“Tony! Open the door, hon!”
He was close enough to get a whiff of a tangy orange scent that almost covered the ammonia smell. Subtle and spicy. He was also close enough to see the bullet hole in the trailer next to her head.
He made sure he had her covered but squirmed as the middle of his back tingled. A perfect target for a shooter.
A wailing cry split the air. Clay lifted a brow. “Okay, that’s it.” He moved around Sabrina, leaned his shoulder against the flimsy door and shoved. Hard.
With a pop, the door swung in. Clay stepped inside and came to a stop. In the space of about half a second, he noticed two things. The stench that turned his stomach—and two pairs of bright blue eyes that met his. Two children stood at the entrance to the hallway, looking as if they were ready to bolt.
The little girl wrapped her arms around her big brother and buried her face in his stomach, but not before Clay saw the tears on her cheeks, heard her trying to stifle her sobs.
The big brother settled his hands on her shoulders and glared back at Clay, defiance and fear mingling.
Sabrina stepped around him. “Tony? Maria? What are you guys doing here?” Her voice was soft and low. Clay decided if he was a kid, he would have trusted her instantly. “Where’s Jordan?”
“He left,” Tony said.
“Why would he leave you here?”
The boy shrugged, trying to be brave and failing miserably. “He looked out the window and said for us to sneak away as soon as he was out of sight. He said to be careful ’cause there was a bad man outside. He said he’d make sure the bad man followed him while we got away and hid in the woods. Then he’d come back and take us home.”
“Bad man?” Clay asked.
“I saw you when I opened the door. I thought you might be the bad man.”
“He’s a deputy, hon,” Sabrina said. “Didn’t you see his uniform?”
Tony’s lower lip trembled, but he managed a manly shrug. “I don’t know. But we weren’t scared or nothin’.”
Sabrina moved forward to gather the little girl in her arms and whisper in her ear.
While Sabrina talked to the children, Clay took in the surroundings. Everything around him shouted meth lab. The smell, the hose through the window, the Pyrex bowls on the stove, the blankets and plastic on the windows. He turned and spoke into his radio. “Got a possible meth lab here. We’re going to need someone to clean it up.”
He wondered who the sheriff would call. Federal law mandated only DEA-certified individuals could dismantle a meth lab. Clay seriously doubted there was anyone qualified in Wrangler’s Corner.
He checked the window again. So Jordan had seen a “bad man” and left to draw him away from the trailer so the little ones could sneak out.
Clay touched her arm. “Come on, Sabrina, get them and let’s go There’s no telling what we’re breathing.”
Sabrina held out her hand to Tony. “Please, come with me, sweetheart.”
Tony reached for her hand and then froze. His eyes widened, and fear flashed across his face.
Clay spun to find himself staring down the barrel of a Winchester .45.
TWO
Sabrina gave a small cry and threw herself in front of the children. Stan Prescott stood in the open door with his rifle leveled at Clay’s head. “Stan, what are you doing?”
“You’re trespassing.”
“And you’re going to jail,” Clay said. “Unless you put that gun away. Last time I checked, shooting at people was a crime.”
Stan snorted. “My whole life is a crime. What are you doing on my property? What are those kids doing here?”
“Why were you shooting at me? Where’s Jordan?” Sabrina asked.
“Shooting at you? I wasn’t shooting at nobody, but I’m a-fixin’ to.”
“Put the gun down,” Clay ordered. His sharp tone bounced off Stan, who kept the weapon level and mostly steady. “Who’s Jordan?”
Sabrina noted the missing teeth, the sores on his face. He and Clay were the same age, she remembered Steven saying, but Stan looked a good twenty years older. She curled her fingers into fists. She sent up silent prayers as Clay held his hands where Stan could see them.
“Why are you even arguing about this, man?” Clay asked. “Where’s Lacey?”
Fury flashed. “She left me. Now, why are you in my home?” Gravel crunched outside under the wheels of the cruisers as the police arrived, completely unaware of what was going on inside the little trailer.
Stan heard it, too, and he flinched, moved inside and shut the door behind him.
Her stomach twisted. What would he do? How would they get past him?
She realized this might very well become a hostage situation. “Stan? The cops are outside. You don’t want any trouble, do you?” She kept her voice low.
Stan swallowed, and the gun wavered.
Clay moved and tackled the man to the trailer floor.
Sabrina wrapped her arms around the children’s shoulders and hurried them to the back bedroom. Away from the possibility of being shot if the gun went off. “Stay here,” she whispered.
A small hand gripped hers. “Don’t leave me,” Maria begged.
Sabrina’s heart slammed against her chest. What to do? Clay might need her help. But Maria had a firm grip, and the terror in her eyes said she wasn’t going to let Sabrina out of her sight.
Sabrina heard the thumps and grunts of the fight going on in the front room. Her eyes jumped from the unmade bed to the end table to the dresser as she fought to figure out what she should do to help Clay. Tony wiggled away from her, and when he did, a small black object dropped to the floor. Her eyes zoomed in on the wallet, and she drew in a deep breath. And coughed. First things first. She knelt. “I’ve got to, for just a minute. I need to help Mr. Clay, okay?”
Tony pulled his sister from Sabrina. “Okay. Go help him.”
Sabrina shot him a grateful look and raced down the short hall to find Clay and Stan locked together, Stan’s fingers wrapped around the rifle, Clay’s grip around Stan’s wrist. Sabrina grabbed the nearest lamp, hefted it and brought it down across the back of Stan’s shoulders.
He gave a harsh cry and went limp. The brief moment was enough for Clay to yank the rifle away. Stan staggered to his feet, lunged for the back door and crashed through it.
Sabrina bolted to the window as Clay scrambled after the man. The officers, caught by surprise, weren’t ready for the wild man who’d burst from the trailer, and soon Stan disappeared into the trees.
Deputies gave chase. Clay stumbled after them but tripped and fell down the steps to land with a thud at the bottom. He turned, his face red, a welt on his cheek, puckered and sore looking. Sabrina met him at the bottom of the back porch steps, which seemed to be in much better condition than the front. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.”
She whirled. “I’m going to get the kids.”
“I’m going after Stan.” He grunted and hauled himself to his feet.
She heard his pounding footsteps as she hurried back into the trailer to find Tony and Maria clutching one another while an officer knelt in front of them. Officer Donnie Kingston. She’d worked with him before.
Maria spotted Sabrina and broke away from her brother to hurl herself into Sabrina’s arms. Stunned, Sabrina hesitated only a fraction of a second before pulling the little girl’s undernourished body up against her.
Donnie turned. “Come on, Sabrina, this place is toxic. We need to get out of here and let the guys with the suits take over.” She knew he meant the team that would come in to clean up the meth lab. Since they came from out of town, it would take them a while to get there. Sabrina reached for Tony’s hand, but he knelt and snagged the wallet on the floor. Donnie sighed with exasperation. “Come on, kid, it
’s dangerous in here. You can’t take that with you. It’s not yours.”
Tony’s jaw jutted. “Is too. Jordan said I’m ’posed to watch over it and make sure nothing happened to it.”
Sabrina coughed. She needed fresh air. She nodded to Donnie, who took a step toward Tony just as the door opened and Clay stepped inside. The welt on his cheek looked as if it hurt. He looked at the foursome. “He got away, but officers are looking for him.” Clay dropped in front of Tony. “Where are your mom and dad?”
Tony shrugged. “Don’t got a dad. My mom’s got a new boyfriend. I think she went with him somewhere.” His lower lip trembled again. “Jordan’s supposed to be taking care of us till she gets back.”
Clay looked at Sabrina. “Where do they live?”
“On the edge of town about two miles from here.”
“You want to try to get in touch with their mom?”
“Sure.” She pulled her phone out. Tony and Maria had been in and out of the system once already.
There was no answer. She hung up and sighed. Then called her boss on her personal line.
Rachel Keys answered. “Hello?”
Sabrina filled her in on the situation and waited for Rachel’s direction. For a moment Rachel was silent. Then she said, “I’ll send someone out to the house. You get the kids to the hospital to get checked out, and I’ll get back to you.”
“Okay, just text me the address where they’ll be staying. Thanks.” She hung up and turned to the children. “Looks like you guys are going with me for a little while tonight. Is that all right?”
Maria smiled. Tony shrugged. It wasn’t the first time he’d spent the night in a strange place. And at least he knew and trusted her. As much as he trusted anybody.
Clay shifted his attention to Tony. “Will you let me piggyback you out of here and get some ice cream?” Sabrina caught the subtle undercurrent of tension running through his words, but she didn’t think Tony noticed. Without waiting for his consent, Clay dropped to his knees on the filthy floor. “Hop on.”
“What about Jordan? What if he comes back? He told us to sneak out. We were going to run home. How will he find us now?”
Clay glanced at Sabrina. She touched the boy’s head. “He knows how to find me, honey. He’ll call me as soon as he can, I’m sure. I’ll tell him where you are.”
“Okay, if you’re sure.”
“I’m sure. I really am.”
He stepped over to Clay. “Fine.” He wrapped his bony arms around Clay’s neck and crawled onto his back. Clay stood, and Sabrina felt relief sweep through her. The faster they got out, the better.
Within seconds, they were outside the trailer. Sabrina pulled in a breath of fresh air and wondered if she’d ever get the smell of the trailer out of her nose.
Other law enforcement continued their search for Stan Prescott. Sabrina hoped they found him soon. She stared at Clay as he talked to one of the other officers. Did he remember her? He was six years her senior and had graduated high school the year she turned twelve. He’d have no reason to remember her.
Although as soon as he’d heard her name, he’d probably remembered the rumors, the gossip, the snickers that had run rampant about her mother and his uncle. It hadn’t mattered to Steven that her mother had left his uncle at the altar almost thirty years ago, but Sabrina knew some people had long memories. How long was Clay’s?
Feeling Maria’s warm body next to hers just brought home the unfairness of it all. And reminded her why she did what she did, took the chances she took. Sabrina’s heart went out to these innocent children.
She walked to her car and opened the back door. Never knowing when she would have to transport a child, she had three different car seats—two in her trunk and one for Maria’s age strapped into the seat. She untangled the child’s arms from around her neck and settled her in the seat. She handed her a stuffed teddy bear. “Would you like a new friend?”
Maria hugged the bear while Tony slid into the seat next to her. Sabrina reached into the bag on the floor in front of Maria’s feet and pulled out another bear and a fire truck. “Tony, would you like a new friend or a toy?”
Clay buckled the child in. Tony looked at the bear and the truck with equal longing. Sabrina moved the bear’s face up close and tapped Tony’s cheek with it as though offering a kiss. The boy smiled and ducked his head.
One grimy hand snagged the bear and tucked him under his chin. Sabrina set the truck next to him and turned to find Clay standing much too close. She couldn’t back up and she didn’t want to look silly scuttling sideways to put some distance between them.
She looked up, and her nose bumped his chin. She saw him swallow and was grateful when he stepped back a pace. “Are you taking them to the hospital?” he asked.
“Yes. I don’t think there’s anything seriously wrong with them that a few good meals and some vitamins won’t fix, but I have to follow protocol.”
Clay shook his head. “I’ll follow you to the hospital.” He ran a hand down his face in a weary gesture.
“You don’t have to. We’ll be fine.”
Something flickered in his eyes as his gaze darted between the children, then back to her. “I want to talk to you about Steven.”
Sabrina didn’t know what he thought she could tell him but didn’t have the energy to argue. “I’m taking them to Wrangler’s General.” It was a smaller hospital located in the center of town, but the staff was efficient. If something turned up and the kids needed more intensive care than she thought, then they would be transferred to a larger hospital in Nashville about an hour away. But she didn’t think that was going to be necessary.
“I’ll meet you there.”
“Wait a minute, I need to show you something.”
“What?” Clay frowned.
“Tony, would you show Clay the wallet Jordan asked you to hold on to for safekeeping?”
Tony narrowed his eyes, then shrugged and dug out the black wallet with the silver duct tape along the folded edge.
Clay gasped. “What?” He moved in for a closer look, then stumbled back without touching the wallet. He snagged his phone and punched in a number. “Yeah, Ned. I need you to get over to the Prescott trailer. Steven’s wallet is here, and I can’t bag it as evidence because of conflict of interest and all that, and I don’t want anyone but you to do it.”
Sabrina lifted a brow even as her heart hurt for him at the pain seeing the wallet brought him. When he hung up, he paced in front of the car while Sabrina explained to Tony that he would have to give the sheriff the wallet when he got here.
Tony didn’t seem agreeable to that idea, but by the time the sheriff arrived ten minutes later, Tony had decided that Jordan would be okay with him giving it to the sheriff since no one could keep it more safe than he.
“Where is it?” Ned asked.
Sabrina nodded to Tony, who handed the wallet over to the sheriff. She gave the child’s shoulder an approving squeeze.
She turned to Ned. “Steven’s bought me enough cups of coffee over the past year that I knew it the moment I saw it. I even joked about getting him a new wallet for Christmas this year.” Tears clogged her throat at the memories. “But he liked that one,” she whispered.
“His wife gave it to him when they got married.” The raw grief in Clay’s voice sliced her heart. Steven had told her about his short marriage. He’d married his high school sweetheart the day after they’d graduated college. Two months later she’d been killed by a drunk driver while biking into town.
Clay cleared his throat and blinked fast. “Stan’s got to know something about Steven’s murder, which means finding him just moved into the number one spot on my priority list.”
Ned squatted in front of Tony. “Son, do you know where your brother got this wallet?”
Tony’s
lips tightened. “He found it in the bedroom when he was on the phone with Ms. Sabrina. He grabbed it and said it didn’t belong there and told me to hold it and make sure nothing happened to it.” Anxiety filled his face. “You won’t lose it, will you?”
Ned patted his head. “No, son, I promise I won’t lose it.”
“Jordan will be mad that I gave it to you.” He bit his lip, and his brows dropped to the bridge of his nose.
Sabrina reached in and squeezed his hand. “No, hon, he’ll be proud that you took care of it long enough to give it to someone who’ll keep it safe.”
Her words seemed to bring him a measure of comfort. He nodded and reached out a small finger to tap the badge on Ned’s chest, then gave one more sharp nod. “Okay, then.”
Clay shook his head. “My mother’s cried buckets over that wallet. When it wasn’t in his things the coroner had, she was inconsolable.”
Sabrina touched his arm. “At least one good thing came out of this.” She slid into the driver’s seat and paused when her cell phone rang. “Hello?”
“Are you okay, Ms. Sabrina?”
“Jordan? Where are you? Why did you run and leave Maria and Tony behind? Why did you have them there in the first place?”
“They followed me. I didn’t know they were there until— It doesn’t matter. I— They said they wanted to play a practical joke on you. They said they’d pay me fifty bucks to call you out to the trailer and to be there waiting on you, but when I was on the phone with you I saw the wallet—”
Sabrina waved Clay over and mouthed, “It’s Jordan.” Back into the phone, she said, “Where are you? Who said they’d pay you?”
“I don’t know, just a voice on the phone. But I saw Steven’s wallet in the trailer and I...I figured Stan killed him. And they wanted you to come out there. They said it was a joke and they just wanted to talk to you, but after I saw the wallet, I didn’t think it was just a joke. I was afraid they’d hurt you. That’s why I told you not to come. I had to leave to make sure the guy followed me so Tony and Maria could get away. Are they okay? Please tell me they’re all right.”
The Lawman Returns Page 2
