Hannah beamed. Yeah, hes my little wrangler. My husband wanted to name him after a town back in Wyoming. Thats where Rileys from.
Oh, right. I heard youd married a cowboy.
Hannahs grin broadened, but before she could answer, Melissas cell phone rang. Melissa grabbed it, murmuring a quick apology to Hannah. She noted with amusement that the phones loud ring had quieted Cody immediately.
Melissa Draper.
Melissa, its Dinah Harris.
Melissas amusement faded quickly. Dinah was one of her clients, a woman whose husband Terry had a nasty temper. Melissa had helped Dinah get a restraining order against Terry a couple of months earlier. Hi, Dinah. Is something wrong?
I need to talk to you. Can you get here before noon? Though nothing she said denoted alarm, Dinahs voice sounded tight and worried. Melissa didnt like the sound of it.
Ill be right there. She hung up and looked down at Jasper, who was still gazing lovingly at Hannah.
Everything okay? Hannah asked.
A client needs to see me. She sounds worried, so I need to go. But I forgot about Jasper. I dont want to leave him alone in the cottage in case he has an accident.
Leave him with Cody and me. Well take him with us down to the bait shop to visit Mom and Dad. Hell love it. Hannah reached for Jaspers leash.
Are you sure? Melissa asked.
Positive. Hannah took the leash with a genuine smile. Ill see if I can teach him a few tricks before you get back. She started off down the path toward the lakeside marina, Jasper trotting along beside her without so much as a backward glance.
Traitor, Melissa muttered with a grin, but her humor fled as soon as she got behind the wheel of her Volkswagen. The worry in Dinahs voice might mean nothing.
But if Terry Harris was back in her life, it could very well mean murder.
Chapter Three
Shes squeaky clean. Aarons brother-in-law and fellow deputy Riley Patterson handed Aaron a file folder. Her insurance agent says she barely has enough coverage on the house to pay for the repairs. Shes never shown any signs of being an attention seeker. Damned if I can see where she had a motive to burn down her own house.
Aaron had figured as much. It was more likely that someone else had lit the match to torch the place. But who? And why? The same factors that made Melissa Draper an unlikely suspect for arson made her an unlikely victim as well.
Still, she clearly knew more about the fire than she was admitting. It was time he asked her, point blank, to tell him what she was hiding.
He grabbed the phone and dialed the number to the cottage. After five rings, the answering machine picked up. Stifling a mild curse, he left a message, wishing hed thought to get her cell phone number before hed left that morning. Is her cell number in this file somewhere? he asked Riley.
Check her initial statement.
Aaron found the number and tried it. No answer on the cell phone, either. He left a message there as well, grumbling as he hung up.
Maybe she walked down to the bait shop, Riley suggested.
Aaron tried the number to his parents shop. His sister Hannah answered on the second ring. Cooper Cove Marina.
Hey, Skipper, is Melissa Draper there? He knew he wouldnt have to explain his query. His mother would have told Hannah all about her houseguest the second his sister walked into the bait shop.
She left the cottage about twenty minutes ago, Hannah told him. I think she got a call from a client or something.
A client? She was trying to work today?
She seemed troubled when she left. Hannahs voice went serious. She tried to hide it, but the call changed her whole mood.
Worry nudged Aaron in the gut. What if the call was connected to the secret she was keeping about the arson? If she calls or shows back up, call me immediately, Aaron told her. Tell Mom and Dad to do the same.
Is she in some kind of trouble? Hannah asked.
Probably not. Even he could hear the lack of conviction in his voice.
After he rang off, he called the county dispatcher and requested that they flag any calls from Melissa Drapers cell and home phone numbers and let Aaron know about them.
Hey, Aaron, check this out, Riley called from his desk.
Aaron crossed to his brother-in-laws side and looked over his shoulder at the computer screen. On the screen was a police report from the departments archives, a domestic disturbance call from a couple of years earlier.
The complainant was Melissa Draper, who lived at an address on Tuckahaw Road.
This is the third similar report Ive found, Riley said. Three domestic disturbances, three calls from Melissa Draper.
Three different couples involved, Aaron saw as Riley clicked through the screens. Melissa was never listed as a victim, just the person reporting the disturbance.
Thats strange, Aaron murmured.
You said shes a lawyer, right?
Right. Corporate lawcontracts, powers of attorney
Maybe she does pro bono cases on the side. Riley crossed to the file cabinets, rifling through the top drawer of the cabinet nearest the wall and emerging with a manila folder. He scanned the contents quickly, recognition spreading across his face. I knew her name was familiar. She was the lawyer of record for the victim in a domestic abuse case I investigated back in the fall, one of my first cases after making investigator. Riley handed the file to Aaron. I met her before the trial. Seemed nice. A little quiet. But man, when she got that abusive son of a bitch on the stand, she turned into a tiger. Ripped him apart. It seemedpersonal, you know? Some lawyers do pro bono work for causes they care about.
So the client shes gone to see may be an abused wife. Aaron frowned. Where there were abused wives, there were big, mean, violent husbands.
He dialed Melissas cell phone again. Still no answer.
He was starting to get a very bad feeling.
MELISSAS cell phone vibrated against her side as she climbed the porch steps at Dinah Harriss house, the second call in the last ten minutes. Same digits on the display, but since she didnt recognize the number she let voice mail take it.
She knocked on the front door. Usually, a knock brought Dinahs two little boys running to be the first to answer. But all Melissa heard was silence.
A few seconds later, the faint tap of footsteps approached the door. It opened and Dinah Harris stood in the doorway, looking at Melissa with scared green eyes.
What is it? Melissa stepped forward, taking Dinahs hand. Has Terry been back here?
C-come in and have some tea. Dinah grasped Melissas hand, tugging her into the small, drab living room, her eyes glassy and wide with dread.
The hairs on Melissas arms bristled, her inner alarm clanging a dire warning. But before she could take even a step back, someone moved out from the shadows behind the door and caught her arm in a cruel, painful grasp.
Glad you could join us, bitch, Terry Harris murmured in her ear.
Her heart bucking wildly as a surge of sheer terror flooded her veins, she tried to jerk away from him. But he only tightened his grip, his fingers digging brutally into her arm.
No, you dont, he growled, dragging her through the doorway leading into the kitchen.
Melissa had always known a day like this would come. In some ways shed been preparing for it for years. Self-defense training, therapy to build the emotional toughness to handle confrontationseven criminal profiling courses so shed have the mental edge in a dangerous situation.
But no amount of forethought could keep her adrenal glands in check or erase the sometimes crippling memories now flooding her brain with a poisonous dose of unadulterated fear.
Terry pushed her into the wall next to the refrigerator. Her shoulder slammed into the sheetrock, pain flashing through her chest at the jarring impact. He didnt give her time to do more than wince, advancing until he was inches from her face. His breath was fetid, laced with alcohol and a hint of marijuana smoke, but the enormous size of his pupils, black pools rimmed with only a sliver of blue, hinted he might be amped up on crystal meth. No wonder a nosy bitch like you aint got a man of her own. Whod have you? But that dont give you no cause to mess with me and Dinah.
Youre right, Terry. Ill just go now, okay? Message received. She kept her tone reasonable, struggling for calm and focus. She tried to slide sideways away from him, but he shot his arm out, trapping her in place.
Terry, please dont Dinah grabbed his arm. Terry wheeled around, backhanding his wife. She cried out, stumbling back against the sink counter.
Shut up and let me handle this! Terry whirled around as Melissa tried to duck under his arm, grabbing her neck in one big, rough hand to pin her to the wall. Stay put.
Melissa froze in place, her pulse roaring in her ears. Her legs trembled wildly as she tried to remain completely still, aware that no amount of logic or reason was going to get through to a man so steeped in drugs and rage. But if she could keep him from killing her in the next few minutes, she might get the opportunity to wield the small vial of pepper spray tucked in the pocket of her jacket.
She was shaking so hard that it took a couple of seconds to realize the vibration she felt against her hip was coming from her cell phone. Her fingers itched to reach into her pocket and answer the call, but she didnt dare make a move while Terry was watching.
But a moment later, Terry turned his head to check on Dinahs location, perhaps afraid that she might make a move against him while his back was turned, though she sat in a crumpled, defeated heap in front of the sink, crying softly, her eyes averted. His inattention gave Melissa the chance she needed.
She slipped her hand into her pocket and pushed the call button on her phone, returning the call to whomever had just tried to ring her, then wrapped her fist around the pepper spray canister, flipping open the safety top.
Terry wheeled back around to her, squeezing her throat. For a second, black spots swam in front of her eyes and a dull roar deafened her to all but the sound of her rushing blood. Finally his grip loosened, and sound and sight returned with dizzying clarity, along with a raw ache in her bruised throat.
You dont have a man to teach you how things are supposed to be, do you? You dont have no respect for whats on us. Gotta make money to keep the house and feed the whining, ungrateful brats and a worthless, shiftless woman who treats you like a workhorse. Cant even get a decent supper on the table on time. He whipped around and looked at his wife, uttering a cruel epithet that made Melissa flinch, even though shed heard it many times before from any number of angry, violent men.
His grip loosened more, giving Melissa the opening she needed. She pulled the pepper spray from her pocket and held it out in front of her, ready when Terry Harris turned back around to face her again. His eyes widened as he spotted the canister, giving him no defense when she pressed the trigger and squirted a burning stream into his face.
AARON gripped the steering wheel tightly, horror flooding him in cold greasy waves. Over the cell phone headset, instead of Melissas voice, he heard a muffled male voice spew pure venom, vicious and cruel. Suddenly, the voice cut off with a bark of pain, and Aaron had to jerk the steering wheel quickly to keep his truck from plunging down an embankment to his right.
He listened with growing panic, trying to make sense of what he was hearing. The bark of pain turned into howls of agony, punctuated by the sound of footsteps, still oddly muted. Was the phone in Melissas pocket?
Why hadnt she said anything yet?
Finally, Melissas voice broke through the chaos. Where are the kids? The urgency in her raspy voice made his gut ache. Where was she? What was going on? Was she hurt? What kids?
Go, another womans voice answered, raw with tears. I aint leavin.
So Riley had been right. She was with one of the abuse victims she worked with. He tried to remember what Hannah had told him about the phone call Melissa had received. His sister had said Melissa seemed worried but not panicky.
Had she walked into a siege, unaware?
The howls of pain continued in the background, behind the womens low murmurs. Just before the first cry, hed heard a sort of hissing sound. Pepper spray?
Pepper spray might slow the assailant down, but it wouldnt be enough to stop him once the first wave of burning settled down. Melissa had to get out of there, and soon.
If you stay here, hell kill you. Melissas voice rose with urgency. Where are the kids, Dinah?
Just get out of here, Dinah answered. Aaron heard a tone in her voice hed heard before, too many times. Hopelessness.
Get out, Melissa, he silently urged. You cant save her.
He heard a crashing sound over the phone, and his nerves jumped wildly. He almost sagged with relief when he heard Melissa speak again. Are the kids in the house?
Just go! Dinahs voice rose hysterically. There was a soft thud and he thought he heard a small gasp from Melissa, but he couldnt be sure. The sound of the yelling man hadnt seemed to get any closer.
Suddenly that noise faded, replaced by the faint sound of running footsteps. A few seconds later, the footsteps changed, grew hollow. A rustling sound, loud enough to make him wince, was followed quickly by Melissas breathless voice, loud and direct into the phone. Call 911. Domestic assault in progress at 223 Old Borland Road in Gossamer Ridge.
Are you out of there? Get out of there! he responded, his heart hammering against his chest wall. Melissa?
Aaron? Her voice cracked. He heard the sound of a door opening, then slamming shut. A soft snick of doors locking. Im in my car. Doors locked.
Her previous words sliced through the haze of relief. Old Borland Road was about three minutes away. He gunned the truck engine. Are you okay? What happened?
Im okay. Just get here. Ill be waiting at the highway turnoff. And youre going to need backup.
Let me call it in. He grabbed the radio. I need two cruisers. And get Riley Patterson out here.
Melissas voice rang in his ear. Have them stop at the turnoff.
He added that direction to his call to dispatch. What else do we need to know? he asked Melissa.
She told him about her visit to her client in short, hoarse sentences. He could tell from her breathlessness and the shaky sound of her voice that she was suffering from mild shock.