Texas Cold Case Murder (Texas Justice #4)

One

Technical analyst Nina Dobson frowned as she gripped the steering wheel and peered through the darkness. She was running late for her impromptu meeting with her Uncle Mark, the uncle she hadn’t known about until she’d used a DNA site to discover the familial connection.

She was torn between apprehension and curiosity as she tried to find anything that resembled a driveway on this remote stretch of East Texas road, several miles outside of the unincorporated town of Swan.

Twenty-eight years ago, Nina had been a “Baby Girl Doe” the night her mother, known only as Jane Doe, had been murdered.

A firefighter, Eric Dobson, had found them, barely a hundred yards from the Dallas fire station her mother had been crawling to for help, a gaping gunshot wound in her abdomen, her face battered and bruised.

Eric and his wife, Susan, had gladly adopted Nina after her mother passed away from her injuries, and she was grateful for the wonderful life they’d provided for her.

But she’d always wondered about her mother and her family. Why had her mother been a Jane Doe, and why had nobody reported her missing? Or why had nobody come forward after she was murdered?

Now Nina was about to meet her actual blood relative.

Uncle Mark Lange had sounded oddly paranoid over the phone, insisting they get together as soon as possible.

Other than confessing that he was likely the reason her mother had been assaulted and shot that fateful night, he wouldn’t explain anything in more detail until they saw each other in person.

She’d thought maybe he wanted money, except she was the one who’d reached out to him.

So where was this place, anyway? There! Her headlights flashed on what looked to be a dirt and gravel road to the right, with a fallen sign displaying the numbers 2128.

This was it. The opening was located between several overgrown pine trees.

She hit the brake and wrenched the steering wheel of her sedan to make the turn.

Her car bounced and jostled as she headed up the deeply rutted driveway.

She didn’t see any other vehicles and wondered if her uncle didn’t drive.

It would explain the lack of a driver’s license registered to this address.

As she approached, she relaxed a bit as she saw the single light shining from the window.

Uncle Mark was there, waiting for her. She stopped the car and quickly slid out from behind the wheel.

This cabin was far more remote than she liked.

She hoped she’d made the right decision to come there.

Living in Austin and working for the Texas Rangers out of the State Capitol building, she wasn’t accustomed to being in the middle of nowhere.

Why did her uncle live way out here, anyway? From the dilapidated look of the cabin, peeling paint, missing shingles off the roof and the sagging front porch, she suspected it was all he could afford.

Stepping carefully so as to not fall through rotted boards, she approached the front door and knocked. Then she called out, “Uncle Mark? It’s me, Nina.”

No response. With a frown, she reached out to try the door handle. It wasn’t locked, so she pushed it open and crossed the threshold.

A horrible stench hit hard. Her stomach twisted with nausea as she clamped a hand over her nose and mouth.

Fearfully, she walked into the living area.

Then gasped with horror when she saw a man slumped over the kitchen table with a bullet hole marring the side of his temple and a handgun lying on the floor below his right hand.

No! Uncle Mark! In the remote part of her mind, Nina understood this was a potential crime scene, but that didn’t keep her from rushing forward. She stopped abruptly near her uncle, trying not to gag. She’d never in her life seen a dead man up close and couldn’t bear to look at his injury now.

There was a half-empty bottle of whiskey on the table. As she raked her gaze over the blood-sprayed crime scene, she was forced to admit it appeared as if her uncle had taken his own life.

But why? Why would he do that after inviting her here to talk about her mother’s unsolved murder?

A chill snaked down her spine. Nina cast a worried glance around the cabin, half expecting someone to jump out at her. But it appeared as if the place was empty.

Had her uncle really taken his own life? He had mentioned that her mother’s murder was likely his fault, so maybe that guilt was too much of a burden to share. Maybe he’d started drinking, wallowing in despair to the point he’d shot himself to ease the pain.

But why now? Why take this drastic action the same night he’d arranged to meet with her? Nina was about to take a step back, when something white tucked under the edge of her uncle’s thigh caught her eye. It looked to be a piece of paper, maybe a note.

A suicide note?

Despite knowing she shouldn’t tamper with evidence, Nina stepped closer and reached down to pry the corner loose. Only it wasn’t a note. It was a photograph of a pretty woman with red curly hair, much like her own, holding a baby and smiling weakly at the camera.

Her mother!

Nina turned the picture over and saw the name Anna written on the back.

A thudding sound from outside had her whirling around. Without fully understanding why, Nina lunged across the kitchen to shut off the overhead light. Her heart pounded as she strained to listen.

Had the thud been her imagination?

Then the muted sound of gravel crunching beneath footsteps reached her ears. She quickly ducked out of the kitchen toward the back of the cabin. Someone was out there. And her car was in plain view for anyone to see.

She should call 911 but was too afraid to do that now.

Not if there was a killer out there who might hear her.

After tucking the Anna photo in her pocket, she trailed her fingertips along the wall as a guide, giving her eyes time to adjust to the darkness.

She came to an abrupt stop when the wall ended.

Unfortunately, her uncle’s cabin wasn’t very big.

She’d already reached the other end. A few steps to the right, though, revealed a back door.

She reached for the handle and slowly turned it. Then glanced back toward the kitchen.

Something was terribly wrong with this scenario. Anyone coming to visit her uncle wouldn’t approach stealthily on foot. They’d drive up, the way she had. Even announce themselves, the way she had.

And regardless of how her uncle had admitted to being partially responsible for her mother’s murder, she just couldn’t believe he’d killed himself. Not on the same night they’d arranged to meet.

The wooden planks of the half-rotted porch floor creaked loudly. Her heart thundered in her chest as she realized that whoever was out there would soon be inside. Her uncle’s earlier paranoia flashed through her mind.

She needed to get out of there!

Without giving herself time to think it through, Nina slipped through the back door and into the darkness.

Taking care to close the door soundlessly behind her, she then turned to scan the landscape.

She was not reassured to see the small backyard was surrounded by woods.

Towering trees that were native to the eastern region of the state.

Did wild animals roam around in there? She didn’t necessarily want to find out.

Yet fear of whoever was inside the cabin propelled her forward. Sticking to the shadows for as long as possible, Nina took a deep breath and ran across the small yard.

The sudden, ear-shattering crack of gunfire had her hunching her shoulders and sprinting toward the trees, her heart racing. Her instincts to escape were right! Her uncle’s death was no suicide.

He’d been murdered! Just like her mother had been, twenty-eight years ago!

The trees swallowed her, providing the illusion of safety.

But Nina didn’t slow or stop; she kept moving.

She had her cell phone and knew she needed to call 911.

Was she far enough away from the gunman to do that?

She hoped so. Glancing at her phone she only had one bar of service.

Would the police reach this location in time?

Covering the screen to dim the light, she typed in the numbers.

Her spirits sank when the call didn’t go through.

She desperately wanted to call Texas Ranger Jackson Woodlow, too.

He knew she’d taken a few vacation days, as he’d called earlier that evening for technical support.

He’d mentioned being in Dallas, which wasn’t too far from her current location.

But it would still take a while for him to get there.

And that was if she could even reach him.

No matter how much she wished for the comfort of the Texas Rangers she worked with, she was on her own.

Nina ducked under a low-hanging tree branch. She risked a glance behind her but didn’t see anything. Would the gunman try to follow her?

The possibility had her pushing forward. The woods were dark and scary, but not as frightening as the armed man or at least she thought it was a man from the weight of his footsteps on the gravel, who’d fired at her moments ago.

After what seemed like eons, but was likely only fifteen minutes, Nina slowed her pace, listening intently. She didn’t hear pounding footsteps indicating the gunman was following her.

But it could be that he was moving silently compared to her frantic pace.

Drawing a deep breath, she calmed her racing heart and tried to imagine the map app on her phone. Swan was five miles to the north of Tyler. To the east of that was the Tyler State Park.

She paused behind a large pine to get her bearings. She’d approached her uncle’s cabin from the south, heading north. That meant the state forest was to her right. Unless she’d gotten herself turned around?

A sob crawled up her throat. She wasn’t the outdoorsy type! She didn’t know how to survive in the wilderness.