Unfinished Business (8 page)

Deciding to dig further, she pulled up the photograph the wire service had posted of Holly Johnson. Her resemblance to Bonita Patterson was astounding. Both were Caucasians with blond hair and blue eyes.

 
Alex could barely hide his smile when he saw the old woman sitting patiently on the park bench near the pond and the man sitting at her side.

Apparently bored, Luke Madaris had clearly been drafted to be his grandmother’s chauffeur.

Anyone who saw him would be hard pressed to believe that twenty-nine-year-old Lucas “Luke” Madaris, nationally known rodeo superstar, was anywhere but sitting on a feisty bronco or flying off some raging bull.

“Afternoon, Ms. Laverne,” Alex said to the older woman. He then turned to Luke and offered him his hand in a firm handshake when Luke stood up. “Good seeing you, Luke. I didn’t know you were back in town.”

“Only for a little while,” Luke Madaris said, grinning from ear to ear. “How are things going in the PI business?”

Alex smiled “They’re going. And how’s the rodeo circuit?”

Luke grinned. “Other than a few scrapes, it’s going great. No broken bones so far this year.”

“Luke, take a walk. Alexander and I have important matters to discuss.”

Both men turned to look at Laverne Madaris. A frown was puckering her brow as she stared back at them. Her silver gray hair was pulled back in a thick bun on her head and her dark eyes were as shrewd as ever. They were eyes that both men knew missed nothing. Her wooden cane was by her side, and Alex had a feeling that if the need ever arose, she would use it for more than walking. He could see her bringing it down on someone’s head if he made her mad enough.

Alex couldn’t help but smile. She was one tough lady. She had to be in order to raise seven sons on her own after her husband’s death, and overseeing a huge family spread like Whispering Pines. She had kept her husband’s promise that all seven of her sons would be highly educated. All had eventually left home to attend college, but it had been her youngest, Jake Madaris, who had returned home to make ranching his life.

Alex glanced over at Luke, who chuckled and whispered, “My great-grandmother really knows how to give an order, doesn’t she?”

“Luke, I said walk.”

With a smile Luke winked at Alex before turning to walk away. When Laverne Madaris was satisfied he was out of hearing range she turned her full attention to Alex. “Sit.”

Alex obediently did what he was told, sitting down beside her on the bench. He then glanced over at her. “You wanted to see me?”

“Yes,” she said staring at him. “How have you been, Alexander?”

Alex blinked. Evidently she planned to get the pleasantries out of the way before cutting into him . . . for whatever reason. “I’ve been fine, and you?”

“I’m alive, so I’m blessed.”

Alex nodded. He then watched as she leaned forward, holding his gaze mercilessly. “Now to get down to the point of why I called this meeting.”

A lump formed in Alex’s throat. “Yes, ma’am?”

She reached out and her bony finger poked him in the chest. “I want to know just what your intentions are toward my granddaughter.”

Alex knew he had one of two choices. He could either play dumb and pretend he didn’t have a clue what Ms. Laverne was talking about. Or he could decide just how much to tell her before she punctured his rib with her finger. Evidently she knew something or she wouldn’t be asking.

“I want Christy.”

The old woman snorted. “I already know that. Known it for years. Evidently I knew it before you did. What I’d like to know is what’s your definition of
want
?”

He lifted a brow. “Excuse me?”

“No, not this time, Alexander. I will no longer excuse you. It’s time you made important decisions involving Christy.”

He raised a brow. “What kind of decisions?”

“Whether you love my granddaughter or merely want her?”

Alex nearly cursed under his breath.
Love
? Ms. Laverne was definitely pushing it. He didn’t love anyone. That was an emotion that had become as foreign to him as living on another planet.

He breathed in deeply, and since he knew she expected an answer, he decided to give her one. The only one he had. “I care for Christy.”

The older woman slowly shook her head. “That’s not good enough.”

He opened his mouth to tell her that as far as he was concerned, it
was
good enough, when the look she gave him made him decide to do otherwise. “And why won’t it be good enough?” he asked, deciding to take a detective’s way out and let her do the talking.

“It won’t be good enough, Alexander, because you’ve hurt her and she doesn’t intend to ever forgive you.”

Alex was surprised by Ms. Laverne’s words. “She told you that?”

“Yes, but she really didn’t have to. I know her. I know how her mind works. She’s a Madaris, cut from the same cloth as her father and grandfather.” She chuckled softly. “You can even call her Dex Junior. Cross them and there will be plenty of hell to pay. Destroy their pride and they may never come around.”

That wasn’t what Alex wanted to hear.

“I know you saw her last week,” Ms. Laverne said.

Alex sighed, wondering how much of what had happened last week she knew about.

“And I know from talking to Christy during our regular chats on Sunday that she thinks the only reason you came to see her was to check up on her for her brothers.”

Alex took a deep breath, no longer willing to hold his peace. “And something was wrong with wanting to know that she was all right?” he asked in an agitated voice.

A smile touched the older woman’s lips. “No, not if the only thing you want to be is her protector. But I expected for you to have done something more dashing, like sweep her off her feet.”

Alex snorted. “Considering the way she feels about me, that would have been pretty hard to do.”

“You should have done it anyway. That’s the only way you’ll put a dent in that damn Madaris pride. My husband was worse than all his sons put together when it came to the issue of that pride, so I know what I’m talking about. You have to prove to Christy that you’re worthy of her love all over again. But just wanting her isn’t going to be enough, Alexander. She is a beautiful woman who will encounter plenty of men who only
want
her. For Christy, there has to be more and especially from you. She will need your love.”

The older woman stopped talking and stared at him. For a split second Alex swore he saw an odd expression on her face. He wondered if she had looked into his eyes and seen what he had tried to bury years ago—the picture of a child full of hope and love—and when love had let him down, how the man he’d become protected himself from sharing that emotion with anyone again. The Madaris brothers always claimed their grandmother had a sixth sense. Now he was beginning to believe them.

“So . . .” she said softly. “What will it be?”

Alex’s protective impulses kicked in. “I don’t know,” he said truthfully. “Like I said, I care for Christy. I don’t know if I’m capable of loving anyone.”

Ms. Laverne nodded slowly. “Then I suggest you start doing a lot of soul searching because without love, you can kiss Christy good-bye. For too many years you were her knight in shining armor, the man she dreamed of marrying. When you messed up, you messed up pretty bad. It’s going to take a lot to get back in her good graces, so you will have your work cut out for you. A man who merely wants her will eventually give up and walk away. But a man who loves her, truly loves her, will hang in there no matter what, because Lord knows the child can be difficult.”

When Alex didn’t say anything but gazed thoughtfully at her for the longest time, Laverne Madaris smiled, laid a hand on his forearm, and said, “There. I’ve done what I felt I must. Now the rest, Alexander, is up to you.”

Horace Mansfield, head of Cincinnati’s office of the FBI, stared at the woman sitting across from his desk. In his mind she was the typical reporter, who was always digging for a bone. But in this particular case, he was determined the bone she was digging for would remain well buried.

He leaned back in his chair. “I’m sorry, Miss Madaris, but I can’t help you.”

“You can’t or you won’t?”

He sighed deeply. She was getting agitated and being difficult. “There are rules I have to follow. The Bonita Patterson case is officially closed.”

Christy glared at him. She hadn’t liked the evasive answers she’d been getting since she had arrived. “All I want to know is whether or not at some point the Bureau checked out Morganna Patterson’s story and noticed a link between her dreams and reported teens’ kidnappings.”

The man met her stare without blinking. “That would be classified information I couldn’t share with you even if we had. I can only assure you that we routinely followed our customary procedures and will initiate a full-scale investigation when we feel one is warranted.”

Christy sighed deeply. She wasn’t getting anywhere with this man. She stood. “Good day, Mr. Mansfield. I apologize for taking up so much of your time.” She walked out of the man’s office.

Horace Mansfield watched Christy leave. As soon as he was certain she was gone, he picked up the phone on his desk. When the person on the other end answered, Mansfield said tersely, “We might have trouble brewing.”

Alex slid his fork through the flaky crust of the apple pie and immediately thought about Christy. When she was little she’d loved apples as much as she had loved peanut butter.

He pushed the dessert aside, suddenly not feeling hungry. The conversation he’d had with Laverne Madaris earlier that day was still on his mind.

He stood and walked over to his kitchen window and looked out. Everything the older woman had said led him to thoughts of one person.

Christy.

He inhaled sharply, suddenly feeling the need to hear her voice. He quickly crossed the room to pick up the phone and punched in her number.

“Hello?” a sleepy voice said.

Damn. He’d forgotten how late it was. “Christy, this is Alex.”

Christy came fully awake. “Alex?”

“Yes, sorry, I didn’t mean to call so late and wake you. How are you doing?”

She frowned. “Did my brothers ask you to—”

“Hey, don’t get uptight and go there, OK? I’m calling because I had you on my mind. I’ve been thinking about you a lot today.”

Christy swallowed and slowly closed her eyes. She refused to tell him that she had been thinking about him a lot that day as well, although she hadn’t wanted to do so. “How was your day in court?” she asked, remembering the reason he had returned to Houston early was a subpoena he had received.

“It was OK. And how are you doing with that Patterson Report?”

She sighed, thinking that talking to him about it would distract her from how good it felt knowing he was on the phone and had thought enough to call. She didn’t want to place too much stock in it.

“I think I’ve made a connection with Mrs. Patterson’s dreams and the kidnappings of other teens,” she said excitedly. “I visited the FBI office here today but they weren’t cooperative.”

Alex chuckled. “People would always say that when we didn’t tell them what they wanted to know or wanted to hear.”

Christy smiled. “OK, I admit I might have been a little pushy.”

“A little.”

“Well, maybe a lot. That guy rubbed me the wrong way. He acted like he didn’t want to answer a few questions.”

“A few?”

“All right, there might have been more than just a few.”

“OK, let’s talk about it. What are the possible links?”

Christy spent the next ten minutes discussing all the things she had discovered, including the connection of the kidnapped girl’s name to Christmas and the similarities between her and Bonita. Alex listened and he asked questions that made her think.

“In your research, if you find similarities between Bonita and the other kidnapped girls as well, there might be a reason for it. If these girls are being shipped out of the country to be used as some man’s playthings, these men may be requesting girls with certain features.”

He sighed deeply. “There was once a baby-kidnapping ring that we busted that did that very thing. When desperate couples went to them wanting to ‘adopt’ a child with certain features, they would go out and kidnap a child to fit that couple’s specifications. The same thing may be happening here.”

“That’s sick.”

“Anyone who would kidnap another human being to use for profit
is
sick. They are also dangerous. I’m not saying that all the girls who have been kidnapped will have blond hair and blue eyes, but it might be something you will want to check out. And don’t be surprised if you find young boys have been abducted as well.”

“Now I know why you’re so good at what you do,” she said moments later.

His soft chuckle sent shivers down her spine and made a ripple pass through every part of her body. “Why?”

“Because you’re sharp.”

“Umm, at the moment I’m also missing you.”

Christy bit down on her bottom lip. The way he’d spoken the words gripped her with the utmost tenderness and filled her with a unique feeling of warmth. But she knew she couldn’t get pulled in by the intensity of the emotions he stirred. “Don’t, Alex,” she said softly.