Tracie Peterson (25 page)

“I’m out of here. Take me home.” Kerns picked up a briefcase and crammed it full of files.

“How about a drink first? I thought we might stop off on the way and discuss a few other things.”

“Such as?” Kerns asked.

“Such as the trip I plan to take to Wichita.”

Kerns suddenly thought a drink and maybe even dinner sounded like a great diversion. “You never stop, do you?”

“Not until I get what I want,” Russell replied.

Outside, the distant rumble of thunder attracted both men’s attentions. Flashes of lightning could be seen in the western skies, but neither one gave it much consideration.

“Maybe if it rains it’ll bring down the temperature,” Russell suggested as they moved from the lighted tunnel to where the governor’s car was parked.

“Not likely,” Kerns said, suddenly hesitating as he heard a rustling in the bushes that lined the walk in front of the cars. He held out a hand to stop Owens. “What was that?” His skin began to crawl.

Just then two shots rang out and Owens and Kerns hit the ground. Bob could hear the running of feet hurrying off into the distance. Next came shouts from the Capitol Area Security as they emerged from the building.

Dusting himself off, Kerns got to his feet. “He’s getting away!” he yelled to the security guards. “He headed straight west.” The guards took off in the direction Kerns had motioned.

“Well, I guess that was a close call,” he said to Owens, who had yet to pick himself up.

When Russell didn’t respond, Bob reached down to touch his shoulder. “Russell?”

Rolling him over, Kerns was stunned to see a bullet hole in his chief of staff’s forehead. A trickle of blood ran down his face and across his left eye. He was very much dead.

“Are you all right, Governor?” a man asked from behind him.

Kerns nodded, still stunned by the knowledge that Russell had taken a bullet intended for him. “Mr. Owens is dead,” he told the guard.

Immediately the guard called for help and knelt at Russell’s side to feel for a pulse.

“They’ve caught the man!” another guard announced, coming at a dead run upon the scene. “We’re taking him into custody right now. Are you hurt, Governor Kerns?”

“No, but he is.” All eyes traveled to Russell.

“We’ll take care of him. Come on, we can drive you home and the police can contact you for a statement there. We don’t want you standing out here as a target. The man might not have acted alone. After all, you’ve got a good bunch of people pretty mad at you right now.”

The man’s words seemed to shock Bob Kerns back into reality. “Mad at me? Because I’m trying to cut expenses and deal out tax breaks? They hired me because I promised change!” His voice raised in anger. “They wanted me to make a difference, and then they come after me with guns when I accomplish their desires!”

Sirens sounded in the distance.

“Come on, Governor, at least come back inside the Capitol.” By now there were four guards surrounding him and staring out into the dimly lit night. The storm was approaching ever closer, and a brilliant flash of lightning betrayed the dark red stain growing under Russell Owens’ head.

“Yeah, let’s get inside,” Kerns finally agreed. With one last glance over his shoulder, he let out his breath.
It could have been me,
he thought over and over.
Just a few inches closer and it would have been me.

Thirty-Five

The ringing of a distant telephone brought Harry out of his dreams.

Shaking himself awake, he picked up the receiver. “Hello?” His voice was gravelly and low.

“Harry, this is Klark Anderson in Topeka.”

“Klark, it’s the middle of the night. What’s up?” Harry tried to wake himself up by rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“There’s been a shooting. Someone tried to kill the governor earlier this evening.”

“Was he successful?”

“No, but Russell Owens is dead. He took a bullet in the head.”

After the initial shock, Harry tried to feel bad or at least sorry that Owens had been killed, but he kept thinking about the attack on Cara. There was no sense holding a grudge against a dead man, he reminded himself. “The governor wasn’t hurt?”

“No,” Klark answered. “They are stepping up security, however. Kerns and his family are to have round-the-clock protection. So is the lieutenant governor. I figured since you’re in charge of Mrs. Kessler’s security, I’d call you rather than her.”

“No doubt someone from Kerns’ staff will call her,” Harry replied, dreading the thought of her facing the news alone. “I’ll step up security down here. Don’t give it a second thought.”

“We knew you would handle it.”

“Who did the shooting?” Harry asked.

“Disgruntled former employee of the state. Seems he was among those people laid off, and he wasn’t able to find work to support his family. The man is a raving loony, if you ask me. He hasn’t shut up in over four hours.”

“He may only be the first of many. I’ll call you if I need anything, but I think for now I’d better get over to let Mrs. Kessler know what’s happened.” Harry hung up the phone, now fully awake and fully distracted by the circumstance.

****

Harry pounded a third time on Cara’s door. “Come on, Cara, wake up,” he muttered and reached his fist up to the door once again.

“Who is it?” Cara’s frightened voice called from inside.

“Cara, it’s Harry, let me in.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Just open the door.”

He heard her unfasten the chain and turn the dead bolt.
Hurry, Cara,
he thought.
Hurry and let me see that you’re safe. Hurry and let me hold you.

She opened the door and brushed back disheveled brown hair. With a yawn, she tightened the sash of her satin robe and repeated the question. “What are you doing here, Harry?”

He wanted to grab her and pull her hard against him. He wanted to surround her with his protection and love and keep her safe from the horrors outside her door. “Has Kerns’ office called you tonight?”

“No, why?”

Harry closed the door. “Cara, there’s been a shooting in Topeka.”

Her wide-eyed expression told him the sleep had just cleared from her head. “A shooting?”

Harry led her to the sofa and forced her to sit down. “A former state employee took shots at Kerns and Owens.”

“And?”

He could see she was trembling. “Owens is dead, Cara.” He heard the sharp intake of breath and put his arm around her shoulder, hoping she wouldn’t feel the shoulder holster he was wearing. “We’re stepping up security and I’ve already called to put extra men on the job down here. You’ll have twenty-four-hour protection.”

“Why did this happen?” She looked at Harry with an expression that pleaded for explanation.

“I’m not sure. I guess the guy was unhappy about being laid off. From what I was told, the man was pretty depressed over not being able to support his family. He wanted to make Kerns feel just as bad, I guess.”

“But that means someone might want to make me feel bad, too,” Cara said, her voice rising in fear. “I mean, I’m the lieutenant governor. People who don’t know me are going to associate me as a member of Kerns’ team. Oh, Harry, they’re going to believe I condone Robert Kerns’ actions.”

“It’s going to be okay. I promise. I’m going to keep you safe from harm,” he said, pulling her into his arms. He would, too. If it cost him everything, even his life, he would protect Cara.

“But Kerns is powerful and so are his enemies,” Cara said, pushing away. “He’s evil and people have a right to be angry.”

“Then God will protect us both,” Harry countered.

Reluctantly she nodded. “No doubt God’s the only one who can.”

****

Melissa had taken the mass confusion surrounding the governor’s office as an opportunity to accomplish some extra snooping. Working at a blinding pace, she made her way to the coroner’s office and just happened to catch the doctor as he was concluding his workday.

“Doctor Bains?” Melissa asked, blocking the door to his office.

“Yes?” The middle-aged doctor looked startled.

“I’ve tried for almost a year to talk to you. I’m Melissa Jordon with
The Capital-Journal.
It seems someone would rather I didn’t talk to you.”

The man shrugged indifference. “What can I do for you, Mrs. Jordon?”

“I’m digging into a number of cases that involved drug-related deaths. Of particular interest to me is the Teri Davis case.”

“I’m not sure I know who that is. Did she pass through this office?”

“Yes. Like I said, it was about a year ago, and the death was listed as heroin overdose. Teri Davis’s body was found floating in the river.”

“I remember now,” the man said, his facing lighting up with understanding. “I thought you folks already did a thorough report. What else did you want to know?”

“Well, you see,” Melissa began to falter. “The fact is, Teri was the friend of a friend. And she had a baby that disappeared after her mother’s death.”

“I don’t remember anyone saying anything about a baby,” the coroner admitted.

“They didn’t. In fact, as far as I could tell from my investigation, there was no baby. But my friend saw the child and had discussions with the mother regarding the infant. What I’m looking for is clinical confirmation, one way or the other, that Teri Davis had given birth.”

“Surely there would be a hospital record of the birth,” Bains offered.

“Normally that would be true. But I have looked and believe that because of various circumstances, the mother gave birth without the assistance of a doctor or hospital.”

“So why come to me?”

Melissa stepped closer. “Perhaps your autopsy report would confirm whether or not Teri Davis had given birth?”

Dr. Bains shook his head. “I doubt it. I didn’t do a complete autopsy. Once lab work revealed the heroin overdose, there was little reason to go on digging. After all, the county was footing the bill.”

“Could you at least pull the records and check? Anything at all would be more than I have now.”

He turned to five silver filing cabinets. “The autopsy report
should be in here.” He pulled out a drawer, thumbed through it for a moment, then closed it and went to another drawer. “Here it is. I suppose it can’t hurt to glance at whatever is here.” He pulled out a surprisingly thin folder and opened it.

The silence of the room was broken only by the few file pages being turned. “Like I thought, the report is very brief.”

Melissa’s shoulders slumped dejectedly. “I was so hoping—”

“Wait a minute,” Bains said, sounding rather excited. “I think I just found what you’re looking for.”

“What?” Melissa hurried forward and put her hands on the desk. “What did you find?”

“Teri Davis was lactating.” The doctor looked to Melissa and held up his report. “I noted it here on the last page. If she was lactating, then it would stand to reason that she’d given birth in say, the last year or so, and that she was nursing a baby.”

“Can I talk you out of a copy of that report? I mean, if she didn’t have any family and the death was pretty cut and dried, could you make an exception and at least let me have that much of your report?”

“I normally wouldn’t, but I’ll make an exception on one condition.”

“Anything!” Melissa held perfectly still in anticipation. “Name it.”

“You didn’t get it from me.”

“Agreed.”

Thirty-Six

After the attack on Kerns and Owens, Cara found herself jumping at every noise. Once on the way up to her apartment, the elevator had stopped between floors and Cara had nearly panicked. Even after Harry’s constant assurance that he was on the job, as well as an army of comrades he could trust, Cara refused to relax.

Then, too, her concern for Brianna was tenfold stronger than it had been last January when she’d agreed to let Brianna move in with her parents. She’d hoped to bring her daughter to Wichita for the new school year, but now she wanted to keep her as far away from the political arena as possible. And even though it seemed the right decision, it was killing her.

Using a lace-edged handkerchief, she dabbed at her eyes. Given to afternoon fits of tears, Cara tried hard to keep her grief from Harry. She knew he cared very deeply for her, and if she stopped hiding from her feelings long enough, she knew she cared for Harry as well. But life as she knew it had no room for romance.

Staring out her office window, Cara nearly screamed aloud when Harry came in from behind and called her name.

“Are you okay?” he asked sympathetically. “I’m sorry I startled you.” Then he noticed that she’d been crying. “Cara, you don’t have to bear this alone.”

That was enough to break her. With sorrowful anguish, she dropped into her chair and put her face in her hands. Painful sobs filled the silence.

Harry knelt beside her and gently stroked her hair. “It’s okay, honey.”

“No, it’s not,” Cara replied from behind her hands. “It’s never going to be okay again.”

“Nonsense. You listen to me, Cara Kessler.” He pulled her hands away and forced her to face him. “We’re going to get through this together. You aren’t going to shut me out and bear this alone. I won’t let you.”

“I miss Brianna, but I’m so afraid to go see her. What if some madman follows me to Hays? Worse yet, what if someone is already there stalking her?”

“Your imagination is running rampant. I’ve already seen to it that Brianna has security. I’ll take care of you both,” Harry promised.

“You can’t be with me all the time,” Cara protested.

“I could be if we were married.”

The words were so startling to Cara that she pushed Harry away, almost toppling him over backward. “What?”

“You heard me. I love you, Cara. I can’t deny that any longer. I’ve loved you for a long, long time now. Probably from the first moment we ran into each other at the Capitol. I know you care for me, and I’d be willing to risk a marriage on it that you love me as much as I do you.”

Cara wanted to cry all over again. He loved her, and in a roundabout way, he’d just asked her to marry him. For some odd reason she thought of Jack and knew that he’d be pleased. He always worried about Cara being able to take care of herself. It was why she’d worked so hard to prove to everyone around her that she was as independent and self-sufficient as they came.