The Sheriff Gets His Lady

“Can’t you open it?”

“No, ma’am. Not with this lock on it.”

“Mr. Ellenshaw, I need my computer. Can’t you break the lock and find out who this case belongs to?”

The earnest young man shook his head. “Sorry, Ms. Diamond, I can’t do that. Believe me, whoever got your computer is going to be as upset as you are over this mistake.”

“I doubt it.”

Especially if that person was from a rival designer’s house. This wouldn’t be the first time another designer had gone to extreme lengths to steal an upcoming series of designs. Sky had been a recent target so she knew firsthand. There was big money in the world of fashion. Theft happened more often than people realized. And there wasn’t a thing she could do about it.

“I’m certain we’ll hear from the owner this morning,” he assured her earnestly.

“That’s all very well, but my car is being delivered in fifteen minutes. I have to leave. What am I supposed to do?”

“As soon as your computer is located we’ll have it delivered to you. In the meantime, I have some forms for you to fill out.”

“Of course you do.”

Arguing was pointless. If the competition had her computer, they already had everything on it. Recriminations were useless. She could only hope Mr. Ellenshaw was correct, that in all the confusion yesterday, the bags had been switched by mistake.

“And if no one does complain about having the wrong computer?” she asked as she finished filling out the requisite paperwork to get her laptop computer returned in the event they recovered it.

“Er, then you’ll have to file a claim through the insurance company.”

“Naturally. And what happens to this one?”

“Oh, we’ll hold on to it. It’s possible a guest who checked out might not discover the switch for several days.” At her raised eyebrows he hastened to add, “But I really don’t think that’s going to be an issue here, Ms. Diamond.”

The door flew open. A young woman in a security uniform stood there, a peculiar expression on her face. “Ray, I need to talk to you right away.”

“I’ll be with you in a min—”

“Now! This won’t wait!”

“Excuse me a moment, Ms. Diamond.”

He walked to the door and stepped into the corridor with the agitated woman. The door didn’t close all the way and the woman’s frantically whispered words floated into the room.

“One of the maids just found a maintenance worker downstairs in an empty room. He’s dead. She says his throat was slit. There’s blood all over the place.”

The security man uttered an oath. “Follow procedure. I’ll be right there.”

Sky wasn’t surprised when she was hustled to the front desk. A bellman was summoned to collect her bags and bring them downstairs. By the time she finished filling out the paperwork for the car that was delivered, a surprising number of uniformed police officers were trooping through the lobby. At 5:33 a.m. it seemed highly unlikely the early risers were going to believe the police were here for a conference.

Not her problem. Sky tipped the deliveryman and walked outside, her briefcase firmly under her arm. This time she checked each piece of luggage carefully as it was being loaded into the trunk of the luxury car. Two men she’d bet were plainclothes policemen strode past the unfazed doorman.

“All set, ma’am. Come back and see us.”

Not if she could help it. In her opinion, the Grand’s reputation was highly overrated.

Only after she was inside the car with the engine running did she shrug off the morning’s frustration and allow anticipation to hum through her body. There was nothing she could do about the computer right now. The loss couldn’t override her main reason for being here in Texas.

Somewhere down the road her daughter was waiting, even if the girl wasn’t aware of that fact. In her mind, Sky had held countless conversations with the faceless young woman. She’d rehearsed all sorts of opening gambits. Yet she still didn’t know what she was going to say when the time finally came. More and more she wondered if she was doing the right thing at all. She had no rights here. But even if she didn’t tell her daughter who she was, Sky needed to see her, maybe watch her and hear her speak. It was that simple and that complicated.

She opened her map, took a quick look at the printed directions she’d made for herself, and set out into the early-morning traffic.

Finally, after all these years, maybe—just maybe—she could convince herself that she’d done the right thing after all.

* * *

DINNER WAS nearly ready. His daughter would be home from work soon, Noah thought in satisfaction. Having Lauren around always brought the tiny ranch to life. The place was going to feel so empty once she moved away for good. Lauren had a way of comfortably filling even the silences with her good-natured presence. It had been bad enough this past year and a half with her away at school most of the time, but at least there had been vacations and semester breaks to look forward to. Soon it would be periodic visits instead.

Letting go might be part of the parenting process, but he didn’t have to like it.

The telephone rang, pulling Noah from his introspection. He rinsed his hands and reached for the instrument.

“Hello?”

“Noah? Zach Logan.”

The name from his past raised his eyebrows. Zach Logan had been his boss when he worked for the Dallas Police Department fifteen years ago. He hadn’t seen the man since last April when one of Zach’s cases had reached into this part of Texas and Noah lost a deputy.

“Hey, Zach, what’s new?” Noah cupped the phone under his chin and finished drying his hands on the dish towel as he checked the water boiling on the stove.

“I called to give you a heads-up.”

Noah turned down the heat as he slid the pasta into the boiling water. “On Francis Hartman?”

“You heard they released him?”

“I dropped a prisoner off last week. The warden told me.”

“Then do you know Hartman disappeared from view yesterday?”

Noah’s muscles tensed then relaxed. “Francis Hartman is a brainless thug.”

“Who apparently carries a mean grudge.”

Noah swore.

“Yeah. While I agree he doesn’t have the brains God gave rodent dung, it’s a good idea to watch your back all the same. The brainless ones are often more dangerous than we expect.”

“Point taken. Thanks for the warning, Zach. I’ll alert my people. Any wants or warrants?”

“Not yet.”

“Well, I’m not overly worried. Hartman will stand out if he makes the mistake of showing up here in Darwin Crossing. I think he’s just barely smart enough to recognize that.”