Sarah Armstrong: Blood Lines Part 1

Blood Lines.

KATHREYN CASEY.

For Nick, Zack, and Emmie.

One.

Hidden in a below-stage pa.s.sageway, Ca.s.sidy Collins felt the rumble of the SRO audience. A week earlier, Tina Turner rocked Las Vega.s.s opulent Colosseum at Caesars Palace, but tonight the fans stomped and whistled for Ca.s.sidy, the newest teen sensation.

"Ca.s.sie! Ca.s.sie! Ca.s.sie!" they chanted.

How long would it be? When would the star of the evening appear?

The warm-up act sauntered off, and Ca.s.sidys team took over. The stage manager triggered a pulley system that positioned the platform bearing the twelve-piece bands instruments, as the soundman turned on the mixer, lighting up the long panel of switches and levers plugged into the theaters sophisticated audio system. At the same time, chain-hoisted spots clicked into place, and crew members slid out scenery, constructing a make-believe jungle, replete with trees bearing glittering leaves. As the work finished, the lights flashed, and the audience hurried to take their seats.

"Were ready," the stage manager shouted into his walkie-talkie.

Two performances a week, twenty weeks a year, Ca.s.sidy had experienced it many times, but she always felt the excitement of the big shows, the spectacles of light and sound. Over the past two years, traveling from city to city, shed memorized every detail, learned to listen for anything out of place. She had to. It was, after all, her show, her life.

Yet on this particular night, Ca.s.sidy feared that the cries of the crowd masked danger.

The percussion section kicked in, rumbling drums in sync with a recorded track of rainforest sounds: growling cats, pounding rain, croaking frogs, screeching birds, and buzzing insects.

The audience hushed as a single beam of light appeared center stage, shining down from the rafters directly into the shaft where Ca.s.sidy waited. It was time, and the teenage superstar slipped into the nylon coc.o.o.n coated with 14-karat gold that lay at her feet, pulled it up to cover her from head to toes. That accomplished, Germaine Dunn, Ca.s.sidys stylist, climbed a ladder and sprinkled flakes of gold foil, covering Ca.s.sies long blond hair, her costume, even the outside of the gossamer coc.o.o.n. Onstage, the gold would splinter the spotlights into rainbows, radiating into the crowd. With Ca.s.sies entrance, the theater would shine as if doused in light cast from thousands of clear white diamonds.

"Ready?" Germaine asked.

"I hate this stuff," Ca.s.sie said, referring to the precious specks that drifted about her. "Always bothers my eyes."

"Keep them closed until the coc.o.o.n drops," Germaine advised, as she did every night, all for no good. Even though Ca.s.sie followed instructions, a spec of the gold invariably worked its way out of her hair and costume and irritated her wide green eyes, so much so that she couldnt wear her contacts onstage. Yet, the effect was worth it. From the audience, Ca.s.sies appearance would be spellbinding, breathtaking. Every teen magazine from Tiger Beat to BOP had gushed over the shows hundred-grand, opening-act costume.

"Sure," Ca.s.sie said, not really meaning it. "Lets go."

A crack of thunder echoed via the soundtrack, and the keyboard guy hit the opening notes, leading to a renewed wave of squeals from the audience, as the transparent fly harness strapped about Ca.s.sidys chest lurched, and she slowly rose. At stage level, she felt a slight breeze as she entered the open theater. The platform she stood on stopped level with the floor, but the harness pulled her higher, until Ca.s.sie dangled above the stage, exposed and vulnerable.

Its just another night, Ca.s.sie thought. No big deal.

Her stomach didnt believe her. It cramped tight, and she fought a building anxiety. Breathe, she thought. Breathe.

As hard as she tried, Ca.s.sies admonitions didnt quiet her fears. Hes out there, she thought. Hes watching.

A renewed surge of screams, whistles, and catcalls from the audience as the wires pulled Ca.s.sie higher. The band played the intro to her latest hit, "Young Girls," and Ca.s.sie released the golden coc.o.o.n from her right hand, bringing it out of the top, as if stretching, giving the audience a first glimpse. They responded with a sharp gasp. At the second chord, Ca.s.sie let go of the costume, allowing it to fall. The precious wrap slipped past her head, her shoulders, and b.r.e.a.s.t.s, dropping onto the stage below. The shrieks of the audience swallowed the thud of the costume hitting the stage, as a black-clothed stagehand emerged from the shadows to scoop it up and whisk it away.

Suspended high over the stage, Ca.s.sie opened her eyes. Clad in a shimmering leotard, she contracted her arms and legs into a fetal position, and then slowly, deliberately unfolded her body. Off stage someone triggered a computerized command and iridescent wings, the orange and black of a monarch b.u.t.terfly, unrolled from her back. Ca.s.sidy shook out her long blond hair, and bits of the gold foil scattered in the spotlight like glowing rain, prodding young voices to a painful cry.

From the audience, Ca.s.sie appeared encased in a sparkling pyramid of pure gold light.

"h.e.l.lo, Las Vegas," she shouted, her voice amplified by the microphone in the thin, flesh-colored tube near her lips.

"Ca.s.sie! Ca.s.sie! Ca.s.sie! Ca.s.sie!" the audience responded.

Hes out there, she thought. Hes out there, somewhere in that crowd.

The theater throbbed with antic.i.p.ation, yet Ca.s.sidy Collins hesitated. She blinked, a fleck of gold sending tears down her cheeks. The music grew louder, but she felt scattered, and before she realized it her prompt had pa.s.sed. The band covered for her. Another opener, a second cue, and Ca.s.sie remained silent. She knew the song. Shed written it. She opened her mouth, but only silence.

The audience screamed again, their young voices impatient. Determined to take control, Ca.s.sie nervously laughed. She knew what they wanted. Her building sense of panic bounced off their exhilaration. She, like the audience, rode a jagged edge.

"Were you expecting something?" she taunted.

The young voices in the audience boiled over, as Ca.s.sies mechanized wings beat at the excitement-charged air. Her arms and legs extended, she peered down apprehensively at the faceless crowd. Again the music poured around her, again her signal to join in, but she still wasnt singing. She flew above the audience, as below her the tweens reached upward, hoping to claim her as their own. Abruptly, Ca.s.sie turned in midair and flew back over the stage. Her Peter Panlike flight ending, the guide wires lowered her. Her dancers rushed forward. They reached out to cushion her descent, yet Ca.s.sies eyes searched the audience, watching for danger. She missed her mark and came down hard, stumbling.

One of the dancers grabbed her. "Its okay," he said. "Ive got you."

Another night, Ca.s.sie would have been grateful. She might have even enjoyed it. The young man was handsome and devoted to her. Tonight was different. She was not in the mood for hollow rea.s.surance. She had to pull herself together. It was time.

As the band circled the music around yet again, Ca.s.sie stood her ground, staring out into the crowd, tears cascading down her cheeks, willing herself not to be afraid. "Young girls," she sang to the opening chord. "Its time to live, to break free and fly."

The music pounding, Ca.s.sidy Collins tried to lose herself in the song, yet without success. She danced and the troupe of young men shadowed her well-rehea.r.s.ed moves. But the superstar faltered. As familiar as it all was, she couldnt keep focused. All she could think of was the stranger whose eyes watched her from the audience. He was there, that she knew. She fought back flashes of what hed said hed do to her.

She had to control her fear. Ca.s.sidy reminded herself that any girl in the audience would have gladly traded places with her. Any girl would walk away from her mundane life for a shot at what Ca.s.sidy Collins had: power, money, and fame. Yet, the teen whose face graced magazine covers around the world still couldnt put him out of her mind, the stalker, the man who watched her, terrified her.

Hes going to kill me, she thought. And she knew it like she knew the streets of the trailer park where she grew up. She knew it like she knew the lines alcohol traced in her mothers face before forty. Ca.s.sie knew it like she knew every detail of her mothers agonizing death from liver disease.

No one else understands. But I do, she thought. That mans going to kill me.

As she danced across the stage, fighting to retain control, Ca.s.sidy considered the weeks ahead, especially two upcoming concerts in Texas.

Thats where it will happen, she realized. Thats what hes waiting for. And when he comes for me, no one will be able to stop him.

Two.

Whats wrong here? I wondered. Whats wrong?

Id stared at the womans body for a full fifteen minutes. Elizabeth c.o.x was thirty-six, a slender woman dressed in an expensive St. John knit suit, the jacket a bold black-and-white hounds-tooth over a narrow black skirt. Her soft Italian leather heels had severely pointed toes. The responding detective theorized that c.o.x had arrived home from work that Friday, sat on her bed atop a thickly tufted tapestry bedspread, rested her back against her ornately carved eighteenth-century headboard, and aimed a 9 mm pistol at her right temple, inches from where her coiffed dark brown hair pulled tight into a perfectly executed French twist, just behind her almond-shaped eyes rimmed in thick mascara-lined lashes. This woman, who had money, beauty, position, and power, apparently found her life so untenable that she then pulled the trigger.

The bullet entered in front of and slightly above her right ear, traveled nearly straight through her skull, and blew out the left side of her head, leaving a trail of destruction and a cavernous wound that spewed brain matter and high-velocity blood spatter all over the headboard and faux-painted wall. A b.l.o.o.d.y mist covered the body, ruining her pricey suit and the exquisite bedspread. The gun lay beside c.o.xs extended right arm, near her hand. A typewritten suicide note lamenting a failed love life rested on her lap.

I thought Id find More in life than business and financial Success, but that didnt happen. I needed More to inspire me to go on. I am Sorry. To those I leave behind, PLEASE FORGIVE ME. I Never meant to hurt anyone. I needed someone to love. I needed to be loved. Please Forgive me.

Success was an understatement. Elizabeth, a.k.a. "Billie," c.o.x ran Century Oil, one of the most lucrative medium-size oil companies in Houston. Oil had been on a roller-coaster ride for two years, the past six months headed straight up. With the price of a barrel skyrocketing and money spurting through the oil industry faster than crude from a gusher, Century had reported profits of $100 million in the previous quarter alone. c.o.x was the youngest and highest-profile woman in the inner circle of the Houston energy business. Her bedroom was on the second floor of her six-thousand-square-foot River Oaks mansion, which sat on an acre of s.p.a.ce Citys priciest real estate.

How bad could your life have been? I wondered. Come on, Billie. Whats really going on here?

"You planning to tell me something about this case or just stare at that photo," my boss, Captain Don Williams, barked.

The captain glowered down at me from his vantage point, three feet above, as I sat at my home-office desk, digesting the police file on the c.o.x case. Even when I stood, the captain had a formidable advantage. Im not a small woman, five-foot-six, 130 pounds or so, a bit wide in the hips, but hes a former University of Texas basketball player, a broad-shouldered man, with dark brown skin and a thick-boned jaw that locks into place when hes unhappy, as he was now. Hed been patient with me, bringing the photos out to the ranch, not asking me to go to the office or the scene. But then, hed been handling me with kid gloves ever since the previous spring when the most grueling investigation of my career, the Lucas case, went south and nearly destroyed my entire world. For months after, I didnt know if Id ever wear a badge again. Coming back had been slow, a six-month leave followed by half-pay with the understanding that I review case files at home. How long would his patience last?

The truth is that I have something of an ace in the hole. Im one of only two women Texas Rangers, but thats not particularly important. What makes me unique is that Im the only one in the department FBI trained in criminal profiling. When a law enforcement agency anywhere in the Lone Star State needs an a.s.sessment of a scene or help narrowing a list of suspects, Im the one they call. Plus, the captain and I have history and a healthy respect for each other. Id counted on that for nearly a year, to cut me enough slack to work through my situation at home.

"Why are we involved in this case?" I asked, giving him a wary glance. His eyes narrowed and the captain frowned.

"Sarah, lets not worry about that. Just look it over," he said, motioning at the thin file on Billie c.o.xs death, the one I held in my hand. "This is simple. Just give me your thoughts."

Something didnt smell right-the captains answers, I mean. It wasnt that we didnt have the authority to look at the case. The Texas Rangers are a branch of the Department of Public Safety, DPS-we report to the governor-and our jurisdiction is the entire state. Its tradition. Back in the days of Stephen F. Austin, my predecessors got their name by patrolling the vast Texas range.

That said, since the commotion the year before, I hadnt strayed much outside my own fence line. Half an hour from Houston, the Rocking Horse Stables lies on the outskirts of Tomball, a small town thats being swallowed up by the city. I live with my mom, Nora Potts, who makes her living baking fancy cheesecakes for caterers and boarding horses for folks without the land to stable them. My jailers are Mom and my twelve-year-old, Maggie. It hasnt been a particularly hard time. The Rocking Horse is a pretty pleasant place to watch the world go by.

What bothered me about the c.o.x case file was that we rangers rarely step into a case uninvited. "Well, this file says Houston P.D. and the medical examiner have both already ruled c.o.xs death a suicide. They didnt ask for my opinion," I said, glancing up at the captain. "Is there some theory that they arent shooting straight with the investigation? Some reason to be suspicious of the local uniforms?"

"No, nothing like that," the captain said, waving off my concerns.

"Why then?" I pushed.

The captain sighed. "d.a.m.n, Sarah. Nothings easy with you. The truth is that Billie c.o.x has a sister, Faith c.o.x Roberts. Shes been calling the governors office and her state senator, saying Billie wouldnt have killed herself, demanding a full investigation," he said, irritated. "But thats not important. All the director asked for was a look-see. You tell me this is a suicide. I tell the director, who conveys your take on the case to the governor. That done, were clear, before we rile up anybody on Travis. Were out of this, clean and quick."

Travis was 1200 Travis Street, the address of Houston P.D.s skysc.r.a.per headquarters, the building where the chief of police offices are, in the center of downtown. What the captain implied was that, unless we had to, he saw no reason to irritate a department we work closely with, one where we count on good relationships to get things done.

"You do think this is a suicide, dont you?" he prodded.

"Well, I guess," I said, squinting up at him.

"h.e.l.l, Sarah, theres a note, the guns right where it should be, they got her prints off it, the d.a.m.n thing is hers, and her hand tested positive for gunshot residue," he said. "Show me a single piece of evidence that suggests this isnt just some rich woman who decided shed had enough and wanted out."

There he had me.

"I cant. Im not sure it is any more than a suicide," I admitted. "But the scene looks too perfect. All thats missing is the bow."

"Thats it? It looks too much like a suicide to be one?" the captain fumed. "Sarah, if were going to bash heads with the locals, give me something I can use to justify our take to the governor, some reason to step on toes."

Id hoped the questions would get easier. They werent.

"You know, Im just not sure," I said. "Maybe this is a suicide. But . . ."

"Thats not like you," he said. "Youre usually pretty quick on the draw when it comes to zeroing in on a case. Why in that Lucas mess-"

"Yeah," I said, cutting him off. I had no desire to ever again rehash the worst case of my career, one that sent me across Texas hunting a twisted killer who ultimately set his sights on me. "Captain, give me overnight to study the file. Maybe Im just a little rusty."

As soon as I heard myself say it, I regretted the choice of words.

"Rusty is right," the captain said, storming through the barn door Id unwisely swung open. "You know, Lieutenant Armstrong, that Lucas case happened in spring, and now its nearly spring again. Im as sympathetic as anyone, but we need you back. You cant do cases justice sitting out here on the ranch." With that, he pushed the paperwork back into the c.o.x file folder and closed it. "If youd been in the office, we would have called you to the scene on this one, given this womans position in the business community. You wouldnt be looking at photos three days later trying to figure out what happened."

"I know," I agreed. Then, mistake number two, I pushed that door open even wider. I couldnt seem to help myself. "I cant say that Im not having the same thoughts."

"Why not then, Sarah?" he asked, softer. "Why not report in tomorrow morning? Its time."

My slips werent unintentional. The truth? I wanted my life back. As much as I loved the ranch, being tied to the place grated on me. Ive got to admit that Im headstrong, maybe even downright stubborn. A lot of us rangers are. Back in the bad old days, when rangers fought warring Mexicans, Ranger Captain Jack Ford pretty much said it all about how a ranger sees a situation, when he ordered, "Whip them, and then talk of treaties."

So I was eager to work full-time again, but I wondered if Mom and Maggie, especially Maggie, were as prepared to put the past behind us. Theyd faced the devil with me, and I couldnt force them to move on until they were ready. Still, the kid did seem stronger. And how long could I stay in lockup? Oh, it wasnt really a hardship. I left whenever I wanted, went wherever I wanted, as long as it didnt have anything to do with a crime scene and a murder.

"Tell you what, Captain. I do want to come back," I confessed. "I didnt know if I would, but I miss my work. Leave this file with me overnight, and Ill talk to Maggie and Mom and have answers for you on both matters in the morning. Fair enough?"

The captain, looking more pleased than Id seen him in a long time, reclaimed his sharply creased, silver-belly Stetson off my work-table, flicked off a bit of flesh-colored clay stuck on the rim, and nodded. "Fair enough. We need to get all this behind you, Sarah. Ill drop in early tomorrow morning, on my way to the office, for the file and your answers," he said. "We need you back where you belong."

______.

My combined home office and workshop is on the second floor of the garage. The captain left, and I proceeded to tidy up. When hed arrived, Id been working on a skull. Im a bit of a contradiction. My college degree is a double major: psychology and art. Instead of my original career plans, using art to counsel traumatized kids, I utilize my psychology training in my profiling, diagnosing crime scenes and suspect lists. And in my spare time, I sculpt clay faces on unidentified skulls, hoping someone will recognize the dead and claim them, and that itll help put away a killer.

Lately, Ive had a lot of spare time.

We rangers are a close-knit bunch, and we take care of our own. In my case, thats meant a lot. My husband, Bill, was a ranger, too, actually the reason I got into law enforcement. When he died two years ago, the captain and the whole department closed in around Maggie and me, offering help. Then, last spring, crisis number two, a case we were lucky to survive, and again Captain Williams and the good souls in the office were patient and understanding. Even the folks in ranger headquarters, in Austin, didnt push. But the captain was right. It was time for Maggie, Mom, and me to stand on our own feet again. It was time for us to pick up our lives.

My hands were rough from tending stock on the ranch, and I had to soap up twice to remove the last of the clay. My forehead felt tight, and I took the rubber band out of my dark blond hair, letting it bunch out around my shoulders. A long-standing tradition of neglect left it verging on wild. One of these days, Id have to splurge on a good haircut. Maybe even a new shampoo and conditioner. Of course, there didnt seem to be any urgency, no one to impress. A year ago, I had a new man in my life, an FBI profiler named David Garrity. We met in the thick of the Lucas debacle, partnered up for the investigation, and got tight fast. To my disappointment, he hung around briefly afterward but suddenly stopped calling.

Since David Garritys departure, worrying about my looks wasnt high on my list.

Outside, the fresh air hit me with the heavy scent of pine after a rain, and Maggie and Strings were on the porch putting up her telescope. These last days of February already felt like spring. Winter on Texa.s.s Gulf Coast doesnt have the punch it does up north, and the thermostat hovered around sixty. But at just after six, dusk was crawling in. It appeared that Maggie and her best friend, Strings, more formally known as Frederick Allen Jacobs Jr., planned to take advantage of the situation with a little stargazing.

"Hey, Mrs. A," Strings shouted when he saw me. His dark eyes were playful behind wire-rimmed gla.s.ses, dangling low, and his skin was the rich hue of coffee with cream. He scrunched up his broad nose and pushed his gla.s.ses back with one finger. "Are you going to watch tonight?"

"Watch what?" I responded. Strings shrugged at me. Obviously, I was supposed to know. Maggie, who was on her knees positioning the telescopes spindly legs, peeked around the porch railing at me and frowned.

"Ive been talking about this for a week, Mom," she said. "The Alpha Centaurids are at their peak, and the weathers good to see them tonight."

"Oh, I forgot," I said, stating the obvious. Then, to prove Id retained a tidbit from her lectures, I added, "Meteors, right?"

"Yeah," Maggie said, rewarding me with a generous grin. Her front teeth were crooked, and I thought about scheduling an appointment with an orthodontist. Id heard braces could cost as much as a years college tuition. "Theyre named after the constellation Centaurus, and theyre near its brightest star, Hadar."

"Well, well have to have a look," I said. "I wouldnt miss it."

At that moment, the timer kicked in and the corral lit. The elm in the center shone with thousands of tiny white lights along with a new addition, icicle lights lining the fence. It appeared that Maggie had been busy that afternoon.

"More lights?" I asked.