by Laura Scott
“What?” Eva asked.
“We haven’t got anything off the subway camera. At least, not yet.”
Eva shook her head. “It figures.”
The pizza arrived twenty minutes later. Eva opened her purse, but he shooed her away to take care of the bill himself. Eva set the table, and he opened the pizza box, then picked up Mikey to place him in his booster seat. Eva took out a small slice of pizza and placed it on Mikey’s plate, giving it a chance to cool off. He took the seat across from Eva’s and, when she finished, he clasped his hands together and bowed his head to say grace.
“Dear Lord, we thank You for this food we are about to eat. We also thank You for keeping Eva safe in Your care. Please provide us the wisdom and guidance to find Cocoa, too. Amen.”
There was a brief pause before Eva murmured, “Amen.”
Mikey had already taken a bite of pizza, completely oblivious to the prayer. Finn smiled and made a mental note to include the boy next time.
Whoa, wait a minute. Next time? There wasn’t going to be a next time! He was only here because Eva had been attacked twice in one day.
This might look like a nice cozy scene, but Eva wasn’t his woman and Mikey wasn’t his son.
“Finn?”
He looked up from his food, belatedly realizing he was staring at it without making the slightest effort to eat. “What is it?”
“Do you think we’ll be okay here?”
“I think so, yes.” He picked up a slice of pizza and took a bite, chewing thoughtfully. He didn’t want to say too much in front of the boy. “It’s probably better for you to be here than at your own place.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “I hope so.”
“How many people know that your brother-in-law is out of town?”
“My roommates know, of course. So does my boss.” She nibbled at her pizza.
“How long will he be gone?”
“About six more days, he left yesterday. He’s a paramedic and firefighter, stationed not far from Mercy Medical Center here in Queens. He’s their trainer, and there’s some new strategies about caring for patients in the field he has to learn, so they sent him to Atlanta.” She was silent for a moment before adding, “It wasn’t easy for him to leave so soon after...” Her voice trailed off.
Finn nodded his understanding. He couldn’t imagine losing your wife and then leaving your son behind as you went off on a business trip. “It’s great that you’re able to be here for Mikey.”
“Yes.” Her smile held a hint of sadness. “Between the two of us, we’ll help him through this.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to ask about God and faith, but then remembered how she hadn’t immediately joined him in saying grace. Maybe that was part of his role here. Not just to protect her, but to help Eva understand God’s grace and the power of prayer.
Mikey played with his food, pretending his slice of pizza was a plane and dive-bombing his silverware. Crumbs from the pizza crust were falling everywhere, and he noticed that Abernathy had taken up residence next to Mikey’s chair, gobbling up every morsel the kid dropped.
Finn tried not to wince. Normally Abernathy wouldn’t eat from anyone other than him, but with his vest off, he obviously thought Mikey’s crumbs were fair game.
“Don’t play with your food,” Eva said, putting her hand on Mikey’s arm. “Are you full? Or do you want to eat some more?”
“Eat,” Mikey said, popping what was left of his pizza into his mouth. “Can I visit Cocoa?”
Eva froze, her gaze locking onto his. She drew in a shaky breath, then told the little boy the truth, “I’m sorry to say Cocoa is lost, Mikey, so you can’t visit now. But Officer Finn is going to work really hard to find him.”
“Yes, I will.” Finn wasn’t exactly sure how he would accomplish that feat since he didn’t have a clue where to start. Earlier, he’d taken Eva’s keys with him back to the station and had asked Ilona, the lab tech, to run the DNA. Once those results came back, they’d know if the perp who’d hit Eva was in the system or not. But how long would that take? Despite what was portrayed on TV, fast turnaround times for DNA happened only in rare circumstances. A puppy-napping wouldn’t be high on the list.
“I’m sorry about what happened this morning,” he said. He couldn’t imagine what he’d do if someone took Abernathy from him. The dog was more than just his partner.
Abernathy was the only family Finn had since his father had passed away last year. The other K-9 officers were like his brothers, but Abernathy was more than that. The K-9 was his best friend.
“I know.” She offered a lopsided smile. He knew she was worried about more than just Cocoa’s fate.
“I’ll take a look around the place when we’re finished,” Finn offered. “See if there are any extra security measures I can add.”
“I’d appreciate that,” Eva said gratefully. “I know we’re probably fine here, but I don’t want to take any chances.”
He wanted to offer to stay there with her but knew he shouldn’t get too emotionally involved. Bad enough that he was tempted to ask her out for dinner and maybe a movie. What was it about her that made him want to toss his two-date, nothing-serious dating rules out the window?
Five minutes later it was clear Mikey was finished eating. Eva washed tomato sauce off his face and his hands, then lifted him down to the floor. Finn finished his meal so he could help clean up.
“I’ll take care of it,” she said, shooing him away with a wave of her hand. “Do me a favor and check things out, would you? I know I’m being paranoid, but I want to be sure we’re safe.”
“No problem.” Finn moved through the house, taking note of the layout. A living room was located through the doorway from the kitchen, along with a small bathroom and a bedroom. From what he could tell, the bedroom was used as a playroom, toys strewed everywhere.
There were steps leading up to the second floor, where he surmised the other bedrooms were located.
Sure enough, he found two bedrooms separated by a full bathroom. The master suite didn’t look frilly, and he wondered if Pete had already got rid of things that reminded him of his dead wife. Crossing the room, he looked out the window. Just as he’d suspected, there was a narrow fenced-in area containing a patio in which a turtle-shaped sandbox was located. There was a grill out there, too, perfect for spending summer evenings outside.
He did the same routine in Mikey’s room. A look out the window revealed a wooden trellis from beneath his window to the ground. The window had a sturdy lock, but he wondered if there was something more he could do to prevent anyone from using the trellis to gain access inside. It might not hold a man’s weight, but he didn’t want to take any chances.
Finn made his way back downstairs to the main level. He found Mikey in the playroom. Abernathy was stretched out on the floor, his tail thumping against the linoleum.
Eva joined him a few minutes later. “Any thoughts?”
Finn glanced at her. “Just the trellis against the wall outside Mikey’s window.” He kept his voice low so the little boy wouldn’t overhear.
Her blue eyes clouded with fear. “Maybe I’ll have him sleep in the master suite for the rest of the week.”
“Not a bad idea,” he agreed. “I’ll call the 110th Precinct and ask for cops to drive by on a regular basis.”
“That would be nice.” Once again her smile was sad, and Finn found himself wishing there was a way he could lighten the burden she seemed to be carrying around with her.
“Auntie Eva, look!” Mikey picked up the small furry stuffed replica of Cocoa she’d given to him the day she started working with the puppy. “Here’s my Cocoa. I wanna play with your Cocoa.”
Finn knew that a missing puppy was a difficult concept for a three-year-old boy to understand, and Eva glanced at him as if she wasn’t sure how much to tell her nephew.
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Since he was hardly an expert on little kids, he had no clue, either.
“I already told you, sweetie, Cocoa is missing,” Eva said gently. “He’s lost, but Officer Finn and Abernathy here are going to find him.”
Mikey’s expression clouded, and Finn was afraid the little boy was about to burst into tears. “Maybe the bad man has him.”
What? Finn glanced at Eva, wondering if he’d heard the child correctly.
Eva had gone pale. She dropped to her knees beside Mikey so she could look him in the eye. “What bad man, sweetie? Did you see a bad man?”
Mikey dropped his stuffed Cocoa and picked up two plastic dinosaurs, slamming them together with glee.
“What do you think?” Finn asked in a soft voice. “Do you think he saw something?”
“I don’t know.” Eva’s expression was full of concern. “He’s only three years old. Maybe he just heard something on TV.”
“He watches cop shows?” Finn asked wryly.
“No, but have you seen some of the cartoons? Several have bad guys in them.”
“Bad guy,” Mikey repeated. “Mommy said the bad guy is real, not make-believe.”
“Mommy said that?” Eva asked in horror. She swayed as if she might go down, so Finn put his arm around her waist.
“Easy,” he murmured near her ear. “If Mikey sees that you’re upset, he’ll cry.”
“I don’t understand,” she whispered. “What does he mean? Why would Malina tell him the bad man is real?”
Finn had no clue, but he remembered seeing her sister’s name on the list of people who had been fired from the training center. Something Eva didn’t seem to know.
He wondered if there had been more going on in Malina’s life than Eva was aware of.
FOUR
Eva pulled herself together with an effort. She sat down on the floor next to Mikey and picked up one of his dinosaurs before casually asking, “Do you remember when Mommy talked about the bad man?”
Mikey shook his head and picked up the T. rex, his favorite dinosaur, and began making growling noises. “Grr! I’m gonna eat you for breakfast.”
“No, don’t eat me!” Eva cried as she pranced her dinosaur away as if trying to escape. “My dinosaur is scared of the T. rex. Mikey, was your mommy scared of the bad man?”
This time, Mikey nodded. “Bad mans are scary. But my T. rex is scarier.” He went back to making growling noises.
Eva glanced up at Finn, who was watching their interaction with a thoughtful expression on his face. While playing with the dinosaurs, she tried several times to probe about her sister’s bad man, but Mikey was too focused on the dinosaurs and didn’t provide any additional information.
Giving up, she set down her stegosaurus and began to stand. Finn was there, offering his hand. She took it and allowed him to help her up, keenly aware of the warmth of his fingers cradling hers. “Thanks,” she said, releasing his hand while hoping her cheeks weren’t as pink from embarrassment as they felt.
Finn lifted his chin toward the kitchen. “I need to talk to you for a moment about Malina.” He glanced down at his K-9 partner. “Abernathy, stay and guard.”
The yellow Lab instantly sat and lowered his nose toward Mikey. The little boy laughed and abandoned his dinosaurs to give the Lab a hug. “I love Abe,” he said, his voice muffled against the dog’s fur.
“Me, too,” Finn agreed with a smile.
Eva moved into the kitchen area. When they were out of earshot of the little boy, she glanced at Finn quizzically. “What about Malina?”
He hesitated, then asked, “Why did she leave the guide dog training center?”
“Because she was finding it difficult to keep working as the receptionist there while taking care of Mikey.”
“Isn’t Mikey in preschool?”
“Yes, but Pete’s schedule requires him to work twenty-four hours on and then he gets forty-eight hours off. The calls come in all night long when he’s on duty, so he rarely gets any sleep. Once he gets home, he heads straight to bed. By the time he’s on a normal sleep schedule, he ends up going back in for another shift.” She shrugged. “I think Pete’s long hours were getting to her, so she decided to quit.”
“Is that what Wade Yost told you?”
“No, that’s what Malina told me.” She frowned, not appreciating Finn’s skeptical tone. “Why? What difference does it make why Malina left the training center?”
“It doesn’t,” Finn said, averting his gaze. “I just think it’s an odd coincidence. Less than a month after she quits her job, she’s hit by a car and Mikey is talking about some sort of bad man. I’m just trying to understand how the puzzle pieces fit together.”
Eva folded her arms over her chest. “You’re making a bigger deal out of this than there is. Mikey has been through a lot, losing his mother and adjusting to life without her. How do we know he isn’t just a bit confused? Maybe heard something on television? I’m not sure we should jump into action based on a three-year-old’s statement.”
“You’re probably right.” Again his tone lacked conviction. “Still, do you know if she had any enemies? Or if Pete has any? Any issues at all?”
Eva let out a heavy sigh. “None that I know of. Why would they? They were happily married and both doted on Mikey. I just don’t see how they could be involved with some sort of bad man.”
“Was her death investigated?”
“Yes, but it was deemed a hit-and-run, and there wasn’t reason to think she was purposely hit. No one nearby got the license plate or paid any attention to the driver.” She thought back to those turbulent and sorrowful days after Malina’s accident. “The police didn’t have any leads and told us that unless someone stepped forward with more information, they likely wouldn’t find the person responsible.”
“That must have been difficult for you to hear,” Finn said. His green eyes were so intense she found it impossible to look away.
“It was,” she admitted. “I’m sure the driver was texting behind the wheel, since a few witnesses mentioned noticing erratic driving. To think that a text message cost my sister her life makes me so mad.”
Finn nodded but didn’t ask anything further. Eva’s initial annoyance faded as she looked at Finn. Dressed in his uniform, he was handsome enough to make her wish for a cure for her retinitis pigmentosa.
But that was akin to longing for the end to world hunger, so she did her best to pull her gaze away. Finn was good-looking enough to have any woman he wanted. He wouldn’t be interested in a woman who would be declared legally blind in a few years.
“Listen, I need to get back to headquarters. I still have paperwork to write up about Cocoa’s kidnapping and the attempt on you. Is there anything else you need before I go?”
The thought of him leaving brought a flash of panic, but she did her best not to show it. Remembering the hard grasp of the raspy guy’s fingers against her arm made her shiver despite the warmth. She forced a casual smile. “Um, no, I don’t think so. Thanks for lunch and, well, for everything you’ve done for us.”
“You’re welcome.” Finn stared at her for a moment, then reached for his phone. “Do you mind taking down my personal cell number? I’d like yours, too. You know, in case we find someone who matches the sketch.”
Eva wasn’t holding out much hope for the sketch but readily agreed to take Finn’s number. “Of course.”
They exchanged cell numbers quickly, then Finn called Abernathy over. “Eva, don’t hesitate to call if you need something, okay?”
“I won’t. Oh, I need to get Mikey’s car seat out of your SUV.”
“Leave it,” Finn said. “What time do you work in the morning? I’ll stop by and pick you and Mikey up, so you don’t have to walk or use the subway.”
His offer was sweet. “Are you sure? I hate to take you out of your way.”
“I’m sure.”
“Okay, then. I usually try to get to work by seven thirty in the morning. The preschool opens at seven.”
“I’ll meet you here at seven, then. That way you’ll still get to work on time.”
She nodded and watched as Finn took Abernathy outside and put him in the back of the SUV. After sliding behind the wheel, he backed out of the driveway and was gone before she could think of an excuse that would allow him to stay.
Reminding herself of her goal to remain independent, Eva locked the door and returned to the playroom to spend time with Mikey.
But as the hours dragged by, she found it impossible to concentrate. She made spaghetti for dinner and then gave Mikey his bath before tucking him into Pete’s bed, using the master suite because she was leery of the trellis.
Too wired to sleep, Eva moved through the rest of the house, going from window to window, peering into the darkness to make sure no one was out there. A mostly futile effort, since her eyesight was especially limited in the darkness.
People walked briskly along the sidewalks, and she did her best to catch a glimpse of them as they moved beneath the streetlight. From what she could tell, there was no sign of the stinky guy or raspy guy anywhere.
But the two men followed her into her dreams, turning them into nightmares, and her throat was raw from her silent screams.
* * *
At headquarters, Finn finished up his paperwork, then quickly performed a background check on Malina Kendall-Stallings to see if there could be any possible link between the attempts on Eva and the dead woman. He came up empty. Eva’s older sister had a clean record.
He squelched a flash of guilt for thinking the worst about her. As a cop, he wouldn’t be doing his job if he didn’t follow up on every possible lead. Yet he could understand why Eva had got upset with him. Her sister had been the innocent victim of a tragic hit-and-run accident. From the 110th Precinct officers, he’d easily validated that there had been no indication of foul play.
So what if she’d been fired from the guide dog training center? That didn’t mean she was involved in anything criminal. He needed to stay focused on finding Cocoa and the men responsible for the assaults against Eva.