Blame it on Texas (12 page)

Logan and Megan drove for hours, up and down every little farm road, looking in abandoned barns and silos, checking every passing car for signs of Katie. As dawn began to break across the sky, Logan pulled into a gas station to fill the Suburban's tank.

He got out to pump the gas but a red-haired boy with a face full of freckles beat him to it. "Let me do that, Mr. Tanner. Dad said to tell you to come inside and have a cup of coffee."

Logan tried to think of where he'd seen the boy before, but he drew a blank. "Thanks, son. What's your name?"

"Alvin, sir. Alvin Jones. But most people call me Skeeter."

"You're Danny's boy, aren't you? God, I haven't seen him in years. I thought he moved away after high school."

The boy nodded and set the latch on the gas nozzle, then moved around to wash the windshield. "Yeah, he did, but we moved back a few years ago. Dad wanted us to grow up out here near the grandparents."

Logan went around to the side of the truck and helped Megan down, then followed her inside the station. Danny had cups of steaming coffee waiting for them, and he'd opened the vending machine so they could help themselves to a snack.

Danny shook hands with Megan, then slapped Logan on the back. "It's good to see you, Logan, but this is a hell of a way to get you in here for a visit."

Logan noted Danny's rumpled overalls and drooping, bloodshot eyes. "What are you doing open this time of day? Have you been here all night?"

Danny rubbed his eyes, then scrubbed a hand across his face. "Yeah, I came in and opened up when the sheriff called. I knew folks would need to gas up so they could keep looking for your little girl. Since I'm a ways out of town, I figured I should stay open for the people scouring the back roads. Jeff Owens has his station open in town, too."

Megan smiled at him over her Styrofoam cup. "That was a nice thing to do."

"It's what we do out here, ma'am. When folks need help, other folks pitch in. It's always been that way, as long as I can remember." Danny settled into a cracked vinyl chair and invited them to sit for a few minutes. "How's your dad, Logan?"

They talked about Charlie for a bit, then about Danny's parents, who were getting on in years, too. Danny told them he'd taken over a lot of the chores for his dad, with his three boys helping out.

Logan listened politely, aware of the occasional squawk of the scanner in the corner. "Have you heard any news in the last half-hour? I need to check in again."

"Not anything other than some chatter between the deputies. Don't worry, though. They'll find her. The sheriff is taking this personally, that some stranger came in and took one of our own right out from under our noses. He won't rest until she's safe."

There it was again. One of their own. All these years he'd felt like an outsider, but it seemed he'd been the only one who thought so. Maybe if he'd tried harder, or maybe if he hadn't tried so hard, he could have fit in after all.

***

Katie was squirming in her seat by the time Jerry pulled into a motel parking lot in Slaton. Her hopes went up when she thought  maybe she could alert the desk clerk to her predicament, then were dashed again when Jerry ordered her to lay down and covered her with a blanket.

"You stay in this car. If you even think about trying to make a run for it, I can guarantee you'll regret it. Something bad might happen to your mother." He climbed out of the car and locked the door behind him.

Katie wanted to run, but she wasn't sure if he'd really hurt her mother. He might. There was something weird about Jerry. He was one of the reasons she'd run away. She didn't like it when he came to the house. She didn't like the looks he gave her.

He came back to the car and opened the door, then slid inside. "Stay down. I got us a room around back." We'll hide out here for a few hours until they stop looking for you."

Katie shivered in spite of the suffocating heat of the blanket. She didn't want to be alone with him in a motel room. But the room would have a phone. Maybe she could figure out how to make a call to 911.

The engine coughed before it caught with a roar. She felt the car move, felt it turn a corner and then stop. Jerry ordered her to stay put again and she heard him open the door and close it again.

He came back a minute later and opened her door. "Keep the blanket around you and walk straight in the room as fast as you can. I'll be right behind you."

Katie eased herself to a sitting position and saw Jerry walk around to the trunk. If she ran, she might make it inside in time to lock him out. She slid quietly out of the car, leaving the door open, and was poised to run when a truck came screaming towards them.

***

Logan took a drink of his coffee, then set the cup on the desk. He looked at Megan. "Are you ready to hit the road again?" She nodded.

The scanner rumbled to life with a report of a fight at the Starlight Motel in Slaton. Logan shook his head. "Some things never change, do they? I take it the Starlight still charges by the hour?"

Danny grinned. "Now why would I know about that?" He insisted on refilling their cups so they could take their coffee with them. Logan was anxious to get going, but he sat quietly while Danny took their cups to the coffee pot and refilled them. He set the cups on the desk in front of them and handed them plastic lids to put on top.

Before Logan could put the lid on his cup, the scanner squawked again and he heard the dispatcher calling for the sheriff. "They got her, boss, they got her. Do you copy?"

Logan knocked his coffee cup over when he jerked to his feet.

Megan threw herself into his arms and squeezed the breath right out of him. He was almost afraid to breathe until he heard the dispatcher answer the sheriff's gruff question about Katie's condition. "She's mad as hell, boss, but she's okay. Tommy's bringing her in. The perp's on his way to the hospital."

The hospital? Good Lord, had there been a shoot out?

Logan dialed 911 and spoke with the dispatcher, while Megan mopped up the coffee he'd spilled. He hung up and paid Danny for the gas, thanked him for the coffee, then tugged Megan out the door.

"Where are we going?"

"The police station.  That's where they're taking Katie."

***

The station was a madhouse. People filled every empty space, talking, laughing, slapping each other on the back. The room fell silent for a moment as Megan and Logan stepped inside, then the group parted to make way for them to get to the counter.

"Logan, she's back here."

The portly dispatcher with bleached blonde hair looked vaguely familiar. His eyes widened when he read her name tag. "Mary Lee Sims? I almost didn't recognize you."

She laughed, seemingly unoffended. "Yeah, I've put on a few pounds since my cheerleading days. But four kids will do that to you. Come on. There's a little girl back here who wants her daddy."

They followed Mary Lee through the heavy metal door and down a long hall. She opened a door near the end and stepped back, giving Logan his first glimpse of Katie since the ordeal had begun.

"Daddy!" Katie jumped out of Carol's lap and ran headlong into Logan, wrapping her arms around his waist.

He buried his face against her hair and held her tightly. He didn't ever want to let her go again. Now that she was safe, he didn't think he could bear to let her out of his sight.

Without letting go of his daughter, he looked across the room at Jake, who sat next to Carol.  Both of his fists were bloody and bruised, and a spot on his jaw was swollen and purple. "I take it you were the fight at the Starlight motel?"

Carol put a hand on Jake's shoulder. "Jake saw a car with Louisiana plates parked at the motel and went in to talk to the manager. When he came out, he drove around back and we saw a guy in front of one of the rooms with Katie. Jake nearly ran him down, then jumped out of the truck and tackled him, just like he did in the big State game our senior year. I put Katie in the truck while Jake beat the hell out of him. Took two deputies to pull Jake off the guy."

She smiled proudly at Jake and squeezed his shoulder.

Logan looked at Jake with new respect. "Thank you doesn't seem adequate. But thank you."

Jake grinned, his smile lopsided from the swelling. "You're welcome. You may have to bail me out of here, though, if that jerk decides to file assault charges."

"Consider it done." Logan turned to the Sheriff. "Who is he? Has he said why he took Katie?"

"He can't say much of anything right now. He's at the hospital being put back together. Jake didn't leave us much to interrogate. The man's a mess. But your daughter knows him."

Logan looked down at Katie. "Who was it, Katie?"

She looked down, then back up. "You're gonna be so  mad…"

"Katie…"

"It was Mom's boyfriend. She was mad at him for helping me run away, so he came out here to take me back. He'd followed us to the mall in Lubbock, but Megan never let me out of her sight, so he couldn't get me then. He watched the house until he thought it was safe, then came in through my window. He might have made it, too, if it hadn't been for Blue."

She turned to Megan, her eyes pleading. "Blue's going to be okay, isn't he? He was bleeding awful bad. He chased Jerry when he carried me to the car. Then he bit his ankle. Jerry yelled and kicked Blue really hard." Tears began to roll down her cheeks. "If he hadn't already been halfway in the car when Blue caught up with us, I think Blue would have killed him."

Megan reached out and smoothed Katie's tangled hair away from her face and handed her a tissue. "Blue's going to be just fine. We can bring him home in the morning."

Katie's smile was wobbly, but she leaned her head into Megan's palm in a gesture so trusting, a lump formed in Logan's throat as he watched. He looked up at the Sheriff. "Can I take my daughter home now?"

"Sure. I'll need you to bring her in tomorrow for a statement, but this Jerry character isn't going anywhere tonight. Or any time soon. Somebody needs to take Jake to the hospital and get his hands x-rayed, though."

Carol stood and helped Jake up. "I'll do that. You get Katie home so Dad can see she's okay."

Logan watched as Carol led Jake out, one hand under his elbow and the other around his waist. When Megan gave him a warning glance, he shrugged. "I didn't say a word."

***

Logan tucked Katie into Megan's bed so she wouldn't have to sleep alone, then he and Megan went to check on his dad. As he stepped into Charlie's room, he turned to Megan with a finger on his lips. Nancy was asleep across the end of the king-sized bed, with Jean sleeping on top of the covers on the other side of his dad.

"Shouldn't we wake them up so they can go to their own room?" Megan whispered.

He shook his head and pulled her quietly from the room. "What's the point? It's already morning. Let them get whatever sleep they can."

Megan led the way to the kitchen and put a pan of milk on the stove to warm. "I hate to see them try to drive home today on so little sleep."

Logan rubbed his face with one hand. He knew he'd sound like an ass if he insisted they leave. But he really wanted to circle the wagons, with as few females inside as he could get away with. With a weary sigh, he gave in. "They can stay another day so they can rest up. But could you please make sure they go home tomorrow, before something else happens?"

Megan smiled, a slow, easy grin that lit her face in spite of her exhaustion. "It's a deal." She poured the milk into heavy mugs, added chocolate mix, and brought them to the table. She handed one to Logan, then stirred hers thoughtfully. "What are you going to do now? About the boyfriend, I mean?"

Logan's brows drew together and his jaw clenched. "I'm going to let the sheriff throw the book at him. And I'm calling my lawyer again. I'll get a restraining order against Sue Ann until I find out if she had anything to do with this. Then I'm going to push for the custody hearing to happen as soon as possible."