To Save a Child--A Clean Romance Page 17

  Briggs paled, but he wasn’t ready to give up. “She lied. She’s just jealous that I have a kid and she doesn’t.”

  “You know that Zoe’s not yours. That’s why you wouldn’t allow her to live in the apartment. You didn’t want to raise someone else’s kid. Isn’t that correct?”

  Briggs didn’t respond, just looked a little dazed, as if he was measuring his options.

  “But you let Brooke stay because she was your cash cow, wasn’t she? Oh, yeah. I know about your gambling debts to Penetti. I have a statement from the manager and words from Penetti himself. You owe him a lot of money, and Brooke was your way of paying it back, a way for you to keep gambling. She loved you and she wanted to help, but you repaid her by sleeping with other women. She was leaving the morning she fell down the stairs. You couldn’t let your cash cow leave, could you, Briggs?”

  “You’re talking crazy.”

  “But you got her, didn’t you? You beat her up.”

  “I didn’t push her down the stairs.”

  “You didn’t have to. You hit her with your fist, and that did the trick. We got the ME’s report. Cause of death is homicide—blunt force blow to the head. I’m only going to say this once. Joel Briggs, you’re under arrest for the murder of Brooke Bennett. Read him his rights, Parker.”

  In a heartbeat, Briggs pushed Parker and knocked him against the car. Briggs bolted for the stairs. Cole was right behind him. With his gun pointed at him, he shouted, “Stop! Stop! Or I’ll shoot!”

  Briggs didn’t stop.

  He reached the first landing and paused. Cole watched his every move, his focus never wavering. With his right foot on the landing and his left foot on the step, Briggs reached down for something in his hiking boot. It was a small pistol.

  “Don’t shoot,” Cole said into the mic. “I got it. Stand down. Bo, I got it.” In his peripheral vision he could see Bo on the roof with a high-powered rifle.

  Almost in slow motion, Cole saw Briggs’s left foot slip from the step. He lost his balance and fell backward, his arms flailing. The pistol blasted into the sky. His head hit the bottom step with a loud thud. The pistol landed on his chest. Cole squatted to reach for the vein in his neck. Nothing. Briggs was dead. He took a long breath and holstered his gun. Officers moved in.

  “Take over,” he said to Parker. “I have to check on my grandfather.”

  “Go ahead.”

  He ran through the gathering crowd. Bertha was at the entrance, and he ran until he could see them. Grandpa was on the passenger side with his feet on the pavement, as if he’d sat for a moment to rest. He held Zoe. Grace knelt in front of him stroking Zoe’s back. When she saw Cole, she ran into his arms. He held her in a tight grip until his heart subsided into a normal rhythm.

  “I heard a gunshot and I thought—”

  “Briggs is dead. He ran when we had him cornered, and he slipped on the stairs.”

  “Oh—”

  “It’s okay.” He held her trembling body. “He’s never going to take Zoe now. It’s okay.”

  She was safe. Zoe was safe. But he wasn’t so sure about his grandpa. He tamped down the anger inside him at his grandfather’s bruised face. Once again he spoke into his mic. “Need an ambulance at the entrance gate.”

  “Cole, no. I don’t need to go,” Grace said.

  “You do. And Zoe needs to be checked in case they gave her something. She was crying uncontrollably. That’s different for her.”

  An ambulance was there in less than a minute. Grace, with Zoe in her arms, climbed inside. Cole helped his grandfather.

  “It’s going to be okay,” he said to Grandpa.

  “I know it is, and I don’t need to go to a doctor. I’m fine,” Walt insisted, but his words weren’t gruff like they usually were.

  He glanced at Grace. The paramedic tried to take Zoe, but Zoe held on tight to her aunt. “I’ll meet y’all at the ER.”

  He took a long breath as the ambulance disappeared into traffic. For the first time, he felt weak in the knees doing his job. And he knew the reason. It involved family—his family. A woman, a baby and an old man had weaved their magic around his heart. A heart that had been cold for so many years was now beating like a drum at a rock concert.

  * * *

  THE PARAMEDIC COULDN’T do much with Zoe in the ambulance, so he decided to wait until they reached the ER. She was very agitated and clung to Grace. Once the paramedic stopped prodding her, she relaxed.

  Grace worried about Mr. Walt. He was so pale, and the bruise was now caked with blood. She held his hand as the sirens blared through the afternoon. Once they reached the ER, Grace insisted on being with Mr. Walt.

  They rolled Mr. Walt into the ER. He was very calm, which worried Grace. He wasn’t usually this calm. He should be ranting and raving about being here. A nurse and doctor checked him.

  “His blood pressure is very high,” the nurse said.

  The doctor looked at the numbers. “Okay, we have to get his blood pressure down.”

  Grace moved closer to the bed. “Mr. Walt, did you take your blood pressure pill this morning? I told you to take it.”

  “I guess I did. I don’t remember.”

  “I gave you the bottle.”

  “Then I guess I took it.”

  The doctor shook his head and spoke to Grace. “It wouldn’t be this high if he’d taken it. It’s in the danger zone right now. Are you related?”

  “No. His grandson is on the way.”

  A nurse pulled Grace to a chair and checked her injury and said it was only superficial. Then they checked Zoe and took blood from her. She cried for a moment and then laid her head on Grace’s shoulder.

  The doctor once again spoke to Grace. “We started an IV for Mr. Chisholm and gave him something for his blood pressure. Once we get it down, we’ll take him for some tests. We think the bruise is just superficial, but we want to be sure.”

  “Thank you. His grandson should be here any minute.”

  The doctor walked out of the room, and Grace pulled her chair closer to Mr. Walt. “How are you feeling?”

  Mr. Walt blinked at her. “Where’s our girl?”

  Grace was holding Zoe, and she lifted her a little higher. “Right here. Can’t you see her?”

  “Oh, there’s my girl.”

  Mr. Walt closed his eyes, and Grace thought he went to sleep. Suddenly, he started shouting, “Cora, how could you? How could you let that man take that baby? You’re supposed to protect her.”

  Grace didn’t know what to say. Clearly Mr. Walt was talking out of his head. So she just let him talk.

  “But you always do your own thing, don’t you? How many times did I tell you that you needed to pay more attention to Cole. He was Jamie’s son. Just like Grace told me. Cole was the most precious thing Jamie left on this earth. You acted like he wasn’t even there. How do you think that made him feel? Yeah, I’m still mad at you. I could never change your mind and make you realize that Jamie was dead and Cole was alive.”

  Grace got up and touched Mr. Walt’s hand. He seemed to not even realize she was there. Her breath caught in her throat at the sorrowful voice, and she felt as if she could relive the past through him. She could feel the pain that Cole must’ve lived through.

  “How is my grandpa?” Cole asked as he came into the room.

  Before Grace could answer, Mr. Walt said, “Cole, is that you?”

  Cole walked to the bed. “Yes, Grandpa, I’m here.”

  “Put some wood on the fire. It’s cold in here.”

  Cole glanced at Grace, and she nodded and whispered, “He’s a bit out of his head. They said his blood pressure is very high.”

  There was a blanket on the bed, and Cole reached for it. “Here’s a blanket, Grandpa. That should warm you up.” He spread the blanket over his grandfather with a loving hand.
/>   “Is your grandma asleep?”

  Cole gave a start. “Uh...yes.”

  “Don’t you and Bo roughhouse in here. You’ll wake your grandma.”

  The doctor came in and spoke to Cole for a few minutes. Then two nurses rolled Mr. Walt away for tests. Cole looked at her. “How are you?”

  “Sad. He was talking to Miss Cora—he was so mad and fussing at her.”

  “Yeah. He does that a lot, but in real life he never did that. He always pampered her because he knew she was hurting.” He cupped her face with his right hand. “That looks pretty bad.”

  “The doctor said it was just superficial, and I hope Mr. Walt’s is, too.”

  Zoe, who had her head on Grace’s shoulder, suddenly looked up and reached out for Cole. He took her.

  “Hey, smooches, are you okay?”

  Zoe rubbed her face against Cole’s, and his expression changed to one of tenderness. He wasn’t a cop. He was a man feeling all those warm emotions a child can induce.

  Grace patted Zoe’s back. “The doctor said she’s fine, but they took blood to make sure there was nothing in her system.” She took a quick breath. “What happened to Joel?”

  “When we tried to arrest him, he ran for the stairs. At the first landing, he reached down into his boot and pulled out a pistol. His left foot slipped and he fell backward, the gun going off in his hand. His head hit the bottom step and he died. We didn’t even fire a shot.”

  “The same place that Brooke fell?”

  “Yes. Pretty strange, isn’t it?”

  Grace brushed her hair back. Her stomach churned with so many emotions that it was hard to describe them. Joel Briggs was dead. He couldn’t hurt Zoe anymore, and Cole was the reason for that. She raised her eyes to Cole’s. “Thank you.”

  “There are some other things you need to know.” And he told her about the ME’s report and the other information he’d found out in his investigation. But one thing stood out above the rest.

  “He killed her with his hand? She didn’t die from falling down the stairs?”

  “No. A blunt force blow to the head caused her brain to bleed. And it wasn’t from the stairs.”

  Grace sank into a chair. Once again she felt so much guilt for not being there for her sister, for not confronting her and making her listen. She could have done so much more, but she didn’t want to invade her privacy. She wanted her to live her own life. And it had turned out terribly. She’d always regret not talking more to Brooke about Joel and how bad he was. Why couldn’t Brooke see how bad Joel was? She’d said she loved him, and Grace supposed when you were in love you saw everything through rose-colored glasses.

  A nurse entered the room. “Sergeant Chisholm, there are some people out here that need to speak with you.”

  Cole handed Zoe to Grace. “Are you okay?” he asked in a gentle voice she was beginning to love. Take-charge guy was still somewhere in that broad chest, and she loved him, too.

  “Yeah. My heart is bruised a little, but Zoe and I will be fine now.”

  Cole left the room, and Grace stepped out to see what was going on. A man in a suit, an officer and a woman in scrubs stood two doors down waiting for Cole. She could hear them clearly. What did they want?

  Cole stopped when he reached the man in the suit. “What’s going on, Myers?”

  That was the criminal defense attorney Cole had talked about. Joel’s attorney.

  The man handed Cole what looked like some legal papers. “I’m here to take custody of the minor child Zoe Briggs.”

  No! They couldn’t do this. After all Cole had done, they were still going to take Zoe. She held Zoe a little tighter, but the urge to run was strong. This time, though, she would face whatever she had to face to keep Zoe. She would fight.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  COLE STARED AT the papers shoved at him and reluctantly took them. He read through the document. “This says that minor child Zoe Briggs is to be delivered to her biological father, Joel Stephen Briggs.” He looked at Myers. “You see, Counselor, I have a problem with that.”

  “What kind of problem?”

  “Joel Stephen Briggs is dead.”

  “Due to a botched raid by the police, a young man lost his life. The baby will now go to his parents.”

  “I didn’t see their names on the order.”

  “That’s because we didn’t anticipate the police would kill him.”

  Cole swallowed fiery words in his throat and answered like the professional cop he was. “Briggs died because he ran. He’s a coward and couldn’t face the facts. He ran up the stairs to his apartment, and when he reached for a gun, he slipped and fell backward to his death. I think that’s called sweet justice.”

  “It could have been handled differently.”

  “We handled it according to the book. We had a warrant for his arrest—”

  “For what?” Myers fired at him.

  “Oh, I guess you haven’t read the ME’s report. Brooke Bennett died from a blunt force blow to the head, causing her brain to bleed. The fall didn’t cause her to die. Joel Briggs did.”

  The lawyer paled significantly. “I wasn’t aware of this.”

  “We went to arrest him, and then we found out he’d kidnapped Zoe.”

  “He did not kidnap the baby. She is his biological daughter, and I told him he had a right to her. There’s nothing you can legally do about that.”

  “Did you tell him to take the baby?” Cole was unable to keep his voice from rising.

  “My conversations with Joel are privileged.”

  People were walking by, staring at the group. Nurses and staff were also staring at them. A tech with a cart tried to get past them, and Cole walked to a small waiting area. Myers and the officer and the nurse followed.

  It gave Cole time to get his emotions in check. “Briggs broke into my grandfather’s home and physically assaulted both him and Grace Bennett and took the baby. They are here now being checked over by doctors. If either one of them has something seriously wrong, I’m coming after you with both barrels blazing. You got it?”

  “You can’t intimidate me.”

  “You set into motion a chain of events that killed Joel Briggs. Take a look in the mirror, Counselor. You’re guilty as hell. You might want to mention that to Joel Briggs’s parents.”

  “This is smoke and mirrors, Sergeant, and I’m not listening to you anymore. This officer—” he pointed to the officer standing behind him “—is here to see that the baby is delivered to Joel Briggs’s parents. Today.”

  Cole looked at the officer. His name tag said Randall. “Who’s your commanding officer?”

  “Sergeant Baker, sir,” the officer responded.

  Cole pulled out his phone and called Baker. He explained the situation.

  “The parents’ names are not on the order?”

  “No.”

  “It’s not legal, then. Tell Officer Randall he can return to the station.”

  “Will do.” He relayed the message to the officer and the man walked out.

  “Judge Ramstad will have your head on a platter for disobeying his order,” Myers said, anger flashing in his eyes.

  “I think Judge Ramstad will agree with me. You can’t serve a legal warrant with false information. That I know.”

  “That baby is going to Joel’s parents just as soon as I get another warrant. Don’t think you won here today. You haven’t.”

  “I’ve done a lot of investigating on this case, and it appears that Briggs may not be the biological father of Zoe.”

  Myers’s steely eyes narrowed. “What are you trying to pull?”

  “I spoke to Briggs’s ex-wife.”

  “Who?”

  “You didn’t know he was married before?” It seemed as if Briggs had kept that a secret from just about everybody. “Well, he w
as, and according to her, she didn’t like being hit, cheated on or lied to. She had a lot to say about her ex-husband, and the bombshell was that he’d had a vasectomy.”

  “I’m sure she’s lying. Joel is the father of that baby, and you’re twisting this into something that suits your needs.”

  “You should know twisting, Counselor, since you do it every day in the courtroom. But I’m giving you facts—DNA testing is being done on Joel and the baby. We’ll have it in a few days, and then we’ll know for sure who’s playing who.”

  Cole’s phone pinged, and he took a moment to look at it. He showed the photo to Myers. “You might want to inform Briggs’s parents that he was selling the baby. That’s one hundred grand in a carryall. The photo is from Detective Parker, who is handling the case. Two other people were with Joel when we caught him—the buyers for the baby. They’re from California and are being held at the police station. Briggs has had them on the hook for about five months now saying that his girlfriend needed time, but he would eventually get her to agree to sell the baby. Warms your heart, doesn’t it?”

  Myers turned on his heels and walked out of the ER.

  Cole took a long breath, turned and came face-to-face with a person he’d never thought he would see again.

  “Stephanie, what are you doing here?”

  She hugged him briefly. He didn’t respond. “I was at the police station, and they said you were involved in an altercation with Joel Briggs. Your friend Bo came in, and I asked him where you were and he said the ER. I came right over. I was worried about you.”

  “I’m fine, Stephanie, you don’t need to worry about me.”

  She made a face like she’d often seen her do. A face that said she was going to wrap him tight around her little finger—except that was never going to happen again.

  “You’re still mad, but that’s okay. Thanksgiving wasn’t a good day for either one of us.”

  “Stephanie.” He sighed and chose his words carefully. “We are over.”

  She patted his chest. “You don’t mean that.”

  “I do, but let me ask you a question. Since we are such a good couple, why didn’t you invite my grandfather to Thanksgiving?”