Body of Evidence (3 page)

“Yeah, so don't ever go back there alone after dark, okay?”

“I'm usually too tired to do anything other than come home and eat a bite, do paperwork, then go to bed.”

“Got it. So tomorrow, you can show me around. I'd like to explore the entire acreage while I'm here. And I need to question the previous owner, too.”

“Previous owner lives out of state. I'll give you his number. We can take the horses out. I need to check on
a few things, anyway. I'll also give you the name and number of the Realtor who brokered the deal.”

“We need to update your regular employees. Just tell them I'm here to help with security for the new pen.”

“That won't be hard. No offense, but you shout law enforcement. So working security should appease them.”

He held up a hand. “I'm in civilian clothes. Look, just remind them to keep an eye out. Tell them you suspect trespassers back there. If you can give me a list of names, I can do background checks on them, too.”

“Yeah, right. My employees and volunteers are solid.”

“I'm glad you can vouch for them but I have to explore every angle. You'd be surprised how many crimes are from an inside job.”

She nodded. “We're very strict on the rules and regulations around here, so I'll tell them to cooperate. But back to that lot, Jacob and his friends used to hang out there. They like to ride their four-wheelers around my property, but I did warn him after the fence was cut. I'll do the same with the construction workers and the volunteers. I guess it pays to be on the lookout. Like I said, people have been known to try and steal animals, especially endangered or exotic animals, so that's a valid point. Will that work for you?”

“Fair enough. Now tell me, have you had any other strange things going on around here lately—things that you've noticed yourself but didn't talk to anyone about?”

She shook her head. “Not if you don't count Boudreaux and Bobby Wayne fighting now and again. Or
the coyotes howling in the middle of the night. Or my turtles trying to escape their pen. Or the llama chasing my part-time helper. Or the goats escaping and eating all my potted plants. Nothing strange at all.” Then she glanced up and away. “Or the neighbor who's protesting that new gator pen—nothing strange there. He just doesn't get animal rescue, I reckon.” Her head came up. “Hey, maybe he sent that man to cut my fence.”

“Tell me more about the neighbor,” Anderson said. “And we'll talk about those ornery gators and turtles later.”

“Ralph Chason? He moved next to me about two years ago. We got along fine—I mean we rarely see each other—until he found out I'd bought the extra land. He had a fit when he heard I was digging a pond back there.”

“Why should that bother him?” Anderson asked, his radar going up.

She shrugged. “I think he likes to take long walks back there. He's kind of a loner, some sort of artist. He works with wood and I'm sure he gets a lot of it from back there. Maybe he thinks I won't allow him on the property. I do have to put up a double fence for safety purposes, but I'm willing to work with him about that.”

“It's your land and your call,” Anderson said, making notes in his pocket notepad. “I'll need to check on Mr. Chason, as your security consultant.”

“Don't go getting him all in an uproar,” she said, standing to remove their chili bowls. “Want some chocolate chip cookies and coffee?”

“Real cookies with real chocolate?”

She laughed out loud. “Yes, but they are made with wheat flour and organic brown sugar. You'll never know the difference.”

Anderson looked her over. She was so innocent in her hospitality. As if she had a law officer eating at her table every night. Her ability to trust strangers scared him. “Yeah, I'd love a cookie and some coffee.”

Anything to keep her talking. He needed her to remember as much as she could about the happenings around here. Because he had a feeling some things were going on right under her nose without her even paying much attention. Things much worse than a cut fence.

And that was not a good situation to be in. Not at all.

J
ennifer always got up early since most of her animals needed a good breakfast. Apparently, Anderson Michaels rose early, too. She saw him out the window, walking the property fully dressed in the work clothes she'd given him last night, and sipping a cup of steaming coffee. She, on the other hand, had stumbled into the kitchen and looked out the window at the rising sun, her eyes bleary from lack of sleep, only to see him blocking the sun's warm rays.

Kind of nice to see a good-looking man standing there outside her window, the fall sunshine haloing around him like an aura. Nice to watch, but working with him would be a whole different thing. Thus, her lack of sleep. She'd worried and fretted most of the night about drug runners overtaking her property and a tall Texas Ranger hanging around for the next few days. Now the source of those dark thoughts stood out in her yard, ready to get down to business. And that meant she had to get in gear herself.

Gulping down her first cup of coffee, she hurried to get dressed. She had two volunteers coming to work the front counter and clean the supply closet and several
more scheduled to help with the morning feedings and other maintenance work. Anderson wanted to brief all of them on the happenings and his presence here. They'd decided it made sense to alert everyone since Jennifer didn't want her volunteers or workers to unknowingly walk into something dangerous. And this way, Anderson could get a fix on any regulars who seemed suspicious or jittery around him.

After washing her face and brushing her teeth, she tossed on some sunscreen and some medicated lip tint, then came back into the kitchen to make a quick breakfast.

Should she invite him inside?

“Oh, why not. After all, the man ‘works' for me now, right?” she told Roscoe.

Roscoe nibbled at his own breakfast, then lapped at his water before he headed back to his bed.

Jennifer went over to pet him. “You won't be here much longer, will you, boy?” She'd have to give him his arthritis medication a little later.

She didn't want to think about losing Roscoe. It had been hard enough to lose her father so suddenly. How could she survive her best friend, her dog, dying, too?

She wouldn't think about that. Dr. Jenkins was doing everything he could for Roscoe, but old age was catching up with her companion on a daily basis.

A knock at the back door caused her to spin around. Roscoe let out a feeble half bark then laid his head on his paws.

“Good morning,” she said as she opened the door to Anderson. “Want some eggs and toast?”

“I don't want to be a bother but I don't have many
supplies in the bunkhouse yet, except some aged coffee I found in one of the cabinets, so I'd like breakfast.” He took off his hat. “I forgot and wore this. Habit.”

Jennifer took the hat, the warmth of it causing little sparkles of awareness to shoot up her arm. “I'll hang it on the hall tree over here by the fireplace. You can wear one of our baseball caps.” She grabbed an old one off the hall tree. “It has our logo on it.” And why did his cowboy hat look right at home amidst her array of scarves, coats and her own hats?

He immediately went to Roscoe and bent down to talk to the dog in soothing tones. “He must have been a contender when he was younger.”

“He's a purebred golden retriever,” she said, smiling at Roscoe. “So yes, he was awesome and spoiled rotten.”

“Well, the old fellow needs to be spoiled. He's obviously had a good life with you here.”

She motioned to the kitchen. “We weren't always here. We traveled a lot. After my parents divorced, my dad gave me Roscoe for my fourteenth birthday, I guess as a peace offering. That poor dog has been all over Texas and Louisiana. My mother never could find the right spot to settle. So we came back here a few years ago but…after Daddy died, she took off again. She's in Arkansas now.”

“Sorry about the divorce,” he said. “That's got to be hard on a child.”

“It was. My mother never quite got over my father. Since he traveled so much, she stayed home for a long time. She's had a hard time since his death. We both have.”

“Sounds like you've been through a lot.”

She turned away from the sympathy in his eyes. How could she explain to this man that her father had been an adventurer first and a family man second? She imagined Anderson fell into that category, too, since his job was demanding and never-ending. “Well, I don't have time to dwell on that this morning.”

“Can I help with breakfast?”

“Sit down,” Jennifer replied. “I can manage a couple of eggs and toast. The toast might be burnt, however.”

“Won't hurt me. I have an iron stomach.”

She couldn't argue with that. At least, he looked lean and mean and made of steel. “How about you, Ranger-man? Tell me about your family.”

Jennifer loved family stories. Her friends always teased her about that. But she loved listening to their parents talk about how they fell in love and why they'd managed to stay married through thick and thin. And always wondered why her parents hadn't done the same. Now she lived vicariously through her friends because she didn't expect her own happy ending.

Anderson settled in his chair and stared up at her. “I have two younger brothers in their twenties and a baby sister, who's sixteen. Talk about spoiled. We're close, I reckon. I mean, we have our spats like anybody but when push comes to shove—”

“You stick together,” she said, tossing the words over her shoulder at him.

“Yes. Isn't that what families do?”

“I don't know,” she replied, pouring eggs into the frying pan to scramble. “Mine didn't.”

“My mama makes sure we do,” he said, his tone
softening. “Church every Sunday and hard work on Monday. That's her favorite saying.”

Jennifer turned to look at him. “You know, I believe in God, but church was never high on my parents' agenda. My dad believed the whole world was a cathedral and he loved to explore it. He believed God was right there in the waterfalls and the mountains, the rivers, the oceans. I guess that's how I learned about religion.”

“And your mother?”

“The original free-spirited, new-wave hippie, fifty-five now but going on twenty-two.”

“I see. And what about you
now?
Do you go to church?”

“Is that part of your job, Ranger? To show me the way?”

He looked sheepish, hung his head. “Sorry. I just thought—”

“Your eggs are ready,” she said, without rancor. She should be rankled at his question but it didn't bother her. He was right. She should get back into church. “I've been so busy lately,” she said with an inadequate shrug. “That's the only excuse I have.”

“I had no place asking you that,” he retorted, waiting for her to sit down. “Never mind me.”

That would be hard to do, Jennifer decided as they ate their breakfast in silence. The man filled the room with a demanding presence, like a giant tiger staking a claim.

Finally, he said, “So what's your typical day like?”

“Now there's a subject I can handle,” she replied. “Tell you what, rather than explain it, how about you give me time to instruct and update the two volunteers
due in a few minutes. Then I'll take you on rounds with me and you can watch and learn. And I expect you to pull your weight, too, Ranger-man.”

“Yes, ma'am,” he said, getting up to help her clear the dishes. “Hard work on Monday.”

“It's Wednesday,” she quipped. “And still, it's hard work, every day, all day.”

“I don't mind hard work. But I do have a problem with hardened criminals. By the way, I took a walk back to the new gator pond last night. Spent the night out there.”

“You did? I guess you were serious about staking the place out. Anything happen?”

“Not a thing. Not yet. But we'll catch 'em.” He winked at Roscoe.

Jennifer thought she saw the old dog wink back.

 

Two hours later, Anderson wondered how Jennifer managed to do it all. The woman was a bundle of energy, whirling from task to task with obsessive determination, her love for her animals as evident as her need to keep this place going. But even with a few volunteers, how long could she keep up this pace?

“So you do this every morning?” So far, they'd fed the alligators and the horses, washed down several small animal pens, spoon-fed a passel of hungry turtles—both land tortoises and more water-inclined sea and snapping turtles—mushy bits of dog food and handfuls of worms, cleaned out some of the box turtles' aquariums and checked on a wounded hawk in the aviary.

She let out a chuckle. “Tired, cowboy? Listen, this is just the beginning of my day. But, yes, I have to feed
the animals every day either in the morning or at dusk, and with some of them, both. The horses like to be fed about three times per day. I get relieved about twice a month, thanks to the other animal lovers who support this place. Everyone has a job and we all stick to our jobs. I keep a tight schedule with the volunteers and the paid workers.”

“You have a lot of animals,” he replied, ticking them off on his hand. “Two pigs, three cows, four horses, two alligators, a whole slew of turtles, goats, a llama, ducks, geese, a hawk, several rabbits, two doves and Roscoe. It's like the twelve days of Christmas around here. Do you have a partridge in a pear tree, too?”

She laughed again then tossed back that shimmering mane of dark hair. “I just might. It's crazy, that's for sure. I never have enough time or money. And people bring me all kinds of animals—dogs, cats, raccoons, you name it. I can't keep some of them so I have to call the state wildlife department to come and get them. Breaks my heart, but I just don't have the funding and I have to adhere to state regulations.”

He followed her toward the stables as she headed back by the various cages and pens toward the main house. “How do you make money?”

“I don't. I have a board of directors that oversees operations and decides my annual salary—which isn't much, let me tell you. I charge for tours but until I get everything up to state code with the gator pen, I can't conduct any tours for a while. I speak at schools and civic organizations, and that brings in some funding, and I have a few corporate sponsors. But my income is at a minimum at best.”

“How do you get by, then?”

She stopped and pushed at her hair. “I have a trust fund. It's small, though. My parents set it up for me a long time ago and it grew over the years. After I got out of college, they turned it over to me.”

“And now you use that to live? No wonder you gave up meat.”

She gave him a stare that told him he was being too personal. “I get by, Anderson. And giving up meat was my choice when I was young. Don't worry.”

He did worry, though. Getting by was one thing. Living like a miser was another. “You're gonna need a lot of funding to do everything you told me about. From what I could tell, digging that alligator pond is a big deal.”

“Yes, that's true. And I'm working on funding for that. But if word gets out that a drug cartel uses my land for little get-togethers, I guess I can kiss that and my few sponsors goodbye, right along with the plans I've drawn up to overhaul this place.”

“Let me worry about that, then,” he replied, resolve coloring his tone. Since he'd already observed the two women who were in the office today as well as several of the other volunteers, he asked, “When does your part-time person come in?”

“After school, around three-thirty.”

He noted that. “And the construction workers?”

“They show up when they're good and ready. They've got several jobs so like I told you last night, I have to wait my turn. Of course, now they'll have to repair the fence, too.”

Anderson wondered if she let people walk all over
her, but remembered she could get in your face when she wanted to. Was she stalling on the work because of lack of funds?

Not your concern right now,
he reminded himself. “So when can we take a ride out and look around? I might get a better angle in the daylight.”

She tossed that hair again. “Well, I have to clean out the stables—the empty stalls are used for everything from isolating animals to storing supplies—and we'll need to eat a bite. We could take the horses and check the work on the new pen after Jacob gets here. We'll be able to ride the entire back part of the property, too.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Anderson said, glancing around. “I could either help with the stable or I can try and secure this place a little more. Add a few brighter lights here and there, make sure all the door locks are up to snuff.”

“I can't pay for that.”

“Don't worry about the pay right now.”

“I don't take charity.”

“But you take donations, right?”

She frowned. “Is that some kind of Ranger trick question?”

Anderson let out a grunt of irritation. “It's a simple question. You have sponsors and people who support this place, right?”

“Right.”

“Well, then, add my name to the list. Besides, I have to look the part of a security expert.”

She stopped next to a storage building and turned to the spigot and big industrial sink, then started dumping
buckets off the wheeled wagon she'd used to feed the penned animals. “So you're an animal lover?”

“I am. I'm as fond of animals as the next man, I reckon. Although my tendency runs toward mutts in stead of alligators. We have several interesting adopted dogs on our property.”

“Well, in that case, thank you, Mr. Ranger-man, for your kind donations and…I'm sure Boudreaux and Bobby Wayne will appreciate it, too.”

“And how about you? Will you appreciate it?”

“Of course I will,” she said, her actions telling him she was chafing underneath his intense questions. Water splashed and gurgled as she moved the spray hose over her feeding buckets with a tad too much zest.