Heart of Texas Vol. 2

  “It isn’t a good idea to assume anything.” Frank walked over to the wall phone and lifted the receiver. He barked out a few orders, then instructed his deputy to drive through town and find Richard Weston. If Richard wasn’t there, Al was to find out the last time anyone saw him and report back to Frank as soon as possible.

  While he waited for Al to return the call, Frank finished the inter view with Savannah and Laredo. An hour passed before the phone rang. Caroline leaped from her chair and her eyes grew wide and hopeful when Grady reached for the receiver. Without a word he handed the telephone to Frank.

  Richard Weston was nowhere to be found. Neither was Grady’s truck. No one had seen him, not that day or the day before. Al reported that he wasn’t the only one looking for Richard, either, but Frank decided these people had enough trouble on their hands. He didn’t intend to add to it.

  “You don’t honestly think Richard took the child, do you?” Savannah asked after he’d relayed the details of Al’s findings.

  “At this point I won’t discount any coincidence. Maggie’s missing and so is Richard.”

  “But I’m sure he left long before Maggie disappeared,” Savannah said.

  “I’m not.” This came from Laredo. “I saw the truck. And I saw it while Maggie was in the house with you.”

  UNABLE TO SLEEP, Caroline sat on the dark porch, her arms wrapped protectively around her middle. Frank had left several hours earlier. There was nothing more he could do; he’d already alerted law-enforcement officers across Texas and in the adjoining states to keep their eyes open for Maggie. Savannah had given the sheriff Maggie’s school photograph and he’d taken it into town with him. Soon Maggie’s likeness would be seen in every law office in the South west. The search was on for Richard, too, with an all-points bulletin issued for his arrest. Caroline knew that had something to do with in formation the sheriff had received, in formation about a crime Richard had committed back East. She didn’t know what it was, and right now she didn’t care. Finding Maggie was the only thing that mattered.

  With nothing further to be done at the moment, everyone had turned in for the night. Frank had offered to follow her home, but Caroline refused to leave. If Maggie—she paused and re phrased the thought—when Maggie came back, Caroline wanted to be right here at the ranch waiting for her.

  Although everyone had gone to bed, she knew no one would sleep well. She accepted one of Savannah’s night gowns and made the pretense of going to bed, too, but the room felt suffocating. Within minutes she’d dressed again and made her way through the house and outside. She sat on the porch steps and stared into the bleak darkness.

  It wasn’t long before Grady joined her. Wordlessly, with barely a sound, he sat down on the step next to her and clasped her hand. Her fingers tightened around his.

  “I’m so afraid.” It was the first time she’d verbalized her fears.

  “I am, too.”

  She pressed her head against his shoulder and he placed his arm around her, drawing her close.

  “Do you think she’s with Richard?” Caroline couldn’t shake the thought. They’d both disappeared around the same time, but that made no sense. Richard might be a lot of things, but a child-snatcher wasn’t one of them. Caroline could think of no plausible reason for him to take Maggie.

  “I can’t imagine that even Richard would do anything like this,” Grady said, his voice little more than a whisper.

  Caroline reminded herself that Frank believed there might be a connection between Maggie’s disappearance and Richard’s. She just couldn’t understand what it might be.

  “You should try to sleep,” Grady urged.

  “I can’t.” Every time she closed her eyes her imagination tormented her. She couldn’t bear the thought of her daughter hurt and crying out for her. But that was what filled her mind and heart and made sleep impossible.

  “I can’t, either.”

  “Oh, Grady,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “Where can she be?”

  He waited a moment before he answered, and she knew he was experiencing the same frustration she was. “I wish I knew.”

  As the night wore on, it became more and more difficult for Caroline to hope. When she couldn’t stand the silence any longer, she buried her face in her hands and cried, “I want my daughter!”

  She tried to be strong, but she didn’t think she could hold back the tears. Hysteria was edging in on her. She could feel it pushing her closer to the brink.

  All at once she was completely wrapped in Grady’s arms. She clung to him, shaking almost un controllably as she muffled her sobs against his chest. His hold on her was firm, solid, and she needed him as she’d rarely needed anyone in her life. She wept until there were no tears left.

  “This might be the worst possible time to tell you this,” Grady whispered, his mouth close to her ear. “I love you, Caroline.”

  “Oh, Grady,” she sobbed.

  “I know it’s new, and it might take some getting used to, but let my love be your strength for now. Lean on me if you can. Let me help you bear this. I’ll do everything in my power to get Maggie back.”

  She was holding him, clutching his shoulders, like a lifeline. “I love you, too,” she whimpered, but didn’t know if he’d heard her.

  “We’ll get through this,” he promised. “We’ll find Maggie.”

  He sounded confident and sure, and she clung to the promise of his words.

  “It’s going to be all right, understand?”

  She nodded, desperately wanting to believe him.

  Oh, God, she prayed, please bring my little girl home.

  But God seemed far away just then.

  MAGGIE’S EYES WERE SORE from crying, but she didn’t want Richard to hear her because he’d already gotten mad and yelled at her. She huddled in the corner of the old stone building that used to be a store. It was getting dark, but there was still some light coming in through the open door. Richard had told her not to leave the room and then he’d disappeared. Maggie didn’t like Richard anymore, even if he could do magic tricks.

  He was mean and he said bad words and he threw things, too. After he found her hiding in the back of Grady’s pickup, he started acting like Billy Parsons when he had a temper tantrum at his brother’s birthday party. The only thing Richard didn’t do was throw himself down on the ground and start kicking.

  Her stomach growled, but Maggie had already looked around for something to eat and hadn’t found anything. She wished she’d gone horse back riding with her mommy and Grady. She was afraid of horses after last Sunday—but not nearly as afraid as she was now.

  “Richard,” Maggie said, risking his wrath by walking out of the store. “I want to go home now, okay?”

  “Yeah, well, you can’t have everything you want.” He was sitting outside and he had a big bottle in his hand. Every now and then, he’d take a drink. Her mother had told Maggie it wasn’t good manners to drink out of a bottle, but she didn’t tell Richard that because he’d only yell at her again.

  “Can we go back to the ranch?” she asked.

  “No.” He growled the word at her and laughed when she leaped back, frightened by the harsh sound of his voice. “I’ve got an idea,” he said, leaning toward her. “Why don’t you go fall in an empty well and save me a lot of trouble?”

  Maggie hurried back into the old store and sat down on the lone chair. When it grew dark, she ventured over to the stable where he’d parked the truck. There was enough moon light to find her way, but she walked very carefully, afraid of holes in the road and snakes…and Richard. Climbing into the bed of the pickup, she curled up with the sleeping bag she’d found earlier. She was cold and hungry and more afraid than she’d ever been in her whole life.

  Every once in a while she could hear Richard singing. He played his guitar and sang, but his voice didn’t sound right. It was like he’d mashed all the words together. She used to think he had a good voice; she didn’t think so anymore.

  Soon
she fell asleep and didn’t awake until light peeked through a crack in the stable door. She was so hungry her stomach hurt. She clambered out of the truck and walked back to the main street. The early morning was very still.

  Richard was asleep in the rocker. His guitar lay on the wooden sidewalk, and he’d slouched down in the chair with his feet stretched out. His arms dangled over the edges of the rocker until his fingertips touched the ground close to the empty bottle. His head lolled to one side.

  “Richard,” she whispered. “I’m hungry.”

  He opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times.

  “I’m hungry,” she repeated, louder this time.

  “Get out of here, kid.”

  “I want my mommy,” she said, and her lower lip wobbled. “I don’t like it here. I want to go home.”

  Richard slowly sat up and rubbed his face. “Get lost, will ya?”

  Maggie didn’t mean to, but she started to cry. She’d always thought Richard was her friend, and now she knew he wasn’t.

  “Stop it!” he shouted and scowled at her.

  Sobbing, Maggie ran away from him.

  “Maggie,” he called after her, but she didn’t stop, running between two of the buildings. “Damn it.”

  Maggie pre tended not to hear him and, thinking he might try to follow her, she crept down the side of a building, then slipped inside another store.

  The town was old. Really, really old. Older than any place she’d ever been. It smelled old. None of the buildings had paint, either. It sure seemed like no one had lived here for a long time. Some of the places had stuff inside. The store had a table and chair and shelves. But there were only a few cans sitting around—they looked kind of strange, like they might burst. Plus a cash register. She’d tried to get it to work, but it wouldn’t open for her.

  Maggie wasn’t sure what kind of shop this had been, but it had a big cupboard. Maybe she could hide from Richard there. She opened the door and saw that it had shelves. On one of the shelves was a doll. A really old one, with a cotton dress and apron and bonnet. The doll’s face had been stitched on. It wasn’t like any doll she’d ever seen. The only one she owned with cloth arms and legs was Raggedy Ann, but her clothes were bright and pretty. This doll’s clothes were all faded.

  “Are you scared, too?” she asked the doll.

  The stitched red mouth seemed to quaver a bit.

  Suddenly she heard Richard’s foot steps outside.

  “Maggie, damn it! You could get hurt racing around this old town.”

  Maggie didn’t care what Richard said—she didn’t like him. She crouched down inside the cupboard and shut the door, leaving it open just a crack so she could see out.

  “Are you hungry?” he called. She watched him stop in the doorway, staring into the building. Maggie’s heart pounded hard and she bit her lower lip, afraid he might see her.

  “Come on, kid,” he growled.

  Maggie clutched the old doll to her chest and closed her eyes. She wanted Richard to go away.

  “I’m going to cook break fast now,” he said, moving away. He continued down the sidewalk with heavy foot steps. “When you’re ready, you can come and eat, too.”

  Maggie waited a long time and didn’t move until she smelled bacon frying. Her stomach growled again. It’d been hours and hours since she’d eaten.

  Her grip on the doll loosened and she looked into its face again. It was a sad face, Maggie realized, as if the doll was about to cry. Maggie felt like crying, too. She missed her mommy.

  Slipping her backpack off her shoulders, Maggie opened it and carefully tucked the sad doll inside.

  “I cooked you some bacon and eggs,” Richard called.

  This time Maggie couldn’t resist. She pushed open the cupboard door and slowly walked out of the old building.

  “There you are,” Richard said, holding out a plate to her.

  Maggie didn’t trust Richard anymore and moved cautiously toward him. If he said something mean, she was prepared to run.

  “I’m sorry I yelled at you,” Richard told her.

  “What about the bad words?”

  “I’m sorry about those, too.”

  “Will you take me home now?” she asked, standing in the middle of the dirt street.

  Richard stood by the post where people used to hitch their horses. He didn’t look like he was sorry, even if he said he was.

  Maggie’s stomach was empty and making funny noises.

  “You really want to go home now?” Richard asked. He sounded surprised that she’d want to leave. He made it seem like she was supposed to be having fun.

  “I want to see my mommy.”

  “Okay, okay, but we need to talk about it first.” He set the plate of food aside and sat down on the steps leading to the raised sidewalk.

  “Why?”

  He scratched his head. “Do you remember Grady getting mad at Savannah about coming to the ghost town?” he asked.

  Maggie nodded. Grady had been real upset with Savannah when he found out she’d been to the town. Savannah had come to look for special roses, and Grady had stomped around the house for days. Even Laredo wasn’t happy when Savannah wanted to come back and look for more roses.

  “Now, this is very important,” Richard said, his voice low and serious. “You mustn’t let anyone know where you’ve been, understand?”

  Her chin came up a little. “Why not?”

  “You love your mommy, don’t you?” Maggie nodded.

  “If anyone finds out you’ve been here…” He stopped and glanced in both directions as if he was afraid someone might be listening. “If anyone finds out, then something really bad will happen to your mother.”

  Maggie’s eyes grew big.

  “Do you know what ghosts are?” Richard asked.

  “Melissa Washing ton dressed up in a sheet and said she was a ghost last Halloween,” Maggie told him.

  “There are good ghosts and bad ghosts.”

  “Which kind live here?” Maggie whispered.

  “Bad ones,” he whispered back. His voice was spooky. She wondered if he was trying to scare her on purpose.

  “Bad ones?” she repeated faintly.

  “Very bad ones, and if you tell anyone, even your best friend, then the bad ghosts will find out and hurt your mother.”

  “How…how will they hurt Mommy?”

  “You don’t want to know, kid.” He squeezed his eyes shut and made an ugly face, as if just telling her about it would upset him.

  Maggie blinked, not sure she should believe him.

  “Remember when Wiley cut his hand and Savannah had to wrap it up for him?”

  “Yes…”

  “That’s what bad ghosts will do to your mommy, only it wouldn’t just be her hand.”

  Maggie forgot all about the smell of bacon. Wiley’s hand had bled and bled. Blood had gotten every where, and she could remember being surprised that one hand had so much blood in it. Just looking at it had made her feel sick to her stomach.

  “You wouldn’t want anything bad like that to happen to your mommy, would you?”

  Maggie shook her head.

  “I didn’t think so.”

  “Can I go home now?”

  He studied her for a long time. “You won’t tell anyone?”

  “No.”

  “Cross your heart?”

  “Cross my heart.” She made a big X over her heart.

  “I’d hate to see your mommy hurt, wouldn’t you?” Maggie nodded.

  “Then maybe it’d be all right if I took you home.”

  Maggie sighed with relief. She was tired and hungry, and all she wanted was to see her mother again.

  Richard helped her into the cab of Grady’s truck. He made her curl up on the seat and keep her head down so she couldn’t see as they drove away. Every time she closed her eyes she thought about a bad ghost and what might happen to her mother if she told anyone where she’d been. She still wasn’t sure if Richard was lying, but she
couldn’t take any chances. She remembered how angry Grady had been with Savannah. When she asked her mother about it, Caroline had explained that Savannah had gone to a dangerous place. Now Maggie understood why Grady was so upset. That town was really creepy, and the more she thought about it, the more she believed there were bad things in those buildings.

  The ride was bumpy and she was tossed about, but Richard wouldn’t let her sit up and look out the window until they were on the real road.

  “Remember, kid, you never saw me. Got that?”

  “I never saw you,” she repeated solemnly.

  “Your mother’s life depends on you keeping your trap shut. You wouldn’t want your mother dead, would you?”

  “No.”

  “Good. Just remember that the first time you’re tempted to tell someone where you were.”

  “I’ll remember. I won’t tell.” Maggie didn’t want her mommy to die. Not like her grand mother. Or Savannah’s parents. Or Emma Bishop’s daddy.

  Richard didn’t drive her all the way back to the Yellow Rose. He stopped at the top of the driveway, leaned across her and opened the truck door.

  “Remember what I said,” he told her again. His eyes were mean.

  “I’ll remember,” she promised, and before he could change his mind, she climbed out of the truck. She stumbled as she jumped down and fell, scraping her elbows. She began to cry, hardly noticing that Richard had driven off, tires squealing.

  With her backpack hitting her shoulder blades, Maggie raced toward the ranch house. The driveway was long and her legs felt like they were on fire before the house finally came into view.

  Grady stood on the porch with a cup of coffee, but the moment he saw her, he gave a loud shout and flung the cup away. Then he leaped off the porch without using any of the steps and ran toward her.

  Almost immediately afterward, her mother threw open the screen door and placed both hands over her mouth. Then she started running, too. Maggie had never been so happy to see her mother. She was even glad to see Grady. He waited for Caroline and let her go to Maggie first. Maggie liked that.