Lone Star Justice (9 page)

The names never bothered her, but Brandy had suffered taunts from kids at school who parroted what their parents said at home. And now her daughter had been uprooted from her home, driven away from her friends, and learned things Maddie had hoped to keep from her until she was older. All because of one man on a power kick.

She almost wished she'd get the chance to meet this guy alone, just the two of them. She'd teach him not to mess with Maddie Cooper.

"What was the sigh for, Mom?" Brandy asked as they pulled into the motel parking lot.

"Nothing, honey. Just thinking foolish thoughts." Maddie wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders as they walked to the door. "Would you like to go to the movie tomorrow night?"

"I don't think so. Could you take me to the skating rink up in Grand Saline, though? Linda's granddaughter, Missy, is going and invited me to go with her."

"As long as you don't expect me to skate, sure. I'll just sit and watch. I guess this means you had a good time at Linda's?"

"Yeah, Missy's cool. She has her own horse, did you know that? And she said I could ride it anytime I want."

"We'll see." Maddie pushed the door open and did a quick visual check of the room before she let her daughter enter. Everything seemed to be as she left it. Domino lay curled in the middle of the bed, deigning only to open one eye in a sleepy glare.

She let Brandy precede her through the door and carefully closed and locked it behind them. She'd just settled on the bed to watch the evening news when the telephone rang. With her heart pounding, she picked up the receiver.

"Maddie? Are you okay? You sound scared. What's going on?"

She placed a hand over her chest in a futile attempt to slow her racing heart. "Matt? Why are you calling?"

"I have some bad news for you."

Oh, God, no. No more. Whatever she'd done to deserve punishment, surely she'd paid her debt by now. "What's happened?"

"Your house was broken into. I'm so sorry. I know I was supposed to watch it, but I had to leave for the day, and when I got back the kitchen door had been jimmied open."

Maddie rubbed her aching forehead with a shaking hand. "It's not your fault, Matt. You can't watch the house twenty-four hours a day. Was anything taken?"

"I'm not sure. The television and stereo are still here, but they're smashed. The place is a mess. Stuff's been tossed, your sofa is a total loss. Your desk is ruined. I tried to clean up a little, but--"

"Matt," she interrupted. "Did you clean up before or after the police got there?"

"Well, I tried to clean up the worst of it, but then Detective Thacker drove up before I could finish. He got a little upset, but I was only trying to help."

Maddie bit back a curse. Matt had a heart of gold, but sometimes he was a little dense. "He's upset because you compromised any evidence he might have found, Matt. When a crime occurs, you need to stay out of the way until the police have done their job."

"Now you're mad at me, too."

"No," she lied. "I'm not mad. I know you were trying to help. But next time, call the Detective first. And stay out of the way until he tells you it's okay."

"Sure, whatever you say. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know, so you wouldn't worry. It's mostly cleaned up now."

Maddie thanked him and hung up. Then she tossed the covers back and climbed off the bed.

"What is it, Mom?" Brandy tore her attention away from the television. Under normal conditions, nothing registered when she was watching one of her favorite shows.

Maddie parted the curtains and looked out over the nearly deserted parking lot as she decided how to tell her daughter about the latest problem. Sometimes she wondered if she expected too much of a thirteen-year-old. But it had been just the two of them for so long, and they'd shared everything--sometimes more like sisters than mother and daughter.

"Mom? You're scaring me." Brandy turned off the television with the remote control and the silence stretched for a long moment.

"It's nothing, really. Someone broke into the house and trashed it. Matt said it was a mess. But it's not the mess that bothers me. It sounds like he was looking for something, maybe clues to where we might be. But that doesn't make sense, either. He already knows where we are."

Brandy's eyes widened as she stared at her mother. "You…you mean someone could be on their way here right now?"

Maddie moved to sit beside Brandy on the bed and put an arm around her shoulders. "We always knew it was a possibility. That's why we came to Greendale. A stranger will stand out here. We'll know if anyone new comes to town. And Rand is very dedicated to his job. He'll keep us safe."

Brandy looked up into Maddie's eyes, her expression troubled. "I hope you're right, Mom."

Of course I am. I'm always right, remember? Now, let's get some sleep, and tomorrow we'll see about moving into that house." She headed for the bathroom to brush her teeth, but Brandy's next question stopped her in her tracks.

"Mom, who will take care of me if anything happens to you?"

***

By ten-thirty the next morning, Rand had made arrangements for a town meeting. Linda had been on the phone since the moment she arrived at work, alerting the members of the Chamber of Commerce, the Lions Club, the Rotary Club, and the Quilting Guild. Cody and another deputy were on the streets, quietly alerting as many of the residents as they could.

Rand had walked into his office at seven to a call from Detective Thacker about the break-in at Maddie's home. The detective wanted to know if Rand had any idea what the intruder might have been looking for. Rand had honestly told him
no
, but it seemed the stalker hadn't given up on the idea of harassing Maddie.

All the more reason for tonight's meeting. He was going to need help--and lots of it--to keep Maddie and Brandy safe.

As he stood at the window overlooking the square, he could survey most of the center of town. He saw Cody talking to Doc, and the emphatic shake of Doc's head. Cody's frustrated gestures. Doc's crossed arms and belligerent stance.

This was going to be harder than he'd thought. Most of the older residents still remembered his parents' murder with vivid clarity. There was a festering wound of resentment that had never been lanced. And Maddie had run, bringing the focus of the blame unwittingly against herself. Maybe if she'd stayed, had stood her ground with her head held high, the blame would have centered solely on her father, where it belonged. But when Jacob Cooper died in jail before the trial, there had been no closure for the people of the town. Or for him.

He'd blamed Maddie for years. He'd even tried to track her down once, just so he could vent his frustration and anger face to face. But he'd loved her so much, and hated her with equal passion, that he was afraid of what he would do if he actually found her, and he'd given up the search. Seems as if that had been the best thing, after all.

If he'd found her and learned she was already pregnant with another man's child, he might have committed a sin as big as her father's.

As he watched, Doc stormed into the clinic and slammed the door. A moment later, Linda called out, "Rand, line two."

 He crossed to his desk and picked up the phone. As soon as he punched the button, Doc roared, "What is the meaning of this, Rand? How can you even think of trying to help that woman?" The way he said
that woman
made Maddie sound like some kind of prostitute.

"I'll explain it all tonight, Doc. Seven o'clock at the Chamber."

"You'll explain it to me right now, Sheriff, or you'll explain it to the voters in a recall election."

Rand clenched his jaw and bit back the retort straining his vocal chords. "If you want to know what it's all about, you can come tonight, or you can read about it in the paper next Friday. It's up to you."

"I don't understand why you're sniffing around that girl again. Have you forgotten about what she did? Or are you thinking with the bottom half of your brain again, just like you did back then? She wasn't good enough for you then, and she still isn't."

"That's enough, Doc. Maddie didn't do anything to my parents. She's not responsible for her father's actions. And that's all I'm going to say on the subject. If you want to hear the rest, be there tonight." Rand slammed the receiver into the cradle with a curse and kicked his chair back against the credenza.

What had gotten into Doc? Rand had never heard him talk that way about anyone before. He'd delivered nearly every baby in town, including Maddie, and had always watched out for them, taken an interest in their lives. But something must have happened between those two, something that went beyond his parents' murders. And he intended to find out exactly what it was.

***

Maddie watched as Brandy and Missy cruised around the rink, showing off as they switched between skating backwards and forwards. She'd been lost in thought, wishing she'd had a chance to talk to Rand about what Ellie had told her, but he'd been too busy to call her back all day. He must have found out something, or was busy chasing down a lead, because it was the first day he hadn't been close by since she got back to town. He'd assigned a deputy to follow her around, but it wasn't the same.

 Beside her, Linda glanced anxiously at her watch and fidgeted in her seat. Maddie leaned closer so she could be heard over the music blaring from the speakers. "Do you need to go somewhere? I can watch the girls and bring Missy home for you."

Linda looked startled, then shook her head. "No, that's okay. My daughter should be here any minute. I have a meeting tonight, but it won't hurt if I'm a few minutes late."

More out of a desire for conversation than real curiosity, Maddie asked, "What kind of meeting?"

Linda's face turned red and she looked away, avoiding Maddie's gaze.

"Linda, is there something I should know about? Are the townspeople about to run me out on a rail?"

Linda hunched down in her seat. "No, it's nothing like that. Just a town meeting."

Maddie kept an eye on the girls as they flirted with a couple of teenage boys and waited for Linda to elaborate. She'd learned in the courtroom that people hated silence and tended to incriminate themselves when they tried to fill it.

Linda squirmed as though the seat had become unbearably uncomfortable before she finally blurted out, "Rand called a town meeting. He needs help watching out for you and Brandy and wants the citizens to get involved. But I think he's stirred up a hornet's nest. Doc is calling for a recall petition to take Rand's job away from him. And Lord knows what else is going on." She breathed a sigh of relief when a pretty blonde walked through the door and headed their way. "I hate to abandon you, but I think I need to be there in case there's trouble."

Maddie stood and picked up her purse. "I'm going with you. Would your daughter mind taking Brandy home with her? I can pick her up after the meeting."

Linda glanced around The Skate Palace as though looking for a way to escape, but Maddie stood between her and the door. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"I'm going. I ran once, but I've grown up a lot since then and I can fight my own battles. I'd rather not take Brandy with me, but I will if I have to."

Linda sighed and turned to her daughter, who had just joined them. "Claire, this is Maddie Cooper. Would you mind taking her daughter home with you for a couple of hours? Maddie's going to the meeting."

Claire's eyes widened, but she recovered quickly and smiled at Maddie. "Sure. The girls will have fun. Which is more than I can say for you two."

***

Rand stood at the podium at the front of the high school gymnasium and assessed the mood of the crowd. The younger residents seemed mostly curious, gossiping amongst themselves as they waited for him to begin. The older group would give him the most trouble. They had long memories, and his parents had been well liked and respected.

Doc moved through the crowd, stopping to talk, to shake hands, to pat a shoulder. Every few seconds he'd glance up at Rand, glower, and turn his attention back to the people who seemed to hang on his every word.

Rand leaned forward and spoke into the microphone, calling for the group's attention. Conversation ceased as every head turned his way. "I think most of you know by now why I've called this meeting. I need your help. I'm sure you all remember Maddie Cooper, or have at least heard about her. She and her daughter, Brandy, recently returned home to Greendale."

Doc bellowed out,. "That was your first mistake, letting that woman stay instead of running her out of town." His words echoed through the room

Rand fixed Doc with a penetrating glare. "That's enough. Since when has this town judged a child for its parent's behavior? Some of you have had to live down the shame of a drunken father, others have been embarrassed by a father who refused to work to feed his family. We've had our fair share of child abuse, extramarital affairs, drug addiction. And in a town this small, everyone knows every detail."

Several heads nodded in agreement, and a couple of people shushed Doc when he snorted loudly in derision.

"Maddie Cooper has had to live with what her father did, but she wasn't the one who committed the crime. It's time to forgive and forget." He paused and took a deep breath. "For all of us."