What did I say?What was it that turned him off and sent him running?
But there were no answers for Casey, at least not today.
However, when the mailman drove away from the Justice ranch outside of Dallas, he gave Royal Justice a clue to solving a mystery that had been worrying him and his brother, Roman, for months.
* * *
“Daddy, Daddy, I bwought you da mail.”
Ignoring the trail of letters and papers she was stringing as she ran, Royal Justice swung his three-year-old daughter, Madeline, up in his arms and kissed her soundly.
“You sure did, honey.You’re getting to be such a big girl.”
“Gwinny helped,” Maddie said, pointing at the baby-sitter who was coming behind at a fast clip, picking up the pieces that Maddie had lost.
“Good for Gwinny,” Royal said.Gwinneth Anderson grinned, handed Royal Justice the rest of his mail, and took Maddie by the hand.“Come on, Scooter, it’s time to feed the pups.”
Maddie bolted, leaving Royal with a handful of letters and a smile on his face.He dropped into the nearest chair and began going through the mail with a practiced eye, discarding the junk and setting aside the bills to be paid.Every now and then one would be addressed to his brother, Ryder, and that one was tossed into a box with an accumulating stack that threatened to overflow.It was all he knew to do.It was Roman who’d saved Ryder’s business from ruin.
Roman had taken over the charter service without batting an eye, claiming he could run his private investigation service and Ryder’s charter business in the same location.He hired two pilots, an accountant, and then dug in for the long haul, convinced that Ryder would be back when he was ready.
Privately, Royal was a lot less optimistic, but that was just the difference in their personalities, not a lesser belief in the brother who was missing.He loved Ryder as much as Roman did and worried daily about his whereabouts, sometimes even wondering if he was still alive.It had been so long and they hadn’t had a word.
He was down to the next-to-the-last letter in the lot, and he started to toss it in Ryder’s box when he looked at the return address.MasterCard.No big deal.Everyone has credit cards.
And then he realized what he was looking at and took a deep breath as he tore into the flap.When he pulled out the itemized bill, he started to shake.Someone had used Ryder’s card!Over the period of three weeks, someone had charged several hundred dollars’ worth of men’s clothing in Ryder’s name.
Royal was as scared as he’d ever been in his life.Either Ryder was alive and well and buying up a storm, or someone was using his card.The implications of how anyone might come by Ryder’s belongings was more than he could handle alone.He bolted up from the chair and headed for the phone.Moments later, a familiar voice growled in his ear.
“This is Justice Air and The Justice Way.State your business and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”
Royal groaned.That damned answering machine.When it beeped, he started talking.
“Roman, this is Royal.I just got a letter from—”
“It’s me,” Roman said.
“Well, hell,” Royal said.“Why didn’t you pick up the first time?”
“Wasn’t in the mood to chitchat,” he said shortly.
Royal cursed beneath his breath.That was so typically Roman.“The mail just came.”
Roman snorted indelicately.“Don’t tell me.You just won the Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes.”
“Oh, shut the hell up,” Royal muttered.“I’m serious.”
“And I’m busy,” Roman said.“Unless my favorite niece has done something utterly charming that I need to know about, I don’t have time to—”
“Someone charged nearly a thousand dollars on Ryder’s MasterCard.The bill came today.”
Sarcasm was noticeably missing as Roman snapped, “Give me the dates.The store codes, anything that—no, wait!I’ve got a better idea.Fax me a copy of the bill.”
“Oh, hell,” Royal said.“You know I’m not good at making that damned thing work.”
“Then get Maddie to help.She knows how,” Roman said.“And do it now.If Ryder’s alive, I’ll find out soon enough.If someone is using his ID, they’re going to wish they’d never been born.”
“It’s on its way,” Royal said, and hung up the phone.
