Christmas Cover-Up

by Lynette Eason

  “Good.”

  “What are you doing up? Another nightmare?”

  “Yeah.” Only Brandon and Cortland knew about the nightmares.

  “Sorry.”

  “I know.”

  “I’ll let you know if anything happens.”

  “You staying awake all right?”

  “I am. Coffee is my friend.”

  “And a few doughnuts?”

  “I hate to admit to being a stereotype, but…”

  Jordan felt the nightmare leaving him, felt his muscles relax their death grip and ease into a less painful state. “All right, buddy, call if you need me. I’ll be up awhile.”

  “Drink some hot tea. Decaf. Does wonders for me.”

  Jordan grimaced. “Right.” Not likely.

  He hung up and grabbed his remote. Then tossed it on the bed. Why make Cort lose any more sleep when Jordan wasn’t going to be closing his eyes any time soon?

  He picked up the phone again.

  * * *

  Katie choked and sat upright in her bed, blinking the sleep from her eyes. And still her vision was hazy. What had awakened her? Her ears rang and she shook her head. Only to realize the screech wasn’t inside her mind, but coming from the house.

  Her fire alarm. Awareness shot through her. She stumbled from under the covers and knocked the lamp over. The crash resounded as smoke continued to fill the air. Katie groped for the light switch in her closet. Flames shot up around the bedroom door she’d closed and locked as an extra measure of protection.

  She grabbed her cell phone from the bedside table and punched in 911. She raced to the window and stopped to stare. A hole in her glass pane in the shape of a perfect circle stunned her. She blinked and realized she wasn’t seeing things. Someone had cut the glass.

  Mariah! Relief crashed through her as she remembered Mariah had stayed with her grandmother again.

  “Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”

  “My house is on fire,” she gasped.

  “What’s your address?”

  Katie told her. She glanced back at the spreading flames and thought she saw an object, but she wasn’t sure. The flames grew as though on steroids, biting, grabbing at everything in their path. Soon it would be her.

  But she had to know. Katie dropped to the floor where she was able to grab some air. She moved toward the flames until the heat became unbearable. She gasped, choked on the lungful of smoke and scrambled back, but not before she caught a glimpse of what looked like a soda bottle resting against her door. As she moved back toward the window, she mentally filled in the blanks as to what had happened.

  Someone had cut a hole in her window and tossed in a Molotov cocktail. Would he be waiting on her when she was forced to leave the room?

  Smoke thickened, closing her lungs and burning her eyes. Light-headed, she forced back the panic and sent prayers heavenward. She didn’t have a choice.

  She stood and shoved the window up. Fresh cold air blew in and she sucked in a lungful, but she didn’t climb out as she considered her options.

  Her hesitation saved her as a gunshot shattered the window just above her head. Heart pounding, she ducked back to the floor and lifted the phone. “Officer in trouble. I need help now!”

  “Help is en route, ma’am.”

  “How far away?”

  “Two minutes.”

  “I don’t have that long!” She took a shallow breath of the air near the floor. Just keep breathing. Don’t pass out.

  Nothing to do but get out. And not through her bedroom door. Or the bedroom window. On hands and knees, she spun, her brain whirling. The bathroom. Flames crept toward the door. Once she went in, she wasn’t coming out. Katie took a deep breath, coughed until she thought she might lose a lung and darted inside. She slammed the door shut and raced toward the window.

  She pushed it up and kicked the screen out of the way.

  Smoke filled the bathroom and stars danced before her eyes even as another breath of fresh air wafted over her. With a prayer on her lips, she gripped the windowsill and hauled herself over. As she hit the bushes below, she heard the crack of a gunshot and felt the bite of the bullet.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Jordan heard the gunshot as he stepped out of his car. His heartbeat kicked into overdrive. “Cort!”

  Cort was already racing for the back of the house. The next crack came seconds later. Jordan came to the edge of the house, weapon in hand, wrists pressed to his chest, the muzzle of the gun aimed toward the night sky. With one swift move, he swung around. And found the area empty.

  But Katie’s house on fire.

  “Katie!” Jordan flinched at the sight of the flames roaring from her bedroom window. “Oh, no,” he whispered. “Katie!”

  The moon revealed a dark figure running the length of the back fence, a rifle clutched in his left hand. Cort bolted after him while Jordan raced toward the broken window of Katie’s bedroom. Smoke gushed from the opening and he couldn’t get close. Terror shot through him. No, God, no. Don’t let it be. Please, Lord.

  He heard the sirens coming. But it was too late. There was no way Katie would survive. He sank to his knees as firefighters rounded the house and turned their hoses on the blaze. He knew more were out front doing the same.

  Movement caught his attention. He turned, weapon ready—and nearly dropped it in shock. “Katie!”

  She stumbled toward him, face pale, blood soaking her left arm. He raced to her, yelling, “I need a paramedic!”

  Then, worried no one would hear him over the roar of the water, he scooped her up and headed for the front of the house. Her head lolled against his shoulder. “I’m okay,” she whispered. “I think it looks worse than it is.” A deep cough racked her and Jordan held her even tighter. “Hurts to breathe.” Her rasp told him she’d inhaled her share of smoke.

  He was as worried about that as he was the wound in her left shoulder.

  Jordan raced to the nearest ambulance. Two paramedics leaped from the vehicle. “Set her on the gurney.” Tall, with wavy blond hair pulled into a functional ponytail, a woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties was the first to speak. Her confident, professional manner gave Jordan a small measure of relief. He laid Katie on the gurney just as Cort rushed up.

  “He got away. Had a motorcycle stashed just up the road. She all right?”

  Jordan stepped back out of the way as the paramedics took over, however, he didn’t take his eyes from her still form. “I’m not sure.” Anxiety twisted his insides. “What happened? How’d he get past you?”

  Cort swiped a gloved hand over his salt-and-pepper hair. “He knew I was here and set up a distraction. I heard a bunch of pops. Turned out to be a whole string of firecrackers about two doors up.” Cort’s lips tightened and his jaw flexed. “I went to investigate and I guess he slipped around to the back of the house while my attention was diverted.” Cort gave a disgusted sigh and muttered, “Can’t believe I fell for that. As soon as I saw those things popping in the street, I knew what he’d done. I raced back and saw you climbing out of the car.” He looked at Jordan and frowned. “What are you doing here, anyway? How’d you know there was trouble?”

  “I didn’t. I was going to come tell you to go home since I couldn’t sleep.” He stepped back up and grasped Katie’s hand. Her eyes flickered and she shoved aside the oxygen mask with her good hand. The fact that she was conscious encouraged him.

  He looked at the paramedic. “What’s your name?”

  “Christine.”

  “How is she?”

  Christine moved the mask back into place. “She needs to be checked out by a doctor and get that wound on her shoulder stitched up. The bullet dug a nice groove, but missed anything major. CSU will probably find the bullet embedded somewhere inside.�
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  Thankfulness washed over him. She wasn’t hurt as badly as he’d feared. Jordan squeezed her hand. “I’ll follow in my car.”

  He looked back to see Faith Nelson step out of the CSU van. She spotted him and rushed over. “Is Katie all right?”

  He nodded to the ambulance. “She’s okay for now. She’s headed over to the hospital to get checked out.” He shook his head. “He shot at her. There are bullets in there somewhere.”

  Faith looked at the house and the firefighters who worked hard to put out the blaze. “Might be a while before I can get in there to look.”

  “Yeah.”

  “But I’ll find the bullets if they’re in there.”

  “I’d be interested to know if they match the ones from the diner.”

  “She’s stable,” Christine told him. “We’re ready to transport her.”

  “She needs a bodyguard.” He had an idea. He dialed Gregory Lee’s number. In short, concise sentences, he filled the man in. “Can you meet us at the hospital? Do you have anyone that can watch out for her?”

  “Yeah. We’ve got buddies who’ll take vacation days if they have to to help keep her safe.”

  Jordan had figured that would be the case. “Thanks. I’m on the way to the hospital with her now. Uniformed officers are on the scene. Some are searching for the shooter, others are going door to door telling the neighbors what happened and to lock up tight until this guy is caught.”

  “Good.” A pause. “Does this have to do with her sister’s case?”

  “It’s looking more and more like it.”

  “Man.” A sigh filtered through the line. “All right. I’ll see you at the hospital.”

  The ambulance doors slammed shut and Jordan ran to his car and climbed in to follow behind.

  * * *

  Katie woke, drew in a deep breath, choked and gave a ragged, hacking cough. When she opened her watery eyes, she saw Erica on one side of her bed and Jordan on the other. “What’s going on?” she rasped.

  Erica pushed Katie’s hair from her eyes. “You don’t remember?”

  Katie frowned. The fire. So that’s why her throat, her chest, her eyes…everything hurt. “I remember. My weapon!”

  Jordan said, “We found it behind the bush under your bathroom window. I’ve got it locked in my glove compartment.” He didn’t even blink at the fact that her weapon was her first thought. Erica looked slightly bemused, but she had been around law enforcement enough to know no cop wanted their weapon in the hands of the wrong person. Katie must have dropped hers when she fell out of the bathroom window and behind the bushes.

  She wilted back against the pillow. “My house…”

  “Your bedroom is destroyed,” Jordan said, “but it looks like they were able to save the rest of it—other than the water damage. Gregory said you kept a copy of all your major personal records at the office. He found your home insurance number and they’ll be out there first thing Monday morning.”

  For some silly reason, Katie felt tears fill her eyes. She blinked them back. “Thanks. And Mariah?”

  “I’ve filled her in,” Erica said. “She said she’d be by to see you soon.”

  “And these are for you.” Jordan reached behind him and picked up a large vase that held a gorgeous bouquet of flowers. “Oh, my,” she breathed. “Who are those from?”

  Jordan shuffled his feet and she thought she saw a red tint creep into his cheeks. “Me. I thought they’d brighten things up around here.”

  Her heart skittered, skipped a beat then pounded into overdrive. “They’re beautiful. Thank you so much.”

  He shrugged and ducked his head in a gesture of shyness that touched her. And made her appreciate the gesture all the more because she could tell he was uncomfortable.

  Erica cleared her throat and held up Katie’s purse. “Your partner found this in the den and brought it for you. It was a little waterlogged, but I think it might survive.” She placed another bag on the bed beside Katie. “And these are some clothes for when you leave. I don’t think you want anything to do with your wardrobe right now.”

  “Thank you. That’s helpful.”

  Katie moved and winced at the fire racing through her shoulder. “He shot at me. Feels like he hit me. How bad is it?”

  “Not bad at all.” The voice from the door dragged her attention from her visitors. A tall woman with dark skin and even darker eyes approached the bed.

  She held out a hand and Katie shook it. “I’m Dr. Sterling.” She opened the chart. “You’ve got a nice wound, and it’ll take a while to heal. You’ve also got about sixteen stitches. We’ve got you on an antibiotic drip and have treated you for smoke inhalation. That handy little device next to you is a morphine pump for the pain, but we’ll give you a prescription you can take at home if you need it. You should be good to go first thing in the morning.”

  Katie blinked. She’d escaped relatively unscathed. Thank You, Lord. Exhaustion swamped her. All she wanted to do was sleep. “No more narcotics,” she whispered. “What time is it?”

  Jordan glanced at his watch. “Eight forty-five.”

  “Thursday morning?”

  “Yes.”

  She gasped. “My parents. They’ll be worried that I haven’t shown up or called or—” She struggled to sit up but Jordan placed a hand on her arm with a glance at the doctor.

  “Erica called them.”

  “Oh.” She lay back against the pillow as reality sank in. Her parents knew she was hurt and in the hospital, but they weren’t here. Hurt seared her. She would have thought her father would come by even if her mother refused. Then again, maybe it was better if he didn’t.

  Katie swallowed hard and wondered if she’d ever get to the point where she could just accept her mother’s rejection and get on with her life. Maybe. Maybe she would just have to let God’s love be enough. But she wasn’t sure she knew how to do that.

  Even though the pain of her parents’ absence swirled within, her eyelids drooped. Dr. Sterling smiled. “Get some rest. I’ll check back with you in a few hours.”

  Erica patted her hand as the door closed. “Why don’t you listen to your doctor and get some rest? I’m going to sit here for a while.”

  “And I’m going to be around,” Jordan said.

  “What are you doing here? How did you know to show up last night?”

  “I couldn’t sleep.”

  “So you thought you’d come watch my house?”

  “You need a bodyguard.”

  She forced herself to focus on him. “And you’re taking on that job?” she rasped.

  His eyes narrowed, then his face softened. “Can’t think of any other job I’d rather do right now.”

  Katie wanted to respond, but let the drugs and fatigue take over. She felt a smile curve her lips before the darkness crept in.

  She opened her eyes at the sound of the knock on the door. Erica was nowhere to be seen. Jordan stood from the chair where he’d been dozing. Katie blinked, wondering how long she’d slept, but noticed with relief she didn’t feel so drugged now.

  When Jordan opened the door and her father stepped into the room, her heart gave a fast beat of joy. He’d come.

  “Katie?” Concern knit his brows almost together at the bridge of his nose. “Are you all right?”

  Her father’s fifty-six-year-old face had aged a bit since she’d seen him last week. How was it possible to think he had a few more lines around his mouth, a bit more gray in his hair? “Hey, Dad. I’m all right.”

  He walked over to stand next to her. “Erica called us.”

  “Us?” She couldn’t help it. She looked behind him, but knew her mother wouldn’t be there. Katie’s mother couldn’t be bothered with the daughter who’d let her youngest child be taken. It didn’t matte
r that Katie had been only fourteen years old. It didn’t matter that she’d been asked by an adult to help carry groceries into the house. What her mother couldn’t get over was the fact that Katie simply hadn’t made Lucy go with her. That Katie had taken her eyes off her sister for approximately ten minutes and the girl had vanished while on Katie’s watch.

  Her father cleared his throat. “Me. Your mother wasn’t feeling very well and—”

  “You don’t have to make excuses for her, Dad. I get it.”

  He flushed and shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. “Yeah. I guess you do.”

  And that was all that would be said about it. She sighed as fresh pain ripped through her. Would her mother never forgive her? “I sent her some chocolates for her birthday. Did she get them?”

  “She did. And ate every one of them.” He smiled and Katie thought it looked a little forced. “We enjoyed the meal you sent over, too. Not necessary, but she appreciated it.”

  “I just wanted to do something for her. And you.” Only she was getting the feeling no matter what she did, it would never be enough. She swallowed hard and motioned to Jordan. “This is Jordan Gray. He’s with Finding the Lost. Jordan, this is Bryce Randall, my father.”

  The two men shook hands.

  “Glad to meet you,” Jordan said. He looked from her father to her, his curious, watchful gaze making her want to squirm. If it wouldn’t hurt her shoulder too much.

  “Thanks for coming, Dad. Hopefully, I’ll be out of here pretty soon.”

  “Does this have to do with a case you’re working?”

  Her gaze met Jordan’s. She wasn’t ready to tell her father anything yet. “We don’t know for sure. We haven’t really had time to figure that out.”

  He looked at Jordan. “Do you mind if I have a moment alone with Katie?”

  “Of course.” Jordan moved toward the door, and Katie wanted to protest, grab him back and make him stay right beside her. The panicked need for his presence, his protection, stunned her. This was her dad. She could talk to him. And she certainly didn’t need Jordan’s protection.

  Once Jordan let the door close behind him, her father turned to her and swallowed hard. “Are you still looking for Lucy?”