Sworn to Protect (31 page)

She swung into the parking lot of the eight-story, glass and steel building and stopped in front of the guard shack. After displaying her creds, she eased into the covered parking area and hurried inside. Her heart pounded against her chest, and she sensed the familiar excitement of a new challenge. She scanned her badge and keyed in her security code at each door, making her way to the floor housing the violent crimes task force team and the office of Larry Swartzer, her supervisor. While his secretary informed him of her arrival, Bella took several deep breaths in an effort to settle her nerves and will away the anxiety making her feel like a kid sent to the principal’s office.

Swartzer opened the door. “Mornin’, Bella. Come on in.”

Her heavy shoulder bag shifted and slipped from her arm to the floor. Thank goodness it was zipped. She cringed at the idea of her Glock, handcuffs, and all of her other equipment, including her makeup bag and wallet, dropping at her feet.

“Little nervous, are we?” He chuckled, and her confidence suddenly fell to somewhere between diffused and lack-of.

She laughed and hoisted her bag. “Add curious to the mix.”

He ushered her into his office, and she took a seat across from his desk. The wall behind him intimidated her with its framed certificates and honors earned over his twenty-year career. Most likely his wife refused to have them all displayed at home. Bella attempted to read his face, but Swartzer prided himself in being unreadable, and this morning was no exception. Although short and stocky, her supervisor had the neck and shoulders of a man who must bench nearly 275 pounds. He removed his signature black-framed glasses and turned to retrieve a couple of files from atop his credenza. She hadn’t seen him without his glasses. Must be farsighted. Swartzer’s military haircut and polyester pants still made him look nerdish, but then superintelligent people usually were.

Where did that leave her? Shoving aside the bazillion thoughts darting in and out of her mind like mosquitoes over a stagnant pond, she realigned her focus and attempted to give the impression of professional calmness.

“I have an assignment for you.” He tapped the file and eased back in the chair that was made for a much taller man, at least physically.

“What kind?”

“Murder. Three bodies were found Monday afternoon on a ranch in west Texas.” His calculated gaze met hers. “Sixty miles southwest of Abilene.”

He had her attention, and he knew it. “Runnels County?”

“Ballinger area.”

She nodded and forced aside the implications of what the location meant to her. “Why the FBI?”

“It’s linked to a man on our fugitive list.”

Suspicion flared, and she opened the file, complete with photos of the victims. She pressed her fingertips into her palms. “Who?” But she already knew the answer.

“Brandt Richardson.”

“Murder for hire.” She stated the fact while memories slammed against her mind in apocalyptic proportions. “Also obsessed with finding the so-called Spider Rock treasure.”

“The victims were hunting for this treasure and believed their clues led them to the High Butte Ranch, owned by Carr Sullivan. They sought permission to dig, and he refused. Ran them off. One of the victims wrote ‘Spider Rock’ in the dirt before he died.”

“Runnels County doesn’t fall within the triangle of where the gold was supposedly hidden.”

“You know more about it than I do.”

“What were the victims’ names?”

“Forrest Miller, a history professor at The University of Texas. Daniel Kegley, a geologist from Austin, and Walt Higgins, retired oil man from Waco.”

She didn’t recognize any of them. “Family?”

“Miller has a wife and three teenage girls. Kegley was engaged, and Higgins was divorced. The families have all been interviewed. Professor Miller’s wife said a fourth man was in the mix, but that’s all she knew. Nothing else at this point.” Swartzer slipped on his glasses and steepled his fingers. “You know why I want you on the assignment. Or would you rather I brief Frank Benson?”

Not on her life. Both of them were up for the same promotion. “I’ll take it.”