Chapter Four

By the time Thursday rolled around, and Mrs. Dobbs had not appeared again, Jessica felt certain that Grant had told her the truth and her lover’s mother realized her son was not only a liar but a thief. It made Jessica laugh inside, but it also made her realize she’d been wrong in not telling Hawk about Mrs. Dobbs’ visit. She planned to rectify that situation tonight.

He’d been out of town since their night at the Spellman Farm. There had been a meth lab bust three towns over, and the sheriff had called in all available help, which included Hawk. He’d packed a bag and left, and she’d only been able to talk to him on the phone since Tuesday. When they’d talked this morning he said he’d be in Bookman Springs around four.

“And I expect to see you on your knees, mouth open.”

“As you command, Sir,” she’d said. She wanted to tell him she wanted some Little time with him, since they hadn’t had any in at least a week, but she knew better than to ask. Hawk knew how to read her, and he would set up scenes as he saw fit. She was thinking about the wonderful way they played together when the door to the shop opened. The retirees were already here, enjoying coffee and donuts while she tried to think of another cake to make this afternoon. She looked up to see Aurora walking toward the counter. Her new friend always made her smile.

“Morning!” Jessica called out. “Can I get you a donut?”

“I’ve been sent after cookies,” Aurora said. “We have new clients, and there are a lot of kids. We thought treats would be a nice way to welcome them. Becky’s running her buns off trying to get people settled, and I’ve been sent into town. I’m going to pick up treats, then make a run to the grocery store.”

“I was going to ask you how it felt to be unemployed, but it seems as if you’re not.”

“I’m not,” she said. “I do a lot of paperwork for Holt, and I’m trying to help in the kitchen, although I’m not much of a cook.”

“I dropped the ball, didn’t I?” Jessica took out a box and started to fold it. “I was supposed to teach you how to cook. I’m so sorry.”

“You’ve had other things on your mind,” Aurora said. “Like making my wedding cake. Just six weeks to go.”

“I can’t believe it’s so close,” Jessica said.

“Me, either.” Aurora sat down on a stool. “At this time last year I was wondering where my life would end up. Now look at me about to get married to the most marvelous man in the world.”

Jessica turned toward the back counter. She poured Aurora a cup of coffee, then turned and set it down in front of her. She knew her friend well enough to know which donut she liked. She took a plate and piled it with two chocolate frosted. After she’d given it to Aurora she repeated the order, then rounded the counter, her own treats in hand, and sat down next to her friend.

After she’d swallowed her first bite of fried dough, Jessica said, “How are the other plans going? Can I do anything?”

“Well, I’m glad you asked,” Aurora said. “How do you feel about a trip to Amarillo this weekend? Maybe Saturday afternoon?”

“Sounds like fun,” Jessica said. “Saturdays are usually very slow, so I can close early. I’ll put a note up on the door to let people know. What are we doing?”

Aurora giggled. “It’s a surprise.”

“Not even a hint?”

“Nope.” Aurora giggled again. She took a bite from her donut and wiggled her eyebrows as she chewed.

Jessica took a sip from her coffee, then went back around the counter to finish boxing up the cookies. When she was done she pushed them across the counter. “I’ll put them on your bill.” Then she pulled them back. “Or maybe I won’t give them to you until you tell me the big secret.”

“Then I’ll just buy boxed ones at the store.” Aurora ate the last of her donut.

“You wouldn’t!” Jessica said in horror.

“I would.” Aurora giggled again. She did that a lot lately, and to tell the truth, Jessica was a little jealous. She laughed, truly, but she didn’t think she was as happy as Aurora was at this moment. Was that what true love brought you? If she told Hawk she wanted to buy the Spellman Farm and move out there with him would she be giggling every few minutes, too?

As much as she liked the idea, Jessica knew that wouldn’t happen. Not many people found the loves of their lives. She cared about Hawk more than she’d ever thought possible, but she knew she would never be able to stay with him forever. Things didn’t work that way for her.

“What’s wrong?” Aurora asked. “You were smiling, and all of a sudden you look like you stepped in dog doo.”

Jessica laughed, then pushed the cookie boxes back in Aurora’s direction. The front door opened and to her delight Hawk walked in. She thought about what he’d said, about her being on her knees with her mouth open to accept his dick. She wanted to tell him he was too early. Then another man walked in behind him, wearing jeans and a tan-button down shirt. He had a star pinned above the pocket on his shirt and a gun on his hip.

He took off his cowboy hat, as did Hawk. Hawk walked toward her and pursed his lips in a kiss. Then he turned to the man behind him. “Jessica Barker this is Nate Willis. Nate is a Texas Ranger.”

“Hello,” she said. “Coffee?”

“No thank you, ma’am,” he said. “I’m here on another matter.”

“Okay.” Jessica shot a glance at Aurora. The room grew quiet, and she looked to see the retirees were watching the proceedings with interest. Hawk was introducing Aurora to the ranger.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Willis?”

“You can call me Nate, ma’am.” He turned his hat in his hand. “Do you know a woman named Matilda Dobbs?”

Jessica’s stomach dropped to the floor. Should she lie? She licked her lips and said, “Yes.”

“Have you seen her lately?” Nate asked.

“She came in on Monday,” Jessica said. She shot a look in Hawk’s direction, and she knew he’d made the connection with her mood on Monday and the appearance of Matilda Dobbs.

“May I ask why?” Nate asked.

For a moment she thought about lying, but knew the truth would come out. “She came in to accuse me of stealing a ring.” Once again she looked at Hawk. He nodded ever so slightly, and she sighed. “I was once engaged to Mrs. Dobbs’ son, Grant. He gave me the ring as an engagement ring. When I broke up with him I gave it back. She came in to accuse me of stealing it. She said she wanted it back. She told me she would come back on Tuesday to get it, but I told her, as I tell you now, I don’t have it. I gave it to Grant.”

“He says otherwise,” Nate said.

“As I told Mrs. Dobbs, he’s lying.” She snorted in disgust. “I realize she’s the mayor of Bringham, but calling out the Texas Rangers for a missing ring seems a little over the top.”

“Matilda Dobbs is missing.” Nate’s words hung in the air.

Jessica stared at him, then turned her gaze on Hawk, who was staring at the ranger with a scowl on his face. “She’s what?” Jessica asked.

“Missing, since Monday,” Nate said. “She told her family she was going to Amarillo for a doctor’s appointment. It turns out there was no appointment. She left the house around seven that morning and has not been seen since.”

Jessica tried to process what he was saying. It couldn’t be. “What?”

“Missing,” Nate said. “Can you tell me what time she was here?”

“Um.” Jessica tucked her hair behind her ears. “Um, around ten? Ten-thirty?” She thought back to Monday. “She was here when Mrs. Cunningham was here, from the bank. She comes in a few times a week to buy donuts. But she didn’t say anything to me until Mrs. Cunningham was gone.”

“And that’s when she accused you of theft?” Nate turned his hat in his hands once more.

“Yes, after she berated me for walking out on her son.” Once more she looked at Hawk. “I didn’t walk out on him. I realized I didn’t love him, I told him that, I gave him the ring, and I left town.”

“To come here?” Nate asked.

“No, I moved to Amarillo, and when the bakery here came up for sale I bought it and moved here.”

“May I ask where you got the money for it?” Nate asked.

Jessica snorted in derision. “It wasn’t from a stolen ring, I assure you. I am mortgaged to the hilt.” She waved her hands at the equipment around her. “Everything here is on credit. I barely keep my head above water.”

“Where do you think Mrs. Dobbs went?” Nate asked.

“She told me she would be back on Tuesday,” she said. “I have no clue where she went after that.”

“And you didn’t wonder why she didn’t come back?” Nate asked.

Jessica laughed. “I figured she’d confronted Grant and he’d finally told her the truth and she didn’t bother to come back. I counted myself lucky she didn’t come back. She was never my favorite person.”

Too late she realized she shouldn’t have added that last part.

“Can’t you track her phone, or her car, or some of that stuff they do on TV?” Aurora asked.

Nate laughed. “We’re not getting a signal from either.” He turned his gaze back to Jessica. “What did the ring look like?”

“It’s an emerald, a huge one, surrounded by diamonds on either side.” She shrugged. “It belonged to Mrs. Dobbs’ family when they moved to America.”

“Do you know how much it’s worth?” Nate asked.

“I have no clue,” Jessica answered.

“Five caret emerald is worth about forty grand,” Nate said. She could tell by the way he watched her that he wanted to see her reaction.

“It was heavy, I know that.” She held up her hand. “Grant used to get mad because I wouldn’t wear it around the house.”

“Did you and Grant live together?” Nate asked.”

“No.” She looked over to where Hawk stood. “We dated about a year, and he asked me to marry him and I admit I was star-struck. His family was a big deal in Bringham. But after we’d been engaged for a while I realized I couldn’t spend the rest of my life with him. I didn’t love him enough.”

Nate nodded. “Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

“No.” She shrugged. “She was here, she left, and I didn’t see her again. Maybe she had a wreck somewhere. I have no clue.”

Nate looked like he was going to say something, but decided against it at the last moment. He nodded ever so slightly and said, “I might be back.”

“I hope you’ll have a donut next time,” Jessica said.

“I’ll walk you out,” Hawk said.

The two lawmen left the building and Aurora said, “Oh my God.”

Jessica looked over to where the retirees still sat, their heads close together as they talked. About her.

“So I wonder where she is,” Aurora said.

“Probably holed up in a hotel at some resort so the police will come and grill me,” Jessica said. “She never liked me.”

“How long were you engaged?”

Jessica shrugged. “A few months. I realized after a while it just wasn’t for me.”

She stared out the front window where Hawk stood talking to the Texas Ranger. Hawk nodded several times, and the ranger kept looking in the window. She wondered if he was deciding whether or not he should come back inside and arrest her. But arrest her for what?

“Damn you Matilda Dobbs,” she whispered.

“Are you okay?” Aurora asked, her concern obvious in her voice.

“I’m fine,” Jessica said. She looked over to where the retirees still sat. It would be all over town in an hour that she’d been questioned by the Texas Rangers in the disappearance of a woman who had come into the bakery on Monday. What would that do for business?

The door opened and Hawk came back inside. He had a frown on his face, and Aurora jumped up from her stool. She grabbed the boxes of cookies and said, “I’ll be on my way. I still have to stop at the grocery store. See you later.”

She hurried out the door, and the retirees grew silent. Jessica glanced at them, and they all looked away.

Hawk came over to the counter and said, “Monday, huh?”

It was horrible to be caught in a lie. But there was nothing for it but to nod and say, “Monday.”

Would he accuse her of doing something to Mrs. Dobbs, as the ranger had just done? Their gazes locked and they stared at each other for a few moments. Finally he said, “I’ll bring pizza tonight. How does that sound?”

Jessica sighed in relief. Take-out food usually meant a Daddy/Little night. He didn’t want her to cook. He wanted her to be his little sweet pea. She prayed that’s what his words meant now.

“See you around seven,” he said.

He made a kissy face once more, then turned toward the door. When he was gone she looked back at the retirees. They all had phones in their hands.

This day was not turning out as she’d planned.

***

“Do you think she killed the woman?”

“No!” Hawk paced Holt’s office, his heart pounding at today’s turn of events. “I could tell Monday that something was wrong, but she said everything was fine. I never expected to have a Texas Ranger show up at the meth lab and tell me he needed to talk to me.”

“Did he know the two of you are in a relationship?” Holt asked.

“No, he was there as a courtesy to let the local LEO know what was happening. I told him Jessica and I were seeing each other.”

“Was that wise?” Holt asked.

“Do you think I should have waited until after he’d talked to her?” Hawk sat down on the sofa. “That would make it look as if we were hiding something.”

“You don’t think she was?” Holt asked.

Before Hawk could answer, Aurora rushed into the room. “Holt, you wouldn’t believe… oh, hi Hawk.”

“I’ve already told him,” Hawk said.

Aurora sighed. “You must think I’m a gossip monger, Hawk.”

“Not when it has something to do with our family, no,” he said. “I’ll see if I can get more information out of Jessica tonight.”

“I’ll leave you two to talk,” Aurora said. “I still have to deliver groceries to the cabins.”

She blew a kiss in Holt’s direction, then hurried from the room.

“Do you know this Nate Willis?” Holt asked.

“Never met him before,” Hawk said. “He seems smart enough, and he asked questions, and didn’t make accusations. Although I’m sure he thinks Jessica had something to do with this woman’s disappearance.”

“Do you think he’ll be back?”

“Unless she turns up alive, yes,” Hawk said. “I hate to admit it but Jessica would be the number one suspect if I was investigating.” He thought for a few moments before he said, “I knew something was off on Monday. She told me nothing was wrong, and I didn’t push it. I should have pushed.”

“You would have pissed her off,” Holt said. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. You said you believe her, so I do.”

“I’ll have to have a talk with her tonight,” Hawk said. “It was supposed to be a fun night. Now it’s going to be a huge pain in the ass.”

The brothers said goodbye and Hawk went out to his truck. He ordered pizza and then drove to the convenience store to buy a few sodas and some candy for dessert. Jessica loved chocolate. As he waited in line he saw a few furtive glances from people coming in the store. The town already knew Jessica had been questioned about Mrs. Dobbs’ disappearance.

He imagined the retirees had spread the information to all of their friends, who called their friends, who had called their friends. Life in a small town could be a royal pain in the butt. But they would get through this together. He would make sure of it. If he had to kick some butt to stand behind her he certainly would, even if it cost him his job.