"One Piece at a Time"
**Immediately follows "Something to be Thankful For"**
"If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet,
you'd best teach it to dance." George Bernard Shaw
**Dedicated to my son. Thanks for the idea!**
CHAPTER 1
"Houston, I'd like you to meet Alexander Bateaux." Michael Hoyt introduced his best friend to the FBI agent that had ridden out with him.
"Mr. Bateaux." Matt shook the man's hand.
"I appreciate you seeing me on such short notice." The unmistakable drawl of Louisiana was an accent that Matt hadn't heard in quite a while.
"No problem." Matt had spent the bulk of his day moving cattle down from the canyons on his ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains before getting a call from Hoyt. "Michael says that you're with the FBI. What can I do for you?" He was taking the saddle off of Cricket, his favorite horse. After removing the saddle and blanket, he slipped off the bridle and put a blue halter on the horse and started for the back end of the barn. The horse followed right behind the private investigator as if she were a dog. The FBI agent gave Hoyt a puzzled look as they started down the hallway. Matt opened the gate to the pasture and received a nuzzle from Cricket before she walked on through and took off across the green grass.
"Uh, well…" The agent looked around.
Closing the gate, the private eye turned to look at the agent. "Nobody is going to hear us out here if that's what you're afraid of, Mr. Bateaux."
"Okay. I just want to stress how much caution we need to exercise…"
"Mr. Bateaux, I'm gonna tell you something." The cowboy removed his leather work gloves and smacked them against his right thigh, causing a cloud of dust to erupt from the brown chaps that he wore. "The only reason that I'm even talking to you is because of Michael here. I don't have a real good track record with the FBI; quite frankly, I'm surprised you're here. I figured that Agent Hooten had me on the "Do Not Talk To" list."
"I'm sorry – I don't understand." The puzzled agent looked between Michael and Matt.
"Houston here has had a few run-ins with Agent Floyd Hooten. Their work styles don't exactly mesh." Hoyt had his doubts if Matt would be able to work with Bateaux, but since the Chief of Police had asked him to introduce the two men, he was trying his best to ease Matt's distrust of FBI agents in general.
"Oh, I see…well, Mr. Houston if it makes you feel any better, I don't get along with Hooten either. Actually I don't know of anyone who does." Bateaux looked the man square in the eye. "I've been told that you are the best detective around; the men that told me about you speak highly of your abilities and insight."
"And who might these men be?" Matt leaned back against the gate and removed the hat from his head, wiping the sweat from the band inside with a bandanna. Although it was early December, the temperature had been near ninety degrees that afternoon.
"Mitchell Gunterson and Carl Roper."
"Both of 'em are good men; you've got my attention." Matt settled the hat back on his head. "Now what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"
"There have been a series of murders in the Mojave Desert. Up until four months ago, it was thought that they were all unrelated. Now we're not so sure."
"What makes you think they're tied together all of the sudden?"
"One of our forensics people seems to think that they are the work of one person because of what is missing from each body that's been found. Now each person wasn't killed in the same manner – some were shot, others were stabbed, part of them were strangled, and some of them were even hung. There's also a possibility that some were poisoned. But as I said, one of our forensics people thinks they're tied together."
"So are they all missing an ear or arm or what?"
"That's the thing. None of the victims are missing the same exact part. Each one is missing a different bone."
"Well that's different." Matt was surprised to say the least.
"Yes it is. We were wondering if you would take a look through the records and see what you can come up with on them. But we don't want to go public with it; it needs to be kept quiet. As in no one can know about it outside of the three of us – plus the law enforcement officers and the bureau."
"My wife is my partner in the agency – we work together or not at all." Without CJ the detective agency would never had gotten as successful as it was and Matt was fully aware of that fact.
"We would prefer not to have anyone else…"
"Then you would prefer to leave right now." Matt's stare at the agent was unwavering and his voice had dropped down an octave; both characteristics were causing the agent to feel extremely uncomfortable.
"The Houstons are a package deal, Agent Bateaux. I can personally vouch for his wife – as can Gunterson."
"I would really prefer…" Bateaux stopped as Matt walked right past him down the hallway of the barn headed for the house.
"See ya later, Michael." Houston wasn't fond of the cloak-and-dagger baggage that came with the FBI – nor was he fond of the superior attitude that was usually associated with the agents.
"I thought you said he was reasonable, Lieutenant?" Anger crept into Agent Bateaux's voice.
"He is…but he won't tolerate someone coming to him for help and then tying his hands with stipulations. If you want his help, you get hers as well. And I'm here to tell you: with the problem you've got you want both of them."
"I should have known better than to come to a civilian. Your chief will hear about this."
Matt turned on his heel and marched back down the hallway of the barn, his eyes looking like lasers ready to slice through the agent. "Don't you dare try to cause this man any grief. He's not to blame here – you are." He got right up in the man's face, reminding Hoyt of a recruit division commander that he had mistakenly ticked off during his Navy boot camp days. "And you might want to polish your investigation skills: I might be a civilian now, but I have served this country in ways that would absolutely blow your mind." During his outburst, the cowboy had not blinked or taken a breath and he was still nose to nose with the FBI agent. "As far as the chief hearing about my lack of cooperation he might just laugh in your face. He and I have already had a couple of go-arounds."
Bateaux was stunned. "I'm sorry, Mr. Houston; sincerely." He swallowed hard. "Would your wife be available to discuss the case now?"
Taking a deep breath, Matt spun around and took a few steps away from the man, visibly trying to calm down. He turned back around. "She's up at the house. Come on." Bateaux followed quickly and Hoyt was doing his very best not to snicker, but couldn't help it.
"Shut up, cop." The PI hadn't missed any of it, but couldn't help but grin himself. At least after the hunting trip to Texas over the Thanksgiving holiday Michael seemed more relaxed than he had in a long time. As they approached the patio of the sprawling house, Chantilly ran out to meet her master. The half Blue Heeler – half Husky puppy was now almost full grown and weighed right at fifty pounds. "Hey there, Tilly. Did you behave at the vet's office?" The dog was so happy to see the cowboy that she jumped right into his arms and began licking his face, causing him to laugh. He put her back down on the patio and the minute she spied Agent Bateaux, she immediately began to growl, stopping the man in his tracks. "Tilly, sit." Matt gave her the firm command and she quickly obeyed, but didn't take her eyes off of the stranger and didn't quit growling. "Mr. Bateaux, would you walk over here – real slow?" The agent was clearly scared, but did as Matt asked. "Tilly, this is Mr. Bateaux. Tell him hello." The dog offered up her right paw, no longer growling but watching the man carefully. The agent shook her paw. "Now be nice, Tilly." The dog didn't growl anymore, but stayed near Matt and didn't take her eyes off of the stranger.
Michael walked closer. "How are you, Chantilly?" He reached down and patted the dog who nuzzled his hand. "She's very protective, Bateaux – but she's also very smart."
"Okay." The man swallowed hard.
"Let's go on in the kitchen and see if CJ can join us." Matt headed for the house and opened the kitchen door to find his wife and daughter headed out to the patio. "Hey there, Lady Bug." He leaned over and gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek. "Babe, this is Agent Bateaux with the FBI. He wants us to look over some files."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." CJ smiled warmly and extended her hand to the man who looked at Tilly before he shook her hand. "I see you've already met Tilly."
"Yes ma'am."
Sheila walked into the kitchen just then and CJ turned to the nanny. "Can you take Catey for a little bit? Matt and I have some work to do."
"Sure thing. Come to Sheila, darlin'." She took the child and headed back into the den.
"Do you boys want some coffee?" The lawyer headed for the counter.
"You know I won't turn it down." Matt took off his hat and set it on top of the fridge before going to the sink and washing his hands.
"I'm game." Michael sat down at the table as did the FBI agent.
"That sounds good." Bateaux had relaxed slightly since meeting CJ, but was still wary of the dog, who had not taken her eyes off of him.
CJ brought the pot and four mugs over to the table and had a seat. "Now, what can we do for you?" Bateaux then told her what he had told Matt and got the same exact reaction from her. "Okay, where are the files?"
The agent pulled a flash drive out of his pocket. "This contains all of the files that our forensics specialist has tagged – so far. She's still looking. When I spoke to her this morning she was looking at records from four years ago."
Matt spoke up. "Does she have any idea how long this has been going on?"
"Not yet – when I talked to her about an hour ago she had just flagged three more files as possibles." He handed the flash drive to Matt. "There are over fifty case files on there."
The PI took a sip of the coffee and rubbed the beard on his face. "Let's see – there are about 206 bones in the human body if I remember correctly. Umph." He thought and stroked Tilly's head that was resting on his knee. "Is there any particular area in the desert where the bodies have been found or have they been scattered?"
"Scattered. There have been bodies found in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah." He pulled a notebook out of his jacket pocket and wrote down a name and number. "This is the number for Sarah Morrison – the forensics specialist who first noticed the similarities." He slid the paper across to Matt.
"Alright." The cowboy looked at the paper. "We'll get started on it. Is there a number where I can reach you?"
The agent slid his card across the table and Tilly tensed up. Matt looked down at the dog. "Tilly, he's okay." The pup relaxed a little bit and put her head on the cowboy's thigh and he continued to pet her. "Look, I'm sorry if I came across as a jerk earlier. I just don't like the attitude that I usually get from agents."
"I understand – especially since you've had to deal with Hooten." Bateaux grinned and laughed. "Just don't judge all of us by him, please." The agent looked down at the dog. "Is it okay if I leave now, Tilly?" The pup wagged her tail. "I tell you what; a pit bull has nothing on her." He laughed as he stood up.
Michael finished his coffee and stood to leave, giving CJ a peck on the cheek. "Try to keep him out of trouble, Counselor."
"You're kidding, right?" She gave him a smile and walked out onto the patio with Matt. Tilly followed along, still keeping an eye on the agent.
As Michael's car went down the driveway, Matt looked down at the dog. "She doesn't like the FBI either." He cracked up as he put an arm around his wife and headed back into the house.