In the Fullness of Time

by Sabra Brown Steinsiek

  “Not a chance. His way may get Annie hurt. We’re going to follow Elodie’s instructions, at least until we get Annie out of there.”

  The car door opened. “The mailbox says D.Nee. D for Deborah. I think we have her.” As Hobbs reached for the radio to call it in, Taylor stopped him. “No! We play it her way for now.”

  “You can’t be thinking of going in there!”

  “If I don’t, Annie could get hurt. You told me to watch my back, how unstable she was. What’s going to happen if she finds herself surrounded by cops? She could take it out on Annie. So, I’m going! And I’m going to get my daughter and take her home. Then you can have this woman, Hobbs. You can lock her up forever as far as I’m concerned. But not until I have Annie back.”

  “We can’t go in there without some plan, Taylor. At least let us think this through for a few minutes so we can figure out the best way to get Annie out of there safely.”

  “Ten minutes, Hobbs. Then we go.” Taylor’s face was a grim mask that his fans would have been hard pressed to recognize.

  Chapter 54

  It was closer to an hour before the plan was in place. Pierce had helped convince Taylor to take the time; to make sure everything would work; to bring Laura into whatever plan they had. So they’d returned to the apartment, where the three of them and Laura had gone over every possible outcome. But, no matter the brainstorming, Taylor’s plan to meet Elodie on her terms was the only one that he would accept. After a few final tweaks, they were ready to go.

  * * *

  Taylor pulled up in front of the house. It was an older neighborhood, a little seedy, like an impoverished dowager. Across the street was a non-descript car with tinted windows. Although he couldn't see them, he knew Laura and Hobbs were inside with Pierce in the driver’s seat. They’d tried to talk Laura out of coming but there was no moving her. “She's my daughter, too, Taylor!” she’d declared in the tone of voice that Taylor had learned years ago wasn’t worth arguing with. They wouldn’t win.

  He knew a swat team was out there somewhere. Other police, too. None of them would be any help if he couldn’t accomplish his part. Taking a deep breath and sending a prayer to Genesius, the patron saint of actors, he knocked on the door, prepared to give the performance of his life.

  * * *

  Where was he? He should have been here long ago. Elodie paced past the window that faced a small back garden. She glanced over at Annie, huddled in a chair, her thumb still in her mouth, her eyes looking someplace far away. She’d had a devil of a time dressing her in the new dress she'd bought for her. “Annie, you want to look nice for Daddy, don't you?” Annie had just shaken her head— she hadn't spoken a word since this morning when Elodie had yelled at her. Elodie stopped in front of the chair and squatted down in front of her. “He'll be here soon, Annie. He will!” She was saying it as much to reassure herself as to comfort the child.

  When the knock came at the door, Elodie smiled brightly at Annie. “He's here, baby! Now run into the bedroom like we talked about so we can surprise him with how pretty you are.” She lifted Annie to her feet and nudged her into the bedroom, pulling the door closed as she whispered, “Quiet now, Annie. Wait until it’s time.”

  The knock came at the door again, louder, more aggressive this time. She heard his voice, “Elodie? Are you in there?”

  He was lifting his hand to hammer the door again when it opened. “Taylor!” She sounded like Elodie but she looked so different! She'd bleached her black hair to a gleaming blonde and cut it short. She'd been fitted for contacts that turned her eyes green. “Come in. We've been waiting for you.”

  Taylor registered that there were two suitcases to one side of the door as he came in. He looked around for Annie but saw only the living room with its run-down furniture, closed doors on the wall opposite the entrance. Where was she?

  “I'm so glad you finally got here, Taylor. I was beginning to worry.”

  Taylor gave himself a mental shake then slid into the role he had to play. “I was delayed because a lot of letters about Annie had been delivered to the theatre. I came as soon as I found yours.”

  “Oh! I didn’t think of that.”

  “Elodie, where's Annie?”

  She fluttered around the room, touching the sofa, straightening a curtain, unable to stand still. “She’s such a darling child. I’ve so enjoyed having this time with her.”

  He caught her arm, forcing himself to remain gentle, as she flitted past him again.

  “Elodie, where is Annie?”

  She laughed as she looked up at him. “Taylor, she's fine. I thought we could visit for a little while first.”

  “Elodie. Please. You have to realize I can't concentrate on us until I know she's all right.”

  “Taylor! I wouldn't hurt her. Not for anything. She's your daughter—our daughter now. But go on. She's in the bedroom. I'll give you a few minutes to check on her then we really must sit down and make plans. I already have tickets for us to leave for Europe tonight.”

  He walked past her and pushed open the door. At first, he didn't see her. He walked to the other side of the bed and saw Annie, dressed in some horrible lace and ruffled thing, huddling on the floor. He dropped down beside her and took her in his lap, his arms tight around her. “Annie…oh, my Annie…” he murmured as he stroked the bright curls.

  She opened her eyes that had been scrunched up tight. “Daddy?”

  “It's me, Annie. I've come to take you home.”

  She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. “Daddy…” she said through the sobs that shook her body. “She said…she said you'd come but you didn't and I was so scared…”

  “Shh, Annie, it’s all right now. I'm here. You're safe.”

  Elodie spoke from the doorway. “You're such a good father, Taylor. I'll try to be as good a mother.”

  Annie’s body tensed in his arms at the sound of Elodie’s voice. He moved around to where he could see the doorway. “You've done okay so far, Elodie. She'll be fine. Just give us a few more minutes. Maybe you could bring Annie a glass of water?”

  Elodie smiled and moved out toward the kitchen. He could hear her chattering away about how wonderful things were going to be. Shaking his head, he pulled Annie's arms loose from their chokehold on his throat. “Annie? Annie, I need you to listen to me carefully. Can you do that, darling? Just a little more then we'll get you out of here.”

  Annie nodded her head, her thumb once again in her mouth, her eyes never leaving his.

  “Annie, I have to pretend to be happy to see this woman. I have to pretend that I'm going to do everything she wants. So some things may happen that you don't think are right but you need to remember I'm just pretending, like one of my plays.” Annie nodded solemnly, responding to the serious tone of her father's voice.

  “Good, sweetheart. I'm going to tell her you just want to lie down while she and I talk. But I want you to watch through a crack in the door, watch for a time she's not paying attention. Take off your shoes now so she won't hear you. When she's not paying attention, I want you to slip out the door as quiet as you can be. There’s a car across the street with dark windows. Mommy's in there waiting for you. Do you understand all that, Annie?”

  She nodded then moved to where she could unbuckle the shiny Mary Janes that the woman had made her wear. When Elodie came to the door with the glass of water, Taylor was covering Annie with a quilt.

  “She’s worn out, poor baby,” Elodie whispered as Taylor turned to her, one finger across his lips. “She missed you terribly. You can tell she’s Daddy’s girl.”

  Taylor put his arm around her shoulders and walked her from the room, pulling the door not quite shut behind them.

  “That’s a beautiful dress you got for her. You must have been planning this for a long time.”

  “It seems like forever, Taylor. When Meg's mother died, I knew that was a sign we should be together. But then you married that woman…what a mistake! But I kn
ew that deep down you loved me; that you always had.”

  “I couldn’t tell you, Elodie. I wasn't a free man. It wouldn't have been fair.”

  “Oh, I knew that, Taylor, and I would have waited forever, but I could see how Annie was growing and I didn't think she could raise her as well as you and I could. I needed to do something to make it happen…and now it has!”

  Taylor sat on the couch and pulled her down beside him. Turning her to face him, he smiled at her, even as he fought the urge to retch. “How wise you are, Elodie. Wise and beautiful— what more could a man ask for?” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. As he’d expected, she closed her eyes, leaning into his kiss. He kept his open and saw the door to the bedroom open wider, Annie looking at him in surprise. Please God, let her remember it was all pretend! He waved one hand behind Elodie's back toward the door and was rewarded with a conspiratorial grin from his daughter as she slid soundlessly across the floor and out the door that he'd left ajar when he'd come in.

  * * *

  “He’s been in there so long.” Laura nervously twisted her wedding ring.

  “Not that long, Laura. This is going to take a little time. He can’t just waltz in and pick up Annie, as much as we’d like that to be the case,” Hobbs said from his place next to Laura in the back seat.

  “I know. It’s just—my whole life is in that house.”

  Pierce glanced at her in the mirror then turned his eyes back to the house. All was quiet. He knew that there were marked units stationed around the corners in the next blocks. They’d be here within seconds, as soon as the child was safe.

  With nothing that could be said, they sat in silence as each minute ticked slowly by. While Pierce wouldn’t admit it to Laura, he was beginning to get nervous, too. Taylor had been in there a long time. He’d refused to wear a wire, afraid that the woman would notice, so they had no way of knowing what was going on. He knew from seeing it time and again that jealousy could turn ugly very quickly.

  Just as he was beginning to second-guess the wisdom of this plan, the door to the house began to push open.

  Laura felt Hobbs tense beside her as they both kept their eyes on the door that was, ever so slowly, inching open. Laura caught her breath at the first sight of a face topped with red hair. “Annie!” she breathed the name and fumbled for the door handle. Hobbs stopped her. “No, Laura. Wait for her to come to us.”

  Laura wrenched her hand from his grasp with a wordless cry of frustration and watched as Annie slipped out the door, down the steps, and looked across the street to the car. She ran lightly to the curb and Laura laughed through her tears as Annie stopped and looked both ways before darting out into the street.

  Hobbs pushed open the car door and Annie halted in the middle of the street at the sight of the strange man. He got out and moved aside so Annie could see her mother. “Mommy!” she cried as she ran to the car and launched herself inside, into her mother’s waiting arms.

  Hobbs quickly slammed the door and slapped the roof to tell Pierce to move out. Before the car was even out of sight, he was on his hand-held radio, calling in the waiting backup.

  * * *

  Pierce looked in the rear view mirror at his passengers in the back seat. He could see Laura holding Annie tightly in her arms, their faces curtained by the fall of Laura’s long, red hair. This was why he went into law enforcement—the moments like this, few and far between, when everything went right. Smiling, he turned his eyes back to the road.

  Laura held onto Annie until they both stopped shaking. Annie smelled differently to her, a combination of someone else’s shampoo and the fear that Annie had been living with for the past…Laura was startled to realize that it had been only a little over 24 hours. Time had crawled along as if it were marking off years instead of mere minutes.

  But the waiting wasn’t over. Even as she rejoiced at the feel of her child back where she belonged, a part of her was back at that house with Taylor. The world would not be completely right until he was home with them and she sent another silent prayer for his safety, praying she’d be granted just one more miracle.

  * * *

  Where the hell were the police? Taylor wasn’t sure he could keep himself together for much longer, listening to Elodie prattle on about “their future”. It astounded him to realize she truly believed that he would turn his back on Laura, on his life, to go with her to Europe.

  He heard a noise outside the front door. Elodie heard it, too, even over the sound of her own voice. “Was that Annie, Taylor?”

  No! She couldn’t check on Annie now! Taylor reached out and caught her hand as she stood to go check on the supposedly sleeping child. “I think it was outside, probably a stray cat. Come tell me more about Paris, Elodie.”

  “In a minute, Taylor. I’ll feel better if I just check on Annie first.” She pulled her hand from his and was around the couch to the bedroom door before he could stop her.

  “Taylor! She’s gone. Annie is gone!” Elodie appeared genuinely upset by the discovery. And a part of Taylor that he didn’t even know existed was very glad to see her anguish at the disappearance of “her” child.

  “I know, Elodie. When I kissed you, she slipped out just like I’d told her to.”

  “But, Taylor, aren’t we taking her with us?”

  Annie safe, the secret out, Taylor finally lost it, “There is no us, Elodie. There never has been and there’s not a snowball’s chance there ever will be. I love my wife and I’d never leave her. You’ve been living in some kind of fantasy world for years now but it’s not my world.”

  Her eyes filled with rage as she watched the plans she’d so carefully constructed for all these years fall into dust at her feet. Taylor didn’t love her. He actually loved that red-haired witch. He would go back to her and continue with his perfect life. Not if she could help it! She’d be arrested, would go to prison…but first she’d see to it that Laura would never have him either.

  * * *

  Hobbs wasn’t taking any chances. He sent men around to the back to cover the windows and the exits. There would be no chance for this woman to escape.

  Once he'd heard that everyone was in place, he drew his gun and nudged open the unlatched door. He could hear Taylor’s voice raised in anger before a scream rang out.

  * * *

  “Elodie, I'm sorry for you. This obviously meant a lot to you. But instead of waiting for my life, you should have been building one for yourself!” Taylor's turquoise eyes almost glowed with the anger he felt.

  Elodie stood there watching him, seeing the anger in his eyes, and she knew it was all over. She'd given up her life for him for nothing. As Taylor turned to the door, she grabbed the scissors she'd used to cut the strand of Annie's hair, and with a blood-curdling scream, plunged them into Taylor's back.

  * * *

  At the sound of the scream, Hobbs kicked open the door and rushed in. In the split second after he saw Elodie with the scissors raised, he chose not to shoot and, instead, dived across the room. He hit her with the full bulk of his weight, knocking her to the floor, landing on top of her. But he realized he hadn't been fast enough when he saw the blood pouring from the wound in Taylor's back.

  Everything happened quickly then. The room filled with uniformed officers. Two of them rushed to Taylor to give first aid while another called for the waiting paramedics to come in. Two more pulled the now sobbing Elodie off the floor and cuffed her as Hobbs read her rights before they led her away.

  * * *

  Annie was welcomed home by her jubilant family. Meg kept crying and hugging her and it was Annie who patted her back and told her it was all right. She was surprised to find Abuelo and Abuelita there. Matteo was beaming as he watched and Rosina was crying. Laura looked over their heads and met her father’s eyes. She could see the question in them and shook her head to indicate she didn't know what was happening back there, didn’t know how Taylor was.

  Pierce stayed in the car after dropping them off to see if he
could monitor what was happening back at the house. Tuning in to the right band, he heard the call for an ambulance then the paramedics radioing the hospital that they were bringing in “a white male, approximately 40 years of age, stab wound with blood loss.” He was patched through to Hobbs who told him to bring Laura to meet them at City Hospital right away.

  When he arrived at the open door of the apartment he knew he was an unwelcome guest, as he pulled Laura to one side to tell her what had happened. She went to Annie and told her she had to go to be with Daddy.

  “I’ll be back as soon as I can, sweetheart.”

  Annie looked at Laura, her eyes the same shade of turquoise as her father's, and asked, “With Daddy?”

  Laura didn’t answer, only hugged her hard then kissed her. Abuelo came and picked her up saying, “Rosina made your favorite cookies, little one. Come see if she did it right.” When he, having been quickly briefed by Pierce, had taken Annie from the room, Pierce filled the others in on the rest of what was happening. “I don't know how bad it is. Hobbs just wanted Laura there right away.”

  “I’ll come with you, Laura,” Meg said.

  “No, darling, thank you. Annie needs you here right now. I'll call you as soon as I know anything.”

  She left the now silent apartment that had only moments ago been filled with the sounds of rejoicing. Was Taylor to be the price they had to pay for having Annie home safely? Laura couldn't think about that. Wouldn’t think about that. Taylor would be fine. Taylor would be fine, Taylor would be fine—the mantra ran through her brain during the ride to the hospital.