Page 41 of Texas Cold Case Murder

“It’s just the first step.” Creed stared up at the ceiling for a moment. “We talked about getting a second SUV anyway, right? You guys should drop me off in town to get another rental car. I can track Tillman to get a sample without his knowing, like from something he touches, while you continue searching for other leads.”

Nina wasn’t sure leaving the rental property was a good idea. So far, this was the only place they’d been safe. And they hadn’t even been there very long.

Yet she was anxious to know if Tillman was her biological father. Creed was right, they needed proof. If Douglas wasn’t her father, they were heading down the wrong path.

“Maybe we can verify DNA another way.” She already knew she looked mostly like her mother. Using the laptop, she searched the Tillman Oil Company website. He was clearly the CEO. She turned her attention to the other employees at the company. It seemed logical that Tillman would have kids. Maybe one of them worked for him.

Bingo! She drew in a sharp breath when she saw a picture of their marketing director. Colin Tillman.

His son? Colin shared Doug’s green eyes, identical to hers. They had the same earlobes, too. And the same widow’s peak. Colin looked young, so she quickly pulled him up in the DMV database.

His picture looked even more like a mini version of his father’s. “Jackson? I’m not sure we need that DNA sample.”

“What did you find?” He leaned close.

“Colin Tillman. Age twenty-eight.” She turned the screen so he could see it. “He looks just like his father, doesn’t he? And we have the same eyes, widow’s peak and earlobes.” She sighed at his incredulous expression. “I know it sounds goofy, but earlobes and widow’s peak are definitively an inherited trait. I did some DNA research in college. Douglas and Colin and I have the same eye color, earlobes and hairline. Based on that and what Ellen Carter told us about Douglas’s relationship with my mother, I believe Colin Tillman is my half brother.”

“Believing isn’t proof,” Creed protested. “No matter what we think, we still need DNA from Douglas Tillman to prove paternity.”

“I know, but I’m convinced that Douglas is my father.” She couldn’t seem to tear her gaze from the image of Colin Tillman’s photograph on the screen. The few physical similarities she shared with him were bad enough. But what struck her the hardest was that Colin had been born three months after she was.

Now she understood why her mother had been murdered. Douglas Tillman had eliminated Anna because he didn’t want anything to get in the way of his new family.

* * *

Jackson silently admitted the resemblance between Nina and Colin Tillman seemed to indicate shared DNA. Getting a sample from Douglas was a good idea, but he didn’t want to take the risk of heading back into Dallas.

For now, the DNA itself could wait. “Let’s try to figure out how Douglas Tillman is getting these guys to come after us. I mean, he can’t possibly know goons for hire on a first-name basis, right?”

“Maybe they’re oil workers,” Nina suggested.

“Could be,” Creed agreed. “If we could arrest one of these guys, we’d know for sure who hired them.”

“At least we know why they’re operating under a seemingly endless stream of money,” Jackson muttered.

“Maybe we should head back into town,” Nina said after a long moment. “Our being there could draw them out.”

“No.” He was not on board with using Nina as bait. Besides, the dark clouds overhead indicated a storm was on the way. As he glanced toward the window, he heard the rumble of thunder. “It’s going to rain soon. We don’t have a generator out here, so you should use the time we have to find names of the employees who work for Tillman.”

She frowned. “Yes, I can find the employees who work for Tillman Oil, but what does that give us? We haven’t gotten a good enough look at them to match a face with a name.”

He thought about the two men they’d glimpsed outside Mark Lange’s cabin. “I might be able to recognize one of them. Enough for the local police to bring him in for questioning.”

Creed stood and stretched. “Whatever you think is best. Since there is a storm on the way, I’m going to throw a couple of pizzas in for dinner. We should eat while we have the chance.”

“Good idea.” Jackson turned to Nina, who was already working the laptop. “Let me know when you have some of the employees identified.”

“I will. But I want to go through Douglas’s high school yearbook, too.” She didn’t look at him, and he wondered if she still regretted their kiss. He swallowed against a lump of guilt. She may have initiated the kiss, but he was the one who’d taken things beyond the friendship level.

He had thought she’d responded to his embrace. But maybe he’d gotten his signals crossed. She didn’t date rangers. That stung but shouldn’t have been a surprise. He stood and went over to peer outside at their surroundings.

The dark storm clouds were directly overhead now. As he watched, fat drops of rain fell from the sky. Months ago, when he’d been in a similar rental house hiding from danger, they’d used trail cameras to keep an eye out for anyone approaching the property. He wished he’d considered getting them here, too.

At least they’d taken other precautions, like altering the license plate of their rental car. Nina’s ability to reroute their ISP address to hide their tracks was also something they hadn’t had before.

Still, Jackson knew he wouldn’t get much sleep that night. He crossed over to join Creed where he stood near the oven. “Do you want to take the first watch? Or the second?”

Creed shrugged. “Doesn’t matter to me. You think these guys will eventually find us here?”