Under Duress

by Meghan Carver

  “Yes.” That disturbing thought had worried its way into the forefront of his thinking, and he didn’t care to dwell on that probability.

  “Kill you?” Lily asked from the backseat. “Seriously?”

  Reid pivoted to meet her wide eyes. “We just need to be careful.” No sense in getting the girl more scared that she probably already was. “Careful is always good.”

  “You never did tell me if you had a gun.” That girl was a smarty-pants who didn’t miss a thing.

  “Well—” he aimed his attention back to Samantha “—any ideas who could be behind this? You don’t recognize the guy who tried to grab you, so it’s possible he’s a hired thug. Is there any event or relationship from your past or present that could drive someone to this kind of action?”

  Samantha pinched her lips, deep in thought. Several moments later, she shook her head. “No idea whatsoever.”

  “What about ransom?”

  Lily poked her face in between the front seats. “What’s ransom?”

  “It means that someone could want to hold you or Samantha as their captive until you or someone pays them a certain amount of money. Usually a large, almost exorbitant, amount.”

  “Exorbitant? I like that word, Mr. Palmer. Does it mean an amount that’s really, really big?”

  This girl just got better and better. He hadn’t gone through law school learning to question and defend and write briefs without acquiring some appreciation for word choice. “You got it.”

  Samantha pointed a stare at him that nearly pushed him out the door. Okay, he got the message. Apparently he wasn’t supposed to get friendly with the kid. “As interesting as your ransom idea is, Reid—” she could have stabbed him with the force of her enunciation “—I just can’t see it. Lily has a trust from her father’s death, but it’s not a large amount by any stretch of the imagination. I have some savings, but nothing significant. There are certainly bigger and wealthier targets. In fact, I shouldn’t even use the word wealthier in that sentence. That implies that I or Lily have some wealth to begin with. It’s funny how so many people think that lawyers are rich. But not all of us are.”

  Reid calculated what was in his checking and savings as well as what was in his wallet, and he had to agree. “What about family members who could be forced to pay a ransom amount?”

  “My sister and I share the practice, so I know she wouldn’t have much more than me. When my father left my mother, he nearly left her destitute. She wouldn’t have anything to pay.”

  Reid swiped his hand through his hair. He could almost hear the ding in his mind as long-forgotten pieces came together. “Wait a minute. What’s your father’s name?”

  Samantha narrowed her gaze at him. She had probably figured out where his question was leading. “Thomas Callahan.”

  “You mean the Thomas Callahan, one of the most well-known and well-paid divorce attorneys in the Indianapolis area?”

  “Unfortunately, yes. It’s not a pretty thing when a prestigious divorce lawyer leaves his own wife.” She pressed her hand to her chest as if the heart palpitations caused by the betrayal were still fresh.

  Her expression was so pitiful Reid wanted to slide to the edge of his seat and take her in his arms, and whisper sweet comfort to her. But there was nothing worse he could do at this juncture, for her safety or his. In fact, the sooner this whole situation was resolved and he was removed from Samantha’s presence, the better. He couldn’t risk attachment, not with his history and the statistics to prove his genetic tendencies toward anger.

  Before he could respond, Samantha killed that idea. “If these bad guys have done their research, they should know that my father would most likely not pay a ransom. We haven’t spoken much over the years. When we do, it’s rather curt. And we haven’t been in contact at all in over a year.”

  “What about Lily? Who in her past would have money to pay a ransom?” Reid glanced at the backseat. Lily wore her spy sunglasses and was stroking her long ponytail, pulling it off to the side as if trying to see it in the mirror in the glasses.

  Samantha picked at an invisible piece of lint on her skirt. “When she was only three, her mother died. So it’s been just her and her dad for several years. I got to know her at church and became a sort of substitute mother for her. Her father was killed in a hit-and-run not long ago, but at least he had set up a will that appointed me as her guardian.” She squinted at the dark sky and the clouds hovering outside her window. “Can we talk about this on the way to my condo? Surely we can at least pick up some clothes and necessary items before the rain starts.”

  Reid sagged in his seat, his ankle holster pressed into his leg. Perhaps just a few moments to run into her place would be all right. He turned the key in the ignition and checked his rearview mirror.

  Lily sat in the middle of the backseat, clutching the purple backpack, a tear escaping from underneath her sunglasses.

  * * *

  Finally, Samantha was making some progress in her reasoning with Reid. Maybe once they got to her condo and all was well, he would see that she could stay there without problem.

  Maybe she would be convinced of that, as well...especially since there was no place else to run.

  At her instruction, Reid pulled out of the parking lot and turned right.

  “Are you familiar with the Maple Grove Condominiums on the east side of town?”

  Reid turned to smile at her. “It’s been a while since I’ve been in Heartwood Hill. Several years. I’ll need directions.”

  Even in the dark, Samantha could see a shadow of whiskers beginning to cover his jaw. She swallowed down the lump growing in her throat. She had to admit that Reid was an attractive man, but she couldn’t account for her sudden desire for him to find her home pleasing. When was the last time she had dusted? Had she left dishes in the sink that morning? Did she have enough coffee to offer him a cup?

  She pinched her own leg to punish herself for even thinking such thoughts. Someone with Reid’s reputation would never be interested in the coziness and pleasures of home. Nor would she want him there. She and Lily were doing just fine by themselves.

  She pointed to the next stoplight. “Turn left up there.”

  “So what else can you tell me about Lily’s father?”

  “I told you about all I know. The driver was never found, so we don’t know who hit his car. Lily came home with me after seeing her father at the hospital, and she’s been with me ever since.”

  “So he didn’t die on impact?”

  “No. She got to spend a little bit of time with him. It was good to say that goodbye, but bad to have to say it. You know what I mean?”

  “Yeah. I do.”

  A catch in his voice touched something deep inside Samantha. Even the tall, strong and quiet Reid Palmer had some difficulty with his background. Samantha checked their location. “In here, at the subdivision sign. I’m in the third house on the left.” Whatever more it was that was bothering him, she couldn’t dwell on that now. Probably never. She had a child to protect, her first priority.

  Reid drove slowly, sweeping his gaze over the other houses and down the side streets. “What did her father do? For a living?”

  “He was an accountant with that big manufacturing company on the north side of Indy. Why?”

  “Just searching for information that might help us figure out who’s after you and Lily.”

  Samantha sniffed. “I didn’t know a lot of the details, but accountant sounded like a pretty dreary job to me. I can’t imagine that has anything to do with our present difficulty.”

  He idled past the house and turned right at the next street.

  “Where are we going? You passed it.”

  “I’m circling and double-checking.” He leaned forward and peered past her, in between the houses that backed onto he
rs. “There was only one car parked on the street, and no one was in it. I think we’re okay.”

  Reid pulled up in the driveway and cut the headlights. Lily fidgeted in the backseat but stilled when he held up a hand. “We’ll sit here for a moment and check it out.”

  The structure was cloaked in darkness, even more so with the thunder-boomers blotting out the nighttime stars. Samantha sat in the eerie silence and let her gaze dart around the yard. Everything seemed in place. Not a single flower appeared to be trampled, although she couldn’t see all the beds in the dark. “Looks fine to me,” she whispered in Reid’s direction.

  “It doesn’t seem that anyone’s around, but it’s hard to tell from the exterior. Let’s go in, but be watchful and stay behind me.” He leaned over the steering wheel and pulled up his pant leg, retrieving the weapon from the holster fastened to his lower leg. “And keep it quiet. Not even a whisper.”

  Lily lunged against the back of the seat. “I knew it! You do have a gun.” Her hoarse whisper whipped through Samantha’s hair.

  “Whoa.” Samantha scooted to the edge of her seat near the door. She’d never been close to a gun before. “You have a gun?”

  “Yeah. What police officer, even former, wouldn’t be armed?”

  “You have a permit for that thing?”

  “Of course. And in Indiana it’s called a license.”

  Samantha tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear with a trembling hand. “Stay back, Lily. Let Mr. Palmer handle this.” She should have figured a former police officer would carry a weapon, but she hadn’t been prepared for her innocent ward’s sudden interest in firearms.

  “I’m not going to touch it, Sam. And I know better than to stand in front of it. I just want to look at it...from here.” Samantha couldn’t quite tell in the darkness, but Lily probably executed a classic eye roll as only a ten-year-old could.

  Reid swung his door open and motioned for Samantha and Lily to do the same. He slowly pushed it closed without latching it, and Samantha softly closed hers as well, grabbing Lily’s before the girl could slam it shut.

  As they approached the door, Samantha uttered a prayer thanking the Lord for sending such a tall, broad-shouldered protector. She hated to put him in the line of fire, but at least he could fire back.

  He nudged the butt of his gun against the door, and it swung open. Someone had been there for sure. There was no way she would leave the door hanging open when she went to work. Besides, she usually left through the garage. The front door was only opened when she or her sister, with whom she shared the condo, were expecting guests.

  But one glimpse inside was all she needed to know she wouldn’t be staying there anytime soon.

  Reid stepped in first, but Samantha peeked around him. She flew her hand to cover her gasp at the utter destruction that waited her inside her home.

  Every single picture had been thrown down from the wall. Holes a couple of inches wide pockmarked the walls. Her collection of houseplants that resided near the front window had been tipped over. Scratch marks tore through the piles of dirt on the carpet. Even the sofa cushions had been cut open, their stuffing pulled out. Only her chenille throw, her favorite accompaniment to an afternoon of reading, remained untouched.

  Lily grabbed Samantha’s arm, gasping for air as she surveyed the damage. Her face shone pale in the dark house, and Samantha pulled Lily’s hands together and cupped them over her mouth. If Lily didn’t calm down, she’d hyperventilate, and they didn’t need the ten-year-old passing out to complicate an already complicated situation.

  Samantha drew Lily close, into the crook of her arm, and stepped toward Reid. There was no telling who was still in the house, and the best place she could think to be was near the guy with the weapon. She stumbled on a couple of books lying haphazardly on the floor and lurched toward Reid, grasping his arm to steady herself. He flinched slightly but didn’t move away. She pulled closer to the comfort of his strength, and the three picked a way through the room and into the kitchen.

  He held out his phone to her. “Call nine-one-one,” he whispered. “And stick close.”

  If it was possible, the kitchen was even worse. Every container in the pantry had been opened and seemingly dumped on the floor. Cabinet doors hung open, the contents splayed across the shelves. Even the ice maker had been emptied into the sink.

  Both Samantha and her twin Mallory’s room had dresser drawers opened and contents dumped. Her poor mattress had been slashed and the fabric torn apart. She reached to upright a perfume bottle on the chest of drawers, but Reid’s hoarse whisper stilled her.

  “Don’t touch anything. We should call the police. They ought to dust for fingerprints, but considering what we know about this guy’s MO, he, or they, probably wore gloves.”

  “MO?” Lily’s voice squeaked in the hush.

  “Modus operandi. It’s Latin. Means ‘method of working.’ We’ve seen that these guys act like professionals. Professionals would wear gloves to make sure they don’t leave fingerprints.”

  “Because the police can identify someone by their fingerprints.”

  “Exactly.”

  Samantha squeezed Reid’s arm. “Do you really think we should be talking?”

  “Let’s keep it to a whisper, but I think they’re gone. They probably came here first this afternoon, even before they found Lily at the church.”

  Samantha’s heart thumped and bumped in her chest, as if it were a wild animal trying to break free. Should she be comforted that the thugs likely weren’t here anymore? Or should she be even more panicky at the idea that her home had been in this violated condition, the front door open, all evening?

  Suddenly, Lily jerked loose from Samantha’s arm and took off down the hall. “My room!”

  Samantha’s glance collided with Reid’s look of alarm. She ran toward Lily’s voice, Reid close on her heels. As she entered the doorway, lightning flashed in the window, illuminating the entire space for a split second. As the resulting thunder rumbled across the room, shaking the house to its very foundation, she stared at the spots in her vision, trying to black out the image of Lily’s room in complete destruction.

  Curtains were pulled off the window. The mattress was a shambles, and even the box springs had been cut open. Drawers had been upended, the contents spewed all over the floor. The closet doors had been ripped off the track. It looked as if someone had stood in front of the closet and systematically pulled everything off the hangers and the shelves in a search for something. Even the rug had been pulled up around the edges of the room.

  They had been looking for something. But what?

  Lily turned to Samantha and burrowed against her front. Samantha wrapped her arms around the girl in what she prayed was a comforting embrace even as she tried in vain to stifle the sobs that bellowed up from deep within.

  Silence engulfed the trio for a moment before the long-anticipated rain finally began. The first drops hit gently, a soothing melody against the roof, until it fell harder and harder. Samantha rubbed Lily’s back, searching for God in the storm. If only the deluge could bring a cleansing of the soul and wash away the grief and disruption that had been the girl’s constant companion.

  Reid broke the quiet with a throat clearing. “Looks as if they spent most of their time in this room. I’m guessing they’re looking for something they think she has or something she knows. But they trashed the whole place, so they might think that you know something about it, as well. I would also guess they didn’t find it, since now they’re after you two.”

  “What, though?” Samantha surveyed the destruction of the room again. “What could they possibly want?”

  “That’s the question, isn’t it? Could be money, but that wouldn’t explain why they’re coming after you. Maybe particular documents, a computer file, valuables. There’s no way to know for sure.�
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  He picked up a scrapbook that had been tossed onto the floor. Lily had pasted a photo of herself with her father on the cover. Reid thumbed through it, revealing pages hanging askew. Little pockets and flaps Lily had glued in to keep her mementos of her father had been torn out and littered on the floor. It seemed that no one page of the scrapbook had gone untouched. “Perhaps it has something to do with her father?”

  Samantha released one arm around Lily to press on the bridge of her nose. As she had grown to know Lily, Samantha had sensed that the girl needed an anchor in her life, especially with her father working so much and still grieving the death of his wife. But she had no idea Lily might carry a secret with her, let alone one that was dangerous.

  Reid tapped her hand, and she was startled to see his phone there. The shock of the destruction was still rippling through her, and she had completely forgotten the call. She quickly dialed as Reid whispered, “Be thinking about what to grab to be gone at least a few days.”

  “Nine-one-one. What’s your emergency?”

  The answer sounded loud in her ear, especially after all their whispering, and she scrambled to voice her problem. “Break-in. My house.”

  “Are you in any danger?”

  She stepped closer to Reid, soaking up the energy and safety that radiated from him. “I don’t think so.”

  “What is your exact location?”

  She rattled off her address, satisfaction settling over her like a comfortable shirt, a sensation she welcomed as she stood in the midst of destruction.

  At Reid’s direction, Samantha grabbed an overnight bag at the back of her closet that had been untouched and began collecting a few personal items the police wouldn’t need to examine. Apparently, he had been right. She and Lily couldn’t go home. They were on the run now, but at least they had Reid for protection.

  There was no one else to trust.

  SIX

  Reid rubbed his hands together as he surveyed the damage. For all his years on the force, he hadn’t seen much like this. Heartwood Hill was a sleepy little suburb, and not much happened. Whatever was going on, it was serious.