скачать книгу бесплатно
Dwight reached straight across the table and gripped her shoulder. He grabbed the chair beside her and shoved her down onto it. “Easy, Red.”
Red? Maddie pressed a hand to her clammy forehead. She felt so dizzy that nothing made sense. “Of course, the blood would be red. What…what happened?”
The table groaned as it took Dwight’s weight. And then she felt something warm press against her arm, pushing Tyler closer to her chest. The warmth stayed, radiated across her chilled skin and woke her from her stupor.
She’d nearly dropped the baby!
Maddie blinked Dwight back into focus. She hugged Tyler tight with her own strength and apologized. “Sorry. I didn’t sleep last night and I skipped breakfast this morning—it’s hard to tell, I know. Katie’s been gone for a month and I’m just tired of being scared for her.”
“It’s okay.” He waved aside her rambling excuses. “Stuff happens. You’re tough.”
She glanced down at the large, battle-scarred hand still braced against her forearm. What Dwight Powers lacked in charm and subtlety he made up for in solid, steady strength.
“That’s what I keep telling myself.” Maddie’s self-deprecating laugh never quite left her throat. With a last wishful look at Dwight’s blunt, masculine fingers resting against her sleeve, Maddie rose. It was nothing new to realize she had to stand on her own two feet. “I suppose I’d better put Tyler down before I get distracted again. Do you mind holding him for a minute while I get his carrier ready?”
Dwight jerked his hand away and shot to his feet when she lifted the baby toward him. His face creased with something like pain—shock, perhaps—as if she’d just asked him to strip naked to see if his chest and biceps were really as big as they looked under that jacket.
“I’m sorry. I…”
With a deep noise she could only describe as a wordless curse, he plucked the carrier off the table and tossed aside the blanket. He loosened the strap buckles, adjusted the stand and locked it into place with an efficiency that indicated he’d done the task before. He set the carrier on the table between them and folded the yellow blanket into a neat square before pausing for an audible breath. Maddie felt her own held breath seeping out along with his as the burst of physical activity ended.
“I’m the one who should apologize.” Now she could see that he was looking at the smeared drops of crimson that could be nothing other than blood on the corner of the blanket. He tossed the material aside and pulled out a clean cover from the bag Roberta Hays had brought. “I should have dropped that bombshell with a little more tact. We don’t know for a fact yet that it was Katie’s blood. The crime lab is going to do some checking. At any rate, they didn’t seem to think there was enough of it to indicate a serious injury. It could be related to childbirth—if it’s even hers.”
Maddie pressed a kiss to the crown of Tyler’s head, still trying to make sense of Dwight’s reaction—make that overreaction—to her request for a helping hand. “And that’s supposed to reassure me?”
“You wanted the facts. There aren’t many to share.”
Maddie nodded, corralling her fear the way she had for the past month. The way she had for so many years when she’d known Karen had been in danger and that every effort to help her had ultimately proved futile. She laid Tyler in the carrier and strapped him in place. Then she covered him with the blanket Dwight had set out. “I appreciate hearing at least that much information. It’s more than the police could tell me.”
“I’m sure they’re doing their best to find Katie.”
Maddie tried not to scoff. “They’re more interested in locating that illegal-adoption clinic that may or may not exist. If she’s not mixed up with that, then I’m afraid they’ll never find her.”
Dwight angled his head toward the door, shifting his whole body in that direction. But when she thought the conversation between them had ended, he shoved his hands into his trouser pockets and turned back to face her. “When was the last time you heard from Joe Rinaldi?”
She imagined that abrupt change of topic was a useful tactic to use in the courtroom to catch a witness off guard. But any mention of the ex-brother-in-law who had butchered her sister put Maddie on alert.
“I haven’t. We have an unlisted number, and the Department of Corrections keeps him locked up pretty tight.” But Dwight’s hesitation only upped her suspicions. “Why?”
He pulled his wallet from his pocket. “Joe Rinaldi is being transferred to a new prison for a psychiatric evaluation. Could he have contacted Katie without you knowing it?”
“He’s not allowed to call or write her. And if he had, surely Katie would have told me.” You’d be surprised what a man can accomplish from inside a prison cell if he’s determined enough. No. She couldn’t go there. “Is Joe getting out?”
“He’s getting transferred. There’s a difference.”
“But for you to mention it, you must be concerned—”
“You wanted me to tell you everything I know. Now I have. Here.” As he slipped his wallet back into his pocket, he held out a business card. “I’ll report to KCPD if I hear from your niece again. Detective Bellamy’s young and ambitious, but I’ll make sure he keeps you informed and that Katie doesn’t get lost in the shuffle of pursuing a bigger case. You can call me if you don’t hear from him soon.”
Maddie took the card, trying not to make too much of how quickly he pulled his hand away from hers. “What about Joe?”
“I’ll keep you posted on anything I hear from that end, as well. Let’s hope he’s proved perfectly sane and MODOC puts him right back where he belongs.”
“Let’s hope.” Maddie summoned a smile. Whether it was his intention or not, Dwight Powers had given her the best comfort she’d known in a month. Maybe not in a tender here’s-a-hug-and-some-reassuring-words kind of way. But his straightforward taking-care-of-business bluntness went a long way toward easing her fears and making her feel as though she wasn’t in this battle all on her own. “Thanks.”
“KCPD will find out what Katie’s running from and bring her home.” The tight set of his jaw told her this last point wasn’t open for negotiation. “But I’m not an investigator. I’m not in the protection business. You and I are done here. Understood?”
So much for allies and support.
“And you can get me a list of all state-sanctioned adoptions in the past twelve months?” Cooper Bellamy pushed open the conference-room door, ushering in Roberta Hays ahead of him.
“If they’re public record,” Roberta huffed. “Not all of them are.”
Cooper seemed unfazed by her halfhearted answer and unaware of the tension that filled the room. He was grinning as big as a boy at an amusement park. “Ms. McCallister?” He nodded to Dwight. “Excuse me for interrupting, sir, but I’ve got some photos I’d like her to look at.”
“You’re a go,” Roberta stated. Maddie barely minded the odor of cigarette smoke stinging her nose as the social worker gave her a thumbs-up sign. “I just need to know where to reach you in case…”
Detective Bellamy opened a folder on the table in front of Maddie and dealt out five pictures. “Do you recognize any of these girls? Would your niece have contact with any of them?”
An auburn-haired teenager with a heart-shaped face jumped to her attention. “That’s Whitney Chiles. A friend of Katie’s. They sing together in the show choir.”
“And what about…”
While Maddie’s multi-tasking brain answered the pertinent questions and filtered out the rhetorical ones, her thoughts were focused on the man who gave her one last, hard look before striding from the room without a good-bye. A man of immeasurable strength who had an aversion to smiling. A man who would do only his job and nothing more.
Dwight Powers had made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with Katie. Or the baby.
Or with her.
So why did she feel as if her best hope had just walked out the door?
OH, MAN. THERE must be an elephant sitting on her head.
Katie Rinaldi tried to roll over to a more comfortable position. But a bombardment of fireworks and clashing swords exploded inside her brain.
She groaned. At least, she thought that was her voice. Her tongue felt swollen, her throat was scratchy. She was so thirsty.
Her breasts were tender and her joints ached from being twisted up like a pretzel while she slept. Or had she passed out? And why the hell wouldn’t that elephant get off her head?
“She’s movin’.”
“Make the call.”
“We call when she’s awake, not before.”
“You gave her too much juice. It’s been twenty-four hours.”
“You finally got some shut-eye, didn’t you? I told you this one was trouble from day one, when she came lookin’ for us, instead of the other way around. You should be thankin’ me instead of complainin’.”
“The boss is the one who’ll be complaining if she doesn’t come out of it soon.”
Who was arguing? Where was she? Was it morning or night? And what was that foul, rancid smell? Somebody seriously needed a breath mint.
“C’mon, darlin’.” Rough hands shook her. She curled up into a ball and tried to escape back into the comfort of oblivion.
“No.” There was something very important she needed to do today. But she couldn’t get her brain around the concept of opening her eyes, much less remembering that…thing…she needed to do. Her mind was floating. Funny, since her head felt so heavy. “Just a little longer. Please.”
“Wake up! Where’s the kid? Katie!” The little one smacked her hard across the face.
Her eyes popped open. “Tyler!” The cry grated through her dry throat. She grabbed her empty belly and squinted her surroundings into focus. “Where’s my baby?”
“That’s what we want you to tell us.”
Katie’s thoughts grew more coherent as the blow carved a path through her muddled brain. Not them again. No, no, not this place. She crawled into a sitting position. How the hell did she get back here? Had they recaptured Whit, too?
“Oh, my God,” she rasped. Tears filled her eyes. She’d really screwed up.
She was back in the hospital bed. Neat white sheets. IV stands. Antiseptic smells. Even a call button beside her on the blanket. But this wasn’t really a hospital.
And neither the tall porker on her right nor the garlic-chewing shrimp on her left was a doctor. Or a male nurse. Or even an orderly.
Katie lifted her hand up to her aching cheek and winced at the sharp pinch of pain around her wrists. She looked down. A thick plastic band, as secure as handcuffs, was bound around her wrists.
Next time, escape wouldn’t be so easy.
If she had a next time.
“She’s with us now. Make the call, Fitz. Welcome home, darlin’.”
While the big man pulled out his cellphone and punched in a number, Stinky Pete sat on the edge of her bed and mocked her with a smile. She’d seen that same sort of leer before—on her father’s face when he looked at her mother.
As a little girl, Katie had never wanted to leave the room when she saw that particular smile because she knew that the minute she was gone that smile would vanish. And her mother would bear the full brunt of the savagery beneath that smile.
Katie lowered her eyes and sank into the pillow, trying to make herself as small and insignificant as possible. She didn’t feel like the brave crusader anymore, out to save the world one friend at a time. She didn’t even feel seventeen. With those dark eyes laughing at her, gloating over her, she felt like a scared little girl again. She wanted to go home. Aunt Maddie would keep her safe. Aunt Maddie would love her baby.
“Tyler?” she whispered.
“Not here, darlin’.” Stinky Pete pinched her chin between his thumb and finger and forced her to look at him. “We thought maybe you could clue us in. He’s bought and paid for and we want him back. What’d you do with him?”
Her plan had failed. Maybe she hadn’t helped anyone, after all. Just because she was in a private room now didn’t mean Whitney had escaped. They might have recaptured her friend, as well. She could be tied up and drugged somewhere else in the building. Or Whit could be dead. And it would be Katie’s fault. Instead of helping her friend, she’d gotten her killed.
Katie had made a critical mistake in calling for help. She’d trusted the wrong person and given away their location. Now she was back with Stinky Pete and his big buddy, the hulkster.
But if she was here—and they were asking these questions—that meant they didn’t have Tyler. A perverse sense of hope tried to take root. Thank God. Mr. Powers would take care of him. Even if she didn’t survive this, her baby would be safe.
Her mother had made the same sacrifice for her. Katie felt through the thin cotton of her gown for the chain she wore and closed her hand around her mother’s ring.
The big man named Fitz held out the phone. “The boss wants to talk to you.”
The boss? There was someone else these two goons answered to? Other than the grandmotherly midwife who’d help deliver Tyler, Katie hadn’t seen anyone else but the other girls. Katie held up her battered wrists. “I can’t hold the phone.”
The little man with the scary eyes and false smile grabbed the cellphone and pushed it against her ear. “Talk.”
Katie caught a startled breath and obeyed the command. “Hello?”
The voice on the phone was sickeningly familiar. “I’m very disappointed in you, Katie. I went out of my way to help you and this is how you repay me?”
By the time the call had ended, Katie was numb with fear.
But Tyler was still safe. Please, God, let him stay out of harm’s way.
She heard the big man speak. “The boss wants us to take out some insurance. Something to improve the new mama’s cooperation.”
Stinky Pete grinned. “Now that should be interesting.”
Insurance? There was nothing these men could do to make her tell them what she’d done with her baby. Nothing. She’d die first.
Katie had resigned herself to doing just that by the time the needle pricked her arm, filling her head with the weight of that elephant and sending her back into oblivion.
MADDIE ROCKED BACK and forth slowly, softly singing her own version of an old movie song about fish swimming and birds flying and loving dat boy of mine.
Tyler had finished his bottle, burped like a pro and drifted off to sleep. But Maddie was in no hurry to put him in his bassinet. She loved the warm, gentle weight of him nestled against her and found his contented slumber a balm to her own fractured sense of peace.
Katie had done a wonderful job taking care of herself during her pregnancy. The vitamins, exercise and careful diet had produced a healthy boy.
But Maddie was no closer to understanding why Katie had run away. What had changed in the girl’s life? As Dwight Powers had suggested yesterday morning, something pretty drastic must have occurred for Katie to risk Tyler’s health and her own during the last month of her pregnancy.
How could she not have seen it? She and Katie talked every night over dinner. Had she not been listening?
Maddie replayed those last few evenings together in her mind. Maddie had talked about the summer class she’d been teaching; Katie about the classes she’d be taking in the fall. With tutoring from her favorite aunt to compensate for the first few weeks of school she’d miss, Katie had been thrilled that she’d still be able to finish high school and graduate with her own class. She’d be forced to give up most of her extracurricular activities, but a couple of her best friends had promised to still come to the house to hang out, keep the gossip fresh and help with the baby.
Katie had been a little despondent about not having her mother around to see Tyler. But more than once, she assured Maddie that she’d fill in just fine as a grandma.
Joe Rinaldi’s name hadn’t come up.
The baby’s father hadn’t come up.
One evening, Maddie and Katie were commiserating over swollen ankles and the summer heat; the next, Maddie was alone with a note in her kitchen.
Dear Aunt Maddie,
You know I love you more than anything in the world, right? Well, maybe just a nanobit less than I’m gonna love Tyler or Amanda. But don’t be frightened if I’m gone for a while.
I need to take care of something. Something I know you’d understand if I could tell you about it. But I promised to keep it secret.
I’ll always remember how you tried to help Mom. How you’ve always helped me. It’s my turn to pay it forward now.
I’ll be home as soon as I can.
