The Chase by Jan Neuharth

sighed. “It would take me all night to tell you everything. In a nutshell, a psycho, Zeb McGraw, was stalking Doug last year, and he kidnapped Samantha, killed Samantha’s au pair, and shot Doug.”
    “Is he still on the loose?”
    “No, he’s in jail, awaiting trial.”
    “Then it doesn’t sound like he’s much of a threat. It explains Mrs. Cummings’s reaction, though.”
    “No kidding. I think Anne’s holding it together remarkably well. She’s eight months pregnant, her husband has a car accident and ends up in a coma, and now she learns that someone intentionally caused his accident. All of that coming on the heels of what happened last year.”
    “She’s
pregnant?”
    Kendall nodded. “In fact, I was having a baby shower for Anne at my house today when we got the call that Doug had been in an accident.”
    “Oh Jesus!”
    “Right. How much more can this family take? That’s why Anne wants me to go see Samantha. To make sure she’s coping all right.”
    “Is Samantha their only child?”
    “Yes. Well, the baby will be their first biological child. Anne and Doug got married and adopted Samantha after the kidnapping last year.”
    “Hold on, you lost me there,” Jake said. “I thought you said that this McGraw guy kidnapped Samantha because he was stalking Doug Cummings. But now you’re saying that Doug Cummings wasn’t her father at the time?”
    “Right. Samantha’s parents both died, and Anne was Samantha’s guardian. Since Doug had a relationship with Anne, I guess McGraw figured Anne and Samantha were the closest thing to a family Doug had, so he kidnapped Samantha.”
    “Who is this McGraw guy?”
    “He’s a redneck from West Virginia.”
    Jake smirked and looked out the window.
    “What’s wrong?” Kendall asked.
    “Nothing.”
    “Then what’s the smirk about?”
    He turned back towards her. “Oh, just your redneck comment. I guess I probably fall in that category too, being from Oklahoma.”
    “I didn’t mean it that way. I don’t have anything against people from West Virginia. Or Oklahoma, either, for that matter.”
    “If that’s an apology, I accept it.”
    Kendall didn’t respond, and they passed the next few moments in silence. Jake lounged in the passenger seat with his legs crossed, his left cowboy boot resting on his right knee. He stared out the window and drummed his fingers on his boot, humming along with the song on the radio. It drove Kendall nuts, but she refrained from saying anything.
    Finally, Jake broke the silence. “Why was McGraw after Doug Cummings?”
    Kendall reached down and pressed the button to turn the radio off. “Doug’s a lawyer, and he represented Zeb McGraw’s brother, Zeke, on a drug charge years ago. Zeke ended up in prison, where he committed suicide, and Zeb blamed Doug for it.”
    “Ah, sweet revenge.”
    “In his twisted mind, yes.”
    “When did all this happen?”
    “Last fall. November, I think.” Kendall thought for a moment. “Yes, it was right around Thanksgiving.”
    “Sounds like Doug Cummings hasn’t had the best of luck, being shot last year and now being in this car accident.”
    Kendall shrugged. “You could look at it that way. Or, you could say he’s an incredibly lucky guy. He survived being shot, got Samantha home safely, and married the woman of his dreams, who’s about to give birth to his baby. I only hope his luck will continue and that he’ll come out of the coma.”
    They had reached Gilbert’s Corner and Kendall turned right towards Middleburg. She glanced at the clock on the dash. “It’s been almost five hours since we got the phone call and Anne left for the hospital. I hope Samantha’s been handling it all right.”
    “Is she still pretty shook up over the kidnapping?”
    “Samantha still suffers from anxiety, but she seems to have made great progress since Anne and Doug married and adopted her last spring.”
    “Last spring?”
    “Yes. They combined their wedding and Samantha’s