He’d never get breakfast at this rate, so he held up his hand to stop them. They settled back in their seats, but didn’t stop talking.
“They all deserve medals.” Without turning, Dugan knew the voice belonged to Sadie Hicks.
“Our sheriff deserves the biggest one,” Emma argued. “He’s the one who saved the day.”
Dugan rolled his eyes as Molly arrived.
“Breakfast is on me,” she said with a grin. What’ll you have? Your usual?”
No choice but to accept gracefully. “Thanks, Molly.”
Minutes later she put his plate of eggs and biscuits in front of him, poured a second cup of coffee. “How are you and Kate?” she asked with a wink.
After she'd buttered him up with a free breakfast, he should have known. “Jeez. Can’t you people give it a rest?”
Molly eyed him sharply and put the coffee pot down with a thump. “I know the town seems too nosy at times, Dugan. But their concern and mine is because we care about you. Each and every one of us wants you to be happy. If it means you get back with Kate, we’re all for it. If it means you don’t, so be it. We just want what’s best for our sheriff.”
Dugan had swallowed all he could. He shoved the rest aside. “I know. I didn’t mean to say I don’t understand where you all are coming from. The truth is I really don’t know what to tell you.” Wild, crazy sex could mean anything. Even goodbye.
Molly smiled and patted his arm. “That’s actually a good sign.”
“It is?”
“Don’t worry, Dugan, I’m pulling for you. Heck, we all are.”
“Thanks,” he said, not understanding a word of whatever she was trying to tell him. “Will you wrap this up for Piper? If you have enough, wrap up a couple of those cinnamon rolls, too.”
In seconds she was back with a small foil wrapped package and a bag. “Good luck, Romeo.”
Another dry eye roll. “Thanks.”
The bag clutched tightly in one hand, he waved at the diners and hurried out.
Piper met him at the office door, sniffed. Dugan opened the foil, gave him the leftovers. Piper grinned his appreciation.
“Let’s go see Kate, Piper. What do you say?”
Piper barked.
“Figured.”
In minutes, they were in the cruiser and headed for Grace’s. Maybe he and Kate could share a cup of coffee, along with a roll, and have a talk. After last night, they needed to discuss what had happened between them. Was it a new beginning? A repeat of old mistakes? Or her farewell?
Before he got there, his radio squawked. “Sheriff, there’s a big fight at the Hughes’ place. Everyone else is tied up.” Sybil’s voice was all business-like.
“Stay,” he warned Piper when he turned into Grace's drive. He placed the bag at the door, knocked, and was back to his patrol car in seconds.
There would be no coffee or talk this morning. The Hughes’ place was twenty miles from town.
****
Kate read Dugan’s note and threw herself back on the bed. They had never had sex like last night before. What had gotten into her? Into them? She couldn’t explain it even to herself. All she knew was it was the most mind-boggling, earth-shattering sex she’d ever had and she wouldn’t mind a second helping.
Only she’d vowed and promised sex between them had to stop.
Was she a hopeless case of broken promises?
She got out of bed, took her shower and dressed. A knock on the door sent her heart skittering. Yogi barked until Kate got there. She rubbed his head. “It’s all right. The bad guy’s in jail.”
Regardless, she opened the door carefully, only to see Dugan’s patrol car move down the street away from her. The aroma hit her nostrils before she spotted the bag.
She closed the door, leaned against it with a sigh, and clutched the bag to her chest. Dugan knew how she loved this cinnamon treat. Her heart turned over.
She took it into the kitchen, poured a cup of coffee, and sat at the table. It didn’t take long until both rolls were gone along with two cups of coffee.
Every bite made her think of Dugan. And last night. How wonderful it would be to get back what they once had. To let him spoil her like Ed spoiled Gram. But Dugan deserved more than the uncertainty she promised. Kate wasn’t sure just yet that she was able to give him the security marriage demanded. Not because she didn’t want to, but because she didn’t know if she had it in her to do so. Doc Pullman’s talk hadn’t fully convinced her there was nothing wrong with her.
She’d do better to forget what happened between them last night.
It wouldn’t be easy. She wanted him. Not just because he was a wonderful lover, but also because he was a wonderful person.
She walked into her office. She’d been gone one day and the answering machine blinked ten messages. Heaving a deep sigh, she took a pad and pencil and punched the button.
Work. Don’t think.
A few minutes later, she had four new prospective clients, five people asking how she was and one from Karl Theiss who had been given Jerome Johnson’s case.
She’d put that call off as long as possible.
The four prospective clients could wait.
Minutes later, she put down her pen. She couldn’t seem to concentrate. When the phone rang, it was welcome.
It was Gram calling to tell her that she and Ed were on their way to San Antonio for the day. Would she be all right?
“I’m covered with work, Gram. Take your time.”
Later, she took a break, gave Yogi and Heidi a treat. After drinking a glass of water, she returned calls and worked diligently for a couple more hours, doing her best not to think of Dugan and where their relationship would end up. When her phone rang, she looked at the clock and couldn’t believe how fast time had flown.
“I just got back,” Rita said. “Do you think you’d have time to stop by? I have something for you.”
“I’ll be right over.” She could use a break.
Fifteen minutes later, Kate parked behind a pickup at Rita’s singlewide. It didn’t seem as sad now as it once had. There was a different look about the place. There were no toys in the yard and it was raked clean. Was she at the wrong address?
No. It was the right one.
She knocked. Rita’s youngest opened the door. “Hi!” Kate said.
“Remember me? My name’s Chloe. Mom said to come in.” Her grin was contagious.
Kate walked in. There were boxes everywhere. A couple were taped shut, the rest open. Rita was definitely moving.
Chloe led Kate to the kitchen. Packing hadn’t gotten this far as there were no filled or unfilled boxes. “Where’s your Mom?”
“She’s taking care of Rach. She fell and scraped her knee.”
“Are you moving?”
Chloe nodded. “We’re going to live in San Antonio.”
“Do you think you’ll like living there?”
Kate got a wide grin. “Sure. We’ll live next door to my cousins. We’ll have a lot of fun.”
She looked around at the spotless kitchen. It looked just as it had the last time she'd visited...except...What was missing? “Chloe? Where are the knives your mom keeps on the counter?”
Chloe’s dark eyes grew wide. “Mom never keeps knives on the counter. She puts them in a cabinet high up where we can’t get to them. She said we might hurt ourselves.”
Kate shut her eyes, willed her heart to still. “Are you sure?” she asked in a whisper.
Chloe’s head bobbed.
Kate’s head whirled as the room faded from bright light to a dim gray. She grabbed the cabinet, blinked. It couldn’t be! She shook her head in disbelief.
Dugan was right.
Rita had played her.
Why hadn’t she questioned the girls more forcefully?
She’d talked to them of course. They’d confirmed Rita’s story. No, they didn’t see anything the morning their dad died because they were at school. But Kate hadn’t asked about the knives. Wh
y? Because they’d been there when she was here to talk to the girls. Besides, she’d believed Rita’s account of the incident.
Had the prosecutor?
Most likely he’d been here, too, and at the time they were probably right where Rita had claimed they always were.
It was a lie.
Kate had been taken in by a sob story. If she had just asked more questions….
Kate put her head in her hands, swallowed back the nausea. When she opened her eyes, Chloe was looking at her strangely. Rita stood in the doorway doing the same.
“I’m glad you could drop by, Kate.” She handed her an envelope. “I don’t have the money from Toby’s insurance yet, but my sister took out a loan so I could pay you before I leave town.”
Kate struggled to find her voice. “Chloe told me you’re moving to San Antonio.”
Rita’s smile made Kate’s heart hurt. “I’m going to buy the house next door to my sis. It’s small, but big enough for us. With the insurance money I can pay cash. I won’t have to worry about rent.” She put a kettle of water on the stove. “Got me a job, too, as a waitress in a little diner not far from the house. Borrowed my brother-in-law’s pickup so we could get our stuff out of here before the rent’s due.”
Kate barely heard a word. Her head throbbed with one word. Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!
“The knives. Chloe told me.”
Rita put a hand to her heart and turned wide-eyed to Kate. “Go to your room, Chloe.”
When she disappeared, Rita stared at Kate, but didn’t say a word.
“You lied.”
“What else could I do? Toby threatened to finish what he started when he woke up. I believed him. He was ready to kill me, Kate. When he staggered into the kitchen that morning, he had a wild look in his eyes. I was a dead woman. I knew what he would do. I couldn’t let it happen.”
“You could have called Dugan. He would have protected you.”
“For how long?” Rita asked with derision.
Kate had a feeling Rita was right. She had to get out of here before she threw up. “I have to leave,” Kate said, and nearly staggered to the door.
“I’m sorry, Kate.”
Kate looked back when she got to the car. Both girls stood next to their mother, smiles on their faces. Rita looked stricken.
Her fingers shook so, Kate didn’t know if she could start the car. When she did, she hurried to Dugan’s office. “Be there,” she begged.
She’d let her emotions blind her to the truth. Rita had zoomed right in on it.
Kate let out a sigh of relief when she spotted Dugan’s cruiser in its usual spot.
She rushed inside, ran straight to his office. The door was closed, but she propelled her way in, and shut the door behind her.
Dugan was on his feet and at her side in an instant. “What’s wrong?”
She threw her arms around his neck and held on tight. But there was no way she could hold back the tears.
“Tell me what’s wrong, Kate? Is it Grace?”
She shook her head against his chest. “Ed?”
Again she shook her head.
“Then what?”
But Kate couldn’t get her breath, couldn’t say the words.
For years she’d kept a tight control over her emotions. Now her control was shot to hell. She was falling apart piece by piece and didn’t know if she could put herself back together.
“Is it the animals?”
“No,” she wailed.
He held her away from him, looked deep into her eyes. “Tell me, Kate. Now.”
“You were right, Dugan. Rita did plan to kill her husband. And…and…I helped her get away with it.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Sit down,” Dugan said, as he gently guided her into a chair. Sticking his head out the door, he asked Sybil to bring a bottle of water.
Reluctantly, she slammed one into his hand.
He shut the door and handed the water to Kate. “Here. Drink this.”
Sobbing as if her heart would break, she shook her head.
“It’ll make you feel better, honey.”
He handed her a tissue, then put the box on the desk next to her. She plucked one out and wiped her face. He put the bottle in her hand, made her take a drink.
“Better?”
She nodded.
“How did you happen onto this piece of information?”
“Out of the mouths of babes,” she answered, her voice hitching with sobs. She twisted one tissue after another into shreds, as she explained how Chloe innocently told her about the knives. “Rita admitted it. She told me Tobias promised to finish what he started when he woke up. She said he had death in his eyes that morning. She was convinced he would kill her and, at some point, hurt the girls. She couldn’t take it anymore, so she took the knife and stabbed him.
“How could I have been so wrong? I was so sure Rita told me the truth, when all the time she planned it. I didn’t realize I was so gullible.”
She looked up at Dugan, her blue eyes full of tears and torment, her face a mottled red. He’d never loved her so much. His heart gave a painful thump. What could he do to make her feel better? She’d bought into Rita’s story, but so had the jury—so had everyone in town.
He dampened his handkerchief with water from the bottle and wiped her face gently. “We’re walking out of here. You don’t want word to spread how you cried your eyes out in the sheriff’s office, do you?” He wiped her face one more time, tucked her hair behind her ears, and helped her to her feet. “Okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“When we walk out the door I want to see a smile.”
She tried to oblige, but the smile was wobbly.
“Take a deep breath.”
He put on his Stetson and opened the door. He ventured a glance at those in the office. Sure enough, every eye was turned their way. He shielded her as best he could, as he hurried her out the door and into his cruiser.
“Check my car. My purse and keys are in it.”
He did as she asked, then handed the items to her before he started the motor.
“Rita paid me,” she said, fingering the envelope. “I don’t know if I should keep the money or send it back.”
“Keep it. You earned every penny.”
“Where are we going?”
“Hang tight.”
Five minutes later, he turned into Oaktree Park. Huge oak trees were scattered throughout two acres designated as a park long before his time. The town had come by its name from the oaks stretched tall and wide throughout the area. Here and there was a picnic table. In one spot, there were slides and seesaws. He passed them, waved to those who were enjoying the cloud-free day.
At the far end of the park, he stopped the car. “Let’s take a walk.”
Kate, despite her red eyes, looked wonderful. In jeans, T-shirt, and Nikes, she was more like the girl he fell in love with than the formidable attorney.
He took her arm, hooked it in his, and started a slow walk down a dapple-shaded path. She trembled so he put a protective arm around her waist.
“I helped Rita get away with murder.”
Though Dugan had hoped for a guilty verdict, he’d known from the start it wouldn’t happen. “Tobias beat Rita over and over again. At one point, he probably would have killed her. Maybe even, as Rita said, that very morning.”
“Before I left, Rita told me about their plans to live in San Antonio, how she wanted to buy a house next to her sister. It sounded perfect for her and the girls. When I left, the girls were all smiles as they stood in the doorway and waved goodbye. They’ll be all right in their new life.”
“If Tobias had killed Rita as he threatened, there would be no happy ending. With his record of abuse, the jury would have found him guilty. Their girls would be in the hands of the state. Isn’t that what you told the jury? It’s true, you know.”
They stopped to look at a line of oleanders in full bloom, their pink blossoms adding a touch of col
or to all the green. He doubted Kate saw a thing.
“Are you’re saying it was all right for Rita to do what she did?”
“Of course not. It’s never right to kill another human being. The law doesn’t allow for someone to plan and commit murder because their abuser has a history of abuse. Or for any other reason. Rita could have come to me. Should have. I would have put Toby’s butt in jail and kept it there.” He paused, looked at her. Her eyes were still watery. “Kate, it was wrong. The whole thing was wrong. But in this case, you can’t fault the ending.”
She gave him a look of gratitude. They resumed their walk. “Why did I buy into her story? Am I really so gullible?”
He stopped and turned her toward him. “This question from the woman who all her life took in stray and neglected animals? Why wouldn’t you believe her? Rita was an abused woman. It’s in your nature to help the downtrodden. Besides, you’re an attorney. This is what you do. It has nothing to do with whether you are or are not gullible.”
“I don’t know, Dugan. It seems my life has been a roller coaster of unreliability. First my dad abandoned my mom and me, many times over. Then my mom died and my dad abandoned me again. I left you at the altar. I got a guilty murderer off. What does all that tell you? I’m clearly screwed. How can I ever believe in myself again?”
“You’re being too hard on yourself, Kate.”
“Did Rita know I’d be stupid enough to believe her story? Is that why she wanted me to represent her?”
“You’re the opposite of stupid. We may never know the answer to your question. My guess is she wanted you because you knew her from high school and were a woman. Another woman would understand her plight better than a man.”
“I hope you’re right.” Kate sighed.
“Put this behind you, Kate. It’s over and done with. The jury said she was innocent. She can’t be tried again. Rita will suffer in her own way for what she did. You have to admit that she’ll make a good life for her girls which Tobias never would have.” He paused. “Besides, if she’d waited another few minutes who knows, maybe Tobias would have come after her just as she told us in court. Maybe, if she’d waited, it would have been justifiable self-defense. As it is, I don’t think she planned it. I think when she saw his intent she acted.”
Promise Made (The Callahan Series) Page 20