Wednesday morning arrived way too quickly. Grace had taken the news better than Mo expected, thanks to Mataus. Grace seemed to feel as long as Mataus was going to be there, even if he was in the next room, she would be safe.

Tuesday morning, Mataus had made a trip home to New Orleans, ostensibly for clothes and to meet with the gallery owner. He had faked a mechanical problem with his Mustang. Telling Mo the air conditioning wasn’t working properly and he had to take it to the shop. He rented an SUV. That completely eliminated the problem of Hector tracing their car.

The three of them were now on their way to the DCFS office. Mo kneaded her hands in her lap, and Mataus reached across and took one of her hands in his. “Stop,” he said. “Everything will be all right. Grace is going to pick up on your nerves.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry.” She forced a smile and squeezed his hand.

“I wanna listen to Burning House,” Grace said.

“I can do that,” Mo said and called it up on her phone. Grace sang every word of the song. It amazed her that someone so young could memorize the words of a popular song, but Grace loved country music.

They pulled into the parking lot and Mataus gave Mo’s hand and extra squeeze. “We’ve got this.”

Mo nodded. Mataus scanned the parking lot and noted Hector Padillo sitting in the beat up car across the lot. Matt exited the SUV and pulled Grace from the backseat, keeping her in his arms. Mo walked up beside them and they entered the building together. Susan was waiting for them in the lobby.

She hugged Mo. “Hi, you okay?” she asked, stepping back.

“Yeah, I’m holding up.”

“Hi, Grace. How are you today?” she asked.

“I fine,” Grace said, hugging tight to Mataus’ neck.

Susan extended a hand. “You must be Mataus. I’ve heard a lot about you. Susan Orsby. Pleased to meet you.”

Mataus took her hand. “Nice to meet you too, Susan, wish it was under better circumstances.”

Susan nodded. “Yeah, me too. Let’s head to the conference room. I don’t want to run into Hector in the lobby.”

“Yeah, he’s in the parking lot,” Mataus said.

“You saw him?” Susan asked.

“Yeah,” Matt answered.

“Okay, then let’s go get settled.” She led them to a small, charming room with a little sofa and two chairs, a coffee table, books and child’s toys. “This is where Grace, Hector and I will meet.” A mirror lined one wall. “On the other side of that wall is where you two will observe. You’ll be able to see and hear everything.”

Mo sighed. “Okay, that’s good.”

“How about some coffee?”

“Definitely,” Mo said.

Susan walked over to the coffee maker perched on a filing cabinet and poured them each a cup. As she was handing them out, Hector Padillo walked into the room. Grace buried her face in Mataus’ shoulder and whimpered. Matt patted her back and whispered in her ear. “It’s all right, little bit. I’m here, Mo’s here, Susan is here. He won’t hurt you.”

Grace shivered, but whispered back. “’Kay.”

“You’re going to be brave, right?”

She nodded against his chest. Susan stepped forward. “Good Morning, Mr. Padillo. Why don’t you have a seat.” She indicated one of the chairs. “I'll get Grace’s foster parents settled in the other room and be right back.” She put her arm around Mo and took Mataus’ elbow. “Follow me, please.” She led them to the adjoining room. Leaving the lights off so that they would be able to see into the other room more clearly.

“Here we are. I’ll make this as quick and painless as possible,” she said. Grace clung to Mataus’ neck as Susan reached to take her. He peeled her little arms loose. “Hey, come on, you can do this. Miss Susan is going to be with you, and Mo and I will be right here. After, we will go out to lunch and get ice cream. Okay?” Grace blinked her big chocolate eyes at him.

“Can I has strawberry?”

“You bet,” he assured her, tweaking her nose. “A double scoop.”

That earned him a smile. “Okay,” she said leaning back and reaching for Susan, “But I’m not touching him! I stay on Miss Susan’s lap.” She planted her little hands on her hips in Susan’s arms and made her sternest face.

Susan laughed. “That’s just fine, Grace. You can stay on my lap.”

“Good,” the little girl beamed at her. “Then I ready.” She gave Mo a thumbs up. “I big, brave girl.”

“Yes, you are, my darling,” Mo said, kissing her cheek. “We’ll be waiting right here.

Grace nodded. “Let’s go, Miss Susan,” she said with a deep breath. Susan looked at Mataus and Mo over her head and just shook her own in exasperation.

Grace’s bravado faded when they walked back into the other room and she melted into Susan’s shoulder. Thankfully, Susan sat in the other chair in the room, making it impossible for Hector to sit too close to Grace.

Still, the man made a valiant effort to come off as a loving father. Telling Grace how much he missed her, asking her if she was being a good girl. That question caused Grace to react violently and Mo to want to jump through the glass and throttle the man.

Grace shouted at him. “I a good girl! Mo say I a good girl!”

Hector sat back in his chair with a smug smile. “Of course you are, Grace. I’ve taught you well, to be good.”

Grace shivered in Susan’s arms and Mo wanted to kill the man. He then began subtly questioning her about where she was living. Susan tried to steer the conversation away, but Grace was so proud of her new home she volunteered too much information.

“I have a beautiful new house. I have my own bedroom, and a swimming pool and Mo has horses. I am learning how to ride the horses. She has cows too! It is so big! There is lots of places to play hide and seek. A big barn and trees to climb. It’s the bestest.”

Mo looked at Mataus. “Oh, great, she might as well have drawn him a map.”

“Not really, there are lots of ranches all over. It doesn’t really tell him anything.”

“I guess.”

Long, hand-wringing minutes later, the visit finally ended and the vile man left. Grace had held herself together pretty well, other than the small outburst. When Mo and Mataus entered the room Grace launched herself into Mo’s arms. “I did good, right? I was a brave girl!”

“You did fantastic! Now, let’s go get some lunch. I’m starving, how about you?”

“Me too, me too! I want a hamburger.”

“And french fries too, I bet,” Mataus said.

“Yepper!” Grace said.

“Then let’s go.” Mataus said, he extended a hand to Susan. “Thank you.” When he took her hand a shadow fell around her in his mind. He blinked. “Be careful, Susan. I see danger around you.”

Susan looked shocked. “Mo has told me about your second sight. What did you see?”

“Unfortunately, nothing specific. Just a shadow. Darkness. It means danger or evil is near.”

Susan put her hand over her heart. “Well, that’s not good.” She laughed harshly. “As Mo would say, I’ll watch my six. Thanks.”

Mataus put his arm around Cara, who still held Grace in her arms and they headed down the hall and out of the building.

* * * *

Hector Padillo sat in the parking lot and fumed. The son of a bitch foster parents who had Grace had foiled his plans by renting a car. Now he had two options, he could follow them, but he had a feeling that the man would not be heading home after the meeting. He was certain that he somehow knew of Hector’s intent and would make every effort to keep him from finding out where they lived that way. Or option two, he could steal the files from Susan Orsby.

He had been following the woman on and off since their last meeting on Monday. Learning her routine, he knew she carried a briefcase with her every night when she left work. That briefcase had to contain her case files. It was the much easier route to take. He would wait for her to exit the building and take the case from her. Then he would have the mysterious woman’s address.

Hector drove home and changed his clothes. Black jeans, black T-shirt, and a black ski mask to cover his face. He ate lunch, drank a beer and settled down in front of the TV to wait out the hours until he headed back to the DCFS office.

Susan was a creature of habit and she never left the office before six p.m. At five o’clock he drove his vehicle to an alley two blocks away from the DCFS office. He parked, and keeping to the shadows, made his way to Susan’s car. Lucky for him, she parked in the back of the lot, under a sprawling Magnolia tree. He crouched in front of the hood, between the car and the tree, hidden in the shadows and waited.

Susan approached her car and hit the button on her key fob to unlock the doors. Hector scanned the parking lot. No one in view. Good. As she opened the door he came up behind her and stuck his gun in her ribs.

Trying to disguise his voice, he said in a deep growl, “Give me the briefcase, now!”

Shaking, the woman handed him the case.

“Thank you,” he growled, then hit her in the head with the butt of the gun. She fell to the ground and he left her there. He couldn’t afford for her to report the theft of the briefcase before he had time to make use of the contents. Removing the mask and backtracking the way he came, he made it back to his car and immediately opened the case. Bingo! Case files, just as he’d thought.

Grace Padillo was housed with Cara ‘Mo’ Konklin, 1012 Kensington Place, Prairieville. Now he had his target. He plugged the address into the GPS on his phone and started driving. The directions led him out of the city and farther and farther into rural country. Businesses and buildings changed to rolling fields and pastures. First small ranchettes, then bigger and larger parcels of land between houses. Grace said she was living on a ranch, a large one. That could make Hector’s task more difficult, people noticed strangers out in the country. Especially strange Hispanic men. But he’d have to see the property to assess it. It could be perfect, if there was cover nearby, there would be no nosy neighbors to spot him.

'Your destination is in one-quarter mile on the left.' His GPS recited. Hector slowed to a crawl, there were no cars behind him on the mostly deserted road, so he had no need to maintain the speed limit. He wouldn’t be spotted, but he would drive past a few times and scope out what he could from there.

A long gravel driveway leading to a timber framed, bungalow-style home, with a wide front porch and to the left, a large stable and riding arena. This he saw on his first pass. As he continued on, he noted that the property next to the ranch, though several acres away, was un-cleared. No one was using it for pasture or farming. It was covered in low brush and trees, creeping vines, scrub brush, weeds, and wild flowers.

Hector pulled into the overgrown lot and stopped just at the edge. Scoping out the property he noted a place he could conceal his car in the underbrush. It would be a fair walk across open ground to get to Cara Konklin’s home, but under cover of darkness, it was unlikely anyone would see him. A dark figure, alone in the night.

He pulled out and made another pass in front of the house. This time he noted two vehicles parked in the driveway. The rented SUV and a large black truck. As he crawled past, the woman emerged from the house, and practically ran to the truck. The asshole boyfriend stood on the porch and watched her, his Grace in the man’s arms. He called something to her and she nodded, throwing them a quick wave as she climbed in the truck and turned the engine over.

Hector increased his speed and turned his car toward home. He had his target now. He would return at midnight.

* * * *

Mo’s phone rang at seven fifteen. It was Mercy General Hospital. “Miss Konklin?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“We need you to come to the hospital, Susan Orsby has been involved in an accident and she’s requesting you.”

“Oh my God! Is she all right?”

“I’m sorry, but we can’t give you any information over the phone. It’s against hospital policy. All I can tell you is that she’s requesting you come.”

“Okay, thank you. I’m on my way.”

“What’s going on?” Mataus asked.

“Susan’s been in an accident. That was the hospital. She’s asking for me. I need to go. Can you watch Grace?”

“Of course. Let me know what’s going on.”

“You know I will. I gotta go.” She grabbed her purse, stuffed her cell phone inside and took off toward the door. Matt picked up Grace and followed her outside. As she raced to the truck he called out. “Drive carefully, you won’t help her if you get in an accident too.”

Mo nodded. “I know, I’ll be careful. Love you guys, be home soon.”

She hopped in the truck and backed out of the drive, and despite the seriousness of the circumstances, Mataus couldn’t help the small smile that broke across his face. He didn’t know if she realized it, but she’d finally said she loved him.

Mo kept her eyes on the road and the speedometer. She made sure not to exceed the speed limit, but drove with an aggressive determination. Fear and anger battled for dominance in her guts. She worried about how badly Susan was hurt. What had happened. Would she be okay? And she was angry that the hospital hadn’t told her anything. That the accident had happened in the first place. The unfairness of life.

Pulling into the parking lot, Mo snagged a spot close to the entrance, barely taking time to throw the truck in park before she was exiting the vehicle. She stomped into the Emergency room with all her military bearing, in full sergeant mode. At the front desk she imperially stated “I’m Cara Konklin, I’m here to see Susan Orsby.”

The middle aged woman behind the desk immediately looked up. “Yes, ma’am. They’re waiting for you. Go through the double doors and it’s the third room on your left.” She indicated the doors in a hallway to the left.

“Thank you.” Mo quickly followed the directions to Susan’s room and peeked around the curtain into the cubicle. Susan lay on a gurney, pale, in an awful green hospital gown, her head wrapped in white gauze, eyes closed. Mo slid inside the room and walked quietly to her side.

“Hey, lady, how you doing?”

Susan blinked her eyes, squinting into the bright lights and brought the hand not currently attached to the I.V. up to shade her view. “Damn, I’ve got the worst hangover in a century and I didn’t even get to enjoy the drunk. That sucks. Thanks for coming, Mo.”

“Any time. What happened? You miss a turn and crash your precious car?”

Susan shook her head weakly, then grabbed her temple. “Note to self, don’t shake your head. No, I almost wish that was the case. I got mugged. That’s why I called you. They got my briefcase, Mo. All my case files. That’s all they took. They didn’t take my wallet or my jewelry—nothing but my briefcase. It was someone after the case files. I think we both know who that probably is.”

“Oh my God. Do you really think it was Hector? What happened?”

“The man stuck a gun in my ribs and then hit me over the head with it. I can’t prove it was him. I never saw him. He disguised his voice, but…”

“But you think it was?”

“Yeah, I do. Please be careful.”

“I will, I promise. What about you? Are you going to be all right?”

“Yeah, my hard head will be okay. I have a concussion and they want to keep me overnight for observation, but thankfully, I didn’t get a skull fracture. So, I should be fine.”

Mo hugged her. “Thank God.”

“Yeah, thank goodness someone was watching over me.” Susan’s eyelids drifted closed.

“I’m going to go and let you rest.”

“I’m sorry, I’m just so tired.”

“No need to be sorry, you’ve been through a lot.”

“Thanks for coming and remember, be careful.”

“I’ll watch my six, don’t worry. You just rest and get better.” Mo hugged her again and left with a wave. As soon as she reached her truck in the parking lot she locked herself in and called Mataus to relay the information she’d received. Mataus issued the same cautions as Susan. Mo began to wonder if they all forgot she was a soldier with extensive training in martial arts and medals in marksmanship.

* * * *

Hector chugged the last of his beer, it was slightly warm, but he didn’t much care. He pulled on his gloves and slipped out of the house to the shed he called his workroom. There on the bench sat his masterpiece. He examined the device one last time. Everything was perfect. A long glass tube sat atop a brick of Semtex. The Mercury switch was fairly stable, requiring a sharp turn to the left or right to shift the liquid inside to the contacts and set off the explosion.

Hector smiled to himself, the twisting road that bitch lived on would certainly fill the bill, if turning out of the driveway didn’t trigger a nice kaboom first. All he had to do was keep the bomb nice and level until he had it planted. The magnet mounted to the side made for an easy install. Just find a nice place on the undercarriage, stick it in place and he was gone. Wham, bam, thank you ma’am.

Hector carefully placed the device in a duffle bag and walked to his car. The grin on his face enough to scare the devil himself.