High-Risk Reunion

by Margaret Daley

  Michelle blew out a huff of air. “I’ll never go back into that room. I’ll sleep in the living room, kitchen, anywhere but in there. I’d never get any rest otherwise.”

  “Okay, the utility room it is for tonight.” Tory’s troubled gaze met his.

  “We’ll be back in a minute.” Cade let Michelle go first, throwing a glance over his shoulder at Tory as he left.

  Tory collapsed back in the chair, her head down, her shoulders hunched.

  “Michelle, have Uncle Ben go with you,” Cade said and moved back into the living room. He cut the distance to Tory and knelt by her chair. “You aren’t alone anymore, Tory. Michelle doesn’t have to think of me as her father, but I hope she’ll allow me to be in her life as a friend.”

  Peering at him, Tory sighed. “Michelle often doesn’t know what she wants. I can’t blame her about not going into her bedroom. If that had happened in mine, I wouldn’t either.”

  “You have a spare one. Let her use it.”

  “I’m not even sure she’ll want to do that. I’ve been in this house for fifteen years. It has been my home for a long time, but maybe I’ll need to consider moving.”

  “It’s nothing you have to decide right now. Time has a way of changing our perspective.”

  She gave him a half smile. “Yes, I’m beginning to see that. For so long I was mad at you for what happened between us, but now I see that circumstances, some beyond our control, got in the way. We weren’t meant to be together back then.”

  “I’m beginning to think we’ve been given a second chance.” He finally said what he’d been thinking for the past twenty-four hours.

  “Possibly. But we shouldn’t rush into anything. Thankfully what’s going on right now isn’t our usual life. I feel overwhelmed in every area of my life. I can’t make a good decision feeling that way.”

  “Neither can I.” He clasped her hand, relishing the link with her. “We should postpone the discussion of what’s next with our daughter until everything is back to normal.”

  She chuckled. “I’m not sure if we’re both being chicken or brilliant in that conclusion.”

  “I want to believe brilliant.”

  Sounds of Michelle coming into the living room prompted Cade to release Tory’s hand and stand. “What’s brilliant?”

  “Your idea about the blow-up mattress. Did you see the other one in the garage?” Tory rose and started for the hallway.

  “Yes. Do you want Uncle Ben and me to get that one too?”

  At the living room entrance, Tory paused. “Yes. We all might as well camp out in the living room. That’ll leave the couch free for whoever isn’t on guard duty. That person can check on Bella and her puppies. I’m going to get the bedding we’ll need.”

  As Tory disappeared down the hallway, Michelle murmured, “How can she go back there alone?”

  “She won’t be.” Although Tory probably didn’t need any help, Cade strode after her.

  Tory had already set some sheets and blankets on the floor in front of the linen closet. “I can get this.”

  “I know. Michelle was concerned that you were alone back here.”

  “I’ve decided that when this trial is over, I’m going to look for another place to live. Michelle has enough to deal with. The house doesn’t need to be an issue.”

  “I’ll help you anyway I can.” Maybe both Tory and Michelle starting over in a new home would make it easier to be part of Michelle’s life.

  “Since you’re here—” Tory handed him all the blankets “—you can help me with these. I’ll get some pillows.”

  A half an hour later, two mattresses and the couch were made up as beds. Michelle went to see Bella before going to sleep.

  Cade looked at Uncle Ben. He was feeling his age, his movements slower. “I’m taking the first watch.” Cade intended to let his uncle get some extra rest, but he wouldn’t tell him that. Uncle Ben refused to think of himself as getting older. Age was all in a person’s mind. But after watching him, Cade knew it was also in the body.

  As his uncle, Tory and Michelle settled down to sleep, Cade inspected all the windows and doors, then walked into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. Earlier he’d brought in the files to see if anything jumped out at him, but he wasn’t sure how much he’d get done. His body, but worse his mind, was tired.

  After staring at the same sheet of paper for five minutes, he got up and went into the utility room. He needed a distraction, and Bella and her puppies fit the bill. He sat on the floor by the cardboard box. His dog lifted her head and rested it on the top edge.

  “I’ve got a feeling we’re both worn out.” Cade rubbed Bella behind the ears. “You did good, girl. Now if only I can tie up all the loose ends. I certainly can’t take Mederos’s word he didn’t have the judge killed or Officer Sims shot.”

  Cade lounged against the washing machine, stroking Bella. The action, along with observing the three puppies rooting around, relaxed him.

  Until a shout slashed the silence. Get away!

  ELEVEN

  The overhead light flooded the living room with brightness. Tory’s eyes blinked open as she fought—the sheets that encased her.

  Suddenly Cade stood over her. “Are you okay?”

  Tory looked to the right and saw Michelle’s wide gaze on her. When she glanced at Ben on the couch, a confused expression carved deep lines into his face.

  Cade knelt next to her mattress. “Tory, you screamed.”

  She struggled beneath the twisted sheet and finally managed to sit up. “Sorry. Bad dream. I was fighting a dark shadow.”

  “Mom, aren’t we safe here?”

  She wanted to say no, but they were as safe as they could be in El Rio. She didn’t want Michelle to live in fear, and yet she wanted her thinking before reacting like earlier today. “Yes, we’re safe. I’m just overtired, honey.” She waved her hand toward Cade, inches from her. “See. Cade was in here right away. He’s good at his job.”

  “Yeah, I’m here because he does a good job.”

  Tory had never seen Cade blush, but he did when Michelle smiled at him. It looked like she wasn’t mad at him any longer, but Tory wasn’t so sure her daughter wasn’t angry at her. And Tory understood why. Fear made her doubt Cade all those years ago, and she took the easy way out.

  “Okay, y’all. I’m gonna stand guard in a while and I need my beauty sleep.” Ben punched his pillow and settled back on the couch.

  “So do I. I have court tomorrow.” Tory leaned over and hugged Michelle. “Sorry to scare you, honey.”

  As Michelle pulled her covers up over her shoulder, Tory looked at Cade—so close she could bend toward him and kiss him. She wanted to. In his eyes he wanted her to, but she didn’t. She wouldn’t get any sleep if she did. “Good night, Cade.”

  * * *

  Cade closed the door to Paul’s office and sat in the chair in front of the police chief’s desk. “Detective Alexander told me they came up empty. Pedro wasn’t there. Even Kara was gone to a friend’s. Mr. Myers didn’t know who Kara was with so he was probably covering for her. The old man did let them search the ranch. Nothing. No indication Pedro was ever there.”

  “Yup. That about sums it up. And even better, Tomas Jones confirmed that he had to rally Pedro and Leon after a night of drinking at the garage. He left them there the night before about twelve and came back early in the morning to find them passed out on the couch. The time of death for Judge Parks was between five and seven p.m. He was killed not long after he left the courthouse.”

  “Yeah, the evidence at his house fits with that. He came home from work but hadn’t changed yet to go camping. His gear was packed and by the door in the kitchen. I’m not even sure he was in the house long before he was attacked. So if Pedro didn’t kill the judge, then why were his finger
prints on the tailgate of the stolen truck where the judge was killed?”

  “Good question. We have to find him.” Paul sat forward in his desk chair. “Any suggestions who the mole is at the station?”

  “No, but with Jones’s and Blackwell’s testimony, Buck will stand trial for kidnapping and arson. He’s the one that sent the three to take Michelle. Maybe he’ll see the wisdom in giving up the guy for a shorter sentence. A crooked cop feeding info to a gang leader like Mederos needs to go away for a long time. No telling what he has been responsible for.”

  “Do you think it’s the same guy? What if the cop killed the judge for Mederos?”

  “Anything is possible, but I don’t think Judge Parks’s death would have made a difference in how the trial has proceeded. Something else is going on.” If only Cade could figure out what it was because Tory and Michelle were still in danger. What sleep he had gotten last night was riddled with nagging doubts, but nothing he could pinpoint.

  Paul stood. “Maybe we can find Pedro. If Blackwell is right and Mederos’s little brother knows who the mole is, we might find out that way. But right now, I’m going to have another crack at Buck about the police mole.”

  “Do you want me to come?”

  “No, I need Pedro brought in. Find Kara Myers. Talk with Detective Alexander about her whereabouts. He was tracking down her friends.”

  Cade nodded and left Paul’s office right behind him. When he scanned the station, he didn’t see the detective, but Lieutenant Sanders was at his desk. He headed for the man who had originally arrested Mederos.

  “Do you know where Detective Alexander went?”

  “He went to talk to one of Kara Myers’s friends. He said something about going to where she worked at Taylor’s Feed Store.”

  “Thanks. Has he discovered any info about Pedro’s whereabouts?”

  “No, but not from lack of trying. If anyone can, he will. He’s like a pit bull when he gets on a case.”

  “I’ll see if I can track him down.” Cade made his way to his SUV in the back parking lot. As he slid behind the steering wheel, he glanced at the time. He needed to be in the courtroom for Tory by lunchtime. Although there were two guards for her, he didn’t totally trust anyone but himself to protect her.

  His cell phone rang. When he looked at the number, he didn’t recognize it. “Morgan here.”

  Silence greeted him.

  “Who’s there?” he asked.

  He almost disconnected the call when a quavering voice said, “This is Kara Myers. Pedro told me to call you if I needed help.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Safe for now. I know where Pedro was hiding out. He hasn’t contacted me in days. I think he’s in trouble.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because he didn’t meet me last night like he was supposed to. Gramps told me to stay away. He thinks something is wrong. I don’t know what to do.”

  Cade felt the same way. Something was wrong. “Have you gone to Pedro’s hideout?”

  “Yes, once. I’m scared.” Kara’s voice quavered. “Pedro said if anything happened to him, I should call you. You weren’t the mole in the police department.”

  “Where is the hideout?”

  “I can show you if you’ll pick me up. I don’t know where to hide. I need your help.”

  “I’ll protect you. Where are you?”

  After she told him, he put the car into Drive. “I’m coming.”

  As he headed for the vacant house, his phone rang again. This time it was Tory. He asked her, “Are you breaking early for lunch?”

  “Things moved faster this morning than I thought. Sam White and I gave our closing statements a while ago. Now the jury is deliberating the verdict. I don’t know how long this will be. I can have the guards escort me to my office if you want. I should be safe there.”

  “No, I’ll pick you up. I’ve got a break concerning Pedro. Kara Myers knows where he is.”

  * * *

  “I’m going with you. No way am I sitting this out,” Tory said as Cade climbed behind the wheel and started the SUV.

  “I don’t want you involved.”

  “Involved? I’d say I’m smack dab in the middle of all of this. I want to know who the mole is. There have been several gang members’ cases falling apart unexpectedly. Probably because of the mole.”

  “You need to do exactly what I say. Agree?”

  “Yes. Believe me I don’t want to be in danger, but I need answers.”

  Cade didn’t reply to her remark but instead kept his focus on the road before him. His hands were gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were white. He didn’t understand. She’d rather be with him than at home wondering what was happening. Too many deaths. Too many unexpected outcomes.

  On the outskirts of El Rio, he drove down a street with houses that had weathered hard times. “What if the verdict comes back soon?”

  “Then either I’ll have to be dropped off at the courthouse or my assistant DA will have to stand in for me. The verdict will be what it is. My presence won’t change it. We need to finish this.”

  “We? I wouldn’t be bringing you if I thought you would sit by quietly and let me meet Kara alone. I wouldn’t put it past you to follow me in your car.”

  She smiled. The thought had crossed her mind. Her Chevy was sitting in her garage where it had been delivered after the mechanic fixed the cut brake line. “Maybe. I like to keep you on your toes.”

  He chuckled. “If I didn’t think you were safe sitting in this armored SUV, I would drag you to the police station and have Paul guard you.”

  Cade drove into the driveway of a small white clapboard house and pulled around back where he parked. “Stay put. I should only be a minute. Kara is coming with us after I check for weapons. She’s going to take us to Pedro’s hideout.”

  “Always the suspicious cop.”

  “Yes. Part of my job.”

  While he was gone, Tory phoned her secretary to have her call Tory’s cell number if a verdict was reached before she returned to the courthouse. By the time she finished her brief exchange with Rachel, Cade hurried out of the house with a petite young redhead. She appeared as if she were no more than eighteen or nineteen. As she neared, Tory glimpsed the fear in her expression, her gaze darting all around. When she slipped into the backseat, she lowered her head and her long hair fell forward, blocking part of her face.

  “I’m Tory Carson. I’m glad you’re going to help us.”

  “He told me you were the DA.” Kara’s eyes remained down.

  “Yes. We’re working on this case together.” While Cade settled behind the steering wheel, Tory asked, “Where’s Pedro?”

  “In an abandoned warehouse this side of San Antonio,” Cade answered for Kara. “We should be there in half an hour. She won’t tell me more until we are out of El Rio and we aren’t being followed.”

  “I like your caution.” When Kara met her gaze, Tory smiled at her.

  “I’m afraid Pedro is dead.” The young woman’s hands trembled. She clasped them together.

  Tory tried to get Kara to talk and relax, but as Tory talked the scarier Pedro’s girlfriend became. Finally Tory stopped, but kept her body turned so she could observe Kara. After all, she was dating a member of a biker gang. What if this was a setup?

  * * *

  Cade circled the small warehouse and found a door unlocked. As he entered the dimly lit premise, he pulled his gun from his holster. The farther he moved away from the entrance a rotten scent assaulted his senses. Something died in here. He hoped it was a rodent, but as the smell grew more nauseating, it didn’t bode well for Pedro or someone else.

  A door ajar at the back of the warehouse drew him. He checked every nook and crevice as he crept closer. T
he repugnant odor seeping into every orifice roiled his gut. When he stepped into the room, his gaze zeroed in on the male hanging by his arms from the rafter, tortured and almost unrecognizable. The black blood-matted hair fit Pedro’s color and the build was the same, but otherwise he couldn’t tell if it was him.

  He approached the dead body and circled it. Its wallet stuck out of its back jean pocket. After easing it out, he flipped it open and found Pedro Mederos’s driver’s license, along with hundreds of dollars. It wasn’t robbery, but then the state he was left indicated his assailant wanted something else from him. What? Blackwell thought that Pedro knew who the police mole was. Did someone else want that name too? Or was this the work of the traitor?

  Cade took out his cell phone and snapped pictures of Pedro and the surrounding room. Anything odd he took a photograph, from a toothpick on the floor not far from the body to an old, bloody rag at the door. Then he placed a call to the San Antonio Police Department and the Texas Rangers headquarters in town.

  He left the warehouse, dreading the next thing he needed to do. Tell Kara Pedro was dead. Instead of sliding behind the steering wheel, Cade sat in the backseat and twisted to face Kara.

  Before he could say anything, the redhead said, “Pedro’s dead.”

  “Yes, I’ve notified the police. We need to stay until they arrive. I have another Texas Ranger coming out to work the case with the SAPD. He’ll keep me informed of the case.”

  “How—how...” Kara’s voice choked. Tears flooded her eyes, and she looked down.

  “He was shot.” But he wouldn’t tell her multiple times. She didn’t need that to deal with on top of losing her boyfriend.

  Kara buried her face in her hands and cried. Cade wasn’t sure what to do. He glanced at Tory.

  “Let me sit back there.”

  Her offer sent relief through him. He always felt awkward comforting a victim’s loved one he didn’t know. He mouthed the words, “Thank you.”

  By the time Tory had slipped into the backseat and embraced Kara, two squad cars drove into the parking lot and stopped next to the SUV.