Danger on the Mountain

by Lynette Eason

  And yet strong. Just like her mother.

  Belle tried to roll off the table and Reese held her, keeping her in place. Keeping her safe. “Can’t do that darling,” he said. “You’d land on the floor and that would hurt.”

  He shuddered at the thought of her being hurt. By accident or by someone who didn’t believe life was a precious gift and was willing to snatch it away. He fastened the first tab on the diaper, pulled her other leg down and managed to close the diaper and fasten the second tab. “Practicing on dolls doesn’t compare to the actual experience. Dolls don’t wriggle. You were a tough customer, sweetheart.”

  He leaned over the baby and stared her in the eye, face to face, nose to nose. Belle went still as a rock, looking at him as if she wondered if he’d done everything right and if she dared move. He gave a low laugh, his heart light for the first time since he’d seen Maggie and Belle in the bank. “You’re awfully cute.”

  As though she understood, Belle grinned, her brown eyes sparkling. Reese decided at that moment he’d never get his heart back.

  * * *

  Tears flooded Maggie’s eyes. Without a moment’s hesitation, she snatched the camera she’d left on Belle’s small table by the door and snapped a picture.

  Still resting on his forearms, Reese looked over his shoulder and smiled. “What? You checking up on me? You think I need some help corralling a mere fifteen pounds of baby?”

  His teasing words chased the tears away, and she shrugged, “Maybe.” Reese straightened and pulled Belle into his arms. To Maggie’s surprise, the baby seemed happy to be there. And Reese seemed fine having her there. “She’s nine months old today.”

  He lifted a brow. “I’m guessing time goes fast.”

  Maggie nodded. “Very.”

  Belle kicked her legs and caught Reese in the stomach. He grunted. “I think she’s going to be a soccer player.”

  “You would have been a great dad,” Maggie whispered the words.

  Reese stilled. Then a huge sigh filtered from him and he dropped his head. Maggie wished she could snatch the words back. Then he lifted his head, a sad smile on his face. “I sure would have done my best.”

  Relieved that her words hadn’t plunged him into the depths of sadness, Maggie nodded toward the den. “While Shannon is gone, you want to have that conversation?”

  “Sure.” He handed Belle to her and she started down the hall to the den.

  * * *

  Reese rubbed his head and said. “Hey, do you mind if I help myself to a couple of those aspirin I saw in your medicine cabinet?”

  She turned back to face him. Concern immediately clouded her eyes. “Of course I don’t mind. I’ll get them for you.”

  “I can get them.” He smiled and headed to her bedroom. Once inside her bathroom, he opened the medicine cabinet and saw the bottle of aspirin sitting on the shelf to the side. He helped himself to two, almost took them, then stopped. They didn’t look right. Small round yellow tablets. He frowned and put the bottle back. Carrying the pills, he walked into the kitchen to find Maggie preparing a bottle for Belle. “Hey, these were in your aspirin bottle, but I don’t think they’re aspirin.”

  Her brows pulled together in a frown as she studied the little yellow pills. “I’ve never seen those before. They must belong to Shannon.”

  Still frowning, he said, “I’ll put them back. Just be careful when you go to get some aspirin.”

  “Okay.”

  Reese put the bottle back where he found it and returned to the kitchen to find Maggie standing there with a glass of tea and two little white pills. “I had these in my purse. I know for a fact that these are aspirin.”

  He smiled his thanks and downed the two pills.

  The door opened and shut and Reese saw Shannon stomp into the foyer. She paused when she saw him, turned on her heel and started down the hall.

  Maggie lifted a brow in his direction and went after her sister-in-law. Keeping her voice low so she wouldn’t wake up Belle, he heard her ask, “Shannon? What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. Just...nothing.”

  “Something is,” he heard Maggie insist.

  “My plans...changed.” A thud sounded and he imagined her tossing a shoe. “I sat there and waited and waited and he stood me up. Not even a stinking phone call.” He heard the woman blow out a disgusted sigh followed by another thud. “I’m just upset that I can’t do anything about it. Don’t worry about it, I’ll get over it.”

  “I’m sorry. There’s some food in the fridge. There was plenty, and we couldn’t eat it all.”

  “Thanks. I’m going to go change first.”

  Maggie returned to the den where Reese now sat on the couch. She took the bottle of juice she’d carried with her from the kitchen and set it on the end table, then perched on the edge of the recliner, her eyes serious, face thoughtful as she tapped one foot against the floor. Belle sat in the exersaucer, bouncing and slapping at the various toys attached to the device.

  Reese watched Maggie’s restlessness with compassion. He hated making her relive what he could tell were some pretty awful days. He seated himself on the couch. “Tell me about Kent’s job, his habits, who he hung around with.”

  “Why?”

  “Because someone’s after you. It may be related to the bank robbery—or it may be something else.”

  She lifted a brow. “You think whoever killed him would wait six months to come after me? What would be the purpose of that?”

  “I don’t know.” He stood and walked over to place his hands on her shoulders. “I’m just saying we need to consider everything. I don’t want to be blindsided, surprised because I ignored my gut. Sometimes what seems obvious...”

  “...isn’t?”

  “Yes. Exactly.”

  Maggie bit her lip. “His and Shannon’s parents didn’t like me. They made no effort to be even halfway civil to me. They had in mind the girl they wanted him to marry. But for some reason, he wasn’t interested.” She snorted. “Well, I know now why he wasn’t interested. He knew he couldn’t browbeat her—” She chopped her sentence off and looked away.

  Reese felt his gut clench and hastened to reassure her. “You were vulnerable, Maggie. Kent saw that and used it to his advantage. It’s not your fault.”

  She blinked away the tears and nodded. “I know that now.” A sniff and a sigh and she had herself back under control. “So anyway, he was home a lot at first after we were married, but then I guess I started to bore him and he...um, found other ways to alleviate the boredom.”

  “He had a girlfriend?”

  “Girlfriends,” she whispered.

  Reese clenched a fist and wished he could plant it in the dead man’s face. “How did he die?”

  “A hit-and-run car accident.”

  “Only it wasn’t an accident.”

  She blinked. “No. There was a witness, a homeless man who said he saw a man arguing with someone. He said the person Kent was arguing with stayed inside the car, so he couldn’t see the person. But then Kent slammed a fist on the hood of the car. He shouted something like ‘That’s final. That’s the way it’s going to be, get over it.’ And then started to walk away. The car with the other person accelerated and slammed into him. Kent died instantly. The car never stopped after it hit him.”

  Reese rubbed his eyes. “I’m sorry, Maggie.”

  “I don’t know who could have done that. One of the women he strung along. An irate husband or boyfriend. Someone he punched out in a bar.” She shrugged and shook her head. “It could have been any of a hundred people, Reese. There’s just no way to tell.”

  “I don’t suppose your homeless guy got a license plate?”

  She gave a humorless laugh. “No. He just said it was a green car.”

  Reese frowned. “Sounds like a crime of passion, of opportunity.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, it doesn’t sound planned, premeditated. Like Kent was supposed to meet with the person in the ot
her car, they had an argument and the person didn’t like what he had to say and acted in a fit of anger or rage.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Or not.” He shrugged. “It’s all speculation, but I’m really wondering if all this doesn’t have something to do with his murder.”

  “Why are you going through all this? Why don’t you just let Kent rest in peace?” Shannon spoke from the door, her tone low, voice tight.

  Maggie jerked her gaze to her sister-in-law. “Because if Reese is right, connecting Kent to the events going on around me will help us figure out exactly why someone is out to get me.”

  Shannon sniffed then reached up to rub her eyes. “Are you listening to yourselves? How in the world could Kent’s death be linked to what’s going on with you?”

  Maggie shook her head and looked at Reese. “I don’t know. Her question is a good one. How could Kent’s death six months ago have anything to do with a bank robbery gone wrong?”

  He stood. “I have no idea, but I’m going to find out.”

  * * *

  The next morning, Reese sat at his desk working on the paperwork that comes with a shooting. It was being investigated even as he typed.

  Eli opened the glass door and a gust of cold air blew in with him. “Hey, guys, let’s have a little powwow in the conference room.”

  Reese lifted a brow at Cal and his friend shrugged. They followed Eli, with Jason bringing up the rear. Mitchell was the deputy assigned to Maggie’s house this morning. He’d just called to say Maggie’s broken window was fixed and all was well.

  Once inside the conference room, Eli shut the door. “Have a seat.” He slapped a file folder on the table in front of him. “Well, we’ve got them all.”

  Reese felt satisfaction run through him for a brief moment, but that satisfaction quickly turned to concern. Yes, they’d captured all three robbers. But they didn’t have the boss. “When do we get to question Patterson?”

  “He’s at the hospital now. I tried talking to him last night, but he was drugged up and out of it. He’s got a nasty infection from your first gunshot wound. Asheville P.D. has a guard on his door. We’ll be making a little visit to the hospital shortly.”

  Reese stood. “I’m going to call Maggie.” He stepped outside the conference room and dialed her number.

  She answered on the third ring. “Hello?”

  “Good morning, pretty lady.”

  A low laugh reached him. “You sound awfully cheerful this morning.”

  “Maybe that’s because we’re getting ready to go over to the hospital to question Patterson.”

  For a moment, silence filled the line. Then she said, “What about the boss he mentioned? Have you found out anything about him?”

  “Not yet, but I’ve got some ideas I plan to work with as soon I get back to the office. Eli’s still going to keep someone on your house. Right now it’s White. He was real apologetic for taking this assignment lightly.”

  “He was?”

  “Yeah. He caught me this morning. He apologized several times and promised he’d be vigilant in watching out for you. I believe him.”

  “Okay, thanks...” She seemed at a loss for words.

  “But don’t drop your guard yet, Maggie. I don’t think Patterson was all hot air when he was saying it’s not all over yet.”

  “I won’t.” She paused. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thanks for everything.”

  His throat tightened and he cleared it. “You’re welcome.” He hung up and pressed the phone into his forehead while he replayed Patterson’s parting comments.

  He had a lot of thinking to do.

  But first, he wanted to get over to the hospital and talk to the man he’d shot. Because while it was good news that all three robbers were now in custody, Reese couldn’t shake the feeling that he was missing something important. Something he needed to put together before someone else got hurt. Or killed.

  FOURTEEN

  Maggie looked up to see Reese and Eli walking toward the nurses’ station. When Reese’s eyes landed on her, he couldn’t hide his surprise. She shrugged at the unasked question on his face. “I wanted to be here. I want to hear what he has to say.”

  He looked over her shoulder.

  “Jason brought me, but don’t be mad at him. I told him I was coming with or without him.”

  “Maggie—”

  “Reese, don’t try to talk me out of it. If you’ll leave the door open a crack, I can just listen in.” She swallowed hard. “That bullet in the bank came real close to my head. The bullets he fired tore up my house and could have killed my daughter. Or you. Or Shannon. He bombed your house partly because of me. I think I have a right to hear him talk.”

  The men exchanged a look and Reese said, “It’s fine with me. If I were in her shoes, I’d be doing the same thing.”

  Reese blew out a sigh and said to her, “All right. By the door. But you don’t say a word, okay?”

  She nodded. “Thank you.” Maggie followed the men to the prisoner’s room. Reese reached up to squeeze her arm and then the two officers entered the room, leaving the door slightly ajar so she could listen in.

  “How you feeling, Patterson?”

  The man uttered a crude phrase, and Maggie flinched. He was never going to talk. Despair hit her. She wanted to be safe. She wanted to be free to take Belle for a walk down the street without wondering if someone would try to kill her. She wanted—

  Reese was speaking again. “You know this would all go easier for you if you’d just tell us the story. Who’s the boss you were talking about?”

  Maggie inched her head to the right so she could see into the room. She could make out Patterson’s feet at the foot of the bed. She could see Reese clearly as he faced the door. Eli had his back to her, but she could see his head and the right part of his body. And if she looked a little to the left, she could see the whole room in the mirror on the far wall. Doug Patterson looked rough. His cheeks were still flushed and he looked like a very sick man.

  “No boss. It must have been the fever talking. I don’t have a boss.” He leaned his head back against the bed and closed his eyes. His throat worked.

  Silence as she saw Reese lift his eyes to Eli. There must have been some kind of silent cop communication because Reese dropped his head and nodded. “Right. No boss.”

  “So...” Eli took a deep breath “...guess we’ll just send you up to Marion Correctional Institute.”

  “Whatever.”

  “And let it be known that the three of you were trying to kill a baby,” Reese stated, his voice low. Lethal.

  “What?” Doug’s eyes popped open and he stared at the men at the foot of his bed. “No way. Wasn’t trying to kill a baby. Are you crazy?” The man protested long and loud. Reese simply stood there. Then shrugged.

  “So you say. I don’t know that. Do you know that for sure, Eli?”

  Eli shook his head. “Nope. Those bullets came awfully close to that baby.”

  Maggie heard Eli’s phone ring over Patterson’s protests. Eli pulled it out of his pocket with his right hand and spoke into his phone. “Brody here.” He listened as Reese and the prisoner fell quiet. Then Eli let out a short laugh. “Really? They did? Sang like canaries, huh? Thanks for the update.”

  He hung up and looked at Reese. “We don’t need this guy. Station says the two down there are seeing which one can talk the fastest.”

  “Right,” Patterson sneered. “Like I’m going to fall for that.”

  Eli simply lifted a brow. “So the three of you never met at your father’s ranch to work out the deal?”

  Uncertainty flared. “No.”

  “Right. And Compton also said you’re the ringleader who was going to deposit ten grand in his account so he could party it up in Mexico.”

  Full-blown panic crossed his face. “How do you know all that?”

  Eli snickered. “Looks like you’re going to come up with the short end of the draw.” He motioned to Reese. “Let’s g
o.”

  The men started toward the door and Maggie pulled back.

  “No!” Patterson hollered. “Wait! I want a deal. I...I’m not taking the fall for this!”

  A slow smile crossed Reese’s lips. And he and Eli exchanged smug grins before they wiped them off and turned back to the man in the bed.

  Reese shook his head. “I don’t know. What do you think you can offer that these guys can’t?”

  “I was the main contact. I was contacted first and never said anything to those guys about the fact that the robbery was a cover-up.”

  Maggie saw Reese go still. “A cover-up for what?”

  The right foot under the sheet shifted, a restless move that said the prisoner didn’t want to say another word. “What kind of deal are you offering?”

  Eli shrugged. “I don’t know yet. Depends on who offers us the best information.”

  The man groaned. Then finally said, “We were supposed to grab the woman with the baby.”

  Maggie’s lungs deflated. The hallway darkened for a brief moment before she inhaled enough air to keep herself conscious.

  She forced herself not to run screaming down the hall and kept her eyes trained on Reese, whose relaxed posture had disappeared. Tension radiated from him as his hands curled into fists at his side. “Why?”

  The low word sent shivers down her spine. She could see the steel in his eyes from where she stood.

  “I don’t know why. We were just told to watch her then grab her and the kid. While we were watching, we noticed she went to the bank once a week. So we came up with the plan. The money from the bank was a bonus. But we had to make it look like a hostage situation.”

  “Then what?”

  “Then we were to take her to an address.”

  “Where?” Eli demanded.

  “An abandoned warehouse on the edge of town.” He gave them the address. Maggie heard him say, “Now, you’re going to give me a deal right? What kind of deal? I told you everything I know.”

  “You still haven’t given us a name,” Reese said. “Who’s your boss?”

  “I don’t know, I never got a name. Just a contact number with a note in my mailbox saying if I wanted to make a lot of money to call it.”