Texas Baby Cover-Up

by Virginia Vaughan

  He trusted Cecile. She was one of the best in the department at interviewing suspects and getting answers, but he couldn’t just sit by and let things happen around him. He needed to feel useful. He pulled up the recording of Cecile’s interview with Stanford and watched it, looking for anything they might have missed. After viewing it several times, he conceded she’d dug into every possible trail, but Stanford hadn’t given up any information.

  When morning broke, he called Kellyanne’s phone, but she didn’t answer, so he phoned the house and discovered she was still sleeping. Good. She needed her rest. She was so worried about Brady, and now her mother had been injured too. It was too much to shoulder, and he wished he could take some of it from her. If only she would let him.

  He was deep into looking back through Lisa’s telephone records hours later when Cecile rapped on the door to the conference room where he was working. “You need to come now.”

  Her tone told him something was happening. He jumped to his feet and hurried to the front of the office to find Josh standing at the front desk, a hard expression on his face. A man wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase stood opposite him.

  “What’s going on?” Zeke asked.

  “This is Mr. Stanford’s lawyer,” Josh told him. “He’s refusing to allow us to question his client any further, and he’s paying his bail. The judge set the amount twenty minutes ago. Mr. Emmerson didn’t blink.” He handed Zeke the man’s business card, which identified him as Michael Emmerson, an attorney at a big law firm out of Dallas.

  The idea that a petty criminal like Stanford could afford a lawyer like this was ludicrous. Someone else had to be paying his bills...someone like the man after Kellyanne and Brady.

  “You can’t let him go,” Zeke demanded. “You know we’ll never see him again, never get the opportunity to question him further.”

  Josh turned to look at him, his expression tight and his jaw clenched. “We don’t have a choice. We have to let him go.”

  He walked back to his office as a deputy brought Stanford into the room and removed the handcuffs. Stanford gathered his belongings and headed for the door with his attorney, turning to give Zeke a final nod as he walked to his freedom.

  * * *

  It seemed like Kellyanne had only laid her head on her pillow for a few minutes when Brady’s whimpers woke her. When she glanced at the time, she realized she’d slept for hours. The sun streamed in from the window, and she heard movement from downstairs.

  She got up and glanced into the playpen and saw Brady playing with his teddy bear, giggling and smiling. His grin widened when he spotted her, and he reached for her.

  Her heart swelled at the simple gesture, and she picked him up and cradled him. “Hi there, sweetheart. How are you feeling today? Better?”

  His sniffles seemed better, and he wasn’t running any fever. The multiple attempts to snatch him hadn’t affected him health-wise, and she couldn’t help hoping he’d transferred his cold to the men who’d grabbed him.

  She carried him downstairs and was glad to see her mother up and about too, but she was sporting a busted lip and a bruise on her cheek. She wasn’t moving as quickly as she usually did, but she smiled when she spotted them and reached for Brady. Kellyanne couldn’t help but notice how attached her mother had gotten to him in such a short time. They all had.

  Bree walked out of the kitchen and stood beside Kelly, watching her. “She’s been so worried about that little boy. Lawson and I both told her she needs to take it easy today, but you know how stubborn she can be. I’ll make sure she doesn’t do anything too strenuous.”

  Kellyanne hugged her sister-in-law. “I love how much you care about my mother. I’m so happy you’re here with her.”

  “I’m the thankful one. She took me in and treated me like one of her own children. I’m blessed to be a part of this family. I know she feels better having you home, even under these circumstances.” She heard cars pull up in front of the house and looked out and gasped. “I’d better finish getting breakfast ready. Everyone is already here.”

  “What’s going on?” Kellyanne asked.

  “That’s right, you don’t know. That man they arrested last night, some high-priced lawyer arrived this morning and bailed him out.”

  “They let him go?”

  “Not by choice. According to what Lawson told me when he got off the phone with Josh, no one was pleased. So Josh called a family meeting here to try to figure out what to do.”

  The door opened, and Josh, Lawson, Paul and Zeke filtered inside. They removed their coats, boots and hats. Zeke smiled when he spotted her mother with Brady, then walked over to Kellyanne. “How are you this morning?”

  “Better. What about you? Did you get any sleep?” She knew he’d been out fighting the fire and then at the sheriff’s office seeing about the assailant. He couldn’t have slept much, if at all.

  “I’ll grab a couple of hours once we’re done here.”

  Everyone gathered around the table and helped themselves to the meal Bree had prepared. They’d shared many meals around this table and had held many important conversations.

  Kellyanne glanced at Josh. “I heard you had to let him go.”

  He stared at her, nodded and looked away. “We didn’t have a choice. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get any information about who he’s working for before he got into his attorney’s car. He’s probably skipped town.”

  She glanced at Brady and realized he was still in danger. “What do we do now?”

  Josh heaved a sigh and pushed his plate away. “Plan B. We transport you, Brady and Zeke to Zeke’s grandfather’s fishing cabin.”

  “Is that necessary?” her father asked Josh. “That seems extreme.”

  “The people who are after Kelly and Brady know where they are. The only way we have to keep them safe is if they don’t.”

  Paul nodded. “I’ll work on some diversions to cover their getaway. We don’t want to lead whoever might be watching to where they’re going.”

  Zeke turned to Kellyanne. “How do you feel about going to the cabin?”

  It meant so much to her that he’d asked, especially since no one else had even thought to. “I don’t like it, but I’ll do whatever I need to do to keep Brady safe.”

  He accepted her answer and turned back to Josh. “We’ll uses horses to get there since it’s inaccessible by road.”

  “That’ll mean no one can sneak up on you in a vehicle and make a fast getaway,” Lawson stated. “That could work in our favor.”

  Paul grabbed a piece of bacon and bit into it. “I’ll start gathering supplies and get the horses ready. We’ll drive them over to Zeke’s farm, and you can leave from there.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Josh stated. “Let’s meet back here later this afternoon. I want to make certain everything is ready to go. We’ll head out at first light tomorrow morning.”

  Kellyanne didn’t relish the thought of running and hiding, but she trusted Zeke and her brothers, and she was willing to do whatever it took to keep Brady out of harm’s way.

  She helped Bree clean up the breakfast dishes while the others went to start gathering supplies. She could have left Brady with Bree and gone to help, but she didn’t want to leave his side again.

  Zeke disappeared into the spare bedroom and got some sleep, but Lawson stuck around to make certain they were safe. She was thankful to have some time to spend alone with Lawson and Bree. She and Lawson had always been close, being the two youngest children of the family. And she’d grown to love Bree after seeing the love and affection she held for her brother and her family. She glanced at Bree’s burgeoning belly and knew her brother and sister-in-law were going to make wonderful parents.

  Paul and Shelby were expecting, too, although Shelby was not as far along as Bree. Several of her brothers had settled down and were starting families.
She envied them. Was she ready for that step in her life?

  She hadn’t felt ready, not until she’d felt life growing inside of her. But she’d blown her chance for happiness and a family when she’d lost her baby. Having Brady felt like a second chance to her. Could she take it? She’d already fallen in love with this little guy. And he wasn’t the only one she’d fallen for.

  The moment he entered her thoughts, Zeke seemed to appear. He’d only slept a few hours, but he looked refreshed. He kissed her and then knelt down to play with Brady, who was on a blanket on the floor.

  She watched him and couldn’t help smiling.

  Her mother put her hands on Kellyanne’s shoulders. “He’s really good with Brady.”

  “Yes, he is. He cares about him.”

  “He cares about you too.”

  She wanted to believe that. She wanted to believe they could have a future together, but everything seemed so messed up. Did she even dare to hope it could happen for them, that she wouldn’t mess it up again?

  The front door opened, and Paul stepped inside, followed by two of the family’s dogs. Kellyanne spotted both dogs hightailing it toward the blanket where Brady lay. “The baby’s on the floor,” she cried out to Paul.

  Zeke swooped up Brady just as the dogs reached them, but one of them grabbed the teddy bear from the floor and darted back out through the door. Brady’s face scrunched up, and he cried at having his favorite toy stolen from him, or possibly from the sound of her yelling.

  “Grab him,” Kellyanne hollered, but he slipped through Paul’s arms and fled back through the door.

  She hurried after him, calling his name and trying to coax him back. Brady loved that teddy bear, and if the dog ruined it, he would be devastated.

  She hurried down the steps and toward the barn where the dog had taken the toy. “Where are you, Radar?” She found him in a corner, pulling and tearing at the stuffing. “Get away from that,” she shouted, and the dog dropped the toy and bolted.

  Kellyanne walked over and picked up the toy. She fingered it in her hand. The stitching was ripped and needed to be sewed. It was nothing she couldn’t handle. As she pushed some stuffing back into the hole, she felt something hard inside. What is that?

  She dug into it and pulled out a cylindrical object. A flash drive was tucked inside Brady’s stuffed bear.

  Her heart hammered against her chest, and Lisa’s words flooded back to her about the evidence she’d collected. She’d obviously placed it inside Brady’s stuffed bear.

  They’d had the evidence they needed to discover who was after them all along.

  Footsteps behind her caused her to spin around. Zeke was hurrying toward her. “I thought you might need some help.” He eyed the toy in her hand. “You found it.”

  “I found more than this toy.” She held up the flash drive and suppressed a squeal of exhilaration. “It was inside the bear. Lisa must have sewn it into the toy and left it in his bag. She knew we wouldn’t go anywhere without it.”

  His face lit up. “We need to find out what’s on this. This could be the key to discovering who is after you and Brady.”

  “My computer is upstairs.”

  He grabbed her hand, and they ran back to the house and shared the news of what they’d discovered with her parents and Bree. Kellyanne then hurried upstairs, retrieved her computer and set it up at the kitchen table.

  Her heart raced with excitement as she pushed the flash drive into the port. This was it. They were about to discover the answer to the biggest question they’d had throughout all of this. Who was Brady’s father?

  The computer loaded and opened up images of Lisa and a man she recognized.

  Kellyanne gasped.

  Her friend hadn’t been joking when she’d said Brady’s father was a powerful figure.

  SEVEN

  Zeke could hardly believe what his eyes were seeing. He recognized the man in the photo. How could they not?

  “Is that—?”

  “I think it is,” Kellyanne stated. “Senator Walter Davenport.”

  The intimate photos left little doubt that there was more between Lisa and this man than simple friendship. They weren’t racy, but they were intimate and candid shots of the two of them smiling, kissing and laughing together.

  He was a family-values senator currently gearing up to run for governor of Texas. You couldn’t get much more powerful and influential around here than that. And now he was embroiled in a scandal involving an extramarital affair and an illegitimate child.

  Zeke sighed and scrolled through the other information on the flash drive. Emails with intimate conversations between Lisa and this mystery man as well as dates, times and meetup locations. Lisa had provided them with everything they needed to identify this man as Brady’s father except for his name on a birth certificate.

  Zeke phoned Josh to update him about what they’d found, and it wasn’t long before he joined them at the house. He, along with Paul, Lawson, Bree, and Mr. and Mrs. Avery, scanned the information they’d found.

  John Avery whistled in disbelief. “Isn’t his campaign all about family values?”

  Josh nodded. “The discovery of an illegitimate child would devastate his campaign and probably derail his plans to become president one day. It’s no wonder he wanted Lisa and Brady to disappear.”

  “And now Kellyanne, because she knows the truth too,” Bree stated.

  Josh shook his head. “Kellyanne was probably only in danger because they suspected she had it. Without this documentation, she couldn’t prove anything. No judge would compel a paternity order without proof of the affair.”

  Paul stood back and rubbed the back of his neck. “Are we really saying Senator Davenport fathered a child with your friend, then killed her, and now is trying to kill a child?”

  Zeke could see Paul was having a difficult time comprehending this. So was he. He’d never expected someone as powerful as Davenport was Brady’s father. He’d figured the guy was married, but not a powerful politician. Someone like that knew how to get things done, and he wouldn’t stop until he got what he wanted. He wouldn’t stop until this threat of exposure was ended.

  What had Lisa gotten Kellyanne involved in?

  “I think it’s safe to say he’s involved in all this based on the information on the flash drive,” Zeke commented. “Whether or not he’s Brady’s father or was involved in her death, he certainly had an affair with her. That in itself might be enough to end his career.”

  Paul shook his head. “A sex scandal with a woman who was murdered would surely do it. No wonder he’s trying to cover his tracks.”

  Kellyanne looked at her brothers and then at Zeke. “So what do we do with this information? Take it to the police? The news?”

  “We should at least call Detective Shaw and update him,” Zeke said.

  Josh agreed. “I’ll take care of letting him know, but I want to make sure Kelly and Brady are safe before I do. I appreciate he has a job to do, but our first priority is keeping them safe. Once they’re away, I’ll call him.”

  “We have to be very careful,” John stated. “This information is monumental, and it could have grave consequences for us all. If this man is involved, he’s got powerful friends. They might cover for him or even get him acquitted. We need to have more than proof of an affair before we go public with this information. We need to know if he’s involved in your friend’s death.”

  “I’m leaning toward Davenport having all the answers we need,” Zeke insisted. “I say we confront him.” He was tired of all the running and hiding. Now that they finally had someone to confront, he was ready to take action.

  “We’ll never get past his security,” Paul countered.

  Irritation nipped at Zeke. “So are we supposed to do nothing?” he demanded of Paul.

  “If we barge in there with accusations, we�
�ll be booted out, and he’ll cover his tracks and come up with alibis.”

  “If you think he hasn’t already come up with his alibi, you don’t know politicians very well,” Josh stated. “He knows he had a woman killed. He’s going to have already covered his tracks for that death.”

  “Exactly,” John said, intervening. “We need to investigate the men he’s sent after Kellyanne and Brady. If we can connect them to the senator, we have something to go to the authorities with. We’ll have more proof. An affair can be forgiven by the public. Murder can’t be.”

  Kellyanne shuddered and rubbed her arms at the mention of the word murder. Zeke knelt beside her chair. “We’re not going to let that happen to you or Brady.” He reached for her hand, and she gave it willingly even in front of her family.

  Josh closed the computer and removed the flash drive. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to lock this up inside my safe at my office.”

  “I think that’s a good idea,” Zeke said. “They only think we have it. If they knew for certain we do, they’d never stop coming after it.” They needed to keep it safe and make a few copies. If Davenport wanted this information kept quiet, there was no telling what else he might do to retrieve it.

  “In the meantime, we need to be prepared to leave first thing in the morning. The farther away Kellyanne and Brady are, the safer they’ll be.”

  Josh left with the flash drive, and the rest of the family dispersed, getting back to the business of packing up for their secret sprint to the fishing cabin.

  Once there, they wouldn’t have access to the outside world aside from the burner cell phones Josh had purchased, which would have spotty reception at best, and a radio Zeke had packed. They needed to bring food and baby supplies and weapons and hunker down until her brothers decided it was safe enough.

  He didn’t relish the idea of hiding out, but he had one job now, and that was to keep Kellyanne and Brady safe. They were growing more and more important to him every day, despite his attempts to keep his heart guarded.

  She might break his heart again once this was over, but for now, she needed him, and he wasn’t going to let her down.