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Molly was leaving when there was a knock on the door.
Dela was standing by the door and opened it. Rae and Harper stood on the porch.
“Come in. What are you two doing over here?” Dela knew Heath was coming home in thirty minutes and hoped they’d stick around.
“Harper wanted to talk to you. I told her you had been in a car accident and she insisted she had to see you.” Rae had a hand on the girl’s shoulder.
Harper threw her arms around Dela’s waist.
“Whoa, I’m fine, see. I can take this neck brace off tomorrow.” She stared at her mom, daring her to say anything different. Mom nodded as if she understood this child needed to hear Dela would be okay.
“This is my friend, Molly. She’s getting married in a couple of months and as her maid of honor, I was helping her with decorations.” Dela drew Harper over to the couch as she talked. “And that is my mom.” Dela pointed.
“Pleased to meet you, Harper. Would you like something to drink? We have iced tea, juice, and water?” Mom asked.
“Juice, please,” the child replied.
“And you?” Mom asked Rae.
“Water is fine. Thank you.”
Mom went into the kitchen.
“I need to go. It was nice meeting both of you,” Molly said, opening the front door and leaving.
Left alone in the living room, Dela glanced from Rae, who stood, to Harper sitting on the couch beside her. “Sit down Rae. What is it you wanted to tell me, Harper?”
The child shoved her curly locks out of her face and looked up at Dela with the saddest eyes she’d ever peered into. Tears glistened in Harper’s brown gaze.
“It can’t be that bad,” Dela said, putting an arm around the girl.
“I said too much,” Harper started and hiccupped.
“About what?” Dela asked as her mom started into the room. She turned around and returned to the kitchen out of sight of the child.
“You. Mommy always ignored me, and Natalie always talked to me, like I was a grownup. I liked that. She’d tell me things like one day she’d be my mommy. When I told her you saved me from daddy’s shouting and I liked you, she shook me and said I was to only tell her things, no one else. Her fingers hurt my arms. Daddy saw the blue spots on my arms and asked what happened. He asked if Rae did it, and I told him no, she would never hurt me. That it was Natalie.” She hiccupped and wiped at a tear rolling down her face.
“Did he believe you?” Dela asked.
She shook her head. “He called Rae and then he called Natalie. He said things. Mean things to her. How she was going to ruin everything if she didn’t control herself.”
“Do you remember when this was?” Dela asked.
Rae cleared her throat. “Alex called me and accused me of hurting Harper right after he picked her up from my house the night he was questioned until midnight.”
Dela stared at Rae. The night Alex’s truck rammed her car.
“Have you or your daddy seen Natalie since he called and talked to her?”
Harper shook her head. “When I heard Rae and the policeman talking about you were hurt, I thought it was because of me.” She threw her arms around Dela again and started crying.
Dela smoothed the child’s hair. “No. It wasn’t your fault. Sometimes adults get over-emotional about things and say or do things they later regret. I’m sure your mommy and daddy had fights but they made up later.” She had her doubts considering the marriage was basically for looks.
Dela’s phone rang. It was Quinn.
“Mom, bring those drinks in now. I have to take this call. I’ll be right back.” She released Harper’s arms and Rae took Dela’s place on the couch, comforting the child.
“Quinn, what have you found out?” Dela asked, walking down the hall to her bedroom.
“I’m ninety-nine percent sure I have the child’s real parents with me right now. But there isn’t anyone at the Kindale house. Any ideas where to look?”
“You’re not just walking them in and saying, here are your real parents, are you?” She knew the emotional roller coaster the child was on and didn’t see that helping matters.
“No. They just want to see if she is the girl that Athena has been sending them photos of.” Quinn said.
“How about, I’ll take a photo of her, send it to you, you can show them and then put them up in a hotel until tomorrow. Heath should have Natalie arrested soon and you’ll need to break the news to Alex.” She wasn’t going to put Harper through any more trauma tonight.
“How can you send me a photo?” There were two seconds of silence. “She’s at your house. Why is she there?”
“Do not, I repeat, do not bring those people over here. Harper is upset. She thinks she is the reason I’m hurt. I’m trying to calm her down. Mom’s here and Rae. We don’t need to make this any more of a circus than it already is.” Dela pleaded with a higher being to make Quinn’s thick head understand the child was fragile right now.
“Okay. Send me a photo, I’ll tuck them in, and then I want you and Heath to fill me in.”
“You’ll have to come here. I’m not allowed to go out and play right now.” She ended the conversation and walked back into the living room. To her dismay, they were looking at the beading she’d done that day.
“Hey, I’m a beginner,” Dela said, walking over and taking the leather and beads out of her mom’s hands.
“Actually, for a beginner, you are doing a nice job,” Rae said.
Dela stared at the other woman. Her expression wasn’t mocking and didn’t hold pity. She was smiling and nodding.
“Really?” Not that she was going to become a beadworker or anything like that. Though she did find it relaxing.
“What did Quinn want?” Mom asked, spoiling her good mood.
“He’s coming over to talk to Heath and me later.” Dela held up her phone. “Harper, could you hold up my beadwork? I’d like to send a photo to my friend. She’ll be surprised to see me beading.”
Harper held up the leather and beads.
“Can you smile? I know it’s been a bad day, but it can only get better, right?”
The child smiled, and Dela snapped two shots. “Perfect. My friend Rosie will like this.” She sent one of the photos to Quinn and tucked her phone in her pocket. “Did you finish your juice?”
Harper shook her head.
“Then let’s go to the kitchen and see what kind of snacks I have in my cupboards, I missed lunch today.”
“That’s because she didn’t wake up until nearly lunchtime and ate breakfast instead.” Mom chimed in.
Harper laughed, then said quietly, “When I don’t feel well, Daddy lets me sleep in as long as I want.”
“Rest is good for a body,” Mom said, placing a bag of chips on the table as Dela placed the bread and peanut butter on there as well.
“How about we make our own sandwiches,” Dela said, grabbing knives and plates and passing them out.
Rae sat next to Harper and helped her spread peanut butter on a slice of bread.
Dela did the same and was taking a bite when the door opened. Knowing it was Heath, she remained seated.
But it was Jacob who walked into the kitchen. Rae’s eyes lit up at the sight of him.
“We’re having peanut butter sandwiches, pull up a chair,” Dela said.
He shook his head. “I can’t. Heath asked me to pick you up.”
“She didn’t do anything!” Harper shouted and jumped up from the chair.
“I know she didn’t,” Jacob said. “You know how smart Dela is?”
Harper nodded.
“We have her help us with things. That’s why I’m taking her to the police station. My boss needs to get her opinion on something.” Jacob smiled. “She’s not under arrest. She’s helping us.”
Dela stood. “Well, I guess I’ll be taking my sandwich for the road.” She gently sat Harper back in the chair. “Finish your snack. Mom will stay here until you are ready to go.” She glanced at her mom. She nodded. “Let Harper meet Mugshot before she goes.”
“Who is that?” Harper asked.
“My dog. And if someone opens the top of the back gate, you can pet Jethro’s fuzzy ears.” Dela glanced at Rae.
The woman smiled.
“Okay, let’s go.” Once she and Jacob were in the police car, she asked, “Why does Heath need me?”
“He thinks you can convince Alex to give up where Natalie is.” Jacob didn’t sound as if he had the same feelings.
Neither did she. “Alex doesn’t like me.”
Jacob shrugged as he pulled into the public safety parking lot.
They both entered the station from the back entrance and Heath met them.
“I don’t think this will work,” she said.
“Come in here.” He led her into a small office and closed the door. “Hear me out. He isn’t giving up Natalie’s whereabouts. I’m sure he knows about her ramming your car. But I’m not sure he believes she killed Athena. I thought you could use some of what you heard from Harper to sway him to give Natalie up.”
If she hadn’t heard from Harper a short time ago about Natalie hurting her, she wouldn’t have anything. That, given they believed Alex was devoted to Harper, should help them to get him to give Natalie up.
“Okay, I’ll give it a try.”
Heath led her down to a small room with only a table, three chairs, and a camera on a tripod.
Alex sat in the single chair on the far side of the table. He scowled when she walked into the room.
She sat and watched Alex while Heath sat and shuffled papers in a folder.
“Why did you bring her in here?” Alex asked.
“Because she has been an adult your daughter has felt comfortable confiding in,” Heath said.
“She’s just making stuff up,” Alex said.
“Who, your daughter or Dela?” Heath asked.
“Her. Harper loves me and wouldn’t want to lose me like she did her mother.” Alex’s gaze didn’t hold either of theirs. If he wanted them to believe that he needed to make eye contact.
“Alex, I know you love Harper and she loves you. She talks about you all the time,” Dela started. She wanted him to feel she was on his side. And she was, knowing he was going to lose that little girl to her real parents. Ones he didn’t know anything about.
“The best way to help her and yourself is to tell us where Natalie is. We know she is the one who rammed your truck into my car. I don’t know if she wanted me dead because Harper did talk to me, or she was just trying to scare me. She was the one seen driving your truck, not you. If you want to go home to Harper you need to tell us where Natalie is.” Dela continued to watch him. He was torn. He may not have ever loved Athena, but he did love Natalie. It was in his indecision and hands that were still on the top of the table.
“I know you would never hurt your daughter. But Natalie did, didn’t she? She left bruises on Harper’s arms, she grabbed her so hard. I know you three want to be a family, but would you feel comfortable leaving Natalie alone with Harper knowing she bruised your daughter?” She had to appeal to his love for Harper over Natalie.
“Natalie will never love Harper as much as you do. You have patience with her and she loves all the things you’ve done for and with her. You are her hero. Continue to be that hero and help us find Natalie. I’m sure you’d like to hear her side of things, as do we.”
“She wasn’t driving my truck when it hit you,” he finally said. “But when she heard about you being hit and it turned out to be my truck she panicked.”
“Where is she so we can get her statement?” Heath asked.
Alex studied Heath. “She didn’t do it. I asked her to sell the truck so we had money to go on a trip. I wanted to take Harper away from all this mess that Athena’s death has become.”
Heath nodded. “I understand. We just need to find out who she sold the truck to.”
“She hasn’t done anything wrong.” Alex insisted.
“Then she has no reason to be afraid. Where is she?” Heath asked.
Alex ran his hands over his head and finally said, “She’s staying at the lodge at Wallowa Lake. We had a fun long weekend there earlier this summer.”
“Thank you. I’m going to have you stay here until we contact her.” Heath rose, picking up his file.
Dela remained sitting. This man loved Harper. How was he going to feel when her real parents swooped in and took her away?
“Dela?” Heath said, standing by the door.
She wanted to say something but it wasn’t her place. She stood and exited the room, following Heath to the office. He picked up his phone and asked for Jacob Red Bear.
Jacob arrived at the door. “Did you get anything?” His gaze landed on her.
“Natalie is staying at the Wallowa Lake Lodge. Go up there, contact the Sheriff’s Office, and then bring her back here.” Heath sat down behind his desk. “And call me when you get onto the reservation bringing her back. I’ll make sure I’m here when you return.”
“Copy.” Jacob disappeared.
“Are you going to hold Alex until you talk to Natalie?” Dela asked.
“Yes, I don’t want him contacting her and I would like to hear her side of things.” Heath stood. “I’ll take you home. We can have dinner while I wait for Jacob’s call.”
“Quinn is showing up at some point. He found Harper’s parents. In fact, he was running around with them in his vehicle looking for her today.” She couldn’t hide her disapproval of what the Special Agent was doing. He wasn’t thinking of Harper like she was.