by Rebecca Deel
“I noticed a broken lock pick in the door knob. That plus the dead bolt slowed him down enough for me to arrive in time before he reached them. It’s good Del couldn’t sleep. Otherwise she and Ivy would be dead.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“Are you sure your parents won’t mind?” Del asked. “I hate to inconvenience them.”
Josh turned into the driveway of his childhood home. “I called and cleared it. Mom loves company. She says the house is too quiet now that we’re gone. We drop in all the time and when I’m tired of my own company, I stay a few nights, especially when Dad’s out of town. Mom doesn’t sleep well when he’s gone.”
Maybe she could do something to repay their kindness. “Do your parents read much?”
The SUV cruised to a stop. “Mom loves to read mushy stuff.”
“Woman after my own heart,” Ivy said from the backseat.
Josh grinned. “She carries her Kindle everywhere, but she also loves paperbacks. No hardbacks, says they’re too heavy. Dad reads a lot of history. Why?”
“I’d like to repay them for opening their home on short notice. I have books in mind they might like.”
“They’ll appreciate it, but don’t feel obligated. Really, sweetheart, they don’t mind.” He nodded toward the open back door, light spilling onto the deck. “Mom’s waiting for us.”
“It’s 4 o’clock! She should be sleeping.”
“Go on inside.” Josh threw open the driver’s door. “I’ll grab our gear and be right behind you.”
As Del and Ivy climbed the deck steps, Liz Cahill opened the screen door and waved them inside.
“Come in.” She smiled. “I’m glad Josh brought you to us.” Liz’s gaze searched Del’s face. “Are you all right, honey? Josh told me what you’ve been through. I am so sorry.”
Tears burned her eyes. “Thanks,” she choked out. A tear slipped down her face which she brushed away. She couldn’t break down now. Josh would come in the door any second. She didn’t want him to think she was a wimp.
A second later, soft arms enfolded her. “It’s going to be okay, Del. Josh and my sons-in-law will catch this man.”
Del heard the screen door open behind her. Footsteps drew near.
“Everything okay, Mom?”
“We’re fine, love. Del’s in Serena’s room. Madison’s room is ready for Ivy.”
“Dad up?”
“He just finished his shower. He said for you to go up as soon as you arrived.”
Del drew back as Josh’s footsteps faded into the interior of the house. At least she didn’t have to explain tears to the tough cop. Nothing seemed to phase him. Then again, she didn’t know him well, something she would love to remedy. Maybe that kiss signaled a change in their relationship. Probably wishful thinking, though.
Liz turned to Ivy. “Your turn, Ivy.” She hugged Del’s cousin close for a minute. “Now,” she said as she eased back, “what would you girls like to do? Sleep or watch the sun rise? We can sit on the deck and listen to the birds as the world awakens.”
“You don’t have to entertain us,” Ivy said. “Go back to bed.”
Liz grinned. “I can’t. My husband is leaving for Nashville in an hour. I was already awake when Josh called.”
“Are you fixing breakfast for him?” Del asked. She and Ivy could help with that. She wasn’t a chef like Serena but she could find her way around the kitchen.
“Would you girls like to help make a batch of waffles.”
“Absolutely,” Ivy said. “As long as coffee will be ready soon, I’m game.”
“Me, too,” Del added. “Would your husband like an omelet, too?”
“He might.” A smile crossed her lips. “Josh would appreciate your efforts. My son can put away food. Actually, all the men in our blossoming clan are hearty eaters.”
“Must be nice,” Ivy groused. “If I ate like that all the time, I’d wear every pound on my hips.”
Del’s gaze snapped to her cousin’s face. She hated that haunted look in Ivy’s eyes, her self-esteem in the basement. What would turn that around for her? “Open your eyes, Ivy. You need to gain a few pounds. Men like something to hold onto, don’t they, Mrs. Cahill?”
“Please, call me Liz. Men like hugging a woman bigger than a twig. Let’s start on breakfast, ladies. Ivy, the coffee’s in that ceramic container. Del, search the refrigerator for omelet ingredients. I’ll work on the waffles. We might have twenty minutes before Aaron and Josh are ready to eat.”
“Dad?”
“In here, son.” Aaron Cahill poked his head out of the bathroom, shaving cream covering half of his face. He glanced at the bedside clock. “You made good time.”
“Sparse traffic this time of morning.”
“That’s why I leave this early when I attend banker meetings in Nashville. Traffic is gridlocked from seven o’clock on in that city.”
Several of his friends worked for Fortress Security, based in Nashville. Those guys did some serious black ops work, something Josh missed. Though Fortress had offered him and his Delta unit jobs, he hesitated to start that part of his life again. He still had some hard things to work through. He also didn’t want to leave his family. He’d spent long years away from them. When he was released from the Army, he realized his parents were aging. After so many years away, he wanted to spend time with them, offer help when they needed it. The truth was he missed them while he’d been deployed all over the globe.
“How are Del and Ivy?”
“I thought they were holding up okay, but when I came into the kitchen Mom was holding Del. She was crying.” It ripped at his heart out to see her tears. He wanted to be the one Del turned to when she needed comfort. Stunning and scary thought.
His dad froze. “Your mother was crying?” He grabbed a hand towel, ready to wipe shaving cream from his face. His father hated when his mother cried. No doubt he planned to charge downstairs and fix whatever was wrong, no matter what it took.
“Del was crying.”
His father’s tension eased away. “Ah. All the stress?”
“She seemed okay earlier.”
“Hits them like that sometimes. Liz has a knack for drilling down to the emotions pretty fast. Also, Del doesn’t have her mother close by. Your mom’s a good substitute mother.” Aaron eyed him. “What do I need to know, Josh?”
His father didn’t miss a trick. Josh checked that the door was latched shut and moved two steps closer to his father. “The man after Del and Ivy is a professional, Dad. He’s dangerous. Maybe former military.”
Aaron straightened and swiped off the remaining streaks of shaving cream. “You saw him?”
“From a distance. Dude’s fast, moves like special ops.”
“I don’t want your mother alone at night.”
Just what Josh was thinking too. “How long will you be gone?”
“Three days. Do I need someone to cover this trip? I’m sure Dave would go. He’s ambitious, pushing hard for his own bank pretty soon. It’d be good for him.”
“You need to go this time, Dad. You said this meeting concerns coming changes in banking regulations. I’m off duty for the next three days. If I can’t be here at night for some reason, I’ll have Ethan, Nick or Rod stay. If we catch him, there won’t be any danger to Mom or the girls.”
“If anything happens or something changes, I want to know immediately. Nothing is more important to me than Liz’s safety.”
“I’ll watch over her. You have my word.”
Minutes later, he and his father joined the women downstairs in the dining room. “Breakfast smells amazing, Mom. Waffles and omelets? I’ll have to add another mile to my run.”
Liz smiled. “Another pound or two on your frame won’t hurt. You haven’t regained the weight you lost after your leg injury.”
Josh snorted. “Between you and Serena, I’m not going hungry. She keeps a closer eye on my calorie intake than I do. I’m exactly where I need to be.”
“If you say so, l
ove. Try one of the omelets. Del made them.”
“Is that right?” Josh selected one, slid it onto his plate and passed the serving platter to his father. “Omelets are a weakness of mine.”
A knock sounded at the back door followed by footsteps in the kitchen. Ethan strode into the dining room. “Morning, folks.” He bent and kissed Liz on the cheek and shared a handshake with his father-in-law. “Heard you had some excitement overnight, Del.”
“I’ve reached my quota of bizarre happenings this week.”
“Did you rest after Rod turned you loose?”
“We didn’t try,” Ivy said. “Since we were too keyed up, we helped Liz fix breakfast.”
“Have you eaten, Ethan?” Liz asked. “We have plenty.”
“I planned to pick up something. Serena had to be at the grocery store as soon as the doors opened.”
Knowing his brother-in-law had an ulterior motive for dropping in, Josh steadily plowed through his meal. If he had information Josh could act on, he might miss a few of those meals his mother was so worried about.
“You’re already here. Might as well eat before your day spins out of control.” Aaron waved Ethan to a chair beside him and went to the kitchen for another plate and utensils. “How about some coffee, son? It’s the Home Runs blend.”
“No better coffee than that.” Plate filled, Ethan set to work on his food. “Del, Rod gave me a run down of what happened last night. You up to telling me what happened in detail?”
“I don’t have much to share.”
“Go through it anyway. Sometimes witnesses remember things when a little distance separates them from the actual event. Shock dulls memories and you and Ivy have had more than your share of upsetting events since yesterday afternoon.”
As Del rehashed the events, Josh watched her face and body movements while finishing the last of the omelet. He’d never eaten a pizza omelet before, but it was amazing. The closer she approached the point in her story where she called him, Del’s coloring paled and her breathing grew more shallow. She was more upset about the break-in than she was letting on.
Josh hated the necessity for her to retell the story over and over, but Ethan was right. Details came back to crime victims with a little distance from the event. Too far from the event, details would fade.
He noted her full plate. She hadn’t managed more than a bite or two of the waffle and that many of the omelet. Frowning, he nudged her plate closer. “Your body needs fuel though stress masks hunger. You need to eat, Del.” Josh glanced at Ivy’s plate. “You, too, Ivy. You don’t eat enough to feed a bird.”
“I’m just not hungry,” Del whispered.
“Try, baby,” he murmured. With a pointed look at Ethan to knock off the questions for now, he went into the kitchen and dug around in the cabinets for his mother’s tea stash. He dumped a mint chamomile tea bag in a mug of water, slid it into the microwave, and nuked it. When the appliance finished, he grabbed a spoon, a packet of natural sweetener and carried them back to the table. He placed the mug in front of Del. “Serena swears by this stuff. Says its the only thing that settles her stomach.”
“She ought to know.” Ethan grinned.
“How’s my baby girl this morning?” Aaron asked.
Ethan’s face lit. “She’s great. Busy with Home Runs. Serena added a new family to her cooking rotation last week so she’s scrambling to fit all the cooking in for the week.”
At the look on his face, an invisible band tightened around Josh’s heart. Quite simply, Ethan adored Josh’s sister. He’d felt the same way once about a woman while he was still in the Army. Josh had thought Emily was the love of his life. Turned out he was wrong.
His gaze drifted to Del, and he wondered.
Ethan turned his questions to Ivy. “You and Del didn’t see the man who broke in. Did you notice anything about the footsteps?”
“Like?”
“Was the rhythm of his steps even?”
Josh’s attention shifted to Ethan. “Did you pick up his tracks?”
“Left shoe impression is deeper than the right.”
“An injured right leg?”
“That’s my guess. Not sure if he sustained an injury during his escape this morning or if the injury is older.”
Josh scowled. “He didn’t limp when he rabbited this morning. I couldn’t catch him. I’d hate to see how fast he is without the injury.”
“He slowed about three hundred yards after you turned back. That’s when the injury showed in his tracks.”
“Hope he hurt himself when he dived out the window at Del’s.”
After Ethan finished the last of his waffle, he inclined his head at Josh. “Got a minute?”
“Sure.” He followed his brother-in-law outside to the deck. “What’s up?”
“Got word the feds will descend on us late this afternoon. Our least favorite fed is leading the charge.”
Josh groaned. “Craig Jordan?”
“Afraid so.” Ethan’s sharp gaze studied Josh’s face. “U.S. marshals are making noise about taking Del and Ivy into custody as material witnesses.”
He rubbed the nape of his neck. “Del isn’t going to like that.”
“Won’t stop the feds. Any op Jordan has his hand in never turns out quite like he plans. Del and Ivy might need an escape hatch.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Thought you might.”
“You want in the loop?”
“Not until the plans are in place. Right now, I need deniability.” He grinned. “Later, all bets are off.”
“Roger that.” He’d begun planning for such a contingency after answering Del’s original call at the Reece place. Josh was well acquainted with the snafus that occurred any time Washington political cronies involved themselves in military or law enforcement affairs. “I might need some time off if Jordan or his marshal buddies screw this up.”
“More like when, not if. I’ll make sure your shift is covered. If I can’t get someone else to run patrol, I’ll do it myself.”
Josh’s eyebrows shot up. “Serena okay with that?”
Ethan shrugged. “Part of the job description. If she can’t sleep, she’ll go on patrol and sleep in the SUV. She’s done it before. Listen, Josh, if this goes bad, you’ll need help. Most of Otter Creek’s officers aren’t trained to deal with this kind of threat. I can help and I’d trust Rod and Nick at my back any time, any place.”
“Somebody has to run the department.” He glanced over his mother’s flowers and shrubs. “I have some people in mind.”
“When your plan’s in place, I want verbal reports. Nothing on paper that the feds might trace. For Del and Ivy’s sake, I hope we don’t need the extra precaution. But their lives may depend on those contingency plans. Keep your head in the game. Distractions could kill you or the lady.”
If Josh’s assessment of the killer was accurate, all of them would be lucky to escape from this conflict unscathed.
CHAPTER SIX
“Remember the rules, Del?”
Del scowled at Josh as he turned off the SUV’s engine. “Don’t leave the store unless I tell you or one of your brothers-in-law so I have a bodyguard. You will bring lunch. And above all, do not answer Megan’s questions for the newspaper. You went over those rules a dozen times in the last hour. And by the way, Joshua Cahill, I don’t want fifteen minutes of fame based on Judge Reece’s death or an inept burglar.”
Ivy leaned over the backseat. “I’m going in. Looks like Madison opened the store.” With that, she threw open her door, grabbed her purse, and scurried inside Otter Creek Books.
Tension ratcheted up a couple notches in the silence as Del fumed. Normally, she wasn’t bad tempered. Lack of sleep plus one crisis after another added up to a major case of grumpiness.
“Look at me, sweetheart.”
Josh’s quiet voice sent regret zinging through her. “Sorry,” she murmured. “I know it’s not your fault.”
He cupped her chin
and turned her face toward him. “Yeah, it is. I’m handling this situation like I would an op with my men. We planned missions, practiced, then ran them in our heads repeatedly until when the time came to execute, it was automatic. Things still went wrong, but we anticipated most contingencies. I want to keep you safe. This is the only way I know to accomplish that task.”
“I want out of this padded cage and I want my life back.”
“We’ll get there. Humor me. I have errands to run, but I’ll return by noon with lunch. Any requests?”
“Nothing heavy.”
“I know what to bring for you both, then.” He smiled. “Better go inside. Ivy’s watching me pretty close through the window.”
Del crossed the sidewalk into her store. A couple steps inside the doorway, and the knot in her stomach began unraveling. The scent of books always did that for her. Reminded her of summer vacations when she lost herself in a great mystery. Like Ruth Rollins, she loved tracking murderers through the pages of a story. Hunting killers in real life was another thing altogether. Fictional criminals couldn’t kill you. The one who cut short John Reece’s life was all too real, though not a glimpse of him anywhere. Almost like a ghost.
“Iron out your differences?” Ivy asked.
“My fault.” Del skirted the counter and headed for the office, her cousin on her heels. She threw her purse into a drawer. “I don’t remember ever feeling so out of control. My emotions swing from contentment to anger with a glance. Josh will think I’m nuts.”
Ivy dropped into the chair in front of Del’s desk. “From what you said about his family, they’ve been through the wringer with all the sisters and their husbands.”
“The path of love for the sisters was rocky. Ask Madison to tell you her story.” She smiled. “It’s your kind of book.”
“I might do that.”
Del glanced at her watch. “Won’t be long before the Christie women show up.” Knowing them, they wouldn’t wait until the official starting time before they arrived and began the questions. She had a feeling Ruth Rollins would be the first one through the door, hot on the trail of a plot for a new book.
