Credible Threat Read online

  Kurt’s heart rate increased as he thought about the judge’s house. “He bypassed the security system?”

  “No alarm. The panic button did nothing,” Rebecca answered.

  He knew the security system well. Top-of-the-line wireless security system with cellular backup. He’d approved it last year with the chief deputy’s blessing before it was installed. They liked to keep systems up-to-date and replaced them at regular intervals. The kidnapping attempt was alarming by itself, but knowing how to disarm technology like that wasn’t normal for a run-of-the-mill criminal. He schooled his features as if it was an everyday occurrence. He didn’t need to upset her further. “Okay. Anything you can tell me about your attacker? Any recognizable features?”

  “He was in a mask. A black ski mask. He wore...” She licked her lips and looked up at the ceiling tiles as she blinked rapidly. “I can’t remember.”

  Shame filled her voice; an understandable sentiment but unnecessary. Victims often had a tough time remembering those details. “Don’t beat yourself up or try to push it. It’s been hours, you’ve had a bump on your head and—”

  “I’d recognize his eyes and his voice. I’m sure of it. He had a unique accent.”

  “Do you know what kind?”

  She shook her head. “Foreign. Not European. Someone who spoke Spanish but more of the Latin variety.” She shrugged. “I know it’s not very helpful, but it’s all—”

  “You’re doing great. What exactly did he say to you?”

  The door to the room swung inward and Justice Linn strode past Delaney and Kurt with two cups of coffee in his hands. He wore a colorful sweater that reminded Kurt of the early nineties, tan slacks and matching loafers. His hair, while thinning on top, was a blend of brown and gray that looked natural.

  It was no wonder Kurt thought he was younger. He nodded at the judge. “Chief Justice Li—”

  “Brock, it’s about time you showed up.” His forceful tone would make a less confident man feel nervous. The judge didn’t make eye contact, but handed his granddaughter the cup. “Here you go, sweetie.” He spun around. “I requested you. I want someone with experience on this, and I want it dealt with immediately.”

  Since they had only two deputy marshals stationed in the Coeur D’Alene office, and Delaney was a newbie fresh out of basic training, it seemed a reasonable request. Kurt hoped Delaney didn’t take it as a slight against her. “Sir, I’m afraid I haven’t finished interview—”

  “Someone attempted to kidnap my granddaughter last night.” The judge’s bloodshot eyes scanned the room as his lower lip quivered. “There’s no question about it. I want this treated as a direct threat to the court.” He pointed his index finger at the ground as if physically punctuating the sentence.

  The truth was that it was highly probable the threat was aimed at him. Judge Linn had served for almost forty years, mostly in the criminal court. All judges received threats, but the number had risen exponentially over the past decade. Many of those threats were specifically aimed at family members, though usually it was immediate family. “Sir, have you or Rebecca spoken about this with the police?”

  “They’re ill equipped,” Judge Linn answered. “You need to take over.”

  Kurt appreciated the man’s faith in him, but they were going to need to work hand in hand with the police. He gestured toward the door, where Delaney waited. “I was told that Miss Linn lives in Ohio.” Of course, when his boss had told him, he’d imagined her as a little girl whose parents were waiting back in Cincinnati, not a grown woman. “We could escort her to the airport once she’s discharged. We’ll continue investigating the threat from this end.”

  Judge Linn’s frown intimidated him more than any other superior officers did. “She’s staying here.” He turned back to Rebecca and his features softened. “Though I wish you’d change your mind. I know why you’re doing this. Don’t pretend you’re not staying for me.”

  Kurt marveled at the change in tenor when the judge spoke to his granddaughter. He didn’t understand all the undertones of their hushed conversation, but it seemed like the judge didn’t want to admit he’d rather have her back in Ohio, as well.

  She beamed. “No one is scaring me away. You know I have a job to finish here before I can go. Besides, I can help them identify the man. I would recognize his voice and his eyes anywhere. Plus, I hurt him.” Rebecca tilted her head so she could address Kurt around her grandfather. “He should have a cut along his arm or...” She closed her eyes and held up her right fist as if reliving it. “His right shoulder, to be more precise. I cut him with a letter opener.” She exhaled and looked past the judge. “I think I at least scratched his chest, as well.”

  Kurt didn’t want to admit aloud that he was impressed, but she would be an asset in catching the attacker quickly. “If you drew blood, we could run a DNA test off the letter opener.”

  She cringed. “It’s somewhere on the side of the road. Near the ditch I fell in.”

  “Delaney, please have some officers sent to locate the evidence.” He tried to keep his jaw from clenching. If the police had interviewed her last night, they could’ve nabbed the guy by now.

  Delaney spun on her heel and rushed out of the room.

  “I don’t want this in the papers, Brock,” Judge Linn barked. “I need to go to the Boise courts for trial, and I don’t want her fighting a media circus.”

  All of the federal judges within the state traveled between the three US courts in Idaho. But, if Judge Linn went now, the marshals would need reinforcements to provide for his protective detail. The deputy marshals stationed in Boise had their hands full. Many were out on fugitive cases like the one he just finished. They weren’t going to like the news. “Sir, we’re going to need police cooperation.”

  Judge Linn ignored him for a moment as he gently kissed Rebecca’s forehead. Her eyelashes fluttered and Kurt found himself wishing he could see her pretty eyes up close.

  The judge straightened. “Brock, a word alone.”

  Kurt may have imagined it, but he thought he saw Rebecca fight a laugh as if she knew he was in for a lecture. He supposed she’d warned him when she’d said her grandpa was used to getting what he wanted.

  Kurt stepped into the hallway as the judge rounded on him, finger in the air. “She refuses to go to Ohio because she’s scared she’ll lead the threat to her father—my son.” The judge shook his head. “If he hears a single word of this, he’ll never speak to me again. That sweet girl knows it and is determined to stay here until the threat is gone.” He narrowed his eyes. “Make sure there is no threat. Understood?”

  It wasn’t his job to sort out family drama, but Kurt wanted to eliminate the threat as much as he did. “We’ll do our best, sir. You have my word.”

  The judge frowned, nodded and took a step toward the elevator. “Oh...and, Brock?” He held up the same finger in the air but didn’t turn to look back. “I’m sure you already know that my granddaughter is beautiful and intelligent.”

  Kurt’s spine stiffened. Unsure of what to say, he simply responded, “Yes, sir.”

  “Don’t feel you need to get to know her any better. You read me?”

  In other words, Kurt was to keep his distance. “Loud and clear, sir.” He didn’t need to be told twice.

  All he needed to do was to keep her safe, catch the bad guy and put her on a plane back to Ohio.

  TWO

  Rebecca wanted nothing more than to turn her thoughts off, but if she stopped obsessing over the attack, she feared she’d forget some crucial detail. As soon as she got back to Grandpa’s place, she wanted some time alone on her laptop. Typing every single detail she remembered would allow her to get it off her mind and finally relax. At least, as much as she could unwind with two marshals guarding her.

  She pulled her unruly hair back into a loose braid and secured it with a rubber band a nurs
e offered her. It embarrassed her a little bit to leave the hospital in a business suit, but her grandfather had grabbed the first thing he’d seen from her suitcase. He had already left with a policeman who would meet a deputy marshal from Boise in McCall to take over his protective detail. If her father knew she had been assigned her own protective detail, he’d lose his mind with worry, but she couldn’t deal with that yet.

  Rebecca stepped out of the bathroom. Kurt faced the door. His thick brown hair was slightly lighter than hers, and she wondered if it was natural or from so much time outside. His skin, slightly tanned, seemed to indicate the latter. He leaned against the wall as he made notes on his tablet. His dress shirt was a bit strained at the center of his back. She knew from the way her brother complained that it was hard to find athletic fits of dress clothes.

  The marshal was much bigger, much stronger, than her first glance had led her to believe. Guys like him probably spent all their free time in a gym. She couldn’t help but wonder if he would win a one-on-one fight against her attacker. Her attacker hadn’t looked as fit or seemed as strong as the marshal, but she shivered at the memory of the cold, calculated way he’d stared at her when she’d screamed for him to get away.

  Kurt swiveled. His kind brown eyes searched her face. “Hey, are you okay?” He placed a steadying hand on her arm and his heat was enough to make her forget it was chilly. “You’ve gone pale. I can call the doctor.”

  She blinked. “I’m fine. I was lost in thought, wondering why he let me get away.”

  He stepped back and tilted his head. “Get away?”

  She fidgeted with the edge of her suit jacket, curling it—a habit she couldn’t seem to break—and fought to ground herself in the present moment. “I’d like to think I got away because I did the right things, but...” She shook her head and cleared her throat. “The more I think about it, he probably could’ve caught up to me. Why didn’t he?”

  Kurt crossed his arms over his chest. “Ma’am, you did do the right things. You fought back, you ran and you tried to get help.”

  “You can call me Rebecca.” She turned her attention to the tiled floor. And while she appreciated his comforting words, it didn’t diminish her newfound fear. Her job required lots of travel. As a single woman, she took precautions and remained observant, but if she started to jump at her own shadow, she wouldn’t be able to cope.

  His feet shifted as if uncomfortable. “You’ve met my fellow marshal, Delaney Patton. She and the police have secured your grandfather’s house. I’ll take you back there now, if you’re ready.”

  She looked around the room but realized she had no personal effects. If Grandpa hadn’t brought her shoes, she wouldn’t even have that.

  They walked to the elevator and parking lot in silence until they reached a massive white pickup.

  He exhaled. “I wasn’t expecting...uh... We should have an official sedan available in a day or so. I hope you don’t mind riding in this today.”

  “No, I don’t care a bit.”

  He opened the door for her and offered his hand. She almost refused it except her head still hurt and it was quite a big step up into the seat. The moment her fingers touched his palm, her stomach flipped. He jerked his hand back as if she’d shocked him with static electricity. She elected to use the inside door handle to help her into the cab instead and he kept his sights on their surroundings, constantly swiveling his head until he closed the door behind her.

  When she’d first met him, he’d seemed more friendly and approachable, but maybe she’d misjudged. As he slid into the driver’s seat she asked, “So have you been a deputy marshal a long time?” He nodded but said nothing.

  “Enjoy your work?”

  Another nod.

  Well, he wasn’t going to help her keep her mind off the attack at this rate. She leaned back into the seat as he cranked the car’s ignition. Music blared through the speakers. She flinched at the sound of violins feverishly accelerating through the measures.

  “Sorry.” The marshal swiftly turned down the volume. “I wasn’t expecting a passenger.”

  “What was that?” she asked with emphasis on each word.

  “An orchestral arrangement of ‘Toccata and Fugue in D Minor’ by Bach.”

  She felt her eyes widen. The idea of a buff marshal driving a beefed-up truck with classical music booming cracked her up. “I didn’t mean the song title...” She gestured at the speakers inside the truck.

  His lips curved to the side. “You were expecting country?”

  “I don’t know, maybe.” She looked at his profile. “More like hard rock.”

  He shrugged. “I rock out...to classical music.” A small smile crept up and threatened to melt her knees as he glanced at her before backing out of the parking lot. “The instrumental music keeps my head clear. It helps my focus.”

  He squeezed the steering wheel and frowned as if surprised he’d just admitted as much to her. “We’d better get you to safety.” He reached in the back seat with one arm and handed her a ball cap with the Marshals star logo in the center. “Wear this and keep your head down.”

  The solemn reality of her situation came crashing down. She followed his directions and slouched in the seat. The conversational, encouraging man disappeared once again. Her first impression must’ve been completely wrong. The man was all business. Until they found her attacker it would be like hanging out with a brick wall. All the more motivation to figure out who the intruder was and to get him behind bars so she could go back to living her life.

  Five silent minutes passed before he pulled into Grandpa’s driveway. Two police officers on either side of the entrance waved them forward. The garage opened to reveal Delaney inside, standing next to the controls and connecting door. She, at least, offered a welcoming smile.

  Rebecca reached for the door handle.

  “Stay in the vehicle until the garage is secure,” Kurt said. He watched the rearview mirror until they were enclosed.

  Delaney walked around the front of the car and opened the passenger door. “I’m sure you’re ready to rest,” she said.

  “Did you find anything off the letter opener?”

  “I’m afraid we haven’t found it at all yet.”

  Everything looked different inside the house. All the blinds had been pulled down on the floor-to-ceiling windows. The soothing view of the mountains and the lake had been replaced with a kitchen counter full of walkie-talkies and other contraptions Rebecca didn’t recognize.

  “I’ve arranged for the police to take shifts on the perimeter of the property. Judge Linn’s assistant has been gathering any cases she thinks worthy of note, aside from our own log of threats.” Delaney tapped her phone with each sentence as if checking off a list as she spoke to Kurt.

  “How many threats have been made?” Rebecca asked.

  Kurt and Delaney both wore the deer-caught-in-the-headlights look, as if they’d forgotten she was in the room. Delaney was the first to snap out of it and held her hand out to Kurt, as if waiting for him to answer. When he looked uncomfortable, she faced Rebecca. “You have to keep in mind that there are over two thousand sitting federal judges. And in any given year we could have anywhere from five hundred to over a thousand threats.”

  “I’m not asking about the others. How many has my grandfather received during his time as a judge?” Rebecca put her hands on her hips. She knew from auditing hundreds of companies when someone was trying to keep something from her. “Or would it be better that I ask my grandfather directly?” She wanted to help law enforcement remove the threat, but she would not stand to be treated like a frail wallflower.

  Kurt faced her but didn’t make eye contact. “Almost three hundred.”

  She lost the ability to breathe for a moment. Three hundred people had threatened to hurt or kill Grandpa or his family? Her family? “That’s...wow.” No wonder her dad wan
ted to keep her as far away from the judge as possible. He’d made her promise she wouldn’t go into law enforcement or be with someone who was.

  Maybe she could find some of the threats online. Surely some of them had made the news. Then she could identify the man and wrap it up before dinner. She spun in a circle, looking around the wooden floor for her phone. Hopefully the screen protector had worked as promised.

  “I found your phone,” Delaney said. “We haven’t screened it yet, though, so please avoid using it. Tracey, the officer outside, has agreed to act as a courier until his shift ends. Our computer guy, Mike, will stay late to scan any electronics for spyware as soon as you bag it up. I’ll keep you updated.”

  Rebecca held up her hand in a half-hearted wave but Delaney was already halfway out the door.

  “If you don’t mind unlocking your phone for me, I need to take a superficial look before we bag it.”

  Even the timbre of his voice made the back of her neck tingle. She crossed to the counter to pick it up. “Okay. But can I ask why?”

  “Precautionary step, and I’ve been trained to see red flags that might speed up tracking the attacker. After our guy at the courthouse takes care of it, we’ll feel confident you can use it. Mike’s an expert. You’ll have it back in no time. Like the judge, you are accepting our protection detail of your own free will. You don’t have to, but I recommend it.”

  “You don’t have to convince me.” She tried to smile as she thought about everything on her device. He’d see all of her app choices, like the funny photo manipulation application her niece, Mandy, insisted she try for all the selfies they exchanged. Not to mention the games Mandy begged her to download like Minecraft and Candy Crush. “I’ve been meaning to delete a few things anyway.”

  “I understand.” His lips shifted to the right as if trying not to laugh at her.

  “Maybe I can just do that real quick before—”