Page 114 of Winter Vows

“Where should I bring them?”

“I’ll be in touch.”

He hung up before she could ask anything more, before she could demand one more time to hear her baby’s voice. Trembling violently, she forced herself to walk outside. She found the deputy on the porch. “My husband called,” she said in an emotionless voice. “He wants pills and he wants me to have them ready by tomorrow.”

He regarded her sympathetically. “Yes, ma’am. Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” she said, but her knees buckled and she sank into a rocker, still clutching the cell phone. “I’ll call Sheriff Adams right away, Dr. James. It won’t take a minute for him to get here.”

She nodded, then realized Justin wasn’t the person she desperately needed right now. She needed Dylan. With shaking fingers she managed to punch in the number she’d memorized, then waited for him to answer his cell phone.

“Delacourt.”

“Dylan...” Her voice trailed off. “Kelsey, what’s happened?”

“Paul called. He wants me to have a lot of pills ready for him tomorrow. He said he’d call back about a meeting place. I have to do it. I don’t have a choice.”

“Does Justin know?”

“The deputy just went to radio him. He should be here in a few minutes.”

“Good,” he said. “Okay, here’s what I think you should do. Can you come up with placebos that look enough like whatever he wants?”

Her spirits lifted at the obvious solution. “Of course,” she said, suddenly feeling confident that she could handle this without just turning over a satchel full of narcotics to her ex-husband.

“Then that’s what you’ll do. Call Sharon Lynn to see if Dolan’s has what you need. Otherwise, call the Garden City Hospital pharmacy. Justin can go and pick up the supply so we’ll be ready whenever Paul calls back. He can make it all nice and legal so you won’t have problems later.”

“What are you going to do? Will you come back?”

“Not just yet. I’m heading that way, but I want to finish checking the hotels and motels between the Dallas airport and Los Pinõs. He’s got to be close enough to get to you and then get out of here in a hurry. I’d like to find him before he sets up the meeting, but if not we’ll get him then, Kelsey. Just hang on a little longer and you’ll have your son back.”

She was suddenly struck by a terrible thought. “Dylan, what if...?” She couldn’t even bring herself to voice her greatest fear.

“What if...?” he prodded. “What’s worrying you?”

“That he’ll come without Bobby.”

“I don’t think he’ll try that. There won’t be any incentive for you to give him what he wants, if he doesn’t have Bobby with him.”

“He’ll just take the pills. He’s a strong man. He keeps himself in shape. I might not have a choice.”

“It will be fine. You’ll have backup, if it comes to that.”

“What do you mean, ‘if it comes to that’?”

“I intend to find him first,” he said tersely.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I know I need to let you get back to work, but I feel stronger just hearing the sound of your voice. Thank you for sticking with this even after I fired you.”

He chuckled lightly. “Did you fire me? I don’t seem to remember that.”

“When this is over, I’m going to make it up to you,” she promised.

“I’ll hold you to that, Doc.”

A few minutes later, when Justin arrived, Kelsey was feeling calmer. She’d already made a note of the type of placebos that she thought would fool Paul, at least long enough that she would be able to grab Bobby away from him. She’d checked with Sharon Lynn. Dolan’s had some in stock and Sharon Lynn was already making arrangements with the hospital pharmacy in Garden City for more.

“I want to make the exchange,” she told Justin. “I want Bobby in my arms before Paul gets these pills and has time to find out they’re fakes. Otherwise, if he figures out I’ve tricked him, he’ll take Bobby and vanish.”

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