Detection Mission (Texas K-9 Unit) Page 16

  “What are you intentions with Heidi?” Molly put her hands on her waist. “She has enough to deal with. You’re sending mixed messages, and she doesn’t need to try and figure them out right now. Remember she’s trying to figure out who she really is.”

  “Is that why you insisted on Alexa coming to the party Friday night?”

  She gave him a pointed look. “Your department is a close-knit one and what happened between you two has affected that. Dan should be able to bring his wife to gatherings without feeling uncomfortable.”

  “What about me? I’m not the one who went out and had an affair with someone Alexa worked with.”

  “I’m not saying what they did wasn’t wrong, but I expect more from you.” Molly glanced behind Lee. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I see Lorna.” She started toward her friend, stopped and said, “By the way, Heidi is out in the garden.”

  Lee watched his landlady thread her way through the crowd to Lorna. His teeth clenched so tightly his jaw ached. When she looked back at him, he stalked toward the door into the foyer, not sure where he was going.

  He took several steps toward the exit to find Heidi in the garden. But he paused. What could he say to Heidi when he was so confused? He’d thought he’d moved on with Alexa. Now he wasn’t sure.

  His gaze latched on to the doors to the sanctuary. He needed answers. He strode inside to find a quiet place to lay his problem before God.

  * * *

  Heidi crossed her arms over her chest and wished she’d grabbed her jacket before leaving the church. She should go back in, but she didn’t want to right now. Closing her eyes, she once again tried to picture what her life had been like before her accident. A small, white house with a porch faded in and out of her mind, never staying long enough for her to get a feel for where it was or any details that would help her remember more. What did it mean to her? What about the adobe house she’d remembered earlier?

  The warmth of the sun disappeared. She opened her eyes to find clouds moving across it and obscuring it from her view. Suddenly, she felt her life had been more like a cold, cloudy day with little sunlight and warmth. She shivered and hugged her arms even more to her.

  From her vantage point on the bench in the middle of the garden she spied a man standing at a Jeep parked along the street. Tall with a broad chest, the man jiggled his set of keys and stared at her with an intensity she sensed across the distance. She fixed on the keys bouncing up and down. Fear edged into her mind. There was something about that action that caused sweat to coat her forehead while a chill encased her. She started to get up.

  “Heidi, aren’t you cold?” Lee asked, coming from around the corner.

  Relief fluttered through her. Nodding, she slid her gaze toward the stranger beside the Jeep in the street. He was gone. Strange. Did she know him?

  Lee slipped off his jacket and slung it over her shoulders, then sat next to her on the bench.

  “What are you doing out here?” The sight of the man jiggling his keys stayed in her mind. Why did that action bother her?

  “I came to find you.”

  “Why?” Heidi fingered her gold locket, rubbing her thumb over its surface.

  “Because I owe you an explanation about Friday night.”

  “No, you don’t. You owe me nothing. I’m the one who owes you for all you’ve done for me. You have a right to feel for and care about anyone you want. We’ll just be friends. At least I think we are.” Truth was, she didn’t know anything right now. Again, she glanced toward the Jeep. Where did the man go? Her fingers tightened about the locket.

  “Is something wrong?”

  She peered back at Lee. “No, I’m fine. Just frustrated at myself for not remembering. I’ve recalled a small, white house with a porch and a swing on it.” Swing? When did she realize it had a porch swing?

  “Do you think it’s where you lived?”

  “Maybe. It could be my childhood home for all I know.” She began to rise. “We should go inside.”

  “Stay for a moment.”

  She sank back next to him, suddenly no longer chilled.

  “We’re more than friends, Heidi. I care a lot about you...and I owe you an explanation about Alexa.”

  “Stop it. You don’t. She’s in your past. So you’re angry at her for what she did to you. That’s between you two.” She shrugged. “No telling what’s in my past. I’m probably upset at someone. How can I expect you to get over someone in eight months? I don’t have the right—”

  Lee clasped her upper arms and dragged her against him, planting a kiss on her mouth. Stunned, she didn’t respond for a few seconds, then as before with him, she gave in to her feelings growing deep inside her. She sensed she’d never felt this kind of caring from a man before.

  When he parted, his forehead touched hers while his hands cradled her face. “I figured out why I was still mad at Alexa. She has what I want—a spouse and a child. It isn’t because I still love her. I was jealous that while I was hurt, she was getting what I wanted. When we became engaged, I’d thought I’d found what I wanted, but I knew something wasn’t right even before I discovered Alexa was cheating on me with Dan. We’d known each other for several years, and yet we didn’t really. Neither one of us truly shared ourselves with the other.”

  “It’s not the amount of time you spend with someone. It’s what you do when you spend the time with that person.”

  He cocked a grin. “I’m learning that. I don’t know anything about your past, but I know the type of person you are. I see you with Molly, with Valerie’s niece with Abbey and Kip. There are no barriers there. You’re not trying to hide behind a facade of what you think others should see. You’re you.”

  “That’s because I don’t know who I am,” she said with a laugh. “What you see is what you get. You’re learning as I’m learning who I am.”

  “But it’s been a good journey. One I want to continue with you. I don’t know where it will lead, but I do know we’re not just friends.”

  “So what are we, then?”

  “We’re—dating. I’d like to take you out next weekend on an official date. I don’t want to rush you. I know you’ve got a lot on your mind.”

  “I can’t even tell you when I had a date last.”

  “I don’t care,” he murmured. “Ready to go back inside?”

  “Yes, Molly is probably wondering where I am. We’re meeting with the other ladies who are in the quilting group. She’s determined to show me how to quilt. I think it’s a lost cause. I don’t know how many times I poked my finger with a needle. I think my forefinger has become a pincushion.”

  “Then don’t do it.” He rose and offered her his hand.

  “I admire their work and wish I could quilt. I just don’t think it’s going to happen. I’m trying to do all kinds of things to see what I like doing.”

  “That’s a good idea, but when you find you don’t like doing something, then don’t do it. Molly will understand.”

  Taking his hand, she stood. “I know. I’m going today to strictly be a cheerleader for their efforts. I like the women, and it’s been nice getting to know them.”

  As Heidi walked toward the church entrance, she glanced over her shoulder at the Jeep across the street. It was gone, too. She’d been so intent on Lee she hadn’t even noticed. He had a way of consuming her attention. Good thing she didn’t have to be so attuned to her surroundings as she had when someone was after her.

  * * *

  Monday morning, Lee pulled up into the parking lot next to the Sagebrush Public Library, down the street from the police station. After turning the SUV off, he twisted toward Heidi. “I can pick you up after work. What time do you think you’ll be off?”

  “This isn’t that far from Molly’s. I’ll walk home later today. I appreciate the ride, but I could have walked this morning, too.”

  He shurgged. “I was coming right by here on my way to work. This isn’t out of my way.”

  “One of the first things I
want when I get enough money is a car. I hate for you to feel you have to be my chauffeur.”

  “But I don’t. I—”

  She laid two fingers over his mouth. “I know, but I have to do this by myself. I need to learn to depend on myself. Ever since I’ve awakened from the coma, you’ve been there to help me, and I have appreciated that. Now it’s my turn to figure out what to do.”

  “Have you always been this independent?” Lee asked without really thinking. “Never mind—”

  “No, it’s a good question, and one I wish I could answer. I hope so, but I don’t know. Regardless, I want to be self-sufficient now.”

  “Then I’ll see you at Molly’s this evening. You can tell me about your first day on the job.”

  Heidi pushed the passenger door open. “See you then.” When he started to leave the SUV to escort her to the library, she added, “I know where to go.”

  “Sorry. I forgot momentarily.”

  Lee watched her enter the building before backing out of the parking space. “Kip, I’m gonna need you to bark when I try and do too much for her.”

  His dog responded with a bark.

  When he parked next to the police station a minute later, he leashed Kip and walked him toward the training center. “Don’t have too much fun without me. Desk work this morning on the case. I’m going to continue my search for who Heidi really is. Mostly phone work.” His border collie peered up at him with a tilted head. “I know. Not my favorite part of the job, either.”

  He left Kip with Harry and strode toward the police station. A Jeep turned into the parking lot and slowed as it approached Lee.

  A blond-haired man rolled down the window. “Can you give me directions to the Jefferson Inn?”

  “Sure.” Lee pointed toward Sagebrush Boulevard. “Go left and take this street through two stoplights. At the third one take a right. It’s not far down on the left side of the road. It’s a nice place to stay.”

  “Thanks.”

  As the stranger circled around and headed back to the main street through town, Lee remembered seeing the vehicle behind him when he drove into the parking lot next to the library. That guy was totally lost. He probably went through town and realized he’d gone too far.

  As he entered the building by the back door, his cell rang. He quickly answered it when he saw the caller was from the San Antonio Police. “Calloway here.”

  “This is Detective Longworth in San Antonio. William Peterson’s body was found in Tom Green County in an abandoned store along a back highway.”

  “What happened?” Lee ducked into an empty room off the hallway, his gut clenching because he had a bad feeling about this.

  “Beaten to death but the medical examiner thinks the official cause of death was strangulation.”

  He grimaced. “How long ago did this happen?”

  “Estimated time of death was about a month ago.”

  Was Heidi somehow involved in this man’s death? The second the question flitted into his mind, it left. Not the woman he knew. But she could have witnessed something. “Do you have any leads on who killed him?”

  “Not much. The ME feels that the blows were inflicted by someone large and powerful and the bruises on the neck support that. Most likely a man or a woman with very big hands beat and strangled him. Some of the blows the man received cracked and broke bones, so not likely a woman.”

  Especially Heidi, who was petite with small hands. But still, did she know something about this man’s death? Was that why she couldn’t remember her past? More an emotional trauma now that she was physically recovering?

  “I need to come interview your Jane Doe, the one you think might be connected to William Peterson’s car found in Sagebrush.”

  “She still hasn’t recovered her memory,” Lee told the detective.

  “I’m coming this afternoon. I have pictures of the area where William Peterson’s body was found. They might help her recall what happened.” The detective paused for a long moment. “This was a brutal murder. A lot of rage in it. She might know something and not realize it.”

  “Fax the pictures. Let me talk with her this afternoon, then I’ll call you. She’s gone through a lot since we were in San Antonio.” Lee went on to explain what had happened in Sagebrush.

  “Fine. I’ll send them now with the autopsy report from the medical examiner in Tom Green County.”

  “Does it have the man’s blood type in the report?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “There was a cloth found in the car with Heidi’s blood type and an unknown person. DNA tests were being run on it, but the results haven’t come back. You know how that goes.”

  The San Antonio detective sighed. “We spend half our time waiting on test results. I’ll let the sheriff in Tom Green County know about Heidi. He’s running the case and will probably give you a call later. At least I get to close out my missing-person’s case. Not the way I want to, though.”

  When the detective hung up, Lee stared at the tile floor. He wasn’t going to wait for a call from the sheriff. After he filled his captain in on the news of William Peterson’s death, he’d give the sheriff a call. Heidi might be from that area. He would solicit the man’s help in recanvassing the towns around there for any information on a missing woman of Heidi’s description.

  * * *

  Later that afternoon, Lee passed the black Jeep—the same one from this morning—sitting in front of an office building several down from the library. The man must have found the person he needed to see. Lee turned into the parking lot and hurried into the building, wanting to catch Heidi before she left work.

  The lady at the main desk directed him toward the children’s section. Heidi sat in a chair with children in a semicircle around her, listening to her read them a story. He waited, watching her face lit with enthusiasm.

  “The end,” she said to the kids, a few immediately asking her to read another book. “Your parents are here to pick you up. This group will meet the same time on Thursday. Don’t forget to take the books you checked out.” She scanned the children as though counting them to make sure the right kids went with the right adult.

  As the area emptied, Lee strolled toward her.

  “You’re so good with the kids.”

  She blushed. “I’m enjoying the job.”

  “I know you told me you could walk home, but I need to talk with you and show you some photos. I waited until you were through working today.”

  “Photos?” She picked up the story she’d read and reshelved it.

  “Get your purse and jacket. I’ll explain in the car on the way to the police station.”

  She stiffened. “This doesn’t sound good.”

  He looked around, then leaned closer to say, “William Peterson’s body was found yesterday.”

  She paled. “Murdered?”

  He nodded.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  Lee lounged against a post while children rummaged for books on the shelves. By the time the dozen kids went with their parents, few stories were left. A prickling sensation danced across his nape. He glanced back but no one was there. He frowned, then saw Heidi exit a back room behind the counter and make her way to him.

  Worry knitted her forehead, a solemn expression chasing away the earlier smile. “I’m ready. Are the photos at the police station?”

  “Yes.”

  She stopped and rotated toward him. “Is this an official interview?” Tension vibrated from her.

  He shook his head. “Peterson was killed by someone very big and strong. You don’t fit that description.” He wanted to take her into his arms and comfort her. This couldn’t be easy for her.

  “But what if I was there or I know something about it?” She tapped her temple. “All locked up in here.”

  “I’m hoping the photos will help you remember. I received a whole array from the sheriff in Tom Green County.”

  “He called you?”

  “No, the detective on Peters
on’s missing-person’s case. He faxed me some pictures, and I got some more from the sheriff.”

  Her face paled. “Photos of William Peterson?”

  “Not ones you need to see.”

  “How bad was it?”

  Lee blocked her exit from the library. “The person who killed him was strong enough to break his bones. That’s strong.”

  “So he was beaten to death.” A shudder shivered down Heidi.

  “Technically, the cause of death was strangulation—someone with large hands.” Lee took one of hers, laying it against his. He curled his fingers down over hers. “Ones much bigger than yours. So quit thinking you had anything to do with this man’s murder.”

  “But I have a connection to the man. I don’t know what, but I need to figure out what it is.”

  “We need to, so I’m going to walk you through what I know about what happened to Peterson.” He entwined his fingers through hers and started down the steps.

  “Where was he found?”

  “In a deserted cafe/gas station on a back road. According to the sheriff, it doesn’t have a lot of traffic. A couple’s car broke down. When the husband went for help, he walked by the place and thought he would see if there was a pay phone somewhere around the store that still worked. He thought at first an animal had died in the building, but when he investigated it, he discovered Peterson.” Lee opened his passenger door and then rounded the front of his SUV and pulled out of the parking lot.

  “How long has the man been dead?”

  “A month.”

  “About the time I arrived here in his car.”

  Lee nodded. “That’s what I was thinking.”

  “And I’m not from around Tom Green County?”

  “No one who fits your description is missing. I had the sheriff check last week and recheck again today. Actually, no woman is missing right now.” He pulled into a space next to the police station. “I think it’s time we put out an alert all over Texas and the surrounding states.”

  “Yeah, but what if the murderer finds out and comes after me? What if I witnessed Peterson’s death and can ID the killer?”