Tracie Peterson (20 page)

Tears came to Cara eyes. “Then I’m the reason she’s dead.”

“You can’t blame yourself, Cara,” Melissa said, taking her arm.

“No, you certainly can’t,” Harry agreed. “Kerns is obviously more than two steps ahead of us. Somehow he bugged your phone and has probably managed to keep tabs on you in one way or another ever since he decided to force you into the election campaign.”

Cara wiped her cheeks with the sleeve of her sweater. “This is just too much. He won’t stop at anything, not even murder. Before, I’d hoped to be wrong about my suspicions, but now there’s no doubt about the truth.”

“And the truth will set you free,” Harry reminded her. “Knowing the truth and realizing just where you stand is an act of freedom. Now you know exactly what Kerns is capable of, and that knowledge will enable you to be on your guard.”

“Some freedom.”

“We should plan our strategies,” Melissa announced.

“What do you mean we?” Cara questioned, tearing her gaze away from Harry.

“I mean, I accept the job you offered me, and I think we’d better decide how we’re going to deal with Kerns and his rowdies.”

Cara smiled. Melissa had always been the adventuresome one, and now she was lending support just when Cara needed it the most.

“Count me in on this, too,” Harry replied. “I want to be assigned to your security detail. That way I can keep both eyes on you.”

And I do like those eyes,
Cara thought and offered him a smile as well. “ ‘A cord of three strands is not quickly broken,’ ” she quoted from Ecclesiastes.

“Exactly,” Harry replied, taking hold of her hand.

“So if one of us falls, the other two can pick him up, eh?” Cara said, feeling the warmth of Harry’s hand against the cold January air.

“The only one going down is Kerns,” Harry stated matter-of-factly.

“Agreed?” questioned Melissa.

Both Harry and Melissa waited for Cara to speak. She nodded. “Agreed.”

Twenty-Eight

Inauguration day dawned bright and clear. The cold January temperatures had warmed from the twenties into the upper thirties, giving everyone a sense of enthusiasm. The Capitol building and grounds had been meticulously cleaned in preparation, and now, less than twenty minutes before the ceremonies would take place, hundreds of people stood in anticipation at the south steps of the building.

Cara caught a glimpse of the crowd from the second-floor window. She wasn’t sure she could go through with this. Her stomach churned nervously, and only the presence of Brianna kept her from running in the opposite direction.

“My friends are so jealous,” Brianna announced, twirling in her new white dress.

“It was kind of your teacher to arrange for your class to be here today.” Cara opened her arms and pulled Brianna close for a hug. She needed her daughter’s strength and support, and it suddenly seemed an unfair burden to place upon a child. “I love you, you know that?”

Brianna nodded enthusiastically. “Of course. I love you, too.”

“Bob wants to speak with you for a minute,” Serena Perez announced from the door.

Cara looked up and gave a halfhearted smile. Serena was immaculately dressed in a winter white suit, trimmed with large colorful rhinestone buttons. She made Cara feel rather shabby in her mauve wool dress. Her own patent leather black belt and heels were far more sedate than Serena’s colorful accessories.

“I’ll be back in a minute, Bri. You stay right here and count the people for me.”

“I think there are about a million,” her daughter replied, running over to the window.

Cara followed Serena into the governor’s office. Bob Kerns was issuing his final orders to Russell, and at the sight of Cara he grew silent.

“You wanted to see me?”

“Yes,” Kerns said. “Russell, you and Serena can wait in the outer office for us. Oh, and make sure Debra’s still sober.”

Russell nodded and closed the door on his way out.

“This is an important day for us. I know we haven’t had much of a chance to talk, but things are going well, and I’m prepared to offer you and your daughter whatever help you need to get resettled.”

“Resettled?”

“Of course, I thought you knew. I plan for you to work out of Wichita. There are far too many people in the Sedgwick County area to have them inadequately represented. They need to feel in touch with their governor, and what better way than to put the lieutenant governor in their midst.”

“But I don’t want to move to Wichita. Brianna and I are happy here. We have a new apartment and Brianna is in the middle of a school year.”

“Sorry, Cara, but that’s the way it’s going to be. Other governors have done it that way and it has worked quite well.”

“Other governors have allowed their lieutenant governors to serve right here in Topeka. There’s an office in the Capitol marked for that very purpose.”

Kerns frowned, and Cara could tell she was pushing too hard. She remembered Harry’s warning to play along with Kerns.

“Five minutes!” Owens announced from outside the door.

“Can we discuss this later?” Cara suggested. “It’s such a shock right now, and with everything else on today’s agenda . . .”

“Sure,” Kerns relented. “I’ll give you a full rundown at the end of the inaugural activities.”

Reluctantly, Cara followed Kerns from the room. Her mind flooded with concerns. Kerns could make her move to
Wichita. There was no doubt about it. If he insisted on the transfer, she’d have to comply to avoid blowing her chances at finding Jamie Davis and Teri’s true killer.

“Are you ready?” Cara asked Bri. She helped her daughter slip into her powder blue coat before taking her own gray dress coat from Serena.

“Ready!” Brianna announced. Her long brown hair had been curled and styled, giving her a much older appearance.

Cara noted the look of sheer delight and anticipation in her daughter’s expression. Brianna enjoyed the fanfare and the fact that her mother was suddenly somebody important. No matter what, she had to keep Brianna safe and happy. Nothing else mattered as much.

****

The swearing-in ceremony came off without a hitch. From the first cheers of the crowd to the final Air Force jet flyby, Cara was lost in a surrealistic world. All of the newly elected officials took turns receiving the oath of office. Among these were the secretary of state, attorney general, insurance commissioner, a variety of justices and others, and of course the lieutenant governor and governor.

Cara had taken her oath with Brianna beaming at her side, but the entire affair seemed to be happening to someone else. A sea of people swarmed the grounds below her, and she could only imagine their unspoken questions. Would she be able to help them or would she be a party to their demise?

Cara couldn’t even remember Kerns’ swearing in. She knew Debra and Danielle were at his side, but beyond that, little else registered. There were parties that followed inside the Capitol, and of course, there was to be a week of parties throughout the state, all in honor of the newly elected governor. For the first time in her life, Cara gave serious consideration to running away.

“Brianna seems to be enjoying herself,” a voice whispered in Cara’s ear.

“Dad?” Cara turned, not believing the voice she’d recognized.

A gray-headed man with a bulbous nose and thick bushy brows grinned at her. “Surprise!”

“But you said you couldn’t make it,” Cara protested. “Is Mom here, too?”

“Sure. You think I could leave her back in Hays?”

Cara glanced around the ballroom. “Where is she?”

“Over at the door, giving your new governor instructions.”

Cara moaned. “I should have known.”

“Don’t worry about your mom,” Augustus Brown replied. “She can hold her own with politicians.”

Cara saw her mother move away from Kerns and look in their direction. With a little wave, Cara held open her arms and went to greet her. “Mom! This is such a nice surprise.”

Hazel Brown held her only child at arm’s length. “You’ve lost weight again,” she chided. Her mother’s softly rounded figure was a comfortable reminder of home to Cara.

Cara wrapped her arms around her mother. “I’ve missed you guys so much. When did you decide to come?”

“Oh, you know your father,” Hazel said, giving Cara an extra tight squeeze. “I said, ‘Gus, are you sure you can live with yourself if we don’t go?’ ”

“Yeah, and I said, ‘I thought you didn’t want to travel five hours on a snow-packed interstate and take a chance of being stranded in a blizzard,’ ” her father joined in.

“So then I said—”

“Okay, okay,” Cara interrupted, laughing. “I get the picture. I’m so glad you came. I just wish I’d have known in time to have you up on the steps with me. Brianna would have loved that.” Just then Brianna caught sight of her grandparents and came at a full run.

“Grandpa! Grandma!”

“Hey, munchkin!” Gus said, lifting her in the air. “Hazel, I know where Cara’s lost weight went. What are you feeding this kid?”

Cara smiled and Brianna wrapped her arms around her grandfather’s neck. “I didn’t know you were coming,” she told him and added, “but I’m sure glad you did. This is a boring place.”

“Don’t I know it,” Gus said with a wink. “What say we get out of here and go someplace more exciting?”

“Can we, Mom?”

Cara shook her head. “I’m afraid I’m stuck. But if you guys want to take Brianna over to the apartment, that would be fine by me.”

“I can show you the way,” Brianna offered.

“Sounds like a good arrangement to me,” Gus answered.

Hazel turned to her daughter. “Are you sure you don’t need us here?”

Cara glanced around the room. There wasn’t a close personal friend in sight. Sending away her family was difficult, but she knew how her father detested these things. “I’m sure. You go on ahead, and I’ll be there when I can get away. Brianna will give you the grand tour.”

After they’d gone, Cara listened to more idle well-wishing and shook hands with what she calculated to be over a hundred people. This was meant to be a rather private gathering, but it seemed to be turning into a free-for-all.

Spotting a uniformed patrolman, Cara inched through the crowd and cornered the man. “Do you know if Harry Oberlin is here?”

“Lieutenant Oberlin is on crowd control—first floor.” Cara nodded and slipped out of the room through a side door. She’d just started down the stairs when a friendly voice called up to her.

“Hey! I’ve looked all over for you!” Melissa announced, coming up the stairs at a dead run. “This place is a madhouse.”

“Don’t I know it. If I hear one more person say, ‘Hey, have I got an idea for the governor!’ I’m going to scream.”

Melissa laughed and brushed snow off of her navy wool coat. “It’s starting to snow outside,” she offered. “Maybe that will drive the crowds back to whatever hole they climbed out of.”

Cara ran a hand through her hair. “Don’t get me wrong. I don’t for a minute think they’re all snakes. It just seems like a great many of them are definite opportunists.”

“Where are you headed now?”

“I thought about trying to find Harry. Any ideas?”

“I saw him downstairs,” Melissa admitted, “but I wouldn’t go there if I were you. It would make his job ten times more difficult.”

“I guess I hadn’t thought of that. Oh, well, I have you here now.”

“But not for long. I’m not on your staff yet, and the paper expects me to bring in good coverage of this event.”

“You will be at the inaugural ball, won’t you?”

“I have a flashy green sequined number just for the occasion,” Melissa announced. “How about you?”

“I broke down and bought a black chiffon gown with a sequined jacket. I guess I like it more than I thought I would.” Cara grinned. “Harry agreed to escort me.”

“Good for you. It’s about time you pressed that issue forward.”

Cara frowned. “I don’t feel like I can push any issue forward until I get out from under Kerns’ control. What’s to keep him from threatening everyone I care about if I don’t do exactly as he wants?”

“Nothing. But threatening and carrying out threats are two different things.”

Cara grimaced. “Tell that to Teri Davis.”

Twenty-Nine

Smoothing back an imaginary strand of hair, Cara waited anxiously for Harry to arrive. The inaugural ball was the most prestigious of all the after-hours affairs, and Cara was more than a little nervous. She hurried to the full-length cheval mirror in her room and took inventory once more, while Brianna guarded the door downstairs and watched with her grandparents for Harry’s arrival.

Studying her image with a critical eye, Cara made certain the hairpins were secure and that her two hours in the beauty salon weren’t wasted. The stylish arrangement left her hair piled high on top of her head, with large curls making a bold statement. Wispy tendrils framed her face, and beside these were dangling diamond earrings. The earrings matched the necklace that seemed to drip diamonds across her neck and fall just above the bodice of her gown. The set was costume jewelry borrowed from Melissa, and the effect was just as her friend had suggested. Stunning!

The black chiffon gown elegantly swept the floor. It fell from spaghetti straps and a sweetheart neckline, and the princess seams made Cara appear even more slender. The short sequined bolero jacket was just the right touch to accompany the simple lines of the dress. Twirling like a young girl, Cara caught a final glimpse of her black sequined pumps. She was ready.

“He’s here!” Brianna yelled up the steps.

Cara drew a deep breath and picked up her satin purse from the bed. She prayed that the night would be magical and that Harry would be the perfect date. It was really their first private date, and yet, it wasn’t going to be private at all. Cara now belonged, as Robert Kerns was so fond of reminding her, to the state of Kansas.

Pausing at the top of the stairs and out of sight, Cara heard Brianna introduce Harry to her grandparents. The exchange of pleasantries gave her a moment more to collect herself before making her grand entrance. When she heard Brianna tell Harry that her mother would be right down, Cara stepped forward.