Lost and Found

by Colleen Coble

  Bree dropped her hand and sighed. “Yes, we sure do. But we can still be upset about it. We just can’t hold a grudge. God forgives us every day for the things we do.”

  Emily pressed her lips together. “Okay.” Poor Charley. Emily shifted in the kitchen chair. “Why?”

  Dad looked at her. “Why what? I just explained why the sheriff wants to charge her with arson. A felony is a much—”

  “No, Dad, I get that. Not that I agree with it, but I understand.” Emily shook her head. “What I meant was, why did she poison Charley? There had to be some reason. What?”

  Bree smiled. “Very good, Emily.” She looked back at Dad. “Any ideas? Surely you and Mason discussed all possible scenarios.”

  Dad ran a finger around the rim of his coffee cup. “The only thing I could think of was she wanted Charley out of the way because she knew he’d protect Naomi, and without him in the picture, she’d have easier access to Naomi.”

  It felt pretty thin, even to Emily. There had to be more to it.

  Sitting at the table, Bree squeezed Dad’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Donovan. She’s still not admitting to knowing anything about Naomi’s disappearance?”

  “She swears she knows nothing about it. I want to believe her, I do, but she’s such a good liar.” Dad jerked his attention to Emily. “Sorry, sweetheart. I shouldn’t be discussing this in front of you.”

  “I’m a teenager now, Dad. I can handle the truth.” Emily swallowed back the tears she desperately wanted to shed. But Dad and Bree were treating her like an adult, so she couldn’t cry like a baby. “But Naomi was taken from the homecoming celebration. Charley wasn’t around at all. Why poison Charley if she was going to take Naomi at a time when he wouldn’t be there?”

  “Opportunity, probably. Mason thinks Marika saw Naomi alone and used that.”

  “How does he think Marika got Naomi out of the community center without a struggle anyway?” Bree flipped a strand of her auburn hair behind her ear.

  “He thinks she possibly ran to Naomi and said someone was hurt. Naomi would rush to help without checking.” Dad played with his coffee cup and didn’t look up.

  Emily’s heart pounded as she played various scenarios in her head. Her stomach knotted. “Because I wasn’t there with you, Naomi, and Timmy, Sheriff Kaleva thinks Marika found Naomi and told her I needed her, doesn’t he?”

  “We don’t know what happened, sweetheart.” But Dad’s voice said it all. That’s exactly what they believed happened.

  Which made Naomi’s disappearance all her fault.

  “I’m so sorry, Em.” Olivia gave her a sideways hug in the school’s courtyard. “I hate that Marika is putting you all through this nightmare.”

  Kids laughed and yelled at one another as they made their way to the buses and bicycle stands and parking lot. The afternoon sun teased them with its brightness while the wind struck chills down everyone’s spine.

  “No matter what Dad and Bree say, it’s the only thing that makes sense, which makes it all my fault that Marika took Naomi.”

  “You really believe Marika has Naomi?”

  “Yeah.” Emily stared at her best friend. “Why? Don’t you?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve only seen Marika a couple of times, but she’s not very big. She’s really thin.” Olivia shrugged. “And Naomi is really strong and in great shape because of all the searches. I can’t imagine that Naomi couldn’t get away from Marika.”

  Beep! Beep! Beep!

  Both girls jumped as Inetta stuck her head out of the car. “Come on.”

  They rushed to climb into the backseat, then Inetta slowly inched out of the parking lot. “I didn’t know Rock Harbor had this many kids,” she joked.

  Olivia let out a slow, slow breath. “I’m suddenly really nervous.”

  “It’s just to look at her.” Inetta eased off Summit Street. “We can get the shakes to go if you want.”

  “No, it’s fine.” But Olivia’s face had lost most of its color.

  To change the subject and take Olivia’s mind off her issues, Emily brought Inetta up to speed on what Dad had told her at breakfast.

  “Wow, that’s a lot to take in.” Inetta parked in front of the Suomi Café and twisted to look at Emily. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  Inetta flashed them both her sparkling smile. “Let’s go drown our troubles in shakes.”

  They’d barely sat down when Tony, the cook, came to their table. “What can I get you this afternoon?”

  “Three strawberry shakes, please.” Inetta grinned at him. “Don’t tell me you’re having to wait tables along with cooking.”

  The elderly man chuckled. “Not at all. I’m just helping the little lass out while she used the facilities. She’ll be along directly.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Tony.”

  He shuffled off to the kitchen.

  “Where is she?” Olivia all but bounced in her seat.

  “She’s in the ladies’ room, apparently,” said Inetta.

  Emily shook her head. “I don’t think you look anything like her. Nothing.”

  “Maybe I look like my birth father.” Olivia licked her lips several times in a row.

  “Unfortunately, I do look like my birth mother.” Emily bent creases into the paper napkin on the table. “Inetta, you knew Marika before she went to prison, right?”

  Inetta nodded.

  “Well, Liv pointed out something. Naomi’s pretty strong and works out with the dogs and climbing. Marika . . . well, she’s not exactly athletic. Do you think she could hold Naomi against her will? Or have taken her?”

  “You know, that’s a question I’ve asked the sheriff myself for interviewing purposes. Of course, I’ve agreed to keep most of our conversations off the record until he lets me know what’s official.” Inetta leaned back in the booth. “I can’t see Marika going to the trouble it would take to keep Naomi. At least not this long. It’s almost too much work for her, knowing how Marika doesn’t like to stay around and do any actual work.”

  Wasn’t that the truth? She’d left Dad when Timmy was a baby. “So you don’t think she’s involved?”

  “She might be involved, or know more than she’s admitting, but if you’re asking me if I think she’s got Naomi, I’d have to say no.”

  “Back for another strawberry shake, are you?” Kenzie set a shake in front of Emily, a big smile on her face. “And you brought a friend this time.”

  Olivia stared at Kenzie. Not a polite stare either, but a rude one. The entire time she set the shakes and straws on the table.

  “Thank you,” Inetta said.

  Still, Olivia said nothing. Just kept staring.

  “Looks great.” Emily stabbed the thick malt with her straw.

  “Let me know if you need anything else.” Kenzie tossed Olivia a final odd look, then moved to wait on other customers.

  “Liv!” Emily nudged her.

  Olivia shook her head. “Sorry. It’s just . . . I don’t know. I expected to feel something when I saw her, you know? Some type of connection or something.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “I know it sounds silly, but I thought there’d be something, even a little thing. But there wasn’t. She’s a complete stranger.”

  “Hey, she is a stranger. This is the first time you’ve laid eyes on her.”

  Olivia looked across the café at Kenzie, then back at Inetta. “Are you positive it’s the same Mackenzie?”

  “Positive.”

  She shook her head. “I just can’t picture her as my mother.”

  Kenzie came back by. “How’re those shakes?”

  “Yummy.” Emily vowed at least she wouldn’t be rude.

  Inetta tilted her head. “You look so familiar to me. Are you from around here?”

  Emily felt Olivia stiffen beside her.

  “Not really.”

  “Hmm. I don’t usually forget a face.” Inetta stirred her shake with the straw. “I know I’ve seen you somewhere before.”

>   The blush in Kenzie’s face deepened a shade. “I’m sorry, you don’t look familiar to—”

  “Charlotte.” Inetta snapped her fingers. “That’s it. I’ve seen you at Charlotte Tarver’s office. You know her, right? The attorney?”

  All the color drained from Kenzie’s face.

  Inetta lowered her voice. “You had a baby you gave up for adoption, and Charlotte Tarver was the attorney who handled the adoption. I’m right, aren’t I?”

  “Who are you?” Kenzie wore a panicked expression.

  “I’m a reporter, but that’s not why I’m asking you this. I’m only interested because I’m helping a friend.”

  “Please.” Kenzie looked over her shoulder, then back at Inetta, totally ignoring Olivia and Emily. “I just got this job. I need it. Please don’t say anything.”

  “I’m not here to cause you any trouble.” Inetta’s tone was much softer. “I’m just trying to help a friend. A young lady who wants to know who her birth mother is. That’s all.”

  Kenzie stiffened. “You don’t know, do you? You think I’m some girl’s birth mother?”

  Inetta clasped her hands together and set them on the table. “Mackenzie, I know you’re the birth mother. Your name is listed as such on documentation from the Michigan Department of Health. Baby girl, born July 13 at 7:09 p.m., fourteen years ago.”

  A bell rang, then Tony hollered out, “Order up.”

  “I’ve got to get that.” Kenzie turned to go.

  “Wait a minute.” Inetta grabbed her arm. “I have more questions.”

  “Look, let me finish my shift and then I’ll tell you what you need to know. I get off in two hours. We can talk then. Okay?”

  Inetta nodded and released her hold on Kenzie. The waitress rushed off to the kitchen.

  Inetta reached across the table and patted Olivia’s hand. “We’re going to find out what’s going on.”

  TWENTY-TWO

  “Thanks again, Inetta, for calling our parents and getting them to agree to let us stay.” Emily still couldn’t believe Dad and the Websters had said okay to Inetta’s plea to allow them to help her with a story.

  Emily checked her watch again. Mackenzie should finish her shift any minute now. Excitement had her knee bouncing.

  The café had gotten busier with the early dinner crowd. The three of them had moved from a booth to the table in the back corner, farthest from traffic. Random conversations filled the air, combined with silverware clanking and glassware rattling.

  “Well, it’s the truth. I am working on a story, and I do need your help.” Inetta smiled, then pulled out her notebook. She checked her watch as well.

  “I’m so nervous. More now than before I first saw her. Isn’t that strange?” Olivia took a sip of water.

  “You just want answers, Liv. That’s why you’re nervous.” Emily nodded.

  “Sometimes I think maybe I should just leave it all alone, you know? Maybe I’m better off not knowing.”

  Emily couldn’t say anything. Most times, she wished she didn’t know Marika, much less have her for a mother. But forgiving her had made a difference, even if Emily knew they’d never be close. She had to believe that in some corner of her heart, Marika cared about her kids a little.

  “Too late now. Here she comes.” Inetta sat up a little straighter in the wooden chair. They’d put the empty chair between Emily and Olivia, across the table from Inetta.

  “Thanks for waiting.” Mackenzie’s cheeks were rosy. “I really need this job.”

  “Tell me about your involvement with Charlotte Tarver.” Inetta leaned forward and tapped her pen against her notebook.

  “How much did she tell you?”

  Inetta shook her head. “Why don’t you just tell me the story and I’ll see how it matches to what I already know?”

  “I don’t know what she told you, but I only participated that one July, not like some of the other girls.” Mackenzie’s nostrils flared in and out.

  “You don’t need to defend anything to me right now. Just tell me your side.”

  Emily pressed her lips together. Inetta was playing Mackenzie, making her think they knew something that they didn’t. No wonder she was such a great reporter.

  “Okay. I think it’s time the truth came out anyway. I’ve been reading my Bible lately, and I know what I’ve done is wrong. I need to do what I can to make it right.”

  Inetta nodded. “Just tell me what happened.”

  Mackenzie let out a slow breath. “I was young and stupid fourteen years ago.” She smiled at Emily and Olivia. “Only a few years older than you girls look to be.” She licked her lips. “I made some really bad choices. I got pregnant. The baby’s father dumped me when he found out about the baby. My parents threw me out, and I was living in my car.”

  Inetta played with the pen. Click-click. Click-click. Emily understood . . . she wanted to rush Mackenzie along in her story too.

  Mackenzie reached for the paper napkin. She crumpled it tight in her fist. “I first met Charlotte at the convenience store across town. I’d slipped in, intending to steal something to eat.”

  Her eyes filled with tears. “You have to understand, I was really, really hungry, and I knew I needed to eat for the baby.”

  Click-click-click.

  “So I went into the store across town, far away from my crummy neighborhood so no one would recognize me. I’d managed to pocket two apples, and I knew I’d already pushed my luck. I headed to leave but saw a small pack of hamburger meat. It’d been so long since I had real meat. I couldn’t resist.” Mackenzie tore small pieces from the napkin, letting them pile on top of the table. “I almost had it in my purse when the cashier saw me and yelled.”

  Emily found tears welling up in her own eyes. How horrible to be so hungry.

  “I ran, of course, but the cashier was young. He jumped over the counter and ran out after me. I nearly knocked over a lady on the street just as the cashier grabbed my arm.” She shredded the napkin faster. “That woman was Charlotte Tarver, and after hearing the cashier threaten to call the cops, she paid him for what I’d stolen and he let me go.”

  Click. Click.

  Mackenzie ran her fingers through her wispy bangs. “She took me to her office and told me she could help me. She told me that if I would give my baby up for adoption, let the baby have a real chance at success and happiness, my financial problems would be over.” She returned to shredding the napkin. “I bought into it.”

  A plate crashed to the floor in the front of the café. All four of them jumped, then nervously laughed.

  “Anyway, I agreed to give my baby up for adoption. Charlotte drew up papers, and I began to get money. My rent was paid. My electricity. I was able to get cable. And a phone.” Her round eyes grew big. “The pantry always had food. It was good.” She balled all the shredded pieces of napkin together. “Charlotte found adoptive parents who were very generous. Although I never met them in person, they sent me gift cards through Charlotte. And I knew the big payoff would come when I turned the baby over to her new parents.”

  Emily’s stomach hurt, and she couldn’t even think straight. That kind of sounded like she sold Olivia. It seemed wrong.

  “I went into labor, and as soon as I saw her, I didn’t want to go through with it. I snuck out of the hospital and went to see my parents. They let me in, and my mom seemed upset. I handed her the baby, and she cried and rocked her. She told me she’d been diagnosed with breast cancer, but she had no insurance to pay for treatment.”

  Although she had no intention of ever feeling sorry for Mackenzie Barnes, Emily found her heart softening toward the woman.

  Inetta leaned over and put her hand on Mackenzie’s. “So you knew then you had to go through with the adoption?”

  Mackenzie nodded. “I couldn’t lose my mother. The money would pay for treatment. I took my baby and left. Charlotte had her goons out looking for me, and I handed the baby over without an argument.” She wiped her eyes. “The money saved m
y mom, though. That’s what I cling to now. And I’m not sure I would have been a good mother. I know my baby went to a family that wanted her desperately and loved her so much immediately. What I did was wrong—exchanging her for money—but I didn’t know what else to do.”

  Emily glanced at Olivia and saw tears glistening in her eyes. Olivia had always wanted to be close to her grandparents. They lived in California. What if these grandparents would actually have spent time with her?

  “You know I have to tell the sheriff, right?” Inetta eyed Mackenzie. “What Charlotte is doing is illegal.”

  Mackenzie nodded. “Yeah. I know. And what I did was wrong.”

  Inetta closed her notebook. “I have to get these young ladies home, but I’d really like you to come with me to talk to the sheriff.”

  Again, Mackenzie nodded. Then she stared at Emily and Olivia. “Which one of you i-is my daughter?”

  Olivia squeezed Emily’s hand really, really hard. “Me.”

  “I’m so, so sorry.” Mackenzie pressed her lips together. “Have you had a happy life? Good parents who love you?”

  Nodding, Olivia smiled. “Yeah.”

  TWENTY-THREE

  Emily walked home from school with Olivia. “Inetta said the sheriff immediately got on the phone with the Marquette police to pick up Charlotte Tarver for questioning.”

  The wind whistled around them. The forecast called for snow for the next couple of days, possibly even a blizzard. Emily snuggled into her coat and thought of Naomi. They still had nothing on the case. God, please protect Naomi. Let us find her. Please.

  “I wish Inetta could’ve called this morning with an update, but she probably doesn’t know anything yet.” But man, oh man, were things happening. Poor Liv, to have to find out like this. Emily hugged her. “I’m sorry, Liv.”

  “Me too.” Olivia started down the street again

  What did that mean for Mr. and Mrs. Webster? Emily stopped suddenly.

  Olivia gave her a sad smile. “I can see you just thought of the same questions I’ve been wondering all day. How are my parents going to react? What about Mackenzie’s family?” She shook her head. Tears slipped down her cheeks. “I wish we’d never started looking into my adoption.” She stomped her foot. “I wish we’d never found that stupid picture. It’s opened up a whole new set of problems. I mean, I love my parents, and I’ve always been happy. They love me, and they obviously wanted me. I’m not sure I want to get to know that other family at all. Especially not if it hurts my parents.”