The Baby He Wanted

“I couldn’t see anyone else. There had to be tellers in there.”

She didn’t want to ask whether they were dead, too, he guessed.

Bran resumed his seat. “Two tellers, two customers. The robbers made them sit on the floor behind the counter, hands on their heads, facing away from the confrontation you saw. They’re shaken up, but not hurt.”

She gave a jerky nod, then continued, telling him she hadn’t really looked at one of the two men, but she knew he’d worn a ski mask. “So I couldn’t have seen his face anyway. I think he was shorter than the other robber. Mr. Floyd—that’s the bank manager—isn’t tall. Like five foot eight? They were about the same height. He was thin. He had a gun, too.”

This he, Bran supposed, was bank robber number two, not Mr. Floyd. “Was he facing you?”

“No, he was mostly turned away. I think he was threatening Mr. Floyd, who was refusing to do something.” Her beautiful eyes widened. “Mr. Floyd...was he hurt?”

“I don’t have identities yet, but a man was killed as well as your friend.”

“Oh, no,” she whispered. Her knuckles showed white as she wrung her hands.

“I’m sorry,” he said again, feeling helpless. “Saying no to armed men threatening him wasn’t very smart.”

“No.” Lina was quiet for a minute. “Maya didn’t like him. I don’t think any of the employees did. He was really full of himself, and sanctimonious. You know? It would be just like him to think he could stand up to those men because he was important and principled and of course they’d back down.”

In other words, the guy was both a prick and an idiot.

He watched Lina collect herself. “The other one, he had the barrel of his gun pressed to Maya’s temple. She looked so scared.” She swallowed. “Maya saw me.”

“What?”

“I think she kind of jerked and—” Lina did some deep breathing “—he shot her. Her head just...”

Bran covered her writhing hands with one of his. “Try to step back, as if it was a movie and not real. Did the guy pull the trigger because he was startled? Or do you think he’d been ordered to kill her?”

She stared at him, but he could tell she was replaying what she’d seen. “I think Mr. Floyd had been told that if he didn’t cooperate, they’d kill Maya. And he wouldn’t, so they did.”

“That’s what I think, too,” Bran said gently. “Her seeing you had nothing to do with her death.”

“Yes, but—” She gulped. “He shot her and then he turned. He saw me.”

Bran’s blood ran cold.

She shuddered. “And...and I saw him.”

“He wasn’t wearing a mask?”

She shook her head. “Why would he let anyone see his face?” she begged.

He didn’t know. They must have known law enforcement would be watching the robbery within half an hour. Banks all had cameras.

“He couldn’t shoot you through the teller’s window,” Bran said slowly. “They’re bullet-proof.”

“I don’t know if he even came to the window. I ducked, really fast. And then I ran straight across the drive-through lanes and the side street instead of going to my car or...or to the alley to try to hide. In case he burst out the front or back door.”

“That was smart.” He fought to hide the rage and fear that made it hard to breathe. “Lina, did you recognize him?”

She shook her head, but some crinkles formed on her forehead. “Not really, although...he looked sort of familiar. Do you know what I mean?” she appealed to him. “He might just have had an ordinary face, but it’s like, oh, if you see someone out of context and can’t place them. They’re a stranger, but not.”

“Like a grocery checker you notice at the next table when you’re eating out.”

“Exactly like that,” she said gratefully. “But it was such a quick glimpse...”

“If his face doesn’t show up clearly on video, we’ll have you sit down with a police artist. However briefly you saw the man, I’m betting the artist and you can come up with a portrait.”

She looked doubtful, but said, “I’ll try.”

“What worries me is that he saw you, Lina. You’re memorable, not ordinary.”

“I’m not.”

“Yeah, you are. I had no trouble recognizing you.” If he sounded a little dry, who could blame him?

“Yes, but you and I—” Color rose in her cheeks. “We...”

He knew what they’d done.

“I mean, we spent quite a while together. Talking and...”

Yep. And. They’d done a lot of that, too.

Blushing furiously, she said, “The other people in there must have seen something. And...and they’d have heard what was said.”

“If we get anything useful from those who were in the bank, I’ll worry less about you. From what I heard before I came over here, I’m not optimistic. It’s also possible he’d just pulled the mask off when you saw him.”

She stared at him, stricken. “If he did...that means he was going to kill Maya either way, doesn’t it?”

“I’m afraid so” was the best he could do. The video could be grainy; the guy’s face might be caught at an angle so that distinguishing features weren’t clear. Or no camera had pointed the right way to capture his image at the moment he’d been unmasked. But her friend had had a close look at him.

“Oh, God.” She hugged herself again.

Very aware of the passing minutes, Bran said, “Lina, I have to get back to the bank. You and I need to talk, but we’ll save that for later. I’m only going to ask one thing right now. Is that baby you’re carrying mine?”

She seemed to shrink into herself, making him feel like a bastard, but he had to know. After a minute, her head bobbed. “Yes.”

Damn. It was like seeing someone running out in front of his car, knowing he would never be able to brake in time. His vision had sharpened and time slowed, but his reactions had slowed, too.

He could only nod. “All right.” Really? It was all hunky-dory? No problemo?

Do your job. “Lina, I won’t be able to get away for hours. I don’t want you to go home until we know more, in case the guy did recognize you. Do you have family close by? Or a friend who will let you spend the night if necessary?”

She stared at him. “But... I don’t have anything with me. Except my purse.” Looking more like a satchel, it sat by her feet.

“As soon as I break free, I’ll come get you. Then we’ll figure out what to do. But if you’re the only one who saw his face and this guy by any chance did know you, he can’t afford to let you identify him. Do you understand?”

She nodded, her face so white he was afraid she might keel over. But her back stayed rigid. “Yes. I saw what he’s willing to do.”

Damn. She had.

“Tell me where you’ll be.”

“Let me make a call.” She dug in the bag for her phone, and a moment later was talking to someone. She finished by saying, “I’ll tell you all about it when I get there. Thank you, Isabel.” The call ended. She told him the friend’s name and address.

He took her phone from her and added his number to her contacts, then put hers in his phone. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

They both thanked the manager on the way out. As they crossed the street, Bran said, “I’m going to have you take a look at the parking lot. Do you remember what vehicles were here when you arrived?”

“Yes.” They walked past the bank so she could see the lot. “Those are the same cars that were here then.”

“Okay. Where did your friend park?”

“I noticed it on Maple.” That was the street they’d just crossed. My car is only half a block from hers.”

“Is that why you parked where you did?”

“No, there wasn’t any room in front of the bank.” She saw something on his face. “They didn’t park in the lot, did they?”

“No, they’d have gotten as close to the front door as they could. Preferably blocking any view of the bank from passing traffic.”

“Close to the front...there was a gold Camry. I noticed it because my parents have one like it. And a cargo van. My car is really small, so I could have squeezed in between the van and the Camry, but I’m not very good at parallel parking and it would have been tight.”

“Okay,” he said, keeping his tone relaxed. He didn’t want her to freeze up. “Describe the van to me.”

“It was white, with panels instead of windows along the side. On the back, too, I’m pretty sure. I remember thinking I wouldn’t like having to rely totally on mirrors.”

“Was there a company name on the side or the door? A decal of any kind? A bumper sticker?”

But she was shaking her head. “Nothing. I doubt I’d have noticed a bumper sticker. I mean, I barely glanced at the back of the van when I was thinking of trying to squeeze in behind it.”

“I don’t suppose you noticed the license plate.”

“Not a chance.” She hesitated. “I guess it might have caught my eye if it had been an out-of-state license or a custom one.”

That was his guess, too, given how extraordinarily observant she had proved herself to be.

With a hand on her arm, he nudged her into movement again. “Getting away was the smart thing for you to do. You had no reason to focus on the van.”

Cops clustered outside the bank’s front door. The medical examiner was just going in. Bran nodded at him.

“Which car is yours?” he asked Lina, looking to the cross street.

“The Kia.”

He had her point out her friend’s, too, before asking, “You feel steady enough to drive?”

She took a deep breath. “Yes. Anyway, it’s not that far to Isabel’s.”

He insisted on walking her to her peanut of a car and watched as she wedged herself behind the wheel and adjusted and fastened the seat belt. How in hell did women who were eight months pregnant still reach the pedals?

Shaking the thought off, he waited until she had closed the door and then rolled down the window to look up at him.

“Okay,” he said. “Keep an eye out behind you on the way. If any other vehicle seems to be sticking with you, I want you to come right back here. Call me, too. Don’t wait until you get here. Do you understand?”

Lina bit her lip but nodded.

“And call if you remember anything else you think I should know.”

“I will.”

“If it looks like I won’t make it before bedtime, I’ll let you know. This Isabel understands you might have to stay, right?”

“Yes. She teaches at the middle school, too. We’ve gotten to be good friends.”

One hand flat on the roof of her car, Bran looked down at her. “I’d suggest you have a glass of wine, but I guess you can’t do that.”

She actually tried to smile. “Probably one glass wouldn’t hurt anything, but I made a no-alcohol, no-caffeine vow once I realized I was pregnant.”

“You don’t smoke, do you?”

“No. I never have. And I wouldn’t.”

Feeling foolish, he nodded. “I’ll call, Lina.”

Without another word, she pushed a button so her window glided up and put on her turn signal before pulling out onto the street. Afraid she’d get a ticket if she didn’t? No, he thought; Lina Jurick was a law-abiding citizen. A good girl, who had done something very uncharacteristic the night she’d gone to a cheap motel with him.

Standing where he was for longer than he should have, watching until the little Kia turned out of sight three blocks away, he wondered if his promise to call had sounded reassuring to her, or whether she’d taken it as a threat.

He swore under his breath. Would she ever have told him about the baby if they hadn’t come face-to-face? Part of him was scared shitless. And part of him...he didn’t know...and couldn’t take the time to untangle it all.

Bran turned and walked into the bank.

CHAPTER THREE

WAITING WAS REALLY HARD.

After one look at Lina when she first arrived at the Moreno’s house, Isabel sent her two kids to their bedrooms. Then she sat Lina down in the kitchen and insisted she nibble on soda crackers and drink ginger ale while she told the whole, awful story.

Well, she didn’t mention that, to complete the trauma, she had just come face-to-face with the father of her baby. Who happened to be the investigator.

Not even Maya had known who the father was. All Lina would ever say was that it had been a mistake. Admitting that she’d gotten drunk and willingly had repeated sex with a complete stranger in a cheap motel room? No.

Steadier, Lina was able to have a bowl of soup and half a sandwich with Isabel and both kids, who were told only that Lina was waiting for a friend to call. At three and five, they nodded incuriously and chattered away. Predictably, they were excited about Christmas. Their tree was up in the living room, but without gifts under it.

“Carmen might be able to keep her hands off them,” Isabel said, once the children had trotted off to the living room to watch a Disney movie on DVD, “but Ricky never could. They’ve both been hyper from the minute I left work Tuesday.”

Of course, the women’s conversation reverted quickly to the horrific scene at the bank. Isabel had met Maya through Lina and had to deal with her own shock.

“In Clear Creek!” she kept exclaiming.

Lina felt the same. She read in the newspaper about things like this happening, but it never did in this small, rural county. Except now she wondered if she hadn’t been naive. Crimes of some kind must occupy Bran and all those other cops she’d seen swarming the bank.

Eventually she wound down as if her battery was failing. She had to ask if there was someplace she could nap. She was afraid she’d have had to lay her cheek on the table and sleep right there otherwise.

Once alone, exhaustion claimed her before she could shatter. It was as if her body had to shut down.

Hours later, she woke up disoriented. Night had somehow fallen. She’d have been completely in the dark if not for a night-light glowing softly on the dresser.

She was in Carmen’s room, Lina remembered. Posters, wallpaper border and curtains all featured horses. Five-year-old Carmen had told her earnestly that she wanted to grow up to be a horsie rancher and a ballerina. She was dainty enough to be a ballerina, but admitted to having been on a pony only twice. Mama and Papa—she had looked daggers at her mother—wouldn’t buy her a horse.

Lina stumbled to the bathroom across the hall where she washed her face and brushed and braided her hair. For a minute, she stared unseeingly into the mirror.

Oh, dear God. Maya. She wanted it to have been a nightmare, but knew better.

From the smells, Isabel must be cooking. Lina felt queasy, as if the morning sickness had reappeared.

Isabel looked her over anxiously when she appeared in the kitchen. “You look better. Would you like a pop? Or juice?”

That might help. Lina poured herself a glass of cranberry juice and sat down. “I’m being useless. I’m sorry.”

“No, no. I wouldn’t have let you help,” her friend said. She nodded toward the bag Lina had plopped at her feet. “You should call the detective. He called me because you weren’t answering. I think you scared him.”

“I didn’t hear it ring.” Lina checked her phone. He’d tried her four times and left two messages. Listening to them, she realized Isabel was right; he did sound worried.

He answered on the first ring.

“I’m sorry,” she said before he could say anything but her name. “I took a nap. I must have really conked out.”

“So Isabel said. She checked on you for me.”

“She did?”

“I’m winding things up here. Why don’t I come over? I can update you on what we’ve learned, and then I think you can safely go home.”

“Oh, thank goodness! Does that mean the camera was pointing at him?”

“Not exactly. I’ll explain when I get there.”

Either somebody was within earshot or he was determined to sit down face-to-face with her.

Or it wasn’t really the bank robbery and Maya he wanted to talk about. He wouldn’t confront her about the pregnancy here, with Isabel and maybe Eduardo or the kids within earshot, would he?

If not, he’d want to follow her home. There’d be no escaping the conversation she dreaded.

The one we have to have, she reminded herself. She’d always known she would have to tell him about the baby and give him the chance to be involved in her life. She just...kept putting it off.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll wait until you get here.”

“Ten minutes,” he promised, and was gone.

He hadn’t asked for directions, but she supposed he could find any place, even if it was within the city limits and therefore not in his jurisdiction, which was unincorporated county.

Predictably, Isabel insisted they should at least stay for dinner. She’d made plenty. Lina thanked her, but said, “Detective Murphy is a police officer. He feels obligated to tell me some of what they’ve learned, but after that he’d probably like to just get home.”

“But it will be ready—” Isabel laughed and shook her head. “I have this ridiculous need to feed people. I’m turning into my mother. Ignore me.”

Laughing for the first time in many hours, Lina hugged her petite, dark-haired friend. “If you’re turning into your mother, it can’t be such a bad thing. And if you mean it about dinner, I’ll ask Bran—I mean, Detective Murphy—when he gets here.”

Isabel’s eyes sharpened at Lina’s slip, but she didn’t comment on it. “Either way is fine.”

Bran had been more than kind today, but the closest thing to real emotion she’d seen on his face was the shock when he recognized her...and saw that she was pregnant. Otherwise, he’d been guarded, even remote. She couldn’t imagine him wanting to sit down with a cheerful family to share their dinner.

When the doorbell rang, she let him in, feeling an immediate punch of awareness. He wouldn’t have to say a word or do anything to dominate any gathering. He did that with just his physical presence and those piercing blue eyes that took in everything.

“Why don’t you come in and meet my friend?” Lina suggested.

“Sure.” He took one step in and inhaled. “God, that smells good. I’m starved. No lunch.”

“We’re invited to stay for dinner. Eduardo should be home any minute. They have two kids, though...”

His stomach chose that moment to rumble, and one side of his mouth tipped up. “Do you think there’s really enough to go around?”

“I’m sure.”

She’d barely introduced him to Isabel when they heard the garage door rising. Lina didn’t know Isabel’s husband well, but had liked what she’d seen of him. He was a strong, stocky man not that much taller than her, his skin much darker than his wife’s. His kids raced to greet him, and he had a huge smile as he tossed each one into the air in turn before gently setting them down.

Then he looked at Lina. “Isabel called to tell me. What a terrible thing to happen, and for you to see it...”

“I appreciate Isabel taking me in. And—” she smiled at the little girl “—Carmen letting me borrow her bed for a nap.”

She had started to introduce the two men when it became apparent they already knew each other.

The next thing she knew they were all seated around the dining room table eating chile verde con puerco with refried beans and warm corn tortillas. Lina guessed Isabel had been cooking all afternoon, but maybe it was one way she enjoyed using her days off. Lina barely nibbled at her dinner, hoping no one noticed, but Bran ate enough for both of them.

He answered a few questions from the adults about the robbery, careful not to say anything the kids shouldn’t hear, then began talking to Eduardo about his business, Clear Creek Power Equipment. It sounded as if he had rented equipment from him a few times. He had also investigated a burglary from the business.

Isabel taught biology and coached the girls’ soccer team. “They asked me to take over the basketball team, too,” she joked, “but I had to admit it isn’t my sport.” They all laughed at that. Isabel might have been five foot one. Her husband teased her, saying she could make a basket if she were standing on his shoulders.

After accepting hugs and promising to call, Lina and Bran left.

“I’ll follow you home,” he said, his tone completely inflexible.

Shivering, Lina didn’t argue. Snow had been forecast for the next day or two, and she wondered if it might start falling tonight. They could hardly stand out here on the sidewalk and talk.

Bran’s black Camaro hugged her bumper all the way home. At her complex, he parked illegally but stuck something on his dashboard that she assumed said Police or the like, and followed her into the lobby where she collected her mail before leading him to the elevator.

As it rose, he said, “Your friends are nice people.”

“They are. You already knew Eduardo.”

“Because of the investigation.”

The elevator doors opened and they went down the hall to her apartment. “And you rented equipment to work on your house,” she said, curious about him.

“I live in an apartment, too. I’ve been helping my brother work on an old place he’s restoring. I’d have said it was a dump, but it’s starting to look good.”

She unlocked the door. “You’re lucky to have family nearby.”

“He only moved here this spring. We’d...lost touch.”

Lina wondered about the hesitation, but only nodded. Once inside her apartment, she watched as he assessed it, starting with the small, decorated tree that sat on a tabletop, then taking in her bookcases, furniture, the opening into the kitchen.

“Can I get you a cup of coffee?” she asked, as much to fill the silence as anything.

He shook his head. “Not when you won’t be having any.”

“It’s no trouble...”

“Thank you, Lina, but no.” He nodded toward her sofa. “Why don’t you sit down?”

She did, her apprehension making her feel like a child who knew she was in trouble. So much for having the upper hand because this was her territory.

“What did you mean by not exactly? Did you or didn’t you see his face?”

Bran sat in a maple rocking chair facing her across the coffee table. “There’s not a good view.”

“How can that be?”

He sighed. “Cameras are aimed in front of the tellers, not behind them. One placed to the side let us see your friend and the manager with the two men, but it wasn’t a good angle. Both men wore knit ski masks. They stormed in, brandished weapons and yelled to intimidate the employees and the two customers who were in the bank at that point. Only one teller was at work, and she froze and didn’t push the alarm. They took away everyone’s cell phones. As I said, they were made to sit on the floor with their backs turned. According to one of the women, they were told that the first person trying to sneak a look would be shot.”

“So none of them did.”

“No. They were scared out of their skulls. None of them could even describe body types. They all agreed both men were big, which is typical when witnesses are scared. They did confirm that you were right about what was going on. The manager was refusing to open the vault. The robber who did the talking said they’d kill the woman if he didn’t do what they wanted. He said no again.”

A whimper escaped her.

He half stood, then sat again, his hands gripping the arms of the chair. “I’m sorry, Lina.”

She took some deep breaths and was finally able to nod.

“When the guy grabbed your friend, she fought. From what we can see on the video, it looks like she hooked her fingernails in the knit mask and pulled it sideways. He wouldn’t have been able to see at all. Subduing her, he couldn’t fiddle with it to align the eyeholes, so he wrenched it off. After he shot her, he grabbed it and put it back on. He wasn’t without it for more than a minute, if that.”

“But Mr. Floyd would have seen him, too.”

“Yeah. That was a death sentence for him, I’m afraid. That and—”

She could tell he didn’t want to finish the thought. So she did. “And trying to stand up to them?”

“I’d have put it a little differently,” Bran said. “If he’d cooperated from the beginning...”

Maya and he would both be alive. Lina swallowed and nodded.

“We’ll definitely want you to sit down with the artist,” he continued. “A couple of FBI agents arrived, and they’re pretty excited that you saw him. It turns out they’ve been after these two for a while.”