“We could ask the DA to drop the reckless driving charges down to a secondary included offense, such as careless driving. That’s a misdemeanor and would only result in a fine. And we could talk to the arresting officer, ask him to consider dropping the second degree assault charges down to third degree assault, or even a simple menacing charge. Again, both are misdemeanors that would be taken care of by fines, with no jail time.”
Thomas Wakely looked at the lawyer. “Do it,” he said.
“I’ll have to talk with Lucky first,” the attorney pointed out. “No deal can be made without his consent.”
Pushing his chair back, Thomas Wakely rose to his feet. “Let me handle Lucky,” he said. “Trust me, he’ll agree to this deal.”
Thomas Wakely’s confidence that his son would listen to him turned out to be justified. Leaving the exact specifics of the deal to Lucky’s attorney and a representative from the DA’s office, Dawn and Rafe headed back through the evening twilight to the site where their suspect in the murder case had abandoned his car and disappeared into the woods. They were hoping for some good news from the Search and rescue team, but Sergeant Deshong had some mixed results for them.
“I have some good news and some bad news for you,” he said.
“Tell us the bad news first,” Rafe suggested.
“The bad news is that the dogs lost the scent after tracking the subject for a few miles into the woods, at a point where his trail intersected a back country road. Best guess? The perp flagged down and hitched a ride.”
“And the good news?”
“My people did come across something that you might find interesting.” With that, Deshong pulled out an evidence bag and proffered it toward the two detectives. Inside was a gleaming gold medallion on a chain.
Dawn reached out for the evidence bag. “May I?” she inquired. With a grin, Sergeant Deshong handed it over to her.
It was plain, Dawn noted as she examined the medallion through the clear plastic of the bag. Just a simple gold disk, with some looping patterns around the edge. On the reverse side of the disk, however, she could make out some lettering.
“Serenity,” she said softly. She handed the bag over to Rafe.
Turning the bag over in his hands, Rafe looked at Deshong. “Are you sure this came from our perp?” he questioned. “I’m thinking it could have been dropped in the woods by anyone, at any time.”
Deshong shook his head. “No,” he said. “According to my people, the dogs alerted when they came upon it. Our perp definitely handled it at some time.”
“Okay. Keep us updated.”
“Will do. We’ve set up road blocks on all the roads leading out of the area where we lost the scent. It’s too dark now to continue with the search, however. We’ll have to start again in the morning.”
*****
Traveling after dark was a bad idea, so he began to look about himself for a place to spend the night. Spotting a couple of fallen tree trunks in a somewhat sheltered place, he decided to use them as a frame for a bough bed. Dragging the tree trunks so that they were parallel, he snapped off boughs from some of the surrounding pine trees and filled the space between the trunks with them, layering them on top of each other so that he would be several inches above the cold ground. Next, he scooped up some armfuls of fallen leaves and placed them on top of the boughs.
After making himself a meager dinner with some of the supplies he had stolen from the camper, he took the precaution of hanging the bag of food high on a branch protruding from a tree several feet away from his bed. Hopefully, that would keep it out of reach of any nocturnal visitors from the animal kingdom.
He crawled into his bough bed and pulled the blanket tightly around himself. For a makeshift bed, it was comfortable enough, he decided.
Lying on his back, he reviewed the events of the day. He’d had some bad breaks, but fortunately he had been able to cope with the situation. Now he had to get some sleep, enough so that he would be well-rested and fit to resume the journey the next day. He had to get home. He’d left the children some food, enough to last them for a little while, but he had only planned to be gone for a day. What if it took him several more days to get back to them?
Giving himself a mental shrug, he reminded himself that he’d left the kids plenty of water. People had been known to survive for weeks without food as long as they had sufficient water. The children had several gallons of water with them in the cellar. They would be fine. But what about the guest in the upstairs bedroom? That was a different matter…
Worrying about things he couldn’t control wouldn’t do him any good, he reminded himself. What he needed to concentrate on now was getting some rest. He lay on his back, gazing at the stars overhead. After a while, his eyes closed, and he drifted off to sleep.
And dreamed of Serenity.
Chapter 9
Getting some rest was also on Dawn Cimarron’s mind as she pulled into her own driveway that same night. It had been a long, long, day, and she was looking forward to relaxing in the house she and her husband had built shortly after they married.
Looking at it from the outside, it looked like a single, unified residence, but it was actually a duplex: two houses, completely identical in every way, but with interconnecting rooms throughout the house.
After putting her car away in the garage, Dawn strode to the front entrance of the house, opened the outer door, and stepped into the foyer. Inside, there were two inner doors, side-by-side. Her side, the “D-side”, as they called it, was entered through the door on the right. But she did not go in that way tonight. The man she wanted was waiting for her in the other side of the house, the “T-side”. T stood for Tyrell: her husband, Tyrell Lewellen, son of Sloan Lewellen, the CEO of one of the largest conglomerates in the country.
Ty was sitting in an easy chair in his living room, but he stood up, crossed the distance between them, and took Dawn into his arms the minute she walked in the door. Then he held her away from him and studied her face.
“Rough day?” he inquired.
“Yeah. It was a rough one.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“No. What I want is a hot shower, a change of clothes, a glass of wine, and you – not necessarily in that order.”
Ty gave his slow, easy grin.
“I think that could be arranged,” he said. “I’ve got some really good ideas about what you and I could do with a glass – no, make that a bottle – of wine in the shower. With or without clothes. Although I have to admit, the ‘no clothes’ option is definitely my favorite.”
She took a fistful of his shirt in his hand and pulled him to her.
“Mine too,” she said, just before his mouth came down upon hers.
*****
Rafe Melbourne had also called it a night. He had no spouse waiting for him at home, however. Not since his ex-wife, Cynthia, had left him after deciding that she preferred being married to a lawyer rather than a cop. He had grown used to living alone in the house he had inherited from his late uncle, Nick Melbourne.
Not that he was exactly alone tonight, he reminded himself. Even as he settled down in front of his television to watch a baseball game, his mind was elsewhere. Chiefly upon the woman who was presently sitting in his dining room, finishing up a late-night snack.
She was trouble, a complication he didn’t need in his life right now. But when Tara had shown up on his doorstep a couple of nights ago, crying and begging him to take her in for a little while, he hadn’t been able to say no. The end result was that she had moved temporarily into one of his spare bedrooms, and he wasn’t sure what was going to happen next.
“Rafe?”
She stood in the doorway between the living room and the dining room, clad in a pair of old, faded jeans and a bright purple T-shirt. The light from the chandelier hanging above the dining room table illuminated her fair hair, which tumbled down her back in soft waves. Her feet were bare, and she wore no make-up.
“Would you like me to get you
a beer or something?” she asked him tentatively.
“Uh – no. Not right now. Thanks anyway, Tara.”
“Are you sure? From what I remember, you always used to have a beer while you watched a ball game.”
“Well, to tell you the truth, my stomach is upside down this evening. Something I ate earlier must have disagreed with me,” Rafe responded.
He changed his mind about trying to catch some of the game. Switching off the television, he arose from his chair.
“Look, I’m beat,” he said to Tara. “I’m going to head off to bed, try to get some sleep. See you tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay. Good night, Rafe.”
He walked upstairs, entered his room, went through his night time routine, and climbed into bed. As he settled himself comfortably between the sheets, he was thinking to himself: Yeah, she’s trouble, all right.
She was also his ex-wife’s sister.
Chapter 10
A glass or two of wine, some shower sex, and a good night’s sleep had done her a world of good, Dawn thought as she studied her reflection in her bathroom mirror the next morning. After the frustrations of the previous day, she had needed something to re-energize herself. Now that they had practically eliminated Lucky Wakely as a suspect, she and Rafe planned to continue canvassing the rest stops on I-25 North, checking the video feed for any possible footage of their suspect. Rafe was on his way over to her house already. Since Dawn lived closer to the nearest entrance to the Interstate, Rafe was going to leave his car at her house and ride with her in her car.
Exiting her bathroom, Dawn walked over to her closet. It was already a wet, dreary morning, and the weather was not supposed to improve very much during the day, so she snagged her long black raincoat off a hanger and shrugged into it. Walking across the room, she entered the adjoining bedroom, where Ty was seated at a couch in front of the fireplace, studying something on his computer intently.
She leaned down and gave him a light kiss. “Have a good day,” she said.
“Hold on,” he said. He shut his computer down. “I’ll walk down with you.”
He got up from the couch and put an arm companionably about Dawn’s waist. At six foot two, he was several inches taller than his wife. She noted that the cowlick in his brown hair, a shade or two darker than her own, was sticking up as usual.
As they were walking down the stairs, he said, “What do you think about trying to do lunch together today?”
“I’d love to, but it probably won’t work out today. This case is going to keep us hopping, every minute. What about you? How is your day shaping up?”
“I’m going to spend some time this morning double-checking the maintenance reports on our entire fleet. Cal also wants me to go over some of the latest financials with him. Then I’m going to reward myself by taking the new jet up, test it out. Before all of that, unfortunately, I need to get over to Dad’s offices and put in an appearance at the latest board meeting.”
The board meeting in question concerned The Lewellen Group. Sloan was the majority stockholder and CEO of the conglomerate. Although Ty did not work for The Lewellen Group, he still owned a substantial block of stock in the company, left to him by his grandfather. Ty had successfully ducked board meetings for years. He had enlisted in the Air Force and had been in the service for over a decade. Following a career-ending accident, he’d taken early retirement, moved back to Mountpelier, and founded his own independent company, Lewellen Air. He’d also founded a Mountpelier branch of the Civil Air Patrol.
He had tried to use these commitments as an excuse to continue avoiding board meetings, but it had been important to his father that Ty attend, so he’d recently given way and agreed to sit in occasionally.
Knowing how much he detested the meetings, Dawn shot her husband a sympathetic glance and said, “Want me to call you with a fake emergency, get you out of attending the meeting?”
Ty flicked his hazel-green eyes at her. “Don’t tempt me,” he said. “I’d do it if I thought it would work, but you know Dad. He’d see right through it.”
“Yeah, he probably would. You’ll just have to suffer through it, then.”
At the bottom of the steps was a gate. Beyond the gate, a brown and white cocker spaniel awaited them, its stump of a tail wagging furiously.
Ty moved aside the gate and picked up the dog. “Hey, Traitor,” he said. “How would you like to attend a board meeting with me later on? You’d probably understand more of it than I would.”
The dog’s response was to lick his face and then proceed to squirm out his arms and into Dawn’s. She gave the dog a few pats before setting her down on her feet again.
“Sorry, I can’t play with you now, Traitor,” she said. “Gotta go.”
As she turned away, Ty said, “Get in touch with me later. If lunch won’t work, maybe we can squeeze out some time for dinner together.”
“I’ll try.” She opened the front door, gave him a light kiss goodbye, and walked out.
Ty went back through the house into the kitchen, Traitor dogging his steps. As he walked to the refrigerator to get himself some orange juice, the back door swung open, and Brody, his best friend and sometime bodyguard, strolled into the kitchen. Traitor frisked up to him, and he gave her a perfunctory pat. The dog walked over to the swinging door that connected Dawn’s kitchen with Ty’s and butted her head against it, successfully forcing it open. After one last glance at Brody, she disappeared through the doorway.
Strolling over to the kitchen table, Brody lowered his six foot seven body into a chair opposite Ty at the table and asked, “Any coffee left?”
Ty gestured toward the coffee maker on the counter. “Help yourself,” he invited.
Brody grunted, walked over to the counter, and poured himself a cup of black coffee. Returning to the table, he shook his mane of long, curly hair back from a strong, broad face, sat down again and lifted the coffee cup to his lips.
“You want some breakfast, too?”
Brody shook his head. “Already had mine.”
Traitor banged her head against the swinging door at that moment, reentering Ty’s kitchen, a bright red piece of cloth in her mouth.
“What’s that?” Brody said.
“A bandana,” Ty responded as Traitor trotted up to him. He took the bandana from her mouth and carefully tied it around her neck. She walked over to Brody and preened herself before him.
“A bandana? For a dog? Where did she get it?” Brody asked.
“Dawn bought it for her,” Ty replied. “She’s gotten really attached to it. She wants it on every morning. She wears it all day. I think she’d wear it at night, too, but it must not be comfortable, because she pesters us to take it off then.”
After he’d finished placing the bandana around her neck, Ty put a hand under Traitor’s chin and said, “While I have your complete and undivided attention, would you mind answering a question for me? How come you’re all buddy-buddy with Dawn all of a sudden? I thought you were my girl.”
“Uh, Lew – I hate to break this to you, but you’re talking to a dog.”
“Stay out of this, Brody. This is between the dog and me.” Addressing Traitor again, he said, “What’s up? Does Dawn have a secret stash of super-extraordinary treats that she’s been giving to you on the sly? Is that the way she’s stolen your affections?”
“Maybe she’s just grown immune to your charms.”
Ty ignored Brody and continued to talk to Traitor. “It’s that last trip to the vet, isn’t it? You’re still mad about that. Which is unfair, you know, because that wasn’t my fault.”
“You got a dictionary here in the house, Lew?”
“A dictionary? Why?”
“Because I want to look up the word pathetic. I can’t believe you’re jealous of your dog’s affection for your wife.”
“I’m not jealous. I’m just curious.”
Brody grunted and studiously concentrated on sipping his coffee. Meanwhile, Ty gave Traitor a final
pat, crossed over to the back door, and let the dog out. Returning to his seat, he studied his friend. Brody had been living in one of his guest rooms until about a month previously. He had moved out then, but he hadn’t moved far.
When Brody had started looking for his own place, Ty’s dad had intervened. It turned out that Sloan had purchased a house at the top of the street where Dawn and Ty lived. He offered it to Brody at an absurdly low rent. Brody had initially refused the offer, but Sloan had held up a hand.
“You’d actually be doing me a favor,” he said.
“Oh?” Brody responded. “How do you figure that?”
“It has to do with Maeve. She’s been much less nervous about Ty’s safety since you’ve been around for the last few months. I was thinking that if you moved into the house up the street, it would make her happy. In fact, I was thinking you might like to join Lewellen Security, take on the job as Ty’s bodyguard full time.”
At the mention of Maeve’s name, all of Brody’s objections melted away. He adored Ty’s mother, and would do just about anything to please her. He knew how the kidnapping plot against Ty a few years earlier had affected her. So he’d agreed to move into the house up the street.
“But I’m not joining Lewellen Security,” he said. “No way.”
Sloan had shrugged. “Suit yourself. But think about the security business, will you? You’re a natural at it.”
“I already have a job. I may be on leave right now until I’m a hundred percent, but I’m still employed by the federal government. I don’t anticipate that changing any time soon.”
Ty, who had not been sure how his friend would react to Sloan’s offer, was relieved that Brody and his father had come to terms on the house without blowing up at each other. Theirs had not been an easy relationship – at least, not since Sloan had divorced Ty’s mother.
When Brody had finished his coffee, Ty said, “You want to come with me today? We just bought a new jet. I’m going to take her up, see how fast that baby can go.”
“Sounds like a good idea to me. You ready now?”
When the Wolf Prowls Page 6
