Joanna Wayne - Point Blank Protector

Aidan smiled and planted a kiss on Lenora’s cheek. “Hope I’m not intruding. I can wait in the living room until you’ve finished your meal.”

“Nonsense,” Lenora answered quickly. “Not only do you have to eat, you have to tell me how delicious everything is.”

“Several times,” Zach said. “Those who fail to praise excessively never get invited back.”

Aidan grinned. “I’m sure I’ll love every bite.”

Lenora pushed away from the table. “I’ll get another plate.”

“Keep your seat, Mom,” Langston said. “I’m already up.”

Melvin tousled the boys’ hair and waved to the rest of the family, then grabbed another chair and slid it next to Jaime’s.

“Did you two come out together?” Bart asked.

“No,” Aidan said. “We just happened to turn in your gate at the same time.”

Aidan gave no indication that this was anything other than a chance visit, but Lenora doubted that to be the case. He and Langston were the best of friends and had been for years, but the busy Houston homicide detective seldom showed up unannounced.

Whatever Aidan’s reason for coming, he managed to join in the jocular mood of the group as the food disappeared. Melvin kept the conversation interesting by sharing some of the more fascinating accounts of his recent trip. Her granddaughter Gina added excitement when she described her winning performance in the barrel-racing competition at the local rodeo the night before. Fortunately, Lenora had been there to see the feat firsthand.

Thankfully, no one brought up Kali or Louisa Kellogg during the meal. Nonetheless, the situation monopolized Lenora’s thoughts. She was almost certain that Aidan had come to talk to them about a development in the murder case and that the news would not be good.

Chapter Three

As soon as the meal was finished, Zach grabbed a cup of coffee and followed Aidan and Langston out to the screened porch that served as a family room much of the year. It was protected from the wind and most winter days that was enough to leave it comfortable.

Today it was downright chilly, but if Aidan had any news about Louisa Kellogg, Zach wanted to hear it firsthand. Thoughts of the homicide had lingered in his mind long after he should have been asleep last night.

“I guess you heard about the murder we had at the Silver Spurs Ranch,” Zach said even before Aidan had settled in one of the wooden rockers.

“Yeah. Actually, that’s why I’m out this way. I’m going to team up with your local sheriff’s department on the investigation.”

“Is that standard procedure when the victim’s from your jurisdiction?”

“How did you learn the victim was from Houston? The identification of the body is barely official.”

Zach perched on the arm of the sofa. “Ed Guerra called late last night and said the body had been identified as Louisa Kellogg and that she was a student at the University of Houston.”

“That’s accurate. She was a sophomore communications major,” Aidan said. “Her parents live in Arizona. They’re on their way to Texas now. She was an only child, so I suspect this is going to go down hard with them.”

“It would kill me if something like that happened to Gina,” Langston said.

Zach was still trying to get a handle on the details. “The Silver Spurs is a long way from Houston. How did Louisa and her killer end up out here?”

“That’s one of the unanswered questions. She left the local coffee shop where she worked just after ten o’clock Friday night. That only leaves about two hours between the time she was last seen and the time Kali found the body.”

“Did you get the case with the luck of the draw?” Zach asked.

“No. It’s possible her murder might be connected to an ongoing case I’ve been working on.”

“Another murder?” Langston asked.

“Not confirmed. Sue Ann Griffin disappeared approximately five months ago from the same area. She hasn’t been seen or heard from since.”

“And you think the man who killed Louisa Kellogg might have killed the Griffin woman, as well,” Zach said.

“It’s just a possibility at this point, but that’s why I asked to be in on this investigation. I spent a couple of hours with Ed Guerra getting his take on what he found at the Silver Spurs Friday night. Now I plan to make a call on Kali Cooper and see if she’ll let me look around.”

“Do you think Ed’s team missed something?” Langston asked. “They may not be up to Houston standards, but they have one of the most respected Criminal Investigations Divisions in the state.”

“It sounds as if they covered all the bases, but I get a better feel for a case when I’ve visited the crime scene myself. Naturally, I would have liked to be there the night Kali found the body, but this will have to do.”

Zach sipped his coffee. “Are you looking for anything in particular at the Silver Spurs?”

“No, but I’m hoping it will hit me if I find it. With luck we’ll have fingerprints and DNA on this one. If not, this could be a long, drawn-out process.”

“It seems odd that the killer brought his victim all the way out here just to shoot her inside the front door of a deserted ranch house,” Zach said. “He could have just dumped her in the woods.”

“That’s what puzzles me the most,” Aidan admitted. “The only thing I can figure at this point is that he chose that particular spot because he knew the ranch was deserted.”

Zach didn’t buy it. “That’s still a long way to drive to put a couple of bullets in a woman’s head.”

“He likely intended to do more than kill her. There were no signs of sexual or physical abuse, but that could be because he was interrupted.”

“By Kali’s arrival,” Zach said.

“It’s all speculation.”

“If the killer knew the place was deserted, he must have ties to this area.” Langston said. “He could be someone we know.”

That was a possibility Zach had already considered, yet it ground in his stomach all the same. “Mind if I tag along when you go to the Silver Spurs?” he asked, surprising himself with the request.

“Any particular reason?”

“I made a neighborly call on Kali Cooper yesterday at Mother’s insistence, just to make sure she was all right. She’s jumpy and running on nerves. At least, that was my take. She might be more comfortable with having you look around if you show up with someone she knows.”

Aidan smiled for the first time since they’d started talking about the murder. “That wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that she’s a very attractive woman now, would it?”

“Who said she’s attractive?”

“Ed Guerra. He may be old and married, but he’s not dead.”

“Kali’s looks have nothing to do with my offer,” Zach said, stretching the truth a little. “I’m just trying to help.”

“In that case, come along. You might just stumble onto the definitive clue.”

Doubtful, and Zach had planned on driving into Houston this afternoon to attend a special showing of a new lady friend’s work at one of the local galleries— a very beautiful and available lady friend. So why had he just volunteered to go to the Silver Spurs to visit a woman who had thrown him out yesterday?

He let the question ride, mainly because he had no idea how to answer it.

KALI’S MUSCLES tightened and she jerked to attention at the sound of the approaching vehicle. Sheriff Ed Guerra had alerted her that a Houston homicide detective named Aidan Jefferies who was assisting with the case would be paying her a visit. She assumed this was him, but ran for the shotgun anyway.

She was taking no chances. Not that she’d ever fired a shotgun before or even knew for certain this one was loaded correctly. She’d bought it at a pawn shop in Atlanta because one of her friends had convinced her she couldn’t live on a ranch without a gun.