COLD CASE AT CAMDEN CROSSING (9 page)

Chaz studied the photographs on the wall. He’d added a plastic rose above the girls’ team from the crash, a tribute to the lost lives.

Frowning, Chaz dropped to his knees, checked under the bed and found the stash of girly magazines Mrs. Dothan had mentioned. He also discovered another box and pulled it out, then lifted the lid.

His gut clenched at what he found inside. Pictures of teenage girls outside the school. A photograph of Ruth and Peyton from years ago when they’d worn harem costumes for a halftime show. Pictures of them dunking water over each other after a softball win.

A picture of the two of them at the swimming hole in their bikinis.

Then one of Tawny-Lynn in her bathing suit standing by the dock ready to dive into the lake.

Barry might not be dangerous, but the pictures were disturbing, and this spying had to stop.

He carried the pictures out to show Mrs. Dothan. She barely reacted when he laid them on the table. She simply lit another cigarette.

“Boys will be boys.”

He opened his mouth to make a point, but the door bust open and Barry stumbled in.

Chaz frowned at the blood on Barry’s shirt and hands.

Chapter Ten

When Barry saw Chaz, he turned and bolted. Chaz jumped up and caught him by the arm of his denim jacket. “Wait a minute, Barry.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong!” Barry shouted. “I didn’t.”

He gripped Barry by the arms. “How did you get that blood on your shirt and hands?”

“My nose. I crashed my bike into a tree.”

“So it’s your blood?”

Barry nodded but he was shaking, his eyes darting around for an escape. “Yeah, I didn’t hurt nobody.”

Mrs. Dothan stumbled over from her chair. “Barry, don’t say anything.”

Chaz reached for the strap of the camera slung over Barry’s shoulder. “What were you doing in the woods? Were you taking pictures?”

“There’s nothing wrong in taking pictures,” Mrs. Dothan cut in.

Chaz flipped the camera over and hit the replay button to view the pictures Barry had shot. An uneasy feeling traveled up his spine.

Various shots of Tawny-Lynn at the crash site. She looked so sad, so vulnerable, so tormented that his heart gave a painful tug.

“You took pictures of Tawny-Lynn this afternoon,” he said. “I know how you obsess over girls,” Chaz said. “Did you get mad when she told you to leave her alone?”

Barry started babbling about how he hit his nose on the tree again. “Didn’t do anything wrong. Tawny-Lynn...wouldn’t hurt her.”

“You took pictures of my sister and Peyton Boulder years ago, Barry. I found them in your secret box.”

“Pretty girls,” Barry said. “I just like pretty girls.”

“What do you like to do with them?” Chaz asked through gritted teeth.

“My boy doesn’t do anything to the girls.” Mrs. Dothan pulled Barry toward her. “He just likes to look.”

Chaz reminded himself to be calm. He had no evidence that Barry had committed a crime. He removed his phone from his belt and retrieved the photos from Tawny-Lynn’s porch. “See that threatening message, Barry. Are you sure you didn’t get blood on you from the deer when you killed it and wrote on Tawny-Lynn’s porch.”

Barry’s eyes widened in panic and a second later, he crumbled to the floor, wrapped his hands over his head and broke into incoherent sobs. “Don’t kill deer, don’t like blood. Stop it, stop it....”

“Sheriff, you need to leave,” Mrs. Dothan said.

Chaz glared at Barry’s mother. “If he hurt someone in the past, Mrs. Dothan, you’re not helping him by protecting him.”

“My son isn’t dangerous,” she cried as she stabbed her cigarette into the ashtray and knelt by her son. “Now get out!”

Chaz’s heart hammered as Barry continued to wail. Was he innocent, or was he more dangerous than his mother and everyone thought?

* * *

N
OW
THAT
T
AWNY
-
L
YNN
was back and asking questions, she didn’t want to stop. Seven years ago she’d been too traumatized and grief-stricken to think clearly. She barely remembered the sheriff talking to her or any of the leads he might have pursued in the investigation.

But she was sure someone—a male—had dragged her from the wreckage. Only no man had ever come forward to claim his hero status.

Which made everyone wonder if he had done something to Peyton and Ruth.

Seeing Cindy triggered memories of the other girls on the softball team. Not just the three who’d died, but the other players on the team who hadn’t taken the bus that day. Two had been sick with a flu that had swept through the school, another girl had been out of town due to a death in the family, Judy Samsung had been benched due to a broken arm and Rudy Henway and Paula Pennington had gone home with their parents because they’d planned to take the SATs the next morning.

Tawny-Lynn drove into town and stopped by the drugstore to pick up a refill of her migraine medication, then found a local phone book on the counter at the pharmacy. She grabbed it, slipped into a chair in the corner and thumbed through it, searching for each of the girls’ names to see if any of them still lived in town.

Paula showed up under her maiden name, but not Rudy. But there was an ad for the Sports Barn, owned by Rudy Farnsworth. It had to be the same Rudy.

She punched Paula’s number but the phone had been disconnected. She dialed the Sports Barn next and a woman answered.

“Hello, this is Rudy at the Sports Barn. What can I do for you?”

Tawny-Lynn panicked and hung up. She berated herself as she took a deep breath, then hurried out to the truck and drove to the shop on the edge of town. The ancient building had been renovated since she’d moved away, but as she entered, she realized the inside hadn’t changed. Jerseys, shirts, trophies, bumper stickers and every other sports paraphernalia related to the local teams, both elementary, middle, high school and club teams were represented.

When she was small, she’d coveted the gleaming trophies in the glass cabinet.

“Be right with you.” A young woman with striking red hair in a ponytail stood behind the counter writing up what she assumed was an order.

Tawny-Lynn remembered the tough-girl attitude Rudy had always emanated. She’d always wondered about the girl’s home life.

A second later, the woman looked up, her amber eyes flashing with surprise. “Tawny-Lynn, you really are back?”

Tawny-Lynn shifted, her hands jittery although she didn’t know why. “Not for long. Just to settle my daddy’s ranch.”

Rudy’s expression softened. “Well, good luck with that.”

“Thanks.” Tawny-Lynn gestured at the jerseys and trophies. “So you own this place now?”

Rudy grinned. “Yes. I guess the tomboy in me never died.” At the word
died,
she winced. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it—”

“Don’t apologize,” Tawny-Lynn said. “I always loved this store. It’s nice to know it’s in the hands of someone else who appreciated it.”

Rudy walked around the counter, and Tawny-Lynn noticed she was pregnant. “Oh, when’s the baby due?”

“A couple of months,” Rudy said. “I married a guy I met at A&M, Jo Farnsworth. He played football for the Aggies.”

“Congratulations.” A silence fell, and she fidgeted with one of the sweatbands on the shelf. At least Rudy had moved on and seemed happy.

Something she’d been unable to do. Even miles away in Austin, it was as if she were permanently stuck here in the past.

“I’m so sorry they never found Ruth or Peyton,” Rudy finally said.

Tawny-Lynn gave a slight shrug. “I wish I could have helped more. Remembered...”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Rudy said. “Everyone was way too hard on you.”

“Thanks.” Unexpected tears burned Tawny-Lynn’s eyes. “Can I ask you a question, Rudy?”

Rudy rubbed a hand over her belly, but a wary look pulled at her face. “What?”

“Did you ever hear my sister talking about a boyfriend after she broke up with J.J.?”

Rudy started refolding a stack of jerseys that were perfectly folded. “It was a long time ago, Tawny-Lynn, and you know Peyton and I weren’t close friends. She was the pretty popular girl and I was...a dork.”

Tawny-Lynn laughed for the first time in a long time as if she might have found a friend. “I always felt that way around her, too.”

Rudy gave her a sympathetic look. “I always liked you. And I’ll never forget that last game. You were awesome.”

Tawny-Lynn blinked back more tears. For so long, she’d associated everything about Camden Crossing with that horrible day. But there had been some good memories and people here.

“Thanks, I thought you were cool, too.”

They both laughed.

“Good luck with the baby.” A seed of envy sprouted inside Tawny-Lynn. She’d closed herself off from relationships for so long that she hadn’t bothered to fantasize about marriage and a family of her own. She’d been too busy grieving the one she’d lost.

She turned to go, but Rudy rushed up behind her. “Tawny-Lynn, I...didn’t want to say anything because...I don’t want to speak bad about Peyton, but...”

“But what?” Tawny-Lynn clenched Rudy’s hand. “Tell me. J.J. said he thought Peyton might have been involved with a married man.”

Rudy’s eyes flickered with regret. “I think she was, too.”

“What makes you say that?”

“A couple of days before the accident, I left my bag in the locker room and went back to get it. I heard Peyton and Ruth talking.”

“What were they saying?”

Rudy rubbed her swollen belly again. “Peyton was crying and said that she thought he’d leave his wife for her, but he wasn’t going to. She sounded really upset.”

“Did she say who the man was?”

Rudy shook her head. “No. Apparently he told her she’d better not tell anyone about the two of them, that he’d ruin her life if she did.”

Tawny-Lynn’s heart hammered. She had to find out who Peyton had been sleeping with. The man who’d made that threat could have killed her.

And if Ruth had known about him, he might have killed her to keep her quiet.

* * *

“M
RS
. D
OTHAN
,” C
HAZ
said as he paused at the doorway. “If I find out you’re lying to protect Barry, I’ll come back and arrest you.”

“I said get out!” Mrs. Dothan shouted over Barry’s wails.

“I’m leaving, but watch your son. Taking pictures may seem innocent to you, but it also can be construed as stalking.” He hesitated. “And, Barry, stay away from Tawny-Lynn Boulder.”

He closed the door behind him, hoping they would heed his warning.

Tawny-Lynn’s face flashed in his mind, and he itched to go see her. An itch he knew he should avoid scratching.

Because holding her felt too damn good. So good he wanted to hold her again.

Not going to happen.

His phone buzzed as he climbed into his car and drove back toward town. “Sheriff Camden.”

“Sheriff, this is Sergeant Justin Thorpe with the Texas Rangers.”

“What can I do for you, Sergeant Thorpe?”

“In the past month, two young women have gone missing in the counties next to Camden Crossing. Due to the cold cases in your town and Sunset Mesa, a special task force has been created to investigate the connection, if there is one.”

“Tell me about the disappearances,” Chaz said.

“A month ago, Carly Edgewater disappeared from a pep rally at the school where she teaches. So far, no one saw or heard anything.”

“How about her family?”

“Prominent parents. They were at a charity fund-raiser the night she went missing, so we’ve cleared them.”

“Boyfriend or girlfriend trouble?”

“Not that we’ve uncovered, but I’m just starting the investigation.”

“What about the second woman?”

“Name’s Tina Grimes. Disappeared last week. Supposedly had a dentist appointment one morning, but never made it. When we checked, there was never a dentist appointment.”

“So she lied? Why?”

“We don’t know that yet. She supposedly had a boyfriend, but they broke up six months ago. Mom died last year of cancer, single father adores his daughter. He appears to be pretty distraught. Said the last few months had been difficult with his daughter. She was moody and depressed but refused therapy.”

“So it’s possible she ran off or hurt herself?”

“It’s possible. But the sheriff never found a body and there was no suicide note.”

Chaz pulled up to his office, parked and strode inside. “You’ve spoken with Sheriff Blair over in Sunset Mesa?”

“She’s next on my list.”

“So you think we’re talking about one kidnapper?”

“Maybe. That’s the reason for the task force, to coordinate efforts and see if we find a connection.”

“If this perpetrator has been doing this for years and gotten away with it, he has to be pretty damn smart.” Which would rule out Barry.

“He definitely knows how to stay under the radar.”

His deputy must be making rounds as the office was empty. Chaz claimed his desk chair and turned to the computer. “Send me all the info you have on the cases. I’ll compare it to our cold case. How old are these women?”

“Mid-twenties.”

Hmm, maybe the cases weren’t related. The first two victims had disappeared from Sunset Mesa when they were in their teens. These young women were in their twenties.

“Thanks. The more eyes we have on this, the better.”

Chaz hung up and made himself some coffee while he waited on the information. When it came in, he printed out copies of the files to take home to study.

He jotted down some quick notes on the dates of the disappearances, and frowned. Just as Sheriff Blair mentioned, all the girls and these two women had gone missing in the spring.

Was the time of year significant for a reason? And if so, what the hell did it mean?

* * *

T
AWNY
-L
YNN
TACKLED
her father’s room when she got home, but as she dumped liquor bottles and beer cans into the trash, her conversations with Cindy and Rudy replayed through her head.

Who was the older man Peyton had been in love with?

Cigarette smoke permeated the air, so she gathered the bedding and towels in the bathroom and piled them in the trash. She tackled her father’s closet next, a well of emotion bubbling inside her as she folded his pants and shirts to donate to the church. Some were too stained, tattered and smoke-riddled to save, but she found two hats he’d bought but never worn and Sunday ties that hadn’t been seen in a decade and added them to the church bag.

She flipped on the radio while she sorted and cleaned, tuning in as the weatherman forecasted rain by the weekend. Tomorrow she’d tackle the outside of the ranch. She could finish cleaning and do minor repairs on the rainy days.

Her shoulders ached with fatigue as she hauled the bags out to the truck, then she scrubbed the walls and bathroom, determined to cleanse the smoky scent. But two hours later when her hands were practically raw, the scent still lingered.

Deciding she needed to clear the braided rug out, she rolled it up, dragged it outside and tossed it into the back of the truck to dispose of.

A noise sounded from the corner of the house, and her breath caught. Slowly she inched around the side to see what it was, and found a stray cat pawing at the ground by the old flowerbeds.