Chapter 6
Marisa’s screams echoing in his memory, Lucas raced from his office to his SUV. He had the sheriff’s office on the radio before he left the Ranger parking lot and shot out orders for Marisa’s phone to be tracked and officers in the area to respond.
“Marisa! Marisa!” He’d shouted her name into the phone after she’d screamed, but the line went dead. Though the call had been terminated, the phone still pinged a signal from the cell tower.
The roads out in this part of Texas were flat for the most part, but there were ravines and deep gulches that could easily swallow up a car.
Damn.
He’d thought about when he’d seen her emerge from the history department last night.
He’d told himself he’d keep his emotions in check and that personal and professional would stay separate.
But the instant he’d called her name and she’d faced him, he only thought about peeling off her clothes and making love.
He’d gone searching for her in Merida so she could help him with the cipher, but he’d found the lady in white and she’d snagged him hook, line, and sinker.
This time he would not lose her.
When he saw the flashing police lights ahead, his stomach lurched.
He’d barely put the car in PARK when he got out of the vehicle and raced toward the rescue crews.
As he approached, the rescue squad hoisted a stretcher up from the gulch.
He studied the steep grade to the ravine, his stomach sinking as he looked at Marisa’s mangled car.
Steeling himself, he raced to the stretcher, where he found Marisa.
Her pale skin was ashen and there was a large gash on the side of her head. The EMTs had bandaged it with a swath of fabric that covered her right eye. She was unconscious.
Lucas jogged alongside the EMTs as they carried her to the open bay of their rescue squad. “How is she?”
An EMT at the head of her stretcher held up an IV bag. “She sustained head trauma and is unconscious. She’s responding to stimuli, but she’s not rousing. We’ll know more when we get her to the hospital.”
He reached out and took Marisa’s small, pale hand in his, marveling how delicate and limp her fingers felt in his. Gone were the energy and the fire.
“Marisa.” Her name sounded like a strained plea.
She did not move. Did not squeeze his hand.
Lucas glanced at the EMTs. “Where are you taking her?”
The paramedic named the Austin hospital. “Her family needs to be contacted.”
“I’ll take care of that.”
The paramedics loaded her in the back of the ambulance and slammed the double doors shut. Lights flashing, they drove away.
Feeling helpless and of no use, he pulled his phone from his breast pocket. She’d mentioned her father, but he didn’t know the man’s name. Who would know? Bradley, no doubt, but Lucas would call him as a last resort. In the end he called Brody Winchester.
Winchester answered on the first ring. “Yeah.”
“It’s Lucas. I need to talk to Jo. I’m trying to locate Marisa’s father. She’s been in a car accident.”
“How is she?
Lucas supplied what little details he had and waited as Brody brought the phone to his wife.
“Lucas?” Jo Granger’s voice was filled with concern.
He explained the situation and soon had the name and number of Marisa’s father. The call had been tense and direct, and he’d tried to keep as much distance as he could from his emotions as he chronicled the facts, including where she was being taken.
When he hung up the phone, he glanced toward the bend in the road where he’d last seen the ambulance.
As much as he wanted to follow, he was better use to Marisa investigating the accident.
Just the idea of finding the man who did this calmed his mind with renewed purpose and allowed him to box whatever feelings he had for Marisa.
He grabbed his flashlight from his vehicle and made his way to the accident site. The county sheriff’s deputy was taking pictures, but the forensic team had yet to arrive.
The deputy lowered his camera. “We usually don’t get a Texas Ranger at accident scenes. This case special?”
Lucas hesitated as he studied the mangled vehicle. “Yeah. This one’s special.” Unwilling to elaborate, he circled the car, a panther pacing. “What do you have?”
The officer glanced at his notebook. “Best I can figure, she was driving on the main road and was sideswiped. It was a blue car, judging by the paint on the wreckage. She skidded off the road and went over into the ravine. Seat belt and air bag saved her.”
He fisted his fingers, and it took a moment before he could unfurl them.
He moved closer to the car and spotted the brightly wrapped presents.
Peeking from the torn edges of the paper was the wheel of the toy Range Rover Marisa had bought last night.
Though the toy had been through an accident, he guessed the mangled wrapping job had more to do with Marisa’s distraction with his code yesterday.
The work.
She didn’t believe her late-night visitor was connected to her work with him, but he wasn’t so sure. His reputation for busting cartels was indeed well known, and he knew in his gut she’d been attacked because of her association with him.
His work was dangerous, and he understood the burden it placed on a wife and children, so he’d stayed clear of any lasting relationships.
“You come and go as you please. You’re like a cat.
” How often had his sister said that? He’d been fine with that decision until he’d seen the petite woman dressed in white, sipping chocolate in the café six weeks ago.
From his coat pocket, he retrieved one of his business cards. “When you finish with the scene, send me those gifts in the backseat. They belong to the driver’s younger brothers.”
“Yeah, sure. Might not be before Christmas.”
“Just get them to me.”
“Sure.”
“What else can you tell me about the accident?”
“I found a chunk of tire on the road. Seeing as this car never made it that far, the rubber could have belonged to the second driver.”
“What kind of tire?”
“That will take me time to figure. I’ll check the database. I should have information for you in a day or two.”
“The sooner the better.”
The deputy accepted the order with a weary shrug. He’d likely gotten the short end of the stick and was pulling holiday duty. “Right.”
“Any witnesses?”
“No. Out here it’s so desolate. If she hadn’t been on her cell with you, she could have languished in that creek bed for a long time. And with temps getting so cold over the next few days, no telling if she’d have been found alive.”
Lucas shoved aside a dark image. “If the second driver damaged his tire, he’s going to have to stop sooner or later.”
“Stands to reason. And I can tell you, judging by the tire marks, the second driver was headed west.”
Odd. If it had been the cartel, bad tire or no, her attacker would have doubled back to make sure the job was done . . . that Marisa was dead.
“Assuming he kept heading west, where could he stop along the way?”
“If it were me, I wouldn’t stop until I crossed the border or found a place to stash my car.”
“Say this guy isn’t as savvy. Where would he stop?”
“There’s a gas station up ahead about ten miles. He’d be getting closer to Fredericksburg and there would be plenty of places to stop.”
Plenty of places meant more people to notice a banged-up car and disabled tire. “Thanks. Keep me posted on what you find.”
“Will do.”
With a weight bearing on his shoulders, he moved up the embankment to his car. He removed his hat and slid behind the wheel. Reason dictated that he not call the hospital and check on Marisa. Let the docs do their job. You focus on the mission.
Firing up the engine, he allowed the heater to warm his skin, far more chilled than he realized. As he sat in the silence, his skin tightened with worry. Any other time he’d have listened to reason.
But not tonight. Not with Marisa.
He dialed the number of the hospital, and when he identified himself he was routed to the right person. He asked about Marisa.
“No news yet,” the nurse said. “She’s pretty banged up and still unconscious. They’re running scans and X-rays now.”
“How long before you know?”
“Morning at the earliest.”
He gave his contact information and placed his phone back in its belt holster. Fifteen minutes later he pulled into a gas station, now dark and quiet. It was past midnight, and it made sense that a garage owner out here wouldn’t be expecting much business.
The headlights of his SUV shining on the station, he searched for signs that a driver would have come through this way.
By the pumps he saw a chunk of tire. With the beams of his lights still shining, he got out of his car and studied the section of tire.
This close, he could also see a depression in the dirt as if the driver was working on a rim.
Moving ten paces away, he found more tire tracks, but these marks weren’t those of a damaged tire.
Had the driver stopped here long enough to change his tire before moving on?
In the dark, it was impossible to tell, and he spotted the small red light mounted on the top edge of the garage. A camera. He scribbled the name of the gas station and called Information. It took minutes before he heard a gruff and tired, “What?”
“This Skip Donovan?”
“Yeah.”
“This is Texas Ranger Lucas Cooper. I’m working a hit-and-run accident case, and I believe the second driver might have stopped at your station about an hour ago.”
“I’ve been closed since six. Holidays. I’m on vacation in Mexico. Just landed about an hour ago.”
Lucas tapped an impatient index finger on the phone. “What about your surveillance cameras? Do they work?”
“Yeah, they work. And I can give you the tapes when I get back in three days.”
“Is there a way to access them before then?”
After a beat of silence and a sigh, “I can call my brother-in-law. His name is Rafe Jeffers. We both own the station. He’s in Austin visiting his girlfriend for a few days. I’ll have to track him down. Might take me a few hours.”
“Do that. I need to see those tapes sooner rather than later.”
“Sure. And Merry Christmas.”
“Right. Thanks.”
Lucas stared up at the surveillance camera. “I’m going to find you, you son of a bitch.”