The Seventh Victim (Texas Rangers 1)

“You’re a teenager. I think it’s written in your job description to drive your parents nuts. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you.”

A heavy silence hung between them as Danni stared ahead, her fingers still rubbing Lincoln’s head. Lara liked the kid and wanted her to feel like they could talk, but Lara’s people skills were rusty at best.

“So you move around a lot?” Danni said.

“Yeah. You’d think after a childhood of being on the move, I’d find a place to settle, but I’ve been a rolling stone since college.”

Shifting the focus back on Lara relaxed the lines furrowing the kid’s forehead. “Should I ask why?”

“I just couldn’t stay still.”

Danni grinned. “And maybe one day you’ll tell me why, and I’ll share my sordid story.” She hesitated. “Or maybe we won’t.”

Lara tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “Being closed off is safe, but it can be lonely.”

“I’ve always opted for safe.”

Lara nodded. “Me too.”

Traffic slowed, and they didn’t reach the right mile-marker until about a quarter to seven.

Lara checked her watch. “We’ve got a half hour before sunset. We’re gonna have to hustle to get set up in time.”

“I am here to serve.”

The two got out of the car. Danni hauled the developing table and Lara carried the camera along with the chemicals in a backpack. As they approached the scene Lara noticed that fresh yellow tape had been strung. The cops had been back to this location today. Was it because she’d been here today, or were they searching for new evidence?

“A crime scene, Lara?” Danni said. “Where’s the art?”

“I know it’s different. I shoot crime scenes.”

She blew a stray strand of hair from her eyes.

Danni stilled. “You shoot what?”

Her truthful answers put most on edge. “I shoot places where people have been murdered.”

Interest, not fear, sparked in Danni’s gaze. “So did someone get murdered here?”

“A woman. Just over that rise, about a month ago.”

Danni glanced around as if trying to find the spot. “How did she die?”

“Strangled.”

She shook her head. “What a way to go.”

“Yeah. It’s bad.” She offered a smile to Danni. “Are you still up for helping? If you feel weird about it, I understand.”

“It takes a lot to rattle me, Ms. Church,” Danni said. “This is low on my weird-o-meter.”

Relieved, Lara lowered her backpack to the ground and kicked out the three legs of the camera tripod, holding firmly onto the camera until the legs were firm and rooted into the ground.

Danni’s gaze scanned the horizon. “So why are you reshooting? Did the photos not work out?”

“No, they were great. I shot them at sunrise and now I want to see sunset. Death is an ending, not a beginning.” Plus, James Beck had told her not to return, so a repeat trip bumped up to the top of her priority list.

Danni shaded her gaze with her hand as she stared into the sun, which hovered above the horizon. “Light changes perspective.”

Lara grinned. “It does my heart good to know someone is listening in class. There are days when I feel like I’m talking to myself.”

“Most of the kids are about the easy A in art. They were expecting to snap a dozen pictures and be done. No one figured the teacher would be a ball buster.”

Lara laughed. “I’ve never been called a ball buster.”

Danni’s eyes twinkled with a humor Lara had never seen before. “I meant it in the nicest way.”

“Oh, I’m taking it as a compliment. Maybe I’ll have new cards made. Lara Church, Photographer, Teacher, Ball Buster.”

Both had a good laugh as they pulled out the four legs from under the table and together they set it up. She pulled the chemicals from her backpack and as she went along she explained the process to Danni.

When the table was set Danni shook her head. “God, and I thought thirty-five millimeter was a pain in the ass.”

“All a matter of degree, I guess. This was cutting-edge one hundred and fifty years ago.”

Danni watched as Lara prepared the glass negative.

In the next several minutes Lara and Danni barely spoke as she treated the negatives and then exposed them to light. By the time Lara replaced the cap on the last shot the sun was all but gone. The remaining ten minutes of light allowed them to pack up and get back to the car.

They hauled the equipment to the car, and she closed the back hatch. All the while she kept her gaze on the highway searching for a DPS car.

“So why do you keep looking in the rearview mirror?” Danni said.

“I’m not.”

“You are.” Challenge underscored the two words. “You think the killer might come back.”

Lara shrugged, knowing she’d never win the girl’s trust if she wasn’t honest. “There’s a Texas Ranger who doesn’t appreciate me hovering around his crime scene. He’s threatened to arrest me. And I am prepared to take all responsibility, so you won’t get in trouble.”

Dark eyes sparked with interest. “Then why did you still come here?”

Lara shook her head. “I suppose I’m just a little hardheaded.”

“Join the club.”

Patsy Cline’s “Crazy” crooned from a CD player, greeting Beck as he walked into the service bay of his grandfather’s garage just after eight. The place smelled of oil and gasoline, two scents that reminded him of home.

He’d been working all afternoon and planned to return to the office after this quick visit to check in on his grandfather, Henry, who he found under the engine of a late-model red Honda cussing as he struggled to release a stubborn bolt. Tall, as wiry as rawhide, Henry Beck had skin leathered and lined by the sun and a stock of white hair still as thick as Beck’s. His gray coveralls were covered in grease stains no amount of washing could erase.

When Beck had been a kid, Henry had been a force larger than life. Big, bold, strong as an ox, and loyal to his grandsons, Henry could’ve tackled any challenge, Beck believed. In those days, hell even five years ago, Henry would have loosened that bolt without breaking a sweat.

Beck considered helping the old man but understood his pride went bone deep. “Kinda late to be working.”

“Couldn’t stand to watch another minute of television,” Henry said.

Henry gave the stubborn bolt one last jerk before turning away in frustration. He swiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. “What the hell are you doing here? Doesn’t a guy like you got better things to do than visit an old man?”

Beck wasn’t put off by Henry’s gruffness. The old man took pride that his oldest grandson was a Texas Ranger. “Just thought I’d check in.”

“I don’t need a babysitter.” The statement wasn’t friendly but didn’t bite.

When Beck had been on mandatory leave he’d spent most of his time here working on the infrequent repair job that still trickled into Beck’s Garage. And his presence had allowed Henry to kick back and rest more. Technically, Henry was retired and working only part-time, but the old man was having trouble adjusting to the slower pace that his aging heart demanded. Now that Beck was back with the Rangers, Henry was back under cars. Despite part-time, Henry didn’t appear to be faring well. He looked pale and drawn, and was sweating more than he should.

“Not here to babysit.” One whiff of patronizing and Henry would shut down. “Just wanted an ear to chew.”

The old man clenched the wrench in his hands. “The boss giving you more shit?”

Despite the checkup nature of the visit, Beck valued Henry’s open ears, sparse but sage advice, and discretion. “Penn and I both put the work before the personal.”

“It’s that murdered woman case.”

“The case is chewing on me.”

“Girl strangled, the papers said.” Henry, for as long as Be

ck could remember, had read the paper from cover to cover every day.

Beck sat on a stool by the workbench, hitched the heel of his boot on a rung, and removed his hat. “There might be a second victim, but we haven’t made a solid connection yet.”

Henry set his wrench on the bench. Instinctively, he understood Beck had more to say so he waited.

Beck’s hat dangled from his forefinger as he toyed with a concha on his leather hatband. “Got a woman who survived a brutal attack a while back. I think it’s the same killer. She says she doesn’t remember her attacker.”

Henry wiped grease from his hands with an old rag. “And you don’t believe her?”