Protector's Instinct

by Janie Crouch

  “Who said that? Brodey?”

  Lisette didn’t even listen to Caroline, just kept on talking. “But he showed me the reports. He showed me how you and Zane Wales got together and faked the whole thing.”

  Caroline shook her head. She didn’t want to make Lisette angry, because God knew the woman was already unstable enough, but she honestly had no idea what she was talking about.

  “Lisette, I think there was some mistake. Maybe you got the wrong medical reports by accident or something. Mine were very clear about what happened to me.”

  Lisette stormed over to a nearby table and brought a file back, opening it and holding it in front of Caroline’s face.

  “This is the medical report that went to the police department.”

  Caroline didn’t need to look at it for long to recognize it. That was very definitely her battered face in the picture. Very definitely pictures of bruises and welts covering half her body. She didn’t even try to read the trauma that had been done by the rape itself.

  “Yes, that’s my medical report.” Caroline kept her voice as even as she could, swallowing the tremors.

  Lisette flew back to the table and picked up another medical report, holding it in front of her again. “But this is the actual medical report after your so-called attack, isn’t it?”

  Caroline studied the file, unsure at first of what she was looking at. It was definitely her, but with much less trauma.

  Then she remembered.

  “Lisette, this is also a medical report for me. But it wasn’t after my rape. This was from two months before. I was accosted by a man during one of my calls as a paramedic. He was robbing a convenience store and pushed me over trying to flee from police. My medical report was going to be used as part of his prosecution.”

  Lisette just stood there, smiling.

  “What?” Caroline finally asked.

  “That’s exactly what he said you’d say. He was right about everything. You don’t have any remorse at all, do you?”

  “Look, those medical reports are two separate incidents.”

  “Not according to the dates,” Lisette spat.

  “What?”

  “The dates are the same.”

  “Then it was a mistake. A typo. Or someone deliberately changed them to try to trick you.”

  “Or you and Zane Wales turned in a completely false medical report in order to get my brother arrested. You weren’t nearly as hurt as you pretended to be.”

  Caroline tried to reason with her. “Lisette, I know you don’t want to hear this about your brother. I’m sure you loved him.”

  Caroline had a brother and loved him. Of course, he would never attack a woman and beat her until she went into a coma. But she had to stay focused on reaching Lisette and making her understand.

  “Brodey or someone else is feeding you lies, Lisette. Someone is trying to trick you into believing that Zane and I did something we didn’t do. We had no reason to frame your brother.”

  “Donald Brodey has nothing to do with this!” Lisette screamed.

  And suddenly it all became so clear to Caroline. No, not Brodey.

  Damien Freihof.

  He was the one who had manipulated Lisette like this. Or had taken what the woman so desperately wanted to hear and given her reason to believe it.

  “Damien Freihof has been lying to you.” Lisette’s eyes flew to Caroline’s at the mention of his name, confirming Caroline’s suspicions. “He’s using you.”

  “Freihof has done nothing but show me the truth. You are the one who has been telling lies. But I’m going to make sure the world knows the truth.”

  “And how are you going to do that?”

  “You’re going to admit what really happened while I record it.”

  Caroline wanted to point out that even if she retracted her entire account of what Paul Trumpold did to her, it wouldn’t change anything. Trumpold had attacked Jon Hatton and Sherry Mitchell. Had admitted to raping Caroline and six other women. He had stabbed Jon and Sherry both and been about to kill them when Zane arrived and shot him.

  In the overall process, Caroline’s version of the story didn’t even matter. Paul Trumpold would’ve gone to jail with or without her medical record or testimony.

  Although she’d been glad to give both to help make sure Trumpold went to prison for as long as possible.

  But bringing this to Lisette’s attention would probably just cause her to kill Caroline.

  “I don’t think changing my statement alone would do anything to clear your brother’s name.” Not that Caroline would do it anyway. There was no way in hell she would amend, modify or otherwise revise even one single line of the truth about what happened to her.

  She looked Lisette straight in the eye. “And I won’t change it anyway. If you hurt me, people will be able to tell I was only doing it under duress.”

  “We’ll see about whether you won’t change your lies when I start cutting off Zane Wales’s fingers.” Lisette laughed as Caroline blanched. Caroline had no doubt she meant it. “That’s why I want you to call him and tell him to meet you here.”

  Caroline shook her head. “You might have wanted to ask me to do that before you told me you were going to cut off his fingers.”

  Lisette reached into the pocket of Caroline’s paramedic jacket. “I sort of thought you might say that. So I guess I’ll just text him with your phone.”

  She spoke as she typed. “I need you to come to my old house ASAP. Something important to show you. Can’t talk now.”

  Caroline watched as Lisette sent the text, then cringed when the phone buzzed in response a few seconds later.

  “What is it?” Caroline asked. Lisette read the text from Zane out loud.

  “We won’t answer him.” Lisette smiled at Caroline. “How about that? It’ll make it seem all so intriguing.”

  A few minutes later Caroline’s phone rang. No doubt Zane calling when she didn’t respond to his text. Lisette just held it until it went to voice mail. It rang again a few seconds later, and Lisette just threw it on the table.

  “A missed text and two calls?” Lisette smiled. “A mysterious request to meet him at the scene of the crime? I think it’s fair to say our white-hatted hero is on the way.”

  Lisette walked over to the table and began taking out an assortment of knives and guns. “I’ll just get everything ready for when he arrives. I bet he’ll knock on the door just like you said my brother did. But this time he’ll get the surprise of his life.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  When Zane got another text from Caroline a few hours after the first telling him about the fire, it was because he figured she’d finally finished her shift, a twelve-hour one that had turned into closer to fourteen hours. He hadn’t minded staying to do some more work. Trying to figure out what was missing with Brodey and glancing at some other cases. Detectives rarely got to work one case at a time.

  But when he looked down at his buzzing phone for the text he thought would be a request to come get her, he did a double take.

  I need you to come to my old house ASAP. Something important to show you. Can’t talk now.

  Zane couldn’t think of any reason Caroline would set foot into that house again. Especially without at least talking to him about it first. He texted back.

  What is it?

  No response. He waited a few minutes in case she was busy with something, but when she didn’t answer at all, he called.

  Straight to voice mail.

  Called again. Same thing.

  Zane didn’t panic. It had been a long day for both of them. The fire in the oil district wasn’t terribly far from the beach section. Maybe she hadn’t wanted to come all the way out here to the station just to drive all the way back to the house for w
hatever she wanted him to see. He began walking to his truck.

  Caroline didn’t have her truck, so she couldn’t have driven herself over there. Someone had to have taken her, so that might explain why she wasn’t answering her phone—she was talking to someone else.

  But his gut told him that Caroline wouldn’t enter that house again casually. Wouldn’t just drive by and go inside for no reason. She was strong enough to handle a visit there, but she wouldn’t go without planning.

  Zane picked up his pace. Something wasn’t right here.

  “Wade,” he called to the other man as he passed him. He gave him Caroline’s previous address. “I need you to look up that address and see who owns it now. Any info. It’s where Caroline lived when she was attacked.”

  “Got it.”

  “I need it fast, Wade. She just texted me from there.”

  “She in trouble?”

  “Nothing to indicate it. But she wouldn’t just go back there without a reason.”

  “I’ll call you with the info.”

  Zane ran out of the station and to his car. The more time that passed without hearing from Caroline, the more worried he became. She should’ve at least seen he’d called or texted and responded by now. Given all that was going on, the danger they’d faced, she wouldn’t just leave him without any communication.

  He was just pulling out of the parking garage when his phone rang. He switched his phone to the hands-free speaker so he could continue to drive without looking at the number.

  “Caroline?”

  “No, man, it’s Jon. Were you expecting a call from her?”

  Zane explained what was going on and where he was headed.

  Jon cursed under his breath. “I put in a request for Donald Brodey’s financial records before I got on the plane. I just got to the Omega office and the report was ready.”

  This couldn’t be good, not if Jon was calling so fast. “What?”

  “Last week Brodey had a sizable deposit put into his bank account.”

  “How sizable?”

  “Half a million dollars.”

  Zane whistled through his teeth. For a man who was about to go back to prison, that would help his family out quite a bit.

  “Well, I discovered Brodey is terminally ill. Only a couple months left to live. So Freihof must have paid him to come after Caroline and me. Which makes more sense to me than him wanting revenge enough to want to kill us.”

  “That’s just it, Zane. I tracked down the money. It didn’t come from Freihof.”

  “Are you sure? I can’t imagine he’d just use his real name on an account.”

  “Someone did use their real name, but it wasn’t Freihof who paid Brodey.”

  “Who was it?”

  “A Lisette Trumpold. Younger sister to Paul Trumpold.”

  Zane stomped on the gas, no longer caring about breaking any speed limits. “Damn it, Jon. Caroline texted me from the house where Trumpold attacked her.”

  “I think Lisette paid Brodey to take the fall for her handiwork in Big Bend. She knew once we had someone in custody—someone who admitted to the crimes—your guard would be down.”

  “That’s why Brodey didn’t really have a lot of details today when I went to talk to him. I thought he was just regretting signing the confession. But really it was because he didn’t have details to tell.”

  “And because he didn’t want to lose his payoff,” Jon finished for him. “I’ll call Captain Harris and have him send uniforms to the address.”

  “Tell him to keep them quiet. If this is a hostage situation, I don’t want Lisette to panic. I’m only five minutes out.”

  Another call beeped in. “I’ve got to go, Jon.”

  “Be safe, brother.”

  The call disconnected and Zane connected to the other one, praying it would be her. “Caroline?”

  “No, sorry, man, it’s Wade.”

  “Did you find out anything?”

  “The house is owned by a Jack and Marty Smith. They rent it out. Current rental for the month of November is...”

  “Lisette Trumpold.”

  “Yeah, do you know her?”

  Zane gritted his teeth, wishing he could make the miles fly by faster. “She’s the sister of Paul Trumpold, the man who attacked Caroline.”

  Wade let out a string of obscenities. Zane couldn’t agree more.

  “Jon Hatton is calling the captain even as we speak to get squad cars out here. They can’t come in blazing, Wade.”

  “I’ll make sure they don’t.”

  “I’m not waiting for backup. I’m going in.”

  “Be careful.”

  Zane parked his car two houses down from where he needed to be. If Lisette had Caroline, which at this point he couldn’t doubt was the case, he sure as hell wasn’t going to just go knocking on the front door. Then Lisette could just kill them both.

  Not to mention a knock on that door would scare Caroline. He never planned to knock on any door around her for the rest of their lives.

  If Lisette had been sending those texts about Caroline being a liar and Zane keeping secrets, then Freihof had obviously gotten his hooks into her. Convinced her somehow that her brother was innocent and he and Caroline were at fault.

  As utterly untrue as that was, it at least made sense.

  But Lisette had made a tactical error in bringing Caroline here to this house. Caroline had lived here for years before the attack, and Zane had spent so much time here that it was like he had lived here too. He knew which windows creaked and which deck beams would hold his weight as he climbed up.

  Weapon drawn, Zane made his way to the bathroom window on the side of the house. He and Caroline had joked and called that window a pervert’s delight. If a Peeping Tom got lucky, he could catch someone in the bathroom, if not, he’d still have a view of almost the entire bottom floor.

  He saw Caroline tied to a wooden chair in the middle of the hallway. The pressure in his chest eased. She was alive. That was the most important thing.

  And he was damn well going to make sure she stayed that way.

  He wasn’t sure if Lisette was working alone or not, and he could bet she was armed to the teeth, so he couldn’t just barge in. He prayed the squad cars would follow instructions and not come in lights and sirens blazing.

  He slipped up the back outer stairs to the far bedroom. It had a door that led out to the deck and was his best chance of getting into the house unnoticed.

  It still wasn’t going to be easy.

  He put his gun back in its holster as he arrived at the door. He let out a sigh of relief when he realized the new owners hadn’t been willing to spring for a new, more fortified one. Applying the right pressure at an angle, he was able to slip his credit card in between the handle and the frame and popped open the door.

  Caroline had once locked herself out and had shown him the trick. He’d told her how ridiculous she was not to get that door fixed. If she could get in the door like that, then a burglar could too. She’d laughed, saying it was so much more likely that she would forget her keys than it was for someone to break into her house.

  He’d always meant to get that door fixed, even if just to piss her off. Thank God he hadn’t had the chance and the new owners hadn’t, either.

  The door creaked slightly as he opened it and he immediately paused, wincing. But he could hear Caroline downstairs, talking to Lisette pretty loudly. He didn’t know if she was doing it to help him, but either way it would cover the noise he was making trying to get to her.

  He eased the door closed behind him, not wanting to take a chance on the wind blowing something over if he left it open.

  “If your boyfriend doesn’t get here soon, maybe I’ll just start with your fingers.”

 
“Maybe he’s not coming. Maybe he has other things to do with his time besides run over here just because he got a cryptic text from me.”

  “He’ll be here. I have no doubt about it. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. I saw you kissing in the parking lot of the Silver Eagle last week. That’s when I realized what Damien told me had to be the truth.”

  “Just because Zane and I have a physical relationship?”

  “Damien told me that you guys had kept apart for all these months to throw off suspicion about your lies. He told me that once you thought it was safe, you’d get back together. He was so right. Damien was right about everything.”

  “Damien Freihof is a pathological liar and genius using you to get back at a law enforcement group called Omega Sector. You’re his pawn, Lisette. You don’t have to be.”

  Zane grimaced as he heard Lisette strike Caroline. “Don’t try to talk to me like you know me. You cost my brother his life. I loved him and you cost him everything.”

  Zane eased down the hall while Lisette paced back and forth in a frenzy. Then she went over to a table and pulled out a gun and pointed it right at Caroline’s head.

  Ice flowed through Zane’s veins. He could jump from where he stood at the banister, but Lisette would definitely have time to shoot Caroline before he landed.

  Caroline cleared her throat. “All right, Lisette, you want your confession from me? I’ll give it to you. Set up the camera.”

  Zane could finally breathe again when Lisette removed the gun and walked over to set up her camera. Caroline was keeping her head, biding more time. Zane eased down a couple of stairs, staying in the shadows. The next time Lisette came close to Caroline, he would be able to pounce and catch her.

  “Start from the beginning,” the other woman said. “And if you tell the truth, maybe I’ll kill your boyfriend quickly and you won’t have to watch him suffer.”

  Caroline looked into the video camera Lisette had set up on a tripod a few feet in front of her. “My name is Caroline Gill. I am here to set the record straight about Dr. Paul Trumpold and my claim that he attacked me.”