Well, that explains why you were on the street at two in the morning,’’ he snarled angrily. ‘‘What happened? Did you feel guilty and call for help after you tried to roll him?’’ he added sarcastically.
‘‘Look here,’’ she began, rising.
‘‘Save it.’’ He turned to the big man on the table and laid a lean, strong hand on his brother’s broad chest. ‘‘Leo. Leo, it’s Rey! Can you hear me?’’ he asked in a tone that combined affection with concern.
The big man’s eyes blinked and opened. He stared blankly up at the leaner man. ‘‘Rey?’’
‘‘What happened to you?’’ Rey Hart demanded gently.
Leo grinned wearily. ‘‘I was thinking about new forage grasses and wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings,’’ he murmured drowsily. ‘‘Something hit me in the head and I went down like a brick. Didn’t see a thing.’’ He winced and felt clumsily in his pockets. ‘‘Damn! My wallet’s gone. So’s my cell phone.’’
Meredith started to tell him that she had the phone and wallet in her purse for safekeeping, but before she could speak, Rey Hart gave her a furious, speaking glance and walked out of the cubicle like a man hunting a fight.
His brother drifted off again. Meredith stood beside him, wondering what to do. Five minutes later, Rey Hart walked back in accompanied by a tall man in a police uniform. He looked familiar, but Meredith couldn’t quite place him. She knew she’d seen him before.
‘‘That’s her,’’ Rey told the policeman, indicating Meredith. ‘‘I’ll sign anything necessary as soon as I see that my brother’s going to be okay. But get her out of here.’’
‘‘Don’t worry. I’ll handle it,’’ the policeman said quietly. He handcuffed Meredith with easy efficiency and pulled her out of the cubicle before she could protest.
‘‘I’m being arrested?’’ she exclaimed, stunned. ‘‘But, why? I haven’t done anything!’’
‘‘Yes, I know, I’ve heard it all before,’’ the officer told her in a bored tone when she tried to explain what had happened. ‘‘Nobody’s ever guilty. Honest to God, dressed like that, out on the streets alone after midnight, you were bound to be up to no good. What did you do with his cell phone and his wallet?’’
‘‘They’re in my pocketbook,’’ she began.
He confiscated it from her shoulder and propelled her out of the building. ‘‘You’re going to be in a lot of trouble. You picked the wrong man to rob.’’
‘‘See here, I didn’t mug him! It was two men. I didn’t see their faces, but they were bending over him as I came down the sidewalk.’’
‘‘Soliciting is a felony,’’ he pointed out.
‘‘I wasn’t soliciting anything! I’d just come from a Halloween party dressed as a burlesque dancer!’’ she raged, furious that she was being punished for having done someone a good turn. She read his name tag. ‘‘Officer Sanders, you have to believe me!’’
He didn’t say a word. He drew her with him, firmly but gently, and put her into the back seat of the police car.
‘‘Wait,’’ she told him before he could close the door. ‘‘You get my wallet out of my purse and look in it. Right now,’’ she insisted.
He gave her an impatient
