Lonestar Angel (28 page)

The older woman mounted the steps and dragged a rocker around to face them before settling in it. “I heard what happened out here the other night and came to see how you’re faring.” She looked them over with shrewd eyes in the wash of light. “You both look like something the coyotes fought over.”

“Tubing with five little girls will do that to you.” He rose and shook her hand. “Clay Larson.”

“Judge Julia Thompson.” She crossed her jean-clad legs and leaned back in the rocker, looking at Eden. “I remembered, you know. I knew it would come to me.”

Clay heard Eden’s sudden intake of breath but had no idea what was so upsetting about the judge’s statement. “Remembered what?”

“Where I’d seen your pretty wife. And you too.” She tapped her nose. “News has a smell to me. Especially crime.”

“You know about our daughter?” He doubted the judge was going to go around talking about it.

“I do indeed. The last I heard, the two of you were split. Now here you are. In my county.”

He glanced at Eden. How much should they tell this woman? “We’re here because this is where our daughter is.”

The suspicious glint in the judge’s eyes dimmed. “She’s alive? I figured the two of you . . .”

“Killed her and tried to cover our tracks?” He’d heard the accusations before, but they stung every time. “I think the investigating detective still believes it.”

The judge shrugged. “It’s usually a family member. Sad but true.”

“I have been looking for Brianna for five years,” Clay said. “I never believed she was dead.”

“So what’s she doing here?”

Clay told her what they knew, including Eden’s father’s involvement. When the judge heard the name Santiago, her expression grew more sober.

“Santiago’s involvement is ominous,” she said. “He’s behind half the drugs that come through here every year. I sure would like to get him.” She studied Eden’s face. “Would you be willing to be a lure?”

Clay glanced at his wife. “I don’t want her involved in anything dangerous. We have a daughter to raise.”

Eden shook her head. “I won’t put these kids in danger. If we rile up the situation any further, I don’t know what might happen. If he thinks I’m a danger, he might go after all of us with real determination.”

“Not if he’s in jail,” the judge said.

“He’s escaped capture many times,” Clay said. “I think the risk is too great.”

The judge pressed her lips together. “If we can get Santiago and his crew, you’ll all be safer.”

Eden hesitated. “Maybe so.”

He couldn’t lose Eden. Not now. “No! I don’t want her involved,” Clay said.

“I’ll have protection for you.”

“I’ve heard that before.” But what if Santiago couldn’t stop the wheels he’d set in motion? What if the attacker struck again, or evaded capture and came back to avenge Santiago?

The judge steepled her fingers together. “Call your father. Ask to meet.”

Eden shook her head. “What excuse can I give?”

“I wish you hadn’t already given him that pendant,” Julia muttered. “That was your best leverage.” She studied Clay’s face. “You’ve crossed tracks with Santiago before, on his turf. Do you have any photos linking him to the drug trafficking? He won’t want anything in circulation.”

“My camera was taken during that particular mission you’re talking about.” He shook his head, then an image came to mind. Car keys, flash drive. Eden’s mother had mentioned pictures of a jungle, but he hadn’t paid much attention. “You know, let me check an old flash drive I have. It’s still on my key ring with pictures of Brianna, but there’s another folder on it that I haven’t looked at in a long time.”

He left the women on the porch and went back to the bedroom, where he’d dropped his keys and change. He pulled the drive from the little digital photo album that he’d used to show Eden’s mother the pictures of Brianna. He plugged it into the port on his MacBook, and two folders showed up seconds later. He clicked on the unnamed one, and the list of files came up.

Pictures. There were old pictures in the folder. He flipped through jungle scenes. Children playing in the dirt of a small town. These images had been taken the day before the commandos rolled in, firing on the kids, and he’d been thrown in jail for intervening. But was there anything incriminating?

The next picture was of a swarthy man scowling. He stood next to a truck loading stacks of white powder. Santiago? He printed off that picture and three more that clearly showed the contents of the truck. If it was Hector, Eden might recognize him.

The swing swayed gently as Eden wondered what to say to the judge. The horrid accusations that had swirled around them after Brianna’s disappearance brought a lump to her throat. Rumors traveled far. The first time a police officer had accused her of harming her daughter was seared into her memory. Only a lack of evidence had saved them from being arrested. Within a few days the ransom note proved genuine and the police backed off. But it was a painful time. No one stopped eyeing them with suspicion.

“You can stop brooding,” the judge said. “If you’d seen what I have, you would have jumped to conclusions too. The way parents treat children is appalling.”

Eden started to answer, then checked herself. Her childhood experiences were a confirmation that the judge was right. “I realize our situation wasn’t typical. But when you’re devastated by loss, then find you’re a suspect, it’s overwhelming.”

The screen door screeched and Clay returned with a paper in his hand. “I hit pay dirt,” he said. “You recognize this guy?” He thrust a printout into Eden’s hand.

She held it under the porch light and was suddenly eight years old again. “It’s my dad,” she said.

“I thought so. Santiago is at a village with the drugs.”

Julia held the photograph under the light. “It’s him,” she said. “Tell him you have these. He’ll come for them.”

Eden’s memories crystallized, and she heard his gruff voice telling her to go outside and play while he talked with her mother. She’d always been an encumbrance to both of them. The day her mother left her had been a blessing. She just hadn’t fully realized that until now.

The judge glanced at Eden. “Are you willing to try?”

“I don’t want the girls in danger,” Eden said. “Even if he’s captured, what if his men come after us for revenge?”

“Hector’s son is dead. His second in command has no interest in family squabbles.”

“You don’t know that.”

Julia shut up and stared at Eden. “You’re right—I don’t. Not for sure. But don’t you have any sense of justice? Don’t you want to make sure others are not hurt by this man?”

The judge’s questions stung. “Of course I do!” Eden said. “But I’m more concerned about my daughter and the other girls. And he’s still my father, in spite of his despicable behavior. The Bible says to honor our parents. He wasn’t much of a dad, but the thought of luring him into a trap makes me shudder.”

Clay’s warm fingers closed around hers. “That’s a good point, honey.”

“You would protect a man who had no compunction about ordering your death?” Julia demanded. “He would order those girls killed with as little thought. The safest thing is to lock him up where he can’t hurt any of you.”

“I don’t trust that locking him up is the solution.”

“We’ll make sure the confrontation takes place far from the ranch,” Julia promised.

Eden shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

Clay’s cell phone rang. He glanced at it and raised his brows. “Unknown,” he said before he opened it. “Larson here.”

She watched his face change, and he mouthed, “Your father.” She went still and listened to his side of the conversation.

“I never tried to hide anything from you,” Clay said. He listened, then said, “I see. Yes, you’ve made yourself perfectly clear. Just a minute.” He handed the phone to Eden. “He wants to talk to you.”

“What did he say?” Eden asked when he didn’t explain immediately.

“He seems to know about these pictures. He wants them back.”

Eden stared at the phone. “He has this place bugged?” She shuddered.

“He said your mother called him.”

“My mother!”
Eden collapsed back against the swing. “She would give him ammunition to hurt us more?”

“Apparently so.” Clay’s voice was dry.

She put the phone to her ear. What did she call him? Father? Mr. Santiago? “Hello,” she said, settling for anonymity.

“I did not expect to have to speak with you again. You have been secretive with me.”

“That’s not true.”

“Your mother tells me there are pictures of me. In the jungle. What do you intend to do with them?”

“We just found them. Clay had forgotten that they were on his drive.”

“Somehow I doubt the
hombre
did not know this.”

“It’s true. My mother found them in an old folder. Why did she call you?”

“Money, of course. She does nothing without wishing for cash.”

Eden’s stomach churned with acid. Her mother had sold them out. “I assume you want the pictures.”

“Of course. You will give them back and destroy any copies you have made.”

“I told you—Clay just found them. There are no copies.”

“See that it remains that way. And what is it you want in return for turning them over to me? I pay my debts.”

“You owe me nothing.” She glanced at Julia’s hopeful face, then looked away. No, she couldn’t risk the children. “You’re my father.”

“So your mother said. I was never certain.”

He’d said the same thing to Clay, but was he trying to skirt his responsibilities? Or had her mother lied? Eden had learned never to trust what her mother said. Nancy appeared to have changed, but was it real? “Regardless, there is something I’d like.”

“I thought so. Money, I suppose,” he said, his voice bored.

“Of course not! I don’t want tainted money. I want you to tell me which of these girls is our Brianna.”

“Eden, I have not the least idea.”

“So you lied to me? You lured us here with a picture and a false claim? You knew about the kidnapping all along, that she was your granddaughter!”

“I did not know everything,” he said, his voice grudging. “I never saw the
niña
. Pictures only.”

“Who has cared for her all this time?”

“I have no idea. It was not important enough for me to know a name.”

Her fingers curled into her palms. His own granddaughter wasn’t important. “What were the last pictures you saw?”

“I believe she was two.”

Two lost years of Brianna’s life. She had to have them. “The last photos I have were when she was six weeks old. So I’ll trade you those pictures for these and the original flash drive.”

“You are in no position to make demands.” His voice held an icy edge.

“You asked what I wanted.”

“Very well. I am coming to Texas next weekend. Have the drive ready and on your person at all times.”

Her heart sank. She didn’t want to see him face-to-face. “You’re coming
here
?”

“Business, of course.”

“I assumed you would send one of your minions.”

“I wish to assure myself that there are no copies. I will be able to see if you are telling me the truth. You are very transparent.”

“There’s no need for that. I promise you that we will make no copies.”

“We shall see.”

This was not going as she’d expected. “Where should we meet?”

“I will call you. It is not safe to make prior arrangements.”

The phone went dead in her ear. She put her phone down. “He hung up.”

“It sounds like he is coming to see you in person?” Julia asked.

Eden nodded. “He’s coming, but I don’t know when.” She may have made the situation worse. In truth, Eden would rather not set eyes on the man. The horror of the fire came to mind again. Her father had been unable to stop it. Would this meddling intensify the danger?

“I’ll make sure you’re protected,” Julia said, her intent gaze on Eden’s face.

Eden moved restlessly. “I don’t want him anywhere around the girls.”