“Is your ex-husband the kind of man who’d send someone else to snatch his son for him?”
She didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
So he either had scumbag friends or money to hire some muscle.
“All right,” he said. “Give me a minute, and then I’ll walk you and Jacob home.”
Dave Todd followed him outside.
“File a report with what you know,” Seth said. “I’ll head over to the hospital to talk to Mrs. Wilbanks. With a little luck, she got a better look at the guy.”
“You’re thinking Ms. Boyd’s ex-husband is behind this?”
“If somebody had grabbed the boy when he was momentarily alone, I’d be more likely to consider other possibilities. But to attack openly like this? Assault a woman to get at the kid? Yeah, I think Jacob’s father has to be behind it.”
“And the murder.” Gravity aged Dave Todd’s boyish face.
“That, too.”
They exchanged a few more words before Todd got back in his patrol car. Going back into the house, Seth asked, “Ready?”
“Yes, of course, but you don’t need to—”
He cut her off. “I do.”
Helen bit her lip, nodded and started to push herself up. With reaction setting in, she collapsed back onto the cushion. Seth reached for the boy. “I’ll carry him.”
“If you’ll just help me up...”
He waggled his fingers. Jacob looked at him shyly from red, puffy eyes, then took his thumb from his mouth and held up his arms. Seth lifted him, holding him close. “Good boy. Mommy had a tough day.”
Helen stood, expression mulish. “And yet, somehow I’ve always managed fine before.”
“Today you don’t have to.”
She got all the way to the front door before stopping suddenly. “Wait. Iris won’t have her insurance card or her keys.”
“Good thought. Can you find them? I’ll lock the back door while you’re looking.”
He bent over so Jacob could push the button on the doorknob. That wouldn’t keep an eight-year-old kid out. Dismayed, Seth decided to pick up a dead-bolt lock and install it himself before the home owner was released from the hospital.
Helen handed over both the key and the Medicare Advantage card, waiting on the porch while he locked the door. They’d started along the sidewalk when she exclaimed, “Oh, no! I dropped her eggs. I should go—”
Seth put his free hand on her lower back and gently propelled her forward. “There’s no urgency. I feel sure Iris will be admitted to the hospital for the night, at least.”
Helen seemed to stumble over her pride when he offered to go get them all hamburgers and fries, but reluctantly accepted.
“Let me walk through your house first,” he suggested.
“Please,” she said simply.
He hadn’t expected that the creep would have circled around and let himself into her place to wait, but had to be sure, checking under her bed and in their closets before feeling satisfied enough to leave.
A local burger restaurant had no drive-through but better quality food, so he went there. As he waited for the order, an uneasy feeling crept over him. He didn’t like Helen and Jacob being unprotected even for half an hour, although he honestly didn’t expect a repetition of the attack so quickly. And maybe that wasn’t even what worried him right now. Helen had to know her ex wasn’t going to give up, so what would she do?
He had a suspicion he knew.
* * *
IT HADN’T BEEN easy getting rid of Seth, but he did finally leave.
Even on the front porch, he’d turned to give her one last piercing look. “You have to tell me who this guy is. You know that, don’t you?”
Knowing she was lucky he’d been patient this long, she said in a small, cracked voice, “Tomorrow.”
“All right,” he said, sounding astonishingly gentle. “Get some rest, Helen. I’ll have patrols drive by regularly this afternoon and during the night. Keep your phone handy. Do you still have my card?”
She nodded.
“Put my number in your phone. If something happens, call 9-1-1 first, then me. Okay?”
“Yes.” She felt her smile wobble. “You’ve been...really nice. Thank you.”