“I’m hoping we’ll find Hammer by then, but if we don’t, we’ll discuss it then. I’m thinking my younger brother, who is a police officer, could help with Jamie or I’ll check with my chief about assigning a uniform to be here with Rachel and your son. I could drive you to and from the courthouse to make sure you’re safe and to check in with the security guards there. That way I can work on the case. Todd is doing the legwork right now. We want to have enough evidence to charge Hammer and keep him in jail without bail. The photos at his house will help us a lot. And when we find his car, there might be more evidence to tie him to the attack.” He took her hand. “Don’t worry. We’ll get him. His photo has been circulated everywhere. The news network has picked it up and has shown it several times in the last twenty-four hours.”

  Kate faced him, only a foot between them. Her brown eyes fastened onto him, and he felt a new and somewhat unsettling sense of connection toward her.

  He dropped her hand and stepped back. He needed to remain detached and on guard. “I’ll stay until Hammer is caught,” he said to remind himself he was unofficially on duty.

  * * *

  “Jamie finally went down for a nap,” Kate said on Sunday as she came into the den where Chase was going through her list of cases from the last few years.

  “I need your input. Did any of these people make threats against you or make you uncomfortable?”

  Kate sat next to Chase to go through the files he had already perused. “Find anyone promising besides Hammer?”

  “A couple we’ll look into, but most would do something not long after the event that angered them. That doesn’t mean a person can’t hold a grudge and wait, but it’s not as likely. Hammer still is our best option. Men with a known pattern of domestic violence, which is the reason you limited his visitation with his children, are volatile. Tempers flare easily, especially if he thinks he’s wronged.”

  “The abuse was directed only at his wife. His children wanted to see their father so I came up with a supervised visitation plan with a case worker so the mother wouldn’t be involved. I feel both parents are important to a child’s emotional growth, but sometimes I’ve had to completely deny a parent visitation rights.”

  “Any in the last year?”

  “There was one last fall. Let me see if I can find his folder.” Kate dug through the stack until she found Dale Winn. “Here it is. Not a nice man.”

  “I’ll have Todd check him out. I’ll put him at the top of my list of people requiring further investigation.”

  “Where’s your list?”

  Chase passed the pad he’d been using to Kate. She let out a sound of surprise. “It’s a long list.”

  “You’re one busy judge.”

  She nodded her agreement. “Sadly, my docket is full. I wish it wasn’t. James and I had a great relationship and wanted to have several children. We tried. I miscarried four times. We’d come to the realization that adoption might be the best option for us. Not long after James died, I discovered I was pregnant. I honestly didn’t know if I would make it past three months. But I did.” When she thought back to that long month wondering if she would miscarry again, her emotions were all over the place. “When I was six-months pregnant, I realized my dream of having my husband’s child might come true.” Her throat closed around that last word, and she looked away from the sympathy in Chase’s expression.

  He laid a hand on her shoulder. “I’ve had days when I didn’t want to wake up and face the day. After the second surgery on my leg...”

  His voice trailed off, and she blinked her tears away and twisted toward him. “What happened?”

  He pulled his hand away. “I don’t like to talk about it.”

  “I understand. I don’t like to relive the months I knew I was going to have a baby and James wasn’t there to celebrate with me. It was bittersweet. I was given the most precious baby, but I’d lost my husband. Finally, I realized by sharing with others I healed faster. We aren’t meant to go through ordeals alone. We were made to help and support each other.” She wouldn’t force him, but she hoped he would tell her. She might be able to help him. “I’m here to listen if you ever want to.”

  “I appreciate the offer. What I went through was different.”

  “How was it?”

  “I lost my best friend. We’d served together for several years and had gone through a lot.”

  “I lost my best friend, too. James and I went through so much together although not in a war zone. He was there for me when my father passed away, when I miscarried each time. I understand loss. The emptiness. The hole in your life that you don’t know if you can ever fill. How did it happen?”

  “We were ambushed by the enemy. He was right beside me one second, helping me because I was shot—” he snapped his fingers “—then the next second, he fell against me.”

  “That’s how you hurt your leg?”

  He nodded, swallowing hard several times.

  “What was his name?”

  For a long moment he didn’t say anything, then whispered in a raspy voice, “T. J. Boone. He left a wife and two kids.”

  “I’m so sorry. Did he live here?”

  “No, Dallas. Afterward, his wife moved back to her hometown in Oregon. I talk with her on the phone every now and then to make sure she’s all right. Her family is very supportive and have helped her through her husband’s death.”

  “But no one was there for you.”

  “It’s not the same thing.”

  “Yes, it is. Whether you lose a close friend or a family member, you still go through the stages of grief. You still have to deal with the fact you’ll never see him again.”

  As she waited, hoping he would share more, the doorbell chimed. The sound surprised her, and she gasped. “I’m not expecting anyone.” She started to rise.

  “I’ll answer it.”

  She walked with him to the foyer, but she hung back while he checked the peephole.

  The tense set to his shoulders eased. “It’s Todd and my brother, Chad.” He swung the door open. “What brings you all by? Have you found Hammer?”

  “No, but his car was discovered in the woods outside town. Chad is gonna stay with Kate while you come with me. The patrol officer called to the scene said there is evidence in the vehicle. Clothes. A ski mask.”

  “Go. You might find something that tells you where Hammer is.” Kate grinned at his younger brother. “Besides, it gives me time to pump—or rather, to get to know Chad.”

  “Okay.” Then to his brother, Chase, said, “I’m counting on you. If Hammer dumped his car, he must know that we’re on to him. Desperation might make him attack.” He frowned. “On second thought, maybe you should go alone, Todd.”

  “Chase, I’m not gonna let you down.” Chad stepped into the entry hall, his hand on the butt of his gun in its holster.

  “You know what the attacker was wearing. You need to go. I’ll be okay with Chad.” Then Kate leaned closer and whispered, “I’d feel better if you were there while the car was processed. Please.”

  “You’re right. Let’s go, Todd.” Chase paused by his brother. “I know you’re capable.”

  The second Chase closed the door behind him mixed feelings surged through Kate. In a short time, she’d come to depend on him. What if something happened to him? Dumping the car where Hammer had to know it would be found very quickly seemed suspicious to her. Was it a trap? An ambush like three years ago?

  FIVE

  The same white sedan Chase had seen leaving the parking lot at the Remington Nature Reserve sat nestled in brush in the woods outside of town. Was the greenery around the vehicle an attempt to disguise its location? A stiff wind had exposed the car or they might not have discovered it.

  The officer guarding the scene disconnected his cell phone and met Chase and Todd partway on one of the paths not heavily used. “Two kids found it about an hour ago.”

  “Did they disturb it in any way, Officer Brown?” Chase asked, continuing toward the sedan.

  “Yes, they moved some of the branches.” The young man pointed to limbs tossed to the left.

  Todd circled the area. “Did you call for a tow truck?”

  “Yes,” Officer Brown said. “Now that you’re here, I’ll go to the highway and make sure the guy knows where to turn.”

  After donning gloves, Chase pulled the greenery off the car until he could open the driver’s door and lean in to examine the front. On the passenger side floor lay a black ski mask. Before he went around to take a closer look, he squatted to check around the driver’s side more thoroughly. He spied a white slip of paper and carefully withdrew it from between the console and the cushion.

  He read the words scribbled down on the note then he’d put it in a plastic bag, “Turn left at the big B, go three miles, make a right then almost immediately another one.”

  Todd lifted the trunk while Chase skirted the vehicle. “Must be directions somewhere.”

  “Yeah, but where? A big B? What in the world does that mean?” Chase continued to the passenger’s front door.

  “When we leave, we may have to look in the area for a big B. Maybe it’s the name of a business.”

  Chase bagged the ski mask. “Or a wild goose chase.”

  Todd held up a length of rope. “You think his plan was to use this to tie someone up with?”

  The twine dangling from his partner’s hand stirred the anger he was trying to keep suppressed. Rope for Jamie or Kate or both? He shuddered at the thought of either one tied up. Good thing Hammer wasn’t there right now.

  By the time they finished investigating, taking fingerprints off various surfaces and bagging evidence, the tow truck appeared and began hooking the car up to haul to the police compound.

  Chase stood back while the tow truck left the scene. “From what I’ve seen, it only looks like one set of prints inside the car. They have to be Hammer’s. We can verify them with the ones found in his house.” Some of the fingerprints were smudged but that was to be expected.

  “Another piece of the evidence to nail the guy.” His partner slid a look at him. “I can see why you’ve taken a personal interest in making sure Kate and her son are safe.”

  “And why’s that?”

  “Well, I could say she’s an attractive, single lady in trouble, which is true, but I’ve seen how you are with my kid. You’re a natural to be a dad. Not to mention, you could use a good woman in your life.”

  Chase pivoted toward Todd. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It’s not good being a loner, especially being a cop. We need that connection to family and someone we love. It keeps us grounded in what’s worth fighting for. I know between your brother’s and my families you get a taste of it, but believe me, it’s not the same thing as the real deal.”

  Chase wanted to put an end to this conversation, but what Todd had said was partially true. He did yearn for a family and a wife at times, but he never wanted to cause grief like T.J. had when he’d left his wife behind. His death had crippled her. She’d tried to commit suicide. If Chase hadn’t found her, she would have left her kids without a mother or father. And although he wasn’t in a war zone like before, his job was dangerous. No, it was better if he yearned from afar.

  “Let’s go find what the big B means.” Chase took out his cell phone to let Chad know what he was doing.

  * * *

  After putting Jamie down for a nap, Kate locked the gate on the second floor, then started down the stairs. Chase’s brother’s voice caught her attention.

  “Nothing has happened here. You can stop worrying.” Chad walked from the back of house into the foyer. He glanced up at her as he ended the call.

  “Was that Chase? Did they find Hammer’s car?”

  “Yeah. He’s following a clue he found at the scene.”

  Chase must be all right then—at least so far. She wanted him to find her attacker, and yet she didn’t want anything to happen to him. “What clue?”

  “Something about a sign with a big letter B on it. It might lead to the suspect.”

  A big B? By the woods and lake? She should know it. She grew up in Cimarron City and often stayed at the lake in the summer, especially as a child. But the mention of a big B didn’t ring any bells. “I hope it does. I want him caught and my life back.” She continued toward the kitchen, trying to remember what she knew about a big B.

  As she chopped up the potatoes then carrots for the beef stew she was making, she decided to bake some honey-glazed biscuits to go on the side. Jamie loved the biscuits just like his dad had. It was the closest thing she came to preparing a dessert.

  When it was time for her to get the ingredients for her biscuits out, she grabbed the honey from her pantry and suddenly remembered what the big B sign meant. Not the singular letter but a picture of a large bee smiling on a sign. When she was a child, her mother had bought her honey from the couple who had bees near the lake on the other side from where Chase had found the car.

  Grabbing her phone, she called Chase.

  When he answered the first thing he said was, “Is everything all right?”

  “Yes. We’re fine. Have you found the sign?”

  “Not yet. When we left the scene, Todd went one way on the road and I went the opposite. So far nothing with a big B.”

  “That’s because you’re looking on the wrong part of the lake. Go to the west side. There is a couple who has bees and sells their honey. I haven’t been out there in a few years, but there was a big sign with a bee on it. Actually, it used to scare me as a little girl. It’s about in the middle of Lake Road.”

  “I’ll let Todd know, and we’ll go over there.”

  “Be safe,” she said before she could censor herself. She cared about Chase, more than she should. He was only helping her because she was a judge.

  “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

  She didn’t say anything for a few seconds.

  “Okay, Kate?”

  “Yes.” If I can just stop worrying. “See you later.”

  When she hung up, she stared down at her phone, tempted to call him back just to hear his voice.

  Suddenly the memory of the time her doorbell rang that changed her life flooded her mind. The highway patrol officer who had been on her porch hated to inform her that James had been in a small plane crash and the ambulance was taking him to the hospital. Before she had had a chance to go to James, the patrol officer called her to say he died en route to the emergency room. His voice had held sympathy and concern, but she hadn’t remembered anything after she heard the word died.

  When she answered the phone, she’d never thought she would hear those words. James and she had had such plans—all of them falling apart with that call. Could she ever put herself in a position to be hurt like that again?

  * * *

  As Chase approached the cabin, he observed a motorcycle parked out front. He hid behind some brush to case the area with his binoculars. The blinds were all pulled closed. Except for the bike, he saw no evidence that anyone was home. His partner should be there shortly. They needed to decide how they would handle what to do next.

  A few minutes later, Todd arrived. His partner crouched next to Chase. “Do you think Hammer is in there?”

  “I’m not even sure anyone is, but we can’t peek in the windows to find out. One of us needs to go up to the cabin and knock.”

  “It can’t be you. He’s seen you. I’ll do it.”

  “And I’ll go around to the back in case he tries to escape that way.”

  Todd frowned. “What if he doesn’t come to the door?”

  “Then we sit out here until we get a warrant or someone returns here.”

  “Okay. I’ll wait until you get around to the back.”

  At the rear of the cabin, Chase positioned himself behind a large cottonwood then waited. It didn’t take long before he spied the blinds being lifted then Hammer raising the window. When the suspect was on the ground, he ran toward the woods in Chase’s direction. Perfect. As Hammer neared, Chase stepped out from behind the tree with his gun pointed at Kate’s attacker.

  Hammer froze.

  “Hands up in the air,” Chase said as he moved closer.

  Hammer did as he was instructed.

  After Chase snapped the handcuffs on the suspect’s wrist, he stared at the man who probably had threatened Kate and Jamie. Chase’s protective instincts rose to the surface. “Let’s go to the police station.”

  “Why?” Hammer pivoted toward Chase. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “We’ve got some evidence that says otherwise.”

  “Evidence? From what, my car? It was stolen a few days ago. You should be out there looking for the real criminal.”

  “Then why didn’t you report your car stolen?”

  “I know the police. You wouldn’t listen to my side of things.”

  “Tell you what,” Chase said, grasping the man’s arm and guiding him toward the front of the cabin, “you can tell me your story at the station.”

  When Chase, Todd and their suspect arrived at the police station, Hammer was arrested and read his rights. Then Hammer demanded a phone to call his lawyer. While Chase waited for the attorney, he and his partner would fill out the paperwork.

  Sitting at his desk, Chase called Kate to let her know they found Hammer and he’d been arrested.

  When she answered, she asked, “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, but I have Hammer sitting in an interrogation room. We’ll interview him, but since he lawyered up, he might not talk. Hopefully his lawyer will convince him to cooperate when he is faced with the evidence against him. Afterward, Todd and I are going to the cabin to see what we can find that might help your case.”

  “Do you want me to tell your brother he doesn’t have to stay?”