Hostage Midwife

“I’m glad I came out here,” he said. “I like seeing you, and I needed a break from Marian and the lawyers.”

“Did any of them know Trask?”

“No.” Time to get down to business. “Show me his card.”

She dug into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a plain, white card with the name, occupation and a phone number. “He seemed real concerned about Samuel’s dying words, and he didn’t believe me when I said I didn’t remember him saying anything that made sense.”

Nick recalled the scene from last night. When Kelly took over with his uncle, he had stepped aside. “I wasn’t aware that he said anything.”

“He was barely conscious, mumbling. He told me to close the door. I guess he was talking about the door we crashed through.”

There was one other door in the room, the door to a closet. Though he’d assumed that Samuel committed suicide, Nick had opened that door and looked inside to make sure no one was hiding there. “What else?”

“Gold,” she said. “He repeated it several times. And he said something about a heart of stone or a stone heart. It reminded me of a lyric in a country-western song. Does it mean anything to you?”

He shook his head. “You said that Trask didn’t believe you. What made you think that?”

Her lips pulled into a frown. “He told me that I’d better not be holding anything back.”

“That sounds like a threat.”

“I’m not sure if it was meant that way.” Her frown deepened. “Trask is a very unpleasant person.”

“I don’t like him snooping around,” Nick said.

“Neither do I, especially since he came here. If Trask is dangerous, I don’t want him near Serena and the children.”

“Agreed,” he said. “We’ll get to the bottom of this as soon as possible. Would you mind coming back to the Spencer Building with me?”

“Not a problem. But I’ll need to change into a more presentable jacket.”

“I like the threadbare dragon look.” He fell into step beside her as they approached the house. “How many people live here?”

“Serena and Nigel have three children and an infant. Serena’s sister is also staying here for a couple of weeks to help out. I’m sharing a bedroom with her.”

“How long are you planning to stay in the area?”

“I’m not sure.” She gave a little shrug. “When Serena called and asked me to help with her clients while she was taking care of her baby, I realized how much I missed Colorado. I’ve always loved the mountains, and this feels like home to me. I gave up my apartment in Austin.”

“That sounds like a permanent move.” And he was glad to hear it. He wanted to get to know Kelly better, which might take more than a couple of weeks. “Are you planning to stay here with Serena?”

“God, no. I love her and adore her kids, but I’d go mad if I lived here. I need my privacy.”

When she pushed open the door to an open room with cathedral ceilings, they walked into a recital of something that sounded like “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” All three kids were singing and banging on various types of drums while their parents watched and dutifully applauded before welcoming Nick into their home.

Nick shook hands with Nigel, who looked familiar. “Have you done work at the Spencer Building?”

“Private contracting with a couple of the software firms,” he said. “My wife tells me that you showed Kelly the gold.”

Everybody loved that gold. “If you’d like to see it, let me know when you’re coming by.”

“You bet I will.”

Serena, with her beautiful baby in her arms, joined them. She allowed him one peek at the infant who was, miraculously, sleeping. Then she got right to the point. “You and Kelly have made a connection. I couldn’t be happier.”

“A connection?”

“She’s ready to settle down,” Serena said, “and I want her to stay in Valiant and help me build my business.”

Kelly popped up beside him. Still wearing her khaki pants, she’d changed into a lightweight burgundy jacket. “We have to go.”

“Stay,” Serena cajoled. “There’s so much more I have to tell Nick about you.”

Teasing, Nick said, “And I want to hear it all.”

“Not today.” She linked her arm with his and pulled him toward the door. “Serena, I have my cell if you need me.”

On the porch, she exhaled in a whoosh. “I bet you didn’t know you’d volunteered to be on the Serena Bellows version of the dating game.”

“I like her and Nigel.” Fifi trotted by carrying the red dragon cape in her mouth. “And the whole menagerie.”

With all this rampant energy and enthusiasm, he’d forgotten that he’d come here to make sure Kelly wasn’t being harassed or threatened by Trask. As they walked toward his SUV, he was reminded of the possible danger. Parked at the end of the winding drive that led to the Bellowses’ house was a black stretch limousine.

Kelly saw it, too. “Do you know who that is?”

“I intend to find out.” He paused outside the driver’s-side door to his SUV. “You should go back to the house while I talk to them.”

“If this has something to do with Samuel’s death and his last words, the people in the limo might be looking for me,” she said. “I’m coming with you.”

He didn’t argue. “I’ll drive. I want the limo to follow us. If it stays here, Princess Butterfly and the goats might decide to check it out.”

“That can’t happen.” Her voice was determined. “If anybody scares these kids, I’ll have to kill them.”

“You bloodthirsty dragons are all alike.”

He brought her around to the passenger side and opened the door for her. Though Nick was keeping the tone light so Kelly wouldn’t be worried, he had misgivings. Why was a limo here? What the hell were they after?

He drove down the driveway toward the cheerful mailbox and made a right turn as though heading back to Valiant. As he’d expected, the limo followed on the two-lane asphalt road. The way he saw it, there were two options: contact the police or face the limo himself.

Thus far, he hadn’t been impressed with the local cops or the Colorado Bureau of Investigation agents. They’d been quick to accept that Samuel committed suicide, and the case was closed. Nick thought there was a lot more to be investigated, and he was going to have to be more involved.

Kelly had her cell phone in hand. “Should I call 911?”

“Not yet. I want to see what they’re up to.”

The SUV was approaching the unmanned volunteer fire department building, a good place to pull over. Nick signaled a turn and stepped on the brake.

“Do you have a gun?” she asked.