The Deputy's Duty. Terri Reed

need to stake out this address. Also, notify Child Protective Services that we are removing Georgina Hennessy from her current location.”

       Jackson nodded and moved to do as asked. Ryan returned to the front door of Helen Yorke’s house.

       Helen frowned, her gaze going to Jackson by the Fitzgerald Bay police vehicle. “What’s going on, Deputy?”

       He glanced up and down the deserted street. When would Christina return? Better to remove the child before any confrontation. “I am taking Georgina Hennessy into protective custody.”

       Helen’s gaze snapped back to him and widened. “Custody?”

       “May I come in?”

       The woman blinked. “Not until you tell me what’s going on.”

       Appreciating her protectiveness of Georgina, Ryan said, “It would be better if I explained to you inside.”

       She hesitated then stepped back. “Excuse the mess. My mother passed on and I’ve been trying to box up her things to get the house ready to sell.”

       Entering the home, Ryan mentally catalogued the interior. Taped boxes stacked in the corner. Half-full boxes littered the area rug over scarred hardwood floors. Three arched doorways led to other rooms and a hall opened to the left.

       However, Meghan Henry was not in view. She must be with the child.

       Helen set her hands on her hips and gave him a pointed look.

       “Mrs. Hennessy is a suspect in her husband’s murder,” Ryan stated.

       Shock flooded the older woman’s expression. “What?” Helen shook her head. “No. Christina loved Burke.”

       “We have evidence implicating her. But for now I’m taking Georgina into custody,” Ryan explained. “To protect her.”

       Doubt clouded Helen eyes. “You’re sure of this?”

       “It’s still early in the investigation.” He played on her maternal instincts. “The child’s safety must be a priority. If Christina is innocent, she’ll regain custody of her daughter quickly enough.”

       Placing her hand over her heart, Helen said, “Poor Georgina. Follow me.”

       Ryan made a quick walk-through of the kitchen, dining room and a bedroom, verifying Christina wasn’t on the premises before joining Helen outside a room at the end of the hall.

       As Ryan approached, she said, “I’ll pack a couple of bottles and some finger food. She’ll be hungry soon.”

       He allowed her to pass. When he entered the small bedroom, he halted abruptly. Meghan Henry cradled the sleepy toddler in her arms as she sang. The sound of her voice and the sight of her cuddling the child wrapped around Ryan’s senses. His chest tightened.

       Meghan bent close to coo as she bounced the sleepy little one in her arms. The red dress she wore heightened the color of her cheeks. Tenderness softened the brackets that had pinched the corners of her mouth the last time he’d seen her—when she’d stormed into his office demanding to know what he was doing to solve her cousin’s murder. The love shining in Meghan’s hazel eyes was unmistakable. And curious.

       The sight unexpectedly touched something deep inside Ryan.

       Seeing this softer, calmer side of Meghan appealed to him on an elemental level—which set his teeth on edge. He didn’t understand why the sight of her holding a baby would make his insides melt and his heart ache.

       He’d been there in the hospital when his nephew Sean was born. Watched his sister Fiona care for her newborn boy, heard her make the identical cooing sounds that were now emanating from Meghan. He’d witnessed plenty of women attending to children of various ages. But he hadn’t felt this same strange expanding pressure building in his chest.

       He softly cleared his throat to announce his presence as much as to release the tension knotting his shoulders.

       Meghan glanced up. There was no surprise or repentance in her tear-filled eyes. The gentle smile curving her lips hit him in the solar plexus like the business end of a nightstick.

       His mouth went dry. Whoa, buster. Don’t go losing perspective because of this woman.

       He drew in air and forced himself to push back the warmth burrowing deep inside him.

       “What are you doing here?” he asked, careful to keep his voice low so as not to upset the toddler who stared at him with bright blue eyes.

       “Following a lead the same as you,” Meghan replied in a soft tone.

       Frustration roped a knot in his chest. “You’re interfering in my investigation. If you had a lead, you should have come to me.”

       She arched an eyebrow. Distrust oozed off her in waves.

       That rankled. “What do you know?”

       “I know Christina and Burke Hennessy weren’t the upstanding citizens everyone believed them to be,” she said.

       He frowned. It was no secret that there was little love lost between the Hennessys and the Fitzgeralds. Burke Hennessy had been a prideful bully but there’d never been any hint of illegal activity associated with the lawyer and his socialite wife. So what would have led Meghan to make such a judgment? Had she uncovered information critical to his case? “If you know something that will help in my investigation into Burke Hennessy’s death, you’d better tell me.”

       “Keep your voice down,” she instructed with a pointed look at the toddler in her arms now squirming to be set free.

       Reining in his frustration, he forced himself to let the questions go. There would be time enough for that later. “I’m taking Georgina into protective custody.”

       In a low voice, she asked, “So you do think Christina’s responsible for her husband’s death?”

       “I do.”

       She nodded as if satisfied with his answer. “Do you have a car seat?”

       His stomach sank. He hadn’t expected to find Christina much less the toddler. “No.”

       “I do. So I guess we’ll be taking my car.”

       She’d come prepared. Why? The question hovered on the tip of his tongue, but a strange sense of urgency tingled at the base of Ryan’s neck. Pushing back his need for answers, he said, “We need to go.”

       “No one’s going anywhere!” A woman’s nasal voice invaded the room.

       Meghan let out a gasp of alarm.

       Ryan whipped around and found Christina Hennessy filling the doorway. The once-polished socialite now looked harried—her usually perfect blond hair mussed and her slacks and blouse wrinkled as if she hadn’t changed clothes in several days. An almost wild fervor glittered in her green eyes setting off alarm bells in Ryan’s head.

       But the .38 revolver she held aimed at Meghan froze his blood.

       A woman on the edge with a gun. A bad combination.

       Beside her stood a muscle-bound thug with a nasty-looking scar running down the side of his face.

       Anger directed mostly at himself shuddered through Ryan. He’d been so distracted by Meghan and the ridiculous soft emotions she had inspired that he’d let his guard down. He hadn’t heard danger approaching. His instincts had kicked in too late.

       His skills were rusty. Too much time spent at a desk and not out in the field.

       Where was Jackson? Ryan could only hope the rookie wasn’t lying dead outside.

       Time to take control. Rapidly assessing the situation, he decided the best option was to keep everyone calm and his service weapon holstered. The quarters were too tight, the chances of someone getting hurt too great. He’d have a better opportunity of disarming Christina