Page 35 of Lone Star Rescue

“Then, I misspoke. I meant to say heplanneda private job.” He paused again. “I paid him an advance so he could get the supplies, and I plan to pay him the rest once he’s finished it.”

“Mr. McCray won’t be able to finish it,” Bree said. “Because he’s dead.”

Buckner went through his stunned act. And Rafe was certain now that it was just that. An act.

“Dead?” Buckner repeated. “How? Was it in that explosion?”

“Cause of his death is still to be determined,” Bree answered, and like Rafe, she pinned her attention to Buckner,looking for any hint that he was pissed that it hadn’t been ruled a suicide.

“Well, that’s a damn shame he’s dead,” Buckner muttered, and he stood while checking his watch. “I need to be heading out.”

“It hasn’t been thirty minutes,” Rafe volunteered.

“Yeah, but I hadn’t factored in just how long it could take me to get back to San Antonio. Sometimes, there are tractors and shit on the road that leads to the Interstate.” He turned to Bree. “I’m afraid if there are any more questions, we’ll have to schedule them for another time.”

“This afternoon at one,” Bree suggested, and then she read the time the interview had been terminated into the recording.

“Sorry. No can do,” Buckner said, heading for the door. “Tell you what, I’ll have my assistant call you and set up a time.” He fished out his wallet and handed Bree a business card.

When Buckner threw open the door, Rafe saw the two thugs jump into action to come toward their boss. He also saw Wade’s approaching silver Ford Raptor truck.

“Looks like you got another visitor anyway,” Buckner added under his breath. He froze though when Wade stepped out. “You can ask Tessa’s daddy all the questions about her you just asked me.”

“You know Wade Wainwright?” Rafe asked, latching right onto that.

Buckner didn’t exactly flinch, but it was close. “No. I mean, we’ve never met, but I recall seeing a picture of him.”

“In his house? In Tessa’s room?” Rafe pressed.

Buckner’s eyes narrowed. “I said any other questions would have to wait.” And with that, he barreled down the steps.

Wade and Buckner exchanged nodded greetings as they passed each other, but Wade didn’t seem to recognize the man. Instead, Wade had his focus on Bree and him.

“Did something happen?” Wade asked before he even reached them. “Are the bones Tessa’s?”

Bree gently took hold of Wade’s arm, leading him into the house. Rafe stayed on the porch a few seconds longer, staring down Buckner and his thugs. Buckner glared at him as they drove off.

Yes, Buckner definitely needed to be questioned again.

“Don’t make me wait,” Rafe heard Wade say when he came back into the house. “Just tell me. I need to know if my baby girl is truly gone.”

“Neither the bones nor the body is Tessa’s,” Bree said.

Wade stared at her, and then the breath seemed to rush out of his body. He dropped down onto the sofa. “Not Tessa,” he muttered over and over again.

Rafe went to the kitchen and brought Wade back a glass of water. Wade downed the entire glass like a man dying of thirst.

“Thank you,” Wade muttered. He said nothing else for a long time. “If Tessa’s not dead, then where is she?”

That was a good question. But not the one Rafe had been expecting. He’d thought Wade would want to know who’d been buried in that grave, but maybe this was a sort of paternal tunnel vision. Perhaps the only thing he could think of right now was his daughter.

“I don’t know where Tessa is,” Rafe spelled out. “How long has it been since you looked for her?”

“Years,” Wade admitted. He shook his head as if disgusted by that, and he lifted his tear filled eyes to Rafe. “She sent me a postcard I didn’t tell you about. It said,Stop looking for me. That was it. No,I love you, Daddy. No,I’m okay. Just that,Stoplooking for me. I figured that meant she wanted nothing to do with me.”

Rafe could see that had ripped Wade to pieces.

“Do you know why Tessa would write something like that to me?” Wade pled, volleying glances at both of them.

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