Page 32 of Texas Cold Case Murder

“That’s a good question.” Jackson glanced at Creed, then back at her. “Mark may have testified against Ernesto Sanchez, which is how Ernesto was arrested a few weeks later. And once Mark was released, the drug runner put a price on his head.”

“They wouldn’t put my uncle in the same cell block as a man he’d testified against,” Nina protested. “Any plea deal would include keeping Uncle Mark safe from retaliation. Prisoners are attacked and killed all the time. They’d make sure they were far away from each other.”

“She’s right,” Creed said with a nod. “And if Mark had given Ernesto up, I don’t think he’d have done a twenty-year stint, even taking into consideration a cop was injured during the bust. Not if he gave them a bigger drug dealer to go after. More like five to ten.”

“Maybe they only think he gave the authorities key information,” Jackson persisted. “The timings of their arrests are pretty close.”

“Yeah, but I still think Ernesto would have either killed Mark in prison, or taken a hit out on him earlier.” Creed spread his hands. “To be honest, I’m more interested in knowing if Ernesto is related to Diego. Maybe Nina’s uncle was nothing more than collateral damage.”

Collateral damage? “You mean the Sanchez organization tapped into Uncle Mark’s phone, which led them to me? If they knew I was a tech analyst for the Rangers, I guess it’s possible they came after me, knowing I’d call one of you for help.” Nina wasn’t entirely convinced of that scenario.

Creed shrugged. “I know it sounds far-fetched, but I think Diego is desperate enough to do just about anything to escape prison.”

“That part is true.” Jackson drummed his fingers on the table. “The DA’s case against Diego is strong. Everyone was surprised when Sanchez refused to accept a plea and opted instead for a trial.”

“We have Diego dead to rights,” Creed said with a nod. “Our testimony will put him away for the rest of his life.”

“That’s why we don’t know if these gunmen have targeted us because of Nina’s mother’s cold case murder or because of the trial.” Jackson frowned. “We need a few more pieces of the puzzle.”

Nina sighed. “Keep in mind my uncle was killed before he could talk to me. That means someone found out I’d contacted my biological uncle and didn’t want us to have that conversation.” She did her best to sound detached. As if finding her mother’s killer wasn’t at the top of her list, even though it was. “Please let me take over the computer for a while. I think finding a friend of my mother’s will provide at least one or two pieces of the puzzle.”

“Sure, that’s fine.” Jackson pushed the laptop toward her. “You could be right that there’s something more going on here. Creed, will you head out to buy two more laptops? That way we can all work various angles of the case.”

“Sure thing.” Creed rose. “But I don’t have enough cash. That means we need to use one of our credit cards, which puts us back on the grid.”

“Don’t do that.” Nina minimized her mother’s high school yearbook and pulled up a new browser. She spoke as she typed. “I’ll purchase two laptops using the same business credit card we used for the rental car and the house.” She made sure there was a big-box store in Temple that would have what they needed. With satisfaction, she completed the purchase. “There, we’re all set. You can pick them up at the store.”

“Great. Heading out now.” Creed strode to the door leading to the attached garage. “Jackson, will you close the garage door behind me?”

“Yep.” The two men left. Nina sent the email receipt for the laptops to their boss, then went back to the yearbook.

Her mother’s senior picture was so similar to the photograph she’d found tucked under her uncle’s thigh that she pulled it out again to compare the two images. Her mother’s sweet, exhausted smile in the photo, which must have been taken shortly after Nina’s birth, tugged at her heart. Her adopted parents had plenty of baby pictures, but this was her as a newborn. With her mother whose life had been ruthlessly cut short.

“What happened to you, Mom?” she whispered. “Who killed you?”

With a despondent sigh, she tucked the picture into her pocket and went back to the yearbook. Now that she had a fresh image of her mother in her mind, she began scanning the candid shots the yearbook photographer had captured. Prior to becoming pregnant her mother must have been involved in some type of extracurricular activities.

Jackson returned as she flipped through the twenty-eight-year-old images page by page.

“Did you find anything?” Jackson dropped beside her, leaning in to see the screen.

“Not yet.” Despite being acutely aware of him, she kept her gaze glued to the screen. Although it took her a moment to remember where she’d left off. Several of the photos had captions, and she found the debate club, the marching band and the cheerleading squad.

Her mother wasn’t featured in any of the group photos.

She pressed on. The choir was huge, comprised of at least thirty-five students. Still no image of her mother.

Nina was more than two thirds of the way through the book where she came upon a library photograph. In that picture, three women were studying together at a table. Her mother’s red curly hair was unmistakable.

“I found her.” This picture didn’t have a caption naming the students. She had to look at the pictures of the two women with her mother and painstakingly match them to the class photos.

She worked for so long her vision began to blur. Blinking, she pressed her fingertips to her eyelids and gave herself a moment to rest.

After another ten minutes, she found both women. “I think these may be friends of my mom.” She pointed at the two pictures she’d found. “Nancy Tobin and Ellen Carter. They’re pictured studying in the library with my mom.”

“That’s good work, Nina.” Jackson’s tone reflected admiration. “Can we find out if they still live in the area?”

“I’ll see what the DMV database can tell us.” She minimized that screen and went to work using both women’s names along with a year for the date of birth.