Trail of Secrets. Sandra Robbins

enjoy our time together, especially our trip to Hawaii.”

      His forehead wrinkled. “We will, darling. I just have to get some things worked out before we can go. In the meantime, I’ve booked you a room at the Peabody. I think it would be better for you to stay there for a few days until I get this case cleared up.”

      Callie sat up straight and swiveled in her seat to face him. “What? I don’t want to stay at the Peabody. I want to stay at home.”

      “You will. Like I said, just give me a few days, then we’ll get started on our summer plans.”

      “But Uncle Dan...”

      “Oh, no!” her uncle exclaimed, his wide-eyed stare locked on the rearview mirror.

      Behind them Callie heard the roar of a car engine as it pulled into the passing lane. She turned her head to look over her shoulder, but her uncle’s big hand gripped the back of her neck and pushed her face down to her lap as their car surged forward in a new burst of speed. Callie tried to wriggle free of the tight grip, but it was no use.

      The crack of gunfire split the air, and the glass on the driver’s-side window shattered. Uncle Dan’s hand loosened then fell off her neck completely, and the car swerved toward the road’s shoulder. Callie glanced up to see her uncle slumped over the steering wheel, his hand now hanging limply beside him. Before she could reach out to him, the car hit the highway guard rail, which folded like an accordion. Her air bag released and pushed her back into her seat as the car flipped on its side and plunged down a small embankment.

      The vehicle’s jarring stop knocked the breath from Callie’s chest, and she closed her eyes as dizziness engulfed her. After a moment she swallowed, opened her eyes and took a deep breath.

      Somehow the car had righted itself before it came to a stop, and she struggled to sit up in her seat. She turned her head to the side and gasped at the sight of her unconscious uncle behind the driver’s-side air bag. Blood poured down the side of his face. She pushed her air bag out of the way and fumbled to release the seat belt, but it wouldn’t open. “Uncle Dan!”

      She touched his neck, found his weak pulse and groaned. He needed immediate medical attention. Her purse with her cell phone inside had been next to her feet before the crash, but it could be anywhere in the car now. She swept the floor with her hand but couldn’t find it. She glanced back at her uncle, but he still hadn’t moved. Blood from his head wound covered the now-deflating driver’s-side air bag and dripped to the floor.

      She grasped the handle, pulled it back and shoved her shoulder against the door, but it wouldn’t budge. “Help!” she screamed. “Somebody, please help us!”

      The sound of raised voices reached her ears, and relief flowed through her. Just as quickly it turned to fear. What if the shooter was coming to finish them off? With them trapped in the car, they were perfect targets. Panicked, she shoved on the door again.

      A man’s face appeared at the shattered driver’s-side window, and he peered inside. “Are you all right?”

      In the darkness she couldn’t make out his face, but the man’s voice had a soothing quality. “Yes, but my uncle is hurt.”

      “I’ve called 911,” he said. “Help will be here any minute to get you out of there.” The man reached through the window and touched her uncle’s chest. “He’s breathing. Now you just take it easy until we get some help.”

      Callie leaned back in her seat and breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you for helping us.”

      “I’m glad I saw your car run off the road. I thought that car passing you got too close. Then I heard a loud noise like a gunshot. Whoever was driving that car meant to hurt you.”

      Callie nodded. “Yes, it looked that way to me, too.”

      “Now don’t you worry. I’ll stay right here with you until help arrives. It shouldn’t be too long.”

      Convinced they were safe for the moment from the person who’d tried to kill them, she closed her eyes. This wasn’t the homecoming she’d expected. She’d been looking forward to Uncle Dan’s retirement celebration for weeks. He’d worked so hard for years, first as a Memphis police officer while enrolled in law classes at night, then as a Memphis attorney and finally as a federal judge. He had spent the better part of his life bringing criminals to justice. If anyone deserved a peaceful retirement, he did.

      Callie had opted out of teaching summer classes at the University of Virginia where she was a professor in the School of Business so she could spend the entire summer with him. They were set to celebrate his retirement the way he’d planned for years—in a Maui beach house they’d rented for six weeks.

      She clenched her fists and rubbed her temples. It wasn’t fair. He was the best man she’d ever known, and he’d dedicated his life to raising her when she was left with no one. In just a few days he’d be able to leave the stress of his job behind and enjoy life for a change. He wasn’t supposed to wind up wounded and bleeding for reasons she didn’t understand while his attacker got away.

      The sound of sirens pierced the air. Callie opened her eyes and looked toward the road. “They’re here,” the man beside the car said.

      He’d hardly finished speaking before she saw the flashlight beams of the first responders bobbing in the darkness as their rescuers came down the embankment. The man who’d been talking to her moved out of the way as one of the rescuers stopped beside the car. He glanced at her uncle, then at her. “Don’t you worry, ma’am, we’ll have you out of there in no time and on your way to the hospital.”

      Thirty minutes later an EMT carried her up the embankment to the ambulance with its flashing lights. She eased over to the gurney where her uncle lay and grasped his hand. He hadn’t responded to anyone since he was pulled from the wreck.

      She glanced up at the EMT who had just finished checking his pulse. Even though she feared the answer, she had to ask the question burning in her thoughts. “Is he going to be all right?”

      The EMT adjusted the oxygen cannula in her uncle’s nose and frowned. “It’s still too early to say, ma’am. The doctor can tell you more when we get both of you to the hospital. Even though you appear to be unhurt you need to be checked out, too. You can ride in the back with your uncle.”

      Before they could load the gurney into the ambulance, her uncle stirred, and his eyelids fluttered open. She clutched his hand tighter and leaned closer. “Uncle Dan, it’s Callie. Can you hear me?”

      “Callie.” The hoarse whisper seemed to exhaust him.

      “Yes, I’m here. We were in a car wreck. We’re going to the hospital. Everything is going to be all right.”

      He frowned and licked his lips. “Call Seth.”

      Callie clutched her uncle’s hand tighter and shook her head. “Uncle Dan, don’t talk. Just lie still.”

      His eyes grew wide, and he struggled to push up. “No!” he wheezed. “Need Seth. Something to tell him about the case.”

      She glanced up at the EMT who placed his hands on her uncle’s shoulders and eased him back down to the gurney. “All right, Uncle Dan. I’ll call Seth.”

      “Tell him it’s important,” he mumbled before he closed his eyes again.

      New tears poured down Callie’s cheeks as she watched her uncle being loaded into the ambulance. One of the EMTs grasped her arm to help her up, but she paused when a car skidded to a stop next to the police car blocking the highway, and a man jumped from inside.

      She wouldn’t have to call Seth after all—he was already here.

      She braced herself for her first encounter with Seth Dawtry since the night when she’d turned down his marriage proposal. For years her uncle had said that she and the young policeman he’d mentored would make a perfect couple. He’d tried matchmaking every time she came back to Memphis to visit. It had almost worked