by HELEN HARDT
“I’m not so sure she— Wait a minute. What do you mean ‘it’s nice to see me again’?”
“You were here last night, remember?”
“Actually, I wasn’t.”
“You’re Bradford Steel, right?”
“I am, and I was home last night. Most certainly not here.”
“Then someone who looked an awful lot like you was here, Mr. Steel, and he also paid me a hundred dollars to see Miss Madigan.”
“Did he actually use my name?”
“He did.”
“What did he look like?”
“Brown hair and eyes. Like I said, he looked like you.”
“Shit.” Theo. It had to be. But why use my name?
“Think, please,” I said to her. “It wasn’t me. I need you to tell me exactly what the guy looked like.”
“I didn’t look that closely.”
“You know it wasn’t me.”
She regarded me intently. “Now that you mention it, you’re right. You’re a different man.”
“No shit.” I didn’t have a photo of Theo. If I had, I could have shown it to her and verified it was him. Or maybe not. She’d thought I was the same person at first.
“I’m done here. Thanks for your time.” I scribbled my car phone number down on a piece of paper. “If the other guy shows up again, please call me. It’ll be worth your while.”
“Of course, Mr. Steel. Happy to.”
Then I got the hell out of Dodge. This was crazy. Completely crazy.
My old man might have chosen this place because of the wet palms. The problem? Wendy had her own money. So did Theo.
If a greased palm was all these people needed, it didn’t matter who did the greasing.
Any grease would do.
And I had the distinct feeling I hadn’t been the first to grease these palms.
Chapter Forty
Daphne
My sweet little Jonah.
He nursed urgently at my breast. Yes, he’d finally gotten the hang of it, and though every tug hurt like hell, I welcomed the pain along with the knowledge that I was giving my child the nourishment nature provided him.
Nursing had quickly become my favorite part of being a mother. It allowed me a closeness with my son that I’d never imagined. I vowed to savor this time while I had it, for soon he’d outgrow his need for breast milk. Time would turn swiftly. Already, in my mind’s eye, I saw him as the strong man he’d grow into.
Just like his father.
His father who wasn’t here.
While his son’s life was being threatened.
Brad, we need you, I pleaded silently. Please come back to us.
I looked up when someone rapped softly at the door. I sighed. The police must be here.
“Come in.”
My mother entered. “They’re here, honey.”
I nodded. I pulled Jonah away from my breast, and he let out a howl. “He’s still hungry.”
“Did you pump anything today? I can feed him for a while so you can talk to the police.”
“Yeah. There’s a four-ounce bottle in the fridge. You’ll have to warm it up.”
She took the baby from me and put him against her shoulder, lightly tapping his back. “It’s okay, sweetie. Mommy has more milk for you.” She turned to me. “They’re in the living room talking to Mazie and Belinda.”
“All right.” I hastily fixed my bra and shirt and walked out.
“I wish I could tell you more,” Belinda was saying. “It was a teenager. I think his hair was brown.”
“All right,” an officer said.
“Here’s Daphne now,” Mazie said as I entered the living room. “Come sit down, dear.”
I nodded and sat down. “I’m Daphne Wa— er…Steel.”
Weird. I hadn’t made that mistake in a long time. Brad and I had been married for nearly eight months.
“Good evening, Mrs. Steel.” The officer stood and held out his hand. “I’m Officer Grant and this is Officer Ericson.”
“Thank you for coming,” I mumbled. I took a seat next to Belinda on the couch.
“I’m sorry about all this turmoil,” Officer Grant continued.
I nodded again.
“Do you have any idea who could have sent this note?”
“Not really. I suppose it could be related to the best man’s death at our wedding.”
“That has never been solved, though.”
“No. My husband has had PIs working on it for months.”
“Why do you think the two incidents might be related?” Officer Ericson asked.
“I don’t know.” I sighed. “Just please keep my baby safe.”
“We’ll do our best,” Officer Grant said. “But there must be a reason why you feel the two incidents are related.”
“I don’t really feel anything. I was just supposing.”
“Is there anyone who might have anything against you?” Ericson asked.
“I don’t know.”
“You and your husband got married quickly.”
“We did. But what does that have to do with anything?”
“Did you leave a disgruntled boyfriend behind? Or did your husband—”
“No,” I said flatly.
“To which question?”
“Both.”
Not exactly true, but Brad’s ex was safely in a mental hospital and couldn’t harm anyone.
“We can have the type analyzed, find out what kind of typewriter was used,” Grant said, “but I don’t know if that will help at all.”
“What about fingerprints?” Mazie asked.
“We can take a look, but that will only help if we have prints on file to match anything we find on the paper.”
“Plus, we’ve all handled it,” I said.
Numb. I was feeling so damned numb.
“When do you expect Mr. Steel home?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Where is he now? Can we get a hold of him?”
“I don’t know where he’s staying,” I said, “but he has a phone in his car. I can give you that number, although he didn’t answer earlier.”
“That would be helpful.”
I recited the number while Ericson made some notes on a pad of paper.
“Where’s the phone?” Grant said. “I’ll try calling him now.”
“There’s one in the kitchen and one in the family room,” Mazie said, standing. “I’ll show you.”
I followed. If Brad answered his phone, I wanted to hear at least half of the conversation.
Officer Grand dialed. A few seconds passed.
Then, “Mr. Steel?” Pause. “This is Officer Will Grant of the Snow Creek Police. I’m here at your home with your wife and mother. Seems there’s been an incident.”
I half listened as the officer described what had happened.
My mother sat at the kitchen table, feeding Joe from a bottle. Just seeing him drinking made my breasts ache.
Then the tingle. Crap. They were letting down. I was wearing breast pads, but still… Wouldn’t be long before I was soaked through. I turned to walk out of the kitchen—
“Mrs. Steel?” Officer Grant’s voice.
I looked over my shoulder. “Yeah?”
“Your husband wants to talk to you.”
I nodded and took the phone from him. “Hi, Brad.”
“Baby, are you okay? I’m coming right home.”
A heavy sigh blew out of me. Relief. Pure relief.
Brad was coming home.
“Thank God. Please. I need you here.”
“I know, baby. I’m so sorry. I won’t let anything happen to our baby. Please believe me.”
“I believe you.”
“I’m on my way.”
“What about your meeting tomorrow?”
“I don’t give a damn about the meeting. I need to be home.”
“I need you here, Brad.”
“I’ll be home in a half hour. The cops will stay. I already asked.”
“All right. Drive safely, okay?”
“I will. I love you, Daphne.”
“I love you too.”
Chapter Forty-One
Brad
Damn.
Damn, damn, damn.
What the hell kind of coward threatened a five-day-old child?
Damn!
Come at me, you fucking son of a bitch. Don’t you dare threaten my baby.
Wendy had been asleep in bed. She had no access to a phone or anything else. A typewriter? Maybe, but hospital staff read all incoming and outgoing mail.
And Theo? Theo had visited Wendy and used my name. Why? I wasn’t yet sure. But would Theo threaten a child?
My child?
I had to believe he wouldn’t. He was off, but not that off.
Still, why the hell had he used my name to visit Wendy? There had to be a reason. Theo never did anything without a reason.
Unless it hadn’t been Theo.
Tom was in Boulder with Evie and the new baby.
Larry… Where the hell was Larry?
He hadn’t been home when I went to his place earlier.
Didn’t matter. Theo was the only one who could be mistaken for me. We were roughly the same size, had the same coloring.
Damn, again!
I squealed into the driveway to the ranch house, slammed the door of my truck, and raced inside.
Two officers sat in the living room with my mother and mother-in-law.
“Where’s Daphne?” I demanded.
“She’s in your bedroom. Jonah just went to sleep in his cradle.”
I didn’t stop to talk. I ran to the master suite, through the sitting area, and into the bedroom. Daphne lay in bed, one hand on Jonah’s cradle, rocking it gently.
“Thank God.” I rushed toward Daphne, sat on the bed, and pulled her into my arms.
I’d promised Daphne and her father that I’d protect her and the baby.
I hadn’t done a very good job.
Daphne sniffled against my shoulder.
“Don’t cry, baby. I’m here now.”
“I’m not crying. Not really. Why is this happening? Why? Who would threaten an innocent baby?”
“I don’t know, Daphne, but I’m going to find out, and I’m going to take care of it. I promise you that.”
She sniffled again. “I can’t lose him. He’s everything to me. Everything I never imagined. I can’t lose our baby.”
“Our baby will be fine. Trust me. I promise.”
If it killed me, I’d keep that promise. I’d protect Daphne and our child, no matter what I had to do.
Even if I had to become my father. I winced at the thought, but it was no less true. I’d do whatever was necessary.
I held her for a few more minutes, soaking in her love and warmth. Then I sighed and pulled back. “I have to go talk to the officers, baby.”
She sniffled once more and nodded.
“You okay here?”
“Now that you’re home I am.”
“I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. I’ll come to bed when I can.” I stood and left the room.
Mom had made the officers a pot of coffee. “I sent Belinda home,” she told me. “She’d stayed past her normal hours to talk to the police, and she wanted to stay longer because she felt so bad about not remembering much about the kid who brought the note.”
“She’s better off at home,” I said. “Though does it strike you as odd that she couldn’t remember any characteristics of the kid?”
“Not really. Do you remember everyone who comes to the door with a package?”
“I suppose not.”
I had no reason to suspect Belinda had anything to do with this. She’d been in my family’s employ for over ten years.
The events beginning with Murph’s death had me on edge. I looked at everyone with skepticism and doubt.
In my head, everyone was a suspect.
I’d quickly learned to trust no one.
I poured myself a cup of Mom’s coffee and walked to the living room.
“Mr. Steel.” One of the officers stood and held out his hand. “I’m Officer Will Grant. We spoke on the phone.”
I nodded.
The other officer stood. “And I’m Fred Ericson.”
I shook both of their hands.
“How is your wife?” Ericson asked.
“She’s doing as well as can be expected. Please, sit back down. We have a lot to talk about.” I turned to my mother-in-law. “If you don’t mind, Lucy, I need to speak to the policemen alone.”
She stood, looking visibly relieved. “I think I’ll go to bed. This has all been a bit…much.”
“I want some privacy,” I said to the officers. “Please follow me.”
I led them to my father’s office. No, my office. For the last month, it had been my office. I was the Steel in charge now.
I knew it. I just didn’t always feel it.
I took a seat behind my father’s desk and directed the officers to sit down across from me.
“I have a lot to tell you,” I said. “So let’s start at the beginning.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Daphne
“Daphne”—Mazie peeked into the bedroom—“phone call. It’s Patty. She wants to make sure you’re okay.”
I nodded. “I’ll take it in here.”
I hadn’t heard the phone ring. I’d turned off the ringer once Joe drifted off to sleep. Now, I rolled over to Brad’s side of the bed, where the phone was, and picked up the receiver.
“Hi, Pat.”
“Daph, Ennis and I have been so worried.”
“Brad came home.”
“Thank God! What does he think?”
“I don’t know. He’s talking to the police now.”
“Keep us posted, okay?”
“I will.”
“And if you want to cancel the dinner tomorrow night, we understand. You have a lot going on.”
“Are you kidding? Having dinner with my only two friends in the world is the one normal thing in my life. Don’t you dare not come.”
“All right. We won’t miss it. Love you.”
“Love you too. Bye.”
I hung up the phone and leaned back over to check on the baby. He was so beautiful. He didn’t have that wrinkled newborn look. No. My little dove was perfection personified.
“I’ll protect you,” I said out loud as I lightly laid my hand on his sleeping body. The movement of his little chest as he breathed comforted me. “I’ll always pro—”
Crash!
A scream lodged in my throat. Something had come through the window, and shattered glass lay everywhere. I scanned the room wildly. A rock lay on the floor.
A piece of glass nearly the size of my hand had landed on Jonah’s back.
So close to his little neck.
My heart raced wildly, and my skin prickled with fear.
This time I screamed.
The crash hadn’t woken the baby, but my scream did.
I froze. I had to hold my baby. But glass. Glass everywhere. Shards. Big shards and tiny shards.
“Daphne!” Mazie came running in. “What was that?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Nothing except another blood-curdling scream.
Mazie snatched Jonah out of his cradle, the large piece of glass falling onto his small mattress.
“What in the world? Brad! Brad! Come quick!”
“Where is he?” I finally squeaked out.
“In the office with the door shut.” She handed Jonah to me. “I’ll go get him.”
“A rock.” I pointed. “Someone threw a rock through the window.” I gulped. “It could have… It could have landed on the baby. The piece of glass. It almost… My baby. My baby.” I cuddled little Joe to my breast as he continued to wail. “Please don’t hurt my baby.”
“Honey, he’s okay. We’ll find out who did this. The police are still here. I’ll get them.”
; “My baby, my baby…” I repeated the words again and again.
“Brad!” Mazie shrieked. Then she ran out of the room.
Time passed in a haze. I held my baby and tried to calm him to no avail. Finally, I unbuttoned my shirt and tried to nurse him.
He resisted at first but finally latched on and calmed down.
My baby. Had to protect my baby.
Brad stormed in then. “Daphne! Are you okay?”
Two officers followed him. My breast was exposed, but I didn’t much care at the moment.
“Mrs. Steel, what happened?” Officer Grant asked.
Again, I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. The words were in my head, but I couldn’t seem to get them out of my throat.
“Daphne, please,” Brad said. “Tell us.”
“A rock. A rock came through the window. A piece of glass hit…the baby. Brad, our baby!”
“God! Is he all right?”
“I got him calmed down. It landed on his back.” I gasped. “It didn’t cut him.”
“Thank God. You and little Joe get out of here.”
Officer Grant picked up the rock. “How long ago?”
“I don’t know.” I gulped. “Not long.”
“Get in the squad car,” he said to Ericson. “See if you can find whoever did this. I’ll stay here and take the statement.”
“Got it.” Ericson left quickly.
“Did you hear anything before it happened?” Grant asked me.
I shook my head. “I’d been talking to Patty on the phone.”
“Patty…?”
“Patty Watson. My friend. She and her boyfriend were here earlier when the note came.”
“This is bullshit,” Brad said. “You need to find out who did this. What if that rock had hit Daphne or the baby?”
“These things are usually meant as a scare tactic,” the officer said.
“I don’t give a rat’s ass. A shard of glass landed on my five-day-old child.”
“I understand, Mr. Steel. We’ll do everything we can.” He turned to me again. “Can you tell us anything else that might help? Did you see a shadow? Did you happen to look out the window? Anything, Mrs. Steel?”
“I want my baby.”
“He’s right here, Daphne,” Brad said.
I looked down. Joe was still nursing. Right. “I mean, I want him safe. I… I need to leave this house.”
