Mattie opened the front of Robo’s cage and then tested the door popper button she wore on her belt to open her vehicle door by remote. When she pushed the button to send the electronic signal, her door swung wide. Confident that her equipment worked like it was supposed to, Mattie knew she could call Robo out for backup if she needed him.
“Stay here,” she told him, shutting the door again. She lifted her Glock in its holster while she strode to the trailer, assuring herself she could clear it quickly if necessary.
Standing off to the side, she pounded the tinny door, making it rattle. “Open up. Sheriff’s Department.”
Mattie could feel her heart beat as she waited. No response from the trailer.
She pounded the door again. “Fran O’Malley! Open the door!”
After what seemed like eons but was probably only a few seconds, the door opened a crack. Without lights on inside, Mattie couldn’t see anything beyond the door. She strained to hear, but her ears weren’t giving her much either.
Mattie took her flashlight from her utility belt and switched it on. Training the beam into the crack in the doorway, Mattie could see Fran peeking through from the other side. She squinted in the light, and it was obvious she’d been crying.
“Are you all right, Fran?”
“I thought maybe I should call you,” she responded in a hushed voice. “But I couldn’t.”
That’s right. Your child had to do it.
Mattie lowered the light so it wouldn’t shine directly in Fran’s eyes. “Step outside, please.”
Fran did as she was told, at first clutching her arms across her chest and then wiping her nose with the back of her hand.
Sweeping Fran with the flashlight beam, Mattie couldn’t see any new bruises. “Where’s Sean, Fran?”
“I don’t know.” Fran’s voice caught in a sob, and she covered her mouth with both hands.
Mattie had a bad feeling. “What do you mean you don’t know?”
“Tommy took him.”
“Tommy?”
“Yes.”
They must have been running from their father. “Where did he take him? Somewhere safe?”
Fran covered her face with her hands and cried, shaking her head.
With a sense of urgency, she took hold of Fran’s wrist to pull her hands away from her face. “Tell me what’s going on, Fran. Is Sean all right?”
The front door banged open, and Mattie jumped to the side of the porch to keep from getting hit. She heard someone say, “You need to get in the house, woman.”
She recognized Patrick O’Malley’s voice. Where was her backup? She was afraid the situation might deteriorate rapidly. Also sensing the threat, Robo started to bark from his cage in the cruiser.
She stepped from the porch platform, off to the side where she could get some distance between her, the swinging door, and Patrick. “It’s Deputy Cobb,” Mattie shouted. “Step outside, Patrick O’Malley. Show me your hands.”
Mattie trained her flashlight on Patrick as he stood at the threshold, his hands lowered where she couldn’t tell if he was carrying a weapon or not. “Put your hands on your head!” she shouted, her voice gruff from the force behind it. “Do it now! Hands to your head.”
“No, no,” Fran cried. “You don’t understand. He’s not the one. He’s not the one.” Her voice dropped off in a low moan.
Patrick came off the porch in a rush, hands outstretched, headed for Fran. Mattie could see that he wasn’t holding a weapon, but a jolt of energy shot through her as he grabbed Fran’s wrist and started hauling her back into the trailer.
Mattie pressed the door button, and the cruiser door popped open. “Robo, come,” she shouted. “Guard!”
Robo jumped out of the cruiser and loomed beside her in a crouch, toenails digging into the ground, flashing white teeth bared. A growl rumbled from his chest.
It was enough to make Patrick O’Malley pause so that Mattie could try to get him to stop. “Release her! Or I’ll send the dog.”
Patrick glanced at the open door behind him.
“You’re not fast enough to beat this dog to that door. Let go of Fran!”
He dropped Fran’s wrist and stepped back toward the door, hands halfway raised.
“Keep your hands there where I can see them.” As she spoke, Mattie moved to the porch. “Fran, step off the porch.”
Fran moved away from her husband.
“You got no right to treat a man this way in his own home,” Patrick growled. “I’m gonna sue you and this town for all you’re worth.”
Moving her flashlight over his face, she could see that it showed signs of a recent beating—a fat lip, bruises, and an eye that was starting to darken. He was a big man, and he stood at the trailer door. In an instant, he could be inside with the door shut; if he had a weapon inside, their lives could be in danger. Where the hell was Cy Garcia? Mattie knew she had to get Patrick under control without his backup.
“Sit down on the porch steps,” she told him.
Patrick’s eyes widened slightly. “Not with that dog there.”
Robo had stopped growling, but his silent crouch threatened more than sound.
Mattie kept her voice level and authoritative. “He won’t move unless I tell him to. Sit down. We need to talk.”
“You keep that son of a bitch away from me.”
“Step off the porch.”
He took two steps away from the door, eyes on Robo.
Mattie felt she’d won a major victory, getting him farther from the trailer door. Now she needed to neutralize him. “Sit down on the step please, sir.”
From behind her, Mattie heard a siren chirp and then fall silent as Garcia drew his cruiser up beside hers to park, lights flashing on top. The baby started to wail inside the trailer.
“You can’t arrest a man for no reason,” Patrick said.
“You’re not under arrest. Sit down on the step so we can talk.”
Garcia parked so that his headlights lit the yard. He exited his car and stood at the perimeter, sizing things up. Since she was first officer at the scene, and as long as she had everything under control, it was Mattie’s role to be in charge.
“Mr. O’Malley, I’m not going to ask you again. You need to sit down.”
Mattie placed her hand on her service weapon, and Robo edged closer.
Patrick sat.
“Thank you. Now, keep your hands on your knees where I can see them,” Mattie told him. “Fran, is there anyone else inside the house beside the baby?”
“Molly.” Her voice came out in a moan.
“Molly, can you hear me?” Mattie called to her.
“Yes.” The girl sounded frightened.
“Can you turn on a light inside?”
“Our power was shut off,” Fran said.
“Molly, bring the baby and come outside,” Mattie told her.
The baby had already quieted. With the child in her arms, Molly stepped onto the porch.
“Come down here beside your mother,” she told her. Head down, the girl moved to comply.
Mattie decided to let Robo hang in his guard dog mode a bit longer. She needed some answers, and she wanted them fast. A little pressure on Patrick wouldn’t hurt.
She looked from Patrick to Fran and back. “I need one of you to tell me where Sean is, and I need you to tell me that right now.”
“We’re not telling you anything,” Patrick said.
Fists clenched against her mouth, Fran whimpered. “Tommy was mad when he left here. I’m scared he might hurt Sean.”