LONE STAR JUSTICE
Prologue
Greendale, Texas 1997
Madelyn Cooper shivered in the air conditioned doctor's office, wearing only a cloth gown as a shield against the cold. But it was more than the temperature making her shaky. Being not quite eighteen, pregnant, and the daughter of a murderer seemed to have the same effect.
The examining room door opened and Doc Myers walked into the room, a frown on his face. "Maddie," he said with a quick nod.
She tried to smile, but just didn't have the energy.
"I see you're complaining of exhaustion. Have you been taking your prenatal vitamins?"
"Yes, every day." She hated them. They made her nauseous, but so did everything these days. Her whole damn life made her sick.
Doc wrote on her chart, then set it aside to check her blood pressure. As he squeezed the bulb and cut off her circulation, he asked, "Have you given any more thought to what we talked about last time?"
What a round about way to refer to abortion. And her answer had not changed, even though her circumstances had. "I'm not getting rid of my baby, Doc. No way."
Doc sighed and removed the blood pressure cuff. "Maddie, surely you aren't planning to have this baby after what's happened? Rand will never forgive you, so any idea you had about marrying him is gone. Hell, the whole town is against you right now. What kind of life will that be for a child? You have no one left, your father is in jail, and you can't even take care of yourself, much less a baby. Being a single mother is hard enough when you have a support system."
Maddie lifted her chin, defiant. "I don't care, Doc. We'll be fine."
He shook his head. "No, Maddie, you won't. You won't be able to find a job. There isn't a single person in the entire county who would hire you right now. And you need to worry about reprisals. I don't think you understand how angry everyone is about what your father did." He listened to her heart and lungs, then hung the stethoscope around his neck. "Look, I feel bad about what's happened. You've had a rough time of it since your mom died. I'm going to give you some money, enough to help you get out of town and make a new start somewhere else."
Maddie shook her head. "I don't want your money, Doc. I'm leaving for a while anyway. My aunt is coming to take me home with her until the baby's born. All I need is a refill on my vitamins to hold me until I find a new doctor."
Doc seemed to relax a bit. He patted her knee like he had since she was a toddler. "Well, I think that's a great idea, Maddie. Your aunt lives in Dallas, right? Far enough away and big enough for you to blend in, hide out. But I still think you should consider terminating this pregnancy. The last thing Rand needs is for you to spring something like this on him. Poor boy is devastated. He hates you now, you know."
That broke Maddie's heart. She didn't kill Rand's parents, though she might as well have. They were dead and he refused to speak to her. And now her baby would never know its father.
"So," Doc said, heading for the door, "when do you leave?"
Was it her imagination, or did he seem especially anxious for her to go? He'd been good friends with the McCades for many years, so he probably hated her, too. "I'll be gone by this afternoon, Doc."
"Good. He nodded and started to leave, turning back for one final shot. "And Maddie? Don't ever come back."
CHAPTER ONE
Montgomery County, Oklahoma 2011
Madelyn Cooper glanced at her watch for the fifth time in as many minutes. "Where the hell is Pioretti?" she demanded of no one in particular. No one dared reply. They knew she tolerated no tardiness in her courtroom, not even from her best friend. Maddie did everything by the book, and no one was immune to being held in contempt.
