Pushing Up Bluebonnets

'I found out where JoLynn Richter was right before she showed up at the ranch last year.'

'Wow. I'm impressed. Tell me.'

I did, then said, 'But she might still be JoLynn Richter, not Elizabeth Dugan, right?'

'I don't know, Abby.' His ragged voice was filled with skepticism. 'Cops tend to go straight to the less-than- pleasant aspect of human nature—that tendency people have to lie through their teeth. But tell me what you're thinking.'

'I keep going back to the letter she wrote me. Katarina Richter could have given her up for adoption, JoLynn found out and for some reason, she felt like she had to provide proof to Elliott Richter when she arrived at the Richter home. She gave him that missing birth certificate with Katarina's name on it to back up her other ID. As added proof, maybe she even showed Richter the tip sheets I sent her, the ones that help adoptees find their biological parents.'

'But if she really is JoLynn Richter, why fake a birth certificate?' Cooper asked.

'Sorry. Guess I should explain. Adoptees have to petition the court for their original birth certificates. That costs money. Maybe all she had was the birth certificate issued after she was adopted with the first name Elizabeth and a last name we don't know.'

'Couldn't she have explained this to Elliott Richter?' Cooper sounded exasperated.

'You're right. What she did is way too contrived. There's more we don't know.' Disappointment washed over me. I so wanted some part of JoLynn's story to be true—and why, I didn't know.

'What did you pick up on last night?' Cooper asked. 'Do any of those Richter folks know something?'

'Oh, for sure. But even Elliott Richter hasn't been all that forthcoming.'

'Why do you say that?' Cooper said.

'He knew JoLynn's driver's license was fake before you did. Matthew told me last night. Richter's holding back for some reason—and I can't figure out why. The only thing I know is that he wants JoLynn to be the real deal and hopes I can prove it.'

Cooper sighed heavily. 'Are all your cases this complicated?'

'Not all, but the tough ones are like trying to dig a ditch in the ocean. Right now I'm grateful I can bring in the heavy equipment like you, Jeff and my sister to make the job easier.'

He laughed. 'I've never been referred to as heavy equipment. Anyway, tell me about the family.'

I took a generous gulp of water and gave him a more complete rundown on last night's interviews, ending with Matthew's confession about using a private eye. 'For all we know, the birth certificate might not have even existed.'

'True. All we have is Richter's word. But his word has been good in the county for a long time, so I'm still ready to give the man the benefit of the doubt. I've been asking around, and no one in town much likes that family —except for the main man, Elliott Richter. He's well respected. I checked into the financial situation. He's worth megamillions, a lot more than I realized. The relatives have a lot to lose if Elliott rewrote his will in favor of JoLynn. Maybe we should ask Richter if that's what he's done.'

'That's your next step, then?' I asked.

'Nope. First I get Kent Dugan down to the hospital for an ID—tonight if possible.'

I wanted to be there in the worst way, wanted to meet the guy, but I also wanted my alone time with Jeff. 'Okay if I bring my HPD investigator friend?'

'Sure. I'd love to meet him.'

Though Jeff was tired after his long day at the courthouse—he says court is more tiring than fieldwork— he agreed a trip to the hospital might be interesting. First we'd shared our quiet dinner and engaged in other activities not so quiet before heading to Ben Taub to meet up with Cooper Boyd.

Jeff held my hand a whole lot tighter the minute we walked through the hospital doors. He'd been shot in the chest by a bad guy last year. I understood his reaction without his saying a word. He didn't like being reminded of the day he nearly died and neither did I. It was a very silent elevator ride.

We found Cooper in the neuro ICU waiting room—he'd sent the private security on a break—and since he and Jeff seemed to hit it off immediately, Jeff reverted to his old self. Law-enforcement types seem to quickly discover they know some of the same people. But they both put on their game faces when Kent Dugan arrived.

As Roberta had mentioned, Dugan was a pretty boy— reminded me of a Calvin Klein underwear model, as a matter of fact. He wore jeans with small tears and frayed seams along with a rock group T-shirt—at least I assumed Wilting Wilma was a rock group and not a euphemism for something I didn't want to know about this guy.

'Where is she?' He sounded downright panicked and seemed to be addressing anyone and everyone in the waiting room.

Cooper introduced himself and said, 'She's in very capable hands. Let me show you a picture first—see if you recognize the young woman we're talking about.'

When we'd first arrived, I gave Cooper the article I'd found under the clock, as well as a copy of the picture I'd scanned and Photoshopped. I'd enlarged JoLynn's face and cropped out the family. I wanted to avoid having anyone ask the questions Roberta had, about who all the other people in the picture were.

Dugan grabbed the photo and stared. 'That's her, but where did you get this?'

'Never mind,' Cooper said. 'We need to talk, Mr. Dugan.'

'I have to see her.' He started for the ICU doors, but Jeff did a quick side step and blocked his path.

'Who are you?' Dugan asked.

'Sergeant Kline, HPD Homicide.' He took out his pack of Big Red and offered a stick to Dugan. 'Let's sit over there and chill for a minute.'

Dugan didn't even seem to notice the gum. 'Is Elizabeth dead? Is that why you're here?' The man couldn't be more than five-nine and had to look up at Jeff, who's six feet tall.

'Not dead—though someone did try to kill her.' Cooper gestured at the cluster of waiting-room furniture. 'She's not going anywhere and we need to discuss what happened.'

Being double-teamed had the desired effect and Dugan walked over and sat on one of the sofas, his eyes focused on the ICU entrance.

We all followed and I held out my hand. 'I'm Abby Rose, by the way. I helped identify your wife.'

Dugan squeezed my hand briefly and squinted up at me. 'I don't know you. How could you identify Elizabeth?'

'That's a long story.' I sat on the edge of a faux-leather and chrome chair opposite him, and Cooper sat next to me. Jeff went over to a counter where an industrial-size coffeemaker sat. He started checking cupboards for cups, since none were visible.

'As I told you on the phone,' Cooper said, 'we pulled your wife from the wreckage of her car. Her brake line had been cut. I understand she's been missing for more than a year.'

'Um, yes.' Kent Dugan's expression told me he was surprised we knew that piece of information, but he quickly recovered. 'Who would want to kill Elizabeth? She'd never hurt a fly.'

'Good question. We're hoping you can help, Mr. Dugan,' Cooper said. 'What about her disappearance?'

'She has been gone, left on her own. She said she needed time away from the relationship. She's ten years younger than me and wasn't as ready to settle down as she thought.'

'How young is she?' Cooper asked.

'You don't know?' Dugan said.

Cooper leaned forward, his gravel voice low. 'What's her age, Mr. Dugan? Where is the rest of her family?'

Dugan stiffened. 'She's twenty and Elizabeth has no family except for me.'

'Interesting.' Cooper sat back. 'When people disappear voluntarily, it's been my experience they head straight for Mom or Dad—or maybe another relative. What you're saying is that she had nowhere to go.'

'I—I never looked at it that way.' Dugan seemed a little flustered by this assessment.

'What's the story with this nonexistent family?' Cooper asked, taking a Styrofoam cup of coffee from Jeff.

Jeff handed another cup to Dugan and tossed packages of creamers, sugars and stirring sticks onto a table beside the sofa. Jeff raised his eyebrows questioningly at me and I nodded. I was ready to settle in with some