“I had extraordinary material. Made my job easy.” She sat next to Grace and held her hand. “What’s the plan to look for our boy today?”
“No more plans. I’m empty. You can go home, Alec. Adam and the kids need you, and there’s nothing to do here. I’ve sent Mark and Steph back to their normal lives. They’re making plans to go to DC on Saturday to see Jen and the babies. Even Ryan is back at work.”
“Trying to get rid of me so you can sit here alone and wallow in your misery?”
“I’m going to do that whether you’re here or not.” Grace got up and went to the Christmas tree. She straightened an ornament and adjusted a string of lights before stepping back to admire her work. “Christmas is two weeks from today.” She wanted to say more, but the words caught in her throat.
Alec came up behind her and wrapped her arms around Grace’s waist. “I’m not abandoning you. I told you at the start of this nightmare that I’m not leaving until Johnny comes through that door. Adam and the kids are fine without me. They prefer the nanny. She spoils them. Adam is dealing with this by throwing himself into work as usual. I’ll bring the kids over tomorrow, and we’ll make our gingerbread houses.”
The thought of their annual gingerbread house tradition was too much for Grace. She slid out of Alec’s arms and curled into a ball in front of the tree, fearing the force of her sobs would tear her in two. Alec rubbed her back and muttered words of comfort, but no words existed to soothe her pain.
* * *
Johnny stared at the shapes in the ceiling tiles while he waited for the nurse to answer his call button. He’d been staying awake enough during the day that the doctor ordered the nurse to remove his catheter. Johnny had been relieved and disappointed. The catheter had been uncomfortable and embarrassing, but it had also meant he didn’t have to worry about having an accident while he waited for his nurse to help him to the bathroom. He wasn’t allowed to get up on his own. Most of the time they responded quickly, but sometimes they didn’t show up until he was about to burst.
He didn’t really need to go to the bathroom this time. He’d used that as an excuse to get the nurse to his room so he could tell him who he was. Mara had finally gone home to eat and shower, so Johnny needed to take advantage of the chance while Mara was gone. She hadn’t left his side once while he was awake in the week since his surgery.
The doctor had kept Johnny sedated for the first three days after his surgery. When he woke up on the fourth day, he didn’t know why he was in a hospital. He was more lucid by the next day but still so drowsy from the drugs they were pumping into him that it was impossible to force himself to stay awake.
As he grew more alert in the days that followed, he bided his time until he could nark on Mara and get free of her. She’d made that impossible by putting on her Mother-of-the-Year act and refusing to leave his bedside. Johnny had finally managed to convince her that it was hard for him to rest with her staring at him all the time. He also played the angle that she needed to take better care of herself, so she’d be strong enough to take care of him when he got out of the hospital. He was shocked when she bought it.
Johnny was about to push his button again when the nurse came in and gave him a fist bump.
“You have to go again, bro?” the nurse asked. “It’s only been an hour.”
“Sorry, Luke. You know how it is,” Johnny said. He pushed himself up higher in the bed and swung his feet to the floor.
“Guess this means you don’t want the bedpan.” He handed Johnny his crutches and started unhooking him from the monitors. “Doc says no more wheelchair if you think you can manage.”
“I can,” Johnny said.
Luke held the IV bag as he followed Johnny toward the bathroom. They’d almost reached the door when Mara walked in and asked what they were doing. Johnny wanted to scream.
“Why isn’t he in the wheelchair?”
“Don’t worry. The doctor said crutches are fine,” Johnny said. He hoped to catch Luke’s eye and signal that he wanted him to get Mara to leave, but Luke was busy watching Johnny’s feet.
“Can you get me one of those smoothies I like from the cafeteria? I ate all my lunch,” he asked Mara.
She held up a large paper cup with a straw. “No need. It’s much better than the hospital ones.”
“I’ll take it if you don’t want it,” Luke said and winked at Mara.
“Nice try,” Johnny said and went into the bathroom with Luke trailing him.
He was tempted to whisper to Luke about Mara while the bathroom door was shut, but he was too afraid she’d overhear. He didn’t know what she’d do if he crossed her and he was more helpless than ever. She’d probably behave herself in front of Luke or the other nurses, but the thought of what she might do to him when they were alone terrified him.
He relieved himself and Luke helped him back to bed.
“I’ll come back in an hour to see if you’re up to sitting in the recliner for half an hour. The doctor says as soon as you can sit without getting a headache, we’ll move you out of ICU to the step-down unit. They have much nicer nurses down there, and they won’t have to bug you as much.”
“Bet they’re cuter, too,” Johnny said and did his best to smile.
Moving him out of ICU meant he was recovering, and he wouldn’t be in the hospital much longer. He had to find a way to get free of Mara before that happened. There was no way he was leaving with that monster.
* * *
“Alec told me what happened this morning,” Ryan said when he got home that night. “God, I’m worried about you, Grace.”
Grace was on the bed watching some mindless sitcom. She couldn’t even remember the name. After her breakdown, Alec had helped her to bed. Grace had cried herself to sleep and woke two hours later with a roaring headache. Alec forced her to eat a few bites of lunch and take a pain pill. Grace had relented, not having the strength to fight her.
She had to admit she was feeling better and had an appetite for the first time in days. Alec always knew what was best for her. She’d been pestering Grace to have a good cry, but as always, Grace resisted. She’d been taught as a child that crying equaled weakness. It was still a challenge at times to get past that backward conditioning.
Grace patted the bed for Ryan to sit with her. “Stop worrying. All I needed was a good cry. You have to face it that I can’t put on a brave face and pretend our son hasn’t been in the clutches of a maniac for more than two weeks.”
“I’m not asking you to pretend. In fact, I’m glad you cried it out and that you’re defending yourself. It’s the silence that scares me. Have you decided to go to your girls' dinner tomorrow? Contrary to what you say, it would be good for you to get out for a few hours.”
Grace had hoped Ryan forgot about her annual dinner out with a few of the friends she’d worked with over the years. The only excuses any of them allowed for missing the occasion were serious and/or contagious illness or a death in the family. None of them could have imagined one of them missing due to a kidnapped child.
Grace had tried to beg out, but her friends insisted she join them. She’d texted them two days earlier that she’d go if none of them brought up Johnny. They answered that they wouldn’t agree to that, and it would do her good to talk. She was certain they were motivated more by curiosity than concern.
She couldn’t conceive of going to dinner and chatting with her friends about their children’s grades and sporting exploits or gossiping about so and so’s divorce while Johnny, if he was still alive, was out there suffering. Alec and Ryan thought it was the perfect distraction, but even garnering the strength to dress up and do her hair and makeup was overwhelming. Her breakdown that morning was proof that she wasn’t up to girls’ night out.
“I’m not going. It takes all I’ve got left to get out of this bed every day. Can’t that be enough for now?”
“Put off your decision until morning, but I say you can be miserable in a restaurant as well as here.”
> She sat up and swung her feet off the bed. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I’m starving. Let’s go find something to eat.”
Ryan followed her to the kitchen without a word, but she knew he wasn’t done with her. She wasn’t the only stubborn one in the family.
* * *
Alec watched from the bed as Grace put on her makeup the following evening. “What made you change your mind about going?” she asked.
Grace grimaced at her reflection. “I’m only doing it to get you and Ryan off my back. Ryan brought it up first thing this morning, and you’ve been pestering me all day.”
“All day? I asked you once. Maybe twice.”
“Felt like all day. I look like hell. No amount of makeup is going to cover the bags and circles under my eyes.”
“Cut yourself some slack. You look like a mother whose son was kidnapped. No one expects you to be a cover girl. What would you do if one of us was in your shoes?”
Grace stared at Alec through the mirror. She put down her blush and rested her hands on the counter. “I’d do anything, and everything, just like all of you have done for me. I’m sorry if I seem ungrateful. I’m not. There’s no way to express how thankful I am.”
Alec fell back onto the bed and sighed. “I’m not looking for gratitude. I’m trying to get you to see that we’re doing this because we love you and Johnny, just as you love us. Let your friends show their love. Are you almost ready? I told Katrina we’d pick her up at the hospital.”
She grimaced at her reflection and scooped her makeup into the drawer. “This is as good as it’s going to get. Let’s get this over with.”
* * *
Grace watched the scenery speed past as Alec drove them to meet Katrina. How many times had she crossed that bridge over The James River from her house to Richmond City Hospital over the years? She did the math in her head. Close to six thousand trips. She squeezed Alec’s hand as the memories welled up. Alec raised her eyebrows but Grace just smiled.
Grace shifted her gaze to the city skyline. She hadn’t been downtown since searching hospitals for Mara the previous week. In fact, she’d hardly left the house since the press conference. Ryan had been right to pressure her to go to dinner. The change of scenery was refreshing, and she looked forward to eating at the Italian restaurant they’d chosen. It had only been open for two months but was a big hit in Richmond. Even Mark had given it his stamp of approval.
Alec pulled into the parking garage and drove around for five minutes before finding a spot at the far end.
“I miss access to staff parking,” she said. “We have to park in the sticks like civilians. Almost makes me want to go back into nursing.”
“And give up all that fame and money? You’re just spoiled from pulling up to the curb in your limo,” Grace said as she climbed out of the car.
“I wish. I could be a nurse and author, too.” Alec fell into step with Grace as they walked to the hospital entrance and said, “Speaking of my career, I’m glad the book is doing so well, but it’s so frustrating that it hasn’t helped Johnny. I hope that bitch Mara is taking care of him.”
“Wes and Scott insist she is, but they just say that to placate me. The strain is showing in Wes’ face. I wish he wouldn’t blame himself. I’m not sure what else he could have done.”
Alec stepped in front of Grace, blocking her way. “Stop talking like Johnny is dead. I know that’s what’s rolling around in that brain of yours. Mara has no reason to kill him. That doesn’t even make sense. She’s in hiding, plain and simple.”
“Maybe it got to be too much for her, taking care of Johnny on the run. She probably realized how much work it is and abandoned him in the middle of some secluded field.”
Alec rolled her eyes. “Even if that were true, why wouldn’t she just drop him on a street corner and get the hell out of Richmond? She would be long gone before Johnny made contact with us.”
Grace held Alec’s gaze while she pondered her logic. It made sense, but her gut wouldn’t accept it. “You know I want you to be right with all my heart. I’m just preparing myself for the worst.”
Alec turned and started walking. “Why don’t you put all that energy into thinking of a way to find him instead? That’s what I’m doing. Maybe one of our friends will have a fresh perspective.”
Grace followed Alec in silence. She wanted to be optimistic and hopeful like Alec, but she was too afraid of the devastation that would come if it turned out to be the one that was right and Johnny was dead.
She caught up with Alec and said, “I’ll try. I will, but please do me a favor and steer the conversation away from Johnny as much as you can. I know it will come up, but I don’t want him to be the sole topic tonight. I agreed to come to dinner as a way of distraction, remember?”
Alec nodded. “Deal. I’ll do my best.”
Grace gave her the best smile she could muster and followed her into the lobby. Katrina worked in the cardiac wing, so it took four hallways and two elevators to get to her. Grace marveled at how much the hospital had changed since she’d left nearly thirteen years earlier. A wealthy patient had donated the lion share of the funds for the new cardiac wing and had raised more for a massive refurbishing of the rest of the facility. The hospital was modern with state-of-the-art medical equipment and systems. Grace wished it had been that way when she’d worked there.
Katrina was coming out of the locker room when they reached the nurses’ station. Grace was happy to see her and gave her a quick hug. She was about ten years younger than Grace but looked ten years younger than that, and it didn’t show that she’d just worked a twelve-hour shift. Her light-brown hair was highlighted and had a stylish, layered cut that complimented her face and sparkling green eyes. Grace had always told Katrina how jealous she was of her thick, wavy hair.
Alec and Katrina hadn’t seen each other in the past year, so they had catching up to do. Grace walked behind them quietly lost in her own thoughts. She glanced up as they passed the cafeteria on the main floor. A woman in a pink baseball cap came out of the cafeteria and headed down the hallway in the opposite direction. She was at least twenty feet from Grace when she turned, but it was close enough for Grace to get a look at her profile.
It was Mara!
“Alec, it’s Mara,” she called and ran in the direction she’d gone.
“What are you doing, Grace?” Alec said and chased after her with Katrina not far behind.
Grace wove her way through the halls and checked inside a few rooms, but Mara had disappeared. She ran as far as she could until she came to a door that only medical staff was authorized to enter. She came to a halt and pounded her fists on the door. Katrina came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.
“Grace, stop that. I’ll open the door.” Katrina slid her badge through the reader, and the doors swung open. Grace burst into the surgical wing. “Wait,” Katrina called after her. “Mara wouldn’t have access to this area, but I’ll ask if anyone has seen her. Retrace your steps in the hallway. Alec, call the girls and tell them we’ll be late.”
Grace debated with herself before going out the way she came. She and Alec searched every hallway on every floor, but there was no sign of Mara. Katrina texted to say she hadn’t had any luck either and asked them to meet her in the lobby.
Grace went directly to Katrina and said, “Can you contact anyone in HR and see if Mara works here?”
“HR is closed. No one will be back until Monday, and I don’t know anyone that works in that department, but I alerted security. They’re searching for her.”
Alec faced Grace and said, “You’re sure it was her? You only saw her for a split second.”
“Yes, I’m sure just like I was when I saw her at Johnny’s PT appointment. I was right then, and I’m right now. I recognized her profile and the way she walks. It was her. I’m going to call Wes to meet me at the field office. Maybe they can get a security feed for this hospital, and he can get the personnel records. Mara was here. I
’m positive it was her.” She took out her phone and called Wes before Alec could protest. “Go to dinner. I’ll get an Uber.”
Alec started to protest as Wes answered. Grace held up a hand to quiet Alec and told Wes about their hunt for Mara. Wes was as skeptical as Alec.
“That’s the last place Mara would be,” he said.
“That makes sense, but what about Johnny’s abduction has made sense? It was Mara. Work on getting the security footage and live feed from the hospital. Meet me at the office. I’m not far.”
Wes chuckled. “Yes, ma’am. I guess we have nothing to lose by trying. I’m still at the office.”
Grace called an Uber and ran out of the lobby entrance. Alec and Katrina caught up with her, and Alec offered to go to the FBI with her.
“Go enjoy dinner. You can’t ID Mara. You’ve never seen her, so there’s no point in coming with me,” Grace said as she scanned the road leading to the parking lot for her ride.
“I feel guilty going to girl’s night when you’re dealing with this.”
Grace turned to face her. “Don’t. I’ll be more upset if you miss it. You needed a night out as much as I did. If we find Mara because of my seeing her tonight, it will have been worth it. Here’s my ride. Hug everyone for me. I’ll keep you posted.”
Grace got into the car and gave Alec a reassuring smile as the driver wove his way out of the parking lot.
* * *
Wes and Steph met Grace in the field office lobby. Steph peppered Grace with questions as they walked to the elevator.
Grace interrupted her and said, “I’ll tell you the whole story if you answer a question for me first. What are you doing here?”
Grace caught the glance that passed between Steph and Wes.
“We were having dinner. To discuss the case,” Wes said, without meeting Grace’s eye.
Grace was pleased to hear that they were spending time together. Steph had taken a step back from involvement in the case after the incident with the ME. Grace thought that meant she’d taken a step back from Wes, too. She wasn’t sure what kind of future the two of them could have given their unique careers, but she was glad Steph had someone to spend time with who could empathize with her situation.
Little Lost Things Page 26