Guarding The Babies. Sandra Robbins
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“Miss Lee? Where are you?”
“Up here,” Cole called out.
The words were barely out of his mouth before two uniformed officers, Zach Thomas and April Cantrell, appeared at the bedroom door. They stopped momentarily and stared at him holding one of the babies before they glanced at each other with confusion on their faces. Zach cleared his throat and nodded at him. “Detective Jackson, I didn’t expect you to already be here.”
“I live nearby,” Cole replied and glanced back at Holly. “I’ve called for a search team, and I was just getting information about the break-in from Miss Lee. Why don’t we go sit down, so we can get the official report?”
Holly cast an uncertain glance at the twins as if she didn’t know what to do with them. With a smile, April stepped forward. “Why don’t you let me take care of these precious babies while you talk to Detective Jackson and Officer Thomas?”
Holly hesitated for a moment. “Are you sure?”
April nodded. “I have two children of my own. I think I’m up to the job.”
Reluctantly, Holly surrendered Emma to her, and Cole set Ethan back in his bed. “Let’s talk downstairs,” Cole said as he turned back to Holly.
She nodded and turned to lead the way from the room. As she stepped away, soft whimpers came from the direction of the crib, and she turned to see Ethan standing up and holding on to the railing around the bed. His mouth was pulled into a frown, and his eyes were filled with tears.
She started to go to him, but April shook her head. “I’ve got this. Go on and get the report filled out.”
Holly bit down on her lip as if reluctant to leave the children, but after a moment, she turned and led the way downstairs to the den. When they were seated, Cole pulled a small notepad and pen from his pocket, then looked at Holly. “I know you’ve already told me once what happened, but I need you to tell me again, so I can make sure I have all the information. Concentrate and try to remember every detail.”
Holly nodded and began to speak. Cole wrote as she described herself waking and not hearing the music over the baby monitor—and then everything that followed after to the point where she locked herself in the bedroom with the twins and called nine-one-one.
When she’d finished, Cole glanced back over the notes he’d taken while she’d been talking. Then he looked around the room. There didn’t appear to be any evidence of a robbery. In fact, everything looked neat and in place. At first glance, it appeared that Holly had interrupted a kidnapping of her niece and nephew. A high ransom wouldn’t be a problem for a wealthy music star. The fact that the intruder had turned the monitor off convinced Cole even more that this had been intended as a kidnapping, but there was no need to worry Holly at this point.
He flipped the notepad closed and took a deep breath. “So how long are you here for, Holly?”
Her shoulders tensed, and she clasped her hands in her lap. “Just a few days. I came home to clear the house out and put the ranch up for sale.”
His eyes grew wide. “You’re selling your father’s ranch?”
She nodded. “Yes. With my schedule, I can’t take care of it. I’d rather it belong to someone who will.”
He didn’t reply but looked to Officer Thomas, who had a quizzical look on his face. “Zach, I guess you realize who Holly is.”
Zach nodded. “Who doesn’t know who Holly Lee is? Local girl who made it big in the country-music industry and one of the top-selling artists of the day. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lee.”
She smiled. “Thank you, Zach. I appreciate your help tonight.”
“I was really sorry to hear about your sister’s and brother-in-law’s deaths. Was this their house?”
Holly nodded. “Yes. My sister and I grew up here. After my father died, Ruth and her husband, Michael, took over the property.” She glanced back at the staircase. “The twins upstairs are their children.”
He started to say something else, but Cole interrupted him. “I think we have all the information we need. I heard the search team drive up. Why don’t you go help them?”
Zach nodded and pushed to his feet. “Will do. If that guy’s still around, Miss Lee, we’ll find him.”
Holly smiled her thanks as Zach walked from the room and then turned back to face Cole, who sat in a chair facing her. For a moment, she didn’t say anything. Then she cleared her throat. “How have you been?”
He gave a slight nod. “Fine. And you?”
She blinked back the tears that filled her eyes. “I just try to get through each day.” She sat silent for a moment. “It still seems so unreal. I’ll never forget the day I received that phone call from the Louisiana authorities telling me that Ruth and Michael’s plane had crashed into Lake Pontchartrain.”
Cole nodded. “I know. Michael had been so excited about taking Ruth on that weekend trip to New Orleans. I couldn’t believe it ended so tragically. What’s the latest with the investigation?”
She sighed and rubbed her hands over her eyes. “Nothing. They found the plane, but Ruth’s and Michael’s bodies weren’t inside. No one has been able to find any trace of them. I had thought...maybe once we found them and had a funeral, I could get some closure. But now—” Her last words ended on a sob, and he reached out and grasped her hand.
“Don’t think about that, Holly. Just be thankful the twins weren’t with them.”
She brushed the tears from her cheeks and straightened her shoulders. “You’re right. I thank God every day that the twins were with me in Nashville for that weekend. If they’d been on that plane, they would have died, too. But I’m also thankful that Ruth and Michael had me in their will to be guardian if anything happened to both of them.” Her eyes teared up again. “But who would have thought they’d die together?”
A sharp pang pierced his heart at the thought of Michael Whitson, his best friend ever since he could remember, and Michael’s pretty wife, Ruth. He’d often wondered what they’d experienced when they knew their plane was going down. He swallowed and cleared his throat.
“When they recovered the plane, could they tell the cause of the crash?”
Holly shook her head. “No. The plane didn’t have a black box to record anything, and they couldn’t detect anything wrong with it. They haven’t released the official findings, but I’ve been told they’re leaning toward pilot error.”
“What?” Cole exclaimed. “Michael was the most thorough pilot I’ve ever known.”
“I know. It just seems so unreal. In the meantime, I’m trying to take care of the twins and prepare for my tour that’s coming up this fall.”
“Getting this place ready to sell must be another load of responsibility on top of that. Why bother with it now?”
“Maintaining the ranch when I don’t live here would be a bigger responsibility. Something has to go, so it’s going to be the ranch. I live three hundred miles away, and I’m too busy to keep things running here.”
A flash of anger flared in him, and he pushed to his feet. “Yeah, I know. When you left Jackson Springs, you left for good. Now, with Ruth and Michael gone, there’s nothing here for you anymore.”
She rose and faced him. “I cut my ties with this place ten years ago.”
The look on her face defused his anger, and he let out a long breath. “Yeah, you did. I guess I know that more than anybody, Holly. I’m sorry if I let old memories intrude on an official police call. I promise I won’t do that again.” He slipped the notepad back in his pocket. “Our department will do whatever it takes to keep you safe while you’re here.” He stopped and frowned. “It just dawned on me. You’re here alone. Where