Page 14

FOURTEEN

W est drove straight to the hospital, concerned about the way Laurel leaned against the passenger door as if unable to sit upright. “Are you okay?” he asked for the third time.

“Fine.” It was the same response he’d gotten before, but each time her voice was weaker. His SUV was equipped with a narrow band of red and blue lights, but he had avoided using them, not wanting to draw attention to the safe house.

Once he was several blocks away, though, he’d flipped them on to make better time.

When they arrived at the emergency department he ran around to help Laurel out. The triage nurse immediately took Laurel into a small room to do a quick assessment. He waited, knowing Trisha would want answers when he returned.

After a few minutes he was allowed back to Laurel’s room. The older woman looked as if she was in severe pain.

Worry nagged at him. He really needed to find the masked intruder who’d done this to Trisha’s friend.

“West, they’re making me stay overnight for some suspected bleeding around my kidney.” Laurel’s stricken gaze glommed on to his. “You’ll keep Trisha and Gabriel safe?”

“Absolutely.” He moved closer to take her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “I will protect them with my life.”

“I know you will.” Laurel clung to his hand for a moment, then released him. “Thank you. There’s no reason for you to hang around here. I’d rather you head back. I’m in good hands.”

He held her gaze for a moment, then nodded. Laurel would be more concerned with Trisha and Gabriel being safe than her current health situation. He removed a business card from his wallet and slid it across the bedside table. “Keep this and call my cell phone if you need anything.”

“Okay. But tell Trisha I’ll be fine.”

“I will.” He turned to head back through the emergency department to where he’d left his SUV parked in front of the main entrance.

As he slid behind the wheel, his phone rang. Expecting Trisha to be checking in on Laurel, he was surprised to see Ross’s name on the screen.

“What’s going on?” West asked.

“We picked up Nick Cutter.” Ross got straight to the point. “He actually showed up at his stepsister’s house as one of our squads drove by.”

A wave of excitement hit hard. “Has he said anything?”

“Not yet,” Ross admitted. “He hasn’t lawyered up, either. He’s cooling his heels in an interrogation room. I figured you’d want to be there to talk to him.”

“I do,” West answered without hesitation. “I can be there in ten minutes or less.”

“We’ll wait for you, then.” Ross ended the call.

He started the SUV, then used the hands-free function to call Trish.

“How is she?” Trisha asked the moment she answered the phone.

“The doc ordered another CT scan.” He quickly filled her in on the update from the provider. “Laurel doesn’t want you to worry. She says she’s in good hands.”

“Of course I’m going to worry,” Trisha said. “But I’m glad she’s getting the medical attention she needs. She never should have left the hospital so soon. And lugging Gabriel around probably didn’t help.”

“I know.” He turned toward the precinct. “I have to make a stop at headquarters to interview a perp. I don’t think it will take too long.”

“Which perp?” Trisha asked.

Since she deserved to know this could be the break in the case they’d needed, he decided to tell her. “One of the patrol officers picked up Nick Cutter at Renee Mills’s house. Ross wants me to come in to interview him.”

“I wish I could be there, too,” Trisha said, a hint of wistfulness in her tone. But then she added, “That’s great news. West. I hope he cooperates.”

“I do, too.” Each interview had its challenges. “I’ll head to the safe house as soon as I can.”

“It’s okay.” She sounded more cheerful now, as if the possibility of making progress on the case lightened her spirits. “We’ll be fine. Especially if Cutter is the masked kidnapper.”

He hesitated, wondering if he was making a mistake. The words I’m falling for you almost popped out of his mouth, but he managed to hold them back. “If you need me, I’m only a phone call away.”

“Thanks, West.” He could hear Gabriel beginning to fuss. “I need to go.”

“Bye,” he said, but there was no response on the other end of the connection. Trisha had already ended the call.

He hit the gas, making it to the precinct in record time. Ross was waiting for him and gestured toward the closest interrogation room. “Cutter is waiting inside.”

“Thanks.” West entered the room to find a scowling Nick Cutter. “Mr. Cutter? I’m Detective Cole.”

“Why am I here?” Cutter demanded. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

West took a seat across the table from him. “Did you take your stepsister’s car without her permission, then abandon it?”

“What? No! Why would I do that?” West watched Cutter’s eyes closely. The confusion seemed genuine. “Did Renee tell you I took it?”

“No, she didn’t tell us anything about you knowing where she keeps the keys,” West said, continuing to gauge Nick Cutter’s response. “But she eventually admitted you could have been the one to take it.”

“I didn’t.” Cutter spread his hands wide. “Why would I?”

“Where were you two nights ago?” West said.

Now Cutter’s expression cleared. “I was working. I’m a bartender for the Plains City Pub and Grill.”

That was news to him, then again he’d assumed the guy was in the wind since he hadn’t answered his stepsister’s calls. He should have dug into Cutter’s background sooner. He continued asking more questions, but by the end of the interview, he knew Cutter wasn’t their masked kidnapper.

Leaving the interview room, he headed to his captain’s office. “He’s not our guy. Oh, we’ll verify his alibi, but if his story of being a bartender and working the past two nights in a row holds up, he’s not our perp.”

Ross sighed. “What’s your plan?”

He wished he had one. “I can interview Renee Mills again—” He was interrupted by his cell phone. “Hang on, this is Dan.”

“Where are you?” the ATF agent asked.

“At the precinct, why?”

“I’m bringing in another perp, a guy who showed up at the bus station, went to the lockers then came back out and glanced around as if looking for someone.” Slater’s voice held satisfaction. “He may be a gun buyer. I was hoping you’d help interview him.”

“Absolutely,” West agreed. He glanced at his watch, glad to note the interview with Cutter didn’t take too long. “I’ll be here.”

“Thanks.” Slater ended the call.

He filled in Ross. “Once I’m finished here, I’ll head back to the safe house. The next step might be to head back to Trish’s place to search for the key. I’d want several officers there, though, to back us up.” He frowned. “Especially if I bring Trisha and Gabriel along. She knows her house. It will help to have her there.”

“Fine with me. The sooner we wrap up that case, the more we can focus on these gun traffickers.” Ross waved his hand. “Do what you have to do.”

“Thanks.” He left his boss to return to the hub of the police station. Glancing at his watch, he hoped Slater and his perp would get there soon. As much as he was happy to have a lead on the gun traffickers, he wished there was more he could do to make sure Trisha and Gabriel were safe.

His best lead on Trish’s case was a bust. He’d really hoped Nick Cutter was their guy. He decided to use the time to call the Plains City Pub and Grill to verify he was indeed working.

Cutter was, which officially took him off the suspect list.

The only other step they could take was to return to Trish’s place. If they didn’t find the key, and soon, he was afraid this guy would make another attempt on Trisha and Gabriel.

And he could not let that happen.

His relationship with God had been rocky since Kenyon’s death, but now he lifted his heart in prayer, begging for God to grant him the strength and wisdom to keep them safe.

Gabriel’s teething meant lots of walking him around the house, bouncing him on her hip. If this was what her friend had been forced to do, it was no wonder her kidney had started to bleed. Trisha never should have left Gabriel in Laurel’s care.

“It’s okay, big guy,” she murmured soothingly. She had given Gabriel the teething ring again, which he gnawed with relish. But the moment the coolness wore off he’d dropped it.

Hence the pacing. And jostling. And rubbing his back.

Peanut seemed to sense her son’s discomfort, following her as she paced from one end of the house to the other.

After giving her son his bottle, his eyelids finally started to droop. She was hopeful that he’d take an afternoon nap so she could try working on the computer again.

Her phone dinged with an incoming text from West. Her heart sank when she read the message.

Cutter isn’t our guy. Has an alibi. Need to stay for a bit. Will call later.

She quickly texted back the thumbs up sign. Then frowned.

If Nick Cutter hadn’t taken Renee Mills’s car, then who had? Someone who had a duplicate key for some reason, or who knew where she kept them.

The moment Gabriel drifted off to sleep, she set him in his portable crib and went back to West’s computer. Peanut stretched out at her feet as if glad to rest. Renee Mills had purposefully remained silent about her stepbrother’s access to the car keys.

Maybe the woman had lied about someone else having the ability to sneak the keys out of the house, too.

It would be better to confront Renee in person, maybe even take her down to the police station for an interview. She liked the idea of West threatening to arrest her for aiding and abetting a criminal.

In the meantime, she’d see what she could dig up on the woman’s social media pages. She’d looked at them before, which is how she’d found Nick Cutter, her stepbrother, but maybe there was something she’d missed.

This time, she planned to take the time to dig into every one of Renee’s friends’ profiles.

It was something to do since she was stuck at the safe house, anyway. She wondered why West had to stick around at the precinct but resisted the urge to text him with more questions.

West would fill her in later. Hopefully whatever had kept him later would help break open that case.

Her case was currently dead in the water.

The process of going through social media posts and diving deeper into the profiles of each of Renee Mills’s friends was painfully slow.

Gabriel cried a little, causing her to spring from her seat. Peanut jumped up, too. She took the teething ring from the freezer and tucked it next to her son. With his eyes still closed, he grabbed it and stuck it in his mouth.

She stood for a moment, watching him. He and her sister were the only family she had left in the world. The two most important people in her life.

West, too, she silently admitted. Maybe he didn’t feel the same way. After all, she hadn’t planned to open her heart again. But there was no denying she was falling in love with him.

She forced herself to turn away. Enough. This wasn’t the time to moon over West Cole. As she tiptoed from the bedroom, a flash of something bright caught the corner of her eye.

What was that?

Frowning, she rested a hand on her weapon and moved closer to the window. Then gaped in shock when she saw the bare tree right next to the safe house was on fire.

Fire!

Reacting instinctively, she scooped her sleeping son into her arms and ran toward the kitchen. Grabbing her phone, she quickly called 911.

“This is the 911 operator, what is your emergency?” The calm voice of the dispatcher asked.

“There’s a tree on fire.” She quickly gave the address, then caught the hint of smoke. “Please hurry.”

“I’ve dispatched two fire trucks to your location,” the kind dispatcher said. “Please evacuate the premises.”

“I will.” She ended the call, then hesitated. Why was there just one tree on fire? If so, why? No storm to cause a lightning strike.

What if the house had been set on fire, too? Going still, she put all senses on alert. Catching the scent of smoke, she knew there wasn’t a second to waste.

They needed to get out of here! She fastened Gabriel into his car seat and looped the diaper bag over her shoulder. She glanced down at Peanut, deciding not to put the dog on leash. Leaving probably wasn’t smart, but she couldn’t sit there as the building burned, either.

Holding Gabriel’s car seat with one arm, her muscles groaning in protest, she held her weapon in the other and peered out the back door. The area looked clear.

Still, she ran to the front, to check there, too. And saw more foliage burning, yellow flames jutting out from the bushes along the front of the house.

Not good. She holstered her gun and used the phone to call West. He didn’t answer, but his voicemail invited her to leave a message.

“It’s Trish. The bushes and trees around the safe house are on fire. Hurry back!” She ended the call, stuck the phone in her pocket and made her way toward the back door with Peanut.

This could be a trap. An effective one at that. She hesitated, wondering if it was safer to stay in the house. Yet the way the smoke stung her eyes, she feared for her son’s safety.

No, she couldn’t stay inside. She opened the back door a crack and scanned the area. Peanut slipped past as if sensing the need to leave.

Seeing nothing alarming, she pushed the door open wider. There weren’t any trees or bushes back here, which was good and bad. No fire, but there was nowhere to hide, either.

Maybe she had enough time to get to a neighbor’s house. All she needed was a few minutes. She pushed the door open wide enough to get Gabriel’s car seat through.

Her left arm screamed in protest in carrying Gabriel and the car seat, but she didn’t dare holster her weapon. Peanut ran ahead. She stepped outside and moved to the right. She was hoping that whoever had set the fires was expecting her to come through the garage, which was to the left.

Trisha had barely taken five steps when a masked man charged toward her from the left side of the house. She turned, intending to fire at him, then noticed the barrel of his gun was trained on Gabriel.

“Drop the gun,” the guy ordered. “Or I’ll shoot your kid.”

She didn’t want to let go of her service weapon but knew he wanted the key. Peanut was somewhere behind her, and she prayed the K-9 would stay out of the way.

“Sure. I hear you.” She tossed her gun a few feet away, then grabbed Gabriel’s car seat with both hands. “What do you want?”

“The key!” The masked man practically shouted the words. “Give me the stupid key or die.” An evil smile creased his features. “The same way your ex-husband did.”

Her thoughts whirled, and she hoped the fire trucks and West were already on the way. She almost told him she had no idea where the key was, when something clicked in her mind.

The elephant lamp in Gabriel’s room. She vaguely remembered one day several months ago when she’d thought the lamp had been moved. The only reason it had caught her attention was that her elbow had almost knocked it off the table. At the time she hadn’t considered it to be a big deal. But now she couldn’t help but wonder if the lamp had been moved on purpose.

Why hadn’t she thought of it before now?

“Okay, fine.” She held the masked man’s gaze. “I’ll take you to the key if you promise not to hurt me or my son.”

“You’re in no position to make demands,” the gunman snarled. He kept coming toward her, his weapon still pointed at her son. “I have a car on the next block.” He used his chin to indicate the direction he wanted her to go. “Move it!”

Trisha reluctantly headed across the backyard, refusing to look around for Peanut. She prayed someone would notice and call the police and that Peanut would find West.

Before she and Gabriel were kidnapped by this ruthless killer.