Guardian of Justice

by Carol Steward

  “You’d have to call her supervisor tomorrow for that.”

  “Yeah. Thanks.” Dallas knew it was ridiculous to believe the worst, but he couldn’t take that chance. The DEA hadn’t arrested Mickey Zelanski yet. What if, for some idiotic reason, he’d come after Kira?

  She hadn’t returned his calls, and he couldn’t even get hold of her at work. He’d come this far, and he wasn’t giving up now. He didn’t want to make another mistake. Not with Kira.

  He rang the doorbell again, and not expecting a different response, looked for an open curtain so he could peek inside. He froze when he saw a window gaping wide. He shone his flashlight around the yard, looking for other signs of an intruder, then back into the house.

  “Kira?” He shone the light along the wall, able to make a guess as to the layout of the unit. It looked like she had a living room and kitchen on the main floor, bedrooms upstairs. He took a step, and his foot caught on something. Dallas looked down and saw the screen to the window. Immediately, he pulled out his cell phone and called the local police department to send an officer.

  While he waited, he looked around the yard for anything else that was out of place. When an officer arrived, he was so young he looked like he should be reading Shakespeare in high school English class. “Officer Richards.” He extended his hand, “You must be Officer Brooks?”

  Dallas nodded, then explained the situation in full.

  “Matthews? We have an officer on the force by that name. What’s she look like?”

  Dallas didn’t have to think about that, “African American, light brown skin, brown hair, brown eyes, slim…” While Dallas described her, the officer took notes.

  The kid shook his newly buzzed head. “Must not be related. So the place looks like it’s been broken into….” He jotted more notes, then looked up again. “When did you talk to her last?”

  “It’s been almost a week, and apparently her office hasn’t seen her for several days, either.”

  “Have you talked to any of the neighbors, asked if they’ve seen her?”

  “Not yet,” Dallas said, wishing he could speed things along. He began to pace, anxious to make sure he hadn’t left another innocent victim in the path of destruction. While the obviously new cop asked the standard questions about a missing person, going back and forth on the cell phone with his supervisor, Dallas knocked on doors. He was perplexed that no one had seen or heard anything out of the ordinary, and no one had set eyes on her in several days.

  When he returned, the kid was on with dispatch. “Be on the lookout for Kira Matthews, a social worker with Poudre County, about thirty years old, light brown skin, brown hair and brown eyes, five foot seven. Last seen in Antelope Springs, Colorado, on Friday evening. Need to do a welfare check at her home.”

  “Hold on, Officer Richards,” the dispatcher said.

  Over the radio they heard another officer respond that he would be right there. Within minutes, a detective showed up in plain clothes, wearing his badge on his belt and a phone to his ear. With him was a corporal in a regular patrol uniform.

  Dallas could hear the phone ringing inside the unit again. “Come on, Kira, answer,” the detective muttered. He looked at Dallas and nodded. “I’m Nick Matthews and this is Garrett.”

  “Dallas Brooks, from Antelope Springs Police Department.”

  “You’re the one looking for Kira?” the corporal asked as he opened the storm door and pulled a key from his pocket.

  “Yeah, I need her to complete some paperwork.”

  “Um, did either of you try to bust in?” The corporal turned toward them. “Get your camera, Nick. The door wasn’t like this last time I saw Kira.”

  “We didn’t touch a thing, except the doorbell,” Dallas answered. “I checked around the side, and it looks like someone entered through the window. Probably ought to get pictures of that, too.” He watched the two men interact, deciding they were brothers. “So you know Kira?”

  “She’s our sister.” Garrett looked at Dallas.

  Officer Richards joined the conversation. “When I heard her name, I suspected she could be related to you, but Dallas said she’s African American.”

  “Yep, we adopted her when she was six.”

  “You were right, Officer Brooks,” the young cop replied. “Do you want me to stick around or—”

  “Yes,” both brothers said.

  The detective continued as he took pictures of the scraped up door with a muddy shoe tread on it. “We can’t process our sister’s case. It’s officially yours, Richards. I just want to get pictures before anyone touches anything. You’ll have to call in someone else to process. We’re here as brothers, not officials.”

  “You haven’t heard from her, either?” Dallas asked.

  “She called a few days ago to apologize for missing my birthday,” Garrett answered. “She said she’d had a bad week and forgot.” He stepped aside as his brother returned from taking pictures of the window. “You have something to do with her bad week?”

  Realization hit Dallas like a fist in the gut. This was his fault, and Kira hadn’t told anyone about what had happened. “Yeah,” he said, “it was my fault. I’ve been trying to get hold of her all week. She wouldn’t return my calls.”

  “And you have the nerve to show up here and put her name out over the entire region? That’s a misuse of the system! We ought to write you up.” Garrett stepped toward Dallas.

  The detective pushed his brother back. “Calm down, Garrett. I don’t think this was personal.”

  Garrett stood his ground. “What makes you think that?”

  “He’s not her type, for one thing. He’s a cop. You really think she wants another copin her life?” The detective put his gloves on. “So, give me the key.”

  His brother didn’t move.

  “Garrett. Let’s see what’s going on here and then we can jump to conclusions.”

  Dallas wanted to laugh, but this was too bizarre. Right now, he just wanted to know where their sister was, that she was okay. He’d deal with the second punch in the ego later.

  Garrett glared at Dallas as he handed the keys over. It looked as if he was used to taking orders from his brother. So Nick was the arrogant detective, and Garrett the one with a temper. He probably had a chip on each shoulder. Dallas crossed his arms over his chest and met Garrett’s stare, as if he could look inside and size the man up. A muscle flickered in Garrett’s jaw. He was trying to prove himself, especially on the job. He was probably the younger of the two, though with his buzz cut, it was difficult to be sure.

  Officer Richards leaned close. “So what didhappen between you two?”

  Dallas really didn’t want to be the one to tell her brothers what had happened. She had her reasons for keeping it from them. “I came to get a statement for an incident that happened when she did a ride-along. I’ve phoned every day, but she’s not returning my calls.”

  “You called in a BOLO just because she didn’t phone you back?” Garrett eyed Dallas with a protective glare. “She didn’t say anything about the ride-along when I talked to her.”

  “Mom said she’d been talking to someone about her new project.” Nick looked at Dallas. “So what makes you think something is wrong, Brooks?”

  Dallas wasn’t getting anywhere with this tack. “I’m just worried. She doesn’t seem like the type to not follow up on business.”

  “Follow up on what?”

  “While I was inside the house that night talking to the mother and son, the mom’s boyfriend must have been hiding in the backyard, and tried to break into the cruiser…with your sister inside.”

  Nick looked as if he wanted to punch him.

  “I’ve done what I could to let her do this in her own timing,” Dallas continued. “Now I need her statement so I can finish my report. I found out she’s not been at work for days, she’s not here, and I found the screen torn off one of her windows. The inside of her condo looks fairly torn up, too. That’s when I called your offi
cer in.” The two brothers stared at Dallas in disbelief. “Are we going to stand here, or make sure Kira is okay?” he asked them.

  “Yeah,” Nick said, with a glare.

  Dallas followed as they went inside. “This doesn’t look good. Why’d she dump out her purse and leave it here?”

  Garrett looked in the closet off the front door. Nick went to check the bedrooms, and Garrett went to the attached garage, while Dallas and the street cop searched the kitchen and living room.

  “No sign of her in the bedroom,” Nick yelled down the stairs, “but it looks like she went somewhere in a hurry. Her dresser drawers are hanging open.”

  “Is her suitcase gone?” Officer Richards asked.

  “She doesn’t have one. She borrows Mom’s,” Garrett answered as he came out of the garage with a puzzled look on his face. “Her car’s still here. Maybe she’s out on a date.”

  Dallas opened the microwave, surprised to find an overcooked and dried-out chicken pasta dinner. “With a broken window and a cooked, uneaten dinner in the microwave?” He couldn’t imagine the woman he’d met the other night living in a mess like this. Jackets and shoes were scattered about.

  “This isn’t like Kira at all,” Nick stated as he examined the other windows and the back door. “I’m going to call Mom, see if she knows anything.”

  “Who was this guy? The one that attacked her?” Garrett asked while Nick talked into his phone.

  “Attacked the car. He didn’t touch her. Drug dealer, goes by Mickey Zelanski. He had a stash of coke as big as Kira’s kitchen.”

  Garrett started with the attitude again. “So he attacks the car she’s in and you let him go? Nice work.”

  Dallas felt the hair on his neck tingle. “She sounded the siren and scared him away. He was gone by the time I got out there. Crazy me, I wanted to make sure your sister was okay.”

  “Why didn’t she call you on the radio?”

  “She did, but it didn’t sound anything like your sister, trust me.” Dallas didn’t need this. “You want answers, Garrett, get Kira to come fill out a statement. Then we’ll both know what she went through out there.”

  That wasn’t good enough, apparently. Though the attitude mellowed, Garrett kept pressing for information. “And why didn’t she fill it out that night?”

  “Knock it off, I can’t hear Mom,” Nick yelled.

  “What about Kira?” Garrett asked.

  Nick gave a thumbs-up. A couple of minutes later, he joined them. “Kira’s okay. She’s been at Mom and Dad’s the last few days.”

  Dallas let out a deep breath, along with her brothers. These two might not be Kira’s blood, but there was no doubt how they felt about her.

  “Mom said she seems okay, but it doesn’t sound like Kira told them anything, either. Dad’s bringing her over to confirm whether someone else has been in here, or what in the world got hold of our neat-freak sister.”

  Dallas appreciated that his first impression of her was accurate, but that didn’t sound good for her emotional state of mind right now. Her sarcasm echoed through his head: I’m fine, they’re fine, everyone is fine. That’s what you want, right?He had hoped she was strong enough that the incident wouldn’t have bothered her. Looks like he was wrong. He should have followed Shaline’s suggestion and come to see her right away.

  While the brothers talked to the officer, Dallas wandered the room, trying to understand Kira a little better. She had a lot of family pictures mixed in with simple decorations. Candles, bowls with dried flowers and leaves in them. Very few trinkets, he noted.

  “Look at this,” the street officer said. “What was this burglar looking for?” In the hallway, books had been knocked off the shelf, videos tossed into the trash. The pictures on the wall were crooked, but nothing of any value appeared to be missing. The television and computer hadn’t been bothered.

  Dallas kept quiet, allowing the brothers to determine what was out of place.

  If it was Zelanski, what had he been looking for? Why would he bother Kira? Unless he thought she had taken something besides the kids’ belongings…

  As Dallas walked back into the living room, her computer monitor flashed on. “Someone has definitely been here recently,” he stated. “I bumped the desk, and the computer came right up.” He leaned down to read the error message. “Someone was trying to get into her computer, but didn’t have a password.”

  The detective joined him. “Good work, Officer.”

  “Dallas,” he corrected.

  “Am I going to find your prints on this?” the man challenged, pulling a pen from his pocket to point to the mouse.

  “I know how to handle a crime investigation, Detective.”

  “What about the rest of the apartment? Your fingerprints anywhere else?” Garrett Matthews asked.

  Dallas glared at the young street officer. His response was cut off by yet another voice, this one even deeper than her brothers’. “Kira Danae. What happened here?” An older version of the well-dressed detective walked into the room. Their dad.

  Dallas waited anxiously to see Kira again, his thoughts flashing back to the night they’d met. For a moment, he wanted the impossible—to start all over again.

  Kira covered her mouth and choked back a cry when she saw her house. Then she came face-to-face with Dallas. A flash of fury had the color returning to her cheeks. Her brown eyes were wide and round, a sure sign that she was about to let him have it.

  That’s what the bulletproof vest was for—to protect his heart from a lethal shot. And this woman certainly had the ammunition to do the job. Heart. Spunk. And blind faith. That was the problem with social workers, he realized as she lit into him. They thought they could heal everyone. And unfortunately, he was one that just couldn’t be healed.

  She stared point-blank at Dallas and spoke through gritted teeth. “Next time I want my family to know about my life, I’d appreciate it if you’d let metell them.”

  He stared into her eyes, analyzing her reaction. “You’d better start talking, then, because I don’t think your brothers like my version.”

  Chapter Nine

  NINE

  “What are you doing here?” Kira narrowed her eyes.

  “You know why I’m here.” Dallas’s gaze came to rest on her, and she felt the same warmth she had that night. “I needed to talk to you about the case.” How did Dallas expect to look at her that way without giving the impression he was interested?

  “You put out a BOLO on me!” Kira bit out the accusation while her two brothers and her father stood guard. Maybe that meant Dallas did care.

  “No, don’t—” Before he could respond, her oldest brother stormed through the door.

  “Kira, I was at the jail and heard your name. What’s going on?” He looked around, apparently surprised to see most of the family. “Are you okay?” Kent asked, wrapping one arm around her. He was looking even scruffier than usual, even for an undercover job in narcotics.

  “I’m fi—” she began, stealing a glance at Dallas’s clenched jaw. Then she changed her answer, “No, I’m not. I’ve been better, but I’m not hurt.” She closed her eyes, steadying herself in her brother’s embrace. She couldn’t believe they had all showed up.

  This was not going to be easy to explain.

  She felt a tap on her shoulder. “We should move outside, let investigators do what they can to get prints,” her dad suggested. “You’re going to need to answer some questions about your apartment, too.” He glanced at Dallas. “The rest of you boys may as well get back to work. I’ll take care of Kira.”

  Kira paused at the doorway for another look. She couldn’t believe someone had actually broken into her house. Had that lunatic been watching her all week? Maybe she hadn’t been hearing things, after all. She gazed at Dallas as he introduced himself to her oldest brother.

  She should feel guilty for snapping at Dallas, she told herself, but she didn’t. She wasn’t ready to talk to him, because that meant it was time to review
everything that had happened. For two days, she’d been able to block all of that from her mind.

  Her dad and brothers were pacing outside the condo with the local officer, making sure nothing was missed. She heard them ticking off things that were out of place, wondering how they could know her so well. She wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her skin to warm herself up.

  Dallas walked into her condo and emerged with a jacket barely a minute later. “You look a little cold, and since my jacket is in the car outside the gate…” He waved his arms.

  “It’s thatway,” Kira corrected. “Just so you don’t get lost when you go to leave.”

  “How thoughtful of you,” he said with a wry smile. “Anyway, I talked them into clearing one of your jackets for you.”

  “Thanks,” she said. You can’t be so nice and then walk away, leaving me miserable again, Dallas. Keep your guard up, Kira.

  Dallas glanced around, then tucked his thumbs into his pockets. “So, do you have any more brothers?”

  She felt a sinking feeling as she remembered a little boy as he was torn away from her. She nodded. “Yes, but he’s not a cop, and he won’t be showing up here, that I can assure you.”

  Dallas smiled, “If I’d known you were related to half the force over here…well, it would have simplified things.”

  “You call this simple?” Her brothers were stalling, studying her and Dallas. Probably waiting for the full scoop.

  Dallas turned his back to the men and squinted at her critically. “I was worried when you didn’t return my calls. It’s been nearly a week. One message and we could’ve avoided this scene.”

  Kira wrapped her arms around her body once more, trying to escape the chill that was taking over again. “I can’t explain.”

  “You’d better try,” Dallas retorted.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa, time out here.” Kent said as he approached, holding his hands in a T in front of him. “All of this is about a date gone bad?”

  Suddenly everyone was back in the driveway, looking at them.

  “What?” Kira and Dallas said in unison.