Ten
Nina glanced up when a sudden silence fell over the area. Swallowing hard, she stared at Jackson’s grim face. “Are they gone?”
“Yeah.” He rose, holstering his weapon. “No license plate on the truck either.”
The moment the words left her mouth, she knew. This was about her. The gunmen had expected her to reach out to her mother’s friends.
“The gunmen knew we’d find Ellen,” she whispered, horrified to realize they’d brought danger to the woman’s doorstep. “They waited for us to get here.”
“Yeah.” Jackson slowly shook his head. “I didn’t anticipate that.”
She hadn’t either, but that didn’t change the result. “I feel terrible. I do think if they were really worried about what Ellen might tell me, they would have gone after her long ago. But we do need to figure out a way to keep her safe.”
Jackson nodded, but his gaze went back to the damaged SUV. She could read his thoughts. At this rate, they were setting a new record for totaled vehicles. Captain Owens was going to have a heart attack. The only good part was that she always paid for extra insurance coverage.
“We need a ride to get a new rental car,” Jackson said somberly.
The sound of police sirens filled the air. Nina was looking at the house, assessing the damage, when the front door opened a crack. Ellen’s pale face peered through the narrow opening. “What is going on?”
“I’m so sorry.” Nina couldn’t help feeling guilty. They hadn’t been entirely honest with Ellen. The poor woman didn’t know her mother had been murdered. “Go back inside. The police will be here soon.”
“Why was someone shooting?” Ellen’s voice rose in agitation. “I don’t understand.”
Nina glanced at Jackson, then stepped closer. “It’s my fault. I didn’t explain that my mother was murdered twenty-eight years ago.”
“Murdered?” Ellen shrieked. “Why were they here, though?”
The accusatory glare Ellen sent her hit hard. “I’m sorry,” she repeated. “They’re after me. I didn’t realize…”
Ellen’s lips thinned, then she stepped back and slammed the door. Nina winced but didn’t blame her.
Three police cars pulled up in front of the house. Apparently, reports of gunfire warranted a big response. Jackson moved forward to meet them, holding up his ranger badge. Nina hung back, her thoughts whirling.
Despite her guilt over putting Ellen Carter in danger, they’d learned key information about Douglas Tillman, the man who was mostly likely her biological father.
Her fingers itched to dig into his background.
She had to believe that maybe her father was responsible for these attacks.
It hurt to realize he might have killed her mother twenty-eight years ago, and now wanted to silence her.
If that was the case, until that could be proven and Tillman brought to justice, what she needed was to find a way to assure Tillman she wasn’t a threat.
That she didn’t think he’d killed her mother.
That she didn’t care about him or whatever money he might have.
If he was still wealthy, the way his parents had been when her mother had been hired as their house cleaner.
No, that wouldn’t work, she realized. It was too late. The violence had gone too far. Her Uncle Mark had been murdered, and the gunmen had gone over the deep end, shooting up the SUV, the Sunset Motel and now here outside Ellen Carter’s home.
The more she thought about it, the more she knew it was far too late to try to call off the attacks. If her biological father was responsible, then she and Jackson needed to find the evidence they needed to put him in jail where he belonged.
The gunmen, too. As they were the ones directly responsible.
Feeling sick to her stomach, she headed over to join Jackson and the officers.
“This is Nina Dobson. Nina, Officers Frelich, Tanner and Jones.”
She nodded. “We appreciate your quick response.”
“Don’t get many calls for gunfire in this neighborhood,” Jones drawled. “We need to get your statement on record.”
She glanced at Jackson, trying to gauge how much she should reveal. Then again, holding back key details from Ellen Carter had backfired in a big way.
“Ms. Ellen Carter is a high school friend of my mother’s,” she began. “We’ve been looking into my mother’s cold case murder and wanted to ask a few questions. We were leaving when the black truck pulled up and the passenger opened fire.”
“Same make and model as the black truck used in the attack on us earlier,” Jackson added. “As I told you, we’re investigating several angles. One including a drug kingpin’s trial that is set to start on Monday.”
Frelich shook his head. “Sounds complicated. Either this is related to an old case or the new trial. I don’t see how it can be both.”
“We don’t know if they are connected yet.” Jackson’s tone wasn’t long on patience. “That’s why we’re investigating all possibilities.”
“Will you please make sure there are additional patrols to this neighborhood?” Nina asked. “I’m concerned Ellen Carter is in danger.”
The officers exchanged a glance. “We’ll do that, yes. But what else can you tell us about the vehicle?”
“It was a black Ford pickup truck, no license plates,” Jackson said. “I wish I could be more specific.”
Officer Jones made a note. “What about the shooter?”
“Dressed in black. Hat low on his forehead, making it hard to get a clear look at his face.” Jackson looked pointedly at his watch. “I hate to be pushy, but we really need a ride to the closest rental care agency. The sooner we can go back to working this case, the better.”
“I’ll take you.” Officer Tanner appeared to be the youngest of the trio. “There’s a rental agency two miles from here.”
“Great.” Jackson looked relieved to be getting out of there. “Thanks.”
Nina glanced one more time over her shoulder at Ellen Carter’s bullet-riddled garage door. The main house had been spared; the damage was centered on their SUV and the garage door behind it.
“I’m worried they might come back,” she said in a low voice.
“Technically, they don’t have a reason to silence her. She’s already spoken to us.” Jackson’s expression was solemn. “I have a feeling they’ll be more determined than ever to kill you, Nina. We need to understand what role Douglas Tillman is playing in this.”
“I know.” She still found it hard to believe her own father wanted to kill her. If he had killed Anna, he’d had the chance to get rid of Nina, too, back then. “He must think I’m a threat to him in some way.”
“If he’s a public figure, you being his biological daughter could be a scandal he can’t recover from.” Jackson opened the door to the back seat of the police cruiser. “We’ll figure it out.”
She nodded. Her heart was heavy, though, and she thought about her adopted parents. How much they’d loved her. Cherished her. And provided a wonderful life for her.
A stark difference from the man who’d callously murdered her mother and now wanted to eliminate her, too.
And for what? Money and power? A wave of helpless anger and revulsion washed over her. Jackson must have noticed, because he reached over to take her hand.
Nina knew she was treading on dangerous ground. Leaning on Jackson wasn’t smart. Yet she was keenly aware of how much she needed him.
And how glad she was to have him sitting beside her, helping her through this.
* * *
Jackson wanted to pull Nina into his arms but managed to hold back. She needed a shoulder to lean on, not an embrace.
When they arrived at the car rental facility, Nina used her phone to obtain another rental vehicle, booking in the name of the same company as before.
It wasn’t ideal, but Jackson didn’t see that they had a choice.
If the gunmen had shown up at Ellen’s house because they anticipated they’d head over to talk to her, then the rental car should be safe.
Too many ifs and shoulds, he thought grimly. He made a note to call Owens as soon as they returned to the rental house near Lake Belton.
As they waited for the rental procedure to be completed, he called Creed. “We were found at Ellen’s home.”
“That’s not good,” Creed muttered. “Must be they knew you’d head over there.”
“That’s my thought, too. Unless they were able to identify the company name Nina used to rent the SUV.” He sighed, watching as Nina worked her phone. “We’re getting another clean ride now. Should be back at the rental house soon.”
“I’ve been digging into the Sanchez drug angle,” Creed said. “I’ve confirmed Ernesto Sanchez is definitely Diego’s father. Diego Sanchez took over the cartel after his father was arrested. Which is interesting because he was barely twenty years old at the time.”
The Temple police officers were right. This was getting complicated. “Okay, that’s good. We believe Douglas Tillman is Nina’s biological father. He’s from a prominent, wealthy family in the area. Likely that he’s behind this, too.”
“Tillman, huh?” Creed echoed. “That’s a great lead. We can work on that angle as well.”
“I agree.” He noticed Nina had finished with her phone. “We’ll be there soon.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Creed said. “Be careful, though. If this is related to Diego Sanchez in any way, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were able to track our vehicles despite using a fake company name.”
“We will.” He had already decided to change the license plate to help cover their tracks. “See you soon.” He ended the call, turning to Nina.
“Okay, we’re all set.” Nina’s smile was strained. “We have a dark blue SUV this time. It was the only one available that wasn’t white or silver.”
“That’s fine.” He scanned the mostly residential area. To the right, he saw a grocery store about a half mile down the road. “Let’s take a walk first. I need to pick up some black electrical tape.”
“Tape?” Nina fell into step beside him. She stayed close, as if worried the bad guys would return and spot them. He hated to admit her mass of curly red hair made her stand out from the other women around them.
Maybe they should grab a hat, too.
“We’re going to alter the license plate.” It was illegal to change a plate, but that was the least of his worries. “Just in case.”