CHAPTER 7
"281-625-9817." Matt rattled off the phone number to Chuck, who was tracking it down.
"It's a land line in the Seabrook area - 1385 Hardesty Avenue to be exact." Chuck jotted down the address.
"Who does it belong to?" Matt was tapping on the leather upper of his boot that was resting on his right knee.
"Oscar Mendoza, age 27, hmm…" He stopped speaking as he read more on the man. "Seems that Mr. Mendoza has had a few run-ins with the law. Drunk and disorderly, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, possession, possession with intent… this guy is just a fine upstanding citizen." He leaned back in his chair and took a sip of coffee.
"Of course just because he called about the ad, that doesn't necessarily make him our suspect." Matt picked up his coffee cup and took a long drink out of it. "It would be nice to keep an eye on him – see the traffic going in and out of there."
"Yeah, it could be very interesting. I think I'll see what I can do about that." He picked up the phone and called up to the sheriff's office and let her know what they had found out and the lead that they had. When he hung up, he was wearing a very large smile.
"Somebody sure looks happy." Matt cocked his head and looked at his friend.
"That's because someone else will be doing the surveillance – and I can leave and go to number one son's football game this afternoon." Chuck stood up and stretched.
"Congrats, pal." Matt stood and headed for the door. "Guess I'm going to go see what kind of trouble I can get into on the ranch. See ya!" He headed on out the door, followed by Chuck.
"Don't get into too much trouble – I might have to arrest you."
"You just try it, buddy." Matt made like he was going to punch the detective and they both cracked up.
"Have fun, Houston. And thanks a lot." They parted ways in the parking lot and Matt hit CJ's number on speed dial as he pulled out of the parking lot.
"Hi there. Do you mind if I come home?"
"Of course not. What's going on?" Matt brought her up to date on the case. "Sounds like you two are doing pretty good. See you when you get here. Love you, hon."
"Love you, too, Babe. 'Bye." He hung up and made his way back to the ranch. When he parked behind the house Tony walked out to greet him, telling him all about the calf that he had helped to deliver that morning. "I guess I'm just going to have to have a talk with your folks, Tony. Obviously you need to be working here full time." He ruffled the boy's hair.
"Not yet. I've got to get through with school and become a private investigator first." He smiled up at his hero, who was on his way into the kitchen for some lunch.
As Matt rooted around in the refrigerator, CJ came into the kitchen and swatted him on the backside with a towel, sending Tony into a fit of the giggles. He looked at her over the top of the door. "What was that for?"
"Just 'cause." She came over and pulled him into a hug and kiss, causing Tony to make a face and walk out the kitchen door onto the back deck. After a rather lengthy kiss, he turned back to the fridge. "Is that all you can think about – food?" She gave a mock pout.
"Well, with a short person around right now," he pointed to Tony out on the deck, "I might as well find me some lunch and save the other for later." He wiggled his eyebrows at his wife, who popped him on the backside again as he dove back into the fridge and came back out with a bowl of chili. After he popped it in the microwave he pulled her over to him and kissed her. "So is Miss Catey Rose napping?"
CJ nodded. "She's been a busy girl this morning. And she's got a trick to show you after she wakes up, too." She grinned.
"Oh, what's that?" He caressed her face with his thumbs.
"I can't tell you. She swore me to secrecy." CJ laughed. "But I can tell you, you will definitely be impressed."
The microwave beeped and Matt pulled out the bowl of chili, found a spoon, and dug into it. "So what have you got planned for the rest of the day?" He managed to get the question out around a mouthful of chili and CJ pulled a paper towel off the roll and wiped the corner of his mouth.
"Nothing. You?" She leaned against the kitchen counter.
"Nada." He thought as he spooned more chili into his mouth. "We could take Tony fishing – and Miss Catey Rose."
"I don't think she ought to be down by the river Matt – all of the mosquitoes?"
"Um, yeah. Didn't think about that." He spooned more chili into his mouth.
"Why don't you boys go on without us? You haven't been able to spend much time with him since we've been here."
"Are you sure?" He finished off the chili, rinsed the bowl in the sink and put it in the dishwasher.
"Yep." She reached up and wiped the corner of his mouth again before kissing him. "You know, you could take him out in the boat."
Matt grinned. "We'll have to see if it will even run. I haven't had it out in a long time." The boat that CJ was talking about had been given to Matt by his father when he was twelve years old. He and CJ had spent many a night out fishing on the river as kids. "I love you, Babe." Matt pulled her closer and kissed her again. "Rest up while I'm gone." He gave her a squeeze.
"By the way, there are eight buckets of night crawlers in that cooler over there – and several sandwiches and drinks." CJ grinned. She knew Matt was going to suggest a fishing trip.
"You think you know me pretty well, don't you?" He kissed her again. "And you do." He picked up the cooler and walked out the door. "Come on, Bud."
"Where are we going?" Tony fell in step with his pal.
"Somewhere you've never been before – and you're gonna have a great time." They loaded the cooler in the back of the truck and headed out for the river. When they got there, Matt pointed to the boat. "There she is."
"Cool! I didn't know you had a boat." Tony stepped on board and took the cooler from Matt.
"Yep, Daddy gave it to me when I was twelve. CJ and I spent a lot of nights out fishing on this old boat." After a couple of minutes of tinkering, the boat cranked right up and the pair took off toward the mouth of the river.
About 1:00am, CJ heard Matt coming in the kitchen door. She had been waiting for him in the den. As she got to the doorway, she spied Matt carrying a sleeping Tony in his arms. He grinned as he took the boy upstairs and put him to bed. After removing his shoes and covering him up, Matt walked back out into the hall and closed the door. "He had a blast. We were out there about an hour when he hooked up with a big one – and I mean BIG." He laughed. "You should have seen his face." They walked to Catey's room and checked on her, Matt going over and giving her a kiss on the cheek. When he stepped back out of the nursery he picked CJ up and carried her to the bedroom.
