Lone Star Justice (17 page)

"Has something happened?"

He stood there, twisting his hat in his hands, not meeting her gaze. "I'm sorry Maddie. I was supposed to protect you. I was supposed to protect you both. But I failed. Failed you, Brandy, the whole damned town."

She struggled to sit up, but her limbs felt like spaghetti. She gave up, hating the vulnerable position she was in. "What about Brandy? Where is she? God, Rand, tell me what's going on."

He finally looked up. "She's disappeared, Maddie. Right out from under the noses of everyone at the station."

"No! Rand, please, not my baby!" Brandy would never have left on her own. She knew how dangerous it was for her to be alone. That bastard had her. Maddie shoved the covers back and tried once again to sit up. Rand was at her side in an instant, helping her. "We have to go find her, Rand. Help me get up. Find my shoes."

He shook his head. "The doctor wants to keep you for a few hours, make sure you're okay. I have everyone in the county looking for her. Hell, everyone in the state. They'll find her."

"I'm not lying in this bed while my daughter's missing. If you won't get me out of here, I'll find someone who will!"

"I have a deputy on his way here to stay with you, then I'm going to find Brandy. You won't do her any good if you get sick again. The doctors don't even know yet what made you pass out. Let them do their job, and I'll go do mine." Rand straightened his shoulders, seeming to find resolve from somewhere deep inside. "I'll bring our daughter home safely, Maddie. I promise."

He left, not giving Maddie another chance to argue. Fine, she'd call Ellie and by the time she got to the hospital, Maddie would be strong enough to leave. She hoped. But there was no way she'd lay there with her daughter in danger, no matter what Rand said.

Five minutes later a deputy opened the door and introduced himself, letting Maddie know he'd be right outside the door if she needed anything. She couldn't see his face, didn't know if it was one of the deputies she'd already met. Could she talk him into helping her escape?

No, if he was one of Rand's men, he'd follow orders to the letter.

Damn. How was she supposed to escape from the hospital
and
the bodyguard?

***

Rand walked into the station to find it packed with people. Gertie, Andy Biggs, Jeb Hawkins. Marcus Daly, Millie Landers and Jenny Wright. Even Nancy was there. What seemed like half the congregation from the Methodist church, along with their pastor. Every member of the city council. Some faces looked concerned, others angry. A newspaper reporter he'd known his entire life shoved a microphone in his face and asked, "What do you think about the City Council's petition for your recall, Sheriff? Is this connected with the arrest of Doctor Myers? Just exactly what are the charges against the doctor?"

Rand shoved the microphone away. "Damn it, Shawn. This isn't television news, for Pete's sake. Give me a minute to sort out what's going on."

Linda grabbed his arm and tugged him through the crowd to his office, shutting the door behind him. "Sorry about that, boss. I couldn't get them to leave. They've been bickering out there for an hour."

Rand hung his hat on the coat rack and picked up his messages, sorting them into order by importance. "What's all this about a recall? I thought we put an end to that nonsense?"

"It's Doc. The Council is upset, but what they don't realize is that they have no power here. You're elected by the county, not the city, so just ignore them for now. Cody has something to show you. He's on his way now."

While they waited for Cody to arrive, Linda caught him up on who had been called, which law enforcement agency was doing what, and what the townspeople had been told. He made phone calls to Detective Thacker, the Smith County sheriff, and the FBI. Satisfied that everything possible was being done to find Brandy, he sighed and leaned back in his chair.

The door opened and Cody stepped inside, carrying Brandy's laptop. "You need to see this, sheriff." He set the laptop on Rand's desk, typed a few words on the keyboard, then spun it around "Brandy's been chatting with some guy named Sam. She was talking to him online right before she disappeared, and she told him where she was."

Rand leaned forward to read the chat log. "Who the hell is Sam?"

"I've been reading their exchanges, and she's been talking to him for about six months. He seems awfully interested in anything she said about Maddie, so I'm guessing Sam is really Aaron Myers. He was posing as a teenage boy to gain her trust." Cody handed Rand a stack of papers. "I printed it all out for you."

Rand glanced through the pages, but he didn't have time to read it all right now. He handed them to Linda. "Go through these with a fine tooth comb and see if there's anything in there we can use. I'm going to go talk to Doc." He grabbed his hat and shoved it onto his head. "Nice work."

***

Maddie managed to get herself dressed and forced herself to walk around the small room until she felt like she could stay on her feet without falling. Where was Ellie? She glanced at her watch and saw that it would take her friend at least another fifteen minutes to get there.

There was a knock on the door, and the deputy opened it just enough to say, "Rand called and said to bring you back to the station. They've found Brandy. She's okay."

Maddie let out a small cry. "Oh, thank God!" She followed him out the door, forgetting all about Ellie.

When the nurse tried to stop them, Maddie signed herself out against medical advice while the deputy stared out the window. He was a strange one, Maddie thought. Hadn't said a word to her since he told her about Brandy. He'd stood with his back to her, hat pulled low, until he'd mumbled something about bringing the cruiser around. Most of the deputies she'd met had been more like Cody, friendly and outgoing. Maybe it was the stress of knowing a child had been missing, or maybe he wanted to be out there, looking for a serial killer instead of babysitting her.

She rode in the back seat, feeling like a criminal with the barrier between her and the deputy. But he'd told her it would be best in case she needed to lie down. She didn't, but she did close her eyes against the bright sun that seemed to make her headache worse. It would take them nearly an hour to get back to Greendale. She desperately wished she had her cell phone so she could call Brandy, hear for herself that she was okay. She thought about asking the deputy, but he never turned around, his attention concentrated on his driving.

When the road got rough, she opened her eyes. Where were they? There weren't any dirt roads between Tyler and Greendale, at least not any that they needed to travel. "Hey, where are we going?" she demanded. "I thought you were taking me to the station?"

The deputy glanced in the rearview mirror, and their eyes met. That's when she knew. He wasn't one of Rand's deputies.

He was Aaron Myers. And she'd stupidly played right into his hands.

***

Brandy struggled to loosen the duct tape binding her wrists and ankles to the chair, but so far all she'd managed to do was rub her skin raw. How could she have been so stupid? She'd thought Sam was her friend, but he'd only been using her to keep tabs on her mother. Now he was going after her mom, and it was all her fault.

Tears streaked her cheeks, tickling her skin, and she couldn't wipe them away. Her nose dripped, too, driving her crazy. But the worst part was the tape over her mouth. With her nose all stuffy, she couldn't breathe. She had to stop crying or she would suffocate--her worst nightmare.

She'd already checked the cabin, as much of it as she could see from her perch in the middle of the room, anyway. There was nothing she could use to cut the tape, even if she could reach it. The old cabin held only a mattress, an old television, a rickety table shoved against one wall, and pegs on the wall that held a few items of clothing. How did the man eat? There was no kitchen, no microwave, no knives that she could see. A knife would be good.

She tried rocking the chair to see if she could move it, but nothing happened. It felt like it was nailed to the floor. He'd thought of everything, it seemed.

Where was her dad? He said he'd protect them.

And he would have, if she'd stayed put like he said. But when Sam or whatever his name was told her what had happened to her mom and offered to come get her and take her to the hospital, she hadn't thought twice. She'd snuck outside when Linda left the room and ran to where Sam waited. She didn't realize her mistake until a man her mother's age stepped out of the car instead of the boy she was expecting. And by then, it was too late. He'd slapped a piece of tape over her mouth and tossed her into the back seat, ordering her to lie down.

She wouldn't have, if he hadn't said he'd kill her mom if she didn't do what he said. But now she was pretty sure he was going to kill her mom anyway. And her, too.

Dad, please! You have to find us. Hurry!

***

Rand closed the door to the interrogation room behind him and stood for a moment, staring at the man he'd known since he was born, a man he'd respected but now despised. While Doc hadn't personally killed his parents, he'd protected the man who did and let an innocent man go to jail. And possibly ended that man's life. How had it come to this?

He swung a chair around, straddling it. "Doc, have you been read your rights?"

Doc glared at him and nodded.

"I need you to verbally acknowledge that, Doc. We're recording this session. Now, have you been read your rights?"

"You know damned well I have."

"Okay," Rand continued. "Then you know you have a right to have a lawyer present during questioning."

"Don't need a damned lawyer. I haven't done anything."

"Okay, fine. Then why don't you tell me where Aaron is?

"He's up north, you know that. Got a practice in New York City."

Rand sighed. "You know that's not true, and so do we. He's been nearby all these years, hasn't he, Doc? He's the one who killed my parents, and you covered it up."

Doc shook his head and hunched his shoulders, seeming to draw in on himself.

Rand slammed his palm on the table, making Doc jump." Godammit, for once in your miserable life, tell the truth! That sonofabitch has my daughter!"

That got a reaction, but Doc said nothing. His eyes showed his fear, but his lips pressed together and remained stubbornly closed.

"Why are you protecting him? He's a sociopath and you damned well know it! He's killed eleven women so far, and now he wants Maddie. If he can't get to her, he'll kill Brandy. You know he will."

"Aaron wouldn't hurt anyone. You're looking for the wrong guy."

"Then who should I be looking for, if not Aaron? Who else, Doc?"

Doc shook his head. "I don't know."

"You know what I think? I think you feel guilty about what he's done, so you've denied it to yourself for so long that you believe your own lies." Rand stood, hoping his superior position would give him the air of authority he so desperately needed right now. "I think you know you're going to prison for the murder of Maddie's father and for harboring a fugitive if we catch Aaron and can tie this all together."

"He was never charged, so how could I be harboring a fugitive? You're just fishing, Rand, and your bait stinks."

"Do you really have so little feeling that you don't care that my daughter is in danger?"

"I'm not telling you anything. I want that lawyer now."

Well, that was that. Once a prisoner lawyered up, the interview was over until one arrived.

Rand couldn't resist one last parting shot. "You know that if he doesn't turn himself in, if we catch him out in the open, there's nothing I can do to keep one of my deputies from killing him, right? So I'd suggest if you know where he is, you call him and tell him to come in for a chat. If he's innocent like you say, he has nothing to fear. But if he's hurt my daughter, I will kill him myself."

Doc blanched, but only lowered his head again, completely shut off now.

Rand stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He sagged against the wall. How was he going to find Aaron in this sparsely populated part of East Texas? He could be anywhere. One reason the area was so popular with meth dealers was because there were so many places to hide, out of view of roads and neighbors. A lot of the area was heavily forested, impenetrable by car or helicopter.

Linda hurried down the hall toward him. "Boss, I've got something!"

Rand was instantly alert. "What? Did you find Brandy?"

"No, but look at this. I've been doing some research. Seems Aaron never went up north. He's been in the area all along, except for a stint in a private hospital for mental health issues. Doc had him committed a few years ago, but he got out in December. " Linda handed him her notes and he flipped through them while she filled him in. "Before he was committed, he was staying in an old cabin Doc owns on the Sabine river, but I can't find any trace of where he's been the last six months."

"How the hell could he be right under our noses all these years and we didn't know it?"

"Well, we weren't exactly looking for him, now were we? We didn't have any reason to doubt what Doc told us."