Page 28 of Texas Cold Case Murder

For now, she needed to focus on finding more about her mother’s friends. Someone, somewhere had to know who had fathered Anna’s baby.

Not that she knew for certain her biological father was connected to the gunmen. In fact, it seemed ludicrous to think that he would try to kill her all these years later. It wasn’t as if he would have to pay back child support now.

And why did her being here matter all these years later?

It occurred to her that maybe he was someone important. A state senator, or a congressman. Yet could he have been in a powerful position like that twenty-eight years ago? That hardly seemed likely. Maybe he was significantly older than her mother. She had to admit it was a possibility.

“Where to?” Creed asked, breaking into her troubled thoughts.

“I think we should grab lunch, then find a place to stay.” Jackson turned in his seat to look at her. “You still want to look through the high school yearbooks, right?”

“Right.” She thought about the location of where her mother had lived. “Based on her address, I can narrow the list to one high school.”

“Nina, how about finding us a rental property?” Creed suggested. “I’m sure you can hide our location by using the same company you did for the rental car.”

“Yes, I can do that.” Nina opened the laptop and used her new phone as a hot spot.

“Rather than wasting gas, you might want to pull over to the side of the road until Nina comes up with a location,” Jackson said.

“Will do.” Creed drove for another mile or so before finding a place to stop.

Nina worked the laptop, debating between renting a place in town and choosing one of the options closer to the lake. Since they were looking for anonymity, she thought the lake property was a better option. The only problem with that was weekends were fairly booked.

After searching for ten minutes, she found a home with three bedrooms, wincing a little at the price, but then used the same fake company name to book the place.

“Okay, we’re set.” She grimaced. “But we can’t check in until this afternoon. They didn’t give me the option of checking in early, so I assume it’s recently vacated and is being cleaned.”

“That’s fine.” Jackson flashed a smile. “We’ll grab food and use the time to look into the yearbook angle.”

“I’m surprised you were able to find anyone who knew your mother, Nina,” Creed said as he pulled back into traffic.

“Me, too.” Nina was still coming to grips with her mother being seventeen when getting pregnant and barely eighteen when she gave birth to Nina. Then she frowned. “I should have asked what kind of car my mother had back then. She must have been in a car to have traveled all the way to Dallas where she ended up being murdered.”

“Maybe she got a ride?” Jackson suggested. “Either from a friend or even your biological father. He could be innocent in all of this. Especially if your Uncle Mark was involved in drug trafficking. For all we know, she was planning to move in with your biological father.”

“Maybe.” She pressed her fingertips to her temples, forcing herself to keep an open mind. “You’re right. Anything is possible. We’ll probably learn more once we find her classmates.”

“Agree.” Jackson flashed an encouraging smile. “You’re the best at digging up information online.”

“Thanks.” It was sweet that he was trying to make her feel better. Drawing a deep breath, she turned her attention back to the laptop. She searched for a copy of the high school yearbook for her mother’s junior year, in case Jackson was right about her not graduating.

By the time Creed found a restaurant that provided free internet services, she’d found a yearbook picture of her mother. In this photo, Anna Lange’s curly hair was pulled back from her face. Nina wondered if her mother had lamented the wild, out-of-control curls the way she did.

“What did you find?” Jackson asked, when she belatedly pushed out of the back seat. The guys stood waiting patiently as she held the laptop out.

“I found her junior year photo.” Turning the laptop, she pointed at the image. “I’m going to try to find her senior year picture next. My mother was born in late August, so she was one of the younger kids in her class. Based on my birthday being early September, she may have finished her senior year.”

“That’s good progress.” Jackson held the restaurant door open for her.

Moments later, they were seated at a large booth in the back. Nina scooted in first. Jackson plopped down beside her, leaving Creed the seat across from them. She did her best to ignore the tingle of awareness when Jackson’s arm brushed hers.

She closed the laptop as their server, a pretty young woman with long blond hair, came over to fill their water glasses. “Hello, my name is Ashley. Would you like anything else to drink?”

“Sweet tea for me.” Nina managed a smile. “Thanks.”

“I’ll have the same,” Creed added.

“Make it three.” Jackson grinned and Nina mentally rolled her eyes when Ashley eyed him with appreciation. He had that effect on women. Surprisingly, Jackson didn’t appear to notice. The moment Ashley left, he turned to her. “Let’s see what Anna’s senior year photograph looks like.”