Lone Star Christmas Rescue

She unrolled the top of the paper bag and glanced inside. For a long moment, she remained quiet, then she slowly reached inside and pulled out her dirty white shirt. Next came the jeans, socks and shoes. She checked every pocket and withdrew money from the front one. After she counted the three hundred dollars, she murmured, “I have this but no ID. Why?”

Instead of finding any answers, Drake only discovered more questions. “I don’t know. Is that all in the sack?”

“That’s all.” She turned the bag upside down, and a gold necklace plopped onto her blanket. Her eyes grew wide. “I didn’t see that.”

Drake started to reach for the piece of jewelry, stopped and brought his arm back to his side. His gaze latched on to a letter carved into the oval locket. “I think it opens.”

With trembling hands, she picked up the delicate chain and palmed the golden ornament. With her stare fixed on it, she slowly opened it and gasped. “I think this may be a photo of me. Is it?” She touched her face as though her fingers could discern the answer by feel. She passed the necklace to him, her forehead scrunched.

She continued to shake, and all he wanted to do was comfort and reassure her everything would be all right. But he couldn’t. He had no idea what was going on. He had to remain detached, professional.

How did she know what she looked like if she couldn’t remember who she was? Slowly he examined the two photos in the locket. “This is you, and the picture of the baby is the same little boy you had with you.”

“So I must be his mother.” A quaver flowed through each word.

“Probably. You’re connected somehow. How did you know what you look like?”

“I...” She shook her head slowly. “I remember dreaming of this baby and me being in trouble.”

He studied the pictures, then the woman he’d rescued. He saw similarities between them, but the child’s coloring was darker, possibly of Hispanic descent. “What trouble?”

She closed her eyes, her head dropping forward.

Had she lost consciousness again? Or was she pretending?

Her eyes suddenly opened wide. “Right before I woke up, I remembered a vague image of me running with him clutched in my arms.”

“Why were you running?”

Her large brown eyes, filled with bewilderment, lifted to his. “I don’t know.”

“Does the photo of the baby spark any other memories?”

“No, but maybe if I see him, it will.”

“I’ll let the nursing staff know. He’s still being given fluids through an IV.”

“What hospital am I in?”

“Cactus Grove Hospital.”

She frowned.

“Does Cactus Grove, Texas, sound familiar to you?”

“No. Is this where you live?”

“Yes, outside town on a family ranch. Cactus Grove, along Interstate 10, has about forty thousand residents.” He gave the necklace back to the woman. “Does the engraved letter K on the locket mean anything to you? The initial of your first name?”

She fiddled with the piece of jewelry, rubbing her thumb over the letter. “Not sure. Maybe?”

“Or your last name?”

She shook her head. “No idea, but I guess until I figure out who I am, I’d rather go by a name that might be mine.”

“Kay?” He spelled the word out.

She nodded.

“How about the baby?”

“Maybe when I see him and hold him, I’ll remember something.”

“Let me check if you can as soon as possible. I’ll talk with the head nurse.” He walked toward the door.

“You’re leaving?” Her voice cracked on the last word.

The sound shivered down him, and again he found himself wondering what it would feel like not remembering who you were—alone, everyone a stranger. “Only to talk with Rosa Martinez. I’ll be right back.”

In the hallway, Drake quickly located the head nurse and requested the baby be brought to Kay when possible.

The nurse glanced at the door to Kay’s room. “She remembered her name?”

“Not exactly, but the locket she’d been wearing had an engraved K on it and two photos inside—one of Baby Doe and the other of the woman I brought in.”

“I like the name. I have an aunt Kay. It sounds like she might be the child’s mother after all. Seeing her baby might help with her memory. I’ll check on the little boy and personally bring him to Kay as soon as possible. After the doctor deals with an emergency, he’ll be here to check Baby Doe for possible release later today.”

“Thanks.” As Drake made his way back to the hospital room, his cell phone rang. Noticing it was from the El Paso Texas Rangers headquarters, he quickly answered it. “Jackson here. What’s up?”

“The park ranger at Big Bend National Park called. A murdered couple has been found.”

“And he wants us to handle the case rather than the FBI or their own investigators?” He’d rather stay and be here for Kay. She didn’t have anyone else.

“It was Park Ranger Calhoun who asked for you.”

The guy he’d dealt with after bringing Kay to the ranger’s station at the park. “Is this tied to the woman I rescued?”

“Possibly. The couple killed was Clarence and Susan Moore.”

A chill streaked down his spine. “Tell him I’m on my way.” Now he had to tell Kay he was leaving. He knocked, then pushed open the door.

As he entered, she glanced his way. “Will she bring the baby to me?”

“Yes, as soon as possible.”

Kay—having a name felt so much more normal to him—wadded the blanket in her fists. “I’ve been trying to remember while you were gone. Nothing. Now I’m not even sure about what I thought I dreamed. I tried to picture that last image, and I can’t.”

She looked lost. He hated to leave. “I never recall my dreams after I wake up.” He cleared his throat. “I have to leave for a while.”

“I was hoping you could be here when I see the baby.”

“I wish I could, but—” he left his card on the bedside table “—the nurse is waiting on the doctor to check the little boy. If you need to talk with me, call me. There will be times the cell reception won’t be good, but leave a message and I’ll call back when I can. I should be able to return by early evening.”

“That long?”

“It’s important, or I wouldn’t leave.” He didn’t want to tell her anything else. The couple’s murder very likely didn’t have anything to do with Kay—at least he hoped. She didn’t need to worry about that on top of all she had to deal with. He turned to leave, stopped and looked back at her, so alone in the hospital bed. “I’m here to help you.”

She smiled, her eyes brightening for a few seconds. “Thank you.”

When he left the room, the urge to remain stayed with him the whole way to his car. But a stronger pull drew him back to Big Bend.

* * *

With her eyes closed, a dull pain throbbing against her temples, Kay reclined at a sixty-degree angle in the hospital bed, trying to recall anything that could help her remember who she was. Memories had been stripped from her mind as though this were the day she’d been born.

A few minutes ago, she’d known how to do things like walk into the bathroom and wash her face. She even brushed her teeth and relished the peppermint flavor. She could read the label on the toothpaste, and when she went back into the main part of the room, she noticed it was two o’clock.

So why can’t I remember my name? Where I live? How I ended up in the park—with my child?

Still, no answers flooded her.

She slid farther under the top sheet and blanket, wishing she could pull it up over her and hide under the covers. The sound of the door opening caused her to tense each time she heard it. When the head nurse entered the room, cradling a baby against her, Kay exhaled her held breath. At least Rosa Martinez wasn’t another stranger coming in. There had been a parade of them in the past hours when all she wanted to see was the Texas Ranger or the baby found with her. Kay hoped she could find some answers to all the questions swirling around in her head.

“The doctor is releasing Baby Doe later today,” Nurse Martinez said, stopping next to her bed.

“To who?” Kay asked as she peeked at the dark-haired little boy.

“That depends on what the State decides. A case worker will be here around five.”

Case worker? How was she going to prove she was the child’s mother? Would the photos in the locket be enough?

“Do you want to hold him?”

“Yes.” Kay sat up, her heartbeat pounding as she waited to take the child, who cooed and smiled at her. Did the baby know her?

When Kay settled the little boy against her, she knew it hadn’t been the first time. The baby reached up and explored Kay’s face, continuing to grin, his eyes bright, as though he was used to touching Kay and interacting with her.

“I see he knows you. I’ll leave you two to get reacquainted. If you need me, just push the button.”

“Thanks,” Kay said, her attention riveted to the boy’s adorable oval face, his sun-kissed skin, as the head nurse left the room. “How are you, sweetie? I wish I remembered your name. I can’t call you Baby Doe.”

The child babbled, with “Mama” the only recognizable sound in the string.

Mama. Kay’s throat tightened with conflicting emotions—from awe to fear—that she’d tried to hold at bay. How was she going to take care of this child when she didn’t know who she was? Three hundred dollars wouldn’t go far. If she was this child’s mother, then where was the father? Kay held up her left hand, staring at her third finger, which gave no indication she’d worn a wedding ring recently. On her right middle finger, she wore an opal one.

Suddenly more questions deluged her. Was she divorced? Or widowed? What if she never married the father of—again she stared at the baby, willing a name to pop into her head.

Kevin? Kyle? No! Another name surged to the foreground. “Kaleb,” Kay said out loud, and the little boy giggled, touching Kay’s mouth. “Is Kaleb your name?”

The little boy caught sight of the hospital ID bracelet around his wrist and began playing with it.

Kay sighed. If only you could talk. The child’s reaction to the name confirmed what Kay would call him until she discovered otherwise. Kaleb.

The past hours’ exertion crept through Kay’s body. Her headache kept demanding her attention, but she refused to let it get in the way of her time with Kaleb. Kay lounged back and cuddled the baby against her while he played with her curls. The feeling of Kaleb’s fingers combing through her hair stirred a protective instinct—not an unfamiliar feeling.

She hugged Kaleb. “Sweetie, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

The door swung open, and suddenly a man appeared in her room. A dark-complexioned stranger. Large. Scowling. Her heartbeat went from calm to racing in seconds. She tightened her hold on Kaleb and picked up the call button. The scent of cigarette smoke wafted to her, nauseating her.

His thick dark eyebrows slashed downward. “Amy Grafton?”

“No,” she said with as much force as she could without shouting. If he came another foot closer, she would call for help.

He took a step toward her bed. “But this is room 236.”

She pressed the button, then clutched both arms around Kaleb, who had grown quiet, as though the baby felt all of her tension. “A nurse is coming. I’m not Amy.” What if she was? No, she didn’t think she was, and she didn’t like the man’s body language, as if he was preparing for a fight, his gaze darting about as though he was searching for something.

Rosa Martinez swung the door open and nearly hit him with it. A tall orderly stood behind the head nurse.

The stranger pivoted. “Sorry, ma’am. Wrong room.” Then the large man rushed from her room so fast he shoved the nurse against the door and nearly knocked the orderly over.

Rosa frowned and peered into the hallway before dismissing the orderly and heading toward Kay.

“Should I call security?” The nurse stopped next to the bed with her eye on the entrance into the room.

“He was looking for someone called Amy Grafton.”

“He was? I’m not familiar with a patient by that name on this floor. Maybe she’s still in ER, and they haven’t brought her up to her room yet.”

A niggling sensation told Kay that wasn’t the case. Chills swathed her from head to toe.

“What did you need? Did Baby Doe spark any memories?”

“He responded to me and the name Kaleb.”

Rosa grinned. “That’s great.”

“I want to keep him in here for the time being. Is that okay?”

“It’s not normal protocol, but I’ll talk with the doctor and see if he’ll okay it. In the meantime, enjoy Kaleb. I hope that’s his name. It’s beautiful.”

Kay hoped so, too. That meant she was beginning to remember her past. “Thanks.”

When the head nurse left her alone, Kay whipped back the sheets, her attention fixed on the door, her legs dangling off the side of the bed. “I don’t have a good feeling about that man.” The fear she’d tried to tamp down exploded, driving Kay into motion. “Kaleb, we’re leaving.”

* * *

The intense sun beat down on Drake as he examined the crime scene at Big Bend National Park. A hiker had found the bodies of Clarence and Susan Moore—what was left of them. Drake had seen his share of dead people, but the sight before him churned his gut. This retired couple had helped him when he’d needed it. If at all possible, he wouldn’t let their deaths go unsolved.

“As you see, they were tortured,” the park ranger, Don Calhoun, said, “and from the condition of the bodies, not long after they left the visitor’s center yesterday.”

After bringing him and Kay to it. “Why tortured? Has anything like this happened recently in the area?”

“No. That and the connection to what happened with the lady made me decide to call you in on this.”

Was this connected to Kay somehow? “I appreciate being notified. I’d like to help with the investigation.”

Don combed his fingers through his hair and plopped his hat back on his head. “The investigator appreciates your offer.”

“Who is it?”

“Me. I was a police officer for five years before I became a park ranger. We’ll process the crime scene, but something tells me this isn’t over.”

Drake glanced at the couple’s red sedan parked fifty yards away. He’d checked it earlier. “I agree. This is savage, and it doesn’t look like anything was stolen from their car.”

Taking pictures of the couple and the surrounding terrain and gathering what little evidence there was, Drake worked with Don and another park ranger. When the bodies were transported from the scene, Drake put his gear back in the rear of his SUV. “I’ll let you know if the lab finds anything. Whoever did this was careful.”

“A pro?” Don asked.

“Probably. I don’t think this is a crime of passion. It seems cold and calculated.” Hence the lack of evidence. Drake opened his driver-side door. “I need to get back to Cactus Grove. I’ll dig into Clarence and Susan’s lives and get back to you about the lab report. Let me know what the autopsy reveals.” It wasn’t unusual for different law enforcement agencies to work together to solve a crime.

“Will do. I’ll keep you informed of anything having to do with the case.”

As Drake drove out of the park, he pushed his SUV over the speed limit. An urgency gripped him. When his cell reception returned briefly, he noted that Kay had called several times. Something was wrong. He tried calling her hospital room.

No answer.

Then he tried the nurses’ station and asked for the head nurse. “I’m sorry. She’s tied up right now. Can I help you?”

“Yes, where’s the woman in room 236? I called its number, and no one answered.”

“I don’t know. Maybe having some tests done? Who is this?”

“Texas Ranger Jackson, the man who found the patient.”

“Are you coming here?”

“Yes. I’m about an hour away.”

“Good. Rosa hopefully should be here, and you can talk to her. She’s been dealing with the patient in 236.”

“About what?” Frustration tangled with a foreboding feeling.

“I can’t reveal any information over the phone.”

Drake gave the woman his cell phone number. “Have Rosa call me as soon as possible.”

After he hung up, he put his lights and siren on and floored the accelerator. He entered another dead zone that would last most of the way to Cactus Grove.

When he arrived at the hospital, he quickly parked and hurried into the building. He checked his cell phone. Only a message from the El Paso headquarters was new. Nothing from Kay or the head nurse. The elevator doors swished open on the second floor, and his attention zeroed in on the police officer going into Kay’s room.

Heart thumping against his rib cage, Drake quickened his pace, and when he entered 236, he came to an abrupt halt. Her bed was empty, with two police officers standing around it talking.

“Did something happen? Where is Kay?” Drake interrupted.

Officer Emert, whom he’d worked with before, faced Drake. “She’s gone. And so is the baby.”

THREE

After seeing Kay making her escape on the camera footage of the hallways in the hospital, Drake paced the small security office, wondering what had caused her to flee with the baby. The brief expression he’d glimpsed on her face as she’d sneaked out of her room was one of fear. Had someone frightened her? Had she remembered something about what happened to her? “I need the footage of the second-floor hallway for the few hours before she left.”

“Just a sec,” the security guard said and punched some keys. “Here it is.”

Drake stopped and faced the monitor. When a large man barged into the room without knocking, Drake leaned closer to the screen, counting down how long he remained inside. Rosa and an orderly hurried toward the room. The head nurse paused at the entrance and then entered, leaving the orderly in the corridor. Not long after that, the man left 236 but didn’t go far. He slipped inside a storage room a few doors away from Kay. Again, Drake noted the time stamp until the guy reappeared in the hallway and went toward the elevator. What did he do in there for twenty minutes?

The only person who might shed light on the man was Rosa. “Thanks. I need you to send me a photo of the man who came out of the storage room. Also, a picture of Kay leaving her room. Send it here.” Drake gave the security guard a card with his cell number and email address. “Keep this footage until I say otherwise.”

“Yes, sir.”

Drake knew Rosa had left work about an hour ago. Earlier she’d told Officer Emert that she hadn’t seen Kay leave with the baby, and from the footage that appeared correct. But she hadn’t said anything about that man visiting Kay’s room earlier. Maybe the nurse could tell him what she’d seen.

First, Drake stopped at the storage room and went inside. He examined what was really only a large walk-in closet for evidence the guy from the tape might have left behind. Everything appeared in its correct place, so he took latent prints from the inside doorknob, then headed downstairs to the main office to get Rosa’s home phone number and address. He was glad she didn’t live very far from the hospital.

Soon he pulled up in front of the head nurse’s ranch-style house and parked in the driveway. The bright Christmas lights around the front welcomed him as he rang the bell.

A teenage boy opened the door with earbuds stuck in his ears, the sound of a current popular song loud enough for Drake to hear.

“Is your mom home?”

“What?” the kid shouted.

The teen was in his own world. He hadn’t even bothered to look at Drake other than a brief glance when he answered the door. Drake pulled out his credentials and waved them in the boy’s line of vision. “I need to see Rosa Martinez.”

Eyes wide, the adolescent yelled, “Mom, the police are here.” He remained in the entrance to the house.

Rosa hurried from the back, waving her hand at her son. “Thanks, Samuel. You still haven’t shown me your English paper. It’s due tomorrow.”

The teen stepped back from the entryway and removed his earbuds, his attention now glued to Drake.

“I need to talk to you about Kay,” Drake said to Rosa.

“I’m sorry I had to leave, but I had to pick up Samuel from the school library. I don’t know what happened. I went into her room to take Kaleb back to the children’s wing. She and the baby were gone. I notified security, and then an emergency took most of my time after that.”

Samuel still hung around, moving slowly toward the hallway.

Kaleb? Had Kay remembered the baby’s name? “Can we talk in private?” Drake asked, remembering the times he would do anything to get out of writing a paper for school.

“Sure. The kitchen should be private enough.” Rosa sent a glare in her son’s direction. He left quickly.

“Is he your only child?”

“Yes, how can you tell?”

“Too quiet here.” Drake followed Rosa to the kitchen. “I have a sister near my age who has four children. She lives in Houston. When I visit, the house is always noisy, except when they’re all asleep.”

“You don’t have any children?” Rosa gestured at the table while she walked to the counter and filled a mug. “Do you want some coffee?”

“Sounds good.” As Rosa handed him a cup and sat, Drake joined her. “I’m not married. I was once.”

“What happened?”

“She was killed in the line of duty. She was a highway patrol officer like I was before I became a Texas Ranger. She stopped a truck driving too fast. The driver shot her.”

Rosa took a long drink. “I’m so sorry. Did they catch the killer?”

“Yes, he’d been transporting illegal immigrants.” Another reason Drake had wanted to be on the human trafficking task force besides the suspicion about what happened to his younger sister.

“Being a police officer is dangerous. I’m so glad my husband has a boring job reading X-rays. He’s a radiologist and should be home from El Paso soon.”

As he took several sips, Drake relished the coffee. “I know you talked with the two officers in Kay’s room, and they passed on what you told them, but I’m here about an incident that happened a couple of hours before you discovered Kay was gone.”

Rosa’s forehead puckered. “Incident?” She paused, then said, “Oh, you mean the stranger who came into her room looking for another patient.”

“Yes, he was about six feet with dark hair.” Drake clicked on the photo the security guard had sent him and showed his cell phone to Rosa.

She nodded. “He was looking for an Amy Grafton. We didn’t have a patient on my floor by that name. Later I found there was a patient called that, but on the third floor in room 336—an older woman who was being discharged. He probably wrote down the wrong number.”

“You didn’t see him after that?”

“No. Why?”

“Because on the security tape, that man left Kay’s and went a couple of doors down into a storage closet. He stayed there for twenty minutes, then left.”

“That’s strange.”

“I agree. I’ll check with Amy Grafton to see if she knows this man.”

“If she doesn’t, do you think he took Kay and the baby?”

“Kay left with the child. The man had already disappeared, but something doesn’t feel right.” Why hide in a storage closet for twenty minutes? Drake sighed. “I won’t take up any more of your time. You’ve put in a long day.” He rose.

“Please let me know when you find Kay and Kaleb.”

“Did she remember the baby’s name?”

Rosa pushed to her feet, tired lines carved into her features. “‘Kaleb’ came to her, and the child responded to it. It was obvious the baby knew her. But she hadn’t recalled anything else. At least that I know of.”

Had she recognized the man who entered her room? “If you think of anything else unusual that happened on the floor today, give me a call. You have my card?”

She nodded and walked with him to the foyer. “I’m off for the next two days, but I’ll help any way I can. I’ll be here.”

“Thanks.”

Weary, Drake needed sleep after the past two long days, but he still wanted to see if Amy Grafton could help him ID the man in the photo. The police were working on identifying the man. At the moment, he was the only lead Drake had other than the security camera showing Kay leaving the hospital by the back door, dressed in the clothes she’d worn the day before. Then she’d disappeared.