I glanced at the kitchen clock that said six-thirty. “What are you doing up so early?”
“Rocky kept whining so I got up to let him out. I tried not to wake you. I took him out through the front door.”
“I didn’t hear a thing. Why didn’t you go back to bed?”
He shrugged his Josh shrug. “I was up, figured I’d get some school work done.”
He didn’t have to say anymore. He wanted to get his school work out of the way so he’d have plenty of free time to hang out with Matt and Holly. After the weeks he’d spent isolated from anyone remotely close to his age, he was making up for lost time.
“Are you nervous, Jenny? About today?”
I reached for the coffee pot and poured the dark brown liquid into my cup. Josh was a fast learner. After a few days staying in my island cottage, he had figured out exactly how I liked my coffee. Strong and black.
“Anxious, I guess. I just want it to go smoothly.”
“Do you have a feeling about it?”
I took a sip of my coffee before answering. “I think Ally is coming home today.” I took a deep breath. A feeling of serenity surrounded me as if she already were home.
“That’s good.”
“Definitely good.”
Both of us looked over at Rocky who was whimpering. “See, that’s what he’s been doing all morning. Do you think he’s okay?”
I went over to pet my dog who was now sitting up beside the puppy barricade. I crouched down and hugged him. “What is it, boy? Are you okay?”
He raised his head and looked at me with those beautiful soulful eyes as if he were trying to tell me something. Unfortunately I wasn’t a mind reader.
“When did you take him out?”
“About twenty minutes ago.”
“And he was okay?”
“Yeah, he peed and then ran over to your car like he wanted to go for a ride or something.”
“That’s strange.”
“I thought so too, but he came back into the house with me and was fine for a little while.”
Rocky whimpered again and I set down my coffee cup and went in search of my shoes that were in the front entryway. “Come on, boy, I’ll take you out again and see what’s going on.”
This time he didn’t stop to pee. He just made a beeline for my Volvo. “We’re not going anywhere,” I told him. “At least not this early. Come on, Rocky.”
But he ignored me and whimpered again. I might not be a dog mind reader, but I knew body language when I saw it. Clearly he was trying to show me something. Had my car been vandalized during the night? Keyed perhaps? Here in our little West Seattle safe haven? Adjacent to the park from which a baby had been kidnapped only a few days ago?
Or maybe it was a flat tire. Maybe somewhere in his childhood, Rocky had been trained to sniff out flat tires.
I walked over to the Volvo that was parked beside MacGregor’s Range Rover. I checked all four tires. Just when I reached the front passenger’s side, I heard more than Rocky’s whimper. I heard a cry. A human cry.
I peered in the window and there on my front seat was a baby, bundled in several blankets. I reached for the passenger door to open it but it was locked. I never locked my car. I was a strong believer in the law of attraction, and I believed that no harm would come to my car so I didn’t bother locking it, at least at home. But nor did I expect to ever find a baby stashed on the front seat. I ran back into the house.
“What is it, Jenny?” Josh came out of the kitchen at the sound of my borderline hysterical voice asking where my car keys were.
“Ally! I think she’s in my car!”
“What?”
“Help me find my keys, Josh!” My brain had suddenly stopped working. “No! You go out to the car with Rocky. I’ll find them.”
Josh grabbed his jacket and ran out the open door. I hurried into the bedroom to find MacGregor pulling on a pair of jeans. “What is it, lass? I heard you yelling.”
“I think it’s Ally! Someone put her in my car. Where are my keys?”
MacGregor turned and snapped up my purse from the dresser, turned it upside down, found the keys, and tossed them to me. He was only one step behind me, slightly delayed as he pulled a sweater over his head.
Breathless, I unlocked the front door of my car and gently scooped up the baby from the front seat. She stopped crying immediately.
“Haven’t lost your touch, I see.” MacGregor’s arm encircled me as he guided me toward the house.
“It has to be Ally, don’t you think?”
“Definitely. “
Once inside, we snatched up the picture that Jillian had given us and held it up to the baby in my arms. “It’s Ally,” I whispered on a breath that was filled with relief, gratitude, and joy.
“She’s a bonnie wee lassie, isn’t she?” MacGregor stroked her cheek with a very large finger, allowing her to latch onto it. After a moment of indulging the happy baby, he reluctantly pulled it away, and I knew he would have made a wonderful father. “Let me get some shoes on and we can take her over to the Elliots’.”
I stood in the entryway, cradling the baby in my arms while Josh smiled down at her, and MacGregor pulled on a pair of socks that had made it only halfway to the laundry bin the previous night. Once he had his shoes on, we started back down the front porch steps.
“Josh, can you tell Charlie—?”
“On my way.” He trotted past us toward my father’s house.
I think I was shaking the entire way to the Elliots’ home. Thankfully, it was too early for the press to make an appearance. MacGregor followed his two doorbell rings with a light tap and then a loud knock.
Carter Elliot swung open the door, looked at us before his eyes migrated downward to the bundle in my arms. “Oh, my God!” His jaw fell open as he snatched Ally out of my arms. “Shelby! Shelby, come quickly! Greg! Jillian!”
Shelby appeared through the kitchen door. “Ally! My baby!” Gasping for breath through her sobbing, she ran across the room.The couple hugged the baby between them as she cooed and smiled, obviously happy to be home. “Where? How?” she asked without glancing up from her baby.
“They—he—someone put her in my car. We found her this morning, just a few minutes ago.”
“My God! In your car! Is she okay? Is she cold?”
“She seems fine. She was well insulated from the cold.”
“But how long was she there, do you think? And why your car?”
I couldn’t answer the second question so I answered the first. “I don’t think for very long. Josh said Rocky started whining around six this morning.”
“Your dog? He knew she was there?” Carter asked.
“I’m not sure, but he seemed to whine when she cried. He kept whining until I went outside with him to my car.”
Just as Charlie and Josh arrived, Jillian and Greg appeared, obviously aroused from sleep. As soon as they realized that Ally was back, they joined the parents, surrounding Ally with more of her family. But her parents were not willing to let her go, even for a moment. Carter Elliot may not have been Ally’s birth father, but in every other sense of the word, she was his baby.
After watching the reunited family, Charlie caught my eye. “Josh filled me in, but—”
“I know. We can discuss it later,” I said softly before turning my attention back to the reunited family. “We’ll leave you to enjoy your sweet girl.”
Shelby nodded and looked up for the first time since she’d had her baby returned to her. “Thank you. Thank you so much!”
“We’re just glad she’s home,” MacGregor said.
“Oh, the money,” Greg said. “We need to give you back your money.”
“I’ll stop by later. You relax and get some sleep. You’ll be able to now that Ally is home.”
“Thank you. But what about the police?” Carter asked.
“I’ll give Detective Blaine a call.” Charlie had an impish gleam in his eyes. “I’ll let him announce Ally’s
safe return to the press. You relax. We’ll talk to you later.”
Shelby looked up again, this time through a flood of tears. “Thank you all so much. I don’t know how we’ll ever be able to thank you enough.”
As far as I could see, we really hadn’t done all that much. Although our theories were strong and we’d followed them up, we certainly hadn’t found Ally and captured the kidnapper. “Why don’t you join us for Thanksgiving dinner,” I suggested.
“Oh my gosh! That’s in two days! And we have so much to be thankful for now!” She glanced at the other members of her family and then said, “We would love to join you. What can we bring?” Shelby pressed Ally against her chest to hug her, resting her chin on the top of her head and taking a deep breath as if to savor her wonderful baby scent. I wondered how long it would be before she’d let her out of her sight or even put her down.
I smiled. “Just bring Ally.”
Maybe then I would ask them if Jillian could have one of the puppies. She was smiling with the relief that we were all feeling, but somehow her smile was wider and brighter. She really did adore her baby sister. I noticed Josh watching her, and at one point he winked at her which caused her smile to widen even more if that was possible.
Charlie looked at MacGregor and me. I knew what he was thinking. Why did the kidnapper return her without waiting for the ransom money? But it didn’t matter now. She was home.
Another question was at the forefront of my mind. Why my car? If one of the three boys we suspected was indeed behind this, they knew we were investigating the crime. But how did they know where we lived? And how did they know which car was mine? And did they know I leave my car unlocked? Once again, there were many questions, many that most likely would go unanswered.
* * *
MacGregor, Josh, and I were standing in Charlie’s kitchen, anxiously waiting for him to come out of his office.
“When did he put tails on the three suspects?” Josh asked.
MacGregor handed Josh a sponge to wipe up the coffee grounds he had spilled. “Yesterday, as soon as I narrowed it down to the three steeplechasers.”
“So, we should know who put Ally in your car, right?” He grabbed three coffee mugs from Charlie’s cupboard and put them down beside the coffee maker that was completing its drip cycle.
“Right,” I said. “Not that the Elliots care now. They’re just so happy to have their baby home.” I took a deep breath and released it. It felt as if a weight had been lifted from my heart chakra and it was suddenly easier to breathe. “How much of this stuff have you had already this morning?”
Josh cringed. “Third cup?” He glanced at the kitchen clock. It was slowly inching its way toward seven-thirty. “Last cup?”
I laughed. “Not a great habit.” But who was I to talk.
“That was nice of you to invite the family for Thanksgiving.” MacGregor took the coffee I had poured for him and the three of us went into the living room. Did I detect a hint of judgment there? Or was I conditioned to expect it?
“Considering that we’re having it at your house, I should have checked with you first.”
“No problem, lass.” He put an arm around me and pulled me closer to him on the couch.
“You’re sure?”
His expression was stern and then he smiled. “First of all, it’s our house now. Secondly, I’m glad to see that you feel comfortable inviting people over. I was considering including Maureen and Declan as well.” He kissed me on the forehead and I laughed at the sound of Josh’s groan.
“Should I wake up Holly and Matt and tell them the good news?” he asked, obviously looking for an escape.
“Matt maybe. Holly no. Not unless you want to witness Hurricane Holly at her fiercest.”
“Good point. I’ll wait.” He glanced up as Charlie came down the hallway to join us. He was shaking his head. Never a good sign.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing bad. It’s just odd. Not one of the boys drove his car this morning.”
“They’re certain of that?” MacGregor was sitting more upright.
“Aye, they’re certain. They’re all still posted outside the cars and not one was moved. Which means that either we had the wrong boys or someone else, possibly the person for whom they were working—if indeed there was such a person—returned Ally.”
I shook my head. “Or he knew we were zeroing in on him and knew he was being watched so he used a different car.”
All three looked up at me and chills ran down my spine. I took that to mean my words were validated. That often happened, particularly when the words that spewed from my mouth did not feel as if they were my own.
“Perhaps your men aren’t as skilled at staying invisible as we’d thought,” MacGregor said.
“Perhaps.” Charlie shook his head, clearly still puzzled by this news.
“Did you speak with Blaine?” MacGregor asked.
“Och, aye. At first I sensed that he was miffed that the crime ended with us.” He cringed. “And he was none too pleased that we hadn’t told him about the ransom call. But the man was relieved that it’s over, particularly since it was not necessary to bring in the FBI. And he did seem pleased that I left it to him to inform the press.”
“Will the police continue to try to find out who did it?” Josh asked.
“Perhaps they’ll give it a cursory glance, but nothing more than that. They have their hands full. They figure that if the perpetrator didn’t even wait for the ransom money, he’s not a serious kidnapper.”
“Or he knew if he did, he’d be caught. Decided not to risk it.”
The three looked at me again.
“Not my words. They just come out of me.” I flipped my hand with a discounting gesture.
“Which would indicate that you were right to believe that the kidnapper knew we were on to him so he decided it was in his best interest to give back the baby before he was caught,” MacGregor said.
“So, now we’ll probably never know who it was,” Josh said.
“Probably not,” Charlie said. He looked at me expectantly as if I had more wisdom to dispense.
I shrugged, surprised when more words decided to come. “So how did he know we were onto him and that he was close to being caught? Assuming he did know. Did one of your men slip up or was he somehow tipped off?” I shook my head when the three of them looked up at me again. “What? Nothing I’ve said is brilliant.” And I certainly hadn’t given any of it a hard thought before speaking it. But as soon as they spoke, I realized that wasn’t where their minds had gone.
“You will let this go, won’t you, lass?” Charlie asked.
“There’s no need to pursue it any further,” MacGregor said, “particularly now that we have a wedding to plan.”
I smiled. “We do still have the attempted murder of the Greens to solve. But I’ll let this one go.”
“Promise?” My father knew better than to trust those words.
“Okay, I’ll try to let it go.” They were still staring at me, clearly unconvinced. “There’s really no need to pursue it now, is there, not since Ally is home safe and sound.”
“Exactly.”
“Precisely.”
Absolutely. But I really wished she could talk and tell us where she’d been for the past four days.
Chapter 13
It was Wednesday. I was standing in the middle of MacGregor’s kitchen—our kitchen—with no cookbooks. All of my trusty recipes for gravy and stuffing were sitting on a shelf in my cottage on Anamcara Island. Hopefully I could remember the meal I had been cooking for twenty years.
“We’ll all help.” MacGregor wrapped his arms around me from behind and I leaned into his solid and very comforting chest.
“Good idea, if you want to eat. I don’t even know where to begin. I usually have the recipes out and my grocery list written a week before, and I’ve been to the grocery store three times by now.
“We’ll sit down together and write a list and send
the boys.”
“Seriously? Matt and Josh?”
“Absolutely. Why not? How badly can they mess it up? Other than Matt coming home with twice as many vegetables as you have on the list and no turkey.”
“I have a feeling if he tried to leave the turkey behind, he’d have to wrestle his way past Josh at the exit.”
MacGregor laughed. “Maybe Holly should go too.”
I raised an eyebrow. “If we don’t ask her to, she probably will.”
MacGregor let me go and went over to scratch each of the puppies’ heads before pulling a notebook from his odds-and-ends drawer. We sat down together at the kitchen table and I wrote out a list. Because there were six of us plus six guests, the ingredients needed to be doubled. MacGregor added his favorite vegetables, carrots and turnips, which he planned to mash together.
“Matt likes them,” he insisted.
I grimaced.
“They’re delicious. And the best part is, I’ll make them.”
“Oh, then by all means, include them. So, what else will you make?”
“I’ll make the mashed potatoes.”
“Are they any good?”
“Och, when did you become such a skeptic, McNair? I will add garlic and onions. How does that sound?”
“Delicious.”
“And Charlie makes a mean stuffing.”
“Right, the kind you get out of a box and cook on the stove.”
“There’s another way to make it?”
I rolled my eyes and groaned. “Definitely, and it involves a lot of chopping—celery, mushrooms, onions. Then you fry them and add them to the breadcrumbs and spices.”
“Well, perhaps the boys will help with the chopping.”
I was beginning to breathe more easily. Maybe we could make this happen after all. “Oh! The pies! They’re usually baked by yesterday.”
“You bake them?”
“Of course.”
“You are a treasure, indeed, lassie.” He leaned across the table and kissed the tip of my nose. “However, this year we’re buying them.”
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