by Meg Benjamin
“What legal options?” She glanced out the open door, watching Daisy and Sweetie chase each other back and forth across the yard. “All I’ve got are suspicions. Well-founded, maybe, but nothing more than that.”
Lars shrugged. “You’ve also got what happened to you in Pennsylvania. If nothing else, I’d say you’ve got a pattern. Anyway, it won’t hurt to talk to Pete. The more people who hear your story, the better.”
“You’re right, I guess.” She sighed. “I’ve spent the last few months trying to stay under the radar, but it looks like the Morelands found me anyway.”
He gave the plywood one last tap. “Erik also said you should put Sweetie out in the yard at night. If you really mean to stay out here, that is.”
Jess stared at him. “Well…”
“Well, what? You want to move into town? You can take my house. The offer’s still open.”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t want to take your house. But I’ve been thinking about options. Maybe I should reconsider the whole idea of staying in Konigsburg. It might be easier for everybody if Jack and I just went somewhere else. I mean somewhere away from Texas.”
Lars took his hands away from the plywood and stood watching her. She could hear the sound of Daisy’s laughter from the yard. It had taken a couple of hours for her rage at Lydia Moreland to wear off. A couple of hours to recognize how few resources she had for fighting back against the Morelands and their hired guns.
“We could head for another state, somewhere with no family connections. I mean, maybe they found me because my father was from around this area.”
“And if that wasn’t it?” His voice sounded tight. “If they actually found you some other way, some way they could use again? You’d be somewhere where nobody could help you. Where nobody knew what was going on. If they grabbed Jack, it might take you days to convince anyone. By then he could be somewhere in Pennsylvania—or maybe even somewhere outside the country.”
Her throat constricted. For a moment, she worked on breathing. “I wouldn’t let them do that. I’d be careful.”
“You mean you weren’t careful this time?” He shook his head. “C’mon, Jess, let us help you. You need people on your side.”
She took another deep breath, fighting back the tears that stung her eyes. “You don’t know the Morelands. You don’t know what they’re capable of.”
He shrugged. “No, I don’t. But I know the Toleffsons pretty well. And, trust me, we’re capable of a lot on our own. Come on—let’s get the kids ready to go to town.”
These days, going anywhere took a lot of organization, not to mention discussion. Jess finally convinced Daisy that Sweetie would be much happier staying in the back yard than riding in the car. Jack wasn’t pleased about cutting short his jumper chair session, but he finally stopped fussing when Jess had him changed and supplied with Cheerios. They piled into Lars’s SUV, Daisy and Jack in their matching car seats in the back, Jess up front with Lars.
“Is there a place for the kids to play while we talk to your brother?”
He gave her a dry grin. “Yeah. The bookstore. Janie can park Daisy in the children’s book section and Docia can look after Jack.”
“Did they agree to that?”
He shrugged. “They will.”
Jess managed not to groan. She had a feeling the other Toleffsons might not be as eager as Lars to sign on to all of this.
Janie Toleffson turned out to be a petite brunette with a wicked grin. She smiled at Jess, tickled Daisy and let Jack grab a lock of her hair.
“I’ve heard about you, kiddo,” she cooed. “You’ve got a thing for hair, right?”
Jack giggled, kicking his feet in his baby seat.
“We need to talk to Pete. Can we leave them here for a little while?” Lars asked.
Janie frowned slightly. “To Pete?”
“It’s okay, Janie. Nothing serious.”
Jess hoped Janie didn’t recognize the tightness in his voice.
“We can take care of them.” Docia leaned forward, lifting Jack from his seat. “Take as long as you need. We can get acquainted.”
Jack reached for Docia’s bright red curls, his eyes wide with wonder. For the moment, he seemed to have forgotten Jess altogether. Jess told herself she didn’t really feel jealous, just a little left out.
Pete Toleffson’s office was in the county courthouse two streets over. The wide reception area was empty except for a single secretary laboring through what looked like an insanely complicated spreadsheet on her computer.
She waved at Lars, said, “Go on in, he’s waiting for you,” then returned to her keyboard.
The man at the desk in the inner office was another Toleffson clone. This one had shorter hair than Cal Toleffson and fewer frown lines than Erik Toleffson, and he was slightly shorter than Lars when he stood. Otherwise the four of them could have made a nice matched set for some lucky girl.
Jess bit her lip. Where the hell had that thought come from?
“Sit down, please.” Pete Toleffson gestured to the couch at the side of the room. “Tell me this story from the beginning so I can try to sort it out. Lars told me some of it over the phone, but there’s a lot I’m not clear on.”
Lars shrugged. “There’s a lot we’re not clear on, but we can try.”
“Shut up, Lars,” Pete Toleffson said gently. “It’s Ms. Carroll I want to hear from.”
Telling her story once to Lars had made it easier for Jess the second time. But the story still seemed to wind around precariously. Pete Toleffson said nothing as she spoke, jotting notes on a legal pad, his expression impassive. By the time she’d finished, Jess was fairly sure he didn’t believe a word she’d said. Not surprising, of course. In his place, neither would she.
“So,” he intoned, tapping his pencil on the pad, “the family name is Moreland. The place is Belle View, Pennsylvania. And your husband’s name was Barrett.”
She nodded. “I have my marriage license and Jack’s birth certificate. I’m sorry—I didn’t think to bring them along.”
Pete shrugged. “I don’t need them. Yet. The question is, what do you want me to do about this? What do you think I can do?”
Jess pressed her lips together. It was nothing she hadn’t expected. In fact, she’d been surprised Lars thought they had any chance of getting the law to pay attention.
“They’re trying to kidnap her baby, Pete.” Lars’s voice sounded loud in the empty room. “We need some help here.”
“Somebody may be trying to get to Ms. Carroll’s son, Lars,” Pete said patiently, “but you’ve got no proof of that. All you’ve got at the moment are two failed B and Es. You can’t really take it to the Rangers yet, let alone the Feds.”
“So I have to wait until they take Jack before anyone can do anything about it?” Her throat felt tight. “I’d rather leave Konigsburg.”
Pete raised his hands, palms out. “Whoa. Both of you slow down. I’m not saying you’re helpless, just that we can’t treat this as an attempted kidnapping, even though that’s what it may turn out to be. You need to think about other ways of fighting this.”
Lars leaned back marginally. “Such as?”
Pete turned to Jess. “Such as a protective order against your former mother-in-law.”
Jess frowned. “You mean a restraining order? I thought restraining orders were against stalkers or abusive husbands.”
“Usually they are. But here you could say your in-laws are jeopardizing you and your child. It’s supposed to be for physical violence rather than psychological abuse, but you could argue that your mother-in-law’s actions led you to fear for your safety.”
“Do you think the judge would buy that?” Lars sounded dubious. “Besides, I thought restraining orders didn’t work all that well.”
“They don’t do a great job of keeping psychos at bay. But the thing is, your mother-in-law and her family would be served with a notice of your filing. So she’d know you were onto her. That might be eno
ugh to make her pull back. Assuming she and her family are the ones behind all of this.”
The corners of Lars’s mouth turned up in a slow grin. “Sneaky. I like it.”
Jess tried to smile, too. Assuming she and her family are the ones behind all of this. She’d already figured out that Pete Toleffson didn’t entirely believe her. She hardly believed it herself. Life would be so much easier if it weren’t true.
But it was. Jess remembered Lydia Moreland’s cold blue eyes. Somehow, she didn’t think she’d regard a protective order as a warning. She’d probably see it as a call to arms.
And, according to Barry, Lydia had a tendency to smash presumptuous people flat.
The sky had darkened by the time Lars brought Jess back to the Lone Oak. Driving down the dirt road to the cabin, he understood exactly what Erik had been talking about. Too many trees. Too much brush.
Too dark. Way too dark.
Jess opened the door in back to pick up Jack’s car seat. Lars had a feeling she was deliberately avoiding his gaze. “Thanks so much, Lars. This really meant a lot to me. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She hoisted Jack’s seat into her arms and started for the front door.
“Hold it.” Lars stepped out of the SUV, pausing long enough to unhook Daisy and grab her hand. “We’ll go in with you.”
Jess shook her head. “That’s okay. We can handle it.”
“We’re going in.” Lars gave her a level look. “You’re not walking into that cabin alone.”
For a moment, she looked uncertain, licking her lips nervously. Then she shrugged. “Okay. It shouldn’t take long.”
It didn’t. The cabin seemed empty, but he checked the closets and the garage just to be sure. In the backyard, Sweetie whined piteously, scratching his paws against the back door to be let in.
Daisy gave him her best Hallmark Child imitation. “Can I stay with Sweetie? He’s lonesome.”
“He’s hungry,” Lars corrected. “And he has Jack and Mrs. Carroll to keep him company.”
“But Mrs. Carroll can’t stay with him.” Daisy stuck out her lower lip.
He stopped for a moment, glancing back at Jess. “I hadn’t thought of that before. ‘Mrs. Carroll’? You weren’t Mrs. Moreland?”
She shrugged. “It’s my maiden name. I didn’t feel like using Moreland after Barry died.”
Daisy was clearly uninterested in the details of Jess Carroll’s life. “But Daddy…”
“No, Daisy, we’re going home.”
Lars recognized the signs. Daisy’s lower lip was thrust forward, her hands resting on her hips, a dangerous glint in her eyes. Hurricane Daisy was picking up steam.
“Hey, sweetheart.” He reached for her hand. “We need to get out from under Mrs. Carroll’s…ah…feet.” His ever-active subconscious had obligingly provided him with a quick picture of what it might be like to be under Jess Carroll in the right circumstances. Lars swallowed hard. Not appropriate, Toleffson.
He glanced back as they reached the doorway. “Look, Jess. Pete actually told me you and Jack should stay with him and Janie. I said I’d ask you. Any chance?”
Jess shook her head. “The guest cabin’s rented tonight with another couple coming in for the weekend. I need to be here. We’ll be fine. Honest. People will be around. And I’ll keep Sweetie in the back yard tonight.”
“Sweetie?” Daisy’s voice rose as she remembered her primary complaint.
Lars lifted her quickly for a hug. “C’mon, Dais, you can have a hamburger for supper. We’ll go out.”
Daisy’s lip trembled as she considered the offer. Then she sniffed. “Can we bring some to Sweetie?”
“Maybe.” Lars started moving for the door. “We’ll see.”
The last thing he glimpsed was Jess Carroll’s grin as she closed the door behind them.
Daisy wasn’t too happy with him when he took her to the Coffee Corral instead of McDonald’s, but the owner’s wife fussed over her enough to make up for it. Lars wasn’t even surprised when Cal and Docia came in a few minutes later and joined them at their table.
“Okay.” Docia leaned forward, elbows on the table. “Janie’s wheedling the whole story out of Pete even as we speak. Cal doesn’t know the whole story, so I can’t wheedle. I’m at a disadvantage here. Your turn.”
Lars thought about saying it wasn’t his story to tell, but he didn’t think that would stop Docia. And the more he thought about it, the more convinced he was that a lot of people needed to be aware of what was going on at the Lone Oak B and B. Maybe it would help them head off the Moreland family.
He put Daisy at the next table with a placemat to color, and gave them the best summary he could of the story he’d now heard twice.
Docia wasn’t nearly as objective as Pete. “They got her tossed out of her house?” Her voice began to rise dangerously. “They tried to take her baby?”
People at the next table turned to look. Cal put his hand on her arm. “Keep it down, Red, I doubt Jess wants this all over town just yet.”
Docia lowered her voice, but her eyes flashed dangerously. “What the hell kind of people are these Morelands, anyway?”
Lars rubbed the back of his neck. “I haven’t even gotten to the really troubling part yet. The Konigsburg part.”
“Oh god,” Docia groaned. “Of course, there’s more.”
She stayed quiet while he ran through the rest of it, her brows drawing together into a ferocious scowl. When he’d finished, she spread her fingers on the table in front of her. “Goddamn. Goddamn it all to hell!”
Daisy looked up at her, blinking.
“Go on coloring, sweetheart,” Docia muttered. “Your Aunt Docia’s just a little bummed.”
Cal shook his head. “She shouldn’t be out there by herself. That blue tick’s a game little pup, but he’s not enough to keep out someone who’s determined to break in.”
“Jess says she needs to stay so she can manage the B and B. Pete and I both tried to get her to move to town, but she wouldn’t budge.”
“We’ve got to do something.” Docia’s voice shook. “We can’t let this…thing happen.” She glanced at Daisy, who was coloring something with a lot of bright green.
“We’re working on it.” Lars sighed. “For now, I think the best we can do is just keep an eye on things. Look out for suspicious characters. Particularly Lorne Haggedorn.”
“Lars, honey, it’s the Christmas shopping season,” Docia cracked. “The whole freakin’ town is full of suspicious characters.”
“Yeah, well, until Jess changes her mind, that’s the best we can do. At least Erik said he’d try to make sure the patrol cars swing by more often to keep track of things.”
Cal shook his head. “There are times when I still can’t feature Erik as a cop. Did you know he’s dating Dahlia?”
“Dahlia? The barmaid?” Lars blew out a breath. “Okay, that’s it. One too many news flashes for the day. Daisy, have you finished your hamburger?”
“Yes, sir.” Daisy added one more scrape of green to the upper right corner of her placemat so that the entire surface looked like bad lime sherbet.
“Let’s go home.” Lars stood. “Daddy’s got a lot of work to catch up on, not to mention sleep.”
Chapter Twelve
Jess was dragging by nine o’clock, struggling to keep her eyes open. She did manage to check all the windows and the front and back doors before she staggered off to bed. She also made sure Sweetie had food and water in the backyard. The dog gave her a mournful look and even managed a tiny shiver, but the temperature hovered in the fifties and Jess wasn’t impressed.
She considered sleeping in her own room, but in the end she couldn’t do it. She needed to be close to Jack. Besides, she was so tired she knew she’d fall asleep no matter where she was, even if it was a foam rubber pad that managed to squash down to nothing on the nursery floor.
The next morning a cardinal’s chirp woke her, and she checked her watch. Seven. At least she’d managed to g
et a full nine hours of sleep.
Miraculously, Jack was still sleeping himself. Jess rolled up the sleeping bag as quietly as she could and slipped out the door to the hall.
Sunlight poured through the dining room window. The cardinal still cheeped in one of the backyard trees.
Jess leaned a little further out, checking the backyard. Sweetie lay fast asleep next to his food and water. Otherwise, the yard seemed empty and quiet.
Behind her, she heard Jack mutter some morning sounds. “Okay, kid,” she called, “I’m on my way.”
Fifteen minutes later, Jack was in his high chair, daintily picking up individual Cheerios. Jess filled his sippy cup with apple juice and glanced out the window again.
Sweetie hadn’t moved.
Jess stood very still for a moment, then placed the sippy cup on Jack’s tray. “Here, lovie, drink up and try not to toss it too far. Mama’s got to check on something.”
She slipped through the kitchen to the utility room with its blocked backdoor window, telling herself there was no problem. The door banged behind her as she threw it open.
Sweetie raised his head slowly, squinting in Jess’s direction, then dropped back again.
Jess knelt beside him. She could see vomit in the grass near the dog’s feet, and flecks of it still dotted his mouth. “Damn,” she whispered. “Damn, damn, damn. Sorry, Sweetie, I should have seen this coming.”
Back in the house she pulled her cell phone out of her purse. She had no idea what time the clinic opened, but surely they had an emergency number. She grabbed the card Cal Toleffson had given her and dialed.
A man’s voice answered. “Rankin Animal Hospital.” He sounded slightly sleepy.
“My name is Jess Carroll,” she blurted. “I adopted a dog a couple of days ago, and I think he ate something bad during the night. He’s been vomiting and he’s lying down.”
Immediately, the voice wasn’t sleepy anymore. “Can you bring him in, ma’am? The sooner the better.”
“Right.” Jess looked around for the crate they’d borrowed from Cal. “I’ll be there as soon as I can get him in the car.”
