You're Not Safe (Texas Rangers) Read Free Page B

Still, if Edwards had jumped from that height, he’d not only have broken his neck but the velocity of the fall combined with the body’s weight would have left a deep gash in the neck or, worse, decapitated it.
    This wasn’t a suicide.
    “Who found the body?”
    “Surveyors. A vineyard owner recently purchased the land and plans to clear it and plant more vines. The surveyors were out here early just after dawn to beat the heat. They smelled him before they saw him. The buzzing of the flies drew their gazes up. They called it in.”
    “Surveyors check out?”
    “They did. Work for a local firm. I know both of them. They were pretty rattled so I let them go on. If you need them later I’ll get you their numbers.”
    “What vineyard hired them?”
    Wheeler cleared his throat. “Didn’t catch the name.”
    “Find out.” Bragg rested his hands on his hips, studying the dead man’s boots, which were custom-made and would have set him back several thousand dollars. Fancy boots jived with the fancy address on the license.
    “Want a closer look?” Wheeler said, offering plastic gloves.
    “Sure do.” Bragg accepted the gloves and ducked under the crime-scene tape and waited for the tech to log him into the site. He nodded to the forensics technicians as he glanced around the area surrounding the body. Didn’t take more than a second to see the tire tracks. He knelt and studied the imprint. Judging by the depth of the tracks, the truck had backed up to the site under the body and then driven straight back out.
    Bragg’s gaze trailed the tracks down the dirt road cutting through the brush and leading back to the rural route. “Rory might have driven a truck in here, but he didn’t drive it out.”
    “I’m thinking he had a little help.”
    Bragg rose, stretching his limbs. Too little sleep in the last months had left him stiff. “I’d bet Mr. Edwards stood on the flatbed of the truck when it pulled out.”
    “And then he dropped and strangled to death.” Wheeler nodded. “Forensics also bagged two cigarette butts. DNA will tell us if it belonged to the victim.”
    They might find Edwards’s DNA on one or both butts but Bragg’s gut said no. “I’m guessing it was the second person at the scene. Someone else was here and lingered to watch Mr. Edwards die.”
    Wheeler rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “Edwards had a history of trouble. Drugs. Drinking. Had a car accident in my county years back, and the family paid off the guy he hit. Problem went away. Heard similar tales of other such problems. He could have pushed the wrong person too far.”
    “Maybe.” The dead man’s hands dangled at his side. Blood, no longer pumped by the heart, had settled in his fingers leaving them dark as if bruised. The nighttime heat, which had reached the low nineties, had also accelerated decomposition, causing the skin on his hands to loosen.
    “I’ve seen murders like this before along the border. Cartels leave their victims out for all to see. Don’t see hangings as much as beheadings or shootings. And you sure don’t see folks from a family like the Edwardses getting strung up much.” Bragg noted the red rope bracelet on Rory’s right wrist. It appeared homemade. “Have you called the family?”
    “Not yet. Figured I’d run it by you first. Didn’t want to stir a hornet’s nest if I didn’t have to.”
    And being up for re-election, Wheeler wanted Bragg to do the stirring. “When will they be ready to cut him loose?”
    “He’s good to go now. We were waiting for you.”
    Bragg nodded, knowing his day had changed from meetings to fieldwork. He couldn’t say he was sorry. “Go ahead and cut him down.”
    Wheeler nodded to the officer by the tree and both watched as the uniformed officer raised a saw blade to the rope. While two other deputies grabbed hold of the rope, the first officer cut. In a matter of minutes the hemp frayed and then finally gave way. The officers dug their booted feet