Vanished In The Night

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And she came face-to-face with Joshua’s mother. “Welcome home!”

Kaylee stiffened but put a smile on her face. The woman looked so pleased and had been nothing but kind to her. Until she proved herself a gold digger, Kaylee would be polite and respectful. Even if it killed her. “Hi.” She cleared her throat. “Ah, thank you for the banner. That was very thoughtful.”

“You’re so welcome. Your father and I were talking about how we needed to do something to celebrate.”

Her father? Most likely Olivia had told her father what they were going to do. But he hadn’t said no. Interesting.

Joshua simply looked bemused.

Olivia clasped her hands to her chest. “And that awful shooting at the hospital! Coverage is still playing on the television. I tried to call and you didn’t answer, Joshua.”

“I’m sorry, Mom. I was a little distracted.”

“What do you mean? Please tell me you weren’t there when it happened.”

Kaylee let her gaze meet Joshua’s.

“We were there. That’s why we’re so late getting here. We had to give a statement and answer questions.”

His mother’s face paled. “How terrible. I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“We’re fine.”

They walked into the house and Kaylee once again felt a pang at the loss of her mother. Not only was the woman gone, but everything in the house that had been hers had been put away. Resentment flowed and she drew in a deep breath. “I think I’ll lie down for a little while,” she said.

“Of course, honey,” Olivia said. “Would you like for me to watch the baby while you rest?”

“No.” Kaylee’s swift answer brought forth a flinch from the other woman. Guilt hit her. “Thank you, though,” she said, softening her tone. “I need to feed him.”

“Oh, yes, you do that.” She smiled but the hurt in her eyes lingered and Kaylee mentally kicked herself. She would not be rude to this woman, no matter her own thoughts on Olivia’s reasons for marrying her father.

“It’s kind of you to offer. I’m sure I’ll take you up on that in the near future. Especially when he’s keeping me awake at night.”

The hurt faded and Olivia’s lips curved into a genuine smile. “Wonderful.”

“Where’s my father?” she asked.

“He went into the office, but asked me to be here so you didn’t come home to an empty house.”

“I see.” Had he really? Was it possible for him to be that thoughtful? Or had Olivia Crawford just given him the credit to elevate him in Kaylee’s eyes? She thought about asking, but couldn’t figure out how to do so without it sounding rude.

The doorbell rang and Kaylee jumped. Heart thudding, she swallowed and told herself there was no reason to be so twitchy inside her father’s home. She and Duncan were safe here.

Joshua set the baby carrier on the floor as Olivia strode to the door and flung it open.

“Clay?”

“Yes, ma’am. Hi, Aunt Liv.”

“Hi, honey. Come on in.”

Clay stepped inside and swept his hat from his head.

Kaylee frowned when his eyes locked on hers. The scowl on his face didn’t bode well. “What is it?” she asked.

Clay’s eyes locked on Joshua’s. “You haven’t told her?”

Joshua grimaced and shook his head.

Kaylee frowned. “What haven’t you told me?”

“I didn’t want to spoil your homecoming,” Joshua said. “I figured it could wait a few hours.”

She was going to strangle him. “What news?”

“Patrick Talbot was released from custody.”

A gasp slipped from her lips. “And you didn’t think I needed to know that?”

He rubbed a hand across his eyes in a weary gesture. “Of course you needed to know. You just didn’t need to know it in the last couple of hours. An officer tailed us here, and I’ve been on guard, watching. I’ve seen no sign of him.”

Shoving aside her irritation with his silence on her would-be kidnapper’s escape, she looked at Clay. “How? When?”

“He was released a week ago. Something to do with a technicality in his arrest and processing.”

“But...just...how?” She’d asked that already, hadn’t she? And he’d answered her, but her mind refused to fully process the news. Weakness invaded her and she stumbled to the living room sofa. The cushions pulled her in and she wanted to keep sinking until she simply disappeared. But no, she couldn’t do that. Duncan needed her.

“Wait a minute. He confessed. And they can just let him go?”

“He recanted his confession, said it was all just a misunderstanding and that he wasn’t trying to force Kaylee to go with him. He said she agreed, then at the last minute started going crazy and screaming. He claimed he was about to leave when the cops showed up.”

“He was not,” Kaylee muttered.

“His lawyer—once he arrived—advised him to just keep his mouth shut. Talbot did. Over the last three weeks, the man’s been looking for anything to get his client off. And he found it,” Clay said. “It’s on video that the arresting officers kept questioning him after Talbot requested a lawyer. It’s as simple as that.”

As simple as that.

“So, where is he now?” she asked.

“We don’t know. No one’s been able to track him down. But we’re looking, for sure. It’s only a matter of time.”

“So, what’s being done to find him?” Joshua asked.

“Well, he probably had a visitor or two at the jail. I’m going to ride over there today and take look at who’s been in to see him.”

Kaylee cleared her throat. “So, you think that was him at the hospital today? You think he’s the one who was shooting at us?”

“Shooting at you?” Olivia asked. Her eyes widened. “The hospital shooting? They were shooting at you?”

Kaylee gave her a short nod and waited for Clay’s answer.

“We’re not sure,” he said. “We’ve pulled the security footage from the cameras in the garage, but haven’t been able to get a good look at the shooter’s face. The angles just aren’t working to give us that clear shot, however they’re still working on it.”

“What about the black roses?” she asked.

“Those we know were from Talbot. We got him on camera entering the hospital with the box in his arms. He’s also on camera entering your room with them.”

She shuddered. “So,” Kaylee breathed, “what do I do now?”

Clay placed his hat back on his dark head. “You watch your back and don’t go anywhere alone.”

Joshua stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll make sure of that.”

Olivia raised a brow, but Kaylee didn’t care at the moment.

“Has he used credit cards or left any kind of indication as to where he might be headed?” Joshua asked.

“No. Nothing. Whoever is helping him knows how to keep him under the radar. He’s using cash wherever he is.”

Kaylee gave a short, humorless laugh. “Wherever he is? I know exactly where he is. He’s in Wrangler’s Corner, and y’all know it.”

Clay rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Joshua. “Yep, I believe you’re right about that.”

Duncan let out a cry and Kaylee hurried to unbuckle him from his seat. She held the baby in the crook of her arm and turned to Clay. “I don’t know why Patrick Talbot is so taken with me or why he thinks black roses would endear him to me.” She scowled. “Sometimes being different isn’t all that great of an idea. But I’m so sorry for all the trouble he’s caused and probably plans to cause it in the future.”

“The reasons behind his actions might help catch him,” Clay said. “Then again, maybe not. It really doesn’t matter. All that matters is that we catch him.”

“Yeah,” Joshua said. “And soon.”

* * *

When Kaylee headed for her bedroom to nurse the baby, Joshua went out to catch Clay before he climbed into his cruiser. “Hey, Clay, wait up.”

Clay turned. “Yeah?”

“You think she’s okay here?”

His cousin shrugged. “I don’t know. Her dad’s not here very much. I know he’s a workaholic. What about Aunt Liv? How often is she here?”

“A lot when she’s not at the boutique. Remember, I haven’t exactly been in town to keep an eye on things.” More’s the pity. “But from our biweekly phone conversations, I’ve gathered that while she hasn’t moved in and she never stays the night, she’s here pretty much on a daily basis, cooking meals and cleaning.”

“Thought he had a cleaning service.”

“He does.” Joshua raked a hand through his hair. “I mean, I know they’ve been friends forever. I know they’ve helped each other out through some hard times.” Like his father’s death. “But I didn’t realize she was telling herself she was in love with the guy.”

Clay quirked a brow. “Huh. Okay.”

“Never mind all that. I want to know it’s safe to leave Kaylee here. Do you have someone you can put on the house?”

“I can get Trent and Lance and the new deputy to take shifts.” Trent Haywood and Lance Green. Joshua didn’t know the new deputy.

He nodded. “As long as they understand what’s at stake and they’ll keep an eye on her.”

“They will. I agree that she definitely needs some kind of police presence here. Maybe the sight of a vehicle in the drive will deter anyone who’s thinking she’ll be an easy target now that she’s home.”

Joshua nodded. “All right, that should work.”

“But if this guy is determined to get to her, she can’t be alone. He’s already taken a shot at her. That doesn’t leave much room for escalation.” Sometimes offenders would start out with smaller crimes and slowly make their way to the bigger ones.

“No,” Joshua said, “he’s definitely already escalated.”

“And he’s had a lot of time to think about her, to plan his escape and, depending on his end goal, how he’s going to either get even or just plain get her.”

“And how to find someone to help him.”

“What are your plans while you’re here?” Clay asked.

With a raised brow, Joshua let out a low laugh. “Originally, my plans were to come home and talk some sense into my mother about her upcoming wedding.”

“You don’t approve.”

“Are you telling me you do?”

“It’s not my business, frankly.”

His cousin’s unspoken words rang loud and clear. “You think it’s not mine, either.”

Clay sighed. “Look, man, I know you were devastated when Uncle Don died. We all were. But according to Dad, he encouraged her to find someone else when he passed.”

“But it’s only been a year!”

“Sixteen months.”

Joshua waved a hand and Clay tilted his head, his brow furrowed. “I know it’s hard, but like you said, Kaylee’s dad and your mom have been friends since they were kids. It’s not like they had to go through the whole process of getting to know one another.”

Scowling, Joshua sighed. “You’re not helping.”

“Nope,” Clay said. “I’m staying out of it. What I’m not staying out of is helping with Kaylee. I’ll get Trent out here for now, and we’ll make sure Mr. Martin understands the seriousness of the situation.”

“See, that’s the thing. His daughter’s in danger and he’s nowhere to be found. I don’t like that quality in a man my mother wants to marry.”

“Come on, Josh. Cut him some slack. Have you called to tell him what happened?”