“I’m wondering the same. I’ve already contacted his parole officer in San Antonio this morning. The police are on alert for him, and he’ll let me know if Thorne is found. After I drop you off in the courtroom, I’m looking for Bobby Lindsey. I want to have a few words with him. Also Pedro Mederos has been sighted in the area. If we can find him, maybe we can get to the bottom of Judge Parks’s murder.”
“You’ve been busy.”
“Not just me but Sheriff Dawson, Chief Drake and Detective Alexander. Lieutenant Sanders has been coordinating from the police station, trying to get Paul to let him go into the field.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.” Tory leaned toward Cade, clasping his arm. “Thank you. I hope by this time next week, everything is over with and the killer is in jail.”
Cade took her hand and held it up between them. “So do I. I wish I could change the past, but I can’t. I do know I want to be part of your life in the future.”
“Don’t you mean Michelle’s?”
“Yes and no. Of course, her life, but you and I, we loved each other once. A lot has happened since then, but if we’re at least friends, it would make it easier for me to be in Michelle’s life. I’m not that twenty-year-old leaving to go to war. He died on the battlefield.”
“And I’m not that innocent young girl who thought love could overcome anything. There’s much more to a relationship than starry-eyed dreams.”
Out of the corner of her eye she spied Ben coming into the dining room with a big grin on his face. “Breakfast/lunch is ready. I’ll go upstairs and get Michelle while you two finish...discussing the case.” He winked as he strolled past them.
“He’s really enjoyed having Michelle here.” Cade released her hand. “So do I.”
“Even with all the emotional trauma she’s brought with her?”
“I’d be worried if she didn’t after all that’s happened.”
As Ben and Michelle came down the stairs, Tory stood. “Let’s not talk about the case while we’re eating.”
“Sounds great after all the hours I put in on it.”
Would that be enough? When this was over with, Tory had a lot to think about—her job, her relationship with Michelle...and Cade. The only things she knew right now were that she would protect her daughter at all costs and herself from being hurt again as Cade had done fifteen years ago.
* * *
Later that evening, Cade brought Tory a mug in the living room. “Decaf. I thought we both could use a good night’s sleep after the past couple of days. How’s the prep for the star witness going?”
“I talked with the US Marshals guarding him. They’re bringing him to the courthouse an hour early on Monday so I can go through what Carlos should expect from Mederos’s attorney. Once Carlos went into hiding, I haven’t had any contact with him, but the marshal in charge assures me that he’s ready to testify. I’m ready too.”
Cade sat next to her on the couch. “Me too. I thought I had a lead on Pedro this afternoon. When I got there, I found evidence someone had been hiding out in the cabin, but whoever had was gone. What concerned me was that there was evidence of a fight. I processed the scene, and the few latent prints I found were Pedro’s.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?” She twisted toward him.
“Because you fell asleep on the ride to the ranch from the courthouse.” He brushed his finger across her cheek. “This trial has taken a toll not only on Michelle but you too.”
“Let’s hope it’ll be quiet for the weekend. Thank goodness everything was routine today at the courthouse after yesterday.”
“With every police officer in the area there, it would have been hard for Mederos to stage something.”
“But not impossible. Now we only have to get through Monday.”
Cade wanted to keep her near. After she’d been grazed with a bullet the day before, he realized how close he’d come to losing her for good. He’d promised to keep her and Michelle safe, and he would. Somehow. “Another piece of news. Matthew Thorne was picked up in Austin, drunk. He’s in jail for jumping parole.”
“Do you know why he did?”
“No, but his parole officer will talk with him tomorrow and let me know what Thorne says.”
“Did anything else happen today while I was in court?” Tory tried to stifle a yawn but couldn’t.
“Nope. I wish I could tell you I discovered the person behind what’s been going on.”
“At least Michelle is better. Ben told me she didn’t give him any grief about doing her schoolwork.”
“How does she do in school?” He wanted to know everything. All he had were photos of her as a child or an occasional tidbit that Uncle Ben had heard.
“You mean you don’t know that?”
He shook his head. “It isn’t something the school would release to me.”
“She’s made As and Bs. Loves math and science. Hates history. English is okay. Does that sound like someone you know?”
“Can a love of a subject be hereditary?”
Tory shrugged. “Half her genes are yours.”
Pride swelled in his chest. He was part of Michelle. He’d never really thought of it that way. “I missed a lot.” Regret coated each word.
“Yes. But if you want—” she covered another yawn “—you can be a friend in her life.”
“But not her father?” slipped out before he could censor his thoughts.
Tory stiffened. “I have to think about what’s best for Michelle. I won’t shatter her love for Derek. He was a good father.” She set her mug on the end table by her and rose. “It’s time I turn in. This week has caught up with me.”
He started to stand, but she waved him off.
“Cade, we’ll talk tomorrow.”
He’d known the second he’d asked that question about being Michelle’s father that it had been the wrong time. Unfortunately, there never seemed to be a right time. He leaned his head on the back cushion and stared at the ceiling. Had he just blown it?
He decided to go through the house and check the windows and doors, then devote the next few hours to going back through the trial files that were the most promising—again. He hoped the perpetrator turned out to be Thorne and that he remained in jail.
But the only new thing he’d found two hours later was that Clarence Roberts had been rumored to be trying to become a member of Mederos’s gang. Was he when he was convicted? So two of the four files he’d singled out had a connection to Mederos. The man did have his fingers into everything in the county—unless Tory managed to convince the jury he was guilty.
Someone pounded on the front door. “Open up.” It sounded like one of the guards outside.
Cade hurried to the entrance, checked to make sure it was the deputy sheriff, then pulled the door open. “What’s wrong?”
“Fire,” the deputy said, pointing toward the barn.
Cade stepped outside, the brisk wind whipping his clothes. A blaze lit the sky.
SEVEN
A hand shook Tory’s arm. She wanted to keep sleeping and tried to roll away.
“Get up, Tory. Now.” Urgency in Cade’s voice jerked her awake.
She blinked repeatedly as her eyes adjusted to the bright light that flooded her bedroom. Cade stood over her, his face sober. He flicked his gaze toward the window.
“The barn’s on fire and it’s windy, spreading the flames all around. We don’t have much time to get out of here. Wake up Michelle and both of you pack what you need for a few days.”
She sat straight up, trying to digest what he was telling her. “Has the fire department been called?”
“Yes, one of the deputies did.”
“We should try to help put it out.”
Cade strode to the window facing in
that direction and shoved the drapes back. The yellow-orange glow of the barn filled her view, obscuring the dark sky. She scurried from the bed and went to the window as Cade headed for the hallway.
“Meet me in the garage in five minutes.”
For a few seconds, the sparks caught on the wind and swirled about, reminding her of summer nights as a kid trying to catch the fireflies. One ember landed about twenty yards from the house. The grass caught fire in seconds.
She whirled around and darted across the hall into Michelle’s room. She pulled on her daughter’s arm. “Get up. The barn is burning. We have to leave. Pack what you can in three minutes.”
“What about Bella?” As Michelle said the pregnant dog’s name, Bella lifted her head from the pillow where she slept on the floor.
“Get her leash and lead her out. The fire might scare her. You may have to carry her in the end.”
Tory hurried back to her room and began flinging everything she owned into a duffel bag. She glanced at the window, wishing the fire wasn’t spreading so quickly, but not surprised because the area was suffering through a drought. When she finished, she grabbed her overnight piece of luggage along with the filled one and scrambled down the stairs to stuff the files into the empty suitcase.
As she cleared the dining room table, Cade helped her. Ben came down the stairs holding Bella while Michelle carried the bags.
“Put everything in the car in the garage,” Cade said to his uncle and Michelle.
“Where are the deputies?” Ben asked as he passed the dining room table, the sound of sirens in the distance.
“They’re hosing down the roof. The barn is gone and the fire is turning into a wildfire.” Cade put the last court file into the suitcase, then closed it. “Let’s go.”
“What about your house, the ranch?” Cade had grown up here, and Tory’s presence had put him and the ranch in danger.
“We can’t do anything else. I just hope the firefighters can stop this from spreading too much. The horses are in the pastures in the opposite direction of the wind. And one of the deputies said he saw Buddy and the cats running from the barn, so they’re safe too.”
“Where will we go?” Tory followed Cade through the kitchen.
“I have an idea, but I have to make a few calls. This time no one will know where we are but us.”
While Cade stowed the bags in the rear compartment of the SUV, Tory climbed into the front passenger seat. Ben, Michelle and Bella were in the back. Cade didn’t punch the garage door opener until he sat behind the steering wheel. Tory glanced at the clock. One in the morning.
When Cade pulled out, he stopped and assessed their surroundings. Small fires littered the landscape, the scent of smoke heavy. Tory stared at the road that led to the highway. On both sides of it, the grass had caught fire. In spite of what the two deputies had done, an ember landed on the garage roof and burst into flames.
“How do we get out of here?” Tory asked as she spied the flashing lights of the fire engines.
“Stay in here. I’ll be back in a second.” Cade got out of his SUV and rushed to the deputy sheriff’s car behind him.
Everywhere Tory looked, flames rapidly devoured the dry terrain and kept creeping closer to them. When the fire engines halted on the highway, she knew they were in trouble. If the fire department wasn’t going to risk going down the dirt road, then how could they leave the ranch that way? She tried to think what the terrain on the south side of the house was like. Rocky. Crevices in places.
When Cade returned, he shifted toward them. “We’re going to go out using the dirt road. The deputies will go first. We’ll follow. The fire is jumping the road, but because there’s no vegetation the road itself should be okay. All windows closed. I’m closing the vents. Uncle Ben, get the wool blankets in the back and give each of us one. If we have to stop on the road, cover yourself with a blanket and get on the floor.”
Tory noted the limited room for the driver with the steering wheel. “How about you?”
“I’ll be fine. I’m hoping we can drive out without a problem. The fire department will be operating from the highway and try to contain the wildfire, but it’s been pretty dry lately. The sheriff is closing the highway.” Cade put the car into Drive and trailed behind the deputy’s SUV.
Tory glanced at Michelle. “Okay?”
Her daughter nodded, her eyes huge.
“I’ll watch out the left side. Tory, you watch out the right,” Ben said. “We’ll be all right. I put our emergency supply kit in the back. We’ve done all we can do for now.”
As Cade moved forward, smoke swallowed the deputy’s patrol vehicle in front. Cade was essentially driving blind with only a foot visibility. Tory’s heartbeat accelerated as he slowed the SUV in order to prepare for the unexpected. Sweat beaded her forehead and ran into her eyes, stinging them. Or was it the smoke she could smell in spite of closing the windows and vents?
Please, Lord, help us get to safety.
Through the gray density surrounding the car, Tory glimpsed the flashing red lights. The drive was only a half a mile from the highway, but to Tory it seemed an eternity when Cade turned onto the asphalt road, situated on a rise about ten feet above the ranch.
A firefighter approached the driver side of the SUV.
Cade cracked the window and asked, “Which is the best way out of here?”
“South, for the time being.”
Cade poked a business card out of the small opening. “This is my contact number. If you can’t get hold of me, call Police Chief Paul Drake. He’ll know how.”
“Will do.” The man stepped back.
As they drove away from the inferno raging across Cade’s land, Ben passed out bottles of water.
The cool liquid helped soothe the dryness in Tory’s throat. “Where are we going?”
“When we are away and I don’t think anyone is following us, I’ll make a call. I have a place in mind.”
Tory lowered her voice, saying, “Just us?”
“If this has something to do with Mederos, he’ll need to make his move this weekend.”
“Why? A member of my office can handle the questioning of the star witness on Monday.”
“I’m sure you think someone else could do the case you’ve been living the past couple of months, but you need to be there.” Cade threw a glance over his shoulder then whispered, “We’ll talk later.” He nodded his head toward Michelle.
“I understand.” Obviously he didn’t want to talk in front of Michelle. She would have to wait. His tone indicated even Mederos’s verdict wouldn’t take away the threat to her and her daughter. Would this ever end?
* * *
“Is Michelle all right?” Cade asked when Tory came into the main room of the rustic cabin, used once as a safe house.
“As well as can be expected. The fire scared her. How fast it spread. How close it came to your house. She was worried about your home burning too.”
“I called Paul on the landline here, and he said the fire department is still fighting the grass fire. The barn is gone, but a section over the garage is the only part damaged at the house. So far, they’ve managed to keep the blaze away from my home. If the wind doesn’t change it should be fixable.”
“She gave me this reluctantly.” Tory handed him Michelle’s cell phone, then eased down onto the couch near Cade.
“I’ve disabled all cell phones. They can’t be used here. We don’t want whoever set the barn on fire finding us. No one knows where we are. I was careful driving away. We should be all right this weekend. I need to leave to get some supplies, but there’s a store about a mile from here. Other than that, I’m staying here and working the case. Paul will run down anything I need. Did you call the US Marshals on the landline about the new number to call if needed?”
“Yes, everything is still going well there. Carlos is eager to get this over with. So am I.”
He smiled. “We all feel that way.”
“When this is over, I’m going to make a batch of cookies for the two deputies guarding us. If they hadn’t been there tonight, we might not have had time to get to safety.”
“I want to buy them a thick, juicy steak. My house is still standing because they watered it down. That and God was looking out for us tonight.”
Tory leaned her head against the back cushion, her eyelids heavy.
“Go to bed.”
“I could say the same for you. I’m waiting for Michelle to fall asleep.”
“I’m waiting for Uncle Ben to get a little more rest. Good thing we’re taking shifts at night. He snores.”
“Michelle is all over the place when she sleeps. Once I found her on the floor sleeping in the doorway when she was four.”
Cade loved hearing about Michelle as a child, but each story left an emptiness in him. He’d made a mistake thinking he could come home and be part of his daughter’s life from afar. That it would satisfy a need he had, fill a loneliness. Instead, being around her only made it worse.
“When did she start playing basketball?”
“As soon as she could hold the ball. Derek put the hoop down to a level she could handle.”
Cade really couldn’t blame Derek about keeping certain information from Tory concerning what had really happened. Cade had never pushed to talk with her directly. He’d known he couldn’t handle a renewed relationship with her on top of everything else he was going through. “I wish I could have seen that.”
“I have a video of her at the age of six.”
“Did you take a lot of videos of Michelle?”
“Either I did or Derek.”
“Maybe one day I could see them.”
Bending toward him, Tory placed her hand on his forearm. “Sure.”
He leaned forward, only a few inches from her. When she slid her eyes closed, he cradled her face and kissed her. He’d missed her more than he ever realized. He’d thought he was all right living alone. Now he was having misgivings. He drew her to him, his arms encircling her while he deepened the kiss.
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