SONGBIRD (JAX DIAMOND MYSTERIES Book 1)

by Gail Meath

  The nun’s eyes light up. “Mister Diamond? Oh, yes, please, come in. I believe she wouldn’t mind this interruption. Come in, come in,” she urged excitedly.

  He didn’t question her reaction. He was struggling to find the courage to step inside. Once he did, he stood there stiffly. Yet, he was immediately struck by the fact that the main hallway stretching out ahead of him didn’t look as dark and dingy as he remembered.

  “Wait here, please.” And the nun scurried off.

  Within minutes, he saw Sister Rosemary walking down the hall towards him. Her familiar face relaxed him a little. He didn’t want to speak with anyone else. Had she been unavailable or no longer here, he undoubtedly would have lost his nerve and high-tailed it back to the city as fast as his car would take him. And without getting any answers to the questions that were gnawing at him.

  “Jax Diamond...” Sister Rosemary said with her approach. “You are a sight for sore eyes.” Foregoing her traditional greeting, she outstretched her arms welcomingly and hugged him. “My, my. Look at you. All grown up and even more handsome than I remember. When Sister Catherine told me that you were waiting to see me, I couldn’t believe my ears.”

  “It’s nice to see you again, Sister Rosemary. You’re looking well.”

  “Better than I feel sometimes,” she replied, smiling at him. She wrapped her arm around him, and they walked down the hall together. “I remember the day you were finally permitted to leave the orphanage. You swore that you would never come back, and I didn’t blame you one bit. Yet, things have changed drastically in the past few years, and for the better.”

  “I noticed a few changes down by the gate,” he told her.

  She laughed. “No padlock to prevent anyone from coming or going, and we removed the barbed wire. Did you notice?”

  “I was glad to see it.”

  “Not that it stopped you from seeking your freedom. A few years ago, Father Patrick was relocated to a convent in Albany, and I was placed in charge. My first priority was concentrating on the lengthy list of improvements that needed to be made. The Sisters and I have been busy ever since. Already, we have completed many of them, although we have a long way to go. All in due time, they say. But you didn’t come here to see our renovations, did you? Let us talk privately in my office.”

  She opened the door at the end of the hall, but Jax hesitated. “I remember entering this room so many times before to face the inevitable punishment waiting for me.”

  “That was then, Jax,” she told him. “Trust me.”

  He followed her inside and looked around. The room was bright and cheery with the window wide open rather than tightly covered up with heavy, floor-length drapes. The furniture was different and rearranged. So, too, were the paintings and wall hangings. He noticed another nun in the corner, straightening up. Sister Rosemary called her over to them.

  “Sister Mary Helen, this is Jax Diamond,” Sister Rosemary introduced.

  “Oh, my. It is very nice to meet you, sir.”

  “You are quite a legend around here, Jax,” Sister Rosemary said. “I hope you don’t mind, but I have shared some of your stories not only with the sisters who weren’t here to witness them but the children as well. I wanted everyone to understand fully that the orphanage was no longer a place to be feared, but a friendly and loving home where the children can learn, play, and grow up happy and healthy.”

  Jax sat on the sofa after the other nun left the room, and Sister Rosemary sat beside him rather than behind her desk. “I was hoping you could give me some information about another resident who was here for a few years before I left,” he began. “Do you remember Wanda Dillenbeck?”

  Sister Rosemary lost her smile. “Well, there is a name I hoped to never hear again. You know I believe there is good in every child despite some of their behaviors, which is why I had such faith in you, Jax. Although I certainly favored you above the others since I was the one who discovered you on the doorstep and gave you a name. I do wish that I could have done much more for you, though. I know how unhappy you were here, but my hands were tied.”

  “I don’t fault you for anything, Sister Rosemary. There were plenty of times you came to my rescue.”

  “Perhaps.” She waited a moment, thinking about his question. “Not surprisingly, Wanda and her brother had spent most of their lives in one facility or another. Wanda’s tactics were underhanded and vicious, to be honest. I dislike speaking ill of anyone. But unlike you fighting for your own survival, she found some sort of pleasure or glory in the suffering of others. Quite deliberately, she would destroy property or hurt another child, then manipulate the situation and those around her so that she was never to blame. It would have been heartbreaking had she not done so much damage or seemed to rejoice in it afterward.”

  “I didn’t realize you were aware of what she was doing,” he told her.

  She stood up now in remembrance. “There were a few of us who spoke with Father Patrick about it when we witnessed it for ourselves. He always saw it differently, though, and chastised us for suggesting that she was a wicked child. Yet, that was the perfect word to describe her.”

  “Do you know what happened to her and her brother?”

  “They were both transferred to the institution in Poughkeepsie shortly after you left. Less than a year later, we were told that they had both died in a tragic drowning accident during an outing by the river. I paid penance after hearing about it in hopes of absolving my guilt from thoughts of relief.”

  “I heard about the accident and just assumed that they were still living here at the time. So, you wouldn’t have any sort of record detailing the events of that day?”

  “I’m afraid not.” She sat down beside him again. “I heard you quit the police force and became a private detective. Oh, yes, Jax, I have kept track of you, and I have sung your praises whenever the opportunity arose. I understand your confidentiality policy, but I do wonder why you are here asking about Wanda?”

  “You have been more than kind, Sister Rosemary. Frankly, I was terrified about coming here today as you probably guessed. I’m glad I did. It is very good seeing you again and the changes you’ve made. This place doesn’t hold the same cold feeling that I remember, which means the setting of my nightmares is gone. For that, I am eternally grateful to you.”

  “I feel blessed that we have crossed paths again, Jax. Before you leave, there is one thing I would like to show you. It will only take a moment.” He followed her out of the office and down another hallway. She opened the outer door that led to the backyard. “We received several generous donations for a new playground.”

  Outside, two dozen children were playing and laughing and having a grand time together. He watched them for a while, smiling now. With each change that he saw, a rotten memory disappeared. “Bless you, Sister Rosemary.”

  “Sister Margarita is over there, pushing Sonia on the swings. She is the aunt of a young boy who died tragically two years ago. I believe you will remember him. Jonah Rivera.”

  The name jolted him and stole his breath.

  “Jonah and his mother were taken hostage during a bank robbery on the Lower East Side,” Sister Rosemary stated. “The first policeman on the scene was given strict instructions not to interfere until his superior and fellow officers arrived. Had he disobeyed his orders, he would have been immediately dismissed from the force in disgrace.” She wrapped her arm around him again. “It must have been quite a struggle for you trying to decide what to do in such a volatile situation. I imagine your only thought was to find a way inside the bank to rescue them both. But according to Jonah’s mother, their abductor had already killed Jonah by the time you arrived and because you followed orders, they were able to save her life. Sister Margarita knew your name, from the stories I had told her. She said that she and her family view you as a hero for alerting the police of their whereabouts and saving the life of her sister.”

  Jax turned to her and hugged her tightly. She held him close and w
as glad that she had given him comfort.

  “Jax, there is nothing that you have ever done in your life that is deserving of the guilt that I know has been tormenting you,” she whispered to him. “I do not know where you came from or who your parents were, but I do know this. They must have been two extremely loving, selfless, and determined souls who truly believed that your life at the orphanage would be better than with them. As wrong as that seems to you, trust their reasons just as strongly as you trust your own instincts. Perhaps, they saved your life.”

  He pulled away to look at her then. The fact that she had referenced both of his parents gave him the sense that she knew more than what she said. And by the look in her dark-brown eyes, he could tell that she either wouldn’t or couldn’t divulge anything further.

  Yet, she had just given him the greatest gift of all.

  24

  Grand Central Terminal

  Jax drove down the hill after he left the orphanage. He grinned smugly as he passed through the open gate, and for a while, he relished in all that he had seen and mostly, what he’d learned. It felt to him as though he had just broken free of the heavy chains that had bound him for years. He knew it would take time for him to fully absorb everything Sister Rosemary had told him. His mind had been so conditioned into thinking the worst of his past and himself. But already, he could breathe easier.

  He traveled at a faster speed due to his high spirits. He was also anxious to see Laura. If she were here with him right now, he would do exactly what was on his mind before he left and kiss her. He didn’t care what the future held for them, or that they would undoubtedly part ways when this case was closed. He just wanted to savor in how glad he was that they had even met.

  It wasn’t until he reached the city limits and drove through Manhattan that he thought about Wanda Dillenbeck again. He was just a kid when he knew her. Or rather when he first met her and started keeping his distance from her. Calling her wicked was right on the mark. Even an understatement. He doubted that Sister Rosemary was fully aware of half of the diabolical schemes that Wanda had cooked up and implemented.

  Back then, Wanda appeared to be a sweet and innocent young girl with freckles and vibrant red hair pulled back in a long ponytail. The perfect, obedient child who showered those in charge of the orphanage with adoration and gratitude, especially Father Patrick. Yet, behind their backs, she was planning and plotting with her younger brother, who was nothing more than her personal puppet.

  It was Wanda’s green eyes that had first alerted him to steer clear of her. They weren’t a deep and dazzling bluish-green like Laura’s. Wanda’s were lighter in color, nearly transparent at times. Especially when she had some devious prank on her mind. Within the first month after her arrival, alone, little Tommy Bean had been severely punished for breaking an upstairs window, throwing an egg at Sister Augusta, and his arm was in a sling after clumsily tripping down the stairs.

  Once, and only once, Jax had been Wanda’s target, but he put an end to that quick. The trouble was, it became difficult for him to protect the younger kids from her vicious tricks without catching the blame, himself.

  When he’d heard that Wanda and her brother had drowned, he felt as much if not more relief than Sister Rosemary. At the time, he assumed that it was the siblings’ comeuppance, payback by a group of the other kids at the orphanage who’d had enough of their antics.

  Until he knew without a shadow of a doubt that Wanda and her brother’s bodies had been dredged from the Hudson River, he wouldn’t rest. Margie looked far too similar to Wanda, grown-up, and he still swears that it was her brother who had been following them at Coney Island. Although tonight, he and Laura were having dinner with Margie, and it was the perfect opportunity for him to study her appearance and demeanor, which could confirm the matter one way or another.

  Jax hurried up the stairs to his apartment when he got home. He unlocked the door and found Laura sitting on the couch with Ace. She was reading one of his books from the shelf. She smiled when she saw him and slammed the book shut.

  “What took you so long, Jax? You’ve been gone over two hours! Ace and I were getting bored and running out of things to do.”

  He walked over to her, snatched her hand, and pulled her to her feet. He wrapped his other arm about her waist and twirled her around as though dancing. “We’re going out on the town tonight, Ace.”

  She was laughing, too. “What’s gotten into you?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. I feel like I’m on top of the world.” He stopped and gazed at her beautiful face. “What time are we meeting your friends?”

  “Six o’clock, so we should leave in about an hour. I found a nice grey suit in your closet for you to wear, along with a light blue shirt and tie. They will bring out those baby blues of yours, Detective.” She stood on her tiptoes and pecked him on the cheek. “We’re going to have fun tonight, Jax. I’ll get dressed first.” She headed into the bedroom, then peeked over at him. “You could use a shave.”

  He stood there smiling at her until she disappeared. Then, he glanced over at Ace, winked at him, and went to clean up.

  Jax parked the car on Forty-Second Street, and they walked to the main entrance of Grand Central Terminal. As they approached the front doorways, they admired the large arched windows above the doors that were surrounded by beautiful granite sculptures of the Roman Gods, Minerva, Hercules, and Mercury.

  The main concourse of the building stretched from Forty-Second Street in the south to Forty-Fifth Street in the north and was swarming with travelers, sightseers, and shoppers. The clatter and clamor filled the wide hall and bounced off the eighty-four-foot arched ceilings. Laura told Jax that the only time she had been to the terminal was when she had first arrived. But simply being the city had been too overwhelming, so she was thrilled to have a chance to take a closer look inside such an extraordinary landmark.

  Jax admitted that no matter how many times he’d been there, he was still amazed at the intricate network of tunnels and passages. They branched off in every direction, leading to the railroad terminals on the main level, and the lower level ramps. Then, there were dozens of short stairways climbing to the elevated terrace that encircled the entire building.

  Laura didn’t want to keep her friends waiting, so they headed down the ramp to the lower-level dining areas. Just before the restaurant’s entrance, they passed through the Whispering Gallery, a wide ceramic archway. Jax played a game with Laura. He told her to stand with her back to him in one corner of the arch, then he hurried over to the opposite corner, a good distance away, and did the same. She didn’t understand what he was up to, but she went along with it.

  As he stood there with his back to her, he spoke quietly. “You look absolutely stunning this evening, Laura.” He slowly turned around to see if she’d heard him.

  She peeked over at him with such a sweet smile on her face. “It sounded like you were right beside me!” she squealed.

  “There’s a whole lengthy acoustical explanation why you could hear what I said from such a distance,” he told her. “I think it’s pretty nifty.”

  “And thank you for the compliment, Jax. You look very handsome tonight.”

  He wrapped her arm in his and escorted her into the restaurant.

  Jeanie had arrived and was waiting for them at one of the tables. “I love your dress, Laura! Hello again, Jax.

  He nodded to her, pulled out the chair for Laura, and they sat down.

  “Isn’t this place fantastic!” Jeanie exclaimed. “It’s like a city within a city. Margie and I get such a kick out of watching everyone, people strolling around while others are rushing to catch their trains. We stopped in the new shoe store upstairs, and Margie ran into someone she knew, so she’ll be right along.”

  “This is a lovely restaurant,” Laura said as she glanced around.

  “They have terrific seafood, if I remember,” Jax commented. “I think clam chowder is one of their specialties.”

  “Don
’t forget about their scrumptious oysters.” And Jeanie chattered on, bouncing from one subject to another with barely a breath in between. The waiter stopped by their table, and Jeanie explained they were waiting for one more person.

  Laura suddenly stood up. “Will you both excuse me? I see the restrooms down the hall, and I’d like to freshen up. Jeanie, could you keep Jax company for a few minutes?”

  Jeanie smiled at him. “I’d be happy to.”

  Jax flashed Laura a pleading look, begging her not to leave him alone, but she laughed and assured him that she would be right back. He watched her leave and turned his chair slightly so he could keep her in sight until she disappeared into the restroom. All the while, Jeanie rattled on about this and that while his mind wandered.

  It seemed less and less likely to him that Margie wasn’t who she claimed to be. It made much more sense that she just happened to look a lot like Wanda. After all, Jeanie had lived with Margie since last fall, and Laura had known her since March. Neither of them had mentioned noticing any unusual behavior from their friend. So, maybe he was just reaching for straws with another far-fetched hunch. Still, no matter what he ended up deciding after he met Margie, he intended to ask Tim to try and get his hands on the police report regarding the drowning in Poughkeepsie.

  Jax saw a few women leave the restroom, along with someone in a wheelchair, but they all headed back to the concourse. Even though Laura had only been gone a few minutes, Jeanie continued jabbering on, and it seemed like hours. He pretended to be listening to her, mindlessly nodding his head now and then, yet he kept his eyes peeled on the hallway. Then, he remembered Tim complaining about the amount of time Carla spent ‘freshening up’ when the three of them went out to dinner. So, he leaned back in his chair and tried to relax.

  But more time passed, and he watched several other women enter and leave the restroom. “Excuse me, Jeanie,” he said, cutting her off. “Would you mind checking on Laura? I don’t want to sound impatient, but it seems as though she’s been gone for some time.”