by Lynn Shannon
Tara? He started running.
Janet spotted him. “Grady, thank goodness. A guy dressed as a clown kidnapped Maddy. Tara’s chasing him. I’m on the phone with 911.”
“Which way?”
She pointed and he sprinted off. How far had they gotten? Was he too late? Weaving through people he darted into the alley between two buildings. On the other side, people were looking and pointing. He caught sight of Tara’s dark hair half a second before it disappeared.
He took off after her. A group of people emerged from a restaurant and blocked the sidewalk.
“Police,” he shouted. “Move!”
A toddler jumped in his path. Grady swerved and narrowly missed him. Sharp pain stabbed his thigh. He took the corner of a building and scraped his arm on the brick wall. Tara came into view and so did a man in a clown costume.
Grady added another burst of speed and passed Tara. His boots pounded against the pavement. The man was headed for the parking lot on the far side of Main Street. He had to catch him before he jumped into a vehicle. If the kidnapper drove off with Maddy, it would be much harder to find them. He pushed his legs to their maximum.
Another few inches.
Grady reached out. His fingers brushed against the costume’s fabric but slid off the silky material. The man glanced back and his eyes widened. He made a sharp turn. Grady tried to match it but his thigh, already pushed beyond anything he’d recuperated for, gave way. He stumbled.
The perpetrator darted down a small path into the park and disappeared. Grady took a shortcut through a set of flowerbeds, Tara right behind him. Branches tore at his clothes. One scratched his face. He burst through the trees and came up short. Families gathered at the bouncy houses. A mom wrangled a toddler dressed as Spiderman. Grady scanned for a clown but saw nothing.
Chest heaving, Tara cried, “Where is he?”
Grady bolted for the parents waiting at the face-painting area. “Texas Ranger. Did you see a clown pushing a stroller?”
One man pointed. “He went that way.”
Grady ran. His cowboy hat flew off his head, landing somewhere in the park. He dashed past the playground, and a flash of red caught his attention. A clown wig. Willing more speed into his legs, he pushed forward. The kidnapper had made a fatal error. In his haste to get away from Grady, he’d diverted toward the games area on the far side of the festival. Officers stood directing traffic on the busy street. The kidnapper was heading straight for them. Grady opened his mouth—
“Stop that man!” Tara shouted behind him. “Kidnapper!”
The officers broke into a run. The kidnapper shoved the stroller. It bounced across the pavement, barely slowing. Viewers shouted from the Ferris view. The stroller, along with Maddy, flew into the street. A truck barreled toward the baby.
Grady surged forward. He launched himself, shoving the stroller with the sheer force of his body. Together they flew onto the opposite sidewalk. Grady hit the ground and rolled. The screeching of the truck’s tires muffled the sound of Tara’s screams.
Six
Tara’s pulse wouldn’t settle into a normal rhythm. More than an hour later, the mental image of the truck heading straight for Grady and Maddy was enough to send ice water rushing through her veins. The very prospect that the kidnapper had gotten away was too horrible to contemplate.
She paced the length of the conference room in the Sweetgrass Police Department. Twelve steps. She turned and went back. Maddy wriggled and fussed. She was tired of being held, but Tara couldn’t convince herself to put her down. She grabbed a rattle from the table and shook it.
The police station was nearly empty. Most of the officers were out at the fair searching for the kidnapper, along with Grady and several of his fellow rangers. But he hadn’t left her to wait alone with Maddy. Grady’s father stood guard next to the conference room doorway. Raymond’s hair was mostly gray now, the lines in his face deepened from a life of working outside on the land, but his shoulders were still broad and his posture ramrod straight. A former military sniper, he could shoot with dangerous precision. A skill Tara was hopeful he wouldn’t have to use anytime soon.
“Maybe we should ask the officer at the front desk if they’ve learned anything new,” she said. “It’s been over an hour since the detective took my statement.”
Raymond’s eyes softened when he glanced at her. “It takes time to work an investigation like this. They have to question witnesses. Gather video. Grady will give us an update when he can. Until then, we just have to be patient.”
Waiting. It gave her too much time to think.
“I’ve got coffee and sandwiches.” Deeann bustled into the room. Her long skirt flowed around her legs as she drew to a stop and set several bags and a coffee tray on the table. She smiled at Tara. “I also brought your favorite soup, dear.”
Tara couldn’t eat or drink anything. Her stomach was in knots, but the gesture was kind and she didn’t want to hurt Deeann’s feelings. “It smells wonderful.”
Tara’s phone beeped with an incoming text, and she scooped it up from the table. “It’s from Janet. Aunt Rosie is fine. No concussion or any other serious injury, but the doctor warned her to take it easy since she was knocked on the head.”
“Thank goodness.”
Deeann echoed Tara’s own thoughts. They were lucky no one had gotten seriously hurt. This time. But how would she keep Maddy safe? The kidnapping had been in daylight with crowds of people around.
Through the glass, she saw Grady stroll into the police station. He was limping slightly and fighting against it. His hair was mussed and still bore a faint ring from his missing cowboy hat. A scrape edged his strong jaw. His lips were thinned into a hard line, his shoulders tense.
Deeann let out a small sigh. “Oh, no…”
Tara didn’t need an interpretation. She could see it written in Grady’s expression.
The kidnapper had gotten away.
He entered the room, his focus locked on Tara. “Sorry to keep you waiting. I wanted to be thorough.”
“Do you have anything to go on?” Raymond asked.
Grady ran a hand through his hair. “Some witnesses but no one who could identify the kidnapper beyond the clown costume. Between the wig and the face paint, he could have been anyone. The kidnapper pushed the stroller away from him to create a distraction, and it worked. While everyone was focused on Maddy, he disappeared.”
“Tara, honey, I think it would be a good idea for you and Maddy to stay with us tonight.” Deeann placed a hand on her arm. “With Raymond and Grady on the ranch, there won’t be a shortage of protection.”
“More than tonight,” Raymond echoed. “You’ll stay with us until everything is sorted out.”
“I don’t want to put you in danger—”
“Nonsense,” Grady cut her off. “The ranch is the best place for you and Maddy. Plus, you can leave Maddy with Mom and Dad when you need to see patients.”
She had already planned on canceling most of her appointments tomorrow. But Grady was right. She couldn’t disappear from her job. The closest hospital was forty miles away. For some of Sweetgrass’s residents, it might as well be a hundred. Her own mother had died from brain cancer because it hadn’t been detected early enough. Having a doctor in town saved lives, and she wouldn’t put her patients at risk.
“It’s settled then,” Deeann said. “Raymond, let’s take our coffee to the break room so Grady and Tara can talk.”
The room emptied out, leaving Grady and Tara alone. She moved toward him. How could she begin to express the emotions inside her? He’d risked his life to save Maddy. The baby bounced in her arms and, the moment she was close enough, launched herself at Grady. Tara could hardly blame her. She wanted to throw herself into the lawman’s strong arms too.
“Glad to see you still like me, darlin’.” Grady patted the baby’s back. “I was worried we wouldn’t be friends anymore.”
His attention shifted to Tara. “You’re sure she’s
all right? She didn’t get hurt?”
“She’s fine, thanks to you. The stroller never even tilted over.”
He held up two fingers about an inch apart. “I was this close to catching him and putting an end to this whole thing.”
“It’s not your fault.” She’d seen his leg give out while chasing the kidnapper. She couldn’t stand the thought of him blaming himself. “You saved Maddy. That was the most important part. You’re a hero in my eyes.”
His gaze met hers. The coldness she’d been fighting with since the kidnapping melted away. Tara thought she’d never feel safe again, and yet here with Grady, she did.
He wouldn’t let anything happen to her. Or Maddy.
She reached up to take his chin with her two fingers and gently turned his head. “That’s a nasty scrape on your jaw.”
“I’m fine.”
He pulled away, and she dropped her hand. What was she doing? Grady was her friend. They didn’t touch like this. She was crossing a line.
“I got your text. What is it, Tara?”
The kidnapping had inevitably made her think of the attack from earlier in the week and she’d had a few new realizations.
“The guy who assaulted me in the parking lot stared at Maddy. I didn’t place any significance on it until today, but now…things are different.” She bit her lip. “That’s why he didn’t steal my purse out of the trunk or take the car keys when I offered them. What he wanted wasn’t money. He was after Maddy.”
No shock filtered across his features. They stayed hard. Determined.
“You’ve already figured that out.”
“I’m not taking anything off the table yet, but yes, I believe the two attacks are linked. And if Maddy was the target, it would explain why the robber stole your purse like it was an afterthought and why he chased after you when you ran.”
A chill ran down her spine. “But why? Why kidnap Maddy?”
Maddy placed a dimpled hand on Grady’s cheek and smiled, flashing two tiny teeth. His chest squeezed tight. If he’d been just seconds later…His gaze shifted to Tara. His own fears were reflected in her eyes. It killed him to see her hurting. A wave of anger followed, so fierce it was blinding.
“We are going to catch this guy, Tara. I promise you.”
It wasn’t in his nature to make promises. They were fragile things, especially for law enforcement where cases could sometimes take unexpected turns. This one, however, he had every intention of keeping.
But in order to do that, he had to keep his head in the game. He’d felt Tara’s touch clear to his bones. Their friendship was shifting, the sands underneath them testing the glue of their foundation. He wanted to believe there was something more between them, but he also had to face reality. Tara was in emotional turmoil. Her child had almost been kidnapped right before her eyes. It wouldn’t be wise to attribute anything she did now as a true indication of her feelings.
Luke came into the station. Grady opened the conference room door and waved him inside.
“West, you look good with a baby.”
“I look good in every situation,” he ribbed back. “Try not to be jealous.”
Grady turned. “Luke, this is Tara Sims. Tara, this is Luke Tatum. All joking aside, there’s no one better to have watching your back than him.”
“Pleasure to meet you, ma’am, although I’m sorry for the circumstances.” Luke shook her hand. “I want to assure you we have the very best on the case. Keeping you and the baby safe is our top priority.”
“Thank you.”
“Grady, can I talk to you for a moment?”
“No.” Tara’s gaze jumped back and forth between them. “Whatever information you have, I want to hear it. I can’t keep Maddy safe from what I don’t understand.”
Luke sent Grady a questioning look and he nodded. Tara was Maddy’s mother. She deserved to know what was going on.
“Let’s all sit down.” His leg was killing him, not that he would admit it if asked. “No sense in having this conversation standing up.”
Maddy reached for Tara, and she pulled the baby into her lap. Grady took the chair next to them.
“The ballistics came back on the gun Tara knocked out of the perpetrator’s hand,” Luke said. “It’s a match to the one that killed Vikki Spencer.”
All of the blood drained from her face. “Whoever killed Vikki is now trying to kidnap Maddy?”
“It looks that way. Good call on your part, Grady. If we hadn’t rushed it to the front of the line, it would’ve taken a lot longer to put the pieces together.”
“You knew?” Tara’s voice rose. “You knew and you didn’t say anything.”
“I didn’t know until right this moment.”
Dread gripped his throat. The kidnapper had tried twice to get his hands on Maddy. Both times had been in public places. That demonstrated determination. If the same person had also murdered Vikki Spencer, he was capable of anything.
“I knew Vikki had been murdered,” he explained. “I suspected something wasn’t right with the robbery. But I wasn’t sure the two cases were linked. That’s why I warned you to be careful and had Sweetgrass police tailing you for the last few days.”
Her shoulders dropped and she rubbed her forehead. “Of course. I just…”
“I know.” She hadn’t been prepared and he was to blame. “I thought you were the target. I never suspected it was Maddy.”
The baby banged on the table with a small hand.
“What made you think I was the target?”
“Because you were creating a fuss over Vikki’s murder and pushing for answers. I was worried the killer had gotten wind of it and was trying to get rid of you.” His jaw clenched. “I was wrong.”
“The million-dollar question is, why would anyone murder Vikki and then wait five months before attempting to kidnap Maddy?” Luke asked. “Tara, did Maddy get any inheritance when Vikki died?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. Vikki had a small life insurance policy, which covered the cost of her funeral. Her house is in probate, but most of it is owned by the bank.”
“So, the motive isn’t financial. Where’s Maddy’s father?”
“I don’t know. Vikki never talked about him. All she would say is that he was in the military and deployed. Shortly before Maddy was born, she told me he died in Afghanistan. We were required to try and locate him as part of the adoption process, but weren’t able to. I don’t even know his name and nothing in any of Vikki’s personal effects indicated things were different from what she said.”
Grady frowned. “The adoption was finalized two weeks ago. What would happen if Maddy’s father showed up now? Could he obtain custody?”
Her eyes widened. “His rights were terminated. He wouldn’t have any claim on Maddy.”
“Well, that might explain why she’s being kidnapped,” Luke said.
“But why wouldn’t Maddy’s father just come forward before everything was settled? He could’ve stopped the adoption.”
Grady considered the question. “He’d committed murder. An unsolved murder. And while there wasn’t much physical evidence to go on, there was always the chance law enforcement would put two and two together. Especially since you were pushing so hard to have Vikki’s murder solved. Maybe he was scared. Maybe he was trying to figure out how to come forward without raising suspicion.”
“And then time ran out,” Tara whispered.
“Now the only way he can get Maddy is to take her. He sees the other robberies in the news and gets the idea to copycat them. He wants to make it look like a carjacking gone wrong. You’re shot and Maddy disappears. What he didn’t count on was you fighting back.”
“Or you showing up to rescue me.”
His gaze locked with hers. There was something there, buried in those mahogany depths, he hadn’t seen before. His heart double-timed.
Luke cleared his throat. “Okay, so I’m open to ideas on how we find out the identity of Maddy’s father.”
“Vikki does have a brother,” Tara offered. “Dan Spencer. I’ve asked him about Maddy’s father before. Dan swears he doesn’t know anything, but I’ve always sensed he was holding back.”
“Why?”
“He wanted the adoption to go through. If he told me or the court about Maddy’s father, it would’ve complicated things. Now she’s in danger and the adoption is finalized. Dan might be more honest under these circumstances.”
Grady stood. “I’ll need his address.”
“No, you won’t.” Her chin tilted up. “I’m coming with you.”
“That’s not a good idea.”
“Actually, it’s a very good idea. Dan has had some trouble with the law. Nothing big, but he’s wary of cops. He won’t talk to you. If I go, he will.”
Luke smirked at Grady. “Sounds like you have a partner.”
Seven
Dan Spencer lived near the county line. A crooked and bullet-ridden sign announced the subdivision: West Side Trailer Park. Tara slowed her vehicle and turned in.
“Remember, do exactly as I tell you.”
“I already promised five times.” She rolled her eyes. “Relax, Grady. Dan has had bumps in his life, but he’s not a bad guy. I’ve been out here a couple of times.”
If several arrests for B&Es and a history of drugs were her definition of a couple of bumps, they should have a talk. He shifted in his seat. He didn’t like being the passenger, but he’d landed on his bad leg when rescuing Maddy and it was already swollen. Driving would aggravate it.
“He lives on the end. Number 35.”
They passed a rusted-out Ford, several bicycles, and a couple of children without shoes playing tag. Dan’s trailer was the last in the row. It was tidier than his neighbors. A small front porch, clean chrome, and a trash-free yard. A plant sat next to the welcome mat.
Grady recognized Dan. They’d never met, but he’d seen his latest arrest photo. Drugs. Dan had spent two years in prison for selling meth. It was immediately clear he’d changed for the better. His face was no longer gaunt and his build looked healthy. He wore a tan jumpsuit stitched with Harvey Yard Service across the right pocket.