Guarding the Babies

by Sandra Robbins

  “I’m telling the truth. Your brother-in-law was given a drug in a cup of coffee right before the plane took off, and they went down when he lost consciousness.”

  Holly glanced at Cole, who looked as shocked as she felt. “Sarah,” he said, “that’s a serious allegation. What possessed you to come here and make such a claim?”

  “The fact that I know it’s true,” she said.

  At that statement, Todd, who’d stood quietly by Holly since Cole brought Sarah in, stepped in front of Sarah. “I think it’s time you left. If you won’t go peacefully, I’m going to remove you bodily from this house.”

  Before Cole could tell Todd he wanted to question Sarah further, the bodyguard took another step forward. He reached out to take Sarah by the arm, but she jerked away. “You’ve got to believe me! I risked my life to come here and tell you!” Sarah screamed.

  A worried look crossed Todd’s face, and Holly could tell that he thought Sarah was mentally disturbed and possibly dangerous. “That does it,” he said. “You’re out of here.”

  Cole held out his hand to stop him. “Wait, Todd. This is a serious allegation, and we need to get to the bottom of this. If this is true, the authorities need to be involved.”

  Todd hesitated, but then he backed off. “You’re right.”

  Cole turned back to Sarah. “You need to get yourself under control, and we’ll sit down and talk so you can tell us why you think Ruth and Michael were murdered.” He glanced at Todd. “Show Sarah into the den, and Holly and I will be there shortly.”

  Todd nodded and motioned for Sarah to follow him. When they were out of earshot, Holly blinked back tears and turned to Cole. “Do you think she’s telling the truth? Why would anybody want to kill Ruth and Michael? They didn’t have an enemy in the world.”

  “I know this is upsetting, Holly,” he said, “but we need to find out why she’s making this accusation. After we’ve heard her out, I’ll know better what I need to do. Does she really know something about a murder, or is she in need of psychiatric attention? Let’s go listen to what she has to say. Okay?”

  Holly bit down on her lip and thought about what he’d said. She’d known some crazy fans over the years, but she’d never encountered anything like this. There were people who stalked celebrities and concocted all kinds of stories to get the attention of the person they were fixated on. Just another downside to living in the public eye. Sarah could easily be one of them. It was at times like these that she wished she’d never left Jackson Springs.

  But this was a serious situation, and it needed to be settled right away. Cole was right. He could better decide how to handle this situation after he heard Sarah’s story. She took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay. Let’s go see what she has to say.”

  When they walked into the den, Sarah was seated on the sofa and Todd was standing beside her as if he was afraid she might bolt at any minute. Holly took a seat in a chair facing Sarah, and Cole eased down beside her on the couch. Todd stepped over beside Holly and took a protective stance next to her.

  Cole glanced at Holly before he swiveled to face Sarah. “I hope you can understand how your statement has upset Miss Lee. She’s still grieving the loss of her sister and brother-in-law while making a life for their two orphaned children. I have to warn you, if this is some wild scheme to benefit you in some way, whether it’s to extort money from her or to gain you fifteen minutes of fame, I will personally see that you pay to the full extent of the law.”

  Sarah clasped her hands in her lap and nodded. “I understand. This isn’t easy for me. In fact, I kept trying to talk myself out of coming here.” She paused and looked at Holly. “But a few days ago, I saw some pictures of you in a magazine at Malibu. You had your niece and nephew with you, and the story said you’d taken them after their parents died. When I saw those two children, I knew I had to come forward with what I know.”

  “I remember that article,” Holly said. She closed her eyes as the memory of that day washed over her, and she recalled how angry she’d been when that article came out. She and Mandy had waded into the ocean that afternoon and held Emma and Ethan as their tiny hands slapped at the water while the waves rolled in. They had sounded so happy, and their giggles had lifted her spirits for the first time since the tragedy.

  She still hadn’t figured out how the photographer had gotten past her security guards to take the pictures, but they had.

  “Well,” Sarah said, “after I saw those pictures, I wrestled with what I should do. And then I decided that no matter what happened to me, I had to let you know.”

  Before she could say anything else, Cole leaned toward her, a frown on his face. “Okay, Sarah. I want you to start at the beginning and tell us what brought you to the conclusion that Ruth and Michael were murdered.”

  Sarah nodded and took a deep breath. “I suppose the beginning came about a year and a half ago when I met a man at the restaurant where I worked as a waitress. He came in one night and he flirted with me the whole time he was there. I was shocked when I saw the tip he’d left but thought I’d probably never see him again. But he was back the next night and asked me to go out with him. I don’t usually date men I don’t know well, but he was insistent. He came in night after night until I gave in. To my surprise, he was very charming and very attentive. I liked him right away, and we began to see each other.”

  Cole had pulled his notepad from his pocket and was busy scribbling notes of what Sarah was saying. When she paused, he glanced up. “What was his name?”

  “Willie Trask. He was a sharp dresser and always had a lot of money, so he showed me a good time when we went out.”

  “Where did he work?” Cole asked.

  “That’s the strange part,” Sarah answered. “He would never give me a straight answer about his job but told me he consulted with businesses on problems and did troubleshooting for them. He would leave town and be gone for days. Then he’d return, and he’d take me out to a fancy restaurant to celebrate his success with another assignment, but he’d never tell me where he went or who he helped.”

  A frown pulled at Cole’s brow. “Didn’t you get suspicious about what he was doing?”

  “Not at first, but then things changed.”

  “What happened?”

  “Willie had been out of town for a few days on business in Dallas, he said. When he came home, we decided to have dinner at his apartment that night. Before we ate, I needed to go freshen up. In the bathroom, I saw a book of matches on the floor next to the clothes hamper. I figured it had fallen out of his pocket when he had taken off his dirty clothes. I picked it up and was surprised to see that it was from a motel in New Orleans. When I asked him what he was doing in New Orleans, he got angry and told me I had no right snooping around his apartment. For the first time, I saw a side of his personality that frightened me, and I left soon after we ate.”

  “So he wouldn’t tell you anything about where the matchbook came from?”

  She shook her head. “No, but I called the motel, and I could tell from talking with whomever answered that it wasn’t a very upscale place. In fact, it sounded like a cash-only establishment that rented rooms by the hour. I couldn’t imagine what Willie was doing staying in such a place.”

  “Did you ask him about it again?” Cole asked.

  “No. I was going to, but I didn’t get a chance. We weren’t supposed to see each other the next night, but I decided I had to know more about who he really was. So I went to his apartment. When I got there, I knocked, but he didn’t answer. I was surprised that the door wasn’t locked, so I walked in. I could hear him on the phone in the bedroom, and I walked over and stopped at the door.”

  “Who was he talking to?”

  “I don’t know, but what he said scared me so bad that my knees were wobbling. I heard him say, ‘I put the drug in the guy’s coffee, and the plane went down. I made the hit just
like you wanted. I’ll do another one for you if you need me, but I try to stay away from high-profile jobs. And kidnapping a country-music star’s kids is high profile. Why do you need these babies?’”

  Holly’s heart was pounding so hard she felt like it might burst out of her chest. She looked at Cole and opened her mouth to speak, but he shook his head. “Go on, Sarah.”

  “I couldn’t move, and he didn’t say anything for a few minutes while he listened to whoever he was talking to. Then I heard him say, ‘How much are they willing to pay?’ He gave a low chuckle and said, ‘Not much for the coverage this is going to get in the media when a celebrity is involved. Instead, I want half of the payoff if I get those kids for you. Take it or leave it.’ He listened for a few more minutes then said, ‘I thought you’d see it my way. I’ll be in touch.’ Before I could move, he disconnected the call and turned around. That’s when he saw me, and I knew from the rage on his face I had to get out of there. I ran as fast as I could, but I could hear him shouting at me that he was going to kill me.”

  “What did you do then?” Cole asked.

  “I drove to the ATM, got some money and took off for a fishing cabin that my father had on the lake. I’d never told Willie about it, so I thought I’d be safe there. The next day, I went to the library in a nearby town and searched the internet for stories that involved a plane crash, children and a country-music star. I found the story about your sister and brother-in-law crashing in Louisiana, and I knew he’d killed them. I’ve been trying to get my nerve up ever since to come here. But I waited too long, because now he knows where I am.” She glanced at Cole. “That’s why I called you. Because I saw him on the street in town, and I knew it had something to do with what I’d heard him saying on the phone. But then he saw me, and the look on his face told me he wanted to make good on his threat to kill me to keep me quiet.”

  Holly watched Cole’s face to see if she could tell whether he believed Sarah or not, but there was nothing visible to give a hint as to what he was thinking. He stared down at his notes for a moment and then sighed before looking up. “That’s a good story, Sarah. But we all know that the reports of Ruth’s and Michael’s deaths and their orphaned children have been in the news a lot since their deaths. It might not have been that way if it wasn’t for Holly’s celebrity, but it’s been reported widely. Anybody could take those facts and make up a story that sounded like it was true. Have you been truthful with us, or are you lying?”

  Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she shook her head. “I’m not lying. That’s exactly what happened. You’ve got to believe me. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to those children and I hadn’t come forward.”

  Cole pursed his lips and stared back down at his notes. Then he glanced up at Todd. “Would you stay here with Sarah while Holly and I have a private conversation?”

  Todd nodded, and Holly stood and followed Cole from the room. He led her to the kitchen, where he closed the door before he turned to face her. “Holly, I don’t know for sure, but I tend to believe her. She appeared so emotional when she was talking. This raises some suspicions that we need to check out.”

  Holly sank down in a chair at the kitchen table, propped her elbows on the tabletop and covered her eyes. With the first words out of Sarah’s mouth, she had known she was about to hear something that would affect her greatly. But she hadn’t expected it to turn her world upside down. Ruth and Michael murdered, and someone being paid to kidnap Ethan and Emma? It seemed too surreal to be true.

  She sensed that Cole had pulled a chair close to her and sat beside her. “Holly, are you all right?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think I ever will be again.” She blinked back her tears and looked up into his face. “What are we going to do, Cole?”

  He reached over and took her hand in his. “We’re going to find out the truth. If this Willie Trask actually exists, I’m going to find him and find out who’s paying him so I can put a stop to his plan before he does any more harm to you or your family.”

  She stared into his eyes and then down at their hands. A small smile curled her lips. “Did you hear what we said, Cole? I asked what we were going to do, and you said we were going to find out the truth. It sounds almost like old times when we worked everything out together.”

  A sad look flashed in his eyes, and he nodded. “It’s always been that way, and no matter what’s happened between us in the past, it still is. We’re going to get to the bottom of this and protect Ethan and Emma while we’re doing it.”

  “How are we going to do that?”

  “I have a few ideas. Now I need to make some phone calls. You go back in the den, and I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  As they stood, their eyes locked, and Holly felt a flutter in her stomach that she hadn’t felt in years. The thought that all she wanted was to press her lips to his consumed her, but she knew it was years too late for that. Reluctantly, she stepped back, breaking their contact.

  “I’ll be with Todd,” she murmured before heading to the door.

  She didn’t look back as she walked away but focused on holding her emotions in check before she fell to pieces. When she stepped back in the den, Sarah still sat on the couch, and Todd stood beside her. She gave a slight nod and sat down in the chair she’d vacated earlier.

  No one spoke as they waited for Cole to reappear. After what seemed to be an interminable time, he walked back in. He came and sat on the sofa next to Sarah again. “I’ve talked with the sheriff and with social services. We think it’s best if we place you in a safe house for the time being. We can protect you there while we dig into what you’ve told us.”

  She nodded. “Okay. Can we go by the motel where I’m staying and get my stuff?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea. There will be clothes and all kinds of personal items for your use where you’re going. If someone really is trying to kill you, they may have your motel staked out. One of the deputies can clean the room out later, but we don’t want to lead them to the safe house.”

  “How long do you think I’ll have to stay there?”

  Cole shrugged. “I can’t promise how long you’ll be there.”

  Sarah sank back against the cushions of the sofa and sighed. “Thank you. I feel safe for the first time in weeks. I hope you hurry up and find him so I can go home. I need to get back to my job—that is, if I still have one.”

  “Maybe it won’t take long.” With that, he stood and Sarah joined him.

  Holly wanted to follow them to the door, but her knees felt weak. “Todd, will you show Detective Jackson and Miss Palmer out?”

  Cole cocked an eyebrow and cast a questioning glance at her. “Holly, I’ll come by in the morning.”

  She didn’t answer him, and after a minute, he and Todd escorted Sarah outside. The front door closed and Todd walked back to the den. “I’m going to make a call to that security company in Knoxville we’ve used before and get them to send some of their guys to help us out tonight so we can double our guard. Mandy is upstairs with the babies. Why don’t you go on up and try to get a good night’s sleep? We’ll make sure that all of you are protected.”

  “Thanks, Todd. I just want to sit here for a while and think about everything that’s happened tonight. But don’t let me detain you. Go on and do whatever you need to.”

  He didn’t say anything else but slipped from the room. As the hour grew later, she couldn’t make herself get up and go to bed. All she could think about was what Sarah had said. Losing Ruth in such a horrific way had been unbearable, but if Sarah was telling the truth, she doubted if she would ever recover from the fact that someone had planned and executed her sister’s death in such a methodical and diabolical way. Holly doubted if she would ever recover from the gaping wound left by such a hideous act.

  * * *

  The next morning, Cole coul
d hardly wait to get back to Holly’s house and see how she’d made it through the night. After getting past the paparazzi parked in front of the house and one of the new security guards he hadn’t seen before, he strode through the front door and to the kitchen, where all the morning sounds were coming from.

  Emma and Ethan were in their high chairs and Holly and Mandy were laughing as they tried to feed the twins their morning cereal. Mrs. Green stood at the stove, her hands on her hips and a smile on her face. To see Holly as happy as she appeared to be at that moment warmed his heart. He’d been worried she’d be down in the dumps after what she’d heard the night before.

  He watched for a few minutes before he cleared his throat. “Is this a private party, or can anybody get in on it?”

  Holly looked up and smiled when she saw him. “I’m afraid Mandy and I are busy right now, but if you want cereal, I’m sure Mrs. Green would be glad to feed you.”

  He laughed and pulled out a chair from the table. “You always did have a smart mouth,” he teased as he sat down.

  She gazed up at him from hooded eyes. “I learned it from you. I had to if I was going to hold my own with you.”

  Mandy paused before sticking the spoon in Emma’s mouth. “Oh, I forgot. You two grew up together.” She grinned at Cole. “Tell me, Detective, what was my boss like as a little girl? Was she as determined to do everything by the book as she is now?”

  Cole threw back his head and laughed. “Not by a long shot. She was the kid who was always getting in trouble at school. Everybody knew not to mess with her, because they didn’t want to bring Holly’s Folly down on their heads.”

  Holly’s face turned crimson. “Hush. You’re going to make Mandy and Mrs. Green think I was a monster child.”

  He shrugged. “Well, all I’m saying is that the school’s still trying to find out who put the snake in Debbie Taylor’s desk. When it came slithering out, she screamed and turned over in her chair, then crawled across the floor in a panic, trying to get away from it. It took the teacher the rest of the morning to calm the class down.”