The man looked startled by the questions before saying, “My name’s Jackson Colton. I’m here to see my uncle.”
“You got a beef with Joe Colton?”
“A beef? Of course not. I’m Joe’s nephew, and I’m here for a visit.”
“Did Joe know you were coming?”
There was a slight hesitation before Jackson said quietly, “No. I didn’t call and tell him I was coming. With Joe it isn’t necessary. His family is always welcome. Now I’d like to know what right you have to hold me at gunpoint and ask me these questions.”
“I have every right. There were shots fired here.” Thad gave a sharp rap on the door and waited until it was opened by a trembling Inez. Shoving Jackson ahead of him, he headed toward Joe Colton’s office. As he stepped inside he heard the high-pitched wail of sirens signaling the arrival of the rest of the squad. When a uniform rushed into the room, Thad nodded his head toward Jackson Colton.
“This guy claims to be a relative. He was outside when I got here. See that he sits in that chair and doesn’t move until I’ve had a chance to interview everyone here.” He gave Jackson a look that spoke, more than any words, what would happen if he dared to argue.
Then he was gone, his face as dark as a thunder-cloud.
Heather sat with Teddy and Joe, Jr., while uniformed men swarmed over the area, bagging everything that seemed the least bit suspicious. While one team went over every inch of the grounds directly surrounding the house, another team worked inside, checking doors, windows, locks. The master suite was sealed off while a team sifted through every shard of broken glass.
Inez had been ordered to stay until a statement could be taken from her. Joe and Meredith were closed in the great room with Thad Law and several detectives, answering questions.
“Heather.” Joe, Jr., looked grave in the lamplight. “Why does somebody want to kill my dad?”
“I don’t know, honey.” She wrapped her arm around the boy, offering him what comfort she could. “I wish I knew. I guess there will always be people in this world who want to hurt other people.”
“Why can’t the police arrest all the bad people?” Teddy’s blue eyes were troubled.
“They try, Teddy. They do the best they can. But before they can arrest somebody, they have to find out who he is. That’s why they’re talking to everybody who was here tonight. To see if any of us can help them find the bad people. And believe me, Teddy, if it’s at all possible, I believe the police will find the person who did this.”
“Heather’s right about that.”
At the sound of Thad Law’s voice, their heads came up.
Heather wondered just how long he’d been standing there, watching and listening. As a detective, he would have been trained to listen and observe. But this seemed to be more than training. It seemed almost second nature to him. As though he’d spent a lifetime looking into people’s minds and probing the secrets of their hearts.
Thad closed the door and leaned against it. “If you boys don’t mind, I’d like to ask you a favor.”
The two boys’ fears were forgotten as they wondered what they could possibly do for this man, who was held in such high regard by their father.
He crossed to the two little boys and got down on his knees, so that his eyes were level with theirs. It occurred to Heather as she watched that he was doing everything possible to make himself less intimidating. He instinctively understood that his size, his bearing, and his status as a police detective, could be misinterpreted as menacing.
“I need to learn everything I can about the past couple of hours.” He turned to the older boy first. “What were you doing when you heard the sound of the gunshot, Joe?”
“That’s easy,” Joe, Jr., said solemnly. “We were in the dining room, waiting for our dad to join us for dinner.”
“Were you sitting at the table?” Thad turned to the younger boy.
Teddy shook his head. “We were standing.”
“Alone?”
The boy shook his head. “With Heather.” He glanced tentatively toward her and was relieved to see her smiling. His own smile returned. “She was teasing us.”
“Teasing you? What about?” He glanced over the boy’s head and saw the color rise to Heather’s cheeks.
“About the clouds. She told us the sun’ll come out tomorrow.”
Thad grinned. “Did she say it? Or sing it?”
“She said it. But in a singsong voice.” The little boy was clearly enjoying himself now that he’d discovered that the policeman had a sense of humor.
“Okay. As long as she didn’t burst into song.” Thad kept his tone light. “Then what happened?”
“Our mom came in and yelled at Heather.” Teddy saw the look of disapproval on his brother’s face and clapped a hand to his mouth. “Maybe I wasn’t supposed to tell.”
“That’s all right,” Thad said easily. “My mom used to yell sometimes, too. Moms do that. What did she yell about?”
“She told Heather not to come to the table in jeans. And Heather was just going to go and change when we heard the bang.”
“Were you all together when you heard the sound?”
The boy nodded, then paused. “Well, I guess our mom wasn’t here.” He turned to his brother for confirmation. “She ran out of the room a minute or so before Heather.”
“So there were only the three of you?”
Teddy nodded. “And Inez.”
“All right.” Thad kept his tone easy. “After your mother left, what did you say and do?”
Teddy grinned, remembering. “Heather said we were lucky, ’cause she was going upstairs to make herself glamorous.”
“And did she?”
Teddy shook his head. “Before she could go we heard the shot. Bam. Then Heather ran out of the room and started up the stairs. And when Joe and I tried to follow, she told us to stay downstairs.”
Thad nodded. “That was very wise of her. And then what happened next?”
“Heather called to Inez to take us back to the dining room. But she was too scared. And then our mom came along, but before she could take us away, our dad came to the top of the stairs and told Heather to call the police. And he told us all to stay out of the way while the police did their job.”
“Good.” Thad patted both boys on the shoulders. “You all did the right thing.”
As he got to his feet Joe, Jr., tipped up his head. “Did you find the man who fired the shot?”
“I can’t say, son.”
“But you’ll catch him, won’t you?”
Thad touched a hand to the boy’s shoulder, hearing so much more than the mere question. It was the underlying fear. A fear that would dog all of them until the shooter was identified and arrested. Whether awake or asleep, the little nagging thought would always be in the back of their minds. They weren’t safe. Even in their own home, they could find no refuge from this stalker until he was taken into custody and locked behind bars for his crime.
“You can count on it, son.”
At that both boys looked greatly relieved.
Teddy asked, “Are you going to stay here with us until he’s caught?”
Thad shook his head. “I’m afraid that isn’t possible. But I’ll see that you get all