“What did Dallas P.D. and our guys find at the American Airlines Center? What kind of clues do we have?”
“Struck out there, too,” David said. “The sound folks insist Argus had to be in the arena to do what he did. He had to cut into the frequency to take over the sound system. But anyone who looked
the least bit suspicious was searched exiting. Nothing was found. And his voice was electronically distorted. It’s useless.”
“Great,” I said. “Any more good news?”
“Your mom’s baking,” David said. “It was a rough night.”
Sighing, I shrugged and shook my head. I stumbled like the living dead to the kitchen where I found Mom, just as David described, wrist deep in bread dough, kneading it like she could beat down all our problems. Every inch of counter was covered with cake pans, muffin tins, cookie sheets, and all manner of fresh baked goods. If Bobby Barker calmed Mom down enough to keep her from heading to the ovens, my shenanigans had driven her to the spatulas, eggs, nonstick baking spray, and flour. Luckily, I wasn’t the only one on the premises to feed. We had a battalion of cops patrolling the property, all dressed in civvies and acting like ranch hands, tending to the stock. Still, if anyone looked too closely they might see gun bulges under their work shirts.
“I have blueberry, cranberry, and banana-nut muffins, iced coffee cake, and four kinds of bread, including your favorite cheese and jalapeño,” Mom said, whacking the ball of dough in her hands back down onto the wooden cutting board. “You can have any and all for breakfast. Right now, I’m working on braided egg bread for lunch. I’m thinking chicken salad sandwiches.”
“You don’t have to feed everyone, Mom,” I assured her. “The captain will send out for food. He doesn’t expect you to do this.”
“They’re our guests, Sarah,” she said. “Besides, you know this helps me settle down when things are, well, stressful.”
“Okay,” I said. “Hand me a cranberry muffin, and I’ll put on fresh coffee. I have no doubt that if we’ve accomplished nothing else, you’ve done enough work here to get nominated as Ranger Mother of the Year.”
“There’s an award like that?” Mom said. She looked at me, and
then broke into a nearly hysterical laugh. I slipped my arms around her and gave her a long hug.
“I love you, Mom,” I said.
“I love you, too, dear,” she answered, but then she frowned, a look I knew only too well. Mom was far from happy. “Sometimes being your mother brings adventure into my life. I have lady friends who yearn for excitement, but a lot of this I’d pass on if anyone gave me the option.”
“That I can’t argue,” I said. “But we’ll have the superstar out of here this morning and you can go back to baking cheesecake for the paying customers.”
“Sounds good,” she said, but then she thought about that and said, “You know, I do feel sorry for that girl. Where will she go?”
I wasn’t surprised. Mom’s heart was always a bit too soft. Plus, I didn’t have an answer. The captain walked in and it appeared he did, but not one I was going to like. “We’ve kind of hit a wall there, Mrs. Potts,” he said. “Agent Garrity and I have been working on it all night. That kid’s face is too well known. We’re afraid to move her. Someone’s bound to spot her, and once that happens, the paparazzi will swoop in and we don’t have a heartbeat’s chance of hiding her. Sarah’s decision to bring her here was a good one. It’s our best option.”
That wasn’t what I wanted to hear. “Captain, may I talk to you in the living room?” I asked. He nodded and followed. David was still in the room, and I didn’t mince words. “You can’t keep that kid here. Absolutely not. This was a stopgap measure to cover last night. Nothing more. Having her here puts Mom and Maggie in danger. Cassidy Collins needs to leave.”
“We understand that, Sarah,” David said. He looked tired and worried. “But the captain’s telling you the truth. We’ve talked with everyone at the FBI and ranger headquarters who could help, and
they’ve all come up dry. We don’t have a safe house we can get her to without her being noticed. It’s too risky. Her face is too well known. If we move her, someone is going to recognize that kid. We can’t take that chance.”
“You’re not listening to me,” I said. “I will not have my family in harm’s way. It’s not an option.”
“Now hold on, Sarah,” the captain said, putting up his hands as if blocking a blow. “We’re not suggesting you do that. We’ve come up with another alternative.”
“Another alternative, other than sending that smart-mouthed kid somewhere else? You expect me to believe there’s another option, one that doesn’t put my family in jeopardy?”
“Yes,” David urged. “Give the captain a chance.”
Doubtful, I put my hands on my hips and waited. “Okay,” I said. “You’ve got my full attention.”
“We’re moving Maggie and your mother to another location,” the captain said. “All the arrangements are already made. They’re getting a vacation, kind of, all at the taxpayers’ expense.”
“Tomorrow is Monday. Maggie has school, and Mom has the ranch to run,” I said. “Where are you planning to send them? Disney World?”
“Just through tomorrow evening, Sarah, and this will all be over. Collins will be on her way back to California,” he said. “Right after the girl performs at the rodeo.”
Now that really threw me. I couldn’t believe anyone thought Collins would be appearing in Houston anytime soon. “You think anyone will come to see that kid at the rodeo, knowing some whack job might show up and try to kill her?” I asked. “After what happened in Dallas? It must be all over the newspapers.”
“It is,” David said. “And on the Internet. But Collins’s public relations machine stepped in and spun it, started rumors that what happened was part of Collins’s act, a publicity stunt to get the kids in the
audience stirred up. It worked so well that a Houston radio station started a ‘Find Cassidy Collins Contest’ with tickets to her rodeo concert tomorrow night as the prize. Unfortunately, that wasn’t exactly what we were hoping for. We didn’t particularly want teenagers all over Houston looking for the kid, hoping to be the first to post her location online.”
“The PR folks convinced the press that this whole thing is a game?” I scoffed. “How could anyone believe that, when she ran off the stage and didn’t finish the act?”
“Well, we caught a break. It all happened near the end of her performance. The timing worked,” David said. “With a little prodding from her spin guys, yeah, her fans and the press believe it was all a ruse, just an exciting way to get Collins off the stage and start a worldwide publicity campaign.”
“Okay, so the fans will come. I understand. But you can’t think that kid’s going to perform? After last night?” I asked.
“We’re hoping to have the SOB in custody by the time the kid’s supposed to walk on the stage at the rodeo,” David said. “If that doesn’t happen, we need her to perform to draw him out in the open. Our plan is to use Collins’s rodeo performance to lure him and we’re hoping he’ll drop his guard. This time, we’ll be prepared.”
“What are you going to do that we didn’t do in Dallas?” I asked.
At this point, it appeared neither one of the two men wanted to take the lead. I had a feeling they didn’t want to admit they hadn’t planned that far in advance. “We’ve got a mess of people looking into that,” the captain said. “When the time comes, we’ll be ready.”
“That’s fine, but don’t involve my family,” I protested. “I want that girl out of here this morning. I won’t disrupt Maggie and Mom. I can’t. Not after last year.”
“It’s okay, Mom,” a small voice said behind me. When I turned around, Maggie stood listening, and I figured she’d heard much of the argument. “If Cassidy Collins needs help, Gram and I can move
for a couple of days. Only thing is, Captain, I can’t go to Florida, even if it is Disney World. I need to take Warrior and Emma Lou with me.”
“No, Maggie,” David said. He shook his head, and moved toward her, reached out and put his hands on my daughter’s slim shoulders. She looked up at him, as he smiled reassuringly down at her. “I’m sorry, but there’s no way you can take the horses,” he said. “That’s just not possible.”
An injured look flashed across her young face, and David didn’t appear surprised. He must have understood that for Maggie, leaving Warrior was unthinkable. “I know this is difficult, but we’re in a bad situation. Our priority is to keep Cassidy Collins and you and your grandmother safe,” he explained. “The best way to do that is what we’ve worked out for the next couple of days, keeping Cassidy here on the ranch and checking you and your grandmother into a suite at a downtown hotel. You’ll be registered under assumed names, as our guests, until Cassidy Collins leaves for California.”
“But what about Warrior? He needs us right now,” Maggie said. “He’s so little.”
“Most of the rangers helping out on the ranch have horses, and they’ll help your mom watch over him. And in a pinch, we can call Doc Larson,” David said, his manner calm. “Maggie, it’s really for the best. Warrior is so young, barely two days old. You wouldn’t want to risk moving him, would you?”
“David, I don’t think this is a good idea,” I interrupted.
“No. He’s right, Mom,” Maggie said, being very brave. She looked up at David again, this time with a sad acceptance. “You’ll all be here to take care of the horses. It’ll be okay. And the hotel could be fun. Gram and I could get room service and watch television and movies.”
“Tomorrow morning, you’ll call her school and tell them Mag
gie’s sick,” the captain said. “We can get her teachers to give us her books and the day’s assignments. Tuesday morning, she’ll be back in class.”
“It’s all right with me, too,” Mom said, standing in the doorway. “That Collins girl needs help, Sarah. Maggie and I will be all right. Frieda will help you look after the horses.”
“Frieda should go to the hotel, too,” the captain said. “It’s safest if she’s with you and Maggie at the hotel.”
“Are you sure?” I asked Maggie, and then looked over at Mom. “Are you positive you’re both okay with this?”
“I’m sure,” Maggie said. “I don’t want anything to happen to Cassidy. I really don’t. And I trust you and Mr. Garrity to take care of Warrior.”
“I’m sure, too, Sarah,” Mom said.
“It’s settled then,” the captain said. “Can you be ready to go in an hour?”
“I’ll get the car packed,” Mom said.
“No, the chopper is still out in the pasture. It’ll take you,” he said. “Just pack your bags. We’ll tell Frieda to pack hers, and we’ll fly you out of here, so we’re sure you’re not followed. You’ll land in downtown Houston, and there’ll be a limo waiting. We’re hoping to spoil you ladies a bit, to try to make up for the inconvenience.”
“What’ll I tell Bobby?” Mom asked. “We were going to the barbecue cook-off again this afternoon.”
“Call and tell him you had to go visit a sick relative, Mrs. Potts,” the captain suggested. “It’s safer if no one knows where you are. We booked a large, three-bedroom suite, and you’ll have two officers with you at all times. We’re not taking any chances.”
“Okay,” Mom said. “I’ll call Bobby right away.”
“No,” the captain said. “Not from the ranch. From here on out, no one uses the house phone or your old cell phones. We have new cell phones for all of you, just for the duration.”
Mom looked at me, alarmed. “Well, is that really necessary? Can’t I make a few phone calls?”
“Not if we’re doing this, Mom,” I said. “You and Maggie are under guard and secluded until it’s over. Just call Bobby on the new cell phone and give him that number as your contact. Don’t call him on any other phones, including from your hotel room, and don’t tell him where you are.”
Mom nodded. “Okay,” she said. “If it’ll help that girl, it’s okay.”
“One more thing, Mom. You need to call Strings and tell him to stay away, that Maggie’s illness, whatever it is, is contagious,” I said. Maggie looked for a moment like she was going to protest, but then stopped. “If we don’t, he’ll drop in like usual, and he’ll know something is going on.”
“Okay,” Mom said. “I’ll do that, too.”
“We’re getting Sarah a new phone, too, one you can safely call her on,” the captain said. “She won’t be answering her old one until this is over, and we don’t figure she’ll do well not hearing from the two of you, even for two days.”
“That’s a smart decision,” I said. “Even a day could be a problem.”
“We need to move quickly, while it’s still early and most folks are asleep,” the captain said. “We don’t want anyone to notice the helicopter taking off from the ranch.”
The captain gave Maggie, Mom, and Frieda an hour to pack, but they were ready in thirty minutes. Everyone was gathered at the chopper in the pasture but Maggie, and the luggage was loaded, just a few small bags.
“Where’s that granddaughter of mine?” Mom asked.
“I’ll get her,” I said. I didn’t have to guess. I knew where she’d be. When I walked in the shed, Maggie was patting Warrior with Emma Lou watching.
“It’s time, Maggie,” I said. “Everyone’s waiting.”
“Okay,” Maggie said, her voice cracking ever so slightly.
“I’ll do my best to watch over him. I promise,” I said. “And if anything at all looks wrong, I’ll call Doc Larson ASAP.”
“Yeah,” she said, hugging me. “I know you will, Mom. I’m not worried.”
“Then come on, Magpie,” I said. “You’ve got an adventure ahead. Your first helicopter ride!”
Maggie smiled, while I fought back a wave of overwhelming anxiety, one I knew nothing but finding Argus and getting my family safely home could ease.
Y
uck, look at all that fat and sugar,” Cassidy Collins said when she finally made her way downstairs about eleven that morning, sizing up Mom’s baking binge still covering the kitchen. Even a squad of rangers and state troopers hadn’t polished it all off. “Thanks, but I don’t eat sweets. Someone needs to hit Starbucks. I want my usual, a venti, nonfat vanilla latte, two shots, extra hot.”
“Not exactly health food,” I commented. Without looking up from the report I was reading, a faxed rundown on what Dallas P.D. discovered by searching the American Airlines Center the night before—basically nothing—I said, “There’s coffee in the pot on the counter. Shouldn’t be too bad. It’s just four or five hours old. And there’s milk in the refrigerator, unless my mom used it all baking. We don’t buy skim. Sorry.”