Dangerous Reunion (Love Inspired Suspense) (15 page)

Brock gave a low whistle. “It sounds like you may have enough evidence for a conviction.”

She nodded. “Yeah. I talked to Sheriff Baxter. He and one of the deputies are coming from the mainland on the emergency helicopter. They’ll take Mike to the jail on Swan Quarter and collect the evidence.”

He turned back to the car. “Then we’d better get going.”

She walked to the driver’s side of the car but stopped and stared over the top of the vehicle at the Thornton home before she opened the door. “Like I said, I always loved this house when I was growing up. It gleamed when the sun struck it, and I thought it looked like a place where a princess would live. It seemed so pure. Too bad that didn’t reach to the family members living in it.”

She shook her head and climbed into the car. Brock cast one last look at the house before he joined her. He couldn’t help but think how the beautiful home had hidden the answer to a man’s murder and other crimes.

The person who had targeted Kate could be just like that. Maybe they saw him and talked with him every day and had no idea of the evil that lived inside him. His mouth went dry at the thought. Who was he and what motive did he have for tormenting Kate? The answers to those questions lay somewhere on Ocracoke, and they needed to find them before tragedy struck again.

Brock rubbed his eyes as the squad car stopped in front of Treasury’s bed-and-breakfast. The clock on the cruiser’s dial displayed a few minutes before eight.

By now Treasury had been up for hours, and the breakfast she would serve her guests sat on warmers in the dining room. The thought of her biscuits made Brock’s stomach growl. He hoped he could stay awake long enough to eat.

Kate pushed the gearshift into Park and exhaled. “It’s been a long night.”

Brock had seen her tired at times since he’d been back, but he’d never seen her as drained of energy as she appeared this morning. He unfastened his seat belt and reached for the door handle. “You are going home to sleep, aren’t you?”

She propped her elbows on the steering wheel, closed her eyes and massaged her temples. “I’m going to try. With everything that’s happened, I may be too wired to sleep.”

He released the door handle and settled back in his seat. “Last night had to be upsetting for you. It’s never easy to arrest someone you’ve known for years, but I thought you handled Ean Thornton well.”

She exhaled, and her shoulders slumped. “I knew he would be angry over the search warrant and wouldn’t want to let us in his house, even though he really didn’t have a choice. But I didn’t expect the change that came over him when we found that gun in Mike’s room. I think for the first time Ean realized there was nothing he could do to make this go away.”

Brock nodded. “I have to say I felt a little sorry for the guy when you were leading Mike to the car. I know it must be hard to see your son arrested.”

Kate turned to stare at him. “I felt sorry for him, too, but then I got to thinking. If Ean had set some rules for Mike years ago, this might never have happened. I think Mike had gotten to the point he thought he could get away with anything.”

Brock shook his head in disgust. “I see it all the time in my job, too. A young life wasted because he thought he was above the law. Now Mike doesn’t have anything to look forward to but a lifetime of prison.”

“If he’s convicted.”

“Don’t worry. No jury is going to let him off. Not with the evidence you’ve put together.” Brock opened the car door, stepped out and leaned down to stare into the car at her. “I’m glad Sheriff Baxter sent that deputy over to relieve you today. Now go home and get some sleep. I’ll meet you back at the station at five this afternoon when you go back on patrol, and I’ll ride with you all night.”

She nodded and shifted into gear. “That sounds good. I’ll see you there.”

Brock stepped back onto the curb and watched as Kate’s car disappeared down the street. He was about to walk toward the house when he spotted Dillon McAllister and Sam Burnett jogging toward him. Dillon ran about two paces in front of Sam, who seemed to be having trouble keeping up.

They came to a stop next to him. Perspiration poured down Sam’s face, but Dillon’s orange Tennessee Volunteers T-shirt and running shorts looked as if they’d just come from the laundry. Sam bent over, propped his hands on his knees and wheezed. Dillon grinned and jerked a finger in Sam’s direction. “Sam and I went for a short run, but I think it’s about done him in.”

Sam straightened and glared at Dillon. “Short? I feel like we covered half of the island.”

Dillon laughed and slapped Sam on the back. “Half of the island?” He rolled his eyes at Brock. “We ran to the Sandwich Shop and spent most of the time sitting in there and waiting for Sam to catch his breath.”

Brock glanced from one to the other and chuckled. “Next time just tell him you’ll meet him there, Sam.”

“There won’t be any next time with this guy,” Sam muttered.

Brock tried to stifle a yawn, but he couldn’t. He placed his hand over his mouth. “I’ve got to go, guys. I was up all night with Kate on patrol. I need to get some sleep.”

Dillon nodded. “I can understand that. From what Grady said, it was a busy night.”

Brock’s eyes widened. “Where did you see Grady?”

“At the Sandwich Shop,” Dillon said with a shrug. “There were a lot of island residents in there, and he was telling everybody about the police arresting some boy last night for that murder on the beach. He said the emergency helicopter came from the mainland a while ago and brought a deputy to cover for Kate today while she’s getting some sleep.”

Brock frowned and propped his hands on his hips. “What else did he say?”

“That they took the boy back in the helicopter to the jail over at Swan Quarter. He said something about the boy’s father being upset.”

Brock sighed. “Well, I guess the whole island knows by now about what happened last night.”

“I expect you’re right,” Sam said. “The place was full of people. So, Kate’s gone home to sleep, but what about you? What are you going to do today?”

Brock yawned again. “I’m going to bed and sleep, I hope. Then I’ll meet Kate late this afternoon to ride patrol with her again tonight.” He glanced at his watch. “So I think I’ll go upstairs and get in bed. Maybe I’ll see you later today.”

Brock turned and walked across the yard and onto the porch of the bed-and-breakfast. As he opened the door, he glanced over his shoulder at Sam and Dillon. He could hear Dillon trying to persuade Sam to take one more jog down to the end of the street and back. Sam shook his head and limped toward the front porch. Dillon laughed and trotted down the street.

Brock chuckled under his breath as he went inside and climbed the steps to his room. He stopped about halfway to the second floor and thought again about what the men had said about Grady talking to the crowd in the coffee shop.

By now the word was out that Jake Morgan’s killer had turned out to be Mike Thornton, a kid who came from a family with deep roots on Ocracoke. All the time they had been so close to Jake’s killer and didn’t know it. The thought that they might also know Kate’s adversary worried him.

Solving Jake’s murder had reinforced something he’d learned as a rookie policeman. You can’t overlook anyone in an investigation. Sometimes the one you least suspect turns out to be guilty in the end. That might hold true for the person who’d been terrorizing the island.

From now on, no one was above suspicion.

A
t five o’clock that afternoon Kate walked through the door of the police station. Her head thudded like a bass drum behind her aching eyes. She came to a halt as she entered and stared at Lisa behind the dispatch desk.

Lisa propped her elbow on the desk and tried to shield her eyes with her hand but not before Kate caught sight of the red eyes and swollen face. Kate eased across the floor and stopped beside her desk. She put a hand on Lisa’s shoulder. “Are you all right?”

A wail escaped Lisa’s mouth. She folded her arms on her desk and buried her face in them. “I can’t believe it, Kate. Calvin, a thief and involved in Jake’s murder.”

Kate flatted her hand between Lisa’s shoulder blades and rubbed in small circles. “I know,” she crooned. “It’s hard for me, too, but it’s true. Calvin made his choices, and now he has to pay the price.”

Lisa jerked her head up, and anger flashed in her eyes. “How could I have been so stupid? I thought he was the most wonderful man I’d ever met. I think I loved him, but I keep asking myself how I could have when he’s nothing but a…but a…”

Kate nodded as Lisa searched for a word to describe Calvin. “He’s a crook, Lisa, and you have to remember that. He broke the law and violated the trust that the citizens of Ocracoke and the law enforcement community put in him. Keep that in mind.”

Lisa pulled a tissue from a box on the corner of her desk and wiped at her eyes. “I’m trying, but it’s so hard. Maybe in time.”

Kate thought of how she’d been trying to forget Brock for the past six years, and she hadn’t succeeded yet. She hoped Lisa had better luck than she had. She smiled. “We’ll get through this, Lisa.”

The ringing of the telephone on Lisa’s desk startled Kate. Only nonemergency calls came in on that line, and Kate sighed. In the past few days she’d had to respond to more violent crime scenes than she would ever have believed. She could use a quiet call without any seriously injured victims.

Lisa grabbed the receiver. “Ocracoke Sheriff’s Office. How may I help you?” She listened for a moment, scribbled something on a pad and nodded. “We’ll have an officer there right away, sir.”

When she hung up, Kate leaned over to see what she’d written. “What was that?”

Lisa handed her the paper she’d written on. “The man on the phone was calling to report a fender bender at the corner of Oyster Road and Forest Lane.”

“Did he say who was involved in the accident?”

“No. He said it wasn’t too bad, but he would need a police report for the insurance claim.”

Kate turned and headed toward the door. “I’ll go take this report and be right back. Brock is meeting me here. When he arrives, tell him where I’ve gone and that I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“I’ll take care of him. He’ll probably bend my ear telling me how wonderful you are.”

Lisa’s words brought a smile to Kate’s face as she exited the station. For a long time, she had concentrated on Brock’s faults, but the time she’d spent with him lately had opened her eyes to what a good person he really was.

Being with him again had stirred feelings in her that she thought would never surface again. The way he looked at her sometimes made her recall times in the past when he’d told her how beautiful she was and how she was what he had always dreamed of in a wife. Did he still think of her as a beautiful woman, or had she transformed into a tough law enforcement officer whose only appeal lay in her ability to overcome a fleeing suspect?

She unlocked the squad car, slid behind the wheel and buckled her seat belt. As she reached to turn the ignition, she glanced at the interior of the car. There was nothing feminine about her car. A shotgun hung on the rack of the backseat barrier behind her and a mobile data terminal sat between the driver’s and passenger’s seats. She had the latest technology at her fingertips, everything she could want in her job. But there was something missing—a man who loved her for the woman, not the deputy, she was.

She had thought for years nothing mattered but her job and caring for her sisters. That had become her life. Although she loved her sisters and her job with all her heart, she needed more. Brock had come back, and the part of her heart that had insisted she could never love again had been proven wrong.

Tears filled her eyes. She couldn’t deny the truth anymore. She loved Brock. In fact she had never quit loving him, but it would do her no good. He would leave soon and go back to his life, and she would be left with the existence she’d made for herself on her island.

Gritting her teeth, she cranked the car and drove toward the spot where the fender bender had been reported. Kate knew the intersection well. It wasn’t too far from her home.

She drove through the village along the road that ran the length of the island. It only took a few minutes before she spotted the turnoff onto Oyster Road. She guided the squad car onto the gravel road and drove along it. In the distance she spotted a car parked at the spot where Forest Lane intersected the road.

As Kate pulled to a stop, she saw only one car. Not two. Lisa hadn’t said this was a hit-and-run, but it must have been. She stepped out of the car and looked around. A man bent down as if looking at the front bumper. The hood of the car blocked her view of his face.

“Hello,” she said. “I’m here in response to a call about a fender bender.”

“Thanks for coming. I made the call.” The man didn’t straighten and face her.

With an instinct forged from her years in the sheriff’s department, Kate touched the gun at her waist, took a step and squinted at the figure. The car’s hood hid his face, but she could see the orange T-shirt pulled tight across his back. “Can you tell me what happened?”

“Yes, I can.” The man took a deep breath before he rose to his full height and turned to face her.

Kate gasped, and her hand dropped to her side. She took a step back before she recovered from the surprise of facing Dillon McAllister. She arched an eyebrow and pointed to his T-shirt. “A teacher at the University of Arkansas wearing the Tennessee logo? What would your bosses think?”

He smiled. “They wouldn’t mind. They’re Tennessee fans, too.”

He stood there in his running shorts and T-shirt, muscles tensed, looking as if he might take off on a jog at any minute. Her skin tingled as the icy inkling she’d experienced before rippled up and down her spine. She wiggled her shoulders and glanced up and down the road. “What are you doing way out here?”

He held one hand behind his back as he walked around the car. “Waiting for you.”

The tone of his voice and the gleam in his eye set off a warning in Kate’s mind. Something wasn’t right. She glanced up and down the road again. “Where is the car that hit you?”

He narrowed his eyes and stepped closer. “There wasn’t another car, Kate.”

Danger. Danger.
The word flashed through her mind like a blinking sign. She eased a step backward. “I don’t understand.” She reached down and placed her hand on the grip of the gun in her holster again.

His gaze flicked over her hand and back to her face. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Kate.”

She tightened her hold on the pistol to pull it out, but she was too late. He jerked his hand from behind his back and pulled the trigger of the Taser gun he held. Electrical shock waves pulsed through Kate’s body. She tumbled to the ground in a trembling heap. Paralyzing impulses surged through her body. Her mind told her to move, but her muscles refused to respond.

Dillon leaned over her, took her gun and handcuffs from her belt, and flipped her facedown in the road. Kate felt the cuffs snap around her wrists, but she could only lie stunned and helpless in the dirt.

She heard the door of Dillon’s car opening, and then he bent down with his mouth next to her ear. “When I woke up this morning, I knew the time was right. So here we are. The one thing I want to accomplish today is to
Live and Let Die.
”

The words echoed in her pounding head and sent fear racing through her body. At last she knew the identity of the person who wanted her dead. The answer to why she had no idea.

He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to her feet. Kate’s legs wobbled like limp spaghetti, and she sagged against him. He laughed, shoved her into the backseat of his car and slammed the door.

Even with her head still vibrating from the electrical pulses, Kate knew when he climbed in the car and started the engine. Then they were moving. Where was he taking her? She tried to wiggle her arms, but they wouldn’t respond.

She took a deep breath and willed herself to be still. The effects of the Taser would wear off in a few minutes. All she had to do was wait and watch for her opportunity to attack Dillon.

They drove a short distance and stopped. Fear choked her throat. Had he driven her to a lonely place to kill her? The back door of the car opened, and he jerked her from the car and into a standing position next to him.

Her wobbly legs threatened to collapse, and the fear she’d felt a moment ago escalated into full-blown horror when she saw where she stood—facing her own house. At this time of day her sisters would be inside. Panic swept through her. Her knees buckled, but his hand gripped her arm and steadied her.

“Why, Dillon? I’d never seen you before last week. Why do you want to hurt me?” The forced words ripped at her parched throat.

He laughed and gouged her in the back with her own handgun. “You’ll know before long. Now let’s go meet your sisters.”

Some feeling had returned to her legs. She tried to dig her feet into the sandy soil, but it was no use. The black bag that hung on his shoulder jostled as he pushed her forward and propelled her up the front steps. Opening the front door, he nudged her into the living room and closed the door behind him.

“Anybody home?” he called out.

Footsteps from the kitchen made Kate’s heart almost stop. Betsy, a dish towel in her hands, appeared in the doorway. Emma ran from the kitchen and darted around Betsy. Emma’s face broke into a big smile. “Hi, Mr. McAllister. What are you doing here?”

Emma started toward Dillon, but Kate took a step forward to block her way. “No, Emma. Stay back.”

At Kate’s sharp words, Betsy reached out, grabbed Emma and pulled her backward. Her forehead wrinkled, and she wrapped her arms around the child. “Kate, what’s going on?”

Dillon pulled the gun from Kate’s back and pointed it at Emma. “I’m here for a short visit, and you need to do whatever I ask or I’ll shoot your sister.”

Betsy’s face paled, and her mouth dropped open. The dish towel in her hand drifted to the floor. She hugged Emma tighter.

Kate’s heart pumped. She tried to kick at Dillon, but he avoided the blow and laughed. He ran the barrel of the gun down Kate’s cheek and pushed her a step closer to her sisters but didn’t let go of her arm. He tossed the bag that still hung on his shoulder to Betsy and narrowed his eyes. “This is what I want you to do. Look in the bag and take out the roll of electrical tape you’ll find. Then put the bag on the floor. I want you to take Emma in the bedroom, wrap her feet together tightly, her arms behind her back and a piece of tape across her mouth. If you leave the tape loose, I will shoot Kate. Do you understand?”

Betsy nodded and glanced at Kate before she did as he said. When she had the tape in hand, she led Emma to the bedroom. Dillon guided Kate to the door, and they watched as Betsy followed his orders. When she’d finished, she looked up. Tears rolled down her face. “All right. I’ve done what you said.”

He took a step backward. “Good. Now let’s go to the kitchen.”

Kate glanced at Emma, and her heart shattered at the fear in the child’s eyes. “Don’t worry, Emma. Everything’s going to be all right.”

Emma’s wild-eyed stare jerked from Betsy to Kate. Nausea rumbled in Kate’s stomach. Betsy smiled through her tears and kissed the child on the face. “Kate’s right. You stay here. We’ll be back.”

In the kitchen, Dillon hooked his foot underneath a chair at the table and pulled it into the middle of the floor. He positioned Kate in front of it, slid her arms over the back and pushed her into the chair before he looked back at Betsy. “Now do the same with Kate. I’ll be watching, and if you don’t make it tight, I’ll shoot Emma. Right now she’s a sitting duck.”

Betsy dropped to her knees and began to wrap the tape around Kate. “I’m so sorry, Betsy,” Kate whispered. “I have no idea why he’s doing this. I wish I could have spared you and Emma from being involved.”

Betsy looked up at Kate. Her lips trembled. “It’s all right, Kate. We’re a family, and we’ll face this together.” She pulled a piece of tape off and positioned it in front of her mouth. “I love you, Kate.”

“I love you, too. Tell Emma I love her.”

Muffling a sob, Betsy pressed the tape to Kate’s mouth.

Dillon grabbed Betsy by the arm and pulled her to her feet. “Now it’s your turn.”

Kate turned her head to get a glimpse as Dillon propelled her out of the room. She strained to hear what was happening. Tape was ripped from the roll with a sharp crackle, the sound drifting into the room. After a moment a bed creaked. He had tied Betsy up and made her lie down beside Emma. Now all three of them were helpless.

She had to do something. Glancing around the kitchen, she searched for something that would help her loosen her bonds. A knife lay on the counter across the room. Could she get to it before Dillon returned? She tensed her body and jerked upward with all her might. The chair rose and thudded back to the floor less than an inch from its original spot.

Rascal’s low growl reached Kate’s ear. Where was he? Her gaze darted about the room and came to rest on the door that led to the utility room just off the kitchen. Emma must have sneaked the cat inside when Betsy wasn’t looking, and now he probably lay in his favorite spot—in a basket of dirty laundry.

Thoughts of Rascal vanished as Dillon ambled back into the kitchen. He tossed the tape on the table and placed his hand over his mouth to stifle a yawn. He spotted the full coffeepot on the kitchen counter and pulled a mug from the cabinet. After he poured himself some coffee, he sat down at the kitchen table, took a sip and smiled. “It’s been a long day, and that tastes good. I’ll have to tell Betsy she makes good coffee.”