David glanced at the picture and immediately his gaze narrowed. “You said that picture was found near my brother’s body?”
“That’s right. You know her?”
“Yeah.” He straightened as if he wanted to put distance between himself and the image. “Her name was Elizabeth Templeton.”
“Was?”
“Might still be. That picture was taken twelve years ago. She dropped off the radar about that time and I have no idea where she is nor do I want to know.”
“So why would the picture be nailed to your brother’s hanging tree?”
David sighed. “Rory and Elizabeth met when he was nineteen and she was sixteen. He fancied himself in love with her and she in love with him. He wanted to marry her, and when my father laughed, he threatened to run away. But that didn’t happen, of course. My father put an end to their plans.”
The E on Rory’s chest didn’t signify Edwards but Elizabeth. “How did Rory meet Elizabeth Templeton?”
David frowned. “Is this really necessary? Rory hasn’t seen Elizabeth in twelve years. No doubt he put the picture up to create drama.”
“How do you know?”
“Because several years ago I heard he’d been asking about her. He was trying to find her. I kept my cool for Mom’s sake, but I wasn’t happy. Rory stood to inherit a lot of money when he turned thirty-two.”
“Really?”
“Dad would never have left him a dime, but Mom had a soft spot for her baby. I was able to convince her to put a time limit on the inheritance, hoping he’d grow up.”
“Or die?” Winchester said.
Edwards’s frown deepened. He didn’t answer. And though Bragg could have pushed he didn’t want Edwards getting an attorney and throwing them out before his questions were answered.
“Why kill himself knowing he had money waiting for him in a year?” Bragg said.
“A year was a lifetime to Rory. He could barely wait week to week.”
“And you don’t know where Elizabeth Templeton is today?” Templeton. The name teased at a deep memory.
“No. And I don’t care. As far as I was concerned she was real trouble for Rory. It was her idea to run away. Rory wouldn’t have had the spine to stand up to my father if it hadn’t been for her.”
Bragg glanced at the image of the young girl’s strained smile. He’d read her as troubled, but a manipulator? No. Hesitant, afraid, wounded, yes. But if he’d learned any lesson in his ten years as a Ranger, it was people had secrets.
“Where did the two meet?” Bragg had doubled back to the question. This time he’d get an answer.
“This is ancient history for my family. It’s painful history, and I’d really rather not get into it.”
“I’m not making polite conversation, Mr. Edwards.” Steel now edged the words. “How did the two meet?”
Edwards rested his hands on his hips and straightened his shoulders. He clearly chafed at orders. “I’d like you to keep this confidential. I’ve done my best to keep Rory’s issues out of the press. It’s not good for business.”
The guy was used to power plays and winning. So was Bragg. “I’m not making any promises.”
A moment’s silence followed and then David said, “They met at Shady Grove Estates. It’s a facility for troubled teens who need to recover from personal problems. Away from prying eyes.”
Winchester nodded. “I’ve heard of the place. It’s for high-risk kids who’ve attempted suicide. Very expensive. Not for your average kid.”
“Cost an arm and a leg to send him there for the summer, but my parents did because they thought he really would get better.”
“Better from what?” Bragg’s patience grew paper-thin. He was tired of playing games.
“Rory fell into drugs when he was about sixteen. We tried a lot of different therapies to get him on the right path, but no treatment worked. His habit grew worse and worse. And then he took a combination of drugs that really messed him up, and he tried to kill himself. That’s when my parents put him in Shady Grove.”
“Where is it?”
“Northwest of Austin.”
Bragg rested his hands on his hips. “How did he try to kill himself ?”
Edwards shook his head. “He hanged himself from the rafters in our horse barn. He apparently dangled for several seconds, but the rope broke and he fell to the ground. Our farm manager found him unconscious.”
That explained the scar the medical examiner had found.
“As Ranger Winchester just said, many of the kids at Shady Grove attempted suicide,” Edwards said.
“Did Elizabeth Templeton make an attempt?” Bragg asked.
“She did. She took sleeping pills and then cut her wrists.”
Bragg studied the image on his phone, wondering what drove this girl, his sister, anyone to give up instead of fighting. Given a choice he’d always come out swinging. He shut off the phone and replaced it on the cradle on his belt. “What can you tell me about Elizabeth Templeton?” Again the name tugged at him.
“She was a mess,” David said. “Terrible girl.”
Tumblers fell into place and then a memory clicked. “Wasn’t Elizabeth Templeton involved in a car accident?”
Edwards nodded. “Yes. Horrific accident. She was driving late at night. She swerved off the road and hit a tree. Her older brother and the brother’s girlfriend were killed instantly.”
“Elizabeth Templeton tried to kill herself after the accident?” Bragg asked.
“The day she was released from the hospital she took an overdose and cut her wrists. The family kept it quiet. They had enough grief, and she managed to heap on more.” He drummed his fingers on his desk, his impatience and anger telegraphed with the strike of each finger. “Highway patrol figured she dozed at the wheel, swerved, and hit the tree. Brother and girlfriend were piss drunk, but they didn’t test Elizabeth’s blood alcohol until later at the hospital.”
“She was cleared of charges?”
“Cops cleared her, but she didn’t clear herself. Couldn’t shake the guilt. That’s why my parents didn’t like her. A lot of baggage.”
“You know a lot about her.”
A smile tweaked the edge of his lips. “Good to know the threats to your family.”
“You considered her a threat?”
“I did then.”
“And now?”
“I haven’t thought about her in over a dozen years.”
Winchester studied Edwards. “But you said Rory was asking about her a while back.”
“He was asking. I couldn’t have cared less about her s long as she kept her hooks out of Rory.”
“Elizabeth and Rory dated at Shady Grove.”
“Yes. We weren’t allowed any contact with him for the first thirty days he was in treatment. And then after that we could only exchange letters. His first letter to us was dedicated to Elizabeth. He went on and on about how beautiful she was and how the accident wasn’t her fault.”
“Is that what she told him?”
“She insisted another car ran her off the road. The cops didn’t agree.” He tugged at his cuff. “I don’t know. The girl killed her brother and another girl, so it stood to reason she was messed up. We didn’t have a grievance against her, just didn’t want her kind around.”
“Her kind?”
“Damaged goods.”
A muscle ticked in Bragg’s jaw. Edwards could have been talking about Mitch. He didn’t trust himself to speak.
Winchester moved toward a wall of awards and photos. He studied them closely when he said, “Sounds like you did a good bit of digging after that letter.”
“Like I said, it pays to know your enemies. Dad and I wanted Rory to get well, not get entangled with a very injured girl like Elizabeth.”
“Rory had his share of troubles.”
“I don’t deny it. But he’d never have gotten better hanging around other damaged kids.” He shook his head. “If it had been one letter, we’d not have wor
ried. But Rory kept talking about her, and then he sent the letter saying he and Elizabeth wanted to run away together.”
“That’s when you pulled him out,” Bragg said.
“Yes. Dad and Mom told him it was time to leave Shady Grove. Rory was furious and refused to go. He said he was close to his friends and had promised never to leave them. But in the end he had no choice.”
“Any more contact with Elizabeth?”
“She kept writing him letters. I intercepted them and told Rory she hadn’t written. A couple of weeks after Rory came home Elizabeth showed up on our doorstep. She asked him to run away with her. Rory wanted to go. Dad ordered him back to his room, and though Rory hesitated, he obeyed. Elizabeth fell off the radar right after.”
“And what did Rory do after that?”
“A month later he ran away. He was nineteen and there wasn’t much any of us could do. We heard he tried to find Elizabeth, but she was gone by then. He begged Dad to hire detectives, but Dad refused. I can tell you her mother is still in Austin. She might know how to find her.”
“Do you know how Elizabeth reacted to Rory’s rejection?” Winchester said. He’d picked up a round crystal award and handled it like it was a baseball.
Edwards frowned. “Don’t know and don’t care. She left, which was good enough for me.”
“I’ll ask her mother,” Bragg said. “She should know where her daughter is.”