Chapter Nineteen
“This is a rural area,” Becs told Evan as he drove them through Dripping Springs’s main drag. “Which means the cell radius for the tower Charlie tracked her to can be up to twenty-five miles away.”
She wasn’t even sure the town was that wide.
Granted, it wasn’t as small as Coyote Ridge, but with less than five thousand people, she figured it was still considered small-ish.
They had big-name stores like HEB, Tractor Supply Co.
, and Home Depot. Sprinkled in with the various retail stores were all sorts of fast-food joints, including McDonald’s, Dairy Queen, Taco Bell, and Whataburger. And of course, there was a Starbucks.
Becs wasn’t positive, but she had read somewhere that Jensen Ackles and his wife had a brewery somewhere in town. Family Business Beer Co. or something like that. Admittedly, she didn’t drink much beer, but she was a huge Supernatural fan. She wondered whether he hung around there much.
Not that they had time to find out.
This town, with its plethora of businesses on the main thoroughfare, was nothing like Coyote Ridge, but she liked the feel of it. If only it were smaller, perhaps they stood a chance of finding Allison Bogart.
Becs sighed. “She could be anywhere.”
“Or nowhere.”
“Maybe a little optimism’ll get us further,” she said, not looking at Evan.
“Oh, sorry. She could be right around…” Evan took a right. “…This corner. Oh. Nope. Not here.”
She understood his frustration, even if it annoyed her. There were far too many large businesses along a bustling highway for them to do any sort of door-to-door.
“I’m runnin’ a property search, but I doubt I’ll come up with anything.”
“What about her parents? Do they own any property around here?”
“Oh, well, why didn’t I think of that?” Becs quipped. “I’ve already checked. And no, they don’t. Her mother remarried after divorcing her dad when he went to prison. Looks like she’s relocated to Arkansas. And Allison’s father’s residence is behind secured bars and walls in Abilene. ”
“She have any other family?”
“Already looked. And no.” She held up her hand to stop him when he opened his mouth. “And if you tell me to ask JJ to check, I’m gonna punch you in the arm.”
When he reached the intersection, Evan stopped and looked over, his smile growing.
She hated that smile. Hated it because she loved it so damn much. More than she was willing to admit to anyone. Including herself.
“Stop that,” she said, holding up a hand to block his face.
“Stop what?”
“Smiling.”
“You don’t like it when I smile?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I just don’t.”
“I think you do. You just don’t want to admit it.”
“You think wrong.” She pointed at a parking space. “Let’s find the hotel she stayed at. See if anyone recognizes her.”
“Thinking like a detective already,” he said with a laugh.
What she was thinking was she needed to get out of the car and away from him for a few minutes.
It was difficult enough to sit beside him, to smell his light musky scent.
It reminded her of the night they’d made out on the couch in his office.
She’d been beside herself with lust that night.
Never had a man made her feel the way Evan had.
Not that she had a lot of experience. Her ex-husband was the extent of her history with men.
He’d been her first boyfriend in high school, and she’d gone on to marry him like an idiot.
And since the divorce, she hadn’t bothered to date.
It seemed futile at this point in her life when the only thing she wanted to focus on was her daughter and her job. In that order.
Once out of the SUV, Becs armed herself with her cell phone, which had a picture of Allison Bogart on it. It was all they had to go on and she only hoped someone here would recognize her.
Unfortunately, they came up empty on that front.
After talking to the desk clerk at the hotel, they went to fourteen smaller businesses—she’d counted—including the gas station where Allison had made a purchase, and not a single person recognized the woman in the photograph.
And every person they’d spoken with had seemed sincere.
“That was disappointing,” she told Evan when they were back in his SUV. “What do we do now?”
He backed out of the parking spot and headed toward the stop sign.
“Should I go left or right?” he prompted.
“For what?”
“To get to a back road.”
“Why?”
“Because we’ve driven this far. Might as well check it out.”
Becs wasn’t sure why that would help, but she used the map on her phone to direct him.
They spent the next half hour driving around.
Once they passed the mix of older homes and new businesses being built, the only things to look at were grass, trees, and hay.
There was no way they were going to find Allison Bogart this way.
Her phone buzzed with an incoming text.
“That’s Atticus. He said they’re on their way back. Everybody. And to meet at HQ by six o’clock in the morning.” She looked at Evan. “Do you think they found something?”
“If they did, they probably would call us in tonight.”
True. Maybe. It was Sunday, and they would have a three-hour drive ahead of them.
“I really hate that we don’t have anything to give them,” she said, watching out the window. “We learned nothing from Meredith and Decker.”
“That’s not true.”
Scrunching her face, she thought back to the conversation, trying to recall what she might’ve missed. She came up with nothing.
“Okay, I give. What did you learn?”
“Well, for starters, they’re hiding something.”
“I’m not sure that counts.”
“Trust me, it does. We just need to come up with the right questions to get them to open up.”
“Based on Decker’s death-ray stare, I’m not sure that’s even possible.”
“It is.”
“Well, I guess that’s why you’re the detective and I’m the analyst.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, Becs. You’re a valuable member of this team. Without you, we wouldn’t have made it this far.”
She wasn’t so sure about that, but she was not going to argue and make him think she was fishing for compliments. She wasn’t. And certainly not from him.
She felt his eyes on her when he said, “You want to get a bite to eat before we get back?”
The two of them at a restaurant? Alone? No, thank you.
“I need to get back to Carly. Get her home and ready for school tomorrow.”
“Fair enough.”
Becs was grateful he didn’t argue. At the same time, she wondered whether he thought she’d ever been worth fighting for.
Although they’d had the chance to approach Jessie at dinner, Travis had opted to wait.
Sunday evenings were reserved for dinner with his folks, a tradition his mother had been carrying on for as long as he could remember and likely before that.
Disrupting it with personal crap didn’t seem fair to everyone there.
Not to mention, there had been too many ears surrounding them, too many people who would ask questions that Travis couldn’t answer.
At least that was the excuse he had used. Truth was, the idea of talking to Jessie about something so sensitive didn’t sit right with him. Didn’t matter where they were.
Unfortunately, Gage thought it needed to be done.
So they had waited, then waited a bit longer after Braydon and his brood finally left, giving them a chance to make it home and unload. Then, after talking his parents into watching the kids for a bit longer, they’d set out to get this over with.
Now Travis was pulling into Jessie and Braydon’s driveway, trepidation filling his gut.
“This needs to be done,” Gage said from the passenger seat. “And the sooner, the better.”
“And if this news hurts her?” He looked at Gage. “What then?”
“At least she’ll know.”
Travis wasn’t sure that knowing the mother who had abandoned you nearly two decades ago was in town was something anyone wanted to know.
And no, he had nothing to base that opinion on because his mother and father had been there for him and his brothers since the day they were born.
They had supported them when they needed it, disciplined them when they needed that, too.
And not a single day had gone by that Travis hadn’t known that his parents loved him unconditionally.
It pained him to think that Kylie and Jessie had spent a portion of their lives wondering why their mother had skipped out on them.
Sure, maybe Meredith had waited until they were old enough to take care of themselves, but that shouldn’t have mattered.
She should’ve been there through every heartache, every celebration.
“Come on. Let’s get this over with. I’m sure your parents want to get to bed at a decent time tonight.”
They still had to pick up the rugrats when they were finished here, so yeah, he probably needed to get a move on.
He got out of the SUV and closed the door quietly, wanting the next minute or so to get his thoughts in order.
Of course, Braydon had supersonic hearing because he walked out of the house before they reached the porch.
“Hey.” His smile was bright. “I know we didn’t leave a kid behind. I counted.”
Travis smiled. It was forced, but he figured it counted.
As they neared, Braydon’s forehead wrinkled. “What brings you by?”
“We need to talk to Jessie.”
Travis wasn’t imagining the way Braydon stood taller, his shoulders squared. He was preparing to protect his wife from whatever bad news they might have.
“It’s not bad,” Gage said, clearly sensing the same thing.
Travis stopped beside Gage. “It’s just news.”
Braydon shifted, blocking the door. “About?”
“Come on, Bray. Let us talk to her.”
“Are the kids still up?” Gage asked.
Braydon looked at him. “Jessie just put Waylon to bed. Zach and Rhett are watchin’ TV.”
“We won’t be here long,” Travis promised.
With a long exhale, Braydon stepped back and opened the screen door. “Hey, Jess! Travis and Gage are here.”
“Shh,” she hissed, stepping out of the kitchen. “Waylon finally fell asleep.”
“Sorry, baby.”
“Come on in,” Jessie invited. “Y’all want coffee? Tea?”
“I’m good,” Travis told her. He didn’t intend to stay long.
“I’m good, too, thanks.” Gage walked ahead of him into the kitchen.
“What brings you by?” She frowned when Braydon stepped up beside her, a lion preparing to protect its pride.
“We have some news,” Travis said, glancing between the two of them before settling his gaze on Jessie. “It’s about your mother.”
Jessie’s smile slid right off her face. “Meredith?”
He nodded.
“What about her?” Braydon asked.
Travis looked at Gage, who nodded in encouragement.
“She’s in town,” he said, forcing himself to hold her gaze. “Brantley and his team are lookin’ into a case that they think she’s involved in. She showed up unexpectedly last night.”
“Have you seen her?” Jessie asked.
“Briefly. I’ve put her up in a motel in Taylor,” he explained.
Her expression went from surprise to disinterest almost instantly. “Well, I hope she takes care of business and leaves as quickly as she came.”
“You don’t mean that,” Braydon said softly.
Jessie took a step back. “Oh, trust me, I do. She hasn’t been my mother for a long time.”
“Do you plan to see her?” Braydon asked him.
Travis shook his head. “Not if I don’t have to, no.”
“You’re not gonna introduce her to her grandkids?”
He swallowed past the lump that formed in his throat. He wasn’t sure how to answer that because he didn’t know what Kylie would’ve wanted. She never really talked about her mother, and the few times she had, it was with the same distaste for her that he could see on Jessie’s face now.
“Probably not.” Travis glanced at Gage, then looked back at Jessie. “We just wanted you to know, in case you see her in town.”
Jessie turned away. “Well, thanks for tellin’ us.”
Travis met Braydon’s gaze and hoped his brother saw the apology in his eyes. He didn’t come here intending to upset Jessie, but they’d thought it best that she hear it from them first.
“We’ll get outta your hair,” he told Braydon. “Let me know if you need anything.”
With that, Travis walked out of the house, wondering whether he should’ve told them about Brantley’s ridiculous notion that Kylie might be alive.
By the time he got in the SUV, he decided that information was better kept to himself.
Just because he was holding out hope that a miracle was possible didn’t mean it would come true.
And the last thing he wanted was for anyone else to have to grieve Kylie’s death a second time.