22

Bailey leaned against the door as the doctor unwrapped the blood pressure cuff from Solana’s arm. It was almost eight—a long four hours since bringing Maria to the hospital. On top of being tired, now she had to deal with Danny’s unreasonable request. Not return to Mexico, indeed. She had a contract to fulfill.

“You are sure I need to stay here overnight?” Solana directed the question to the doctor. “I have no money and no insurance.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Bailey said. “It will be taken care of.”

“But—”

“You need the IV antibiotic.” A kind smile softened the older man’s angular face. “Whatever you and Maria ate caused a particularly nasty bug, and it can wreak havoc for a day or so. The antibiotic helps to limit the time you’re incapacitated.” He smiled at her confused look. “Sorry. The antibiotic will help you get better faster.”

Bailey turned to the doctor. “We ate at the same place, just different items on the menu, so does that mean if I’m not sick by now, I won’t be?”

“Since no one else has gotten ill, I’m pretty sure it was the hot dogs,” the doctor said. “So you’re good to go.”

After the doctor left, Solana sat up in bed. “What did he mean by that?”

“What?”

“Good to go. Are you going somewhere?”

Bailey chuckled. “No, it means I should be fine.”

Her explanation didn’t remove the puzzled look from Solana’s face. “You Americans say funny things. Where did Danny go?”

“To check on Maria, then to get us something to eat.” She winced at the shudder that crossed her friend’s body. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

“At least I kept down a few spoons of broth,” she said. “And now, I think I’ll take a little nap.”

“And I’ll check my email.”

Bailey walked softly to the small sitting area in Solana’s room and made herself comfortable in the recliner. The hospital was full, and the only room available was an end room with the attached suite.

There was a rap at the door, and Joel stuck his head around it. “Okay to visit?”

Bailey put her finger to her mouth and then waved him in. “Solana is sleeping, but I’m glad you came by. I want to give you Maria’s necklace.”

“I’m not asleep,” Solana said. “And you will not bother me.”

Joel came inside the room as Bailey rummaged in her bag. “Where’s Danny?” he asked.

“In the cafeteria. I put her necklace in this to keep it safe,” she said, pulling out a coin purse. She held it out. “Joel, are you all right? You look awful.”

His fingers shook as he took the necklace. “I have a humdinger of a headache, plus I’ve hardly slept with the roller coaster we’ve been on these last few days.”

“Do you want to sit down?”

“Maybe for a second. I thought I’d catch you at the bed-and-breakfast, but Charlie said I’d just missed you.”

“How’s your dad doing?” Bailey asked.

“I talked to Mom, and she said he was still ornery.” He gave her a wry grin. “So that means he’s doing okay.”

“Are you going to make it back in time for the surgery?”

“I’m not sure. It’ll depend on how Maria is. I talked to Angel earlier, and he said she could go home tomorrow. I want to make sure she’s okay before I go back.” He put his hands on his knees. “Look, I know you’re tired and Solana needs her rest, so I’m going.”

“Sure.”

Before she could get back to her email, Danny came in.

“Joel almost knocked me down. What was his hurry?”

“I don’t know. He was totally weird.” She frowned. “What did you bring us to eat?”

“Turkey sandwiches. It’s all they had.”

Another knock sounded at the door, and she exchanged looks with Danny. “What is this, Grand Central Station?” she muttered. “Come in.”

Ben entered the room carrying a satchel, and the look on his face was anything but friendly, although his eyes softened when he spied Solana. “How is she?”

“A little better, but how did you know we were here?”

“I called Kate, looking for Danny.”

“For?” Danny said.

Ben glanced toward the sitting room. “Let’s talk in there. I don’t want to disturb Solana.”

They sat on the couch with Ben across from them. “The slug the coroner took out of Franks is a 9mm. I’d like to do a ballistics test on your gun. I’ve already talked with Angel, and he’s given me his gun to test.”

“You surely don’t think either one of us killed him, do you?”

“I don’t think anything, Danny. I have to check everything out, and since you and Angel were possibly the last ones to see him alive, I have to check your guns.”

“Can it wait until morning? Bailey won’t leave Solana, and I’m not leaving her by herself after what happened earlier this week.”

She couldn’t believe this was happening. “Ben, you know he didn’t kill Franks.”

Ben ignored her. “Where’s your gun?”

“In my SUV,” Danny said.

The sheriff rubbed his thumb along his jaw. “Tell you what; go get your gun, and I’ll stay here with Bailey. And bring the other gun you mentioned at the house.”

Danny started to argue with him, and Bailey shook her head. “Just do it. If Ben will stay here, I’ll be fine.”

“All right. I’ll be right back.” He shot a glance toward her. “I didn’t shoot anyone.”

She squeezed his hand. “I know you didn’t, and this will settle it once and for all.”

He kissed the top of her head. “I’ll be back in five minutes.”

After he left, she folded her arms across her chest. “Ben—”

“Bailey, you know I have to do my job. Just because Danny is a friend doesn’t let me off the hook.”

“I know,” she said, her attitude softening. “I was going to check my email before you arrived.”

“Go ahead. I’ll just sit here until Danny gets back.”

She took her phone out and opened the email account. Three emails from the pastor at the church in Valle Rojo. She opened the last one first.

“No!” The room swirled as blood drained from her face. She blinked, trying to read the small print on the phone. “It can’t be.”

“What’s wrong?” He was at her side in an instant.

Bailey tried to swallow the bile that rose up in her throat. “Read the emails from Carlos Mendoza.”

He took the phone and scrolled through the emails. His eyes narrowed. “Who was Elena?”

“My best friend at the village when I first went to Mexico.” Tears scalded her eyelids. Elena couldn’t be dead. “I only read the last email. What do the others say?”

Ben hesitated. “Are you sure—”

“Yes.” Surely Father Horatio didn’t do this. But he’d beaten another woman almost to death. She sagged against the daybed. She should have discouraged Elena from going against him.

“The first email came in yesterday, and this Carlos was letting you know she was missing. Whoever took her burned her home down. He mentions a Father Horatio.”

No. “Her children . . . did he say what happened to them?”

“Not in the first email, but in the second, he said they were safe. Evidently the husband had taken them to see his parents.”

Did Elena’s husband know what was going to happen? It wouldn’t be the first time a man in that village failed to protect his wife against the priest and his cartel friends.

Ben handed her the phone back. “Do you know why she was killed?”

Images bombarded her. The swarthy priest mocking Bailey, yelling, swearing he would see her dead if she stayed in the village. “Elena told me she’d started a Bible class in the village, and Father Horatio was very upset about it.”

“Do you think he killed her over these classes?”

“He was capable of it—he put three rattlesnakes under my car seat. I think he would kill anyone who threatened his power. And he has the backing of the drug cartel.”

“What kind of priest would be in cahoots with a drug cartel?”

“He’s not a real priest, just someone who goes around calling himself one. It’s all about power with him. Not sure what his real name is, but after he gathered a following in the village, he started calling himself Father Horatio. What he teaches is a mixture of voodoo and animism with a dash of Christianity thrown in, and the drug cartel backs him because he controls the local farmers. One word from him and the farmers would quit growing marijuana and opium.”

“Is there no one who will stand up to him?”

Bailey shook her head. Even the pastor at the church where she worked feared him, not that she blamed him anymore. “I think that’s why Father Horatio thought he could scare me—no one opposed him until me and then Elena . . .”

Bailey bit her lip. She couldn’t believe Elena was dead. Not vibrant, beautiful Elena who had two babies to live for.

divider

Danny opened his SUV door and slid into the passenger side. He probably should listen to Bailey and Ian about keeping his vehicle locked. But this was Logan Point. Very few break-ins occurred unless you were in the wrong part of town, and when he was there, he locked his SUV.

He opened the glove compartment and searched without finding the gun. That would be rich—not being able to find it. Like Ben Logan would buy that.

It wasn’t that he minded letting Ben test his gun; he minded being a suspect in the first place. He thought Ben knew him better than that. The console—now he remembered he’d had the gun in his hand when Maria became ill and had put it in the console when they left for the hospital. He flipped it open and found the 9mm gun on top. The sooner it was tested, the sooner Ben could look for the real killer. Now for the other gun that he usually kept in the backseat console. Danny reached over the backseat and searched the compartment. His chest tightened. Where was the gun? He climbed out of the SUV and opened the back door, searching under the seats. No gun. Maybe it was at the office . . . except he didn’t remember taking it out of the car.

When he entered Bailey’s room, he took one look at her face and then Ben’s. Something was wrong. “What happened? Are you getting sick?”

She shook her head. “My friend Elena that I told you about. She’s been murdered.”

“What? Why?”

She pressed her hand against her mouth. “Ben read the emails, he can tell you.”

He’d almost forgotten the gun and handed it to Ben. “I’d like it back tonight.”

“I’ll return it as soon as I do the test. Where’s the other gun you mentioned?” Ben asked as he put the Glock in a paper bag and placed it in the satchel he’d brought in.

“I’m not sure. It’s either at the office or my cabin. I’ll have Ian bring it to you in the morning.”

“I need it tonight.”

Danny ground his teeth. “And I’m not leaving Bailey unless you arrest me. You’ll have it tomorrow.” He returned Ben’s steady gaze.

The sheriff gave him a curt nod. “First thing in the morning, then.” Ben sighed. “I hope you know I’m just doing my job. If I don’t check out every lead, even when it involves someone I like, the townsfolk will think I’m playing favorites.”

“I understand. Now, who were the emails from and what was in them?”

“They were from Bailey’s pastor at the church where she worked in Mexico. The first one was to let her know that her friend Elena had disappeared. The last one said she’d been found dead.”

“No.” He took Bailey’s hand. “I’m sorry.”

“I should have talked her out of going against Father Horatio. She might still be alive if I had.”

“Do you think this Father Horatio killed her?”

“I don’t know who else to suspect, but it’s not something he’d do himself—he had the cartel for that.” She pressed her hands into the side of her head. “Elena was trying to be brave and do what she thought God wanted her to do. And now she’s dead.”

Danny didn’t know how to respond. He tried to think what Kate would say. “Bad things are always going to happen, Bailey. At least she died doing what she believed in.” A thought sent a shiver down his back. “Do you think this priest could be responsible for what happened to you and Maria in Mexico? You said you saw him at the restaurant that day.”

“I thought so at first, but if that was the case, why was Joel kidnapped?”

An alert sounded on Ben’s phone, and he glanced at it. “Excuse me a minute.” He read the text and looked up. “It’s Sergeant Chavez. He’s here at the hospital, just left Angel’s room. Do you mind if he stops by here?”

Danny glanced at Bailey’s pale face and said, “Can’t you two talk somewhere else?”

“He might be able to get more information on her friend’s death,” Ben said.

“Then let him come,” Bailey said.

Ben texted him and received an answer right away. “He’ll be here in a minute.”

Danny sat on the armrest of the couch next to Bailey. He felt they were missing something. “If—” He stopped as Sergeant Chavez entered the room.

Chavez nodded. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I need a word with Sheriff Logan.”

“And we need your help,” Bailey said.

Danny studied the Mexican policeman as he shifted his gaze from Ben to Bailey. The man had an agenda, and Danny wasn’t sure he trusted him.

“What do you need my help for?”

“Bailey just received word that a friend was murdered in a village in Mexico,” Danny said.

“Why was she murdered, and where is the village?”

“It’s in the mountains two hours from Chihuahua—Valle Rojo.” In a soft voice, Bailey explained what happened.

When she finished, Chavez tilted his head toward her. “Father Horatio,” he said slowly. “He’s been on our radar for a while now, but he’s pretty well untouchable. And you think he killed her?”

“Or his friends in the Calatrava.”

“You could be right—the man has no conscience.” Chavez took out a small notebook. “Give me a couple of hours in the morning, and I’ll see if there’s anything new on him.”

“Thank you.” She leaned back against the couch.

Solana coughed. Bailey jumped up to check on her, and Danny followed.

“I’m thirsty,” Solana whispered.

He poured a glass of water and handed it to Bailey. “You two need rest.” He glanced at the other two men. “We need to clear out.”

They agreed, and Danny followed them out into the hall. “Can you post a deputy here at the hospital? This priest has a vendetta against Bailey and he has cartel connections, so he’s looking pretty good for the kidnapping attempt in Mexico. And if he’ll kill someone in his village, he won’t have second thoughts of tracking Bailey to Logan Point and killing her.”

“Let me check. I’m stretched thin with two deputies out with the flu, but I know I can talk to the head of security in the hospital and have them move a guard to this floor.”

That wasn’t enough. It looked as though Danny would have to stand guard. “Do me a favor and get my gun back to me . . . or leave it now and test it in the morning. I don’t want Bailey unprotected.”

“I’ll have it back to you in the morning before you leave.” Ben chewed the inside of his cheek. “And I’ll check with Wade, see if he’ll give up his date tonight to sit outside the door.”

He could tell by the muscle twitching in the sheriff’s cheek, he wasn’t changing his mind about the gun. Danny just hoped he wouldn’t need it before they left the hospital.