Chapter Four

"I'll have to call you back," Duncan told Slater the moment he heard Molly's voice.

He didn't wait for Slater to respond. Duncan ended the call and went closer to Joelle.

"Where are you?" Joelle asked Molly. "Are you all right?"

Molly didn't answer, but Duncan could hear some kind of shuffling around, and several moments later, someone spoke. But this time, it wasn't Molly.

"Don't ask any questions," a man said. His voice was muffled and practically a growl. No doubt because he was trying to disguise it. Did that mean Duncan knew this person? "I made a mistake, and I'm trying to fix it."

Despite the man demanding no questions, Duncan had so many of them. Joelle no doubt did, too. But at the top of their list had to be if Molly had been harmed.

"We're listening," Duncan prompted so the man would continue.

"A big mistake," he muttered, adding some profanity. "I'll leave the woman somewhere you can find her."

Duncan jumped right on that. It wasn't the ransom demand—or any other kind of demand—he'd been expecting. "Where?"

"I'll call you once I've dropped her off, tell you where she is, and you can come and get her," the man was quick to say.

Of course, that meant the guy would probably be long gone by the time they arrived to get Molly. But this could also be a trap to draw Joelle and him out.

"Is Molly all right?" Duncan asked, hoping that Molly would be able to answer that for herself.

"She's shaken up but fine. Like I said, taking her was a mistake."

Duncan wanted to press for more. He wanted to know why kidnapping Molly had been a mistake. Had this been a case of the wrong person being taken? Had Joelle been the target? He needed answers to all of that, but he especially wanted to know whose blood was in the house and on Molly's porch. If it was Molly's, then she was more than just shaken up.

"Leave Molly somewhere now," Duncan bargained. "She and her baby need to be checked by a doctor."

Silence. For a long time. And Duncan hoped like the devil that the guy was considering that. The sooner they got Molly, the better.

"I'll call you when I call you," the man finally snarled, and he ended the conversation before Duncan could say anything else.

Duncan immediately cursed and tried to call the kidnapper back. It wasn't a surprise, though, when the guy didn't answer. Still, Duncan reminded himself that the call was a positive sign. Molly was alive, and the man who'd taken her wanted to return her.

Supposedly .

He cursed again and looked at Joelle. "He could be using Molly and her baby as bait," she muttered.

"Yeah." But Duncan didn't need to spell out the rest. He'd have to go to Molly even if a trap was a high probability. Which it was. He'd have to go even if there was only a slim chance they'd get Molly back.

"You'll take backup," Joelle said, proving that they were thinking the same thing. "And you'll be careful."

Duncan shouldn't have felt good about her adding that last part. But he did. There'd been so many weeks of tension between Joelle and him. So much guilt. Now, though, they were on the same side again, and he realized just how much he'd missed this. He'd had a thing for her for years, that wasn't going away, but he missed working with her almost as much as he missed being with her.

Almost.

He glanced up the hall when he saw someone approaching, and his body braced. But it wasn't a threat. It was Luca who'd gone back to Joelle's after he'd escorted Duncan and her to the hospital.

"No sign of the gunman yet," Luca reported. "No other shots fired after you left the scene. How are you two? Were either of you hurt?"

"We're fine," Joelle assured him. "We just got a call from the kidnapper." She handed him her phone. "The recording of the conversation is on there, but the kidnapper claims he intends to return Molly."

That put some hope in Luca's intense brown eyes. Hope that disappeared as fast as it'd come. "You believe him?"

"Too soon to tell," Duncan muttered.

Luca's phone rang. "It's the fire department," he explained. "I'd better take this." He stepped away to do that, and Duncan turned back to Joelle.

"When the kidnapper does call back, you won't be going with me to pick up Molly," he told her.

Her mouth tightened, but she didn't argue. She had to know if this was a trap, then she was likely the intended target.

Well, maybe she was.

"You don't resemble Molly," he said, thinking out loud. "You live miles from each other. Yes, you're both pregnant, and she's a former cop, but that's about it."

Joelle nodded. "Maybe it wasn't about mistaking Molly for me but he could possibly see the kidnapping as a mistake. It's possible he didn't know she was pregnant." She paused. "Or he could have just changed his mind."

That was true, but it still didn't explain the attack on Joelle. Or maybe it did. "If someone wanted to kidnap pregnant women, there could have been two teams operating. The one that hit your place and the one that went after Molly."

Joelle made a sound of agreement but wasn't able to add anything else because the door to Kate Moreland's room opened, and Dr. Benton came out.

Benton was quick to shake his head. "You won't be able to speak to Ms. Moreland for at least a couple of hours. Maybe longer. Her blood pressure isn't stable, and she's at risk for a hypertension crisis, which could lead to a stroke or heart attack. I'll give you a call when it's safe for her to have visitors."

Duncan couldn't press to continue the interview, not when it could put the woman's life in danger. But there were also more pressing dangers than Ms. Moreland's health.

"Ms. Moreland was worried about her son, Brad," Duncan told the doctor. "She thought he might want to harm Joelle in some way. That's why she was heading to Joelle's place, but she was near Molly's when she was involved in a car crash."

A crash that might or might not have been an accident. That was yet something else Duncan would need to find out about.

"If she's right about her son, he could be dangerous," Duncan went on. "I'll keep Deputy Vanetti standing guard outside her room now," he added, motioning to Luca who was only a few feet away and still on the phone. "And I'll get a reserve deputy in to replace him." That's because Duncan needed all his best trained deputies on the investigation.

The doctor nodded and gave an uneasy glance around. "I'll alert security, too, that there could be a potential problem."

Security was basically one guard who monitored the cameras positioned in and around the hospital. Duncan didn't know who was on duty tonight, but a deputy would be the best bet to keep Kate safe.

"I'll contact a reserve deputy," Luca volunteered after the doctor had walked away, already on his phone. No doubt to call security. "And I'll get the hospital guard a photo of Brad Moreland so he can keep an eye out for him."

"Good idea," Duncan told him and added a thanks before he got Joelle moving.

"You want me to walk with you to the exit?" Luca asked.

It was tempting, but he had to shake his head. "Best to stay on Kate's door. But I will use your cruiser."

It was bullet-resistant and parked right outside the ER. A safer way to get Joelle to the sheriff's office than using her car.

Luca immediately handed over the keys, and while Joelle and Duncan started down the hall, she typed out a text. "To Slater," she explained. "I want to fill him in about what's going on."

Good idea because Slater and all the other deputies needed to know about Kate and her son. About Shanda as well. Even though they didn't have any direct proof, the attacks on Joelle and Molly might, indeed, be related to Shanda's arrest two years ago. That was a long time to wait to act out on a grudge, and that's why they had to learn everything they could about the woman.

Duncan stopped at the ER doors and peered out into the parking lot. He didn't see any immediate threat. In fact, because of the early hour, there wasn't anyone around.

No one visible, anyway.

Of course, there was always the threat that a gunman had positioned himself to wait for them to come out. And that's why Duncan had to test the waters. Something Joelle wasn't going to like. The cruiser was close, but he wanted it as close to the ER doors as possible. That would minimize Joelle's time for being out in the open where she'd be an easy target.

"Wait here," he instructed.

Nope, she didn't like it, but she didn't voice her objection. However, she did take out her gun and started glancing around to make sure he wasn't about to be ambushed.

Duncan also took out his weapon and hurried to the cruiser. He kept an eye on Joelle as well because if she was a target, then an attacker could use this opportunity to go after her. But he held out hope that Molly's kidnapper believed her abduction to be a mistake. If so, then maybe going after Joelle had been, too, and it could mean she was no longer in danger. Duncan had to hope for the best and prepare for the worst, though, and that meant making this trip to the sheriff's office as safe as possible for her and their baby.

Thankfully, no one fired at him when he raced outside and to the cruiser, and he moved fast to bring the vehicle closer to Joelle. Duncan lifted his hand in a wait gesture, though, and didn't give her the go-ahead to move until he'd gotten back out of the cruiser first to open the passenger's side door for her and also so he could shield her as best he could.

All of these security measures had to be both a blessing and a curse for her. After all, Joelle was a good cop, as good as they came, and she was normally in the role of the protector. Added to that, it was probably especially uncomfortable for her since he was the one doing the protecting. But like him, she needed to take all available precautions for their child.

The moment Joelle was inside the cruiser, Duncan hurried back to the driver's seat, and he got them out of there fast. Again, though, he had to keep watch since it was possible for a sniper to be perched on top of one of the buildings that lined Main Street. Thankfully, they made it the six blocks without anyone trying for round two of an attack.

Duncan parked right out front, and they both hurried into the building. Which was practically empty. No surprise there since he had the deputies working the crime scenes at Molly's and Joelle's and others out looking for the gunman. The sole occupant was Carmen Gonzales, a reserve deputy who'd retired several years earlier but still made herself available for emergencies. This was definitely an emergency.

"Any word about Molly?" Carmen immediately asked.

"Nothing confirmed, but her kidnapper called and claims he'll release her," Duncan explained, and he tacked on a question of his own to that. "Are there any reports from the deputies in the field?"

Carmen shook her head. "Nothing that I didn't forward to Luca and you." She glanced down at the laptop she'd been using when Joelle and he had come in. "I'm doing the background checks on Kate Moreland, her son and his ex-wife, Shanda."

"Good. Keep on that," Duncan instructed, though he wanted to do some digging in those areas as well. "Do you have the son's contact info?"

Carmen checked the computer screen again and nodded. "I'll forward it to you. The phone number for his ex as well."

Duncan muttered a thanks and put his hand on the small of Joelle's back to get her moving first toward her desk in the bullpen where he grabbed her laptop. Then, he picked up his from his office before heading to the break room at the back of the building.

"The doctor said you should rest," he reminded her.

"I can rest and work at the same time," she was quick to respond.

Duncan had expected that and already come up with a compromise. He took her to the break room with him where there was a fairly comfortable sofa, had her sit and then handed over the laptop.

"I want you to contact the techs at the crime lab and see if they can get anything from the number Molly's kidnapper used to call us," Duncan instructed. "That's priority."

Even though both of them knew that was a long shot. The kidnapper had probably used a burner that couldn't be traced. Still, they might get lucky.

"After that, if you're not ready to get some actual sleep, I need any and all preliminary reports from the CSIs and fire department," he continued.

"I won't be ready to sleep," she assured him. "Not with the adrenaline still burning through me."

Yeah, he knew all about adrenaline overload. Hard to come down from that, and when you did, it was a crash. Joelle would no doubt soon be exhausted. Maybe enough that she'd actually grab a nap.

He went to the small fridge in the corner and took out two bottles of water and one of Joelle's yogurt cups she kept stocked. He set one of the waters, the yogurt and a spoon on the end table next to her.

"Also, if you still have any bandwidth left after dealing with the techs and getting the reports, go through the file of Shanda's arrest. See if there are any red flags that could have predicted something like this."

It wasn't busy work, and Joelle knew that because she got started on it right away. All were necessary steps in the investigation. So was what Duncan had to do next. Despite the fact it was barely five in the morning, he used the contact info Carmen had just emailed him and called Brad Moreland. There was no answer for four rings, and just as Duncan thought the call might go to voice mail, someone finally answered.

"What?" a man snarled, and judging from the grogginess in his voice, Duncan had woken him up.

"I'm Sheriff Duncan Holder from Saddle Ridge. FYI, this call is on speaker, and I have a deputy listening. Are you Brad Moreland?"

The man cursed. "Saddle Ridge," he spat out like venom. "Yeah, this is Brad Moreland, and anything you want to say to me should go through my lawyer. We're going through with the lawsuit for what you did to my wife."

"Your ex-wife," Duncan corrected. "And what lawsuit?" He figured he'd get that out of the way before bringing up the reason for this call.

"My wife," Brad snapped. "Shanda and I are reconciling. And as for the lawsuit, you'll soon know all about that because we're filing a civil suit for my wife's unlawful arrest and detainment. An arrest and detainment that was so traumatic she ended up miscarrying."

Bingo. There it was. The motive all spelled out. Though it did seem odd that they'd file a civil suit, which would draw attention to themselves. That could mean they weren't behind the attack and Molly's kidnapping. Or else they wanted to use the civil suit as a sort of reverse psychology. Why go after them physically when they were already going the legal route?

"We're going to sue you and your department into the ground," Brad threatened. "And then we'll go after your personal assets. You and your deputies aren't above the law, Sheriff." Again, he used that venomous tone for the last word.

Since Shanda's arrest had been justified, Duncan seriously doubted there'd be a payout of any kind, but a civil suit was an annoyance since he would still have to defend the actions the former sheriff had taken. That would in turn stir up bad memories for Joelle.

One look at her face confirmed it was already doing that.

"You and the deputies are going to pay for—"

"I'm calling about your mother, Kate Moreland," Duncan interrupted.

Brad clearly hadn't expected him to say that because it stopped his tirade, and after a few seconds of silence, the man muttered, "What about her?" There was concern, but then the anger returned. "Did you come up with some reason to arrest her?"

"No." Duncan took a moment to consider what he intended, and didn't intend, to say. "She was involved in a car accident and was taken to the hospital."

Brad cursed. "Is she alive?"

"She is." And he waited to see how Brad would react to that. If Brad did, indeed, have criminal intentions as his mother claimed, then the man might have wanted the news that the car crash had been fatal.

"I need to see her," Brad insisted. "Where is she?"

"She's in the hospital and in protective custody."

There was some more cursing. " Your protective custody. This from the sheriff's office that killed my child and wrecked my life—"

"It's odd that you'd mention someone being killed because that's what your mother claimed you wanted to do."

That brought on the silence. "You're lying."

"I have witnesses," Duncan pointed out.

Brad huffed. "Witnesses who you coached no doubt because you want to get ahead of the lawsuit and try to defame me."

"I didn't know about the lawsuit before I called you. Now, explain why your mother would accuse you of plotting to kill a cop." Duncan made sure that wasn't a suggestion but rather an order from a sheriff.

"I have no idea." Now there was plenty of defensiveness in Brad's voice. "You said she was in a car accident so maybe she got a head injury and was confused."

Duncan hadn't missed the fact that Brad hadn't asked about his mother's injuries right from the start. Most people did once they understood their loved one was alive. Brad had demanded to see her, but he hadn't pressed about her condition.

"Is my mother in the hospital there in Saddle Ridge?" Brad finally said after a long silence. "If so, I can be there in under an hour."

"She can't have visitors. Doctor's orders. But even if she could, I won't let you in to see her unless I'm convinced your mother was wrong about you wanting to kill one of my deputies."

"Deputy Joelle McCullough." Brad said her name like profanity. "She was one of the cops who arrested my wife. Oh, her dad was the head honcho in that, but he's dead so the lawsuit will be aimed mainly at his daughter and the other cops involved. Molly Radel and Ronnie Bishop."

Everything inside Duncan went on alert, and he mouthed for Joelle to send Ronnie a heads-up about being a possible target.

"It's interesting that out of the three people you just named," Duncan continued with Brad, "one was kidnapped and the other attacked. According to your mom, she specifically came to Saddle Ridge to warn Deputy McCullough."

Brad's next round of profanity was quick and raw. "Like I said, my mother was mistaken. Sure, I've talked about Deputy McCullough and Deputy Radel but I'll go after them in the courts for what they did. I'm not on some vendetta."

"So, you have an alibi for the past five hours?" Duncan fired back.

"I was in bed at my house. Alone," Brad tacked onto that in a mutter. "That doesn't mean I did those things."

Maybe. But it didn't look good, not with his mother accusing him and with no alibi. "I want you here at the Saddle Ridge Sheriff's Office in three hours. That'll give you time to arrange for your lawyer to come with you."

"You better believe I'll have a lawyer. And I'll expect to see my mother when I'm there."

"You can expect it, but you might not get it," Duncan snarled right back. "Be here in three hours," he repeated, and he ended the call.

Duncan immediately fixed his gaze on Joelle, prompting her to give her take on the phone call.

"Brad's angry enough to come after Molly and me. And he has plenty of money to hire someone to orchestrate the attacks," she amended and then paused. "But if he hired that gunman and the kidnapper, then why didn't he establish an alibi for himself?"

Yeah, that was the thing that stood out for Duncan, too. "Maybe Brad didn't know his mom was going to rat him out. He also might not have thought we'd connect the kidnapping and attack to what happened to his ex-wife nearly two years ago."

Still, a guilty person should have thought of those angles and covered his butt. Brad hadn't. Was that cockiness, sloppy work or was he actually innocent?

Joelle's phone dinged with a text, and she sighed when she read it. "While you were talking to Brad, I texted the tech guys with the kidnapper's phone number. They obviously took me at my word when I said it was high priority because they checked it right away. It's a burner, and it's no longer in service."

Duncan went with a sigh of his own, even though it was expected news.

"Of course, the tech guys will keep searching to see if they can link it back to anyone," she added.

That was standard operating procedure, but it was a rarity when they found those links. Still, it was all they had at the moment.

"I'm hoping the kidnapper will arrange for us to pick up Molly before Brad comes in for his interview," Duncan said, and he checked the time. "Why don't you try to get some rest—" He stopped when his phone rang. Unknown caller. And his heart raced at the possibility of this being the kidnapper who was using a different phone.

"Sheriff Holder," Duncan answered. He hit record and put the call on speaker. But it wasn't a man's voice who greeted him.

"Sheriff," a woman said. It definitely wasn't Molly, either. "I'm Shanda Cantrell. I just got off the phone with Brad, and he was very upset."

Duncan would have preferred for this call to be about Molly and her release, but he'd intended to call Shanda so this saved him the step of having to get her number.

"A lot of people are upset right now," Duncan verified. "And by the way, I have you on speaker, and one of my deputies is listening. I'm also recording this conversation."

That brought on a couple of moments of silence. "All right," Shanda finally said. "I'm calling because Brad told me his mother was delusional and talking out of her head," Shanda went on. "Kate accused Brad of intending to commit a crime."

"Did he?" Duncan asked, figuring that was the fastest way to cut to the heart of this conversation.

Shanda didn't gasp or make a sharp sound of surprise. Instead, she sighed. "No. Not that I know of," she tacked onto that.

Interesting. Those weren't the words of a woman jumping to defend her ex-husband. "But it's possible he committed a crime," Duncan pressed.

"Not that I know of," she repeated, and this time there was an admonishment to her tone. "I can tell you that the relationship between Kate and Brad is strained right now, so if Kate sustained a head injury or something, that might have caused her to say what she did."

Duncan disregarded the last part of that and went for the meat of the remark. "Strained how? Why?"

Shanda sighed again. "It's because of me. Brad wants to get back together and Kate loathes me."

When Shanda didn't add more, Duncan went with a prompt. "Brad wants to get back together. How about you? How do you feel about that?"

"It's complicated." Shanda groaned. "I know that's a cliché, but in our case, it's true. Brad and I share a very painful past."

Duncan could relate, what with Joelle and him blaming themselves for not stopping her father's murder. So the cliché of complicated fit them, too.

"I'm not sure if Brad and I will be getting back together or not," Shanda finally admitted. "It won't happen unless he's willing to get the counseling he needs. So far, Brad hasn't shown up at any of the appointments I've scheduled for him."

Maybe because the man didn't want to forget the past but rather get revenge for it.

"Counseling has really helped me," Shanda went on. "I had a difficult childhood, and according to my therapist, that created some anger issues. Issues, too, with using people. And, yes, I used Brad. Or rather I used his money. Don't get me wrong. I loved him, and that's why I married him, but I wasn't careful with his money."

Shanda sounded a lot different than she had from the night she'd been arrested. Maybe the counseling had worked. Or maybe this was all an act.

"Why does Kate loathe you?" Duncan asked, circling back to what Shanda had said earlier.

"This is all very personal," Shanda muttered.

"You bet it is," Duncan snarled. "Someone tried to kill one of my deputies and kidnapped a former deputy who's now a dispatcher. For me, that's as personal as it gets, and if you have any information that can help me find the person responsible, then spill it."

"Yes," the woman said, her voice heavy with emotion now. "Brad told me about that, and he thinks because of what Kate said, he's now a suspect in those crimes."

"He is a suspect," Duncan verified. "And you're a person of interest. In fact, I'll need you to come into the Saddle Ridge Sheriff's Office for an official interview. When we're done talking, go ahead and arrange for that. Bring your lawyer if you want, but I expect you in this morning. The earlier, the better."

"I see," Shanda said in a whisper. "You believe the attack and the kidnapping are connected to what happened to me nearly two years ago."

"Are they?" Duncan was quick to ask.

"No, I don't think so." She paused. "Look, I understand you have a job to do, but that incident was very painful for me. I had a miscarriage, and since I couldn't deal with the grief of losing my child, I fell apart. It ruined my marriage."

Duncan listened for any signs of bitterness and rage, but he didn't pick up on anything. What was there was the pain and grief of trauma. Then again, maybe that's what Shanda wanted him to hear.

"As I said, I've gone through counseling," Shanda went on. "Lots and lots of it. It's helped, but Brad seems stalled in that deep rut of loss over our baby. You see, I'd had a hard time getting pregnant and gone through many fertility treatments. The pregnancy was a miracle, and it was snatched away."

Now there was some bitterness, but Duncan figured it was a drop in the bucket to what Brad had revealed.

"I understand Brad has filed a civil lawsuit over what happened," Shanda went on. "I'm trying to talk him out of that because I don't think that will help with his healing. He needs to heal," she emphasized.

Duncan had to wonder just how "broken" Brad was. Maybe Kate was dead-on when she'd accused her son of going after Joelle.

"Any idea why Brad would wait two years to file the lawsuit?" he pressed.

Shanda sighed. "He's talked about it for a while, months. And I know he interviewed several lawyers before he finally found one who actually encouraged him to go through with it."

So, Brad had shopped around to find someone who had told him what he wanted to hear. And once Brad had that approval, maybe he did more than just start a legal battle. Maybe he decided to get full on revenge.

"Could Brad have been responsible for the attack and kidnapping?" Duncan came out and asked.

"I don't want to believe he is," Shanda admitted. Then, she stopped and muttered something Duncan didn't catch. "I'll contact my lawyer and see if he can meet me right away so we can go to the sheriff's office together. As soon as I have a time for our arrival, I'll let you know."

"I want you in before ten o'clock," Duncan insisted.

"I'll let you know," Shanda repeated, and then she ended the call.

Duncan put his phone away and began to process everything he'd just heard. Judging from the way Joelle's forehead had bunched up, she was doing the same.

"Shanda believes Brad could be guilty," Joelle concluded. "Along with Kate's statement, maybe that's enough for us to get access to Brad's financial records to see if he hired the gunman and the kidnapper?"

"Maybe," Duncan muttered, but he could already hear Brad's lawyer putting up an argument about that. An argument he might win since Kate's own mental state couldn't be verified right now. Still, it was worth a try.

Duncan texted the assistant district attorney to put in the request. He'd have to follow that up with some paperwork, but he might be able to get enough out of Kate and Shanda to justify the warrant.

"You want to try to get some rest now?" Duncan asked her after he'd finished his text.

Joelle opened her mouth, no doubt to argue, but was cut off by the sound of footsteps. Moments later, Carmen appeared in the doorway.

"There's a PI here to see you," Carmen said. "Al Hamlin."

Duncan repeated the name, but it didn't ring any bells. Joelle shook her head to indicate she didn't recognize it, either.

"Did he say what he wants?" Duncan asked.

Carmen nodded. "He claims he knows who kidnapped Molly and tried to kill Joelle. And he says he has proof."