One Little Lie

by Colleen Coble

  Reid’s mouth went dry. That comment about the birthdays must have been the key. He didn’t want to admit it, but he wasn’t going to lie. “Yes.”

  “She doesn’t know who I am.” Will’s voice trembled. “She doesn’t act like she knows who you are.”

  “She doesn’t. Like I mentioned, I’ve changed a lot, and we were really young.” He rubbed his shaved head. “Even my best friend might not recognize me since I’m so hairless.” He grinned.

  “When are you going to tell her?”

  “Soon.” He should have done it when he kissed her. No, before he kissed her. She would be livid when she found out the truth, and he couldn’t blame her.

  “I’m not sure I want her to know.”

  “Why not?”

  Will’s tortured gaze held Reid’s. “What if she doesn’t like me? She just thinks I’m some random kid trailing around with you guys. For all I know, she doesn’t even like kids.”

  “She likes you, Will. She’s told me several times you’re a great kid and that I’ve done a good job raising you on my own.”

  Relief filled his son’s eyes. “She said that?”

  “She did. I-I think she’s going to be overjoyed to discover you’re alive.”

  “Her dad lied to her. So did you.”

  Reid wanted to protest that he hadn’t lied—that he just hadn’t told her everything the second he landed in Pelican Harbor. But that was a type of lie, wasn’t it? “Her dad told her you died. I didn’t see her before she left or I would have told her the truth.”

  “But you didn’t tell her when you first discovered her.”

  “No, I didn’t, and it’s going to be hard for her to hear. I’m not looking forward to the fireworks.”

  Will chewed on a thumbnail. “Maybe she’ll cut us both off and refuse to have anything to do with us.”

  “I don’t think so. I think it’s more likely she’ll sue for custody rights.” He gave a rueful grin. “I’ll be jumping from one courtroom to the other. It seems everyone wants you.”

  “I won’t leave you.”

  His son’s softened gaze warmed Reid’s heart. “I’ll allow her visitation rights—I want her to get to know you. You could stay weekends or whenever you like. I won’t make it hard on her or you. She doesn’t know you now, but it’s not her fault. I think she’ll be a good mother.”

  Will sank back against the sofa. “This picture.” He raised the one of Jane in the trees. “I recognized that determined expression. And she was short, like she is now. When she said her birthday was the same as mine, I just knew. It explains why you wanted to do that documentary. You wanted to get to know her.”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “You wanted to know if you could trust her. Can you?”

  The boy was perceptive. “I don’t think she will try to take you away from me, if that’s what you’re asking. Her dad is going to face her wrath. I will, too, but I’m a secondary target. And she’ll want what’s best for you. She’s not the vindictive type.”

  “No, I don’t think she is.” Will stared back down at the picture. “Can I tell her?”

  What felt like a giant fist closed around Reid’s chest. While he didn’t think Jane would want to hurt his boy, what if she rejected his statement at first? It was risky. But staring into Will’s pleading eyes, he was powerless to refuse.

  “How about we start it together? I’ll tell her who I am and she can get her anger out at me before you tell her.”

  “Won’t she immediately know I’m her son?”

  Reid shook his head. “I don’t think so. I’m realizing I have a problem with lies of omission. I don’t like hurting people, and I don’t really like confrontation. I had to deal with it from my father so much that I tend to go the other way.”

  “I get it.” Will yawned and rose. “I’m going back to bed. When can we tell her?”

  “I don’t think we should do it while she’s knee-deep in two murder investigations. Hopefully a few more days and things will be settled enough that this news isn’t more of a weight on her shoulders.”

  “You don’t think she will be happy?”

  Reid regarded his son’s uncertain expression. “I think she’ll be delighted and honored to know you’re her son. I was afraid she’d be distracted from her duties by wanting to be with you, but I’ll let you make that call, Will. You’re old enough.”

  He chewed his lip, then nodded. “I can see your point. I can wait a few days.”

  The boy was becoming a man in record speed. And a good man at that.

  Thirty-Four

  Jane sat on her balcony with The Screwtape Letters on her screen and Parker at her feet. “‘To decide what the best use of it is, you must ask what use the Enemy wants to make of it, and then do the opposite.’ What the heck does that mean?”

  The town was mostly dark except for streetlamps and a few late-night bars spilling light out onto the water.

  The senator still hadn’t called her back, and she couldn’t help worrying about what her father had said. The senator was in danger. Maybe she should text that to her since she hadn’t called back. She picked up her phone from the stand beside her, and it rang almost instantly with the awaited call.

  “Senator Fox, any word on Harry?”

  “Yes, finally. I’m on my way to my retreat to—” The words became too garbled to make out what she’d said.

  Jane looked at her phone to make sure it was still connected. “Senator, you’re breaking up. Don’t go anywhere to get Harry. It’s a setup.”

  There was no answer, and she looked again at the screen. The call had ended. She immediately called her back, but it went straight to voice mail. “Don’t go, Senator! It’s a setup. You’re in danger.”

  She tossed her phone down. Just great. If the senator’s phone was in a dead spot, there was no way of knowing when she’d get the voice mail. Retreat. Hadn’t she heard the senator had a cabin in the woods around here somewhere? Who had told her that?

  Paul.

  She felt sick at the thought of calling him to ask. He’d gloat and preen that she had to go to him for help, but what other choice did she have?

  Her gaze fell on the words on her screen again, and she remembered the quote. Her own self wanted to have nothing to do with Paul, but the better thing was not to worry about who got the credit or what she had to do to save a life.

  She snatched up her phone again and called Paul. It was nearly two thirty so he wouldn’t be happy to be awakened.

  “Yeah.” Something crashed in the background, and he swore. “What do you want?”

  “I need your help.”

  “Oh, that’s rich. You call me in the middle of the night after kicking me out on my ear?”

  She wanted to point out he’d quit, but she held her tongue. There was no time to argue. “The senator is in danger. Her call was garbled, but I think she said she was on her way to her retreat. Didn’t you tell me she has a cabin along the bay in the Gulf National Islands Seashore?”

  The area was privately owned, and mere mortals didn’t own homes there, but the senator could land a chopper there or take a boat out to her place.

  “Yeah, yeah, she does. I can show you.”

  To his credit he didn’t try to bargain. “I’d appreciate it. I think this is all coming down tonight, and I need to get out there. I’ll try to secure a boat.”

  “Did you notify Brian?”

  “Not yet. I’ll call him and have him meet us. Oh, and Paul? Bring your firearm. This is apt to be dangerous. I’ll meet you at the dock.”

  “Got it.”

  He ended the call, and she called Brian, who didn’t sound sleepy at all. He said he’d be there in five minutes. Brian had probably been at one of the bars. She picked up her gun.

  Reid. He had a boat, and he’d want to be in on this. He wasn’t law enforcement, but something in her wanted him with her. She dithered for several seconds, then placed the call.

  “Jane, are you okay?” He di
dn’t sound sleepy either.

  “I need your boat.” She told him what was happening.

  “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Pick you up at the dock.”

  “Don’t bring Will. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Of course not. Should I bring my pistol? I have one.”

  “It might be a good idea.”

  “Be there shortly.”

  She ended the call, strapped on her gun, and exited onto the balcony with Parker on her heels. From here she could see Brian standing just off the pier. She hurried down the steps and across the street past the bar to the marina and the dock. The slap of the waves against the boats’ hulls mingled with the sound of a boat motoring to its berth.

  She stopped beside Brian. “Sorry to interrupt your night.”

  He shrugged. “No problem.”

  “We’re going on Reid’s boat. I called Paul too.”

  Brian stopped. “Paul? He’s not an officer anymore.”

  “For tonight he is. He knows where the senator’s beach house is, and I need him.”

  “Boss, you’re one of a kind.”

  Running steps pounded on the dock behind them and she turned to see Paul barreling toward them. He looked grim and determined.

  He squinted at the bobbing vessels. “You find a boat? I can call a buddy.”

  “Reid is bringing his.” She heard a motor and saw lights approaching. “That’s him now, I think.”

  The boat pulled up to the dock, and the three of them hurried toward it. She told Parker to jump aboard, and Reid helped the dog land safely, then took her hand and helped her aboard. Brian shoved them off after they were all on deck.

  Brian looked alert and focused. “You think Harry is there?”

  “I think there’s an ambush there. Call Baldwin County Sheriff’s Department and have them send backup.”

  Brian made a face. “And what if your dad is wrong, and we’re pulling them out to a wild-goose chase?”

  He was right. Dad had been so vague, and she hadn’t been able to question him. The four of them were armed. That should be enough to rescue the senator, who was likely bringing state police with her anyway, but she shouldn’t take any chances.

  “Just call them.”

  He shrugged and pulled out his phone, then placed the call and made the request. He ended the call. “Okay, let’s go.”

  The salty wind tangled her hair, and she brushed it out of her eyes as she turned to Paul. “How long will it take us to get there?”

  “Fifteen minutes. Tell us what you know, if you don’t mind.”

  Paul with a contrite tone? Would wonders never cease? “You’re not going to like the source, but just listen, okay?” She launched into what had happened to Fanny, then Harry’s abduction, before she told them what her dad said. Paul tensed but said nothing at first.

  Brian whistled. “So your dad is saying all of this is part of some kind of plot against the senator? Seems dicey at best, Jane. I’m not tracking very well.”

  “I know it seems convoluted, but I’ve been thinking about it. What if my dad stumbled onto something that meant he had to be silenced before he could upend their plan?”

  She could see by Brian’s expression he wasn’t buying it. Paul betrayed no emotion at all, so she could only imagine what he thought. Only Reid seemed to believe her.

  Paul gestured. “The senator’s place is dead ahead. It looks empty.”

  “Can you dock us down the way, Reid? Close enough to walk but not so close anyone knows we’re here?”

  “Yep.”

  She strained to see the cabin through the darkness as Reid brought them close to a dilapidated dock sticking out into the water from some old mooring long ago. Trees marched along the front of the property at the edge of the small spit of sand, and she glimpsed a boathouse at the edge of a small inlet that veered into the forest.

  Brian looped the rope around one of the rotted beams and helped her step onto the dock. “Careful. It doesn’t look safe.”

  This whole night wasn’t going to be safe.

  * * *

  Reid didn’t like the way they filed along the beach toward the structure. The moon had come out from behind the clouds, and the water intensified the illumination. Someone could see them, but the trees and brush were too thick to get through in any kind of timely manner, and he sensed Jane’s urgency.

  He felt it too. Harry had stolen his heart, and if the boy was up ahead, afraid and in danger, he wanted to get to him as quickly as possible.

  Jane was leading the way and she paused, holding up her hand. “There’s a path through the woods here. Let’s take it so we’re concealed from the light.”

  The tangle of vegetation was close enough to brush Reid’s arms as he and the other men followed her. “You have any idea how the senator is arriving?”

  “She didn’t say, just that she was on her way to her retreat. I think this has to be the place she meant. There’s nowhere to land a chopper as far as I can tell, though, so I’m guessing she’s coming by boat. We should hear it approaching.”

  Jane started for the house again. “We need to scout around outside. We don’t know where these guys are, and we know so few details. We obviously can’t go busting into the house without a warrant. Let’s split up and circle the house. Everyone have their radios ready?”

  Paul touched the mic clipped to his shoulder. “Ready to go.”

  “Me too,” Brian said.

  “You go with Paul, Brian. Reid, you come with me. I don’t want anyone wandering around without a radio. Set your frequency, Paul.”

  Paul fiddled with the mic on his shirt. “Got it. Where do you want me?”

  “You go around the south side of the house. Reid and I will go across the back to the boathouse. I want to make sure it’s empty. If you hear a boat coming, give me a holler.”

  Paul nodded, and they moved closer to the house until they were standing on the perimeter of the woods and the lawn. Night sounds enveloped them: frogs croaked and splashed in a body of water nearby, mosquitoes hummed by Reid’s ears, a hawk’s screech was followed by the terrified squeak of a mouse. Predator and prey. Which one were they tonight?

  Reid had an uneasy feeling they might be prey. Though he heard no human sounds or movement, the night pressed in with a sinister embrace that raised the hair on his forearms.

  He was carrying, though, and he touched the gun at his waist for reassurance. If Jane needed him, he would be there to protect her.

  Jane motioned for him to follow her and Parker. They left Brian and Paul behind and crept toward the back of the house. The floor-to-ceiling windows on the back turned blank, dark faces onto the massive deck that boasted an outdoor kitchen and a hot tub. A small inlet of water glimmered in the moonlight. The boathouse beside it wasn’t large, but a smaller boat might fit. The dew drenched his sneakers as they made their way across the tall grass that hadn’t been mowed in several weeks.

  They reached the boathouse on the right side of the home, and he peered into the first window. He shook his head and whispered, “Doesn’t look like anyone’s in there. No sign of the senator’s boat.”

  Jane nodded and moved toward the front of the house with Parker on her heels. As they approached, Parker crouched and uttered a low growl. Reid yanked out his gun, and Jane did the same. He strained to hear anything above the sound of surf striking the shore.

  Someone was out there. He could feel their presence as clearly as the wind rippling the dog’s fur. Jane felt it, too, and she held up her hand. He stopped and waited as she sidled to the front corner of the house and peered past it at the boardwalk extending from the front door to the dock.

  He moved close to her, but there was no movement out there. Maybe they were inside. That would make sense. If they were, had they seen the shadowy movements in the yard?

  His straining ears finally detected the sound of a boat engine at full throttle. Lights rounded the shore to their left, and Reid pointed them out to Jane, who nodde
d. They watched the boat as it slowed on its approach to the dock. It was smaller than he’d expected, and only one head was visible as it docked at the pier. He’d hoped the senator would have brought an army with her, but if this was a trap, she’d likely been told not to bring police.

  Would she have been gullible enough to come alone?

  Love made people do stupid things.

  The moon shone on the senator’s head as she stepped aboard the pier and stared toward the house. He didn’t see a gun in her hand, but then he hadn’t expected her to come armed. Could she have arranged for the state police to be swarming in by land? He heard nothing that might give credence to that hope.

  She tied up the boat, then walked slowly toward the house. He heard a sound from the other side of the house and knew instantly an attacker was coming for the senator. Several shots rang out from that direction, and Jane’s radio sprang to life as the senator hit the dock on her belly.

  “Officer down, officer down,” Brian’s voice screamed.

  “Go! Take care of the senator,” Reid told Jane as he leapt into the yard and ran toward where he’d heard the shots.

  Thirty-Five

  Reid’s breath heaved harshly through his lungs as he ran around the back of the house toward where Jane had stationed Brian and Paul. Officer down were the words no one wanted to hear when on a mission. Since Brian reported it, that meant Paul was down.

  He could only pray Jane would be all right on her own. Logically he knew she was well trained and an extremely competent law enforcement officer, but cops died every day in the line of duty. He couldn’t lose her.

  Gun in hand and running in a crouch, he rounded the corner of the house. Brian huddled over Paul, who wasn’t moving. Looking to the left and right, he saw no one else, and no more shots had been fired.

  Paul lay on his back with one leg slightly curled. He’d flung out both arms as he fell, and his eyes were closed.

  Reid dropped to his knees beside Paul and touched his carotid artery. No matter how he probed, he felt no pulse under his fingertips. He touched Paul’s chest and felt sticky moisture in the middle. He’d been shot cleanly through the heart.