Six
Leaning on Jackson for strength and support wasn’t smart. Nina had to force herself to break away from him. She’d been down this path before with Ranger Sean Clancy and really didn’t want to repeat the mistakes of the past. Especially with a man who had a reputation for playing the field.
Doing her best to ignore Jackson’s musky scent, she wiped at her face. Learning her mother had gotten pregnant at seventeen made her feel sick to her stomach. Had her mother been with a serious boyfriend back then? Yet if so, shouldn’t he have come forward when her mother had gone missing?
Jackson had mentioned her biological father may not have known about the baby, but in her mind, he certainly should have. At the very least, the guy would know that a pregnancy was a possibility.
When Nina had been seventeen, she’d played the clarinet in their school’s marching band and participated on the debate team.
Her memories of high school were good, her life had been fun and carefree.
She hadn’t had a serious boyfriend back then, although Tim Wagner had asked her to prom.
She and Tim had gone their separate ways after graduation.
Nina had gone to college in Austin and had fallen in love with the city so much that she’d stayed.
“Are you okay?” Jackson’s dark, probing gaze lingered on her face.
She lifted one shoulder. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
His gaze was skeptical. “You’ve had a rough evening and it’s well past midnight now. Please try to get some sleep. We can pick up the investigation in the morning.”
He was right, her body craved sleep. Nina wasn’t sure her mind would allow her to rest, though. The sounds of gunfire had finally faded away, but every time she closed her eyes she could still see her Uncle Mark’s dead body.
She had barely known the man, having had only two brief phone calls with him, but she still felt bad about losing the only link she had to her birth family.
She tried to shake off the despondency. Time to look on the bright side.
She knew more about her birth mother now.
Too bad, she couldn’t say the same thing about her biological father.
Deep down, she realized she didn’t really want to find him. That he’d left her mother pregnant at seventeen to give birth on her own, only to be shot and killed, not to mention brutally assaulted beforehand, fueled her anger. He must be a despicable human being.
And a murderer? Swallowing hard, she was forced to admit anything was possible.
“Nina? Please?” Jackson’s soft plea washed over her. He was being incredibly sweet and kind. More so than Sean had ever been.
“Okay.” She saved the document on the screen and powered down the laptop. “I’ll try to get some rest.”
“Good.” His concerned expression warmed her heart.
She did her best to ignore the attraction sizzling between them.
Probably more so on her side, she thought grimly.
Jackson stood and put a hand beneath her elbow to help her up.
“Keep in mind, Creed and I are going to need your computer expertise come morning.”
That almost made her smile. “I know, you guys are hopeless when it comes to tech stuff.”
“Yep.” He grinned. “Because we know we can count on you to help us out of a jam.”
Now she did smile, despite everything she’d been through. Why did he have to be so charming? Nina looked away and quickly crossed the room. “Good night.”
“Good night, Nina.” She could feel his gaze linger on her as she slipped into her room and closed the door behind her.
She hadn’t expected to sleep but she must have, because the next thing she knew, sunlight was streaming in through her east-facing window. She blinked, her first thought going to the computer she needed to get back to.
Temple, Texas. The city where Nina’s mother had given birth to her flashed in her mind. She’d been so distraught last night over learning her mother’s young age that she hadn’t paid much attention to the other details she’d uncovered.
Why had her mother given birth in Temple, Texas, only to be found in Dallas ten days later, bruised and suffering a gunshot wound to the abdomen?
Nina quickly washed up in the bathroom, wincing at her wildly out-of-control hair. Nothing she could do about it now. Her cosmetic bag and wide-tooth comb were in her suitcase in the bullet-riddled motel room.
Stupid to want to look nice for Jackson. She smoothed her hands over her wrinkled clothes and headed into the main suite. The welcome scent of coffee greeted her. Jackson was sitting at the table, his phone beside the computer.
“You didn’t mess with my document, did you?” She hurried forward, feeling possessive of the device and the work she’d done thus far.
“Nope.” He arched a brow. “You look better.”
“Sleep helps.” She turned to pour a cup of coffee from the pot on the credenza. “Where’s Creed?”
“He’ll be out soon.” She noticed Jackson’s hair was damp and envied him the ability to shower. Without a wide-tooth comb to tame her wild curls, she didn’t dare try to wash her hair. “I hope you don’t mind that I read through your notes.”
“Of course not.” Silly to feel as if the information she’d uncovered was private. If the gunmen who’d opened fire outside her uncle’s cabin were related to her mother’s cold case murder, she needed everyone to know every aspect of her mother’s life.
“I noticed the birth certificate was for Temple, Texas,” Jackson said.
Sipping her coffee, she sat in the chair beside him. “Yes, that’s interesting, isn’t it? I need to dig into Temple a bit. It’s possible Anna lived there, which is why she’d given birth at the local hospital there. Although that doesn’t explain why she’d been in Dallas when she was murdered.”
“Maybe that’s where your biological father lived?”
Jackson’s suggestion made sense. Easy to imagine her mother bringing her new baby daughter to show the man who’d fathered her. “Do you think he killed her to avoid paying child support?”
Jackson grimaced. “I don’t know… That’s a coldhearted thing to do.”
“Yeah.” She glanced over as Creed entered the room. Then she turned her attention back to the computer screen. “I hate thinking about how much my mother must have suffered. Being a pregnant teenager is bad enough without having any support from the baby’s father.”
Jackson put a hand on her arm. “Nina, don’t jump to conclusions.
We don’t know who your biological father is, or if he’s the reason she went to Dallas.
Maybe she went there to live with her brother, your Uncle Mark?
It’s possible she walked in on a drug deal in progress and things went south from there. ”
Drawing a slow, deep breath, she realized he was right. The alternate theory of her mother going to live with her brother and getting caught in his troubles made sense. Especially now that she knew Uncle Mark had spent twenty years in prison.
“Maybe my uncle killed the man who attacked my mother?” She frowned, then added, “Although that would be considered self-defense or defense of others, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, but we don’t know exactly how things went down.” Jackson gestured to the laptop. “You’ll need to get the police report from twenty-eight years ago, when your uncle was arrested.”
“I can do that.” She felt lighter knowing they had several angles to work. “It could be that my mother escaped, only to collapse and crawl to the local fire station. I’ll also need to talk to the detective who has her case now.”
“What did I miss?” Creed asked, finishing the last of the coffee. He glanced at her as he set about making another pot. “Sounds like you’ve made some progress.”
“I did.” Nina quickly filled Creed in on everything she’d learned. “Now that I know my mother delivered me in Temple, I can dig into the high schools in the area to identify her friends and maybe even a boyfriend.”
“That’s a good place to start, but she may not have graduated high school,” Jackson warned.
“Be prepared for anything, Nina. I don’t want you to go into this with preconceived ideas.
I know it’s hard with your personal connection to the case, but things may not have been great for your mom back then. ”
Again, he was right. She wanted to paint a rosy picture of her biological parents, but knew the truth was likely far different.
“I won’t.” She gave him a slight nod. “I’ll keep an open mind.”
“Any word from the ME’s office?” Creed asked, dropping into the seat across from them.
“Not yet.” Jackson reached for the room service menu. “Let’s order breakfast. I’ll call him back if we haven’t heard anything within the hour.”
Nina pulled the computer closer, quickly reviewing her notes from last night. She brought up a map of Temple, easily finding the only hospital in the small town. Again, she couldn’t help but wonder why no one had come forward to identify her, if her mother had lived that close to Dallas?
It seemed inconceivable that Anna Lange had been a Jane Doe for twenty-eight years.
“Nina? What would you like?” Jackson’s question poked through her troubling thoughts.
“Two eggs over easy, with toast and hash browns.” She managed a smile. “Thanks.”
A few minutes after Jackson placed their order, his phone rang. She jumped, spilling her coffee. She felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment, but thankfully it didn’t seem as if the guys noticed.
“It’s the ME’s office,” Jackson said as he hit the button to answer. She was glad to note he’d put the call on speaker. “Ranger Jackson Woodlow.”
“This is Dr. Kraft. I understand you’re looking for the autopsy report on Mark Lange.”
“Yes, sir, have you completed your exam?” Jackson held her gaze, almost as if he was wondering if she could handle hearing this. She gave a small nod to indicate she’d be okay.