by Karen Rose
‘I think Macy’s in physical shock,’ Trip said, troubled. ‘Adam’s got her.’
Decker looked over at the van, where Adam had cut the bonds from Macy’s hands and feet and was gently removing the tape from her mouth.
‘I think Edwards gave her something so she wouldn’t fight him,’ he called over. ‘Her heart’s beating way too slowly. How long before the medics get here?’
‘They were waiting at the end of the drive, like we told them to,’ Troy said. ‘I gave them the all-clear when the smoke cleared, so a minute tops.’
‘Good.’ Adam cradled the little girl in his arms. ‘They need to tend to her first.’
Decker turned to the body slumped barely a yard from where he and Macy had fallen, realizing how close the man had come to firing at him a third time.
‘He was aiming at your head,’ Kate said quietly. Soberly.
‘I figured as much, since the first two shots to my back bounced off. Fucker,’ he muttered.
‘Kate aimed her first shots at his hand after he got off his first two shots at you,’ Troy said. ‘She hit his hand and he dropped the first gun, but he had another. He tried to shoot with his left hand. Aimed at your head. He missed. But you’d hunkered down, so we could shoot him without hitting you and Macy by mistake.’
‘I wanted him alive,’ Kate said, more than sober now. ‘I wanted to know what he did with all the kids he’s taken all these years. But he was standing over you with his gun pointed at your head. And you . . .’ Her voice cracked. ‘You were protecting that little girl and . . . I couldn’t let him hurt you. Either of you. But now we won’t know. We won’t know what he did with the others.’ Her eyes filled as her voice broke completely. ‘God, Decker. We can’t bring them home if we don’t even know who they were.’
Decker put his arm around her shoulders, pulled her close and kissed her temple, not caring that their team was watching or that the paramedics had just pulled up or that there was a dead body at their feet. He rocked her gently, suddenly so weary he could barely stand. ‘But we brought five home tonight. Five kids. And Mallory, too. So six people, Kate. Six human beings get a second chance at a good life. Six human beings are safe because you did a hard thing, but it was the right thing for these six. Tonight we think about that. Tomorrow we’ll worry about how to save all the others.’
‘Seven,’ she whispered. ‘You too.’
‘Right,’ he whispered back. ‘You saved me again. So seven.’
Troy and Trip had walked away to give them some privacy, directing the medics to Macy and the four teenagers.
Decker rested his cheek on top of Kate’s head. ‘You know what I think we should do?’
She hiccupped a laugh. ‘Really, Decker?’ she asked dryly.
He had to chuckle with her. ‘Well, yeah, but that’s not what I was going to say. I was going to say that I think we need to go to the hospital and see Mallory and tell her that her sister and those four kids are okay. And that the man who made her life a living hell for so many years will never do so again. And that she doesn’t have to worry about him doing the same thing to anyone else. Ever. We tell her because she needs to hear it and because we need to hear ourselves say it. And then we go back to our borrowed bed and do that other thing. And then maybe we can sleep for a straight week.’
‘I think that’s an excellent idea. All of it.’
Twenty-nine
Cincinnati, Ohio,
Saturday 15 August, 11.25 P.M.
Meredith touched Mallory’s hand gently, almost hating to wake her. She hadn’t been asleep all that long. After making her statement for the record, she’d lain awake, staring at the ceiling. Knowing she’d done the right thing, but conscious of the potential cost. The life of the little sister she’d endured so much to protect lay in the balance, and Meredith had felt every moment of Mallory’s pain and anxiety. If Macy had died . . .
But she hadn’t. And I get to tell her. ‘Mallory, honey, wake up.’
Mallory started, then relaxed a fraction when she realized where she was. Safe, but not secure. She might never be completely secure, but Meredith was determined to give her all the tools she’d need to build a life. Because this girl deserved a life.
Mallory licked dry lips. ‘You came back,’ she rasped.
Meredith poured a cup of water and gently put the straw to her cracked lips. ‘I never left the hospital. I ate supper in the cafeteria and then went to sit with my friend in ICU.’
‘The doctor. Dani Novak. Will she be okay?’
‘Yeah. She’s tough.’ God, please let Dani be tough. Just a little bit longer. ‘I have some good news for you.’
Mallory closed her eyes, but not before Meredith saw the flash of fear, followed by weary acceptance. She stiffened her shoulders, preparing herself. So sure the news was bad, even though Meredith had said it wasn’t, because nothing in her life had ever been good. ‘Go ahead. I’m ready.’
‘Not all news is bad, Mallory,’ Meredith said. ‘Kate and Decker found Macy. She’s alive and she’ll be okay.’ Eventually.
Mallory’s body sagged, and a sob burst from her throat. ‘I didn’t think they would do it. I thought for sure I’d killed her by telling the truth.’
‘Yet you did it anyway, because you trusted Decker. Don’t forget that. Don’t ever forget that you trusted, Mallory. Not everyone will let you down.’
‘Where . . .’ She shuddered out a sob. ‘Where is she?’
‘She’s here, in the ER. They just brought her in.’ Meredith had been in the ER to meet the ambulances, to make sure the four adolescents were settled with social workers. And then . . . Her heart squeezed so hard. The sight of Adam Kimble, walking alongside that stretcher, holding Macy’s hand. The look on his face . . . She took a deep breath. It was sheer relief. Exultant thanksgiving. Quiet pride. He’d saved one. He’d saved five, actually.
Five wins. And when he’d met her eyes across the ER, he’d smiled at her.
Tomorrow he’d worry about the kids he hadn’t saved and maybe he’d come back for more conversation and coloring. But tonight he’d smiled, and Meredith was going to hold on to that for as long as she could.
Mallory frowned. ‘If she’s okay, why do you look like you’re going to cry?’
Meredith cleared her throat. ‘Too often we worry and beat ourselves up for all the things we can’t do, all the people we can’t help. And then some days things go right. And that’s . . . amazing. So these little tears here, they’re good ones.’
Mallory nodded, but there was still suspicion in her eyes, so Meredith took out her phone. ‘I took a photo of her.’ Actually, it was a photo of Adam, but Mallory didn’t need to know that. She handed Mallory her phone, and it was the young woman’s turn for tears.
‘Thank you.’ Mallory’s voice broke, her hands shaking as she held the phone, staring at the photo. ‘Thank you so much.’
‘I didn’t do anything. I just got the privilege of telling you.’ A knock on the door frame had both of them looking up.
Kate and Decker peeked around the door. ‘Okay to come in?’ Decker asked.
Mallory nodded, a smile quivering on her lips. ‘Please. Meredith told me that Macy’s okay.’
‘Thanks to this guy,’ Kate said. ‘You know how I jumped hurdles to save him? He did some serious ninja moves to save Macy.’
Decker gave her a smile that spoke of private jokes. ‘Ninjas are cool. I can get on the ninja train.’ He came up to the bed, leaning on a wooden cane. ‘Can I sit? I’m really tired.’
‘Please.’ Mallory frowned at the cane as Decker lowered himself into a chair. ‘That’s not what you had before. The one you had was shiny.’
‘The one I had is now covered in Brandon Edwards’s blood,’ Decker said with satisfaction. ‘He’s dead, Mallory. He won’t ever hurt you or Macy aga
in.’
Mallory covered her mouth, overcome. ‘How? Who?’
Kate leaned her hip against Decker’s shoulder. ‘Decker hit him with the stick, took your sister out of Edwards’s arms, then . . . I shot him. Along with two other agents. So it was a group effort.’
Mallory shuddered out a breath. ‘Oh God. But . . . Macy . . . Will she have to go back to Gemma and Bob? I’ll take her. I’ll do anything.’ She leaned forward, earnest and tense and scared. ‘I’ll get a job. Please let me take her.’
Meredith rubbed Mallory’s back. ‘We’ll figure all that out. But she’s not going back to Bob and Gemma.’
Mallory studied their faces, then eased back against the pillow. ‘They’re dead, too?’
Decker nodded. ‘Yes. The doctor killed Gemma, then Bob . . .’ He hesitated, flicking his gaze up to Kate, who seemed to wilt.
‘Bob killed himself,’ Kate finished. ‘So you don’t have to worry about any of them.’
Mallory shook her head. ‘There’s still the other man. McCord. Edwards said McCord would take Macy if something happened to him. That he would put her in videos right now, because he liked little girls. That he wouldn’t wait for her to grow up. I still have to keep her safe from him.’
Kate opened her mouth, then closed it, sighing softly. ‘Well, I know you’re safe from McCord, because he’s been dead for nine months.’
Anger flared in Mallory’s eyes. ‘Did Edwards know that?’
‘Yes,’ Kate said.
Mallory’s lips firmed. ‘If I’d known, I would have killed Edwards nine months ago. I was more afraid of McCord because he liked really little girls, like Macy is now. At least Edwards was the devil I knew.’
‘Well you don’t have to worry about either of them anymore,’ Kate said quietly. ‘They’re all gone. And you helped make that happen. You had the courage to make that first phone call, trying to find Kendra.’ She looked around, frowning. ‘I thought Kendra was going to come and sit with you.’
‘I sent her home,’ Mallory said softly. ‘She was crying. She kept trying not to, but . . . her partner died and she was sad.’
‘You’re a good person, Mallory,’ Decker said. ‘You know that, right? I’m proud of you.’
Mallory drew a deep breath, her eyes growing shiny. She wiped them with the hem of the sheet, then looked at Meredith. ‘I get it. Good tears.’
‘Very good tears,’ Meredith said. ‘But I think Decker’s falling asleep in that chair. Maybe we should send him home too.’
Decker smiled, but his exhaustion was clear. ‘I don’t have a home yet. But I will soon. I don’t think anybody will mind if we use the safe house one more night.’ He stood up and kissed Mallory’s forehead. ‘Thank you.’
Mallory blushed shyly. ‘Thank me? For what?’
‘For being so brave and for letting me tell you about my sister. Because someone told me recently that if I tell people about her, she won’t be forgotten.’
‘I won’t ever forget her,’ Mallory promised. ‘Or you.’ She leaned over to look up at Kate. ‘Or you too, Kate.’
Kate laughed. ‘Yeah, uh-huh. I know who the charming one in this relationship is. Come on, ninja man. Time to go sleep.’
Mallory watched them go, then turned to Meredith, troubled. ‘I don’t have a home either.’
‘I have a place all ready for you. Don’t worry. For now, know that Macy is safe and four other kids are safe because of you. Now, I do have a home that I’d really like to go sleep in. And, um, I hope it’s not trashed. My little niece had a slumber party there last night and I might go home to find a mess.’
‘I can clean,’ Mallory offered. ‘I’m good at that. I can clean your house and other people’s houses, too. And maybe make money for a place for me and Macy.’ But her voice trembled as she said it, and Meredith knew that her promise of home and security hadn’t been believed.
‘Did you know that Kendra’s sister runs a home for young women just like you? Girls who’ve been forced to do many of the things you’ve had to do.’
‘Why? Why would she have a home like that?’
‘Because twenty years ago, Wendi was a Sunshine Suzie too.’
‘Oh,’ Mallory breathed. And then she believed. ‘I have a place to live. For how long?’
‘As long as you need it. Wendi already has a bed in a room just for you, and if I know her, which I do, she’ll have clothes and shampoo and everything you need. When you leave here, I’ll take you straight there. You can get all healed up at Wendi’s place.’
‘And Macy? Can she come live with me?’
‘Maybe. Although she’s going to need different things than you because she’s so much younger. Either way, I promise we will find someplace wonderful for her, where they can help her get over the shock of what’s happened. Because she’s not going to know what to think. She’s going to be scared too. Her world just exploded. We’ll be there for her and for you.
‘Now, about the house cleaning. If my niece messed my place up, she will clean it herself. But I’m pretty sure she’s done that anyway. You do not have to work for me to pay me back for helping you. If you want to clean other people’s houses for pay, there is nothing wrong with that. But I’d like to see you have some real choices, because you haven’t had many of those in your life.’
‘What kind of choices?’
‘We’re going to teach you a skill. You can choose the job you want to do or we’ll find a way for you to go to college if that’s what you want to do.’
‘I can’t go to college. I . . .’ Mallory looked embarrassed. ‘I never went to high school. He wouldn’t let me. I read all the books in his house, but I wasn’t allowed out to go to school. He told people that Roxy was home-schooling me, but that wasn’t true either.’
‘Then we’ll figure that out too. There are options for you, Mallory. Lots of choices. But we can do all that later. Just know you’re not alone.’ Meredith squeezed her hand. ‘I’ll be back tomorrow. Get some sleep. You’re gonna have a life.’
Mallory swallowed hard, her eyes narrowing in determination. ‘I’m gonna have a good life.’
Cincinnati, Ohio,
Sunday 16 August, 3.45 P.M.
Chocolate. Decker drew a deep breath, smiling as he slid out of sleep into that in-between place where no one was expected to think clearly. He liked that place. Especially when it smelled so good. The last few times he’d woken, he’d pulled Kate’s scent into his lungs, and the fact that he wasn’t doing so now made him frown. He patted the pillow next to him and it was cold.
But the smell of chocolate got stronger. The next deep breath pulled him fully into wakefulness, and he opened his eyes. Kate stood next to the bed wearing a pair of faded jeans, a Baltimore Orioles T-shirt, and a puzzled frown. She held a plate of brownies in one hand and a handful of long sticks in the other. Three long wooden sticks with brass grips. Walking sticks with a red ribbon threaded around and criss-crossed, ending in a big red bow. Kind of like a bouquet. But not.
‘Why are they wrapped with ribbon?’ he asked, his voice raspy with sleep. He’d slept most of the day away, waking only to eat and make love with Kate. He hadn’t done either one of them often enough, though, because right now he was starving – for food and for her.
‘They’re a present from Keith and Jeremy O’Bannion. There’s a card.’
He pushed himself up, shoving at the pillows so he could sit against the headboard. He took the card, then a brownie, which he shoved into his mouth. ‘Mmph. Good.’
She laughed. ‘God, Decker, don’t choke on it. I don’t want to have to do the Heimlich.’
‘Hungry,’ he grunted.
‘So what else is new?’ She sat on the edge of the bed. ‘What does the card say?’
‘Why are you dressed?’
‘I’m pretty sur
e the card does not say that,’ she said dryly. ‘I’ve been writing reports while you snored like a buzz saw.’
There was more to it, more than simply writing reports. He could see shadows in her eyes, but he didn’t push it for the moment, opening the card instead. He grinned. ‘“We heard you fucked up the stick I loaned you. Here are three more, in case you get the opportunity to use them in similar fashion.” Written in two different hands. I’m thinking Keith did the first bit.’
‘I’m thinking that’s a fair assumption.’ She leaned into him, resting her chin on his shoulder. ‘What else?’
His grin softened. ‘Jeremy adds, “Thank you for eliminating the man who took advantage of a fourteen-year-old boy, selling him drugs when he was sad and vulnerable. The world is a better place today without Brandon Edwards in it.” Then Keith says, “Next time, choke down on the stick. You get more power that way. Happy to show you how. If you already know how, the Ledger’s baseball team always needs power hitters.”’
She chuckled. ‘Bloodthirsty. I like it.’
‘Too bad I won’t need the sticks much longer.’ Only until he’d completely recovered and didn’t get so damn tired. ‘They make me feel all dignified.’
‘And they’re an awesome weapon.’
‘Hell, yeah.’ He put the card aside, then wrapped his arm around her shoulders, cuddling her against him. ‘What happened?’
‘Troy stopped by to check on us and bring you your canes. Keith had dropped them off at the field office. Oh, Troy also brought you about six pounds of M&Ms from Deacon, his thanks for ending “the fucking bastard who hurt Dani”.’
‘Nice of him. And? Why else did Troy stop by?’
She sighed. ‘To tell us what they found in the backyard of Edwards’s studio.’
His heart sank. ‘The kids he’d used up.’
‘Yes. Quincy’s done nothing but rewind Edwards’s surveillance tapes, and he found footage of him burying several bodies. They did a scan with ground-penetrating radar. There are six bodies buried there. That doesn’t account for all the kids, but Quincy found some evidence of . . . sales. So he’ll keep digging. In the computer and in the ground, I guess. We might be able to save a few more. Or at least give closure to some of the parents who came forward to Wendi.’