Love Inspired Suspense July 2015 #1 (14 page)

“A few. It always struck me as a shame that they held on to grudges with their last thoughts. Such a waste.”

“Amen, sister,” Becky said, dashing away sparse tears and breaking into a smile. “You're really a quick learner.”

“Ha! Tell that to your brother. He thinks I'm an idiot.”

“No, he doesn't. And I assume you mean Isaac.”

Blushing again, Daniella stared at her clasped hands as if they were the most interesting things she'd ever seen. “Yes. Isaac.”

“We all have baggage,” Becky said.

Daniella met her gaze. “Not everybody's baggage is lethal the way mine is.”

FOURTEEN

I
saac was so relieved when Abby didn't alert to whatever was tucked under the back porch he almost laughed out loud. Cursory examination identified the object as an old metal lunch pail that he concluded had probably been left there when the house was far newer. As for the flashing light Daniella had claimed to have seen, he could only imagine sunlight glinting off something nearby.

Following standard procedure, mostly out of habit, he continued the sweep of the yard and shrubbery, so positive that he'd come up empty he smiled at his K-9 partner.

Tail held erect in the position that was called flagging, Abby went gaily about her task, poking her sensitive nose into flower beds and tufts of grass as if playing a fascinating game.

That's what this is to her
, Isaac reminded himself. Hers was one of the only jobs he could think of where lack of success was the desired result. He'd much rather reward her for
not
finding a bomb than deal with other possibilities.

Isaac's smile grew. “What's the matter, girl? Do you wish you were out chasing rabbits?”

Snuffling, she kept her nose buried in the grass next to one of the outdoor entrances that led directly into the basement. That small door closed off a coal chute, a leftover necessity from the days when the old house was heated by a coal-fired furnace.

Isaac frowned. Paused. Gave her more lead and watched closely. He sensed her decision a few seconds before she plopped down into a sitting position and began to quiver all over.

Transfixed, Isaac tapped his ear to activate the radio transmitter in his earpiece. “Capitol K-9 Unit Five,” he reported. “Dog has alerted. Send the bomb squad stat.” He recited his address, then added, “It's my place. Abby just told me there's a bomb under my house.”

* * *

Daniella elbowed Becky with a sharp, “Look.” Jacob had stopped leaning against the SUV and was clearly on his way to join Isaac. “What do you think?”

“Both of them usually have more casual body language,” Becky offered. “If I had to guess, I'd say Abby found something.”

“That's what I thought.” Daniella hugged herself. “I hope we're both wrong.”

“Only one way to find out.”

“I thought you'd never get around to saying so. Let's go ask.”

They clambered out and joined ranks, shoulder to shoulder, to approach the brothers. Daniella began, “I was right, wasn't I?” It shocked and puzzled her when Isaac shook his head.

“Well, if you didn't find anything, then why do you look as if you're mad at the world?” She made a face. “Or is it me?”

“I'm not mad at you,” Isaac assured her. “Not for convincing me to search for explosives, at any rate. I'm still pretty steamed at the goodbye note and disappearing act, though.”

“Never mind all that. What did Abby find?”

“I'm not positive. We won't be until the bomb disposal squad arrives. But she did alert. It just didn't happen to be in the place that scared you.”

“What?” Daniella's head snapped around and she scowled at each of the others in turn, beginning and ending with Isaac. “There was something under the porch. I saw it myself. It was rectangular and about this long.” She held her hands parallel to demonstrate.

“That was nothing but an old rusty lunch box, probably an antique from the looks of it. It was the other side of the house Abby told me was dangerous.”

“Oh, my...” She swayed as the truth hit home and felt Becky grab her arm. “I have never been happier to be proved wrong, even if I do feel foolish.”

Slowly shaking his head, Isaac told her, “You may want to rethink that. If you hadn't spotted what you thought was a bomb and called me, we might all have lost our lives.”

“A blessing in disguise?” his sister asked.

“Yes. And not that well disguised if all the perp did was slide it down the old coal chute into the basement. We're fortunate it didn't accidentally detonate when it hit bottom.”

The full significance of his words sank in slowly, making Daniella wish she didn't understand quite so well. Once again she had brought her personal troubles to others and once again they had narrowly escaped.

It took her several minutes to calm herself enough to speak her mind. She reached out to Isaac. Touched his arm for a brief moment. “I was going to just hit the road, for your sake, but since it's gone this far, maybe I should recontact the marshals' office like Becky suggested and see what they say.”

“You actually
want
to leave.”

“I have to. Don't you get it? As long as I'm here, Fagan will keep trying to hurt me and you'll all be in his crosshairs.”

“Okay. Two things,” Isaac said, looking deeply into her eyes and making her feel like a butterfly specimen displayed in a collector's box.

“Go ahead. But I'm right and you know it.”

He massaged the back of his neck with one hand while continuing to make direct eye contact. “First, there's no way for Fagan to know you've moved away from us unless we post a big sign on the lawn and he believes it. Second, we need to figure out how he knew we were all going to be gone at the same time so he could plant this new bomb.”

“He couldn't have known. I only thought of my traveling money and asked Becky for a ride to Arlington this morning.” She paused, eyes widening. “Could he have lied about leaving a bug in my apartment just to make us feel complacent about other options?”

“That had occurred to me,” Isaac said flatly.

“Uh-oh.”

Isaac agreed. “You can say that again. If he has different means of eavesdropping we'll have to be a lot more careful about what we say. I'll put the Capitol K-9 Unit's tech wizard, Fiona, to work on the problem as soon as we're cleared to reenter the house. She can check cell phones and our computers to make sure he hasn't tapped into those systems.”

“I could just hit the road and check in once in a while,” Daniella offered.

“How? From where? With what, a compromised cell phone?”

“Email, maybe? I could stop at coffee shops or libraries and use their computers.”

“Only if you're sure your father didn't learn any new tricks in prison. It was your idea that he might have taught other inmates his skills. Suppose they shared theirs with him? If he's half as smart as you are, I wouldn't put it past him.”

“Thanks—I think.”

“You're welcome. There's also the possibility he contacted another relocated witness who managed to get him the information he needed.”

“Now you're really reaching.”

“I know. But we can't overlook any possibilities, no matter how remote.”

“Look. It's not that complicated,” Daniella insisted. “My father saw me on the TV news.”

“And reached your apartment while you were still at work, set a bomb and got away clean? I strongly doubt that was all the time he had.”

“You think he was already closing in?”

Isaac soberly agreed. “He had to be. The newscast may have helped with the final details, but it's hard to believe he could have come to DC and accomplished all he did, like planting that bug in your apartment or the bomb on your car, if he hadn't had some prior knowledge.”

“I—I don't know what to say.” Daniella was speaking softly, hesitantly. How could she argue with a professional? Besides, wasn't one branch of law enforcement supposed to have an in with the others? If that were the case, how could she be certain that somebody in
Washington
hadn't tipped off her father?

So, who else would care about her true identity, let alone suspect she was in hiding? Was she sending signals that told people she was a fugitive from injustice and homicide? Could she possibly be that transparent?

A blurred picture began to emerge. How difficult would it be for a man with underworld connections like Terence Fagan to find the weakest link in a chain and either bribe or threaten enough to coerce someone into giving him access to her personal files?

Considering what she knew about her father and what she'd witnessed growing up, she was surprised he hadn't knocked on her door and exacted his revenge months ago.

Her gaze locked with Isaac's. “Are you positive you want me to stick around? I mean seriously. Think about it. You'll be risking your homestead and folks you care about. That makes no sense to me.”

“Maybe that's because you've never belonged to a close family. We stand up for each other and for our special friends. They'd do the same for me.”

“Am I a special friend? Is that what you're saying?” Daniella managed to ask the question without showing too much emotion, but by the time he got around to answering she was starting to feel the welling of unshed tears.

Stepping closer, he said, “If I have my way, you'll be an official member of my family someday. In the meantime, consider yourself adopted.”

She didn't answer. Couldn't speak, let alone reply with any degree of confidence. Was he intimating that he had serious feelings for her? That was awful. And wonderful. And everything in between.

Isaac closed her gaping mouth with one finger under her chin, then leaned and kissed her gently.

Maybe it was the thought that they had just cheated death that made her so willing to accept his show of affection. At that moment, that precious moment, Daniella didn't know or care. She merely kissed him back and let herself enjoy the closeness, the rare sense of total approval.

He knew her background, her family troubles, and yet he was inviting her into his private circle. That, alone, was such a beautiful gesture she could hardly take it in.

For those brief moments when Isaac's lips caressed hers, she was the person she had always dreamed of being. And she was no longer alone.

* * *

Isaac had stayed outside with the others while the bomb squad had entered his cellar, located the device and defused it. To nobody's surprise, it matched the design of the ones Fagan was known to favor. If the fingerprints were his it would be a slam dunk.

He didn't want to break bad news to Daniella but saw no alternative. Unfortunately, their already tenuous relationship had grown even more strained since he'd given in to his heart's desire and kissed her. At the time he'd done it he'd known it was a fool's move, yet the chance she might favor his brother over him had forced him to act or perhaps pay for his inaction for the rest of his life.

Once he'd kissed her, however, he'd realized that his tender feelings were reciprocated, making him glad he'd made the move, yet sorry he'd pushed things ahead so rapidly. Under less stressful conditions, she might not have responded quite so eagerly. Then again, maybe their trying circumstances were meant to help them develop a deeper relationship more quickly than normal.

It was later in the evening, after they'd eaten supper, when Isaac heard from his boss. As he'd expected, his frank report on Jeffries's cynical attitude and nervousness during their interview had not been well accepted.

“What were you trying to do,” Gavin McCord demanded, “give the man a heart attack?”

“I just asked him if he knew anything else about the bomb at his press conference. I was under the impression you sent me to question him because I have no personal ties. And speaking of bombs, I should tell you there was another explosive device planted at my farm today. The preliminary details will be coming from the bomb squad after they process the evidence.” Isaac heard papers rustling in the background.

“I just got that report. Hold on.”

More rustling sounds were followed by an exclamation. “Whoa. That's not what I'd expected.”

“What? What did they find?”

“Fingerprints on the inside of the casing. The outside had been wiped clean but there were several good partials on the works, not that the assembly was very sophisticated. Basically just a few wires, a detonator and old-fashioned gunpowder.”

“Humph. That sounds like Fagan's work.”

“I'd have to agree with you if the prints were his. They're not.”

“Were they able to ID the maker?”

“This says so, but there must be a mistake.”

“Who was it?” Isaac wished he was face-to-face with his captain so he could judge his facial expressions.

“Not over the phone. I'd rather look into the identity question myself. I'll get back to you.”

“Wait!”

McCord had ended the call. Deep in thought, Isaac decided he owed it to Daniella to inform her that her father had apparently not set this particular device. Yes, it was still possible that he'd had someone else do the construction for him and had then wiped the exterior of the box clean, but the chances of that were slim. Fagan would have wanted her to know where the bomb came from in order to increase her angst.

Isaac climbed the stairs and knocked on her closed door. “Daniella? It's me.”

When an answer didn't come promptly, he knocked again, warned, “You'd better be decent because I'm coming in,” and opened the door, half expecting to find her gone and the room empty.

Instead, he saw Daniella sitting on her bed, legs crossed, amid bundles of cash. Her enormous black cat was curled up atop part of the pile of bills.

Eyes wide and lips parted in surprise, she stared at him.

“What in the...?”

“This is the traveling money I mentioned. Becky took me to get it.”

His heart hardened despite his tender feelings for her. “Is
that
what your father is really after?”

“Of course not. He'd have no way of knowing I'd stashed it away instead of spending it”

He saw her face change as he demanded, “Where did it come from?”

“I could tell you but I don't think I will. If you don't trust me, there's no point, is there?”

Their raised voices sent Puddy under the bed seeking sanctuary.