Paula Graves - Chickasaw County Captive

Kristen’s brow furrowed. “And he’s taking time out of trying to destabilize a whole country to kidnap Maddy?”

“Do you have a better theory?” Norah asked coolly.

“Maddy said the assailant was Caucasian,” Kristen added.

“Maddy wouldn’t know the difference between white and Hispanic,” Sam said.

Kristen looked a little annoyed, but she gave a brief nod. “Okay. I’ll look into his current whereabouts.”

“We’ve already got feelers out,” Sam said. “Norah has friends in the State Department.”

Kristen looked up at him. “We’ll go through our own channels,” she insisted. If she was bluffing, it didn’t show. Maybe she really did have her own channels, although he found it hard to believe a small-town Alabama police department could possibly have better intel than Norah’s friends at State.

“Were you the lead prosecutor?” Kristen asked.

“Yes,” he answered.

“So he would be likely to remember you by name, I suppose.”

“And with his son dying just a couple of weeks ago-”

“The timing is interesting,” Kristen conceded. “I’ll go call this in, get the ball rolling.” Tucking the folder under one arm, she pulled her phone from her pocket and walked across the room to make her call.

Sam watched her as she spoke into the phone, her voice too low for him to make out words. She looked tired, he thought, her face a little pale. Dark circles bruised the skin beneath her eyes, bringing to mind her earlier reaction to the phone call she’d received at his parents’ house.

The memory pinged his curiosity. Who had been on the phone? What had she heard to knock her so off-kilter?

He hoped it hadn’t been bad news. She’d had enough bad news in her life.

“Quite the poker face.” Norah’s voice was low and amused.

He drew his gaze away from Kristen to meet Norah’s bright green eyes. “Detective Tandy’s or mine?”

Norah smiled. “The sweet young detective, of course. You’re an open book, my love.” She nodded toward Kristen. “Her own channels? As if a little cop shop like hers could possibly know anything about an international crime lord.”

“You think we don’t have our own share of big-time crime in Alabama?” Sam murmured, not sure why he felt the urge to defend Kristen Tandy when he’d had his own doubts about the usefulness of her connections. “A Mexican drug cartel carried out a series of gang executions south of here not long ago. It’s a global economy, even for the bad guys.”

“That doesn’t mean Elly Mae Clampett over there can make a phone call and find out where Enrique Calderon has been for the last five days,” Norah scoffed. “She just doesn’t want to look like an idiot in front of you. It’s kind of sweet.”

Sam pressed his lips together, irritated by Norah’s constant stream of insults. “Kristen Tandy is not an idiot. She’s got good instincts, and she’s putting herself on the line more ways than you know to protect my daughter-our daughter. There are things you don’t know about her-”

As soon as the words escaped his mouth, he knew he’d made a mistake. Norah’s eyes lit up with wicked interest.

“What things?” she asked.

A knock on the front door saved him from having to answer. He opened the door to his brother Gabe, who was carrying Maddy on his back.

“Jake and Mariah had to take Micah to the doctor, so they left the rug rat in my care,” Gabe said with a grin.

Norah smiled. “Hello, Gabe.”

Gabe’s smile went a little brittle. “Hello, Norah.” He lowered Maddy to the floor.

“Uncle Gabe’s gotta go fishing,” Maddy announced as she reached up to Sam for a hug. Sam gave her a squeeze, shooting a quizzical look at his brother.

“I have a last-minute afternoon guide job,” Gabe said apologetically. “We were in town for ice cream when I got the page. I called Mom to see if she could keep her down at the bait shop, but Miss Priss caught sight of Detective Tandy as we were driving past and demanded to come here instead. I saw your Jeep and figured you must be here with your ex.” He gave a nod in Norah’s direction. “If it’s a problem-”

“No, that’s fine.” Sam shifted Maddy to his hip. “It’s about time I take her home for her nap anyway.”

“No, don’t wanna nap!” Maddy protested.

“If you don’t take a nap now, you’ll have to go to bed early tonight. And I have big plans for tonight, let me tell you.” He made a face at his daughter, knowing she couldn’t resist a tease like that.

Maddy cocked her head, her eyes bright with curiosity. “Like what?”

He lowered his voice. “It’s a secret.”

Maddy gave a long, frustrated growl. “I hate secrets!”

“You love secrets,” he insisted.

She sighed deeply and gave him a look that made his heart curl into a helpless knot. “Okay, Daddy.” She gave him a hug. He hugged her back, trying not to squeeze too tightly.

“I guess I’d better get going then,” Gabe said, nodding politely to Norah, then to Kristen, who’d apparently finished her phone call. He headed out the door.

“Quite the charmer,” Norah said drily.

“You’d be surprised.” Sam looked at Kristen. “Detective Tandy? Were you able to put out any feelers to your contacts?”

Ignoring Norah’s soft huff of skepticism, Kristen lifted her chin and met his gaze steadily. “Foley’s brother is an FBI agent whose area of focus is the identification and interdiction of South American drug cartels trying to set up shop in the states. Foley’s calling him to see if he can figure out Calderon’s movements over the last four days.”

Sam glanced at Norah for her reaction. Her expression was a mixture of disbelief and annoyance.

“Well, I’m going to get Maddy home for her nap. Detective Tandy, didn’t you want to ask Norah some questions?”

“Oh, terrible time for that,” Norah said firmly, grabbing her purse from the writing table. “I’m afraid I made an appointment with Limbaugh Motors just down the street to obtain a rental car while I’m here in town. Give me a call later and I’m sure we can arrange something.” She handed the room key to Sam. “Do lock up for me, Sam. I’ll pick up the key later this afternoon.” She breezed past them on a trail of Chanel No 5.

“Son of a b-” Kristen sputtered.

“Small ears,” Sam warned.

She looked up at him, her eyes ablaze. “I’m not through with that woman,” she warned, pushing past him through the door Norah had left open on her way out. Sam watched her go, enjoying the view of her denim-clad backside a little more than he should.

The next couple of days might turn out to be a lot more complicated than he’d anticipated.

“How did a Sanselmo drug cartel get mixed up in this anyway?” Jason Foley asked Kristen later that afternoon when she dropped by the office to see if his brother had called back.

“Apparently Sam Cooper was involved in several high-profile cases in D.C., including the conviction of a drug lord’s son.” Kristen explained what she knew about the Carlos Calderon case. “Junior ticked off a fellow inmate and ended up dead a couple of weeks ago.”

“And Cooper thinks Papa C. has decided nabbing the Cooper kid will exact some sort of vengeance?” Foley looked skeptical.

“It was Norah Cabot’s idea, actually.” Kristen tried not to let her dislike show. “But it’s certainly a motive worth investigating,” she added grudgingly.

“What did you think of the former Mrs. Cooper?” Foley asked in a tone suggesting he already knew the answer.

Kristen tried to be fair. “She’s smart, beautiful and sophisticated, befitting a high-powered corporate attorney. Seems to harbor no ill will toward Cooper.”