09 - Eye in the Sky
"That son of a bitch." Matt sat in shock after watching the video that McSwain had of Lynch's conversation with foreman Zeke Varley. "For a little bit more last night they could have found those girls." What girls?"
"Don't have a clue. But he sure don't want the cops to know about 'em, does he?" McSwain popped a mint into his mouth. He knew that smoking in the Houston house was strictly forbidden by the housekeeper and the vape pen that he had been using had caused him to cough. His solution - at least while at Houston's - was mints. And lots of them.
Matt got up from the desk and walked to look out the window that overlooked the front lawn of the estate. His mind drifted back a few months to the case that he and Chuck had worked involving a shipment of Chinese illegals that had been discovered during a traffic stop. The young deputy that initiated the stop had been killed by the driver of the van, a member of a Chinese triad that had smuggled the people into the US by ship. Not long after a young Chinese woman's body had been discovered in Dallas, apparently sexually abused and tortured. Her ID had been found in a batch in the apartment of the two triad members.
He sat down behind the desk and began working the keyboard, pulling up the website for the Collin County Sheriff's Office and found the inmate list. "Terrell Snyder is still in lockup."
"So at the moment he's safe." McSwain popped another mint into his mouth. "You got any way of calling up there and telling them to hold him?"
Houston pulled in a deep breath and shook his head as he released it. "No. Quite frankly I don't know if I can trust anybody there. Lynch has got a lot of folks on the payroll."
"True." He paused. "But what if the bond agents were told not to-..."
The younger man shook his head. "With Lynch's money they probably won't be using a bond agency."
"Damn rich folks. Present company excluded." That brought a chuckle from Matt but his face soon turned serious.
"Another problem we have is the critters: those batteries won't last much longer I'm afraid."
"I wondered about that. So what do we do? Put in more bugs?"
"I really don't want you to go back in there, pard."
"Didn't have a problem last time. Peggy the maid got me in while Lynch was off the property."
"Tell you what: call and see if she knows if he'll be gone anytime soon."
"Won't be able to get hold of her until after ten tonight."
"Do what you can." He watched as the older man stood up. "Remember what I told you from the start on this, George. If at any point you want to quit, just say so."
"Not likely. This guy needs to be taken down."
As the older man left the room, Matt could hear the kids coming down the stairs along with Sheila. They went to the kitchen and he swiveled to his right, looking out the front window once again. He became aware that he was no longer alone and looked across the desk to see Catey Rose peeking around the doorframe. "Whatcha doin', Lady Bug?"
"Came to check on you." A smile spread across her face and she skipped around the end of the desk, her arms outstretched so that her daddy could pick her up. He pulled her close, giving her a hug and receiving a kiss on the cheek.
"So who put you up to checking on me?" He looked into the eyes that were an exact copy of her mother's.
"Well…" She paused dramatically as she was so likely to do. "Since Mama hurt her leg I took the job."
He laughed, pushing a curl away from her face. "Maybe you need to keep an eye on her since she has a boo-boo."
"Miss Sheila says you been a bad 'fluence on her." The statement caused Matt to howl with laughter.
"That's a mighty big word for somebody so short, Lady Bug." He hoisted her onto his shoulders and went toward the sound of the boys' laughter in the kitchen.
Later that evening after supper, playtime, giving the kids baths, and tucking them in, Matt returned to the study. He opened the laptop on the desk and pulled up the satellite program, wondering as he did so what the life expectancy of a used Russian satellite was and how much longer it would last. It had come in handy so many times in the past. The current position had the Houston ranch and the PH under surveillance. There hadn't been any further attempts on his life since Dibra had been picked up by Chuck right after Matt's surgery almost four months earlier. The two ranches now had top of the line security systems plus all of the cowboys were aware of the problem and were armed while on the properties. He looked up the coordinates for Lynch's ranch, punched them in and watched as the satellite moved slowly into position. While he wouldn't be able to tell much about the goings-on at night, it would give him an edge during the daylight hours. Right now he needed every advantage that he could get.
He heard the sound of CJ's crutches coming up the hallway and went to the door. "What's up, Lil Mama?"
"Thought I would come see if you need any help."
"You need to be resting."
"I have been." She entered the study and with his help, eased herself down onto the loveseat. Matt propped her left leg up. "So have you and George come up with anything else?"
"Not exactly." He told her about the plan for Varley to kill Snyder.
"Hon, this guy is just totally out of control. He's always been bad; now he's just…" She shook her head. "So what's the plan?"
"Well…" He sat back down behind the desk, gesturing to the computer. "I moved the satellite over Lynch's property."
"Good. I was going to suggest that." There was quiet for a minute and she tried to think of something to say. "I'm going to start on your mom's side of the family tree tomorrow."
"Good. Maybe I'm related to a famous bullfighter or something." He grinned. The conversation faltered once again. Suddenly she burst into tears and he went to her, kneeling down beside her. "What's going on, Babe?" She shook her head. "Easy now. C'mon. Talk to me."
"It's all my fault."
"Nothing is your fault, baby." He stroked her hair, kissing her cheek as the tears continued to flow.
"It feels like you're disappointed in me."
"Look at me." She turned her head away and he gently turned her back to face him. "There's nothing you could ever do to disappoint me. Never. What happened wasn't anybody's fault, Babe. C'mon. Put your arms around my neck." He carried her to the bedroom that they had been using as Sheila came down the stairs.
"You okay, CJ?" She followed along behind them.
"She's alright." Matt gently put her on the bed and began propping the pillows up for her leg.
"Are you hurting? You can have a pain pill…" She turned toward the bathroom.
"No, I'm fine."
"Girl, you don't cry for no reason at all." Her attention turned to Matt and an angry look crossed her face. "What did you do to her?"
"Nothing." He turned his shocked face to the nurse.
"You better not have."
"He didn't, Sheila. Everything is fine. I just…" She closed her eyes, shaking her head.
"Well, get some rest. Call me if you need me, okay?"
"Thanks." CJ took a tissue from the bedside table and dabbed at her eyes. After the nanny left the room she finally spoke again. "I'm sorry."
"Hush." He leaned forward and kissed her. "Things are just mixed up right now, that's all. It's going to be okay. Now…" He brushed her hair back away from her face. "How about a nice back rub?"
