Twisted Innocence

by Terri Blackstock

“I hope you got in a coupla licks,” Mattie said.

  Holly smiled. “I tried.”

  “So let’s see the little beauty,” Spree said.

  Holly took them into the living room and showed them her baby. Spree wanted to hold her. Holly didn’t like passing Lily around like a vegetable dish, but she allowed it anyway. Spree, who didn’t have a good filter for what was appropriate, bounced her so hard and talked so loudly that Lily began to scream. Holly quickly took her back and held her close to comfort her.

  When it seemed that everyone had arrived, Juliet seated them around in chairs in a circle and played a few games that broke the ice and made everyone laugh. Holly noticed her friends whispering in the corner. They’d have a lot to say about this later, she was sure.

  When it was time to open gifts, Cathy sat next to her, writing down the names of people to thank. There was a mountain of gifts, things she’d never thought she would get, but they were all things she needed. Lily would have enough onesies to get her through the first year, and there was no shortage of hoodie towels and receiving blankets and diapers.

  By the time Holly had opened all her gifts, she was moved to tears at the generosity of these people. If they reflected God’s love, maybe Juliet was right. Maybe he wasn’t disgusted by her.

  As Juliet’s friends began to leave, Holly looked for her friends and found them smoking on the patio.

  She went out and sat down next to them. “Well, that turned out better than I expected. They all seemed nice.”

  “If you take all that loot back to the store, you’ll wind up with a fortune,” Spree said too loudly.

  “I like all of it. I’m keeping it.”

  “She has more clothes now than the Kardashian baby,” Mattie said. “She’s a one-month-old fashion diva. Want a smoke?”

  Holly shook her head. “No, I quit when I was pregnant and haven’t started back.”

  “So did you dye away the pink just for this shower?”

  “No, I was just tired of the pink. Guess I outgrew it.”

  “Don’t you start acting all churchy now,” Spree said.

  Holly breathed a laugh. “I used to think that was a bad thing. But you gotta admit, these people were nice. They weren’t like I expected. Who knows? Maybe I could go to church and not feel like an outcast.”

  “Wanna lay bets that the whole act will disappear as you get to know them?”

  Holly sighed. “Don’t be such a cynic. Maybe they were authentic.”

  “Sounds to me like Holly needs a night out to get her head straight,” Mattie said. “Let’s have a girls’ night tonight. It’s ladies’ night at Club Onyx.”

  Holly shook her head. “Can’t. I have too much going on. I can’t party like I used to.”

  “There she goes,” Spree told the other two. “They’ve turned her.”

  “I haven’t turned,” Holly said. “I have two jobs and a baby.”

  “So come for a little while and turn in early. Surely you have enough babysitters.”

  Juliet opened the sliding glass door and leaned out, holding Lily, who was crying. “Holly, Lily needs you.”

  Holly took her baby, quieting her.

  “So what do you say?” Georgia asked. “Get big sis to babysit and come out with us tonight?”

  Holly shot Juliet an uncomfortable look. “Not tonight, you guys. Maybe later.”

  Juliet seemed stiffer as she went back in.

  Disheartened, Holly walked her friends to the door and let them out, still fending off their protests. Even if she wanted a night of partying—which she didn’t—she still had Creed to worry about.

  As she went back into the kitchen where the last of Juliet’s friends were cleaning up, Holly wondered what they would think if they knew the father of her baby was wanted for murder, and that she feared he would intrude on her life and disrupt everything. Would they treat her as kindly? Or would they welcome her into their midst, then whisper behind her back?

  She didn’t know, and she was too tired to puzzle it all out. Instead of forcing herself back in among them, Holly slipped into Juliet’s bedroom to nurse her baby.

  CHAPTER 16

  The conversation Juliet had overheard at the shower didn’t help Holly’s case when she asked her to babysit that night. “Are you going to the Dock with those girls?” Juliet asked point-blank.

  Holly grunted. “No, Juliet. There’s a lawyers’ convention starting in town, and maybe I can earn back some of the money I lost in the mugging.”

  Juliet wasn’t buying it. “So you promise me you’re not going out drinking with your friends?”

  Holly raised her right hand. “I promise I’m not going out drinking with my friends.”

  “Because you’re breastfeeding, you know. Plus, I don’t mind sitting while you work, but it’s another thing if you just want a night out. It’s been a long day and I need to focus on my kids tonight.”

  “Juliet, it’s not just a night out, okay? It’s important.”

  Juliet hesitated, then sighed. “All right, but will you be home by eleven? If you can get Lily before I go to bed, it’ll help me. We have church in the morning.”

  “Absolutely.”

  Juliet took the baby, held her to her shoulder. Lily kept her knees up and rooted toward Juliet’s face. Holly almost couldn’t bear to let her go.

  “So have you had any luck with the police?” Juliet asked.

  Holly’s heart jolted. “What police?”

  “About the mugging. Have they found the couple yet?”

  Holly let herself breathe. “I haven’t heard from them since the report. People like that, they’re probably off the grid.”

  “You mean homeless?”

  “Maybe. And by now they’ve probably already smoked away every penny of the money I made.”

  As Holly went back out to her car, she realized she hadn’t given the muggers much thought. The threat of Creed Kershaw coming into Lily’s life was a much greater threat than someone beating and robbing her mom.

  How had her life come to this?

  After working the airport for three hours, Holly went back to the restaurant where Creed had worked. She found Brittany’s car and parked a few spaces down, waiting for the bartender to come out when she got off work.

  As she waited, Holly thought back over today’s shower, wondered what her friends were saying about her, and what the church people were saying about her friends. She leaned her head back on the seat and thought about the lifestyle she’d led until Lily’s conception. She’d gone from one drinking binge to another, had hangovers every morning. It didn’t seem so attractive now.

  So why did she long for her friends’ companionship? Why did she wish she could go out with them tonight . . . just this once?

  Her friends’ lives weren’t really working either, but they couldn’t see it. Chaos was no way to live. Drowning pain, numbing feelings, snorting out regrets, and then creating more regrets . . . it was a cycle that was hard to break. It had taken Lily to make Holly break it, but she knew she could easily be drawn back in.

  One invitation at a time, she told herself. No would get easier to say.

  At nine o’clock, the side employees’ door opened and she saw Brittany walking out, her purse tight under her arm as she crossed the dark parking lot to her car. Holly gave her a chance to pull out, then followed.

  Come on, girl. Show me where he is this time.

  This time Brittany didn’t go to the bar to meet her friends. She drove farther out toward the beach, a few miles west on Gulf Coast Highway. Holly had looked up Brittany’s address earlier, and she didn’t live in this area. Maybe . . . just maybe . . .

  Brittany pulled into an RV park where recreational vehicles and motor homes were lined up in spaces with an ocean view. Holly stayed back and cut off her headlights, letting Brittany get a good distance ahead of her. Brittany stopped in front of a motor home.

  Holly pulled into a space that allowed a clear view of Brittany’s car and idled
there as if waiting for a fare. Brittany got out of her car. Under the streetlight that illuminated her space and the motor home, she looked both ways. Her gaze didn’t linger in the direction of Holly’s cab.

  Finally, she went to the door, knocked, and was let in. Turning off her interior light, Holly got out of the car and got her camera bag and gun out of the trunk, just in case. She got back in and snapped on a telephoto lens. She zoomed, trying to focus on the motor home’s license plate or any other identifier.

  Holly hadn’t seen who had opened the door, so she turned off her ignition and turned her phone to silent. She got out of the car with the camera and walked up to the road past the motor home, then looked back, trying to see through the unadorned windows. In the dim light inside, she saw Brittany talking and gesturing, but couldn’t see who she was talking to. Holly stole closer to the camper and got the tag, hoping it showed up in the picture.

  There was a park bench nearby, so Holly sat down in the darkness, watching and waiting, her eyes fixed on those windows. If she got even one glimpse of him, she could snap a photo and call the police.

  But she never saw him.

  After half an hour, Brittany came back out and returned to her car.

  Who was inside? Holly couldn’t be sure it was Creed. The camper might belong to a relative or friend of Brittany’s who’d come to visit, but there was no car here and the lights were dim, and the motor home wasn’t hooked up to electricity or water.

  As Brittany drove away, Holly looked up and down the lane to make sure no one was out jogging or walking a dog. She walked closer to the motor home, trying to get a different angle inside the window from the street. She still saw no one.

  She couldn’t get closer without trespassing or breaking a Peeping Tom law, so, frustrated, she headed back toward her car.

  She would just sit in her cab and watch the motor home for the next hour or so, until she had to go get Lily. Then maybe she could drive back over with Lily asleep in the backseat. All she needed was one sighting.

  As she opened her cab door, she checked her watch. Nine thirty. She had a good hour before she would have to leave. She slipped into the driver’s seat, set the camera down . . .

  “Don’t move! I’ve got your gun.”

  Holly caught her breath and looked in the rearview mirror. Creed Kershaw sat in her backseat, sweat covering his face as he held her Glock .38 just inches from the back of her head.

  CHAPTER 17

  Robbie didn’t like carrots. They were all over his face, down the front of his shirt, and splattered on Juliet’s blouse. “Come on, Robbie, open up. Here comes the helicopter.” She flew the spoon toward his mouth, but he twisted and turned his face away.

  “Mom, why do I have to take algebra?” Zach called from the adjacent den. “When am I ever gonna need this in my life?”

  “It’s good to exercise your brain. And you’ll need it to get into a good college.”

  Lily started to cry, and Juliet quickly wiped Robbie’s face and hands, then lifted Lily out of her swing. “Come on, honey. Mommy will be back soon.”

  Where was Lily’s bottle? Holly had put it in the refrigerator, hadn’t she? Juliet looked inside and found the bottle. Now she’d have to warm it.

  “But we’re not supposed to have homework on weekends.”

  “You had three days to do it. It’s not your teacher’s fault you waited until the weekend.”

  “If I fail, I’m not gonna get into any college.”

  “You’re taking algebra, Zach. End of discussion.”

  “Mom!” Abe called from his room. “Can you come here?”

  “No!” she called back.

  “Brody pooped on the floor.”

  “Clean it up and take him out!” she called.

  “But I’m busy!”

  Juliet wanted to scream. She put the bottle in the bottle warmer. By now, Robbie was crying, squirming to get out of his chair.

  “He wants out,” Zach said. “Want me to get him?”

  “Yes, but be careful. He’s covered with carrots.”

  “I’d rather be covered with smashed carrots than do algebra.” Zach got Robbie out, and Juliet jostled Lily, trying to make her stop crying. The bottle warmer beeped.

  Abe was in the kitchen now with soiled paper towels. “I hate cleaning up poop. It’s on the carpet.”

  That was one reason Juliet hated carpet, but when she’d sold her house, she hadn’t been able to find anything she liked with hardwood or tile floors. “What’s wrong with him? Why is he suddenly going in the house?”

  Zach shrugged. “Because Abe didn’t take him out. What’s he supposed to do?”

  The Yorkie came into the kitchen and went straight for the splattered carrots on the floor. “Did you feed him, Zach?”

  “Yes, which is why he had something to poop.”

  She tried to give Lily the bottle, but the baby rejected it and cried a higher octave. Juliet swayed from side to side. “Zach, will you go start a bath for Robbie?”

  “What about my algebra?”

  “It’ll only take a minute. Please. Just put him in his walker.”

  Zach struggled with Robbie, finally getting the wailing and kicking baby in his walker. “Mom, his head is hot.”

  “What?” Not a fever, not now. Juliet took her screaming niece over to Robbie and squatted on the floor. “What’s wrong, honey?”

  She touched his head with the heel of her hand, then kissed his forehead. “Are you sick?”

  Robbie just bucked and fought to get out. Juliet shifted Lily to her left arm and pulled Robbie out with her right. Zach disappeared, then she heard the water running in the hall bathroom. “Abe, find the thermometer in the kitchen drawer. I think Robbie’s running a fever.”

  “Which drawer?”

  “Just look for it, okay?” She was getting too short with her kids, but she’d had enough. Where was Holly?

  “Why won’t Lily stop crying?” Abe asked, digging loudly through a kitchen drawer.

  “I don’t know. She doesn’t like bottles.”

  The dog started barking to go out, and the kids ignored him. Juliet was losing it. “Abe, take the dog out,” she yelled. “Now!”

  “But I was looking for the thermometer!”

  Both babies’ crying went up an octave. “Stop and take the dog out anyway.”

  Abe muttered under his breath and let the dog out, then followed him into the fenced-in yard.

  When Zach came back, she told him to get the thermometer. When he found it, she handed him Lily. “Take her for a minute. Try to feed her.”

  Zach carefully took the infant, and Lily’s screams seemed even more painful. “She hates me.”

  “No, she doesn’t.” Juliet held Robbie and put the thermometer in his ear. He fought it as if she were giving him a shot. When it beeped, she read the temperature. “A hundred. Yep, he’s sick.”

  “What if Lily gets it? She’s so little.”

  “She’s still on breast milk, so she has Holly’s immunities, but she could still get it, I suppose. Holly needs to take her home.”

  “Should you take her temperature too?” Zach asked.

  Juliet found the alcohol and swabbed the thermometer. Thankfully, Lily didn’t have a fever, but the thermometer only made her angrier. She was hysterical now, and she showed no sign of calming down.

  Juliet threw up her hands. “Okay, time to call Holly.”

  She got the phone and clicked Holly on speed dial, but there was no answer. When it went to voice mail, Juliet said, “Holly, call me. Lily is very upset and needs her mom, and Robbie’s running a fever.”

  She put Lily into her infant seat, which only irritated the baby more. She carried the seat into the bathroom and waited for Holly’s call while she quickly bathed Robbie. Lily’s screaming raised Juliet’s blood pressure, creating a sense of panic, but she tried to stay calm so Robbie wouldn’t start up again. When would the baby get tired and fall asleep? She checked her watch. Only ten thirty
. If Holly kept her word, she’d be here at eleven.

  But why wasn’t she calling back?

  Juliet got Robbie out of the bath and diapered and dressed him for bed. She always rocked him before bed and read a book, but how would she do that tonight? Just when he needed an extra dose of TLC, she couldn’t provide it.

  She could get Zach to do it, but first he needed to shower so he’d be ready for church tomorrow. Abe too. They should all be in bed by now. How had her life gotten so out of control?

  When Holly wasn’t home by eleven, Juliet had Abe Google Holly’s taxi service to find the phone number. Maybe they could radio her and get her to call.

  “Deluxe Taxi Service. What’s your address?”

  Juliet shook her head. “I don’t need a cab. I need to get in touch with Holly Cramer. This is her sister. She’s working tonight, and I need to see if you can radio her. She’s not answering her phone.”

  The dispatcher hesitated a moment, then said, “Holly’s not on the clock right now. She was, but she clocked out around eight thirty.”

  Juliet froze, letting that sink in. So Holly had lied to her.

  Furious, she hung up and tried Holly’s phone again. Still no answer.

  So this was how it was going to be. Holly’s flying right had only been temporary while she was pregnant, but now that she wasn’t, she was going back to her old lifestyle? Lying and partying with her friends?

  It was seeing those friends today that had done it. They’d lured her back. Juliet should have known the temptation would be too great.

  She burst into tears as the baby screamed in her ear. She would do anything to make her niece feel better, and though Robbie wasn’t crying now, she needed to get him to sleep.

  Zach stood in the doorway. “Mom? Are you crying?”

  “No!” she said. “I don’t know where Holly is and I don’t know what to do to comfort Lily. She won’t eat.”

  “The bottle’s cold now. Maybe if I warm it up again.”

  “You should be asleep,” she said.

  “But I’m not. I can help. Want me to call Aunt Cathy or Uncle Jay? They could come.”

  Juliet wiped her tears. “Yes, call Cathy. Tell her I’m having a mini meltdown, and I don’t know where Holly is.”