Miles sat back, crossed his arms over his chest, and shook his head. “You did good, Katie—the proper use of money. Well done.”
“Thank goodness I’ve had no complaints since I’ve been sheriff.” She frowned. “This is farm and dairy country—lots of cows—and tobacco country, you know, and that means lots of cheap cigarettes and lots of teenagers smoking. I’ve cracked down on that something fierce.”
“How are you doing that?”
“I know most of the teenagers. I see one with a cigarette in his mouth and I take him and his cigarettes to jail. I can’t lock him up since it’s not against the law, but I call his parents. You’d be surprised at what a screaming mother can do to a teenage boy, even the mothers who smoke. It warms a sheriff’s heart.”
He laughed at that. “If my mom had ever caught me with a cigarette, I’d have been grounded for a month. Now, as for your mom, she makes good tuna casserola, and she didn’t raise a dummy.”
She was pleased, and he saw it. “Thank you,” she said. “Casserola—what comfort food. I guess that’s why she made it for all of us Monday night.”
Katie rose and stretched. He was watching her, she felt it, and quickly lowered her arms, slouched forward a bit.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that in front of you.”
“Think nothing of it.”
“I mean, I didn’t mean to preen in front of you.”
“Maybe that’s too bad.”
30
There, that’s it. You’re going to be a dentist, Sam, and I’m going to be an astronaut!”
Katie came down on her haunches beside them. “Okay, career choices are set, let me tell you that it’s nearly nine o’clock. Time for you guys to get to bed.”
It wasn’t as much of a production as either adult expected, no more than five minutes of whining. After Katie settled Keely in, Miles did the same with Sam down the hall, they traded places, without thinking much about it, and that made Katie frown down at her toes. What did Miles think about tucking her daughter in and being pulled into reading the next chapter of Lindy Lymmes, Kindergarten Girl Detective?
She offered to read to Sam from one of Keely’s books, but that made him gag—loudly—so she gave him a big hug and kissed his ear. If she wasn’t careful, she thought, she’d fall in love with this little boy.
When Miles had gone to bed, she went outside to speak to Jamie and Neil, who’d gotten Cerlew’s Buick unlocked. She gave them a thermos of coffee she’d made, checked and locked all the doors and windows, and fell into bed.
The storm hit hard around two in the morning, rattling windows, slapping tree branches against the house. It was time for a shift change in deputies guarding the house. Katie checked on Keely, who was sound asleep, and went back to bed. Katie had always loved storms, and they never bothered Keely, but tonight, Katie was antsy and wide awake. She finally gave it up, went to the kitchen and put on the teakettle. She was standing in front of the sink, looking out over the thick stand of maple and poplar trees not more than ten feet from the house, leached of their beautiful colors in the heavy gray rain.
“You got two tea bags?”
She turned around at Miles’s voice, well aware that she was wearing only her nightshirt and her empty ankle holster. Even her feet were bare.
Miles walked straight to her, and wrapped his arms around her, trapping her own arms to her sides. When she pushed against him, he immediately released her, but then she simply wrapped her arms around his back. She felt his smile against her cheek, felt the strength of him against her. He was wearing only a pair of jeans and a dark blue T-shirt. She said against his neck, “You feel good,” and that was a lie because he felt far more than good. And he made her feel things she hadn’t felt in a very long time.
“So do you,” and she could hear tension in his voice, hear that he was lying, too.
He was nuzzling her neck, and said against her jaw, “I like a tall woman. We fit together perfectly.” And he kissed her.
Katie hadn’t kissed a man in approximately two years and three months, and that kiss had been on the wet side with a beer aftertaste. How far back did she have to go for an astounding kiss, a kiss like this one? All the way back to Carlo.
The teakettle whistled, shrill and loud, and they both jumped. He took her arms in his hands, looked at her a moment, and stepped back from her.
“Do you drink your tea straight?”
Katie nodded. She wished the teakettle hadn’t been so loud. He’d given her comfort, and so much more than that, and it had felt right, just right. And she wanted more, and she didn’t want a teakettle sounding off in the middle of it. Life was strange. She hadn’t even known this man before last weekend.
She watched him fetch two mugs down from the cabinet, dangle two Lipton tea bags over the sides of the mugs, and pour the boiling water over them.
He said without turning, “I like the holster around your ankle. It’s sexy.”
She looked down, saw that her red nail polish was chipped on her big toe. She grinned at him. “You’re pretty easy, Miles.”
“Not I.” He handed her a mug, picked his up, and clicked it against hers. “To us,” he said.
What did that mean? She sipped her tea. The wind howled, and the rain pelted hard against the windows like pebbles thrown hard by angry children.
“I get to meet with the TBI again tomorrow,” Katie said, and added at his frown, “The final meeting, I hope.”
“Do you need any witnesses?”
She shook her head. “They spoke to Glen Hodges again by phone this afternoon, and of course to Savich and Sherlock before they left. I suppose they might want to speak with you, but no one’s mentioned it yet. And I have my deputies, all eager to defend me, even Wade, if he has a clue what’s good for him. The TBI investigator checking out everything calls this case a corker—his word—and he wants to hang around. I’m hoping he gets a call from his supervisor to finish things up.”
Suddenly Katie heard something, no, it was more than that. She felt something dangerous and close. She ran to the living room window and looked out through the thick rain. No deputy car was out there.
She didn’t hesitate. “Miles, grab Sam, quickly!”
Miles didn’t ask for an explanation, didn’t hesitate. He raced to the guest bedroom to see Sam sitting up in bed, half-asleep. “I heard something, Papa. Out there.”
“Come with me, Sam.” Miles grabbed him up, wrapped him in blankets and ran with him back to the living room. Katie was there with Keely.
“Sam was awake. He heard something. What’s the matter?”
“I don’t know,” Katie said. “I don’t know, but something’s not right. Danny and Jeffrey were supposed to show up at two, but they’re not there. We’re getting out of here right now.”
“Katie, you’re not dressed.”
She was losing it. Not good, but her fear was building. “Hold the kids, let me throw on some clothes. I’ll bring you a shirt and your jacket. Oh damn, the kids need clothes, too. Miles, don’t let either of them move. I’ll get everything.”
Two and a half minutes later, both adults were on their knees quickly dressing Sam and Keely.
“We’re outta here,” Katie said. Miles knew she was afraid and trying hard not to let that fear transmit itself to the children. He also knew she’d give her life for any of them.
Katie smashed her hat on her head, grabbed all the coats, and said, “We’re outta here, now!”
Sam whispered as he clutched his father’s neck, “What’s the matter, Papa? What did I hear? Are those bad men after me again?”
“If they are, I’ll knock their heads together, then I’ll let you stomp on them, okay?”
“Okay, Papa,” Sam said, less fear in his voice, thank God.
Keely twisted around in Miles’s other arm to face her mother. “What’s the matter, Mama?”
“Shush,” Miles said. “We’ve all got to be very quiet, okay?” He squeezed both children close to him
.
Just as Katie fumbled with the dead bolt on the front door, there was a loud explosion behind them that sent flames and heat out at them through the kitchen hall. Someone had tossed a bomb into the kitchen, where he and Katie had been drinking tea not more than five minutes before. Miles automatically turned his back to the heat to protect the children. Katie bounced back, blinked to clear the shock out of her head, and said, so mad she was stuttering, “The house, s-some idiot just b-blew up my damned house!”
There was a crackling of flames behind them.
Katie pulled the door open and ran out. “We’re alive, thanks to you,” Miles said as he raced out the door behind her.
“Wait!”
Her gun was out, and she was crouched down, making a sweep. She couldn’t see anything through the deluge. There was nothing else she could do. She waved them forward. Miles, huddled over the kids, raced after her.
The rain pelted them, soaking them to the skin within seconds, and there were gusts of wind that forced them to bow forward and brace themselves. Katie led them straight to her truck. “Get in, Miles!”
She turned the key in the ignition and slammed the car into reverse, but the wheels spun. The ground had turned to sucking mud in the heavy rain.
The wheels finally gained traction when Katie ripped the truck back in reverse a second time. She barely missed the huge oak tree that was the oldest thing in her yard. Mud was flying from under the wheels, splashing the side windows, but they were free and that was all that mattered.
In that instant there was a sharp ping, like the sound of something hitting metal, and then another.
“Someone’s shooting at us,” Katie said low, her voice controlled. “Get the kids down, Miles.”
He worked both children down into the space in front of the passenger seat. They were holding each other tightly, not making a sound. How much more of this could two little kids take?
“Keep your head down,” Katie said, all matter-of-fact. “I’m getting us out of here.”
She hit the gas the instant after she shifted into drive, and the truck shot forward. They heard a tremendous explosion that rocked the truck. Katie stopped the truck and jerked around, even as she dialed 911.
“Those bastards—my house is on fire!” She got her night dispatcher, Lewis, and snapped out instructions to him. “Get every deputy out to my house along with the fire department. And Lewis, Danny and Jeffrey never showed up at two o’clock to take over guard duty.”
“Sheriff, they told me they were just going to be a few minutes late. Some kids busted out both their back tires.”
“Yeah, right, some kids,” Katie said. “Well, at least they’re okay.”
When she’d hung up, she said, her voice flat and calm, “Miles, you take the kids to the sheriff’s office. Lock yourselves in a cell. Keely, Sam, it will be all right. Do what Miles tells you. I’ll be with you as soon as I can.”
“Mama!”
Katie didn’t hesitate, she was out of the truck, sliding in the mud and rain, running back toward her burning house, her gun drawn.
Where were the idiots who’d fired at them? Surely there was no reason for them to stay now with Sam gone. But whoever had done this had gone over the edge. Nothing could surprise her now.
She was crouched down, until she was under tree cover again as she made her way to the side of her burning house. She felt the heat billowing off her house, felt a spark strike her hand, and shook her fingers, cursing. She looked down to see her burned flesh. It hurt like the devil, but she had nothing to wrap it up with. She shook her hand to cool it, then knew she had to forget it.
They’d thrown the bomb into the kitchen. Why? To flush them out? The kitchen was the farthest room from the guest room where Sam was sleeping. They’d probably known that. The last thing they seemed to want was to hurt Sam.
It seemed like years passed before she heard the deputies, the firemen. The bombers were gone, no reason for them to hang around since their target had escaped.
Suddenly, she heard another gunshot. At the same time, her cell phone rang. She yelled into the phone even as she rolled behind a garbage can, “Wade, stay put, that’s an order! The moron who bombed the house just shot at me!”
Another shot, this one a good twenty feet away. She saw Wade coming around the corner, and yelled, “Don’t come any closer, Wade! Get more deputies and get down!”
But Wade just kept running toward her, his gun fanning as he ran. Soon, four deputies were there, yelling, running into each other, trying to avoid flying sparks from Katie’s burning house.
“All of you be careful,” Katie yelled.
Wade was panting when he reached her. He saw the blood on her hand and turned white. “My God, your hand.”
“No, I’m all right, it was a flying spark. Wade, take the guys and check in the woods. See what you can find.”
Not many minutes later, she slowly rose to see Wade come running toward her through the thick rain. He was shaking his head.
“Nothing?”
“Not a single damned thing. Hell, Katie, this whole thing’s so off-the-wall. What do we do now?”
“We search every inch around here and see what we can find.” She pointed him to the shards of glass sticking out of the mud. “They dropped that one and broke it, but its brother went through my kitchen window.” She looked down at her hand. Wade pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and tied it around her hand. “There, that’s better than nothing.”
She looked up at Wade. “Thanks. At least the bastards didn’t follow Miles into Jessborough. They’ve got to be okay.”
31
Miles had got himself under control because, simply, there was no choice. “Your mama will be just fine,” he said as he eased himself behind the wheel. “Now, Sam, Keely, I want you both to sit in the passenger seat and snuggle under those blankets.”
They were wet and scared, their teeth chattering, and Miles turned the heat on high. “You guys know what? I’d really appreciate it if you’d sing me a song.”
The children, bless their hearts, sang themselves hoarse. “Puff the Magic Dragon” had never sounded so good. He knew they were scared, knew they were dealing with it, just as he was, and he was very proud of both of them. Within minutes, he heard sirens, saw sheriff cars, red lights flashing; he pulled the truck off onto a side street while they streamed past, headed to Katie’s burning house. Thank God it was raining so hard, the house just might survive.
He was praying Katie was all right as he scooped both children into his arms, charged through the door of City Hall, veered to the right, where the sheriff’s department was housed.
Lewis, the night dispatcher, waved them in. Then the outer door whooshed open again and there was Linnie, running through the doors right behind them, wearing jeans, boots, a huge sweatshirt with an extra-large bomber jacket over it, and rollers in her hair.
“This way,” she said and smiled down at the children, just as calm and cool as Katie had been. His own heart was pounding and he wanted to hit something.
The phone rang and Lewis was on it.
“Everything is fine,” Linnie said, leaning down to hug both children. “Listen to me now, I don’t want you two worrying. Your mama’s really tough, Keely, you know that. And Sam, your papa’s right here, big and mean, and no one would mess with him. Now, come this way and we’ll get you dry.”
Sam stared up at his father, his small mouth working.
Miles came down on his knees next to Sam and Keely, drew them both into the circle of his arms. “Linnie’s here to take care of you guys. She’s going to get you dry and warm.”
The kids, pale and wet, stared up at him, saying nothing. They weren’t buying it, and he was trying his very best, dammit.
“Okay, Linnie is going to watch you and keep you company, okay? She’s also going to lock this place up tighter than your bank, Sam.”
“Papa, you’re going to leave us?”
He said simply, “I have to
help Katie. Okay?”
“Don’t let those bad men hurt my mama,” Keely said, and burst into tears.
“I won’t let anyone hurt your mama, Keely. I promise,” Miles said as he stood up. “You guys, stay with Linnie.”
He mouthed a thank you to Linnie, who was gathering both children against her.
“Wait, Mr. Kettering!” She tossed him a cell phone. “Use it. Call us whenever you can, right, Sam?”
“Call me, Papa.”
“You got it, kid.”
“I’ll hug Keely,” Sam said. “She’s scared.” Miles watched his son pull Keely close and pat her back.
As Miles drove back through the heavy cold rain, the driver’s window cracked down, he could still hear sirens. He saw the glow of the flames from a mile away. With the heavy rainfall, at least the trees were protected. He pulled the truck up behind one of the deputy’s cars and jumped out.
The firemen were hosing down the roof of the house, but even with the heavy rain there was no hope. Katie’s house was gutted, and everything in it gone.
Miles threw back his head and yelled, “Katie!”
One of the deputies came running up, panting as he said, “Are the kids okay, Mr. Kettering?”
“They’re with Linnie in jail, I mean that literally. Where’s Katie?”
“I think she’s still in the back.”
Miles said, “They shot at the sheriff’s truck. You’ll probably be able to dig out the bullets, identify them. Are you sure Katie’s okay?”
“I heard her yelling,” the deputy said. “When she yells like that, she’s okay, just real mad.”
Miles nodded and ran to the back of the burning house, rain blurring his vision. He swiped his hand over his eyes, and shouted, “Katie!”
“I’m here.”
He nearly ran right into her. She was leaning against a sugar maple, tying something around her hand.
“Dammit, you hurt yourself,” he said, then pulled her tight against him, unable to help himself, he was so afraid.
“Nothing bad, I promise,” she said, and pulled back to give him the ghost of a smile. “A flying spark burned my hand. It’s not bad. The guys who bombed my house are long gone. Wade and the other deputies haven’t found anything yet.”
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