Page 34 of Operation: Unify

Connor wishedhe could be as optimistic as Lacy. That was probably part of his issue. He couldn’t be that way anymore. Too many things had happened in his life to make him jaded. There was no best possible outcome, only shades of mediocre.

“Let’s deal with this first, then we’ll think about the fallout from having to be away for Christmas.” There was no chance he’d make it home in five days. Not with Melinda in the state she was and not with Wayside in danger. Maybe if someone caught Viceroy again, then that would open a door, but Melinda would still have to be well enough to travel for hours and that didn’t seem likely outside of a miracle.

“Brendon confirmed that it’s been quiet around there for the past twenty-four hours. That’s good. That’s promising. There’s probably an APB out on Viceroy, forcing him to lay low.”

Lacy frowned at the change in subject and nodded. “I’m sure you’re right. I hope he’s caught soon.” She scrunched her face in thought. “You don’t think he’d make a run for the boarder, do you? If he made it to Mexico, he could leave the country and never face charges.”

Connor shrugged since he wasn’t about ready to make a comment on that. If Viceroy had those plans, he’d most likely aim directly for Texas. There were a lot more places to hide in Texas. If they didn’t see him, that was for the best. He didn’t want to have to protect Lacy from two killers.

“I have no idea what he might be planning. I’m sure the police or FBI know more than they’re sharing with us. They’ll give us the all-clear when he’s caught again. That’s about all we can hope for. I’m not going after him right now. I’ve got my own plate to worry about.”

She smiled then looked away. “I’m glad you do. I’m exhausted but sleeping is really hard when I’m alone back there. Mind if I curl up on that chair in the corner?” She bobbed her head toward a comfy looking recliner.

“No, go right ahead.” He’d rather have her where he could see her anyway. Plus, he’d know if she actually slept this way.

She got up from the sofa and headed for the room where she’d left her bag. In a minute, she came back with one fluffy blanket then covered herself as she curled her legs up onto the chair. She rested her head against the back then tilted her chin down slightly. He wanted to warn her of neck pain when she got up if she slept that way, but who was he to tell her what was comfortable?

He laid back down on the sofa, but his senses were anything but restful. While he knew in his head that they’d reached the time of the morning where Tod and Cal would most likely be sleeping, that wasn’t a guarantee. They’d almost managed to kill Melinda. Once they found out she wasn’t dead, there would be a frenzy of activity from them. Connor had been in the military long enough to know what people did when there were no options left.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on the sounds around him. Lacy’s soft breathing was the first thing he noticed, then the sound of the wind outside. Somewhere nearby, a clock ticked away the minutes. Occasionally, he caught a random deep snore from wherever Randy was sleeping.

With Lacy here, even in an uncomfortable chair, he didn’t have to worry that someone would break into her room. The windows in the living room where he was didn’t open. It was a bay window with three sections curving out from the house but all of them were made so they couldn’t open. He’d found Melinda’s aunt to be a fastidious housekeeper and an interesting personality. The police had obviously collected a lot of evidencethough because the area where she’d been found had been gone through heavily.

Hopefully, they caught whoever killed her.

Outside, he heard the first car of the morning drive by. People would be going to work and school, to meetings and run errands. Life as usual was going on just a few yards away. Yet, here he was, waiting around for evil to pounce.

Connor stood and headed for the kitchen. If he had to be awake, coffee would help him remain focused. He set up the coffee maker, glad that the former owner had appreciated good coffee. In the cupboards, he found a whole shelf of mugs. All of them were smaller than he was used to and all of them had images of various dogs on them. He chose the most masculine one he could find, a husky with bright blue eyes staring out at him.

His phone buzzed on the counter, and he picked it up then headed outside so he could talk without disturbing anyone. “This is Connor.”

“Hi, this is Dr. Carol. We’ve been observing Melinda all night. She has now been stable for three hours and we’re admitting her to the hospital. Have you been able to get copies of a restraining order or anything that will limit who can see her?”

For one, that didn’t exist. “No, there isn’t any documentation like that. Though there is a police report filed two days ago stating that he roughed her up and threatened her. Is that enough?”

Dr. Carol was silent for a second. “I’ll see what I can do. Generally, in the cases of spousal abuse, the abusers are on their best behavior in front of hospital staff. Was it her husband who did that to her?”

“Can’t confirm that, but we suspect it. There was no one else who could’ve.” Unless she’d met with a random act of violence,but it wasn’t likely some stranger would kidnap her from a home and leave a threatening message for Lacy to find.

“Since she was the victim of intense violence, I’m going to limit the people who can visit her. If you want this to be foolproof, I’ve got to keep all of you away, too. Since I’ve got to call in the police, everyone will be a suspect until they apprehend someone.”

“I think that’s best. Lacy won’t take it well, but we want Melinda safe.”

“Good to hear. I’ll call the police department and report what I found. Since this appeared to be an assault, photos were taken right away, those will also be turned over to the authorities. They may be contacting you for questioning.”

He snorted. “I would hope so. We were some of the last people to see her before she was taken.” Though he meant Lacy, not himself. He’d only seen her once she was already attacked.

“Thank you for calling the ambulance. She wouldn’t have survived without help.”

He’d thought as much but hadn’t said that to Lacy. “We couldn’t leave her there. She is a friend. I’m just glad no one else was hurt. Someone tried to break into the house from another side after dropping Melinda’s body in the front yard. I suspect they planned to do more than what they did.”

“We’re a small town. This doesn’t happen here. Makes me want to lock my doors and call my adult daughter. I want this guy caught.”

“We all do. Thanks again.” He hung up the phone and headed back inside for his coffee infusion.

Maybe a report coming from a doctor would sway the police into seeing Melinda’s history a whole new way. She couldn’t be the only person who’d faced domestic violence and had her spouse try to put the blame on her. He bowed his head over his steaming cup and said a prayer for clarity for the policeand everyone else involved, including himself. He needed clarity most of all.

A text came through on his phone and he finished his prayer before he looked up to see who it was. Brendon’s name splashed across the top of the screen and the words chilled him to the core.

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