The Chase (10 page)

Anne was silent for a moment. “No. I guess she’s probably better off being at the Hortons’, where she can play with Emma. That might help keep her from worrying. But thanks for offering, Kendall. I may take you up on it later. I guess I just have to take this one day at a time.”

“Sure thing. I’ll do anything I can to help. I hope you know that.”

“I do. Thank you.” Kendall heard Anne draw a deep breath. “There’s something else I need to tell you.”

“What’s that?”

“I had a visit from two sheriff’s deputies. They think someone tampered with Doug’s car and that’s why he went off the road.”

“
What?”

“I reacted the same way. They have no leads yet as to who might have done it, or why, but they are pretty confident that it wasn’t an accident.”

Kendall felt sick to her stomach. “I just can’t believe it, Anne. Who would do that?”

“I don’t know. But I’m worried that if someone tried to harm Doug, he might try to do something to Samantha. I’ve already spoken with Deb about it, but I’d appreciate it if when you’re there you’d reiterate to Deb the importance of keeping the doors locked and not letting the girls play outside alone.”

“Of course.”

Neither one of them spoke for a moment; then Kendall broke the silence. “Anne, I don’t want to upset you, but I’ve got to wonder whether this could have something to do with Zeb McGraw.”

Jake made a choking sound, and when Kendall looked at him, he pounded his chest and coughed a couple of times. She frowned and mouthed, “You okay?” He nodded and coughed into his fist once more.

“The deputy asked me the same question,” Anne said. “Zeb McGraw obviously has a grudge against Doug. But he’s in jail.”

Kendall chewed the inside of her lip as she thought it over. “Just because he’s in jail doesn’t mean he couldn’t have set something up. He might have an accomplice.”

There was a long pause. “I know.”

Anne’s voice was strained, and Kendall regretted having said anything. “Look, why don’t you get back to Doug, and I’ll head on over to the Hortons’ to see Samantha. Is there a way I can reach you after I see her?”

“I can’t use my cell phone in the hospital. I had to step outside to make this call to you. And there isn’t a phone in Doug’s room. When I go back in, I can check and see if I can get the phone number for the nurses’ station.”

“No, don’t bother with that now. If there’s any need for me to get in touch with you after I see Samantha, I’ll figure out a way. Let’s just leave it that if you don’t hear from me, everything’s fine. And if you want to reach me, just call me on my cell. I’ll keep it next to the bed, so I’ll hear it if you call after I go to sleep. Please, call me whenever you want to. Don’t worry about the time.”

“Thanks, Kendall.”

Kendall snapped her cell phone shut and placed it on the middle console.

“Everything all right?” Jake asked.

She looked at him. “Far from it.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

“Actually, there is. Do you mind if I make a stop before taking you to your truck?”

“Sure, I’m in no hurry.”

“Great,” Kendall said, putting the Jeep in gear.

Jake held on to the dash as she stepped on the accelerator. “Any chance you’re going to tell me what’s going on?”

“I don’t even know where to begin.”

“How about at the beginning?” Jake said with a grin, which made Kendall smile in spite of herself.

She sighed. “Anne Cummings just told me that the authorities think Doug’s car was tampered with and that’s what caused him to go off the road.”

“Tampered with? In what way?”

“I don’t know. Anne didn’t go into detail. But she’s worried that someone might try to harm their daughter, Samantha. That’s where we’re going now. To check on Samantha.”

Jake frowned. “That’s a pretty big leap, isn’t it? From car tampering to harming a child?”

“You wouldn’t think that if you knew their history.”

“Tell me.”

Kendall sighed. “It would take me all night to tell you everything. In a nutshell, a psycho, Zeb McGraw, was stalking Doug last year, and he kidnapped Samantha, killed Samantha’s au pair, and shot Doug.”

“Is he still on the loose?”

“No, he’s in jail, awaiting trial.”

“Then it doesn’t sound like he’s much of a threat. It explains Mrs. Cummings’s reaction, though.”

“No kidding. I think Anne’s holding it together remarkably well. She’s eight months pregnant, her husband has a car accident and ends up in a coma, and now she learns that someone intentionally caused his accident. All of that coming on the heels of what happened last year.”

“She’s
pregnant?”

Kendall nodded. “In fact, I was having a baby shower for Anne at my house today when we got the call that Doug had been in an accident.”

“Oh Jesus!”

“Right. How much more can this family take? That’s why Anne wants me to go see Samantha. To make sure she’s coping all right.”

“Is Samantha their only child?”

“Yes. Well, the baby will be their first biological child. Anne and Doug got married and adopted Samantha after the kidnapping last year.”

“Hold on, you lost me there,” Jake said. “I thought you said that this McGraw guy kidnapped Samantha because he was stalking Doug Cummings. But now you’re saying that Doug Cummings wasn’t her father at the time?”

“Right. Samantha’s parents both died, and Anne was Samantha’s guardian. Since Doug had a relationship with Anne, I guess McGraw figured Anne and Samantha were the closest thing to a family Doug had, so he kidnapped Samantha.”

“Who is this McGraw guy?”

“He’s a redneck from West Virginia.”

Jake smirked and looked out the window.

“What’s wrong?” Kendall asked.

“Nothing.”

“Then what’s the smirk about?”

He turned back towards her. “Oh, just your redneck comment. I guess I probably fall in that category too, being from Oklahoma.”

“I didn’t mean it that way. I don’t have anything against people from West Virginia. Or Oklahoma, either, for that matter.”

“If that’s an apology, I accept it.”

Kendall didn’t respond, and they passed the next few moments in silence. Jake lounged in the passenger seat with his legs crossed, his left cowboy boot resting on his right knee. He stared out the window and drummed his fingers on his boot, humming along with the song on the radio. It drove Kendall nuts, but she refrained from saying anything.

Finally, Jake broke the silence. “Why was McGraw after Doug Cummings?”

Kendall reached down and pressed the button to turn the radio off. “Doug’s a lawyer, and he represented Zeb McGraw’s brother, Zeke, on a drug charge years ago. Zeke ended up in prison, where he committed suicide, and Zeb blamed Doug for it.”

“Ah, sweet revenge.”

“In his twisted mind, yes.”

“When did all this happen?”

“Last fall. November, I think.” Kendall thought for a moment. “Yes, it was right around Thanksgiving.”

“Sounds like Doug Cummings hasn’t had the best of luck, being shot last year and now being in this car accident.”

Kendall shrugged. “You could look at it that way. Or, you could say he’s an incredibly lucky guy. He survived being shot, got Samantha home safely, and married the woman of his dreams, who’s about to give birth to his baby. I only hope his luck will continue and that he’ll come out of the coma.”

They had reached Gilbert’s Corner and Kendall turned right towards Middleburg. She glanced at the clock on the dash. “It’s been almost five hours since we got the phone call and Anne left for the hospital. I hope Samantha’s been handling it all right.”

“Is she still pretty shook up over the kidnapping?”

“Samantha still suffers from anxiety, but she seems to have made great progress since Anne and Doug married and adopted her last spring.”

“Last spring?”

“Yes. They combined their wedding and Samantha’s adoption in a beautiful ceremony on Easter weekend.”

“Easter?” Jake began to count on his fingers. “April, May, June, July, August… I thought you said Anne was eight months pregnant.”

Kendall glared at him. “Don’t sit in judgment of them, Jake. You’ve never even met them.”

“I’m not being judgmental. I was just making an observation.”

“It’s an observation you don’t need to make.”

Jake put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle push. “Hey, lighten up.”

Kendall sank away from his touch. “I don’t need to
lighten up,”
she said, pushing the power button on the radio and turning the volume high.

Jake’s hand shot out and twirled the knob to lower the volume. “Do you have anger-management problems or something? If I had to guess, I’d bet it has something to do with your ex-husband, and I’m real sorry if you were married to an SOB. But, Jesus Christ,
I
never did anything to you. I was just driving down the highway, minding my own business, when I happened upon Doug Cummings’s car accident. And I tried to do a good deed by offering my help. I didn’t do it to get any kind of gratitude, and I don’t really care if you appreciate what I did for your friend or not. But I’m exhausted, and my patience is really beginning to wear thin here. So, if you don’t mind, could you at least make an effort to be civil?”

Kendall didn’t give him the satisfaction of responding. She kept her eyes on the road, gripping the wheel so hard, her knuckles turned white.

K
endall sat on the sofa in the Hortons’ living room with Samantha on her lap.

“When will I be able to see Daddy?” Samantha asked.

“As soon as his head feels better. Right now, he has a big bump right here.” Kendall danced her fingertips across Samantha’s forehead.

“I banged my head once at preschool and Mrs. Kennedy put ice on it, and after awhile it made it feel lots better. Is Mommy putting ice on Daddy’s head?”

“I’ll bet she is.”

“How did Daddy hurt his head?”

Kendall wasn’t sure how much to tell her. “He had a car accident and he bumped his head on the windshield.”

Samantha frowned. “But Daddy always wears a seat belt, and that’s supposed to protect you in a car accident.”

“That’s right, Samantha. But he still got a bump on his head.”

Samantha fingered Kendall’s pearl necklace. “Was Daddy the driver or a passenger?”

“He was driving.”

“He always tells me that it’s safer in the backseat. That’s why he makes me sit there.”

Kendall hugged her. “That’s because your daddy loves you very much and he wants to make sure you don’t get hurt or bump your head if there’s a car accident.”

Samantha nodded. “Yeah.”

“Hey, you know what?” Kendall asked, brushing a strand of hair off Samantha’s face. “You get to have a sleepover here at Emma’s tonight.”

“How come?”

“Because your mommy is going to stay at the hospital tonight with your daddy so she can help the nurse take care of him.”

Samantha’s eyes filled with tears. “I want to help take care of him, too.”

“I know you do, sweetie. And you’ll be a big help when your daddy comes home from the hospital.”

“But why can’t I help take care of him in the hospital?” Samantha whimpered, burying her face against Kendall’s shoulder.

“Because they have rules that kids aren’t allowed.”

Kendall looked over Samantha’s head at Deb and raised her eyebrows.

“Samantha, we are going to have so much fun tonight,” Deb said, kneeling down next to them. “What would you think about you and Emma making ice-cream sundaes?”

Samantha turned her head enough to peer down at Deb. “With gummy bears?”

“Of course,” Deb said, smiling.

Samantha swiped at her tears with her fist. “I guess that would be okay.”

“Great.” Deb stood up and held her hand out to Samantha. “Let’s go get started.”

Samantha looked questioningly at Kendall, who nodded and helped Samantha climb down off her lap. “That sounds delicious, Samantha. I wish I could stay for ice cream.”

“Why can’t you?” Samantha asked as they walked towards the front door.

Kendall glanced out the window and caught a glimpse of Jake waiting in her Jeep. “See that man out there, sitting in my car?”

Samantha nodded.

“He’s waiting for me to give him a ride somewhere.”

Samantha looked out the window. “Who is he?”

Kendall hesitated.
How should she explain who Jake was?
“His name is Jake and he’s your daddy’s friend. And he’s friends with Chancellor, too.”

“How does he know Chancellor?” Samantha asked.

Oh shit. That was a can of worms she did not want to open
.

“Kendall,” Samantha said, tugging on Kendall’s dress. “How does he know Chancellor?”

Kendall took a deep breath. She knew that Samantha would find out about Chancellor’s injuries at some point, so she might as well prepare her for it now.

“When your daddy had the car accident, Chancellor was in the trailer, so he was in the accident, too. Jake helped take care of Chancellor.”

“Is Chancellor okay?”

“Chancellor is fine. He got a little bit hurt, but he’s at the horse hospital and they’re taking good care of him.”