Interrupted Lullaby. Dana R. Lynn
the silence before she could dial.
“Here.” Lieutenant Willis held out his left hand, keeping his right pressed firmly against the towel. “I will call. You take care of the baby.”
Maggie narrowed her eyes at him. Could she trust him enough to turn her back on him while she tended to her babies? A second loud bellow decided for her. Her daughter had no volume control. Maggie knew from experience that the baby girl would only get louder until her needs were met. Nodding, she thrust the phone into his outstretched hand and hurried across the room to the stroller, where the babies still sat. Rory was still asleep, his head slumped against one side of the stroller. Siobhan was a different story. She continued wailing until Maggie picked her up. Then she was all smiles as one chubby hand tangled itself in Maggie’s curls and the other waved in the air while she babbled. Maggie went to the refrigerator and prepared a sippy cup of milk under the malevolent stare of the attacker.
Someone knocked on the back door. Maggie shrieked and dropped the cup, clasping her daughter protectively against her. Cold milk sloshed on her faded jeans. The child squawked in protest.
“Police,” a voice called out.
“In here,” Lieutenant Willis responded.
A pair of uniformed policemen stepped into the room. One of them glanced over at Maggie, still holding her squirming, fussing daughter, milk dripping on the floor.
“Sorry, ma’am. Didn’t mean to startle you.”
Not sure she would be able to speak, Maggie nodded and bent down to retrieve the cup. Keeping a wary eye on the visitors in her small kitchen, she poured her daughter another cup and handed it to her. Knowing Siobhan would be occupied for a few minutes, she set her daughter down on the rug behind her. Happy, the child slurped her milk while Maggie used the towel hanging on the refrigerator door to clean up the mess.
“You guys got here quick,” Lieutenant Willis noted, a wry twist to his lips. “I only called five minutes ago.”
“Yes, sir. We were on our way back from another call a mile from here.”
The lieutenant nodded once. “Very good, gentlemen. You can take this guy off my hands.” He jerked his head toward the sneering man sitting on the floor.
The officers hefted the handcuffed man to his feet and led him toward the door.
“You okay, Lieutenant? Need us to call the paramedics?”
Dan waved a dismissive hand at them. “Done. I think the bleeding’s stopped, anyway.”
“Read him his rights yet?”
“Yep. He’s all yours. Get him a nice, cozy cell.”
The man jeered at them. “You guys think you’re so tough.” He shot a snide glance at Maggie. “And you—don’t think this is the end. He knows where you live now. And even if you move...it’ll be easy to track you down with them.” He motioned with his head toward the little girl, who had abandoned her cup and was crawling away. Maggie grabbed the child, ignoring her squawk of protest. Her stomach curdled, ached, and her mouth grew dry.
The officers nudged the man toward the door. “Dude, you have the right to remain silent. I’d seriously consider doing that.”
Lieutenant Willis stood abruptly. He put a hand on the lead officer’s shoulder, halting him so he could stare down the attacker.
Maggie shivered. Wow, his gray eyes were so cold. And hard. With his longer-than-regulation-length blond hair and leather jacket, he looked carefree. But she had seen him in action. This was not a man to be messed with. Not to mention the fact that he had to be at least six feet tall. Six feet of muscle.
“Who is after her?” Even though his voice was soft, Maggie could clearly hear it across the room.
The man raised his chin defiantly. “I got my rights. I want a lawyer. And a phone call.”
Lieutenant Willis’s expression melted into a scowl. He jerked his head toward the door. “Get him outta here.”
The officers dragged the man from the house. Lieutenant Willis sat heavily, a sigh escaping as he stared at Maggie. He was gearing up to ask questions. Lots of questions. She could almost imagine his thoughts aligning themselves in his head. Her spine straightened. Just because she didn’t have a choice about talking to him didn’t mean she had to like it. But he had saved her—and her babies. She had no doubt her attacker would have hurt them, too, to try to get answers out of her. The lieutenant’s rescue had to mean something. She would cooperate. But still, she’d better keep up her guard.
The arrival of the paramedics forestalled the interrogation. The stoic lieutenant made a big show of tossing the bloody towel over his shoulder to allow the men to examine him. The bleeding had stopped. It was soon clear that he hadn’t been stabbed as much as sliced, the blade grazing his skin in a shallow cut. He wouldn’t even require stitches. Although he wasn’t badly hurt, she could see fatigue settling deep in the lines on his face.
Too soon for her comfort, the paramedics had packed up their things and departed. Now it was just her and the lieutenant. Here come the questions, she thought, resigned. But she was surprised.
“See-ob-han?” the man queried, head tilted while he peered at the blanket she had tucked around her daughter, now sleeping peacefully against her shoulder. Maggie glanced down. It was the blanket Wendy had given her right before she’d left. Maggie had been so touched when the woman had made one for each twin, their names embroidered on the front.
“It’s pronounced She-vonne,” she corrected him. “It’s Irish.”
“Ah, that’s right. Your mother is from Ireland.”
Maggie shrugged, not prepared to discuss her mother with this stranger. Even if he had saved her life.
“Are you taking it easy on the job, Willis?”
Lieutenant Willis snapped to attention as a petite officer entered the room. Her short graying mop of hair was slightly wavy and curled under at the ends. She carried herself with authority. Maggie could almost feel the energy crackling from her as she walked.
Maggie edged over to the stroller and set her sleeping daughter inside it, never taking her eyes off the new arrival.
“No, ma’am. Just starting to ask Maggie here why someone would come after her with a knife.”
“That’s a good question, Lieutenant.” The woman’s brown eyes zeroed in on Maggie. They were eyes used to smiling, surrounded by laugh lines. But right now they were stern. “I’m Chief Martha Garraway from the local precinct. I’m very interested in your answer, Ms. Slade. We’ve looked for you a long time. Used valuable resources to find you. It’s apparent someone else was looking, too. Any idea who?”
Maggie drew in a fortifying breath. She was in deep. If it had been only herself, she would have run for it. But she had to think of her children. They needed to be protected.
“I know exactly who it was. It was the man who killed my husband.”
“Your husband!” Lieutenant Willis blurted.
Maggie swiveled her head from Lieutenant Willis to Chief Garraway, her brow furrowed. Her lips pressed together as she studied the thunderstruck expressions on their faces. Well, they apparently hadn’t expected that to come out of her mouth.
“How could you not know that I was married if you have been searching for me?” Maggie planted her fists firmly on her hips, shaking her head at them. Seriously? “Wasn’t that why you wanted to find me, because I disappeared after my husband was murdered?”
Lieutenant Willis scowled, his gray eyes narrowed. But he made no answer.
“Okay, Ms. Slade... Is it Ms. Slade?” Chief Garraway’s