Guarded (12 page)

The little bird flew out of the bush in a panic and into the face of Mama Margaret. Her eyes as wild as her wiry orange hair, she swatted at the chickadee. It jerked back and circled her head once before taking safety in one of the tall scrub pines dotting the zoo’s entrance. The woman reached for the boy’s legs, which were now sticking out from beneath the bush and yanked. When she couldn’t pull him out, she kicked the soles of his feet twice and stumbled away.

The images blinked out and for an instant Shelley’s mind was a white slate. The world and the chickadee came into focus once more. Caressing the bird on its tan breast, she whispered, “Thank you.”

The bird chirped once and flew up to perch in the scrub pine. Shelley turned to the boy who still hadn’t lifted his head. His shoulders were hunched forward and down, his chin and chest seemed to be one connected body part, and his hands were jammed into his pockets. It was as if he were trying to fold in on himself.

Fury and heartbreak warred inside her, but neither would help Beau. Shelley needed to examine him, get him to a safe place, and make another call to CPS. First, she needed him to talk to her. Just because she knew the old bitch had crossed the line didn’t mean she could make the call, because her only proof came from an avian witness.

“Why was Margaret so angry? Why did she hurt you?”

Beau’s head snapped up and he stared at her with the eye that wasn’t swollen shut. “How did you know?”

“A little birdie told me.”
And wasn’t that the truth.

“Someone at the diner told her I came in with money. She wanted to know where I got it. She said I stole it from her purse and demanded I give it back. I told her I got it at the clinic. That you gave it to me. I had to tell her. She kept smacking me, saying I couldn’t steal from her. She said she was going to take away my dumb rat so I won’t have no reason to go back to the clinic. And . . . and I got so mad. I yelled at her. Told her Mr. Fuzzbutt was a guinea pig not a rat, and she was too stupid to know the difference.

“That just made her madder. Said she was going to drown Mr. Fuzzbutt and put him out with the trash. She went into my room and started tearing things up looking for him. When I wouldn’t tell her where he was, she hit me again and again. Said that’s what heathens get for being bad. I’d get a lot worse if I didn’t give her Mr. Fuzzbutt. So I shoved her and ran away.” Tears leaked from beneath the swollen eye and made his open brown one shine like polished stone behind the cracked lens of his glasses. “I know it’s bad and I’m gonna go to juvie now. But I think she would have really killed him. I couldn’t let her. If I get sent away, you’ve gotta keep him, Doc. Don’t let her hurt him.”

“¡Ay Dios mío!”

Shelley and Beau both jumped at the exclamation. Shelley turned to see Tomás running up the sidewalk.

“Beau!
Venga aquí
.” He shook his head and said in English, “Come here.” Tomás dropped to his knees in front of the child and opened his arms. Beau moved in short, painful steps until he stood in front of Tomás. The man placed gentle hands on his shoulders, examining the boy’s injuries.

Anguish gave way to fury in the man’s dark eyes as he took in each bruise and abrasion. “
Mijo
, who did this to you?”

“Mama Margaret.” Beau’s words were husky sounds, barely intelligible, but Tomás nodded as if he understood.

“Come inside,” Tomás said, taking Beau by the hand. Tomás glanced at Shelley, “Thank you, Dr. Shelley. I will take him.”

Without another word, Tomás and Beau headed to the employee entrance.

Shelley stood stunned. Tomás’s reaction seemed almost paternal. She knew he and the boy were close, but she’d had no idea how much of a bond they shared. Then the bird’s-eye view of Beau’s run for safety flashed through her mind. He hadn’t been standing near the fence. He’d been near the employee entrance. Searching for Tomás.

“Wait!” Shelley called out, catching up to the pair. Not missing the way Tomás stiffened, she said quickly, “I might be a vet, but I’m still a doctor. I’d like to tend those cuts and make sure he doesn’t have more serious injuries.”

Tomás seemed to wage an internal battle, then gave a curt nod. “
Sí
.”

Together, they made silent passage up the Tiger Monkey Trail. Around them, the nocturnal creatures chattered, chirped, or sang. She walked a few feet in the expanding twilight before asking Beau softly, “You were trying to get to Tomás, weren’t you?” He nodded. “Why?”

“He loves me,” Beau said simply, allowing Tomás to lift him into his arms. Beau snuggled against Tomás’s chest, while quiet tears tracked down his bruised cheeks.

Shelley followed. Her instincts were to take Beau into her arms. Hold him and comfort him. It was illogical, but deep inside her, the need burned. She didn’t act on it. She doubted that neither man nor child would willingly let go of the other. They seemed to share a bond she could only dream of. Here she’d thought she’d known both so well. Clearly, she didn’t know everything. And until she was certain Beau was safe, she wasn’t letting him out of her sight.

*   *   *

“K
EEP YOUR HEAD
down until we get past the cameras,” Tomás said, indicating one of the security cameras affixed above the employee entrance to the zoo’s visitor center.

Shelley lowered her head then realized the stupidity. “My hair is bright red. Everyone in town knows me.”

Tomás yanked a key from the retractable fob on his belt and unlocked the door. “You are right. I was not thinking.”

He moved through the dark hallway with a snuffling Beau in his arms. Tomás didn’t bother to turn on any lights. He clearly knew where he was headed, so Shelley followed them through the converted warehouse.

Tomás pulled out another key and opened a door on his right, this time flipping on the lights. The small office was neat and tidy. A sturdy wooden desk and chair were functional and solid if slightly chipped and showing age. The windowless space had probably once been a utility closet, but it appeared to serve Tomás’s purposes. The walls of the office were covered with paintings of desert sunrises, giving the space a warm, welcoming feeling. A brightly colored braided rug covered the floor. On it lay dozens of Lego creations, crayons, coloring books, and a very familiar-looking backpack.

Shelley and Tomás worked together silently cleaning Beau’s cuts and icing down his bruises. When the child yawned and blinked his good eye sleepily, Tomás pulled out a sleeping bag and tucked Beau in for bed. To a passerby, it looked as if Tomás had a room full of toys and stuffed animals shoved into one corner. The child was all but invisible.

Tomás whispered something to the boy in Spanish and kissed him gently on the top of his head before gesturing for Shelley to follow him back into the hallway. She couldn’t go without making sure for herself that Beau was okay with being left alone.

“Beau, are you going to be all right for a few minutes? Tomás wants to speak with me in the hallway. If you’d rather I didn’t leave you, I won’t. I can stay right here with you, or you can come home with me.” She reached out a hand and stroked his beautiful black hair.

“I’m safe here,” Beau replied. He didn’t smile, but his tone suggested confidence. He yawned again, then his eyes slipped closed. He mumbled, “As long as I’m with him, no one will hit me.”

Shelley’s heart broke. Her eyes stung as she replied, “And no one will hit you if you’re with me.”

“I know.” Beau’s bruised mouth curled slightly at the corners before relaxing into sleep.

Shelley stepped into the hall and Tomás closed the door behind her, unlocking another door across the hall. Again he flipped on the light. This time they stepped into a closet. A clipboard with a pen tied to it hung on one wall. Brooms, mops, buckets, and cleaners were jammed into every corner of the space. There was barely enough space for one person to stand, but Tomás squeezed in next to her. His brown eyes had the look of a haunted man.

“He’s your son, isn’t he?” She tried not to feel hurt when Tomás nodded slowly. Tried and most definitely didn’t succeed. “All this time. We’ve been friends all this time. We worked together every week for hours and hours, sometimes pulling all-nighters here. I trusted you with my private notes on the animals when you said the zoo’s files had begun disappearing. You trusted me with snakes and tigers but not enough to tell me Beau is your son. Why?” Then anger burned. “And how could you leave him with that bitch?”

“Do you think I want him with her?” Tomás snapped, his dark eyes full of fury. “He is not mine
legally
. I have petitioned to adopt him, but the courts are slow. Especially to a single man who only just became a U.S. citizen last year.”

Tomás scrubbed a hand down his face; weariness replaced the anger. “Beau is the son of my love, Claire. He is all that I have left of her. She died when he was three. I went to see her when she lay dying, and she told me that he was mine. Made me promise to raise him. But her parents hated me and him. They blamed us both for her death. Claire’s heart was always weak. Childbirth made her sicker.

“When I tried to take him after she died, her parents refused to give him to me. I don’t know why Claire hadn’t listed me as the father on his birth certificate. Without it, I could not claim my son. When they gave Beau away, I could do nothing. I was not a citizen. I could not foster him. But I did follow him to Elkridge. I became the zoo manager to be near him. I got my GED and I became a U.S. citizen for him.”

Realization dawned, and tension drained from her shoulders. “You changed your life to be with him.”

“
Sí
, yes.” He smiled. Hope glimmered in his eyes. “I find out next week if my petition has been accepted.”

“Does Beau know you’re his father? That you want to adopt him?” When Tomás nodded, Shelley echoed the head movement. “That’s why he ran to you when Margaret attacked him?”

“Margaret,” he spat on the floor, “that
punta
will pay for what she did to my boy.” Tomás’s eyes widened. “
Lo siento
. I am sorry for my language.”

“No, I think you’ve got her description about right.” Shelley waved away his apology, then it struck her. “You’re the reason why he won’t allow Social Services to remove him from her house. He’s waiting for you.”

It wasn’t a question, but Tomás answered anyway. “
Sí
, yes. He knows I’m trying to adopt him.”

“But can’t you prove paternity by taking a test? You shouldn’t have to adopt your own child.”

He stared at her as if dumbstruck. His mouth moved, but no sound came out for several seconds. Finally he said, “I could take a test?”

Her heart broke for this man. The same man who’d all but fed her to the proverbial lions earlier today. “It’s not a quick turnaround like you see in the movies. It usually takes six to eight weeks to get the results.”

Tomás shook his head. “The petition is being decided next week. I wish I had known about this test months ago.”

“I wish you would have told me. I could have helped you.”

Tomás straightened his shoulders, steel in his spine. “I thought you knew. He talks about you all the time. Why did you never ask him about his parents?”

Guilt pinched at her. She had kept Beau at arm’s length, hoping to avoid getting too close to someone who would likely leave her too. And in the end, he’d wormed his way into her heart. “I should have asked. You’re right. I’m sorry. But you could have trusted me too.”

Tomás nodded. “
Lo siento
. I am sorry too.”

From across the hall, Beau called out, “Papi?”

They paused their conversation to check on Beau, who’d awakened frightened. One glance at them and the child settled down quickly. There were times Beau seemed so much older than ten and times like these, when he seemed years younger.

Something in Shelley’s chest tightened as she watched the child drift back to sleep. No one should harm any child. And if she were his mother, no one ever would. But she wasn’t his mother. And he already had a father, a good, honest man. One who was ready and eager to claim him.

Tomás nodded toward the hallway. Shelley followed him out on tiptoe. Back in the broom closet, he narrowed his eyes and glared. “I will not let him go back to her. She will not beat my child again.”

“What can I do to help? I was going to call Child Protective Services.”

He shook his head and checked his watch. “No. I’ll make the call. Thank you, my friend.”

She clasped his arm. “You’re welcome, Tomás. He’s lucky to have you.”

Tomás gave her a smile that faded quickly. “You must go now. If they catch you here with me, I will be fired. I cannot lose this job.”

“That’s why you didn’t defend me this morning, isn’t it? You were afraid if you sided with me in front of Reyna, she’d get you fired?”

Again, Tomás nodded in apology. “I need to be near my son.”

“I understand.” And she did, but that didn’t mean she had to like it. Another thought occurred to her, and Shelley’s heart began to pound. “But the security tape. I’m on there coming into the visitor center with you tonight.”

“
¡Ay Dios mío!
I almost forgot the tape.” Tomás opened the door and ushered her out of it. “I will erase it. Go now, quickly.”

She started to go, but first she said, “Tomás, I’m going to be out of town for a couple days. Will you call me and let me know how Beau’s doing?”

He paused long enough to grin at her. “Of course, my friend. I will call tomorrow.”

T
HE SECURITY OFFICE
door stood ajar. Vo
ices floated into the darkened hallway.

For a moment, Adam stood frozen. He’d seen the vet leave ten minutes ago. Watched the groundskeeper lock up and head out the front door shortly after.

The voices stopped with alacrity. A strange whirring sound erupted, followed by the voices speaking again. It was a video playing. And Adam was on it.

His spine stiffened in alarm. The act made a decade-old injury ache anew.

Adam had snuck into the visitor center tonight to take another cage. He’d been careful to only nick one every few nights, so as not to raise suspicions. This would be the final cage needed before he could collect the remaining cubs.

But someone was here. Someone had a tape of him. It wouldn’t have alarmed him. Being on the security tapes was almost expected, given his position. But it was the second voice on the tape he heard that made his chest too tight to breathe and his fists clench.

Colbert Rush was blubbering and pleading for help. For forgiveness.

“Shut up. You fucking asshole. You deserve everything I’m going to do to you.” He cringed at the sound of his own voice followed by the tiger roaring.
Fuck! All the cameras had been disabled that night hadn’t they?

Adam’s heart pounded in his chest. Did the sheriff know? Had anyone else seen the footage?

“
¡Ay Dios mío!
” someone cursed.

Fuck! It was Tomás in there.

For a moment, Adam stood helpless. Hopeless. Just as he had been twenty-two years before. Lost. Alone. Panic clawed at his chest, stealing his breath. It was all falling apart. Every plan, every adjustment was for nothing. Not-one-fucking-thing!

Never let the impossible stop you. There’s always a way.
His momma’s voice flowed through him. Washing away the fear and angst. She was right. There was always a way.

Adam hadn’t spent all this time planning his revenge to fail now. He would succeed. He just needed to improvise. But killing Tomás
wasn’t
righteous. It wasn’t supposed to happen. He wasn’t on the list. That poor bastard hadn’t done anything except stick his nose where it didn’t belong. Justice or not, it had to be done for the greater good.

Quietly, his boots barely scraping the floor, Adam slipped into the room and locked the door. Tomás, unaware, rewound then replayed the footage again.

Adam cleared his throat.

Tomás spun around; fear rounded his eyes. His lips trembling in a nervous smile, he said, “Good evening. I did not know you were here.” As he spoke, he reached behind him and shut off the monitor where Adam’s profile had been clearly visible and frozen in the act of murder.

Adam nodded slowly. “What are you doing, Tomás? I thought you left with the vet.”

“No.” His right eye twitched uncontrollably. “You-you saw Dr. Shelley leave? She is not supposed to be here, you know. I-I forgot to erase her from the tapes. I came back for that. Just for that.”

The groundskeeper hiked a thumb over his shoulder to the darkened screen, then blanched. He side-stepped twice heading for the door, but Adam blocked the exit.

“I’m sorry for this. No one was supposed to see that video,” he said clamping both hands tightly around Tomas’s neck. The groundskeeper pawed uselessly as Adam tightened his grip. “It’s not your fault. It’s that vet’s. But don’t worry. I’ll make her pay.”

*   *   *

T
HE CHILL OF
the night air nipped at Shelley’s ears as she hurried up Main Street. She’d forgotten to call the mechanic earlier, but one glance at her dead car in the glow of the parking lot’s streetlight reminded her. After finding her flash drive, she pulled her cell out of her other pocket and called the local garage. Someone answered after the fifth ring.

“Ken’s Hunting and Towing,” Kenny answered.

Only in a small town.
Shelley grinned. “Hi, Kenny, this is Dr. Morgan. My car died again. It’s at the zoo parking lot. Can you tow it to the garage?”

Kenny Parran, a fifty-year-old retired Marine, laughed in gravelly tones. “I surely can hep ya, darlin’, but I can’t do it ’til Terry comes back. He’s over on the other side of town helping his brother. Bunch a college kids from Norfolk decided to go mudding, not giving no thought to the rains last night. Got six SUVs stuck up to their axles in the Great Dismal Swamp. They’re damned lucky they ended up in the shallow section. Some parts of the swamp could swallow a car whole.”

Shelley shuddered at the thought. “How long do you think it might be?”

“Oh, darlin’, I don’t know. Hours probably.” Kenny paused, then asked, “You need a lift home? I can swing round in the wife’s wagon.”

“No, that’s okay. I’m almost home. Can you give me a call on my cell after you’ve had a chance to check it out tomorrow?”

“Sure thing, darlin’,” Kenny said.

“Thanks, I’ll wait for your call.” Shelley clicked off and shoved her phone in her pocket.

Yikes, for such a warm day, the evening had gotten cold quickly.

She was almost to her door when she had the oddest sensation, like a cold finger tracing down her spine. She shivered and looked around. No one was there. Just a stray dog nosing around the front step of her apartment building. It caught her eye and growled. It was a Jack Russell terrier, and its short white fur stood on end. It bared its teeth at her.
Of course, this fantastic day just wouldn’t be complete without a dog attack.

She didn’t have time for this. She was cold, hungry, and just wanted to go home. In her most soothing vet voice, she said, “It’s okay, fella. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just going to go into my apartment. Let me in without biting me, and I’ll bring you a nice juicy hot dog. Wouldn’t you like that?”

The dog growled louder and snapped its teeth twice.

Okay, so hot dogs were bad for dogs anyway.

She was about to offer another bribe and pray that this dog would be like Hercules and just let her be, when it yelped and leaped into the air as if shocked by something. Then it ran down the street. She watched the dog for a moment, amazed at her luck.
Well, that’s new.
Not wanting to tempt fate, she fished her key out of her pocket and hurried inside.

Two hours later, after eating dinner and watching a
Bones
rerun, Shelley poured herself a glass of merlot and headed to the bedroom to pack.

Lucy was curled up in her hammock asleep. Shelley latched the cage door. Lucy had had enough playtime today. The last thing Shelley needed was for her ferret to go digging into her overnight bag.

Taking another hearty sip of wine, Shelley wondered aloud, “What does one wear when seeing an estranged sister for the first time in more than a decade?”

Lucy continued to sleep. No help there. Fine, Shelley could figure this out on her own. She’d just pack what was comfortable. Shelley was definitely a sneakers-and-no-makeup kind of woman on the weekends.

Another flaw Cam never failed to point out.

Why was she thinking of him so much today? Maybe because Dev was in town. In college, Cam had said he and Dev were like twins. And they were, in everything except skin color. Where Dev was a beautiful light mocha, Cam had been pasty white. Otherwise, they had the same classes, earned the same grades, and even dated the same girls.

Not me.

That’s true. Cam had once told her that Dev had asked out every girl Cam had ever shown an interest in, but never Shelley.

Maybe not, but Dev had certainly appeared to have changed his tune this afternoon. And she fully intended to keep his attention on that particular song.

She packed her duffle and carried it to the front door. Leaving it there, she headed to her little kitchen and rewarded herself by pouring a second glass of wine, a truly decadent night for her. Someone knocked on her front door. She hurried through the apartment, stopping only to tug the bedroom door closed. If this was Dev returning—God, she wished—she didn’t want Lucy interrupting.

“Coming,” she called out.

Unlocking the door, she opened it, and then blinked in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

Something sharp pierced her arm through her sleeve. She had only seconds to recognize the pain before the world faded away.