“Miller was sitting with your brother after her shift ended. Guy with a knife came in. I’m sure you can figure out why. Miller chased him down and got him, but she has some injuries. Getting tended now. Your brother is okay. And I’m going to take that son-of-a-bitch in myself.”
Dom had a real sore spot where attacks in hospitals were concerned, considering his father and stepmother both worked at FCGH, just up the road. Going after someone when they were the most vulnerable like that, just pissed him off completely. Guys like that didn’t care about who got hurt in the middle, either. And that just pissed Dom off even more.
“Where’s Miller? She took that guy down herself?” Bryant asked, a bit skeptically. “How badly is she injured?”
“Tackled him, from what I heard. But he sliced her a couple of times. She’s supposed to be getting stitches now. She refused to leave your brother until someone from Major Crimes could be here, just in case. There was supposed to be a guard posted on your brother’s door. But Miller said there wasn’t today. That she’d been told at the security desk that someone from the TSP called that guard off. Said there was no longer a threat. As of this morning. If Miller hadn’t come by when she had…”
“Imagine that,” Bryant almost growled. He was normally a calm man, but the agitation was hard to miss. “I’m going to put guards on my brother myself, Acardi. Men I can trust; I’m calling in every favor that I have.”
Normally Dom would say that was a bad idea, but now?
“Do that. We just don’t know who we can trust now.” A thought occurred to him. The Naylors didn’t have much family, but what they did could be right in the middle of this. He wouldn’t want an innocent young woman getting hurt. “And while you’re at it—get your little sister out of town. Just in case. These assholes…if it’s connected. They mean business, and they won’t hesitate to go after the innocent now.”
“Already have. She’s going to stay putelsewhereuntil I tell her differently.”
“Good. I’m tired of the innocent getting hurt now.”
“Aren’t we all?”
37
Her shift had run longerthan it should have the day after the attack in Brett Naylor’s hospital room—no surprise. Since Haldyn was still out for at least another month, that was almost guaranteed to happen. Not that it hadn’t happened just as frequently before, though. Just the nature of the job.
Madison had told Miriam good-bye and thanked her for staying over, too. The younger woman had told her it was no problem. She was going to stop by the same place Madison was headed in a few hours anyway, and if the storm kept building the way the weather report was threatening it would, she was just going to see if she could camp over at Hope’s again.
No matter what people said about Miriam being a spy from Wichita Falls, Madison wouldn’t believe it. For one thing, she was too comfortable with Heather and Hope for that.
Of course, people had a lot to say aboutHeatherright now, too. Since Heather had just joined Major Crimes in January. After it was discovered she was related to the governor’s wife. A lot of idiots were saying Heather herself was a spy, or a plant, or as dirty as the rest of them out there. Some were saying she’dasked for itfrom Steve Wilson.
Nothing had infuriated Madison more than that. And she’d told the asshole who had said it in her hearing exactly what kind of man Steve Wilson was—how he had taunted Madison with a gun toherhead and didn’t that just make him an upstanding citizen, let alone a cop. And that no woman everasked for itand if they thought women did, they had no business working in law enforcement at all. It hadn’t exactly made her a pal for life, but the women in the room had agreed with her completely. And told the road officer just that.
He’d left after telling them all he was just repeating what he’d been told. Madison had told him to learn to think for himself for once. That it might just serve him well someday to not be such a damned idiot. Things had gotten a little heated in the breakroom then. But Lila had broken it up eventually.
The guy’s last parting shot had been that maybe Madison was just too sensitive considering what Wilson had apparently done to her and everything. Then Murdoch and Jake had come in. Lila had informedthemwhat the rookie had been saying.
It had not been pretty after that. But…satisfying to watch, at least.
She didn’t see that guy sticking around Finley Creek much longer. She thought he was a new hire anyway. Probably sent from Wichita Falls just to make trouble.
She was still irritated when she showed her identification at the security shack at Hughes Heights. They made her nervous; considering everyone believed some of them were involved in whatever Trey Grundenman had been doing in Hughes Heights.
Then she was making her way to Jude Way. Powell’s brother Alex lived at Number Seven Jude Way. Heather and Hope were at Number Nine. They had nearly identical houses from the road. Same building style and she suspected floorplans. She’d been in multiple Hughes Heights homes through the last five years, on the job and off. She had several friends who lived inHughes Heights now. They all did follow the basic floorplan. But someone had planted rivers of purple and blue flowers around the Colesons’ home to look like a moat. And there was a five-foot wooden crocodile with a top hat sitting on the low stone fence that separated Alex’s house from the Colesons’. He looked like he’d been freshly painted since the last time she’d been there. He had a purple hat on now. And a necktie. Mr. Croc-o-Coleson had many different outfits. He’d been wearing something different every time she’d been there.
What made her smile was the trio of ducks currently wandering around the front lawn, just casually enjoying their day.
One of Hope’s nieces was outside now, with some of the kids. They were throwing a big purple ball around and giggling. They were so beautiful. Innocent.
Madison parked her car and headed over to Summer. She didn’t even know if Hope was home at the moment. “Hi.”
“Hello, Madison, how are you?”
“I’m good. Just a long day today. Is Hope home?”
Summer hesitated. “She’s inside. Mom is with her. You can go right on in the back door. We’re going to play for a few more minutes before bath time.”
A little bitty girl who was Heather in miniature waved. Heather’s daughter was beautiful and adorable in little overalls, with a HHC emblem on her hat. Madison had seen Hope in similar hats a hundred times now. “Hi, Frankie! You look very cute in that hat.”
The little girl preened. “Thank you. Cousin Summer maded it for me.”
