by Dana R. Lynn
Suddenly, he tensed.
“Okay...”
“What? What is it?” Maggie straightened in her seat. “Tell me!”
“It’s probably nothing,” he stated slowly, though his tone suggested it was very definitely something. “There is a car behind us. I can’t be sure, but my gut says we are being followed.”
The muscles in her stomach tightened, cramped. She leaned forward slightly, crossing her arms over her stomach in an attempt to hold in the pain. “The other cops—they were behind us,” she gasped.
He flashed her a worried glance. “They were. They turned off several miles back. This isn’t them.”
She peered into the side mirror just as the car sped up, gaining on them.
“Hold on.” Dan’s mouth tightened into a grim line. His foot pushed down on the gas, and he gripped the steering wheel as he attempted to outmaneuver the other vehicle. Taking one hand off the wheel, he tapped a button on the console area, then replaced his hand on the wheel. Voice control is a grand thing, Maggie mused as she listened to him calling the precinct. With as few words as possible he informed the dispatcher of their current situation.
“I’ll stay on the line with you until we can intercept you,” the dispatcher droned.
Lord, help us. Maggie startled as she realized she was praying. In her experience, prayer really hadn’t worked in the past. But as Dan’s velocity increased around the curves, she found herself again praying. Now was not the time to reject even the possibility of assistance from God. Hopefully He was still willing to listen to her.
With every twist, the other car followed. Dan’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel, but other than that he appeared calm and focused. Maggie aimed another glance at her side mirror and gasped, horror leaping into her chest. A man was leaning out the side window at an impossible angle. The afternoon sunlight flashed against his sunglasses, making it difficult to make out his features clearly. She had no trouble making out the rifle in his hands.
The rifle aimed at their car.
Dan swerved suddenly, just as a shot rang out. It missed the car, but who knew if the second bullet would miss?
“We are one mile from exit 270.” He probably didn’t realize he was shouting.
“Take the next exit, Lieutenant,” the dispatcher directed.
Dan nodded. “On my way off now.”
With a quick spin of the wheel, he sent the car hurtling across the lane beside him toward the exit. It was a good thing there was no traffic to speak of. The car following them braked hard to avoid a collision. The man leaning out the window was forced to grab on to the door. She sighed in relief as he dropped the rifle on the road. It bounced and shattered as the rear wheels rolled over it.
As they roared onto the exit, two police cruisers shot into place along the berm, lights flashing. Dan steered off, but the car following them gunned the engine and shot past the exit. One of the police cars sped up the exit ramp the wrong way in pursuit.
Maggie slumped in her seat, drained and exhausted. She stayed in the car as Dan got out to confer with the officers in the remaining cruiser. She lacked the energy even to try to listen to what they were saying. She’d had it. She closed her eyes, not even opening them when the driver’s door opened. Dan had returned. She’d known him only a short time, but she already knew the scent of his cologne.
“I checked for bugs. There are no tracking devices on the car. Do you have a cell phone?”
“No.”
“Let me check out the diaper bag and the car seats.” Fifteen minutes later, she sighed in relief when he announced all clear.
“And do we have another plan?”
“Same plan, Maggie.” His voice rumbled. “We are going to continue to the cabin, but via a different route.”
Different? The route was an impossible and ridiculous one, Maggie thought hours later. Long drives were one thing, but spending the drive coupled with two children who’d had enough of being strapped into car seats was another. They had allowed themselves the luxury of stopping once for food and diaper changes.
Maggie stepped inside the cabin, Rory sleeping peacefully in her arms. In the past four hours, Dan had made so many turns, she wasn’t even positive they were still in Pennsylvania. Not a single landmark was familiar. A bone-chilling weariness settled around her. She was one step away from sliding down that rabbit hole. Between sleep deprivation and stress, she was starting to get a little wacky.
Dan entered, carrying a whiny Siobhan, as she was setting Rory down on a makeshift bed of throw blankets. Maggie wiped her mouth with her hand to cover the smile that was threatening to escape. The poor man was a bit wild around the eyes. His hair was no longer smooth. In places it actually seemed to be standing on end. But Siobhan had taken a liking to him. She whimpered whenever he tried to hand her off to her mother. If Maggie took her, the whimper morphed into a full bellow. She’d offered Dan earplugs at one point, only half joking.
“Do you think I can put her down?” Dan whispered. “I really need to check the perimeter and call my chief. Give him an update.”
Maggie stretched out her arms. “Here. Give her to me.”
He started to hand her over, then hesitated as Siobhan let out a warning whimper. Maggie took her, anyway. And the bellowing began.
Dan’s brow creased. “Are you sure—” he began.
“Go! She’ll settle down in a minute.” Maggie pointed an imperious finger toward the door.
Dan started to walk toward the door, then stopped with a chuckle. “I can’t believe this. You’re already telling me what to do.”
He disappeared out the door, leaving Maggie standing there, her mouth hanging wide-open. She stared at the door for a couple of seconds before realizing that she was getting nothing accomplished. Shaking herself out of the strange stillness that had come over her, she got her daughter settled with Rory and went to work making the tiny cabin comfortable. She turned on the heat. Hopefully, the place wouldn’t take long to warm up, since it was so small.
It was strange. As she waited for Dan to return, she felt uneasy. His presence was so big, so sturdy, that she had felt safe when he was there. Now, knowing that it was only she and the twins, she felt herself tensing as the silence stretched and grew. The wind blew against the little cabin, making creaks and cracks and groans. She felt as if someone was watching her.
A sharp rap sounded on the door. Maggie shrieked. She blushed as the door opened and Dan poked his head around it, his face breaking into a smile. His gray eyes danced.
“Now, who did you think was going to knock before trying to get in the door?” His tone was cocky but his expression was watchful.
“You just startled me, that’s all.” She chided herself for being so jumpy. Still, the memory of that man coming at her with a knife was looming large in the back of her mind.
The heat clicked on with a loud hum. Dan smiled. “I’m glad you turned the heat on. Not to complain, but it’s chilly in here.”
“I’m surprised at you. Coming from LaMar Pond, this weather is mild. The winters there are absolutely brutal. But you know that,” Maggie responded.
“Well, I’m not actually from LaMar Pond. I’m from Hershey, Pennsylvania. I moved to Pittsburgh when I got out of the army. I moved to LaMar Pond about two years ago. I was working undercover on a case. Actually, I was working to find out what was happening to the jurors from Melanie’s trial. Once the case was over, I decided to stay. It’s a nice little community. A little slower pace, but I like it.”
“Well, anyway, I know it’s going to get cold tonight. I figured why wait to warm the place up. I’ve got warm clothes for the babies, but nothing for me other than what I’m wearing.”
“It was a good thought,” Dan remarked. “But you won’t be staying here tonight.”
What? Why stop in s
uch a remote place, why go through the trouble of searching the perimeter if this was only a break?
“Why didn’t you tell me that earlier? I thought the plan was for us to stay here. I really don’t think the twins can stand being cooped in a car anymore.” She looked over to where the twins were settled on the floor. Frustration built as she realized she’d prefer to do just about anything than lug them both back to the car. She was so tired. All she wanted to do was go to bed, although she wasn’t sure if she would sleep tonight. Not after what she’d been through that day.
Unease slithered across to her spine and settled in the pit of her stomach. Dan wasn’t telling her something. She could tell just by the way he hesitated. He had a look on his face that suggested he was expecting some kind of trouble. Trouble from her.
“Actually, Maggie, you don’t need to worry about them riding in a car. You and I aren’t staying, but the twins are.” She stared at him. He continued, “I called my chief. He has someone coming to meet us here and take protective custody of the children.”
“Are you nuts? I’m supposed to leave my children here?” Maggie clenched her teeth to keep from shrieking. The muscles in her throat ached. What was this crazy man thinking?
Dan sighed and ran an impatient hand through his hair. “Look, Maggie, I know this isn’t easy to understand. But that scum back at your house was right. Whoever is after you is not going to stop. And you stand out. Even if you shaved your head, you’d stick out. Because how many young women are walking around with twins?”
She opened her mouth to argue.
“Maggie, if this were a normal case, I’d agree you should stay here in protective custody along with the kids. But no one else knows anything about your husband. And no one else can identify the man who killed him. If he is a cop, we have to know immediately. And if he’s not, maybe you can help us identify him.”
It made sense. Still, she hesitated.
“He’s never going to let me be, is he?” she whispered finally. “I don’t want to hide, but I’m so afraid for the twins.”
Dan rubbed his hand across his neck. She had the sinking feeling he knew something he wasn’t telling her. “What?”
“I didn’t want to tell you this, but you deserve to know. That gunshot didn’t kill Phillip. He was tortured. I doubt he was killed inside the house.”
Nausea swirled in her stomach. Poor Phillip. Could she have saved him if she’d tried to help instead of running away?
“Why did I leave him?”
“No, Maggie. No. If you had stayed, you would have died, too. I’m telling you so you understand. This is someone wholly without conscience. In order to protect your children, you have to help us.”
He was right. She knew it. Oh, but it was a bitter pill to swallow. She couldn’t give in yet.
“What plan do you have to keep them safe?” she whispered. “Dan, these kids are my life. And you are asking me to walk away and leave them with some stranger? Some cop, when you know exactly why I don’t trust the police?”
“Not a cop—or at least, not only a cop. And not exactly a stranger,” he hedged. A knock on the door interrupted them. He blew out a relieved breath and went to answer the door. Maggie fumed, arms crossed over her chest. She realized she was grinding her teeth again when her jaw started to ache.
Dan pulled open the door, and Maggie got the shock of her life when a familiar figure stepped across the threshold.
In an instant, she was across the room and wrapped up tight in a vanilla-scented embrace.
“Mom,” she choked. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she didn’t care. The frustrations of the past melted as she sobbed like a little girl in her mama’s arms.
FIVE
Dan stood, mesmerized, as the two women embraced, rocking back and forth. Tears ran down both their faces. They stood there, laughing and crying, for what seemed like forever. Every now and then one of them would pull back, stare into the other’s face, then they would begin the ritual all over again. He felt his throat tighten.
When was the last time anyone had hugged him that hard? Had anyone? Searching his memory, he couldn’t remember a single time in his life when he had been the recipient of such an embrace. Surely none of his foster parents had ever touched him with that much affection. He had more memories of slaps and anger than of hugs. He had vague memories of his mother, but she had been gone for so long, they were more impressions than actual memories.
Oh, sure, he had seen people embrace before. His buddy Jace and his new wife, Melanie, were huggers. Not in an obnoxious way. They were just open about their affection for one another. They had the kind of love he’d always wanted for himself.
Stop. Right. Now.
Yes, he was alone, but that was by choice. He never could explain to any woman what he had become, what he had done over in Afghanistan. He had returned from the war a hero, but part of him had died. It was hard enough for him to pick up his service revolver each morning. He forced himself to do so because he truly believed in the call to serve and protect. But he dreaded the idea that he might actually ever need to use his weapon. That was one reason he had requested the transfer to LaMar Pond. He’d hoped that a small town would have fewer chances for violence.
And now he was looking for a murderer.
What had he gotten himself into?
Dan pulled himself back to the present and saw that the two women had separated and were talking quietly. Anna looked around the room and gasped.
“Are those my grandchildren?” she breathed. Tears once more filled her blue eyes that were so like Maggie’s. It was a wonder she had any tears left to cry.
Maggie took her mother’s hand and led her over to where the exhausted kids were lying. Neither was asleep. They were both playing quietly with the toys that Maggie had pulled out of her backpack. Anna placed a tender hand on each dark-haired head. Her face was filled with wonder.
“What are their names?” she whispered, not taking her eyes off the two children. The little girl continued playing, but Rory looked up and gave the woman a wide smile. One tooth was just barely starting to poke out of the bottom gums.
“Their names are Rory Sean and Siobhan Anne.” Maggie’s eyes stayed glued to Anna’s face, a hint of worry in their depths.
“Oh!” Anna clapped a hand over her mouth as a single tear ran down her cheek.
“Mom!” Maggie moved forward, her eyes wide with alarm. Her mother just shook her head. When she uncovered her mouth, Dan was astonished to find a huge smile spreading across her face. Maggie blinked.
“It’s truly glad I am that you named your children after me and your grandparents. It tells me you’ve forgiven me.”
Maggie bent her head and stared at the floor, her hands shoved into her pockets. After a moment she peeked up, her face sad.
“You didn’t need my forgiveness, Mom,” she mumbled. “You deserved my respect and understanding. And I was a foolish girl. I’m sorry.”
“Margaret Mary, you were a child. I was supposed to have protected you. And I failed both times.”
Hmm. Dan was pretty sure one of those times involved Maggie’s birth father. Quite a few people were shocked to realize that Senator Joe Travis had several illegitimate children. One was Sylvie, the college student Melanie Swanson had been falsely accused of killing. And another was Maggie. A young Joe Travis had convinced Anna O’Connor to marry him while he was traveling in Ireland twenty-eight years before. Unfortunately, he had neglected to tell his young bride that he already had a wife back in the United States. The whole story had exploded eighteen months ago. Documents found on Maggie’s computer had shown that she had discovered the link after the trial and was trying to locate the other children.
“Mom, you did what you could.”
“But if you’re not angry with me, then why stay away? Why no
t let me know where you were, that you were safe? That I was a grandmother? Do you not know the agony I have been through these past two years? First you wouldn’t talk to me, then you just up and disappeared. And your lovely house—destroyed!” There was no accusation in Anna Slade’s tone, but Dan thought he detected hurt in her voice. Although, maybe it was just the way the Irish accent rounded out the sounds.
Maggie looked at Dan. “Does she know?”
Dan shrugged. How did he know? He hadn’t been the one to call her. Knowing Paul as he did, she probably knew only what was absolutely necessary. Paul would have stepped very carefully. He always did.
Maggie placed a trembling hand on her mother’s arm. “Mom, I witnessed the murder of my husband. I have been on the run for eighteen months. I was going to call you when the twins were born, but I thought I had been found, so I took off again. I was afraid if I contacted you, you would be in danger, too.”
The cop in Dan zeroed in on one thing. Someone had located her a year ago. He needed to get her alone so she could explain that to him. First things first.
“Mrs. Slade, did Chief Kennedy send an officer with you?”
Anna turned her attention to Dan. “Yes, Officer...”
“Lieutenant Willis, ma’am.”
Anna nodded her thanks. “Chief Kennedy sent two fine officers with me. Sergeant Thompson and Officer Olsen.”
His brows shot upward. Catching himself, he struggled to hide his surprise. Officer Olsen had been a sergeant at one time. Over a year ago, however, he had abandoned his oath as a police officer to terrorize a former convict. Melanie Swanson, now Melanie Tucker, had been convicted of manslaughter. No one knew at the time, but the college girl she had been accused of killing was Miles Olsen’s stepsister. He had turned vigilante to attempt to get Melanie to leave town because his stepmother had been grief-stricken over her release. Since he had only tried to scare her and not hurt her, he had received a six-month suspension from the force. Paul was all for a full dismissal, but his boss had overridden him. Still, he’d been on desk duty since he had returned. It was ironic that Paul had allowed him to resume active duty on this case, protecting one of the jurors who had put Melanie in jail.