The Deputy's Duty

“Sorry. A good reporter never reveals a source.”

Irritation flared. His jaw tightened. “Well, you found her didn’t you?”

Meghan remained silent, letting the sarcasm of his words fill the car. “The paper said Burke died of a heart attack, but I’d heard it was a prescription overdose. Some say on purpose.” She glanced at him.

He didn’t think keeping the information from her would serve much purpose. It would become public knowledge soon enough. “No. No heart attack, no overdose, at least not on purpose. Asphyxiation was the official cause of death.”

Ryan had never bought the theory that Burke offed himself. The socially ambitious lawyer had been too set on usurping any Fitzgerald claim to the mayor’s seat to be suicidal. He’d been one of two men who thought Fitzgerald Bay needed new blood in the town government. “There’s evidence of foul play. Fibers found in his nostrils and throat suggested he’d also been smothered with a pillow, finishing off what the drugs had started.”

“That’s horrible.”

Ryan ran a hand through his hair. “You never answered my question. Why is Georgina so important to you?”

She pressed her lips tightly together, the corners pinching slightly. After a moment, she said, “I received a letter earlier today.”

“And that has to do with Georgina how?”

Looking suddenly uncertain, she hesitated. Seeming to debate with herself, she nodded once, straightened her shoulders and briefly met his gaze. “It was from Olivia, postmarked before her death.”

He drew back in surprise. “You just now got it?”

A flash of impatience sparked in her hazel eyes as she slanted him a sharp glance. “Yes. When I left Boston, I didn’t have a forwarding address, so the super of my building held my mail. He finally got around to sending it all to me.”

“Do you have the letter with you?”

“No. It’s in a safe place.” She inhaled and then released a breath before saying, “How did you find out Olivia had a child?”

“I should be asking you that question.” But he figured she wouldn’t tell him anyway. That leak needed to be plugged. “The autopsy revealed she’d given birth.” Confirming what they’d already suspected. He hesitated a moment, then decided to tell her what else they’d discovered, though she probably already knew. Why did he feel like he was being tested? “A box, postmarked from Fitzgerald Bay, arrived at the police station.”

Perking up with curiosity, she prompted, “What was in it?”

“A pink baby blanket, a baby bracelet from a hospital in Ireland with the words Henry Baby Girl and the name of a doctor and a date, and an uncashed check for ten thousand dollars made out to Olivia Henry. None of which has helped to find Olivia’s killer or identify the person who mailed the box.”

She glanced at him. “But surely the doctor or the hospital had some useful information on what happened to the baby.”

“The hospital had a break-in not long after Olivia gave birth. Her records are missing. The doctor didn’t have any useful information other than confirming she’d delivered Olivia’s baby girl.”

Seeming to weigh his words, she adjusted her grip on the steering wheel. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

“It was privileged information in an ongoing investigation,” he stated.

She made a little frustrated noise low in her throat. “Apparently Olivia had given her child up for adoption. But then regretted her decision and wanted her baby back.”

“Is that what she wrote in her letter?”

“Yes.”

Empathy twisted in his chest. “Unfortunately, there’s no way to confirm that supposition.”

She adjusted her grip on the wheel. “Yes, there is. The adoption was illegal and Olivia had been tricked into signing away her rights. Olivia tracked down her baby girl and found her in Fitzgerald Bay. That was why she’d moved from Ireland to the U.S. She wanted her baby back. Olivia wanted her baby girl to be with me if anything happened to her. She apparently didn’t feel safe in Fitzgerald Bay.”

Something niggled at the back of Ryan’s brain. “And she knew who had adopted her child?”

Meghan nodded. “Christina and Burke Hennessy.”

He stilled. “Georgina is Olivia’s child?”

He pictured the little girl with her blond curls and bright blue eyes safe in Meghan’s arms. No wonder Meghan had held the child so tenderly with so much love. She believed the toddler to be her cousin’s daughter.

He remembered when the Hennessys brought the baby home, claiming they’d adopted her, thus rescuing her from a drug addict in New York City. The Hennessys must have known the adoption was illegal and could be challenged if they were tracked down as the adoptive parents by the birth mother. No one had questioned them. There hadn’t been any reason to.

“Maybe Olivia confronted Christina and Christina killed Olivia to keep Georgina,” Meghan reasoned.

“It’s a good theory. There’s evidence that could link her to the crime.” If so, he had the motive they’d been searching for in Olivia’s murder. “But why would Christina kill Burke if they were in this together?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he found out Christina killed Olivia and threatened to turn her in or said they’d have to come clean about the illegal adoption, give the baby to the authorities.”

“Maybe,” he said. What a complicated mess.

“You believe me, then?” Meghan asked, her voice tense. “Or rather, Olivia?”

This woman was related to the deceased and to the baby that may have been the catalyst for Olivia’s murder. “I don’t know why you’d lie.”

“I wouldn’t. I don’t lie.”

He could only take her word on that.

Meghan flipped on her blinker and took the exit ramp for Portsmouth. “Do you know how to get to the police station?”

He arched an eyebrow. “Do you always start driving without knowing where you’re going?”

Her mouth tightened. “I figured I’d ask for directions when I arrived. But since you’re with me, I’d hoped you’d know where to go.”

Shaking his head, he searched for the address on his smartphone and directed her. A few minutes later they pulled up to the square redbrick building of the Portsmouth police headquarters.

Large green, manicured hedges framed the walkway. Summer sun reflected off the paved sidewalk in hot waves, but a slight breeze coming off the Atlantic Ocean a few miles away kept the heat bearable.

Ryan hobbled to the glass front door in Meghan’s wake. She held open the door for him then herded him to the desk sergeant.

Ryan glared at her. He wasn’t limping that badly. He identified himself to the sergeant.

A moment later, a man wearing the navy uniform of the Portsmouth Police Department approached. The stars on the collar of his uniform alerted Ryan to the man’s rank even before he spoke.

“Deputy Chief Fitzgerald, I’ve been expecting you.” They shook hands. “I’m Chief Danhoff. We’ve got the suspect in a room. We’ve read him his rights and he’s declined a lawyer. I was waiting for you before questioning him.”

Chief Danhoff assessed Meghan. “And you are?”

“This is Meghan Henry. She’s a blood relative of the missing child.”

“Ah. You’ll want to observe then.” Motioning for them to follow, Chief Danhoff led the way. He opened a door. “Miss Henry you can watch from in here.”

Meghan disappeared inside.

Ryan followed Danhoff into the interrogation room. He was determined to bring down Christina Hennessy and find the little girl.

THREE

Meghan took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Nope, didn’t calm her nerves any. Gathering her courage like a shield, she stepped inside the Portsmouth observation room and watched Ryan enter the interrogation room. The small space seemed even more cramped with the big, muscle-bound Jay sitting at a metal table. She couldn’t see his hands. She assumed they were handcuffed to his chair or something.

Surprise flickered in Jay’s dark eyes when he saw Ryan. “What are you doing here?”

“I need answers and you’re going to give them to me,” Ryan said, bracing his hands on the table and leaning into Jay’s face.

“Fat chance, pretty boy,” Jay spat out, testing the strength of the cuffs holding his arms at his sides.

“Did you help Christina Hennessy kill her husband?”

Jay drew back. “I don’t know nothing about no husband and no death. Wasn’t me.”

“Mrs. Hennessy didn’t tell you about murdering her husband?”

Jay frowned. “Naw. She just needed some brawn for the day.”

A muscle ticked in Ryan’s jaw. “What rock did she find you under?”

When Jay didn’t respond, Ryan slapped a hand on the table, the crack echoed off the walls. Meghan felt the impact through the glass. Her heart jolted.

“You’re going down, Jay. Assault on a police officer, kidnapping—”

“I didn’t kidnap anyone!” Jay protested.

“And you’ll be charged as an accomplice in Burke Hennessy’s murder.”

“I’m telling you I don’t know this Burke guy, and I didn’t kill anyone.”

“Then tell me how you hooked up with Christina,” Ryan said, his tone intense.

With a sullen pout, Jay said, “She came into the Last Stand bar asking if anyone wanted to make a quick grand.”

“When was this?”

Jay shrugged. “Just this morning.”

“She gave you a thousand dollars to do what?”

“Oh, I got more than a measly thou,” Jay said, pride puffing up his chest. “Since I was the only one in the bar, she didn’t have much choice. I wanted five grand.”

Surprise washed over Meghan.

“She had that much cash on her?” Ryan voiced the question rising inside Meghan.

“Yeah. I could tell she was rich. Liked to look down her nose at others. I know the type.”

Christina had obviously been planning her escape to have so much cash at the ready.

“What did she want you to do?”

He shrugged. “To go with her to get the kid and make sure they got to the airport safely.”

“Do you know where they were planning to fly to?”

He shook his head. “Naw. She thought I was just a big dumb guy she could boss around. For five grand, I let her.”

“Which airline did you drop her off at?”

Jay shook his head. “Didn’t. She changed her mind.”

Ryan pinned him with a look. “Then where is Christina and the toddler now?”

He shrugged. “Don’t know.”

Meghan pressed her hands against the glass willing the man to talk.

“Where did you leave them?” Ryan’s tone echoed with irritation.

“She wanted to be dropped off at the mall.”

Meghan’s stomach sank.

“Mall? Where? Which one?” Ryan asked sharply. His gaze strayed to the mirrored wall and bounced away.

“The fancy one, near the expressway.”

“Did she talk to anyone?” Ryan pressed. “Was she meeting someone there?”

Jay shook his head. “I didn’t see anyone. But she could have been meeting someone. She made a call on her cell.”

Meghan’s pulse sped up. She strained forward.

“Did you hear a name?”

“Naw. She was talking real low. Couldn’t hear anything. She sat in the back like I was her chauffeur or something.”

“You didn’t hear anything to let you know where she was headed or what her plans were?” Doubt infused Ryan’s tone.

“Naw, man. That’s all I know.”

Ryan straightened and nodded to the chief who’d hung back without saying a word. The men exited the room.

Meghan met Ryan in the hall. Chief Danhoff headed away. “We have to get back to Revere. To the Northgate Shopping Center, it’s right off the Northeast Expressway.”

“Chief’s already making contact with Revere P.D.”

“Let’s go!” She turned toward the door.

Ryan snagged her elbow and held on. “We’re going to let the Revere P.D. handle this. You’ve done enough.”

She jerked her arm out of his grasp. “You can stay here. But I’m going to the mall.”

His frustrated growl sent a shiver down her back as she rushed for the front door.

“Hold up.” Ryan’s agitated voice halted her as she pushed open the glass doors. He limped as fast as he could toward her, each step bringing a wince of pain. Empathy rose. She knew what it was like to have to function while hurt. The abuse she’d suffered at the hands of her ex-husband had made some days nearly unbearable.

He reached her side. “Can we at least wait to see if the mall security can locate them? We don’t know whether or not she had another car already waiting to whisk them away.”

“But we have to do something!”

“You’re right. But us driving all over the place chasing our tails is not going to bring Georgina back. We need to be patient.”

“Easy for you to say,” she muttered.

He looked her in the eye. “No, actually, it’s not.”

She believed him. He was a man of action, used to being in control. He was a Fitzgerald, after all. He was probably accustomed to snapping his fingers and having the world jump to attention. Even as the uncharitable thought formed she dismissed it. Ryan may be many things but pompous wasn’t one of them.

Chief Danhoff halted beside Ryan. “Mall security has locked down the mall and the Revere P.D. is on the scene. We’ll know something shortly.”

“Good.” Ryan looked at Meghan expectantly.

Conflicted, she hesitated. She wanted to jump in the car and hightail it back to Revere, but if Christina and Georgina weren’t at the mall, then the trip would be wasted. Better to stay put and be ready to move when they were found. She acquiesced and released her hold on the door.

The seconds ticked by. Meghan tapped one foot in a rhythmic cadence. Ryan placed a hand on her arm. The light contact stilled her nerves in a way she’d never experienced before. The tapping stopped. It wasn’t an unpleasant sensation, yet it left her feeling vulnerable. She frowned and moved away from his touch. Instantly her nerves jumped to life. She paced the length of the entryway.

“Chief,” called the desk sergeant, holding up a phone. “It’s the Revere P.D.”

Anticipation grabbed hold of Meghan as she and Ryan followed Danhoff toward the phone. Danhoff took the call, listened for a moment then thanked the officer on the other end. His grim expression turned Meghan’s blood cold.

“The Revere police did a thorough search. Mrs. Hennessy and her daughter are nowhere to be found.”

Meghan fought back tears. She’d had Georgina in her arms. Anxiety fisted in her chest, creating a deep ache that nearly drove her to her knees. Her last remaining relative was in danger.

“What about security cameras?” Ryan asked.

Danhoff shook his head. “They have them entering through the south entrance of the mall and going inside one of the big department stores. They lost them in the women’s restroom. They never came out.”

“How can that be?” Meghan questioned, her voice rising with disbelief. “Someone had to have seen them.”

“Christina was prepared. She most likely had a disguise ready and changed her and Georgina’s appearance in the bathroom.” Ryan ran a hand through his short-cropped dark hair. “I can’t believe this.”

Meghan couldn’t, either. The trail had gone ice cold. Despair and fear clawed at her throat. Tears stung her eyes.

Now what?

* * *

Traffic on the way back to Fitzgerald Bay added to Meghan’s frustration. Not only had they lost Georgina, they had no idea where to look for her. Christina could have taken her anywhere.

Heart aching, Meghan sent up a silent prayer of protection for Georgina.

In the passenger seat Ryan shifted, again. From the moment they’d left the Portsmouth Police Department, he’d been restless and kept looking in the side-view mirror.

“What are you doing?” she finally asked after he turned in his seat with a groan, because of his hurt ribs, to stare out the back window for the umpteenth time.

“We have a tail,” he stated, facing forward again.

She frowned. “A tail? Like in being followed?”

“Yeah, exactly like.”

She glanced through the rearview mirror at the multitude of cars dotting the highway behind them. “There’s so much traffic. How can you tell?”

“There’s a silver van about five cars back. I saw it at the police station. It’s been keeping the same distance for the past ten miles.”

“Coincidence?”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” He gestured ahead. “Take the next exit.”

She signaled and moved over to the far-right lane. In the rearview mirror she noticed the van did the same. Her heart pounded in her chest as she took the exit ramp. The van sped up and barreled down the ramp behind them.

“Ryan?” The light at the end of the ramp turned red. She pressed on the brakes, the car skidding to a halt. The van pulled up alongside the car. The back panel door slid open. Masked men aimed big black guns at them.

“Get down!” Ryan yelled.

Meghan screamed and ducked as a spray of gunfire pelted the car. The side window shattered. She felt a stinging sensation in her shoulder.

Reflexively, she stomped on the gas to get away from the flying bullets. The Subaru jolted forward through the red light. Horns blared. Tires squealed on pavement as cars swerved to avoid hitting them. She yanked on the steering wheel to prevent them from ramming into a streetlight. The back window exploded into a million pieces.

“Keep driving!” Ryan shouted.

She didn’t have to be told twice. She kept her foot pressed on the gas and swerved around a car.

This couldn’t be happening.

The whole event seemed surreal, like she’d stepped into some action movie by mistake.

She turned down a side street and another and another until she had no sense of where they were or what direction they were headed. The van wasn’t following them now, but that didn’t lessen her panic. Her shoulder throbbed, her arm and hand numb. Ryan spoke to her. His phone in his hand, she could see his lips moving when she glanced his way, but only heard the rush of adrenaline in her ears.

He placed a hand over hers on the steering wheel. His touch grounded her. Through a foggy haze she heard his voice.

“Meghan, come on, Meghan, I need you to hold it together. Slow the car down.”

She eased her foot from the gas. The car’s acceleration dropped.

“Put your foot on the brake,” Ryan instructed.

She did as asked. Allowing him to guide her hands, she pulled the car to the curb, halting at an odd angle. Smoke curled from under the Subaru’s hood. She began to shake.

“You’re bleeding!” Ryan quickly undid his seat belt and bolted from the car.

He limped around to her side of the car and yanked open the driver’s door. Carefully, he eased her out of the seat. The world swam and she clung to him for support. He helped her to sit on the curb.

Her dress was covered in brown sticky stuff. She frowned. Her left hand was covered in it, too.

Blood.

The thought slammed into her mind, sending waves of shock through her system. She was bleeding. Nausea churned, she clamped her mouth tight. She would not throw up on him.

Ryan took off his blue uniform shirt and then his white T-shirt, revealing the nasty bruises peeking out from under the bandage wrapped around his torso. He bunched the T-shirt into a ball and pressed it to her shoulder. Pain zinged at the point of contact.

Her mind grappled to make sense of why he was doing that.

Reality crashed in. She’d been shot. She swayed.

“Put your head between your knees,” Ryan said, pushing her head down with gentle pressure.

After a moment the world stopped spinning. The sounds of sirens sent a tremor coursing over her flesh. Twice in one day they were waiting for an ambulance.

Thank You, Lord, for Your protection.

“Who were those men?” she asked Ryan when she felt steady enough to raise her head.

His mouth pressed into a grim line. “I don’t know.”

“Do you think this is connected to Christina?”

“Could be. Maybe. I don’t know.”

“Are you working on another case? Someone who wants you dead?” she asked, reaching for some explanation.

“No.” He peered at her. “What about you? What are you working on?”

“Just my cousin’s murder.”

At the reminder, she shuddered. Her cousin had been murdered, and now someone had tried to kill her and Ryan. Was this attempt on their lives connected in some way to Olivia’s death? Had Christina orchestrated the masked gunmen?

“Is the dolphin charm the only evidence you have that Christina might be involved in Olivia’s murder?” she asked, hoping to piece the facts together.

“There was a second blood sample found on the rock used to kill Olivia. DNA testing finally eliminated my brother Charles as a suspect. I wouldn’t be surprised if Christina Hennessy’s DNA is all over that rock.”

She was glad his brother was no longer a suspect in Olivia’s death. Charles Fitzgerald had been Olivia’s employer. She’d been his twins’ nanny. Meghan knew Olivia had loved those kids.

“When the charm was identified as Christina’s,” he continued, “I wondered. Then she skipped town with Georgina, coupled with Burke’s death…leads me to believe she’s got a dark side. Now we know for sure she’s capable of violence. When we take Christina into custody, we’ll run her DNA. If it matches…”

“Then she was at least there when Olivia was killed. She could have been struck with the same rock, for all you know.”

“True. Unless she confesses, the evidence places her at the crime scene but doesn’t make her a murderer.”

Meghan’s reporter instincts were clamoring, sensing a bigger story than she’d originally anticipated. One worthy of catapulting her career forward. Just what the story entailed she had yet to determine. “But Ryan, if these masked gunmen are connected to Christina, then whatever she’s into, it’s bigger than my cousin’s or Burke Hennessy’s death.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “You’re right. But I don’t have a clue what she’s gotten herself into or how big it is.”

Setting aside the lure of a big story for the moment, she put her hand on his. “Promise me, Ryan, the priority will be getting Georgina back safely.”

He covered her hand with his. “I promise.”

She swallowed a tide of unease. She could only hope once she told him the truth about Olivia’s parentage he’d be a man of his word and keep his promise.

* * *

The next morning, Ryan sat at his desk staring out the window of his office in the fishing village where he’d grown up. It was a beautiful June day, the sun was shining, a nice breeze blew in from the bay, and the townspeople were busy with their lives despite that fact that twice in the past six months there’d been a murder in their quiet haven. Two more than there’d been in the past several decades.

Frustration beat a steady tempo behind his eyes. The town and its people wouldn’t be safe until he got to the bottom of Olivia Henry’s and Burke Hennessy’s deaths.

But did those two murders have anything to do with the van that ambushed him and Meghan yesterday?

The van was nowhere to be found, Christina Hennessy and little Georgina were still missing, and Ryan’s father wanted to call in the FBI. Ryan knew they should. Their police department wasn’t equipped to do a full-scale investigation across state lines. But losing the case chafed.

A knock at his door brought up his gaze. Meghan Henry stood in the doorway. His breath caught in his chest. Her cheek still bore the mark from the hit she’d taken by Christina’s thug. But nothing could detract from the natural beauty she exuded. Today she wore white capris and a light purple flowing top. She looked like a fairy princess. All she needed was a crown of flowers.

He frowned. When did he become so whimsical? That wasn’t like him. “Morning, Meghan. How’s your shoulder?”

She briefly touched the place on her shoulder where a bullet had grazed her. The bandage covering the wound wasn’t visible beneath her top. “Doctor says it will hurt for a while, but will heal.” Dropping her hand, she asked, “How are your injuries?”