Page 3 of Texas Scandal

“Because they’re true,” Coop shot back. His defensiveness was on full display, coming through loud and clear on the line.

“And you?” she asked. “You didn’t answer my question about how you’re doing.”

“Dad is in jail,” he said with an accusatory tone. “How am I supposed to feel?”

“I guess that’s a fair point,” she reasoned, figuring this call was a mistake. Her brother would go to his grave defending their father. He’d treated her like the enemy after she freaked out over the man cheating years ago. Coop had made it seem like she was the reason the family had broken apart and their mother resented everything about her relationship with their father. As though witnessing her father’s infidelity hadn’t been soul crushing enough for Melody, the backlash was somehow her fault.

“I took a few days off and headed out of town to get my head straight,” he said. Coop had always lived in a fantasy world of his own making. Reality didn’t seem to have a place once he’d made up his mind on a subject. Words likefactsandevidencehad no bearing after Coop decided on their father’s innocence.

“Sounds like a good idea,” she said. A piece of Melody wished she had the ability to turn a blind eye to reality. Maybe then she would be a lot happier. Knowing the truth was awful on a lot of levels when it came to realizing her father wasn’t the person she’d believed he was for all those early years.

Hoping to make a quick pit stop at home to change out of her interview clothes, she saw a law enforcement vehicle on her street. What was going on?

There was a man sitting in the passenger seat of the SUV. He was better looking than anyone had a right to be. She didn’t recognize him. When he made eye contact, a trill of awareness shot through her despite the ominous scene unfolding.

For a split second, she thought about ditching the clothing change idea to avoid the hassle of going inside the apartment while something was going down. Work wasn’t far from here. Although, the thought of going into the office right now held no appeal. Besides, it might be better to find out what was up.

As she pulled into the spot where she usually parked at her above the garage apartment, the SUV pulled in right behind her, blocking her exit. Awareness was quickly replaced with fear as one of Austin PD’s finest came walking up to the driver’s side, right hand resting on the butt of the gun strapped to his hip.

“Coop, I have to go,” she said before ending the call and steeling herself for whatever was about to happen.

Chapter Two

“Ma’am, is your name Melody Cantor?” Deputy Calhoun asked as Tiernan watched and listened from the front seat of the deputy’s SUV. He’d been warned the stop would be recorded before the deputy turned the camera on. It was routine, he’d said. From the moment the body had been found to now, Tiernan wasn’t certain if Melody Cantor was a witness or a suspect. Based on the camera being turned on to record what was happening, his mind snapped to the latter.

Tiernan couldn’t get a good look at the driver from this vantage point. The glimpse he’d gotten of her as she drove past had stirred up a foreign feeling in his chest along with a jolt of attraction. She shifted and a pair of worried eyes glanced into the rearview. Hers were a deep shade of brown. Long, russet hair fell down her back in waves as she stepped out of her vehicle.

A thorough investigation would fill in the fine print of the report. But looking at her right off the bat he wondered how someone of her size and stature could have bludgeoned a young man, lifted his dead weight, and then managed to bury him. Very little blood was found on his clothing according to the deputy, and the victim been covered with a blanket.

Since part of Tiernan’s property backed up to a farm road and all indications pointed toward the body entering his property from there, he acknowledged the perp wouldn’t have had far to go to get to the burial site. The loss of life hit Tiernan as a gut punch.

Still, this woman didn’t fit any of his preconceived notions of a murderer. Plus, hadn’t he been told or read somewhere along the way women normally used poison and not brute strength to commit murder?

Deputy Calhoun didn’t slap cuffs on her, so that was another good sign she was being treated as a witness for now. The lawman had balked at first when Tiernan had asked to ride along. Dropping the last name Hayes to the sheriff had given Tiernan an advantage. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t think of using his family’s stature for special treatment. As a citizen, he had a right to know what was going on. As a former rancher, he was protective of his land. As a human being, he wouldn’t rest until he had answers.

There wasn’t a whole lot of crime in the small town northeast of Austin where Tiernan lived. He’d chosen Mesquite Spring for its small-town feel and close proximity to the city where he had access to supplies for his business. It didn’t hurt matters this location was far away from Fort Worth where his heart had been broken. He had no plans for a repeat performance anytime soon.

“A man has been murdered, ma’am,” the deputy said.

“This has to be some kind of misunderstanding,” the brunette said with a tinge of worry in her voice. The deputy had left the SUV windows open and it was otherwise quiet outside, so Tiernan could hear the exchange if he strained. “You’re welcome to check my trunk right now.” She popped the hatch open with the squeeze of her thumb. He’d heard the deputy’s first question, whether or not her name was Melody. She must be the person in question because there they were talking and walking toward the back of her vehicle.

“Again, I apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your cooperation, Ms. Cantor,” Deputy Calhoun said before shining a light inside the back of her vehicle. He looked unimpressed and he cut the beam off in less than twenty seconds.

“Go ahead and look again. Search my whole car if you need to,” she said on a sharp sigh, her tone a dare. She planted balled fists on her hips. “I can promise you won’t find anything no matter how hard you search.”

“Has anything unusual occurred recently?” he asked as he moved toward the back seat and repeated the quick look.

“Yes, as a matter of fact it has,” she said. Tiernan tried not to notice the way her body curved in a lazy S pattern. Standing next to the deputy, Tiernan would guess her to be five feet seven inches, above the average height and most of it coming from long legs. “I found a note on my windshield after an interview I just had that instructed me to drive fifty miles west.”

Even from this distance, Tiernan saw Calhoun’s forehead wrinkle in concern with the revelation. Was she being set up or lured somewhere so she could be next?

The victim was male, so Tiernan wasn’t making any easy connections. Serial killers were known to target a certain type of person. This didn’t add up.

“Can I see the paper?” Calhoun asked.

“I wadded it up and tossed it onto the passenger seat, figuring someone had made a mistake,” she stated. “Can I ask a question before I go get it?”

Calhoun nodded.

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