Lethal Deception (15 page)

Cassidy beseeched, “Susan, please reconsider your idea of suing. I know we left things tense in the lawyer’s office, but…somehow, surely we can work something out.”

Susan looked up, anguish reflected in her tired eyes. “Will you reconsider and give her to me?”

Cassidy sighed. “I can’t, Susan. Kara…”

“This child is my family, the only piece I have left. I can’t have children…we’ve tried for so long, and now here is this precious…” Tears appeared and Susan blinked rapidly. “I’m sorry. Maybe this was a bad idea. But I can’t give up. I won’t give up.”

Susan sounded almost sad as she said the last words. Cassidy shook her head and escorted the tortured woman out the door. She stood staring at the empty driveway long after Susan’s car disappeared from view.

April 13

W
ith no further incidents, Cassidy and Alexis had settled into a routine of eat, play, sleep, then play some more. And while she’d been thinking about it, she’d written a six-digit check to the orphanage in Brazil to help cover the damages the rebels had inflicted.

Thirty minutes ago, Amy, along with two bodyguards, had stopped by to pick up Alexis to take her to the zoo. Cassidy was supposed to be putting the finishing touches on her speech. Instead, she needed a distraction.

Friday night was fast approaching and Cassidy had sucked in a deep breath, shoved aside anger, resentment and other emotions, to call her father and ask that a bodyguard be assigned to her temporarily—again. She hated this estrangement, the stiffness between them, but she couldn’t just act like the past hadn’t happened—or that things weren’t vastly different now. She’d prayed and prayed and still couldn’t figure out how to forgive—or even what she was supposed to feel and think. She’d keep working on it. In the meantime, she had a new bodyguard.

Anderson Wilmont was a large man from Jamaica who had a lilting accented voice and kind dark eyes which seemed at odds with his choice of profession, but her father assured her that the man knew how to do his job without being intrusive.

Cassidy’s one requirement was that he wear a bullet-proof vest.

She powered down her laptop and jumped up from her chair. Concentrating on her e-mail helped keep her thoughts in order; however, that couldn’t last forever. She needed to do something. The shooter had escaped and still roamed the streets; out there somewhere, waiting to make another move.

The phone rang.

Cassidy looked at the caller ID. Morgan, Cline and Edwards. Ugh. What now? “Hello?”

“Cassidy, this is Sheila Simons with Morgan, Cline and Edwards.”

“Hello, Ms. Simons. What can I do for you?”

“Mr. Morgan asked me to call and inform you that Brian and Susan Cooper have filed a lawsuit, suing you for custody of Alexis.”

Cassidy dropped into the chair next to the phone. Weakness shook her and stars danced in front of her eyes for a brief moment. Then anger kicked in.

“I figured this would happen.” Almost to herself she said, “I suppose I should call my lawyer immediately.”

“I’m sorry, Ms. McKnight. I wish I had better news for you.”

“No, I kind of expected it. All right, I’ll get right on it.”

Cassidy hung up feeling as though she’d been side-swiped. Although Susan
had
warned her she would sue, Cassidy had high hopes after the woman’s visit that maybe she would change her mind. She ran her fingers through her hair, glanced at her laptop and gave a tearful, humorless chuckle. Well, she’d gotten her distraction.

The Bible lay on the end table next to the recliner. It had been a while. Life had been so crazy lately that she’d neglected her daily quiet time. Not that God was keeping score. Still, she realized she missed God; missed her quiet moments in the morning gazing out her kitchen window while she listened to what He had to tell her.

Cassidy picked up the Bible and flopped into the recliner. She opened the book and searched for something that might help her understand why her life had gone crazy all of a sudden. Certainly, she’d had a rough few years as a rebellious teenager, but now that she was trying to do the right thing, everything was going wrong.

I don’t understand, God. Show me. Keep my faith strong and my trust in You unfailing. I know Moses didn’t have a clue of all the trouble he was going to face when You chose him, he just had to trust You. You’ve chosen me to go through this trial right now and I guess I’m just going to have to trust You. No matter what. God, I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose that little girl, but I have to give it to You. Keep Your hand on us; Your protective shield around us. I know You are the ultimate protector and I thank You for that.

Cassidy went on to pray for her family, Brian and Susan Cooper, Amy and her family and, of course, Gabe.

April 15
Saturday

Gabe’s cell phone rang as he jogged up the steps to his front porch. He’d just finished a three-mile run, as being active seemed to clear his mind and allow him to think. Sitting around worrying about Cassidy just made him insane.

He let the phone ring one more time while he caught his breath, then he pulled the device from the clip on his shorts.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Gabe. Craig here. I called the hospital and they said you had the morning off.”

“Craig, good to hear from you. How are you?”

“Doing all right. Staying busy, unfortunately. I have some bad news for you. You know your pal Rafael?”

Gabe’s gut tightened. “Yeah? He wasn’t released, was he? Or he didn’t escape?”

“Nope. He’s dead.”

“Whoa! What happened?” Gabe sat on the top step, stunned.

“He committed suicide. Guess he wasn’t going to talk no matter what.”

Gabe blew out a breath. On the one hand he felt relieved that the man couldn’t hurt Cassidy anymore. Yet on the other hand, he felt sorry for the waste of human life.

“So, guess there’s not going to be a trial, huh?”

“No, guess not. You can pass the word on to your lady friend. Now we’ve just got to figure out who shot the bodyguard.”

“You got any leads?”

“We think the shots came from the roof of the building across the street. We questioned a group of people there, but no one saw anything.”

“What do the surveillance cameras say?”

“There are four cameras, so we’ve got our guys going through them now. So far, nothing’s turned up. But, we did find one thing pretty interesting.”

Gabe stretched his legs in front of him and flexed his legs to cool down the muscles. Then he stood to pace while he talked. “What’s that?”

“A black outfit tossed in the Dumpster around back. The person wasn’t too careful. Obviously in a hurry. They left gloves, hat, stretch pants and a pullover shirt.”

“Any DNA?”

“Working on it. You know how long it takes the lab to do anything.”

Gabe clenched his jaw. “Tell them to work faster. You’ve got lives at stake.”

“I know. I already told them. We’ll see if it makes a difference.”

“Any idea where the clothes were purchased?”

“All the tags were cut out.”

“Wonderful. All right, well, keep me posted.” Gabe ran a hand through his sweaty hair. Time for a shower. “Let me know the minute you hear something on the DNA or anything else.”

“You got it. You know, Gabe, I could use a man like you in my business. You want a job at the precinct?”

Gabe laughed. “No way. I’m not into stress. That’s why I like the emergency room.”

Craig barked a short laugh. “Oh, yeah, no stress there, right? Okay. I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Later, man.” Gabe hung up the phone and walked into his house. After he showered, he’d call Cassidy and break the news to her. First, that Rafael was dead and second, that he, Gabriel Sinclair, was going to set foot in a church tomorrow morning for the first time in two years.

April 16
Easter Sunday morning

Bright morning sun streamed through Cassidy’s bedroom window and she stretched under the covers.

Then she remembered and smiled.

Last night, Gabe had called to say he’d join her at church this morning. She’d already prepared herself for his negative response, so when he’d agreed to come, she’d been flabbergasted—and thrilled.

Yesterday, she’d delivered her mother’s Easter dress and the woman had raved about it, declaring she was going to hire Cassidy to do all of her shopping from now on. Cassidy was glad her mother had liked it, but never would she tell her she’d found it on the fifty-percent-off rack. She giggled to herself. Excitement finally propelled her from the bed and she hurried to shower before Alexis awoke and demanded her undivided attention.

It was amazing that the little girl had adjusted so well considering the upheaval she’d been through. But other than an occasional waking during the night to call for her mama, Alexis seemed content.

Thank You for that, God.

Cassidy dressed and applied a light coat of makeup while listening for sounds of Alexis. Finally, she heard, “Me up. Come get me, my Cass-ty.”

Cassidy felt her heart warm to the call and hurried to finish swiping the mascara on her lashes. “I’m coming, sweetie,” she called. “Be there in a second.”

Finally, she had herself dressed in a light blue sundress with a matching shawl. Alexis looked adorable in one of her new outfits; a pale pink dress with a matching hat. Anderson, Cassidy’s bodyguard, would accompany her, but she would be careful, not take any stupid chances or be careless in any way.

Today was going to be such a sweet day—in spite of the custody battle the Coopers had threatened. Tears prickled behind her eyes and she blinked. No time for that; time to go to church and meet Gabe. She smiled. Now,
that
was cause to feel better about everything.

She’d instructed him to sit near the back as she didn’t feel comfortable leaving Alexis in the nursery yet. Not only for security reasons, but because she simply wanted to keep the little girl with her.

When she pulled into the parking lot of First Community Church, she glanced in her rearview mirror and saw Anderson pull in behind her. Satisfied, she got Alexis from her car seat in the back and walked up the steps to the sanctuary.

“Cass, hey,” Gabe called to her.

He came.
Thank You, Jesus.
She smiled. “Good morning.”

“Gabe! Kiss,” Alexis squealed.

Cassidy laughed. “I think she likes you better than me.”

Gabe took the little girl in his arms, hugged her and planted a smacking kiss on her nose. “Hi, munchkin. You look really pretty in pink. I’ve missed you.”

“Missed you.” Alexis nodded her agreement.

Gabe smiled at Cassidy and she noticed his eyes lingered on her face. She blushed. “Come on.” She grasped his upper arm and pulled him in the direction of the sanctuary. “Let’s get a seat in the back before the only ones left are in the front row. Mom and Dad will meet us inside.”

“Where’s your bodyguard?”

Cassidy shook her head and grinned as she stepped into the sanctuary. “He’s around. I saw him pull into the parking lot behind me. Now, stop worrying.”

“I wish I could,” Cassidy heard him mutter.

Cassidy slid in the seat beside her mother. “Hi, Mom, Dad.” She’d yet to deal with all her feelings about her father ever since her mother told her about his past, but she was praying about it and working on it. The shock was wearing off. And the evidence her father presented of being a changed man made it easier to believe everything might work out. “I’m so glad you guys came.”

“Well, I couldn’t very well say no after you found this beautiful dress for me, now, could I?”

Cassidy forced herself to shoot a grin at her father as she lightly asked her mother, “And Dad didn’t have a thing to do with it, huh?”

“Not a thing.” But her mom winked and Cassidy felt her heart lighten tremendously. Her father seemed to relax. He’d been nervous about seeing her. Cassidy’s heart clenched. She wouldn’t mention anything. This problem was between her parents and things certainly seemed to be better. They were trying. Both turned to Gabe and welcomed him with a few kind words.

“Gaga.” Alexis reached from Gabe’s arms to her mother and he released her to climb up in the woman’s lap.

Movement caught the corner of her eye. She tilted her head and the day turned perfect. Amy walked up the outer aisle of the church and slid into the pew next to Cassidy’s father. Amy wiggled her fingers in a small wave, and Cassidy didn’t bother to hide the grin she felt spread over her face. Everyone she cared about was here now.

Then Cassidy felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Cindy Patterson sitting in the pew behind her. She smiled and said, “Hi, Cindy, how are you doing?”

Cindy smiled back and said, “Things are a little crazy at work, but other than that, I’m fine.”

Cassidy introduced her parents and Gabe.

The service began and Cassidy drank in the peaceful atmosphere. She’d ask Cindy what kind of work she did at a later time. Maybe they could have lunch together one day this week.

The pastor talked about Jesus’s death and resurrection. The fact that He’d died for her. And the fact that He forgave her for all the bad things she’d ever done was enough to bring tears of gratitude to her eyes.

Yes, Christ loved her and He was allowing her to go through this time of craziness for a reason; she just prayed that she would remain faithful and not give in to despair before this mad person was caught.

Gabe found his jaw relaxing. This morning, he’d almost called Cassidy and reneged on his promise to come, but at the thought of the disappointment he was sure to hear in her voice, he just couldn’t make the call.