by Tara Brent
I walk her to the car where the door's still open. The music's stopped playing but before she climbs in, she turns around to look at the house and sighs. My poor girl looks exhausted. I’m glad she’s let me take over the situation. In a way, I hope Paul’s still here when I get back. That’ll be all the excuse I need to let off some steam.
Chapter 26
Sisterly Love
I decide it's time to give the children some lessons today and get their routine back on track. From a professional approach, I know that children are much happier when they have a routine in their lives. Though it won't stop me worrying over Lucas, it might help take my mind off the problem for a while. Drew seems confident that Trish is unlikely to ever be awarded custodial rights, let alone visiting rights. While he attends a meeting with his lawyers, we agreed it was best if I didn’t go and instead spend time with the children.
Drew is my rock, that’s for sure. What would I have done if he hadn’t picked me up and kept me going, I just don’t know. He came back into my life at the perfect time, so it seems. Annie and Lucas are like two little twins, which is wonderful as we want them to grow up as siblings. I know I’m not Lucas’s biological mother, but we’re made of the same genes and bloodline, so I’m close enough. I’ve cared for him since he was a newborn, and so I feel like I'm his mother. I always knew he’d have to know the truth one day and I will never keep it from him. But, I’d rather tell him when he’s older and can understand what happened and why.
“Okay, children, Rita says your lunch is ready," I announce as I wind up our session on counting blocks. "This afternoon, we’ll do some painting and then read a storybook, how does that sound?”
“Can I dress up, mommy?” Annie asks me. Dressing up is her favorite game of all.
“Okay, we’ll dress up too,” I smile, giving them both a hug before they run off to the kitchen area.
“Mommy,” Lucas comes running back to me. “Can we go look at our boat too?”
“We’ll see how much time we have left before dinner,” I answer.
My father would have been proud that Lucas loves boats. Drew’s yacht is moored up where we can go visit and the children can climb aboard and run around it every now and then. That happens to be Lucas’s favorite game.
As I’m clearing away their colorful blocks, my cell phone rings. I assume it’s Drew but I don’t recognize the number. It could be someone from school as I’m still helping out to do a handover of my workload, so I answer it.
“Trish?” I say as I hear my sister’s voice, but she’s rambling and I can't make out what she's saying. “Slow down, I don’t understand you?"
“He threatened to beat me up, Chrissy,” she sobs. “Can I stay at your house where I can lock him out?”
“Are you telling me that you’re finished with him, Trish?” I ask. “Because I don’t want you and him settling yourselves all cozy in my home.”
“It’s not like that, Chrissy. He’s lied to me, all this time. I want you to tell me the truth,” she says.
“Okay, I’ll meet you at the house in an hour, can you manage that?” I ask.
We finished our conversation and I thought it best to speak to mom. Of all people, she has a right to know what's going on with Trish. As I attempt to explain to her where and why I’m going to meet my sister, mom insists that I wait for Drew.
"Mom, I want to get my sister off the streets, away from that psycho," I tell her, making sure the children don't hear. "I can’t wait around for Drew, I've no idea how long he'll be."
Mom's not happy with my decision and when I tell the children I'm going out, they're disappointed too. Rita saves the day and suggests she and mom will take them for a walk, to see the boat. At which Annie insists she's dressing up as a princess if they're going to the boat. Anyway, that does the trick and I’m free to go.
Cycling to the house, I’m wary that Paul might appear out of nowhere as he's wonton to do. I needn't have been so paranoid and I get to the house with no sighting of him. Coming up the grassy embankment before my house, I notice Trish sitting on the doorstep as I arrive.
We enter the house with Trish in tears and I hug her to help her calm down, remembering to lock the door behind us.
“He promised me, Chrissy," she chokes as she's trying to talk and cry all at the same time. "He said that he’d help me get my son back and help me to be a good mom. He even bought me a trailer called Sunflower. She's my home and I love her. We're stationed at a mobile park in Bothell. It’s on a river, you'd love it because it’s so perfect and peaceful. It made me believe that he meant it, Chrissy. I thought I could have my boy back and be a mommy.”
“Look, take this tissue and wipe your face," I say, trying to pull her out of the depression I've found her in. "Now you have to listen to me, Trish, you hear?”
She nods silently as her sobbing subsides a little and she cleans up her face.
“This is not going to be easy for you to hear, but that man is stalking me. He’s wanted by the police for trashing my home. Drew’s had it all fixed up but Paul made a real mess of it. You can’t go back to him, Trish, he’s dangerous, I’m sure of it.”
“You back with Drew now?” She asks me.
“I don’t know, to be honest," I admit as my mind wanders off to think about him. "He got married, you know. It's all quite sad because his wife was ill and she passed away. I’m sure they were very close and I didn’t think he was interested in me anymore when we first bumped into each other.”
I didn’t mind sharing my personal news of events with my sister. It might help take her mind off Paul.
“Drew has a daughter called Annie. Lucas and Annie are becoming like brother and sister. You can’t be Lucas’s mom, Trish, not while he’s so young. You’re not clear of drugs yet, even I can tell that. You're going to have to be content with knowing that he’s happy. When he grows up, he’ll learn the truth and make his own decision on whether to come to you or not.”
“Will you tell him the truth?” Trish asks, almost starting her sobbing off again.
“Of course I will, but only when the time’s right and he can understand properly why you had to do what you did.
“I know you and Drew are good for him, but when I’m sober I pine for him,” she snivels.
“I’m going to go and make some coffee," I tell her, in the hope that a warm drink will help her relax. "Then, we can have a good chat. You up for that?”
She nods to me silently and I set myself in for a sister to sister catch-up, in the hope that she’ll see sense. I do love my sister and I wish she’d had a happier childhood, like me. You’d think the fact that her own mother wasn’t a good one would be enough to warn her what bad mothering can do to a child. That’s why I never blame her for being what she is. Mom has tried to help her over the years, but the damage was already done before me and mom came into her life. I wish dad could have realized how his oldest daughter was being treated. The problem was he had his own selfish ways and had no time to care for young children in his life.
Chapter 27
Lucas
I arrive home to absolute chaos.
Police cars parked at the doorway. Flashing lights. Police officers standing around waiting for something.
The concierge tells me to hurry upstairs. The police are in my apartment, but he doesn’t know what's happened. I skip the elevator and take the stairs, three at a time, to my floor.
The doors of my apartment are wide open and I see Lisa, sitting on the floor in tears. Annie's attempting to comfort her the best way she can. My little girl also has tears running down her cheeks. First I must comfort my daughter, but my eyes are scanning the whole scene. My fatherly instincts kick in and I sweep her up in my arms to comfort her.
I spot Rita, speaking with a police officer.
I notice Chrissy isn't around. If that bastard has hurt her, it will be the last thing he ever does. I approach Rita to find out what the hell’s going on.
“The man, the boy, h
e take him.” Rita tells me in broken English. As she struggles to speak, she automatically breaks into French, explaining better exactly what’s happened.
Lisa and Rita were taking the children to see the boat when Paul showed up out of nowhere. He grabbed Lucas and ran. It seems there was a car waiting for him with a driver inside.
“Where’s Chrissy?” I ask, as there’s no mention of her.
Rita continues in French, she’s only just managing to hold herself together. Turns out Chrissy is with her sister at the house.
“Rita, get hold of a nurse to come and sit with Lisa. I don’t want her left alone in her condition,” I instruct her. "She needs to go lay on her bed, can you do that?"
She nods at me silently and goes over to help Lisa. I have every confidence in Rita. She works well under pressure, so long as someone’s giving her orders to keep going.
“Honey,” I turn to my daughter who’s hugging me so tight she’s almost strangling me. “Papa needs to talk to the police officer, will you help Rita to take Lisa to her bed?”
“Only if you find Lucas, Papa,” she sobs and her bottom lip quivers.
“Oh, I will, I can promise you that,” I tell her as I put her down.
After finishing up with the police officer, I tell Rita I’m going to Chrissy’s house to get her. Before leaving I go around my loved ones and hug each of them. I can see they're all shaken up and I wish I didn't have to leave, but I trust Rita will hold them together while I'm gone. Finally, I check with Rita that a professional nurse is on the way. As she confirms it's sorted, I set off, dreading the scene when Chrissy finds out what’s happened. The chances are that she has no idea of this turn of events. I'll be interested to know what her sister has to say about all this.
As I pull up at Chrissy’s house, she’s locking up the front door with her bicycle in hand. She looks over at me as I get out of the car. In moments she has a fearful look on her face.
“I don’t understand what happened, Drew," She tells me, looking puzzled. "Trish just disappeared on me.”
Does that mean that Trish was in on it? Did she distract Chrissy by bringing her here?
“Let’s go inside the house, Chrissy. I need to speak with you,” I say, wanting to give her my news inside the house.
“She called me here to help her leave Paul,” she continues her conversation as she opens up the door again. “I calmed her down and went off to make coffee. When I came back, she was gone. No note, nothing. It’s really odd because she was opening up her heart to me.”
Taking a hold of her shoulders so we’re facing each other, I tell her about Paul kidnapping Lucas. All I can do is watch as my beautiful Chrissy takes in the shocking news. Her face turns ghost white and I feel her body slacken as I catch her in time before she falls. Scooping her up, I lay her on the small sofa.
“I’m going to get you a drink of water, you stay here,” I say, stroking her hair from her pale face. Chrissy is in shock and doesn’t say a word.
When I get back with the water, she’s sitting up.
“We have to go find them, Drew,” She says in a panic. “I can’t let Lucas go through this.”
“They’re not going to hurt him, honey, so I don’t think he’s in any danger,” I reassure her. “We will find him, of that I promise you. I’ve already got people on it.”
“No, no, Drew, it has to be us. I know where they live. Trish told me when she was upset. It’s a trailer park in Bothell. I don’t know what it’s called, but the trailer's called Sunflower. Please, Drew, we have to start there. I want to go now, today."
“You sure she wasn’t misleading you?” I ask, feeling a bit suspicious of why Trish would divulge this information if she knew what was going to happen.
“I don’t think she was in on Paul’s plan, Drew. If anyone can read Trish, it’s me and she was genuinely upset over him frightening her. He’s using her to get to me. I’m sure of it.”
“Yes, I agree on that one," I acknowledge. "Okay, but why don’t you stay at home? Your mom and Annie need someone to help them get through this. I can have people watching the trailer within the next few hours. It’s going to take us hours to get there, Chrissy. Let me go and deal with this."
I know, and so does Chrissy, that it would be better for her to go home, but she won’t agree to it. What mother would?
“No, I must be there when we find Lucas. I can’t bear the thought of him dealing with this alone. I have to go, Drew. Please understand this.”
“I do, baby. Let me make some more calls and then we can set off. Bothell’s near Seattle, which is about five hours away. There’s no guarantee that’s where they’re going, but if they are, we’ll know as soon as they arrive,” I tell her.
There are people in my chain of companies that can be at the trailer within the hour. They'll report back to me if they show up. No one managed to record the registration of the car but the police have full details of the event. They tell me there's an APB out, with his description and details of the car. That's good, but, I won't be relying on the police alone. This time I will find him and...well...
If I could just get Chrissy to stay home it would make things easier. But, and I can understand why she wants to be there when we find Lucas, being a parent myself. I’m glad I’m with her because I hate the thought of her going through this alone. God knows how this family would have coped with this crazy guy. I'll do everything within my power to get this lunatic locked up for a long time to come. Kidnapping a minor is no small offense: he’ll be out of our lives forever.
Chapter 28
A Sickly Journey
“Thank you, Drew,” I sigh as I start to relax on our long car drive. “I know we should have gone to see Annie before setting off, but we need to hurry.”
He smiles, glancing at me as he takes his eyes from the road for a second. It’s enough to ease my worries. It’s now dark outside and we’ve been on the road for about three hours. It’ll take around another hour or two before we get to our destination, but I don’t mind. I need this time to get myself together for when I get my son.
There’s something soothing about driving at night time. The dashboard of Drew’s classy car is flickering with blues and reds and it’s all very pretty. Cars pass us by and we pass them, and I wonder where everyone’s traveling to. I doubt they’re on a mission of crime and compassion, as we are. It feels as if the whole world should stop while I sort this out. While I find my son. Yet, everyone’s going about their business as if nothing’s happened.
I lean my forehead on the glass window and try to see outside in the darkness. The world whizzes by as we move and the music Drew’s playing is a soothing country and western tune. All I can think about is Lucas and if whether he feels scared. Surely Paul wouldn’t hurt a small child, would he? I’d like to think that Trish wouldn’t let him but I doubt she has much control over that man.
What’s driven him to do this to me? We only had a fleeting relationship and before long it had ended in his arrest. Why is he so obsessed with me? I never did anything to encourage him. Maybe it’s because he couldn’t control me. He might find a challenge in that and feel a need to have me in his grasp. Usually, these people are control freaks that go for vulnerable individuals, like Trish. You’d think she’d be ideal for him and he’d forget about me.
“You okay, honey?” Drew asks me.
I nod back with a tired smile. I love the sound of his deep tenor voice, the nearness of his masculine woody scent, or maybe that’s his aftershave. I love having him near me. Beside me every step of the way.
Suddenly I feel quite ill. The sides of my mouth are watering up and my stomach feels like it wants to heave.
“Can you pull over, Drew?” I ask in desperation.
He must have understood the urgency in my voice and it so happens we were passing a gas station. Turning the car he pulls in and parks in a bay. As soon as I open the door I heave up the heavy rock in my stomach. That feels so much better.
“I�
��ll get someone to clear it up and get you some water. You want to use the bathroom while we’re here?” I hear his concerned voice asking me.
I give him a silent nod and he takes my arm to lead me to the grubby looking bathroom.
“It’s okay,” I say, seeing his hesitation. “I need to use it, it doesn’t matter what state it’s in.”
“Why can’t these people keep their toilets clean?” He says with a rumbling voice as if someone might come rushing over to clean it up for us.
Poor Drew, he isn’t used to this side of life. Me? I simply hold my breath and enter the room to clean myself up. At least there’s a toilet and a sink with water so I can do the basics. When I come out of the dark hole, I see people around his car, cleaning up my mess. No doubt he flashed them some money and they rushed out to do his bidding. His wealth isn't something I think about too much, but we are from very different social worlds.
A lovely elderly woman comes to my aid and leads me back to the car. She’s genuinely kind and motherly which is exactly what I need right now. She most likely helped me without being paid to do so, but Drew doesn’t understand this about people. He has a lot to learn.
We soon set off again, with only an hour to go, when he gets a call. He has a hands-free set in the car, which means I get to hear the conversation.
“Mr. Gagnon, Sir, they’re here,” a male voice says.
“Does the boy look okay?” Drew asks.
“Affirmative, Sir. Do you want us to go in and get him?”
“No. No. If he’s okay, wait till I get there. Keep your eye on them, especially if they move out.”
“Will do, Sir.”
The line goes silent and my heart sinks. For a while, I thought that Trish might tell Paul she’d told me about the trailer. Thankfully she hasn’t put two and two together. Not unusual for my sister who’s choices and decisions are often fogged with drugs and alcohol. Paul has no idea that we're aware of their location. I sigh with great relief at knowing where my son is, and that someone is watching out for him.