Christmas Bodyguard

by Margaret Daley

  Hope flared in Slade. This was the break they needed. “Do you all recognize either of the young men?”

  “Nope,” Abbey immediately said, while Mary and Cindy examined each picture for a long moment.

  “I don’t, either,” his mother-in-law finally said.

  “This one looks familiar, but I can’t place where I’ve seen him.” Cindy pointed to the young man named Matt Alton. “Maybe I saw him with Brody. He looks about the same age.”

  “Thanks, ladies. This is a big help,” the sheriff said, taking the pictures back from Cindy.

  “I’ll walk you out.” In the foyer Slade opened the front door. “Let me know what you find out after you interview them. It’s about time he made a mistake.”

  “Will do.” Sheriff McCain rubbed the back of his neck.

  “But just because the man goes to the same church doesn’t mean anything really. There are only so many churches in the area.”

  “But at least it’s something. According to the Dallas police, the smoke bomb didn’t lead anywhere. Nothing has panned out there yet.”

  “I just didn’t want you to get your hopes up too much. I’ll call you later.”

  Slade closed the door and leaned back against it, his eyes sliding shut. Lord, is this the beginning of the end of this ordeal? Please, I hope so.

  “What did the sheriff say?” Elizabeth’s soft voice curled around him as if it were a blanket warming him in the cold.

  He lifted his eyelids and saw her beautiful features not three feet away. He wanted to kiss her again, but he wasn’t going to until this was over. He needed to stay focused on the person after him and Abbey. And yet the sight of her full lips mocked that decision.

  “He’ll call me after he’s interviewed the guys. Maybe I’ll crash your ‘girls only’ party tonight.”

  “Feeling left out?”

  “Yeah, but if Abbey is happy—and safe—that’s all I care about.” Slade shoved away from the front door.

  “I’m glad to see you two have been getting along lately. She hasn’t whined nearly as much as she did the week before.”

  “I think Brody has something to do with that,” Slade said. “His tutoring sessions with Abbey have been extra long. I know math isn’t her forte, but really, three hours Monday and Wednesday nights.”

  “What I want to know is what happened to Tuesday and Thursday?”

  “Basketball games. He’s on the squad.”

  “Look on the bright side. She didn’t bug you about going to the games.”

  “But how long can I keep this up? Abbey is like her mother. Very social.”

  Elizabeth laid her hand on his arm. “As long as necessary. Something will give. I don’t see this person waiting too much longer.”

  The touch of her fingers momentarily centered his attention on Elizabeth, her expression full of compassion that drew him to her. “And that’s what I’m worried about the most,” Slade finally said.

  The screen in the theater room went dark as the movie ended. Why had she watched It’s a Wonderful Life? The last time she had, she’d cried and Bryan had made fun of her. She’d thought she’d stamped out all softness in the years since her marriage broke up. But there was something about being at the ranch with Slade’s family at Christmas that was making her emotional. Bryan had always said her tears were a sign of weakness. While she told herself she didn’t really believe him, deep down there was a part that did.

  Then she remembered the call she’d finally placed to her father before dinner hours ago. He hadn’t been home, but she’d left him a message that she wanted to talk to him. Relief that she’d finally made the call mingled with dread that her father would call back when she wasn’t mentally prepared to talk to him.

  The overhead lighting flicked on, and Elizabeth twisted around in the lounge chair before the big screen. Slade stood inside the entrance.

  “I didn’t know anyone was in here. I thought you all went upstairs a while ago.”

  “Cindy left. Abbey went to bed. I decided to come back here and watch another movie.” Elizabeth averted her head and wiped the remnants of her tears away.

  Slade moved in front of her. “Have you been crying? What’s wrong?” He sank into the chair next to hers.

  Flitting her hand in the air between them, she murmured, “Nothing.”

  “Did your dad return your call?”

  “No.” She could tell he wouldn’t give up until she told him why she’d been crying. “We watched some Christmas movies, and after escorting Abbey to her bedroom, I came back to see It’s a Wonderful Life. I saw it in your movie collection and remembered as a child watching it every Christmas. It always made me cry.”

  “But the message is hopeful.”

  “I know. I guess I always hoped someday my father would declare his love and how important I am in his life.”

  “It’s his—” The ringing of Slade’s cell interrupted the rest of his sentence. He answered his phone and listened intently before saying, “A woman? That changes everything. I’ll tell Joshua and Elizabeth. I’ll have to rethink a few things.”

  Elizabeth pushed her sad thoughts from her mind and sat up straight. “What is it?” she asked when Slade hung up.

  “That was the sheriff. They focused on the man from the church but couldn’t tie him to anything. He had an alibi for Saturday night, and when your brakes were cut, he was out of town on business. Matt Alton also had an alibi for Saturday night. He’d been on a hunting trip with his dad and some friends. But the third interview panned out. Faced with the sheriff and deputy in his house, Ben James admitted to being paid to send that email. He was instructed to send it from the public library, but he forgot it closed at five on Thursdays so he used the internet café to send the message.”

  “Who paid him?”

  “He doesn’t know who she is, but he’s positive it was a woman. Curious who would pay him a hundred dollars to send an email, he staked out the drop-off site for the person who contacted him by phone. He said the voice over the phone could have been either a man or woman.”

  “Was it mechanical sounding like the call to you?”

  “No, just disguised. But it was definitely a woman who left the money, although he didn’t see her face. It was covered by a hoodie.”

  “How convenient. How did this Ben know it was a woman?”

  “The sheriff said he described the body as petite, slight.”

  “Now the question is, was the woman the actual person or sent by the person?”

  Slade slipped his cell back in his pocket. “I don’t know. But if it’s a woman, who could that be? Paula Addison is in prison and everyone else on that list is male.”

  “Maybe we’re looking at it wrong. For instance, Jay Wilson committed suicide, and we have only been able to find one of his children—the youngest daughter—but not his son or other daughter. And what if the person Ben saw was a young teenage boy like Kevin Sharpe? Kevin isn’t tall or heavily built. From a distance he might look like a female.” But Elizabeth remembered Abbey’s conviction that it wasn’t Kevin, and she’d had some good points.

  “All I know is that I’m glad you and Joshua are here. I feel like I have a chance against this phantom person, whether female or male.” He took Elizabeth’s hand, his touch compelling her to look into his eyes.

  “That’s our job. To make your life safer and hopefully easier.” Her words rushed together because the expression in his gray depths unnerved her.

  “I know a lot has happened in a short time, but having you here has made it bearable, not just for me but for Abbey, too. She responds to you and for that, I’m thankful.” He tugged her closer, only the arms of the two chairs between them. Reaching out, he framed her face with his hands. “I’m not sure I have words to tell you how grateful I am.”

  “I’m only doing my job.” But her fast pulse rate belied that declaration. There was much more between her and Slade than an assignment, which was what frightened her. Her heart had been wou
nded twice. She didn’t want to go through it again, and she and Slade were from two different worlds.

  He leaned over the arms of the chairs and brushed his mouth over hers. “I never thought I would take off my wedding ring. I didn’t think I ever would find someone else who I could love. I thought I’d had my one love and it wasn’t possible to have another, but this feeling I have for you isn’t going away. It grows each day I’m with you. I’m in love with you and want to continue seeing you even after your job is over. You don’t have to say anything now, but think about it.”

  She could face down a person with a gun, but right now with Slade, his declaration sent fear through her. He was in love with her, and all she could think about was how messed up her first marriage had been, even if her feelings for Slade were strong. Possibly love. And there was her job. One that had given her a sense of who she was.

  The sound of Bosco’s yap and the padding of his paws across the wooden floor in the theater room took Elizabeth by surprise. She seized on the distraction to avoid answering Slade. “What are you doing down here? Is Abbey on the phone again and ignoring you?” Her terrier mix leaped into her lap and gave another yelp.

  “More likely that’s it. A male can only take so much.” Slade scratched her dog behind his ears. “Us males have to stick together, don’t we?”

  Bosco answered him with a bark.

  A vague feeling nagged at her. As if she was missing something. “You should tell Joshua about what the sheriff said. Maybe if we sleep on it, we can meet tomorrow morning and go through the list of suspects again with the idea it might be a woman—or a slightly built man. Another question we need to consider is how the person knew to contact Ben James.”

  “I’ll call the sheriff back and have him look into that and then let Joshua know what’s going on.”

  Bosco licked Elizabeth’s face. “Now you want my lovin’. The second you arrived here you abandoned me for Abbey.” She rubbed her face against her pet.

  The vague feeling evolved into a sense that something wasn’t right. She got to her feet, putting Bosco on the floor, then started for the hallway. “Why is Bosco out of the room? He’s rarely been away from Abbey since he came here. Even if she’s on the phone, how did he get out?”

  “Abbey let him out?”

  “Maybe, but he usually stays in the hall outside her door, whining to get back in. It never hurts to check.” Elizabeth checked the downstairs security system and exhaled deeply when she noticed it was still on.

  Slade trailed her steps all the way up the stairs and down the long corridor to Abbey’s room. He rapped on the door. No answer.

  Apprehension leaked into his expression while Elizabeth thrust open the door.

  Bosco darted into the room and began yelping at the bathroom door.

  Elizabeth followed. The sound of the shower running drifted to her. A frisson of relief eased some of her tension.

  But when Bosco continued to bark, Elizabeth’s internal alarm system went off. She marched to the bathroom door and knocked. After a minute she tried the knob. It was locked. “Abbey, open up,” she shouted to be heard over the shower.

  After a moment of waiting, Slade tugged Elizabeth out of the way and raised his leg, kicking in the bathroom door. It slammed against the wall. He rushed in with Elizabeth right behind him. The empty room taunted her. Then her attention fell on the open window with a ladder—one usually stored in the bathroom cabinet in case of a fire—hooked to the ledge.

  TWELVE

  “The alarm should have gone off if the window was opened.” Slade walked to where the ladder was and leaned out of the window.

  “Not if she turned off the security system upstairs and left the one on downstairs. The one we check more often.” Elizabeth kept her voice calm while inside every muscle tensed.

  “Why?”

  “To see Brody, maybe. Let’s check her room and the security system.”

  “I’ll check the alarm.” Slade strode into the hallway.

  Elizabeth circled the room, searching for anything out of the ordinary. At Abbey’s desk she found a note, handwritten, partially under the keyboard.

  When Slade reentered, a muscle in his cheek jerked. “It’s off.”

  Waving the note, Elizabeth said, “She went to meet Brody. She left this, so if for some reason we came in here, we wouldn’t panic. She just wanted to spend some time alone with him. She was tired of always being watched.”

  “Why the ladder? Why not just go out the front door?”

  “Because the camera would catch her leaving. She didn’t want anyone to know. She was probably afraid the security company would alert you since it’s late.”

  “I hope she has her phone with her, because I’m going to give her a piece of my mind.” He took out his cell and punched in a number. When he disconnected a moment later, a frown marred his expression. “It went to voice mail.”

  “Something feels wrong.” Elizabeth strode from the room and toward the staircase. As she descended the steps, she peered at Slade. His expression mirrored his obvious exasperation at his daughter, but it also held fear. What if Brody had set Abbey up?

  “Where do you think she went?” His jaw clamped down on the last word.

  “The perimeter has cameras along it. So do the entrances to this house and the barn. I’m going to the bunkhouse and barn. You call Jake and see if he knows anything, and have Joshua check the video feed of the cameras around the ranch and make sure all of them are working.” There was a room where several computers were set up for him to do this on-site even though they were monitored off-site.

  “Also notify the guards at the gates. See if anyone came or left.”

  Slade fished in his pocket for his cell.

  After switching off the alarm, Elizabeth went to the front door. “We need to get moving on this.”

  Slade paused in his trek toward the den. “You’re scaring me.”

  “You should be scared. I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

  Elizabeth didn’t wait for Slade to reply. She quickly left and headed for the bunkhouse first. A clock materialized in her mind, ticking off the seconds that Abbey was missing. Waving to one of the security guards, she slipped through the gate and strode down the paved road to the barn. She saw the lights on in the bunkhouse and the darkened hull of the barn, only a soft, muted glow coming from its interior.

  Her knock at the bunkhouse door was answered by Hank. “Howdy, miss. What’s up?”

  “Is Brody here?”

  “Nope. He left a while back, all gussied up.”

  “Do you know where he was going?”

  “Nah, that one is closemouthed. Can’t get much out of him.”

  “Who else is here?” Elizabeth peered around Hank.

  “Just Gus. The other two went into town.” He winked at her. “It’s Friday night. They always go to the local bar. Something wrong?”

  “Abbey’s gone. She’s supposed to be with Brody.”

  Hank shifted around and called out, “Gus, come here.” When the other cowhand appeared, he continued. “Did Brody tell you what he was doing tonight?”

  Gus dragged his hand through his short-cropped hair. “Naw. But he doused himself in aftershave. Stunk the bathroom up.”

  “Thanks. If you see him or Abbey, give the house a call.” She turned away.

  “Do you need our help?”

  Eagerness mixed with concern greeted her glance back at the pair. “If one of you can check out the barn and the other stay here in case Brody comes back, that would be great.” She doubted they were meeting in the barn because of the cameras on the exterior doors, but it didn’t hurt to check.

  On the short hike back to the main house to find out what Joshua and Slade had discovered, she checked to see if Brody’s old beat-up truck was parked in its usual place. It was, which meant that Abbey was probably still somewhere on the ranch. At least she hoped so. She tried to figure out where Abbey would have gone. The ranch was huge, and onl
y the perimeter was lined with cameras.

  Back in the main house she walked directly to the room where the computers were. Joshua was at the bank of monitors, running through the feed. With the stance of a warrior, Slade stood behind him.

  “Anything?”

  “Nothing on the perimeter cameras. No one has entered or left the ranch in the past hour.” Joshua typed in a command and another screen popped up. “The people off-site didn’t notice anything unusual.”

  “Then she’s still here. That does narrow it down slightly.” Elizabeth looked at Slade. “Have you tried her again on her cell?”

  “Five minutes ago. It still goes to voice mail.”

  “Are you tracking her GPS in her cell?” she asked when she saw what Joshua pulled up.

  “Yeah. I’ve got a location. It’s by the bunkhouse.”

  “I was just there. I didn’t see anything.”

  “It’s behind the bunkhouse, about ten yards or so.” Joshua pointed to the computer.

  “What’s there?” Elizabeth again replayed her walk back to the house, but she hadn’t seen anything unusual.

  “A pasture. A grove of trees isn’t too far from the bunkhouse. Do you think they met there?” Slade kneaded his thumb into his palm.

  Joshua scooted back his chair. “Only one way to find out. Elizabeth and I will search the area.”

  “I’m coming, too.”

  Joshua blocked the doorway. “Nope. You’re paying me to protect you, and that’s what I aim to do. If Abbey has been taken, we don’t know what this person, male or female, is going to do. You need to stay in here with the alarm on. Nothing may be wrong. We still need someone to be with Mary and Hilda. I’ll post the guards at the doors to the house until we get back. I’ll call when we know something.”

  “I need to be out there looking for Abbey.”

  Joshua shook his head. “We don’t know if she’s really missing. What if she’s perfectly fine, but something happens to you because you rush out and do something stupid?”

  For a long moment Slade’s gaze bore into Joshua. Anger flowed off Slade in waves, but finally he nodded.