"A Houston Christmas"
**Immediately follows "A Slip of the Trigger"
"Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind.
To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy,
is to have the real spirit of Christmas."
Calvin Coolidge
CHAPTER 1
"Can you boys stay out of trouble while we're gone?" It was December 23rd and Matt was in the barn rubbing down his horse Cricket before grooming her. The two had gone out for a ride to check some of the fences on the property.
"Sure we can." Bo watched his boss. It had started raining while he was out and Matt wiped the water off the saddle he had been using.
Tilly, the half-Husky half- Blue Heeler that was now a member of the Houston household moved over and made a grab for the rag that the cowboy was using. "Sorry, Tilly – I almost forgot." He leaned down and wiped the dog's coat dry.
"I ain't never seen such a spoiled dog." Lamar grinned as he watched the pair.
"She isn't spoiled." Matt turned back to Cricket and began brushing her.
"She sleeps inside, sits in the recliner with you and gets dried off. If that ain't spoiled I don't know what is." Bo moved a bale of hay and sat down on it.
"She stays in the house because she guards Catey." Matt wasn't kidding. The dog had appointed herself the baby's guardian from the first day that she had come to the ranch.
"Yeah well, that may be – but she still sits in the recliner." Lamar sat down next to his friend.
"That's when she reports in to me." Matt looked over the horse's back and grinned at the pair.
"Uh huh, well when I came in to report to you the other night you and that dog there were both nappin' in the recliner." All three cracked up.
Matt finished combing the horse. "Cricket, you keep these two out of trouble for me, okay?" The horse snorted. Rubbing his hand down her side, the cowboy looked at her belly. "Seriously though, guys – keep a good eye on my girl here, okay?"
"We will. You know I bet when she foals you're going to be as excited as if it were your kid."
"You mean grandkid, doncha?" Lamar chuckled. "We'll keep a good eye on her, don't worry."
Matt and Tilly headed up to the house together and walked through the kitchen and on back to the bedroom. CJ was packing for their visit with the Novelli family. "Catey still napping?" He walked up behind his wife, encircling her waist with his arms and nibbling on her earlobe.
"Yep." Turning to face her husband, CJ brought her arms around his neck and kissed him. Matt eased her down onto the bed, pushing the suitcase aside as the kiss continued. Neither one heard Sheila until she was standing in the bedroom door – a stack of boxes and bags thankfully blocking her view.
"Hee hee! I can't believe I made it in the kitchen door like this!"
The couple jumped apart, Matt clearing his throat. "You look like you could use another set or two of hands." Walking over to the nanny he removed about half of the stack.
"Thanks." She turned and started for her bedroom as Matt followed. As he set the packages down his cell phone rang.
"Hey Madre Rosa, what's…" He stopped. "Whoa, slow down now. Take a breath – okay…now what happened?" CJ came to the doorway. "Okay…have you talked to Chuck? Uh huh…" Matt started back for the bedroom and grabbed clothes tossing them into his bag. "First thing you need to do is try to calm down, okay?... I know, but you need to take care of yourself, too. I'll be down there just as quick as I can. See you in a little bit…Love you, too. 'Bye." He hung up. "Somebody carjacked Rosita and her baby girl. I hate to ask…" Matt turned to Sheila. "I need CJ with me. Do you want to go with us or stay here?"
"I'll go. Let me get some clothes together."
"I've already packed Catey's clothes. We'll just need a couple of bottles." CJ closed up the suitcase.
Matt had hit a button on his phone. "Bo, we have to head down to Texas. ..Yeah, just keep an eye on everything. Thanks, bud." Picking up the bags he headed out and tossed them in the back of CJ's Navigator. He helped her strap a sleepy Catey into her car seat and after Sheila got in they left for the airport, Matt calling to get the plane ready and CJ calling Mama Novelli to let her know that they weren't going to be flying into Honolulu the next day.
As Matt cursed under his breath at the traffic he asked CJ to call Michael Hoyt to let him know what was going on and that their plans had unexpectedly changed. Forty minutes later they took off for the William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, Texas. After going to his assigned altitude, the PI set the plane on auto pilot, pulling out his phone and calling his childhood friend, Chuck Wylie. Chuck was now a detective with the Harris County Sheriff's Department. "Hey bud, what have you got so far?" He put the phone on speaker and set it on his leg.
"Rosita had just pulled into the gas pumps at a convenience store on Santa Teresa. She got out and swiped her card at the pump and that's when the guy grabbed her. He made her drive – headed south. A traffic camera picked them up by Haverstead Mall but then we lost it. There's an APB and an Amber Alert out." The detective sounded tired and Matt could certainly understand why. "Are you coming down?"
"Yeah, we're in the air right now."
"Good, because Madre Rosa is really upset. I'm worried about her."
"Me, too. CJ and Sheila are with me – I'm sure they'll help to calm her."
"Good. Well, that's all I've got for now."
"I'll let you go, bud. Are y'all operating out of the Sheriff's Department?"
"Yeah, Sheriff Martinez left word to give you complete access…she kinda figured you would show up."
"That's great. I sure appreciate it. I'll let you know when we land." He got off of the phone and rubbed his neck. "It doesn't sound good, Babe."
"We'll find her." She reached over and took his hand.
Three hours later, the plane landed in Houston. As Matt taxied toward the hangar he could see Marty Hoffmann leaning against the truck waiting for them. The foreman of the Houston ranch walked over as the steps of the G550 were extended. "Glad you're here." He shook hands with Matt and the two men loaded the luggage in the truck as CJ and Sheila got Catey and her car seat strapped in.
"Have you talked to Chuck?" Marty pulled out onto the road headed for the ranch.
"Yeah, right after we took off." The PI looked worried. "I had hoped that the guy would turn them loose and just take the car."
"You and me both." The foreman shook his head. "I feel useless."
"We all do at this point."
Matt helped unload the luggage and carried it inside. "I'll call you." He gave CJ a kiss.
"Be careful, hon. Love you."
"Love you, Babe." He headed down the steps and slid behind the wheel of the truck, looking up in surprise as Marty climbed into the passenger seat.
"I'm going with you."
"Fair enough." The PI started the engine and called Chuck once again. "Hey, I'm here – where do you need me?"
"Houston, we have a possible ID on the carjacker. Terrance Goddard. He's got a laundry list of charges: assault with a deadly weapon, rape, and auto theft."
"Why in the hell is he out on the streets?"
"Time off for good behavior and overcrowding – what else?" Chuck sighed. "I don't mind doing my part and catching the bad guys but it would be nice if someone else did their job and kept jokers like this guy behind bars."
"Do you want to check his house?"
"Yep, got a warrant about three minutes before you called." The detective made his way out to the parking lot as he gave his friend the address. "There's a tobacco store around the corner on Gomez. Let's meet up there."
"See ya in a few."
Both vehicles pulled into the parking lot at the same time. Matt looked at Marty. "Guess it's a good thing I brought a spare." He reached into the backseat for his bag and removed a bulletproof vest, handing it to the cowboy as he put on his holster. After checking his pistol he put on the other vest.
"I take it you do this a lot?" The foreman looked over at his boss.
"More now than ever." They walked over to where Chuck was getting his gear on.
The detective looked up at him. "All you need is a badge, my friend." The two men shook hands. "And you brought some help, huh?" He and Marty shook. "You can be a lookout for us. I've got two uniformed officers on the way. We'll put you to work." He handed the foreman a shotgun. As he finished speaking the patrol car pulled in. "Houston, why don't you ride over with me and let Marty drive the truck. We'll hit the front door." He turned to the two officers. "Guys, I want one of y'all to take the back and the other to come in with us. Marty here is going to keep an eye out on the front."
The two men nodded and all five loaded up and drove around the corner and about four blocks down Alejandro Street, stopping in front of a wood frame house that at one time had been painted white. Small patches of white paint remained, dotted all over the two story house that was surrounded by a chain link fence ten feet high. Chuck looked at the lock on the gate. "Guess they think it's Fort Knox. " He detected movement to his right as Houston started up and over the fence.
"You waiting for an engraved invitation?" the PI turned toward the house as his childhood friend climbed over followed by the two officers, the tall one jogging around to the back. "Good thing it's dark – you took so long getting over that fence you made a good target." Matt grinned.
"Shut up." Chuck moved in to a position next to the front door. "Sheriff's Department! Search warrant! Open the door!" There was no response and no movement was heard. The detective stepped back and kicked the door splintering the old wood and splitting the door in half. The three made their way inside the dark house and began clearing the rooms.
"Clear." Matt had cleared the last room in the house and as Chuck came back to take a look around, the PI started to sniff and began searching the room. "I think this guy stored drugs in here."
"Yeah, there's been pot in here for sure." Chuck was looking in a dresser as Houston dropped to his knees and was looking at part of the floor under a small desk. Slipping on a pair of gloves, he pulled a knife out of his pocket and began working it around the edges of one of the worn floor boards.
"Got something." He removed the board and laid it to the side. "We've got a lockbox."
"Uh huh." Chuck came over and knelt down as Matt took a picture of it with his phone and removed the box handing it to the deputy. "You don't see a key in there by chance do you?"
"Nope, but…" He reached down and unzipped his left boot a couple of inches and removed a set of lock picks. In a matter of seconds he removed one from the case and opened the box.
Looking slightly startled, Chuck nodded his head. "You've definitely had some practice doing that."
"And aren't you glad?" The PI put away the picks and zipped his boot back up as his friend opened the box.
"A set of digital scales, some pot, what looks like meth, and a wad of cash that would choke a horse." The detective stood up as did Matt.
"But that doesn't get us any closer to finding Rosita." He sighed and opened a drawer on the desk and began looking through it. In the center drawer was a map of the Houston area. Several places had been highlighted. "Look at this." The cowboy spread the map out on the bed. "Three of these are along the coast."
"Then there are these four dotted around the area." Chuck leaned forward.
"Bud, this house is one of them." Matt pointed out the location. "Stash houses maybe?"
"Could be – let me call Narco." He pulled out his phone. Matt pulled a notebook out of his back pocket and wrote down the addresses before pulling out his own phone. Walking back through the house toward the front door, he called CJ.
"Babe, I need you to run through some addresses for me."
"Alright – hang on a second." She went into the study that Bill Houston had used as a home office and sat down behind the desk. "Give 'em to me." She jotted them down. "What specifically are we looking for – owners?"
"Yeah, that and whatever else you can come up with." He explained what they had found so far. As he was talking he looked inside the hall closet. "Gotta go. Love you."
"Love you." CJ looked at the phone: Matt had hung up suddenly.
"Chuck." He lowered his voice and the detective hung up his phone as he approached.
Matt drew his gun and pointed at the closet. Instantly, Chuck drew out his pistol. Together they pointed their weapons at the back wall as the PI reached for a small handle and eased the make-shift door open to reveal a set of stairs. Carefully, the pair started down, both pulling out flashlights. There were ten steps down into a musty basement that appeared to have been dug after the house was built. They shone their lights around the dark and dank room. "Chuck, there's something dead down here." The smell got stronger as they got closer to the back wall. Suddenly the lights landed on the source of the odor: lying in a heap on the dirt floor was what once had been the body of a woman. "Damn." The pair finished clearing the room.
"Gonzalez!" Chuck yelled up at the patrolman. "We need the CSU here and the Coroner."
"Yes sir."
"And flip that light switch up there." The light immediately came on, revealing that the woman's throat had been cut. "She was chained up."
"Yeah." Matt felt his stomach lurch as he thought about Rosita and her baby. He looked around the room and saw some plastic totes near a table on the far side of the room. He opened one. "Smells like cocaine – kind of a sweet chemical smell." There on the table top was a set of scales and several boxes of plastic baggies. "The son of a bitch had her packaging."
"The chain on her ankle looks like it's just long enough." Chuck continued to look around as did Matt.
The PI wandered over to the corner where he found a shovel with blood on its blade. "We've got blood." He turned and could just make out a rectangle. "I think there's a grave here."
"Here, too." The detective sighed as he looked at his friend. "But they've been here a while."
"Chuck, we need to go check out the other properties – the quicker the better."
"I called Sheriff Martinez – she's putting together a task force. We're going to be working with SWAT and Narco. Let's head on back and plan it out – CSU can take care of this." He turned and started for the stairs followed by Matt.
Outside Marty was leaning on the truck. "Bud, give me my bag out of there and you go on back to the ranch."
"Is she in there?" Marty had a sickened look on his face.
"No – but the body of another woman is…" Matt took the bag. "Will you stay up at the house tonight? Keep a good eye on my ladies?"
"You know I will." He took off the vest and handed it to his boss who was stripping off his gloves. "So what do you think?"
"I think we need to find her – quick." He turned and put the bag into Chuck's SUV and the pair left.