“What’s the deal with any of the stuff any of the kids have.” She shrugged. “They don’t have control of much in their lives, so they control their things.”
“He’s got a lot of things.” He signaled for Glory to enter her kennel, and she jumped in, settling down for the ride.
“And a lot of baggage. You should understand that, Gavin.”
He did.
He just wasn’t all that happy about dealing with it. Not when there was so much at stake. One man dead. Another injured. A woman missing.
And then there was Rosa Gomez.
Dead, too.
Under suspicious circumstances.
That’s what the DC police were saying.
A car pulled into the driveway and slowly moved toward the house. Gavin stepped in front of Cassie. Not because he thought the perpetrator would be foolish enough to drive up and gun her down, but because he didn’t believe in taking chances any more than he believed in coincidence.
“Who is it?” she whispered, leaning around him, her braid falling against his arm as she tried to get a look.
“I don’t know.” Another police officer maybe. Or one of Gavin’s team members.
The car pulled up behind his SUV—black sedan with government tags. He knew the car, was surprised to see it.
“Harland,” he murmured, taking Cassie’s hand and tugging her to the vehicle as the back passenger door opened and Harland Jeffries got out. Arm in a sling, face haggard from grief and pain, he looked a decade older than he was, his gray hair nearly white in the sunlight.
“Gavin,” he said, his voice breaking. “Michael’s gone.”
“I know. I can promise you I’m going to do everything in my power to bring his murderer to justice.”
Harland nodded, somehow weaker and frailer than Gavin had ever expected him to be. “I know you will. Margaret assured me the team is on the case.”
“How about we go inside, Harland?” Cassie wove her arm through the congressman’s. “You need to sit down.”
“I need to find my son’s killer,” he muttered, but he let himself be led up the porch steps.
“Heel!” Gavin commanded Glory. She jumped out of the kennel, taking her place beside him as he followed Cassie and Harland into the house.
The kids were still waiting in the foyer, and their eyes widened as the congressman walked in. Gavin had no doubt they knew Harland. He made it a habit of visiting All Our Kids, of being part of the lives of the kids who stayed there.
“Okay!” Virginia called from the top of the stairs. “We’ve got everything, and we’re sure about it!”
She was halfway down the steps when she realized Harland was there. She stopped short, her cheeks going a bright shade of pink.
“Congressman Jeffries!” she breathed. “What an honor!”
Tommy didn’t seem to think it was an honor. He stayed behind Virginia, his dark hair barely visible.
“It’s an honor for me, Virginia. You know how much I care about these kids.” Harland smiled, moving into the living room and taking a seat on the sofa. “I heard you were going to be away for a while, so I thought I’d better come visit.”
Margaret must have told him about the move to a safe house. In typical Harland fashion, he was going to make sure the kids were okay before they left.
“That was really kind of you, Harland,” Cassie said. “But you should have stayed in the hospital. You’re still recovering.”
“The doctor released me this morning. After Margaret’s call, I thought I’d better stop here before I went home.” He met Gavin’s eyes. “It looks like you have everything under control, but I thought it might help if I talked to the kids myself.”
“Sure.” Gavin was willing to try anything to get the kids to talk.
“Would you like some coffee?” Virginia offered, little Juan still in her arms. He looked at Harland. Reached for him.
“Mama!” he yelled, and Harland visibly flinched.
“Two deaths in two days.” He shook his head. “It’s too much. The poor child. With no mother.”
And me with no son.
He didn’t say that. Harland wasn’t that kind of guy. But, Gavin thought he heard it, thought he saw it in the depth of Harland’s eyes.
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Cassie said, sitting down next to the aging congressman, putting her arm around his shoulder like he was one of her kids.
“Thank you, my dear. It’s difficult.” Harland squeezed the bridge of his nose, and Gavin knew he was holding back tears. “I just wish that I’d seen…” He looked at the kids who were watching wide-eyed and maybe a little afraid. “Anyway, that isn’t what I came to talk to you about. The thing is, I heard from the police that one of you children might have been on my property last night.”
“Of course that’s why you’re here,” Destiny snapped. “Adults never come around just because they care. They always come because—”
“Now is not the time, Destiny,” Cassie said, an edge of weariness to her voice.
“It’s okay,” Harland said, patting Cassie’s arm. “This is tough on the kids, I know that. But, I wanted to reiterate what Captain McCord and his team have been saying. If one of you was on my property last night, you’re not in trouble. There will be no punishment. No ramifications.” He looked at each child one by one.
Gavin did the same, focusing on the two that he most suspected. Rachel had her thumb in her mouth, a childish and young gesture for a child her age. He thought it was a probably a hold-over habit, something she only did when she was under incredible stress.
Tommy stood beside Virginia, his eyes trained on the ground, his expression blank. He didn’t look at Harland. He didn’t look at any of the adults in the room.
Harland sighed into the silence, squeezing the bridge of his nose again. “We all make mistakes, and kids tend to make a few more than adults. If any of you were at my place last night, if any of you saw what happened to my son…” He stopped, cleared his throat. “It’s okay to say so.”
Not a peep out of anyone.
Not that Gavin had expected there to be, but he felt a moment of disappointment, a moment of impatience. One of them had seen something. He knew it, but he couldn’t force the truth out of their mouths.
Maybe being away from All Our Kids would loosen their tongues. The doughnuts and juice certainly hadn’t.
Someone rapped on the front door, and an officer opened it. Brooke stepped in, Mercy on the lead beside her. “Congressman Harland,” she said, walking into the living room. “I thought that was your car.”
“I had my assistant bring me. She’s waiting in the car.” He stood, wincing a little at the movement. “And, she’s probably getting impatient. My discharge instructions didn’t include stopping for visits.”
“I’m glad you stopped by,” Brooke said. “We wanted to clarify the description you gave to the first responding officer last night.”
They’d already verified it, but Gavin knew what Brooke was doing. It was possible details of the night had been lost to Harland’s trauma and grief and that a little distance, a little time, might allow him to remember more.
“I’ll walk you two out,” Gavin said.
“Me, too,” Cassie added.
“Sorry.” He put a hand on her arm before she could leave the living room. “We have some details of the case to discuss with the congressman. It’s best if you wait here.”
“You’re kidding, right?” She raised a dark red brow, her emerald eyes clear and bright despite a nearly sleepless night. She was pale, though, her bruises standing out against her makeup-less skin.
“Why would I be?”
“You rushed us, and now you want us to wait? With a toddler? And a five-year-old? And a bunch of overtired, overstimulated kids?”
“I’m sorry,” Gavin responded. He hadn’t thought of that angle. But, then, he’d spent the past few years concentrating on his job. He’d devoted everything he had to Capitol K-9, because he owe
d it to Harland to make good on the opportunities he’d been given and because he’d been sure that was what God wanted him to do.
But, maybe, being so devoted to work had made him a little less understanding of other people’s lives.
He eyed the children, all of them watching him with various levels of distrust.
“I’ll be quick. I promise.”
“If you’re not,” Cassie called as he walked outside. “I’m sure the kids will make me pay for it, and then I will have to make you pay.”
Her threat made him smile.
She was a funny lady. Smart, kind and firm enough to set the boundaries and hold tough to them. That was important in the job she did. Gavin knew it. His days with Mrs. Simons and her motley crew of foster kids had taught him just how important kindness and boundaries were.
Harland was already in his car by the time Gavin walked outside, Brooke standing near the open sedan door.
She turned as he approached, her muscles tense, her expression hard. “We may have a bigger problem than we think, Gavin. Remember Cassie’s description of the perpetrator?”
“Average height. Blond hair. Blue eyes. Looked apathetic. Like he could take someone’s life and not feel guilty about it?”
“The person I saw wasn’t tall,” Harland said. “He was maybe five-foot-eight.”
“You’re sure, Harland?” he asked, not because he didn’t believe the congressman, but because he’d rather not believe they had two different perpetrators. That complicated things, opened the investigation up to more than just a disgruntled employee or unhappy constituent, made it likely that this wasn’t about one person’s vendetta but, rather, a team effort.
But, effort to what?
As far as Gavin knew, Harland didn’t step on political toes. He was firm and a little stern, but he was well-liked by his constituents and respected across partisan lines. Michael might have made enemies in his job as an attorney, and if he were the only victim, Gavin might have thought that the attack was aimed at him, that Harland had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
But Rosa was dead, too, and DC police were leaning toward murder.
“Of course, I’m sure,” Harland snapped, then sighed and ran a hand over his hair. “Sorry. I’m a little—”
“You don’t have to apologize, and I’m not questioning your testimony. I’m just verifying it. We have two different descriptions. Either one of you is mistaken in what you saw, or we’re dealing with two different perps.”
Harland frowned. “I know what I saw. I didn’t see a face or hair color. I’m not even sure about body type. But, I’ve got a couple of new cherry trees in the backyard. They were all around seventy inches tall when the gardener planted them. The person who shot my son was at least a few inches shorter than that.”
Not good.
“We could be talking about two people, then. I’m going to have Cassie meet with a sketch artist. We can plug the sketch into the FBI’s face recognition system. Once—if—we get an ID, we can bring him in. Maybe he’ll have more to tell us about what happened.”
“I hope you’re right.” Harland frowned. “You’ll need a really good sketch artist. I might be able to pull some strings, get the FBI’s top man to do the job. It could take a couple of days, but the wait might be worth it for the quality of the image.”
Gavin wasn’t sure he wanted to wait, but he wasn’t willing to turn down the offer, either. “Tell you what, Harland. You see what you can arrange. I’m going to talk to Margaret and the team, decide if we’re willing to risk a couple of extra days.”
“We will have the kids and Cassie in a safe house,” Brooke pointed out. “That will buy us some time.”
Maybe. But Gavin wasn’t counting on it.
He said goodbye to Harland and hurried back into the house. He’d need to speak with Cassie. Find out exactly how certain she was of the description she’d given.
*
Cassie needed to speak with Gavin. Now.
She strode to the front door, ignoring Juan’s loud wails, Destiny and Tommy’s bickering and David’s sniffles. She understood the need to move all the kids to a safer location. What she didn’t understand was why it was taking so long to do it.
Of course, it had only been seven minutes since Gavin walked outside. The problem was, things were breaking down. Kids getting grumpy. Virginia was getting more nervous. Cassie…well, she was about ready to raid Destiny’s candy stash. The one that was probably stuffed into Destiny’s backpack.
Too many emotions. That was the problem.
Too many things completely out of everyone’s control.
The kids were feeling it. Virginia was. Cassie was.
If they didn’t leave soon, someone was going to have a complete breakdown, and Cassie was afraid it might be her.
She swung open the door, barreled out onto the porch and straight into Gavin’s arms.
“Whoa!” He grabbed her waist, his fingers warm through the thin fabric of her T-shirt. “Where are you going?”
“To find you.”
“I told you that I’d be right back.”
“Right back means seconds. It doesn’t mean—” she glanced at her watch “—seven and a half minutes.”
“Not that you were keeping track of the time or anything, right?” he asked, nudging her back inside to the crying and the whining and Virginia’s wide-eyed fear.
“I was counting the nanoseconds,” she replied, and he grinned, his eyes warming, his face relaxing.
Destiny’s mouth dropped open.
Every bit of Virginia’s fear seemed to drop away.
Cassie was too jaded to be swayed by a charming smile.
Kane had had the warmest smile she’d ever seen. He’d had the softest eyes and the prettiest words.
She’d believed every lie he’d fed her, because she’d wanted to. She’d wanted to believe in always and forever, and that her dreams were as important as his.
She grabbed the last box of Tommy’s stuffed animals and took Rachel’s hand. “Everyone ready?”
There was a chorus of yeses and a one very loud no.
From Tommy. Of course.
“I’m sorry, buddy, but you’re outvoted. Besides, this is going to be fun,” she said, hoping that she could make it that way so she wouldn’t be lying. She made it a policy to be honest with the kids. Honest about their parents, their families, the likelihood that they would ever have the kind of families they all seemed to long for.
“Fun? What’s fun about going into witness protection?” Virginia cried. “Do you know how often witnesses get found? Do you know the horrible kinds of deaths they—”
“You may have watched a few too many crime dramas, Virginia,” Gavin cut in. “You’re not actually going into witness protection. You’re just staying in a safe place until we find the person who wants—”
“Us dead,” Virginia moaned.
“You know what? How about we see if there are any snacks in the kitchen? Something that the kids might have when we get to our new location?” Brooke took Juan from Virginia’s arms, snagged her hand and dragged her way from the group
Virginia responded, but they were already down the hall and Cassie couldn’t hear what she said.
It was for the best.
She didn’t want to know.
She had enough worries of her own without adding her assistant’s to them.
“Ready?” Gavin took Kent and Axel by the hands. “Destiny, if you can hold on to Lila and Rachel, I think David can manage himself. What do you think, my man, want to open the door and lead the way out?” he asked, and David’s posture straightened, his chin going up a couple of inches.
“Yes!” he responded.
They all walked out the door. Organized and easily as if Gavin had been around for years and knew exactly how to get everyone moving in the direction they needed to go.
That should have thrilled Cassie to pieces. She was tired, her head hurt and, quite honestly, she nee
ded a break from the drama. The problem was, she didn’t want to like Gavin. She didn’t want to trust him.
First, because he was a police offer.
Second, because he was a man.
Obviously, she had a lot of baggage she needed to unpack, but she had kids to protect, and letting a guy like Gavin weasel his way into their lives wasn’t the best way to do it.
They’d had enough hurts for a lifetime.
They didn’t need more.
She needed to tell him that.
She needed to remind him of what it felt like to get hopes up and then have them dashed again. He’d been a foster kid. He understood.
Hopefully, he’d also understand exactly why she didn’t want him playing up to the kids, making friends with them, convincing them that he might just be around forever.
He wouldn’t be. Couldn’t be. It was too much of a commitment for most people, too much time and energy and effort for sometimes minimal results.
She didn’t mention it to him as he organized two other officers, helped get car seats from the van, then ushered each small group to the appropriate car. Brooke helped Virginia into her SUV and buckled Juan into the back. The cars took off one at a time and several minutes apart.
Cassie watched impatiently from the front seat of Gavin’s SUV. Rachel, Destiny and Tommy were silent in the back. Gavin was silent in the driver’s seat. Cassie had the absurd urge to speak into the silence.
They were leaving their home, going to some unknown location with people who were basically strangers for an unknown amount of time. She couldn’t think of anything comforting to say about that, so she kept her mouth shut and didn’t say anything at all.
TEN
Three days in a house that wasn’t their own could have been a nightmare. Cassie had expected it to be a nightmare. So far things had gone fairly smoothly.
She cracked the last of a dozen eggs into a bowl, scrambled them up and poured them into a hot pan. Nothing fancy, but fancy wasn’t what the kids wanted. They wanted home-cooked and satisfying.
A shadow moved across the window above the sink. Cassie didn’t blink an eye. There’d been two Capitol K-9 officers assigned to the house since she, Virginia and the kids had arrived.
Love Inspired Suspense March 2015 - Box Set 1 of 2: Protection DetailHidden AgendaBroken Silence Page 11