Son of Texas (Count on a Cop) Page 9

  “Do you just want to leave?” He thought he’d give her that choice.

  Her chin jutted out. “No.” All the survival instincts he’d witnessed in her since he’d known her were in full force.

  Together they walked into the cemetery.

  Some of the tombstones were old, dating back to the 1800s, and there were rows and rows of them. “Obviously Becketts have been here for a long time.”

  “Right after God created earth.” The tears in her eyes glistened with humor and he knew she was going to be okay.

  “Do you have any idea where it would be?”

  “No. We just have to look.”

  “I’ll take this side.”

  “Okay,” she replied. “I’ll search in this area.”

  Caleb walked about twenty feet when he saw it. He blinked and looked at it again. “Josie, over here,” he called, not quite understanding what he was seeing.

  Josie just stood there, not moving.

  “It’s okay. Come look.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think I need to.”

  She gazed at him across the cemetery and something in his eyes pulled her forward. He met her halfway and took her hand again, leading her to the grave.

  When he stopped, she stared at the tombstone, her eyes opening wide. “Oh my God!” Her fingers trembled against her lips. It was a double headstone. On one side was written Brett Boone Beckett. On the other was inscribed Marie Cortez Beckett. Boone had both their bodies moved! “Why didn’t he tell me? Why would he let me believe…?”

  A pickup roared toward them, dust spiraling behind it.

  “You can ask the man himself,” Caleb said, blinking against the bright sun.

  Boone climbed out of the Chevy diesel truck, the sun glinting off his silver belt buckle. He settled a big Stetson on his head and ambled toward them.

  Josie took a long breath. “Do you enjoy upsetting me?”

  Boone chewed on his cigar. “Maybe. Reminds me of your father.”

  Josie knew she would never understand this man or his motives, but she was very grateful. “Thank you,” she said simply, then asked, “Why did you do it?”

  Boone shrugged. “I don’t need to explain, girlie. It’s done.”

  “Why couldn’t you tell me?”

  “Sometimes it’s more fun that way. And to set the record straight, no one at Silver Spur tried to kill you.”

  “How do you know that?” Caleb asked.

  “Because if they did, they would be disinherited and no Beckett would risk that.”

  “Maybe they thought they wouldn’t get caught.”

  “Chickens have a way of coming home to roost, ranger man. Just like the truth.” He looked at Josie. “You’ve been through a bad spell, girl, and if there’s any shady dealings going on in Beckett or on the Silver Spur, I’ll get to the bottom of it. Close the gate when you leave.” He ambled back to his truck.

  No explanation. Nothing. That was Boone Beckett, and Josie realized, not for the first time, how difficult it must have been to have him as a father. She glanced at the graves, side by side, as her parents were in life.

  She touched the granite stones. “They’re together.” Unable to stop herself, she threw her arms around Caleb and hugged him. “They’re together.”

  “Yes,” he murmured, holding her close against the outline of his hard body. Unashamed, she pressed even closer, loving the way her heart raced at the masculine contact. His musky aftershave filled her nostrils and she breathed in the scent with a sigh of pleasure. His soothing voice and compassionate nature warmed her through and through. He was her haven, her one-of-a-kind man and she wanted to lay her head on his shoulder and let the world slip away. But that was her fantasy world. Reality was waiting.

  JOSIE WAS QUIET on the way into town and Caleb left her alone with her thoughts. The past and the present raged inside her and she had to sort through all those conflicting feelings. When he held her, though, none of that seemed to matter. But it did and he had to remember that. He had to remain detached, an outsider, giving her the freedom she needed to accept her life without any encumbrance holding her back. That wasn’t going to be easy.

  They stopped by the police station and picked up the files. Raylene had them ready, all sorted in a box. Josie didn’t get out and Caleb knew the morning had been hard on her.

  As he pulled into Lencha’s drive, she said, “I think I’ll go through the files this afternoon to see if anything jogs my memory.”

  “I’ll go back to the police station to see if I can find out anything. Fry should know by now what happened to the report.”

  Josie stared straight ahead to the vacant spot in the garage. “Wonder where my car is? Did I drive away in it or…?”

  “I’m sure we’ll know in the next few days.”

  “Yeah,” she answered in a faraway voice.

  That note in her voice twisted his gut. “Bel…Josie.”

  “I’m fine, Caleb.” She opened the door and got out, then retrieved the box from the backseat.

  He immediately got out to help her.

  She gave him a sharp glance. “It’s a box, Caleb. I can carry it.”

  He frowned. “Are you angry with me?”

  “No. Yes.” She started toward the house.

  He caught up with her. “What does that mean?”

  She turned to confront him. “You’re too nice, do you know that?” Her eyes flared with the emotions she was feeling. “Be rude, insulting, uncaring or I’m never going to be able to let you go.” Saying that she ran into the house, clutching the box.

  He gazed after her with his mouth open, then he quickly clamped it shut. Where did that come from? She’d been so affectionate in the cemetery and now… God, what was he doing? He’d given his word to Dr. Oliver that he wouldn’t do anything to impede her memory and he’d held her like a lover, not a friend. Damn. Damn. Damn.

  His first instinct was to go after her—which is what a nice guy would do. But he had to start detaching himself. He would now.

  JOSIE CHARGED INTO the house, slammed the box on the table and flopped into a chair. What was she doing? Caleb didn’t need to know how she felt. It would serve no purpose at all. Her emotions were slipping and sliding like a bar of soap on a wet tiled floor.

  “Hello to you, too.”

  She heard Lencha’s voice and looked up to see her standing by the sink, a frown on her weathered face.

  “Sorry. I’m so mixed up inside that it’s making me crazy.”

  “I’ll fix you one of my feel-good tonics.”

  “The last time you fixed me one of those I had a headache for three days.”

  “That was the night you got engaged to Eric.”

  “Was it?” Josie glanced at her ring finger and wondered what had happened to her engagement ring. The cult had probably hocked it cause she never remembered seeing it after she woke up. Through the troubled thoughts she saw Eric smiling, his blue eyes sparkling as bright as the diamond and…just like that the image was gone.

  She shifted uneasily. “Lencha, did you know that Boone had both my parents bodies moved to the Silver Spur cemetery?”

  “Yes, child, I know.” Lencha wiped her hands on a towel and came to the table.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “You needed to find that out on your own.” Lencha stroked her hair. “And I was unsure of what to tell you or not to tell you.”

  Josie leaned against her, knowing she was right. She had to recover her memory without props. “It’s a wonderful thing Boone did.”

  “Don’t get too carried away with gratitude. I’m sure the old buzzard has an ulterior motive.”

  Josie sighed and grabbed the box. “I’ll be in my room for a while.”

  “Sure you don’t want a tonic?”

  “No, thanks, Lencha. I just need some time.” Time to remember. Time to forget. And time to make sense of it all.

  AS CALEB DROVE UP to the police station, Mason stormed out and clim
bed into a truck and sped away, tires squealing. Caleb stared after the truck. Evidently something hadn’t gone to Mason’s liking and Caleb intended to find out what.

  Raylene wasn’t at her desk, so he walked into the larger room. The place was empty, except for Teri. She sat at a desk and her eyes were red as if she’d been crying.

  He removed his hat and sat across from her. “Afternoon, ma’am,” he said.

  “Ranger McCain,” she acknowledged and quickly sorted through papers on her desk.

  Before he could speak, she added, “If you’re here to grill me, you can save your breath.” Her hands shook and she finally put them in her lap.

  He leaned forward slightly. “Do you know what happened to Josie?”

  “Yes.” She looked away through the lone window with bars to the clear day. “Eric told me.”

  “And you’re nervous and worried. You can’t hide it.”

  She closed her eyes briefly. “I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong.”

  “What did you do?”

  She opened her eyes. “I didn’t file the report like Dennis asked me to.”

  “Why?”

  “Lencha’s half-crazy and Josie had told Eric she was leaving and never coming back. She told Dennis the same thing. She wasn’t a missing person or, at least, I didn’t think so at the time. She left of her own free will.”

  “You didn’t have the right to make that decision.” He tried hard not to grit his teeth at this woman’s arrogance and he felt there was more to the story.

  “I know, and I’m sorry. I had no idea someone tried to kill her.”

  Caleb studied his hat, then looked directly at her. “You didn’t make that decision alone. Someone asked you not to report Josie missing, didn’t they?”

  “No.” She looked away. “It was my decision.”

  “Do you think I’m gullible, Ms. Fields?”

  Her head jerked toward him.

  “Then why didn’t you file that report?” His voice was loud and she flinched.

  “I told you.”

  “And you’re lying.” The tone of his voice didn’t change. She was protecting someone and he knew it. Now he had to get her to admit who.

  “Please. I take full responsibility.”

  “Are you willing to go to jail?”

  She licked her lips. “I…I…”

  “Did Eric ask you not to file the report?”

  Her eyes flared. “Of course not. He wanted her found more than anybody.”

  “How about Mason Beckett, Ms. Fields?”

  “What?” That fear in her eyes gave her away. She was protecting Mason.

  “Did Mason ask you not to file the missing person’s report?”

  “What the hell?” Eric stood in the doorway. “You didn’t file the damn report?”

  Teri got to her feet. “Now, Eric, don’t get angry.”

  Caleb stood, also, seeing that Eric was close to losing it.

  Eric jammed a hand through his hair. “Why the hell would you do that?” Then he nodded his head in realization. “Mason’s been stringing you along like his own personal whore and you’d do anything he wanted just hoping that someday he’d marry you.”

  “It wasn’t like that,” Teri cried. “Josie was causing so many problems in the Beckett family and she left voluntarily. You even said that…and…Mason thought it best to keep it that way.”

  Eric grabbed her arm and jerked her forward. “You stupid bitch. Every day I waited for news and you hadn’t even put her name in the national database of missing persons. You stupid bitch. I could strangle you with my bare hands.”

  Caleb pulled Eric away. “Calm down.”

  “Stay out of this, McCain,” Eric warned, jerking away.

  The two men eyed each other. “Listen, I was there when they brought Josie to the hospital and I’ve been with her ever since. I have enough anger to go around, but anger doesn’t solve anything.” Caleb glanced at Teri. “She’s only a pawn. I’m after the person who did the shooting. The law will take care of Ms. Fields.”

  Teri moaned.

  “What’s going on?” Dennis asked as he walked in.

  Caleb gave him the gist of the story.

  “Goddammit. In my office,” Dennis said to Teri.

  Eric swung away, then whirled back. “I’m sorry I lost it.”

  “It’s okay. I’ve done that, too.”

  “I keep thinking this all could have been avoided.”

  Caleb placed his hat on his head. “The person who shot Josie left her for dead, thought she was dead. Not sure that could have been avoided, but we could have placed her with her family a year ago.”

  And I never would’ve gotten to know her.

  “Please, see if you can get her to talk to me,” Eric pleaded.

  Caleb nodded. “I’ll try. She’s feeling her way right now so be patient with her.” He looked at Fry’s door. “Tell the chief I’ll be back later.”

  He walked away with a sense of guilt and dread. He didn’t feel so nice at that moment. He felt jealous that Josie had once loved Eric and when her memory returned she would again.

  How did a nice guy accept that?

  With a lot of pain.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  SITTING CROSS-LEGGED on the bed, the files scattered around her, Josie read through each one. Faces and events flashed in her mind. Theft case. Billy Bob Eastep reported his truck missing, stolen right out of his yard. After a day of searching, she found Billy Junior had taken the vehicle for a joyride with friends to Corpus. Breaking-and-entering case. Louann Krump said someone was breaking into her house. It took a week of stakeouts to discover that Louann’s daughter’s boyfriend was climbing through the window to visit. She could see many of these people’s faces clearly and remembered details about each case.

  Josie threaded her fingers through her hair and picked up another file. Cattle rustling case. Cattle were disappearing from some of the smaller ranches. She and Eric spent a month camped out on lonely dirt roads, waiting. Finally they caught the Wilby brothers red-handed.

  Those nights were long, but they had ways to pass the time. They…she grabbed her head to stop the memories. For the first time she didn’t want to remember, but the past and Eric were there…just waiting. Why was she so afraid?

  WHEN CALEB WALKED into the kitchen, a sharp smell greeted him. Lencha stood at the stove, stirring something in a big pot. Her long gray hair hung down her back. He had visions of witches and brews from stories he’d read as a kid.

  “What’s that smell?”

  Lencha turned to look at him. “A friend of mine has diabetes and I’m making her a batch of my homemade cure.”

  Caleb peeked into the pot. “What is it?

  “I don’t give away my secrets,” Lencha told him. “Since you’re Josie’s friend, I’ll tell you the basics—boiling the leaves of the cacti with a few secret ingredients.”

  He shook his head. “You’re a wonder, Lencha.”

  “Been called worse.” Her gray eyes narrowed on him. “And in case you’re thinking it, Ranger. I’m not a bruja. I just know some secrets passed down from my ancestors. In the old days, there were no doctors out here. My great-grandmother was a healer and I help people when I can. Still not a clinic here. Big Boone tried to set one up and is still trying to work something out with a doctor in Corpus. The old bastardo will get a cut of the profits would be my guess. Now people either go to Corpus or Laredo, the rest look me up.”

  “They’re lucky to have you.”

  “The Mexicans trust me.”

  “I do, too, Lencha.” He grinned. “And I never thought you were a witch.”

  The corner of her mouth twitched.

  “But you could probably scare the crap out of me with very little effort.”

  Lencha chuckled. “That’s what it’s about—the power of the mind. If a person believes I can help them, I usually can. Skepticism and negativity kills just about everything, even good health.”

  “As
I said, Lencha, you’re a wonder, and you can doctor on me anytime.”

  Silence followed and Caleb thought about the newspaper ads about Belle that had run in all the big newspapers. This had been at the back of his mind since their visit to the Silver Spur. How could everyone have missed it? He had a copy of the ad in his briefcase and he hurried outside to get it.

  “Lencha, I have something I want you to see.”

  “Sure.” She walked to the table and he laid the paper in front of her.

  “Do you know that woman?”

  Lencha peered at the photo. “No. Should I?”

  “That’s Josie. We ran the ad soon after she was rescued from the cult.”

  “That’s not my Josie.”

  He looked closely at the picture. Josie’s hair hung limply around her face. Her eyes were sunk in her head and her features were slim, almost anorexic. That’s how she’d looked then and staring at the photo he suddenly knew why no one recognized her. It didn’t look like the real Josie. At the time, they didn’t realize she was a shell of her former self. But it explained why no one answered the ads.

  “This is how Josie looked when they found her?” Lencha asked.

  “Yes,” Caleb replied.

  Lencha touched the photo. “My poor child.”

  Caleb patted her shoulder. “She’s fine now.” He looked around. “Where is Josie?”

  “In her room going through those files.”

  Caleb picked up the paper, strolled down the hall and stopped in Josie’s doorway.

  Sitting in the middle of the bed, her dark hair hanging loose, she looked as beautiful and mysterious as the first day he’d met her. And her face was troubled just as it had been then. As traumatized as she was, he still recognized her real beauty.

  Files were scattered around her and he knew what must be bothering her. He stepped in. “Hi. How’s it going?”

  She looked up and for a moment he was lost in the darkness of her eyes, that come-hither warmth that seemed to be a part of her. “Good and bad,” she replied. “I’m remembering, but not anything about that night.”

  He moved a couple of files and sat on the edge of the bed. Placing his hat beside him, he turned to face her. “I figured out why no one answered the ads about you.”

  “Why?”