Page 21 of Lone Star Wanted
Kincade nodded, slowly. That tracked. That piece clicked into place. He remembered stepping inside and drawing his weapon, heart pounding, trying to get a read on the shooter.
“I saw you go in,” Marlene added. “And then I panicked. I took off in Travis’s SUV.”
Kincade’s eyes narrowed. “You just left.”
Marlene nodded, guilt flashing across her face. “I had to. If I got killed, my mother was gone for good. I drove back to my patrol car, hid the SUV on an old ranch trail and then got the hell out of there.”
Kincade clenched his jaw, frustration digging in deep. He remembered the porch. The shots. The burn of smoke in his lungs. But everything after that?
Still blank.
And that pissed him off. Because whatever happened after Marlene ran, that was when everything changed.
Cassidy stepped forward, her voice quieter now. “Have you had any more contact with the person who took your mother?”
Marlene’s eyes welled up again. She shook her head, then nodded as if she didn’t know which answer was right.
“They texted me,” she said, her voice cracking. “Just a few hours ago. Said my mom would be let go soon.”
She dug into her pocket, hands trembling slightly, and pulled out her phone. Her thumb hovered over the screen before she passed it to Cassidy.
The message was short. No signature. No details.
She’ll be released soon. Do nothing until you hear from us.
Kincade leaned in to look. Unknown number. No name. No thread history.
Jericho stepped up beside them. “I can try to trace it,” he said, already pulling out his phone.
Marlene shook her head, wiping tears from her cheek. “I already did. Ran it through every system I could access without triggering alerts. Burner phone. Whoever’s behind this, they know how to cover their tracks.”
That made sense. Whoever had orchestrated this wasn’t just some pissed-off cop or random thug. And getting a burner phone was an easy and cheap way to hide your tracks.
Marlene’s breath hitched. She looked between them, eyes wide and shining with panic. “Please don’t tell anyone about my mother,” she said, her voice shaking. “They said if word got out, if anyone else started asking questions, she’d die.”
Cassidy’s expression tightened, but she stayed silent.
“I told my neighbors my mom was visiting my aunt in Houston,” Marlene added. “Even told the department she left early to beat the traffic. Nobody’s questioned it yet.” She raked a hand through her hair. “I’ve searched every place I can think of. Hotels, abandoned properties, friends of hers she hasn’t spoken to in years. Nothing.”
“I’ll do some checking,” Jericho offered, causing more alarm to shoot through Marlene’s eyes. “I’ll keep the search quiet,” he assured her.
Marlene let out a breath of relief. “Good. Because I’m barely holding it together as it is. I don’t want her in more danger.” She made a soft sob. “The bastard who has her insisted I go to work, that I find Travis. But I don’t know where he is. Do you?” she begged.
“We don’t know,” Kincade assured her, and he kept his gaze locked on the woman. “Travis was bringing me information. What do you know about that?”
Marlene hesitated. Her expression tightened, as if she wasn’t sure how much to admit. But she finally nodded.
“Yeah. He found something,” she said. “Said it was big. Said it proved Aaron Clegg didn’t kill his cousin, Alisha.”
“What was it?” Cassidy demanded.
There was another pause before Marlene continued. “Travis got hold of copies from an old external drive. Backup records. Something the department thought had been wiped years ago.”
Kincade leaned in. “And?”
Marlene squeezed her eyes shut a moment. “There was a statement. An anonymous tip from an unnamed minor who saw Alisha get into a dark SUV the night she disappeared. That tip was never filed. Never followed up. But the kid described the vehicle down to the sticker on the back window.”
She looked up at them, her voice lower now.
