Body of Evidence (4 page)

Anderson didn't know why he was pushing the issue. It was just a few light bulbs and some door locks. What did it matter whether she liked it or not? It was for her protection, not to win points with her. Besides, his main focus was that pond. If the cartel had already messed with her new fence, what would they do next? He had to be there to find out.

Wanting to prolong being around her in spite of her sensitivity to accepting help and in spite of his need to stay professional, he said, “I'll help you finish up with the horses and the stables so I can get used to things, then I'll make a list of what I need to fix this place up.” He shrugged. “I do know my way around a stable and from first glance, this one looks to be really well-organized.”

She finished spraying the buckets then motioned toward the big building. “But it could use some sprucing up. A group of horse lovers took it on when I started
renovating a couple of years ago. They made the grooming buckets for each horse, organized the shelves and cabinets in the tack room and they donated galvanized trash cans for feed—to keep the other critters out. And I have a leaf blower to get rid of dust and cobwebs.” Shaking her hands to dry them, she said, “Of course, I stay so busy I don't have time to tidy things up every day so it tends to get messy. I missed checking the tack room yesterday, but my volunteers gave me an update on the horses. I keep the tack room locked since I have medicine for the animals in there.”

“I'm impressed. I'll check everything out and see if anything needs tweaking. That is, if you don't mind.”

“I don't mind and I'm sorry if I got testy before,” she retorted, pulling out a set of keys. “I'm learning to accept help whether I like it or not.” Motioning to him, she walked around the side of the old barn. “If you'll put up the equipment, I'll unlock the tack room door.”

Anderson watched her take off, then he gathered the clean buckets and put them back on the wagon and followed her.

Jennifer's high-pitched shout caused him to let go of the wagon and hurry into the big barn. He found her at the door of the tack room, her hands covering her mouth.

The room had been ransacked. Cabinet doors were swung open to reveal ointments, medications and various insect repellants, all knocked over or rearranged. The floor was covered with blankets and saddle pads, bridles and halters. And all the books and papers that had probably been on the desk were tossed aside.

“Somebody's already tried to spruce things up in
here,” he said, taking in the scattered equipment and strewn papers. “Or does it always look like this?”

“It wasn't like this yesterday before closing or my volunteers would have reported it,” she said, turning to him with her hands on her hips. “Did you do this, Anderson? Is that why you kept asking me about where I get my funding? You still think I might be involved with these criminals? Were you in here looking for evidence or something?”

Anderson would never understand the female logic or how a woman could ask so many questions at one time and expect a man to remember each one. Putting his hands on his hips, he said, “First, I asked about your funding because I was impressed with how you handle all of this and I wanted to help. And as far as trashing your place—now why would I do that and leave it like this? That would be pretty dumb on my part, wouldn't it?”

Jennifer frowned at him, then nodded. “Yeah, I guess it would.” Letting out a huff of breath, she shook her head, then leaned back against the door. “I'm sorry. I'm just not used to being under scrutiny all the time. I keep jumping to the wrong conclusions about all of this and…about you.”

Anderson heard the sincerity in her words and re minded himself he was a Christian after all. He couldn't lash out at her even if she did tend to read him the wrong way. “Understood.”

She gave him an apologetic glance. “So I wonder who decided to reshuffle my already disorganized stuff.”

Anderson studied the mess for a minute then said, “Someone who's looking for more than evidence against
your operation, Jennifer. I think we've been hit again by one of the drug runners. Cutting the fence and now this. They've seen your work crew back there near their drop site and they're not happy about it.”

“But why mess up the tack room?”

“They were probably trying to scare you, or maybe they think you have something of theirs. Something they left behind.” He glanced around again. “Or, this could just be a deterrent, a way of keeping you occupied. Which means I need to get back out to the site as soon as possible.”

She looked frightened for the first time since he'd arrived here. “And that makes me a target, right?”

He nodded. “You became a target the minute you bought that land and started building that pen. But this just upped the ante.”

J
ennifer finished clearing the last of the horse stalls, her work a comfort that helped push away the uneasiness floating over her like dust balls. Looking around, she noted that the stable was clean now. That would last a couple of days then she'd have to do this all over again. Busy work tended to keep her mind off everything else and that was probably why she was right in the middle of a criminal investigation. She had a tendency to focus on one thing to the point of blocking out everything around her. She'd learned this technique after her parents had divorced. It was a coping mechanism, but now, it was bringing trouble to her door. She should have been more vigilant in guarding her property.

I don't have a life,
she thought, gritting her teeth to that truth. She'd pretty much blocked out everything and everyone but her work. Even God.

“Might need to rethink that one,” she mumbled to her gelding Chestnut. “I've sure had a wake-up call now and I hear you, Lord.”

The big horse nosed at her arm, his deep brown eyes gazing down at her in expectation of either a treat or a rubdown.

Anderson peeped around a stall. “I've cleaned up the tack room, taken photos of the broken lock and a video overview for evidence, dusted it for prints and checked in with my captain to give a report. I've also written a report and I'll get that to him later. I doubt we'll find anything concrete as far as evidence since nothing seemed to jump out at me. I don't think they were looking for drugs. Your supplies seem to be intact, far as I can tell. The volunteers who worked in here yesterday indicated everything was fine when they left. I talked to them by phone a few minutes ago. Might want to go over what I inventoried, though.”

Jennifer couldn't help the shiver moving up and down her spine. “I can't believe they'd be so bold as to come in here and try to destroy my tack room—the only room I lock. I've never considered locking things up at night—other than the cages so the animals can't get out, and the office and living quarters. We have a main gate and we shut this place up tight after hours, so I never worried about keeping humans out.”

“These people aren't just bold. They're evil, Jennifer. They don't care about humanity except in regards to how much money they can make running drugs. And for you, that means they'll do whatever it takes to scare you—or worse. So you're gonna need to take some extra security measures for your own safety.”

She put the rake back on its hook and rubbed the calluses on her hands. “I worry about my animals, Anderson. And I don't have enough funds to put in an elaborate security system.”

“Worry about yourself first,” he retorted, irritation lining his expression. “And let me worry about security
for now. This is just the beginning. We need to get out to that site and look around. But first, I want to talk to your neighbor, Ralph Chason.”

“You don't think he's behind this, do you?”

“I can't say for sure. But questioning him is the first priority since you mentioned he'd complained to you about the new pen. I can do that now and we'll take a ride out later, if that's okay with you.”

She checked her watch. “Jacob should be here in a few minutes. Let's take a break and go up to the house and clean up. Then, after you get back from seeing Mr. Chason, we can head out. I'd feel better if Jacob is here with my volunteers.”

“Okay.” He helped her finish putting away cleaning supplies, then checked the stables once again. “I'll be more aware tonight since I didn't hear or see anything last night. Probably because they decided to target your barn, just as a scare tactic.”

“That's dangerous—you sleeping out there.”

Anderson's chuckle surprised her. “You know,
you
don't have to
worry
about me. This ain't my first rodeo.”

She looked down at her dirty work boots. “I get that, Ranger-man. But like I told you earlier, I'm not used to this kind of thing. I won't have something happening to you while you're trying to help me.”

“Comes with the job, I'm afraid. And it doesn't allow for much of a social life, either.”

Taking that as a warning, she asked, “How long have you been a Ranger, anyway?”

He squinted toward the afternoon sun. “Three years. Got a degree in criminal justice from Sam Houston
University, started out in the local sheriff's department, then signed on as a state trooper. Worked there almost nine years before joining Company D.”

She did the math on that. He was probably a few years older than her twenty-eight years. And obviously not married and settled. “Did you always want to work in law enforcement?”

“Pretty much. I watched a lot of westerns growing up and I wanted to be one of the good guys. Being a Ranger seemed to fit the criteria.”

Jennifer could see that clearly enough. He wasn't exactly Dudley Do-Right, but he wasn't Judge Roy Bean, either. She could tell Anderson's sense of justice ran deep and probably settled somewhere between being squeaky clean and getting down and dirty. In other words, a man she could trust to do the right thing.

Now if she could just trust herself around the man.

“How long do you think I'll be under lock and key?”

He looked around the property. “If I have my way, the rest of your natural born days. This place is isolated and it's an easy target for anyone wanting to break the law. Until you get your animal farm renovated and primed with better security and crowded with people again, you're exposed to all sorts of activities.”

“Stop scaring me,” she said when they reached the back porch. “You said yourself mean old Mr. Chason could have messed with the fence.”

“I did, but why would a disgruntled neighbor go through your tack room?”

“Maybe he was looking for something to give to
the state so I'd lose my license and permits. I don't know.”

“He's a suspect, too, far as I'm concerned. But we can't rule out the cartel, either. He might even be involved with them.”

Jennifer didn't like that. She didn't like any of this. “I've lived here by myself since the last time my mother decided it was time to move on. I went to college and I studied hard—marine biology and animal husbandry. And I took management and business courses because I always knew I wanted to work in animal rescue. I'd already learned what I needed to know about animals from my father and from working side by side with my parents right here, before things got so bad between them. He left after the divorce and she stayed. So when I came back after the funeral and found my mother packing, I told her I wasn't leaving. And I don't intend to leave. But I don't want this constant threat hanging over me, either. So I'm more than willing to get with the program.” She let out a long breath. “Besides, the drug cartel probably didn't even consider bothering me until I bought up that land.”

“You're right there. You got too close to their little hideout and that's what concerns me. Building back there stirred up a hornet's nest. I can't decide if they're just messing with you or if there's more to it.”

“Well, you found out whatever they're doing, thankfully.”

“We got lucky with one of their minions. If he hadn't talked, I wouldn't be here, and you could be in serious trouble.”

Her hand on the door, she turned to him. “I am grate
ful that you showed up. I would have been clueless. I tend to have a one-track mind when it comes to my work.”

He tilted his chin in acknowledgment, then took off the khaki ball cap she'd lent him. “Well, that makes two of us. I won't stop until I catch up with these people. They murdered a good man. I had to stand there at his funeral and witness his daughter's grief and deal with my own heartache. We're all still reeling from this. So you can rest assured we both have the same goal here—to stop them once and for all.”

“And this is just day one,” Jennifer said, shaking her head. “Do you think they know you're here?”

“I can't say. I was careful last night, so they shouldn't, but then, these people always seem to be one step ahead of us.”

“What could they want from me? Why not just do their drop thing somewhere else and leave me alone?”

He leaned close, his eyes deepening to an earthy gold-brown. “They want to make sure you don't see or hear anything back there that could put their operation in jeopardy, or lead the authorities to them. But they apparently have a good reason for coming back.”

Jennifer leaned against the porch railing, her pulse galloping with fear. “They could kill me.”

He came to stand by her. “Yes, they could kill you.”

 

Anderson watched later as Jacob went around to each large pen to help Jennifer with the afternoon feedings. The kid seemed kind of skittish but Anderson attributed that to being a teenager. Teenagers didn't like being
around authority figures. The kid could be hiding something. Anderson let the boy stew. Until he had a handle on this thing, everyone was suspect. Teenagers were easily swayed these days. Too many temptations.

And since he hadn't found anyone at home at the Chason ranch down the road, Anderson was in the mood to interrogate anyone who happened to be walking by. Jacob fit the bill.

He ambled up to the red-tailed hawk's cage to try some conversation. “So Jennifer tells me you plan on going to college in Austin. Have you decided on a major?”

Jacob went inside the big cage and closed the door, then held up a treat for the hawk named Abe. Abe lifted gracefully across the small space and landed on the gloved hand Jacob held at his side. “I dunno. Maybe economics.”

“Economics—not my thing but a necessity in life.”

Jacob grinned at that. “I like this job, but Jennifer says the pay will never be great. She said I could work at a big zoo maybe, but I'd have to take courses in that area, too. I'm not so hot in science and biology.”

Warming up to the boy, Anderson went on. “She said you and your friends take the four-wheelers to the back side of the property sometimes.”

Jacob gave Abe another treat then let the big bird fly back to his perch. Jennifer was waiting until the hawk's foot healed before they released him back into the wild where he'd eat mice and follow farmers, looking for grubs.

The boy turned to stare at Anderson, his expression
bordering on scared. “Jennifer gave us the okay until the other day when she found the fence all messed up.”

Anderson nodded. “She doesn't want you to run into anyone dangerous back there. Y'all should find another place to ride. Have you seen anything unusual back there?”

Jacob shot him a questioning look then went into skittish mode again. “Like what?”

“Other people,” Anderson said. “I'm here to make this place more secure. And one of the concerns I have is the openness of this place. Easy for vagrants to hang around.”

Jacob looked away, then he shifted his feet. “That mean neighbor of hers—old man Chason—got on to us once when we were doing wheelies back there. Said we needed to stay off that property and he didn't care if Jennifer had given us permission.”

“I see.” Anderson almost took out his notepad, but refrained. He got the feeling Jacob wasn't telling him everything, but then, he wasn't telling the boy everything he knew or that he'd tried to question Chason earlier. “Jennifer and I need to take a ride back there. Think you can handle things here?”

“Sure,” the boy replied. “She leaves things with me sometimes when she goes for supplies or goes out to dinner with her friends.”

Interesting,
Anderson thought, losing focus on his interrogation. “I'd never guess she leaves this place at all.”

Jacob bobbed his head. “She gets all gussied up and heads into Austin or San Antonio sometimes. Likes to make the rounds on the Riverwalk. You know, eat some
good Mexican food and shop or maybe catch a movie, usually one of those sappy romantic comedy things.”

“Never would have figured she likes to shop, either.”

Jacob snorted at that. “Are you kidding? She's a girl. They all like to shop. But hey, she doesn't buy a lot of personal stuff. She gets a lot of her clothes at secondhand shops.”

“How do you know all of this?”

“She talks to me, just small talk,” Jacob admitted. “And her friends come out and help sometimes on the weekends and I hear them comparing notes. But Jennifer spends most of her money on this place. And lately, she hasn't been going anywhere much.”

Anderson was learning a lot about Jennifer Rodgers. And each tidbit was surprising. That explained the pretty fingernail polish. And gave him hope that he might be able to take her out to dinner when this was over. She deserved that much from him, at least.

Anderson grinned at the boy. “You just never know about people, huh?”

Jacob shrugged. “I'm learning a lot, hanging around her and her friends. They give me advice on girls all the time. But I still haven't figured women out.”

“Nor will you ever, friend,” Anderson said with a chuckle. He needed to remember that himself.

“I hear that,” Jacob replied, flashing a reluctant grin.

“What are you two laughing at?” Jennifer asked as she came around the corner, dragging her little bucket wagon with her.

Anderson noticed again how cute she was in her
faded jeans and khaki work shirt underneath a brown hoodie. And those aged boots made her look more feminine than tough.

Jacob gave her a toothy smile. “I was telling him about how you like to get all fancy and head into town.”

She looked embarrassed, then she looked stern. “Jacob, I don't pay you to gossip about my private life.”

The boy looked shocked until he saw the smile twitching at her lips. “Sorry,” he said with a sheepish grin. “I'll get back to work.”

She winked at Anderson. “Good. And just to punish you, I'll let you feed Boudreaux and Bobby Wayne while we take the horses out for a ride.”