Point Blank Protector

Lenora Collingsworth loved frigid Saturday mornings when her family gathered around the huge stone fireplace in the family den instead of all going their separate ways. Not that she didn’t love spring and fall. Even hot south Texas summers had their high points, but still there was something special about having all your children warmed by the same crackling blaze.

Her twin grandsons were missing for the moment, having donned their jackets and escaped out the back door to toss around a football and have a good excuse to tackle and scuffle. David and Derrick were seven years old and a joy to have around.

Still it broke Lenora’s heart that her oldest daughter was separated from their father. The boys needed him. So did Becky for that matter. The problem was she’d married a man as stubborn as she was.

So Becky and the boys were back on Jack’s Bluff Ranch with the rest of the Collingsworth clan. Well, technically, Langston didn’t live at the ranch. He and his wife Trish and their teenage daughter Gina lived in Houston during the week. His duties as president of Collingsworth Oil pretty much demanded it, but they spent most weekends at the ranch.

And much to Lenora’s delight, Trish was pregnant. She couldn’t wait to cuddle a grandchild in her arms again. She’d already pulled the antique cradle that all her children had slept in from storage. Their neighbor Billy Mack was restoring it.

She was lucky her children were tied to the land and family but still independent with minds of their own and clear goals for their lives. At least most of them were. At twenty-six, Zach and Jaime didn’t seem tied to anything but having a good time.

Jaime was a free spirit. Zach was her jet-setter. Except for a couple of brief stints working for Collingsworth Oil, Zach had spent the two years since graduating from the University of Texas roaming Europe. Getting the feel for the foreign business relations he’d majored in, he claimed.

As far as she could tell, most of the relations he’d explored had been with beautiful young females and the business had been that of enjoying himself immensely. But even with the extensive travels, he’d retained his cowboy charm. Jack’s Bluff definitely got into a person’s blood.

Nonetheless, the bottom line was that it was past time for Jaime and Zach to get their acts together.

She’d love to see them settle in the way Bart and Matt had. Both worked full time running the ranch and had built homes right here at Jack’s Bluff. Bart lived with his new wife Jaclyn on Scuttle Creek. Jaclyn was a dear and the perfect mate for Bart.

Matt lived alone in a rambling structure built on the edge of the woods and overlooking a waterhole favored by the many deer in the area. She had high hopes he’d find his soul mate soon, but for now he seemed perfectly happy without one.

Lenora went to the kitchen for a refill on hot chocolate and brought the pot back to the den with her. “More cocoa, anyone?”

“Thanks, Grandma. I’d love more,” Gina said, lifting her blue pottery mug and then groaning as Jaime placed the letters Z, A and X on the Scrabble board.

“You better watch Jaime,” Zach said. “I hate to say it but I’m certain my twin sister cheats. That’s the only way she could ever have beaten me at anything.”

“It’s called division of the genes,” Jaime scoffed. “You got the brawn. I got the brains—and the good looks.”

“In your dreams.”

The doorbell rang. They all looked up, though no one made a move toward the door.

“Is anyone expecting company?” Lenora asked.

No one was. Langston folded the section of the Houston Chronicle he’d been reading, stood and started to the door. “It’s probably just Billy Mack.”

Lenora thought he was likely right. Their neighbor had taken to coming around a lot more often of late. Living alone had to be tough on him. Not that he’d ever admit it.

But the booming voice she heard next didn’t belong to Billy Mack. A few seconds later Langston ushered Sheriff Ed Guerra into the den.

“I hate to bust in on you like this,” Ed said, “but there’s a problem over at the Silver Spurs Ranch. I thought you should be alerted.”

“What kind of problem?” Langston asked.

“Guess you know that Gordon Cooper’s granddaughter inherited his spread.”

“We heard that months ago,” Lenora said, “but apparently there were some kinks in the will that had to be ironed out.”

“She got here last night,” the sheriff said, “and her welcome to Colts Run Cross wasn’t the most hospitable.”

Bart stepped over to where Langston and the sheriff were standing. “How inhospitable are we talking?”

“As in there was a body with a couple of bullet holes in it waiting for her just inside the door.”

Lenora’s chest tightened, and her gaze went immediately to Gina. She wasn’t sure her teenage granddaughter needed to hear Ed’s uncensored version of this. Trish had obviously decided the same thing. She was already doing the boot-scoot routine with Gina to get her through the doorway that led to the kitchen.

“Gina and I will make coffee,” Trish said.

Ed gave her an understanding nod. “Best idea I heard today.” He waited until she and Gina were out of sight. “The rest of you females might want to join them. This ain’t a pretty story.”

“Can’t be worse than the nightly news,” Jaime said. “Besides, if there’s a murderer in our midst, we’re going to hear about it soon enough.”

“You can be sure of that. But you folks being the closest neighbors, I thought I should tell you about it first. Thought maybe you could check in on Kali Cooper, too. She’s pretty shaken up by this—not that I blame her none. Poor lady’s single and staying out there by herself.”

“Why don’t you take a seat and start at the beginning?” Matt said.

Ed dropped to the corner of the couch, took off his worn black Western hat and held it in his lap, fingering the brim as he talked. “I got a call from the 911 operator about midnight, right in the thick of the storm. She said she had a frantic caller on the phone claiming she was standing over a murder victim.”

Lenora was sucked into the dread as she listened to the rest of the story. How frightening for a young woman to walk into what she thought was an empty house and find that macabre scene waiting for her. “How old is Kali Cooper?”

“Twenty-six,” Ed said. “The victim looks to be even younger. She might even be a teenager.”

Maybe as young as her granddaughter Gina. A bone-chilling shiver climbed Lenora’s spine. “Do you know the identity of the victim?”

“Not yet, but we do know that no one’s been reported missing from our immediate area.”

“How long had she been dead?” Matt asked.

“Best estimate is that she was shot within an hour of the time Kali arrived on the scene. Kali was damned lucky she didn’t walk in on the killing. If she had we’d likely be investigating two murders today.”

Becky walked to the window and looked out. Lenora knew she was assuring herself the boys were fine.

“Kali must be horrified.” Jaime said.

“Yeah, but that girl’s got grit. She stayed at the motel in town last night. I didn’t want her living in the crime scene until we had a chance to comb it thoroughly. But I gave her clearance to return an hour ago, and she’s already back on the premises.”

“Zach can go check on her,” Lenora said.

“I knew I could count on you folks for that,” Ed said. “And until we get a handle on things, it wouldn’t hurt to be careful, especially you women. No tellin’ where the killer is now.”

Lenora stayed back as her three oldest sons walked to the front door with the sheriff, Matt still asking questions.

Zach propped a booted foot on the hearth. “How did I get elected to go check on the new neighbor?”

“You and Kali are the same age and you played together when you were children.”

“That was fifteen years ago.”