Page 12 of The Sheriff's Baby

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.

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