LITMIR.BIZ

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at a young age, that his mother had made some bad choices.

      When Eli was a little older his uncle Jess told him a bit more about Vera’s life. Her mother, Adell, was Jess’s sister. She’d married an abusive man who beat her and Vera. In an obvious attempt to escape her home life Vera had dropped out of school at sixteen and married a boy two years older. He’d turned out to be as abusive as her father.

      After several trips to the hospital, a counselor got her out of that relationship, and Vera started a new life in Waco, Texas. She didn’t have any job skills, but with the help of several state agencies she’d started working at a day care. The pay was minimal and she could barely live on it. Then she’d met a friend whose brother owned several bars, and she got a job as a waitress.

      There she met Joe McCain.

      And the abusive cycle went on.

      Jess and Amalie—or Ma and Pa, as Eli called them—gave him everything that was missing in his life, and he grew up wanting to be a Texas Ranger, as did Tuck. They both knew they owed everything to Ma and Pa. The couple had adopted Tuck as a baby, and he carried the Tucker name. They’d wanted to adopt Eli, too, but Vera wouldn’t sign the papers. It didn’t matter. Jess and Amalie were his parents in every way that counted, as they were to so many children.

      Ginny had been one of them.

      The memory of her once again slipped past Eli’s iron control.

      She’d come to the Tucker’s when Eli and Tuck were already gone from home. Eli had been accepted as a Texas Ranger and Tuck was working as a trooper for the Department of Public Safety.

      Amos Buford had kidnapped Ginny on her way to work. Amos and his followers often begged for money on street corners, and Ginny had stopped and given a donation. One look at her blond beauty and Amos had decided she’d be his next wife—though he already had three.

      According to Ginny, Buford had kept her in a dark room for two days with no food. He’d broken her spirit and tried to brainwash her, and when Ginny thought she’d lose her mind, she’d participated in the marriage ceremony.

      It was another month before she was able to escape, but by then she was close to a nervous breakdown. She made it to a highway Tuck was patrolling. After she’d told her story to the police, Tuck had taken her to Ma and Pa to heal. Ginny had no family and didn’t have the strength to face her friends.

      When Eli first met her, she’d stared at the floor and wouldn’t look at him. Something about her attracted him immediately—as if her tortured soul was reaching out to him. He found himself going home to see her every chance he got, and eventually they started talking and laughing and sharing. Soon they were in love—something Eli had thought would never happen to him.

      The police were never able to build a case against Buford because he and his followers denied ever seeing Ginny. And she had no proof of what they’d done to her. It was her word against theirs. Eli had investigated the case in his spare time, but hadn’t found enough evidence to arrest Buford.

      Ginny started to heal mentally, and planned on returning to work. They talked about marriage. Eli had never been so happy in his life.

      Then he got the phone call… Pa told him Ginny was gone, and that he feared something bad had happened. Eli began an extensive search, and when he found her body, his world came crashing down. He knew Buford had located her and killed her.

      Again, Eli couldn’t prove it. But now… “I’ve waited a long time for Buford to make a mistake, and taking a congressman’s daughter is about as big a one as you can get.”

      “Still…” Tuck rubbed his hands together as he sat on Eli’s sofa.

      Eli watched him and knew exactly what was on his mind. “You’re afraid I’ll kill him.”

      Tuck kept looking at his hands. “Something like that.”

      “I might want to, but I won’t. I’d have to live with the knowledge that I’d dishonored the memory of the man who loved me more and taught me more than anyone in this world. I live by Pa’s code of honor and I would never kill a man in cold blood. I’m going to get Buford and it’ll all be legal. So stop worrying.” He handed Tuck his gun and badge. “Keep these for me.”

      A tap at the door forestalled further conversation.

      “That’s the FBI,” Eli said, and went to let them in. Agents Bill Caufield and Tom Mercer shook hands with Eli and Tuck.

      “Are you ready?” Bill asked Eli.

      “Yeah. Nothing but a couple of dollars and change in my pocket. No ID.”

      “Great,” Tom replied. “We appreciate your help—the sheriff said you’re the best. You know all about Buford and you’re familiar with the area.”

      “Yeah,” Eli said, refusing to look at Tuck.

      “Congressman Whitten and his wife are beside themselves. We spent a full day checking out Buford’s compound and we found no trace of Caroline Whitten.”

      “Did you check for secret rooms?”

      “Yes. We heard that’s a trademark of Buford’s, but we didn’t find one.” Agent Caufield unfolded a map on the kitchen table. “There are five other men who live there with Buford. Buford now has six wives. Of course, he doesn’t call them his wives to us. They’re ‘women in his family.’ The other men have at least two or three women each, and we’ve counted forty-eight kids. That’s the sad part—it’s a regular commune and we can’t prove a thing. The police have arrested Buford several times on polygamy charges, but he only has one marriage on record and the other women won’t testify against him. So far there’s not a law prohibiting a man from living with several women. But there’s a law against kidnapping. We might have him this time.”

      “Why do you think he took Caroline Whitten?” Eli asked.

      “She had a lunch date with her parents but didn’t show, and she missed a meeting with an editor. She’s a photographer and does work for a lot of Texas magazines. She never misses an appointment. Congressman Whitten knew something was wrong and called her fiancé, who said the last time he talked to her she had plans to meet her parents.”

      “So how does Buford come into this?”

      “It took awhile to piece everything together. There was no forced entry, doesn’t look as if anything was taken out of the apartment. Then a neighbor said she saw two bearded men in robes outside the building. Her fiancé, Colin Burke, told us that Ms. Whitten had an encounter with Buford and his followers when she was photographing wildflowers for a magazine spread. He said that they wore long robes and had full beards, and Ms. Whitten had been afraid of them.”

      “That’s all you have?”

      “That’s it. This is the third day and the only thing left to do is to try and infiltrate the group.”

      “Maybe she’s not there.” Tuck spoke for the first time.

      Agent Caufield shrugged. “It’s the only lead we have. We checked with all her friends. No one has seen her. We’re getting pressure on this and we have to find her.”

      “What’s the plan?” Eli asked.

      Tom tapped the map with his forefinger. “This is how the compound is laid out. There are six makeshift houses that have two bedrooms in each—one for the man and his women and the other for his children. That’s what we’re assuming. Then there’s a large eating room and kitchen with a wood burning stove. All the buildings are in a circle. In the center is where they meet and pray, and there’s a big area for a campfire. Everything is very primitive—no running water, no electricity. There’s a spring on the property they use for water.”

      He paused, then added, “Our only recourse is to get someone into the group and see what we can find. This is one of the days they beg on street corners. A police car will drop you off in front of them. They’re drawn to those needing a

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