Winning Texas Read Online Free

tip, Nate, ” Maggie said, ignoring Travis ’ s attempt at humor. “ I ’ ll ask my sources about the strip-club king. ”
    “ And I ’ ll keep you and Annie abreast of things, ” Nate winked.
    Maggie groaned and Travis kicked Nate under the table, saluting his pun. Annie hid a smile.
    “ Kyle Krause sounds like a good profile, ” she said. “ Give me a memo summarizing what you ’ ve found and we can decide where to go from there. Travis? ”
    He offered a recap of the kingpin ’ s trial in the Valley.
    “ What about the floater in the ship channel, Annie? ” he said. “ By the way, thanks for going out there yesterday. ”
    “ 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,