Lark! the Herald Angels Sing

by Donna Andrews

  “Ms. Langslow makes a good point,” the chief said.

  Janet stiffened, and glanced involuntarily at the window before answering. Then she nodded.

  “Lark it is,” she said.

  “I can accept that you have no idea where Mr. Caverly is hiding,” the chief said. “But do you have any way of getting a message to him?”

  “I could try to send him an email,” she said. “Of course, I have no idea if he’d get it. And I wouldn’t want to give away where I am or where I’m going. They might have hacked into his email.”

  “The Dingles? Are you kidding?” I said. “Or, for that matter, anyone in Clay County? Not bloody likely.”

  “Now, now,” the chief said. “I’m sure there are a few technologically adept individuals in Clay County. Mrs. Caverly is wise to be circumspect.”

  “Yes, they could have hired someone,” I said. “The way they hired poor Mr. Caverly.”

  “So you and Mr. Caverly fled separately,” the chief said. “That would have been several days ago.”

  She nodded.

  “What happened?”

  “A friend managed to smuggle me out of Clay County,” she said. “I was going to take the bus back to Philadelphia—but when I got to the bus station, I saw a car with Clay County tags nearby. I was pretty sure they had someone staking out the station. I found a place to hide and tried to get in touch with my friend. She hasn’t gotten back to me—I’m worried that something has happened to her. So I decided to find a safe place to leave An—Lark. After all, they’d be looking for a woman and a baby. They might still be able to recognize me, but I figured to them one baby would look much like another. And once I got her to safety, I could figure out what to do myself. Maybe look for Mark. Maybe figure out a way to get out of town and contact the DEA myself. I hadn’t figured it out yet.”

  “May I ask one question?” I looked at the chief for permission, and he nodded. “Why try to pin paternity on my brother, Rob?”

  “Sorry,” she said. “I wasn’t trying to cause trouble for him or anyone. But I didn’t want her to disappear into the foster system. I thought if everyone thought she might be the daughter of someone from Caerphilly—someone important—they’d keep her nearby.”

  “But you must have known eventually they would run a DNA test and prove she wasn’t Rob’s?”

  “Yes, but that could take weeks,” she said. “I figured by the time the results came back, either the danger would be past and Mark and I could come back to claim her, or we’d both be dead and at least she wouldn’t be.”

  I nodded. She was right about the lag time the police had to put up with when they sent off DNA to a lab. She would have had no way of knowing that Grandfather’s new toy had probably already churned out the results to prove that Rob and Lark were unrelated.

  “But why Rob?” I asked.

  “I didn’t really know anyone in Caerphilly,” she said. “And what if I picked a name at random and the guy turned out to be Asian or African-American so it was obviously a lie? But a couple of weeks ago Mark had shown me an article about Mutant Wizards. This was back when he first started realizing the job in Clay County wasn’t all it was supposed to be, and he was looking around for other options. There was a picture of your brother in it. He was the right physical type to be Lark’s father. And he was a bachelor; there wouldn’t be any danger that I’d break up a marriage. And I thought maybe if they thought a prominent citizen was her father, they’d take even better care of her.”

  “I suppose that’s logical.” Maybe she should have thought it through and realized that even a bachelor might have a relationship that could be damaged by a false paternity claim. But she’d been panicking about her daughter’s safety. I could cut her some slack. As long as she helped fix the problems she’d caused.

  “Mrs. Caverly,” the chief said. “Is it possible that you have any other information about the illegal activities your husband discovered? I’ll be getting in touch with the DEA and the ATF, and possibly other law enforcement agencies to deal with the problems in Clay County. Any bit of information you can provide would help.”

  He took her through what I’m sure she thought was an endless series of questions. She seemed to be trying. But I deduced that her husband had done his best to keep her ignorant of the details of what he’d discovered. He probably thought doing so would protect her. How could he have foreseen that by keeping her in the dark, he was making it almost impossible for her to protect him?

  Meanwhile, I was taking notes. Not notes for the chief, but notes for what I thought we should do when he finished interrogating Janet.

  Eventually the chief gave up trying to get information she clearly didn’t have.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Caverly,” he said. “If you think of anything else that could possibly be of help, please let me know.”

  She nodded.

  “And now I need to figure out what to do with you,” he said.

  “Why not leave her here for the time being?” I asked.

  “Would you be okay with that?” He frowned slightly. “After all, while we don’t think anyone from Clay County has followed her here, we have no way to be sure.”

  “I wouldn’t be comfortable having her here indefinitely. No offense,” I added, turning to Janet. “But secrets are hard to keep in a small town like this. And for that matter, we have a houseful of relatives arriving tomorrow, so we’ll need all our guest rooms for them tomorrow night.”

  The chief nodded.

  “But for tonight we could ask the Shiffleys to stay in place,” I said. “I feel very safe with them guarding the perimeter. And even better—just in case anyone from Clay County saw her come in here, we can let them see her going away again. We get one of the Shiffleys to sneak in here—the shortest one they’ve got—and then he puts on her coat and scarf and we make it look as if you’re taking her away in handcuffs.”

  “That would tend to throw any lurking Dingles off the scent,” he said. “But that still leaves us with the worry that her presence here will eventually become known.”

  “So we call Robyn tonight and get her to set up a relocation for Janet and Lark,” I said.

  “Good idea,” the chief said.

  “The priest of the church where you left Lark runs a shelter for battered women,” I explained to Janet. “And she has contacts in a sort of Underground Railroad to help women relocate safely. Once Mark is safe you can come back, or go back to Philadelphia or whatever you like.”

  “And if the Dingles succeed in killing him, at least Lark will be safe.” She didn’t sound very optimistic.

  “And you,” I pointed out.

  She shrugged as if her safety were an unimportant detail.

  “It’s a plan, then.” The chief stood up and tucked away his notebook. “If you and Mr. Waterston are okay with it, I see no reason why Mrs. Caverly shouldn’t remain here overnight. And I’ll know where to find her if I need to bring her in on those trespassing charges.” He smiled to let her know he wasn’t really serious.

  “And besides, there are a couple of things we need her to do,” I said.

  “Such as?” Janet looked anxious.

  “Well, first of all, you need to give us a DNA sample so we can have proof positive that you’re Lark’s mother,” I said. “I think you are, but for her protection, let’s prove it.”

  “Good idea,” the chief said. “I’m a big believer in getting solid evidence. I’ll make sure Horace is one of the deputies who comes out to arrest the fake Mrs. Caverly. He can take the sample.”

  “I’d love to get Dad in to check out those lacerations,” I said. “But you know how he is about keeping secrets. Maybe we should wait until just before she leaves.”

  “Horace has a pretty deft hand with a first-aid kit,” the chief said.

  “And last but very much not least, she has to help my brother put his life back together.”

  “Put his life back together?” She frowned, obviously puzzled.

&nb
sp; “I know the article you read described him as a bachelor,” I said. “He is—but he was about to propose to his girlfriend over the holiday season. They’ve been together for nearly two years, so if he had been Lark’s father, he’d have been cheating on her. She didn’t take that notion very well. The DNA tests can prove that Rob isn’t the father. But they can’t prove he didn’t have an affair with you—so you could honestly think that he was at least possibly the father.”

  “I can tell her it was an outright lie,” she said. “That I picked him because he was rich and single and I didn’t know anyone else in Caerphilly County to name. If that doesn’t convince her, I’m not sure what else I can do.”

  “You might be the only person who can convince her,” I said. “So I’d like to get her over here before you leave, swear her to secrecy, and give it a try.”

  “Okay.” She nodded. “Can it wait until tomorrow, though? I’m almost asleep on my feet.”

  “I think we’re in agreement here,” the chief said. “I’ll arrange for Horace and whoever else is available to come out here to do the fake arrest.”

  “And I’ll arrange the decoy,” I said.

  Chapter 15

  While the chief called the station to request that Horace and any other deputies available come out to the house, I pulled out my phone and opened up the text app.

  “Caleb,” I typed. “You there?”

  “Yeah,” he texted back. “What’s up?”

  “Can you have one of your cousins sneak in here? Whoever’s the closest to Janet’s size.”

  A pause. Then:

  “K”

  I assumed that meant OK. Why were kids his age so stingy with their letters?

  I left Janet with the chief while I went upstairs to move my little makeshift nursery into one of the guest rooms. The one farthest from the stairs. I planned to post Tinkerbell outside the guest room door, just in case anyone tried to sneak in or out.

  I made sure there were sheets on the bed and towels in the adjoining bath. Then I paused, looking out one of the windows. We were on the second story, and it was half again as high as your typical second story, thanks to the house’s old-fashioned high ceilings. But still.

  I texted Caleb again.

  “I’m going to shine a light out one of the windows on the back of the house in a second,” I said. “Can you tell the rest of your cousins to watch for it?”

  “K,” he texted back.

  I waited a few moments, then turned on my phone’s flashlight and waved it around in the window.

  “Got it,” Caleb texted back. “What about it?”

  “Room where the lady you caught is staying tonight,” I typed. “I think she’s legit, but if you see anyone trying to get into or out of that window or one of the ones beside it…”

  “Check.”

  I turned off the flashlight and headed for Michael’s and my room to grab a nightgown and a bathrobe for Janet. And a sweatshirt and some sweatpants for the morning. They’d be a little long on her, but better than nothing.

  I left the clothes on the bed in the guest room and went downstairs to find the living room full of people. Horace had arrived, along with Vern Shiffley and my friend Aida Butler, another of the chief’s deputies. Caleb had brought in another of his cousins. The cousin was only around five ten, which made him almost a midget by Shiffley standards. Then again, he also looked very young. Perhaps he was still growing. He was wearing Janet’s coat, and Aida was scolding him to stand still while she tied on the head scarf. Horace was swabbing Janet’s mouth with another of his DNA kits. She was shivering slightly, probably because she was wearing only a t-shirt and jeans. Definitely not practical for tonight’s weather. Of course, three days ago, when she’d first gone on the lam, we’d been having unseasonably warm weather.

  “I’ve talked to Robyn, and she’s going to arrange a safe house for Mrs. Caverly as soon as possible.” The chief was tucking his cell phone in his pocket. “And she’s going to come by before dawn tomorrow morning to move them both over to the women’s shelter.”

  “We’ll have her and Lark ready.” I approved of the idea. The police kept a close eye on the women’s shelter. And moving her out of here while it was still dark was wise. Still, dawn. I reminded myself that since today was the winter solstice, sunrise tomorrow would be about as late as it ever got. About seven-fifteen or so. Of course, what dawn tomorrow lacked in early it would make up for in cold. Plus who knows how much more snow.

  “When young Ambrose is ready, Vern and Aida will escort him to Vern’s cruiser,” the chief added, looking at the young Shiffley who was going to impersonate Janet. He was probably hinting that it was past time for Ambrose to be ready. Ambrose straightened up, and the two deputies stood beside him for our inspection.

  I nodded with approval. Aida was my height, and Vern was a Shiffley. They didn’t tower over Ambrose, but they’d make his height less noticeable.

  “I’ll take Janet up to her room, then,” I said.

  Janet collected Lark from the crib and followed me upstairs. I stayed long enough to collect her clothes for washing, so she’d have her own things again, clean, in the morning. Then I shut the door and went back downstairs.

  “Okay, that will work,” Aida was saying. “Just don’t flounce too much.”

  The chief and the three deputies were studying Ambrose, now not only clad in the coat and scarf but also holding a woman’s handbag in front of his chest with both hands.

  “The purse is a nice touch,” I said.

  “Belongs to Mrs. Burke,” Aida said.

  “Minerva asked me to pick it up,” the chief said. “She left it behind at church this afternoon. I don’t think she’ll mind if we make use of it in a good cause, as long as she gets it home tonight as planned. Off you go, then.”

  We watched as the three of them made their way down our front walk to Vern’s cruiser. Ambrose minced a little, but it probably looked okay to any Dingles lurking in the shrubbery. Vern taking his arm to help him over an icy spot was a nice touch. Horace and the chief and I, all three, breathed a sigh of relief once they drove off.

  “I’ll get one of these samples over to Dr. Blake’s lab tonight,” Horace said. I wondered if Grandfather had ordered his DNA technician to come back to the lab in the middle of the night.

  “At this time of night?” The chief echoed my thoughts while glancing at the clock.

  “The main DNA guy there’s a total night owl,” Horace said. “And I already made arrangements to drop off the fake mother’s DNA tonight when I went off duty, so he’s expecting me. And I’ll check our official samples into evidence.”

  “Instead of sending them down to the Crime Lab in Richmond?” the chief asked.

  “On a Friday evening?” Horace sounded incredulous. “Not to mention the fact that Monday’s Christmas Eve and Tuesday’s Christmas. Even if there was anyone there to receive our samples, the lab won’t be open to process them until Wednesday. Of course, if there was anything really time-sensitive that depended on getting official DNA results over the weekend, I could call a guy I know at the lab and see if he could arrange it. But I don’t think that’s the case.”

  “You’re right,” the chief said. “I forgot about the season. A pity the bad guys never seem to take the holidays off. No, what Dr. Blake’s lab can tell us will do for the time being. Go drop those samples off now. And then consider yourself off the clock. You’ve had a long day.”

  “Thanks.” Horace headed for the front door. He stopped in the hall to don his coat, hat, and gloves and then strode out into the storm, letting in another blast of cold air as he went. I followed him so I could lock up. When I returned to the living room, the chief was standing there, holding his phone and looking thoughtful.

  “More coffee?” I asked. “Regular or decaf, depending on whether the current county crime wave is going to keep you up all night.”

  “I would love another cup before I go,” he said. “And let’s play it safe and mak
e it regular. My night’s not over yet.”

  He followed me out to the kitchen and sat at the table while I started the coffee.

  “She’s hiding something,” I said.

  “Yes.” He nodded slightly. “The name of the person who helped her escape Clay County, for starters. Let’s hope that’s the only thing.”

  “You look worried,” I said.

  “In other words, why am I not delighted to be so close to wrapping up the case of the abandoned baby?” He clenched his jaw and brooded for a few moments, staring at the table. Then he looked up.

  “It’s no big secret,” he said. “Lucius Plunket died about an hour ago.”

  “The guy Mark Caverly is accused of killing?” He nodded. “Are you sure?”

  “They’d brought him to the Caerphilly Hospital,” he said, “there being nothing that even resembles an ICU in Clay County. So, yes, I’m sure. The hospital notified the next of kin and Sheriff Dingle. I’d have expected the sheriff to call by now and tell me their fugitive has been promoted from alleged attempted murderer to just plain alleged murderer. He’s been calling pretty much on the hour for the past couple of days to demand that we scour the county to find him. But now, nothing.”

  “That does sound ominous.”

  “And the news from my sources in Clay County is unsettling.”

  “You actually have sources in Clay County? I’m impressed.”

  “Not very many,” he admitted. “And I wouldn’t bet my life on any of them. But this time around I think they might be giving me the straight scoop. Word is that Sheriff Dingle’s officers may have captured Mark Caverly.”

  “Oh, no.” I glanced up involuntarily, as if Janet could have overheard. I was relieved to hear the shower start, which made it unlikely that she could have crept back down to eavesdrop.

  “Exactly.” The chief had also glanced upward. “So we’re on a very short timer when it comes to bringing in state or federal resources to protect him.”

  “Do you really think they’ll try to kill him?” It sounded over the top, even for Clay County.