Texas Ranger Showdown. Margaret Daley

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       ONE

      Called in by the Longhorn sheriff, Texas Ranger Ian Pierce pulled up to the crime scene outside of town. A woman’s body had been found by an older couple out for a morning walk on the country road.

      Ian approached Sheriff Tom Mason and shook his hand. He’d been the sheriff in the community when Ian was a teenager. He’d always admired the man and the way he ran his department. The people in this county did too because he’d been in his current position for twenty-five years. “It’s good to see you again. I just wish under different circumstances.”

      “So do I, especially with this one. The woman murdered was Jane Shephard.”

      “Senator Shephard’s daughter?”

      Tom nodded. “I figure with a state senator’s family involved, I should have you involved too.”

      “You think it might be politically motivated?”

      “No indication of that, but it’ll be a volatile case.” Tom headed toward the roped-off crime scene. “It appears she was dumped here sometime early this morning. She hasn’t been dead long. We’ll know more after the autopsy.”

      Ian ducked under the yellow crime-scene tape and made his way down the steep side of the ditch where the victim lay faceup in about an inch of dirty rainwater, posed with her hands across her chest. No outward sign of how she’d been killed. “Do we know how she died?”

      “When we rolled her over, she had multiple stab wounds in her back, but there’s little blood on the scene, which rules out this as the place where she was murdered. I’d like to keep the extent of the wounds quiet.”

      “Any evidence?” Ian asked as he took his cell phone and snapped pictures of the dump site.

      “Some smudged footprints in the mud. When Mr. White saw Jane, he thought she might be alive and hurried down the side of the ditch. He slipped once. His actions destroyed some evidence, but I don’t know when she would have been found if the Whites hadn’t been out for a walk. You can’t see the bottom of the ditch from a passing car.”

      “Have you informed the family yet?”

      “Nope. But I’m going over to the house, right after I make sure this is processed correctly and the body’s off to the morgue.” The sheriff removed his cowboy hat and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ve never gotten used to this part of my job.”