To Kit’s surprise, she woke up the next morning realizing she actually had fallen asleep at some point. The clock said eight-thirty. The radio was still on.
Maggie would have left for her parents’ by now. Kit rolled out of bed and showered. Once dressed in jeans and a cotton top, she got packed so she’d be ready to leave when Maggie returned.
The call came while she was eating a piece of toast.
“Kit? It’s Pat Simpson.”
“Hello, Pat.”
“The results have confirmed that you are not Frankie Burke’s daughter.”
She stopped munching. “I’m not surprised.”
“Nor am I. I’m making arrangements now to have your DNA compared with the McFarlands’. I’ll get back to you the moment I have news.”
“Thank you.”
“Maggie tells me you’re going back to California.”
“Yes.”
“I’ve given Agent Kelly your cell phone number in case he needs to get in touch with you.”
“That’s fine. Talk to you later.” Kit clicked Off.
Now for the hard part.
While she still had the courage, she phoned Cord who picked up after the first ring.
“Kit?”
She hardly recognized his voice, it sounded so unsteady. Her eyes closed tightly. “Frankie’s not my father.”
“Dear God.”
It was all too painful.
“I have to go now.”
She hung up.
Goodbye, my darling Cord.
While she was standing there in agony, Maggie walked into the kitchen. She took one look at Kit and said, “I’m so sorry. I’d give anything if I could help you.”
“No one can fix what’s wrong, Maggie. I’m ready to go to the airport if you are, but I don’t see how you can take the time when you have a law practice to run.”
“Don’t worry. Another bankruptcy attorney covers for me when there’s an emergency. I do the same thing for him.”
“Naturally you’d have backup.” After a pause she asked, “Were your parents upset because I didn’t come to breakfast?”
“I won’t lie to you. It was bad, because Cord didn’t show up either. Ben and I decided they needed to know the truth, so we told them you two were in love.”
“Oh, no.”
“We didn’t have a choice, Kit. To be honest, I’m glad it’s out. While we wait to hear the test results, they’ll have time to mull this over. As much as they’d like you to be their daughter, they’re now cognizant of the pain you and Cord are going through. They’re already having to adjust their expectations for the future. It’s for the best.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Come on. Let’s get you home.”
MAGGIE COULD HAVE NO IDEA how much Kit appreciated being treated like a VIP. Two trips to California on a private jet had spoiled her beyond comprehension. When they arrived at the L.A. airport, she assured Maggie she would find a way to do something special for her in return. “Promise you’ll call me when you get back to Salt Lake so I know you got home safely.”
Maggie flashed her a wry smile. “Mother always says the same thing.”
Kit gave her another hug. “Thank you for everything.”
After they parted, Kit hurried outside the terminal to get a taxi. At ten to three, she entered her apartment and called Janene.
“Kit—what’s the verdict?”
“Frankie’s not my father.”
“Oh, Kit, I’m so sorry.”
“So am I.”
“Does Cord know?”
“Yes.”
“He must be devastated, too.”
“He is.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m back in my apartment.”
“You’re kidding—why didn’t you let me pick you up at the airport?”
“Because you’re at work. Besides, you do too much for me. It’s time I returned the favor. After you get off, come over and have dinner with me.”
“I’ll be there by five-thirty.”
“Hurry.”
No sooner had she hung up than the phone rang. Her pulse raced—maybe it was Cord. When she checked the caller ID, it said the number was blocked.
She clicked On. “Hello?”
“Kit Burke? It’s Jack Kelly.”
“Oh, yes. Pat Simpson said you might call.”
“How soon can you get back to California?” he asked without preamble. It sent a thrill of alarm through her body.
“I’m here. I just returned to my apartment in Venice Beach.”
“In that case I’d like you to come to the office in downtown L.A. as soon as possible.”
She couldn’t imagine why. “You mean like today? Now?”
“Yes. I’ll send a police car for you. They ought to be there inside of twenty minutes.”
“Can you tell me what this is about?”
“I’m afraid it will have to wait until you get here.” He hung up before she could blink.
This had to do with Frankie Burke. Maybe he’d confessed everything, and now she was going to find out about her mother.
By the time she’d gotten off the phone with Janene, there was a knock on her door. After the detective identified himself, he waited for her to get her purse, then escorted her out to his car, where another detective sat at the wheel.
They drove to the L.A. police station in silence. She entered the doors full of trepidation for what she was about to hear. One of the detectives showed her down the hall to a conference room.
“Ms. Burke?” Jack Kelly got up from the table and came around to shake her hand. “I’m glad you’re back in California. There’s been a stunning new development in your case. Last night Frankie decided to talk.”
“Did Mother help him kidnap me?”
“No. We still don’t know where she fits into the picture. In fact, he insists he had nothing to do with your abduction.”
She shook her head. “Then I don’t understand.”
“He wants his prison sentence reduced, so he told me I’d find your real parents if I looked up an unsolved case about a bank robbery where a baby was stolen in Rosemead, California, twenty-six years ago.”
Kit let out a soft gasp.
“It’s a real twist, all right.”
“But Mother told me I’d find my birth parents in Salt Lake!”
“An enigma within an enigma. For now, why don’t you sit down and read this. Then I’ll answer your questions.”
He held out a seat for her, then handed her a copy of a twenty-six-year-old news clipping lying on the table. It was dated April 18.
Armed Robbery Attempt Results in Kidnapping An armed robber hijacked a car at knifepoint today, forcing a terrified female motorist to drive him across the city after an early morning bank robbery was foiled.
The assailant, thought to be between twenty and twenty-five years of age, jumped into the car in Rosemead, CA, just after 10:00 a.m. and threatened the woman driver with a knife before ordering her to drive him into Los Angeles.
The drama started when a man armed with a knife burst into the Rosemead East Branch Bank and demanded money from the shocked teller. A sum of cash was handed over, but as the man attempted to escape, a male customer tried to overpower the robber.
The bank manager was able to activate the alarm. The man fled empty-handed as police, including an armed response unit, arrived minutes later.
The man, who jumped into the car outside the bank and held the motorist at knifepoint, forced her to stop on Cesar Chavez Boulevard near Obragon Park. As he got out of the car, he grabbed an infant carryall holding the woman’s baby and fled on foot.
Kit let out a cry that reverberated in the room.
Several people near the car heard her screams and called the police. The motorist is believed to be a woman in her mid-twenties. Though she was physically unhurt by the ordeal, she was taken to the hospital by ambulance on the verge of collapse.
The man pol
ice are hunting for is described as white, near six feet tall, with a barrel chest, clean shaven with dark brown hair. He was wearing a beige shirt with a large front pocket and baggy navy trousers.
She turned her head with a jerk. “Am I that baby?” she cried.
Agent Kelly broke into a tender smile. “Yes. A DNA test is being done on your birth parents. But having already met them and their children, I can tell you now the test isn’t necessary. You’re a dead ringer for all of them.”
“You’re serious,” she murmured in a daze. “Then that means…I’m not a McFarland!”
Oh, thank God, thank God.
I have to tell Cord.
The man’s smile widened. “No, you’re not. You’re the oldest child of Lawrence and Annette Talbot. You were named Melissa Aldridge Talbot, born March 15 at Rosemead Area Hospital.”
“Melissa? That’s my name?” Her voice sounded more like a squeak.
“Yes.” He chuckled. “You have two younger brothers, Steven, who’s twenty-five and unmarried, and David, twenty-three, recently married.”
“I—I can’t believe it!”
“They’re not going to believe it, either.”
“I don’t understand.”
“They only know that we’ve come up with a recent lead in their case. All these years they’ve searched and hoped and waited for some news about their first little baby.”
Those ever present tears filled her eyes. “Do my parents still live in Rosemead?”
“No. They moved to Claremont when your father joined the faculty at Pomona College. Dr. Talbot teaches in the biology department. Your mother is a music teacher at Mason High School in Pomona.”
Kit covered her face with her hands. She could hardly comprehend it.
“I realize this is a lot to absorb, especially since we don’t have a confession from Frankie, let alone any understanding of why your mother thought you were a McFarland. But trust me, these people are your flesh and blood.”
“I believe you,” she whispered. “How soon can I meet them?”
“After I found out you were back in Venice Beach, I called them and told them there’d been a development in the case. They’re on their way here now.”
She lifted her head and stared at him. “My real parents. Yet the woman who raised me was a real parent to me.”
“Of course. It’s going to take you a while to process your feelings and emotions. You might want to seek professional help. In fact, I’d advise it.”
Kit nodded. “To think that all these years we’ve lived this close to each other, in the same county, even!”
His brow quirked. “You know what they say about the truth. It is stranger than fiction. In my business, we rarely see happy endings in kidnapping cases, particularly after this many years. Your parents are going to be beyond joy.”
“I know.” She wiped her eyes. “After meeting the McFarland family and seeing the kind of pain they’ve lived through, I have a much better understanding of the agony my birth parents have endured. I’m overjoyed for them.”
“Yet another woman raised you. A woman you loved. It’s a bittersweet reality you’re being forced to deal with.”
“Yes. But I’ve met the most wonderful man in the world. I can’t wait to tell him my true identity.”
“You’re talking about Cord McFarland.”
She sniffed. “How did you know?”
His laughter filled the room.
Kit smiled through the tears. “I was that transparent?”
“You both were.”
“Have you told anyone in the McFarland family about this yet?”
“No.”
“Has Agent Simpson?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”
“Please do. If it isn’t too late, I want to be the one to break the news to them.”
“I’ll call her right now.”
“Thank you.”
While he was still on the phone, an officer poked his head in the door. “The Talbots have arrived.”
Agent Kelly nodded to him. “Have them wait in the hall. I’ll be right out.”
When the officer left, he finished his conversation and hung up. “Pat was waiting to hear the outcome on our end before she said anything. So you’re welcome to approach their family first. Be sure to let Pat know when it’s all right for her to talk to them.”
“Of course. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He vacated his chair and walked around the table to the door.
Kit got up from her seat, then had to clutch the edge of the table until the light-headed feeling passed.
In a moment she spied an attractive, well-dressed couple in the aperture, talking to the agent. They looked to be in their early fifties. The brunette woman with shoulder-length hair was about ten pounds heavier than Kit, but everything else screamed that she was her mother. It was like seeing a reflection of herself in a mirror twenty-six years from now.
Behind her stood a lean man, possibly six-one or six-two, with lighter brown hair. What struck Kit most were his blue eyes framed by dark brows. Both features were so identical to hers in shape and color, there could be no doubt this was her father.
They started to walk into the room, then stopped when they saw Kit. In the hushed quiet that pervaded the space, an intense, restless scrutiny took place. Three pairs of eyes were madly fitting in all the pieces of a puzzle that no one had been able to put together until now.
Miraculously, everything was a perfect fit. Every feature, every line. Their very expressions.
“My baby girl. You’re all grown up!” When her mother held out her arms, it felt like the most natural thing in the world for Kit to run into them.
“Our beautiful Melissa,” her father whispered with joy, hugging both of them while they all wept.
“She looks like Dave, doesn’t she, Larry?”
“To be honest, I thought I was looking at Steve’s twin.”
Kit raised her head, mindless of the tears gushing town her cheeks. “I think I look just like both of you.”
They laughed, they cried, they hugged. There was no way to stem the outpouring of emotion.
Her mother cupped Kit’s face in her hands. “When that bank robber took you out of the car, my heart died that day. You were our first child. Our precious, innocent little angel. I’ve prayed for this day to come, but I still can’t believe it’s here.”
“Neither can I,” her father said. He gathered Kit in his arms and rocked her back and forth. She heard his sobs, absorbed them into her own quivering body.
These people exuded warmth and love. They were able to give freely of their affection. Kit hadn’t known what to expect, but she already loved them. The getting-to-know-them part would come in the years that lay ahead.
Rena had stolen those years from Kit and her parents, but she’d done the right thing in the end.
Thank you for this gift, Mother.
Kit squeezed her parents harder. It was finally sinking in that she belonged to these two people, that she’d been conceived out of their love for each other.
“This is the kind of reunion we like to see around here,” Agent Kelly declared. His entry into the room brought them back to the present. Kit’s parents reluctantly let go of her, but they didn’t stop smiling at her through their tears.
“Can we take our daughter home?”
Agent Kelly glanced at Kit. “That’s up to you and Kit. As far as the FBI is concerned, the Talbot case is officially closed. Feel free to stay in here as long as you want. I’ve got to leave, but you have my phone number and can reach me at any time.”
Feeling a rush of emotion, Kit darted over to him and gave him a hug. “Thank you. If you hadn’t worked on Frankie, we’d still be in the dark.”
“There’s still a world of information he’s holding back, but at least he cooperated enough to unite you with your real parents. I’m hoping he’ll reveal more while I work with the D.A. on his sentence.”
“The McFarlands are such incredible people. They deserve to find closure.”
“Pat and I have made their case our top priority.”
“Then I have to believe that one day soon there’ll be a resolution.”
“You keep believing that. Call me anytime.”
He shook her parents’ hands before disappearing from the room.
Her father turned to her. “When Agent Kelly called, there wasn’t time to find the boys and bring them with us. But they’re going to want to meet their sister as soon as possible. What are your plans for this evening?”
She saw the pleading in their eyes. “To be with you. I can’t wait to meet my brothers and sister-in-law!”
“Chris is a sweetheart. They’re all going to love you,” her mother said, her voice full of emotion. “Did you bring a car?”
“No. Two police detectives picked me up at my apartment.”
“Then we’ll drive you home later tonight. Right now we’ve got some celebrating to do at the house.”
They left the room and started walking down the hall to the entrance. “The agent told us you’re not married,” her mother said, “but are you involved with anyone special?”
“Yes. His name is Cord McFarland.”
“Is he from Venice Beach?”
“No. Salt Lake City, Utah.”
“McFarland,” her father murmured. “That’s the name of a prominent Salt Lake family who had a baby girl kidnapped in the spring of the same year as you. The heavy media coverage coming on top of our own tragedy affected your mother and me very deeply. To my knowledge the police never did find the kidnapper or the child.”
Kit’s breath caught. “That baby was Cord’s sister. It’s because of Kathryn’s abduction that we met.” Her parents looked so shocked she said, “I’ll tell you about it in the car. There’s so much to tell you, so many questions I want to ask you, I hardly know where to begin.”
They left the building for the parking lot. Annette insisted she climb in the front of their Altima and sit by her father for the drive to Claremont.
“Is this relationship with Cord serious?” her mother asked.
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