Pushing Up Bluebonnets (17 page)

  Cooper's gaze followed Dugan as he headed down the hall. ''If it helps, he won't get anywhere near her tomorrow. I'll make sure of that. Won't be a hard sell to the staff, since apparently the two haven't cohabited for a year.'' Then he turned to me. ''And now, I have a job for you, if you're willing.''

  But before I could ask him what he needed, Elliott Richter and Ian McFarland came walking from the elevators toward us. Jeez, they must have passed Kent Dugan on the way.

  I took a deep breath, feeling like I'd just received an audit notice from the IRS. ''He doesn't know about Dugan yet,'' I whispered.

  ''He will in a few seconds,'' Cooper said.

  Richter quickened his pace when he saw Cooper and me and said, ''Is something wrong?''

  ''No. JoLynn's condition is about the same,'' I said.

  ''But
something's
not right. I can tell by your faces,'' he said.

  Ian gripped Richter's shoulder and squeezed. ''Abby said she's no worse, Elliott. She
will
be all right, you know.'' He then stuck his hand out to Cooper. ''Ian McFarland. Elliott and I had a meeting in Houston today. Ran rather late, but Elliott wanted to stop by to check on his granddaughter.''

  While the two shook hands, Richter honed in on me. ''What's going on? Why are you here?''

  ''I—I planned on calling you as soon as I could. I learned that JoLynn was living in Houston right before she arrived at your ranch,'' I said.

  ''Okay . . . she had to be somewhere,'' he said. ''What else did you learn?''

  ''She was living with a man named Kent Dugan and using the name Elizabeth,'' I said.

  ''So this man must know something about her past,'' Richter said. ''Have you spoken with him?''

  ''Yes. He claims she told him she was adopted and not much else,'' Cooper said.

  Richter looked back and forth between us. ''But I can tell that you don't believe him. Where can I find him? I want to talk to this man.''

  Ian said, ''Elliott, calm down, old friend. These fine, professional people are conducting their business and making progress. Whatever they learn, whatever is important, they'll inform you in due time. Officer Boyd would tell you that you shouldn't put yourself in the middle of the inquiry. Isn't that correct, Officer?''

  Cooper nodded his agreement. ''We've only learned within the last twenty-four hours about JoLynn's life before she came to the ranch, but there's eighteen other years we know nothing about. Mr. Dugan hasn't been as forthcoming as I'd like, but I'll deal with him.''

  ''You think he's a liar?'' Richter's throat had reddened. This was the most emotion I'd seen from him and now that I was taking his inventory, the man looked exhausted, not to mention stressed to the max.

  ''Please, Elliott. You're becoming overwrought. Despite your cloak-and-dagger attempts at hiding things from me, I know you've seen your physician and that can't be good.'' Ian looked at me. ''He wouldn't want me telling you people this, but he's already had a triple bypass. This whole affair has been a little much for his ticker, I'd say.''

  ''JoLynn had heart problems, too,'' I said half to myself, never thinking Richter might have no idea.

  But he apparently didn't because he said, ''What?'' like I'd just told him Earth, like Pluto, was no longer considered a planet.

  Ian shot me a glance that I interpreted to mean I was a complete and utter idiot. And he was probably right.

  Cooper quickly said, ''We understand her heart is fine, that she probably had surgery as a child. I take it she never mentioned this?''

  ''No. Never. Christ, I need to get a specialist in, I need—''

  ''Her neurologist already took care of that,'' I said. ''She's in good hands, and well protected. I am so sorry I didn't phone you before we came here tonight to meet up with Dugan. My mistake.''

  ''He's here? Right now?'' Richter focused on the ICU doors.

  Could I screw this up any more if I tried? This man literally needed breathing room, not more surprises.

  ''Dugan's gone already,'' Cooper said. ''And I will be excluding him from the visitor list until I learn more about him. He does have an arrest record for petty crimes. Nothing serious. But the security you've hired is a good idea.''

  Ian said, ''You've hired security, have you?''

  Richter ran a hand through his hair. ''Of course.''

  ''Good thinking, but then no one could ever accuse you of anything but.'' Ian smiled at Richter, probably hoping to ease his friend's mind.

  This seemed to work, because Richter was more com posed when he said, ''Is there anything else I don't know?''

  Should I tell him Dugan did not report JoLynn missing? Tell him about Roberta Messing, the friend who might come walking out through those ICU doors any second? I had to. And I did. Good thing, too, because Roberta and Jeff reappeared just as I finished. She and Jeff were arm in arm and Roberta had obviously been crying.

  After introductions, Richter said to Roberta, ''I understand you tried to help JoLynn while that man she lived with did nothing. I cannot thank you enough for your concern.''

  But this whole exchange was making me nervous, making me think about what might happen if I was to tell Richter that JoLynn's name really was Elizabeth Something and that she and Richter were not related. That would be a much tougher message to deliver than what I'd told him tonight.

17

Jeff left my place early Thursday morning. He wanted to eat breakfast with Doris before he went on to the Travis Center police headquarters. After we'd left Ian and Richter at the hospital last night, Cooper reminded me that he needed my help. His request? That I tail Kent Dugan, find out where he went and what he did all day.

  I'd eagerly agreed, thinking this was a good idea. Jeff shrugged and offered no opinion, but I could tell he wasn't exactly enthused. On the way back to my place I asked him if he was concerned and he said, ''You can handle yourself fine. I just got a bad vibe from that guy.'' He'd then added his third stick of gum to the wad already in his mouth and promptly changed the subject.

  Since Diva didn't like getting up before seven a.m., she stayed curled in bed while I showered, then dressed in lightweight khakis and a sleeveless blouse. This could be a long day and I might have to spend time in the ninety-five-degree heat if forced to tail Dugan outside the air-conditioned comfort of my car.

  I grabbed a couple of bottles of caramel Starbucks from the fridge, along with several bottles of water. I also took a box of cookies from the pantry.
Cookies,
I told myself,
are wonderfully portable.

  I'd bought a pair of camera binoculars last year and fit them into my shoulder bag along with my two phones—the computer phone and my small mobile—and the BlackBerry. I planned on getting a new all-in-one techie gadget because I love new techie stuff, but right then there was no time to even think about transferring all my files from three gadgets to one.

  The condos where Dugan lived were north and west of my place and I had to fight morning rush hour. Cookies are excellent for enduring a slow ride, and half the box of chocolate-covered shortbread was gone by the time I reached the right neighborhood. It was only eight a.m.

  I parked across the street and a block away from the row of white brick condos, which looked more like onestory patio homes. I always thought of condos as having two floors, but apparently I was way behind in my real estate knowledge. I made sure the Camry faced the direction of the nearest main thoroughfare. I didn't want to be doing any U-turns if he drove past me toward the freeway. I repositioned my mirrors now that his house was behind and to my left, and sat for thirty minutes. Then his front door opened.

  Dugan wasn't alone. A young woman dressed in skintight cropped pants and an off-the-shoulder green shirt came out with him. She was holding a cup of coffee and followed him to the silver compact car in the driveway. She kissed him good-bye and started back to the condo.

  
Damn.
Follow him or wait for him to drive away and catch
her
if she was about to leave, too? I knew what I was supposed to do, what Cooper had asked me to do, but my gut said I might not get another chance to catch this woman alone. I turned my head toward the passenger side as Kent Dugan whizzed by, then made that Uturn I thought I wouldn't have to make.

  The young woman still held her cup when she answered the door, but she'd put on a thin Oriental-print silk robe over her clothes and clipped up her strawberry blond hair. Guess Dugan preferred blondes.

  ''Can I help you?'' the woman asked.

  I smiled, trying for something cordial, the kind of smile that is neither happy nor sad. ''Is Mr. Dugan home?'' I asked. ''I'm a detective assisting the Pineview Police Department concerning the accident. Mr. Dugan and I spoke at the hospital last night, but—''

  ''You just missed him. He's gone to see his sister. He is so upset about what happened.''

  
Sister,
huh? I held out my hand and said, ''I'm Louise Morrell, by the way. I'm working with Police Chief Cooper Boyd. He doesn't have the manpower to leave Pineview for Houston every day to work this case, so he's asked me to help with interviews.''

  She switched her coffee cup to her other hand to take mine. ''Kent mentioned Chief Boyd. Said Elizabeth's case was in good hands with him. But I don't recall him mentioning your name. Of course he was nearly in tears when he got home last night, so he probably forgot.''

  ''He sure seemed upset.'' I nodded solemnly. ''Since he's not here, mind if I ask you a few questions?''

  She furrowed her very lovely forehead. Even without makeup, she was stunning. In fact, she looked a lot like JoLynn. ''I don't know anything about the accident. Even Kent is confused about exactly what happened.''

  ''We're simply searching for background information. I take it you knew his sister went missing last year?''

  ''I didn't even know Kent
had
a sister until Chief Boyd called Kent yesterday. Kent told me he didn't want me to have to share his . . . what's the word he used?'' She looked up at the ceiling.

  ''His pain? His burden? His problems?'' I suggested, working hard to eliminate any trace of sarcasm.

  She smiled and pointed at me. ''Burden. That's it.''

  ''Even if you've only recently learned about her, you'd be surprised what morsels of information can lead to a break in a case. Can we talk for a few minutes?''

  ''O-kay,'' she said, sounding wary. ''But maybe I should call Kent first. Won't take a minute.''

  ''Don't bother him. He was very distraught last night and it sounds like he still is. Besides, I plan to catch up with him at the hospital anyway. I'll tell him I was here.''

  She seemed to be using every brain cell to decide whether this sounded like something Kent would approve of. Finally she said, ''Can you ask your questions while I put on my makeup? Otherwise I'll be late for work.'' She opened the door wider and then turned and walked through the foyer. ''Follow me.''

  I scanned the living area as I trailed after her. Modern furniture, black-and-white motif. Everything in its place. Not even a stray magazine. The master bedroom was no different except for the color scheme. Red in here, the paisley burgundy and gold pillows neatly arranged on a queen-size bed. This was nothing like my place, where I was always tripping over shoes or ending up with a pair of panties clinging to my sandal as I tried to leave my bedroom. Nope, this was
House Beautiful
perfect.

  ''You have a lovely home,'' I said, halting in the entry to the master bath.

  ''Thanks,'' she said. ''You said your name is Louise?''

  ''That's right. But I didn't get yours.''

  ''Georgeanne. What do you want to know?'' She'd begun using a foam wedge to apply glittery bronze foundation to her tanned face.

  ''After you found out about Kent's sister, did he tell you anything about her disappearance?''

  She discarded the wedge in a wastebasket beneath the faux-marble sink. ''He said she's done this before. He felt sad, you know, that he couldn't help her.''

  
Help her disappear permanently?
I thought. ''She disappeared before?''

  ''That's right, but like I said, the subject made him very, very upset. If my sister—I mean if I
had
a sister, which I don't—fell off the side of the earth, well, you know I'd be upset, too. Guess I can't really help you much, can I?''

  ''He didn't have a clue why she went away?'' I asked.

  Georgeanne kept on with her careful makeup application, focusing on her eyes now. ''If you ask me, from the way he talked, I think she had a screw loose.'' She pointed her mascara wand at her temple and rotated it, making the ''crazy'' sign.

  ''She was mentally ill?'' Not even the Richters hinted at this possibility.

  Georgeanne turned and looked at me, one brown eye shadowed and shaped, the other plain and far prettier, in my opinion. She said, ''Please don't say anything like that to Kent. Gosh, I probably shouldn't even be talking to you.''

  ''Then this will be our secret,'' I said—a promise I intended to keep.

  ''That's good. He might get royally pissed if he thought I bad-mouthed his sister.'' She continued on with her makeover. Reminded me of Richter's housekeeper Estelle.

  ''He gets angry?'' I said. ''I know my boyfriend has a real temper. Calls me names, throws things.'' Did I just tell the biggest lie of my life? Oh yes.

  ''He doesn't get mad much, but boy, when he does, look out. If my mee-maw knew I was with a man who used those words—you know, the really bad cuss words? Anyway, she'd yank me by the hair all the way back to Lufkin. That's where I'm from. I was Miss Lufkin in the Miss Texas USA pageant and Kent saw me on TV. Said he wanted to meet me.''

  ''He went to Lufkin to find you?'' I asked.

  ''Well, not exactly. I work for Ace Printing. I'm the receptionist—actually my boss calls me his right-hand girl.'' She smiled, looking as proud as punch. ''Anyway, Kent found me somehow and came calling at the office. We hit it off right away.''