Winning Texas (4 page)

“
Could be nothing more than an unfortunate accident,
”
Annie said.
“
But who was she and how did she get there? Obviously, you should follow up on the autopsy. The human trafficking angle sounds intriguing. Why don
’
t you look for sources outside the police department, maybe folks in the shipping industry?
”

“
Will do, boss.
”

“
Your turn, Brandon,
”
she said.
“
What
’
s the latest on the West Texas secessionists?
”

At fifty, Brandon McGill was the team
’
s senior reporter. Since the gutting of the investigative team, he was the nearest thing to a projects reporter. His title was general assignment reporter, but Annie tried to keep him out of the general-assignment rotation that often led to stupid stories ordered by clueless higher-ups.

“
They
’
ve been laying low for a while,
”
Brandon said.
“
But I talked to a source today who told me there
’
s trouble brewing in the Nation of Texas ranks.
”

“
There
’
s always trouble in the secessionists
’
ranks. What
’
s new?
”
Annie asked.

“
Only that Dan Riggins and Alicia Perez have been spotted in West Texas.
”

“
Are you kidding?
”
Annie said, turning over her coffee cup. She mopped up the mess, but her hands wouldn
’
t lay still.
“
Can we confirm this?
”

“
Probably not,
”
Brandon said.
“
They were hanging around some of the border towns and then they disappeared, according to my source. But I
’
ll try.
”

“
Okay, Brandon,
”
she said.
“
Can you find me after lunch to map out a plan? We need to get cracking on this.
”

“
Did you know those two personally, Annie?
”
Travis couldn
’
t help asking.
“
You reported that whole secessionist scandal, but you never talk about it.
”

“
You guys have probably read the clips,
”
she said.
“
It was four years ago, really old news.
”

“
You never talk about it,
”
Nate said.
“
Tell us what really happened.
”

“
Well, here
’
s a capsule summary,
”
Annie said.
“
Dan Riggins was the leader of the Nation of Texas secessionists. He also ran the gubernatorial campaign of Tom Marr, his college buddy, and secretly used drug money to pay for it. Riggins
’
s girlfriend, Alicia Perez, was an assassin who murdered two people, including my friend Maddy Daniels, a
Times
’
investigative reporter. Perez tried to stab me and kill Mark Ingram, a Texas Ranger, when we got close to the truth. She was captured, but Riggins and the secessionist goons freed her in a terrible shootout. Perez and Riggins escaped and the Texas Rangers think they
’
re hiding in South America.
”

“
That was a crazy good series of stories you did. Those were the glory days of this paper,
”
Brandon said.

“
Thanks. It was an exciting, but scary time,
”
Annie said.
“
Riggins and Perez have been fugitives for a long time, so we need to find out what
’
s going on. I can
’
t believe they
’
re brazen enough to cross the border.
”

“
What about Tom Marr, the secessionist candidate for governor?
”
Travis asked.
“
Did he go to prison?
”

“
No, he paid a fine, gave up politics and went back to his ranch in West Texas,
”
Annie said.
“
He believed in the secessionist cause, but didn
’
t know about the murders, drug smuggling and other stuff Riggins orchestrated behind his back. I think he was a decent man, just misguided.
”

She checked the time. Five minutes remained before she should leave for the editors
’
news meeting. She needed to wrap it up with a message that might inspire them. But she still felt rattled.

“
Guys, I
’
m proud of what you
’
re doing on your projects.
”
She looked around the table at each of them.
“
I know that it
’
s hard keeping up with your beats. But we all know that just feeding the daily beast isn
’
t satisfying. You need to feed your soul with a great story.
”

“
You sound awfully serious,
”
Brandon said.
“
Know something you
’
re not telling us?
”

She hesitated before speaking, but decided nothing would be gained by pussyfooting. She always tried to be honest with them.

“
The usual. The paper
’
s had another awful quarter. There may be more budget cutting ahead. I hope our jobs are safe
–
for now.
”

“
Doesn
’
t sound very promising,
”
Maggie said, buffing a fingernail with an emery board she
’
d pulled from her designer purse.

“
I can
’
t lie to you, Maggie. You guys shouldn
’
t count on raises when we may get furloughs before the year ends.
”

She stood up, picked up the platter with leftover kolaches. She searched for some reassuring words.

“
Don
’
t feel like our glory days are behind us. Try to carve out time each day to work on your own great story. Don
’
t worry about the state of the newsroom. Just focus on your best work.
”

CHAPTER 4

A few days later, Annie shook hands with State Senator Sam Wurzbach in front of Treebeards, her favorite downtown restaurant. Wurzbach, a Fredericksburg legislator who spent much of his time in Austin, had called the day before saying he
’
d be in Houston and wanted to take her to lunch. He said he was interested in her experiences reporting on the secessionist movement. She
’
d quickly said yes.

She liked his lopsided, friendly smile. He was thin and wiry with close-cropped dark hair and a ski-jump nose. She guessed he was about 40.

“
Great to meet you, Senator Wurzbach,
”
she said, appreciating his direct gaze and firm, but not bone-crushing, handshake.

“
Annie, please call me Sam,
”
he smiled.
“
I
’
ve been researching the Nation of Texas group and it sounds like you
’
re the go-to expert.
”

“
That
’
s flattering, but probably not true,
”
she said.
“
My experience with the secessionists was four years ago, but I
’
m happy to talk about it. Shall we get in line first?
”

She
’
d only had to walk a few blocks from her office to Treebeards. The Houston caf
é
, located beside a leafy square, served generous plates of spicy Cajun food to downtown workers at lunchtime. It was too far north of the main commercial area to attract casual visitors or tourists, but it thronged with lawyers and government workers from the courthouse complex a few blocks east.

She and Wurzbach joined the cafeteria-style line that snaked from the outside entrance all the way to the back of the cavernous restaurant. It was a bit dark inside, but nicely appointed, with dark-green walls and rows of wooden tables and chairs.

She rarely took time for a real lunch because it was so much easier to duck into the tunnel under the newspaper building and grab a salad or sandwich at one of the outlets underground. She could eat while she edited stories, updated budgets and dispatched paperwork that sucked time from an editor
’
s day. It was a treat to be out, even in the blazing sun, and spend an hour with someone new.

“
Did you say you have business in town?
”
Annie said.
“
What brought you to Houston?
”

“
I
’
m meeting with an old friend this afternoon,
”
he said.
“
It
’
s kind of a long day trip, but I
’
m driving back tonight.
”

Annie was curious.
“
Who
’
s your friend in Houston? Anybody I might know?
”

He laughed and evaded her question.

“
Annie, I can see why everyone says you
’
re a great reporter. But I
’
m not willing to give up all of my secrets yet. Let
’
s get to know each other first.
”

“
You can
’
t blame a reporter for trying,
”
she smiled.
“
I understand you own a chain of German bakeries?
”

“
Yeah, we started Wurzbach Bakery in Fredericksburg and we
’
ve expanded to ten locations around the Hill Country,
”
he said.
“
Hopefully, we
’
ll cover the whole state before too long. You haven
’
t tasted our apple strudel?
”

“
No, but I
’
ve heard it
’
s delicious. Next time I
’
m in the area, I
’
ll look for it.
”

As they moved to the head of the line, Annie ordered a salad, a dish of collard greens, jalapeno cornbread and iced tea.

“
That cornbread looks amazing,
”
he said, looking at the thick slab with a big glob of butter. He asked for it too, along with red beans and rice topped with a sausage.

They unloaded their trays at a table for two and began to talk above the din of a few dozen animated conversations.

“
My best friend in the legislature is Jake Satterfield,
”
he said.
“
You two were engaged a few years ago, right?
”

“
Yep. I
’
m surprised you know about Jake and me,
”
Annie said.
“
We broke up, he remarried his ex-wife and had another child. End of the line for us.
”

“
You probably haven
’
t heard that he and Jeannie separated recently. Second time wasn
’
t exactly the charm for them,
”
he said, pausing for her reaction.

“
Really,
”
Annie said as coolly as she could manage after hastily swallowing a lump of cornbread.
“
Should I care?
”

“
Maybe you don
’
t, after all this time,
”
Wurzbach said.
“
Just thought I
’
d mention it because he speaks so warmly of you. He was the one who told me I should talk to you.
”