Chickasaw County Captive

Chapter Five

“We’re going to play a game, Maddy. Is that okay?”

Maddy looked up at Kristen, her expression curious. “But I’m coloring right now.”

“I know. This is a coloring game.” Kristen sat on the low stool beside Maddy’s play table and pulled a blank piece of paper in front of her.

“A coloring game?” Instantly intrigued, Maddy scooted closer.

“I’m going to draw something, and you’re going to help me color it in. Does that sound like fun?”

Maddy nodded, reaching for the crayons.

“I bet you have a good memory,” Kristen continued, trying not to let Maddy’s little girl smell distract her. She’d agreed to take this assignment to help Maddy remember more about the night of the attack. This might be one of the few moments she had alone with Maddy for a while, since her mother’s impending arrival promised to be a major distraction over the next couple of days.

She took a black crayon and drew an oval. “I know this might be a little scary, but I also know you’re a brave girl. Aren’t you a brave girl, Maddy?”

Maddy looked up at her, a hint of worry in her bright green eyes. “Yes, ma’am.”

“I want you to think about the man who came to your house the other night. The one who scared you and made Cissy cry.”

Maddy’s eyes welled up with tears. “I wanna see Cissy.”

The sight of Maddy’s tears nearly derailed Kristen’s plan, but she steeled herself against the little girl’s emotions. The best way to help Maddy was to find the man who had tried to hurt her. “Cissy’s with the doctor, who’s taking the very best care of her. I know your daddy told you that.”

Maddy nodded. “She’s sick.”

“That’s right, but the doctor is going to help her get better. But right now, I need you to help me find the bad man so we can make sure he doesn’t make anyone else sick. Okay?”

Maddy blinked away the tears and nodded.

Kristen pointed her crayon at the oval she’d drawn. “I want you to pretend this is the bad man’s face. Can you pick a crayon color that matches the color of his face?”

Maddy picked through the nubby crayons and picked out a pale peach color. Caucasian, Kristen noted mentally. They’d been pretty sure that was so, but confirmation was good.

She took her black crayon and drew eyes inside the oval. “Can you tell me what color to make his eyes?”

Maddy’s face crinkled with concentration. “No eyes.”

“You mean you couldn’t see his eyes?”

Maddy nodded.

“Was it because of his cap?”

Maddy nodded again.

Kristen drew a cap shape on top of the oval. “Can you tell me what color the cap was?”

Maddy’s tongue slipped out between her lips as she studied the pile of crayons on the table in front of her. After a few moments, she picked up a dark blue crayon.

“Great, Maddy! That’s very helpful. Can you color in the cap for me?”

Maddy pulled the paper in front of her and got to work, coloring in the blue cap. But she left part of the front of the cap blank, Kristen noticed.

“Why aren’t you coloring that part?” she asked Maddy.

“It had ABCs on it.” She beamed up at Kristen. “I know my ABCs. Wanna hear?” Maddy started singing the alphabet in an off-key warble.

Kristen steeled herself against a flood of memories. She’d taught the ABCs song to the littlest ones, Kevin and Julie, herself. By then, her mother hadn’t cared much about her kids, except for sporadic bouts of manic mothering that left her younger siblings scared and confused.

“That’s very good,” she choked out when Maddy finished her song. “Do you think you know your ABCs well enough to tell me what letters were on the cap?”

Maddy’s beaming smile faded. “Don’t ’member.”

“That’s okay,” Kristen assured her, squelching her own disappointment. Even if Maddy couldn’t remember the letters, they now knew that the assailant had worn a dark blue cap with some sort of letters on the front. Possibly a sports team cap. It was, at least, corroborating evidence if they ever came up with an actual suspect.

“Miss Kristen, do you know my mommy?” Maddy’s soft query caught Kristen flat-footed. It was the first question she’d asked about her mother since Sam left for the airport.

“I’ve told Maddy her mother’s coming for a visit,” Sam had told Kristen earlier that morning when she arrived to keep an eye on Maddy, “but I’m not sure she really understands what that means.”

He’d told her that while Maddy had seen photos of her mother, and knew her name, she’d never spoken to Norah before, not even on the phone. Kristen wondered how Maddy was going to handle meeting a mother who was essentially a stranger to her.

Kristen pushed aside the drawing and turned to look at Maddy, who gazed up at her with worried eyes. Sam had dressed her in a pale green sundress and clean white sandals, and tamed her unruly brown curls into a ponytail at the back of her head. She looked adorable, even to Kristen’s jaundiced eyes.

She wondered if Norah would be similarly impressed.

“No, Maddy, I don’t know your mom,” she answered the little girl’s question.

Maddy slid down off her chair and crossed to Kristen’s stool, tugging lightly at the edge of Kristen’s denim jacket. “What if she doesn’t like me?” she asked, her voice tiny.

Kristen felt a surge of sympathy for the child. “What’s not to like? Look how pretty you look. And I saw your room this morning-it’s nice and neat. And didn’t you eat all your cereal and drink all your milk like your daddy asked you to?”

Maddy beamed at her. “And I took my vitamin, too.”

“Well, see? There you go. You’re a superstar.”

Maddy patted Kristen’s knee. “Are you afraid she won’t like you?”

She grinned at the little girl. “No way. I ate all my breakfast this morning, too.”

Maddy giggled and happily picked up the peach crayon, her curiosity apparently appeased. She reached for the drawing of the “bad man” and started coloring in his face.

Kristen watched her draw, trying not to let Maddy’s last question nag her. It didn’t matter to her whether or not Norah Cabot liked her, of course. Which was good, because the questions she had to ask Maddy’s mother wouldn’t win the woman’s friendship. Norah Cabot might have an alibi for the night in question, but that didn’t mean she didn’t hire someone to take Maddy from Sam’s home.

And considering what she’d learned about Norah and her fiancé the night before, she had an idea why Maddy’s mother might do such a thing.

She’d have a chance to challenge Norah soon enough. Sam was due back from the airport any time now.

“YOU’RE NERVOUS.” Norah’s voice was tinged with amusement.

“I’m wary,” he corrected, putting the car in Park and shutting off the engine before he turned to look at her.

She looked impeccable, even after a plane ride from New York to Alabama. Her lightweight gray suit and cream silk blouse fit her perfectly, and her short, spiky hairstyle had probably cost a fortune. He wondered who she was trying to impress. Him? Or Maddy?

“I know it’s been a few years, but I haven’t suddenly developed a violent streak. I still don’t bite.” She opened the passenger door, unfolded her long legs and stepped from the car before he had a chance to circle the car and open the door for her.

He left her bags in the car, as he’d already decided before she arrived that she’d be staying in a nearby motel rather than with them at the guesthouse. “I’m surprised Graham didn’t come with you,” he said as he joined her on the flagstone walkway.

“So you’ve heard about my engagement.” She flashed him a wry smile. “Graham had business back in Baltimore.”

“I thought you were in the Hamptons.”

“Only for a party. We were set to return home today anyway.” She straightened her jacket and patted her hair as they reached the door, the first indication of nerves since he’d picked her up at the airport.

He opened the door and ushered her inside, then froze in his tracks at the sight in front of him.

Kristen was on the floor, on her hands and knees, apparently looking for something under the sofa while Maddy danced around her, shrieking with laughter.

Almost before he had a chance to blink, however, Kristen had risen to a crouch, one arm tucking Maddy behind her back while the other hand reached for the ankle holster hidden beneath the right leg of her jeans.

Sam held up his hands quickly. “We come in peace.”

Kristen relaxed, dropping her hand from the hidden weapon and reaching back to swing Maddy in front of her. She pushed to her feet, straightening her blouse. A fierce pink blush washed over her neck and face. “We, um, lost a crayon.”

Maddy’s eyes lit up as she spotted him. “We’ve been drawing, Daddy!”

“So I see.” Sam let his gaze slide from his daughter’s bright face to Kristen Tandy’s mortified expression. He smiled, amused and a little touched by her embarrassment at being caught with her pretty little butt in the air. She managed a sheepish smile in return, and his stomach did a flip.

Maddy caught sight of Norah standing in the doorway behind him, and her broad grin faded to a tentative half smile.

Sam crossed to his daughter’s side and took her hand, leading her to where Norah stood. “Maddy, this is your mother, Norah. Norah, this is Maddy.”

Norah took Maddy’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Maddy.”

“You’re pretty,” Maddy blurted, and Sam smiled.

Norah chuckled. “Thank you. You’re pretty, too.” She released Maddy’s hand and straightened, looking around the guesthouse with a speculative gaze. “So this is the famous Cooper Cove Marina and Fishing Camp.”

“Technically, it’s my parents’ guesthouse,” he corrected lightly, trying not to let the mild disdain in her tone annoy him. “Would you like some coffee? A glass of tea?”

“God, not that sweet treacle you Southerners call tea.” She shed her suit jacket, baring a pair of slim, toned arms. She hadn’t been letting herself go over the past four years, he saw. She was as trim and beautiful as ever.

He took the jacket from her and hung it on the rack by the door. He turned back to find Norah looking quizzically at Kristen.

“Norah Cabot,” she introduced herself, crossing to where Kristen stood beside the writing desk near the window.

Kristen shook Norah’s hand. “Detective Kristen Tandy, Gossamer Ridge Police Department.”

Norah’s dark brows lifted. “Is this an ambush?”

Kristen’s smile looked almost predatory, catching Sam by surprise. “Funny you’d jump to that conclusion, Ms. Cabot, instead of assuming I was here to protect your daughter.”

Norah shot Sam a murderous look. “An hour in the car and you couldn’t see fit to warn me I was walking into a trap?”

“Ms. Tandy is here to protect Maddy,” he answered with a shrug, enjoying his ex-wife’s discomfort a little more than he should. It was a novel experience to see Norah caught off balance. She was usually in full control of any situation, whether a heated court battle-or a marriage falling apart.

“And to ask a few questions,” Kristen added firmly.

Holding back a smile, Sam decided this morning might turn out to be more enjoyable than he’d expected.

THOUGH SAM HAD SPENT MOST of the last eighteen hours fretting about how to prepare Maddy for her mother’s arrival, in the end, his worries had been for nothing. Maddy didn’t seem to find anything odd about meeting her mother for the first time at the age of four, and Norah didn’t overplay the mommy card.

Maddy enjoyed looking at old photos Norah had brought with her, including several photos from their brief marriage. She’d even agreed with Norah that they shared the same green eyes and long fingers and toes. But she made no fuss when Norah handed her off to Sam’s brother Jake and Jake’s wife, Mariah, after a tour of the family property. While Jake and Mariah played tag with Maddy and Micah, Mariah’s two-year-old, under the ancient oak towering over the backyard, Norah crossed the lawn to the bottom step of the deck stairs where Sam sat.

“She’s lovely,” Norah said with a smile, settling onto the step beside him. “You’re a wonderful father. But I always knew you would be.”

Sam looked across the yard at Maddy, who was laughing with glee as Jake swung her around and around. “Why did you come here, Norah?”

Norah’s brow furrowed. “Our daughter was almost kidnapped. Shouldn’t I be here?”

“She was hospitalized with strep throat when she was a year old. We were in the same city then, and you didn’t even call to check on her.”

“The police didn’t leave an urgent message on my phone that time. Pretty young Detective Tandy was so insistent.” Norah looked over at Kristen, who stood alone, watching Jake, Mariah and the children play. “She’s very new at the job, isn’t she?”

“Don’t underestimate her,” Sam warned. “She’s tougher than she looks.” Anyone who could survive what Kristen Tandy had gone through as a young teenager was made of stern stuff.

“Have you taken on a new project, Professor Higgins?” Norah shot him a pointed look. “Looking to turn Daisy Duke into a proper lady?”

Sam pressed his lips together, already growing annoyed by Norah’s blithe sarcasm. He must have found her witty and entertaining once, or he’d never have fallen for her. Maybe in a different situation, when his daughter’s safety wasn’t on the line, he might have been amused by her sharp commentary.

But Kristen Tandy didn’t deserve to be the target of Norah’s verbal barbs. Especially now, when she was facing down her own demons for no other reason than to protect Maddy.

“No comment, Sam?” Norah slanted another look at Kristen.

“Not everything or everyone is fair game for your tongue, Norah.” He caught Kristen’s eye and gave a quick nod of his head to invite her over.

She crossed slowly to where they sat, her expression neutral. But he’d begun to understand that her eyes were the key to deciphering her moods. Right now, they were a murky blue-gray, cool as a winter sky.

She didn’t like Norah. At all.

“I suppose, Detective Tandy, you have more questions for me?” Norah spoke first, her way of taking control of the conversation.

“Mostly, I’m curious,” Kristen answered coolly. “After so many years away from your daughter, why show up now? I told you in my message that I’d be willing to fly up to Washington to meet you if I needed to speak in person. It seems a bit…out of character for you to hop on a plane and fly right down.”

For the first time since Norah arrived, she lost her veneer of indifference. “You don’t know me, Detective. You’re not qualified to judge what is in or out of character for me.”

The hint of gray in Kristen’s eyes darkened. Sam could swear he saw ice crystals forming in their depths. “You abandoned your daughter to your husband’s sole custody when she was three months old. You haven’t seen her in person since then. You don’t call Maddy to talk to her, not even on her birthdays or holidays. I think I’m perfectly capable of judging your behavior to be that of a woman who has excised her daughter from her life with brutal efficiency.”

Sam stared at Kristen. Though he’d just warned Norah not to underestimate her, even he hadn’t expected her to stand her ground with such ferocity.

Where had this little tigress come from?

This Kristen Tandy was exciting. Maybe even a little dangerous. He liked her like this, maybe more than he should, given the searing heat building low in his gut.

“The decisions I made about Maddy were for her own good,” Norah said, her voice low and a little unsteady.

Kristen’s lips curved slightly. “We agree on that point completely.”

Norah’s face reddened, and Sam saw the warning signs of a very nasty backlash. He stepped between the two women, taking Kristen’s elbow lightly. “Detective Tandy, I had a thought about the files we were going over last night. Can we discuss them privately for a moment?”

Kristen dragged her gaze away from Norah and looked up at him, blue fire flashing in her eyes in place of the earlier ice. She gave a brief nod and walked with him up the steps to the deck. “What is it?”

“I enjoy a good verbal jousting match as much as the next man, but do you think you should antagonize Norah like that?”

Her cheeks grew pink. “Are you questioning how I conduct an investigation?”

“You’re not investigating anything here,” Sam countered. “You’re angry at Norah for being, well, Norah, and you’re letting that interfere with your work. You know damned well you don’t get answers from people by insulting them.” His voice softened with admiration. “Even if you do it magnificently.”

Kristen’s brow furrowed, but she gave a brief nod. “You’re right. But she’s such a sarcastic, snobby b-”

He pressed his fingers to her lips to keep her from saying the word. “It’s half her charm,” he said.

Her eyes flickered up to meet his, and he felt her lips tremble under his fingers. He dropped his hand away, the skin of his fingertips tingling once more.

“You like that in a woman?” she asked curiously.

“I guess I used to,” he admitted. “Or maybe I just mistook her sharp tongue for spirit and fire.” He lowered his voice even more. “I like spirit and fire.”

Kristen’s eyes darkened but she didn’t drop her gaze. The air around them seemed warmer than before, as if the sudden tension crackling between them had supercharged the atmosphere. They’d moved very close to each other, he realized with some surprise, so close that his breath stirred the golden tendrils of hair that had escaped Kristen’s neat ponytail.

She had beautiful, flawless skin, a dewy peaches-and-cream complexion that most women would kill for. He knew, without giving in to the growing temptation to touch her, that her skin would be warm and soft beneath his fingers.

He wondered if he’d be able to resist that temptation if this case lingered on too much longer.

She gave a soft sigh, her breath warming his throat. Dropping her gaze, she stepped away, looking down at the wide redwood planks beneath their feet. “Be careful, Mr. Cooper,” she murmured. “Right now, Maddy doesn’t really understand who Norah is to her. But she’s the right age to start wondering why her mother’s not around like other mothers are.”

He cleared his throat. “I know. Believe me, I’m trying to be very careful here. But if Norah really does want to have a bigger presence in Maddy’s life-”

“Did you know her fiancé is running for the open Senate seat from Maryland?” Kristen asked quietly.

Sam blinked. “No.”

“Apparently he just announced his candidacy. He’s up against a big family values candidate named Halston Stevens. Makes me wonder a bit about Norah’s motive for coming here.” Kristen looked toward the yard. Sam followed her gaze and saw Norah sitting in a lawn chair, smiling at Maddy, who was showing her mother something she’d picked up in the yard.

Son of a bitch, he thought. “How do you know this?”

“The Internet. It’s this awesome new information tool-you should totally check it out.”

He shot her a look. “Funny. Why didn’t you tell me this last night when you told me she was engaged?”

She turned back to look at him. “I didn’t want to poison your mind with the thought until you’d had a chance to see her interact with Maddy.”

He rubbed his jaw, wondering if knowing would have made any difference. He’d been watching Norah carefully since he first introduced her to her daughter, maybe hoping to see some spark between mother and daughter that they could build on for the future. But so far, Norah’s interest in Maddy had seemed little more than curiosity.

“I needed to know as much about your ex-wife as I could before she got here,” Kristen continued quietly. “So I stayed up late and did some Web surfing. Her fiancé’s election bid is big news in Maryland. Local blogs are all over the story.”

“You’re thorough, aren’t you?” he asked. She really was turning out to be a smarter investigator than he’d anticipated.

The amused look in her blue eyes faded. “Someone’s stalking a kid. Your kid. Damned right I’m thorough.” Her cell phone rang, a muted burr against her side. She dug in her jacket and stepped away, answering in a soft but terse tone.

Sam looked back across the yard at Norah and Maddy, his gut twisting in a knot. Was Norah really so cynical and self-serving as to push her way back into the life of the child she’d abandoned, just to keep scandalmongers from harming Graham Stilson’s Senate bid?

The fact that he could seriously entertain the question made him wonder why he’d ever fallen for her in the first place.

“Tell her no,” Kristen said sharply behind him, drawing his attention away from Norah and Maddy. He turned to find her shoving her phone in her pocket, her face pinched and pale.

“Is everything okay?” he asked, taking a step toward her, his hand outstretched.

She stepped back from him, grabbing the deck railing as she stumbled a little. “Everything’s fine.”

But clearly it wasn’t. Her knuckles were white where she gripped the wood railing, and her eyes looked huge and dark in her colorless face. Ignoring the “don’t touch me” vibe radiating from her in waves, he closed the gap between them, laying his hand gently on her shoulder. “You don’t look fine.”

She shook her head, ducking away from his touch. “I need to go into the office for a little while. I still want to talk to Ms. Cabot alone-do you think you could get her to the station in a couple of hours?”

“I’ll get her there,” he promised, his mind racing with questions he knew she wouldn’t answer if he asked them.

Kristen gave a brief nod and headed down the deck steps that led out to the gravel car park at the side of the house, where she’d left her Impala parked next to his Jeep. Sam squelched the urge to follow her, instinctively aware that the harder he pressed her to tell him what the call was about, the more she’d dig her heels in and push him away.

Besides, it wasn’t his business, was it? Unless it had to do with Maddy, and she’d have told him if that was the case.

Still, he had trouble dragging his mind away from Kristen Tandy’s pale, shocked expression as he descended the steps to the yard and scooped his daughter up in a fierce, laughing hug.

Norah arched one perfect eyebrow at him. “Where’d Nancy Drew hurry off to?”

Sam ignored the barb, kissing the top of Maddy’s head. “Maddycakes, I think I smelled some fresh cookies in the kitchen. Jake, Mariah, y’all mind taking the kids up to see if the cookies are finished? I need to take Norah to the inn to get settled into her room.” He shot his brother a meaningful look.

“Ooh, cookies!” Jake coaxed Maddy from Sam’s arms and swung her onto his back, where she clung like a laughing baby monkey as he followed Mariah and Micah up the steps to the deck.

Norah looked up expectantly at Sam. “You wanted to be alone with me at the inn, Sam? I’m flattered. But I’m engaged now.” She waggled her left hand, where an enormous diamond solitaire glittered on the third finger. “Remember?”

“I remember,” he said with a grim smile, taking her arm in his hand and leading her toward his Jeep parked on the gravel drive. “And that’s why we need to talk.”