Protective Custody

by Lynette Eason

  “He wouldn’t. There’s no way.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I would think, but someone did, and someone must have done their homework on the most likely cop to buy off.”

  “The most likely cop that had access to us,” Nick said slowly. Wayne watched the action, his eyes bouncing back and forth.

  Carly paced over to Mason and asked, “Any more on the background checks?”

  He looked at her. “Maria and Grady came up clean, of course.”

  Guilt appeared on her face, and Nick wanted to tell her not to worry about it. She was just doing her job, and he appreciated that fact even while he didn’t like the danger involved with it.

  “I figured they would,” she said. “I was desperate and grasping at straws.”

  “How are they doing, by the way?” Nick asked.

  Mason gave him a thumbs-up. “On the road to recovery. Maria’s already home. Grady’s made amazing strides, and is supposed to be released in the next couple of days.”

  Carly fidgeted then rolled her eyes. “Um, can we keep this whole background-check thing between us?”

  A slight smile curved her partner’s lips. “That’s what I’d planned on.”

  “Okay…so, Ben McCann. Someone had to have access to his records. Bank records, personal stuff, et cetera.”

  “That kind of stuff takes a court order,” Nick offered. “They’d have had to get that just like we did.”

  She nodded her approval. “True. Unless you get it illegally.”

  Nick shuddered. “They knew exactly when we got here, when to plant the package…”

  Carly picked up when he trailed off. “They also had to know the layout of the house and know we’d probably send all of you to the safe area, so that’s where they planned their strike.”

  “Only,” Nick said slowly, the wheels turning, “how did they know I would refuse to go back there? How did they know to send the inhaler, and how did they know they’d be able to grab Christopher?”

  “Coincidence,” Mason interjected. “They probably sent the inhaler as a message. It just so happened that you didn’t go to the safe area, so they grabbed Christopher and Debbie instead of killing you.”

  He blew out a sigh. “Why take Debbie?”

  “To keep Christopher quiet,” Carly murmured. “If he’s with someone he trusts, he’s less likely to cause problems.”

  “Or the de Lugos somehow convinced her to help them out.”

  Carly stared out the window and listened to the men behind her discuss the situation. Her eyes roamed the area, alert for anything out of place. Yet she was also focused on her thoughts. Christopher had been snatched right from under their noses.

  She paced to the sofa and sat, then leaned her head back against the cushion to glare at the ceiling. How was this possible? How could this be happening? Should she ask for a replacement like she suggested to Nick and remove herself from the case? He said she needed to see this thing through to the end. Carly wasn’t so sure. The end of this case might just bring the end to her sanity.

  All of these questions buzzed in her mind, but the one that screamed the loudest was: Is this your fault?

  Was it?

  Could she have prevented this?

  Of course you could have, she sneered at herself. You’re a professional, remember? You’re supposed to be smarter than the bad guys. But, she silently argued back, how can I fight the bad guys when I can’t tell them apart from the good ones?

  Carly felt the tears clog her throat and forced them away.

  God, what do You want from me? her mind cried out in desperation. What do You want?

  She thought about Nick and his fervent prayers to the God he believed in, the God he trusted. He made it look so easy.

  Could she do that? Be like Nick and just trust that God knew best even in this dire situation?

  She wanted to with all of her aching, shattered heart. “Please,” she whispered silently. “Show me.”

  “Hey, Carly? You in there?” Mason snapped his fingers in front of her eyes, and she bolted from the couch, fists clenched. With a deep breath, she forced herself to relax.

  “Sorry, deep thoughts.”

  Nick frowned and shot her a concerned look. “Are you all right?”

  She didn’t bother to answer that. Instead she looked at Mason. “What were you saying?”

  “I said we just got word back on the condition of Ben McCann.”

  Eagerness filled her. Finally they would learn more. “Well? Is he awake? Can he tell us anything?”

  “Afraid not. He died thirty minutes ago. Started bleeding in his brain, had a stroke and died.”

  Carly felt the breath whoosh from her and fell back onto the couch. A groan slipped out, and she placed her face in her hands. But her mind clicked. She didn’t have time to fall apart.

  Shoving her emotions aside, she took a restoring breath and said, “Okay. Then we just have to keep looking, keep searching until we find the answer to Christopher and Debbie’s whereabouts.”

  Something tickled the back of her mind. She just couldn’t pull it forward enough to grab it.

  It would come to her.

  She looked at Mason. “We need the reports back on the safe houses.”

  “It’s too soon, Carly. They probably haven’t even finished processing them.”

  He was right. She was going to have to be a little more patient. Still…

  “This will be a priority case right now. They’ll be moving fast on the evidence they have. Not to mention the fact that the people missing belong to two judges.”

  “That’s true. Give it a try. Sure can’t hurt.”

  She picked up her phone, walked into the kitchen and dialed the captain’s number. From where she stood, she could see Nick and Wayne sitting on the couch talking. Probably about the de Lugo trial that started tomorrow.

  “Captain Sanders.”

  “Hi, Captain. Carly Masterson here. I know it’s been a short time, but is there anything you or one of your people can tell me about the safe houses we left? Was the gas leak an accident or on purpose?”

  “You’re in luck. Because the trial is fast approaching and I know you need all the information you can get as fast as you can get it, I had two teams working each of the houses. I just got off the phone with my lead investigator about the gas leak. It looks like a simple accident that could have been deadly if you hadn’t recognized the smell.”

  That surprised her. “How so?”

  “The leak came from the stove. The gas line that leads to the back of the stove had come loose. It had probably worked its way loose over time, and whenever someone was messing with the stove yesterday morning, it pulled enough so the bolt fell off and a large amount of gas was released. Once it hit the air-conditioning duct, it would have traveled fairly quickly to all areas of the house.”

  Which explained why Lindsey had come from the bedroom feeling sick.

  “How did you know it was a gas leak?” he asked.

  “I don’t know, sir. It just popped into my head. I don’t have a gas stove at home, but that smell, combined with the way I was feeling physically…” She gave a shrug he couldn’t see.

  “Well, good call. You’re lucky.”

  Very. “Okay, thanks so much.”

  “One other thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “We found a cell phone tucked up under the lawn mower in the garage.”

  “A cell phone? How odd. Who does it belong to?”

  “Debbie Thomas.”

  Carly frowned. “What? Debbie Thomas? But that’s not possible. I took her phone from her at the first safe house.”

  “Well, that brings me to this bit of information. There wasn’t a phone in the drawer at that safe house. Which leads me to deduce that the cell phone you had in the drawer is now in our possession.”

  Chills of foreboding danced across her skin, and goose bumps made an abrupt appearance. “How can that be? I took it from her, pulled the batter
y out and put it in the drawer.”

  “We didn’t find the inhaler, either.”

  Confused, Carly thought for a moment, then said, “All right. Thanks, Captain. I’m going to try to figure out what all this means. I’ll be in touch.”

  “Good deal. Stay safe.”

  “Right.” Carly hung up, her mind spinning with this latest bit of news.

  She still felt like she was missing something.

  “Carly?”

  At the sound of Nick’s voice, she snapped to her attention and found him standing on the opposite side of the bar. She leaned against the granite countertop and studied him as he settled onto a bar stool. She said, “I’m not sure what it all means yet, but they didn’t find the phone or the inhaler.”

  Nick frowned and leaned forward. “But I know I had the spare one in there. I grabbed the one in the kitchen on the way out and…” He scratched his head, thinking. “Yes, I’m absolutely sure the other one was in the medicine cabinet. I put it there in case Christopher had an attack and I needed it fast. I didn’t want to have to go digging around in a bag to find it.”

  “And I know where I put the phone.”

  “So, did Debbie somehow snatch it before we left?”

  Carly sighed and noticed Wayne, Debbie’s father, following the conversation. When he saw he had their attention, he rose and joined them in the kitchen. “They found Debbie’s phone?”

  Carly nodded, and a sick look flashed across the man’s face as he looked away for a moment. Then he turned back. “All right. So, what does this mean?”

  “We’re not sure yet,” Carly said. “But I want to ask you a question.” She figured this was the moment. She hadn’t wanted to bring it up before in case it was irrelevant. Now she had to ask.

  “About?” Wayne prompted.

  “Debbie. What do you know about her association with Rico Martinez?”

  Annoyance flashed for a brief moment. Then he shrugged. “She dated him. He’s good-looking, wealthy and to all appearances is from one of the most influential families in the area. She didn’t care about his associations until he nearly landed her in jail. It took some doing to get her out of that one, I’ll admit.” He narrowed his eyes. “How did you find out about that? I thought I covered it up pretty well.”

  Mason spoke up. “You did. I had to do some heavy-duty digging to find it.”

  “Why are you checking up on my daughter? Nick? Something you need to tell me?” His brow shot up, and Nick looked flustered.

  Carly rushed to his assistance. “Because we couldn’t seem to find a hiding place without being discovered almost immediately, we did background checks on everyone associated with this family.”

  Wayne shook his head. “Well, I can’t say I blame you. But that’s the story on Debbie and Martinez. She didn’t know what she was getting into when she started seeing him. I knew the behind-the-scene story, of course, and shared it with her.” He gave a humorless laugh. “At first she wouldn’t listen to a word I had to say about a de Lugo associate, but once he was arrested for extortion and they tried to make her an accomplice, she realized I was right and dropped him like a hot potato.”

  He blew out a sigh. “Look, I’m going crazy just sitting around here waiting. I have some things at the office I need to take care of. Nick has my number. Please call me as soon as you hear anything.”

  “Of course.”

  She and Nick watched Wayne gather his belongings and head out the door.

  When the man was gone, Carly paced. Nick said, “Excuse me, I’m going to check on Lindsey,” and slipped away.

  At her wits’ end, Carly grabbed a notepad and a pen and settled herself at the kitchen table. Sometimes it helped if she made lists or scribbled down the facts she knew in order to visualize everything.

  Starting with Nick, she wrote down everything she could think of about the man.

  Good uncle/family man who loves his niece and nephew.

  A judge unwavering in his integrity and principles.

  Well respected in his peer circle.

  A man to admire.

  Handles himself well under pressure.

  Strong in his faith.

  Not sure where she was going with this, she stopped. That last one stared back at her. With her pen, she circled the word faith.

  Where had her faith gone?

  She hadn’t ditched it all at once. Her disbelief that God took a personal interest in what she was going through had snuck up on her.

  So, what did she really believe?

  Did He care or not?

  Lindsey said she believed even after all she’d been through in her twelve short years. Nick said he did even though his nephew had been snatched out from under the noses of law enforcement. Not only that, but Nick hadn’t hurled one insult, one word of blame—at her or God.

  Why not?

  She sure would have. But Nick talked about God like He was a best friend. She asked herself the same question she’d asked earlier.

  Could she do the same?

  Taking a deep breath, she decided to give it a shot. God? I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’ve missed You. I want to believe You care, I really do, but it’s so hard to see it sometimes. Especially right now, with Christopher and Debbie missing. Could You just…um…do something? Keep them safe? Show us who keeps leading the bad guys to us.

  She sat still and waited. Nothing.

  This time.

  But she still remembered the prayer she’d uttered at the safe house. And the peace she’d felt—even in the midst of her grief and anger—after unloading on Nick once they’d arrived back at his house.

  Maybe she should keep trying and see what happened.

  Okay, God, if that’s what I need to do to find You, I’ll do it.

  Picking up the pen once more, she wrote:

  Debbie Thomas:

  Nanny.

  Cares about Nick and the kids.

  Probably thinks she’s in love with Nick.

  Cell phone?

  Went back to get it?

  What about the inhaler?

  Taken with Christopher from safe house number two.

  Dated a man with a known connection to the de Lugo family. Coincidence or not?

  But she quit seeing him after she found out about his mob connections, right? Or did she?

  The facts and questions stared back at her. What was she thinking? That the answers would just leap off the page? She wished.

  Back to the inhaler that had been in the bathroom medicine cabinet.

  Was Nick right? Or had he grabbed it during their frantic departure and just not remembered?

  Possibly.

  Or had Debbie forgotten the one on the kitchen counter because she’d already gotten the one from the bathroom? But why would she do that?

  “What are you doing?” Mason’s question startled her.

  “Thinking.”

  “About what?”

  “This case. What else?”

  “I thought you might be thinking about a particular judge.”

  Carly eyed him and then figured why hide it. “He is the case, remember?” But she knew what he meant. And he knew she knew. “I can’t have any romantic feelings for him until this job is finished.”

  Mason grinned. “Oh, you can have the feelings.” His smile slid off. “But I admire you for not acting on them.”

  A sigh blew through her pursed lips. “How come you and I never got together?”

  Mason patted her on the head. “Because there aren’t any romantic feelings.”

  “Thanks a lot, Stone,” Carly grunted.

  “You’re welcome, Masterson.” He headed toward the door. “I’m going to walk the grounds.”

  “Are the dogs back?”

  “No, the Jeffersons took them with them.”

  “Be careful. They only have one more chance to get Nick, and that’s tonight.”

  Mason opened the door and lifted one side of his mouth. “The thought had occurred to me.�
�

  “Right.”

  After Mason left, Carly pondered the sheet of paper in front of her again. Slowly, an idea formed, but it was so outrageous she wondered if she should just ignore it.

  If she was wrong, she could be in a lot of trouble.

  But if she was right…

  Standing, she headed for the stairs. She needed to talk to Nicholas.

  THIRTEEN

  At the top of the stairs, Carly made a left and walked down the carpeted hall to Nicholas’s study. Whispers reached her ears and she slowed, placed her hand on her gun and approached the cracked door.

  Who would be whispering?

  Nick?

  Lindsey?

  She gave the door a gentle shove, and it opened without a sound.

  The whispering continued.

  Peeking around the doorjamb, she saw Nicholas at his desk, head in his hands, Bible open in front of him.

  But he wasn’t reading. He was whispering. Prayers.

  Heart thumping, Carly removed her hand from her gun. Not wanting to intrude on his privacy, she stepped back.

  The floor creaked, and Nick’s head shot up. Tears glistened in his eyes, and he quickly blinked them away.

  Carly raised a hand. “I’m sorry, Nick, I came to talk to you, and when I saw you—” she motioned toward the Bible “—I was trying to back off without disturbing you.”

  Nick shook his head. “It’s all right, Carly. Come on in.”

  Still hesitating, she waited until he waved her in a second time. Making her way into the study, she took a good look around her. She’d been in this room when she’d done sweeps of the house, but now she paid more attention to the details.

  Pictures of the kids. A picture of his parents. One of Miriam. Carly picked it up. “She was beautiful.”

  “Yes, she was. Inside and out—when we first met.”

  “You said she changed.”

  A deep sigh echoed through the room as he nodded and said, “After we were married, my career really took off. I spent less and less time at home, and she spent more and more time alone.”

  “That’s tough.”

  “It was. And then she decided she wanted a baby.” He shrugged. “That was fine with me. I’ve always wanted children, and when Miriam approached me with the idea, I got excited at the thought.”