Twenty minutes later, Camy and Sammy had managed to keep their hands behind their backs and kick the ball more than two feet.
Camy leaped up and down. “I did it!”
Shortly after that Sammy did, too. He high-fived Sean. Then Camy had to do it. Right after that, she hugged him. Her brother quickly joined her. A lump rose in his throat as he remembered wanting to be a father. His own had been supportive and caring, but Sean had let Jack down. He had to find out what happened to him. He owed Jack that much.
* * *
Aubrey sat up in her bed and glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand. Six in the morning. She was wide-awake an hour early. She lay back down, closed her eyes and tried to empty her mind. But all she could think about was yesterday and Sean. When he’d arrived under the large oak tree at the courthouse, she’d finally relaxed. She’d known she would be all right.
Then last night, she and Sean finally finished going through Samuel’s belongings and found nothing else. After putting the boxes back up in the attic, they wrote a court order for opening the box at the bank. She talked with Judge Rodriquez, and she and Sean would meet him before Villa’s trial tomorrow. What had Samuel put in the safety-deposit box?
The question wouldn’t leave her mind. She sat up again and decided to get ready for work early. Late last night she’d heard from the sheriff that the courthouse was safe to return to. They found a bomb in a bag, and it was deactivated and removed. The sheriff was working on how it came in and who brought it into the building. In the meantime, he reassured her that security would be tightened even more.
She stood and stretched, then walked to the window to see what the weather looked like. When she opened the blinds, dawn streaked rich colors through the sky. She started to turn and go into the bathroom. But something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention in the dim light. She leaned her head against the glass pane, her fingernails digging into the window ledge.
What is on the ground by the patio?
EIGHT
Aubrey raced from her bedroom to the living room, her heart beating so fast her breath came in short spurts. Before she reached Sean sleeping on the couch, he shot straight up.
His gaze immediately fixed on her. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure. I couldn’t see much from my angle.”
He stood, his brow furrowed. “See what? Where?”
Aubrey lifted her trembling hand and pointed toward the kitchen. “Patio. I think someone’s down on the ground.”
Sean grabbed his gun from under his pillow and rushed through the dining room into the kitchen. “Turn off the alarm.”
Aubrey took care of the security system, then followed Sean. Had something happened to the police officer? When she entered the kitchen, Sean was halfway out the door. She hurried after him.
He stopped and turned toward her. “I don’t want you out here. Let the officer on the porch know that Officer Adams is down and to call 911. But he needs to stay out front, and you need to stay inside.”
Aubrey did as Sean said. Officer Watkins, who usually stood guard on the porch, called for assistance while she shut the front door and locked it. Then she returned to the kitchen and watched from the bay window.
Sean partially blocked the view of the police officer on the ground, but she noticed his leg move. Cal has a chance. Thank You, Lord.
As Sean moved slightly to the right, Aubrey finally saw where Cal had been shot. Sean held his T-shirt over the right side of the officer’s upper torso, trying to stem the flow of blood from the wound. Aubrey wanted to go outside and help, but she was the reason Cal was down. She didn’t want anyone else hurt because somebody was after her. How did it happen? Why didn’t she hear it? Her bedroom window had a view of the backyard, although part of the patio was out of sight from her room.
When the paramedics arrived, Sean stepped away so they could attend to Cal. Shortly after they came, two uniform police officers walked around the side of the house and headed for Sean while the EMTs transferred Cal to a gurney and wheeled him away. She had to do something to keep herself busy until Sean returned with news. She made a pot of coffee, then began pacing from one end of the kitchen to the other.
Her children had played outside in the backyard yesterday evening with Sean. They could have been shot. She had to do something more to protect her twins. Their home wasn’t safe anymore, even with three law enforcement officers guarding them.
Finally, Sean entered the kitchen and locked the door, a grim expression on his face. “Adams is being transported to the hospital. I think he’ll be all right.”
She halted and turned toward him. “Where are the other two officers?”
“Inspecting the yard. I need to go out there and help, but I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
“No, I’m not.” Her hands shook so much she clasped them together in front of her. “My kids and mother aren’t safe here at all. Someone shot one of the guards. What’s going to stop them from storming the house? Everyone I love is in here.” Tears blurred her vision and rolled down her cheeks.
He covered the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her. “I won’t let that happen.”
“You didn’t hear the shot. I didn’t. Was it a gun with a silencer?”
“Yes.” He leaned back and looked into her eyes. “He should make it.”
“When did this happen?”
“Probably about thirty minutes ago, right before dawn. He hit his head and blacked out. When I went out there, he was regaining consciousness but still groggy. He was taking his walk around the yard when it happened. A squirrel scampered across the grass, and he turned toward it. That’s what saved him from being hit in the heart.”
She closed her eyes, trying to stem the flow of her tears. Cal could have died—protecting her.
“Chief Perez is on his way. The backyard will be scoured for any evidence. They’ll figure out where the shot came from. I called for another Texas Ranger to come help.”
“My children and mother aren’t safe even here.” She stepped back, shaking her head. “We’ve got to do something else.”
“Even though Officer Adams was shot, whoever shot him didn’t get into the house. Although we didn’t hear the shot, we would have heard the alarm go off if the shooter had tried to get inside. If the shooter’s objective was to get into your home, he would have done it earlier, before the sun started coming up. No, there might be another reason for what happened.”
“Still, I don’t want my children exposed to even the chance of being hurt. Maybe Mama can take them somewhere far away from here.” Chewing on her thumbnail, Aubrey started pacing again, trying to come up with a place that would be safe for her family. At the moment her mind was blank, which sent her frustration level skyrocketing. She loved being a judge, but not at the risk of her family.
Sean moved into her path, stopping her. “I have an idea of where your children and mother can go.”
“Where?”
“To Amarillo. My sister and her husband are police officers there, and they can protect them, with the support of the Texas Ranger in the area. The distance from here will help. I’ll put in a request for a charter plane to take them there. If that isn’t possible, then we can drive the thirteen hours to Amarillo. It will take me some time to set it up, but we should be able to leave either later today or tomorrow.”
“I’m going with them. It’ll be the weekend soon. I need to see them settled in a safe place.”
“I figured you would say that. After I take you to the courthouse and go by the bank to pick up the items in the safety-deposit box, I’ll come back here to work out the details of the trip and look over what was in Samuel’s box. I’ll be at your house most of the day. Call me at lunch, and I’ll let you know what I’ve worked out.”
“Let me know how Cal is.” Aubrey tried to relax. Her ch
ildren and mother would be up soon, and she didn’t want them to know what was going on. But she couldn’t ease the tension.
“I will. Don’t let anyone know our plans. This will be between us and my major. The fewer people who know our plans, the better.”
The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs drifted to her. “My children are up. Try to keep what happened from them. With you here most of the day, they’ll want to go outside to play. They can’t.”
“I agree. I’ll think of something to keep them entertained.”
Sammy burst into the kitchen with Camy not far behind him. “Mama, more police out front. Can I go see if they’ll let me turn on their siren?”
“No. Some people are sleeping still, and we don’t need to wake up our neighbors.”
“But—”
Aubrey quickly cut him off. “I need to get ready for work. Don’t pester Sean about it.” She hurried from the room before her son could say something else. Besides, she needed to get upstairs and explain what had happened in the backyard to her mama.
As she approached her mother’s bedroom, she tried to come up with a way to tell her about Cal being shot and the need to leave here. It wouldn’t be easy, especially because she didn’t know why a shooter had tried to kill Cal. Sean was right. The alarm going off would have stopped the man from getting far into her house. How was Cal being shot going to stop Villa’s trial?
* * *
A short time later, Sean and Aubrey left Judge Rodriquez’s chambers with the court order to open the safety-deposit box. “I’m going to the bank right after I leave the courthouse. I’m going to talk to the security office to get details about the bomb threat yesterday. I noticed the security at the entrances is much tighter.”
“I’m having everyone who comes into my court be checked again. I’m not taking a chance, even though they’ll be searched at the main doors, too. The other trials going on aren’t high-profile like Villa’s.”
When they reached her office, two deputy sheriffs stood guard outside. Even with them in place, Sean went inside first and searched the whole chamber, then tested the door that led to the courtroom. It was locked. He opened it and looked into the short hallway. Empty. Once he felt there were no surprises for Aubrey, he escorted her inside and stayed while she readied herself for the Villa trial, then he walked with her to the courtroom. The urge to hold her close to him and not let her go was strong.
He had to remind himself he was on duty and he’d done everything he could to keep her safe. As he left her chambers, a police officer and a dog came out of the room after checking where the trial was going to take place. The rest he had to put in God’s hands.
Sean walked down the stairs to the first floor and crossed the lobby to the security office. When he entered, Sheriff Bailey was talking to the deputy sitting in front of a bank of screens showing different areas of the courthouse.
The sheriff glanced at Sean then tapped three of the screens. “Make sure you pay attention to the three entrances into the building. Until the Villa trial is completed, we’ve locked all doors in and out of here except these three—front, rear by the employee parking lot and the one on the west side where prisoners come into the courthouse near the holding cells. We have guards at all of them. We now have screening at the back and west doors like the front.”
“Did you figure out which entrance the person who brought the bomb into the courthouse used?” Sean asked as another deputy entered the room and sat at the second chair in front of the security screens.
Sheriff Bailey shook his head. “The bag with the bomb was placed out of camera view. So far we haven’t figured out how it was brought into the building.”
“You think someone who works here is helping?”
“It’s a definite possibility. We’ve added two bomb-detection dogs on the first floor continually making the rounds, as well as one dog on the second and another on the third floor. That’s in addition to the one in the parking lot. I’ve had to call in a few favors for extra assistance.”
“I noticed you have a couple deputies outside in the rear parking lot.”
“I’ve been thinking about possible ways of getting a bomb in here unnoticed. The windows on the first floor open. Someone could have handed the bomb through one of them to an accomplice.”
Sean nodded. “Good. We’re dealing with the cartel, who have deep pockets. I’ll be back later to pick up Judge Madison. If there’s a problem, notify me right away.”
When Sean drove out of the rear parking lot, he noted the guards on duty at its entrance and in the middle, as well as Deputy Lockhart and another he was familiar with at the back door. Sean headed for the Port Bliss Bank. He hoped there were answers inside the box, because he was beginning to wonder if all the incidents had to do with Villa’s trial. He couldn’t shake the feeling something wasn’t right.
When he pulled into a parking space in front of the bank, he climbed from his vehicle and made his way inside. “I need to see the manager,” he told the teller.
Her eyes grew round for a few seconds. She was the same one he’d talked to yesterday about the safety-deposit box. She gestured toward a short hallway. “Mr. Denton’s office is there.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” He tapped the brim of his cowboy hat, then walked to the entrance she indicated and knocked on the door frame.
A short balding man glanced up from his computer. “May I be of help?”
Sean entered and closed the door, then crossed to the chair in front of the manager’s desk. He gave the court order to the man. “I need to get into a safety-deposit box that’s tied up in a case I’m working.”
His forehead wrinkled, the bank manager read the court order, then pulled out his top drawer and withdrew a set of keys. “Come this way.” He exited his office and glanced back at Sean a couple times as he went to the vault that held the boxes.
Mr. Denton put in both keys and turned them. He pulled out the safety-deposit box and put it on a viewing table, then he retreated out of the vault. Sean lifted the box’s lid and peered inside. Only a black pad, like ones he used, lay on the bottom. He opened it and stared at the nonsense on the pages as he flipped through it. Was it written in a code?
He pocketed the notebook, closed the lid and went to find the manager. “This safety-deposit box needs to be sealed. Its owner is dead. I’ll send you a death certificate.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
Sean shook the manager’s hand, then left the bank. He headed back to Aubrey’s house to guard her family while he arranged for a plane to take them to Amarillo tonight or tomorrow. He hoped he could figure out what was in the notebook besides gibberish. Samuel wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to hide it and keep it safe unless it was important. He hoped Aubrey could help. Could they crack the code before someone else was hurt?
* * *
Aubrey entered her chambers after a long day, even though she’d dismissed the court an hour earlier. Sean sat on her couch waiting for her. He greeted her with a smile and stood. The sight of him gave her a sense of peace in this trauma.
He had a plane arriving at the Galveston airport later tonight to take them to Amarillo. They would stay until Sunday morning to help her children adjust to the change, then the plane would return and take her and Sean back to Galveston. She hated being parted from Sammy and Camy, but at least her mother would be with them and they would be hundreds of miles away from Port Bliss and the danger here.
Sean walked toward her. “How did it go today?”
“Okay. I noticed today Villa wasn’t himself. Usually he’s confident and almost cocky. But not today. I understand the prosecution offered him another deal yesterday. Do you think the bomb threat had anything to do with this plea deal?”
“Like a clear message from Sanchez and the Coastal Cartel? Maybe. I haven’t been able to contact my other informant to verify the appe
arance of a cleaner.”
“Where’s the notebook?”
He stuck his hand into his pocket, withdrew the pad and gave it to her. “I hope you understand what’s written here.”
She flipped through the pages. “I might be able to help. Samuel was fascinated with codes. I still have a couple of his books on different ones. We used to write messages in code to each other when we were dating.”
Sean smiled. “Great. We’ll take them with us and work on the notebook when we have time this weekend. We won’t stay long at your house before leaving for Galveston.”
“What if someone’s watching my place? What if they follow us as we leave Port Bliss?”
“I have a plan. A couple of Texas Rangers along the route will check for anyone following us. The plane’s destination will remain a secret. Your children and mother will be protected at a safe house in Amarillo. My sister and her husband will be there, as well as a Texas Ranger.”
“Mama is making it sound like an adventure to the twins. It’s what’s best for them, but I’m going to miss them. We’ve never been apart since they were born, except when I was in the hospital last weekend.”
“Let’s go.”
“Sheriff Bailey has really beefed up security at the courthouse. We had a bomb-detection dog go through my courtroom before everyone went in, then again after the lunch break. We can’t let people intimidate us, but I won’t lie and say I was perfectly fine, sitting in my chair pretending I was calm.”
Sean put his hand at the small of her back and covered the distance to the door. “It’s been a week. Hopefully the trial will be over by next Friday.”
Lone Star Standoff Page 10