Chapter Twelve

On his way back from Dallas and a meeting with Travis, Link reviewed his undercover assignment. This mess with the Feds was going nowhere. Sure he’d found that site, but nothing else had turned up.

Over in Parker County, State Trooper John Forrest had seized a truckload of illegal drugs yesterday, but troopers hadn’t been able to establish a tie to anyone. Link had spent the morning with Travis. Excited about the Parker County bust, Travis insisted Link find the connection with Spencer County.

Right, but Travis hadn’t a clue how. Neither, at the moment, did Link.

A pop singer promised he could go home again on the car radio. Link chuckled to himself. That’s what he’d been trying to do, but so far he still felt out of place.

Suddenly, the voice of the newscaster interrupted.

"This is James McGrady with a KTXX 1010 Texas Country breaking news story. The body of a Cartersville woman was found this morning in a field alongside Duckett Road a mile west of Highway 51. A spokesman for the Spencer County Sheriff's office has informed KTXX that murder is suspected.

"According to spokesman Buel Watson of the Sheriff's Department, the woman was found early this morning by a Spencer County resident. Identity of the woman has not been released pending notification of family. Stay tuned to KTXX 1010 Texas Country for the latest from our award winning news team as details become available."

Another murder? Link accelerated. When he reached the Law Enforcement Center, unfamiliar vehicles nearly filled the parking area. He swung the car into one of the three remaining spaces and hurried across the lot.

As he walked from his Jeep toward the Center, he had to dodge a dark sedan. Evans drove, and the sheriff was the only passenger. Both men appeared embroiled in a heated exchange and neither looked his way.

Reporters, news cameramen, and what seemed like way too many unauthorized people filled the lobby. Easing through the crowd, Link made his way to the desk area. The open room had three offices at the end, but most of the lawmen used one of the six desks in a common area. Spencer County’s small force didn’t require more. At the other end, a counter separated the room from the public entrance. Dispatch operated from a small room at the side. Assisting the receptionist behind the front counter, today Chief Deputy Buel Watson dealt with the news media.

Coy Cox occupied a chair beside Eddy's desk while the young officer wrote on one of a stack of papers.

Link stopped to say, "Hello, Eddy. Sounds like there's been some excitement here." Link nodded to Coy. "How are you, Coy?"

Coy's hands shook as he lifted one to gesture. "I just don't know why this keeps happening, Link. Who's leavin' all these dead bodies 'round here?"

Eddy glanced at Coy, then spoke to Link. "Guess it's already on the radio, huh? Coy found the body in a field."

"Coy found it? In a field? What's the rest of the story?" Link scooted another chair near Eddy's desk and sat down beside Coy. Poor guy was ill equipped to cope with tragedy like this. He must have been scared half to death.

Eddy slid the statement across the desk to him. "You might know her, Link. She went to high school here about the time you did. Name's Mitzi Dunaway."

Coy leaned forward to speak, "You 'member her, don't you, Link? Mitzi Morrison, the head cheerleader when you played basketball."

He turned to Eddy, excitement on his face, "You know why they call him Link? Our basketball team never did win much 'til Link started playing. Oooee. He was so good everybody called him the team's missing link."

Coy leaned even closer to Wells and explained. "See, that's why he's called Link, 'cause he's the missing link and cause Link is short for Lincoln." Coy leaned back in his chair and chuckled to himself, as if he had explained a great joke, his ordeal temporarily forgotten.

Eddy thumped the stack of papers. "Well, maybe you can find the missing link in this case. We figure she was killed elsewhere. She'd been dragged part of the way. Found in the same place as a guy about a month before you started here."

Waves of shock still coursed through Link. Mitzi dead and found where Jenkins was dumped. Poor woman, what was she into? "Damn. I haven't thought about Mitzi Morrison in years."

"Was she your girl?" asked Eddy.

Link hesitated, then said, "No, I never dated her, but, well...Mitzi was, um, sort of...everybody's girl, if you know what I mean. But real sweet and always smiling. You know, heart of gold. She left here right after high school."

Eddy shook his head. "Too bad for her she came back."

Through the door of Chief Investigator Moses Goddard's tiny office, Link saw the man glare at him. Goddard stepped to the door of the office and called, "Dixon, step in here."

Without raising his head, Eddy said, "I don't know what you've done, but I've already learned that's the old man's don't-you-dare-keep-me-waiting tone of voice. You better hot foot it in there."

Link had barely cleared the door when Goddard barked, "Shut the door behind you."

"Something wrong?" Link asked as he closed the door.

"Something wrong?" Goddard mimicked. "Hell, yes, something's wrong! I've got two murders here."

Goddard’s shirt was unbuttoned at the collar and a loose tie hung limply around his neck. Little tufts of graying hair stuck out on each side of his head where his fingers had ravaged, giving him the appearance of an owl. An irate owl. He banged a hand on the table.

"This county will be piled high in bodies if this keeps up, and I've got no one to help me except that eager young Wells. Right now I want to know why you think you're too damn good to work for me, why you'd rather take a demotion and pull patrol than work on these homicides?"

Link stared at the man, wondering what on earth he was talking about. "One of us has been misinformed. I was told patrol was the only position open, or likely to be open, for some time. I wanted to bring my son back to Cartersville, so I took the only job available."

"The hell you say?" Goddard stood and leaned across the desk. "You mean you weren't offered any other job? No one told you I've been screaming for help with this first murder?"

With a shake of his head, Link replied, "You think anyone would prefer night shift patrol if there were a choice?"

Pointing a finger at Link, Goddard stood and walked around his desk. "Yeah? Well, you wait right here. I'll soon know which goddamned sonofabitch screwed this up."

He slammed the office door so hard Link thought it a miracle the glass in the upper half of the door didn't shatter.

Within minutes a much calmer Goddard reappeared. "Awright. Taken care of. Sheriff's not in, but I gave it to Watson with both barrels. As of now, you're assigned to me full time."

Goddard shot him a hostile look, "My cousin's on the Dallas force, told me you were moving out here. Said you're a real hot shot, like to play the Lone Ranger, got a couple of college degrees and all that."

In this county, only two years of college level classes were required to work for the sheriff. Goddard made a masters degree sound like a prison record. No way to rebut that to a man who already looked as if he wanted to strangle him.

As calmly as he could muster, Link said, "I was with the Dallas Police Department ten years. Did quite a bit of work with both homicide and narcotics units."

Goddard fixed another fierce glare on Link. "Well, don't try being the hot shot hero here. None of that Lone Ranger stuff, either. Remember I'm the one in charge of this and, big time degrees and medals or not, you'll follow my orders. Got that?"

Link bit back the rejoinder that came to mind and merely smiled and held up his hands in surrender. "I'm just one of the Indians, Chief. Where do you want me to start?"

Goddard eyed him suspiciously, "Yeah, well, for starters don't call me Chief. You're the one who looks a like a damn Indian, except for those blue eyes."

Link had the distinct impression Goddard hated Indians almost as much as he hated big city cops with college degrees, so he didn’t mention that his dad’s mother was a Cherokee. Instead, he listened intently as the investigator continued.

"Get out there and read Wells' report—and then take that damned idiot back to get his damned bike with that godawful goat cart hooked to it.” He rose and walked out with Link, heading for Eddy Wells’ desk.

“Medical examiner's finished out there. By now there's nothing left to look at but our tracks. You can look around if you want to."

He stopped at Eddy’s desk. "Brief Dixon on both deaths, will you? He'll be helping us from now on." He spun on his heels and went back into his office. This time he didn’t slam the door.