Guardian of Justice (2 page)

THREE

“Are there kids inside?” Kira didn’t dare dwell on what had happened. She needed to help the children get away from this crazy man. There wasn’t time to waste. Kira couldn’t believe Dallas wasn’t back inside the house yet. Why was he still out here? And why wouldn’t he let her go in?

“Yeah, but you’re not going in yet.” He kept jotting notes, looking around, talking to other officers and jotting more. From the firm set of his jaw and shoulder, she knew he wouldn’t be easy to convince. He kept his emotions carefully guarded.

She knew from her brothers’ comments that officers had to secure the premises before allowing anyone into a volatile scene. What were the chances that Kira would have ended up in the line of fire while waiting outside? “It couldn’t be any worse inside, could it? We have a job to do.”

“It’s getting done. You need to calm down.”

“I am calm,” she argued.

“Yeah, I see that.” One side of his mouth turned up. It wasn’t quite a smile, but maybe he was one of those brooding types that didn’t smile. “Calm down some more, then.” He quirked an eyebrow, revealing a sense of humor in his blue eyes.

Kira looked around at the half-dozen officers who were making their presence known in the neighborhood. “I will point out I followed your orders to a T. Am I supposed to be a robot and not get a bit riled after being scared out of my wits?” That’s all it was, she reassured herself. It was no more frightening than when her brothers jumped out at her from around the corner in the dark basement.

But it wasdifferent, her ugly conscience reminded her. This wasn’t in the security of her adopted family’s basement. This was….

She wasn’t going to let herself think about it. Not now.

“I need to get in there, Officer Brooks. The last place I should be is out here twiddling my thumbs.”

“We’ll go, in a few minutes. I just know it’s too soon to jump right back into the middle of the situation. A little more time wouldn’t be a bad idea. We’re trained to always prepare for the unexpected when responding to a domestic disturbance, but…” Dallas cleared his throat. “I shouldn’t have…” He couldn’t even think of what he’d done wrong. It was just a bad situation.

“I’m not blaming you.” She felt bad for razzing him now. She hadn’t expected him to take it personally. His sensitivity caught her off guard, and she felt the warmth of his hand holding hers all over again. “The guy could have come barreling out of the back room of the house,” she said quietly. The last thing Dallas needed right now was for the other officers to hear her comforting him. “You didn’t know. If Child Protection had received the call, I’d have been here without a police escort at all.” She needed to take her mind off how handsome Dallas was and get back to work. “For now, could I at least get out of this car?”

He paused just long enough to make her wonder whether something else was happening. He gave a quick scan of the area, then moved out of her way. He took the blanket as it fell from her shoulders, and wrapped it around her again. “It’s getting a little chilly. Why don’t you keep this with you?” His gaze lingered a moment too long before he broke the connection. She knew it was dangerous to let her feelings show and to let herself read anything into Dallas’s gaze.

Kira stretched and shook her legs out, as if she’d been cramped in the car for ages. They had left the station a little over an hour ago.

She walked around the car and saw the gouge in the door where the sharp rock had dented the steel. “If the crazy guy hadn’t been so high, he probably would have hit his target.”

“Yeah,” Dallas responded somberly. “Remember not to touch the car anymore. We’ve called for an investigator to come get prints. Do you need anything?”

She shook her head.

“Listen, I have to get back inside and talk to the mother. I want to get a little more information about the situation before I bring you in and frighten them with Child Protection. It’s nothing personal.”

She regarded him with a speculative gaze. Somehow it felt personal. “Just make sure someone’s out here with me, and I’ll be fine.” She felt another chill go up her spine, and wrapped her arms across her chest, tugging the blanket tighter. “Officer…”

“Dallas.”

Yeah, it definitely felt personal. Kira stuffed the attraction deeper inside. She didn’t want another cop in her life. Her dad and three brothers were enough. “I’m sorry I broke protocol, with the radio and everything.”

“Don’t worry about it. You did the right thing,” he said quietly.

His clear blue eyes were full of life and pain, yet she saw warmth there, too. He forced a tight-lipped smile before turning away. He was solidly built, but didn’t seem to have that tough-guy mentality, as she had initially presumed. Kim realized she was staring, and nodded.

“Officer Williams will stay out here with you to watch for the guy, though I doubt he’ll return tonight.” Dallas gently patted her arm, and Kira noticed a hint of a smile. “It’s going to be okay.”

She tried sitting in the cruiser again, but couldn’t shake the edginess. How long would it be before she’d forget the madman’s eyes staring her down? Kira got back out and leaned against the front fender, watching the house like an anxious puppy.

To the left, two officers visited, pointing down the block. Did they see someone? Other than a few neighbors peering out their darkened windows to see what was happening, all appeared quiet again.

Officer Williams kept his distance, but several times asked if she was doing okay. She jotted notes to be used in her study and glanced up, hoping Dallas would emerge. She was getting worried. She studied the house, wondering what was going on inside.

Behind a round bush, a light appeared suddenly, as if it had risen out of the ground. Kira shrugged the blanket off and dropped it on the grass. She stepped closer, examining the foundation of the house for windows. Keeping her distance from any shadowed areas where someone could be lurking, she stepped past the corner of the house, but the light was gone. Were officers searching the basement? Why were the other windows not lit?

Suddenly, Kira spotted a little girl’s face in the glow of the streetlight. A curly haired blonde was peering out of a basement window. Frightened eyes looked around suspiciously, then disappeared. Seconds later a tattered stuffed animal flew from the window well. Kira watched for a moment.

Dallas obviously didn’t know the little girl was there, or she’d probably be in a bigger hurry to get out of the house. Officer Williams was busy searching the front yard for evidence. Even if the police did know she was in the house, Kira reasoned, if the child slipped out the small window, they might not be able to catch her. I’m doing him a favor.

She hurried forward and offered her hand. “Hi there. I’m Kira Matthews. Do you need some help?”

The little girl dropped back into the house as if she was on a park slide.

How’d she do that?Kira couldn’t believe her eyes. The child had disappeared in an instant. Kira hesitantly stepped closer, then knelt down and peered into the dark basement. “It’s okay, honey, I can help you. I’m with Social Services. Are you okay?”

“Un-huh,” a small voice answered, so quietly Kira could hardly hear her.

She kicked back into her social worker role. “Are you hurt?” When there was no answer, she asked the girl’s name. Kira felt her chills return.

She heard scuffling from inside the basement. After a long pause, the girl finally answered, “Betsy.”

“That’s a really pretty name. How old are you, Betsy?” She heard soft sniffles. The little girl was frightened.

“Betsy, can you come back up here so we can talk?” Kira asked. She wanted to get out of these shadows before the madman returned. With the light beaming out of the basement, she felt as if she had a spotlight trained on her.

Nothing but whimpers broke the silence.

“Can you tell me why you are sneaking out of the house, Betsy?”

“Mama told me to,” she whimpered.

Kira waited patiently. She studied the small window, wondering if there was any way she could get through it. Her better judgment warned her not to go into a house blind. Her brothers would never let her live it down if she did. She had no idea what or who would be waiting when and if she finally squeezed through the tiny opening. And by the time she made it, who knew where Betsy would be?

“What happened?”

“Mickey hurt me, so Cody…” She choked up and couldn’t talk.

“What did Cody do?”

“He got mad at Mickey, and—” The noise of a motorcycle roaring down the quiet street drowned out her words. “—bat and broke the window. And Mama told me to scat.”

Kira recalled the time her brothers had run through the sliding door playing football, and how upset her mother had been. Hiding makes perfect sense to me, but…“Mamas get mad sometimes, don’t they? Did you say Cody was mad at Mickey?”

“Yep. Mickey’s mean. He’s a bad dude.”

Kira glanced around the yard, certain that Mickey was the crazy man who’d scared her. Kira leaned closer to the basement window and looked inside. She didn’t hear anyone else in the background, but saw a soft glow coming through a doorway—likely the source or the light? “Betsy, are you alone in the basement?”

“Yep, I locked the secret door.”

Secret door?Kira looked harder, getting as close as she could without sticking her head in the window well. She couldn’t see much, and felt for cobwebs. It felt clear.

She eased even closer to the window well and finally ducked her head in, bracing herself against the brick house. There weren’t just lights in the other room, there were plants. Lots of them, from what she could tell. “Was Mickey coming after you?” She tried to keep her focus on the little girl and still per around inside. If it wasn’t so bright in the other room, I could see her better.“Betsy, I want to help you. Come on out.”

“Mama be mad,” Betsy said with a catch in her voice.

Kira didn’t miss things like that. “I’ll talk to your mama for you. I want to help you and Cody.”

She was met with silence again.

She waited several minutes before she went on. “Betsy, I know you’re scared. Together we’ll find a way to help you and Cody. I won’t let anyone hurt you.” She picked up the bear the child had thrown out. “What is your teddy bear’s name, Betsy?”

Kira waited, and finally she heard movement. And then a little blond head again appeared in the opening. The child looked around before climbing out to Kira, hesitating as if she had second thoughts.

“It’s okay, Betsy. I’m going to help you.” The little girl’s eyes reflected not only sadness, but fear and neglect. Kira’s heart ached. “Here you go, Betsy. Your teddy missed you.”

The little girl snatched the bear from Kira’s grip. “Fuzzy.”

FOUR

“Miss Matthews?” Dallas paused. “Williams, where’s my ride-along? I told you to watch out for her.”

Kira started to answer, but one look at the fear on Betsy’s face told her to wait. The child was Kira’s priority now. “Come here, Betsy. It’s okay. I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

“She was next to the car just a minute ago,” the other officer answered.

Dallas didn’t sound happy, a fact she could hear in his voice even from the other side of the house. “Kira!”

Betsy started to run, but Kira caught her.

“We’reback here,” she said quickly, then glanced at Betsy. “It’s okay, honey. It’s not Mickey. This is a police officer. He won’t hurt you.”

Dallas rushed around the corner of the home, then came to an abrupt halt. “Oh, there you are.”

Betsy let out a squeal, and Kira wrapped her arm around the little girl. “It’s okay.” Dallas was tall, with broad shoulders, a menacing sight with the glow of the streetlight behind him. He must look frightening to such a petite girl. Kira let go of Betsy, stood up and offered her hand instead. The little girl shied away when Dallas looked down at her. Betsy clung to her ragged bear…what was left of it.

Kira grasped the child’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Betsy, Officer Brooks is our friend. He’s going to help you, and Cody, too. Aren’t you, Officer Brooks?”

Dallas’s blue eyes met hers, and Kira felt his anger fade. He reminded her of her oldest brother, Kent. Strong and stubborn. But when it came to kids, she could see his soft side.

“Yeah, we’ve been worried about you, Betsy. We couldn’t find you.” He knelt down several feet away and smiled at the little girl. “Did you dial 911 for help?”

Betsy tightened her grip and shook her head, inching behind Kira.

“It’s okay if you did. It was very smart to call. And we came here to help you. Betsy, did you get any scratches from the broken window?” he asked gently. Kira realized that with his military haircut, Dallas looked a little like a teddy bear, with a stocky body and full face shadowed with dark stubble.

The little girl kept moving farther away, spinning Kira around in the process. As soon as Betsy realized she was face-to-face with Dallas again, she ducked behind Kira once more.

“I’m going to stay right here. I won’t come any closer. Can you show Miss Matthews your arms so we can make sure you’re okay?”

Betsy showed one arm while keeping a death grip on Kira, then switched.

Dallas gave a smile of approval. “Thanks, Betsy. Could you answer a few questions for me?”

The frightened child nodded, peeking out from behind Kira.

“Do you know if Cody was playing baseball tonight?”

She shook her head.

“You don’t know?” Dallas prompted.

“No, he wasn’t playing baseball,” Betsy said softly.

Dallas glanced at her bear, then back at her. “What was Cody doing?”

“He was mad at Mickey,” she whispered, repeating the story of Mickey hurting her, so Cody took a swing at him with the bat. “I don’t like Mickey. Cody don’t, neither.”

Officer Brooks glanced at Kira, obviously sharing her concern. “Did Mickey hurt you, Betsy?” Kira asked.

Betsy immediately shook her head. Her response was almost too quick.

“If he’s hurting you, or your brother, or your mom, Betsy, you need to tell Miss Matthews so we can make sure he doesn’t anymore.”

Betsy turned away.

“Let’s go back into the house. We can talk more later.”

Dallas hadn’t missed the child’s body language, either, Kira noted. She watched the interaction with admiration. She didn’t have fond memories of the officer who’d taken her and her younger half-brother Jimmy away after her parents’ car accident. And she would never forget the night Jimmy’s family had taken him away, leaving her with the foster family. Which was half the reason she was here tonight. It was time someone made Protective Services fit the name.

After Officer Brooks asked Betsy several more simple questions, he said, “Why don’t you go into the house and see your mother?”

Betsy took off running.

Kira sent him a silent plea, which he ignored. He started to follow the child.

“I need to talk to you,” she said quietly. He stopped, and she continued talking. “I’m not comfortable leaving the little girl here. She was trying to sneak out of her house.”

He glanced at the running child, then back to Kira. “She’s not too concerned to go back now.”

As soon as she was out of earshot, Kira cleared her throat and crossed her arms over her chest. “She’s afraid of Mickey, whoever he is.”

“Her mother’s boyfriend. That’s who attacked the car,” Dallas explained. He wrote a few things on his pad of paper, then put it back into his chest pocket. “We can’t seem to get anyone to admit exactly what happened. The boy was apparently trying to protect his little sister. I doubt the guy will be back tonight. Mom seems upset enough to get a restraining order to keep him out of the house after this.” Dallas stopped and faced Kira. “We can’t do anything right now. We had Mom perform some maneuvers, and it doesn’t appear she’s intoxicated. We put out a BOLO for Mickey. Oh, sorry, that means be on the lookout—’”

“I know what a BOLO is. But…” Kira grabbed his arm to keep him from walking away.

He glanced at her hand and pulled his arm from her grip. “I know it isn’t easy, Miss Matthews, but it’s not a crime to break a window or scold your kids. We don’t know that the kid actually hit the man, or whether Mickey hit him first. We simply don’t have enough to take further action yet.”

She couldn’t believe it. “Look, Officer—” She caught herself. “Dallas, I appreciate your attempt to get to the bottom of this, but we are obligated to ensure the children’s safety.” Kira touched her finger to her chest. “I am, anyway.”

“Don’t start that battle,” Dallas warned. “The boyfriend is gone, and Mom doesn’t think he’ll be back. For now, that is the best we can ask for. We’ll increase patrols in the area. Pete is getting a description as we speak. The boyfriend is probably staying away on purpose, but until he returns, we can’t just yank kids away from their custodial parent on a ‘maybe’ or a hunch.”

Kira spoke softly, but firmly. “First of all, I’m not yanking kids away from parents, I’m protecting them. It isn’t a hunch. There’s a whole lot more than meets the eye going on here. For one thing, how was a little tiny girl like Betsy able to get out of the basement so easily?”

Dallas shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. “You know as well as I do, kids are industrious. Don’t tell me you never snuck out of your parent’s house when you were a kid.”

She answered without hesitation. “As a matter of fact, I did.”

He got a look of satisfaction in his icy blue eyes, without having to say ‘I told you so.’

Before he distracted her, Kira added, “I snuck out of every foster home I was in until the Matthews family adopted me. But kids run for a reason. We need to find out why Betsy was sneaking out of her home.”

The complacency disappeared from his face. Replaced by a look of dismay. She might have taken some satisfaction in her small victory, but was simply happy to have his attention, finally.

“I’m sorry. I’d have never guessed you had such a difficult childhood.” His mouth twisted into a forced smile. “As much as I’d like to change the outcome of this call, Miss Matthews, I can’t. No crime has been committed. My gut tells me we don’t know the full truth, but we don’t have any reason to press charges. If I were a gambler, I would lay odds that we’ll be back before the weekend is over. Like you, I hope nothing happens in the meantime.”

Kira shook her head. “I’m not waiting to take action. Did you get a good look through the house?”

Dallas shook his head. “Officer Ford hunted for the girl, but he didn’t see anything out of line or he’d have said something.”

“He obviously didn’t check the basement, or he’d have found Betsy. Right?”

Dallas face reddened. “What are you talking about? If you’re still upset about me telling you to stay in the car, we followed policy for your protection, and ours.”

“I know police policy, Officer. I grew up with it every day. I’m talking about something odd in the basement. Betsy said she locked the secret door.”

“What?”

“When I was trying to get Betsy to come out of the basement, I saw an odd glow in the next room. Through a doorway.”

Dallas raised an eyebrow. “Glow? Such as?”

“Fluorescent lights. Not the normal glow of table lamps.” He wasn’t catching her hints. “They have a really large gardenin the basement.”

“I get it, Kira. You think they’re growing illegal drugs. I’m trying to stay in chronological order, so, you tried to get her to come out? You instigated it?”

Kira shook her head. “I was standing next to the car, as instructed, when I looked up to see if you were around. Betsy peeked out of the window well and was ready to escape, so I went to talk to her.”

Dallas was taking notes. “That’s it?”

“No, that’s not it. I didn’t know if you were coming after her, and if so, if you’d be able to find her if she got out before you caught up with—”

“I’m not questioning your decision, Miss Matthews,” he said impatiently. “I’m trying to determine if the suspicious plants were in plain sight or if you went looking for some reason to take the kids away from their mother….”

“Social Services doesn’t go looking for reasons to take children from their families.” She placed her hands on her hips. “How dare you think such a thing. This is a perfect example of why—”

“Let’s stick to this case, if we could.” He stared at her with a slight smile as he radioed the other officer. “Officer 138 to PD. Pete, stay with the family.”

“I have jurisdiction with the children, you know,” Kira said.

Dallas nodded, then took a step toward the house and checked out the basement windows.

“We’re not leaving the children here.” She felt her blood pressure rise.

“You’re barking up the wrong tree, Miss Matthews. I’m on your side. I just want to be sure we do it by the book so the charges stick. Was the window open when you got there to help the girl, or did you open it?” He started walking, shining his flashlight along the foundation. “Let’s go back to the window Betsy was in.”

“Around the corner, kind of behind that lilac bush, in the shadows…” Kira extended her right arm in that direction as he followed.

“Now, just to clarify, you didn’t touch the window at all, and the little girl climbed out on her own?”

“Yes, I knelt down when I got here. I startled her, and she disappeared back into the house. That’s when I bent down to look for her. It just looked dark at first, but then I noticed the glow, and a sort of greenhouse in the other room.”

Dallas leaned down to peer inside, shining his flashlight in the open window. He turned his light in each direction, and froze. “Whoa,” he said with obvious shock.

“What? It’s marijuana, right?”

He stood and pulled out his cell phone and dialed immediately. Dallas took several steps away from her and talked so quietly she couldn’t hear.

When he returned, he took her by the elbow and led her to the house.

She shook her arm loose. “What’s wrong?”

Dallas’s mood had turned 180 degrees. “Get the kids ready to get out of here.”

“Dallas,” Kira said impatiently. “Is it meth?”

He walked closer to her and hurried her along. “Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration have been watching the guy, Mickey Zelanski, waiting for the chance to bust him and his dealers. We shouldn’t have been sent here. They’ve searched his house half a dozen times and can’t find the stash.” He motioned to the other officers. “Don’t let anyone near that window,” he said to them. “The DEA is sending agents over to take over the investigation. Stay out of sight until they arrive.” He instructed them where to stand before he returned his attention to Kira. “We need to take care of business as quickly as possible, but first, I need to talk to Betsy, find out how she’s getting in there.”

“You think that lunatic is watching?”

“With a stash like this, there’s no doubt he will be, if he’s not already. We need to get out of here.”

Kira looked right at him. “A stakeout? Here in Antelope Springs, Colorado?” She fought the urge to glance at the closest neighbor’s windows.

“You don’t need to know that. Mickey will definitely be back, and when he arrives, he’ll have a greeting committee.”

Kira still couldn’t believe the Drug Enforcement Administration was watching a house here in the middle of rural Colorado. She knew meth labs were common here, but they didn’t usually reach the level of the DEA. “Why is the DEA involved?”

“Didn’t you notice the bags of meth and bricks of coke in the corner?” he asked quietly.

“Cocaine?” As soon as she said it, she popped her hand over her mouth.

“Who knows what all we’re going to find.”

Kira looked around. “You’re kidding, right?”

“I think you need to get the children out of here as soon as possible.”