Turn To Me (18 page)

He laid his head back tiredly against the cushion and I realized he was probably exhausted from being up all night.  Could it really be that easy?

“You’ll be here all day?”  Kade asked without opening his eyes.

“Yep,” I lied, hope rising inside me.

“Okay, then I’m going to get some shut eye.  Wake me if you want to leave.”

“All right,” I said, careful to keep the excitement from my voice.  I watched him as he turned and lay down, an arm bent behind him to cushion his head.

For the next forty-five minutes, I typed and answered the phone, keeping an eye on Kade.  He’d fallen asleep pretty quickly and had stayed asleep.  Careful to keep quiet, I put the phones on auto-forward to voice mail and locked the computer.  Quietly retrieving my coat and purse, I tiptoed past Kade to the stairwell, holding the door while it shut so it wouldn’t slam and wake him.  I didn’t breathe normally until I was sliding into the front seat of my car.

Taking a slip of paper out of my purse, I saw that Stacey Willows and Ryan Sheffield lived in the northern and western side of Indy respectively – one in Carmel and the other by Plainfield.  Brian Bowers was slated for court today, so I’d have to wait to go see him.  I decided to head north to Carmel and Stacey Willows.

It took a little while to find the right house, an older ranch on the outskirts of town.  I made my way to the front door and rang the doorbell.  After a few moments, I heard footsteps and the door swung open.  A woman stood there, appearing to be in her early thirties, dressed in jeans and a thick, red cable knit sweater. 

“Yes?  Can I help you?”

I smiled brightly.  “Hi, my name is Kathleen Turner and I’m looking into the Waters case for the Kirk and Trent law firm.  Are you Stacey Willows?”

“I am,” she answered carefully.

“Would you have a few minutes to talk with me?”

“Um, I guess, okay,” she said.

I smiled wider.  “Great!  May I come in?”

Stacey took me into the living room, the furniture clean but worn. 

“Can I get you something to drink?” she asked politely.

“No, but thanks,” I said with a wave of my hand.  “I’m fine.”  I settled onto the couch and she sat on a nearby armchair.

Grabbing my pen out of my purse, I put my legal pad on my lap and tried to look official.  “I know you’re involved with Staff Sergeant Martin, correct?”

“Yes,” Stacey said, “We’ve been together for a couple of years.”

“But not married?” I asked.  That was just a curiosity question.

“I told him I wouldn’t marry him until he left the Navy,” she said frankly.  “I don’t want to be a widow.”

I couldn’t blame her for that.  “Did he talk to you about the case against him?”

She nodded.  “Thank God they didn’t convict him.  It would have destroyed him.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“He’s out there putting his life on the line fighting for his country,” she said.  Her eyes were wet but she didn’t cry.  “If they’d turned their back on him, convicted him for doing his job, I don’t know if he could have recovered.  He would have seen it as a betrayal.”

“Does he plan on staying in the Navy?”

She shook her head.  “No.  Once this enlistment is up, he’s not re-upping.”  She smiled.  “We’ve set a wedding date for July.”

I smiled back.  “Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” 

I decided to get down to business.  “Listen, Stacey,” I said, “there have been some threats and...incidents...with the defense in this case.  Do you know anyone or can you think of someone who might be involved enough with the case to do something like that?”

“What kind of incidents?” she asked, frowning.

“A couple shootings,” I said bluntly.  “The shots were fired from a military-issued weapon. No one was hurt, but they could have been.”  Only by luck had Blane escaped unscathed once, and me, twice.

“I’m so sorry,” she said.  “That’s horrible.  But I honestly have no idea who could have done something like that.  The SEALs are closer than brothers.  So many people have stood behind us, given us their support.”

I sighed inwardly.  It had been a long shot, but I’d hoped she might have some useful information that would have helped.  “Well, thank you for talking with me,” I said, rising to my feet.  “Congratulations again.”  I hoped her fiancé returned healthy and well from his current deployment.  She seemed to read my mind.

“I just pray he comes back to me,” she said quietly.  “It’s really hard, not knowing day to day if he’s still alive or if he’s hurt somewhere, or...”  She didn’t finish the sentence, not that she had to, I knew what she was thinking. 

On impulse, I said, “Here’s my number.”  I scrawled my phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to her.  “Just...in case.  Maybe you recall something or...just need to talk.”

Stacey took it, then gave me a smile.

“Thanks,” she said, “I'll keep that in mind.”

I thanked her for her time and left.  The overcast sky threatened more snow and I shivered as I got into my cold car.  Days like today made me long for my mom’s homemade chili and apple pie.  Store bought just wasn’t the same.

Plainfield was about forty-five minutes away and took even longer when it started sleeting.  I, of course, hadn’t listened to the weather forecast so I flipped on the radio.  I listened as the weather man called for freezing rain and sleet turning to snow later.  Great.  Snow, I liked.  Ice, not so much.

The next person on my list was the Lieutenant who had testified yesterday, Ryan Sheffield.  He lived outside of the town proper and I hesitated before driving down the gravel dirt road which led to his house.  It had been plowed of the recent snowfall, but still had a thin layer of packed snow.  I resolved that I would make this visit quick and get back to the firm.  No doubt Kade was awake by now.  I cringed, thinking about how angry he was going to be. 

Ryan answered the door and I was momentarily taken aback.  He had been very impressive yesterday in his uniform.  Today, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, he was very attractive in a manly, outdoorsy kind of way.  His biceps were massive, straining the thin cotton as he held the door open and ushered me inside.

“You work for the law firm, huh?” he asked, settling himself down heavily in a well-used recliner.

“Yes,” I said.  “Just looking into some recent threats the firm has received.” 

“What kind of threats?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.

“It seems someone thinks we shouldn’t be defending Kyle Waters,” I answered.  “There have been threats of violence to Mr. Kirk as well as others who work at the firm, possibly from someone in the Navy.”  I was vague on the last part, no need to tell him the “others” was just me.  “Would you know of anyone who might want to do that?”

Ryan thought for a minute before replying.  “There's always the anti-military crowd that hate us, hate what we do.  It may not be anyone at all involved in the case, just someone who’s taking justice into their own hands, someone who thinks no one should defend Kyle for what happened.  I can’t imagine a Navy guy doing this.”

My heart sank.  In the back of my mind, I’d been thinking the same thing.  But if that were true, trying to find that person would be a needle in a haystack.  “You’re probably right,” I said, “I was just hoping it might be someone related to the case who had a grudge or ax to grind, something more concrete that would lead us to him.”

“I’m sorry,” Ryan said sincerely.

I offered him a weak smile.  “I guess we’ll just have to leave it to the police and hope they find them.”

“If there’s anything I can do, please let me know,” he said.  “I’ve been stationed here for the rest of my enlistment.”

“Is this home?” I asked, glancing around.

“It is,” he confirmed.  “After being deployed, it’s great to be back in the US of A.  I’m a country boy at heart, and it’s nice to be back home.”

I thought of Rushville with a pang, quickly followed by thoughts of my parents.  Tears rushed to my eyes and I blinked them away, embarrassed.

“Hey, you okay?” Ryan asked concernedly, leaning forward in his chair to grasp my hand.  “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“No, it’s fine,” I protested quickly.  His grip was large and warm.  “I’m fine.”

“So how’s the farm business these days?” I asked, wanting to change the subject.

“It’s been better,” Ryan said.  “This farm has been in my family for six generations.  Some years are better than others.”

I nodded, understanding what he meant, having grown up in the country.  I could never handle being a farmer’s wife.  Too stressful, wondering if each year would bring prosperity or poverty.

We chatted for a few more minutes and then I gathered my things to go.  I was a bit reluctant to leave, but I knew the weather wasn’t going to be getting any better.  I liked Ryan.  He had that whole honest, home-grown, country-bred quality about him, as had so many of the boys I’d grown up with.  It made me comfortable and homesick at the same time.

Ryan walked me to the porch where I saw that it had begun to snow again.  Well, at least it was better than sleet.  It was a really pretty landscape.  Ryan’s property included a picturesque barn and acres of fields. 

“Be careful driving,” Ryan warned me.  “The gravel road can be hard to see in this weather.”

I said I would and thanked him for his time, reaching to shake his hand one last time.

“I know this may sound presumptuous,” he said suddenly, holding onto my hand in his large one, “but can I take you to dinner sometime?”

I was so surprised it took me a moment to respond.  “Thanks so much for the invitation,” I finally said with a smile, “but I’m involved with someone.” 

“Of course,” he said, a small grin making his chocolate eyes soften at the corners, “a woman as beautiful as you is bound to have been snatched up already.”

I blushed bright red from his compliment, my tongue too tied to say anything.  With a flick of my hand, I waved as I stepped off the porch.  The snow crunched under my feet and I could see my breath in the frigid air as I got into my car.

Getting back to the firm was treacherous and nerve wracking and it took me nearly two hours.  Traffic was backed up due to numerous accidents.  My stomach growled so I carefully pulled through a drive-thru to grab a really late lunch or early dinner, depending on your point of view.  Glancing at my watch, I saw I had just enough time to get back to the firm before Blane showed up and I had to leave for my shift at The Drop.

I wondered how Clarice was doing, if she was feeling any better.  Dipping into my purse with one hand, I pulled out my cell phone.

As I flipped it open, I saw I had several missed calls from an unknown number.  Then I realized I’d forgotten to take my ringer off silent.  Crap. 

I called Clarice who was feeling better and said she’d be back at work tomorrow.  I was disappointed that I would have to go back to seeing Diane on a regular basis rather than Blane, but hid it under a cheerful tone and said I’d missed chatting with her.

It was after five when I finally got back to the firm’s parking lot, my hands hurting from gripping the steering wheel so tightly in the bad weather.  I was disheartened that I hadn’t come up with anything today by visiting Stacey and Ryan. 

Mulling this over, I got out of the car, carefully watching where I stepped as I gripped the door for support.  I really didn’t want to end up on my ass in the snow.  Turning, I locked the door and pushed it closed.  Abruptly I found myself spun around, my back hitting the car hard and my upper arms gripped forcefully by strong hands.

“Where the fuck have you been?”  Kade’s furious words brought me up short and I stared into his livid face, only inches from mine.

“I’m...I’m sorry,” I stammered, “I had some errands to run.  And you were sleeping.  I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Errands that took all fucking day?” he bit out.

“It’s the weather,” I protested.  “Traffic is horrible.  I didn’t mean to be gone so long.”  Which was actually true.

“I had to lie,” Kade growled, “and normally, I wouldn’t care.  But I had to lie to Blane when he called to check on you.”

His eyes sparked with blue fire as he leaned closer. 

“I detest lying to my brother,” he hissed angrily.

“Then don’t,” I retorted, sick of him yelling at me.  I pushed away from him, but he grabbed my arm, jerking me to a halt.

“If you pull something like that again,” he softly threatened, “I’ll save someone the trouble and kill you myself.”

I wisely kept my mouth shut.  As angry as he was, I believed every word he said.

“Let’s go,” he said, abruptly stepping away, but maintaining his tight grip on my arm, pulling me along with him.

“Wait!” I said, slipping in the snow as I tried to keep up with him.  “Where are we going?  I wanted to see Blane.”

“Blane can’t come,” Kade said curtly, not slowing down.  “He said he’d call later.”

I followed him to his car, surprised when he unlocked it and pushed me none too gently into the passenger seat. 

“What are you doing?” I asked when he climbed behind the wheel.  “I can take my car and you can follow me.”

“Forget it, princess,” he said, “I don’t trust you.”

“You can’t just leave my car here!” I exclaimed, appalled that his intentions appeared to be just that.

“No one will steal it, if that’s what you’re worried about,” he replied derisively.

I fumed in silence, unable to do anything about him leaving my car.  Now I was without my own means of transportation.  I didn’t know how I was going to check on the other two people on my list - Bowers and Freeman.

I refused to speak the entire way to my apartment, jumping out of the car the moment Kade stopped.  I was halfway up the stairs when I was picked up bodily and thrown over Kade’s shoulder, knocking the wind out of me.

“What the hell?!” I yelled, grabbing onto his leather jacket as the ground swung wildly under me.

“If you’re not going to wait for me to play bodyguard,” Kade said calmly as he climbed the stairs, “then I’ll have to keep doing things my way.”

“I.  Don’t.  Want.  A bodyguard,” I gritted out.

Kade swung me back onto my feet outside my door.  “Then we’re in agreement,” he sneered, “because I don’t want to be one.  Now give me your keys.”