Family Under Fire Read online

  “How could I forget?” The words were out before he could stop them, carrying a world of meaning in their wake.

  Timing, Colton. It never was your thing.

  For a moment they gazed at each other, then an unmistakable, and very stinky, aroma filled the air.

  “Oh, my goodness.” Alyssa wrinkled her nose. “Where did you put the pink-elephant bag with the spare diapers?”

  Everett started to laugh. “It’s on the table.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the door. “I need to go. Casey is on his way. I’ll explain everything when I get back.”

  “Promise me—” Her lower lip trembled.

  It was like stepping back in time four years.

  “I’ll be careful.”

  * * *

  Alyssa was left with a dilemma. It seemed like explaining their startling new situation to Everett’s twin should be something they did together. Answering the door to Casey with a sleepy baby in her arms meant he inevitably gave her a look that was both startled and questioning.

  “This is Sean and Delilah Dodd’s daughter, Kennedy. Following their deaths, Everett and I have accepted joint custody of her.”

  Casey’s frown betrayed his shock, and he remained silent for a moment or two.

  Although she knew and liked Everett’s brother, they’d never had a chance to get really close. His deputy-sheriff job kept him in Cactus Creek and, during the time that she and Everett had been dating, their lives had been in Phoenix. The two had made an effort to meet up, and family occasions with their parents had been important to them, but their busy jobs had often gotten in the way.

  Casey stepped into the apartment and Alyssa locked the door behind him.

  He looked around in confusion. “Where is Everett?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Oh, I get it.” The twins were fraternal, but when they smiled, the similarities between them were remarkable. “This is like the time he bet me he could beat me in a race to a bar. We both set off, then this hot girl in denim shorts distracted me by asking for my help to find her dog. It was over a year later I found out she was one of his college classmates and they split the winnings. Is he hiding in the bedroom?”

  “Seriously. He said he had to go out and that you would stay with me until he got back. You now know as much as I do.”

  The smile disappeared as he looked around. Before either of them could say anything else, the security buzzer made Alyssa jump. If she and Kennedy were to stay here, that thing would have to go.

  “I’m expecting a delivery.” She hesitated, not wishing to sound overdramatic. “But Everett told me to keep the door locked.”

  He went to the window and twitched back the drapes. “There’s a flatbed truck parked outside. It’s piled high with boxes.”

  Piled high? With a sinking feeling, Alyssa went to stand beside him. The truck was small, but there were a lot of boxes. And she recognized the woman who was exiting from the passenger side of the vehicle.

  “That’s Patty Griffiths. She’s from the Department of Child Safety.” She looked down at the baby, who had fallen asleep in her arms. “She promised to deliver Kennedy’s things.”

  “I’ll get the door,” Casey said.

  Sure enough, the guy at the door was one of Patty’s colleagues. By way of a greeting, he handed Casey a high chair. “I could do with some help getting the rest of the stuff up the stairs.”

  Ten minutes later, the two men had made several trips from the van to the apartment. There were now several tall stacks of boxes in the small bedroom and the floor space in the living room was rapidly disappearing.

  “We only brought the essentials,” Patty explained to Alyssa. “The rest of it is at her parents’ home.”

  “Rest of it? How much stuff can one small person have?”

  “I’ve been doing this job a long time and I’ve never seen so many toys and clothes.” Patty pursed her lips. “They must have spent a fortune on her.” She handed Alyssa a framed picture. “I know you’ll want to remind her of her birth parents. This was taken recently.”

  It showed Kennedy sitting on a rug. Sean was lying on one side and Delilah was on the other. They were smiling as, propped on their elbows, each moved in to kiss one of their daughter’s chubby cheeks.

  Alyssa stared at it for a moment or two. It was hard to believe such a happy family had been torn apart so tragically. Some might say the Dodds had brought what happened on themselves, but Kennedy was an innocent victim in all of this.

  “I’ll make sure to put it somewhere so she can see it all the time.”

  When Patty and her colleague had gone, Alyssa eased Kennedy onto the sofa and sat next to her.

  “If you’re really doing this, you may need to get a bigger place.” Casey looked down at the sleeping baby. “Are you doing this?”

  “We just found out about the custody request in Sean and Delilah’s will a few hours ago. We were about to talk about what it meant for the future when your brother took off. It’s so sad. This little girl’s parents must have loved her so much...” She shook her head. “Patty mentioned their home. I guess it’s part of the estate Kennedy will inherit.”

  “Sean may have made his money on the wrong side of the law, but Delilah was a clever accountant. She invested it wisely and legally. The Dodds had a very neat property just outside of Cactus Creek. Kennedy will be a wealthy little girl.”

  “I didn’t know them well, and I understand that they were in trouble with the law before they died, but Sean is the last person I could imagine taking his own life,” Alyssa said. “And killing Delilah, as well? It seems totally out of character.”

  “He left a suicide note stating that he would rather die than face prison.” Casey’s grim expression reminded her of the hurt that Sean had caused him in the past.

  Kennedy murmured in her sleep and Alyssa soothed her by gently rubbing her shoulders. Her responsibility to the child hit her all over again. “What a dreadful start for her. It will take a lot of hard work to make sure this doesn’t permanently damage her.”

  “If anyone can give her a normal life, you and Everett are the ones to do it,” Casey said. “I guess that’s why Sean and Delilah chose you. They finally got something right.”

  Sean Dodd was a cattle rustler who had been implicated in a murder. Delilah was a skilled accountant who cooked the books to make it look like his investments were honest. They had chosen a life on the wrong side of the law, but could they have foreseen that they would die this way? It felt like a step too far for a couple who had always struck her as overconfident.

  And they chose us. Not Everett or Alyssa, but the two of them. It was a bittersweet reminder of how good they’d once been together. So good that the Dodds had seen something in them that they wanted for their daughter if there came a time when they were no longer around.

  Her relationship with Everett might have ended, but the feelings it had been built on hadn’t gone away. Their shared past was one of the things that would make this new role hard.

  She wished she could say she didn’t walk away from a challenge. But wasn’t that what she’d done four years ago? She shook away the thought. Times had changed. And this wasn’t about her and Everett.

  It was about working together to make a future out of a tragedy.

  * * *

  The expression on Joe Meyer’s face as he accompanied Everett into Hoyles’ toy department could hardly have been described as cheery. Dodging between sales assistants dressed as elves and forest animals, Everett marched determinedly to the cash desk at the far end of the store. “FBI? You don’t seriously think this place is pushing drugs or selling guns, do you?”

  Everett couldn’t blame Joe Meyer for his sarcastic comment. Hoyles’ was a Cactus Creek institution and stepping through the doors brought back memories of his own childhood holidays. Ignori
ng the fact that white Christmases were unusual in Sur County, the toy department was decked out like an icy winter wonderland. With lavishly decorated trees, gingerbread houses, traditional dollhouses and train sets, it was guaranteed to bring a smile to the face of every kid, as well as most adults.

  “I need to speak to the manager.” The young cashier started to protest but was silenced when Everett held up his badge. It didn’t usually see this much daylight when he was on duty. “Now.”

  “Wait here.” After giving him a nervous look, she headed toward a nearby office and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, a tall man emerged.

  “I’m Paul Denmore, toy-department manager. What can I do for you?”

  Because of his suspicions about the possible contents of the package, Everett had decided not to bring it into the busy store. Instead, he had left it in Joe’s delivery van, which was parked on an empty parking lot a block away. He held up his cell phone, displaying a photograph he had taken of the brightly colored package.

  “I need you to tell me everything you know about this.”

  Denmore looked from Everett to the picture, his startled gaze taking in Joe along the way. “It looks like one of our home-delivery gifts.”

  Don’t water an angry seed. That had always been one of Maribelle Colton’s favorite phrases. Everett could almost hear his mom saying it now as he bit back an irritated response.

  “I’m aware of the appearance of this item, Mr. Denmore. What I require from you is confirmation that it did originate in your store. Once I have that, I will be able to safely open the box and check its contents.” Although, having checked it over carefully, he felt confident, based on its weight and size that it wasn’t a bomb, he wasn’t prepared to take any chances. “Finally, I’ll need details of who placed the order.” A doubtful look crossed the other man’s face. “I can get a warrant. Even close the store, if that’s what it takes...”

  “No, no.” Denmore held up his hands in a conciliatory gesture. “I’m happy to cooperate. Please come through to my office.”

  Everett entered the room in the manager’s wake, with Joe trailing behind.

  “If the package is one of ours, there will be a reference number on the gift label, under the recipient’s address,” Denmore said.

  Everett swiped through his photographs until he found a close-up of the gift label. “Does this provide the information you need?”

  “Yes.” Denmore went to his desktop computer and tapped on a few keys. After a moment or two, he leaned closer to the screen. “This item was ordered and paid for online three days ago.” He looked up. “It’s a teddy bear. The largest and most expensive soft toy we stock.”

  “Is there any possibility it could have been tampered with during the packing process?” He wanted to be absolutely sure it would be safe to open that box.

  Denmore pursed his lips. “I can’t give a hundred-percent guarantee, but I can offer you something that comes close.” He pointed to his screen, showing Everett a spreadsheet. “From the moment an order is placed to when it leaves the store, each person who handles the item records the date and time on the system. I can’t see any issues with this one.”

  Everett released the pent-up breath that had been tightening his chest. In one sense, the confirmation that the delivery had come from Hoyles’ was good news. It meant the package was unlikely to contain anything sinister. On the other hand, it provided him with only half an answer. And it raised a whole lot of unwelcome questions.

  “Okay. Now I need to know who placed the order.”

  “Client confidentiality is important to us. We don’t usually give out this sort of information. But if a crime has been committed...” Denmore typed in a few details, a frown crossing his features as the screen changed. “I’m afraid it won’t be possible to give you any information about the sender.”

  “What do you mean?” Everett moved closer, checking out the information on the screen.

  “The toy was purchased using a prepaid gift card.”

  Everett took a moment to consider that information. There could be any number of reasons why someone might want to remain anonymous when making a purchase. They may feel unsafe, threatened by identity fraud, or want to shield their credit-card data from hackers. They might even wish to keep the purchase private from family members.

  Or they might pose a specific threat to a little girl called Kennedy Dodd.

  “And there is no way of tracing who purchased the gift card?”

  “None.” Denmore made a helpless gesture. “This one was purchased for cash on the day the bear was ordered.”

  “But you have security cameras, right? You know the date and time of the purchase and which register was used. I’d like to see those images.”

  “Of course.” Denmore turned to a table at the side of his desk. On it, four monitors displayed split screen images of the interior and exterior of the store. “The security office have a clearer view of what’s going on, but this is the back-up system in case anything goes wrong.”

  Typing the time and date and a reference number into the keypad attached to the system, Denmore waited for one of the screens to load the information he required. After a moment or two, it switched to a single screen view of a register. There were two people waiting to make their purchases and Everett leaned closer to get a better view.

  “This woman has several items, but she could have bought the gift card at the same time.”

  Denmore shook his head. “No. The gift card was a single purchase.”

  Everett pointed. “So it must be this person. He or she has no other items.”

  He or she. It was impossible to tell. The figure at the desk wore dark, shapeless clothing and a jacket with the hood pulled up. Judging by the people and items around, it could have been a small man, or an average-sized woman.

  “The timing shows that was the person who bought the gift card,” Denmore confirmed.

  “Do you have any other images of him moving around the store?”

  Denmore pressed more buttons, following the figure away from the cash desk, at which point he promptly disappeared into the crowd. When the manager tried to find the guy prior to his arrival at the desk, he was equally unlucky.

  “Sorry. I can get security to keep trying and let you know if they find anything.”

  Clearly there was no point in pursuing the matter further at that time. Everett thanked Denmore for his time and left his contact details, then made his way back through the festive scene and onto the street outside.

  “Can I go now?” He’d almost forgotten about Joe.

  “I need to take a look at that package.”

  A few minutes later, he had offloaded the box from Joe’s van. Although the information from Denmore had put his mind at rest, a vague doubt remained. Carrying the package into an open space, he placed it on the ground and untied the ribbons. As he eased off the lid, his mind repeated the same question.

  Even if this was a gift from a well-wisher, how did that person know where to find Kennedy?

  There was no satisfactory answer. Could Sean and Delilah have discussed the details of their will with someone other than their lawyer, possibly Georgia? Since they hadn’t shared that information with Everett or Alyssa, the people most closely affected, it seemed unlikely. Even if that was the case, what were the chances of that person knowing when Kennedy’s new living arrangements would begin?

  If we didn’t know, how could anyone else have known?

  Could someone in Child Services have leaked the information? It was a possibility, but why would anyone do that?

  Add in the fact that Everett living at a temporary address... No, whoever had sent this gift to Kennedy had worked hard to find her. And it didn’t feel comfortable.

  “See. It’s a bear. Just like the guy said.” Joe was starting to get on his nerves.

  I
t wasn’t just any bear. It was a giant, candy-pink, fluffy bear holding a cushion that read I Love You. Everett placed the lid back on the box and walked away.

  “Hey,” Joe called after him. “What do you want me to do with this?”

  “Donate it to your favorite charity.”

  Chapter 3

  When he arrived back at the apartment, Everett found his brother on his knees assembling a crib while Alyssa unloaded baby clothes from a box. From one of many. His confused brain took an inventory of what had once been his living space. “What the—?”

  “Kennedy’s stuff arrived.” Alyssa appeared way too calm for someone who was speaking to him from behind a wall of boxes.

  Before he could reply, Casey got to his feet. “All done. Where do you want this?”

  “Well, there isn’t really space in the smaller bedroom.” Alyssa cast a wary look in Everett’s direction.

  “I see.” He wanted to adopt an outraged pose, but there was barely enough room to breathe let alone throw out his chest. “So, as well as this room being taken over by baby items, I’m also being kicked out of my bedroom. Maybe I should sleep in my car from now on?”

  He knew he was being unfair but how much more was this day going to throw at him? A baby, an ex-girlfriend—and not just any ex-girlfriend. No, Alyssa was the one he’d never quite managed to get over...and then there was that mysterious delivery. Now his rented apartment, never the most organized space, looked like a natural disaster had struck it.

  All of those things were bad enough, but none of them were the worst. Like a knot tightening in his chest, there was also the knowledge that he couldn’t protect Alyssa from his fears. He would have to watch some of the light go out of those beautiful eyes as he told her about the teddy bear.

  Aware of his twin’s gaze on his profile, he turned his head. The look in Casey’s eyes said it all. Don’t be a jerk.

  “You guys have a lot to discuss. You don’t need me getting in the way.” Casey headed toward the door, turning back to look at Everett before he left. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”