Margaret Daley - Texas Ranger Showdown

Rounding a corner, she paused and unlocked the private entrance to her office. “Thanks.” When she started to close the door, he clasped her arm. The light touch of his hand on her skin produced goose bumps. Her gaze connected with his for a long moment, drinking in the sight of him after so many years—tall, well-built, dark hair cut short and hazel eyes that changed colors with his mood. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed him being in Longhorn. His presence made her feel safe, protected.

He smiled, two dimples appearing in his cheeks. “Stay here until I pick you up.”

“I will. If you aren’t here when my last patient leaves, I have files I need to update.”

He stepped back, staring at the door as if he was going to come into her office instead of leaving. If she was truthful with herself, that brief contact brought forth feelings she’d had the summer after she’d graduated from high school. She’d begun thinking of him as more than just a good friend, but then everything changed for her.

Quickly, she shut the door and locked it. When the phone on her desk buzzed, she hurried across the office to answer the call from the receptionist. “Is Charles Thorne here?”

“Yes, he was running late and came in only a moment ago.”

Strange. Charles was never late. “Okay. Send him in.” Caitlyn headed for the other door into her office and swung it open as Charles approached, his forehead set in a scowl.

He flung himself onto the couch. “I wish I hadn’t gotten out of bed. Nothing is going the way it should today. I kept you waiting. I’m sorry about that. It won’t happen again.”

“What delayed you?”

“A traffic accident. It blocked the street for ten minutes.” Then he went on to mention every small thing that had thrown him off, starting with him getting up late because his alarm clock hadn’t gone off. “I always set it. Someone must have come into my room and clicked it off.”

“Who might have, Charles? You live alone, right?”

He shrugged. “I never don’t set it. That’s the only explanation that makes sense.”

“This world is full of change. As much as you want to control every aspect, you can’t all the time. Did you stop and take deep breaths?” The last time she saw Jane leaving her office popped into her mind. Could she have done anything to prevent Jane’s murder? What if she could have—

She wrenched her thoughts back to her patient across from her.

“No, I didn’t have time. I was already five minutes off schedule. I tried rushing, but that made it worse.” He kept looking at his watch as his chest rose and fell rapidly. “And now with the accident, I’m fifteen minutes behind. I feel out of control. I can’t deal with this.” Red flushed his face.

Up until recently, he’d been able to deal with small changes, thanks to a few techniques she’d helped him incorporate into his routine. What was causing this?

“Dr. Rhodes, you have got to stop me!” He held out an arm, his hand shaking.

Stop me! It was as if an arctic blast of wind swept through her office. She hugged herself to keep the trembling at bay.

Those words again! Had Charles listened to her radio show? Or was it something else?

* * *

That evening, Ian escorted Caitlyn to his SUV at her office. “Did anyone from work say anything to you about the caller on your show this morning?” He opened the front passenger door.

“The receptionist. She was on break and one of the nurses was listening to the end of my show. Creepy was their description.”

“And yours?”

“I’d have to agree with creepy. I’ve worked with people who have problems, a few barely functioning day-to-day, but there was something in the way the caller said those two words that set off alarm bells.”

“I’ve talked with Sheriff Mason, who I’m assisting on this case, and we aren’t revealing that you received a photo of the victim with the words Stop me! on it. If he’s doing this for attention, we don’t want to feed into it.”

“I agree. The press would have a field day with it. My patients could be affected by the publicity. That’s unacceptable.”

Ian stopped at a red light and glanced at her, seeing that the events of the day had left their mark on her, based on her slumped shoulders, tired eyes and furrowed forehead. He wished he could have changed the circumstances and the killer had never brought her into the middle of the murder. Why had he? The thought left a hollow sensation in Ian’s gut. “How did your afternoon sessions go?”

“Okay. My first client was later than I was, which pushed everybody back twenty minutes. Thankfully, the others after him are patient about waiting. A few of mine aren’t.”

Ian made a left turn. “I got a call from my brother’s housekeeper, Alice. She wanted me to come to the ranch. Sean hasn’t come out of his bedroom all day. When she last saw him last night, he’d been drinking. Today when she knocked on his door, he didn’t respond. When she tried to turn the knob, it was locked.” Sean’s and his relationship had grown further apart as the years had passed and totally broke down when their father died last year.

“And you want me to come?”

“Yes, but I’ll understand if you want to go to your grandmother’s house instead.”

“I’ll go see Sean. I’ve been worried about him. He’s becoming more reclusive.”

“Yeah, especially since Dad died nine months ago. It’s one of the reasons I transferred here. He hasn’t dealt well with it.”

“What are the other reasons?”

“Nana. She’s beginning to be forgetful. Sean used to check on her frequently, but now he doesn’t. When Mom died, Nana stepped in and helped raise us, while Dad ran the ranch. I was six when she died, and my grandma is really the only mother figure I had.” His mother’s riding accident had affected him, but not nearly as much as it had Sean, who’d found her in the field behind the house.

“With all that’s happened, I’d better call and let Granny know where we’re going. She knows about the photo. Have you talked to her about not saying anything about it?”

“Yes, when I went back to process your car. Nana too.”

“Good. I don’t want them connected in any way with the murder investigation.” Caitlyn dug into her purse for her cell phone.

“Speaking of the investigation, we need to consider that one of your patients could be the killer.”

She dropped her cell phone onto her lap and twisted toward him. “Because Jane was seeing me or because you think it’s one of my patients?”

“Because the guy has pulled you into this.”

“That doesn’t mean one of my patients is the murderer.”

“It doesn’t mean he isn’t. I’m concentrating my investigation on Jane. Who would want her dead? Who has she been seeing? But I have to investigate all angles. This afternoon, after talking to your neighbors—who saw no one by your car, by the way—I interviewed people where Jane worked.” Other than hearing that Jane was a wonderful, giving woman, who’d dedicated her life to running the Shephard Foundation, he’d come up with little information to help with the case.

“Believe me, I want this person caught as much as you do. I’ll go through my list of patients and see if anyone jumps out at me. How about the phone number he used to call me this morning?”

“He used Jane’s cell phone.”

Caitlyn sucked in a deep breath. “I was hoping the caller wasn’t the killer, but I guess that’s wishful thinking now.”

“Yes, since he left the photo and used her phone.”

“And was in front of Granny’s house, while I was inside.” She folded her arms over her chest.

He sliced a look toward her. “Call your grandma. Let her know we’re stopping at the ranch. Don’t tell her about the call coming from Jane’s phone. She and Nana don’t need to worry any more than they already are.”