“We have patrol cars en route. Stay on the phone, ma’am.” But Merry tossed the phone onto the dashboard, turned to Tyler.
“Listen to me. Unbuckle your seat belt. We’re going to play hide and go seek in the dark just like you’ve always wanted to. When I say run, I want you to open the door and jump right into those big bushes.”
“You hide with me, Mommy!” He’d already gotten out of his seat, and he scrambled into her lap, clung to her the way he had when he’d been a toddler.
The light came on outside the Silverman’s house and the front door opened.
“You’re a brave boy, remember? You’re going to run into those bushes, and then you’re going to hide in every bush you can find all the way to Mr. Silverman’s front door. Mr. Silverman is standing right there.” She glanced in the rearview mirror. A hundred yards away, the figure darted behind a thick oak tree. Gone, but not for good.
She opened the door. “You have to run, okay, Ty?”
“Mommy, no!” Tyler clasped her shoulders, refusing to release his hold.
“Honey, go! Now!” She dragged his hands from her shoulders, nudged him into the thick scratchy shrubs, her heart breaking into a million pieces as he wailed in fear.
All her fault.
If anything happened to Tyler…
She grabbed her purse, jumped out of the station wagon, searching the darkness for signs of the gunman. Lights flashed on the snow-encrusted ground and footsteps pounded behind her.
She turned, swinging the purse blindly, terror fueling her.
“Merry, it’s me, Douglas.” His hands cupped her shoulders.
Douglas.
She looked up into his face. “Thank God!”
“I told you to stay inside. You should have listened,” he growled.
“Tyler. I need to get him.” She tried to move away. Wanted to stop looking up into his angry eyes, but he held her arms, his hands light and warm around her biceps. “He’s at the Silverman’s.”
“I told you not to leave town, Merry. This is why. It’s not safe for you to be wandering around without protection.”
He was right. Tyler could have been killed.
One of the bullets could have gone through the back window, slammed into Tyler’s little body.
Douglas walked her to the Silverman’s house and she rang the doorbell, knowing that her need to save her son had nearly cost his life.
Sirens screamed behind her, more police officers arriving as Mr. Silverman opened his door, scowled and gestured for her to enter.
She stepped into the foyer, wincing as Tyler’s piercing cries filled her ears. She followed the sound into a large living room. Tyler sat on the floor, tears streaming down his face. He reached for her as she moved close, his hands grasping and holding as she lifted him.
“It’s okay, sweetie. Everything is okay,” she whispered.
But it wasn’t okay.
She’d tried to run. Failed.
She didn’t think Douglas would give her a chance to try again. Didn’t think she dared try again. Not with danger so close. She buried her face in Tyler’s soft hair, inhaled the scent of baby shampoo and winter.
The problem was, staying meant saying goodbye to everything she’d worked so hard to protect, everything she loved.
She couldn’t do that.
Wouldn’t.
“It’s okay,” she said again, as much to comfort herself as to comfort Tyler, but the words rang hollow in her ears, and all she could do was pray they were true as she listened to the sirens and waited for Douglas to come.
TWELVE
She’d run. Just like he’d thought she would, and if Douglas hadn’t been parked at the corner of her street, staking out her house, waiting for her to do what he’d expected, she’d be dead.
He scowled, anger and adrenaline sweeping through him as he raced across Jason and Laura Hooper’s backyard and out into the adjacent street, running in the direction the perp had gone.
Nothing.
No one.
That’s exactly what Douglas had expected, but not what he’d wanted. Turning on the cruiser’s emergency lights had kept the gunman from firing again, but it had also warned him away.
It had taken a few seconds too long to drive from the end of the street to the old station wagon, and the perp had slipped through the shadows as Douglas jumped out of the SUV and gave chase. He’d known when he heard an engine roar to life, that the perp had escaped. Known it but hadn’t wanted it to be true.
Frustrated, Douglas took off his hat, raked a hand through his hair.
“Hey, Douglas! Any sign of the perp?” His brother Ryan ran toward him, and Douglas shook his head.
“He had a vehicle parked on this street. I heard him drive away as I was running through the Hoopers’ yard.”
“He was after Merry?”
“Yeah.” Douglas flashed his light on the ground, following a trail of footprints to the curb. “This is where he parked.”
He looked back the way they’d come, saw Merry’s little Cape Cod.
“He had a good view of Merry’s house,” Ryan said, easily following the train of Douglas’s thoughts.
“He was probably waiting for an opportunity to strike again.” And Merry had given it to him by leaving her house without protection, walking out into danger without anyone around to help her.
If he hadn’t been there…
An image of Merry lying in a pool of blood and little Tyler slumped in his car seat, his body riddled with bullets, filled his mind.
Douglas frowned, crouching near one of the footprints.
“I guess there was a reason why Merry and her son were leaving the house in the middle of the night.” Ryan pulled out a camera and started snapping photos.
“I guess so. I plan to find out what it was once we’re finished here.”
“You know what I’d like to find out? How you ended up calling in the incident before Merry did.”
“I was parked at the corner of the street, keeping an eye on Merry’s house.”
“I see.”
“You see what?” Douglas asked.
“You’re taking an awful lot of interest in her case.”
“I’m taking an interest in all the cases that have been popping up lately.”
“Good to know,” Ryan said as he walked back toward Merry’s house. “And seeing as how I have my hands full with the murder investigation and the bad press it’s causing us, I’m happy to have you take the lead on this investigation.”
“I wouldn’t say we’ve got bad press. More like a few unhappy grumbles.”
“They’ll get unhappier and more plentiful if we don’t find a suspect soon.”
“Any luck finding someone who knows who Olivia’s sweetheart is?”
Ryan shook his head. “Her cousin finally contacted us, but she couldn’t tell us much more than what we already knew.”
“How about Olivia’s apartment? Did you turn anything up there?” Douglas stopped at the oak tree where the gunman had stood, flashing his light on the trampled earth and small spots on the ground that might have been blood.
“Nothing that will help us with the case. What’s that? Blood?” Ryan studied the spots as Douglas searched the low tree branches and found what he was looking for. A broken branch with what looked like blood at its tip.
“I think our perp left a little of himself behind.”
“Let’s bag it. We’ll send it out for blood typing and DNA matching.” Ryan snapped off the branch, dropped it into an evidence bag.
Douglas’s radio sputtered to life as another officer called in an abandoned SUV that matched the description of the vehicle that both Merry and Keira had seen. Douglas
’s pulse jumped as he met Ryan’s gaze. “Sounds like our perp might be getting a little nervous. He left his ride behind.”
“I’ll head to the location and check things out. You can handle things here. Call in if you have any problems. Otherwise, I’ll see you back at the station.”
“See you there.” He waited until Ryan drove away, then followed the perp’s tracks again, hoping to find more evidence. Something solid that would lead him to the gunman.
The wind howled, blowing snow across the road as Douglas trekked back to Merry’s car and lifted a bullet from the ground. Same caliber as the one used to shoot out her window.
Same caliber, same weapon?
They’d have to do ballistic testing to find out for sure, but Douglas was pretty confident they’d match.
A patrol car pulled up behind the station wagon, and he straightened, offering a quick wave as Hank Monroe got out and ambled over.
“I heard there was another shooting. Looks like our quiet little town is getting a lot less quiet. Most of the noise seems centered around people who work for your family. Guess the Fitzgeralds are bad luck.” Hank grinned, but there wasn’t any humor in his eyes. He’d been on the force for years, but Douglas didn’t consider Hank a team member, and he’d rather work with anyone else. He didn’t let it show, though. The Fitzgerald Bay police department was a family of sorts, and he treated all of its members with respect. Even the ones he didn’t like.
“It’s nothing to do with luck, Hank.”
“Then what does it have to do with?”
“People who think they’re God, and who believe they have the right to end another human being’s life.”
“True there, buddy. How many bullets were fired?”
“Three, and the guy was a pretty good shot. He fired three times and managed to take out three of Merry’s tires.”
“Good thing he wasn’t trying to take her out.”
“I’m not sure he wasn’t. I have a witness to interview. Can you collect the other two bullets and look for further evidence out here?”
“In other words, freeze while you go inside where it’s warm?” Hank’s jovial tone didn’t hide his irritation.
Douglas ignored both. “Next time, I’ll take outdoor duty.”
He didn’t wait to hear more of Hank’s subtle complaints, just left him standing near Merry’s car and walked to the Silverman place. Old and stately, the Victorian home loomed over its smaller neighbors, its ornate trim and wraparound porch white and crisp in the darkness.
Douglas jogged to the mahogany door and knocked. Bill opened the door immediately, scowling again as he stepped aside and gestured impatiently for Douglas to enter. “It’s about time you came and got them. Kid has been running around my living room like a mouse on a spin wheel.”
“Sorry about that, Bill. We were trying to collect evidence—” Nice of you to be so concerned, he wanted to add.
Merry sat on the floor, her hair tumbling around her shoulders and falling into her face, her expression hidden behind thick red-gold curls.
A few feet away, Tyler moved back and forth across the room. “Bounce. Bounce. Bounce. Bounce.”
“What are you doing, pal?” He put a hand on Tyler’s soft black hair, imagined the same scene he had before. The sturdy little body still and lifeless, the flashing dark eyes dim and dead. His stomach clenched, his anger rising up again. He tamped it down as the little boy stopped bouncing and looked up.
“I’m a ball.”
“How about you be a chair, instead?”
“A chair can’t hit bad guys in the head. A ball can. Bounce. Bounce.” Tyler added a growl at the end for emphasis, and Merry shifted subtly, wiping a hand down her cheek. Crying, and she should be.
He had no words of sympathy to offer. Nothing to say that would make her feel better.
He didn’t want her to feel better.
He wanted her to realize just how close she’d come to losing her life, how close Tyler had come to losing his.
He wanted her to know just how serious the mistake she’d made had been.
“Tell you what. I’ll take care of the bad guys, okay? You just worry about bouncing.”
“You’re gonna hit the bad guy in the head? ’Cause, we can’t let him get my mommy.” Tyler’s eyes were big, dark pools of worry, and Douglas lifted him so they were face-to-face. Unlike Merry, the little boy had an olive complexion, his tan skin and black hair speaking of Hispanic heritage. His father must have been just as dark, and Douglas wanted to know who the man was, wanted to know what he had to do with Merry’s secretive nature.
If he had anything to do with it.
“I’m going to do something better than that. I’m going to put handcuffs on him, and I’m going to put him in jail.”
“You are?” Tyler wound an arm around Douglas’s neck and leaned in so their noses were almost touching.
“I am.”
“’Cause you’re a police? That’s better than a ball. Mommy said so.”
“Mommy is right.” He ruffled Tyler’s soft hair, set him back down.
“You were fortunate tonight, Merry. Next time, you might not be.” He didn’t try to keep the anger from his voice, and she winced, his words striking home.
“I know.” She swiped at her cheeks, the gesture quick and abrupt. “I should have listened to you. I know that, too.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
“Because…” She shook her head, and his frustration grew, his anger toppling over and spilling out.
“Just once, I’d like a straight answer from you. Just once, I’d like to ask a question and have you respond without hesitating and thinking it through and coming up with something that you think will protect you and Tyler. Nothing is going to protect either of you as long as I don’t know what’s going on.”
“Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce. Bounce!” Tyler jumped between them, his voice filling the sudden silence.
“Ty, stop bouncing. You’re going to annoy Mr. Silverman,” Merry snapped at her son, and Tyler stopped, his big eyes filling with tears.
“Sorry, Mommy.”
“No. I’m sorry. I’m tired, but that’s not your fault.” She pulled Tyler in for a hug, her hands shaking as she patted his back. Her body shaking, and Douglas sighed, sat on the floor next to her, his arm sliding around her waist.
She stiffened, then sagged against him, her head dropping to his shoulder, silent tears still running down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Douglas. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“You were thinking that leaving town was safer than staying. Why?” His chin brushed against her hair as he tugged her into his arms. Berries and cream. That’s what she smelled like. Berries and cream and warm summer days. He wiped moisture from her cheeks, looked into her dark eyes.
She studied his face silently, her gaze like a physical touch, warm and probing, asking for something that Douglas would have been happy to give if he’d known what it was. Known what she needed.
Maybe she saw what she was looking for.
Her tension eased, the longing she felt shining out of the depth of her eyes. Longing. Desperation. The need to believe that he really could help.
“I—”
“Bounce. Bounce. Bounce. Bounce.” Tyler hopped toward the living room doorway, and Merry jumped, pulling away. Physically. Mentally. Douglas could see the wall go back up, see the softness and vulnerability fade.
“Come on. Let’s get you home.” He lifted Tyler, deciding that the best way to interview Merry was alone. No bouncing kid. No grumpy neighbor. Just the two of them hashing things out until she told him what he wanted to know. They both thanked Mr. Silverman and headed out.
“I can carry him,” Merry said, reachin
g for Tyler.
“You don’t even look like you can carry yourself.”
“I’m fi—”
“Do you have to fight me on everything?” he asked, ignoring her protest and carrying Tyler into the blustery night.
“I’m not fighting you. I’m fighting myself,” Merry responded so quietly that he wasn’t sure he’d heard her right.
“Why would you do that?” He glanced up and down the street, saw several officers scouring the area with flashlights. A canine unit had arrived, and the dogs had already been deployed. No way was the perp hanging around. He pressed his free hand to Merry’s lower back, urging her down the porch steps and onto the sidewalk.
“Because I want things I shouldn’t. Things that could destroy everything I’ve worked for.”
“Destroy is a strong word.”
“It’s the one that fits.” She shivered, and he pulled her close, trying to shield her from the frigid wind.
“Tell me what you’ve worked for.”
She shook her head, and he bit down impatience and frustration. Those wouldn’t help. Pushing her wouldn’t help. What he needed to do was convince her.
To let go of control.
Let him into her life.
Into her secrets.
“Then tell me what you want, Merry.”
“To just…”
“What?”
“Not have to go it alone anymore.”
“You aren’t. I’m here, and I’m going to stay.”
She didn’t respond, and he pressed his advantage. “I did a little research while I was waiting for you to run.”
“You were waiting for me to run?”
“How do you think I got here so quickly? I was sitting at the corner of your street, waiting to stop you when you tried to leave.”
“I… Thank you. You saved my life.”
“I wouldn’t have had to if you’d listened.”
“I know.”
“So, tell me what you’re running from.” He took house keys from her shaking hand, opened the door, Tyler’s arms wrapped firmly around his neck. Solid and warm, the little boy reminded Douglas of what he’d wanted for so many years. A wife, kids, a house in the town he loved so much.
The Lawman's Legacy (Love Inspired Suspense) Page 11