CHAPTER 8
Later that afternoon Walker invited CJ and Matt to stay at the ranch and gave them a key. As they pulled up the gravel driveway both smiled. "It hasn't changed a bit." CJ got out of the truck and went to the corral where Walker's horse Amigo was prancing and whinnying.
"I think he's almost as spoiled as Cricket." Matt rubbed on the horse's jaw for a minute before going up on the porch and pulling out the copy of Marsha Dixon's homicide report. The 33 year old had left her home at 8:00PM to meet with some friends for dinner but never arrived. Her car was found submerged on the northern side of Woodlawn Lake three days later, her body in the front seat. The ME attributed her death to drowning and it was ruled a homicide. Josiah Dixon was the primary suspect but had a solid alibi. After a month the case was shifted to the cold case files.
Matt felt CJ's head that had been resting on his right shoulder get heavier and he looked over at her. Once again she had dozed off. He gently kissed her forehead and went back to the report.
There was very little evidence found at the scene, but Matt noticed one particular photo in the file. It was of tire tracks found at the scene but they didn't belong to Janice Dixon's car. The PI thought they looked similar to the ones found at the Geist crime scene.
Closing the file, he placed it on the seat of the swing and looked at his wife again. Carol, their doctor, had advised CJ to get more rest during this pregnancy than she had while carrying Catey. Although he loved having her at the office and knew that he needed her help with cases, Matt had decided to talk to her about working from home. That way she could still help but would be able to get more rest. He leaned his head over on hers and rubbed her belly, thinking about what it would be like to have three kids in the house instead of one.
The next thing he knew, Matt heard the sound of an engine and crunching gravel and looked up to see not only Walker's truck but Alex Cahill's car. He looked down at CJ who was still napping. As the couple approached he pointed to CJ and put a finger to his lips smiling.
Alex and Walker both smiled and sat down in a couple of chairs. "She wasn't the only one napping." The Ranger gave the PI a grin.
"Guilty. Guess it's contagious. How're you doing, Alex?"
"Fine. I hear there are twins on the way. Congratulations."
"Thanks." They continued to talk quietly until CJ finished her nap.
Looking surprised when she saw the pair CJ sat up and looked at Matt. "Dozed off again, huh?"
"Don't feel bad – he did, too." Walker laughed.
After dinner, Matt and CJ called to check up on Catey who was jabbering a mile a minute. Sheila came back on the line when the baby had decided it was time to play with Tilly. "She's all excited. Marty took her for a ride on Pancho this afternoon."
"I'm sure Cricket is missing her right now." Matt smiled.
"Everything is fine here. Oh, and Tilly helped the boys move some of the herd. I think Pat wants to keep her." The nanny laughed.
"Not happenin' – she's my helper."
"How are things going there?" She listened as the couple told her what they had learned that day. "Don't you just wish you could get your hands on them? Mmph."
"We're sure going to try. Each case that we learn about hopefully gives us another shot at them." CJ squeezed Matt's hand.
"Don't worry about anything here. We're just fine and Catey is happy…and so is Tilly."
"Alright. Give her a kiss from us." CJ talked on for a few minutes and Matt got up and walked down to the corral and watched as the Ranger worked to teach Amigo a new trick. He remained silent until they were through, then the two stood talking about horses and Matt told Cordell about Jasper.
"You're making good progress." The Ranger climbed back over the fence. "So how do you like being a dad?"
A big smile spread across the PI's face. "It's about the best thing that's ever happened to me – except CJ of course."
The pair went back up to the house and started discussing the case again and Matt shared his thoughts on the tire tracks. "We can run a comparison on them in the morning." It got quiet. "So what's your plan now?"
CJ spoke up. "I think we need to find out about who Dixon and Broward had working for them back then. That might lead us to the person that sent the box to me. Maybe I could convince them to help us."
Alex nodded. "It sounds like a good idea."
"While you're working that angle I'm going to try to learn more about Dixon." Matt put his arm around his wife.
"How do you plan to do that?"
"Surveillance and critters." The PI grinned.
"BugBytes, huh?" The Ranger nodded. "I've heard some good things about them. Trivette's put in several requests with the department but so far he hasn't had any luck."
"Budget?" Matt was used to hearing that.
"Yep."
"How many do you want?"
Walker shook his head. "It doesn't matter – the department…"
"How about a dozen – half tracking and half video?"
"Huh?"
"C'mon." Matt headed for his truck, opened the rear driver's side door and slid a box out from under the driver's seat. Walker looked in amazement as the PI sorted through and pulled out 18 of the critters along with a couple of installation discs. Pulling a pen out of his pocket, he jotted down an 8-digit code and handed them to a shocked Cordell Walker.
"You can't do that."
"Just did. Tell Jimmy to pop in disc one and follow the instructions. If there are any problems let me know."
"But…"
"Have fun with 'em." Houston closed up the box and shut the door, returning to the porch with a grin on his face and a wink for Alex.
"Trivette is gonna think Christmas came early. Thanks."
"You're welcome."
The next morning, the two PI's headed back to San Antonio after stopping by Ranger Headquarters and comparing the two sets of tire tracks that had been found. They were a match. "Call me if you need anything else." Walker held out his hand to Matt and they shook. "I mean it."
"I will."
"And thanks for the critters, Houston. Man, I can't wait to try these things on somebody!" Trivette had been like a kid at Christmas when he saw the bugging devices.
"Let me know if you have any problems or if you need any more." With that, the pair set off.
"So how are you planning on tracking down Dixon's employees?" Matt hit the cruise control on the truck and adjusted the seat.
"I found a way into Tri-P's computers." CJ gave him a sly smile.
"That's my girl." Matt grinned. He got quiet as he thought for a few minutes. "I've got another idea. I wonder how many of the other property owners are still alive – or if any more of them met suspicious deaths?"
"Good question." She pulled out one of the laptops and added to her to-do list. "If they are still alive they might be helpful."
"Yep." He remained quiet while she finished what she was doing and as she put the computer away he decided to talk to her about work. Reaching for her hand, he raised it up and kissed it. "I want to talk to you about something, and I don't want you to get upset with me." He glanced over at her.
"You want me to work from home."
"Uh huh. We talked about it a little bit before, but I think we need to set up an office for you at the ranch. I want you to listen to what Carol said about more rest, Babe. I worry about you and those two little boogers in there." He patted on her belly.
"I was thinking about it last night. As a matter of fact, Alex had some really good suggestions."
"Whew…I was afraid you would get mad." He smiled and she stuck out her tongue at him. "I need your help, you know that. Houston Investigations wouldn't be squat without you."
"Oh, yes it would. I just do more computer work."
"And without you doing that and allowing me more time out in the field, a lot of our cases wouldn't get solved." He squeezed her hand. "While we're on the subject, has Chris said anything to you about her plans after the baby is born?"
"We've talked a little bit. She wants to be home for the first six weeks and then use the Houston Industries Daycare."
"Okay…" He thought about it. When he had started Houston Industries and worked with the architects on the layout of the building, he had insisted on the daycare. Looking back, he now thought it was one of the best ideas he had ever put into action. It was offered free to all employees of the company, from the janitorial staff all the way up to Murray and Chris. "You know, if she wanted to, she could use the nursery downstairs."
"We talked about that, too. She really wants to stay. As a matter of fact, that was one of the topics that she and Murray talked about on their honeymoon."
"They talked?" Matt did his best to keep a straight face but just couldn't and the pair dissolved into laughter.
"This is Murray we're talking about after all. But, from some of the tales that Chris has told me, Murray's no slouch in the romance department." Grinning, Matt thought back to the conversation that he and the CEO had the day before his marriage to Chris. "He even mentioned that you had given him some hints and tips."
"Did he now?" The cowboy's smile was from ear to ear.
"Uh huh. Chris wanted to thank you but was afraid she would be too embarrassed." CJ cracked up as did Matt at that point. "I told her it wasn't necessary."
"Good. I don't think I would feel too comfortable with it."
