the dining room and kitchen, checking the placement of the windows on the side of the house where she’d seen the Peeping Tom and deciding she was right. The dining room was where the man had been looking inside.
Dallas came up behind and leaned toward her. “Which window was he peeking into?”
She pointed at the one on the left in the dining room. “There.” She glanced over her shoulder, his face close to hers. A whiff of lime wafted to her. “Which doesn’t surprise me. If the couple charged into your sister’s home, the fastest way to nab Brady was through the living and dining room into the kitchen and out onto the back porch. From what you said earlier I got the impression that Brady wasn’t with her when she went to the front door.”
“Right. He was asleep on the pallet on the screened-in porch.”
“The getaway car was most likely parked behind the property on the dirt road. Why didn’t Michelle see them walking across the backyard?”
“I’m not sure. Possibly because she might have been on the floor with Brady, and the screened part is only the top half. They might not have seen her, either. Or one went to the front to distract Michelle while the other snatched Brady.” He looked toward the hallway to the bedrooms, spying his brother-in-law making his way toward them. “Paul, is Lenora awake and able to talk to us?”
She hadn’t even heard Paul coming down the corridor. Her total attention had centered on Dallas. The pain in his gaze drew her to him. The thought of losing her baby pierced through her heart like a red-hot lance. Paul and Lenora were living a parent’s worst nightmare.
“I’m getting her a glass of water. She should be able to talk after that.” The defeat in Paul’s voice filled the silence.
“We’ll be out on the porch,” Rachel said.
Paul nodded. “That’s where Deputy Jones is.” He walked past them toward the kitchen. “Dottie called and told me how Michelle was doing. I’m glad she’ll be all right.”
“Thanks.” Dallas followed his brother-in-law into the kitchen, asking what his mother said concerning his daughter.
Rachel paused in the dining room and panned the area that held a table and six chairs and a display cabinet between the two windows. Thick, brown carpeting covered the floor. The only thing on the table was an artificial flower arrangement. She moved from one chair to the next, pulling it out and seeing if anything was on the seat. Nothing. Then she knelt and looked under the cabinet and table. A glint caught her attention near a chair. She crawled to it and saw a short gold chain with a heart charm on it buried in the long fibers of the rug.
She quickly put on gloves and picked up the bracelet. On the heart were the initials DN. Was it Lenora’s? The letters didn’t match her name. Until she found out, it would remain in the evidence bag she dropped it into. Usable latent prints might be on it. She hoped it was a clue that would lead them to Brady. Was the bracelet the reason the guy had been peeping in the dining room window? She wanted it to be a clue, but it was still possible the man might have nothing to do with the case.
Rachel quickly pushed to her feet, a few seconds of light-headedness hitting her. She had a mild concussion, nothing like Michelle’s, but she needed to watch for any signs her concussion was worsening. She strolled into the kitchen as Paul was leaving.
Across the room Dallas looked at her, their eyes bound together for a few seconds. He broke visual contact first and sauntered in the direction of the door that led to the porch.
“I found something in the dining room.”
He stopped and peered back at her, one brow raised.
She covered the distance between them and withdrew the small evidence bag from her pocket. “It’s a bracelet with a heart charm that has DN engraved on it. Does this look familiar to you?”
He held it up and examined it closely. “No. I’ve never seen Lenora with it or my mother or even Michelle. She spends a lot of time here.”
“Then this could be what the guy who hit me came back for.”
“Possibly. We need to show it to Lenora and Paul. It could belong to one of their friends I’m not familiar with.”
“I will.”
At the rear exit, Rachel stood in the doorway and slowly swept her gaze around the porch. Three walls were half screened on the top while the bottom was brick. The area had been childproofed and had a baby swing in a corner. When she focused on the coverlet on the wooden floor, her throat tightened at the sight of the blood on it and the cell phone Michelle used to call Dallas.
“I asked Deputy Jones to process for latent prints and search for any evidence but to leave the room as it is. I wanted you to see it when you weren’t concentrating on getting your daughter to the hospital.”
“Thanks. You’re right. I wasn’t paying much attention once I saw Michelle.”
Deputy Jones appeared at the back door and came into the room. “You’re gonna have one nice shiner there, sheriff.”
“That’s because the Peeping Tom clocked me with a one-two punch.” She waved her hand at her jaw then her eye.
“I don’t even have to look in a mirror to remind me that the guy got in two packed punches. Except for taking up the blanket and phone, are you finished in here?”
“Yes, ma’am. The area along the dirt road has been searched, but other than the tire tracks and boot prints, that’s all we found. I had a couple of deputies comb the back and front yards, but they didn’t find anything. Another deputy went to talk to Houston Fowler.”
“Good. Let me know if Fowler has any information that will help this case. I want to show Dallas where I think they got away.” Rachel swung her attention to Dallas, who stared at the blood, his jaws clenched so tightly a muscle twitched. “Do you want to go out back?”
He lifted his head, his eyes full of anger. While he battled for control, he marched to the outside door and left the porch.
“Bag the blanket and phone and take them to headquarters. Did we get good latent prints?” Rachel asked her deputy while watching Dallas scope out the yard.
“Yes. There were tons. I’m in the process of getting fingerprints from family members or friends who’ve been here recently to rule them out.”
“Thanks. We’ll be back.”
Rachel joined Dallas, still seeing a struggle between anger and determination. She again felt a connection with him that surprised her. They were both single parents and had daughters, but the two girls were years apart in age. Where was Michelle’s mother? It wasn’t easy raising a child alone, as Rachel was finding out.
With his hands fisted at his sides, Dallas closed his eyes. He spread his fingers wide and shook them. The tense set of his face relaxed, and when he twisted toward her and looked at her, a calm, professional demeanor fell into place. “I have to work this case. I can’t let my emotions take over.”
“I know. If my daughter were kidnapped, no matter what, I would be out there looking for her.”
“It won’t be easy to remain objective, but with the Lord’s help, I’ll find out who kidnapped
