Christmas Justice (Carder Texas Connections #7)(52)

Raven sat cross-legged, hosting a makeshift picnic on the bed.

Laurel fingered Molly’s blond hair, able to breathe for a moment, knowing her niece was safe. “He left, Molly Magoo.”

Everything within Laurel longed to assure Molly that Garrett would be back soon, but the words simply wouldn’t come. Laurel not only couldn’t be certain; she feared the worst.

Molly stilled; a frown tugged at the corners of her lips. “He didn’t even say goodbye. That’s not polite. And I wanted to show him my star. I kept forgetting before. It’s just like his when we first met him.”

“You have a star?” Laurel asked in confusion.

“Mommy put it on my lion.”

Molly held out Mr. Houdini. Laurel stared at the small charm hanging from the lion’s collar. She dug into her pocket and retrieved the charm bracelet that her father had sent to Ivy. No charms were missing from it. Every other silver shape had meaning—a seashell representing the last vacation with their mother, a horse for when they’d learned to ride, a ballerina from the terrifying lessons both girls had endured before their mother let them quit.

But a sheriff’s star. It had no meaning in their lives.

Except in reference to Garrett.

“When did she put this on, Molly?”

Molly’s forehead crinkled in thought. “The day I got sick. She said it was a special star. Grandpa sent it and I had to protect it ’cause I was a brave girl just like the man who wore the star. That’s Sheriff Garrett, right?”

“Yes, I think it is.” Laurel could barely speak past the thickening of her throat. “Can I borrow it, honey?”

Her niece’s face went solemn. “You’ll give it back?”

“I promise, Molly Magoo.”

Laurel slipped off the lion’s collar and returned the animal. She opened the door and motioned Daniel over. “Do you have a magnifying glass or a microscope?”

Daniel’s brow rose. “What’s up?”

“Maybe nothing. Maybe an answer.”

Daniel rounded the back of one of the black vehicles swarmed in the motel’s parking lot. He dug into a duffel bag in the back. “Raven is always telling me I carry weird stuff in my bag.” He handed her a small magnifying glass. “I’ve had it since I was a kid. My father taught me to build fires with it.”

Laurel sat down at the table in the motel room and laid the charm down. She studied it closely. Molly had carried that lion everywhere. She’d almost left it behind in Virginia when’d they run that very first night.

After studying one side and seeing nothing, she gently turned it over and there it was.

“A microdot.” She looked up at Daniel. “We have to find out what’s on it, fast. It could save Garrett. And my father.”

*

LAUREL SAT CROSS-LEGGED on the bed, staring at the computer file that the CTC technicians had pulled from the microdot.

Page after page of all the proof she needed that Garrett and her father were innocent. Except for one thing—the true identity of who was behind all the transactions.

But why had her father and Ivy kept it secret?

“Oh, Ivy, where do I go from here? Who were you going to give this to? If only Garrett were here. He might see something unusual.”

She opened the motel-room door and called out to Daniel. “Any word yet?”

He shook his head. “They haven’t broken radio silence. They will as soon as they can. All I can confirm is that they landed in D.C. a few hours ago.”

“D.C.? No. Garrett’s walking into a trap.” She frowned at Daniel. “You know that.”

Worry creased Daniel’s forehead. “You have to trust him. I’ve looked into who Garrett used to be. The man was very good at his job.”

Laurel scrubbed her face. This wasn’t the same situation. He was a known traitor to the rest of the world. The moment law enforcement recognized he was alive, if someone killed him, not that many questions would be asked.

The answer was in that file. Laurel had to decipher it. She had to save him somehow. She needed someone who could help her see what she was missing.

She closed the door on Daniel and paced the motel room. She wanted him here, with her. Safe. She longed for him to hold her in his arms, to talk this over with him. She had to call in her last resort.

She toyed with the phone in her hand. Garrett had wanted to keep Fiona out of it, but with the new information from the microdot, Fiona might be the only other person who could help. She could put the word out Garrett was innocent, and that her father was innocent. Save their lives.

Maybe even help Laurel decipher something hidden in the file—something Ivy and James had known about, but that Laurel couldn’t identify. Then Garrett wouldn’t have to go through with whatever risky plan he and his CTC friends had come up with.

Her finger paused over the numbers. Garrett hadn’t wanted to trust anyone else, but even he had recognized Fiona’s knowledge. With a deep breath, Laurel dialed Fiona’s personal number. No way Laurel could risk her call being recorded.

“Fiona Wylde.” The woman’s voice was pleasant, welcoming. As it always was. This woman could very well marry her father someday.

“Fiona, it’s Laurel.”

The woman gasped. “But...I thought... Oh, my God, James and I thought you were dead.”