“I’m going to try to collect some DNA on Maggie and Tim. But I’ll need to go to their house to get it.” He turned to her mom. “I’d like to use the key they left with you.”
The older woman nodded, and Lisa relaxed. Going to Maggie and Tim’s house wasn’t something to panic about. Mom had been watering their plants and collecting their mail. It wouldn’t cause suspicion.
“How will their DNA help?” Dad asked. “I thought they didn’t leave anything behind at the crime scenes.”
“They didn’t.”
After Rex responded to her dad, he shifted his gaze to Lisa, and the panic returned. He was looking at her in a way that spoke of trouble, of pain, of everything in between.
What? she thought. What?
He finally said in a clear strong voice, “It’s possible that Maggie and Tim are your biological parents. That they—”
“No!” She cut him off, refusing to hear the rest of what he had to say. By now, her heart was pounding a horribly brutal rhythm. “That makes no sense.”
“I’m sorry. I understand how disturbing this is, but it isn’t something I came up with on a whim. I discussed it at length with the police, and they agree that it’s a possibility.”
Dad crossed his arms in front of his chest in that “Stone Cold” wrestler way of his, and Mom looked ready to cry. Lisa fought tears, too. She wanted to tell Rex to go away and never come back. But of course, she didn’t.
Don’t shoot the messenger, she thought, especially if you’re already half in love with him.
Rex tried to explain. “Given the circumstances, it seems doubtful that Tim and Maggie being at Disneyland that day was a coincidence. I think they’d been following your family, going wherever you went. And there has to be a reason for that.”
“If I’m their child, then why didn’t they keep me?” Lisa argued. “Why chase me around instead?”
“Maybe they changed their minds about the adoption, but it was too late to get you back. Or maybe they lost custody of you and one of their relatives gave you up. Or maybe the state was involved.”
“So once I was gone, they tracked me down, followed my new family and used the incident at Disneyland as a way to insinuate themselves into our lives?” She refused to give credence to his theory. “That’s ludicrous.”
“Is it?” he challenged.
Lisa’s mind whirred. Did she look like Tim and Maggie? No, she thought. Except for that Tim was tall and trim and Maggie was blone. She glanced at her parents for reassurance, but they were gazing at each other. Were they trying to decide if it could be true?
Rex said, “If Maggie and Tim gave you up, then found a way to be part of your life, it provides an even deeper motive for the threats.”
She didn’t respond. What if they really were her biological family? She didn’t want their blood flowing through her veins.
Mom reached for Dad’s hand, and they both turned toward the P.I. They didn’t say anything, but they seemed to respect his judgment. They weren’t fighting him.
Lisa was. She held fast to her stubbornness, her fear. “They might be the perpetrators, but they aren’t my biological parents.” She wouldn’t let them be, even if they’d always treated her as if she had belonged to them.
The timbre of Rex’s voice was soft, but his words seemed harsh. “If that isn’t who they are, then who are they really? Why were they at Disneyland when you were a little girl? And why did they befriend your family?”
“They were sick strangers who got unnaturally attached to me.”
“Yes, they’re sick, but I don’t believe they were strangers and neither do the police. But there’s no way to be sure without unlocking the past. Until I know who they are and what’s truly going on inside their heads, it’s going to be tough to prove my case. They’re not going to stay on a phony vacation forever, and when they come back, I want to be armed with something to use against them.”
“They’re supposed to return the Saturday after next,” Mom said.
Rex nodded. Apparently he was already aware of Tim and Maggie’s supposed schedule.
Unnerved, Lisa looked away. He didn’t understand how this was making her feel. He claimed to know how disturbing it was, but how could he? His identity wasn’t on the line.
Mom opened her purse and gave Rex the key, and Lisa continued to stare into space. This wasn’t the legacy she wanted to leave to her child.
What would happen if she refused to give Rex her DNA? Would he take it from somewhere in her house, too?
“I’m sorry,” he said, causing her to look at him. “But I’m doing this to help keep you safe.”
“We all are,” Mom added.
“It has to be done,” Dad interjected.
“I know.” Yet knowing didn’t make her any less afraid of what might turn out to be a very ugly truth. But at least it couldn’t get any worse.
Could it?
When a chill passed through her bones, she wrapped her arms around herself, fighting whatever storm lay ahead.
Chapter 11
Lisa insisted on going with Rex to collect the potential DNA samples. She wanted to walk through Tim and Maggie’s house and dismiss her old memories of them. She wanted to look around and see them for the heartless people they were.
As they approached the front door, she asked, “What if they come home and catch us?”
“They’re not going to take the chance of coming home and letting their neighbors see them. They’re still supposed to be on vacation.”
Lisa looked around. There wasn’t a neighbor in sight. “But what if they show up anyway?”
“Then I’ll shoot them.”
At any other time she might’ve laughed, but there was nothing funny about the situation she was in. She glanced at the gun clipped to his belt. “Better them than us.”
“Damn straight.” He unlocked the door, and they crossed the threshold.
Lisa had been inside Tim and Maggie’s house many times before, but now it seemed haunted. The decor was direct, with dark blue sofas and oak tables. Greenery was abundant. On a wrought iron plant rack, potted vines twined around the shelves.
Maggie worked at a nursery, Tim was an electrician. Normal people on the outside, Lisa thought, and monsters within.
Rex put on a pair of latex gloves. “Is the kitchen this way?”
She nodded, and they headed in that direction.
“Damn,” he said, when he saw the empty sink. He opened the dishwasher, and it was empty, too. No dirty glasses or unwashed eating utensils.
Lisa noticed the herbs on the windowsill. They were flourishing. “Maggie taught me to garden, and Tim used to give me piggyback rides. Now everything they did seems like a lie. If they’re my biological parents, then this is their grandchild.” She touched her tummy. “How could they threaten to kill their own grandbaby? How could they mangle a doll? Or gut a poor little rabbit? How could they be that cruel?”
Rex moved to stand beside her. “I shouldn’t have let you come here.”
“No, it’s okay. I needed to.”
“But look how it’s affecting you.”
“I knew it would.”
“Then let’s get what we came for and get out of here.”
Together, they entered the master bedroom and the connecting bathroom, where more plants flourished.
In the backyard, she knew, was a vegetable garden. Now Lisa wanted to go home and dig up her garden. Or better yet, go outside and destroy all of Maggie’s hard work. But what would that accomplish? Rage would get her nowhere.
“Bingo,” Rex said.
He collected two drinking glasses on the counter. There were no combs or brushes. Maggie and Tim must have packed them. He kept looking and plucked strands of blond hair from a curling iron that had been left behind.
“Do you think they’re staying at a motel?” Lisa asked.
“No. They’re probably camping, just as they said they would be, using the supplies they packed and keeping a low pro
file. But they’re somewhere local. That way, they can come into town to do their dirty deeds and take off again.”
“What about the e-mail?”
“Bell is checking to see if anyone from their congregation is a tech or possibly a hacker, someone who could’ve helped them. Whoever routed that e-mail was a pro.”
This wasn’t good news. “Then someone else is involved in threatening me?”
“Not necessarily. Whoever helped them might have done it as favor to Maggie and Tim, rather than an act of aggression toward you. They might not even be aware that it was intended as a threat. Of course that doesn’t mean that they won’t cover for Maggie and Tim, especially if it’s someone from their church.”
She watched him rummage through the cabinets. “How long are the DNA tests going to take?”
“A day or so.”
“Really? That soon?”
“Normally the results take five to ten days, but I can have the lab put a rush on it. The director is a colleague of mine.”
“Who isn’t?” she teased.
He shrugged, smiled. “It comes with the territory.” He met her gaze, and they turned silent for a moment. Then he said, “I’ll swab the inside of your cheek when we get home.”
To collect her DNA, she thought. “Does Detective Bell know that you’re doing this?”
Rex nodded and continued to look for more samples. Apparently he wasn’t taking any chances. He seemed determined to provide the lab with as many items as possible, to make sure that what was extracted from them was viable.
They went into the other bathroom, but it was clear that no one used it except for guests.
“Does Tim or Maggie smoke?” he asked.
“He does. But not in the house. He smokes on the patio.”
They headed outside, and Rex found cigarette butts in an ashtray and bagged them.
Lisa gazed out at the garden she wanted to destroy. At this time of year, tomatoes and peppers were the primary plants. “Why do you think they’re willing to take such a risk? Aren’t they worried that you or the police will figure it out? Look how easily you uncovered information about their church.”
“We’re figuring it out, but all we have so far is circumstantial evidence.”
“And that’s what Tim and Maggie are counting on?” A lump formed in her throat. “Proof that guilty people can go free?”
He turned to face her and removed his gloves. “They’re not going to go free.”
She didn’t respond. She knew he had every intention of keeping the promises he’d been making to her, but what if Tim and Maggie succeeded anyway? What if Lisa lost the baby she was carrying? The stress alone could cause her to miscarry.
Brrring!
Rex’s cell phone rang and he checked the display screen to see who it was.
He answered it, and Lisa listened to the one-sided conversation.
“Hey,” he said. “What’s up?”
Pause. Talking on the other end.
An upbeat tone. “Oh, man. That’s great. You must be over the moon.”
More talking on the other line.
An unsure tone. “Tomorrow? I don’t know. We’ll try.” A glance at Lisa. “I’ll have to see how my lady is doing.”
His lady? Whatever it was involved her?
“Okay,” he said, ending the call. “Congratulations, brother. Save me a cigar.”
Suddenly the conversation became clear. “Was that Kyle? Did his wife have their baby? How much did she weigh? What did they name her?”
He answered one question at a time. “Yes, it was Kyle. And yes, Joyce had their baby. She’s six pounds, eight ounces, healthy as a little horse and her name is Patricia Ann Prescott.”
“Oh, that’s sweet.” She angled her head, wondering about what he’d told Kyle. “What did you mean you’d have to see how your lady is doing?”
“He wants us to come by the birthing center tomorrow. Allie and Daniel are going over about eleven, and he thought it’d be nice for all of us to be there at the same time. But I wasn’t sure if you would be up for it.”
“Of course I am.” She wanted to congratulate the first-time parents, but more importantly she wanted to see the baby, to take joy in a new life. And try to forget, if only for a moment, that the child she’d conceived with Rex was in danger.
“You’re not going to be uncomfortable around Allie because of who her mother is?”
“I probably would have been before. But now? Who am I to judge her? Look who my parents might be.”
“I’m sorry, Lisa. I wish I could make it better.”
“You can. Going to see Joyce and Kyle’s baby will make it better.”
“Okay, but we’ll have to stop by the lab first and drop off the samples.”
“Do your friends know about everything that’s going on with us? That I’m pregnant and being threatened?”
“Yes, they know.” He placed his hand on her stomach, tender as could be, comforting her and the baby.
Lisa looped her arms around his neck, and soon they were kissing full-force on the mouth, taking refuge in each other.
“I like that you called me your lady,” she said.
“I like that you’re her.”
Was this how most one-day-at-a-time relationships played out? She had no idea. But later that night when he led her to bed, she went willingly.
And warned herself, as always, not to fall completely in love.
The birthing center was beautiful. As soon as Lisa and Rex entered the lobby of the building, she felt a sense of home and hearth.
“This is a nice facility,” Rex said. He was carrying flowers for Joyce and a feather inside of a small cedar box for Kyle. “Maybe we should consider having our little one here.”
“Maybe we should.” It was certainly more inviting than a clinical hospital setting. “I’ll talk to my doctor about it.”
After they checked in with the reception desk and headed in the direction of Joyce and Kyle’s room, she asked, “Are you going to be there when our baby is born?”
“Of course I am.”
“So you’re going to be my birthing coach?”
He stopped walking and turned to look at her. “I hadn’t thought about that.”
She quickly dismissed him. She wasn’t going to force him into taking on a role that would make him uneasy. “That’s okay, my mom can do it.”
“No. I want to. There’s just been so much else going on, I hadn’t considered that part. Won’t I have to take classes or something?”
Grateful for his interest, she smiled. She adored her mom, but having Rex attend the birth would make her feel like less of a single parent and more like a family. “Yes, but not until the time gets closer.”
“I should go with you when they do the ultrasound, too. Kyle carried around the ultrasound picture of his kid in his wallet. She looked like an alien.” He pondered the thought. “What if she still looks like one?”
Lisa laughed. “She won’t.”
“Yeah, but what if she does? We’re going to have to say she’s cute anyway.”
“She will be cute. All newborns are.”
“If you say so.”
They came to Kyle and Joyce’s room, and Rex paused outside the door, ready to lie, it seemed, to fuss over a child that he feared would be homely.
Not a chance, not if the parents had anything to do with it. As soon as they went inside, Lisa caught sight of the Prescotts. Joyce, a strong-boned, striking blonde was sitting up in bed, drinking orange juice and gazing at her husband and daughter. She looked over at Lisa and Rex and smiled.
Kyle was seated beside the crib, staring at the sleeping baby, and when he stood to greet them, Lisa nearly gulped. He was at least six feet four of raw, rugged muscle. He wore his shoulder-length hair in a straight, blunt cut. He looked like a warrior.
Hugs and handshakes were exchanged, introductions were made and gifts were dispersed.
“Daniel and Allie aren’t here yet,” Kyle said,
directing them to his daughter.
“We’re a little early,” Rex responded.
Lisa gazed at the baby. Patricia Ann Prescott looked like an angel, with a tuft of brown hair and chubby cheeks. Her medium-tone skin defined her mixed-blood heritage. Lisa realized that the child she was carrying had the same genetics: one quarter Native and three-quarters Anglo.
“Wow.” Rex seemed truly awed. “She’s beautiful. Look how tiny her hands are.”
“Want to hold her?” the proud Papa asked.
“Me?” Now Rex seemed to panic. “I don’t—”
“Don’t worry, bro, you won’t break her.” Kyle reached for the newborn and winked at Lisa.
Patricia stirred in her daddy’s arms, and he transferred the tiny bundle to Rex, who lowered himself into a chair and treated her like glass.
He looked good with a baby, Lisa thought. Terrified, but good.
The little girl made a squeaking sound, and he glanced up. “What do I do if she cries?”
“Worse yet, what do you do if she poops?” Kyle laughed. “You’re doing fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“Listen to my husband.” Joyce laughed, too. “He changed his first dirty diaper today. Now he’s a pro.”
Rex looked at Lisa, and they shared a smile. He was starting to rock the baby. Patricia quit squeaking and went back to sleep.
“You need to hold her, too,” Kyle said to Lisa.
“I’d love to.”
Soon the baby was settled into her arms, and she felt an instant connection. Motherhood was in her blood.
No, she thought. It wasn’t. Not if Maggie was her biological mom.
Kyle put a pacifier into his daughter’s rosebud mouth, and she suckled. Lisa held her even closer.
Allie and Daniel arrived, also bearing gifts. Once again, kisses and hugs were exchanged, and Lisa was quickly introduced to the other couple. Kyle was eager for them to hold Patricia, insisting they have a turn.
Daniel, a square-jawed guy with full-blood features, looked even more terrified than Rex had been, causing Rex to give him advice.
“How quickly they learn,” Joyce said, marveling at the men.
Protecting Their Baby Page 10