“CALL SETH.”

After a brutal attack, that’s all that Callie Lattimer’s uncle Dan, a former police officer, can say. Callie knows that Memphis cop Seth Dawtry will help, even if it means working with the woman who rejected him. The attack seems tied to a decades-old unsolved murder Dan could never let go. New evidence must have gotten him uncomfortably close to the truth. Now it’s up to Seth and Callie to follow the clues. But as they uncover answers, they discover the real threat is closer than they ever thought possible….

The Cold Case Files: Uncovering secrets of the past

“You!” the thug yelled, and pointed the gun at Callie.

“Callie!” She heard the panic in Seth’s voice. Then a force like being tackled by a linebacker slammed into her, and she landed in the seat of the booth with Seth shielding her body. A bullet whizzed over the top of the booth and struck the far wall.

She waited for the second shot, but all she heard was the banging of the front door. In the next moment she could hear Seth speaking into his lapel mic.

“Suspect armed and on his way out the front door.” He ran toward the door. He’d just reached out to open it when gunfire from outside split the air. He jerked the door open and ducked as a bullet shattered the door frame above his head.

Guilt welled up in her and sucked the breath from her body. What had happened outside? Had her presence tonight compromised Seth’s stakeout, and was he lying on the sidewalk injured, or even worse, dead?

She had to find out.

SANDRA ROBBINS,

former teacher and principal in the Tennessee public schools, is an award-winning multipublished author of Christian fiction who lives in the small college town where she grew up. Without the help of her wonderful husband, four children and five grandchildren who’ve supported her dreams for many years, it would be impossible to write. As a child, Sandra accepted Jesus as her Savior and has depended on Him to guide her throughout her life. Her writing ministry grew out of the need for hope she saw in the lives of those around her.

It is her prayer that God will use her words to plant seeds of hope in the lives of her readers so they may come to know the peace she draws from her life verse, Isaiah 40:31—“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Trail of Secrets

Sandra Robbins

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

—Matthew 10:29–31

Dedicated to the memory of Gloria Faye Stringer, whose body was found in the Brazos River in Texas on June 7, 1975.

And to Investigator Dennis King, who worked for 37 years to identify the young woman he helped pull from the muddy river waters. Through his efforts, Gloria’s remains were returned to her Tennessee family in June 2012 for burial.

Her murder remains a cold case.

Contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

DEAR READER

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

EXCERPT

ONE

From the first moment Callie Lattimer spotted her uncle, U.S. Federal Judge Dan Lattimer, waiting for her outside the security area at Memphis International Airport, she knew something was wrong. He barely kissed her cheek before he hurried her toward baggage claim and then to his car. As they sped through the night along Interstate 55 toward his home in midtown Memphis, the light posts on the side of the road appeared to fly by the car windows.

His hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and the muscle in his jaw flexed. When he glanced in the rearview mirror again as he’d been doing ever since they left the airport, Callie could hold her tongue no longer. “Uncle Dan, what’s the matter?”

His body tensed further, and he cast a surprised look in her direction. “What do you mean?”

“I can tell you’re upset. Has something happened I need to know about?”

He shook his head. “No. I’m just a little preoccupied over a case.”

Callie reached over and squeezed his arm. “You’re not supposed to be worrying about a case, not with your retirement a week away.”

“I know, but old habits are hard to break.” He glanced in the rearview mirror again.

“You’re going to have to break those old habits. I’m here to spend the summer with you, and I want us to enjoy our time together, especially our trip to Hawaii.”

His forehead wrinkled. “We will, darling. I just have to get some things worked out before we can go. In the meantime, I’ve booked you a room at the Peabody. I think it would be better for you to stay there for a few days until I get this case cleared up.”

Callie sat up straight and swiveled in her seat to face him. “What? I don’t want to stay at the Peabody. I want to stay at home.”

“You will. Like I said, just give me a few days, then we’ll get started on our summer plans.”

“But Uncle Dan...”

“Oh, no!” her uncle exclaimed, his wide-eyed stare locked on the rearview mirror.

Behind them Callie heard the roar of a car engine as it pulled into the passing lane. She turned her head to look over her shoulder, but her uncle’s big hand gripped the back of her neck and pushed her face down to her lap as their car surged forward in a new burst of speed. Callie tried to wriggle free of the tight grip, but it was no use.

The crack of gunfire split the air, and the glass on the driver’s-side window shattered. Uncle Dan’s hand loosened then fell off her neck completely, and the car swerved toward the road’s shoulder. Callie glanced up to see her uncle slumped over the steering wheel, his hand now hanging limply beside him. Before she could reach out to him, the car hit the highway guard rail, which folded like an accordion. Her air bag released and pushed her back into her seat as the car flipped on its side and plunged down a small embankment.

The vehicle’s jarring stop knocked the breath from Callie’s chest, and she closed her eyes as dizziness engulfed her. After a moment she swallowed, opened her eyes and took a deep breath.

Somehow the car had righted itself before it came to a stop, and she struggled to sit up in her seat. She turned her head to the side and gasped at the sight of her unconscious uncle behind the driver’s-side air bag. Blood poured down the side of his face. She pushed her air bag out of the way and fumbled to release the seat belt, but it wouldn’t open. “Uncle Dan!”

She touched his neck, found his weak pulse and groaned. He needed immediate medical attention. Her purse with her cell phone inside had been next to her feet before the crash, but it could be anywhere in the car now. She swept the floor with her hand but couldn’t find it. She glanced back at her uncle, but he still hadn’t moved. Blood from his head wound covered the now-deflating driver’s-side air bag and dripped to the floor.

She grasped the handle, pulled it back and shoved her shoulder against the door, but it wouldn’t budge. “Help!” she screamed. “Somebody, please help us!”

The sound of raised voices reached her ears, and relief flowed through her. Just as quickly it turned to fear. What if the shooter was coming to finish them off? With them trapped in the car, they were perfect targets. Panicked, she shoved on the door again.

A man’s face appeared at the shattered driver’s-side window, and he peered inside. “Are you all right?”

In the darkness she couldn’t make out his face, but the man’s voice had a soothing quality. “Yes, but my uncle is hurt.”

“I’ve called 911,” he said. “Help will be here any minute to get you out of there.” The man reached through the window and touched her uncle’s chest. “He’s breathing. Now you just take it easy until we get some help.”

Callie leaned back in her seat and breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you for helping us.”

“I’m glad I saw your car run off the road. I thought that car passing you got too close. Then I heard a loud noise like a gunshot. Whoever was driving that car meant to hurt you.”

Callie nodded. “Yes, it looked that way to me, too.”

“Now don’t you worry. I’ll stay right here with you until help arrives. It shouldn’t be too long.”

Convinced they were safe for the moment from the person who’d tried to kill them, she closed her eyes. This wasn’t the homecoming she’d expected. She’d been looking forward to Uncle Dan’s retirement celebration for weeks. He’d worked so hard for years, first as a Memphis police officer while enrolled in law classes at night, then as a Memphis attorney and finally as a federal judge. He had spent the better part of his life bringing criminals to justice. If anyone deserved a peaceful retirement, he did.

Callie had opted out of teaching summer classes at the University of Virginia where she was a professor in the School of Business so she could spend the entire summer with him. They were set to celebrate his retirement the way he’d planned for years—in a Maui beach house they’d rented for six weeks.

She clenched her fists and rubbed her temples. It wasn’t fair. He was the best man she’d ever known, and he’d dedicated his life to raising her when she was left with no one. In just a few days he’d be able to leave the stress of his job behind and enjoy life for a change. He wasn’t supposed to wind up wounded and bleeding for reasons she didn’t understand while his attacker got away.

The sound of sirens pierced the air. Callie opened her eyes and looked toward the road. “They’re here,” the man beside the car said.

He’d hardly finished speaking before she saw the flashlight beams of the first responders bobbing in the darkness as their rescuers came down the embankment. The man who’d been talking to her moved out of the way as one of the rescuers stopped beside the car. He glanced at her uncle, then at her. “Don’t you worry, ma’am, we’ll have you out of there in no time and on your way to the hospital.”

Thirty minutes later an EMT carried her up the embankment to the ambulance with its flashing lights. She eased over to the gurney where her uncle lay and grasped his hand. He hadn’t responded to anyone since he was pulled from the wreck.

She glanced up at the EMT who had just finished checking his pulse. Even though she feared the answer, she had to ask the question burning in her thoughts. “Is he going to be all right?”

The EMT adjusted the oxygen cannula in her uncle’s nose and frowned. “It’s still too early to say, ma’am. The doctor can tell you more when we get both of you to the hospital. Even though you appear to be unhurt you need to be checked out, too. You can ride in the back with your uncle.”

Before they could load the gurney into the ambulance, her uncle stirred, and his eyelids fluttered open. She clutched his hand tighter and leaned closer. “Uncle Dan, it’s Callie. Can you hear me?”

“Callie.” The hoarse whisper seemed to exhaust him.

“Yes, I’m here. We were in a car wreck. We’re going to the hospital. Everything is going to be all right.”

He frowned and licked his lips. “Call Seth.”

Callie clutched her uncle’s hand tighter and shook her head. “Uncle Dan, don’t talk. Just lie still.”

His eyes grew wide, and he struggled to push up. “No!” he wheezed. “Need Seth. Something to tell him about the case.”

She glanced up at the EMT who placed his hands on her uncle’s shoulders and eased him back down to the gurney. “All right, Uncle Dan. I’ll call Seth.”

“Tell him it’s important,” he mumbled before he closed his eyes again.

New tears poured down Callie’s cheeks as she watched her uncle being loaded into the ambulance. One of the EMTs grasped her arm to help her up, but she paused when a car skidded to a stop next to the police car blocking the highway, and a man jumped from inside.

She wouldn’t have to call Seth after all—he was already here.

She braced herself for her first encounter with Seth Dawtry since the night when she’d turned down his marriage proposal. For years her uncle had said that she and the young policeman he’d mentored would make a perfect couple. He’d tried matchmaking every time she came back to Memphis to visit. It had almost worked two years ago.

Seth only hesitated a moment when he saw her standing at the back of the ambulance before he raced toward her.

“Is he alive?” His voice shook with each word.

She nodded. “Yes, but he’s seriously injured. How did you know he’d been hurt?”

“One of the first responders is a friend of mine. He called as soon as he saw who it was. I got here as fast as I could.” He glanced at the EMT inside the ambulance. “Is he conscious?”

The man shook his head. “He was for a moment but not now.”

She took a deep breath and turned toward Seth. “He asked me to call you. If he regains consciousness, I’ll tell him you arrived.”

Seth’s eyes narrowed, then his stare settled on her and turned cold. Even after two years she could see he still harbored anger toward her. He gave a curt nod. “Thanks.”

She tried to smile but her lips trembled. “We need to go.”

Seth backed away. “I’ll follow the ambulance to the hospital and see you there.”

Callie wanted to tell him there was no need for him to go to the hospital, but she knew he would never listen to her. His relationship with Dan had been forged years ago when Seth was a recruit at the Memphis Police Academy where Dan was an instructor. They’d bonded right away, and in Dan, Seth had finally found a father to replace his own who had abandoned their family. Dan also regarded Seth as the son he’d never had.

She nodded and climbed in beside Dan’s gurney. Before they could close the door, one of the men who’d pulled her from the car ran up to the ambulance. “I found your purse in the backseat,” he said. “I thought you might need it.”

Callie took her purse and smiled. “Thank you. I appreciate everything that all of you have done for us tonight.”

He touched the front of his helmet in a small salute. “It’s part of the job, ma’am. I’ll be praying for you and your uncle.”

The ambulance door closed before she had a chance to respond, to tell him how those words from a man she’d met only minutes ago had comforted her. She glanced down at her uncle lying so still on the gurney and wrapped her fingers around his big hand. One of the EMTs grabbed the rear doors to close them, and Callie glanced over her shoulder. Seth had already disappeared from view.

Still holding his hand, she dropped down in the seat across from her uncle. When she’d arrived at the Memphis airport an hour ago, she hadn’t expected this turn of events. The memory of a roaring car and a gunshot blast flashed in her mind, and she closed her eyes and groaned.

Then there was her brief meeting with Seth. She’d been resigned to bumping into him at Dan’s retirement party, but had hoped she could avoid any extended conversation. So much for that plan. Now he would be at the hospital, and she would have to keep him informed of her uncle’s condition.

He’d tried to hide it, but even after two years she could feel his smoldering anger toward her. Perhaps he never would forgive her for how she’d hurt him, but she had hoped by this time he had moved on. She’d put the events of two years ago behind her, but it didn’t look like he had.

Her uncle’s body jerked suddenly and gasping sounds came from his throat. The EMT grabbed her uncle’s hand out of her grasp and pressed his finger to the pulse. Frightened, Callie scooted away to give the attendant more room to work in the crowded ambulance.

“What’s happening?” she cried.

Without answering her, he turned and yelled to the driver. “We have a problem back here. Move it!”

The ambulance surged forward, and Callie could only watch in horror as her uncle struggled to breathe. The vehicle careened into the hospital parking lot and came to a screeching halt at the emergency room bay.

Before she could ask another question, the back doors opened, and the ambulance driver reached up to help the EMT whisk the gurney out of the ambulance. A nurse helped Callie to the ground, seated her in a wheelchair and hurried toward the entrance.

The EMTs had the gurney inside before Callie and the nurse got to the doors. When they entered the waiting area, Callie grasped the arms of the wheelchair and choked back a sob at what she saw. Two nurses and the EMTs ran down the hallway beside her uncle’s gurney. Before she could call out to them, they made a sharp turn and disappeared into a room on their right.

The nurse turned the wheelchair toward the exam rooms on the other side of the area. Callie sat up straight. “Where are you taking me?”

“To an exam room,” the nurse said.

“But I want to be with my uncle.”

The nurse shook her head. “I’m sorry, but you can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

The question was no more than out of her mouth when she saw the answer in the nurse’s eyes. She couldn’t be with him because he was dying.

* * *

Seth Dawtry’s heart sank as he pulled his car into the emergency room’s parking lot. An ambulance, its rear doors still open, sat backed up in the bay for unloading patients. He knew enough to know that if they’d abandoned the ambulance to rush the patient inside, things weren’t looking good.

He pulled the car to a stop and sat there a moment, grasping the steering wheel, trying to work up the will to go inside. As badly as he wanted to know his friend’s condition, he couldn’t bring himself to move. Not when it meant facing Callie.

He’d known Dan was picking Callie up at the airport tonight, but he hadn’t expected to see her so soon. In fact, he’d planned to stay as far away from her as he could while she was in town. But his anger toward Callie was no reason to abandon Dan right now.

He would be polite to Callie because Dan would want that. But as soon as Dan was out of danger, he’d go back to keeping his distance. With a sigh, Seth said another quick prayer for Dan before he jumped from the car and sprinted toward the entrance.

The automatic doors parted as he barreled toward them, and he ran into the waiting room that was packed with people waiting to be seen by a doctor. It seemed that no matter what time of day or night his job brought him here on an emergency, the area was always crowded with patients. Tonight, though, he wasn’t here on police business. This visit was personal.

He hurried over to the receptionist’s desk, but the young woman who sat there didn’t look up from her computer as he came to a stop. “How can I help you?” she asked.

He pulled out his badge and held it toward her. “I’m Detective Seth Dawtry with MPD. I’m here about Judge Dan Lattimer and his niece who were just brought in. They were in a car wreck on I-55 coming from the airport. Can you give me any information?”

The girl glanced at the badge and then at him. “They arrived a few minutes ago. If you’ll have a seat, I’ll go check on them for you.”

“Thank you.” Seth backed away from the desk and looked around for an empty chair. They all appeared to be occupied, so he stuck his hands in his pockets and walked to the edge of the room.

Within minutes the young woman was back, and he hurried to her desk. “I talked with the doctor. He’s examining Miss Lattimer now. When he’s finished, you can go back and talk with her.”

Seth nodded his thanks and walked back to the spot where he’d been standing. For the next fifteen minutes he forced himself to stay still and not give in to the urge to pace up and down the room. After what seemed like an eternity, the young woman motioned for him to follow her. She opened the door and pointed down the hallway.

“Miss Lattimer is in the third treatment room on the right.”

Seth smiled at her. “Thanks.”

He took a deep breath and started down the hall. The closer he came to where Callie waited, the slower his steps grew. He’d often wondered if he would ever see Callie again, but he would never have thought they’d meet because Dan was near death. He needed to keep reminding himself that his anger toward Callie didn’t matter right now. His reason for being here was Dan’s welfare, and he could stand to be around her if it meant he could help his friend in any way.

A curtain blocked his view into the glass cubicle, and he paused a moment. “Callie,” he said, “it’s Seth. May I come in?”

“Yes.” Her soft voice was barely audible.

He pulled the curtain back and stepped into the room. She sat on an exam table with her legs hanging over the side. It might have been two years since he’d last seen her, but he remembered how beautiful she’d looked that night—right up to the time she told him she wouldn’t marry him and had run from the room. Tonight she looked very different. Her long, dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and her mascara had left dark smudges on her cheeks.

The expression on her face left little doubt to the seriousness of Dan’s condition. “H-how is he doing?”

A big tear rolled down her cheek. “It’s not good, Seth. He almost quit breathing before we got to the hospital. The doctor came by a few minutes ago and said they’d inserted a breathing tube. They’re taking him to surgery in a few minutes. They don’t know if he’ll make it or not.”

Seth almost doubled over from the crushing pain that exploded in his chest. He took a step closer to her. “No!” he said. “He’s supposed to retire, not die.”

Her shoulders began to shake, and she dissolved in tears. “I know. We had such big plans for our summer. Now all I want is for him to live so I can tell him how much I love him.”

Seth wished he could say something to make her feel better. But even if he knew what to say, she probably wouldn’t appreciate it, coming from him. He jammed his hands in his pockets and cleared his throat. “And how are you doing?”

She wiped at her eyes and sighed. “I’m fine. The doctors checked me out and said there were no broken bones or internal injuries. Uncle Dan took the worst of it all.” Her eyes filled with tears again. “He pushed my head into my lap and held it there to protect me.”

“That sounds like Dan,” he said. He took a step closer. “We’re going to get this guy, Callie. The FBI will join the Memphis Police Department on this case, and I’m sure the U.S. Marshals will be here shortly to offer protection for Dan. You don’t have anything to worry about except taking care of yourself and Dan.”

“Thank you, Seth.”

The curtain parted, and a doctor stepped into the room. He glanced from Seth to Callie before he spoke. “Miss Lattimer, we’re ready to take your uncle to surgery. Would you like to see him before he leaves?”

“Yes, I would.”

Seth watched her hop down from the table, and then the two of them stepped into the hall where two nurses stood beside Dan’s gurney. Seth didn’t move as they stopped beside his friend.

Callie leaned close to him and whispered in his ear. “I love you, Uncle Dan. I’ll be waiting for you when you come from surgery.” She kissed him on the cheek, jammed her fist into her mouth to stifle her sobs and stepped away from the gurney.

Seth bent over and touched Dan’s shoulder. “I’m here, Dan. I promise you I’ll get whoever did this to you.”

For one brief moment, Dan’s eyes blinked open, and he stared up at Seth before he darted a glance at Callie and then back to Seth. A look of desperation lined his face. Once more he cut his eyes to Callie and back to him, and Seth knew Dan was trying to send him a message.

Seth’s eyes filled with tears, and he nodded. “Don’t worry about Callie, Dan. I’ll take care of her.”

Dan’s eyes drifted closed, and the nurses pushed the gurney down the hall. When it disappeared through the doors that led to the elevators for the surgery floor, Callie began to sob.

Seth searched his mind for something to offer her comfort. Finally, he decided she needed to get out of this area and to a place that might offer some peace. He reached out and touched her arm. She jerked her head up and stared wide-eyed at him.

“It’s not going to be easy waiting,” he said. “Why don’t we go down to the hospital chapel? Maybe being in that quiet room will help calm you down some.”

She frowned. “I’m not very religious.”

He nodded. “I know. That was something else we never saw eye to eye on, but like I tried to tell you then, it’s not about being religious. It’s about finding some peace in life. How about it? You might find it helps to be in a more soothing place for a while.”

She brushed her hands across her eyes and glanced around the stark emergency room. “Okay. I guess it can’t hurt.”

A nurse stepped out of an adjoining exam room at that moment, and Seth told her where the doctor could find them before he led Callie out of the emergency room and into the hospital proper.

When they arrived at the chapel, he opened the door and held it for her to enter. As he stepped into the room behind her, he closed his eyes for a moment and let himself relax into the peace that being in this place evoked in his soul. A table with a cross and an open Bible on it sat at the front of the room, and he led her to seats directly in front of the display.

They sat without speaking for a while until she finally broke the silence. “This is much better than the E.R. It’s quieter and more peaceful. Thank you for bringing me here.”

“I’ve been in this room a lot in the past few years.”

She turned her head, a questioning expression on her face. “Oh? How so?”

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “This is where we bring families when they’re waiting to hear if their loved ones will survive after a violent crime. It’s a peaceful place, and we hope it can afford the families some measure of comfort.”

Tears pooled in her eyes. “Is that why you brought me here?”

“Partly. But I wanted to ask you about the shooting, too. I don’t want to cause you any more stress than you’re already under, but I thought it might be easier to talk about it here than in the hustle and bustle of the emergency room.”

She nodded. “I think it is, but there’s something I need to know, too.”

“What’s that?”

She inhaled a deep breath. “From the moment Uncle Dan picked me up I could tell something was wrong. He kept looking in the rearview mirror, and it seemed he almost suspected something was about to happen. When the EMTs were loading him in the ambulance, he opened his eyes long enough to tell me to call you. He needed to tell you something.”

Seth frowned. “Did he say what it was?”

She shook her head. “No. But he had to be restrained on the gurney because he was so determined there was something important he had to tell you about the case, he said. Has he been helping you with a case you’re working on?”

Seth’s stomach curled with fear at Callie’s words. After a moment he shook his head. “No, I’ve been helping him with a case for the past year or so.”

“I don’t understand. What kind of case would he need help with? He’s not a policeman anymore. He’s a judge, and judges don’t investigate cases.”

Seth stood up and paced to the far wall before he turned and walked back to stand in front of her. Dan had mentioned several times that Callie knew nothing about the case he’d worked on for years because he knew she would be upset he was investigating a murder. It had been something he didn’t share with many of the people in his life. Seth happened to be the exception to the rule. But it was time Callie knew, especially if that case was the reason Dan was in surgery fighting for his life.

He dropped back in his chair and nodded. “I guess it’s time you learned about the burden Dan has carried for years. He knew you would try to persuade him to give up if he told you about it, so he never did.”

Callie clasped her hands in her lap and swallowed hard. “What kind of case is it?”

He spread his hands in a helpless gesture and shook his head. “I can only tell you what Dan has told me. This case dates back to when he was on the police force.”

She sat up straighter, her eyes wide. “On the force? But that was years ago.”

Seth nodded. “Twenty-five years, in fact. One morning he was called to the banks of the Mississippi River just south of downtown where a woman’s body had washed up. She looked to be in her early thirties, and she’d been shot. There was no identification on the body, but Dan felt sure that as pretty and as well dressed as she was, someone would report her missing.”

“Did they?” Callie asked.

Seth shook his head. “When he didn’t hear anything, he went by the medical examiner’s office and learned she didn’t fit the description of anyone who’d been reported as missing in Memphis. That made him wonder if she was from somewhere else. He asked about her personal effects, and they gave him an envelope that only contained a locket she was wearing. Inside was the picture of a little boy who looked to be about five or six. Then he asked to see her body. That’s when something strange happened to him.”

“What?”

“He said he stood there and looked down at her and there was something about her face that reminded him of your mother.”

“My mother?” Callie’s question was barely more than a whisper.

“Yes. He said your mother had died a few weeks before, and you had just come to live with him. You’d cried the night before for your mother, and he wondered if the little boy in the picture in the locket was crying for his mother. So he made a pledge to the dead woman that he wouldn’t rest until he’d found her family and returned her body to them. When no one ever came forward to claim the body, Dan bought a burial plot and a tombstone and had the woman buried at his own expense. For the past twenty-five years, every time he read or heard about a missing woman, he’d check it out to see if it was his victim, but it never has been.”

“He had her buried and a tombstone placed at her grave?”

“Yes.”

“What name did he put on the tombstone?”

“Since he didn’t know her name, he decided to give her one. He thought she deserved more than Jane Doe. She needed a special name, so he put the name Hope on her tombstone.”

“Hope?”

“Yes. He said it was a name that fit his feelings toward her—hope that he could return her to her family. Through the years, every time he grew discouraged and ready to give up, he’d visit her grave. Seeing that name on her tombstone would remind him that somewhere there had to be somebody hanging on to the hope that their wife or mother or daughter would be returned to them. And he’d promise her again that he wouldn’t give up. He would find her killer, and he’d return her to her family.”

Callie nodded. “That sounds like Uncle Dan. He’s got such a good heart. All he wanted to do was help someone, and now it looks like his good intentions may have put him in danger.” She was silent for a moment. “I can’t believe Uncle Dan never told me about this case.”

“It became a very personal cause with Dan to return her to her family. He knows you have issues over your father’s death and his involvement in law enforcement. He wanted to distance you from the things in his life that haunted him so you could be happy in the life you’d chosen. He tried to do everything he could to make that happen.”

“I know.” She unclasped her hands and rose to her feet. “And yet all that time he was trying to make my life better, he was obsessed with returning this woman to her family. I wish I had known so I could have made it easier for him.”

Seth stood and faced her. “Don’t blame yourself, Callie. This is the way he wanted it. But now that things have turned dangerous, you need to know what’s at stake. I only hope if he has found out something, he’ll be able to tell me what it was. I’d like to bring closure to the case that Dan has never been able to walk away from—and I’d like to see whoever did this to Dan brought to justice.”

She nodded. “I hope you can. What happens if he dies? Will anyone else take the case?”

“I work in the Cold Case Unit now with two partners, and we’ll keep it on our radar. After all, that’s our job, working cold cases.”

She bit down on her lip and thought for a moment before she spoke again. “You’re right. That’s what you do. But it’s not what he does anymore.”

Seth regarded her with a questioning gaze and frowned. “What do you mean?”

She balled her hands into fists and clenched them at her side. “Uncle Dan hasn’t been a policeman in over twenty years. He shouldn’t have put himself in danger like this.”

Tears flowed down her face, and Seth rose to his feet. “What are you saying, Callie?”

“I’m saying if he lives I’m going to insist on some changes. First of all, I’m sure there will be a long recuperation time. I think it would be best if I took him back to Virginia with me. I can see that he gets all the help he needs, and I’ll be there to take care of him. Maybe there he can put this case behind him.”

Seth shook his head. “As long as there’s breath in Dan’s body, I don’t think he’ll be able to put this case out of his mind.”

“You don’t understand!” she cried out. “I lost my father when he tried to stop a guy on drugs from robbing a convenience store. Now it’s possible this murder that happened twenty-five years ago is the reason my uncle is fighting for his life. I can’t lose him, too, like I lost...”

She stopped, and a look of panic crossed her face. Seth nodded. “Were you going to add me to that list, too? Were you going to say like you lost me because you couldn’t bring yourself to marry a policeman?”

Callie jumped to her feet and clenched her fists at her sides. “This is no time for us to discuss our past, Seth. My uncle’s survival is the most important thing now.”

After a moment, he nodded. “You’re right, Callie. Whatever we once had died two years ago, but I don’t think Dan will give up on this case as easily as you did on us.”

She glared at him before she dropped back in her chair, propped her elbows on her knees and buried her face in her hands. Seth stared at her and then glanced up at the clock. Eight-thirty. He sighed. It was going to be a long night.

Four hours later, Seth stopped pacing the floor and turned toward the door when it opened. Callie glanced over her shoulder, then slowly rose to her feet. Seth moved to stand next to her.

The doctor stepped into the room and stopped when he saw them. Tired lines etched his craggy face, and his wrinkled, green scrubs hung on his slender frame. He pulled the surgery cap from his head and sighed.

Beside him, Seth heard a mewling groan in Callie’s throat, and he grasped her arm to steady her as the doctor walked toward them.

TWO

It’s bad news. I know it is.

The thought wouldn’t quit running through Callie’s mind as the doctor came closer. She wished she could put her fingers in her ears and not hear what he was about to tell her, but that wasn’t practical. She felt Seth grab her arm, but she couldn’t turn her head to look at him.

“Miss Lattimer?”

“Yes, I’m Callie Lattimer.”

The doctor stopped in front of her. The green surgery mask dangled from his hand. “I’m Dr. Singer. I’ve just finished operating on your uncle.”

Callie hadn’t thought it possible, but her heart rate increased. “H-how is he?”

Dr. Singer rubbed his hand across the top of his head. “He made it through surgery, but he’s not out of the woods yet. He’s fortunate that the EMTs arrived so quickly, especially since he almost quit breathing on us. But on the way here they were able to stem some of the blood flow, which is very important in wounds of this nature. Another favorable factor in his case is that the tract of the bullet doesn’t seem to be extensive. There is good brainstem function, which gives me hope that if he survives, his rehabilitation may not be too extensive.”

Seth’s hand tightened on her arm and then released. He exhaled a deep breath, and she knew he was as relieved to hear the news as she. “Oh, Dr. Singer, this is good news.”

He held up his hand in warning. “Don’t get me wrong. There are still a lot of things that can go wrong. We’re moving him to the Critical Care Unit to monitor him. There is some swelling of the brain, and I’ve removed a portion of the skull to relieve the pressure. We can take care of that later if all goes well. The next few weeks are critical.”

Callie nodded. “I understand. When can I see him?”

“Now, if you want to. He’s settled in the unit, and the nurses there will let you in for a few minutes. Then you should go home and get some rest. You’ve been through a lot tonight, and you’ve got some tough days ahead.”

“I understand, Doctor. And thank you for what you’ve done.”

He smiled. “I’m glad I could be of service. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Callie turned back to Seth as the doctor left the chapel. “Would you like to go with me to see Uncle Dan?”

“I would, and then I’ll drive you to Dan’s house.”

“You don’t have to do that. I can get a cab.”

He frowned. “I don’t mind.”

“No, really, Seth. You don’t have to do it.”

He gritted his teeth and raked his hand through his hair. “I said it’s okay, Callie. After all, I promised Dan I’d take care of you, and I’m not going back on my word to him.”

His words snaked out toward her, and she reeled as if he’d slapped her. Of course, he wasn’t doing it for her. It was because he’d promised her uncle. She nodded. “I understand. Thank you for offering to take me home.” They turned to walk to the door, but Callie stopped after taking a few steps. “Oh, I forgot. My luggage is still in Uncle Dan’s car. Is it possible to get it tonight?”

“I’m sure we can. Captain Wilson is on duty. I’ll call him right now and see where they towed the car, then I’ll take you by there to get your bags before I drive you home. Go ahead and check on Dan, and I’ll meet you in the E.R. waiting room.”

“Thanks, Seth. I appreciate it.”

They stopped at the elevator, and Seth pushed the button. When the doors opened, he stepped back to let her enter. “I know Dan will be unconscious, but tell him I’ll see him in the morning.”

“I will.”

As Callie approached the Critical Care Unit, she noticed a room on the left side of the corridor. People, who she assumed to be family members of patients, lay in lounge chairs in the room. A young woman in a nurse’s uniform rose from behind a desk as she entered.

“May I help you?”

Callie nodded. “Dr. Singer told me my uncle has been brought to Critical Care and I could see him. His name is Dan Lattimer.”

The young woman smiled. “Yes, he’s here. I’ll be glad to take you in.”

She came around the desk and led Callie through the double doors at the end of the hall. Callie had never been in a unit like this before, and she didn’t know what to expect. She swallowed and stepped into the long room with a hallway that ran in front of glassed-in cubicles. A nurse’s station faced the small rooms. Monitoring machines hummed in the otherwise silent ICU, and shivers ran up Callie’s arm.

A man in a dark suit sat in a chair outside one of the small cubicles, and he rose when she approached. “Miss Lattimer?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Deputy U.S. Marshal Chris White. I’m here to guard your uncle. Dr. Singer told me you’d be coming up.”

Callie glanced past him into the small room behind the marshal. She saw someone in the bed, but with all the bandages she couldn’t tell if it was her uncle or not. She swallowed past her nausea and stared at the still form. “Is that my uncle?”

“Yes,” the marshal said. “You can go in.”

Callie hesitated a moment before she stepped inside and inched toward the bed. He was covered with a white sheet, but his arm lay motionless at his side. She placed her purse in a chair at the foot of his bed, eased up beside him and covered his hand with hers.

One of the machines monitoring his vital signs beeped, and she glanced at it. She had no idea what all the numbers displayed stood for, but she did know as long as they were showing up it meant her uncle was alive. Her gaze drifted over the pale face almost covered with bandages and she brushed at the tears that flooded her eyes.

“I’m here, Uncle Dan, and so is Seth,” she whispered. “The doctor says you came through the surgery fine. If I know you, you’ll be up and about before we know it. I wanted to see you before I went home to get some rest, but I’ll be back in the morning. You have a good night. I love you.”

She wanted to stay with him, to watch over him as he had done so many times when she was a child and sick, but she knew it wouldn’t be allowed in this unit. She had to trust his well-being to people who’d been trained to care for critical patients. She fought back another rush of tears as she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before she stepped outside and stopped next to the marshal. Before she could speak, an alarm sounded, and two nurses who’d been at their station when she entered earlier suddenly ran to a cubicle several doors down from her uncle’s.

Her eyes grew wide. “What’s happening?”

The marshal nodded in the direction of the commotion. “It looks like one of the other patients is having some problems.”

“Then I’d better leave. Thank you for watching over my uncle, Marshal White. Maybe I’ll see you again.”

“We’ll have a marshal on him until the shooter is caught. Don’t worry about him. Go on home and get some sleep.”

She smiled, turned and walked out of the unit. As she headed toward the elevator, she thought of Seth waiting downstairs and was glad he said he’d drive her to collect her luggage from Uncle Dan’s car. Getting in his house shouldn’t be a problem because she still carried a key to the front door on her key ring. She punched the button for the elevator and froze in place.

Her purse. It was still in the chair at the end of Uncle Dan’s bed. She must really be tired if she hadn’t realized she’d left without it.

With a groan, she retraced her steps to the Critical Care Unit. She glanced in the waiting room as she passed by and came to a sudden stop. Marshal White stood beside the vending machine, drinking a soft drink. He glanced her way and smiled. “What are you doing back?”

She frowned. “I forgot my purse. Why are you out here?”

He swallowed a sip of his drink. “One of the nurses needed to check Judge Lattimer’s vital signs and said it would be okay for me to get something to drink while he was busy in the room.”

Callie frowned. “I didn’t see a male nurse while I was in there.”

Marshal White shrugged. “I think he’d just come down to help them since that other patient was having problems.”

Callie nodded. “Do you think it would be okay for me to step in and get my purse?”

“I think so. Go ahead.”

She walked to the entrance into the unit and only hesitated a moment before pulling the door open. Once inside, she looked toward the room where the nurses had been working earlier. Since there was no one at the desk, she assumed they were still busy with the patient, and she eased toward her uncle’s room.

The curtains had been pulled around the cubicle, blocking sight into the room. Her first thought was that it was probably standard procedure when they were working with a patient, but she frowned when she noticed that the curtains hadn’t been pulled in the room where the nurses still worked. She tiptoed to her uncle’s space, pulled back the curtain and slipped into the room.

A nurse was bent over his bed and didn’t seem to hear when she entered. She spotted her purse and was about to reach for it when she froze in place. Fear shot through her body like a bolt of lightning. The nurse wasn’t administering any kind of aid. Instead, he was holding a pillow over her uncle’s face.

With a loud scream, she sprang on the man’s back and grabbed him around the neck. His body jerked in surprise, and he twisted to free himself. “What...?” he yelled as he reached up and grasped her hands.

Callie screamed again and clawed at the surgical mask covering the man’s face. It slipped from his mouth, and Callie glimpsed a jagged scar down the right side of his face. The mask slipped farther, and she caught sight of a star tattoo on his neck.

The attacker hunched his shoulders and heaved with enough force to knock Callie from his back. She sailed backward and hit the wall with a loud thud. The man whirled, pulled a gun from his waistband and aimed it at her. Before he could pull the trigger, Marshal White appeared in the doorway, his gun drawn.

“Hold it right there!” he yelled.

The attacker whirled and pulled the trigger. The sound echoed off the walls, and Marshal White slumped to the floor. The shooter lunged for the door, jumped over the marshal’s body and sprinted down the hallway. Callie rushed to the door and caught sight of him as he ran through the exit at the far end of the hallway. Realizing she wouldn’t be able to catch him, she turned back in time to see the two nurses who’d been cowered against the wall outside the other patient’s room straighten up.

One of them pushed to her feet and glanced at her coworker. “I’ll check the marshal and the judge. You call security and get us some help.”

The other one ran to the nurses’ station and picked up the phone while the one who’d spoken knelt next to Marshal White. She looked up at Callie. “What happened?”

“There was a man in scrubs trying to suffocate my uncle. If I hadn’t come back for my purse, he’d be dead now.”

The nurse nodded and called out to the other one. “The marshal needs to get to surgery right away. I’ll check Judge Lattimer.”

Callie stood in the cubicle, unsure what to do as nurses and security guards poured into the unit. She glanced from her uncle to the marshal on the floor before she picked up her purse and sat down in the chair where it had lain.

Around her it seemed as if some kind of ordered chaos erupted. Nurses bent over her uncle, checking his vitals. A gurney appeared beside the marshal, and within minutes he was whisked away to surgery. A security guard stood behind the nurses’ station, barking orders into a mike attached to the lapel of his shirt.

She rubbed her hands over her eyes and shuddered. When was this nightmare going to end? One of the responders glanced up from checking her uncle and jerked her head toward the door. “You need to wait outside until we finish here.”

Callie took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders and shook her head. “I’m not moving from here until there’s someone else from the U.S. Marshal’s office at that door. If it wasn’t for me, my uncle would be dead right now.”

The nurse started to respond, but then she just smiled. “I guess you’re right. I wouldn’t want to leave, either. Is there anyone we need to call for you?”

“Detective Seth Dawtry is waiting for me in the E.R. I’d appreciate it if someone would ask him to come up here.”

“I’ll take care of it,” the nurse said.

Callie watched her walk to the nurses’ station before returning her attention to her uncle. The picture of a man with a pillow over her uncle’s face flashed in her mind, and she began to tremble. For the second time since her plane had touched down in Memphis, someone had tried to kill her uncle. After what Seth had told her about Uncle Dan’s cold case, she knew it had to be the reason behind the attempts.

She rose, walked over to the bed and grasped her uncle’s hand. “Uncle Dan, what have you gotten yourself into?”

* * *

Seth ended the call to Captain Wilson and slipped his cell phone back in his pocket. It hadn’t taken long to find out that Dan’s SUV had been transported to an all-night tow service in midtown. Captain Wilson said Callie’s bags had been taken out of the car and were waiting in the business’s office to be picked up. Now if she would just come on, he might be able to get her settled at her uncle’s and get himself home in time for a little sleep before going back to work in the morning.

He glanced at his watch and frowned. He hadn’t expected Callie to be gone so long, but he could understand her reluctance to leave her uncle. Perhaps he should have gone back upstairs with her. Dan might have taken a turn for the worse.

He yawned and had just dropped down in a chair when a voice blared over the intercom system. “Security stat! Security stat!”

Seth bolted to his feet and let his gaze sweep the room. He knew what that alert meant. Security was shutting down the hospital because of a threat somewhere. Could it have something to do with Dan?

At that moment, a hospital security guard ran into the waiting room and stopped at the receptionist’s desk. “Have you seen a man in scrubs run through here in the past few minutes?” he demanded. Before she could answer, Seth pulled out his badge and ran over to the man.

“What’s happened?”

His eyes scanned the badge before he responded. “Someone tried to kill a patient in the Critical Care Unit.”

A groan rumbled in Seth’s throat. He ran from the room and raced to the stairs. He didn’t have time to wait for an elevator. When he burst into the fourth-floor hallway, his knees grew weak at the activity outside the unit. Bleary-eyed people huddled in small groups in the waiting room. He’d been here enough on the job to know they were family members who spent long nights as close to injured loved ones as they could get. Nurses scurried around, and two security officers guarded the entrance to the Critical Care Unit.

He ran toward the guards with his badge held high. “Detective Seth Dawtry, MPD. Has something happened to Judge Lattimer?”

One of the men held up his hand, and Seth skidded to a stop next to him. “There’s been an attempt on his life. His niece interrupted it and called for help, but when the marshal who was guarding him intervened, he was shot and has been taken to surgery.”

Seth’s heart constricted. He glanced into the waiting room in hopes of seeing Callie, but she wasn’t there. “Where’s Judge Lattimer’s niece?”

The security guard inclined his head toward the unit. “She’s in with her uncle. Do you want to see her?”

“Yes.”

The man opened the door, and Seth rushed in. Callie, her purse clutched in a death grip, sat in a chair at the foot of her uncle’s bed. She turned a tear-stained face toward him as he entered. “What happened?”

He listened in disbelief as Callie related the events of the past few minutes. When she finished, she shook her head and groaned. “They almost succeeded this time, Seth. Uncle Dan was just seconds away from death.”

Her body trembled, and he reached for her hand. “Then we have to be thankful you left your purse. Have you heard anything from the marshals yet?”

As if in answer to his question, the door to the unit swung open, and Rob Grant rushed into the room. He stopped next to Seth. “I was on my way here when I received a call that the judge had been attacked and our marshal had been shot.”

Seth nodded. “They’ve taken your marshal to surgery, but Dan is okay.” He glanced at Callie. “This is Rob Grant. He’s the U.S. Marshal for our district. Rob, this is Callie Lattimer, Dan’s niece.”

Rob reached for Callie’s hand. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am about this, Miss Lattimer. Hospital security tells me you saved your uncle’s life. You never should have been put in that position. Can you tell me more about what occurred?”

She quickly related what had happened. “I’m sorry about Marshal White, though. I hope he’s going to be all right.”

Rob exhaled a long breath. “I hope so, too. He’s new to our office, and he made an error in judgment. I’m so sorry it almost ended in tragedy. That won’t happen again. I’m going to stay until another marshal comes to take over, and you can be assured we won’t let your uncle out of our sight again.”

“Thank you. I appreciate your help.”

Rob glanced at Seth. “I’m sure Miss Lattimer is tired. There’s nothing else she can do here tonight. Why don’t you take her on home?”

“I think I’ll do that,” Seth said. “Are you ready to go, Callie?”

A tired smile pulled at her lips. “I am.”

She glanced at her uncle once more before she turned and walked out of the Critical Care Unit. They stopped at the elevator and pushed the button, but when the door opened, Captain Wilson of the Memphis Police Department and two officers stepped off.

Callie’s eyes lit up when she saw her uncle’s best friend and former partner. She threw her arms around his neck, and he pulled her close. “Anthony,” Callie said, “it’s so good to see you.”

He pulled back and stared down into her face. “I’ve been trying to get over here ever since I was notified about Dan being shot, but I’m on duty all night. It’s been one of the busiest nights I’ve had in a long time. But when the call about Dan’s attack in the ICU came in, I broke all speed records getting here. What happened?”

He shook his head in dismay as Callie told what had happened when she walked into her uncle’s room. “I didn’t think before I jumped on the man’s back. He was twice as big as me, but I knew I had to stop him,” she said.

Captain Wilson’s gaze raked her body. “Are you okay? Did he injure you in any way?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Then what can you tell me about the man? Was there anything that would help you identify him if you saw him again?”

She nodded. “When I wrapped my arms around his neck, the medical face mask he was wearing slipped to the side. He had a jagged scar that ran down the right side of his face from about the bottom of his ear to his chin. And he had a star tattooed on his neck.”

“Was there anything else? Was he short? Tall? Skinny? What was his coloring?”

Callie thought for a moment before she responded. “Dark hair and tan skin—maybe Latino, but I can’t be sure. He was about Seth’s height, and he was very muscular. He had broad shoulders, and I felt his muscles flex when he threw me off. He reminded me of the guys you see constantly working out in a gym.”

Captain Wilson nodded. “Good. That ought to help us.” He smiled at her. “You’ve done well tonight, Callie. You survived two shootings and you fought someone who seemed intent on killing your uncle. It’s good to see that it’s not only the men in the Lattimer family who can hold their own with the bad guys. You can, too.”

She laughed and shook her head. “I don’t think so, Anthony. I just want to teach school. I’ll leave chasing crooks to men like you and Seth.”

He smiled. “I think you’ve had enough excitement for a while. You go on home now. I need to talk with Rob Grant and make sure nothing like this happens again.” He turned to Seth. “Can you see that Callie gets home?”

“I will, sir.”

Without another word, Captain Wilson strode down the hallway and through the doors of the Critical Care Unit. The elevator doors opened again, and Seth and Callie stepped inside. Neither of them said anything until they had exited the hospital and stood in the parking lot outside the E.R. Seth pointed across the rows of cars to where his sat underneath a lamppost. “That’s my car over there.”

He led her to his car and unlocked the door for her to crawl in before he walked around to the driver’s side and slipped behind the steering wheel. He glanced over at her as he started the car, but she had her head resting against the back of her seat and her eyes closed. He thought she must have been asleep before they drove from the parking lot.

Thirty minutes later he stopped in the driveway of Dan’s house and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Callie,” he said as he gently shook her, “we’re at your uncle’s house.”

She sat up, rubbed her eyes and looked around. “I’m sorry. I must have fallen asleep.” She reached for the door handle but frowned and hesitated. “I thought we were going to get my bags.”

He laughed and opened his door. “Already done, ma’am. You were sleeping so soundly I didn’t wake you for the pickup. I have your bags in the trunk. I’ll take them in and check the house before I leave.”

He started to get out of the car, but she reached out and touched his arm. “Seth, I really do appreciate all you’ve done for me tonight.”

Seth smiled. “No need to thank me. Dan is special to me.” He didn’t mention the way that Dan had filled the void in his life after his father walked out on them when he was a boy. Back when he’d dated Callie, he’d told her the whole story, about how he’d always envied his friends who had fathers who came to their ball games and had time to take them fishing or work on cars in the backyard. He’d never had anything like that until Dan became the father he needed. Tears threatened to fill his eyes, and he turned his head to stare out the car window so she wouldn’t see.

“I know,” she said. “He’s often told me you’re the son he never had. After I went to college and on to graduate school, I didn’t come home very much. I should have. I know he was lonely at times and I’m glad he had you.” Her voice broke on the last words.

“Don’t blame yourself for anything,” Seth replied. “He’s proud of you and what you’ve made of your life. He tells everybody about his smart niece who’s got her Ph.D. and is a big-time professor at the University of Virginia.”

She chuckled. “I don’t know about the big-time part, but I do love my job.”

“Just as Dan and I do ours, Callie. Try to remember that.”

She stared at him for a minute before she took a deep breath and opened her car door. “I get your point, Seth, but nothing’s changed since we last saw each other.”

“I know,” he said. “I’ve moved on, and I hope you have, too.”

She regarded him for a moment before she spoke. “I have. Now I’d appreciate it if you’d check out the house before you go. I don’t want another encounter with Scarface tonight.”

“You’ve got that right,” he said as he stepped out of the car. “I’ll do a walk-through and then be on my way, but I’ll come back tomorrow and take you to the hospital.” He glanced at the clock on the dash. “Since it’s nearly three o’clock in the morning, tomorrow will be here before we know it.”

She nodded and headed toward the house. “I don’t think I’ll have any trouble falling asleep.”

She’d already opened the front door by the time he arrived on the steps with her bags. He put them down in the entry and proceeded to search the house before he let her enter.

As he walked through the rooms, Callie’s heart sank to the pit of her stomach. The house exuded a hollow feeling as if her uncle’s absence had sucked out all the life it usually possessed. Seth must have felt it, too, because she knew it had become the home away from home he’d come to love.

He stopped just inside the den, and his gaze raked the room. Then she saw his lips move and knew he was offering a prayer for his friend’s life. Callie turned away and shook her head. That was something else she and Seth had never shared, and she doubted they ever would.

Ten minutes later she stood at the front door and watched Seth get in his car. Then she locked the door and walked back into the living room. The lamp by the window she’d turned on when she’d first entered the house still lit the room.

She turned the light off and stood there in the dark room for a few minutes, staring out to the quiet cul-de-sac where she’d first learned to ride her bicycle. Sweet memories of her uncle holding her upright until she learned to balance drifted into her head, and a tear slipped down her cheek.

She was about to turn away when the lights of an approaching car caught her attention. It moved so slowly she wasn’t sure whether she imagined it or not when it seemed to come to a stop in front of her house.

A small circle of red lit the interior for a brief second. A lit cigarette. Callie’s skin prickled at the feeling that someone inside that car had stopped to study her uncle’s house. After a minute, the car moved slowly to the end of the street and made a circle in the cul-de-sac before driving past her uncle’s house once more.

This time she studied the outline of the vehicle more carefully. Her knees trembled, and she grabbed the table to steady herself. Was this the car she’d caught a fleeting glimpse of before Uncle Dan shoved her head into her lap?

THREE

Callie rose in bed and pounded her pillow again in an effort to get more comfortable. Her statement that she wouldn’t have any trouble falling asleep had come before a strange car had stopped in front of her uncle’s house. Even though she had watched it drive away, every time she closed her eyes, she either relived the gunshot blasting into the car, the scene of a man with a pillow over her uncle’s face or a dark car with its engine idling in front of the house.

She glanced at the cell phone lying on the bedside table and sighed. Four a.m. It would probably be sunup in an hour or so, and she hadn’t slept a wink. Groaning, she sat up on the side of the bed and rubbed her tired eyes. She wouldn’t be able to keep her eyes open at the hospital when she went back later today, but she couldn’t help it. Her raw nerves refused to let her relax, and she climbed out of bed.

She put on her robe, slipped her cell phone in her pocket and went downstairs. Maybe a glass of warm milk would help her fall asleep. After heating some milk, she carried the cup into the den and sipped at it as she stared out the window into the backyard.

The tree she’d climbed as a child seemed to wave its branches at her as she stared into the darkness. She smiled, remembering the times she had called for her uncle, who was usually busy in his office next to the den, to come watch her climb one branch higher. He had always answered her summons. She still had trouble believing he’d been just as devoted to an unsolved case.

She paused in remembering and turned her head to stare at the door leading from the den into the office. That room was where he kept all his important papers. Could there be something in his desk that would help her understand his obsession with the case she’d learned about tonight?

Easing into the room, she switched on the light, placed her cup of milk on the desk and sat down in the chair behind it. She spread her hands out over the smooth wood on the desktop and closed her eyes for a moment. She could almost feel the presence of the man she thought of as her father.

After a moment, she opened the right-side top drawer, but there was nothing inside except a collection of pens and pencils along with a stapler and an assortment of rubber bands. The drawer below held odds and ends, too. When she opened the bottom drawer, which looked to be the deepest, there were only a few papers lying inside.

She was about to close it when something strange caught her eye. The drawer appeared deeper than the two above it, and yet it had little room inside to hold items. She leaned closer and stared at the interior before pulling the papers out and tapping on the bottom of the drawer. A hollow-sounding noise told her the drawer had a false bottom.

She grabbed a letter opener from the desktop and slipped it between the edge of the bottom and the side of the drawer. The bottom of the drawer sprang open to reveal a large three-ring notebook inside.

Her heart pounded as she pulled out the notebook and laid it on the desk. With shaking fingers, she opened it and gasped at the picture of a woman, her eyes closed in death, on the first page. Tears filled Callie’s eyes as she read the caption written in her uncle’s familiar handwriting underneath the picture.

Hope

You will never be forgotten.

Callie swallowed her tears and turned the page. Entries that followed described the discovery of the body on the banks of the Mississippi River, the medical examiner’s report and facts about the investigation. It seemed every detail that had been known about “Hope” at the time of her death was listed on the pages. What pricked Callie’s heart was the fact that nothing about her identity had been added in the years since.

She turned to the next section and read through what appeared to be hundreds of reports on missing persons near Hope’s determined age who had disappeared from various parts of the country about the same time as she had. Each entry contained notes on the victim, her uncle’s contact with the families and his conclusion that this wasn’t a match to the woman he was looking for.

She frowned as she leafed through the thick stack of reports. He’d spent endless hours through the years tracking down dozens of leads, but nothing had yielded the identity of the one he’d buried in Memphis twenty-five years ago.

Callie had never stopped to think about the number of people who disappeared in this country every year. Her uncle had known, though, and he had cared. She turned back to the picture of Hope and stared at it again. Who was she? Where had she come from? And how did she end up dead in the Mississippi River? Those thoughts must have run through her uncle’s head every day.

She noticed a piece of paper that looked different from the others sticking from the back of the notebook, and she turned to it. It was a flyer advertising a homeless shelter near downtown. The name Dorothy Tipton, written in her uncle’s handwriting, was paper-clipped to the flyer. What was that about?

She turned another page and frowned at the names listed with phone numbers beside them. She read through the names, but she’d never heard of any of them. One near the bottom had a check mark next to it, and she stared at it. Melvin Harris. Who could he be? She made a mental note to ask Seth if he knew the man.

Closing the notebook, she sat there a moment thinking about what she’d found out tonight. Even though the news of her uncle’s secret case had surprised her, she had a different feeling toward it now. Hope had been a real person to him, a woman whose dreams and desires had been cut short by a killer. He wanted justice for her, and he’d tried to give it to her. Now he might not get to do that. Before, she’d felt only worry for her uncle, but now she understood a little better how much this case had meant to him. She was glad to think that Seth could continue her uncle’s work. She’d turn the notebook over to him when he came by in the morning.

She took the last drink of her milk and was about to return the notebook to its drawer when the sound of shattering glass from the direction of the kitchen ripped through the house.

She bolted to her feet and glanced wildly around to see if anyone came charging into the den. Another crash split the air, and a new fear engulfed her. She grabbed the edge of the desk to steady herself. Hissing and popping sounds mixed with the odor of an accelerant could only mean one thing.

Someone had thrown a fire bomb into the house.

Cold fear washed over her as smoke curled around the corner of the door. Callie grabbed the notebook and ran from the room toward the house’s front door. Before she could reach it, another firebomb crashed through the window to the right of the door. A trail of flames fanned across the entry as a combustible liquid spread across the floor. Another bomb slammed through the window to the left of the door. With a loud whooshing sound a giant wall of fire rose to cut off her exit.

She clutched the notebook to her chest and stared in horror as she realized her escape routes had both been cut off. It only took her a moment to remember what Uncle Dan had taught her years ago when she’d come to live with him.

Holding tightly to the notebook, she dashed up the staircase into her room. She raised the window and stepped out onto the roof of the garage that joined the house at a ninety-degree angle. Uncle Dan, always mindful of her safety, had assigned her this bedroom so she would have an easy escape route in case of a fire on the ground floor.

Callie climbed out the window onto the roof and ran to the end where she shimmied down the gutter drainpipe at the corner of the garage. When she was on the ground, she ran to the back of the yard before she stopped and stared at the house now engulfed in flames.

Tears ran down her face as she pulled her cell phone from her pocket and dialed 911. “Nine-one-one,” the operator’s voice answered. “What is your emergency?”

“My house is on fire!” she screamed.

“Are you at 1901 Willow Springs Road?”

“Yes.”

“Help is already on the way. Someone called it in.”

In the distance she could hear the sirens, and she relaxed. “Thank you. I hear them. They’re almost here.”

Callie disconnected the call and stared at the house where she’d grown up being devoured by flames. Someone was determined to make Uncle Dan suffer. First they’d shot him, then tried to kill him in the Critical Care Unit, and now they’d burned his house down. What more could they do to him?

Her eyes grew wide as the truth hit her like a bolt of lightning. Uncle Dan hadn’t been home, and they knew it. They hadn’t come with the intention of hurting him. She was the one they were after. She could identify the person who’d tried to kill her uncle, and someone didn’t intend for that to happen.

What more could they do to Dan Lattimer? They could kill his niece.

* * *

Seth slammed on the brakes a block away from Dan’s house and jumped from the car. Fire trucks and police cars blocked the middle of the street, and he zigzagged through the obstacle course they created as he raced toward the burning house.

He stumbled when his foot struck a fire hose, slamming him against the side of a hook and ladder fire truck parked next to the curb. Taking a deep breath, he pushed back to his feet and ran toward Dan’s front yard.

Smoke poured from the burning building, and he stopped in the driveway of the house next door to survey the scene. In spite of the valiant efforts the Memphis firemen were waging, it was evident there was no way this house could be saved. At that moment the roof gave way and crashed to the ground.

Seth scanned the gathered crowd, but he couldn’t spot Callie anywhere. Captain Wilson stood in a group of firefighters a few feet away, and he moved over to them. The captain acknowledged his arrival with a nod. “Can you believe this?” he said.

Seth shook his head. “How much more is going to happen to Dan and Callie tonight?”

The captain exhaled a deep breath. “I don’t know. This is the busiest night we’ve had in a long time, and a lot of what’s happened has centered on Dan.”

“I know.” Seth glanced around the bystanders. “Where is Callie? I don’t see her anywhere.”

Captain Wilson pointed toward his cruiser, which sat about halfway down the block. “She’s in my car. Of course she was wearing her robe and pajamas and wasn’t able to save any of her clothes. I told her to sit in there until we could figure out what to do.”

“I’ll go check on her. Maybe I can help.”

Captain Wilson nodded. “Thanks.”

Seth jogged down the street and stopped at the squad car parked there. He opened the front door and leaned in on the driver’s side. Callie sat huddled against the front passenger side door, her head resting against the back of the seat.

“Callie, are you all right?”

She opened her eyes and sat up straighter. “Seth, what are you doing here? You should be home getting some rest.”

He shook his head, climbed in the car and closed the door. “Captain Wilson called me when he got here, and I rushed right over. I wanted to check on you. How did you get out of the house?”

“The way Uncle Dan taught me when I was a child. Out my window, across the garage roof and down the drainpipe to the ground. I used to get tired of him making me practice, but now I’m glad he did. Otherwise I might be burned to a crisp in that house.”

“Do you know how the fire started?”

She gave a wry chuckle. “Well, it wasn’t faulty wiring, that’s for sure.”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I’m sure the firemen have already discovered the smell of accelerant in the flames.”

His eyes grew wide. “Are you saying the fire was set deliberately?”

“Yes.”

For the next few minutes Seth listened as Callie related what had happened after he’d left her at the house. His heart sank when she described the flames racing across the entry and how she’d had to leap over some of them to get to the staircase. When she’d finished, she directed a somber stare at him.

“I keep thinking about how Uncle Dan acted after he picked me up at the airport. It was as if he knew somebody was after him. Why else would he have tried to get me to stay at the Peabody Hotel rather than at home?”

Seth nodded. “The fact that he said he needed to tell me something makes me think he probably had gotten some new information, something that might lead to solving this case. That would mean the shooting attempt was a way to keep him from ever revealing what he’d found out.”

“Yes, but Uncle Dan didn’t die.”

“And you foiled the second attempt on his life.”

Callie let out a long breath. “And now somebody knows I can identify the man who tried to kill Uncle Dan tonight. They want to shut me up for good, too. If I hadn’t escaped the burning house, I’d be dead right now.”

Seth raked his hand through his hair and he gritted his teeth. “This is my fault. I should never have left you alone. How could I ever face Dan again if I let anything happen to you?”

Callie reached over and placed her hand on his arm. “None of this is your fault, Seth. I should have known I’d be in danger after seeing the scar and tattoo on that man in Uncle Dan’s room. But I have to admit, I’m glad I was able to find this before they torched the house.”

He glanced at the notebook that sat in her lap. “You found Dan’s notebook.”

“Yes. Have you ever looked at it?”

“Yes. He showed it to me several times. He would be down in the dumps for days after finding out that his latest lead had gone nowhere. Sometimes I’d go over to his house, and he’d have it open to the woman’s picture. I think he spent a lot of time looking at it and wishing she could tell him her secrets. But of course she couldn’t.”

“I’m glad I was able to save this. Maybe we can look through it tomorrow. There are several things I want to ask you about, but I’m too tired tonight.” She stifled a yawn. “I couldn’t go to sleep earlier, but I feel like I could now. The only problem is I have nowhere to sleep—not to mention no clothes and no money. My wallet burned in the fire. I have no idea where I’m going to stay.”

“I do. You’re going home with me. My sister’s room is empty since she got married, and my mother and I would be happy to have you stay with us while you’re in Memphis.”

Her eyes grew wide. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. Your mother probably hates me because of what happened between us, and I’m sure it would make you feel uncomfortable to have me in the house, too.”

His face grew warm, but he tried to laugh. “I thought we had this settled. Our relationship was over a long time ago. I accepted that and so did my mother. Besides, with all Mom’s activities, she’s gone quite a bit.”

Callie smiled. “So she’s still trying to enjoy life to the fullest.”

“Yeah. I never know what to expect next from her. I don’t know if she’ll be volunteering at one of the hospitals, going on a mission trip to Ecuador or off on a camping trip with her friends to the Smokies.”

“I always liked her. Are you sure she won’t mind my staying there for a few days?”

“She’ll be happy to have you. So, which will it be? I can pay for a hotel room or offer you the hospitality of the Dawtry household.”

She studied him a moment before she smiled. “Thank you, Seth. It’s easy to say we can let the past go, but it’s really hard to do. I know you’re only doing this because you promised Uncle Dan you’d take care of me, but I appreciate it.”

He bit down on his lip and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “I’ll call Captain Wilson and tell him I’m taking you to my mother’s house. I don’t think there’s any reason for you to stay around here any longer.”

A few minutes later with the message delivered to the captain, the two of them walked back to Seth’s car. He opened the passenger door for Callie and held it for her to climb inside. Before she did, she turned her head and stared over her shoulder at the still-burning fire. He heard a little sob in her throat before she ducked her head and got in.

When he slid behind the steering wheel, he glanced at her. She stared straight ahead through the windshield for a moment before she swiveled in her seat and faced him.

“I’ve always loved my uncle, but tonight when he was almost taken from me twice, I realized how thankful I should have been all these years for a man who devoted his life to me. I feel so ashamed, Seth, for accepting everything he did for me without letting him know how thankful I was for him.”

“You shouldn’t. Dan wouldn’t want that.”

“He wouldn’t, because that’s the kind of person he is. How many people are there who would spend all those years raising their niece or looking for the elusive answers to the identity of a murder victim?”

Seth rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled. “Not many, but then Dan’s not like other people.”

“He’s not. And one thing about him that I tried to ignore but shouldn’t have is that he was always a cop at heart, just like my dad.” She sighed. “I’ve been thinking about what Anthony said about me being able to stand up to the bad guys like my father and uncle did.”

“Why have you thought about that?”

“Because I never thought my temperament was anything like my father’s or Uncle Dan’s. I’m a lot like my mother. She was a very quiet woman. She never forced herself on anyone, and she was quick to ignore things people did to hurt her. Up to a certain point, that is. She would let harsh words or insults go for a while, but then she reached her breaking point. When that happened, I pitied the person she focused her anger on. It was like a dam broke, and all her pent-up emotions poured out.”

“And you say you’re like that, too?” Seth asked.

She nodded. “Maybe not as much as she was, but to some extent. Not many hours ago I flew into Memphis ready to go on a Hawaiian vacation with my uncle, who was about to retire. Within minutes, we were shot at, trapped in a wrecked vehicle and transported in an ambulance. My uncle then endured extensive surgery, was hooked up to life-saving machines and then nearly smothered by an assailant. That was quite enough, but someone wasn’t through. He then attempted to murder me and burned down our house in the process, leaving Uncle Dan with no worldly possessions left. I think that’s quite enough to exceed my breaking point, too.”

Seth frowned. “I don’t understand what you’re saying, Callie.”

She took a deep breath. “I’m saying that because I was there, I’m now on their list, too. Somebody tried to kill me in the wreck and then in the house—not to mention Scarface nearly shooting me before the marshal interrupted.” She gritted her teeth and glared at him. “No way am I going to let these people get away with all they’ve done to my family. Whoever is behind all this has to be stopped. We need to find out who these people are and why they want to kill Uncle Dan and now me. And in finding them, we just might be able to discover Hope’s identity and why someone doesn’t want it revealed.”

Seth stared at her in disbelief. “Are you saying you want to track down whoever’s done these things to you and Dan?” He chuckled and shook his head. “Callie, you’re a college professor. You know nothing about police work.”

She nodded. “I know that, but I’m smart, Seth. And I’m determined. I can figure things out, and you understand how to investigate. I think we’d make a good team.”

“I don’t know, Callie. This is too dangerous for you to get involved in.”

“I’m already involved, Seth. Somebody welcomed me into this case when he pointed a gun at the car I was riding in. I want to know who it was and why he did it. I think the only way to find out who that was is to first find out who Hope was and how she ended up in the Mississippi River.”

He stared at her for a moment before he smiled. “Maybe you’re right. I’d sure like to solve Dan’s case. It can’t hurt to give it a try. But first, let’s try to get a few hours’ sleep before we make any decision on this.”

She buckled her seat belt and smiled. “That sounds good. I just hope I’m able to sleep after facing your mother for the first time since we broke up. I don’t imagine she’s going to be happy to see me on her doorstep.”

Seth started to protest his mother would welcome Callie into their home, but instead he shook his head. His mother loved her children, and she could be as ferocious as a mother bear in protecting her offspring.

Uncertain of what awaited them, Seth started the car and headed toward home.

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