The Chase (40 page)

Samantha drew a card from the deck, then grinned as she placed the remaining cards from her hand on the bed.

“See what I mean?” Ben said.

Anne placed her hand on Samantha’s forehead. “You don’t feel warm anymore. Are you feeling better?”

Samantha nodded, then giggled. “Rascal, stop it! That tickles.”

Anne looked around the bed, but the puppy was nowhere in sight. “Where is Rascal?”

Samantha pulled the covers back and revealed the puppy snuggled up next to her. “He was licking my arm,” Samantha said, petting him gently on the head.

“What’s Rascal doing under the covers?”

“He was cold, so I let him snuggle up with me.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Samantha. Beds are for people to sleep in, not dogs.”

“Daddy let me put Rascal under the covers yesterday.”

Anne gave her a weary smile. “He did, did he?”

“Uh-huh. You’re not mad at Daddy, are you?”

“No, honey, I’m not mad at Daddy.” She gathered Samantha in her arms and rested her cheek against the top of Samantha’s head. “Mommy and Daddy love you so much. You know that, don’t you, sweetheart?”

“Um-hmm.” Samantha lifted her head and pulled back so she could see Anne’s face. “Why are you crying, Mommy?”

Anne ran her fingertips across her cheeks. “Because I’m so happy that I’m your mommy.”

Samantha threw her arms around Anne’s neck. “I think it’s silly that grown-ups cry when they’re happy.”

Anne smiled and kissed her. “Me, too. Say, you know what? I’ll bet Rascal needs to go outside. Why don’t I take him downstairs, and he can come back up when I bring your dinner.”

“Okay. Can I have chicken noodle soup again?”

“Sure, if you want to.”

“And raspberry Jell-O?”

“Of course.” Anne picked Rascal up. “Ben, can I bring you anything?”

“You can have chicken noodle soup and Jell-O, too,” Samantha said.

Ben smiled at her. “That sounds great.”

“All right. I’ll be back in a little while.”

When Anne descended the stairs, the front hall was empty, but she heard voices coming from the kitchen. She found Doug and Ned Carey sitting at the kitchen table. Charly, the bodyguard, stood by the back door.

“Has everyone gone?”

Doug nodded. “The meeting ended a few minutes ago, and Lieutenant Mallory just left with Steve. They went to see if Steve can identify the knife from the bus driver’s murder as the one he saw Jake use. And a deputy took Margaret to the hospital to see if she can identify the injured boy.” He stood and reached for the puppy. “Does Rascal need to go out?”

Charly stepped forward. “I’ll take him out, Mr. Cummings.”

“Thanks, Charly.” Anne handed Rascal to her and turned to Ned. “I was just getting ready to make dinner for Samantha. Can I talk you into staying and having a bite to eat with us?”

A vibrating sound came from Ned’s cell phone and he held his finger up. “Sorry, Anne. Let me answer this.” He unclipped his cell phone from his belt and held it to his ear. “Ned Carey.”

He bolted forward in his chair. “
Elizabeth.”

Ned paled. “Calm down, honey. Try not to cry. Just tell me if you’re okay.”

Anne couldn’t make out what Elizabeth was saying, but her voice shrieked over the phone. It sounded like she was talking a million miles a minute.

“Don’t worry about that right now, honey,” Ned said. “The important thing is that you’re all right. Tell me where you are.”

Ned listened for a long moment. “Is someone with you?” He nodded. “Great. Can I speak with Mrs. Strump?”

Ned turned the phone slightly away from his mouth. “Elizabeth’s safe.”

“Where is she?” Anne asked.

“The beagle kennels.”

He brought the phone back to his mouth. “Hi, I’m Ned Carey, Elizabeth’s dad. Tell me what happened.”

Ned eyed Doug and Anne as he listened. “Are you sure Todd’s no longer around?”

He nodded. “Keeping a rifle handy sounds like a good idea. I’ll call the Sheriff’s Office and then I’m on my way. Tell Elizabeth just to sit tight. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

Ned stood and his hands trembled as he clipped the phone back to his belt. “Thank God Elizabeth’s alive and unharmed!”

“Did she tell you what happened to her?” Doug asked.

Ned reached in his pocket and pulled out his car keys. “She was crying and talking so fast, I could hardly understand her, but from what I gathered, Todd took her to the beagle kennels, tied her up, and left her in a stall. He must have said something to her about kidnapping the kids, because Elizabeth sounded hysterical when she asked if the kids and Kendall are all right.”

Doug rose. “Do you know how to get to the kennels?”

Ned shook his head.

“Come on, I’ll drive you there.”

Anne stiffened and Ned glanced at her. “No, Doug, you stay here with your family. Just give me directions.”

A
nne was sound asleep in Doug’s arms when the phone rang. She glanced at the digital reading on the bedside clock. Five-eighteen
A.M
.

Doug reached out and grabbed the phone. “Hello.” His voice was thick with sleep.

“Hello, Lieutenant. What’s happened?” He propped himself up on his elbow.

“Where did you find him?”

He nodded. “All right, yes, I’d like to be there.”

Anne put her hand on his arm. “What’s going on?”

“Can you hold on for a moment, Lieutenant?” He covered the mouthpiece with his hand. “They found Jake and they’re bringing him in for questioning.”

Anne threw the covers back. “I want to be there when they question him.”

Doug hesitated. “It’s early Anne. Why don’t you try to go back to sleep?”

“No. I want to be there.”

He lifted his hand off the mouthpiece. “Lieutenant, Anne and I would both like to be present when you question Jake. Would it be possible to bring him here?”

Doug listened for a moment and nodded. “Great. We’ll see you shortly.”

“They’re bringing Jake here,” he said, placing the phone back on the cradle.

“Thank you.”

“Lieutenant Mallory actually thought it was a good idea, so I won’t be away from the phone if McGraw calls.”

Anne nodded and stepped out of bed.

“Anne.”

“Yes?”

“I know you like Jake and feel indebted to him for what he’s done to help us, but don’t lose sight of the fact that he’s Zeb McGraw’s son. And that last night Steve positively identified that knife as Jake’s.”

“I’m a criminal defense lawyer, Doug. I know how to keep my emotions out of it.” She smiled tensely. “I also know that things aren’t always as they seem. Jake deserves a chance to tell his side of the story, just like you did when you were falsely accused of murder.”

Doug sighed. “It’s not the same, Anne.”

She pulled on her robe. “I’m going to get dressed; then I’ll put on some coffee.”

W
hen Anne carried the coffee into the study, Jake was seated in a straight-backed chair that had been placed in front of the fireplace. Lieutenant Mallory sat in a leather armchair and Doug was seated on the couch. A deputy stood to the side of the hearth, and another deputy stood by the door to the hall. The deputy who was monitoring the phone line was seated at Doug’s desk.

Anne set the tray down on the coffee table in front of the couch and sat down next to Doug.

“Hello, Jake.”

He hesitated, then said, “Good morning, ma’am.”

“Would you like coffee?”

Jake shook his head. “I’m afraid I’d have a hard time drinking a cup of coffee right now.” He twisted slightly to the side so she could see his arms were handcuffed behind him.

Anne looked at Lieutenant Mallory. “Why the handcuffs, Lieutenant?”

“It’s just a precaution. Mr. Dawson gave the deputy who picked him up a hard time.”

She motioned towards the deputies in the room. “Given the situation, I don’t believe the handcuffs are necessary.”

Lieutenant Mallory gave her a long look, then gestured to the deputy by the fireplace to remove the handcuffs.

Anne gave him a brief smile. “Thank you, Lieutenant. Now, Jake, would you like some coffee?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Jake stretched his arms in front of him and rubbed his wrists.

Anne handed a cup of coffee to Jake and poured cups for Doug and the lieutenant.

Lieutenant Mallory sat forward in his chair. “Mr. Dawson, our main priority is to find the children and Miss Waters and to bring them home safely. Any help you give us in that regard will be taken into consideration.”

Jake stared at him. “Is that what this is all about? You think that I had something to do with the disappearance of Kendall and the kids?”

Anne broke in. “Jake, we saw a copy of your birth certificate. We know that Zeb McGraw is your father.”

Jake’s face colored and he lowered his gaze towards the floor, shaking his head slowly.

“Talk to us, Jake,” Anne said. “Tell us what’s going on.”

The room was quiet for a long moment. Jake cleared his throat. “I don’t blame you for thinking the worst of me. I should have told you everything right off the bat.”

“Tell us now,” Anne said.

Jake sighed and leaned back in the chair. “Zeb McGraw is my father, but I haven’t had any contact with him in almost sixteen years.”

“Why haven’t you had any contact with him?”

“Because my mother and I ran away from him.”

“Why did you run away?”

Jake raised his eyes to hers. “He beat us. My mother, mostly. And I figured that if I didn’t take her away from him, he’d kill her.”

“Where did you go?”

“Oklahoma.”

“Why did you go there?”

Jake gave her a wry smile. “I bought us Greyhound tickets to the farthest destination we could afford.”

“When did you see Zeb McGraw again?”

“I haven’t.”

Anne studied him for a moment. “What brought you to Virginia?”

Jake took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “My mother passed away a few months ago, and I decided to go back to West Virginia and look up my father.”

“Why?”

“I wanted to confront him about what he had done to us.”

She raised an eyebrow. “How were you going to confront him?”

“I hadn’t decided yet.”

“Were you angry with him?”

His expression hardened. “That’s an understatement.”

“Were you looking for revenge?”

“Maybe.”

Anne paused and studied Jake for a moment. Either he deserved an Academy Award or his hatred for Zeb McGraw was genuine. “So, did you confront your father?”

“No. I snooped around town and learned that he was in jail.”

“What did you do then?”

“I didn’t know what to do. I was all fired up to confront him, and it was a big letdown.” Jake shrugged. “I thought about going to see him in jail.”

“Did you?”

He shook his head. “I headed in that direction, but I never made it.”

“Why not?”

“I came upon Mr. Cummings’s accident. You know the rest.”

“How did you know that Doug was the person involved in the accident?”

“I didn’t until I was at the Equine Medical Center watching Chancellor’s surgery. Then Kendall mentioned Mr. Cummings’s name.”

“Did you know Doug was the person your father had gone to jail for?”

Jake nodded.

“You must have been surprised.”

“That’s putting it mildly.”

Anne paused for a moment. “Why didn’t you say something to Kendall?”

“I don’t know. I guess I just didn’t want to tell anyone that Zeb McGraw was my father. It’s not a fact I’m proud of.”

“Did you feel like you were keeping something from us?”

He looked away. “Of course I did.”

Anne waited until he made eye contact with her again. “Why did you stay in town after you helped rescue Chancellor?”

“I don’t know.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I felt sorry for you and Mr. Cummings and all you were going through. I thought I might be able to help out with Chancellor.”

“Is that the only reason?”

Jake gave her a long look. “No.”

“What’s the other reason?”

“Kendall.”

“What about Kendall?”

He shifted uncomfortably. “I enjoy spending time with her.”