“It’s just Daniel,” he said, seated in one of the leather armchairs that flanked the couch. “It was the day after the blizzard roared through the area. Cleetus and I had gone out to the rural parts of the county to check on residents. We had to go on snowmobiles since the roads were unplowed that far out. Power was down all over the county and we wanted to be sure people had some sort of heat. Cleetus headed northeast to talk to some of the Amish families he’s friendly with and I headed a little more directly north.”
“Between here and the Amish community then?” Wes said from his spot next to Chloe.
Daniel nodded. “I came to what Cleetus told me was the old Thurber place. He also told me Rose Cochran was renting the house and she had a daughter.”
“When you got there, what was the first thing you saw?” Chloe asked.
Daniel focused on answering her questions and not jumping forward to when he found Lexie. “I stopped at the end of the drive and just looked around. I didn’t see any lights in the house, but with the power out, that didn’t surprise me. I didn’t see any smoke coming from the chimney either, and that bothered me. At that point I called Cleetus on the SAT phones we had with us since cell towers were out of commission, too.”
“What did you think?”
“That the place was quiet. Too quiet. Everything seemed muffled.”
“That’s what snow does,” Chloe said with a nod as she jotted down notes on her pad, then glanced up at him. “What happened next?”
“Once Cleetus told me people were living there, I drove the snowmobile up to the house and parked. With the engine off, I just listened. When there was no sound of movement from the house, I went to the front door. There were no footprints anywhere and the snow covered all the steps. I pounded on the door and called out who I was and that I was doing a wellness check.”
“Is that what you said?” Wes said with a smirk. “Ma’am, I’m doing a wellness check?”
“Okay, what I said was, is anyone home, wise-ass.”
Wes laughed. “Just wanted to be sure we weren’t using some new politically correct terminology these days.”
Chloe elbowed him. “You’re not helping.”
“Just trying to lighten up the mood,” Wes said slipping his arm around behind her on the couch.
Daniel appreciated it. Every time he thought about the what-ifs, his stomach roiled. A few hours more? Who know what would’ve happened to the little girl?
“So, what did you do then?” Chloe asked to nudge him back to the story.
“When no one answered, I looked in the front window to see if anyone was inside.”
“What did you see?”
“Trash. Place looked like one of those reality shows where the people are hoarders. Not walls of crap or clothes, but fast food boxes on the table, and floor. What looked like possible drug paraphernalia on the table. Piles of laundry on the floor and on the furniture. But no people.”
“Were you concerned?”
“Well, yeah. If there was someone in there, with no heat, they could be dead in all that mess.”
“What did you do next?”
“I checked the perimeter of the house. Still no footprints anywhere. Checked the windows into the kitchen.”
“What did you see there?” Chloe asked, still writing on her tablet. She seemed to have a certain way she wanted to hear the story. What he did, what he saw, what he thought.
“The kitchen was the same as the living room, and so was the first bedroom. Trash everywhere.”
“Okay, is that the bedroom where you found Lexie?”
“No.” Daniel couldn’t help his smile. “The second bedroom was as neat as a pin. You could tell it belonged to a little girl. Except for the wooden furniture, everything in it was pink or purple.”
“You know that’s terribly sexist to think only little girls like pink and purple,” Wes said, which earned him another elbow to the ribs. “Geez counselor, you know you were thinking it. I just thought I’d try to educate my co-worker that colors are not gender specific.”
Chloe shook her head and lifted her eyes heavenward, before looking at Daniel. “Can you tell who has been doing an online course on public relations this week?”
“Yeah,” Daniel said with a grin. “Your sister is making all of us do it. I’m avoiding it like the plague.”
Wes shook his head. “Don’t let Bobby hear you. She’s determined to keep the sheriff’s department up to the state requirements. With all the changes in discrimination and how it’s handled by law enforcement, we don’t want to get caught with our pants down, so to speak.”
Again, Chloe shook her head. “Just so you know, the room Dylan and I shared growing up was bubblegum pink. When we hit our teens, I rebelled and painted my half black. Thought Bobby was going to have a stroke when she saw it.”
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” Wes said and leaned in to plant a kiss on her lips. “What else did you do to rebel?”
“Be good and I’ll tell you later,” she said, pushing him back a little, but staring into his eyes.
Daniel waited patiently for the new couple to remember he was still here. Finally, he cleared his throat and continued on with his statement. “When I got to that bedroom window, I thought no one was there and was ready to leave.”
“What caught your attention?” Chloe asked, back on task and taking notes.
“For all the room’s neatness, there was a huge mound in the bed. Like something was buried under it.” He paused and the back of his eyes stung as the fear raced back into his mind. “I was sure I was going to find the little girl dead in that room.
Chloe leaned forward and laid her hand on his knee. “That must’ve been horrific.”
Daniel swallowed hard and blinked a few times, struggling to get his emotions under control. “It could’ve been a lot worse. When those covers moved, I almost fell to my knees with relief.”
“I’m sure you did,” Chloe said with a little laugh, then leaned back to continue the interview. “What happened after that?”
“Lexie peeked out from the covers.” He grinned at the memory. “Two of the biggest, bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. Anyways, I told her who I was and that I was there to help. I hurried back to the front of the house, which seemed to take forever, the snow was so deep.”
“How’d you get inside?” Wes asked this time.
“I rammed it with my shoulder. The door was old, and the jamb gave way like kindling.”
“Was Cleetus there yet?” Chloe asked.
“Right before I broke down the door, I heard his snowmobile coming up the road. I could’ve waited, but honestly? I was just desperate to get to Lexie. Once I got inside, I was pretty confident she was the only live body in the place, so I headed straight to her bedroom.”
“You wanted to be sure she didn’t have frostbite, didn’t you,” Wes said, more of a statement than a question. He was acknowledging he would’ve done the same thing.
Daniel simply nodded.
“And what condition did you find her in?”
“Considering how cold it was and that sometime during the night the power had gone out, she was in pretty good shape. She’s also one smart and resourceful little girl. Not only had she buried herself under a half dozen blankets and quilts, she’d worn her coat to bed. Of course the coat, her socks and shoes were full of holes and nearly paper thin, but she’d done her best to stay warm.”
Chloe shook her head. “Kids who grow up in households where there’s little security from the parents usually learn self-preservation early on. So Cleetus arrived then?”
“Yes. He’d brought in his thermos, which was full of hot chocolate. Mine held coffee. Lorna had fixed us up with them, in case we were out in the cold too long. I gave some hot chocolate to Lexie to drink while he went to do a search of the place.”
“What was he looking for?” Chloe asked.
“A dead or nearly dead body,” Wes answered for him. “There was no sign of the mother mo
ving around, they had to be sure she wasn’t injured in the mess somewhere.”
Daniel nodded. “While Cleetus was gone I got Lexie ready to move out into the cold. Found some knit socks in her drawer. Pink, of course.” He grinned at Chloe.
“Of course.”
“By the time I had her ready to transport, Cleetus came back to let me know no one else was in the house. Dead or alive.”
“Thank goodness for that.” Chloe paused to look over at him. “Did Lexie say anything about her mother?”
Unleashed rage surged through Daniel. He clenched his jaw a moment before answering. “When I asked her, when was the last time she’d seen her mother, Lexie said, before the snow started. That could’ve been the night before or—”
“A week before,” Wes finished for him, his face as angry as Daniel’s felt.
Before Chloe could ask any more questions, Wöden gave a low growl.
“That must be Cleetus and Sylvie pulling up. It’s okay, boy, you like Cleetus,” Wes said, rising to pet the animal on the head before going to the door. The wolf-dog followed behind him and slipped out the door, his tail wagging like an overgrown puppy.
“Thank you, Daniel,” Chloe said, pulling his attention back to her. “You were very helpful.”
He chuckled in doubt. “I don’t know how. All that information was in my report.”
“Well, yes. All the facts you gave were exactly how the report read. Gage gave me a copy once the judge made me Lexie’s advocate. I also have the files from Clint on his initial examination and the subsequent ones, including today’s.” She reached for the bowl of nacho flavored chips on the table, offering him some.
“No thanks.”
“I’m addicted to the stuff, especially when I’m working. Drives Bobby crazy,” she grinned. “Always has. Anyways, the reason I wanted you to tell me what you remembered and how you reacted that day will help me see a clearer picture of just how alone and in danger Lexie had been.”
She popped a chip into her mouth and munched away as she flipped through her notes. Behind them, Cleetus and Sylvie came through the front door, shed their coats for Wes to hang on the coat rack, and joined the group. It was always odd to see them together. Sylvie reminded him of an overgrown fairy, complete with fiery, spiked red and orange hair. While Cleetus would’ve been at home on any NFL field playing both defensive and offensive lineman. Total opposites. Except when you got to know them, you realized they had one thing in common—tender hearts of gold.
Daniel stood to shake Cleetus’ hand. “How was the meeting with the preacher?”
“Couldn’t be better,” the big man said with a grin from ear-to-ear. “Preacher Miller is always good to talk to. Had some ideas for next year’s Christmas Jubilee.”
“I swear you’d play Santa every day of the year, not just at Christmas.” Sylvie shook her head, coming over to exchange hugs with Chloe, then sitting on the leather love seat to scratch Wöden behind the ears.
“Can I get you a drink or a snack?” Chloe offered, holding up the bowl of chips.
“Oh, Lord no. We had dinner, then desert over at the pastor’s house.” Sylvie looked up at Cleetus who’d joined her on the love seat. “Sorry we’re so late. Someone didn’t tell me we were coming here after the meeting with the pastor and that same someone had two slices of cheesecake before we left.”
“Couldn’t help it. Miss Susie always makes the best chocolate cheesecake,” Cleetus said with a grin.
“It’s actually good you just got here,” Chloe said, settling back with her notepad and pen. “It gave me a chance to hear Daniel’s view on what happened that day.”
“Yeah, he got there before I did.” Cleetus went all serious and it was like someone had sucked some of the life out of the room. “The place was a wreck. Thinking of that little girl living in it, and then being all alone there…”
Sylvie turned in her seat and wrapped her arms around her fiancé. For once, she didn’t say anything.
“What was the first thing you saw when you got to the Thurber place?” Chloe asked, all lawyer-like, before popping another chip in her mouth.
“The door was standing ajar, half the doorframe shattered.” Cleetus gave a nod to Daniel. “I figured Dan there was the cause. The living room was full of trash, piles of clothes, old fast food boxes and the table had drug paraphernalia all over it. Dirty spoons. Used syringes. Tourniquet kind of things, like a rubber hose and two old belts. Pop cans and spoons used to cook stuff.”
Daniel liked how Chloe knew when to take control of the conversation, directing Cleetus to focus. Just like she had him when his emotions had gotten too deep. Focus on the facts, focus on remembering details. His gaze met Wes’s over her head, who nodded toward the kitchen.
Wondering what his friend wanted to talk about, he joined him away from the group to let Cleetus tell his part of the story without any interference, just as he had. Chloe would get the information out of him, no problem.
“She’s good,” he said, leaning back against the far counter. “I didn’t feel like I was being interrogated.”
“Interviewed,” Chloe yelled from the couch without turning around. “I don’t interrogate. That’s your department’s job.”
Wes laughed and leaned in closer. “And she’s got great hearing, too.”
“I heard that!”
Everyone, including Chloe laughed.
“She’ll be good for Lexie,” Daniel said. “When does she meet with her?”
“I believe she’s going over to Westen House tomorrow to talk with her and Melissa. The court case is next week. Chloe wants to get to know Lexie before then.” He pulled out two beers from the fridge, popped the caps on each and handed one to Daniel. “You sure there was nothing new out at the Thurber place today?”
“Looked exactly as we left it when we brought Lexie to town. Even the door slightly askew. The drug paraphernalia was still there for the crime scene people to bag up. Condition of the house hadn’t changed at all. The trash, the clutter. Like Cleetus said this morning, at least we didn’t find any dead rodents or live cockroaches on our walk through.”
“Probably the blizzard and cold weather since then helped with that.”
Daniel laughed. “Yeah, there’s one good thing that came out of that storm.”
Wes stared across his cabin at the tall, lanky brunette at home on his couch. “Oh, trust me, there were quite a few good things that came out of that blizzard.”
“Man, you’ve got it bad.”
“Actually,” Wes said, growing a little serious. “She’s the best thing to happen to me. And if you tell Gage I said that I’ll hide your body where no one can find it.”
“Never heard a word.” Daniel took a swig of his beer, planning to keep mum on the topic. Wes had given their boss so much grief about falling in love with Bobby, Chloe’s sister, that he’d love nothing better than to give some back to Wes, which would be hell for his friend. Plus, knowing that Wes used to work black ops for some agency in Washington, he really could hide a body and it never be found.
“So, how was the baseball team meeting tonight?” Wes asked and Daniel relaxed, grateful for a change of topic.
“Had a good turnout. A few of the kids from last year will be back. Saw some new faces.”
“Duncan Schmidt going to pitch again this year?”
Daniel nodded. “Glenna can’t make the meeting but handed me his permission slip and physical papers when I had lunch at the Peaches ’N Cream today. That’s one worry off my plate. That boy’s got some good movement on his fastball.”
“That he does. Anyone else look promising?” Wes took a long drink of his beer, his eyes once more on Chloe.
“Won’t know until I get them out on the field next week. That is if the weather holds.” He took another drink and thought about his conversation with Melissa earlier in the day. “What do you know about the rules over at Westen House?”
“Not much. I’m not on the board of directors, but Ga
ge is. You should ask him. Why?”
“Well, I was having lunch with Miss Davis and Lexie when Glenna—”
That drew Wes’ attention back to him. “Whoa, wait up a moment. You were having lunch with Miss Davis, as in the house mother of Westen House?”
Great. Not really what he wanted to talk about.
“It wasn’t a lunch date. They were there, I was there. A confrontation started between her and three other women, I stepped in between.”
“What three women?” Cleetus asked from across the room.
Shit. Now everyone was sticking their nose into a simple lunch.
“I don’t know. An older lady, two younger ones. They said something rude in Miss Davis’ direction. She replied rather smartly. The older woman took offense.”
“Melissa? Melissa Davis said something rude?” Sylvie asked. “That woman doesn’t say boo to anyone.”
“Apparently she took exception to the other woman’s comment.” Daniel shrugged. “She took the rude words and just threw them back at the other woman. Something about trash.”
“Did the older woman have black hair, pulled into a French twist?” Sylvie asked.
“French twist?” Daniel asked, completely clueless on hair styles.
Sylvie stood to face him. “Long hair pulled back like this,” she said, sliding her hands over her short spikes. “And like a column tucked in on itself in back?”
Daniel thought back to the woman who’d acted like she planned to attack Melissa. “Yeah, I think that’s how her hair looked.”
“Damn that woman.” Sylvie had both hands fisted on her hips.
“Do you know who it was?” Chloe asked, completely enthralled with the other woman’s passionate reaction.
“Jolene Compton. Frank Compton’s mother,” Sylvie spit the words out. “Mean, spiteful, thinks she’s better than anyone else.”
“And Melissa’s former mother-in-law,” Cleetus finished for her, his face a complete mask of anger. “After what her son did to that little lady, she should hide her head in shame anytime she comes near her.”
“I heard he beat her,” Sylvie said. “That’s why she divorced him, and he went to prison, wasn’t it?”
Close To The Heart (Westen Series Book 5) Page 5