Leann Sweeney - Pushing Up Bluebonnets

Jeff was waiting for me after I dropped off Kate at her house. I'd called him from Pineview PD and though I didn't share everything then because I wasn't exactly in a private place, DeShay apparently filled him in during his drive to Pineview to pick up McFarland.

"Doris upstairs?" I said, after he gave me a wonderful hug—a hug far different from the one I'd experienced in the arms of Ponytail Nick. And again, I was reminded of my promise. I hadn't realized that promise might mean giving up a small part of myself—a portion of the complete openness Jeff and I shared. This was information I could never share with a cop, not one as dedicated as Jeff was to bringing in criminals. And JoLynn's family had broken the law.

"Doris is spending the night with Loreen," he said. "I thought you could use a massage after the day you've had. Come on."

He took me by the hand and led me up the stairs. When he opened the bedroom door, my hand went to my mouth. "What have you done?"

The room was lit with candles, and vases of yellow roses sat on the tables, the dressers and my small vanity.

"I know I'm not the big romantic type, but you were gone all day and when I found out what went down, how you stared down that turd without your weapon, I got a sick feeling right here." He touched his belt. "If I ever lost you . . ."

I put a finger to his lips. "That's not happening."

Then he asked me a question I didn't want to answer, because I didn't want to lie. "Did Dugan hire that jerk to tackle you in the parking garage?"

"Probably, but with Dugan dead, we may never know. The fake security guard might have been Dugan's pal, too."

"That makes sense, but I—"

"No more talking. I heard someone up here was giving away massages."

Turned out, JoLynn Richter went home to Magnolia Ranch without even making the transfer to Methodist Hospital. She was transported by ambulance with Maxine by her side on Tuesday, two days after Ian McFarland's arrest. Just hours later, Ian was out on bail after being indicted for second-degree murder. Seems the preliminary autopsy results indicated Kent Dugan had been run over by a car at least twice, probably more. Some accident.

I was busy writing up my case report for Elliott Richter late that afternoon when he called me. "I was wrong, Abby, and I've apologized to Chief Boyd as well. I wanted you to know I've decided not to assist Ian in his defense. I simply cannot support him, not after what he did. In some twisted way, I suppose he thought he was protecting me. At any rate, I shouldn't have behaved the way I did in that police station."

"You believed in your friend. That's not a bad thing. But he has money of his own, right?" I stroked Diva, who was purring on my lap as I sat in my office chair.

"Plenty. Simone doesn't know I've refused to help him and I've convinced Adele not to tell her. At least not now. I understand he's hired a high-priced attorney." Richter sighed. "You know what that means."

"Bad-guy victim and high-priced defense attorney? I smell acquittal. But that won't happen for at least a year," I said. "How is Simone handling this?"

"She doesn't know he found her pictures and stole her camera. That may come out in the trial. Maybe he'll tell her himself now that he's free. I've instructed him to clear off my property, though. I don't want him anywhere near JoLynn."

"I don't think he meant for her to get hurt," I said. "He was . . . jealous on several levels. Wanted her gone. At least that's my take."

Richter was silent for several seconds. "Jealous? I never thought of it that way."

"He was your friend, closer to you than any of your family. Until JoLynn showed up."

"You are a very smart young woman. And another smart young woman in my family will be headed for school, despite being devastated by her father's arrest. I've convinced Adele to soften her approach with Simone, support the girl's dream rather than beat her down," he said.

"Good for you. Simone is very special. And how's JoLynn?"

"Making amazing progress. The young are so resilient. We have the physical therapists coming every day. But Ms. Norman's days are numbered. I'm working on patience and acceptance, but she's trying me, Abby. And she's chased Estelle off. That young woman was the hardest worker I think I've ever had."

You have no idea, I thought. He then gave me an open invitation to the ranch and I told him to expect me often, especially when Otto was cooking pork roast.

Not long after I hung up, my doorbell rang and to my surprise, I saw Cooper Boyd on my security monitor. He was wearing street clothes, which seemed odd if he was in town to talk over the case with DeShay and Chavez.

After I let him in, I opened my arms for a hug. "I don't think I got to thank you for being such a great partner."

"I'm the one who should be thanking you. You figured out Ian stole his daughter's camera, not to mention that he confiscated those pictures and told Kent Dugan JoLynn was at Magnolia Ranch."

"You ever need someone to interview eighteen-yearold girls, I guess I'm your woman. I feel bad for Simone, though. Her father was the typical good-guy parent as opposed to her bad-guy mom. She adores Ian."

"Maybe she'll adore him less when she realizes exactly what he did."

"You mean when she has all the facts? Facts are important to you, Cooper Boyd," I said with a wry grin.

"Cut me some slack, Abby. I'm newly unemployed."

"What are you talking about?" I said.

"I quit. I'll go back to help my successor, but today I'm in town to hunt for an apartment. I've had no luck with the classifieds and decided I needed your help again. Got any ideas where I should start looking?"

"I have a former client who's a Realtor. Her name is Emma Lopez and I'd love to see her again. But you're skipping past the important part. Why did you quit?"

"I gave small-town police work my best shot, but this case? I realized I'm not done working the bigger crimes. I've been offered reinstatement in the Houston FBI office. They didn't want me to leave DC in the first place, but . . . never mind. Let's save my history for another time."

"Sure. Come into my office and I'll look up Emma's number," I said.

He took out his cell phone and flipped it open. "While you're at it, I'd like to add Kate's number to my address book. I sort of forgot to get that important piece of information."

I rattled it off, thinking that this day had gone very well.

Kate and I visited JoLynn several times in the months following her return to Magnolia Ranch as did her good friend Roberta Messing. Maxine was gone after a few weeks and so were the therapists that her surrogate grandfather had hired. Knowing what Ian McFarland might say in court when his day came, Elliott Richter explained to his family that JoLynn was mistaken about Katarina, though she sincerely believed she was related to the Richters when she made the false ID. I was guessing they'd been reassured their piece of the pie wouldn't be affected by her mistake, because they all seemed a lot more friendly to her. And I also got the feeling Scott Morton was absolutely tickled the two of them weren't blood relations.

Once JoLynn was nearly recovered—a few memory problems lingered, but that's all—I called and asked her if she'd do me a favor and take a little trip into the city with me. There was someone I wanted her to meet. She agreed and when I arrived at Magnolia Ranch, she looked better than ever. There was only a faint scar on her forehead and she seemed truly happy.

I didn't tell her where we were going, just said it was a surprise. JoLynn felt very connected to Kate and so that's where our conversation turned on the two-hour drive.