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Dom stumbled and fell in the furrows of the plowed field. Frankie tried to help his big brother up. Alex slammed to a stop.
“Get away from us, get away!” Dom lifted a dirty tearstained face, his arm tight around his brother’s neck. “Why don’t you just shoot us and get it over with. Put us out our misery like stupid dogs no one wants anymore. You could drown us like they do the baby kittens no one wants. Whatever, just do it.”
“I know things seems really bad right now, but you can’t give up.” Panting, Alex inhaled the smell of sweat, dirt and fear. “Your sisters need you. They need you to look after them. All you guys have is each other. You can’t lose sight of that. What will the girls do without you?”
He held out his hand. “Come on. The worse part is over. Foster care will be a piece of cake compared to what you’ve been through. We’ll find your dad and arrest him. And we’ll be watching out for you guys. Checking up on you. There will be trials and you guys will be witnesses. We’re not abandoning you. I promise.”
Dom looked at Alex’s face, then at the hand. After a few seconds, he took the hand. He didn’t say anything as Alex pulled him to his feet, but Frankie did. “Can you get the other guy to give us some more bubblegum?”
Alex felt a chuckle bubble up inside him. Kids had an impossible resilience that faded as they grew older. Frankie still had his. Good for him. “I’ll see what I can do, buddy.”
When they got back to the yard, Deborah stood next to the open van door, talking softly to Estrella and Esperanza, who were sitting close together in the middle seat. Tears still fell, but the anguished sobs had stopped.
“ Okay?” He tried to get Deborah to look at him, but she turned her back and helped Frankie climb in, Dom after him. Fine. He did the same. “Detective Baker. Detective Baker!”
The sheriff’s detective lumbered over to the van, his face sweating with the effort. “You guys headed out?”
“Frankie was wondering if you might have any more of that bubblegum. I think they could all use a shot before they face whatever comes next.”
Baker winked at Alex and nodded. “You betcha.” He pulled a stash of gum from his back pocket and started handing it out. Not one of them smiled, but each said thank you. “And don’t you all worry. Me and my wife are gonna be out to see y’all real soon. You’re gonna like her. She loves children and never got to have any of her own. I gave her a call a minute ago, and she’s chomping at the bit to meet y’all.”
Deborah’s head came up at that statement. She met Alex’s gaze, a small smile starting to spread across her face. Detective Baker had already returned to his investigation. “Don’t worry about a thing,” she said. “We’ll let you know how this investigation comes along, every step of the way.”
The kids nodded, but Alex only saw resignation in their faces, no hope. They hadn’t gotten Detective Baker’s message, but they would.
Deborah slammed the door shut and stepped back. Four faces turned to stare out the window as the van disappeared down the road.
Alex couldn’t help but feel the stares were accusing. He turned his back on the road and looked at Deborah. “Are you all right?”
Deborah didn’t answer. Just started walking away.
“Where are you going?”
“To find a cigarette.”
She disappeared into the crowd of technicians and officers working the scene.
He felt curiously flat, like all the oxygen had been sucked from his lungs. She wouldn’t take comfort from him—he’d know that—but the fact that she didn’t care that he could have used a little from her still stung.
“She’s a tough broad, ain’t she?” Baker strode toward him, his admiring gaze following Deborah’s exit. “Wouldn’t want to cross her.”
“Me neither.” Alex tore his gaze away from her. Better to focus on work. “We’ve got to find Dodge. Find Dodge and we’ll find Chavez. My theory is Chavez caught up with Dodge first. Maybe he was watching the place, waiting for his moment. He wanted to get Dodge out of the way so Clarisse would be alone and unprotected. Who knows. Then he comes back, sees she’s got company, and hightails it out of here.”
“Maybe.” Cooper joined them. He tossed a cell phone from one hand to the other. “I’m betting he’s still watching. He’s gonna go after her first chance he gets. And the kids.”
“The location of the abused children’s shelter in Salina is a well kept secret.” Baker leaned against the bumper of his pickup and unrolled another piece of bubblegum. “And we have SPD keeping an eye on the place. The kids are safe with SRS. Clarisse and Nina are in the hospital. We’ve got officers at their doors. The problem is there’s no reason for him to come back here now. How do we lure him out?”
“He could be anywhere by now.” Alex forced back the obscenities. He was getting better at it. “He probably already killed Dodge.”
Baker’s phone chirped a second later. “Excuse me, folks.” He walked away.
The interruption allowed Alex to sneak a glance to the porch. Deborah was back, sitting on the steps of the porch, a lit cigarette between two fingers. She wouldn’t smell so good now. So what? He had to admit the sorry truth. He didn’t care if she reeked of smoke. She would always smell good to him.
“Let’s go. Dispatch just got a 911 call from a motorist on Old Highway 77.” Baker trotted across the yard in what amounted to a run for the big guy. “Says he just stopped on the side of the road to help two hysterical ladies who had been carjacked.”
“What’s that got to do with us?” Spurred by the urgency in Baker’s voice, Alex started after him.
“He says one of them keeps moaning something about four kids being kidnapped.”
