“What happened?”
“Someone kidnapped his son from elementary school.”
“Oh, no—”
“The guy was caught and arrested. When Vic interrogated him at the jail, the kidnapper refused to tell him where he’d taken his son. Vic went crazy and grabbed him. I saw him through the window and stepped in to stop him.”
“He was only trying to find his son.”
“True. But he forgot to be careful. That’s what happened to me tonight. It won’t happen again.”
“Did he find his son?”
“Yes, thank God.”
Kit wasn’t about to let this go and she realized there was nothing she could say that would make him feel better. Naturally he’d been distracted by the woman he’d once planned to marry. But Natalie reasoned to herself that if he had loved her more than anything, he wouldn’t have become a Ranger.
When she’d given up hope of any more talk he spoke again. “The only way I can savor this night is knowing you and Amy weren’t harmed because of my distraction. You have to know your little girl is adorable. I’ll never forget the look of fright on her face when that horse neighed. She hugged me so hard, I can still feel it.”
“Her response was instinctive.” Natalie had witnessed it. Anyone watching would have thought Kit was her father. Amy knew where to turn for safety and affection. Not in all the time Rod had lived at the house did he embrace Amy like that.
“Get a good sleep, Natalie.”
“I could wish the same for you, but I know that as long as you’re guarding me, you’ll never get the kind of sleep you need.”
“I manage.”
Tears trickled out of her eyes onto the pillow. Sweet, wonderful Kit...
* * *
AFTER PHONING THE officer inside the house to let him know they were back, Kit drove the Altima into Natalie’s garage at six Sunday evening. Much as he would have loved for them to stay and play in the swimming pool at the motel and not come home until dark, he refused to take any more unnecessary risks while Morales and his sister were still at large. Instead they stopped at several parks to allow Amy to run around while he stood guard, then drove home and ate their meals en route.
Kit helped Natalie inside with Amy. While she took care of her daughter, he went into the den with the officer and shut the door.
“Now we can talk. Tell me what’s gone on.”
“No one tried to break in, but several people came to the house. The first person rang the bell about one yesterday afternoon. The man left a lawn care brochure on the front door handle. I put it on the kitchen table. Today a couple of women knocked on the door around eleven. They were Jehovah Witnesses and left the Watchtower magazine.”
“While you’re still here, I’ll pull the tape on the camera.” Kit walked through the house to the front door and opened it. After he returned to the study they looked at the footage. “The lawn man doesn’t resemble Morales, but could have been paid by him to case the place.”
Kit kept looking until he saw the women. “They’re the wrong ages and body shapes to impersonate Juanita. But they could be working for her.”
“Maybe they’ve decided the money an
d guns aren’t here and the people who came by the house were on the level.”
“Maybe,” Kit muttered. “Thanks for doing a great job. I’ll take over from here.”
He walked the officer to the back door. When he’d gone, Kit gathered the material left on the kitchen table and went to the den. First he called the Better Business Bureau and learned that Greenside Lawn Service was a legitimate business. Next he contacted the company to verify the employment of the man whose name had been stamped on the pamphlet. Everything checked out.
After phoning the Jehovah Witnesses Kingdom Hall number printed on the magazine, Kit asked if their people had been passing out magazines in northwest Austin. No one could give him a definitive answer. Call back tomorrow.
He intended to do that after he went to the office in the morning. Kit had already set up a 9:00 a.m. meeting with the FBI agent working on the accounting investigation at LifeSpan. While he was checking some new emails on his laptop, his phone rang. He picked up when he saw who was calling.
“Cy? I thought you were on a case.”
“I am, and something has turned up that might have a bearing on yours. Can you talk?”