“So noted,” she said with a laugh.
For the next thirty minutes they fell into fantasy talk about the adults the babies would grow up to be. “I wouldn’t mind if one of them followed my footsteps into some form of law enforcement,” she said.
“That would please me, too,” he agreed. “But I’ll love them whatever they grow up to be.”
“What if our son wants to be a ballerina?” she asked, her eyes glittering with humor.
“As long as he was happy, I’d support him,” he replied.
“And what if our daughter chose to be a garbage man?”
“Then I’d learn to love garbage, too.”
Avery laughed. She stood and placed her hand on her stomach. “Oh, right now it feels like they’re both going to be world-class acrobats, because they are definitely turning somersaults all over the place.”
She moved to stand right in front of him. “Here.” To his surprise she took his hand and placed it on her stomach.
He laughed as a new joy filled him. Was that a little elbow? Was it a tiny foot he felt kicking inside her stomach? It was amazing to feel the movements that spoke of life. Once again he was struck by the miracle of it all.
Reluctantly he drew back his hand and stood. “That’s amazing. Thank you for allowing me to feel that.”
She stood so close to him and her evocative scent surrounded him. Rational thought was replaced with the desire to take her in his arms and taste her lips once again. As if she could read his thoughts, she leaned slightly forward and into him.
No, a little voice whispered in the back of his head. Don’t do it. Don’t go there. Following through on this moment of desire will only complicate things between you. The voice became more insistent and he obeyed it. He took a step back from her and the moment was lost.
She cleared her throat and walked over to the small built-in desk. “Just let me get those names for you before you leave.” She withdrew a piece of paper from a drawer and then wrote down the information she had for him.
“I got these from some old photos on the Camp Mabry site.” She walked back and handed him the piece of paper. “There are lots more pictures and rolls to check, but I haven’t had time to really dig into it.”
He tucked the piece of paper in his back pocket. “Still, I appreciate whatever help we can get on this.”
She frowned. “Did Lulu ever come back inside?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t paying any attention.”
Her frown deepened. “Lulu,” she called, and stepped into the living room. She called the dog’s name again as she moved down the hallway, and then returned to the kitchen.
“She’s not anywhere in the house, so apparently she didn’t come back in.” A frown creased Avery’s forehead. “She never stays out this long.” She walked to the back door and opened it.
Dallas followed her outside onto her deck. “Is there a gate that might have been left open?” he asked.
“There is a gate, but there’s absolutely no reason it should be open. Lulu!” she called. “Where are you, baby?”
“Are there any holes in your fence where she might have gotten out?”
“Not that I know of.” She called the dog’s name again and this time her voice was rife with worry.
“I’ll check around in the yard,” he said.
“Me, too.”
Together they left the deck, both of them calling the dog’s name. There were decorative bushes on the left side of the yard, and Dallas headed in that direction as Avery went to the right.
The gate was closed, so Lulu hadn’t wandered out of the backyard, although it was possible she might have crawled through a hole beneath the fence.
Avery continued to shout the dog’s name, her cries growing more and more frantic. Then suddenly she released a scream that raised the hairs on the nape of his neck and shot a sickening jolt through him.
“Avery!” He rushed to her as she bent down and picked up a bloody and shaking Lulu in her arms.
“Oh God, we need to get to the vet’s,” she said with a deep sob.
“Let’s go.” Dallas grabbed her by the arm as she held the dog close to her chest, the blood smearing the front of her blouse.
As they went back through the house and to his truck in the driveway, Avery continued to cry and hold the poodle close to her. “Oh, sweet baby, what happened? Hang on, Lulu, we’re taking you to get help. Please hang on, baby. Hurry, Dallas. We need to get to Dr. Schell’s Animal Clinic.”
Dallas drove as fast as the speed limit would allow, his heart thudding an anxious rhythm. Not only was he worried about poor Lulu, he was also concerned about Avery in her sobbing despair.
Within minutes they were at Dr. Schell’s, Lulu’s veterinarian’s office. The tall, thin doctor was standing at the receptionist’s desk with a younger woman who was apparently his assistant. But as soon as he saw them, without saying a word he took the dog from Avery’s arms and then disappeared with his assistant into an examining room, closing the door behind them.
Avery stood for a moment staring at the door and then collapsed into one of the plastic chairs in the waiting area, sobs ripping from the very depths of her. Dallas sat next to her. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said softly. “We got her here in time. Whatever happened to her, the doctor will be able to fix her right up.” He spoke with an assurance he only hoped was right. He grabbed her hand in his in an effort to offer whatever comfort he could.
“There was so much blood, Dallas. What... What could have happened to her to cause so much blood?” Avery’s teary eyes held his gaze, as if he might have an answer she desperately needed to hear.
“Dr. Schell will let us know what’s going on,” he replied, trying to assure her.
“I sh-should have checked on her s-sooner,” she said with choking breaths as her sobs began to subside. “I—I should have realized something was wrong when she didn’t come right back into the house.”
“You can’t blame yourself for whatever happened,” he protested.
Slowly, she stopped crying and simply leaned against him as they waited for the doctor to tell them what had happened. Was it possible a big dog had gotten into the yard and attacked Lulu? He couldn’t see how, unless the dog was big enough to jump the fence.
Had it been some sort of a rabid animal that had gone after the small, helpless dog? She was right, there had been a lot of blood...too much blood.
The receptionist offered Avery a glass of water, but Avery declined.
The minutes seemed to tick by with an agonizingly slowness. It had been a day of incredible highs...seeing his babies on the sonogram and then feeling the life kicking in her belly. And now this. His head felt like it was spinning from the roller-coaster ride of his emotions.
He couldn’t imagine how distraught Avery would be if for some reason Lulu had to be put to sleep. There was no question that she loved the little pooch.
Finally, Dr. Schell walked out. Avery jumped up from her chair and Dallas rose, as well. He grabbed her by the elbow to keep her steady, unsure what was about to happen.
Dr. Schell smiled at them and relief shuddered through Dallas. Surely the veterinarian wouldn’t be smiling if something was seriously wrong with Lulu.
“She’s fine,” Dr. Schell assured Avery. “Physically she’s completely unharmed. However, Lulu is a bit traumatized. Somebody, I’m assuming not you, shaved a stripe down her back,” he said.
“But what about all the blood?” Avery asked in obvious bewilderment. “She had to have been hurt somewhere.”
“It was all fake blood.” Dr. Schell frowned. “It’s now being sold in stores because of Halloween coming in a couple of weeks. It appears somebody played a bad joke on you. I’ve got Linda giving Lulu a little bath right
now.”
Avery sagged against Dallas’s side. “Thank God she’s okay.”
Dallas was glad the dog was all right, but immediately his mind began to work. Who had done this and why? Somebody had to have snatched the dog from the backyard, shaved her and covered her with the fake blood, then returned her. It was all crazy and hateful. Who was responsible for this and why?
“Lulu will be out in just a few minutes. I also found this tied to her collar.” He held out a small plastic bag with a piece of paper folded up inside. Avery took it from him, opened the plastic bag and pulled out the note.
“WHORE. NEXT TIME IT MIGHT BE REAL BLOOD. NEXT TIME IT MIGHT BE YOURS.”
Chapter 5
A cold chill washed over Avery as she stared down at the words written on the paper. Who had done this? Who had done this to Lulu and left the horrible note for her? With trembling fingers she started to crumple the paper up, but Dallas stopped her.
“Dr. Schnell, could we have an envelope?” he asked.
“I’ve got one right here,” the receptionist said. She held out a plain white envelope. Dallas took it from her and instructed Avery to place both the plastic bag and the note into it.
She did so with her hands still trembling, and Dallas took the envelope from her. “Danny and Chad warned me that some of Dwayne Conway’s thug friends were smack-talking about wanting revenge on me. But I can’t believe they did this to my dog. I can’t believe anyone would do this to a little dog.”
At that moment Linda walked out the back room with Lulu in her arms. “Oh Lulu, my poor little baby,” Avery said, and took the shivering poodle from her.
Sure enough, just as Dr. Schell had described, a long swatch of fur was missing down Lulu’s back. But thankfully, she was clean and relatively unharmed by what had been done to her.
“I know not all people ascribe to the belief that dogs have human feelings like shame, but I do,” Dr. Schell said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Lulu hid once you get her home. She knows something has been done to her and she’s ashamed of how she looks. I just want to warn you that for the next couple of hours she might not act normal.”
“I’ll just have to make sure I give her extra loving,” Avery replied.
“That’s what this doctor would recommend,” Dr. Schell replied with a smile.
Minutes later they were back in Dallas’s truck and headed to her house. “I still can’t believe somebody did this. What an evil, wicked thing to do to a poor, innocent dog,” she said.
“What concerns me is the threat to you that was in that note,” Dallas said, his tone grim. “When were you going to tell me that Chad and Danny told you about threats made toward you?”
“I didn’t take it real seriously at the time, so I didn’t think it was anything to talk about.”
“You should have told me right away. When we get back to the house we need to call Chief Thompson.”
She frowned and cuddled Lulu more tightly against her. “I hate to bother him with this. He has enough on his plate with the mummy and other murders.”
“Avery, this needs to be reported and investigated,” Dallas replied firmly. “That note threatened your life.”
“I know,” she replied softly. It felt good for him to be so protective of her. It felt good to have somebody she trusted on her side, especially since her world was suddenly tilted upside down. There was no question she was frightened by what had happened.
“I’m definitely not going to let Lulu go outside alone anymore,” she said.
“At this point I’m not sure I want you going outside alone,” he replied, as he pulled up in her driveway. His words warmed her. She was so grateful that he cared about her and was with her through this. She was definitely shaken up by what had happened and the note.
He unbuckled his seat belt and then turned to look at her. “Avery, I don’t want anything happening to you. I don’t want anything happening to my babies.”
Reality slammed into the fantasy that had begun spinning in her head. He really wasn’t protecting her, she had to remind herself. It was all about the babies. She got out of the truck with Lulu in her arms and together she and Dallas went inside.
She sank down on the sofa while he called Chief Thompson. Lulu had stopped shivering and seemed happy to be home. Thankfully, she didn’t hide, but rather curled up on her little pink bed at the end of the sofa and promptly fell asleep.
“He should be here in just a few minutes,” Dallas said as he hung up his cell phone. He sank down next to her on the sofa and she fought the impulse to once again lean into him. She shouldn’t depend on him. He wasn’t hers to depend on. Besides, she was a strong woman. She shouldn’t need to depend on anyone.
“I’ve had threats against me before,” she said. “I was hoping these new threats were as empty as the others had been.”
“You haven’t had threats against you while I’ve been in your life,” he replied.
“They usually amount to nothing.”
“We’ll see what Chief Thompson thinks about this,” he replied. “What happened to Lulu didn’t seem like nothing.” He looked down. “At least Lulu seems okay.”
“I need to call tomorrow and make an appointment with her groomer so her fur can be straightened out.” A cold chill danced up Avery’s spine once again. The image of Lulu hiding beneath a bush, covered with what she had thought was blood, would haunt her for a very long time. “It was so awful to see her...to see that blood all over her.”
To her surprise and relief, he reached out and took her hand in his. “Avery, you...we need to take this seriously. That note threatened your life. Hopefully, somebody can pull a print off that note and we’ll know who was behind this.”
“That would be nice,” she agreed. “I’d love to see somebody in jail for terrorizing my dog.”
“I’d like to see somebody behind bars for terrorizing you,” he replied. “I haven’t noticed before... do you have an alarm system here?”
“I do. It was one of the first things I had installed when I moved in here. As a single woman living alone, I thought an alarm was a necessity.”
“Good. That puts my mind to rest a little bit,” he replied. “From now on you need to leave the house as little as possible. When you do leave here you definitely need to watch your surroundings and be on high alert.”
“Trust me, you don’t have to give me a talk on safety. I’ve been aware of safety issues since I became a prosecutor. I’ve always known I could be targeted by creeps.”
The doorbell rang, and Dallas jumped to his feet. “That should be Chief Thompson.”
He opened the front door and welcomed him in. Despite being beyond retirement age, the lawman carried his authority in the firm set of his shoulders and the direct gaze of his eyes.
He had a good reputation at the prosecutor’s office and was known as a straight shooter, although Avery couldn’t help but notice he looked tired and stressed out.
Avery told him about finding Lulu in the backyard and then Dallas handed him the envelope with the note inside. Avery told him what the note said before he pulled gloves on and then opened and read it for himself.
“According to Chad and Danny at the office, Dwayne Conway’s buddies have been talking about getting some sort of revenge on me for him being locked up,” she said.
“I’ll have a chat with Chad and Danny and see if they have any more information on these threats,” Archer replied. He frowned and held up the envelope Dallas had given him. “I don’t hold much hope that I can lift a fingerprint off this, but I’ll give it a try. These creeps are smart enough to know to wear gloves when they’re creating havoc.”
“We hated to bother you with this,” Avery said. “With everything else you have on your plate, you don’t need anything more.”
“You were right to call me. We can’t have one of our prosecutors b
eing threatened. And unfortunately, other crime doesn’t stop in this town just because we’re investigating the mummy murder cases,” Archer replied.
“Anything new on those cases?” Dallas asked.
Archer’s jaw knotted with obvious tension. “Nothing. I’m hoping, once we get the list of soldiers who were stationed around the area during the time of the original murders, that something will pop open for us. But I’m also aware that it’s all a long shot.”
“Avery volunteered to do some research on that, as well,” Dallas said. “It doesn’t help that the state of Texas has or had so many Army encampments and that records from that time period haven’t all been uploaded to the internet. Still, we should get through them in the next couple of days.”
Archer nodded and started for the door. “I’ll keep you updated on anything I find concerning this note and whoever was responsible. In the meantime, Avery, stay alert and call me if anything else happens.”
The minute the lawman left the house, Avery collapsed back on the sofa. Waves of weariness washed over her. Adrenaline had spiked through her since the moment she’d seen Lulu hiding behind the bush in the backyard. The adrenaline had remained high until now, and with it draining away she was utterly exhausted.
“Are you okay?” Dallas asked, as he sank down next to her.
“I’m fine,” she assured him.
“Are you scared?”
A small laugh escaped her. “Right now I think I’m too tired to be afraid.”
“Are you going to be okay here alone?” His gaze held hers intently.
“I’ll be fine,” she assured him. She certainly didn’t expect him to spend the night with her just because she got a threatening note.
“If you’re sure, then I’ll get out of here and let you rest. You have to be exhausted from everything that has happened today.”
“I am,” she admitted. “But it was a wonderful day before we found Lulu hiding in the bushes.”
“It was one of the very best days of my life,” he replied. He stood and held out a hand to her. “Walk me to the door so you can set your alarm after I leave.”
Target in Jeopardy Page 7