Justice Undercover Page 5

  “No. Wait up.” She heard him sigh. When he turned, she continued, “I’m going with you.”

  “No way. You’ll be safer with my folks. I need you to help with the twins. And Tommy has nothing to do with you.”

  “Luke Dryden, your parents are perfectly capable at tending to the kids, especially since your dad used to be in law enforcement. You might not believe this, but I may be of more assistance than you realize. I’ve read about your sister’s case. I’d like to help.”

  “Reading about a case doesn’t mean you’re in the know. I can’t take an innocent civilian along.”

  “Seriously? I fought off a kidnapper, witnessed him being shot and then survived someone burning my trailer all without you by my side. I can’t possibly be in any more danger riding along than being at the house. If your sister’s husband has anything to do with these attacks, I have a right to know.”

  Luke glanced at the clock on the wall and then scrutinized her, his eyes taking her in. She couldn’t tell what his conclusions were where she was concerned, but he finally said, “All right.”

  The two words sounded more like an ultimatum.

  She hurried to climb into the truck. They had no more pulled out of the gate before she asked, “What did you learn about Tommy?”

  He stared straight ahead. “Don’t you think it’s you who needs to be the one explaining? What do you know about my sister’s death?”

  Time to come clean, at least partly, with what she knew about Megan. “I know she was found in a quarry. The authorities ruled her death an accident, but it didn’t make sense she would be out there by herself. Her husband had been gone for two months before her death and no one seems to know where he is. His disappearance throws up a major red flag. Sounds like he may also be dead.”

  Luke worked his jaw as he turned onto the main highway. “You listening to gossip or did my mother tell you this?”

  “Oh, no, your parents haven’t said anything.”

  “Last night was the first time you’ve met them? Or have they been to my house?” His hand gripped the steering wheel. “It’s important you’re honest with me.”

  Honest. She’d come to hate that word. How can you be undercover and honest at the same time? “Your parents have never been to your house while I’ve been there. I didn’t meet them until last night. Neither your mom nor dad have said anything about your sister last night or any other time. That’s the truth.”

  He released a breath, his grip relaxing.

  “I don’t know what is going on with your family, but I assure you, I haven’t been talking with your folks. Can you tell me what’s going on?” Okay, guilt hovered. Here she was, asking him to be open, but she still hadn’t come clean with him. She had to be certain he wouldn’t blow her cover, and that Hal was really the one behind the attacks. Once she revealed her identity, there was no taking it back. Seth Wheeler, her boss at the US Marshals Service, used to say, “You’re the only one you can trust to keep a secret. Once you share information, it’s all out of your hands.” Specifically, he was referring to those in WITSEC, but it was true for rogue undercover agents, too.

  Luke glanced her way for a second, then turned his attention back to the road. “A call came into the Rocky Creek PD. A neighbor reported seeing someone going in and out of Tommy and Megan’s house. Their property is in probate until it’s determined whether Tommy will return to claim the place. No one has been in the house for weeks, and it caught the attention of the neighbor, Mrs. Bryant.”

  Kylie glanced at him out the corner of her eye. Lines were etched across his forehead. When she had first read of Megan’s death, she believed there might be a connection to Hal Alcott because he’s been known to hurt family members to pressure people to do what he wanted. Lori Coffey’s husband had worked for Hal, and he’d shared with Lori their illegal activities. The husband had even told many of the names of the men involved.

  Tommy Doane was on that list.

  Since Tommy had disappeared, it only made sense he may have crossed Hal.

  Kylie had hoped to learn of the connection Tommy had to Hal, but after working for Luke for two months, she still hadn’t found anything, from either the tight-lipped Ranger or paperwork in his house. She knew it had been a long shot but had still hoped.

  They drove to the west side of town to a newer neighborhood. The two-story brick and stone houses had well-manicured lawns with plenty of flowers, bringing out the pretty Texas colors. Bricked mailboxes lined the concrete road. A tanned, athletic lady jogged on the sidewalk pushing a stroller, earbuds dangling onto her shoulders.

  Kylie had driven by this house numerous times in the past few months. She had never been inside even though she was confident in her ability to pick locks. She didn’t need some neighbor to call in a suspicious person and then take the chance of the police showing up and recognizing her.

  Keeping her identity secret ruled her life.

  Luke pulled his truck to a cul-de-sac and into the drive of the beautiful stone home trimmed in cedar.

  “Nice house.”

  He glanced at her but didn’t comment as he grabbed his hat.

  “What kind of vehicle does Tommy drive?”

  “The last we heard it was a red Corvette Z06 convertible, but there’s nothing to say he hasn’t switched vehicles. He loves his cars.”

  Whew. Definitely out of her price range. She grabbed the handle to open her door.

  “You coming in?” he asked, as if he disagreed with her decision.

  “Sure am. I didn’t ride all this way to sit in the truck. I may notice something in the house you don’t.”

  “I’m not planning on staying long. I’ve searched the house numerous times. I want to see if anyone’s been here.”

  “Good. Then it shouldn’t be a problem if I join you.” She followed him up the concrete drive and watched while he punched in the code to the garage door. They waited as it rolled up, but then found the garage empty. “Where’s Megan’s car?”

  His eyes narrowed. “It’s in my parents’ barn.”

  Okay. No need to expound on that. Kylie remembered when they lost her dad almost seven years ago. It had taken three years before her mom would even go through his clothes. Many of Dad’s things were still in his shop, or in her parents’ bedroom, waiting for him like he could walk through the door at any moment. Kylie tried not to think that her family had probably gone through the same thing with her “death.”

  They entered the house through a sort of mudroom-laundry room. The area was almost as big as her entire camper. Next was the kitchen, with a huge island and granite countertops. One of those large commercial freezer-refrigerator combinations almost took up a whole wall.

  While Luke disappeared to the back of the house, Kylie opened the trash compactor. No trash, not even a bag. She checked the refrigerator and found normal staple items such as jelly, sauces and butter. No milk or anything that would spoil. From the looks of the kitchen, no one had prepared or eaten food there since Megan’s death. If they had, they must have taken out the trash with them.

  Luke walked back into the room. “There’s no sign anyone has been here.”

  Kylie did another quick survey of the kitchen. Keys hung by the door. Everything was clean, almost giving the impression that a housekeeper had been there. No visible dust. “Did Megan use any kind of cleaning service?”

  Luke thought for a moment. “I think so. I remember Tommy complaining that even with a maid, Megan still struggled to keep the house picked up.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure she did with twins. There’s no trash in here. You think we should check the outside receptacle?”

  “Good idea. Be right back.”

  As soon as Luke shut the door, Kylie went to the master bedroom and peered in the nightstand. Nothing but a couple of FBI thriller books and things like toenail clippers and hand
lotion. No weapons or mysterious notes. One could always hope. The dresser drawers contained nothing helpful. All but two of the ten drawers appeared to belong to Megan, and the other two held men’s underwear and socks all lined in perfect rows. Did Megan fold her husband’s clothes or was he so tidy he did his own laundry?

  Not that it mattered—Kylie’s brothers couldn’t care less about things like that.

  “Find anything?”

  She jumped at Luke’s voice. “No. Just trying to get a feel for who your sister and brother-in-law were.”

  Luke’s brown eyes dimmed. “Did you learn anything?”

  She shut the drawers. “Not really. Was Tommy a neat fanatic?”

  “I suppose.” He shrugged. “He complained about everything. Megan was never good enough.”

  “I’m sorry. That must’ve been hard for a big brother.”

  “There was nothing in the trash bins. No evidence of a break-in or anyone being here. If someone came in, he or she took what they wanted and left.”

  Kylie noticed he didn’t respond to the big-brother comment. Her heart went out to him. No doubt guilt for losing someone he wanted to protect was one thing Luke and she had in common.

  When they walked back through the living room, a collage of photos on a table caught her eye. There were several of the twins, including a couple with Megan. Kylie had already searched online for the news report of Megan’s death and on social-media pages. When Kylie searched the internet, she’d learned Megan was on Facebook and Instagram. Again, no pictures of Tommy, and he wasn’t on social media. “No pictures of Tommy?”

  Luke came and looked over her shoulder. “I never paid much attention. I do think she had their wedding photos at one time. She had a sixteen-by-twenty photo of her in her gown above the mantel.”

  A copper-and-pewter star wall decoration stood above the cedar mantel now.

  “Is there a picture missing from here?” Kylie pointed to the wall. Four pictures but something seemed off. And by looking around, everything, including decorations, seemed planned out.

  “Maybe.”

  “Would Tommy have taken it?”

  “Or maybe it fell and broke, and Megan never had time to replace it.”

  “True.” She nodded.

  “I’ve seen enough.” Luke headed for the door, his expression grim.

  Kylie’s throat ached. She couldn’t imagine losing one of her siblings to murder. “I’d like to look at the kids’ room if that’s okay.”

  He stopped his progression to the door and sighed. “I don’t know what you’re hoping to find, but it’s fine by me.”

  She knew walking through his sister’s home, where she’d lived with her two babies, must be painful for him. But at least he hadn’t argued. Some people were contrary for the sake of being contrary. Luke wasn’t like that, and she was relieved. At the back of the house, she found the room decorated in giraffes and monkeys. Two cribs were against the wall. A baby monitor sat on the dresser. A zoo-cage toy box overflowed with toys, some spilling onto the floor. Again, it was as if no one had picked up or moved a thing since Megan’s death.

  “Luke.” She looked at him as he stood in the doorway. “You have two cribs at your house—why didn’t you take the ones from here?”

  “I didn’t know if Tommy would come back to his house.”

  “Do you think he will?”

  “No. Even if he did, I’d probably fight him for the kids. Child abandonment.”

  She figured as much. The Drydens seemed like a protective family. “You think Tommy’s dead?”

  He nodded. “At first, I thought he’d left my sister because they weren’t getting along. But why be gone so long? He should’ve returned for his things. The house. The kids. He may have been a jerk to Megan, but I think he’d come back for the twins.”

  Kylie could see that. And this house was too expensive to let it sit unless they owed more than what the home was worth. She could ask Luke more about that later. He’d been open with her, but she didn’t want to push it too far.

  The closet door stood open, and she peeked in. Toys filled the shelves and clothes hung on racks, with more folded in tubs along the floor. She could imagine how many clothes two kids could go through before the age of two. On the top shelf sat a large LEGO container with the lid askew. She reached for it. Empty. “Where are the LEGO pieces?”

  He walked up behind her. “I don’t know.”

  “That’s weird.” She looked around, picked up the lids on the tubs and looked in the toy box. These weren’t the mega size blocks, but the small ones made for older kids. “Just an empty box.”

  “Maybe Megan put them in the attic or something. If I remember correctly, those plastic pieces can wreak havoc if stepped on barefoot.”

  She shot him a smile. “You’re probably right.”

  He glanced at his phone. “We really need to go.”

  She shoved the empty LEGO container back onto the shelf and followed him out the door. While he locked up, she climbed back into the truck. She couldn’t help but feel something was off. The neighbor had seen someone, but the house didn’t show any signs of being broken into. Her mind kept going back to the empty container.

  Of course, it may’ve been as simple as Luke suggested—that Megan put them somewhere else.

  Up the street, a black, jacked-up truck with tinted windows was parked at the curb. The glare was too dark to see inside.

  Luke got in and shut the door.

  “Do you think the neighbor was mistaken?”

  He scrubbed his hand over his face. “I really don’t know. Mrs. Bryant lives in the house to the right of Megan’s, and she has a great view.”

  “You could have the house checked for fingerprints.”

  “The Texas Rangers are working Megan’s case. They’ll look into it.” He put the truck in Reverse and backed out of the drive.

  Should she drop the subject? She didn’t want to press Luke too hard, but she wanted him to check out Hal more thoroughly. “Tommy worked as a real-estate agent. What was dangerous about that job?”

  “Why so many questions?”

  As they passed the black truck, Kylie noted a man inside. She turned her attention back to Luke. “I want to help. Don’t you think it’s strange that Tommy worked for Hal Alcott and Hal was involved in that—”

  Luke slammed on the brakes, and Kylie slid forward from the jolt. “What are you doing? Spying on my family? What are you, a nanny who blogs about murders in her spare time?”

  Pop. Pop.

  The back window of his truck exploded, tiny shards of glass showering them.

  A scream escaped her lips as she dove down in the seat. Instinctively, her hand grasped for her gun at her ankle, but the Glock and the holster weren’t there. Her fists tightened. Her weapon was in her Jeep where she put it after the fire because there was no place to conceal it wearing jogging shorts. How was she supposed to bring down this guy or defend herself? She clung to the leather seat, her mind whirling with how to help Luke without giving away her cover.

  FIVE

  Luke hit the accelerator and shouted, “You hurt?”

  “No.” Kylie stayed low in the seat as she peeked over the dashboard. “Maybe a nick or two, but mainly the shots startled me.”

  A glance in his rearview mirror showed the black pickup truck was on his bumper, the roar of his engine deafening with no back glass.

  Luke pushed his speed to the max as they flew down the residential street, and he fought the urge to go faster. Being summer, kids were out of school and people were busy outside.

  “Watch out,” Kylie warned.

  A small car puttered in front of him. He swung to the right, narrowly missing a parked convertible, and was forced onto the sidewalk. Another parked car loomed in front of them. He clenched his teeth as he swung back onto the road ju
st in time to miss the car.

  Pop. Pop. Pop.

  A bullet hit the dash above the radio.

  “Keep your head down!”

  A male jogger darted out of the way, knocking over trash cans, and yelled something at them as they passed.

  The pursuing truck had slowed to get around the car, but then resumed its speed.

  They had to get out of the residential neighborhood. The road was divided with a grassy median, and Luke floored the gas pedal to get around a delivery truck. Small trees decorated the median, and he plowed over them and his vehicle kicked up mud behind them.

  “You’ve got to get out of here, Luke. Too many houses. You’re going to hurt somebody.”

  A rock side road appeared ahead between two houses on corner lots. He took the turn at a fast speed, his tires hitting the edge of the ditch with a jolt, but he kept the pedal pressed down and managed to stay on the road.

  Kylie sat up taller and looked behind her.

  “I said to keep your head down.” He maneuvered his truck back into the middle of the road and handed his cell phone to her. “Call O’Neill. He’s on speed dial. Put it on speaker.”

  She did as he asked.

  “Ranger O’Neill,” Jax said.

  “Shots fired at us. Being pursued by a black Chevrolet four-door pickup.” He gave their location and the direction they were headed. “Need backup.”

  “On my way. Keep me informed.”

  Kylie sunk down but stayed where she could see out. This was his fault. Luke never should have brought the nanny into this mess. She was an innocent victim. He should have sent her out of town after her camper burned, or at least left her at his parents.

  White dust kicked up behind them, creating a huge white cloud that limited his view of the pursuing black truck. He knew it still had to be back there. The houses were spaced farther apart and set back from the road as he sped out of town.

  Kylie said, “Watch out.”

  A yellow coupe pulled out in front of him. His truck bore down on the tiny vehicle. If he didn’t want to get rammed from behind, he didn’t have a choice but to go around. The narrow road didn’t leave room. Slowing down a bit, he careened into the ditch on the right. Mud and grass flew into the air. He held on tight to the jerking steering wheel. A teenage girl in the car gawked at him as they passed her.