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made it look like a robbery?”
    Cara released a sardonic chuckle. “No, Sherese is one of the sweetest, most honest, trustworthy women I know. She’s not only had nurses aide training but she’s a single mother raising a small child on her own.”
    “Maybe she needed the money and planned to sell the drugs?” Mason suggested.
    “No,” Cara said emphatically. “Her father was an abusive alcoholic. There’s no way she would sell or do drugs. She actually helps counsel addicts when they come in.”
    “Sounds like you think a lot of her.”
    Cara nodded and wiped her fingers off on a towel. “I do. Now let’s move on.”
    Mason studied her for a long moment, then started to speak but the crime techs interrupted. The male tech cleared his throat. “We’re finished here, Detective Blackpaw. We’ll get these to the lab ASAP.”
    “Thanks. I’ll need to compare them to any prints we found at the murder scene of Nellie Thompson.”
    As the techs gathered their equipment and left, a wariness settled over Cara. She wasn’t ready to have the discussion about the baby.
    “Cara?” Mason said in that gravelly voice that sounded like seduction.
    She fought off a reaction and turned to the file cabinet.
    “If the drugs were stolen to cover up the real reason the intruder broke in, and it’s related to Nellie’s death, the killer may be after Nellie’s baby. I need to go.”
    Cara glanced at the printout. “His name is Alfredo Rodrigo.” Cara grabbed her purse. “I’m going with you.”
    Mason glanced down at her belly. “No, this is police business.”
    Cara tucked the address into her bag. “Listen Mason, Nellie was my patient. I’m going to protect her choices and her child just like I promised.”
    She started toward the door, but Mason caught her arm. “You don’t trust me to protect this child?”
    His question lingered between them for a pained heartbeat. Cara had to wonder if he was referring to Nellie’s little girl or the baby she carried.
    “That’s not the point,” she said evenly. “This adoption was a private matter, Mason. I know Alfredo took it hard, but the adoptive parents were assured confidentiality. Having a cop at their door is going to upset them, and I can help smooth the waters.”
    Turmoil darkened his eyes, but a second later he gave a clipped nod of acceptance. “All right, but let me take the lead with Rodrigo. Remember, he’s a suspect in a murder investigation.”
    Cara sucked in a deep breath. How could she forget? She would never be able to erase the image of Nellie’s butchered body from her mind.
    * * *
    T HE URGE TO PUMMEL Cara with questions nagged at Mason as he drove from the clinic toward Rodrigo’s address. But she looked uncomfortable and worried about Nellie, and she had just identified the body of a woman she knew, a woman who’d been brutally slain and whose death was obviously personal to her.
    His questions would have to wait. At least until they’d talked to Rodrigo, and he decided whether the man was the suspect they were looking for in this homicide.
    “Do you think we should call Alfredo to make sure he’s home?” Cara asked.
    “No, I want the element of surprise on my side.”
    “I’m telling you, he wouldn’t kill Nellie, especially in such a vicious manner.”
    “Maybe not,” Mason conceded. “But crimes of passion can turn ugly. And if he didn’t kill her, he might know something that could lead us to who did.”
    Cara nodded, then turned to look out the window, worry knitting her face. For a moment, he was tempted to squeeze her hand to console her, but he had no right. Besides, touching her was too personal.
    He had to guard against his emotions.
    The town lights disappeared behind them, the landscape giving way to wilderness, scrub brush and the beauty of the Texas land. Small ranches and farms were interspersed between patches of deserted land rich with cacti, boulders and mesquites. He passed the sign for the local reservation