Bad Intent

by Cheril Thomas

  He sat on her favorite chair, elbows propped on his knees, cordovan Gucci loafers firmly planted far enough apart to make him look dug-in, unmovable. She recognized his arbitration posture. He wanted to make a deal with her, but from a position of power.

  “I need to apologize to you,” he said.

  Step One — his peace offering. For David, an apology was the ultimate gift, and he would want something in return.

  “It seems my vasectomy may not have been as successful as I was led to believe. While it is definitely a long shot, apparently, under the right conditions, I’m capable of fathering a child.”

  The silence grew between them, with David waiting for a reaction, and Grace waiting to have one. She knew the conversation should wait until after she’d had time to settle all the issues in her own mind, but here they were. She realized with a shock that they would always be like this. The baby had cemented their relationship in a way that could never be completely broken.

  “Do you understand?” Never patient, David fairly radiated nervous energy. “I’m saying I’m sorry. I know the child is mine, and I’m sorry I doubted you.”

  “Did you get tested?” she asked. Curiosity broke through her apathy and offered a bit of hope.

  “Yes. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. A couple of swimmers showed up, and all it takes is one.”

  His lopsided smile, the one that used to break all her barriers, only made her heart ache. “So, with scientific proof that I might not be lying, you’ve decided you can believe me.”

  “Oh, come on. You can’t blame me for wanting to be sure. You’ve been jerking me around about the wedding for ages. I’ve done everything I can think of to make you happy, and you keep pushing me away. When you told me about the baby, I was sure there was someone else. It was the only thing that made any sense.”

  “I get it,” she said. “I understand.” And she did. He was only being David, and she’d never given him any reason to change the less than lovely aspects of his personality. Which, now that she thought about, was most of his personality. This led her back to his latest scheme. “Why did you lie about the house in Queenstown?” she demanded. “You’ve already bought it. Did you think I’d be happy about it?”

  “Who wouldn’t be?” he asked in a shocked tone. “How’d you find out, anyway? It was supposed to be a surprise.”

  “Oh, it was.”

  He shook his head. “Look, we’re having a baby. We’ll make it work. I’ll change, you’ll change. The world will change.”

  The day had seen relationships begin and end, and she didn’t want to hurt anyone else. Not even David. She tried to be gentle when she told him it was over.

  In a move that shocked her, he put his head in his hands. His next words were muffled, but she heard them clearly enough. “Please, Grace.”

  She tried to choose her words carefully, but they fell out on their own accord. “There’s someone else. It’s very new, and we’ve never, well, there’s zero chance that this isn’t your baby. But if you like, I’ll have a paternity test done later on.”

  His eyes were enormous. “If I like! Someone else? What the hell, Grace? I was right?” He was on his feet and looming over her.

  All she felt was pity. She thought if she reached out and tapped him, he’d fall back. She didn’t love him, but she couldn’t shut him out. It was his baby, too. She pointed to the love seat and said, “Sit down, David. We have to talk. I’ve seen a doctor.”

  She had to repeat everything twice before he absorbed all of it. Then, for a little while, they were just parents with a child in crisis. David reacted the same way he always did with bad news, questioning her every word, determined to find something she’d overlooked that would alter the situation.

  “We’ll get another doctor.” He pulled out his phone and began punching numbers.

  She put her hand over the screen. “We will not. I’ll handle my own medical care, but I’m looking for another doctor for a second opinion.”

  It seemed to take everything he had to speak calmly. “Bed rest until you see the new doctor. Promise me.”

  “No. I won’t do anything crazy, but you have to understand that I’ve led a very active life. If there’s a miscarriage — ”

  “Quit saying that.”

  “What?”

  “You’re carrying my child! Not some collection of inconvenient cells for you and your new lover, but my child. The only one I may ever have. You can’t take any chances, no matter how small.”

  She gritted her teeth, determined to ignore his arrogance. He was hurt, and a wounded David would never retreat. Picking up her own phone, she thumbed through her emails until she found Dr. Goulden’s. She tapped the screen a few more times and said, “Check your email.”

  Seconds later, he was turning his own phone in circles and muttering, “What the hell is this?”

  “A picture of our child.” She righted the phone for him and pointed to a spot in the center of the screen. “That’s the baby.” She pinched the screen and shrunk the view. “This is my abdomen.” The gray spot was now a pinhead.

  He sat for a long time staring at the picture.

  “You have to face some facts. I am thirty-eight. Our child has already beaten the odds of surviving a poor placement in my uterus. But there are other problems. You can read the report that’s attached, but the baby is small, and according to Dr. Goulden, the pregnancy could end soon. Even if I don’t miscarry, there may still be serious problems. Birth defects.”

  When he said nothing, she knew he finally understood.

  “I’m going to bed. I don’t want to hurt you anymore, but I can’t take care of you. If you don’t want to drive to DC, then stay in the first bedroom at the top of the stairs on the second floor.”

  He reached for her hand.

  “I’m sorry,” she said and pulled away.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  She was sleeping so soundly the cell phone’s ring became part of her dream. When her sleep-numb fingers managed to push the answer arrow, she got an earful from Avril. The old woman’s voice shook so badly it took several moments for Grace to understand her.

  Hallie had run away, and she’d left a note for Avril.

  “Read it again. Slowly,” Grace said, and then listened. It was a very short note. “When did she leave it?”

  “Something woke me around eleven-thirty,” Avril said. “It took forever to settle Louise and go back to sleep. Then she barked and got me awake again about two. I didn’t get up right away. If she hadn’t been pacing around, I wouldn’t have found the note until morning. She must have heard Hallie drop it through the mail slot in the front door, but I procrastinated long enough to give the child a good head start.”

  “You couldn’t have known, Avril. What do you think she means, ‘I can’t unsee it or fix it’?” Grace asked.

  “I don’t know. I called Melanie, but she didn’t answer. Then I panicked and called Lee. I couldn’t think of anything else to do, except go next door and drag that poor excuse for a mother out of bed and shake her. I met Lee over there, and I thought Melanie would faint when she read the note, but she rallied. Half the kids were up by that point, and she asked me to leave. She didn’t want Lee there either; said she didn’t want anybody. When we left, she was sending the kids back to bed and telling them nothing was wrong.”

  “You’ve done everything you can.”

  “That’s why I’m having a drink,” Avril sighed. “I haven’t had bourbon in the middle of the night in a decade, but there’s nothing for me to do. Lee’s at the station with Aidan, and they’re trying to figure out where she’s gone. I wanted to be there, too, but I think Lee’s still peeved that I gave Hallie a heads up that the house was being searched. As soon as I told him what I knew, he sent me home.”

  Grace tried to think of something reassuring to say. “You’ve just been looking out for Hallie. For all of them. I’m sure he understands. Call me if you hear anything, and I’ll do the same. It’ll
be light in another couple of hours; we’ll see what we can do then to help out.”

  She hoped Avril believed her, but she had no intention of taking her own advice.

  She’d dressed while talking to Avril. Now she grabbed crackers and water for her tote and left the apartment. At the top of the stairs, she stopped and listened. Niki had taken Leo to Aidan’s for the night, but snoring from the nearest bedroom told her David had stayed over. She kept to the edges of the steps and winced with every creak as she hurried down to the first-floor kitchen and out the back door. If David woke up, she didn’t want to explain why she was off to see Mac.

  The Chief’s call woke Niki, who made her unhappiness clear as Banks dressed to leave. He didn’t tell her the call was about Hallie, or give her any details. He just held up his phone as his only defense. Niki said he could leave, but she wouldn’t be there when he got back. He kissed her gently, then left the beautiful girl he’d once loved more than anything, knowing they were finished.

  Five minutes later, he was at the station. Just being here made him feel like he was helping. He and McNamara went over all they knew about Hallie Overton, looking for a lead to her whereabouts. McNamara’s focus was on apprehending a suspect, but Banks only wanted to find Hallie. His gut was telling him she wasn’t running, she was in danger. A half-hour later, he had an ally when Grace arrived.

  “Why didn’t you call me?” were the first words out of her mouth, and Banks was glad they weren’t directed at him.

  “Why would I?” the Chief asked, looking confused.

  “Avril called and told me everything. Didn’t you think I needed to know?”

  Banks felt like he was watching his parents argue. “We need to find Hallie,” he interrupted, leaving ‘you can fight and make up on your own time’ unsaid.

  For once, they both paid attention to him.

  “She took the family’s green Ford Transit,” the Chief said. “I’ve reported the tag number to the State Police. Hopefully, they’ll spot her before she gets too far.”

  “What if she’s already where she wants to be?” Banks picked up a copy of the note and began to read.

  Everyone makes mistakes, but I can’t unsee it or fix it. I know why Dad left and I need to go with him. I’m so sorry.

  “She’s talking about suicide,” he said. “We have to do something.”

  “We’re in a large, rural area,” McNamara said. “Her mother said other than taking the children to the local parks and outings to Ocean City, Hallie hasn’t been anywhere since they got here. We’ve checked the parks, and the OC police are on alert. If you have other ideas, I’m happy to try them.”

  “Maybe I can get something out of Melanie,” Grace said.

  “Really?” McNamara said, surprised. “She told me she’d fired you.”

  “So that’s why you didn’t call? Oh, for God’s sake. Not to my face, she didn’t, and she’ll change her mind by tomorrow, but I see your point.” She thought for a moment and perked up. “Whitney hasn’t fired me. Can you get me through to her at the DOC?”

  Three a.m. calls to inmates weren’t usually well received by the Department of Corrections, but the nature of the emergency was compelling. Unfortunately, other than upsetting Whitney, they didn’t accomplish much. Whitney confirmed to McNamara that Grace was her attorney and Hallie’s, for all the good it did.

  “Let me help,” Whitney cried. “There has to be something I can do.” Her voice blasted over the speakerphone. Banks scribbled on a piece of paper and held it up for Grace and Mac to see.

  Grace nodded and said, “Whitney, where would Hallie go to be alone, if she didn’t want to be found?”

  Banks had written, ‘where would she go to kill herself.’ He balled the paper up and threw it in the trash. The meaning was clear in the anguish in Grace’s voice.

  Whitney didn’t hesitate. “Near water. The beach.” But she was short on new information. They weren’t any closer to finding Hallie.

  McNamara said, “There’s nothing to be done here. Dispatch will forward any calls coming in. I’m going to recheck every accessible waterfront here in town and then spread out. Aidan, you go up to Kent Narrows and check for the van in all the parking lots near the water. She’s probably been shopping up there.”

  “It’s too public,” Banks protested.

  McNamara said, “Not at this hour. And it’s easy to get to. That would be a draw for her. We’ll have to rely on the MSP and the local departments to cover the highways. Check in with me by cell, but call dispatch first if you see anything.”

  “I’ll go with you, Mac,” Grace said.

  But that wasn’t how it worked out. If Banks had any doubts about the rumors of a new romance, they were gone after the Chief argued with Grace to go home, won, and still got a smile from her. They split up in the parking lot, Banks headed north to Route 50, and McNamara toward the harbor front.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Grace sat in the BMW until both patrol cars were out of sight. When she pulled out of the parking lot, she turned left, going out of town. She’d thought of one place Hallie might go, but it was such a long shot she hadn’t brought it up. If Hallie remembered the uncomplicated route Felicia had taken when they followed Grace from Mallard Bay, she might go to the house David had bought on the Wye River. It would be hard to find a more private, accessible waterfront than the uninhabited property.

  She’d only gone a mile when her phone rang.

  “Where are you?” Melanie demanded.

  “Out looking for your daughter.”

  “I need you. How soon can you get here?”

  “Melanie, you told the Chief you fired me. Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”

  “You don’t know everything. Please, come now, or it will be too late. The police will find Hallie, but we need you here. Something else has happened. Come to the back door.”

  Grace couldn’t begin to guess what situations rated emergency status in Melanie’s eyes. Probably anything she had to handle on her own would qualify. She said, “I have a stop to make first. I’ll be there soon.”

  “No, now. Please…” The connection ended but was followed by an incoming text. Phone battery dying. Get here ASAP.

  Grace looked for a place to turn around. When she’d pulled off the road, she brought up her contacts. Aidan would near the exit that would take him to the property. To her surprise and relief, he readily agreed to the detour.

  “I’ll be at Melanie’s,” she said as they wrapped up. “She’s un-fired me apparently and now has a new disaster.”

  “Worse than a missing teenager?”

  “I’m about to find out.”

  “Lucky you,” Banks said. “I’ll call as soon as I’ve checked it out.”

  “There’s a long dock. I don’t know if it has safety lights, but it should be light soon. It’s not visible from the driveway, but that’s where I’d check.”

  “I won’t do a drive by, Grace. I’ll walk the shoreline and the dock.”

  She knew she’d made him mad, and she didn’t care. He might be more careful just to spite her.

  She slowed as she reentered the village and ignored an incoming call from David. One problem at a time, she told herself.

  She sat in her car and looked at the front of the Overton house. One van was missing, but otherwise, nothing appeared out of place for five in the morning. She took the walkway to the back door, as instructed. Through the window, she saw the cluttered den side of the great room. The television was on, but the room was empty.

  “It’s about damn time.”

  Grace whirled around to find Melanie standing behind her.

  “Sssh!” Melanie whispered and pulled her off the step and into the deep shadows of a big fir tree. “Do you have your phone?”

  Grace looked around. They might be alone, or there might be a dozen people tucked into the dark edges of the yard. “Yes,” she whispered back. “Why?”

  “The police still have mine, and the cheap on
e I bought to replace it fizzled out. It won’t even text anymore.”

  “You called me because you want to use my phone?” Grace tried to get a better look at Melanie’s face. “Let’s go inside and talk.”

  “And wake them all up again? No.” Melanie held out her hand, wiggling her fingers. “I want to call Whitney; I’ll tell them it’s an emergency.”

  “You won’t get through until morning, if then. She’s in jail, not a hotel.” Grace fished the phone from her pocket, anyway. “Do you have the number for the DOC?”

  “Of course,” Melanie snatched the phone, then held it up to Grace’s face to unlock it.

  Seconds later, the ring tone rolling on, unanswered. So much for Melanie having the correct number, Grace thought. “How about if I call Chief McNamara and ask if there’s news?”

  “No. Abe and Zeke can handle the little kids when they wake up. I need to be with my sister while they search for Hallie. Will you take me?”

  Grace thought she’d never heard a worse idea, but Melanie was shaking, so she said, “Sure, but after I call the Chief.”

  “Can’t you do that while we’re driving? Please, please take me to Whitney. I feel like I’m dying. That’s why I called you. I waited out here so I wouldn’t wake anyone up again. The kids have been up and down all night. I’ll be forever grateful if you’ll drive me.”

  No tears, no whining. Just desperation in Melanie’s voice.

  “All right,” Grace said and reached for the phone, but Melanie slipped it into the pocket of her jacket.

  “I’ll keep trying to reach Whitney as we drive. Let’s go.”

  There went her call to Mac and any hope of reinforcements. The situation was getting screwier by the minute, and Grace knew she needed help. She started moving back toward the kitchen door and the porch light and braced herself for an onslaught of tears. “This isn’t a good idea. I’m worried about you,” she said.

  Then she saw the gun.

  “Worry about yourself,” Melanie’s voice was steady, and her eyes were dry. “Now, let’s go.”