“What? That’s ridiculous. Lindy would never...”
“Doesn’t matter,” the sheriff argued. “The law’s the law. I have to take her in.”
“Why are you here in the first place?” Thad demanded.
“We got a tip.”
“Oh, you did, did you?” Still cradling Lindy, he noticed that she was beginning to stir and mumble as she wrapped an arm around his neck.
Right then, in front of the sheriff and dozens of her neighbors, Thad wanted to kiss her the rest of the way to consciousness and assure her that everything would be okay. Except it wasn’t okay. Not even close. And he had no idea what to do to make it so.
Scanning the yard, Thad saw Danny poking through a box of toys that had probably been taken from his room. Poor kid. He might not understand what was going on yet but he’d soon be devastated.
Before Harlan had a chance to decide what would become of the seven-year-old while his mother was in jail, Thad spoke up. “I’ve already arranged for Danny to spend the weekend with me so you won’t have to worry about him.”
“That so?”
“Yes. That’s so.” Thad knew he was doing the right thing for the child, he just wished he could do more for the mother.
Lindy was beginning to regain her faculties so he pulled her closer and bent to whisper in her ear. “I’ll look after Danny. And I’ll call a lawyer for you. I promise.”
She started to struggle so he set her on her feet. To his astonishment, she quickly regained enough aplomb to straighten her shoulders, face Harlan and declare, “I am totally innocent of any crimes, now or in the past. I don’t care what you think you found in that house, I didn’t put it there and I have no knowledge of who might have.”
Resting a hand lightly on her shoulder, Thad stayed close by and insisted, “It could have been anybody, sheriff. The first prowlers. Whoever ransacked the house later and left the note we gave you. Even one of the people Ben used to work with. A guy named James Reed showed up about a week ago and spent time in the house, too.”
“So did you,” the sheriff countered.
Thad gaped, speechless. Incensed. Surely Lindy didn’t think he had had anything to do with all this.
Unfortunately, before she had a chance to speak up to defend him the way he had defended her, Adelaide Crowe stepped in, handcuffed her and hustled her away.
Could Lindy possibly doubt that he had her best interests at heart? No. No way. They might never have discussed personal feelings but she had to know what he thought of her, how he admired her and the amazing job she was doing as a single mother.
Right now, however, Danny was his primary responsibility. He had to explain what was going on and see to it that the child still felt safe, even without Lindy. After that, they’d supervise while a crew from Pearson Products and volunteers from church cleaned up the mess on the lawn.
And later? Thad had no idea. He supposed their pastor, Logan Malloy, would know the right people to call for legal or investigative assistance since Logan had once been a private detective himself.
Beyond that, Thad felt about as lost as his unit had been when they were caught in a haboob—a crippling, blinding dust storm that swept across the Sudan and turned day into night in mere minutes.
Only this was no act of nature, he reminded himself. What was happening to Lindy was all manmade.
Thad scanned the yard as he took out his cell to make the necessary calls. First, he’d ask Logan to round up some muscle, then tell Vernon Betts to bring their largest box truck. Between that and the pickups that so many men in Serenity drove on a regular basis, they’d probably be able to secure Lindy’s possessions within a couple hours, three at the most.
And then? Then, he’d make one more call to the number on the business card. If, as he suspected, he got the same mechanical connection he’d gotten before, he was going to tell those idiots that they had gone too far.
Nobody was going to get away with framing an innocent woman.
Not while he was around.
* * *
Jail wasn’t as bad as Lindy had expected it to be. The tiny cells were clean and except for her, there were no other female prisoners.
“I’ll put you on the far end of the women’s section so you’ll have some privacy. It’s Friday. There are bound to be a few drunks picked up tonight and I don’t want them to bug you.”
“In a dry county?” Lindy asked, surprised when Adelaide laughed aloud.
“Lady, this is the wettest dry county I’ve ever seen. As long as our citizens can make a run to the Missouri border and bring back booze, we may as well sell the stuff here and keep them off the roads. Not that I approve of drinking, mind you. My daddy was way too fond of John Barleycorn for his own good.”
“I didn’t hide those drugs in my house,” Lindy insisted. “You know that, don’t you?”
“Gotta do what the sheriff says.” Her expression softened. “Off the record, I figure you were framed. So does your boyfriend.”
“I don’t have...”
The laugh was louder this time and the deputy’s dark eyes sparkled. “Suit yourself. I’ll tell you one thing. If I had a man who looked at me the way that Pearson guy looks at you, I’d marry him in a heartbeat. And he’s not only handsome, he’s nice. Mercy me.” She fanned herself with one hand. “Just watchin’ him with you was enough to make me blush.”
“He didn’t...? I didn’t...? I mean, when I fainted, we didn’t do anything wrong, did we?”
“Not in my book. I thought old Harlan was gonna spit when Thad scooped you up and wouldn’t hand you over ’til you came to, though. That is one great guy.”
“Yes. He is.”
“So, what are you going to do about it?”
Lindy made a face as she focused on the bars separating her from the deputy. “Nothing. I seem to be a little hampered at the moment.”
“I meant later.”
“Do you really think I’ll be released? I know there are times when innocent people spend years in prison before they’re finally cleared. Some never are.” She blinked back tears of frustration, hoping the other woman didn’t think she was trying to elicit sympathy.
Adelaide leaned closer and cupped a hand around her mouth to speak privately. “Just between you and me, we all think those drugs were planted. If we hadn’t been called to be there when your stuff was carted out, nobody would have even noticed. Or, the movers would have just helped themselves. Nope. That all came together too perfectly to have been accidental. Somebody set you up.”
“Then why am I under arrest?”
“For your safety, among other things. Harlan wants to test the packaging for fingerprints, first, and try to figure out who handled it. Drugs also have chemical clues that can point to their origin or manufacturer. The stuff at your house was high-dollar designer, meaning we have an even better chance of eventually tracing it.”
Smiling, the deputy started away. “Try to rest. Lights out is in ten minutes. Your...friend has your little boy so you don’t have to worry about him, either.”
Lindy nodded, glad to be left alone before the tears started to trickle down her cheeks. She swiped them away, disgusted that her emotions were so close to the surface.
She knew she should be thanking God that Thad had stepped in and taken Danny rather than have him put into foster care or protective custody the way he had been after Ben had beaten him and sent him to the hospital.
Plopping down on the edge of
the narrow bed in her cell, Lindy sniffled and closed her eyes, reliving another near disaster—the kidnapping—that had almost cost Danny’s life. And her own.
While Danny was recuperating from his father’s physical abuse and finding solace in the hospital, cohorts of Ben’s had kidnapped them both, as well as Samantha, a nurse who was also Danny’s CASA worker. Those horrible men had held them hostage until they were finally rescued amid a hail of gunfire.
At that time, she and Danny had been told they were bait intended to draw Ben out of hiding and make him deliver his ill-gotten gains.
The ploy with them as bait had worked. But when the police had arrived and the shooting had started, Ben had given his life to save their child.
Lindy gasped. She did recall something! The details were hazy but it seemed to her that those kidnappers had also mentioned something about hidden bank accounts. Could all this be part of the same crime, the same quest? Was she imagining things because she was overwrought or had she blanked that detail out of her mind due to the trauma of seeing her husband die?
Either was possible. The question was whether or not to tell Harlan. Or Thad. Or even James Reed.
In fact, the real dilemma was whether it was safe to trust anyone.
TWELVE
During the nearly four hours it took the volunteer crew to haul Lindy’s possessions to the Pearson warehouse, Thad had managed to reach an attorney who promised to request bail for her ASAP.
Their pastor had also agreed to contact a few of his old cronies in law enforcement and see what he could find out from them, although he hadn’t sounded very hopeful.
Beyond that, Thad was stymied. And angry. And frustrated. And a whole lot more, if he were honest with himself.
How had this situation gotten so out of hand? Was it his fault? He didn’t see how it could be, although the tendency to blame himself was hard to set aside.
That same kind of reaction had occurred when he had failed his unit in combat, he realized with a start. As long as he had given his all, had employed every method he knew, there was no way he was actually at fault.
So who was? he asked himself. It was irrational to blame God for the malevolence of humans, yet many did. Perhaps he had even been one of them, at least for a while.
And now? Now, he had concluded that there were factions operating in the world who answered to a different authority, to evil powers that were responsible for a lot of the chaos across the globe. That concept was biblical, no matter what name or names a person attached to the vicious forces.
Thad huffed. “If I get any more metaphysical I’m going to scare myself.”
He was a man of action. His first duty was to care for Danny as he had promised, which was one reason why he had allowed the boy to gather up some of his favorite toys and bring them along.
He had also stopped by Hickory Station and bought a simple supper on one of their back-and-forth trips from Pilot Hill Drive to the warehouse.
Danny had acted confused. “What about my mama? Can’t she have some, too?”
“Don’t worry. The sheriff will feed her. You just concentrate on picking what you’d like and I’ll go grab us some milk.”
“Soda!” Danny was adamant. “We don’t drink milk with pizza.”
Thad seriously doubted that a mother who didn’t even permit ice cream for dessert would allow soda pop with a meal but he wasn’t about to argue. One sugary drink wouldn’t do any lasting harm and he sure didn’t want a whimpering kid on his hands. He figured he’d been fortunate to keep the boy calm when he’d seen his mother leaving in the sheriff’s car. Since Danny hadn’t pitched a fit, then or later, they were probably going to be all right. At least for the present.
The child had stuffed himself, then fallen asleep on the seat of the truck after he’d gotten bored playing video games on his little laptop computer.
When the work of securing Lindy’s belongings was completed, Thad reached for Logan’s hand to shake it. “Thanks for all the help, Pastor.” He waved to others as they started to depart in separate vehicles and called, “Thanks, everybody.”
“Our pleasure,” Brother Logan replied. “I just wish we were pitching in for a happier reason. Are you sure Danny’s going to be okay with you?”
“Positive. His mother wants to keep him out of the legal system again if at all possible.”
“There are some wonderful foster parents, you know.”
Thad nodded soberly. “I know. I’m just trying to honor Lindy’s wishes. Since the gossip mill is so strong in this town, I’m afraid it’s just a matter of time until somebody gets in touch with me about relinquishing custody.”
“I’ll see what I can do to influence the authorities in your favor if it becomes necessary.” The pastor clapped Thad on the shoulder. “You are doing okay these days, aren’t you?”
“Yes. I’ve only had one nightmare in the past couple months. That’s a big improvement.”
“Good. We’ve been praying for you.”
“Thanks.”
Realizing how weary he was, Thad heaved a sigh. “Danny’s conked out over there in my truck. Do you mind sticking around to watch him while I go lock up? I’ll only be a minute.”
“No problem. Go. I’ll wait right here.”
Darkness had already filled the surrounding forest. A halo of artificial light arced over the rear of the metal-clad warehouse and reflected off the windshield of Thad’s pickup and the pastor’s nearby van.
Thad pulled the chain that lowered the heavy overhead doors. The sound of the links clanking against the mechanism disturbed the otherwise peaceful night.
An owl hooted in the distance.
Coyotes sang a reply.
Securing the chain Thad hurried to the get-in walk door. It swung wide on squeaky hinges. Coyotes yipped again as if answering a summons.
“What can I tell Danny when he wakes up and asks about his mother again?” Thad murmured, glancing Heavenward and speaking directly to the Lord. “How am I going to make him understand?”
The short hairs at the nape of his neck suddenly prickled in warning. Everything around him had grown quiet. Too quiet.
He paused to listen, to assess his surroundings more carefully. Knowing that Logan Malloy was also present should have given him peace, only it didn’t.
Tensing to battle an unseen enemy, Thad realized there was no sign of the clergyman near the truck. That was more than odd. It was creepy, especially since all the nighttime denizens of the woods had ceased their song at once. It was as if the entire forest was holding its collective breath.
“Brother Logan?” Thad called.
“Over here.”
Instead of being close to the truck where Danny dozed, the voice sounded as if it had come from somewhere near the edge of the clearing. Had Danny jumped out of the truck, forcing Logan to run after him?
Thad grabbed the handle on the driver’s side and eased open the truck door to check on the boy, relieved to see that he was sound asleep. So, if Logan wasn’t chasing Danny, what was he doing?
The pastor jogged back into the circle of light to rejoin Thad. “Did you see him, too?”
“See who?”
“At least one man, on foot, hanging around in the shadows out there. I didn’t follow him into the woods because I couldn’t be sure he was alone and I needed to stay where I could still watch the boy for you.”
“Thanks. Could you tell anything about the gu
y?”
“Not much. He moved fast, like a young man, but that’s about all.”
“Okay. I’m going to take Danny to my place and keep him safe. You’ll see what you can find out for us about the old Southerland case? The sheriff wasn’t very helpful.”
“He may not know a lot more than he told you,” Logan explained. “If federal agencies are involved, the chances of their sharing data with local authorities are slim to none. And it’s even worse if you’re a private detective like I used to be. Unless they need your help, they aren’t going to reveal a thing.”
Thad nodded. “Speaking of the feds, remember that unlisted number I was given? Do you still have it?”
The slim, dark-haired man patted his jacket pocket. “Right here.”
“Good. Just tell your friends to do the best they can identifying that and let me know, will you?”
“Sure. But you should know that considering the opportunities recent technologies provide for avoiding normal channels, that line could connect anywhere. All they’d have to do is run it through a high-powered, sophisticated computer system and it would be virtually untraceable.”
“I know. I’m pretty sure it’ll turn out to be based in this area, though,” Thad said. “Those spooks will want to stick close to Lindy if they really believe she’s hiding something.”
“You don’t think she is, do you?”
“Not for a second. She’s a victim of some diabolical scheme and whoever is behind it has the crazy idea she knows where her husband hid a bunch of secret accounts.”
“Have you and she brainstormed about it? That might help.”
“I’ll suggest that. Once we get her out of jail.” He raked his fingers through his short hair, showing his frustration. “I can’t believe anybody would buy the idea that Lindy Southerland is using or dealing drugs. I have never met a sweeter, more honest person in my entire life.”
Standing Guard Page 13
