A Bride By Summer: The Texas Ranger's Bride / From Best Friend to Bride / Once Upon a Bride

“It’s this one sent at eight twenty this morning.”

“That’s when the phone calls stopped. Read what it says.”

“‘I bet you’re making it up that you have a husband. Why do you enjoy being a tease? No one would watch you in the rodeo if they knew you were such a liar.’” She let out a quiet gasp.

Without thinking, Cy put his hands on the back of her chair. He could tell she was trembling. “I’m going to stop him, Kellie. This morning he made his biggest mistake so far by posting this message on the blog. When I’m at the office, we’ll trace it to its source. With every misstep, we’re closer to catching him.”

She nodded without turning around. He quickly removed his hands and walked over to the kitchen counter where he’d put her phone. He heard her chair legs scrape the tile and turned in her direction.

“I know you’re anxious to get going, Cy. I’ll run upstairs for my purse and leave for the ranch.”

“I’ll walk you out to the garage.” While he waited for her, he put her phone in his pocket.

The door to the garage was located at the other end of the kitchen. He unlocked it and turned on the garage light where her white Toyota sedan stood parked. He and Vic had checked it for fingerprints yesterday.

When she came out, he opened the driver’s side door for her. Once she was inside, he asked her for the remote. “I need it to get in and out with my own car. I’ll let you in when you come back from the ranch.”

Her eyes played over him as she handed it to him. “Where is it?”

“Parked around the block. Try to enjoy the day, Kellie. You’ll be constantly watched. Call me from your parents’ when you’re ready to come home.”

“I will. Have a good day yourself. Be careful,” she whispered.

He took a quick breath. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

“But I do, and I will.”

It had been a long time since a woman he cared about had been concerned about him. Her unexpected smile revealed the spirit inside her that had dominated her life and made her a champion. He admired her passion for life.

As she started the engine, he pressed the remote so the garage door would open. After she’d backed out, he retrieved his phone and alerted the surveillance team that she was leaving the condo.

Once he couldn’t see her, he hurried inside for her laptop and the bagged letter. After he had everything he needed, he left through the garage, closed it with the remote and walked down the alley to the end. Eight-foot-high heavy-duty vinyl privacy fencing ran the length of the alley to separate the backyards of another set of town houses. It was a gorgeous September day, probably sixty-five degrees out.

He found the SUV and took off for headquarters. On the way to his office he stopped by the lab to leave Kellie’s phone and laptop plus the letter. Stan came out to talk to him. “TJ said this is high priority. I’ll get working on everything now and give you a ring later.”

“Thanks, Stan. I need you to do something else for me. I want Rafe to analyze this stalker’s voice and see what he can figure out.”

“I’ll ask him to work on it now and take a late lunch.”

“I’d appreciate that. I don’t see Janene. When she comes in, ask her to find out the IP for the person who sent Ms. Parrish the message on her blog. I’ve flagged it.”

“Sure. I’ll put it on her desk.”

“Thanks. See you later.”

Cy took off for his office upstairs. On the way down the hall, Vic saw him and called him into his office. “I’ve been waiting for you. I’ve got stuff to show you that will blow your mind. Look what the database brought up from the sketch you entered.”

Intrigued by Vic’s excitement, Cy grabbed a chair and sat next to him. “Thirty-two matches came up on the computer.”

“Is there one from Oregon?”

“No.”

“My first hunch was wrong, then,” Cy muttered. “How about Utah, Montana, New Mexico or Texas?”

“None of those states.”

Damn.

“Give me a second. I’m refining these for exact similarities.”

Cy watched the screen. They both made sounds when two faces came up. After studying them he exclaimed, “They’re the same person with different rap sheets. How in the hell did that happen?”

Dean Linton Michaels, aliases Dan Linton, Dan Michaels, Michael Linton, Mick Linton, Delinn Michael, twenty-eight, latest known address in Flossmoor, Illinois, is wanted for the murder of two women. The first account is for the stalking and strangulation of a twenty-four-year-old woman, Lucinda Rosen, in Chicago, Illinois. The second account a year later is for the stalking and strangulation of a nineteen-year-old woman, Mary Ferrera, in Memphis, Tennessee. Charges include Aggravated Kidnapping, Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution, Aggravated Sexual Assault. No. 10 on the FBI’s most wanted list.

Vic darted him a glance before he scrolled down. “Take a look at this rap sheet.”

Lines marred Cy’s features as he found himself looking at what appeared to be the exact same man. This one had longer hair.

Andrew Dunham, aliases Denny Andrew, Andy Dunham, Drew Denning, Donny, twenty-eight, latest known address in New Orleans, Louisiana, is wanted for First-Degree Murder in the stalking and strangulation death of a twenty-three-year-old woman in Charleston, South Carolina, thirteen months ago. Charges include Aggravated Kidnapping, Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution, Aggravated Sexual Assault.

Cy shook his head. “It’s amazing how closely these two men resemble the sketch. There has to be a mistake since both pictures have to be the same person. Three murders in three years. Kellie needs to see these pictures. If he’s the same man and the one she can identify... Let’s get on the phone to the agents working those cases while we figure this out.”

Over the next two hours they held phone conferences with the FBI agents from Illinois, Tennessee and South Carolina. In all three instances, the agents praised the Rangers for their detective work on Kellie’s case and pledged their help.

After Cy’s last call, he waited until Vic got off the phone. “I’ve sent both sets of fingerprints to Stan to verify if it’s the same man. They say every person has a double somewhere in the world.”

“I wonder if that’s really true,” Vic murmured.

“Who knows? I need to learn as much as I can before I show Kellie these photos. Even though the artist was able to find us a match, maybe he only bears a superficial resemblance to the man she saw.” He printed out both photos. After folding them, he put them in his pocket. “Want to go down to the lab with me?”

Vic jumped up. “Try to keep me away.”

When they entered the lab, Stan told them to come around to the table where he was working. They passed Rafe’s office. He looked up. “I’m working on this voice analysis. Give me until tomorrow.”

“Sure.”

They moved toward Stan.

“You got some good prints lifted from the condo and the car,” he said. “Several belong to the victim, and several others belong to the mother. One partial print you lifted from one of the buttons of the keypad for the garage doesn’t match anyone’s.”

Cy eyed Vic. “That’s interesting. Maybe we’ll find the person who left it. Right now we’ve got a new puzzle for you to solve. I just sent you the photos and fingerprints of two wanted fugitives who appear to be the same man from the IAFIS data base. But if they’re the same man, why didn’t the computer pick it up?”

“Let me see.” Stan pulled up the information on the computer.

“Their cases have been built from two different areas of the country with different names. Their photos closely match Jim’s sketch of the man stalking Kellie. How long will it take you to determine if both pictures are of the same man?”

“Give me a few minutes and I’ll check right now.” He put both sets of prints up on the screen and used his loupe and counter. He examined them for a while, and then his head came up. “Well, what do you know? Those men aren’t the same person. This is a case of identical twins, but as you know there’s no such thing as identical fingerprints.”