by Joanna Wayne
A pink ribbon with a row of intricate hearts that she’d last seen tied around Lacy’s ponytail.
She took a deep breath. “That’s Lacy’s ribbon. Where did you get it?”
“It came in the envelope with the message.”
She gulped in air and relief. “Then the man isn’t just claiming to be the kidnapper. He has my girls.”
“You’re sure about the ribbon.”
“It looks exactly the same.”
Only Hadley was certain Lacy’s hair had not been in a ponytail when she’d gone to bed last night. The loose red curls had been spread about her pillow when Hadley tucked her in and kissed her good-night as well as when she’d checked on them just after one.
Now that she thought about it, Lacy’s hair hadn’t been in a ponytail when they’d taken her mother to the hospital. Lacy must have taken the ribbon out when she and Lila were playing dress-up with their grandmother’s old hats, shawls and shoes just after lunch yesterday.
The kidnapper must have taken it from the dresser for this very purpose. “May I see the message?”
“Yes, but I think we should go inside and sit down first,” the detective said.
“How much is the ransom demand?” she asked.
“Worry about that later,” Adam said. “First, we should hear the detective out.”
As if she had a choice. She fumbled in her purse for the house key before she remembered that Adam had locked up. He opened the door, and she led the way to the small formal living room where the detective had questioned her that morning.
Adam waited until she sat down and then dropped beside her on the sofa.
Adam Dalton, the man who had once thrilled her with his smile and made her blood run hot with his kisses. Adam, who had captured her heart so completely only to shatter it when it suited his purpose.
Letting him back into her life was likely the worst choice she could make for so many reasons. But this wasn’t about her or protecting her heart or hiding her secrets.
Nothing mattered now except Lacy and Lila and bringing them safely home again.
Detective Lane took the chair directly across from Hadley and then took his time pulling a sheet of paper from the FedEx envelope. “This is only a copy,” he said. “The actual note is considered evidence and is being checked for fingerprints and DNA residue.”
The note was written in the type of scribbled print a first grader might produce. Hadley read it quickly before taking a deep breath and reading it a second time, this time out loud.
“Your daughters are safe and being well taken care of. If you want them to stay that way, do exactly as you’re told from this point on. You have two days to get the ransom together. I want five million dollars delivered in unmarked twenty-dollar bills. Believe me, I will know if they’re marked and you’ll never see the twins again. Stay tuned for further instructions. Lacy and Lila send their love.”
“Bastard.” Adam followed that outburst with a string of muttered curses. He took the note and read it for himself before returning it to the detective. “Is that the envelope the note came in?”
“No, like the note, the original packaging has been taken as evidence. But the envelope was delivered at 5:32 this evening.”
Hadley checked her watch. Just over an hour ago. “Was it delivered to the police station?”
“No. It was delivered here and addressed to you. The officer we had watching the house signed for it.”
“I don’t recall you mentioning this morning that officers were staking out the O’Sullivan home,” Adam said.
“It’s routine in a case like this.” Lane reached across the coffee table and handed the plastic-encased ribbon to Hadley. “I need you to officially identify this without taking it out of the bag.”
“It’s Lacy’s hair ribbon,” Hadley said again. “But she wasn’t wearing it when I tucked her into bed.”
“When was the last time you saw the ribbon?”
“Yesterday afternoon, before we left for the hospital.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes. I put her hair in a ponytail after lunch, but she must have taken it down when she and Lila were playing dress-up.”
“So the ribbon might have been taken at any time yesterday afternoon?”
“Or taken when the girls were kidnapped.” Adam shifted and sat straighter, meeting the detective’s questioning stare head-on.
“Possibly,” Lane agreed.
“How about just saying what you have to say, Detective, instead of playing games?” Adam said.
“The ransom note was dropped off at a downtown FedEx location at five minutes past nine last night,” Lane said. “12:00 a.m. is the last pickup from that station for next-day delivery in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.”
“That can’t be right,” Hadley said. “The girls were here and asleep at eleven after one. I checked on them myself.”
“Maybe the clock you checked has the wrong time,” Adam said.
“I don’t think so,” Hadley said. “But there’s a quick way to find out.” She bolted to the bedroom with Adam and the detective at her heels.
The clock was to the minute with her watch. “I don’t see how this could be,” she said. “If the FedEx timing is accurate, it means the ribbon had to be taken and the ransom note written before the girls were abducted.”
“Looks that way,” Lane agreed.
Hadley wrapped her fingers around the bedpost. “There must be some mistake.”
“Who mailed the note?” Adam asked.
“John Doe from a nonexistent address. The charges were paid with cash.”
“So impossible to track,” Adam said as they walked back to the small, formal living area. “That figures.”
“But we do know the man will get in touch with us again,” Hadley said. “He won’t walk away from the chance to pick up five million dollars.”
Five million dollars she didn’t have and had little chance of coming up with on her own. Her mother lived well, but Hadley was almost certain she couldn’t get her hands on that much money—not even if she sold the house. And selling the house would take far too much time.
“Is there some organization that lends money in abduction situations like this?” she asked.
“We’ll deal with the ransom later,” Lane said. “For now, let’s concentrate on what we know. Someone had access to the house both before and at the time of the abduction. Apparently they come and go at will. That significantly narrows down our suspects.”
He put up his hand and counted off on his fingers. “Your mother. You. Am I missing anyone?”
“Matilda,” Hadley said, knowing exactly whom he was referring to.
Lane crossed an ankle over the opposite knee. “Do you know that she has a younger brother with a criminal record?”
“Quinton.”
“So you do know him?”
“I know his first name and that he exists. I didn’t know he had a criminal record.”
“His last name is Larson,” Lane said. “Exactly what do you know about him?”
“Not much. He’s a quite a bit younger than Matilda.”
“Have you ever met him?”
“I have. Years ago, Mother occasionally hired him when she needed something done that was too strenuous for Matilda. I think he may have been living with Matilda’s family at the time. Her husband was still alive then.”
“What kind of tasks did he do for your mother?”
“Whatever she needed done that didn’t require a professional. Moving heavy furniture, washing windows, cleaning out the garage. But he hasn’t worked here in years, actually not since my fourteenth birthday when my mother ordered him off the property. I’m twenty-nine now.”
“But you no longer live in the area, so you can’t be sure she hasn’t hired him for similar tasks lately?”
“I seriously doubt that. Mother is very generous, but she is not one to forgive and forget. Besides, she hires Matilda’s son, Sam, to help out now. Mother
likes him a lot. Says he’s polite and dependable.
“And she hires Matilda’s daughter when she entertains. I’ve even used Alana to babysit on a few occasions. The girls love her.”
Adam shifted so that he faced her. “What did Quinton do to upset her?”
It had been a long time ago. Hadley had put the experience behind her and moved on years ago. Yet the disturbing memories came flooding back now.
“Quinton and I were in the kitchen. He was on a stepstool, taking down Mother’s crystal serving trays. When I started making a sandwich, he asked me to make him one, too. I said sure. While I worked on that, he came over and started teasing me about my birthday. He said I was old enough to have some real fun now. Probably not his exact words, but that was the gist of the taunting.”
“How old was Quinton at the time?” Lane asked.
“I’m not sure. Around eighteen, I think. He’d been expelled from high school for the year. I never knew why.”
“Is teasing as far as it went?” Adam asked.
“No. When I started to leave, he grabbed my arm and pulled me back into the kitchen. He started touching my breasts. I told him to stop. He just laughed.”
Lane took a pen and pad from his shirt pocket. “Where was your mother and Matilda when this happened?”
“Outside, hanging party decorations. I was about to yell for them when Quinton reached under by skirt. I picked up the handiest weapon I saw and hit him over the head with it. It turned out to be Mother’s favorite and most expensive vase. She’d set it out to use for a centerpiece that night.”
“Guess that got Quinton’s attention,” Lane said.
“It got everyone’s attention. The vase hit the floor and broke into a thousand shards. Quinton started yelling and cursing at the top of his lungs, and he was bleeding. I figured I’d be in big trouble.”
“Surely you weren’t,” Adam said. “He got what he deserved.”
“Exactly what Mother said when I told her what had happened. She exploded. So did Matilda, but all the ire was directed at Quinton. Mother ordered him out of the house. I never saw him again.”
“Evidently, you didn’t hit him hard enough,” Lane said. “He didn’t change his ways.”
“What kind of crimes has he been charged with?” Adam asked.
“Cashing bad checks, burglary, but mostly domestic abuse. Guy has a mean temper and no respect for women. Practically killed one of his live-ins when he cracked her skull with a frying pan for swiping some of his crack cocaine.”
“Sounds like a real sweetheart,” Adam said.
Hadley’s blood ran cold at the thought of her girls being in his hands. “Surely he’s in jail.”
“You’d think,” Lane agreed. “But no. The girlfriend decided to forgive him and dropped charges. He has done some jail time for other infractions, but thanks to a lenient judge, he’s out on parole at the moment.”
Adam stood and started to pace. “Have you questioned him?”
“We will, as soon as we locate him.”
“Isn’t staying in the area a condition of his parole?” Adam asked.
“Career criminals who keep getting off with light sentences don’t tend to take parole too seriously. But we’ll find him.”
“Did Matilda tell you about Quinton?” Hadley asked.
“No, and neither did your mother, or you, for that matter.”
“I haven’t seen him in fifteen years. His name didn’t come to mind.”
Hadley’s mind drifted from the conversation to the chances that Matilda might know how to find her brother. If she did, would she tell the detective or would she consider family loyalty more important? The former, Hadley decided, especially if there was even a chance he had Lacy and Lila.
She tuned back to the current conversation when she saw Adam bristle and heard the change in his tone.
“I don’t like where this is going, Detective.”
“You don’t get to call the shots, Adam.”
“That’s why Hadley should get an attorney.”
“Why is it I need an attorney?”
“The good detective just insinuated you might be more than the victim.”
She shouldn’t have let her mind wander for even a second. “What are you talking about?”
“I was merely stating the facts,” the detective said.
“Save your breath,” Adam said. “The fact is that Hadley had nothing to do with the abduction.”
“I didn’t say that she did. I only remarked that being a single mother of two children can get very difficult. The stress has been known to push some mothers over the edge.”
Hadley stared at the detective as his words sank in. “Are you actually suggesting that I might be involved in Lacy and Lila’s disappearance?”
“I’m just saying it’s been known to happen.”
She jumped up, her hands flying to her hips. “No, what you’re suggesting is that I got rid of my daughters to make life easier on myself. I know monsters have done that before, but I’m not a monster. I may be insane with worry, but I’m not insane.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Lane’s expression didn’t back that up. Nor did he look convinced.
Her anger raged. “Are you even looking for my daughters or are you and your fellow cops just sitting around trying to think of ways to trap me into admitting guilt?”
“You’re way off base and you know it.”
“Do I?” Her insides churned so violently, she grew dizzy. “Get out, Detective.”
“I’m going,” Lane said. “I’ll come back when we have something new or when you calm down enough to talk rationally. In the meantime, don’t leave the area.”
“I’m not going anywhere without my daughters.”
She didn’t walk the detective to the door, but when she heard it close behind him, she turned to Adam. “Do you think I’m a depraved monster, too?”
“Not for a second.” He stood, walked to her side and pulled her shaking body into his arms.
That was all it took. Her tears broke loose like floodwaters. This time she didn’t try to hold them back.
She clung to Adam and let the pain and desperation spill onto his broad shoulders. Right or wrong, he was all she had to hold on to now.
* * *
ADAM’S HEAD RESTED atop the soft swirls of Hadley’s silky hair as her hot tears soaked his shirt. The bitterness and resentment toward her he’d nursed through his own dark days fell away like ashes from a smoldering log.
In spite of the seriousness of the situation, he couldn’t stop the memories from creeping back into his mind. The pain of the last time he’d held her in his arms hit the hardest.
She’d been crying that night, too, afraid for him, terrified that he might come home from the war in a coffin. He’d comforted her that night with kisses and passion and vows of forever.
All in the past. He had to let it go.
Still, it was killing him to watch her endure this. Her fear for her daughters was palpable, and with every tick of the clock the danger became more menacing, the tension more intense.
Shelton Lane’s insensitive comments definitely hadn’t helped. Adam had been sorely tempted to plant a fist in the man’s face. Thankfully, he’d managed to hold back. Going to jail for assaulting an officer would have left Hadley to spend the night in this house all alone.
Instead, she was in his arms.
But she needed a hell of a lot more than a shoulder to cry on. She needed a hero. So did Lacy and Lila. His mother had thought he could be that man, but there were so many missing pieces to the puzzle he didn’t know where to begin.
Hadley sniffled and pulled away. “I’m sorry, Adam. I didn’t mean to lose control like that. I hate being weak.”
“You’re anything but weak, Hadley.”
She pressed the palms of her hands against his wet shirt. “You’re soaked.”
“The shirt will dry. It’s fine. How about some food?” he asked, changing the subject.
> “I’m not hungry, but you can check the fridge. There are likely fixings for a sandwich or a salad, but probably little else unless you like yogurt, raw veggies or fruit. Mother’s on a health kick.”
“I’m sure I can wrangle up something.”
“Make yourself at home. I need to call Mother and tell her that we heard from the kidnapper and that he’s promised the girls are safe. That may let her get a little bit of much-needed rest tonight.”
“You might want to give yourself a few minutes to think things through concerning Matilda’s brother before you call.”
“I’ll just tell Mother what the detective told us. I’m sure it hasn’t occurred to her that Quinton could be involved. If it had, she would have given his name to Detective Lane.”
“Will you call Matilda?”
“I won’t have to. Mother will have her on the phone in seconds after we hang up to see if she knows how to find Quinton.”
“I imagine someone with the DPD has already done that. For the record, I’m sure they’re checking me out, as well.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m sure you’ll pass muster with flying colors.”
“Unless they think a few speeding tickets make me a risk.”
But they would question his and Hadley’s relationship.
“Go ahead and call your mom,” he urged. “I’ll check out the fridge.”
Hadley followed him into the kitchen but went straight for a cup of stale, black coffee. He inspected the food options and decided on turkey sausage, eggs and toast. Hopefully, he could convince Hadley to try a few bites.
He got started on the sausage while Hadley made the call. Her voice remained surprisingly steady as she inquired about how her mother was feeling and then quickly described the contents and delivery details of the FedEx package.
It was obvious when the topic switched to him.
“Yes, he’s still here, Mother.” Pause. “Because I asked him to stay.” Another pause. “That’s my decision.”
Adam could understand Janice not being thrilled to have him back in the picture, but you’d think he’d be preferable to having Hadley face this alone.