When the German shepherd sniffed a cabinet, he sat and barked. The bomb squad took over going through their protocol.
While they carefully opened the door, Taylor stood back and breathed a sigh of relief when no tripwires set off an explosion. He moved closer and glimpsed the bomb, similar in size to the one he remembered at the clinic. “Is it activated?” he asked the officer.
“Yes. We have five minutes to disarm it. I think I can, but get everyone out of here in case I’m wrong.”
Taylor spun around and raced out into the hall. “There’s a bomb. Leave,” he told the officers and medical personnel.
The head of the bomb squad approached him. “That includes you. Make sure this whole area is evacuated and get out.”
While Taylor made his way toward the main lobby, he checked every room along the way. If the explosion was like the one at the clinic, it would take out a portion of the first floor, which could affect the basement and the other levels above.
In the hospital lobby, there was a bank of four doors people were trying to move through to get outside. He searched the crowd for Dallas wearing his cowboy hat. Being tall, he would stand above a lot of the others. Taylor spied him toward the front and weaved his way in that direction.
His cell phone rang. It was the bomb squad commander. Taylor quickly answered it. “Was it defused?”
“Yes. We want the evacuation to continue until we have scoured the whole building and checked security tapes.”
“I’ll do that. The security office isn’t far from me. I was able to ID Richardson in disguise at the shooting yesterday. I might be able to again.”
“Good. Keep me informed.”
Taylor glanced back at where Dallas stood with Sierra and a police officer. They were almost outside. As he made his way to the security office, fighting against the flow of people, he called Dallas. “The bomb has been defused, but the commander wants to make sure that’s all. I’m checking security tapes of the area where the bomb was. Get Sierra to a safe place. Remember, Richardson shot her when she left the funeral home, so be on alert.”
“You think he’s hanging around to see what happened?”
“He did at the funeral home. And after the clinic was blown up, he went to the crime scene, so yes, I do.”
“There’ll be a command center set up outside. She’ll be safe there.”
“Thanks.” Taylor tried to open the door to the security office, but it was locked. He knocked, waited half a minute and then dug into his pocket for his case with various picks.
The door swung wide. A security guard stood in the entrance. “You must be Texas Ranger Blackburn. The commander called to tell me to pull up the footage from the lab section and offices behind the bank of main elevators on the first floor. I only arrived back in here a minute ago. I was told to evacuate, too.”
“Let’s run it in slow motion backward. It would be faster that way because I don’t have any idea when the bomb was planted in the director of special projects’ office.”
“I have a camera that’ll show the hallway in front of his office. Nothing inside.”
“Good. That’s all I need. I didn’t see another way into the office.” Taylor took a seat next to the security guard and began viewing the footage.
A lot of people went up and down that hall but no one went into the room where the bomb was found. Then Taylor saw a police officer with a backpack walking backward to the door. Then he ducked inside after looking up and down the corridor. Taylor sat forward. “That must be Richardson.” He watched the video going backward, then said, “Now play it forward in regular time.” He needed to be sure it was Richardson in makeup that made him look younger and his upper-body physique more muscular. He had his police hat on, so he couldn’t see all his face clearly, but he didn’t have to. He favored the same leg as Richardson did. His walk was the same as he followed the progression of the officer to the elevator and saw that he went to Sierra’s floor. He’d gone after Sierra, staying in the hospital, even with the bomb going off. Granted, her room was at the other end of the building where he placed it, but he was taking a chance the explosion wouldn’t harm that part. Then in the confusion of leaving the hospital, he would kill her.
Taylor noted the time stamp on the screen and realized that was the time that the police guard at Sierra’s door would change. Was Richardson with Dallas and Sierra right now? His heart racing, Taylor fumbled for his cell phone as he charged out of the security office.
* * *
Guarded by Dallas and Officer Bailey, Sierra approached the police mobile command post, a white truck with a black-and-gold stripe. Pain thumped against the side of her head. Even being in bed for the past eighteen hours, exhaustion encompassed her whole body. “Instead of going inside there, can I go home to Ben? That way I won’t be here for the shooter to come after me. There are two police officers at the house.”
“My patrol car isn’t too far away. I could drive her, sir, if she wants to go.”
Sierra looked at Officer Bailey, then Dallas. Everything that had happened the past week was catching up with her. “Please.” She didn’t want to be another target for Richardson.
Dallas nodded. “But I’ll need to let Taylor know, and I’ll come with you. You can’t have too many guards.”
Officer Bailey pointed to his police cruiser several rows away.
Sierra headed that way with Dallas on one side while Bailey was on her left slightly behind her. She scanned the parking lot, then kept focused on the vehicle that would take her away from the chaos all around her.
Dallas’s cell phone rang as Officer Bailey opened the back door for Sierra. Dallas stepped away to answer the call while she slid into the car and reclined her head back against the cushion. She just wanted the pounding to go away.
* * *
“The police officer with you is Richardson,” Taylor said into his phone while moving through the crowd as quickly as he could. He kept the mobile command post in his sight.
“We were leaving to go to your—”
“Dallas?”
A sound like his friend had dropped his cell phone filled Taylor’s ear. He swept the parking lot around the command post and spied a police officer scurrying around a vehicle and hopping into the front. Richardson.
Taylor hurried through the crowd as he made another call, this time to the police chief. He explained what was going down as the cruiser pulled out of the parking space. Taylor was still three rows away, but he pumped every ounce of energy into his legs.
“Hurry. Set up a barricade.” Taylor clutched his cell phone in his fist as he arrived at where the car had been.
Dallas lay on the concrete, facedown. Please be alive.
Taylor knelt next to his friend, feeling for a pulse. “Officer down in row twelve,” he told the chief on the phone. “He’s alive, but Richardson has driven off toward the northwest exit with Sierra Walker.” He stood and waved so the police could see where he was.
Once he got their attention, he swung around and followed Richardson’s flight.
If Richardson kills Sierra... Taylor couldn’t complete the thought. The prospect of losing her threatened his ability to stop Richardson.
And right now he could let nothing stop him from saving Sierra.
* * *
Sierra’s heavy eyelids slid open when the police cruiser came to an abrupt halt, throwing her forward. Where was Dallas? She glanced out the window. Cops were all around the vehicle with guns pointed at them. What was going on?
A voice over a loudspeaker said, “Surrender now. If you make a move with that gun, we’ll consider you hostile and return fire. Put your hands behind your head and step out of the vehicle. Now.”
“What’s happening?” Sierra asked, the quaver in her voice making her words barely above a whisper.
Leaning forward, she saw from the side Office
r Bailey’s jaw clench, a tic twitching his cheek. And then it hit her.
“Are you Max Richardson?”
“You deserve to die.”
Fear rippled down her length, but she tried to hold it together. “No amount of deaths will bring your daughter back. I fought the insurance company for Charlene. It was too late to help her.”
“Shut up! No one cared about her. They killed my wife, too.”
A movement out of the corner of her eye caught Sierra’s attention. Taylor joined the other officers, his gun pointed at Richardson.
“My sister cared. She tried to convince the doctor in charge of the study, and you killed her. Now my nephew has only me to raise him. He had nothing to do with this situation, and yet he lost his mother and now you want to kill me.”
“I have nothing to lose now. I’m a dead man. I might as well settle the score.”
Death by cop. But not before he kills me. What do I say to that?
Words flooded her mind. “Max, don’t you want to see your little girl again? You will if you believe in the Lord.”
“He took my Charlie. It’s too late for me,” Richardson yelled, staring at the police around them.
Tears blurred her vision. “It’s never too—”
Suddenly he lifted his gun and shot himself in the head as Sierra threw herself onto the floor, expecting a barrage of bullets to hit the car.
The sound of the driver’s door opening reverberated through the vehicle. Slowly Sierra lifted her head and scrambled out of the back seat.
Right into Taylor’s arms.
* * *
It was dark when Sierra entered Robert’s house. Taylor was right behind her, strangely quiet most of the ride there.
One glance over her shoulder at Taylor and she knew something was wrong. But what? Richardson was dead, and he couldn’t hurt anyone else.
When they entered the living room Ben looked up, saw her and ran to her, throwing his arms around her and hugging her tightly. She knelt and pulled him against her chest. “I love you, Ben. We can go home tomorrow. Everything is safe again.”
Her nephew didn’t say anything but remained clinging to her. Sierra stayed in place until Ben finally released her and held her hand to walk her deeper into the living room. The sight of the lit Christmas tree gave her a calmness she hadn’t had for hours—since she’d tried to talk the shooter into surrendering. Instead, he killed himself, dying with no reconciliation with God. Saddened by that fact, she found herself forgiving the man. She wouldn’t let hatred bring her down. The following months would be hard enough without carrying around a deep loathing for the man who had changed her and Ben’s lives forever.
When Sierra sat on the couch, Ben picked up his puppy and immediately sat beside her. Ben was safe now. Thank You, God.
Taylor stood next to the Christmas tree, tense, a serious expression on his face. “I can’t stay. I need to go to the police station to take care of some of the necessary reports.”
“When will you be back?” Robert asked before Sierra could.
He shrugged. “I also need to check on Dallas. He says he’s all right, but he has said that before and hasn’t been.”
“Take my word. He has a whopping headache.” Sierra hugged Ben closer. “But time will take care of that. Tell him thanks again from me.”
“I will.” Taylor crossed to the front door and left.
Silence filled the room for several minutes until Ben’s puppy began to whine.
Robert rose. “That’s his sign he wants to go outside. I need to take Oscar. I’ll take him, too. You want to come, Ben?”
He handed his puppy to Robert but remained next to Sierra’s side. When Taylor’s father left with the dogs, she kissed the top of Ben’s head. “You know that we’re safe now. When we return to our house tomorrow, we only have one week until Christmas. We’re going to have a lot to clean and do.” She’d started to tell him about Richardson destroying their Christmas decorations and ornaments. She couldn’t right now. She didn’t want him to fear his home because Richardson had been in there. He had enough to deal with. He still wasn’t talking.
When Robert returned with the two dogs, Sierra pushed to her feet. “It’s past your bedtime,” she told her nephew. “Let’s get ready.”
After Ben put on his pajamas, he brushed his teeth and knelt by the bed. He bowed his head while Sierra asked God to watch out for the people they loved and thanked Him for taking care of them. She yearned for the time when her nephew would say his prayers aloud. The silence made her throat ache with sorrow.
She tucked him in, and then Oscar lay on his right side while the puppy cuddled next to Ben on the other one. Just for tonight she’d let the pup stay there, out of the crate. She kissed Ben’s forehead and said, “Good night.”
She left, leaving the door open slightly, and made her way down the stairs to the kitchen. She needed a drink of water and some advice from Robert. After filling a glass, she went into the living room and took a seat across from Taylor’s dad. “Tonight, all I could say to Ben about when we go home is that we’ll need to clean the house. I couldn’t tell him about the destroyed decorations. I don’t want him to be afraid of our house.”
“I’ve called a couple of guys I know from church who have agreed to help me clean your place tomorrow morning. I’ll pick up a tree on the way and some ornaments.”
“But he’ll know it isn’t our tree.”
“I know. Being told that it was knocked down and seeing the damage is two different things. He doesn’t need to know all the gritty details. When he comes into the house, he won’t see the destruction.”
“What if he asks about it?”
“If he does, that means he’s talking. That’s a good sign. Tell him the truth in broad terms and let him know you’re there for him. You know, I’m going to miss Ben. My daughter’s family is sharing the holidays with her husband’s family in Oregon. It’s going to be lonely around here. I hope y’all will come here on Christmas and enjoy a meal and time with us.”
Us. Meaning Robert and Taylor. “I’d love to see you, but you need to check with your son. Today Taylor has been—” she searched for a word to describe her gut feeling about him “—distant.”
“How do you feel about Taylor?”
“I care about him—a lot.”
“For the past week you’ve worked intensely together on the case. You two have gone through an emotional ride in a short time that many don’t experience over years.” Robert stared at the floor between them for a moment, then lifted his head and looked into her eyes. “Seeing Ben and Taylor together reminded me of my son with TJ. I never thought I would see that again. He took TJ’s death very hard. But with you he’s let down his guard. I imagine when he was running after the car Richardson was driving with you in it, he was scared. That man had hurt you twice already.”
“I’m fine. I survived because he discovered Officer Bailey was Richardson.”
Robert nodded. “But your wounds are still very evident every time he looks at you. Knowing my son, he blames himself for that. He didn’t protect you enough. You see, when his wife died, he felt he should have done something to save her, but then he didn’t have much time to grieve because he had to raise a baby and deal with a new job that he’d wanted his whole life.”
“Being a Texas Ranger?”
“Yes. That’s all he talked about when he was a kid. Give him time. I know he cares about you.”
As she rose, so did Robert. “Thanks for the advice and for cleaning the house tomorrow. I don’t know what Ben and I would have done without Taylor and you.” She covered the distance to Robert and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m going to turn in. See you in the morning.”
“You might not see me in the morning. I’ll be leaving early for your house. I’ll get the key to your place from Taylor.”
She smile
d and headed for the staircase. As she mounted the steps, she thanked God for all the people saved today, especially the real Officer Bailey, who had been knocked out and tied up, and Clyde Zoller. She was also grateful that the bomb hadn’t exploded, or else the number of victims could have been high.
She checked on Ben, then entered her room and sat on the bed. Her thoughts turned to Taylor and what his father had said. I know he cares about you.
She more than cared about Taylor.
I love him. What am I going to do?
* * *
Taylor had avoided Sierra as much as possible the past day by keeping busy wrapping up all the loose ends with the case. But now he was picking them up at his dad’s house and driving them to their home. When he went into the kitchen, he nearly collided with Sierra coming out of the room. Their gazes embraced, and for the life of him, he couldn’t look away. Her bruises and cuts stood out even more, shouting to the world what she’d gone through.
If he had found out about Officer Bailey a few minutes later than he had, Sierra would have been murdered by Richardson. And he would be mourning another person he cared about. No, he more than cared about her—and that was the problem.
He finally blinked and glanced away. “Are you two ready? Dad has everything cleaned up and an extra surprise for Ben.”
“What?”
“He wouldn’t tell me. He likes to surprise people.”
“We’re ready. Ben is outside playing with Oscar and his puppy. He’s going to miss Oscar.”
And I’m going to miss you and Ben. If only I could control the future. But I can’t.
“I’ll go get Ben. Our stuff is by the front door.”
Lone Star Christmas Witness Page 17