by Rayna Morgan
Gracie’s ears perked up.
“He’s not talking about that kind of bone, girl,” Lea said.
Dan walked to Maddy’s chair and loomed over her. The hand clutching a cinnamon roll paused halfway to her mouth.
“Stacy accused me of having you follow her,” he said menacingly.
Maddy put the bun down and licked frosting from her fingers. “Silly woman. Why would I do that?”
He turned glaring eyes toward Lea. “Because that’s what your sister told you to do.”
Lea shrugged. “I suppose there’s no point in denying it.”
“None whatsoever,” came his clipped response.
“We only did it because you omitted a person from our suspect list who I thought needed watching.”
“I left Stacy off with good reason because there’s no possibility she’s involved.”
“How can you be certain?”
“You’re evading the issue. You had no right to have us followed without informing me.”
Maddy brushed crumbs from her blouse before intervening. “Lea’s concern is not with Stacy but with her ex-husband. Right, Sis?”
Lea nodded. “Considering Tony has ties to the mob and is bitter over the divorce, it’s easy to imagine how any relationship with his ex-wife could be dangerous to a person’s health.”
“Don’t make light of what you did. You should have discussed your concerns with me without going behind my back.”
“Would you have agreed to let us tail you?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Point made. We were only looking out for your safety.”
He laughed out loud. “You two looking out for me. That’s rich. Wait ‘til I tell Woody he no longer needs to worry about me because the sister sleuths are on the job.”
“So that’s why he came.” Lea tried to hide her wounded feelings. “You didn’t trust me to have your back.”
Silence ensued as the women turned their backs on Dan.
He threw his hands in the air. “Stop making this about you. Let’s get back to the fact that someone is trying to kill me.”
Maddy told Dan about the man who followed him from the Whale’s Tail and was present before he met with Stacy at the Lobster Barrel.
Lea commended her sister. “Without her efforts, you never would have known.”
Dan looked at Maddy appraisingly. “You did a good job. I admit I never saw you tailing me. Do you want your old office back?” he added jokingly.
“It’s better this way. Interior decorator by day. Spy by night.”
They all laughed, happy to dispel the tension.
Dan asked Maddy a question. “Where were you hiding when we were at the motel?”
“In the landscaped area beside the office.”
“Concealing yourself in the overgrown shrubs was a good move. I didn’t spot you.”
“Why did you return to the motel after Stacy left?” Lea asked.
“To convince myself the noise we heard was caused by a broken shutter.”
“And were you convinced?”
He nodded without mentioning the footprints in the sand.
“Do you think Stacy will forgive you?” Lea continued.
“It’s safer for her if she doesn’t. She’s in less danger if she’s not around me.”
“I guess that’s one way to look at things.” Lea turned to ask her sister about the noise which scared Stacy into leaving. “Did you see who, or what, was responsible?”
Maddy nibbled her lower lip. “I’m not like you. There are limits to my bravery. I hightailed it out of there the minute I heard the bang and returned to my car.”
“No more sign of the man on the dock?”
“Considering the way he was dressed, he could have slipped past me in the dark. But I think he left before Dan did.”
“You’re probably right,” Lea said. “If he was still around, he wouldn’t have passed the opportunity of being alone with Dan after Stacy drove away.”
He held up a hand. “Can I get a word in edgewise?”
The sisters looked at him as though they forgot he was in the room.
“Sorry, we got carried away. Go ahead, we’re listening.”
“For your information, Woody is the man who followed me from the Whale’s Tail. He’s also the person you saw on the dock before I met up with Stacy.”
“Why didn’t you tell us earlier?” Lea asked angrily. “I suppose you were reluctant to admit he came to town to protect you even though you claimed he was in town for recreation.”
“Woody came for both reasons. For recreation and to help figure out who’s trying to kill me. But it was strictly his idea to tail me.”
“Because he didn’t think me capable of protecting you?”
“Because if I got killed while he was in town, he’d never forgive himself.”
Maddy intervened. “I apologize for the cloak and dagger act, Dan. I didn’t mean to spy on your friend.”
She cocked her head, waiting for her sister’s input.
Lea got the message. Sulking, she turned to Dan. “I’m sorry, too, for acting without your knowledge. I won’t do it again if you promise to keep me apprised of new developments.”
He nodded. “Apologies accepted, together with the terms of our truce.”
After escorting Maddy to the door, Dan considered their conversation.
He neglected to tell them about the footprints he found when he returned to the motel. Or the fact they weren’t made by cowboy boots so they couldn’t belong to Woody.
I prefer to believe the prints were made by Maddy rather than someone lined up to shoot me. But I’m glad I didn’t share my doubts with Lea, knowing she’s convinced Stacy is somehow involved.
• • •
An hour later, Dan’s phone rang with a call from a familiar number.
“I’m calling about the guy you wanted a get-out-of-jail card for.”
“That was fast, Tom. I didn’t expect you to see the district attorney so soon. Tell me you have good news.”
“Regrettably, I can’t oblige. In fact, you probably missed your opportunity to obtain what you need from the prisoner.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Ronnie got stabbed in the exercise yard this morning. They took him to the hospital.”
“Is he okay?”
“He’s in surgery but it doesn’t look good.”
“That’s too bad. He was eager to talk with us again.”
“If he was conducting business with the cartel, they may have gotten wind he was planning to expose the distribution operation at the ranch. Did you come into contact with prison personnel during your visit with Ronnie?”
“No, but it was a guard who called us back to see him.”
“Either you weren’t the only ones the guard called or Ronnie blabbed his plans to another inmate,” Tom suggested.
“The cartel must have instructed their contact to take care of Ronnie before he talked to us again,” Dan said angrily.
“That happened awfully soon after you and Lea visited him.”
“We may have been followed.”
“Who knew you were going to see him?”
“In our progress report to the congressman, we dropped the hint of an ex-employee being a person of interest to us.”
“That may have been a poor tactic.”
“So it seems, given the outcome.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
As Dan walked down the dock at the end of a long day, the fisherman stopped him.
“Any firecrackers gone off around you lately?” The old man chuckled with amusement.
If only he knew, Dan thought. But he wasn’t going to fuel gossip.
“Nope. Things have been quiet. How about you? Anything of interest to report?”
“Some guy was here earlier looking for you.”
Dan caught his breath. “Did he give a name?”
“Nope, but he said he knows you. I pointed out where the Dix
ie Cruiser is docked. Told him you’d be there shortly if he wanted to wait.” He cracked the knuckles of his hands. “Hope that was okay.”
Dan relaxed. “Probably Lieutenant Elliot with news about a case I’m working on.”
“Nope. This is a young fella. Says you and his mother worked together in Texas.”
Pam’s son, Dan thought. What’s Gavin doing here?
The old man looked up expectantly, hoping Dan would fill in the blanks.
“That was a long time ago. But it will be good to see her kid. Thanks for letting me know.”
Disappointed at not being told more, the old man grumbled. “You better get a move on. The kid seemed jumpy. Won’t have the patience to wait long.”
Dan waved and walked to his boat, brushing Woody’s recent evaluation of Gavin from his mind.
• • •
There was no sign of anyone waiting on the dock outside the Dixie Cruiser.
Guess Jim was right about the visitor being impatient.
Inside the cabin, Dan flopped on the bed exhausted. He meant to close his eyes for only a moment but the sun was already setting when he woke.
Cursing, he rose to shower and dress for a possible meet-up with Stacy. He was anxious for a chance to get back in her good graces.
Emerging from the narrow confines of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, he was overcome with a sense of foreboding. He knew someone was on the boat.
“Hello, Mr. Archer. Long time no see.”
The unexpected sound made him jump but it was a voice he recognized. Spinning around, he found himself face to face with Pam Stevenson’s son. “Gavin, what are you doing here?”
The young man lowered a knapsack from his shoulder and dropped it on the floor. “I was in the area. Thought I’d come by for a visit.”
“You’re a long way from home.”
“That’s the thing. I don’t really have a home anymore.”
Sensing the young man’s tension, Dan tried to put him at ease. “Make yourself comfortable while I put on some clothes. You’ll find soft drinks and beer in the refrigerator. I’ll be with you in a minute.”
Dan dressed thoughtfully, trying to decipher a reason for Gavin’s visit.
“What have you been up to?” he asked, joining his uninvited guest in the kitchen.
“Not much.”
“Woody mentioned you were in the service.” Dan switched on the coffee machine, responding to an inner warning to stay alert and avoid the beer his visitor was drinking.
Gavin shrugged. “It didn’t last. I contracted an eye disease which forced me to resign.”
“Has your condition cleared up?”
“I take medication for it.” He slid the knapsack between his feet and sat down. “I’m not here to talk about me. I want to know about your relationship with my mother.”
The abrupt change of topic caught Dan off guard. He busied himself filling a mug while he prepared a response. “As you know, Pam and I were partners in the Rangers.”
“From what I hear, it was more than a working relationship.”
“We were friends, if that’s what you mean. Friendships develop between paired teams on the force because of the amount of time spent together.”
“Don’t give me that. I want to know if you and my mom were having an affair.”
Dan took a moment to respond.
“Here’s the truth, plain and simple. Your mother and I weren’t involved but things were headed that way. If she wouldn’t have stopped on that deserted road to help what she thought was a stranded motorist—”
“Then it’s true,” Gavin said in a voice filled with rage. “You’re to blame for my mother’s death.”
He leaned over the knapsack and pulled out a gun which he pointed at Dan.
Dan’s stomach muscles tightened. “Don’t get crazy on me, kid. What makes you think I’m responsible for what happened to your mother?”
“That’s what my father says. Her reason for being on the road that time of night was because she’d been with you.”
The pieces slipped into place as Dan faced the person who wanted him dead.
“Look, son. I know your father fell apart after your mother’s death. He couldn’t accept the fact of his world being turned upside down in one horrifying moment. It’s understandable. There will never be an acceptable answer to why Pam’s life ended the way it did.”
The young man stifled a sob but didn’t interrupt.
“But your dad is trying to place blame to avoid facing the truth.”
“What do you know about my father?”
Dan wasn’t convinced of Gavin’s denial of the circumstances. An explanation was probably unnecessary but he offered one anyway.
“I know your parents’ marriage was falling apart but I had nothing to do with that. In fact, having experienced the agony of divorce, I advised her to do everything in her power to make things work. You were the reason she stayed as long as she did. The only person responsible for her death is the man who shot her. And the only one responsible for your mother wanting to leave your father is your father.”
“Don’t make excuses. If she was at home where she belonged that night, she wouldn’t be dead.”
Steadying the gun in his hand, the kid cocked the trigger.
“What are you trying to prove waving that gun around? You aren’t going to kill me in cold blood.”
“You don’t know what I’m capable of doing.”
“I have a better idea of what you’re capable of than you do. I’m even more aware of my own capabilities. The second you drop your guard, I’ll get the gun from you.”
“You’re trying to psych me out.”
“I’m not doing anything other than stating facts.”
Dan fixed his gaze on the weapon as he spoke. He could see the lever on the side of the gun above the trigger. The safety was still on. Either his adversary didn’t know much about guns or in his excitement he forgot to take the safety off.
He took a step toward Gavin. “Placing blame on others isn’t what you learned from your mother.”
“Don’t come any closer,” his adversary growled, shifting from one foot to the other.
Dan remembered the eye disease. “What you said about your eyesight. That’s the reason you missed when you shot at me by the islands.”
“What are you talking about? I never fired at your boat.”
Ignoring the kid’s denial, Dan inched forward. “I imagine your vision is getting blurry now.”
Gavin shifted the gun to his other hand while he wiped his sweaty palm on his pants.
“You’ll only get one shot,” Dan warned. “If you miss, I’ll put you down.”
Dan knew the kid had come to the fork in a road where a person decides which path to take. It wasn’t a choice he could make for the young man but he was going to do what he could to influence his decision.
“Consider carefully what you’re about to do, Gavin. Pulling that trigger will be the biggest mistake of your life. Think of what your mom would want.”
“If you’re saying she wouldn’t want me to kill the man she loved, that’s a pathetic attempt to save your own hide.”
“I’m saying she wouldn’t want the son she loved to kill any human being and spend the rest of his life in prison.”
For a second Gavin faltered, paralyzed by the reality of the moment. In that instant, Dan grabbed his arm and twisted, snatching the pistol from his hand. Gavin crumpled to the floor, put his head in his hands and sobbed.
Dan emptied the ammunition from the gun before placing it on the table. Then he lowered himself to the ground and sat cross-legged allowing the young man time to regain his composure.
“I understand how you feel. We all seek answers for senseless acts like your mother’s death, refusing to accept the randomness of life. We’re desperate to place blame to escape asking ourselves what part we played. We chastise ourselves for missing signs which might have prevented our lives from falling apart.”
<
br /> Gavin responded in a choked voice. “Over and over, my father broke his promises to stop drinking. In the weeks before Mom’s death, his boozing got worse. Neither of us could reason with him. Pop wouldn’t listen to anything he didn’t want to hear.”
“Take your time, son,” Dan said, watching the young man wrestle with his memories.
“It culminated the week before Mom died.” He hiccupped as a sob caught in his throat. “I came home for dinner and found them arguing. Mom was furious, yelling and pacing the floor. My old man was clearly hammered. She threw an eviction notice and a handful of unpaid bills in his face.
“‘I called your office to find out what’s going on with you lately,’ she screamed. ‘Your boss told me you were fired weeks ago for showing up drunk after repeated warnings. When did you plan to tell me?’
“I was upset as well,” Gavin recalled. “So mad I felt like punching the guy. That was the moment Mom and I realized Dad would never change. Not without professional help which he refused to get.”
“What happened?” Dan asked.
“He slammed out the door and stayed away all night. It didn’t matter. It was the last straw for my mother.”
“What did she say?”
“Not a word, but I knew she’d made up her mind to leave him. From the look in her eyes, I understood our life was going to change and would never be the same again.”
“Your mother never told me.”
“I understand her well enough to know why. She wouldn’t have started a new relationship before divorcing my father. She wanted me to realize another man was not responsible for their marriage ending.”
“I wish you would have realized that before you began this vendetta against me. Do you have a permit for that gun?”
He shook his head. “No, sir.”
“You’ll have to answer for that and for threatening me. And aren’t you the person responsible for the fire at my office?”
Gavin lowered his head. “I learned the trick with a remote device from a guy I bunked with in the service.”
“Why did you do it?”
“To show I could hurt important people in your life the way you hurt the important people in mine.” He straightened his shoulders. “I see now I was wrong. I’m ready to face the consequences for my actions.”
