you lived in Dallas?”
“I worked at a bakery on Harry Hines,” she said. “I wanted to own my own bakery, and I thought Bringham could use one. But every banker there turned me down for a loan. I found out later that Mrs. Dobbs was blacklisting me. She told them if they helped me she would make sure their banks failed. People are scared of her.”
“I got that impression,” Willis said. “He took another drink of water. Grant tells me you never returned the ring to him.”
“He’s lying,” she said. “I swear it.”
Willis stared at her for a moment, then he said, “There’s something fishy about him. The first thing he did was throw you under the bus. That makes me suspicious.”
That made her feel better about life. “He’s such a mama’s boy that I can’t see him doing anything to harm her.”
“Or maybe he did something to harm her to get out from under her thumb,” Willis said.
The door opened and Hawk came in. “Health inspector,” he announced with a laugh. “Ranger Willis. I thought that was your truck.” The ranger stood up and the two men shook hands
“Checking up on her?” Willis asked.
“I trust her with my life,” Hawk said. “I’m really here to harass my brother while he eats cake.” He winked at Jessica. “He said to tell you they’ll be about ten minutes late.
“Okay.” She indicated the table. “Sit and I’ll bring you a soft drink.”
Hawk sat down, and Jessica went behind the counter. She felt better with Hawk here, as always.
“Have you found the missing woman?” Hawk asked.
“Not even a trace of her,” Willis replied. “Her son keeps pushing me toward Jessica.” He turned to her as she put Hawk’s drink on the table. “You don’t mind if I call you that, do you?”
“Not at all.” She sat down next to Hawk, who turned toward her and gave her a peck on the lips.
“Tell me, Jessica, did you live with Grant on the family compound, that huge place outside Bringham?”
“No.” Jessica grasped Hawk’s hand. They had never talked about their previous lovers, and she didn’t really want him to learn about it while she was being interrogated about the disappearance of her former lover’s mother. “Mrs. Dobbs said it would be unseemly for us to live together. She got angry if he was not home by midnight.”
“Another piece of the puzzle,” Willis said. “Funny he never mentioned that to me. You may not have lived there, but you spent a lot of time there, didn’t you?”
“Some, yes,” she said. “It’s an enormous spread.”
“True.” Willis drummed his fingers on the table. “Do you know anyplace Grant Dobbs might hide his mother’s body?”
Jessica felt the color drain from her face. “Oh my God. You don’t think… oh my God.”
“Do you?” Willis asked.
Jessica shook her head. “I never really made it past the house. I know there are old houses a few miles from the house, where their ancestors lived. Mrs. Dobbs said they needed to be kept for historical reasons, but Grant told me she never did any upkeep on them. He said they were all falling down. There’s two or three of them. I’m not sure exactly where.”
Willis took a notebook from his pocket and jotted something down. He opened his mouth as if to say something, and the door opened. Holt and Aurora walked in, holding hands and laughing.
“Smells good in here,” Holt said, then he stopped in his tracks. “Are we interrupting something?”
Hawk made introductions, and Aurora hurried over to the table. “This looks so good.” She turned back to them. “Hi, Ranger Willis. Nice to meet you.”
“You, too, ma’am,” Willis said. He was on his feet now. “I’m interrupting. Jessica, can we talk later?”
“Come to the house for dinner,” Holt said. “We’ve got enough barbecue to feed an army, brisket, ribs, and sausage. It’s at seven.”
“Well I don’t mind if I do,” Willis said. “I never turn down barbeque. Hawk, can I talk to you outside for a minute?”
The two lawmen left, and Holt turned to her. “Something new happen?”
“He suspects Grant,” she said. “They still haven’t found her.”
“That’s awful,” Aurora said.
Jessica clapped her hands together. “Well, let’s eat cake!”
She kept one eye on the window, where Hawk and Willis stood talking, while she talked up the different cakes she’d made. In the end Holt and Aurora selected the Italian wedding cake for the main table, and a red velvet cake for the groom’s table. Jessica wrote out an order and couldn’t help