CHAPTER TWENTY
“I appreciate you bringing Lexie over to the house, deputy,” Melissa Compton said as she held the backdoor to the halfway house open for Daniel to carry Lexie inside.
With the sleeping little girl snuggled in his arms, he carried her through the mudroom and stopped in the middle of the kitchen, admiring the space. “You’ve been busy.”
She smiled at him as she took off her coat and hung it on pegs by the back door. “You’ve been here before?”
“Helped get the place cleaned up and furniture moved in when the county decided to covert the old house into the halfway house for the troubled teens,” he said as he slowly turned, taking in all the changes she’d made.
Melissa had transformed the kitchen from a sterile industrial feeling space to a homey room. The cabinets had all been painted a cheery yellow. Yellow and blue print curtains hung at the windows. The metal table and chairs the county had provided were replaced with an antique looking, white-washed table and chairs—material from the curtains covering the upholstered bottoms of the six chairs.
“I can’t really take all the credit. One of the projects I got the boys involved in was painting the cabinets. Geoffrey liked doing the painting so much, he’s been slowly painting rooms for me. In fact, he’d been asking so many questions of Joe over at the Knobs & Knockers, that Joe hired him to work in the paint section of the store.”
Daniel remembered Geoffrey Hamilton. Kid had been kicked out of four schools in Columbus for disruptive behavior, fights with students and teachers. When he was caught stealing food at a grocery he was headed to a juvenile detention center until a judge reviewed the file and had him tested. Geoffrey was not only ADA, but he had severe dyslexia. Being shipped back and forth between two parents who neither cared about his education or his behavior as they advanced their mutual business careers, he’d managed to slip through the school system to the point he couldn’t read or write as a sophomore. That’s when he was given a chance to straighten his life out at the Westen House.
Geoffrey wasn’t the first young man to flourish under Melissa’s care here.
“You’ve done a remarkable job, both here and with the guys staying here,” he said and was rewarded by a pink flush in Melissa’s cheeks.
Quickly, she lowered her eyes, shaking her head. “Oh, I haven’t done much. They’re good kids underneath all their problems.”
Daniel knew that wasn’t true and also knew her sudden self-deprecation had more to do with her lousy ex-husband’s abuse and destruction of her self-esteem. He’d push the point that she had indeed achieved quite a number of good things since moving into Westen House, but suspected it would only make her more uncomfortable.
“Where would you like me to put Lexi?” he asked to change the subject.
“Oh, this way,” Melissa said, leading him past the downstairs bathroom to a hall with two bedrooms. “This is my part of the house. The boys are all housed upstairs. I think she’d be more comfortable down here with me.”
She led him into the smaller of the two rooms that had a daybed covered with frilly pillows on one wall. The other long wall housed what could only be described as a crafting center. A sewing machine table and desk were flanked by floor to ceiling shelves stocked with material, papers, ribbons and other do-dads that Daniel had no idea what they were or what they were used for.
“Wow,” was all he could say as he stared at it.
Melissa stopped pulling back the covers on the daybed. “I like to sew and do crafts.”
“I can tell. It looks pretty organized.” He smiled at her to let her know he really meant it, then turned and sat on the bed, slowly unwrapping the quilts from around her.
“Dear Lord, poor little thing,” Melissa said, helping him ease Lexi under the blankets and quilt, tucking her bear in beside her. They turned out the light, but Melissa turned on the hall light and left the door open. “In case she wakes up and doesn’t know where she is.”
Daniel smiled to himself as he followed her back to the kitchen. The way she’d just tucked in Lexie and brushed her straggly long brown hair off her face told him Lorna and Libby had been right. Melissa needed someone to mother, just as much as Lexi needed some mothering.
“Do you…do you think she’ll come for her?” Melissa asked, stopping at the back door.
“Who?” Daniel asked.
“Her mother,” Melissa raised her dark blue eyes to his. “Will she come looking for her? I mean, she must’ve had a good reason for leaving her alone like that.”
Yeah, she needed a fix.
He kept that idea to himself. Libby, Lorna and Deke all believed it would be best if the mother’s possible drug addiction was kept quiet for now, until the weather broke and they got a chance to find Rose. Whether they found her dead or alive, Daniel wasn’t sure which would be best for the little girl.
But Melissa’s question did send off his internal warning system. What if Rose came looking for Lexi? What if she wanted to use her for payment for her drugs? Worse, what if Rose and her dealer showed up her, putting Lexie, Melissa and the teens in the house in danger?
“With this weather, and as bad as the roads are, I don’t think Lexie’s mom will come looking tonight.” Daniel slipped a business card out of his wallet and handed it to her. “This is my cell phone number. If she does, or anyone suspicious comes looking for her you give me a call and I’ll come right over.”
Puzzlement filled Melissa’s face. “Even her mother?”
“Especially her mother. She abandoned her, Mrs. Compton. That means she has no right to come and take her from you. Libby Reynolds is the county social worker and she put that little girl in your care until the court can decide what to do next, okay?” Daniel laid one hand over the one she held the card in.
Melissa quickly pulled her hand out of his and stepped back until she was arm’s length from him, no longer making eye-contact. “Yes. I just wanted to make sure I understood my responsibilities. By the way, it’s Ms. Davis now. I’m no longer married and don’t want to be reminded of my marriage, so I went back to my maiden name.”
“Okay, Ms. Davis. I’ll check on you both in the morning,” Daniel said, slipping out the backdoor. He stood on the porch a moment hearing both deadbolts on the door lock behind him.
Melissa might not want any reminders of her marriage, but the extra lock on the door and the way she quickly put space between them, spoke volumes. Years of fear and self-protection were not easily put behind her.
Pulling on his gloves and his scarf up to cover his nose, mouth and chin from the dropping temperatures, he hurried to his car. He had to relieve the sheriff over at the office. The rest of his shift he was going to spend investigating what information he could find on the internet and in their files about drug trafficking in the area.
* * * * *
“What news from command central?” Bobby asked with a smile as her husband walked in from the back of the station, shedding his heavy winter jacket and gloves.
Gage stopped at her desk and planted a kiss on her, letting his cold hands cup her face. “Command central?” he asked as he stepped back.
“That’s what I’m calling Tobias and the town council.”
“I like it,” he said with a laugh as he hung up his coat then sat at his desk.
“I wouldn’t look so smug, if I were you,” she said fighting back a grin.
He zeroed in those sexy forest green eyes of his on her, sending the usually thrill of desire coursing through her. “And why is that?”
“Because for this particular state of emergency, you and Deke are part of command central.”
Her husband groaned. “Don’t tell Deke. We spent all our teenage years avoiding Tobias and his yuppie friends. Knowing we’re part of the Mayor’s in-crowd might make Deke and I have to move out of town.”
Bobby laughed and tossed a wad of paper at Gage. “Oh, stop it. Neither one of you is going to no more move away from Westen than catch a spaceship to Mars.”
“I might if you go with me. Imagine sex in zero gravity,” he said with a lascivious grin and a wiggle of his eyebrows.
Bobby shook her head even as her cheeks flushed. Time to get the big guy’s brain back on more important things. “Seriously, how are things?”
Gage ran his hand through his thick hair, a sure sign of his concern. “Better than we expected. There’s about fifty families without electricity. The older families have their wood-burning stoves and fireplaces for heat and cooking. Cleetus said everyone he talked to northeast of town also had their generators working. He did bring in two elderly couples, the McKibbens and the Carsons, who weren’t feeling well. Clint checked them over and Libby has them housed in the Senior Center under temporary housing.”
“What else?” she asked.
“The newer families over in the two housing developments were hit the hardest. Deke and his firefighters moved those without heat or power into the high school gym. Lorna sent Kyle and Rachel over with food for dinner.”
“Oh, no, all those poor people having to sleep on the floor.”
“They’re not,” Gage said, going to the coffee maker and pouring himself a cup. “When we figured out we were going to have to put them somewhere, Joe over at the Knobs & Knockers showed up with camping cots. He had that carpenter, Nick Fisher and the music teacher, Holly Murphy with him. They set up the cots in family groups. Apparently, Holly knows most of the kids, so she planned to stay and keep them busy so the parents could get some rest.”
“I bet Nick and his daughter stay, too,” Bobby said, smiling.
“Why do you think that? Their power wasn’t out.”
Bobby shrugged. “Given his reaction to her after she was nearly attacked during the Yuletide Jubilee last month, I suspect there will be another wedding sometime soon between Nick and Holly.”
Gage nodded as the information hit home. “And if she’s staying in the gym, then he’s sticking close by, with his daughter added in the mix.”
Before she could congratulate him on his deductive reasoning, Daniel entered from the back of the station, stomping his way to his desk.
“What’s up Daniel?” Bobby asked, exchanging a what’s-gotten-into-him look with her husband, who just shrugged.
“Some people shouldn’t be allowed to have kids,” the other deputy said as he pulled off his jacket and tossed it into the straight-back metal chair next to his desk. He sat in his rolling chair and clicked on his computer, his face as hard as stone.
Never in her nine months of knowing Daniel Löwe had Bobby ever seen him this angry. Normally, she’d give him time to cool off before asking questions, but frankly she was exhausted, wanted nothing more than to go home and snuggle in her husband’s arms. Patiently waiting for him to fill them in wasn’t in her wheelhouse of skills right now.
“When I was a teacher, I often said the same thing.” She folded her arms onto her desk and leaned forward. “Want to fill us in on who has your knickers in a twist tonight?”
“Rose Cochran,” Daniel nearly spit out the name.
Bobby looked at Gage for help. He shrugged, looking as puzzled as she felt. Great. No help from him.
“And who is Rose Cochran and why shouldn’t she be a mother?”
Daniel leaned back in his chair, his lips pressed in a thin line, the muscle of his cheek flexing as he clenched his jaw. From years working as a teacher, Bobby learned that when something was bothering someone as badly as whatever was eating at Daniel, forcing them to talk would only get you limited information. Waiting with what little patience she had, Bobby fought back a yawn and watched the clock on the wall.
It took a solid two minutes for him to start talking.
“When I went out with Cleetus this afternoon,” Daniel paused, shaking his head, his lips pursed up in anger. “I found the house Rose Cochran was living in abandoned…almost.”
“What do you mean, almost?” Gage asked, his brows drawn down in concern.
“Rose was gone, but she left her daughter Lexie there all alone.”
“Oh my God,” Bobby said at the same time that Gage swore. She closed her eyes, feeling queasy at the thought of a child being left alone during the storm last night. “Was she alive?”
“Yes. But only because she’s a smart little girl. She’d buried herself beneath a ton of blankets.” Daniel shoved himself out of his chair, his hands balled into fists. “Who does that? Who leaves a tiny little girl all alone in a house out in the country with no heat and nearly two feet of snow on the ground? Not that she could’ve gone out to get help, her coat was a little thin jacket. And you should’ve seen her shoes. Full of holes.”
Daniel preceded to fill them in on the condition he’d found Lexie in and bringing her to the Peaches ’N Cream for dinner.
“Is she the child Deke told me was staying at the Westen House temporarily?”
“You knew about this?” Bobby asked Gage, surprised he wasn’t as angry about it as Daniel. The look on his face told her he was as surprised by the details as she was.
Gage shook his head. “Only the part about a child under the house’s age requirement needing a safe place for tonight and probably the next few days. Since Tobias and I are on the Westen House’s board of trustees, Libby called us to get out permission. At the time we had fifty families to get settled, so we didn’t ask too many questions.”
“Wouldn’t the little girl be better off staying with a family? Like Deke and Libby? Or us?”
Daniel sat back in his chair, some of his anger lessened by verbalizing Lexie’s situation out loud. “Libby says that she couldn’t take her because of a future conflict of interest when it came to time to take Rose to court over custody, which she plans to do. Melissa Compton, I mean Davis, she’s dropped the married name, was in the café at the time and she was more than happy to have Lexie come stay with her.”
“Great idea,” Bobby said with a smile. “Melissa needs someone to mother as much as Lexie needs someone to mother her.”
Daniel gave her an odd look. “That’s just what Libby said.” Then he continued, looking over at Gage. “I’m going back out to the house first thing tomorrow, boss, to gather evidence and take pictures. I didn’t have time to do that today.”
“You should’ve taken the time, Dan. We’re going to need that evidence if we’re going to have any hope of putting Rose in jail for child endangerment,” Gage said.
Daniel’s eyes narrowed at Gage. “Pardon me, boss, but getting Lexie somewhere safe, warm and some food in her stomach seemed like a bigger priority.”
Gage held his hands up, palms outward. “I’m sorry. You’re right. The little girl was definitely a priority. Besides, given how bad the roads are and the threat of more snow tonight, I doubt her mother will be coming back to clean up the place before tomorrow.”
“It’s not just the trash in the place that we need to document. It’s the drug paraphernalia all over the place,” Daniel said, not quite as agitated as before.
“Meth?” Gage asked, worry creasing the lines around his eyes.
Bobby understood her husband’s concern. Last year they’d discovered a major meth ring working on the outskirts of town. Gage had almost died trying to stop the leader. Since then, they’d made a major effort not only to clean up the disaster area, but to crack down on the dealers.
Daniel shrugged. “Not sure. There were pipes, spoons, soda cans with burnt bottoms and lighters everywhere. I suspect we might even find needles under the trash. Could be meth, could be heroin. Won’t know until forensics analyzes the mess.”
“Heroin. Shit,” Gage muttered, once more running his hand through his hair. “Have we had any reports of that crap getting sold around the area?”
Daniel shook his head. “We’ve been keeping a close watch on anyone arrested for DUI or disorderly conduct. Doc Clint’s been monitoring blood samples we’ve obtained. So far, the results have been mostly alcohol related. But given the number of new people moving to the area and the increase in the use of heroin in the state, I don’t think we can rule out Rose being an addict.”
Gage huffed out his breath. “We get one drug problem under some kind of control and another invades us. Like killing cockroaches with a flip-flop.”
Bobby snorted a laugh, then ended it with a yawn. “Sorry. It’s been a long day.”
“That it has,” Gage said, rising from his seat. “Grab your gear, Mrs. Deputy, I’m taking you home to bed. You need your rest.”
Daniel shot her a curious look, but Bobby chose to pretend not to notice. She and Gage had agreed not to tell anyone but close family about the baby until they’d had a chance to see the high-risk doctor Harriett had recommended. They wanted to be sure everything was okay before announcing it to the town. She followed her husband’s suggestion and started bundling up to go out in the freezing weather once more.
“I’ll meet you here first thing in the morning, Dan,” Gage said, hauling on his own winter sheriff’s jacket and hat. “We’ll go out to the house together and start taking pictures. I’d ask for a crime scene unit from Columbus, but doubt they could get here with the snow coming in again tonight.”
Daniel settled back into his seat. “I’ll sleep in the back when Jason comes in for the night shift, if that’s okay? That way I won’t have to worry about trying to make it in if the roads go bad.”
“Good plan.” Gage took Bobby’s hand in his as they headed towards the back of the station, then he stopped. “Dan?”
“Yes, boss?” the deputy said, looking away from the computer screen on his desk.
“How about you and Jason both make a few extra drive-bys of the Westen House tonight.”
They exchanged a pointed look, then Dan nodded. “Already planned on it.”
Bobby wondered why both the men felt extra security rounds out near the halfway house were needed, but she’d wait until they got home to grill Gage. Right now, all she wanted was to crawl into her bed and close her eyes. She’d never been this tired in her life.