Love Inspired Suspense July 2015 #1 (6 page)

All she could think to say was
too bad
.

Thankfully, good sense kept her from voicing it.

* * *

As far as Isaac was concerned, he was still on the job even if his dog wasn't. He offered his guest a quick tour of the ground floor of the old farmhouse, then suggested she get some sleep upstairs in his sister's room while she had the chance.

What he didn't say was that Daniella might need all her strength and wits in the coming hours and days and should take advantage of any opportunity to recover from the long, trying night before.

Limping to the small room he used as a home office, Isaac was more than ready to get off his feet. He propped his sore leg on a half-open drawer, leaned back in the swivel chair and powered up the laptop he normally carried in his work vehicle. A simple password and he was in.

Most of his emails were inconsequential compared with the files McCord had sent about Daniella. A quick scan told him that the captain hadn't left out anything. The gaps were evident, and now that he knew she'd been relocated by witness protection he wasn't surprised.

Getting the old records of her journey from past to present might be hard to do but learning about her father's crimes and punishment was not going to be tough. Fagan's arrest and conviction were matters of public record. He'd start there, then see how much more help he needed to complete his own file on Daniella.

He'd hardly begun when Captain McCord telephoned. “Black. How are you feeling?”

“Sore. And halfway mad at myself. But the nurse is safe now. She's with me.”

“Yeah, so I understand. I thought I warned you to not get personally involved.”

“She's not staying here long. I just needed someplace to put her while we get in touch with witness protection and they make new plans for her.”

“And when will that be?”

“Very soon. The poor woman's at the end of her rope and there's nothing wrong with letting her unwind here. Once she calls the Feds we'll lose jurisdiction.”

“You mean you'll lose touch with her, don't you?”

Isaac took a deep breath before he answered, “That has crossed my mind, yes.”

“Well, I'll cut you some slack because of your leg. But while you're home playing babysitter you also need to keep on top of our other cases. General Meyer says the White House wants results on the Michael Jeffries murder, for one. With the congressman back in the news because of the bombing at his press conference, reporters have started asking questions about his late son again.”

Despite working diligently on the murder case—and the attempted murder of the congressman himself—the Capitol K-9 Unit was no closer to solving it. “I copy. Has there been any more news about the child who may have witnessed the attack at the Jeffries estate?”

Isaac thought about the child's glove that had been found near the crime scene and the subsequent attacks on All Our Kids foster home, which had resulted in the home being moved to a secret location. The Capitol K-9 Unit surmised that the killer had seen a child watching from the tree line of the woods between the congressman's property and the former foster home, but that the killer didn't know
which
child—hence the attacks on the foster home.

“Some. Tommy Benson admitted he snuck out that night and his caretakers report he's been having nightmares.”

“Are the children safe at the new location?”

“Yes. Nicholas interviewed Tommy after the boy got spooked by something and ran away from the home. We're positive he's the kid who witnessed Michael Jeffries's murder and dropped the blue glove in the woods. He did say he's afraid of some guy with white hair. That's about all we've managed to get out of him.”

Isaac mentally shook his head at the thought of anyone harming the innocent children at the foster home. He pictured little Juan Gomez, the two-year-old son of Congressman Jeffries's former housekeeper, who'd been found dead at the bottom of a cliff the night before Michael Jeffries's murder. Juan had been staying at All Our Kids until a couple of months ago, when his aunt, Lana Gomez, took him in. “What's going on with Juan Gomez? Is he happy living with his aunt Lana?”

“All reports are very positive,” the captain said.

“Good. Send me updates and I'll reread the files to refresh my memory, then get back to you if I see anything that gives me new ideas. I still think there may be a connection between Rosa's death and that of the congressman's son.”

“Michael Jeffries was an attorney,” McCord said flatly. “They make enemies.”

“Yeah, but they don't all end up shot and killed.”

McCord was adamant. “There's no way the Jeffries family is guilty of anything except being involved in Washington politics. I've known Harland since I was a kid. If I thought for a minute that they'd actually broken the law, I'd be the first to act.”

Which is probably a big part of the reason this case is stalled
, Isaac thought. He decided it would be best to change the subject. “Okay. I'll call in as soon as we know where Daniella Dunne is going and when.”

“Fair enough. Talk to you later.”

The conversation over, Isaac sat and pondered the facts he already knew, sharing them with Abby, who never offered unasked-for opinions.

He smiled down at her. “One, Harland Jeffries is as crooked as a dog's hind leg no matter what Gavin thinks. My apologies, girl.” The little beagle wagged her tail and made herself comfortable sprawled on the hardwood floor beside him. Research into the congressman's activities hinted at corruption, the taking of bribes, but nothing that could be proven—yet.

“Two,” Isaac went on, “Jeffries's longtime housekeeper took a swan dive off a cliff but left no suicide note.”

“Three, whoever shot the son evidently also tried to kill the father. Jeffries could have bled out before help arrived.”

As he mused, Isaac was absently tickling Abby's soft, floppy ears with the fingers of one hand.

“Four, Erin Eagleton, another daughter of Senator Eagleton, is believed to have been on the scene during the lethal assault because her jewelry was found there.” He took a deep breath and released it as a sigh. “And five, there's a scared kid named Tommy who just may have the answers to everything.”

Isaac felt as if someone had put his thoughts in a blender and flipped the switch. Even if they did not yet have all the facts concerning these complicated cases, there was a good chance they had enough clues to at least make some headway.

“Somehow, it all has to hinge on Jeffries. He's the only common denominator.”

When a feminine voice behind him asked, “What makes you say that?” Isaac jumped and almost fell off his chair.

SIX

D
aniella covered a giggle with her hand. “Oops. Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you.”

“I thought you were taking a nap.”

She shrugged. “That's hard to do when all I can think about is being blown to bits.”

Isaac frowned. “You don't feel safe here?”

“Here? Of course,” she answered. “But I can't stay forever. I need to call the US marshals and tell them what's happened so they can relocate me.”

“I know. Want to borrow my phone?”

“That won't help much. All the specific info I need to identify myself is either on the phone card you got rid of or in my apartment. They don't just arbitrarily believe anybody who calls and claims to be one of their protected witnesses.”

“That makes sense. So, what you're saying is that you need to go back there soon.” He began to smile wryly, making her feel as if he believed she'd tried to trick him and failed.

“It's
true
.”

“I don't doubt it. I'm also sure you've been racking your brain to come up with a plausible reason to go looking for your cat.” The smile grew. “Am I right?”

“You've never heard of killing two birds with one stone?”

“Sure. I've also heard of pet owners who consider their animals to be family.”

“Ha! You should talk.” She made sure he saw her staring at Abby. The beagle had rolled onto her back and was lying with all four legs in the air, begging for a tummy rub.

“I told you before. This dog and I are working partners.”

“Well, Puddy's my only true friend so he counts, too.” She could tell by the way the officer sobered and straightened in his chair that she'd revealed too much.

“I know you have more good friends than one cat.”

Daniella shook her head slowly, deliberately. “No. I don't. I didn't dare let myself get too close to anybody in case this very thing happened. My father is too vindictive. If he thought anyone was important to me, the way Mom was, it would be just like him to eliminate that person out of sheer meanness.”

She heard Isaac give a sigh as he turned back to his computer and said, “All right. Let's see what else we can find in your father's background that might help us anticipate his next move. How about known associates? Can you think of people he might contact in civilian life? What about the men he worked with before he was sent to prison?”

“Most of them either died or landed in jail, too. Besides, I told all that to the police and the prosecutor before his trial.”

“I don't necessarily mean the criminal element. I mean regular folks. You know, his garage mechanic or the pool boy or yard man. People like that.”

She raked her fingers through her hair. “I can't remember. It was ten years ago and I was a self-centered teenager. I hardly noticed those kinds of employees.”

“You mean you didn't have a crush on the pool boy?”

Her cheeks warmed. “All I can recall is his dark, wavy hair and nice muscles. Not nearly as nice as yours, though.” The warmth of her face increased until she had no doubt she was visibly blushing.

The computer made a chirping noise and drew their attention. Isaac clicked on his email icon and opened the attachment. It contained autopsy photos along with a series of recent reports. “Sorry,” Isaac said.

“Hey, I'm a nurse, remember?” She leaned over his shoulder to peer at the screen. “Who is that?”

“Michael Jeffries, Harland's son. Mind if I look at the rest of the file?”

“Not at all. If I hadn't chosen nursing I might have gone into the study of forensics.”

As the shots flashed by, she suddenly squeezed Isaac's shoulder. “Stop. Go back. I want to look at that one.”

“Looks like Michael hurt his shoulder when he fell.”

Daniella pointed. “No, no. That's not an injury. It's a birthmark. I saw one almost identical to it on Harland Jeffries's shoulder just the other night.”

“Interesting. Is that kind of thing rare?”

“Not really. Unlike some other types of marks, ones like that can be inherited. It's called a café au lait mark, coffee with cream,” Daniella explained. “If I had a picture of Harland's back I could prove it.”

“You don't have to prove anything to me. I believe you.”

She smiled and gave Abby's stomach a rub.

“About everything,” he added. “And I'm going to do my best to see that no harm comes to you.”

“Thanks.” She didn't pull away when Isaac laid his warm hand over hers and held very still.

He didn't speak again. Neither did she.

There was no need.

* * *

Isaac figured he could stall his houseguest and keep her from returning to her apartment for one more day, maybe two. The cat had plenty of food and water so it wouldn't suffer. He simply preferred to keep Daniella away long enough for whoever was after her to determine she was no longer living there.

He sent her out to talk to his brother so he could telephone his sister, Becky, in private. The real estate office answering machine picked up his call.

Instead of listening to the message, he hung up and dialed her cell. “Becky, pick up,” he was saying as her “Hello” cut in.

Isaac huffed. “Where are you?”

“On my way to show a house in Arlington. Why?”

“I hope you don't mind having a surprise houseguest.”

“Mind? Of course not. Who is it?”

“Daniella Dunne. She's an innocent victim of a crime. She won't be with us long.”

“She can stay as long as she needs to. Give her my room if you want. Is there anything else I can do to help her?”

“Come home ASAP,” Isaac said. “Daniella acts fine most of the time but I'm getting the idea she's a lot more fragile than she lets on. I don't want her to fall apart with only me and Jake here to comfort her.”

Listening to his sister chuckle upset Isaac. “Look, Becky, this is not funny.”

“Hey, I was laughing at you, not her.”

“Well, fine. Daniella's scared, as she should be, and until the cops can find the person who set explosives under her car, she'll continue to be in danger.”

“How can you be sure of that?”

“Because there's more to the story. The bomb construction was familiar, for one. Crude but effective.”

“What about the one that went off last night by the monument? Which reminds me, how's your leg?”

“It hurts. Thanks for asking,” Isaac said, tongue in cheek. This was not the first time it had occurred to him to wonder why the two recently set bombs were so similar, both in size and destructive efficiency—or in this case, inefficiency.

“We sent the fragments of the first one to the lab at Quantico,” Isaac continued. “I don't know what the bomb squad did with the unexploded one under Daniella's car but I'm sure somebody thought to compare the test results. If not, I'll see it gets done.”

“Hmm. This is the second or third time you've called her by her first name. Just how close a friend is she?”

“I met her last night,” he said flatly.

“And? That doesn't mean a thing if you've fallen for her already.”

“Don't be ridiculous. Nobody can get seriously involved that fast. Not even me.”

“Okay, okay. I just thought I heard something different in your voice when you talked about her, that's all.”

“No way. You're imagining things.” But was she? Isaac wondered. There had been something odd, some unexplainable connection, that he'd sensed the moment Daniella's frightened gaze had locked with his in the ER. They did have an emotional bond of sorts, the kind that appeared once in a lifetime, if ever. He knew it and he suspected that Daniella knew it, too.

Beginning to mutter the moment the call ended, Isaac pushed himself to his feet and made sure he was steady on his sore leg, then limped toward the area of the house where Jacob was currently at work.

As he approached, he overheard his brother's robust laugh, then the higher, lovelier pitch of a woman enjoying the same uplifting emotion. It had to be Daniella, yet the change in her mood seemed so unlikely, he paused to listen.

“So, grab a hammer and give me a hand,” Jake said. “I dare you.”

Isaac couldn't make out her answer but he didn't care. There was no way he was going to permit her to hang out with his brother when she should be with him and Abby, where she'd be safest.

Careful to smile as he rounded the corner into the laundry room, Isaac stopped. “There you are. I was getting worried.”

Her head slanted in a quizzical pose. “Why? You're the one who sent me to Jake,” Daniella countered.

“I know. I just needed privacy. You can come back to the den now.”

It floored him when she shook her head and said, “I'd rather stay here and help your brother if it's all the same to you. He needs me to hold the level while he nails things in place.”

The urge to make a fuss and insist she rejoin him was so strong Isaac almost expressed his disappointment. He saw Daniella look from him to his brother, then back again, as if she were a child trying to decide which flavor of cookie to choose.

He wanted her to come with him voluntarily rather than because he'd ordered it. What little he already knew about her was contradictory, yet instinct told him she could be stronger than she appeared sometimes. She'd have had to be to survive and thrive after her turbulent teen years. Any weakness he was sensing now had to be mostly due to the reappearance of her lethal father.

Having enjoyed a home with stable, loving parents and a peaceful childhood, Isaac couldn't imagine the pain she must have suffered. Must still be suffering.

Perhaps it was his empathy, perhaps his deep desire to look after her, that made the difference. He didn't care how it was defined. All he knew was that Daniella abruptly turned to Jacob to apologize for leaving, then joined him.

He smiled. She took his arm. The warmth of her touch through the fabric of his shirtsleeve was unbelievable. For a few moments he actually forgot the pain in his leg, overlooking everything but her.

When she said, “You know, it's high time I contacted the marshal's office and set up an appointment,” Isaac's heart lodged in his throat.

Of course she was leaving DC. He'd known that from the beginning. So why were his emotions taking him for such an impossible ride?

It must be the pain meds that were befuddling his brain, he concluded. No way was he going to actually fall for a woman whose primary goal was to disappear for good. He was smarter than that.

At least he hoped he was.

* * *

Parts of the day sped by for Daniella while other parts seemed interminable. Her biggest concern was for her poor, abandoned kitty.

“I've decided what to do,” she began at the dinner table. Becky had arrived bearing several pizzas and the rest of them had set the table. “Do?” Isaac raised a brow.

“About Puddy. You can drop me at my apartment in the morning and I'll go in alone so he won't be so scared.”

She saw his gaze rake over his brother and sister before returning to her. “See? What did I tell you? The woman is self-destructive.”

“I'm nothing of the kind. I'm logical. Puddy's afraid of dogs. That's why he hid. All I have to do is go in by myself and he'll come right to me. Then I can dig out my private contact numbers for witness protection and I'll be all set.”

“Not happening,” Isaac muttered.

“Why not?” If she'd been standing she'd have planted her fists on her hips. As it was she almost pounded the dining room table. “You told me there was a watch on my apartment in case my— In case the bad guys showed up again, so unless your cop buddies are slacking off, the place should be secure.”

Jake chuckled. “She's got you there, bro.”

Agreeing, Becky reached over and patted Daniella's hand. “When you're right, you're right. Would you like me, or all of us, to go with you?”

“Not necessary. But thanks for the offer. Like I said, the cat is kind of shy. Being black, it's easy for him to hide in dark spaces and I'm afraid if I don't coax him out soon he may get depressed and make himself sick.”

Laughing softly, Becky winked at her brothers. “Well, guys, I tried to get us invited. Guess you're on your own.”

As far as Isaac was concerned this was no laughing matter. He scowled at his siblings. “Coercion isn't necessary. Ms. Dunne wants to survive long enough for the authorities to arrange a new life for her. I'm sure she knows I'm right about not going off on her own.” He smiled as if positive she was about to agree. When she did not, he was happy to see the subject dropped, at least temporarily.

He just wished he couldn't see the wheels grinding in her fertile imagination. One look in her eyes told him she was far from convinced.

* * *

“Suppose we play it by ear and see what the circumstances are once we get to my apartment,” Daniella suggested, eyeing his injured leg after breakfast the following morning. “After all, I know better than to bandage a cut without cleaning it and assessing the damage first. The same should go for your job. It's silly to borrow trouble and react defensively to a threat that may never come about.”

Isaac's palms were pressed to the table as if he intended to leap to his feet. Instead, he stood slowly, deliberately. His shoulders were square, his spine stiff and his jaw set, presenting an image of an immovable granite boulder rising from bedrock.

“Ms. Dunne,” he began, “I have never lost a person I was assigned to protect and I don't intend to start now. Either you agree to do things my way or we won't do them at all. Am I making myself clear?”

“Perfectly.”

Daniella knew she shouldn't fight his good intentions, yet a perverse side of her personality kept insisting she didn't need looking after. Logically, she did, of course. Anyone in his or her right mind could see that. It was just that when Isaac issued orders he got under her skin. Perhaps it was his tone, although it could also be the way he delivered his demands. His body language brooked no argument, actually spurring her to disagree just on principle.