Protecting Their Baby

She unlocked her car and opened the door. But as she turned to climb behind the wheel, she froze in her tracks.

And let out a blood-curdling scream.

On the front seat of her car was a doll that resembled a newborn, only its rounded little body was mangled, with broken limbs and unblinking eyes staring into nothingness. In the center of its tiny chest, where its heart would be, was a knife.

Equally horrified, Rex reached for Lisa, pulling her away from the gruesome sight and into his arms.

While he held her, while she burst into fear-drenched tears, he called the police, reporting what appeared to be the mock murder of their unborn child.

Lisa couldn’t seem to let go of Rex. Nor could she stop crying. Who would do something so sick? So cruel?

Finally, she got the strength to step back and wipe her tears. But she couldn’t stop from staring at Rex, and in between her shivers, she fixated on his eyes.

The doll had brown eyes, too, and a tuft of dark hair. Was that how their baby was going to look?

“I don’t understand.” Her voice echoed in her head, the sound thick and hoarse. “Why is this happening?”

“I don’t know,” came the concerned reply. “But I won’t let anyone hurt you or the baby.”

Would he be able to protect her? He couldn’t be with her every moment of the day. They barely knew each other. Still, she wanted to believe him, to take his promise at face value.

“You’re awfully pale,” he said, as they waited for the police.

“Sometimes I faint.” She clenched her middle. “But it’s normal early on.”

Rex seemed ready to catch her if she fell. He was certainly more stable than she was.

“Do you need to sit down?” he asked.

“I should be okay.” She removed a small bottle of water from her purse and took a sip. “This may help.”

“You’re not going to pass out?”

She shook her head. A moment later, she feared that she’d spoken too soon. She got dizzy. “I think maybe…”

Rex moved in to grab her. She didn’t lose consciousness, but she clung to him for support, her senses on alert. He smelled fresh and clean, like a walk in the woods. It was his cologne. She remembered it from before. Thank goodness she still found his fragrance appealing. Since the pregnancy, some previously pleasant scents roiled her stomach.

Everything about him was appealing: the width of his shoulders, his height, his stunning cheekbones, the short, sleek thickness of his straight dark hair.

Before she got too attached, she took a deep breath and severed their contact, standing on her own again.

On the night of her birthday, she’d taken an uncharacteristic risk by going home with him, and now she was carrying his child.

A child someone had threatened to kill.

Anxious for the police to arrive, she glanced toward her Mustang. She didn’t wonder how the door had been unlocked and then relocked. A wire hanger or a slim jim or whatever those devices were called would’ve done the trick. Vintage cars were easy to access.

Lisa took another sip of water. Rex was watching her, and his concerned scrutiny made her self-conscious. He reached out to smooth a strand of hair away from her cheek, where it stuck to the slight dampness of her skin. She suspected that she had mascara streaks running down her face, too.

The police finally showed up. One of them, a stout detective named Bell, eyed Rex.

“Don’t I know you?” the detective asked.

Rex nodded. “You worked on a case that involved some friends of mine. Daniel Deer Runner and Allie Whirlwind.”

“Oh, that’s right. You and Deer Runner are part of the same Warrior Society.” Bell gathered information while his partner processed the crime scene. “So, what’s going on here? What’s the significance of the doll?”

Rex responded, “Lisa is pregnant.”

The detective opened his notepad. “Are you the father?”

“Yes. She just told me about it today.” The P.I. explained his whereabouts, being in his office with Lisa, then walking her to her car.

Bell tapped his pen. “Do all of you Society guys have women who are being threatened?”

“She isn’t my woman,” came the candid response. “It was just one night.”

“I see.”

Bell glanced at Lisa, but didn’t say anything to her. While he interviewed Rex, she wondered what the Warrior Society reference meant. Did Rex belong to a club or organization? And what was the deal about their women being threatened? She didn’t like the sound of that.

She stole a glance at the doll. The other detective was taking pictures of it.

Soon Bell left Rex to his own devices and interviewed Lisa. He spoke gently, as if trying to put her at ease. Did he think she might break? That she was as fragile as her appearance? Now she wished that she hadn’t cried.

When he asked her who she thought could have done this, she was at a loss. She didn’t have any enemies, at least not that she knew of. The questions continued, but she wasn’t much help.

“Maybe somebody saw something,” Lisa said, even though the side street was mostly back lots and alleyways.

“We’ll be looking for witnesses,” Bell assured her.

She glanced at Rex. By now, he was jotting down license plate numbers of other parked cars.

Bell followed the line of her sight. “Your friend is going to conduct his own investigation. But he’ll be sharing information with us, too.”

It seemed odd to hear the father of her child being referred to as a friend. But it was as good a description as any. “He offered to protect me.”

“Then maybe you should let him.”

A short time later, she and Rex were dismissed, and they returned to his office, leaving her vehicle for the police to finish examining.

Once they were inside the Sixkiller Investigations building, Rex said, “I want you to come home with me.”

Déjà vu, she thought. She’d heard those words from him once before. But this time she assumed it was because he wanted to talk about the case.

“If you’re not up for the drive, you can ride with me,” he said. “After your car is released, I can arrange to have it brought to my place.”

“I can drive.” She needed to prove that she had inner strength, no matter how frightened or exhausted she was. “But first, there’s something I need to know.” She looked into his eyes, trying not to be become fixated on them again. “What’s a Warrior Society?”