Lone Star Justice (12 page)

He leaned against the wall, one booted foot in front of the other, arms crossed. His stance appeared deceptively relaxed, but Maddie could tell by the set of his jaw that he was settled in for a fight. It seemed that much hadn't changed from when they were teenagers. How many times had she seen that look on his face when she'd refused an invitation to have dinner at his house? Or when she'd resisted his efforts to include her in activities with his friends?

He'd never understood how she felt. She was beneath him. His father had made that very clear the one and only time she'd dared enter the McCade home. She'd remedied that problem by making something of herself, and she'd rebuilt her bruised self-esteem over the years. But she'd also learned to be independent. She needed Rand's help, but she didn't want him to try to take over her life.

Which he would, if she let him move in with her.

"You can't stay here alone, unprotected. Granted, I can't be here twenty-four seven, but I can at least keep watch at night." A muscle twitched in his jaw, the only movement in his body that gave away his agitation.

"That's why you were teaching me to shoot, remember? And I want to get back to it as soon as we can."

"That's then, and this is now. Doc said you had a mild concussion. Until you've healed, I'm staying here." He pushed away from the wall and stepped forward until they were nose to nose.

Maddie didn't flinch, didn't even blink. "No, you're not."

With a frustrated sigh, he shoved one hand through his hair. Or he would have if there'd been enough of it left after his haircut that morning. She fought back an urge to grin at the familiar gesture, one he'd used often when his long hair blew into his eyes as they rode the horses down to the swimming hole.

"Maddie, you have to have protection."

She thought for a moment, knowing he was right. "Okay, I'll get a dog."

"Not good enough." His gaze bore into hers with an intensity that made her uncomfortable.

Giving in to that discomfort dented her pride just a bit, but she stepped back. "A dog would be great. He'd bark if someone came near, and protect us if anyone tried to get into the house."

She could tell he was considering the idea instead of rejecting it again, so she pressed her advantage. "We could get a Pit Bull."

"No, too unpredictable."

"Fine, then you tell me what kind. You know a lot about working dogs. Which would be best?" It was an old tactic, giving him input in the decision when he hadn't even agreed to it yet, but it rarely failed. And it didn't fail her this time, either.

"A Malanois. That's what we use in the K-9 Corp. Problem with that is it would take time to match you with a dog and train you both."

"So, find me one and I'll do whatever I have to. In the mean time, we could put an alarm on the windows and doors and motion sensor lights outside. I can keep my cell phone with me and call you if there's a problem."

Rand took a step forward, closing the gap between them once again. "You're more stubborn than I remember." With one finger, he traced the line of her jaw. "And more beautiful."

"Rand..." She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. "Don't."

"Don't what? Don't touch you? Don't tell you you're beautiful? I can't help it." He moved his hand into her hair and twirled a curl around his finger. "You don't know what it did to me, seeing you on the ground with blood running from your head. It nearly killed me, Maddie."

With a trembling hand, she reached up and covered his larger one. "I know. I would have felt the same way if you or Brandy had been hurt. But don't make more of it than it is--just a natural reaction."

"Is that all it is? Are you so sure, Maddie? Seems I've felt like this forever. When you left me, I told myself I didn't care, that I was better off without you."

"Were you?" Maddie held her breath, almost afraid to hear his answer.

He lowered his head until their lips were no more than a whisper apart. "No, Maddie. We were always better together."

She lifted her chin until her mouth touched his. She only wanted a taste, just a quick sample of what she'd missed for the last fourteen years. But he drew her close and plundered where she would have nibbled. He'd always been that way, taking more than she was ready to give.

Angry with herself for leading him on, letting him think she wanted more than a sweet kiss between old friends, she tried to pull back. His arms held her still as his tongue traced her lower lip, begging for entry. Maddie kept her lips stubbornly closed, even as the rest of her body wanted to sink into his.

When she refused to respond to his kiss again, Rand dropped his arms to his sides and stepped back. "Okay. You win. You can keep me from sleeping in the house, but you can't keep me from sleeping outside in my car." He settled his hat on his head and shoved the wooden screen door open, letting it slam behind him as he strode across the lawn to his vehicle.

Maddie slowly closed the door and leaned against it, her mind whirling. What was that all about? Did Rand still care for her in some small way, or was it just a reaction to the stress of the day? She'd dreamed for so long of being held in his arms once more, but when he never came after her, she closed off that part of her heart, swearing she'd never open it again.

With a sigh, she pushed away from the door and headed for the kitchen to finish putting away the dishes she and Brandy had bought. When she'd run home to Greendale, it was with the idea that it was temporary.  But as she settled into the rental, the possibility of staying, of raising her daughter in the town where she'd grown up, was beginning to appeal to her.

And that was almost as frightening as being stalked.

***

"Take this to the lab in Dallas. I want a rush put on the ballistics report. It's not much use without the gun that fired it, but maybe we'll catch a break and find the gun at some point. "Rand handed Cody the slug he'd dug out of the ground after Maddie had been shot and waved him toward the door. "Don't dawdle. Get it up there and get back."

Cody gave him a quick salute and hurried out the door. Rand watched until he pulled away from the curb, lights rotating and casting shadows against the office wall. The sun had just begun to peek over the horizon, but he hadn't been able to sleep in his car, so he'd left a deputy to watch Maddie's house and went back to work. He had to find out who had invaded his county, slipping in without notice.

Something didn't add up about all this. What was the connection between Anne Pioretti's murder and the person stalking Maddie? Why was he toying with Maddie, when he'd killed Anne quickly and efficiently? What had made him change his signature?

Maddie had asked him to check into Susie Campbell's murder. With a sigh, he booted up the computer and pulled up the cold case files. He'd only been a teenager when Susie was murdered and, until the body was identified, he'd lived in fear that it was Maddie. She'd disappeared the day before and no one seemed to know where she'd gone. Finding out it was Susie Campbell had brought both relief and horror.

A serial killer had terrorized Smith County, about an hour east of Greendale. The victims had all been young women in their late teens to early twenties, mostly redheads, all shot once in the head, execution style, then hanged. And in every case there had been one distinguishing body part removed. Susie was his first victim.

After a few minutes, he found what he was looking for.

Ten young women murdered approximately a year apart. The FBI and the Smith County Sheriff's department brought in forensic experts and profilers, trackers and even a psychic, all to no avail. And every year, like clockwork, there was another one. Until five years ago. Then as suddenly as the murders had begun, they'd stopped. No one knew why. Maybe the killer was in jail on other charges, or he'd died. But after reading through the files, Rand knew the killer wasn't dead. He'd struck again, this time far from his usual territory.

He placed a phone call to the Montgomery County Sheriff's office.

***

Maddie woke with a start. It took a moment to realize what had awakened her. Something--or someone--was moving around in the kitchen. She heard the scrape of a chair leg against the linoleum, a soft bump.

Where was Rand? Why hadn't she gone to the pound and found a dog? Even an untrained one would have barked. She fumbled for her cell phone and dialed Rand's number.

"McCade."

"Rand? Someone's in the house."

She heard a quiet curse on the other end of the line.

"I'm on my way. Where are you?"

"In my room. But I have to get to Brandy." She tried to listen to see if she could tell where the intruder was at that moment, but heard nothing but Rand's terse instructions.

"No! He's after you, not her. Stay where you are, hide if you can. I'll alert the deputy outside your house, and I'll be there in two minutes."

No way would she hide in her room when her daughter could be in danger. Maddie hung up without a word and let him assume she would follow his orders. For the hundredth time, she wished she had a gun.

All she could find for a weapon was a can of hairspray, so she carried it with her as she eased the door open and tried to see down the hall in the dark. No shadows moving, but she could still hear movement in the kitchen. Something rustled the grocery bag she'd left sitting on the kitchen floor.

At least she knew the intruder was still in the other part of the house, so she silently closed her door and moved down the hall to Brandy's room.

***

Brandy had checked to be sure her mom was asleep before she signed onto her favorite chat room. Her mom would kill her if she found out, but Brandy needed to talk to Sam. Sam understood her, he was always there for her to talk to when she was upset or had been fighting with her mother.

She blew out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding when she saw the familiar Boondoggie screen name. Sam was there, and he'd talk to her until she was tired enough to fall asleep.

BRANDYWINE:  Hey, Sam.  Glad you're here.

BOONDOGGIE:  I'm always here for you, Brandy. Where have you been? I've watched for you every night, but you weren't here.

BRANDYWINE: Sorry. Mom's in trouble and we had to run in the middle of the night. I didn't get a chance to let you know. But I'm here now.

BOONDOGGIE: Where is here? And why is she in trouble?

BRANDYWINE: Some guy is after her. He tried to kill her today. I'm scared, Sam.

BOONDOGGIE: Really? Is she okay? What about you? Are you in danger?

BRANDYWINE: Don't know. Don't think so, but he was in my bedroom while I was sleeping a few days ago. That freaked me out, you know? Some guy I don't know watched me sleep, then stole some of my clothes and put them on a dummy. He smeared blood on it and left a note saying I was next. Can't sleep, don't feel like eating. Every night I wonder if I'll wake up in the morning.

BOONDOGGIE: I'm sorry, Brandy. If you'll tell me where you are, I'll see if I can come up there and watch over you.

BRANDYWINE: Not supposed to tell. Mom said I couldn't even tell my best friend. She thinks this guy might hurt someone else if he thinks they know where we are.

BOONDOGGIE: I can't help you if you don't tell me where you are. Just don't tell your mom you told me. She'll never know.

BRANDYWINE: Can't. Promised Mom I wouldn't. Helps knowing you're here to talk to, though. Oops, heard something. Mom might be waking up. Gotta go.

Brandy signed off and closed her laptop before climbing into bed and feigning sleep. A minute later, the bedroom door opened. She peeked through her lashes and saw her mother in the open doorway. That was too close. If her mom had caught her talking to Sam, she'd be grounded from the computer until she was eighteen.

And she didn't think she could survive this without Sam.

***

It had been pure luck when he'd first found her online. He'd been trolling teenage chat rooms when he'd caught the tail end of a conversation between two girls in a Math club chat. When one had mentioned that her mom had embarrassed her during a television interview, and the other  referred to an article in the Montgomery Monitor about Judge Maddie Cooper, he'd latched onto the conversation and read every word.

It had been years since he'd heard Maddie's name mentioned. No one in Greendale ever spoke of her. He'd had no idea where she'd gone when she'd disappeared all those years ago, but he hit the jackpot that day. He'd not only learned her whereabouts, but he learned she had a daughter. A daughter who was too young and innocent to know she shouldn't give personal details on the Internet.

He courted Brandy's friendship, pretending to be sixteen, waiting for the right time. That time had finally come. If Brandy only knew how close he'd been to her…and if Maddie only knew. But she would know. Soon.

His whole screwed-up life was Maddie's fault. He'd punished many for her crimes over the years because he hadn't been able to make her pay. But now he he'd forced her back into his territory. Or at least close enough. Now all he had to do was lure her out of Greendale and into his killing field. The stupid Sheriff wouldn't let him get close enough to her if she stayed in town. He should have controlled his urges and not killed her friend. This would have been so much easier if she hadn't run. And it was stupid of him to play games, try to scare her instead of just killing her. But he'd thought he could toy with her a bit, make the kill more satisfying. And it would be satisfying. Like an orgasm, the longer it took, the more the tension built, the better the release.