Bright and early the next morning, Dalton sat at his kitchen table reading the report about the car he’d discovered at the old run-down house not far from the day care. He’d asked the chief if one of the crime scene techs could check it out.
The chief had sent him the results after they’d talked on the phone this morning.
“So, I was right about that abandoned car?” he said after the chief told him what they’d found.
“Looks that way,” Chief Hayes replied. “We didn’t find any insurance or registration information on it. But one of the techs did find an old bill of sale underneath the seat. It was definitely purchased a month or so ago from a used-car lot off I-20 W near Lubbock, Texas. Cash.”
“Texas.” Dalton’s gut burned. “Josie’s from a small town near Waco. Pine Cone.”
“Well, I think that’s a pretty good lead,” the chief replied. “That’s about all we have, but if someone bought an old used car in a hurry and drove it from Texas to Arizona and then abandoned it, I’d say that person might be on a mission.”
Dalton told the chief about Josie’s in-laws. “Sounds like we might be on to something. Luna knew it, too. She alerted near the car, but I didn’t find anything that was helpful. I’ll do some digging around and maybe call the police in Pine Cone. I have a list of other possible suspects from that area, too.”
“Careful with that,” Chief Hayes warned. “If it’s a small town and her in-laws were prominent, the locals won’t want to divulge a lot of information.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Dalton replied.
“We can’t locate the owner of the abandoned house,” the chief said. “And you didn’t find anything?”
“No,” Dalton replied. “Just dust and empty rooms. If anyone has been squatting there, they cleaned up after themselves.”
“And left a car behind,” Chief Hayes said before ending the call.
Dalton intended to do some work this morning. Being a rookie on short-time until after the holidays, he didn’t have a desk to work from. He had to borrow from the department or work from home. Today was Saturday, and after his talk with Maisy last night, he wanted to stick close to her. Maybe do something fun.
But it was early and she was still asleep, so right now he’d see what he could dig up on the Callahan family from Pine Cone, Texas. Including the friends from Douglas Callahan’s work place.
And he’d try to call Josie again.
But he wasn’t quite sure what he’d say to her.
Josie stumbled downstairs and was greeted by her four wide-awake cousins. The boys ranged in age from five to ten and had more energy than a roadrunner on steroids.
“We want you to live with us forever,” the youngest shouted as he launched himself against her. “We love you.”
“I love you, too,” Josie said, grinning against the headache that threatened to explode. “I need me some of your mama’s good strong coffee.”
“She’s making pancakes and sausages,” Ricky said.
Josie wondered if she’d be able to eat a bite. Her whole body ached from tossing and turning, and her eyes burned from lack of sleep.
Two of the boys whizzed by, loaded with electronic devices.
“They are so lame,” Bryson, the oldest, said from his perch at the big kitchen island. He looked up at Josie with earnest eyes. “I like Maisy. She’s cool.”
That got Josie’s attention. “Are you two friends?”
“I see her at school and...at the day care.”
Josie tried not to show her interest. “She’s a sweet little girl.”
Bryson shrugged. “Yeah, she’s okay.”
He got up and headed for the den, nonchalance written all over his face.
“I think he has a crush on Maisy,” Marilyn whispered as she handed Josie a cup of coffee. “How’d you sleep, honey?”
“Not so good,” Josie replied. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“If it’s too much stress, it might be a good idea to cancel the party.”
Josie had thought about this and prayed all night. “How can we risk the children’s safety for a party? It wouldn’t be right.”
“Maybe the threats will stop,” her aunt said. “They shot at you when you were with a police officer.”
“But they wrote on the fence. Bold. And Dalton thinks they’ll keep at it.”
“You and Dalton—”
“Are just friends,” Josie said, the coffee warming her insides. “He expects me to take good care of Maisy while she’s at the day care, and based on a conversation we had last night, I’m afraid he thinks I can’t do that now.”
“I’m sure he’s worried,” Marilyn said. She dished up fluffy pancakes and dashed each with red and green candy sprinkles. “Boys, your breakfast is ready.”
“Where’s Daddy?” Andy asked as he slammed up onto a barstool.
“Checking on things at the garage before he comes back to take you all Christmas shopping.”
Josie enjoyed the extra time with her cousins and nibbled on a pancake and had a bite of sausage. When her cell rang, she got up and gave her aunt an apologetic shrug. Then she hurried to the enclosed porch on the back of the sprawling house.
“Hi.”
“Hi,” Dalton said. “Listen, can we meet for coffee or something?”
She sighed and stared out at the backyard where her uncle Jack had built an impressive treehouse around a towering pine tree. Maybe if she and Dalton had a conversation away from everything and everyone, they’d be able to communicate regarding Maisy’s well-being. She had to be sure. “Where do you want to meet?”
“How about the Cactus Café? They have pretty good coffee.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you there in about half an hour.”
When she turned, her aunt was standing in the doorway. “Dalton?”
“Yes. He wants to meet for coffee. To discuss things.”
“Uh-huh. Well, that’s good. Do you need a ride?”
“No. I’ll take your car if you don’t mind.”
“Text me when you get there,” Marilyn said. Then she heard a crash in the kitchen followed by “Mom’s gonna be mad.”
Marilyn groaned and hurried to check on her boys.
Josie’s nerves tightened when she rode by the day care. Slowing, she checked the front for any signs of an intruder, but was relieved to see a police car sitting in the parking lot.
Then she checked her rearview mirror to make sure no one was following her. It was a cold wintry Saturday with light traffic. Safe so far.
When she pulled up to the Cactus Café, she saw Dalton and Luna waiting patiently by the older-model police car he’d been temporarily issued.
“Where’s Maisy?” she asked when she got out of the car.
“A friend invited her to a Christmas party at the church, so she decided to go,” he said. “So much for my plans to spend some quality time with her. But at least it gives me some time to talk to you privately right now.”
She nodded, wondering what was coming. “I’m sure being with other kids her age at church will do her good,” Josie said. Then she stopped short, a hand to her mouth. “And I told myself I wouldn’t give unsolicited advice to you anymore.”
He shook his head and glanced around the parking lot. “About that, I really am sorry...” Lifting away from his car, he added, “Last night was tough all the way around.”
Feeling contrite for doubting him, she said, “Buy me a cup of coffee, Officer, and you can tell me all about it.”
Relieved that Josie was willing to listen to his excuses for being so rude, Dalton found them a booth and ordered two coffees and a couple of cinnamon rolls. “You were right. Maisy is holding a lot of anxiety inside that brain of hers.”
“I’m sorry,” Josie said. “I was trying to help, and I made things worse.”
“No, you opened my eyes to what was right in front of me. I know she’s still grieving. We both are. But Maisy has it in her head that neither of us did enough to save her mother. Hard to swallow and really hard to explain to a child.”
“I can’t imagine how tough it must be. It’s horrible to lose a loved one, but for a child to lose a parent, it must be a hundred times worse. I didn’t want to interfere, and when she’d say something random to me, I thought if I listened to her, it would help.”
“What exactly did she say to you?”
Josie took a sip of her coffee, her eyes full of sympathy.
“The other day while you were checking outside she said it was up to her to take care of you.”
“Wow.” Dalton’s heart cracked a little more. “That’s a big responsibility for such a little girl. But it makes sense now that I know she felt responsible for her mother’s death.”
“Exactly.” She took in a deep breath. “I wanted to talk to you about it, but all of these weird things keep happening and... I couldn’t find the right time.”
“And I’m too stubborn to listen to someone who’s with my daughter practically every day. I’m sorry.”
Her forgiving eyes gave him hope. “You have a lot on your mind, so don’t apologize.”
Dalton pointed to the cinnamon rolls. “Peace offering?” She smiled, and his heart rolled over and started a fast beat.
“I nibbled at a pancake at my aunt’s house. I couldn’t eat when I first got up, so now I’m hungry.”
“Have at it,” he said, relief washing over him.
“Now that we’ve settled that,” she said between bites, “I want to hear if the chief’s call had anything to do with my stalker. Whitney said she’d fill you in on last night’s intruder.”
“She did,” he said. “I don’t like it.”
“What are you not telling me, Dalton?”
“Eat up,” he said, amazed at her intuitive nature. “Let’s enjoy this quiet time together before we step back into the fray.”
He didn’t want to ruin the moment with the information the chief had given him. He’d tell her about that later.
And he didn’t want to tell her that he’d done a thorough search regarding her mother-in-law. A search that had revealed some very surprising news.