"Someone to Trust" PART FOUR

The slow din of C.D.'s that morning surrounded Katheryn and Molly with the right atmosphere for deep thought. The gentle rays of morning sunlight. The quiet country tunes in the background. C.D. minding his regulars from his place behind the bar. It was the perfect condition for pensiveness.

Katheryn's forehead was creased quite intensely as she focused on the piece of paper in her hand while gently resting her other hand on the edge of the table with her fork slightly dangling over her plate of food. Molly sipped at her coffee a bit at a time, getting in quite the amount while Katheryn never stirred the entire time. It seemed that deducing the mysterious note was all that was on the blooming private investigator's mind. A few minutes passed before Katheryn finally was able to deter herself from the diabolical note and acknowledge her best friend.

Molly smirked a bit as she hid her smile behind a bowed head.

Katheryn cringed, taking a quick glance at each of her sides. "Was I that obvious?"

Molly nodded, unable to speak through her near-laughter.

Katheryn sighed and looked back to the piece of paper. The corner was already soft from her gripping it so long these last few minutes. She then willingly set it down on the table as she relaxed in her seat and actually managed to think through some viable possibilities as to who would have written the note.

Molly stole a glance at her friend just before she cleared her throat with a sound emitted on purpose and not by chance. "Um…"

Katheryn raised her eyes and eyebrows towards Molly, her bottom lip slightly sagging as she nearly said something but stopped herself.

"I, uh, after you dropped me off at the dojo yesterday after we visited the Lazy T Ranch, I decided to go to the library. I've been meaning to do a bit more research on my namesake from back in the 1800s."

Kath beamed a smile, her approval freely given as she listened. "Did you find out anything new?"

Molly barely nodded as she played with her food with the prongs of her fork. "Maybe. I was wanting to find out more about how she and her husband John met."

"Is it a good love story?" Katheryn sneaked in another smile.

Molly chuckled lightly. "Well, there isn't much information on that according to the librarian I spoke to. But I did find a small story that was published in a Utah newspaper just after the turn of the century. Molly was interviewed by an eager female reporter around 1903 about the famous journey she and John Mason survived thanks to the legendary bounty hunter Hayes Cooper."

Clearly intrigued, Katheryn scooted to the edge of her seat, forgetting all about the meal before her as she let her fork fall with a slight clank onto the plate's edge.

"Apparently Molly and John were successful in joining their fellow believers in Paradise Valley."

"That's good to hear. It would have been a shame had their journey been taken in vain."

"Indeed! I also read in that newspaper excerpt that Molly and John had another child about a year after the journey. She would have been my third great aunt."

The two ladies exchanged smiles of intrigue and satisfaction over the sentiment.

"Was there anything in there about how Molly and John met?"

Molly sighed. "Not much. But she did say they met through her best friend when her best friend visited John's family."

Katheryn caught a glimpse of an underlying thought behind her best friend's shining eyes as the latter's statement trailed off. "Molly," Kath reached a hand forward, just barely touching Molly's. "Is there something on your mind?"

Molly quickly shook away the thoughts with a grin. "No. Of course not." She sighed, lifting her eyes upward and back down again. "How could I lie?"

"You're definitely not good at it at all."

"Well, thinking about my namesake and the woman I favor so much had me thinking of…"

"What?"

"It's silly."

"Spill it!" Kath grinned.

Molly sighed yet again. "I wanted to know how their relationship began in order to know…"

"To know what?" Katheryn was desperately urging Molly on at this point.

"To know if John was anything like Trent." Molly tossed out the final words as quick as possible, leaving the space between them silent as she reached to take a sip of her coffee.

Katheryn couldn't help but smile. "You mean…."

Molly's cheeks gently turned a pale pink before returning to their normal shade as she convinced herself inwardly that she was a mature adult who could handle such feelings in a proper manner. She finally gave in and nodded a bit to answer her dear friend's burning question.

Kath couldn't hide her smile but tried for courtesy's sake to suppress it. "I thought I noticed something going on the other night in the Malloy's study."

"Nothing was going on." Molly quickly inserted, immediately knowing how wrong her words were as she repeated them mentally. "Trent was just showing me the trophies."

"Right." Kath half-rolled her eyes, clearly unconvinced.

Molly sighed. "Trent's a very nice person."

"I'll say."

Molly slapped at Katheryn's arm, drawing a chuckle from her. "Two can play that game, you know."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing. I don't know what I'm saying," Molly quickly inserted and reached for the note near Katheryn in order to change the subject. "So, what have you figured out from this message so far?"

Katheryn sighed. "I have no idea. It's definitely a threat. But they did a good job of not making their identity very obvious."

"Well, it's quite obvious that whoever wrote the note had something against Mrs. Wilkins' husband."

"Clearly." Katheryn sighed sharply, burying her face in her hands. "Oh, I wish Trent were here."

Molly reached a hand to Katheryn's shoulder. "Hey, what kind of talk is that? You're getting to be just as good as him. You can handle this. Besides, do realize how much you've managed to do on your own when you shouldn't have over the past few months?"

Katheryn smiled. "Yeah. Thanks for the confidence. But you and I both know that experience plays a key factor here."

"True." Molly relaxed and reached for her fork as she felt her appetite returning since changing the subject of the conversation.

Katheryn shoved in one more bite of C.D.'s good cooking as she rose from her seat. "Alright. I'd better get going. I got to go to the H.O.P.E. center. Josie's going to let me use her computer to check my email. Mrs. Wilkins is sending me a photo of Remington to use in the search."

Molly confidently bid her best friend goodbye with another brief word of affirmation before lifting a hand for a wave as Katheryn passed through the entry of C.D.'s and into the shoes of Dallas' newest blooming set of private eyes.

##

"Hey, Josie!" Katheryn beamed a smile, entering the H.O.P.E. center swiftly. She nearly stumbled forward as two young children scurried in front of her soon followed by an out of breath Josie Martin.

Josie waved off the kids as she gasped in a bit of air, taking advantage of Katheryn's presence as an excuse to rest. "Hey, Katheryn. It's good to see you." She swallowed hard, almost having caught her breath fully. She chuckled. "Those are our newest recruits. Seems they need a little discipline."

The two women exchanged a light laugh.

"Alright, let's get you set up at my computer." Josie then led the way through the halls to her tiny office space near the kitchen. They rounded the corner into the little room, Katheryn following eagerly as she continued to ponder her case at hand despite the noise-filled corridors of the center.

Katheryn smiled, taking notice of the commotion. "Seems busy today."

"You're telling me!" Josie sat down at her desk, clearly enjoying the soft leather surroundings as she sat upright and leaned forward over the keyboard with a sigh, entering a few numbers and letters as the computer clicked on. "Say, when are you coming back? We could really use your expertise around here again."

"Expertise?" Katheryn nearly scoffed. "Josie, you manage this place wonderfully." She glanced out the door and back to Josie. "But I will admit, I do miss being here on regular basis."

"I imagine working as a private investigator has its perks thought." Josie lifted her eyes with a sly smile over the monitor.

Katheryn then let her handbag fall onto the side table nearby and settled into the arm chair near Josie's desk. "I suppose. It's been fairly exciting so far. Trent and I took down a man for petty theft the other day before he left for Camp Justice. And we've managed to do a few odds and ends jobs for some folks. Nothing big though."

Josie continued to look at the monitor. "Oh, nonsense. All cases aren't any more important than the other. They all help people in some way. You got to remember that."

"True." Katheryn smiled. "Still, I love some action every once in a while."

Josie's tittering laugh echoed a bit as she kept her eyes on the screen.

Katheryn cocked a glance, suspicious of Josie's response. "What?"

"You are starting to sound like Detective Sandoval these days."

"I am?" Katheryn couldn't deny that she kind of liked the sound of that. Although at the same time she hoped it was a good sign.

"Yep." Josie stood abruptly and sighed. "Well, here you go. I've got you logged in. Just enter your username and password; and you'll be good to go."

Katheryn rose and circled the desk before her, situating herself at the desk and doing as Josie said.

Josie stopped in the doorway with one hand on the doorframe as she left. "If you have any questions just come and get me. I'll be…" She glanced down the hall. "I'll be somewhere hunting down those two little desperados."

"Will do." Katheryn flashed a smile over the monitor as Josie disappeared around the corner just before her email inbox flashed onto the screen, drawing her attention back to the device.

Katheryn propped her elbow on the desk and cradled her chin on her fist as she scrolled, clicking several boxes before going straight to the delete button and clicking it with a sigh. Finally reaching the important messages, she smiled faintly at the recognition of Mrs. Wilkin's email address and opened up the email.

Miss Katheryn: Included in this email is the photo of Remington that you requested. I have also taken the liberty of including a list of my ranch hands and helpers both past and present in case it can be of any help to you. There are also some names of some folks we've done business with in the past. I hate to think of anyone I know being guilty of horse thieving. But I guess it would be better to know than not to know. Have a good one, Mrs. Wilkins.

Katheryn took a deep breath as she scrolled through the names provided for her in the email, inwardly breathing a prayer of thanks that Mrs. Wilkins had definitely helped make the task a bit easier. At least she had somewhere to start her search. This was all settled in her mind, solid and without question as she read each name, until her eyes widened a bit upon reading the final name on the list. She scooted back in the chair away from the monitor in shock. Her hand hovered over the mouse as she swallowed hard and glanced around her subconsciously. No, it has to be a different person, she repeated in her mind several times before looking at the monitor once more to make sure she had read the name correctly. Sure enough in black and white as clear as ever was written a name Katheryn wished never to see again face to face.

##

Katheryn's gaze met with one perplexed police detective from across the table in the middle of Uppercuts after she had waited a few minutes upon arriving to her and Carlos' scheduled meeting time. He had insisted they talk as soon as Molly managed to get word to him about Katheryn's daring plan. One mention of her plan when she had returned to their apartment was all it took for Molly to step up and call Carlos despite Katheryn's opposing arguments that everything would be alright. There was nothing he could do right now with Jesse's case while Trivette and Walker continued to investigate suspects, namely Blade, a man no one was sure was quite who he had seemed like on the surface. Spending time with Katheryn over a necessary cup of coffee and a heart-to-heart talk seemed like the logical way to fill in his free hour.

Carlos sighed, running a hand through his dark hair before settling his gaze on the girl whose actions both made him vehement just as much as they made him love her more. "Tell me again what it is you're planning."

Katheryn sipped her coffee and returned it to the table, fumbling with the mug's handle as she let the silence hang for a length of time. "I'm going to go undercover at the Lazy T as a ranch hand."

"A ranch hand?!" Carlos blurted out, a laugh edging his voice as his voice rose in intonation.

With a touch of a sarcastic smile tightening her lips together, she drew another sip from her mug and set it back down.

"You can't be serious."

"Well, I am." Katheryn turned to look Carlos in the eyes. She saw both bewilderment and concern mixed with admiration and fear all in one, penetrating her heart as she stared into his convincing brown eyes.

Carlos lingered a bit on that gaze, still unsure if he was actually upset at her or simply concerned. He dearly hoped silently that his actions wasn't conveying the former. "Kath," Carlos softened his toned, easing in closer to the table with his hands folded against the hard surface. His gaze seemed to drift as he looked over his hands and then back to Katheryn. "You can't go undercover as a ranch hand."

"Why not?" Katheryn didn't hesitate.

Carlos' pleading smile gave way to a sigh. "It—it's dangerous. That's why. You seriously think you can be a convincing cowboy and still investigate the situation?"

"Yes. I believe I can."

Carlos took a deep breath. "Kath, you could get yourself hurt."

"Well then I'll just have to take a chance." Katheryn leaned in, her hand gently hovering near Carlos' folded hands. "I promised Mrs. Wilkins I'd help her find her horse Remington. And it has become quite clear that there's more than meets the eye with the burglaries she's had at her ranch. Please, Carlos." She slipped her hand between his, covering the bundle with her only free hand. Her eyes met his as she spoke. "It's my first chance to solve a case on my own. How hard could it be? It's probably just some former hand with an ax to grind. I'll catch him in the act soon enough, and it'll be over."

Carlos tried looking in her eyes but couldn't. He sighed as his gaze darted from their hands, clasped together, and then back towards Katheryn's searching eyes. All he could picture in his mind was something terrible happening to her. It tore him up just thinking about it. "Okay." He let a long sigh go, gently removing his own hand from underneath Kath's and placing it on top of hers. "How can you be so stubborn?"

Katheryn simply smiled and leaned forward, pecked a meaningful kiss on Carlos' lips, and hesitantly drew away from the moment, slipping into her jacket as she took it off of the back of the restaurant chair. She then lingered a bit, pausing by Carlos as he reached out for her hand.

"Be careful." Carlos was looking her directly in the eyes and was as serious as could be. His tone was even. And his eyes narrowed just barely as for a brief moment he willed it to be only himself and Katheryn in the room. Yet the numerous patrons, rock and roll music, and laughter-laced echoes seemed to quell that hope rather quickly.

Katheryn clasped her lips together amid her smile and let Carlos draw her a bit closer to him. He stood, still gripping her hand and leaning in for a mutual kiss this time.

"I will," she whispered before wishing with all her heart she didn't have to leave as she slipped away and out of Uppercuts in one swift motion. Any hesitation and she just might have changed her mind.

Carlos watched Katheryn leave the building with a smile tempting his demeanor before he finally surrendered, his entire ordeal with his nephew Jesse flooding back into his mind and reminding him of reality. He grunted a bit as he stood to his feet and nodded a goodbye Joe behind the bar as he pushed his chair into the table. Carlos was almost to the door when his cell phone rang. He reached for the device from inside his coat pocket and flipped it open, placing it to his ear.

"Detective Sandoval." For a moment he struggled to hear the voice on the other end through the bar's din and wondered if he shouldn't have taken the call outside. "What? Jesse confessed?!" Carlos tensed and then relaxed, clearly taken by surprise by Alex's announcement. He turned back to the doorway a hand in his pocket wrinkling his leather coat at his waist. An urgency to be on his way welled within him. "Alright. Thanks. I'll be right there."