Lies That Bind (17 page)

“So I understand. Well done.” A flush crept over his face. “That’s right. Mike Ford left the place to you.”

And just like that, he’d realized his faux pas in telling stories about the place.

Tessa didn’t care anymore but also wasn’t going to address her parentage. People could make of it what they would. “Judging from your earlier comment, I’d guess the autopsy on Derek revealed his cancer. He and Mike had apparently known for a while. Rest assured, the ranch and all it entails will remain in good hands. Nothing will change.” She added a smile that was more genuine than she anticipated. It lifted her heart.

“Good to know.”

Too bad his tone didn’t reflect the sentiment. Tessa was afraid to ask why.

Simpkiss retrieved a portfolio from the desk behind him. “Derek’s personal effects are in the back room. The sheriff’s department took his clothing and the weapon. All things considered, I would suggest a closed casket.”

Rex cleared his throat again. Emotion must be getting to him. “I think cremation would be best,” he said.

“Me too,” Tyler added. “He’d prefer his ashes scattered.”

“And a memorial service at the ranch rather than a stiff funeral. Something to celebrate his life,” Tessa said.

“Donations in lieu of flowers.” Rex frowned into space. “We’ll draw up an obituary and provide more information about that then.”

Simpkiss nodded while he made notes. “Very good.”

Yes, it was very good. Odd how simple and right it felt to make those decisions, as if they’d somehow channeled Derek.

“I’ll have my daughter prepare the contract and be right back with Derek’s personal effects.” A nod, another kindly smile, and they were left alone.

Rex and Tyler draped their arms around the back of her chair as they turned her way. Hands cupped her knees. Tessa laced her fingers with theirs. Connected. One. This was all that mattered.

Lifting her hands, they kissed her fingers and returned to their former positions. But the tie remained. She felt it deep inside. Did they?

A cough alerted them to Simpkiss’s return. Tessa remembered that tactic from when they’d made funeral arrangements for Mike. It was Simpkiss’s polite way of warning the bereaved he was about to enter the room.

“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.” He walked in carrying a clipboard and a light blue photo box. “Margaret had everything nearly complete. I was delayed with another call. I presumed there would be no urn, since you indicated you would be scattering Derek’s ashes.”

“Correct,” Rex said.

“Very good.” Simpkiss passed the clipboard their way. “I’ll need you to review this and sign at the bottom.”

Tyler accepted the clipboard and started to read.

“And here are Derek’s things.” The box came in their general direction. Rex accepted it.

“I’ll give you some privacy. Take your time.” He gave a nod and started to walk away.

“Did the medical examiner indicate cause of death?” Tyler asked.

Simpkiss crossed his wrists loosely before him. “He surmised it was an arrow at close range, not a gunshot. There were feathers in the wound left from someone pulling the arrow through. However, by the tumors throughout his body, he had about two months left. Medical examiner said the killer saved him a lot of agony. Not that he or I condone murder.”

“Thanks.”

He nodded, stepped into the hall, and closed the door behind him.

“Odd that Tito didn’t keep his effects as evidence.” Rex caressed the box.

“Nothing Tito doesn’t do surprises me anymore.” Tyler scrawled his signature at the bottom of the form, then set the clipboard aside. “Are we going to talk about this?”

“Does it matter?” Tessa ordered her mounting tears to stay away. “He was killed. Deliberately, purposefully murdered.”
At close range
. “Open the box, Rex. Please.”

Tessa and Tyler craned their necks for a look as Rex lifted the lid. Wallet, cell phone, keys. Her relief at seeing the safe-deposit key was usurped by the Galveston key ring shaped in a heart.

Grief slammed into her full force. Derek was dead. Murdered. She pressed her hand to her mouth to stifle a cry. It didn’t help. Tyler and Rex flanked her from both sides, leaning in while she cried, and adding tears of their own.

Chapter Thirteen

Rex didn’t expect it would be this rough. Grief had hit him hard. He’d tried to be strong for Tessa. In the end, he was as vulnerable as she. Tyler too, for that matter. He felt like he’d been wrung out and put up to dry. Opening yet another box wasn’t something he looked forward to. But here they were, tucked away in a cubby outside the bank vault yet again, staring at Derek’s safe-deposit box.

“Ready?” Tessa’s hands shook as she reached for the lid.

“Let’s just get it over with,” Tyler said.

Rex silently echoed that sentiment. Breath held, Tessa pulled the lid free. A white envelope with their names on it stared up at them. She picked it up, revealing two life insurance policies inside. Tyler took those. That still left quite a stack of envelopes in the box—all from a laboratory in San Diego. Rex scooped them up.

“Let’s start with the easy stuff first.” Tyler opened the life insurance policies. “He left one hundred thousand dollars to the ranch. The other one is newer and leaves twenty thousand to Robert Baron.”

“That’s probably what he meant when he asked us to do right by Robert.” Tessa stared at the unopened letter in her hand. “Unless this gives us more instructions.”

Tyler refolded the policies. “I know how much that ranch meant to him, and now we know how much Robert meant to him.”

“He couldn’t acknowledge him openly without outing him, so he left it in our hands to do the right thing.” Tessa sighed and tore the envelope open. “Here we go.” She positioned the letter so they could all read at the same time.

Hey y’all,

Cut me some slack here. I did what I had to do. I love y’all, but you hover and smother, and I didn’t want to live like that. It was bad enough, having to deal with Robert’s emotions. I didn’t want to have to deal with yours too. I wanted normal.

Now y’all are lookin’ in the box and wonderin’ what the fuck. That was my reaction too when the full impact of my parents’ lifestyle hit me. Yeah, still my parents, even though I know Mike ain’t my real dad. Trust me, Tess, I was pissed too when I found out. I met your mom and dad this year. Great people. Very hurt by Mike’s betrayal. Cut them some slack too. At least they got out early on. Can’t say the same for Mike and Mary. Yep, you and I weren’t the only ones who were screwed.

That’s what the DNA reports are about. You’ll be relieved to know I found no half brothers and sisters anywhere yet for either of us. Wish I could say the same for others in town. God only knows who is related to who. I never went that far. All I cared about was who else Mike fathered. I kept reports on everyone I had tested (in secret, of course, which took some doing) whether they matched or not. I worked off a list of people Mike gave me. Let me tell you, that was a battle, and I know he left people out. At the time you read this, I’m still searching. It’s why there ain’t much left in Mike’s old room. I took everything I could to use for DNA. Then I realized I couldn’t explain ripped-up clothing, sheets, mattress—so I put it all in a storage locker in Austin with the rest of my parents’ personal effects. Key’s on the ring. Hell, if I’d had the energy, I would have purged the whole house.

Gettin' DNA on other people has been quite the trick. I’ve had coffee and beers with more people than I really cared to. Getting their cups, cans, or bottles after the fact… Let’s just say I’ve learned the art of misdirection well.

Good news is that you’re Mike’s only offspring, Tess. That’s why Mike did what he did. Yeah, he could have left it to me, and he wanted to. But with all his wild oats possibly runnin’ around, there was no way to ensure the ranch would stay in good hands once I died, even if I did leave it outright to Rex and Tyler. Someone could have contested, saying it had to stay in the Ford family or be sold outright. And you know Old Man Turnbauer would do just that if he thought it’d give him a chance to grab the land. No one could argue with the oldest child having it. Considerin’ how y’all feel about it…

Kiss and make up. Y’all are being stupid. The only love I’ve seen greater than you three is mine for Robert. Can’t say I handled that any better. I wish I’d met him years ago. You tried to do the right thing last year, Tess. Now you can do it with full knowledge of why things were the way they were. Why didn’t I tell you then? You were damned pissed and not thinkin’ straight. Don’t blame you a bit. I’m still pissed too. Disgusted as well. Hard to hold your head up in a town, knowing what they did. Imagine what they’d say if they learned I was gay. I know y’all will do right by Robert. My attorney can help with that. He’s very good at what he does.

Love y’all. See you on the other side.

She folded the letter and put it back into the envelope. “I have to say I didn’t see that one coming.”

Rex shuffled through the DNA reports. “Me either, but it certainly explains everything.”

“Any names we’d recognize?” Tyler asked.

“An interesting collection of pillars of the community. Martin, Caldwell, Llano—”

Tessa’s eyebrows shot up. “As in Tito?”

“One and the same. No match, sweetheart. Don’t freak out.”

“Too late for that.” She shuddered.

“Ethel’s here. So is Margaret Simpkiss.”

“God. I wonder what Mr. Simpkiss would have to say about sinning if he knew his daughter was involved.” Or Turnbauer. It might explain why Ethel was trying so hard to win his favor. She stuffed the envelope back into the box. “Is it too early for a good stiff drink?”

“Nope, it’s four o’clock somewhere.” Tyler tossed the policies in the box and stood. “We can deal with those later. Too bad he didn’t think to leave a list of who was left.”

Rex committed the matches to memory. Here was motive to kill Derek. “I’m sure we’ll find it somewhere. Maybe in the storage locker.” He stuffed the reports in with the rest of the paperwork and shut the box. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

“You won’t hear any argument from me.” Tessa stood, taking the box with her. “I won’t be long. Then once I add the two of you to this box, we can leave. This is all too much. I feel like I need a shower, but I don’t think there’s enough water in all of Texas to wash away how dirty I feel inside and out right now.”

Rex watched her walk away. He knew how she felt. They’d put their all into a ranch that had had a black mark against it from the start. It was a wonder Rustlers had succeeded at all.

“I’m seeing Ethel in a whole different light,” Tyler whispered as Tessa and the woman returned from the vault.

Rex tried not to smirk. As they’d waited for Tessa in the bank, he had to admit he’d been watching others and wondering. Among them was a killer. Now they knew the possible motive. The hell of it was, there wasn’t anyone they could go to with the information.

A jerk of Tessa’s head ordered them to the counter. Her frown told them to behave. It wasn’t easy. It was going to be a long time before Rex could look any of the townspeople in the eye with a straight face. Probably how they all felt when he and Tyler had moved into the area. Realizing that was enough to sober him.

“Derek said we can trust Kevin,” he told Tessa and Tyler when they finally left the building. “We should tell him what we’ve found.”

“No,” Tessa snapped.

“Why?” Rex opened the rear car door for her.

“Don’t like him. Don’t trust him. How long have you known him?”

Tyler slipped in beside her from the other side. “About a year and then only in passing.”

“Never heard of him until then.” Something that deserved a closer look. Rex sank behind the wheel and added that to his growing list of things to do.

“We tell Nate,” Tessa said. “He’s got connections. He’s got people. He’ll know what to do. Someone’s going down.”

Scorched earth policy, no holds barred. Dragging out the big guns. Rex had never been more proud or felt more helpless.

Tyler cupped his shoulder. “You’ve been staring out the window for a full minute. Want me to drive?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.” They switched places without another word.

As Tyler pulled onto the street, Rex leaned back against the headrest. Tessa tucked her fingers around his and pulled his hand to her lap. He closed his eyes and listened to the miles rumble away beneath the tires, opening them when the crunch of the oyster-shell road told him they were at the ranch. And so was Nate, judging from the rental car in front of the house.

Nate stepped outside when Tyler pulled to a stop. His arm was in a sling, whiskers darkened his face, and he looked like he was ready to chew somebody up and spit them out. He was at their car before the screen door banged shut behind him.

“Tessa, stay in the car behind the wheel, engine running, cell phone in your hand.” He motioned to Rex and Tyler. “Found a man inside going through the basement. Coop’s got him handcuffed inside. We were just getting ready to call your half-assed sheriff when you pulled up.”

“Who is it?” Tessa was half-in, half-out of the driver’s seat.

“That damn ER doctor. We saw the basement door open, went to investigate, and found him in the gun safe.”

Considering his relationship with Derek… “He and Derek were involved. He’d have a key and the combination.”

Nate waved his fingers toward the vehicles. “Then how the hell did he get here? And what the hell was he doing putting a gun
into
the safe?”

If there was a reasonable explanation, Rex sure as hell couldn’t think of it. “Well, let’s see what he has to say about that.”

“And I’m not sitting out here while you find out.” Tessa shut the door and was at his heels before he reached the first step. Tyler flanked her rear. She had the good sense to remain between them.

Inside they found Robert on his knees, hands behind his back, before a man who looked like he ate nails for breakfast. Coop, as Nate called him, boasted a tan rich from the sun or else was genetically blessed. His dark hair matched the glower on his face. The man could face down bulls and make them give up their balls willingly.