Later that day, Josie’s cell buzzed.
Dalton. He’d promised he’d call her and check on her.
She sat on the love seat inside the enclosed sunporch at her aunt’s house, trying to read a book. But she’d read the same paragraph about five times. The boys were in bed, and her aunt and uncle were in the den watching television.
After the harrowing morning, Josie helped her aunt wrap some presents and clean the house. But now her mind kept whirling between wanting to kiss Dalton again to wanting to give up and run away from her fears. And him.
“Hi,” she said, the memory of their walk through the park helping her keep it together.
“Hi.” He sounded breathless. He’d told her he liked to go for long runs sometimes.
“Have you been running?”
“Yeah, but not in the way you’d think. I’ve been running around all day following leads.”
She held her breath, dreading what he might have found. “And?”
“And we’ve located your former brother-in-law.”
Pushing her book out of her lap, Josie stood. “Where?”
“He’s living in Utah. Near St. George.”
Josie’s nerve endings trembled a warning. “That’s not that far from us, Dalton. And it can’t be a coincidence.”
“I know. About two hours at most. I don’t have all the details, but I’ve alerted the authorities there, and they’ll question him. Without any solid proof, they can’t hold him, so we’ll see if he confesses or not.”
“What about the spray paint can?”
“It’ll take a while to hear back from the state lab on that one. But if it’s him, he’s probably been coming back and forth, so we can find out what kind of vehicle he drives and put out an alert. If he shows up again, we’ll nab him for questioning.”
“Could this be over?”
“It could be,” he said. “If the authorities there can locate him and question him, then we have something to work with.”
“Thank you,” she said, caught between relief and despair. “I hope it’s not Randall, but if it isn’t him, then the nightmare won’t be over.”
“We’ll keep at it,” he said. “Meantime, you go on with planning your big party for the kids. You’ll have plenty of K-9 officers patrolling next week, and they’ll be at the party, too. I told the chief it would be a good PR move to teach the kids all about how we train our partners.”
“You’re something else, Officer West.”
They talked a while longer and then ended on a high note. He told her he’d see her in church tomorrow.
Josie sat there in the dark and accepted what her heart already knew. She was falling for Dalton.
The next morning, Dalton hurried Maisy out the door to church. Feeling hopeful for the first time in a week or so, he smiled when they got in the car.
“We don’t go to church much as my friends do,” Maisy said, buckling her seat belt. “Are we going because Christmas is coming?”
“That and because you’ve been active in some of the church happenings, so I thought it was time I got more involved, too. I know I’ve missed a lot because of work but I’m going to do better.”
Her grin said it all. “I’m glad, Daddy. All the other parents go with their kids.”
Dalton silently kicked himself. “I’m sorry I didn’t think about that, honey. Daddies get so busy sometimes they don’t make the right decisions.”
Maisy rolled her eyes. “And...some dads are afraid to go to church.”
“You are way too smart for your own good,” Dalton replied.
But she was right. He was already sweating just thinking about walking into a crowded sanctuary. He’d gone before only because of Maisy. Now he wanted to go for himself, too.
But after he parked the car and shook a few hands, the friendly atmosphere of the Desert Valley Community Church helped to calm Dalton. When Maisy poked him and pointed to where Josie sat with her relatives, his pulse quickened and he found his strength.
Time to turn back to God. And maybe it was time to forgive himself for not being able to save his wife.
About midway through the service, Dalton’s cell buzzed. Discreetly checking his phone screen, he saw that the chief had called. Then a text.
Urgent. Found Randall Callahan.
Dalton waited until the service was over and then leaned close to Josie. “I have to go. Can you take Maisy with you to your aunt’s?”
She nodded, alarm clouding her face.
He’d have to explain later, so he whispered to Maisy that he had to go to work, so she’d be going with Miss Josie. Maisy bobbed her head and smiled up at Josie.
At least he didn’t have to worry about her while he headed to the police station.
“Randall Callahan says he only came once to find Josie.”
Dalton stared at Chief Hayes, disbelief filtering through shock and hope. “So he admitted that was him I saw running to get into a dark car that first night when all of this started?”
“Yes.” The chief got up and stared out the window. “He claims he got transferred to Utah. He’s an electrician, and he has to follow the work. A new plant being built.”
“And he did admit that he’d tracked Josie down?”
“Yes. Said he wanted to make amends.”
“I don’t believe him. I’d like to go up to Utah and question him.”
“We don’t have anything solid, Dalton—especially because you already showed the eyewitness a recent photo of Randall Callahan, and she couldn’t be sure he was the man she saw in the parking lot. The Utah authorities have warned him not to set foot in Arizona again. He knows if we see him in Desert Valley, he will be spending time in our jail.”
Dalton had to go with that for now. What else could he do?
But it was too close for comfort. And he had to tell Josie that this might finally be over, but that their main suspect wouldn’t be held since they couldn’t say without a doubt that he was their man. If only the eyewitness they’d interviewed could be sure. Dalton had personally gone to the woman’s house and shown her the picture the Utah police had sent to him. But she couldn’t verify if Randall Callahan was the man she’d seen shooting at them yesterday.
It was midafternoon by the time Dalton made it to Josie’s aunt’s house to pick up Maisy. Josie met him at the door, so he pulled her aside. “We need to talk.”
“Okay.” She took him out to the sunporch. “The kids are upstairs in the playroom. Maisy’s teaching the boys how to play Monopoly.”
He smiled at that. His daughter sure liked being in charge.
He sat Josie down and told her what he’d learned about Randall Callahan. “It looks like he’s our man, but he didn’t confess to the harassment, and he claimed he only came here once because he wanted to see you to make amends. Said his mother had gone off the deep end, and she’d blamed it all on you.”
“Do you believe him?” she asked, her eyes wide with shock and distrust.
“No.” Dalton wouldn’t lie to her. “But his wife is vouching for him, too. Said he’s been to work and back for the last few weeks, and that he did try to locate you one time but he chickened out when he saw a patrol car in your yard. Either way, the authorities in Utah have warned him to stay away from you.”
“Can we be sure he’ll do that?”
“According to our contact in Utah, yes. Said he kept repeating that he had a good job and a wife he loves, and he’s trying to make a new life. He said he only remembered recently that you’d mentioned relatives in Arizona. He found some old letters after he cleaned out his mother’s house.”
“So he saw my aunt’s address?”
“Yes. We think that’s how he found you.”
“I forgot about the couple of boxes I’d stored in her attic. It’s strange that he wound up so close. Kind of makes me nervous, no matter what.”
“He can’t hurt you now. He told the interrogators he’d never do something like that to you. He even asked to see you.”
“I’m not ready for that yet,” she said. “But I do feel a sense of relief that he says it wasn’t him. Do I believe him, though?”
“We have to for now. So...we go on as planned. We’ll take care of the day care. Then you have the four day holiday weekend. It’ll be a test to see if the threats stop. If they do, then we’ve scared him away.”
“For now,” she said. “And if it’s not him?”
“We’ll keep at it.”
“But you still might have to leave after Christmas, Dalton.”
“About that—”
Maisy burst into the room. “Daddy? When’d you get here?”
Giving Josie an apologetic smile, he said, “A few minutes ago. Ready to go home?”
Maisy nodded. “Yes. The boys won’t listen to anything I say.”
She hugged Josie and Marilyn, and they said their goodbyes.
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” Dalton said, wishing he could kiss Josie good-night.
But tomorrow could be a new start for all of them.
Monday and Tuesday morning went by without incident.
On Tuesday afternoon, Josie saw Dalton walk in the door, Luna by his side. He glanced up, searching, and found her. She smiled at him, that now-familiar warmth coursing through her system. The staff had gotten used to having K-9 officers walking around the perimeters of the property. The kids loved it, but after Josie had sent out an email explaining, a few of the parents had refused to bring their kids back. Then the local paper got wind and did an interview with her and the police chief.
Josie didn’t blame anyone for their fears, but the chief had assured everyone that they had the situation under control. It was a tough call, since some of their clients didn’t have anyone to watch their kids. But the place was like a fortress and the training was good for the rookies, as Dalton kept telling her.
He walked toward her now, his smile soft and sure. “So far, so good,” he said. “If we get through tomorrow, I’d say we’re clear.”
Josie prayed toward that end. “I’m going back to my place tonight,” she said. “I’ll leave all the security lights on, and I have my aunt and uncle on speed dial.”
“I don’t like it, but I understand,” Dalton said. “However, Luna and I would be willing to sleep on your couch. Or the porch.”
“I don’t have much of a porch, and my couch is way too small for all six feet of you.”
“Too bad.” He grinned and let out a sigh. “What are you doing for Christmas?”
“I’ll be with my folks next door, of course,” she said. Then she looked into his disappointed eyes. “Unless you and Maisy want to spend Christmas Day with me.”
“I’d love that,” he blurted. Then he looked sheepish. “I wasn’t fishing for an invite. But I was hoping.”
“Consider it a date,” she replied. “Besides, my aunt will have lots of good leftovers.”
“The best of both worlds,” he replied in a whisper. “I’ll have you to myself for a while, and then I’ll have leftovers later.”
She grinned at that and waved as he and Maisy left. Whitney and Zoe escorted Josie, her aunt and the rest of the staff to their cars.
Josie spent the evening wrapping gifts. She’d managed to pick up a few things when Zoe invited her to go shopping yesterday after work. She’d bought Maisy a scarf, and she’d found a nice pair of gloves for Dalton.
She’d pulled back the covers to go to bed when her cell rang. Her heart filled with dread; Josie didn’t recognize the number.
Answering with trepidation, she held her breath.
“The Desert Valley Day care is on fire.”