"Like before?"
"Yes," he answered quietly.
"But I have commitments, clients to see. I can"t just run away and hide."
"I"m sure Dr. Mason will take care of your clients until this is over."
Sarah fidgeted with her gla.s.s, remembering the seclusion and isolation of the hotel room as she"d waited to testify at Boyd"s trial. He"d threatened to kill her so she"d had to be kept safe. Even though she was being guarded, Boyd had tried to get to her. In the end his guys shot several officers and Ethan. She hadn"t been safe.
She raised her eyes and, as if Daniel could read her mind, he said, "I know the last time ended badly, but this time no one"s getting near you. Trust me."
"You can"t make that promise because you don"t know who"s doing this."
Daniel looked away. "You"re right. I don"t and we"ve never found the snitch in our department." She could see how heavily that weighed upon him. His gaze swung back to her. "I can only promise to do my best. If you can"t trust me..."
"I trust you," she said in a rush, and his eyes caught hers. In that instant, five years of tension and resentment came to an end. They both knew it.
"Thank you," he replied. "I"ll handle this personally. Very few people will know where you are." He paused. "Now you have to call Serena and make arrangements for your grandmother. It"s not safe for her to stay here, either."
Sarah swallowed. "I don"t understand why this is happening."
"I don"t, either, but we"ll get through it."
She liked the way he said we. The last time she"d been under guard, she"d had Serena with her because they looked so much alike the police were afraid that Boyd"s goons would mistake her for Sarah. This time she would be alone. She"d relied upon Serena"s strength, but now she"d have to rely upon herself...and Daniel.
She took another big swallow, the brandy burning as it went down. But it also bolstered her.
Daniel handed her a phone. "Call Serena. I"ll be in the other room making arrangements."
"Thank you," she said, gripping the phone.
DANIEL WALKED INTO the living room and Russ poked a phone at him. "Lieutenant Tolin wants to talk to you."
"Yes, sir," Daniel said into the mouthpiece.
"I"ve talked with the Fort Worth P.D. and they"ll help us any way they can. I"ve also posted a guard at the hospital so bring Ms. Welch in and I"ll call Rob, who handles protective custody."
"No, sir. I"ll guard Ms. Welch personally."
"Excuse me?"
"The last time this happened to her several officers and Ethan Ramsey were shot because there was a leak in the department. I want to make sure that doesn"t happen again. The only way to accomplish that is to do it myself."
"Lieutenant Bauer and I need you on this case instead of baby-sitting. We have qualified people to do that."
"But she doesn"t trust them. She trusts me and I think the police department owes her that. Besides, we still don"t know who leaked the location of her hiding place before Boyd"s trial."
"Daniel..."
"We can"t put her through that again and we can"t guarantee her safety by putting her in the system. Bill, please let me do this."
For a long moment, Daniel heard nothing but silence.
"This goes against all the rules and I don"t know why in the h.e.l.l I"m even considering this. It isn"t protocol-we could both lose our jobs."
"Because it could save her life."
There was silence again, then, "Okay, Daniel, but I need you to help Russ during the day. Pick someone you trust to guard her during that time. And, of course, I"ll have to clear this with the chief."
"Thank you, sir." His chest expanded with relief.
"But, Daniel, I don"t want any screwups like before. No one, even myself, is to know where she"s being kept. This is a little unorthodox, but in this case I don"t see any other way. I"m trusting you implicitly. Just try not to get too emotionally involved with Ms. Welch."
Too late.
"Yes, sir," he answered instead.
"Do you have an officer in mind that you feel is beyond reproach-someone you can trust?"
Daniel thought for a minute and knew he didn"t want anyone on his squad or on the homicide squad. It had to be someone fresh without any connections to the first case. "Yes. Chad Thomas."
"He"s a patrol cop." Surprise sharpened Bill"s words.
"Yes, sir, but I"ve known him since he was a kid. I helped him get into the academy. He"s smart, reliable and one of the best cops I"ve seen in a while."
"Okay. You got him."
"Thanks. Could you send him to Sarah"s house?" Daniel gave the address. "And have him come in plain clothes, but bring a uniform with him. Cap, too."
"Sure."
"And can you make arrangements for me to see Rudy Boyd?"
"What the h.e.l.l for?" the lieutenant barked.
"I have reason to believe that this note is a message from Boyd. The answer to everything that"s happening lies with him. I"m certain of it. He likes to brag and seeing me face-to-face will be an opportunity he can"t resist. He might let something slip-something that will help us solve these rapes."
Daniel heard a long sigh. "Dammit. I think Boyd is somehow connected, too. I"ll make the arrangements, but wrap this up as fast as you can. We"re getting a lot of flack on this thing."
"I will."
"Keep me posted and try your best to get along with Russ."
"Yes, sir."
"What did he say?" Russ asked as soon as Daniel clicked off.
"I"m taking her to a safe place with one guard."
"Where?"
"The location won"t be available to anyone."
"Why the h.e.l.l not?" Russ objected.
"Because of what happened the last time, I"m not taking any chances."
"Are you saying I can"t be trusted, Daniel?"
Daniel sighed. "Put your ego away. It"s getting in the way of this investigation. If you have a problem with the way things are being done, call Lieutenant Bauer."
"You really p.i.s.s me off."
"Yes. We"re both aware of that. Now let"s get back to work."
"Well, Daniel, since I"m not allowed to speak with Ms. Welch, there"s not much else I can do here. Joel and I are going to apply some pressure to Brian Colley and see what comes up."
"In the morning I"m making a trip to Livingston to see Rudy Boyd," Daniel told him.
"Because of the wording in the note?"
"Yes. By talking to him, I think I can get a feel for how he"s involved in this thing."
"You"re probably right," Russ conceded. "In the meantime, I"ll cover all the bases here."
"Good. Maybe by tomorrow night we"ll have some answers."
"Would you like for us to leave a guard at the door?" Joel asked.
"No. It"s best if everyone left." Daniel was hoping everyone would be gone by the time Chad arrived.
"You"re taking a h.e.l.luva risk," Russ snapped.
"Yes, Russ. I"m aware of that."
Fifteen minutes later, the techs and officers were gone from the house. Daniel walked into the kitchen and saw that Sarah was still on the phone.
"No, Serena," Sarah was saying. "You can"t come here. It"s too dangerous."
Sarah turned to look at him. "Daniel"s here. Why don"t you talk to him?" She gave him the phone, obviously having no luck convincing her twin.
"Hi, Serena."
"Daniel, please convince her to come with Gran. She can"t go through this alone."
"She"s not alone. I"m here."
"Daniel." He could hear the frustration in her voice.
Ethan came on the line. "Sorry, Daniel. Serena"s not taking this well."
"I can tell, but a.s.sure her that it"s not safe for Sarah to be in Junction Flat with your family. It could endanger everyone."
"I"ll try to get that point across to Serena."
"Good. I"ll have Mrs. Farrell on the next flight out of Dallas. I"ll call back and give you an arrival time."
"Thanks, Daniel, and don"t let anything happen to Sarah."
"I"ll guard her with my life."
"I know you will."
Daniel hung up. "Serena"s a little upset."
Sarah tugged both hands through her hair. "Sometimes it"s hard to believe that someone loves me that much."
"Why?" he asked with a puzzled frown.
Before she could answer, the door opened and Aurora walked in. She laid her purse on the table and smiled at Daniel.
He smiled slightly, noting Mrs. Farrell"s elegance. Her white hair was coiled neatly at her nape. Her clothes were impeccable, as were her manners. Sarah would someday be the same, Daniel thought. She already possessed a grace unlike any woman he"d ever seen, except maybe Serena.
"There were a lot of police cars at the intersection," Aurora said. "Is something going on?"
Sarah put an arm around her shoulders. "Let"s go into the living room. I have something to tell you."
Daniel stood behind the sofa as Sarah told her grandmother what had happened.
Aurora threw her arms around Sarah. "Oh, no, darling. This can"t be happening to you again."
"I"ll be all right, Gran, but I have to go into protective custody for a while."
"You mean, stay in a hotel or something?"
"Yes."
"Then I"m going with you. I don"t want you to be alone."
Sarah was shocked. She never expected Aurora to make that offer. "You can"t, Gran. It"s too dangerous."
"I don"t care. You need me and I"m going to be there for you."
"Oh, Gran." Tears sprang from Sarah"s eyes and she couldn"t stop them from rolling down her face. Earlier she"d questioned her motives for trying to keep this house, for trying to keep Gran comfortable, wondering if, in Gran"s eyes, she was a subst.i.tute Serena, Now she knew she wasn"t. Her grandmother loved her and any resentment that lingered from the past was completely gone. Because she knew for sure, the tears flowed faster.
Aurora held her. "Darling, please don"t cry."
Sarah pulled back and wiped away tears with the backs of her hands. "I"m sorry."