Rebecca Winters - A Bride By Summer - The Texas Ranger's Bride / From Best Friend to Bride / Once Upon a Bride

Vic darted him a glance before he scrolled down. “Take a look at this rap sheet.”

Lines marred Cy’s features as he found himself looking at what appeared to be the exact same man. This one had longer hair.

Andrew Dunham, aliases Denny Andrew, Andy Dunham, Drew Denning, Donny, twenty-eight, latest known address in New Orleans, Louisiana, is wanted for First-Degree Murder in the stalking and strangulation death of a twenty-three-year-old woman in Charleston, South Carolina, thirteen months ago. Charges include Aggravated Kidnapping, Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution, Aggravated Sexual Assault.

Cy shook his head. “It’s amazing how closely these two men resemble the sketch. There has to be a mistake since both pictures have to be the same person. Three murders in three years. Kellie needs to see these pictures. If he’s the same man and the one she can identify... Let’s get on the phone to the agents working those cases while we figure this out.”

Over the next two hours they held phone conferences with the FBI agents from Illinois, Tennessee and South Carolina. In all three instances, the agents praised the Rangers for their detective work on Kellie’s case and pledged their help.

After Cy’s last call, he waited until Vic got off the phone. “I’ve sent both sets of fingerprints to Stan to verify if it’s the same man. They say every person has a double somewhere in the world.”

“I wonder if that’s really true,” Vic murmured.

“Who knows? I need to learn as much as I can before I show Kellie these photos. Even though the artist was able to find us a match, maybe he only bears a superficial resemblance to the man she saw.” He printed out both photos. After folding them, he put them in his pocket. “Want to go down to the lab with me?”

Vic jumped up. “Try to keep me away.”

When they entered the lab, Stan told them to come around to the table where he was working. They passed Rafe’s office. He looked up. “I’m working on this voice analysis. Give me until tomorrow.”

“Sure.”

They moved toward Stan.

“You got some good prints lifted from the condo and the car,” he said. “Several belong to the victim, and several others belong to the mother. One partial print you lifted from one of the buttons of the keypad for the garage doesn’t match anyone’s.”

Cy eyed Vic. “That’s interesting. Maybe we’ll find the person who left it. Right now we’ve got a new puzzle for you to solve. I just sent you the photos and fingerprints of two wanted fugitives who appear to be the same man from the IAFIS data base. But if they’re the same man, why didn’t the computer pick it up?”

“Let me see.” Stan pulled up the information on the computer.

“Their cases have been built from two different areas of the country with different names. Their photos closely match Jim’s sketch of the man stalking Kellie. How long will it take you to determine if both pictures are of the same man?”

“Give me a few minutes and I’ll check right now.” He put both sets of prints up on the screen and used his loupe and counter. He examined them for a while, and then his head came up. “Well, what do you know? Those men aren’t the same person. This is a case of identical twins, but as you know there’s no such thing as identical fingerprints.”

Cy sucked in his breath. “That means both brothers are killers.”

Vic looked equally stunned.

“It happens,” Stan murmured. “Come close and I’ll show you.” He pointed to the subtle differences. “Fingerprints are not entirely a genetic characteristic. They are a part of a ‘phenotype,’ which means they are determined by the interaction of an individual’s genes and the intrauterine environment. One fetus in the womb has different hormonal levels, nutrition, blood pressure, position and growth rate of the fingers at the end of the first trimester.

“Minor differences in fingerprints arise from random local events during fetal development. The genes determine the general characteristics of the patterns of fingerprints. However, inside the uterus, finger tissue comes in contact with the amniotic fluid, other parts of the fetus and the uterus.

“Some experts point out, for example, that touching amniotic fluid during the six to thirteen weeks of pregnancy significantly changes the patterns of a fetus’s fingerprints.

“Overall, identical twins’ fingerprints tend to be similar, but there always will be subtle differences making even their fingerprints unique. That’s why there was no match.”

Cy unconsciously furrowed his hair with his fingers. He felt the same as years ago when his chest had been stomped on by a bull. “If one of these twin brothers was the man who’d targeted Kellie, how am I going to tell her there are two of them? Hell, Vic. What if they work together and committed all three murders?”

“Maybe that’s why the letter in her mailbox had been posted by the one brother here in Austin four days ago while the other brother trailed her all the way home from Oregon.”

He eyed Vic. “The murders of the three women were committed a year apart at different places, making it possible that they’d worked in tandem.” Cy’s body broke out in a cold sweat.

Vic clapped his shoulder. “Take it easy. I know where your thoughts are headed, but it’s too early in the process to go there. Like you said, maybe she’ll say these photos don’t look enough like the man who harassed her in Pendleton to make a definite identification. We know mug shots as well as sketches can be deceiving.”

“Yeah. I know,” he said in a wooden voice. He turned to Stan. “Do you think that partial print from her condo is substantial enough for you to detect if it matches one of these fingerprints?”

“That will take some time. I’ll see what I can do with it.”

“Thanks, Stan. Give me a ring no matter what you find. I’ll be up in my office for a while longer.”

“I’ll go with you.” Vic walked out of the lab with him.

In the space of a few minutes, Cy felt the full weight of this case to protect Kellie. During his career as a Ranger, he’d never been personally involved like this before. As the captain had warned him, this was a different kind of case for Cy. You two will be walking a very thin line.

Cy had no idea he could feel this gutted over the gravity of her situation. He couldn’t think of her as just any woman who needed help. His feelings were more complicated than that, but he had an obligation to keep this situation straightforward. Yes, he was attracted to her and admired her great talent, but he couldn’t allow that to interfere with his judgment and work ethic. When they reached his office, Vic looked at him and said, “Go home, Cy. You haven’t slept for twenty-four hours and won’t be any good on this case without sleep.”

“You’re right. I’ll leave now.” He glanced at his watch. It was one thirty. “Kellie will be coming home this evening. I want to be there when she drives in. Thanks for everything, Vic.”

“Hey—just doing my job.”

“You do a lot more than that, and now I’ve got another favor to ask.”

“Anything.”

“Pick up her phone from Stan when he’s done with it. I’ll get it from you later.”

“What’s your next move?”

“If Kellie identifies this man as the one who approached her, I’m going to fly to Colorado Springs early in the morning and take her with me. She said she gave her cell-phone number to a friend of hers who works in the office of the Women’s Pro Rodeo Association. The stalker had to get her cell phone number from someone.

“I checked out her friends and horse handler while we were at the town house yesterday. They haven’t given her phone number to anyone, so I’m going to check out a hunch. We’ll be back by evening at the latest. Keep a close eye on her place while we’re gone.”