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At the door of Room Fourteen, Molly hung back. “Maybe I shouldn’t go in,” she murmured.
“He’s okay, honey. They’ve cleaned him all up, and he’s in a nice comfy bed.”
Molly hesitantly followed, gave the bed a wary glance, then edged over to her grandmother’s side.
Vivian gave her a big hug. “I’m so glad to see you two. Any news?”
“Nothing yet.” Dana quickly summarized what had happened at the sheriff’s office. “So now we just need to wait. This is hard, Mom.”
“Zach is a Special Agent?”
“Big surprise there, right? As if he wouldn’t still be just as much of a liar as when he was a teenager.” Dana stalked to the small window of the room, then back again. “The one positive thing is that they say he’s good at what he does. If anyone can get the kids back in one piece, it’s him.”
“But?”
“The bad thing is that none of this would have happened if he’d been more honest. Better yet, if he’d never even showed up in town.”
Vivian pursed her lips. “So he had no good reason to keep his secrets, then.”
“Yes...no...it doesn’t matter, Mom. Since when has he been truthful about anything?” At Molly’s wide-eyed expression, Dana took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’m just too upset to even think straight. This waiting is driving me crazy.”
Vivian laid a gentle hand on Ben’s brow, then reached for her purse on the bedside table. “Should we go to the lounge? They’ve got some coffee down there. You can have a bite to eat.”
Molly brightened. “I’m starved.”
Metal glinted from the pocket of the sweater Vivian had tossed over the back of her chair. Car keys? “Um...you two go along. I don’t think I could eat a bite.”
“I think you should. You look awful.” Vivian gave Dana a worried head-to-toe glance. “And you’re a nervous wreck.”
“Everyone looks sick under these bright lights. I’ll just stay here. With Ben.”
“But, Mom,” Molly started. “Don’t you—”
“Go along,” Dana said firmly. “While you’re gone, I’ll call and leave a message on Francie’s answering machine. She’s out of town, and I don’t want her to hear about all of this from someone on the street.”
* * * *
EL CAZADOR—NOW ALVAREZ, apparently—had warned against any law enforcement officers in the area. With darkness as his cover and the perfect bait, he could take aim and kill Zach, then turn his gun on children who were now able to identify him. Only a fool would risk a life sentence for kidnapping if he could easily eliminate the witnesses.
Dana wouldn’t let that happen.
A mile before the lane to Zach’s house, she cut the headlights and drove past by the light of the moon, uncertain about whether or not Mike Haley and the deputy were already hidden somewhere in the low hills surrounding Zach’s house. She saw no sign of a car, but that could have been hidden, too.
She didn’t turn the lights on until she hit the approach to her own driveway. The place seemed dark, eerie with everyone gone.
Driving past the clinic, she quickly searched the shadows. Watched for unexpected motion in the darkness.
At the house, her heart skipped a beat when something moved to the side of the car and rose up against the window.
Gabe. With a weak shudder of relief she opened the door and gave him a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here, old guy.”
Snapping her fingers at her side, she brought him to heel and headed for the house, where she let him bound in ahead of her.
Frantic pawing and squealing from the cage in the corner greeted her as she turned on the lights. “Hey, little pup. Need to go outside? Maybe you two should stay locked in the yard while I’m gone.”
She quickly retrieved her rifle and a box of cartridges from high in the back closet, then scooped up the puppy and took both dogs outside. At the edge of the yard, she closed the gate and locked it after she put the puppy down. “Sorry, Gabe. But you’ve got to babysit tonight, okay?”
The old dog’s whines followed her to the barn, where she laid the rifle and cartridges on the top rail of the corral fence.
