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“I went out to the ranch,” Gaylen told him. “The pastor was smart enough to get Barry Engler out there. He gave her a sedative. Your cousins are already flying in. I’m sending deputies to pick them up.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” Cole scrubbed his eyes. “My God, I don’t know if they’ll ever recover from this.”
Scott cocked an eyebrow at him. “How did you figure out who it was? Nothing specifically pointed to him.”
“It was the song.”
“The song?”
“Dana finally remembered. When he had her and Kylie in the barn, he sang that old nursery rhyme song. You know. There was a little girl?”
“And?”
“I remembered when I was a kid at the ranch hearing Tate sing that to his daughters all the time. Then he’d laugh and pinch their butts. Until they got older and told him it was stupid.” He stared at Scott. “Jesus. You don’t think he molested his girls, do you?”
The agent shook his head. “Not from the reaction Gaylen had from Adele. But he obviously spent a lot of time directing his energies elsewhere.”
“Shows you just how little you know about someone.”
“Well, we’re digging into his background. Someplace there, we’ll find the trigger.”
Because he knew he’d be at the office until morning, catching a nap whenever he could, he agreed with Dr. Hallowell that Dana should stay at the hospital overnight. It was late morning by the time he got to her room.
“You look like shit, Sheriff. Go home, shower, and change. And get a cup of something besides this hospital coffee.”
“Why can’t I take her now? Is she…” Cole swallowed, afraid to ask any questions.
“She’s doing fine.”
“Hello,” Dana broke in. “I’m right here. I can speak for myself. I’m good to go.”
“And I want to take her,” Cole insisted.
The doctor laughed. “If she’s willing to walk out of here with someone looking as mangy as you do, it must be true love.”
At his house he insisted on carrying Dana inside, even though she protested that she was more than able to walk. When he had her settled in his bed, he stripped off his clothes and headed for his bathroom.
By noon, Cole was showered and shaved and dressed in jeans and T-shirt. He scrambled eggs and fixed toast for himself and Dana, insisting she eat in bed.
“I’m not an invalid,” she told him.
“Just humor me today, okay?” He kissed her lips, doing his best to restrain himself from leaping into bed next to her.
Finally, he called the office and asked for Gaylen, so the man could bring him up to speed.
“We’re set here,” the deputy told him. “Tate will be tried in a federal court. SAC Clark Lorimer is rolling the task force to take down the trafficking ring.”
“I just can hardly believe it,” Cole said for what must have been the hundredth time. “I’ve known this man for years. Spent summers at his ranch. God, my mother will have a stroke when she finds out.”
“Cole, I hope you don’t mind, but I already called her. She’s flying out today to be with her sister. She said she’ll call you when she gets in. Your father might come, too.”
“Oh.” Cole was startled. “Thank you.”
“I probably should have waited for you, but I didn’t know when you’d leave the hospital, and your aunt and cousins were falling apart in little pieces. And I figured you could use a shoulder yourself.”
“No, no. That’s all good. My mother’s a tiger. She’ll handle things just fine.”
“You might be interested to know that Tate Bishop’s father died when he was about five. He was left alone with his mother who always wanted a girl. She’s the one who taught him the song, tried to put him in dresses. Made him the object of bullies.”
