Sworn to Protect (22 page)

Chapter 41

Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced—even a proverb is no proverb to you till your life has illustrated it.

John Keats

Thursday afternoon Jacob walked up the sidewalk of his home feeling more like a stranger than the owner of the two-story home. Father Cornell had encouraged him to see his children, to form a new relationship with them. Armed with the affirmations of “this is not your fault,” “I love you,” and “I’m here for you,” he rang the doorbell. The act angered him, especially when he made the mortgage payments and paid the utilities, but he shook it off. Nothing, absolutely nothing, would stand as a barrier between him and his children. For the next couple of hours, he needed to undo the harm Barbara had done to alienate him from all he treasured.

Jake Jr. answered the door. His son looked like he’d grown a foot, and when had he shed the little boy look for that of a twelve-year-old?

“Hi, Dad.” Jake shifted from one foot to the other.

“Can I come in?”

Jake’s face reddened and he widened the door. “Oh yeah. Sorry. This just seems strange.”

Jacob blew out a
humph
. “I agree, but we’ll talk about our relationship with your sisters.” He walked into the living room, the place for guests. Thank goodness Barbara was at work. The familiar smells sent an ache through him. He wanted what he used to call his own, but not at the cost of losing his dignity and respect.

Kaitlyn and Amber came bounding down the stairs. They stood at a distance on the landing—Kaitlyn twirling a long strand of dark hair around her finger, and Amber looking everywhere around the room except at him.

“How about a hug for your dear old dad?” Jacob opened his arms.

Jake gave him a limp hug, and the girls barely touched him. He didn’t hear a single “I love you” or “we missed you.” He started to ask them why the cold treatment, but they’d been deceived, and it was up to him to right the situation.

“So how’s the first week of school?”

“Not fun,” Jake said. “Already the work’s hard, and my teacher likes to give homework.”

“That’s how you learn, Son. Stick with it, and one day you’ll see the payoff.” He smiled at Amber, who was still avoiding him. “How’s second grade?”

“Third. It’s okay. Better than sitting around here.”

“Sounds like you were starting to get bored,” Jacob said. “Now you’ll have something to keep you busy.”

Her face darkened, and her eyes held distrust. Jacob expected this; she’d always been a mama’s girl. “And you, Kaitlyn?”

“All right,” Kaitlyn said. “Feels weird being in high school without Nadine. I expected to see her.”

“She’ll come home soon.” Jacob wanted to believe she’d soon be home instead of what he feared. . . .

“When?” Amber’s voice rose to near hysteria. “She’s dead. I’m sure of it. Why wouldn’t she come home since you’re gone?”

Silence kicked at the corners of the room. Jacob vowed not to lose his temper. He counted to ten like the priest had suggested and attempted to put himself in her shoes. “I’m sorry you feel this way. What can I do to make things better?”

“Find my sister and make Mommy stop crying.”

“Amber,” Kaitlyn whispered. She put her arms around her sister’s trembling shoulders.

Amber’s sobs were typical of her drama-queen personality, but Jacob could not come up with a single response. Father Cornell said the Holy Spirit would guide him through troubled times. So where was He now?

“I’m doing all I can to find Nadine,” Jacob said. “I want you to know I love you, and just because Mommy and I aren’t getting along doesn’t mean I’m not your dad.”

“Daddy,” Kaitlyn began, “this is hard for us. I want to be respectful, but are we supposed to forget about all those months when you yelled and screamed at us until Nadine ran away?”

She’d turned against him too. What could he do or say to fix the situation? “Is this what your mother said?”

Kaitlyn’s stare bored into his. Her young eyes revealed hurt and anguish, the very things he’d vowed to make sure she never saw. Had he caused this? “No, Daddy. Mom has never said anything bad about you.”

“Could we start all over? Let’s go get some ice cream and just talk.”

“My friend at school says his parents are divorced. His dad comes over sometimes, and they do fun stuff. Then his dad goes home, and my friend is all alone again with his mom.”

“I don’t want any ice cream,” Amber said through her sobs. “I want things the way they were a long time ago when we were happy.” She shook off her sister’s arm and raced up the stairs.

Kaitlyn watched her sister disappear. “Maybe this is enough of a visit for the first time.”

“Yeah,” Jake said. “Besides, I don’t want ice cream either. I need to be here when Mom comes home. I don’t like her to be alone without us. She needs us.”

I don’t like being alone either.

* * *

Alex’s day had been nonstop patients, and it wasn’t until after four that he had a break to grab a sandwich . . . and think. He’d realized the night before how badly he wanted to help Danika end the nightmare in her life. He had no clue who could have killed Toby or who was behind the threats made to her. Last night he’d lain in bed and thought about how strong the possibility was that it was he, not Danika, the shooter really wanted dead.

Or they could both be targets. Alex had a connection to Toby, Danika, the undocumented immigrants who sought medical care, and the Border Patrol. What was the missing link? Moreover, what was the motivation?

Danika had agreed to dinner on Friday night, and then they’d drive to his house to try the video call again. He hadn’t been able to get the connection to work earlier and had to call customer support. Fit his mood. Maybe on Friday their food wouldn’t go home in a carryout box, and Danika could communicate with Tiana. He still hadn’t told her about Sandra, and obviously Sandra hadn’t admitted her undocumented status.

They decided to compile a list of people who were close to them in their work and personal lives. Then they’d compare the lists to see which people were common to both of them for possible suspects.

Alex pounded his fist into his hand. Doctors weren’t supposed to solve crimes. He didn’t have the tools to read body language or discover motives. All he had was a deep affection for Danika and a perpetual prayer to see her safe.

Chapter 42

Time discovers truth.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Danika looked forward to seeing Alex tonight, actually anticipated seeing his face and hearing his voice. She’d abandoned—for now—her irritation over his not being up-front with her, especially with the knowledge of what he was doing for the Border Patrol. The rogue agent had to be found soon so everyone could focus on their own lives—or the evidence to convict Jacob. Agents double-checked everything they said and evaluated what everyone else said until the investigation was completed. Most of them believed the gangs working both sides of the border were involved, and others audibly accused Jacob of selling them out. The Mexican drug cartels were working hard to infiltrate the country, but the Border Patrol was working even harder to stop the smugglers with their thousands of pounds of illegal drugs—not to mention the weapons. Work went on as usual at the station. But the tension could be cut with a knife.

She waved at Alex across the restaurant. His smile caused a ripple to her insides. Tonight it was Tex-Mex, and the lively sounds of a Friday celebration usually put her in a good mood. He was trying hard to make up for the past, and she wanted to give him a chance, despite her tendency to mistrust.

“It’s going to be hard to talk tonight with all the noise,” he said once she was seated in a booth across from him. His crutches leaned against the booth behind him.

“Do you want to go somewhere else?” She wrestled with being alone with him all evening instead of during the video call to Tiana.

“Not really. The food is great, and we could postpone discussing our lists until later. I was thinking we could talk at the library before heading to my place.”

Stunned at his unusual choice, as though they were kids and needed a quiet place to talk without the temptation of being alone, she shook her head. A good choice. “That will do. Not too late, though. Tiana will need to go to bed.” She hesitated. “But it’s Friday night, and I usually let my little night owl stay up later.”

Conversation flowed much easier than on Wednesday. Alex had talked to his mother and signed with Tiana earlier in the evening, and Danika had talked to Sandra at the station. Jealousy seared her heart when Alex conveyed his conversation with her little girl, but soon she’d be able to do the same. Oh, how she missed Tiana.

On Sunday, Danika faced the dreaded double shift when she would finish at six in the evening, then return to the station at midnight to begin three months of working nights. More action took place between the hours of midnight and eight, and her body already took a beating as she adjusted to the work schedule.

Danika glanced at a young woman clearing a table beside them. It was her—the young woman who had attended Toby’s funeral, the same woman who had run from her at the convenience store. Alex saw her too.

“Cira,” Alex said when she looked his way.

He knew her? Danika’s insides twisted, cementing what she’d always feared about the woman and Toby.

The woman smiled.

“Cómo está Mickey?”
Alex asked.

“Está mejor.”

“Taking him from the hospital was a foolish thing. He needed to be there until the pneumonia had cleared his lungs.”

“I saw someone I knew, and I was afraid she might tell.” Cira looked at Danika, and her face paled. “You . . . you are Toby’s wife?”

Danika nodded while questions flooded her mind. She didn’t want to frighten Cira again. “I’m sorry your little boy has been sick.”

“
Gracias.
Your husband was a good man.”

Danika refused to dwell on her statement. “What did he do for you?”

Cira whirled around and grabbed the plastic container of dirty dishes. She hurried through the restaurant to the kitchen.

Danika rushed to her feet and followed her, but an olive-skinned waiter stopped her at the door.

“Customers are not allowed in the kitchen.”

Danika’s pulse raced through her veins. “But I need to talk to one of the workers, a woman named Cira.”

“Ma’am, she could lose her job. Come back when her shift is over.”

“When will that be?”

He shrugged. “Midnight or so. It depends on when the kitchen is clean.”

Danika wanted to cry. Every time she ventured close to the woman, she seemed to slip away. Tonight Danika would wait in the parking lot until Cira finished her shift, no matter how long it took.

She walked back to the table and slid into the booth. “They won’t let me talk to her until after her shift.”

Alex nodded. “We both know Cira,” he said. “And she’s not on my list.”

“I didn’t know her name to have her on mine. So her son is one of your patients?”

“Toby brought her to me after she’d been beaten. Her fee to get across the border had been partially paid by a woman who said she could work off the front money. I gathered the beatings were a common occurrence. The woman took advantage of illegal women and made them work much longer than the agreed period in payment for the debt. When Cira attempted to escape, the woman had her beaten by a man who also raped her. Later she learned she was pregnant, and I delivered her son.”

Danika leaned against the seat, literally sick at what she had believed for the past two years about Toby. “I made a terrible mistake.”

“What do you mean?”

“She came to the funeral with the baby. When I tried to speak with her, she ran away. I thought . . . I assumed Toby had been unfaithful, and the baby was his.”

Alex’s face filled with compassion. “Danika, one thing I can tell you about Toby is he loved you very much.”

She desperately needed to hear those words. “Thank you. If only she hadn’t been afraid of me, I could have learned the truth long ago.”

Alex pushed his plate back. “Fear of being deported and of the woman who would most likely beat or kill her keeps Cira on the run. She left McAllen shortly after Toby’s death, but her grandfather became ill and needed her here to take care of him.”

“Life keeps getting more complicated. So you met up with her again when her little boy got sick?”

“Right. She doesn’t trust any of the other doctors. Remember the night I brought Mom over and had to leave for an emergency?”

She’d been so angry with him and was glad he left. “What a way to live.” Their order hadn’t arrived, and she’d once again lost her appetite.

“Did you and Sandra have a long talk before they left?”

“Oh yes. She wanted to assure this pitiful mom that her little girl would be in good hands. Sandra loves Tiana. I don’t worry when she is with my little girl.”

He frowned. “Want to get the food to go, and we can eat later at my house? I’d like to head to the library where it’s quiet.”

So he’d picked up on her loss of appetite. Alex read her pretty well. Scary, but true.

* * *

Alex suspected something so vile that the thought made him furious just considering it. Sandra and Cira had been friends. Both had tasted the repercussions of angering a greedy woman who worked them like animals. Sandra worked out her debt and went on to work at a reputable maid and nanny service, but Cira escaped. Perhaps Cira had seen Sandra at the funeral and that was why she ran. Sandra wouldn’t tell Danika about the woman being undocumented, but she could turn Cira over to the same people who had beaten her.

He searched the library to ensure their privacy. An older couple sat at the next table over, and a teen worked at a computer.

Alex looked at his list and compared it to Danika’s. They weren’t getting anywhere. The only common names were Toby and Sandra and now Cira.

“You deserve to know something,” he said.

Her eyes revealed the sadness. “This is not good, is it?”

“Nope.” He stared into her face, wanting to spare her the hurt and betrayal. She deserved to know the truth about Sandra, and he should have told her on Wednesday night. This information had the potential to change the course of the investigation.

“I don’t think you’re the only person whom Cira ran from at the funeral. She and Sandra were friends.”

Danika nodded, as though she understood. “Are you saying she was afraid Sandra would tell me about her illegal status?”

“Or Sandra would tell the people who were after her. What’s important here is Sandra is undocumented.”

She paled. “But the service said she’s a citizen, and her papers are in their file.” She rubbed her palms and said nothing for several moments. “I can’t believe this. She deceived the service and me. My baby. This can’t be happening. Is that why she acted strangely the first time she saw you? Were you two talking about her illegal status the other night?”

“What do you think? She admitted her false documents. I gave her an ultimatum to either tell you before Wednesday, or I would.”

Danika buried her face in her hands. “She’s been so loyal. She learned sign language for Tiana, and she loves her so very much. She’s been a faithful friend.”

Compassion filled him. Danika was indeed the strongest woman he’d ever known, but how much could she take? “I don’t doubt her caring for both of you.”

“She’s in San Antonio with my daughter.” She gasped and started to stand. “I need to talk to your mother now. Make sure Sandra doesn’t leave the house with Tiana.”

“My guess is she’s banking on me not telling you.” Alex grabbed his crutches. “Let’s step outside to make the call. And use my phone.”

They made their way to the lobby. As soon as Danika alerted Karen to Sandra’s illegal status and returned Alex’s cell phone, he began to voice the rest of his suspicions. “Would Sandra have access to any confidential information about the Border Patrol?”

The blood drained from Danika’s face. “I don’t bring any work information home or discuss what’s going on. Some agents carry secure items back and forth in their backpacks, but not me.”

“Good. I needed to ask.”

“Alex, I have to report her status now. How does this look to the Border Patrol? I could lose my job.” She pulled her cell from her purse. “I’m calling the chief.” She punched in the number and met Alex’s gaze. “How long were you planning to wait until you told me about this?”

“At first I wanted to give her the opportunity to tell you. Then I started to tell you on Wednesday. But when you connect her and Cira, it’s possible there’s much more at stake.”

Before Danika could answer, she had Chief Jimenez on the phone.

“I’ve just discovered my nanny has false documentation or immigration papers.” She studied Alex’s face. One more time their relationship was on the line, and he had no excuse for not telling her about Sandra except to give the illegal an opportunity to be honest.

“She works for me through a large, reputable service. I was told the papers are on file there,” Danika continued. “Right, she’s in San Antonio with Tiana at Alex’s mother’s home.” She moistened her lips. “Alex suspected it and confronted her. He recognized her from the hospital.” Danika closed her eyes. “Yes, sir. We’ll talk in the morning.”

She dropped the phone back into her purse. “What else are you thinking of keeping from me?” Fury burned from her eyes.

No holding back now. “I’m wondering if Sandra has contact with Jacob.”

“Sure.” Danika crossed her arms over her chest. Misery had left its mark in the tiny lines fanning from her eyes. “She accompanies me to Jacob and Barbara’s—at least we used to. She’s like family.” Danika hesitated. “Jacob used to bring sensor location sheets home in his backpack.”

“What if Jacob was giving Sandra the sensor locations? What if she gave or sold the information to those transporting undocumented immigrants?”

“If that’s true, then Jacob most likely knows who killed Toby and who wants me dead. No wonder Sandra doesn’t like her boss. She was afraid the service would learn about her falsified papers.”

“Where’s Jacob living?”

“I have no idea. Barbara said he refused to tell her. I also wonder if a gang has Nadine and he’s being blackmailed.”

“He certainly isn’t able to obtain sensor locations in his current situation. Are you up to another call to Ed and a trip to the police station?”