Dangerous Christmas Investigation
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Virginia Vaughan
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ONE
Deputy Sabrina Reagan hummed along to a Christmas song playing on the radio as she waited at the stoplight to make a left-hand turn into the shopping center parking lot. A chill had settled in the December air and, for the first time in years, she was looking forward to the approaching holiday. Christmas decorations had sprung up everywhere she looked. The light poles that lined the streets had been adorned with flags reading Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays at each intersection, the radio station played Christmas songs on a loop and a twenty-foot Christmas tree had been erected in court square of their little Texas town. She’d promised her son, Robby, that they would go to the lighting ceremony this weekend and she was looking forward to seeing the smile on his little face at all the lights and wonder of the season. It had been a long time since she’d looked forward to Christmas but this year, finally, she was, and Robby had a lot to do with it.
A horn honked behind her and she realized she had the turn arrow. She waved to the offended driver then made her left turn. She’d been lost in thought about Christmas again. This was the first year that Robby was really old enough to understand what was happening—as much as a four-year-old could understand. She glanced in her rearview mirror and adjusted it to see him sleeping in his car seat on the back seat. The Christmas party at his preschool had worn him out. When she’d picked him up, he’d run to her with pictures he’d drawn, crafts he’d made and a secret present for her inside a paper sack that he’d forbidden her to peek at.
She thought of her brother, Robby’s namesake, and how much he would have loved seeing his nephew’s eyes sparkle at all the Christmas lights. She was determined to make this Christmas a good one. They were due. Her brother’s death five years ago had shattered her peace and turned Sabrina’s life upside down. She was finally, slowly climbing out of a spiral of grief and her little boy had been the one to give her the will to want to live again.
She pulled into a parking space in front of the grocery store and glanced at Robby’s face as he slept. Despite his name, it wasn’t her brother’s face she saw reflected in the features and mop of dark hair.
Jake.
She’d clung to Robby as her lifeline after her brother’s death and discovering her pregnancy, but it had been Robby’s father that she had pushed away in her grief.
She cut the engine and sighed.
Yes, she’d pushed Jake away, but he’d been the one to leave town. He hadn’t fought hard enough or stuck around long enough to even discover he’d had a son. And he’d never responded to the letter she’d mailed to him letting him know about the birth of their little boy.
Why then did her heart still break at the idea of never seeing him again?
She shoved those thoughts aside and turned her attention back to the present. Her mother had always told her not to wake a sleeping child but she’d neglected to place a grocery order and there wasn’t enough food at her house to feed the little guy tonight. She had to wake him and make a grocery run. From experience, she knew he would be cranky. He was worn out from his long, busy day.
She climbed out of the vehicle and had barely closed her own door before a man appeared from behind a parked car and pressed her against her SUV. He produced a knife and stuck it at her throat, digging it into her skin.
All of her police training meant nothing in the moment. Sabrina’s heart raced and her knees threatened to buckle at the fear that pulsed through her. She stared into her attacker’s face. He was young but there was a coldness behind his gray eyes. He could end her life with one move and she sensed no hesitation from him.
She gulped down several heavy breaths then dared a glance at her baby. She could only see the top of his head but he seemed to be still sleeping soundly and her fear morphed into anger. If this was a carjacking, he could have it but he wouldn’t leave here with her child inside.
“Mr. Creed says you’ve been sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.” The man’s sneer was only accentuated by his hot, sticky breath.
Creed. So this wasn’t a carjacking but that didn’t make this assailant any less dangerous.
“Who are you?”
“I’m here to deliver a message. Back off unless you want us coming after someone you love.”
Her instinct was to fight back but fear paralyzed her as she followed his gaze to the back seat. Her cheeks burned with anger and her body tensed. She couldn’t allow anything to happen to her son.
He must have felt her fight reflex kick in because he released her and was gone, disappearing behind another row of cars before Sabrina could even catch her breath.
Her gun was still at her side in its holster but she hadn’t even had time to try to reach for it. At least he hadn’t taken it from her. That was brave. He’d known he had the upper hand threatening her son.
She crawled back into her SUV and locked the doors. Her hands were shaking with a mixture of fear and rage boiling through her veins. She gripped the steering wheel, trying to calm down enough to think straight.
Creed had threatened her son.
Paul Creed was a drug dealer who’d gotten too big for his britches and fancied himself some kind of drug kingpin. Sabrina had targeted him right away when she’d started working Narcotics at the Mercy County Sheriff’s Office. She blamed Creed for her brother’s overdose and, while many longed to make detective or move up to Homicide, Sabrina was happy to remain where she was. She wasn’t going anywhere until Paul Creed was behind bars once and for all.
She started the SUV and sped away and didn’t stop until she was out of the shopping center parking lot. She hit the speed dial on her cell phone and waited until her supervisor, Commander Kent Morgan, picked up.
She gave him a quick rundown of the incident.
“Are you or Robby hurt?”
She liked that that was his main concern. He was only ten years or so older than her with a wife and a kid on the way but he’d become a fatherly figure to her and tough but caring supervisor. “No, we’re both fine. I’m shaken but Robby slept through it all.”
“Good. I’ll call over to the security office at the plaza and get copies of the security tapes. Maybe we can identify this assailant.”
She hoped so. She would enjoy putting a little fear into this kid the way he had her, though she doubted he would roll over and admit to being ordered to threaten her by Paul Creed. Creed had a way of keeping his employees loyal.
“Have you heard from Max?” Max Harris, a DEA agent who’d gone undercover in Creed’s group, had vanished from town several weeks ago. At first, she’d worried that Creed had discovered his identity and harmed him, but a call from his DEA supervisor had let them know that he was safe and would be returning soon. He hadn’t given a reason for Max’s absence but she’d been glad for some kind of update. She and Max had committed to working together to find evidence to identify Creed’s supplier and end his organization. He was usually the one to give her a heads-up when she’d been targeted but his absence meant she hadn’t been privy to this attack. She didn’t like the feeling of being ambushed and was ready for Max to return and keep her up to date on what was happening in Creed’s organization. Plus, she was curious to know what had caused him to leave so abruptly.
“I haven’t seen him yet but I received a call saying he was back in town and would meet me here at the sheriff’s office in an hour.”
That was a relief. “I’ll be there too. First, I need to drop Robby off at my mother’s.”
“That’s a good idea. Stay safe.”
She ended the call, glad to hear Max had finally returned. She was ready to have Paul Creed behind bars and she couldn’t make that happen without him.
She ran through a fast food drive-through and ordered Robby chicken nuggets and fries, then turned the car toward her mother’s house. It wasn’t the nutritious meal he should have had but it would have to do for tonight.
Twenty minutes later, she pulled up to her mother’s house, parked then unbuckled her son from his car seat. Her mother met her at the front door.
“Sabrina, I didn’t know you were coming by tonight.”
“Neither did I,” she explained. She went inside and set Robby down in front of the television. She gave him his nuggets and fries, turned on his favorite cartoon, and he was a happy kid. Sabrina pulled her mother into the kitchen and recounted what had happened. “Can I leave Robby here for a couple of hours? I need to go meet Kent at the sheriff’s office.”
“Of course you can. I’m supposed to meet Bob at ten tonight. Do you think you’ll be back before then?”
“10:00 p.m.?” Her mother’s new boyfriend, Bob Crawford, kept odd hours. “I should be back before that but why so late?”
She shrugged. “He has meetings all evening but he wants us to drive to that new resort in Houston for the weekend. I can cancel if you need me to keep Robby longer,” she offered.
Her mother liked this new beau and Sabrina didn’t want to do anything to hamper her burgeoning relationship. Besides, she would feel better having Robby with her and ensuring his safety for herself. “Don’t cancel. Enjoy the weekend. I’ll be back for Robby in plenty of time before you leave.”
“Okay, but be careful. I don’t like how you keep placing yourself in danger this way, Sabrina.”
Her mother worried about her and that was understandable but she of all people knew the reason why Sabrina was so committed to bringing Paul Creed’s organization down. Sabrina had lost a brother but her mother had lost a son.
“I know you worry, Mom, but I have to do this.”
“I wish you’d become a teacher or an accountant or something safe like that.”
She chuckled that her mom thought teaching was a safe profession but didn’t say so. Instead, she pulled her into a hug. “I’ll be okay. I’m just heading to the sheriff’s office to meet up with Kent and an informant. I’ll only be an hour or two.”
She kissed Robby’s cheek and told him to mind his grandma before she ran out the door and turned her SUV toward the sheriff’s office.
The parking lot wasn’t full, as the day shift had left and only a skeleton crew worked the evening shift at the office while the remaining deputies were out on patrol. She parked then headed into the office, waving at her fellow deputies Mike Tyner and Drake Shaw. The evening dispatcher, Allison Meeks, was in a small room in the corner. Sabrina waved to her as she passed by and Allison returned her wave.
“Have you seen Kent?” she asked Drake and Mike.
“I think he’s in the break room,” Drake told her. “I saw him head back that way a while ago.”
She hurried back there and found Kent pounding on the vending machine. A pack of peanut M&M’s fell to the bottom and he bent down and fished it out. He tore into it and popped one into his mouth as he looked at her.
“Are you okay?”
She took a deep breath. “I will be. I think I was more angry than frightened especially since Robby was there with me.”
“I get that.”
“Where’s Max? Have you seen him?”
He nodded. “He came in the back entrance a few minutes ago. He was using my office to make a call.”
“I think I’ll go see him and tell him what happened. He’s going to be furious but I’m so glad he’s back.”
It wasn’t unusual for informants to enter through the back entrance to avoid being seen by everyone inside the sheriff’s office. Of course, she trusted her coworkers but it never hurt to be cautious. Max’s work with the DEA had to remain a secret in order to protect his undercover identity.
She walked down the back hallway and spotted a tall figure coming out of Kent’s office. She recognized the broad shoulders and the dark hair. “Max!”
He turned and his mouth twitched, a tic she had never seen in Max before. She’d only seen it from...
Sabrina’s heart stopped cold.
This man was not Max.
It was Jake. Max’s twin and her ex.
“Jake! What are you doing here?”
Shock rattled through him at her recognition. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the office, closing the door behind him.
“Sabrina, how did you know it was me?” he asked before immediately waving away the question. She’d always been one of the few people that could tell him and Max apart. Even their own father couldn’t but that could have been caused by either the excessive drinking or the apathy about his sons’ lives. Their mother had been the only one before she died, then Sabrina. To everyone else, he and his brother had been identical.
He should have known he wouldn’t be able to fool Sabrina but he honestly hadn’t even expected to see her. He’d forgotten how beautiful she was. Her shoulder-length dark hair was pulled into a bun at the nape of her neck and her green eyes were wide with surprise. He glanced at the uniform she wore complete with badge on her shirt and gun at her hip. She was a deputy. Max had failed to mention that or that she was his liaison to the Mercy County Sheriff’s Office. That would have been nice to know. His brother had spoken about his undercover work in Mercy and many of the details but Jake wasn’t surprised he hadn’t mentioned Sabrina to him. They didn’t speak of her often, not after the way things had ended between her and Jake five years earlier.
He’d fallen in love with this dark-haired beauty but her brother’s death had sent her spiraling into grief. Try as he might, he hadn’t been able to pull her out of it. It had broken his heart not to be able to help her through it. She’d pushed him away so many times he’d felt he had no choice but to leave her to her grief. He’d regretted it every day since.
She folded her arms and glared at him. “What are you doing here, Jake? And where is Max?” Realization dawned on her. “Are you trying to fool people into believing you’re Max?”
He was, but he certainly hadn’t been expecting to be called out on it. “Why not? There aren’t many people who can tell us apart.”
“I did.”
“Well sure, you can, but who else could?”
“Why are you doing this? Where is Max? Why isn’t he here?”
He saw her look of anticipation and knew the news he had to tell her was going to be difficult. He did his best to keep his own emotions in check but it wasn’t easy. Apparently, she and Max had grown close during their investigation into Paul Creed.
He pulled out a chair for her. “Maybe you should sit down.”
Her eyes widened and the annoyance on her face turned to worry, but she took the seat. “What’s wrong? Where is Max?”
He took a deep breath, then just spilled it. “Max and I met up a few weeks ago. I’d gotten some intel from an informant about movement by a drug cartel that I thought he might want to know. We met halfway and I gave him what I had. We hadn’t seen one another in a while so we spent a few hours catching up. We were driving to a diner when the car slid on some ice and went off the road. I woke up in the hospital with a concussion, a broken wrist—” he held up a cast on his left arm as proof “—and some cuts and bruises but otherwise I was fine. Max, on the other hand, wasn’t. He’d sustained major head injuries and was brain-dead. His DEA supervisor, Carl Price, was called in and was there at the hospital with me waiting for the end. We talked a good bit about Max and about the mission. That’s when we came up with this plan. I wanted a way to honor my brother’s legacy and finishing his last assignment was a way I could do that. We’re both law enforcement. I’ve been with San Antonio PD for four years and this isn’t the first time I’ve worked undercover. Carl got the okay from his higher-ups then filled me in on the basics of the case and the major players and I figured I could bluff my way through the rest.”
She shook her head. “This can’t be real. How was this even authorized?”
“That should tell you how important it is to them to find Creed’s supplier that they gave us the okay. I have to at least try for Max.”
Tears had filled her eyes as he recounted the story and now a few slipped down her cheek. She put her hands over her face. He hadn’t realized how close she and Max had been and that surprised him. Max knew how much Jake had loved her and how hard it had been for him to leave her. He’d also known how futile it would have been to stay.
Jake was glad to see she’d finally been able to move past her grief and pull her life together but the last thing he’d expected was for her to take a job at the sheriff’s office.
She wiped her face with her hand. “Poor Max. He was a good man.”
“Yes, he was.” Jake hadn’t yet properly dealt with his feelings. There hadn’t been time because he’d been dealing with preparing to step into his place. He took a chance and reached for her hands. At first, she accepted his touch but then she slowly pulled them away.
“Sabrina, I know you want to get this guy Paul Creed as much as I do. Do you want this investigation to implode because Max died?”
She shook her head. “I want Creed in jail.”
“I can do this. Max’s boss told me all about his investigation into Creed. I know you have your reason for wanting to bring him down.” While he was surprised that she’d joined the sheriff’s office, he wasn’t surprised she’d chosen the narcotics division. He didn’t mention her brother. He didn’t need to. “I have a reason as well. I can do this but I need you to be on my side. Can you do that?”
She stood and paced the floor. “Does Kent know about this?”
“No. He didn’t even flinch when he saw me. Only Max’s DEA supervisor and now you know.”
“You’re asking me to lie to my entire team.”
“Isn’t that what undercover work is about? I’m only asking you not to out me as Jake. Let me honor my brother.”
He thought for a moment she was going to refuse but, after wrestling with it for several moments, she finally nodded. “I’m only going along with this because I don’t want Max’s investigation to have been in vain but I’m worried, Jake. I don’t know if you can pull this off.”
“I can,” he assured her. He wanted to see confidence in her green eyes but all he saw was doubt in them. About him. About if he could complete this mission and take down a notorious drug dealer.
He had to do it. He owed it to his brother’s memory to finish what he’d started.
He owed it to her too.
Jake still had a difficult time believing that he was sitting in a room with Sabrina Reagan. She looked good. The last time he’d seen her, she’d been an emotional wreck with grief after her brother’s death. She’d been angry and bitter and nothing he could do or say had made it better. He’d wanted to be with her, to give her comfort during such a difficult time, but she’d pushed him away.
The way he’d left her still broke his heart. It had felt brutal to leave town while she was still struggling but there hadn’t been much he could have done for her. They’d planned to leave town together and he’d already had a job lined up in Dallas but it hadn’t been a good fit for him. She was supposed to have come with him. That had been the plan. Only her brother’s death had changed everything.
He was glad to have her on his side again but things still felt awkward between them.
“Sabrina, do we need to talk about how things ended with us?”
She stiffened at his suggestion and her chin jutted out. “Not at all. That was a long time ago, Jake. That’s all in the past.”
He nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad to hear that.” He pulled out a chair and motioned for her to sit down again. He took the opposite chair. “Why don’t you give me a rundown of the case you and Max were trying to build against Creed.”
“I thought you said Max’s boss filled you in.”
“He did but I know how undercover work flows. I’m sure there’s stuff Max hadn’t gotten around to reporting yet. I figured you would be the closest to him in that respect. I’m also interested in how you became his liaison.”
“I joined the sheriff’s office after my brother died. As you know, my father was in law enforcement and so was his father. It’s a family tradition. I guess they always hoped that Robby would join the force but he never wanted that, even before the drugs took him. After his overdose, I asked to work Narcotics. As long as those drugs are on the street, other people’s family members are in danger.”
“How did the DEA get involved?”
“Your brother was investigating a smuggling ring that he believed was supplying local drug dealers. He was trying to connect Paul Creed to this ring. That was his primary mission. He wanted to find out who was supplying him with drugs then follow that back to the supplier. He believed it was someone working out of this part of Texas. He discovered I had been targeting members of Creed’s group and had arrested many of them so his boss reached out to the sheriff. They informed us that he was going to be working undercover in town. The plan was that I would be his contact and whatever information he gathered, I would send to his boss at the DEA. Imagine my surprise when I learned Max was the undercover agent on the case. It was unsettling.”
“I imagine it was.”
She stared at him then looked away. “So what is your plan, Jake?”
“I step into Max’s life. I’m confident no one will know the difference.”
“How will you explain having been gone for so long?”
“I was in a car accident.” He held up his arm, which held a cast from hand to elbow. “I have the broken bone to prove it. Plus, Max’s boss had his medical records sealed then created fake ones to show he was in a coma but ultimately came through it. He also adjusted the official police report of the crash to remove any mention of me or that Max was killed. Anyone who checks it out will find out just what we want them to know—that Max was injured in a car wreck and was hospitalized for three weeks before being released. If there’s something I don’t know or can’t figure out, I figure I’ll blame it on memory loss from the accident.”
She nodded in a gesture he hoped meant she thought it was a decent plan. It wasn’t perfect but it was all he had and he really believed he could make it work.
She glanced at her watch then stood. “I should go. I need to prep for an early morning surprise visit to Dale Lowrey’s apartment with his parole officer. I feel certain we’ll find some drugs and that will give me a reason to bring him in and question him about Creed.”
The name sounded familiar but Jake couldn’t place it. “Is that one of Creed’s crew?”
She shot him a concerned look. “Yes. Dale’s been working for Creed practically since middle school. He’s been busted multiple times for selling drugs downtown and just got out of prison early for good behavior on a four-year stint for robbery six months ago. I’ve been keeping a close eye on him. I’m hoping I can convince him to turn on Creed. If he doesn’t, he’ll have to go back to jail and finish out his time for breaking his parole if we find drugs in his place.”
He stopped himself before he warned her to be careful dealing with Lowrey. She was a trained deputy and didn’t need him second-guessing her. Yet he was surprised at how easily the worry came to him where she was concerned.
“I hope you find the evidence you need.”
“Thank you. I’m sure he’s moving drugs for Creed again. Hopefully, an early morning raid will find it. My mom will be out of town so I’ll have to find someone to take Robby to school but I’ll work it out.”
“Robby?” That had been her brother’s name but he was dead so she couldn’t be referring to him.
She stopped herself and her eyes widened. She gulped. “My son. He’s four years old.”
That news hit him like a ton of bricks. Sabrina was a mom. He took a moment to catch his breath before responding. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. Max never mentioned it. I didn’t even know you’d gotten married.” He’d thought he’d prepared himself for every sting but that was one he hadn’t anticipated.
“I’m not married. Robby’s father...” Confusion clouded her face and she seemed to struggle for words then finally gave a loud sigh. “It’s too complicated to go into right now. I really should go. Give me your phone.”
He pulled his cell from his pocket and handed it to her. “Why?”
She quickly entered a phone number and contact information into it. “Max and I used the code name Tiffany Matthews in case anyone looked through his contact list. The cover was that she’s an old girlfriend that he still occasionally saw. I even have a social media account set up for her in case anyone goes looking. If you need to reach me, call me at that number.” He took his phone back as she grabbed her purse and walked to the door. She stopped and turned to him. “Stay safe, Jake.”
He nodded and repeated the phrase back to her. “Stay safe, Sabrina.”
He waited until after she’d disappeared up the hallway then slipped out the back entrance and to his car. He hadn’t come to town to reconnect with Sabrina Reagan but it had been good to see her again and know that she was doing better. Why hadn’t his brother mentioned they were working together? He grimaced. He knew why. Max understood how difficult it had been for Jake to walk away from the only woman he’d ever loved.
And all those old protective feelings about her had resurfaced once he was around her. Only she wasn’t that same devastated woman he’d left behind. She’d pulled herself together, started a career and a family, and looked to be strong and determined in her mission. But he’d seen a hint of the kind person he’d once known when she’d worried about his safety and the funny Sabrina in her Tiffany Matthews cover. That had been the name that had once adorned her fake ID in high school and he imagined Tiffany’s social media page would have old photos of her and Jake together.
He shook off those nostalgic memories. He couldn’t allow Sabrina’s presence to affect his mission. He was in town to bring down a drug dealer, not rekindle a long-ago romance.
