He turned out to be right. It didnt take long for the police to realize Harlan and Stacy didnt have much to add to what Parker McKenna and Bart Bellows had already told the police about what happened that day. Harlan found he had several of the same questions the police did about the bombing. For starters, why had the first bomb been so low-impact? It had been large enough to take down the dais and blast deadly shrapnel through the surrounding crowd, but there had been minimal impact to the area beyond the platform where the governor had given her speech.
If the first bomb was so small, why was the second one so much bigger? Stacy asked another of his questions aloud later as they were on the way to the hospital in the back of a detectives sedan.
Damned good question, Harlan thought. Maybe they were supposed to go off at the same time and something blocked the signal to the second device. Bomb squad will tell us more.
Maybe. Stacy didnt sound as if the explanation appeased her curiosity. Have you heard any news from the hospital?
Not a word.
I hope theyre still doing well, she murmured, gazing out the window at the sprawling campus of the University of Texas. Her profile looked pale and fragile, though Harlan knew now that she was a lot tougher than she looked.
Did you get to call Zachary? he asked aloud, wondering if shed spill the beans about who the mysterious Zachary was to her.
She slanted a quick look his way. I did. He hadnt heard anything about what happened, so he wasnt worried.
Good, Harlan said, although he wondered how anyone with access to a radio or television could have missed the news about what happened at the capitol.
At the hospital, Parker McKenna was waiting for them in the lobby. Were all upstairs waiting for more word, Parker told Harlan. Theyve done a few tests, but so far everythings looking good. They think she has a mild concussion, so theyre going to want to keep her here overnight.
What about Bart?
Him, too. He doesnt seem to have sustained any real injuries-pretty miraculous if you ask me. Parker pushed the button for the fourth floor. Theyre going to move Lila into her own room on the fourth floor as soon as they finish the last tests, so were all gathering in the fourth floor waiting area until theyve brought her up.
In the waiting room, Bailey and her sister Chloe sat talking to each other. They both looked up as Harlan, Parker and Stacy entered. Baileys eyes went soft at the sight of her fiancé, while Chloe Lockharts baby blues hardened at the sight of Harlan. She wasnt exactly his biggest fan after his stint as her bodyguard a few months back.
Oh, look. Its Dirty Harry. She greeted him with a roll of her eyes.
Nice seeing you again, Chloe. Like the hair.
Chloes right hand went defensively to her spiky pink-streaked hair. I needed a change.
Bailey pulled away from Parkers hug and reached out to touch Stacys arm. Mom told us everything you did for her back there. I dont even know how to start thanking you.
Thank the Austin bomb squad, Stacy said, looking uncomfortable at the praise.
I will, but Im not through thanking you, Bailey said with a smile. Listen, is there anything I can do for you?
I should get busy booking rooms for everyone whos staying overnight, Stacy murmured, looking as if the last thing she was capable of doing was playing social secretary for the governors entourage. But Harlan supposed that was her job, and the explosion had certainly put a kink in the plans for everyone to hop aboard the governors private jet and fly back to her home base of Freedom, Texas.
Why dont you let me do that for you? Chloe Lockhart suggested in a gentle tone that caught Harlan by surprise. He was used to sarcasm and petulance from the governors rebellious youngest child.
No, Stacy snapped, making Chloe flinch. Looking horrified by her own rudeness, Stacy immediately added, Im so sorry. I guess Im still a little stressed.
Understandable, Chloe answered, her voice sympathetic.
I just have everything Id need to get this done on my phone, Stacy added. Plus, I could really use the distraction. She flashed Bailey and Chloe a faint smile and headed out the door to the courtyard outside the waiting room. Once the door closed behind her, she pulled out her phone and seemed to get right to work.
Harlan watched her, a little worried by the pallor of her face and the way her back bowed with sheer exhaustion.
What if shed sustained an injury worse than just the scrape to her head? She could be bleeding internally, for all they knew. The EMTs had barely spared a minute to slap a bandage on her head.
Did the police tell you anything new? Parker McKennas question forced Harlans attention away from Stacy.
With an apologetic look at Bailey, Harlan drew Parker off to the side.
Ill tell her what were talking about later, you know, Parker murmured.
Harlan barely kept himself from rolling his eyes. Half the guys at Corps Security and Investigation were sappy in love these days. It was becoming an epidemic-one Harlan had no intention of getting sucked into. His ex-wife had done an excellent job of immunizing him against the love bug. He might thank her one of these days, if he ever decided to speak to her again.
Regardless, the governors daughters dont need to hear us analyzing who might want to blow up their mother and why, he said aloud to Parker. The situations scary enough.
Tell me about it, Parker growled. I thought when we caught Frank Dorian, this kind of thing was over.
Whats the chance that Dorian had an accomplice we dont know about?
Believe me, Ive been thinking about that myself, Parker admitted. But it just doesnt make sense. Dorians motive was so personal. Its not like hes going to pass on his obsession to some random bomber he found in the phone book.
Harlan knew Parker was right. Frank Dorian had blamed Lila Lockhart for her decision not to pardon his brother, whod been on Texass death row. His brothers execution had been too much for Dorians brokenhearted mother, and Dorian blamed Lila for her death, as well. His decision to go after the governor had been deeply personal rather than political, and his arrest had put an end to the threats against the governor and her family.
But at least it would have been a place to start looking.
Instead, they didnt have a clue whod planted the two bombs at the capitol today. People had been killed. Even more had been injured, some critically.
And for what? Just because Lila Lockhart had decided she wasnt through serving her country?
The world was a crazy, crazy place.
Harlans gaze drifted toward the large plate glass window looking out on the concrete courtyard, where hed last seen Stacy Giordano. She was no longer talking on the phone, nor had she reentered the hospital waiting room. Instead, she sat on one of the three concrete benches loosely circling a large potted evergreen tree, her back to the window. Her hunched shoulders and lowered head made her look small and fragile.
Harlans gut tightened with concern.
Is she okay? Parkers gaze had followed Harlans, settling on Stacys slender form.
She had a scrape on her head, but the EMT didnt seem to think it amounted to much. Of course, in the middle of all the chaos, the paramedic hadnt exactly spent much time checking her out. Ill go check on her.
As he stepped out onto the narrow fourth floor terrace, Stacy turned to see who had disturbed her solitude. In her pale face, her eyes looked big and haunted. Has something happened? she asked, her voice tinged with alarm.
No. I just wanted to check on you. He sat on one of the adjacent benches, squelching the urge to reach out and touch her folded hands. You look tired.
Long day, she murmured with a hint of wry humor.
Hellish day, he agreed. Did you manage to get all your calls made?
I think so. The humor in her eyes faded. I just wish I were home.
I bet your husband does, too. Even as the words escaped his lips, Harlan knew he was fishing for information about her marital status. He gave himself a mental kick.
She grimaced. No. No husband.
He quirked an eyebrow. Um, sorry?
She flashed a quick, humorless grin. No, not sorry.
So, another wounded warrior back from the marital battlefield? That was even more dangerous.
Her smile faded as quickly as it had risen. Do we have a death tally from the blast yet?
He shook his head. I found two D.O.A. at the scene. At least two more who were in really bad shape.
Her chin trembled and a sheen of moisture filled her dark eyes. Damn it.
The urge to pull her into a hug caught him off guard. He wasnt a demonstrative guy. He didnt do tea and sympathy. But something about Stacy Giordanos vulnerability punched him right in the gut. He wanted to make things better for her.
And that scared the hell out of him.
Id better go see if Lilas been asking for me. Stacy pushed herself off the bench, wincing a little as if the movement caused her pain.
Harlan couldnt stop himself from reaching out to steady her, his fingers closing around her upper arm. Her gaze shot up, a quizzical look in her eyes, and for a second, he felt as if his whole body had turned to liquid.
Heat quickly eclipsed that melting sensation. He pulled his hand back, disturbed by his reaction to her.
The door from the waiting room opened, and Parker stood in the doorway, his expression grim. I just got a call from Wade, he said. Frank Dorians dead.
Chapter Three
The governor stayed on the phone for most of the very early flight home from Austin the next morning, giving Stacy time to decompress from the past twenty-four hours. Staying busy arranging for the governors entourage to stay in Austin overnight had helped fill her afternoon, and the temporary drama of learning about Frank Dorians jailhouse death had occupied most of the early evening, as Bailey Lockharts fiancé, Parker McKenna, and his colleague Harlan McClain had stayed in constant touch with their counterparts at the Corps Security and Investigations office in Freedom, relaying information as it trickled in.
All evidence pointed to suicide-Dorian had fashioned a noose from his jail-issued shirt and hung himself from the bars of his cell-but Bart Bellows had selected the men who worked at CSI because they were thorough and resourceful. Stacy had tried not to eavesdrop on their conversations, but shed gleaned enough to know that one of the CSI agents had a contact at the Freedom Police Department who was keeping them apprised of the departments investigation. If there was anything strange about Dorians death, the agents of CSI were determined to figure out what it was and what, if anything, it had to do with the attack on the governor.