Protecting Her Own (Love Inspired Suspense)

by Margaret Daley

  Inching forward, she reached toward him. He plopped into the wheelchair, peering up at her with a look of both defiance and accomplishment.

  Stubborn. She shook her head. The only thing she could control here was her attitude. She had control over whether he got to her or not. Plastering a smile on her face, she walked beside him toward the door. “I can smell breakfast cooking.”

  Her father grunted.

  “Bacon and eggs. I’m going to have to fix breakfast tomorrow morning. Something different. I have a great recipe for cinnamon rolls. What do you think?” Her father’s idea of breakfast had always been a cup of black coffee and maybe a piece of toast.

  A nod was her answer.

  When they entered the kitchen, Mike was removing the skillet from the stove. After he scooped the scrambled eggs onto a platter, he brought it to the table. Connor came into the room behind her, his hair wet, his face shaved.

  Mike said a blessing then dished some eggs onto his plate before passing it around the table. “I’ve run down the two orderlies—Mark and Paul’s—information. Nothing in their background sends up a red flag to me, but I’ve printed everything out. You’d be surprised what I can discover about some people on places like Facebook. Connor, take a look at it after breakfast while I dig into the two ladies’ past.”

  “I’m beginning to think the insider at Sunny Meadows isn’t Mark or Paul. Their alibis hold up.” Connor gave Cara the platter.

  “I didn’t think it was Mark. At least, that he wasn’t my attacker.” At the far end of the table for six sat the computer and a stack of printed paper. “That’s all on Mark and Paul?” Cara spooned some food onto her dad’s plate then hers.

  “Yup. Some of it I did yesterday. Still can’t find out much about Lucy Samuels. I’ll let Sean and your guys see what they can come up with while I work on Sally and Patricia.”

  “I’ll give Sean a call after breakfast.” Connor dug into his breakfast. “Have one of my guys get back with his informant about her. He’s the one who told us a Lucy Samuels had been involved with Beau before he went missing confirming what Lucy told us.”

  Cara’s stomach tightened as her father labored to eat left-handed. The sight of him struggling caused tears to squeeze her throat. She swallowed several times then took a gulp of her orange juice.

  “C.J., after breakfast maybe you could help me with tracking down info on Sally and Patricia. I have a feeling doing that kind of thing is old hat to you.”

  Her father glanced up at Mike, the left side of his mouth lifting up. “Yes.”

  Cara wanted to give Mike a big hug. Including her father in this investigation was just what he needed.

  “They’ve been in the kitchen for hours working together.” Cara came back into the living room where Connor had all the printed information about the orderlies spread out as well as notes he’d jotted down about the case.

  “Sean’s coming by to pick up these papers. I still don’t see anything that implicates Mark or Paul.”

  “You know, one time when I came into my dad’s room at Sunny Meadows, Mark was helping him and Dad was very agitated. I thought it was because the patient across the hall had died, but what if it was something else? In all of this I don’t think we’ve really asked my dad who he thinks poisoned him. He’s always been good at reading people. Maybe he has some insight.”

  “He has been in on some of our conversations about what’s going on. Wouldn’t he have said something then?”

  “We’ve been talking fast. By the time he processes a reply we’re on to another subject. Besides, he’s still limited in how he replies. Did you ask Sean if we could have Dad’s laptop back?”

  “He’s bringing it.” Connor examined her for a long moment. “You seem calmer today about your dad.”

  “I’m trying to put myself in his shoes, as someone told me to do.”

  “Not always easy. So it’s working?”

  “Yes. Dad and I might not have the ideal father-daughter relationship, but I’m determined to change how I am in it. I may not be able to change him, but I can change my attitude. Because what was going on before wasn’t working. He’s all the family I have, and he nearly died two months ago. I’m not ready to lose him. If anything happens to him, I don’t want to have any regrets.”

  “Good, I think—” The sound of the doorbell interrupted Connor. “That must be Sean.”

  “I hope he has some news. This staying around the house could get old very quickly.”

  Connor stood and stretched, then skirted the coffee table. When he started to pass her, he paused and took her hand. “I think you’re right about not having any regrets. When my father died, I had a few. We’d argued that morning before he went to work. It was over something stupid, but I never got to tell him I was sorry.” He released his grip and moved toward the front door.

  Cara followed him, still stunned by what Connor had said. All those years ago she’d thought she’d known everything about him. She was discovering she hadn’t. There was much more to Connor Fitzgerald than she ever realized.

  Connor let Sean into the house. “I’ve got the info in the living room.”

  “The financial records we were permitted to examine haven’t revealed anything unusual.” The sheriff passed the laptop to Cara.

  “I’ll take this to Dad.”

  While Cara left the two men in the foyer, she heard Connor say, “Stay for lunch.”

  In the kitchen Cara found her father and Mike at the table, both staring at his computer, a frown on their faces. “Have you got something?”

  Connor’s grandfather peered up. “Maybe. There doesn’t seem to be anything in Patricia’s past to tie her to John Smith. She hasn’t even been in Virginia long. Moved here from Oklahoma about six months ago.”

  “Then why the frown?” After laying her dad’s laptop on the table, she slid it toward him.

  “It’s Sally Payne. Nothing is coming up about her. She moved here four weeks ago. Got the job at Sunny Meadows two weeks ago. I can’t find anything before that. She says she came from Baltimore, but that’s a bust. The only Sally Payne I could find there about her age died two months ago.”

  “Sally?” Cara pictured the petite woman and knew there was no way she had been her assailant—even with a ski mask on her face and her voice disguised. The physique had to be a man’s. But Sally did have contact with her father. Could she be the one who poisoned him? “Let’s find out if there was a Sally in John’s life or Beau’s. Another girlfriend maybe? John didn’t have a wife. Is Sally his girlfriend? Does he have one?”

  Her dad opened his computer and turned it on. “Me.”

  Mike grinned. “Your dad has been a big help. I’ll continue my search for Sally Payne. C.J., why don’t you look into women in John’s or Beau’s life? Maybe we can find some kind of tidbit to give the investigators in Arlington a person to interview.”

  Cara backed out of the room, her gaze focused on her father pecking at his keyboard with his left hand, his expression full of concentration so similar to when he’d been working on a story.

  In the living room Cara sat across from Sean and Connor, who were discussing the information Mike had gathered yesterday and this morning as well as what the CID had.

  Connor glanced up, a softness in his eyes. “How’s it going in the kitchen?”

  “Mike and Dad don’t think Patricia is involved, but they’re having a tough time finding Sally Payne, even in Baltimore where she said she came from. He did find a Sally Payne about the same age but she died two months ago. How did she get by the background check that Sunny Meadows would have run?”

  Connor’s eyebrows rose. “Good question. Let’s see if any of the information on her employment application matches the dead Sally Payne.”

  “Like her social security number?” Sean withdrew his cell, rose and walked toward the foyer as he placed a call to the director of Sunny Meadows.

  “So Sally could be connected to John Smith, too?” Cara couldn’
t sit another second. Tension demanded she move. She was used to being active. All this sitting around was wearing on her. She felt as though she were in a holding pattern. “The few times I’ve seen her, she seemed so nice and helpful. Out of the people I saw at Sunny Meadows besides Doc and Kathy, I thought she wasn’t involved. She can’t be more than eighteen or nineteen.”

  “You know as well as I do looks can be deceiving. Remember Lucy.”

  “Yeah, but for once I wish they weren’t. Again, how do you do this day in and day out?” As a bodyguard she usually wasn’t engaged in the investigation of a crime. She didn’t see crime scenes except in the rare cases where she was involved in an attempt on one of her clients.

  “I love a good puzzle. I’ll say this one has been a challenge.” As she made a trek around the room, Connor blocked her path and clasped her upper arms. “When this is over, you’ll have some downtime. You came off of a difficult assignment that blew up in your face and had to jump right into this with your father.”

  It was more than being physically and emotionally exhausted. She was at a crossroads in her life and didn’t know which way to go. Is this where I turn it over to You, Lord?

  The feel of Connor’s hands on her skin seared into her. She should step back. Keep her distance. Confusion reigned in her life and he only added to that. But she couldn’t. Sighing, she inched forward and lifted her chin, her eyes meeting his.

  Everything faded from her consciousness except the man before her. A man who she’d discovered would protect her with his life. He’d found her in the car and hadn’t given up until she was safe. He could have been shot pushing her out of the way. He could have died for her, and she would have had to live with that knowledge.

  “Promise me you’ll be careful. I don’t want anything like yesterday happening again. You could have been killed. I can take care of myself. You need to take care of yourself.”

  The gray of his eyes reflected a smoldering pool of silver. “So I should have let the person shoot you? I can’t promise you that. Just like you couldn’t promise someone you wouldn’t do all you could to protect another. Besides, you aren’t leaving this house until we find John Smith.”

  She’d had clients in the past who had their movements curtailed and they were often resistant. Now she knew how they felt. This whole experience gave her a different perspective of the people she’d guarded. As Connor had said, she was learning to walk in their shoes. “All I know is we’d better get to the bottom of this soon. It’s hard for me to stay here cooped up, but it will be worse for my dad who already feels so confined.”

  Connor grinned and lifted a hand to cup her face. “You’re becoming quite his champion.”

  While clearing his throat, Sean reentered the living room, his mouth twisted into a frown. “I asked the director to have Sally come to her office so I could talk to her. Guess what? Sally hasn’t shown up for work for two days. Yesterday she called in sick, but she didn’t call this morning. I have her address in Silver Creek.” Sean looked toward Connor. “Hopefully she hasn’t skipped town. Care to come with me to interview her?”

  Eyes bound to hers, Connor slipped his hand slowly from her face, then drew back, peering at Sean. “Yeah. Let’s hope she hasn’t left Silver Creek.” When Connor’s gaze returned to hers, a smile warmed the gray depths. “You’ll be all right here?”

  She didn’t want him to leave. What if something happened to him? Yes, he could take care of himself, but she wanted to be there, too. She couldn’t be in two places at once and her father needed her more. “Of course. What more could happen to me?”

  Connor’s eyes widened.

  “I’ll be fine,” she said, waving him away, a lightness in her voice. “Let me know what you find out.”

  He tapped the tip of her nose, laugh lines crinkling the sides of his eyes. “Will do.”

  As he left the house and stopped to talk to the state trooper outside, Cara couldn’t shake the feeling something was going to happen soon.

  Connor knocked on the garage apartment at the side of a big three-story Victorian with massive oaks shading the yard. The main house fit into the run-down neighborhood with its missing shutters and overgrown gardens that at one time might have been the showcase for the place.

  “Sally left yesterday morning, and I haven’t seen her since.” An older woman, probably in her late seventies, came to the fence separating the two pieces of property. Behind her was a large, wooden home that needed a coat of paint.

  Connor approached the lady, who was wearing a straw hat and using a cane. “Did you see her leave?”

  “Yes, sirree. She was carrying a suitcase to her car. I told Ethel that her tenant had left. From the looks of her trunk, she’d packed all her belongings.” The woman leaned close to Connor, one wrinkled hand gripping the top of the four-foot linked fence. “I saw her when she moved in a few weeks ago. She didn’t have much then. About the same. That’s why I know she skipped out on Ethel. But she didn’t care. Got her money up front. It’s about time Ethel got smart with her tenants.” She tapped the side of her temple. “I’ve been educating her.”

  “We need to get inside. I’ll go see if the owner will let us in.” Sean jogged around to the front of the house.

  “I imagine you know about most things that happen around here. You’re very observant.” Connor gave the woman a big smile.

  She laughed. “Young man, you haven’t got to sweet-talk me. If she’s done something wrong, I want to help. I’m not like some people that don’t want to get involved. If we turn a blind eye, criminals will overrun our country.”

  “Did you ever talk with Sally?”

  “I tried to. She wasn’t very talkative. Kept to herself except for that man that came around. He stayed all night.”

  “I’ve got a picture of a man I’d like you to see.” Connor pulled up his cell phone and clicked on the photo of John Smith. “Was this him?”

  The petite woman dropped her cane and grasped the fence with her other hand then bent forward as much as she could while squinting at the screen. “Nope. He was young. Like Sally. I guessed her boyfriend.”

  “When was this?”

  “Oh, let me see. The night of my favorite TV show—last Monday.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Nope. She wasn’t too friendly. I said good morning, and she just stared right through me. I don’t think she liked her job.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Well, I wasn’t eavesdropping, mind you. I don’t do that. But I did hear her and that young man talking Tuesday morning. I was watering over there.” She pried her hand loose from the fence and gestured toward a hedge that would have blocked Sally’s view of anyone on the other side. “Anyway she told that guy she couldn’t wait until she could quit her job. She was getting tired of cleaning bed-pans and listening to old people whining. I thought about squirting her with the water.” She chuckled. “I didn’t. That wouldn’t have been neighborly.”

  “What kind of car did Sally drive?”

  “Oh, a beauty. An old Cougar made in the mid-nineties. Red. I love red cars. When I was allowed to drive, I had one of those types of cars. Keith wouldn’t let me have red. He bought a boring white one. Keith was my fourth husband.”

  “Did you by any chance get the license plate number?” It was a long shot but he had to ask.

  “Nope. But I like sitting on my porch watching this neighborhood to make sure no hooligans take over. I’ll start doing that.” A twinkle sparkled in her dark eyes.

  Sean came around from the front, carrying a key. “The owner didn’t want to get involved, but she finally gave her permission to go into the apartment.”

  “Must have been your charm.” Connor winked at the lady on the other side of the fence listening to every word they said.

  “What’s this all about, young man?”

  “Attempted murder, so be careful. And if you see Sally, don’t do anything. Call me.” Connor handed the woman his card. “Day
or night, Mrs.?”

  “Flora. Wait till I tell my friends I’ve helped the police catch a criminal.” She slipped it into the pocket on her dress and watched them as they headed for the apartment.

  “I think you’ve got yourself a groupie. Don’t be surprised if she calls you when she sees anything suspicious.” Sean inserted the key into the lock then pushed the door open.

  “I’ll just have to refer her to the local police—you,” Connor said with a laugh and entered the place. An air of vacancy clung to the stale, hot apartment. The air-conditioning wall unit was turned off. “Sally must be eco-friendly.”

  “And tidy. Nothing out of place.”

  Connor checked a closet in the bedroom off the living area. “You mean nothing in the place. Flora was right. She’s gone and didn’t bother to tell Sunny Meadows she was quitting.”

  “Maybe she just moved. Didn’t like these digs.” Sean pointed to the cockroach scurrying across the floor and disappearing under the floorboard.

  “Do you have a fingerprint kit in your car?”

  “Yup. I’ll go get it so we can lift some prints in here hopefully.”

  “Yeah. The doorknob. The refrigerator handle. Since we’re having a hard time finding Sally Payne maybe that will help us discover who exactly was working at Sunny Meadows.”

  After Sean left, Connor continued searching the apartment, careful not to leave any fingerprints. If Sally was involved in poisoning C.J., that meant John Smith had two women working for him. What about the young man Flora saw with Sally? Her boyfriend? Or another accomplice?

  Sean reentered the apartment, his cell pressed to his ear, a scowl darkening his features. “Thanks. This changes every thing.” He clicked off and stuffed his phone back into his pocket. “This isn’t good.”

  Tension whipped down Connor’s length. “Something happen at Gramps’s?”

  Sean shook his head. “No, that was a park ranger. They found John Smith in a cave. Dead. Has been for several weeks.”