Caitlyn stared at the wall clock in the studio, the seconds slowly ticking by. Only five more minutes left of the show. Hadn’t she done this yesterday, and the call after the final commercial had been the killer?
Through the glass, Melanie held up her fingers and counted to three.
Caitlyn leaned toward the mic and said, “I have time for one more caller.” The panel lit up, and she reached for the button to punch, her hand trembling. “This is Caitlyn. You’re on the air.”
Silence.
Her heart pounded, and her palms were sweaty. She started to hang up, relieved she didn’t have to talk to the killer, but before she could, a female voice said, “I never thought I would get through.”
“Can I help you with anything?” Caitlyn relaxed in her chair.
“My boyfriend has been calling my best friend. What should I do?”
“Have you asked him why he’s doing that or talked to your best friend?”
“Well, no. He’d know I was checking his phone.”
“Why were you checking his phone?” Caitlyn’s gaze latched on to Ian standing behind Melanie. His presence reassured her she would be safe.
“I... I don’t trust him.”
“Why is that?”
“Well...” The female guest caller sighed. “He’s so popular and cute. I don’t understand why he’s dating me.”
“Ask him. For a relationship to work, honesty between the partners and open communication are essential. You might ask him why he’s dating you and let me know how your talk goes. You can either call back or email me.” Caitlyn gave out her contact information she used for her show, then said the spiel for the end of the program.
She sat staring at the call board, a few lighting up, but when the hour was over, anyone trying to talk to her heard a canned reply about calling back another day. Had her last guest kept the killer from getting through? After seeing Kelli’s bedroom and the mirror over the dresser, she was glad that he didn’t call in or was too late.
Ian opened the door to the booth. “Ready? We need to meet with the Shephards before you go to your office.”
“I only have two patients today, since Kelli...” She couldn’t say the words.
“I’ll be picking you up. If she showed up, that would be the best news, and I would gladly find something to keep me occupied while y’all talk.”
“But that’s not going to happen, is it?” Caitlyn gathered up her purse and briefcase, her shoulders drooping at the thought.
“No. Someone fought with her and took her from her house, using her car. The police statewide and in bordering states are looking for both her vehicle and Jane’s.”
“They could be hundreds of miles away by now.”
“One of them will turn up unless he’s not a lone operator.” He opened the door into the hallway and waited for her to exit first.
“No, there’s just one. His notes indicate that. It’s a cry for help or a game to him.”
As they left the building, Ian clasped her free hand. “The news about Kelli hasn’t been released to the press yet. But it won’t be long before it is. The sheriff has received a lot of calls about what was going on at your house and then at Kelli’s. Tom has set up a press conference for later. I asked Allison not to say anything to anyone for the time being.”
“We need the public’s help on finding this killer. Maybe someone saw something and didn’t know the seriousness of what’s happening.” Caitlyn didn’t want him to release her hand, but they had a lot to do today. She let go and slid into the front seat of his SUV, the warmth of his palm against hers lingering.
“I hope someone has and will come forward.” As he made his way to the other side of the car, he answered a call.
Caitlyn couldn’t tell what was being said, but whatever it was had to be tied to the case because his forehead creased and his professional persona fell into place as he placed a call, then shoved his cell phone in his pocket.
When he settled behind the steering wheel, she asked, “What’s wrong?”
“A car was set on fire at the Shephards’ ranch in the middle of a cornfield. That was Senator Shephard. It’s southeast of the house, next to my family’s property.”
Caitlyn bent forward and looked in that direction. “I see dark plumes of smoke in the sky. Is it Jane’s car?”
“He’s not sure. They’re trying to contain the fire before it spreads. I’m going to drop you at your office and have an officer stay with you.”
“But what about me talking to the Shephards?”
“The senator mentioned doing it later.”
“Let me know if it’s Jane’s car.”
“I will, and I’ll pick you up later this afternoon.” He started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot by the radio station. “Officer Collins should be at your office by the time we arrive.”
“Blake Collins?”
“Yes. Do you know him?”
“I’ve run into him from time to time.” Should she tell Ian that she counseled his mother? Did Blake even know she did? Thankfully, Ada Collins wasn’t one of her patients today.
“He’ll be outside your office door in case there’s a problem.”
“That’s fine.”
Not fifteen minutes later, Caitlyn arrived at the clinic with a lunch she had grabbed at a fast-food restaurant. As she and Ian entered the building, Officer Collins approached them in the waiting room. Did he know that his father abused his mother? Lately, it had gotten worse. Ada was very good at hiding her injuries, and her son didn’t live with them anymore. He had recently married a nurse who worked at the medical center nearby.
Caitlyn entered her personal office, while Ian told the younger policeman his duties. Before Ian left, he swung her door open and popped his head through the gap.
“See you in a few hours. Maybe I’ll have good news for you by then, but in the meantime you’re surrounded by people you work with and know.”
One of the things that bothered her the most was she might know the killer. She was beginning to look at the people around her in a different light. And that wasn’t good if she was going to help others.
After he left, she quickly ate her sandwich and washed it down with a cup of iced tea. She only had a couple of minutes before her first afternoon patient, Missy Quinn, arrived. She hadn’t been seeing her for long, but Missy suffered from depression, and presented as though she’d given up on life. Caitlyn suspected it was due to a trauma in her past she hadn’t dealt with. She understood.
She greeted her client at the door and shook her hand. When she’d first come to therapy five months ago, Missy wouldn’t touch anyone, even to shake hands. Caitlyn had visited Missy once at her home and saw evidence that she was married. Was her husband the cause of her fear and paranoia?
“How are you doing?” Caitlyn gestured for Missy to take her usual seat.
“I almost didn’t come.”
“Why?”
“Jane Shephard was killed yesterday.”
“Were y’all friends?”
“No. Was she raped?”
“I don’t know. Why do you want to know?”
Shrugging, Missy lowered her head and wrung her hands in her lap. “She didn’t live too far from me. Scary.”
How would Missy react when she discovered there was another murder and Kelli lived a street over from her?
* * *
Ian stood next to Jack Shephard and the sheriff, and they waited until the fire department had extinguished the fire before they approached the Lexus. “Is this Jane’s?”
Jack stared at the side of the charred vehicle with patches of blue showing in certain places. “Yes, I believe so. It’s the right model and color.”
Tom circled the car. “If they can get the VIN number off it, we’ll know for sure. I’m going to have it towed to a garage we use. Someone went to a lot of trouble to destroy this car and any evidence we might have recovered from it.”
“I’m putting up a fifty thousand dollar reward for any information that leads to a conviction.” Jack turned away from the sight. “I can’t believe there’s another missing woman.”
“Did Jane and Kelli Williams have any connection?” Ian stepped up to the passenger side and looked inside, then inspected the back seat. Anything inside had been destroyed. When the vehicle cooled, he hoped there might be evidence in the trunk that wasn’t as charred.
“I don’t think so. Kelli goes to the same church, but I never saw them together. You might ask my wife. She would know more about Jane’s friends and her daily schedule, since I’m often at the state capitol.”
“May Caitlyn and I reschedule our meeting to after five?” Ian stepped back and panned the isolated area of the Shephard ranch. Not far away was Longhorn Lake. Was that the way the killer drove the car onto the property?
“Yes. It would be better for Ruth and me. She’s trying to make the arrangements for the funeral.”
“When is the funeral?” Ian peered across the pasture that ran along the southwest border of his family’s ranch. He stiffened when he caught sight of his brother sitting on a horse looking toward them.
“First of next week. We have family coming in.”
The sheriff joined them. “We’ll be posting a few deputies at the funeral.”
“Do you really think the killer would make an appearance? If he did, he would regret it.” The senator’s eyes narrowed into a laser-sharp gaze. “It has to be a stranger. Everyone loved Jane. She’s the one who ran our foundation and was always ready to help anyone who needed it.”
“We’re doing everything we can to find the killer. I’m going to follow the tire tracks to see where he drove the car onto your ranch.” Ian followed the trampled corn crop to the back part of the pasture, glancing every once in a while toward his family’s ranch.
Sean had disappeared. Why had he been there watching? Ian needed to confront his brother about murmuring Jane’s name in anguish last night. He couldn’t see Sean killing anyone, but then, if he’d started drinking again, there was no telling what his brother could be responsible for. He didn’t want to jump to any conclusion about Sean, but it was hard not to. After talking to Nana early this morning, Ian had discovered Sean had been acting even more strange for the past couple of months than ever before.
Could Caitlyn help Sean? Would his brother take advice from him or anyone else?
He should have come home sooner. He’d known Sean wasn’t dealing well with the stress of their father’s death. Sean and his dad had been much closer than Ian had been with his dad.
Ian hopped over the fence onto the public land encircling the lake and tracked the tire prints to a gravel road about a hundred yards away. At least how the car ended up on the Shephard ranch had been answered, but why risk dumping it here? To make a point? What?
How about Kelli’s missing vehicle? Would they find it on fire in some other field?
A rustling sound behind Ian caused him to put his hand on his gun and swivel around.
“What are you doing here?” Ian asked Sean who had dismounted his horse and tied him to the fence by the family’s property.
“I saw the fire from the house and rode here to see what was going on. You know how dangerous a grass fire can be, especially since we haven’t had that much rain lately. Why was Jane’s car there?”
Earlier Ian had called Alice to see how Sean was doing and if he knew about Jane’s death. He did. “Her killer most likely left it there and set it on fire. Some kind of statement maybe.” Ian scrutinized the dark circles under Sean’s eyes. Where had he gone early this morning? “Were you and Jane dating?”
Sean’s slumping posture stiffened while his brother puffed out his chest. “What are you implying?”
“Last night you were murmuring Jane’s name a few times. If she wasn’t important to you, I doubt you would do that. I’m overseeing her murder investigation, and I need all the information I can get to find her killer. Were y’all dating?”
Sean took his cowboy hat off and hit it against his leg. “No—yes.”
“Which is it?”
“I was dating her.”
“How long were you seeing her?”
Sean shrugged. “A couple of months.”
“When did you start drinking?”
His brother pivoted. “This conversation is over.”
“Why?”
At the fence of the Pierce ranch, Sean looked back and said, “None of your business.”
“If I find you drinking and driving, I’ll arrest you.”
“Of course you would. You were always the good son.”
Ian opened and closed his fists, realizing how desperate his brother had become.
As he watched his older brother ride back toward the barn, Ian couldn’t shake the question: Could Sean kill these women, especially since he was drinking again and he was losing control? Possibly even blacking out? He wanted to say no, but he didn’t know Sean anymore.
Lord, what do I do about Sean? How can I help him when he doesn’t want it?
* * *
Caitlyn closed her notepad. “Paul, this has been a good session. A few months ago, you couldn’t even talk about your childhood. Now you are. You’re making progress.”
“Not fast enough. I still can’t sleep much at night. I keep thinking about what I did wrong during the day. Maybe my mother was right. I was a screwup.”
“Keep a journal of what goes right during the day, then before you go to sleep read it to remind yourself you aren’t making one mistake after another.”
“What if I can’t think of anything to write? Like this morning everything went wrong.” Paul clasped his hands so tightly that his knuckles whitened.
“Were you at work on time?”
“Yes, I’m never late.”
“That’s one thing you can put down.”
“Maybe.” He frowned as he pushed to his feet. “I’ll try what you said, but I don’t think it will work.”
“Be open to it. It may work.”
Paul Nichols mumbled something under his breath that Caitlyn couldn’t hear and shuffled toward the door. She was used to that. His negativity was a challenge for her as a therapist. She followed him to lock the door and tell Officer Collins he could leave. Ian was on the way to pick her up. She hated the idea of a policeman in the hallway. Every patient she’d seen this afternoon had asked about him, and she’d given them a vague reason. She prayed Ian had found a link between Jane and Kelli other than seeing her for counseling.
As her last patient left, Ian passed him in the corridor and nodded to him, and Paul hurried his pace. As Ian closed the space between them, Caitlyn noticed he looked worn-out. He couldn’t have gotten much sleep last night while staying at the ranch to watch over Sean.
“Thanks, Officer Collins, for helping out.” Ian paused next to Caitlyn.
“Come in. I’m taking some files home with me. Are we going to see Jane’s parents?”
“Yes, I told Nana we would be at her house for dinner. Sally has taken a suitcase to my grandmother’s house. You’ll possibly be at Nana’s for several days, maybe longer. Do you need anything else besides what you took this morning?”
The thought of the photo pinned to her front door sent a shudder down her. “I don’t think so. Has the sheriff finished with my place?” She put what she needed into her briefcase.
“Yes. After dinner, you and I need to sit down and figure out any connection between the two women. Senator Shephard can’t think of any other than church, but his wife will be meeting with us too. Maybe she’ll know something.”
Ian went out into the corridor first using her private office entrance and looked up and down the hall before signaling her to leave too. “It was Jane’s car at their ranch, but there’ve been no sightings of Kelli’s yet.”
As they drove toward the Shephard ranch, Caitlyn stared at his family’s main house while they passed the Pierce property. “How’s Sean? Did you see him today, since you were so close?”
“Yes, he was watching them put out the fire.”
She studied his stiff posture and hard profile. A tic in his jaw indicated he was clenching his teeth. “Do you think Sean has something to do with this?”
He released a long breath. “It has crossed my mind. He mumbled Jane’s name last night in his sleep. I asked him about Jane, and he admitted they had been dating, but it had to be in secret because no one else knew.”
“Why would they do that? Because Jack and Sean don’t get along?”
“Probably. I got the impression when I talked with him that his last meeting with Jane didn’t end well. Sean shut down when I questioned him too much.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. He’s isolating himself from others and that might be the reason he was pulling away from Jane, or she was from him.”
Ian stopped at an intersection. “I followed the tire tracks from Jane’s car to the rear of the property. It wasn’t too far from where the public land starts. I lost the trail at the gravel road my family put in to the back of our ranch. We have a gate to the field that borders the Shephards’ land. There is dense vegetation in our pasture where a car could be hidden. What if Jane and Sean had a fight and—”
“Don’t do that until you have evidence to support it. If someone hid the car back there, then possibly you’ll find tracks.”
“I know, but I don’t want Sean to see me check it out. After we leave the Shephards’ house, I’m going to drive around to the gravel road and see. I didn’t have time earlier.” He parked in front of a large three-story antebellum home.
But before he could open his door, Caitlyn grabbed his arm, stopping him from getting out. “Sean is troubled and angry, but that doesn’t mean he would kill someone. I still think of the time the three of us used to play together. Remember when I fell into the pool, and I couldn’t swim very well?”
“I couldn’t either.”
“He jumped in and, in spite of me fighting him in my panic, he brought me to the side of the pool when he wasn’t much better than you or me. I believe that person is inside him.” She rubbed her hand up and down his arm. What would have happened if they had continued dating that summer? Her throat closed at the lost opportunity. “You know you can talk to me about anything. There’s nothing you can tell me I haven’t heard before.”
“How do you do it? Listen to your patients’ problems?”
“I have to detach a part of myself in order to help them. It’s one thing on paper, another to put into practice.”
He faced her. “I know what you’re talking about. I’ve had to learn to separate my professional life from my personal one. Coming back to Longhorn has made that difficult when I know many of the people involved.”
She couldn’t resist cupping the side of his face, wanting to wipe the perturbed look from his face, smooth away the worried creases on his forehead.
He pulled back and turned to exit the SUV. “The senator is standing in the entrance.”
The heat of a blush singed her cheeks. The physical connection had felt good between them—at least for her. She scrambled from the car and hurried toward the porch. If only things had been different when she was eighteen.
“Come in. Ruth is in the living room.” Jack stepped to the side while she and Ian entered the mansion.
Ian and Caitlyn settled into chairs across from the Shephards, who sat side by side on the couch, grief etching lines of fatigue into their faces.
“I’m so sorry about Jane. If I can do anything to help y’all, please let me know.” Caitlyn crossed her legs and sat back somewhat, intending to let Ian lead the conversation.
But the senator leaned forward, clasping his hands. “I understand from the sheriff you found a photo in your car yesterday, and then this morning there was a picture of Kelli Williams, similar to—” he cleared his throat “—similar to Jane’s, stuck to your front door with a knife. Apparently the blood on it indicates it’s the weapon used to kill my daughter. In fact, the killer has been in touch with you through your radio program. Do you have any idea why he’s targeting you?”
“His message is for me to stop him, but I have no idea who he is.”
Jack scowled. “Could he want to make national headlines by contacting you on the radio?”
“I suppose he could, but he didn’t call me today.”
“I don’t want my daughter’s death turned into a circus and paraded before everyone. I just want this man found and for us to be allowed to mourn our loss privately.” Ruth laid her hand over her husband’s. “Our phone hasn’t stopped ringing.”
“I understand. We all want this settled quickly. That’s why I’m here today. To see if you’ll give me permission to discuss what Jane and I talked about in our sessions if I feel it’s relevant to the case.”
“No, absolutely not.” The senator shoved to his feet and glared down at Caitlyn. “I didn’t want her seeing you in the first place.”
“Why?”
“Because we—her family—are here for her. She didn’t need anyone else.”
Ruth rose next to her husband and again took his hand. “Jack, if it can help find the killer, then we need to. Dr. Rhodes, I’m sure, especially with another murder, that Texas Ranger Pierce could just get a subpoena through a judge.”
The senator backed away from his wife. “But we have no idea what Jane told her. If it’s our private life, I don’t want everyone knowing it. The vultures in the press will dissect our lives. It’s already bad enough being a public figure.”
“Caitlyn, I know how much you helped Jane. I trust you in this. You have my permission to share what you think would help find the killer.” Ruth sank onto the couch. “Can we help in any other way?”
“Yes,” Ian said. “I already asked the senator if there was a connection between Jane and Kelli other than attendance at the same church. Do you know of another one?”
“The Shephard Foundation Jane oversaw. I remember seeing them together last Christmas. Kelli helped Jane with some of the fund-raisers, especially where the church was involved. But I think that was all.”
“Thanks. If you think of any other connection, please let me know.” Ian stood and looked at the senator. “Sir, I’ll keep you informed about the investigation, and if y’all think of anything that might help the case, call me anytime.”
Ruth walked them to the front door while her husband sat on the couch, his head dropped forward. “Please forgive Jack’s outburst. This has hit him very hard.”
Caitlyn gave Ruth a hug. “I understand. Remember, I’m here for you if you need to talk.”
“Thank you.” Unshed tears glistened in the older woman’s eyes. “Good day.”
Once Caitlyn settled into the passenger seat, the day finally caught up with her. She wasn’t sure she could think rationally enough to discuss the investigation with Ian tonight and, as he slipped behind the wheel, he looked like he’d hit a wall too.
While he drove around to the gravel road between the ranches and the lake, silence ruled. When they got out, Caitlyn joined Ian, and they headed for the dense vegetation along the property line of the Pierce ranch. Halfway there, Ian grasped her hand. Her heart skipped a beat at his touch.
“When I was a kid, Sean and I used to build forts in the bushes.”
“I remember you showing me one, but Sean wasn’t happy you brought a girl to see it.”
“He spent more time back here than I did, especially after our mom died. When he found her dead out in the field, he shut down. I don’t think he’s ever really opened up after that.”
Caitlyn slid a glance toward Ian. She prayed Sean wasn’t involved with what was going on. He had issues. If he didn’t deal with them, they would send him down a path of self-destruction. Knowing Ian, he would blame himself for not being here for his brother.
Ian went first through the thick brush, the tree canopy overhead darkening their path. He stopped and withdrew a small flashlight, then proceeded.
This place would be a good dump site if the killer didn’t want the body to be found right away. Immediately she thought about Kelli still missing and shivered.
He must have felt the tremor because Ian slowed and looked back at her. “Okay?”
“I don’t remember this place being so dark and dense.”
“It wasn’t when we were growing up. It keeps people at the lake from wandering onto our ranch, so Sean has let it go. The fence for our southern property border is set in by five yards.” Ian kept walking.
“Sean moved the fence?”
“No, my father did. It helps keep the cattle rustlers out.”
As she peered all around at the vegetation, she began noticing broken branches. With her gaze fixed on the ground, she ran into Ian, who stopped suddenly. She leaned around him and stared where his flashlight illuminated the soft earth.
Tire tracks.