Heather quieted down for a moment, remembering that scary scenario, when Omar had been stalking after them through the hospital in Mexico. “Yeah. It did work. Do you realize you’re calling the diamond a she. Like it has a female gender?”
“Wait here,” Michelle said. “I’ll let you know if it’s safe.”
Heather shook her head. “Nope. I’m coming with you.” She reattached Flash’s harness to the seat belt, so the dog wouldn’t try to follow them and opened the car door gently.
Michelle was equally quiet as she got out of the car, gently closing it with a quiet snick.
“Mute your cell phone,” Michelle said as she paused to mute hers before moving toward the house.
Here on the windward side of the island it was cooler at night. Michelle didn’t know whether it was the temperature or the idea of seeing her own children that caused goose bumps on her arms.
They crossed the street and walked down the sidewalk, which had been cracked and broken over the years by the surrounding trees and lush vegetation. The houses in the neighborhood were spaced far apart and most had their lights on.
Then they were in front of Leilanie’s house. Lights were shining from almost every window, so they could see into some of the rooms. Others were covered with draperies. It was a small place, and Michelle turned at the corner of the house and started moving down the side. There was a window where she could peek without any neighbors noticing. Michelle thought it was safe. She hadn’t felt anything from the diamond.
“You can’t get too close,” Heather warned.
“It’s perfectly safe if Omar’s not here. I don’t think he is. I’m not getting a signal from Abigail.”
When she reached the window, Michelle bent down so she couldn’t be seen from inside. Then very slowly she straightened up so just the top of her head and eyes would be visible from inside. She peered around.
“What do you see?” Heather whispered.
“Kitchen. No one’s in there. Wait!” Michelle said after a few seconds. “You’re right,” She ducked down again. “It’s Leilanie! She got milk out of the refrigerator.”
“Told you it was her,” Heather hissed. “This is way too creepy, peeking in windows.”
“I want to see my daughters,” Michelle whispered. “We’ll have to check the front windows.”
Heather sighed mightily and followed Michelle back to the front of the house. They moved very quietly up the four front steps, onto a porch so they could see inside.
The first big window showed a living room. It was empty.
They scuffled to the side window. The draperies were partially closed and Michelle carefully looked in sideways.
“Dining room,” Michelle breathed. “I see them.”
Three girls were sitting around a table. Leilanie was intent on pouring milk into the glasses in front of each girl.
The children were so beautiful it took Michelle’s breath away. “You’ve gotta see. Look at those cute little plump hands, and beautiful little faces.”
Heather stuck her head below Michelle’s and peeked. “What do you think? Are they yours?”
“I feel a pull, like I want to hug them. They’re so cute!”
Michelle almost laughed when one of the girls picked up a couple of peas from her plate and threw them at one of her sisters. Her sister retaliated, throwing a carrot back.
Michelle knew Leilanie saw the food fight beginning. Leilanie and said something Michelle couldn’t hear to stop the fight, but she could tell Leilanie took it in stride and was trying not to laugh at the children’s antics.
Then something amazing happened. The light eyed child smiled and pointed directly at the window. She started waving her tiny hand right at Michelle, smiling all the while. It looked like the little girl was greeting Michelle, like she was a friend she already knew.
“They saw me!” Michelle said, jumping sideways.
Inside the house, Leilanie looked at the child, saw her waving, and then peered sharply at the window.
Michelle thought she ducked away fast enough so Leilanie didn’t see her.
“Jump off the porch,” Heather hissed, grabbing Michelle’s sleeve and yanking her. They both leaped down to the ground and hunkered in the bushes beside the porch where they couldn’t be seen.
After a few moments, they heard the front door open.
“Omar? Is that you?” Leilanie called out.
Michelle thought Leilanie sounded scared. But she also sounded wistful, like she wanted to see him, but knew he was dangerous.
Leilanie called out Omar’s name a couple more times.
Now Michelle knew Omar wasn’t in Hawaii. Thank God for that, she thought.
This was such a stupid situation, hiding in the bushes, Michelle thought. It was also uncomfortable, being scratched by some plant with sharp thorns. They could hear Leilanie moving around on the porch above them, muttering under her breath, “If someone’s after my girls, I’ll kill them.”
Finally Michelle called out, “It’s Michelle, Leilanie. You don’t have to be scared. Heather and I came to see the girls.”
Michelle looked up from her crouched hiding place. Leilanie was standing on the porch right above her with a baseball bat in her hands, ready to smash it down on her head. Michelle stood up. She hauled Heather up by the arm and stumbled backwards. “See, there’s no danger. You can put the bat down.”
“You can’t have them.” Leilanie swung the bat around.
Now that could be dangerous, Michelle thought. She grabbed Heather’s arm and they backed up some more, out of range of the bat’s reach.
Leilanie closed the door so the children wouldn’t come outside and, still swinging the bat casually, said, “I held them inside me, and gave them birth. All three of them! I’ve taken care of them, every single day, since they were infants home from the hospital. They are my children.”
Leilanie reminded Michelle of a mother bear defending her cubs. Mother bears were dangerous.
Leilanie went on, “In the hospital in Mexico you said I shouldn’t keep these babies. That tells me you didn’t care if they were aborted. Well, I did care, and now they are mine. Not yours, not Omar’s, these children are mine. You better leave fast, or I’ll call the police.”
Michelle took a few more steps backwards and said, “Thank you, Leilanie. Just one look in the window and I saw a happy family. One I would never break up. They will always be yours. You never have to worry about that.”
It was true. She couldn’t take the kids away from Leilanie, who loved the children like her own blood. Michelle couldn’t break that bond. A selfish part of her actually did want them for herself, because they were a part of her, and she could envision such happiness raising the girls herself. It would have been so much fun. But it would also be wicked and wrong.
“You didn’t come to take them away?” Leilanie asked. She sounded scared and pathetic.
“No. Never. I’d never take them from you. In the hospital I said that maybe you shouldn’t keep them because I was worried about how you could adequately take care of babies with Omar. I…ah, I didn’t think he would be a good influence.”
Leilanie dropped the bat and bent over, sobbing. “I just can’t lose my babies.”
“You did a wonderful job bringing them up,” Michelle said. It was true. What Leilanie had done was remarkable. Raising three happy, healthy children was an enormous job.
Heather pulled on Michelle’s sleeve and whispered, “Ask her about Omar.”
“Is Omar helping you with the children, Leilanie?”
Leilanie was taking some deep breaths, recovering from her crying jag. She shook her head. “No. He thought of them as possessions. He never showed any affection; he just studied them. I ran away and took the girls with me. He’s probably raging about it right now in France, where we lived together for several years.”
Uh-oh, Michelle thought. Omar probably felt the kids were his to do with as he pleased. He would see what Leilanie did as a
great, treacherous robbery. Omar would want them back, and he would probably think of some sadistic punishment for Leilanie.
“Can we come up on the porch and talk?” Michelle asked.
Leilanie nodded, so they did.
“You do have one problem, Leilanie,” Michelle said. “I wouldn’t take them from you, but Omar could. He’s the father and he can prove it through DNA.”
Heather said, “It’s a standoff. He can’t come to Hawaii without going to jail. But he could pay someone to kidnap them. If you tried to get them back, he’s got the trump card, because he’s biologically related to them.”
“I know how dangerous this is,” Leilanie said. “I did the best thing I could think of. Omar doesn’t have the capacity to love them. I think he would have hurt them eventually, for just that reason. I believe he was disappointed they didn’t show signs of psychic abilities.”
Leilanie looked at Michelle and smiled genuinely, still wiping at her eyes. “Michelle, I think it’s time you meet your daughters.” She opened the door and made a gracious gesture, inviting them into the house.
Michelle looked around at a living room bright with primary colors. Rattan furniture, a dark blue leather couch with throw pillows, and lots of plants hanging in the corners from the ceiling. A big banana tree stood beside the window. There were toys on the floor, but the home was otherwise neat and clean and inviting.
They followed Leilanie into the dining room.
Chapter 10
The three girls looked up curiously at the two strangers entering the dining room.
“My friends came to visit,” Leilanie said, sounding happy for the kid’s benefit. The girls stopped eating politely and sat still.
“Michelle and Heather wanted to meet you. I’ll get chairs for our guests,” Leilanie said and started toward the kitchen. “Introduce yourselves. Tell Michelle and Heather your names.”
As Leilanie left the room there was a sudden explosion of light. Many candles placed around the room lit up suddenly and brightly. Then after a few moments they all went out.
Heather and Michelle exchanged stunned glances.
One of these girls has spectacular paranormal abilities, Michelle thought. It had taken her months of concentrated effort just to light one candle. She never had been able to douse the flame with her psychic ability.
When Leilanie came back with two kitchen chairs, Michelle and Heather sat down and the kids resumed eating.
After dinner, Michelle and Heather sat in the girl’s bedroom while Leilanie read them a story. Soon the kids were asleep. The three grownups tip-toed out of the bedroom.
Michelle was thinking furiously about how to keep these three beautiful children out of Omar’s clutches.
She was their biological mother. Leilanie wouldn’t have a chance of keeping them if it ever came to a court fight. Michelle knew she would probably be awarded custody over Omar. He still had legal problems. If he opened that can of worms he could only lose.
That brought up all kinds of considerations. The worst case scenario was Heather’s suggestion that Omar would try to hire someone to snatch the girls and take them out of the country.
One possibility was to preempt Omar by opening a custody case herself, against Omar. Michelle would get custody and leave the girls in Leilani’s care. If the girls were kidnapped there was a slim possibility of getting them back. But only if Michelle had custody, and Omar was legally considered an unfit parent.
Few people even knew that Leilanie was back in Hawaii, but someone might recognize her and blab. The rumors would probably reach Omar eventually.
They decided Leilanie would be safe for a while. But something had to be done. Omar wouldn’t give up. He was a dangerous man to anger, and Leilanie surely had him enraged.
“You lived with Omar for several years. Why did you decide to leave him,” Heather asked bluntly.
Leilanie looked a little embarrassed when she said, “He was cheating on me. I had lived with him in Hawaii previously, as you know, and he had several women he slept with. It was all out in the open. But this time he was sneaky and lied about where he was so he could fuck this beautiful red-haired French girl.”
Michelle glanced at Heather, both trying not to smile. The proverbial ‘woman scorned’ syndrome. It wasn’t exactly funny, but so typical. The cover-up, once discovered, was much worse than the crime.
Leilanie continued, “I pawned all the jewelry Omar gave me to finance the getaway. I put rocks in the jewelry box so it would seem heavy. I was so scared he’d find out. I tried to act natural for a whole week, waiting until he went to Spain to book the flight and get away.”
“That was brave of you,” Michelle commented.
“I feel like such a fool,” Leilanie admitted, shaking her head. “Omar was using me as a nanny for the girls, pretending to care for me. He had twenty-four/seven of the best child care, meaning me. All he had to do was pretend affection and give me expensive gifts to prove I was adored.”
“Isn’t it funny?” Michelle commented. “So many men think giving expensive gifts can exempt them from showing any real feelings of love or affection.”
“Yeah, they just don’t get it,” Heather said.
“Totally dense,” Leilanie said, smiling. Then she got serious again. “But in the case of Omar, I really believe he doesn’t have a caring bone in his body. Not for anyone. He uses people to gain wealth, hurting them in the process by addicting them to expensive drugs, and makes believe he has normal emotions. I figure he’s a sociopath.”
“A scary combination; a sociopath, or even a psychopath, with extraordinary psychic powers,” Michelle said. “He thought he could abduct me and just steal my eggs.”
“What audacity!” Heather said, shaking her head. “He actually thought he could get away with it.”
“He would have had to murder me, to really get away with it,” Michelle said. “I sure was scared when I was in that hospital. But now I’m glad Omar did it, because in the end you have three beautiful daughters. Three little children that wouldn’t have existed if Omar hadn’t abducted me and forced unwanted surgery to get what he believed were my psychic eggs.”
“I sure appreciate that, Michelle.” Leilanie said. “Especially since I helped Omar kidnap you.”
“How do the kids like Hawaii,” Heather asked.
“I was afraid they’d hate it,” Leilanie said. “They were born to a life of pure luxury, with Omar as their father. But to my surprise they seem to like living here. They’re too young to want designer clothes and beautiful jewelry. They love the beach, and I’m giving them swimming lessons at the local YMCA. So they’re meeting other children for the first time.”
“Did you teach them about Stranger Danger,” Michelle asked. “That’s important, even if they are so young. Especially if Omar tries to use someone to abduct them.”
Leilanie laughed. “I sure did. I told them to scream, hit back, and kick. I pretended to be the bad guy taking Shelly away. I still have bruises on my legs; the little girls are so strong. I ended up buying a heavy padded hanging model of a man. I hung it up in a tree in the backyard so they can practice on it. They think its loads of fun.”
“I hope they remember what to do if it ever comes down to the real thing,” Michelle said. She could just imagine someone trying to snatch three girls who were attacking back, kicking and screaming with that piercing, shrieking sound that only young children seem able to make.
Chapter 11
Omar was stunned when Samson arrived back at his chateau in France. He barely recognized him.
The man had been transformed. Three months ago Samson had been distorted looking, with ears that stuck out like tea cups, an oversized heavy body, and a face that could send people running and screaming if he frowned.
Omar had given specific instructions to one of the best plastic surgeons in Switzerland, and the results were amazing. Samson’s nose, which had been bloated and squashed against his face from many fights, was narro
wed and came to a neat point. His ears were clipped back against his head. The excess fat around Samson’s eyes had been removed, so his brown eyes were no longer sneaky looking slits.
Samson’s hair was blond, changed from dark brown.
In the past, Omar had used Samson’s scary appearance and child-like brain function to procure potent and virtually unknown drugs in South America for his Witches’ Potions. Samson couldn’t discern right from wrong, so he was useful for many questionable assignments. Now Samson might be even more valuable.
Most important, no one would ever recognize him. Sampson was safe from the authorities in Hawaii.
Samson still wasn’t handsome, and looked a bit forbidding just because he was such a large man. Omar learned that part of Samson’s transformation was because he had spent at least an hour a day on a treadmill, on orders from the doctor in Switzerland. He had slimmed down significantly. That also made an enormous difference.
Omar was pleased. The one unfortunate thing that couldn’t be changed was that Samson was mute. His tongue had been violently removed when he was just a child in Bogotá, where Omar had found him bleeding in the street. Since Omar had rescued him from a life of poverty, Samson, eternally grateful, would do anything Omar asked. From procuring drugs, to rape, and even murder, Samson was Omar’s go-to guy.
Now Omar slapped Sampson on the back and invited him inside enthusiastically. He had some delicate jobs for him.
They went and stood on the balcony above the sea, where they did most of their planning. The wind was gusty and frigid, but neither man minded with the endless blue of the ocean stretched out before them, almost blinding in the morning sunlight.
Since Samson couldn’t speak, he kept a pen and notebook in his pocket at all times for communication, but these two knew each other so well it was almost unnecessary.
Samson was aghast when Omar told him Leilanie had stolen his children and run away. He shook his head, eyes round, almost unbelieving. He made a chopping sign with the edge of his hand, like he was cutting something violently.
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