Holly reached over and swatted him on the arm. “Oh, you’re making it sound so much worse than it was. Besides, it was just a little garter snake that wouldn’t hurt a soul.” She grinned and paused for effect. “Or at least that’s what I heard.”
Cole arched his eyebrows, and Mandy burst out laughing. “It sounds like the two of you had a wonderful childhood.”
Cole’s eyes softened as he stared at Holly. “The best in the world. I wouldn’t trade my memories for anything.”
Holly set the empty cereal bowl on the table and reached over and wiped Ethan’s mouth. “I hate to put a damper on this trip down memory lane, but did you want to see me about something, Cole?”
Her words reminded him that no matter what was in the past, this was now, and they had more serious things to discuss. “Oh, yeah. I stopped by to bring you up to date on the attempts on the twins. Do you have time to talk?”
She pushed to her feet and nodded. “Sure. Mrs. Green, would you take over with Ethan while I go with Cole?”
He gritted his teeth and shook his head as Holly walked out of the kitchen with him right behind. It hadn’t taken him long to ruin her good mood. He didn’t know if it was the talk about their childhood or the investigation that had done it. No matter which it was, from now on he’d have to watch what he said.
When they entered the den, she closed the door and turned to face him. “Did you get Sarah settled last night?”
“Yes. I checked with the counselor who runs the safe house this morning, and she said Sarah had a good night. She’s going to talk with her today and see if she can find out anything else from her.”
Holly walked over and sat down on the sofa. “So, what’s the next move? How are you going to check out her story?”
“I’ve got people from the sheriff’s department checking into the identity of Willie Trask,” he explained as he sat down beside her. “It’s probably a false name, but if he’s been using it long enough, then it might lead to some clues as to crimes he might have committed over the past few years. Sarah will be meeting with a sketch artist later to give a description, so we can see if it matches anyone in our databases. But as for me, I want to follow up on something that’s been bothering me since Sarah gave us her story last night.”
“What’s that?”
“Why is the person behind this so focused on Ethan and Emma? As sad as it is to say, there are plenty of babies out there in the world that are very vulnerable—kids who could be kidnapped without anyone putting up much of a fuss. Why would someone go to these lengths, killing Ruth and Michael and attacking a celebrity, just to get these two particular kids? It got me wondering—is there something about their background that we don’t know?”
Holly looked startled, and he waited a moment to let her process. “You could be right,” she admitted.
“I was thinking it might be a good idea to talk with the agency that Ruth and Michael used for the adoption. Do you know who it was?”
“Ruth never wanted to talk about it much. She did tell me one time that it was a private adoption that had been arranged through their lawyer, Julie Swanson. She’s the one who handled the will and has helped me with settling all their affairs. Do you know her?”
Cole nodded. “I don’t know her personally, but I’ve seen her a few times in court. She’s had a practice in Jackson Springs for several years now. From what I’ve heard, she stays busy. Maybe that’s a good place to start. I’ll go see her today.”
“I’m coming with you,” Holly said.
His eyebrows arched in surprise. “Oh, no, you’re not. You’re going to stay here, where you’re safe,” he answered. “Besides, there are reporters everywhere outside. If you want to avoid them, you’ll stay here.”
She shook her head. “I have a car at the back door, and there’s a ranch road that leads through the property to the highway at the rear of our land. We can go out that way.”
Cole shook his head. “I don’t know, Holly...”
Before he could finish, she interrupted him. “I can’t let those reporters stop me. If what Sarah said is true, I’m not the one in danger. It’s Ethan and Emma who are being targeted. And they’ll continue to be until we can find out if Ruth and Michael were really murdered—and put the person responsible behind bars. Now, you can let me come with you, or I’ll go alone.”
He stared at her and then shook his head. “You’re just as stubborn as you were when we were growing up.”
She smiled, stood up and stared down at him. “One of my best qualities that’s served me well in life.”
“And still a thorn in my flesh,” he grumbled as he pushed to his feet.
Holly laughed, and the sound sent a warm rush through him. “You wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said as she headed for the door.
And in that moment, Cole knew she was right. It didn’t matter how long she’d been gone or how they’d parted. She had a hold on his heart that he would never be able to shake. And if he was honest with himself, he really wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
SEVEN
An hour later, Holly and Cole walked into Julie Swanson’s office. Holly had talked with Julie several times over the phone, but her lawyers in Nashville had handled most of the communication that had occurred since the plane crash. She’d never met the lawyer in person. As they came in the door, a receptionist looked up from the computer that sat on her mahogany desk and smiled at them.
“May I help you?”
Cole flipped his wallet open to reveal his badge. “I’m Detective Cole Jackson. I called earlier about speaking to Ms. Swanson.”
The woman smiled. “Oh, yes. If you’ll have a seat, I’ll let her know you’re here.”
They walked over to a leather couch that sat against a wall with a display of several large framed photographs. Holly leaned closer and studied the pictures of scenes from around the world. In one, a lion peered at the camera from his resting place underneath an acacia tree on an African savanna. Another displayed the towering peak of Mount Everest, and the third showed a Chinese man standing at the oar of a sampan in a crowded harbor.
Holly turned back to the receptionist. “These are beautiful.”
She smiled and nodded. “Julie took all of them. She has traveled all over the world, and her home is filled with more photographs.”
Holly sat down next to Cole, and he leaned over and whispered in her ear. “I had no idea lawyers in Jackson Springs made enough money to travel extensively abroad. I think I chose the wrong profession.”
Holly giggled and poked him in the ribs. “Shh! They’ll hear you.”
Before he could respond, the receptionist rose to her feet and spoke up. “Julie will see you now. Come this way, please.”
They followed her down a narrow hallway to a door at the end. The receptionist tapped lightly before pushing it open. “Go on in.”
Since Holly had never seen Julie Swanson before, she had no idea what she looked like. She had expected to see a middle-aged woman who had been practicing law a long time, but instead they were greeted by a thirtysomething woman who could have passed for a model.
Holly had been around high fashion enough for red-carpet events to recognize that Julie was wearing a designer suit. Diamond studs sparkled at her ears, and her perfectly coiffed hair gave the appearance that she might have just stepped off the page of a fashion magazine.
Smiling, she came around the desk and held out her hand. “Detective Jackson, I’ve heard a lot of good things about you, but I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you before.” She shook his hand and then turned to Holly. “And, Miss Lee, I’ve talked with you before, but I’ve never had the opportunity to tell you in person how sorry I am about Ruth’s and Michael’s deaths. They had been clients of mine ever since I opened my practice, and I still mourn them deeply.”
Holly shook
the woman’s hand and smiled. “Thank you, Ms. Swanson.”
She waved her hand in dismissal. “Now, let’s have none of that Ms. Swanson stuff. I’m Julie.”
“And I’m Holly,” she responded.
Julie’s eyes darkened, and Holly saw the sadness there. “How are the children? Are you adjusting to having two one-year-olds to care for?”
“I have to admit I have my days when I don’t know if I’ll make it or not, but I wouldn’t trade places with anyone else.”
“Just keep in mind what I told you when we first talked. If the stress of your busy life is too much to allow you to keep the twins, I can assist you with finding suitable adoptive parents for them.”
Holly shook her head. “I thought about it at first, but after having them with me, I know I couldn’t live without them.”
Julie smiled. “I just felt like I should give you all the options, but I have to say I’m glad you chose to keep them. Ruth would be so happy.” Julie motioned to the chairs in front of her desk. “Have a seat and tell me what I can do for you today.” Seating herself, she folded her hands on top of the desk. “My receptionist said it had something to do with the twins’ adoption. Is there a problem?”
Holly glanced at Cole, and he leaned forward. “There’s no problem as far as Holly’s concerned about the twins, but there is something troubling. There have been two attempts to harm Ethan and Emma in the last few days, and we’re trying to get to the bottom of it.”
Julie’s eyes grew big. “What kind of harm?”
She listened as Cole told her about the break-in and the supermarket experience. When he finished, Julie shook her head in disbelief. “Do you have any suspects?”
“We have a lead we’re following about a person of interest, but we haven’t been able to find him yet. We need some information about the adoption itself. Holly said you handled it for Ruth and Michael and that it was a private one.”
Julie nodded. “Yes. They came to me to see if I could help them. Ruth was at her wits’ end with all the in vitro procedures, and the waiting lists at the state-funded adoption centers were too long. They thought I might know someone who could help.”
“And did you?” Cole asked.
“Yes. I had heard of a maternity home called Wings of Hope that’s about twenty miles from here. They’re a facility for women who are pregnant and need care while they’re trying to figure out their options. Most of the women are unmarried and are concerned about how they can raise a child on their own. The home offers counseling along with medical care while they’re there. Some choose to keep their babies while others put them up for adoption. But sometimes there’s a mother who wants to have a say in who adopts her child. She wants to meet the couple and approve them before she terminates her rights. I contacted the facility and asked if they had anyone at that time who might be interested in a private adoption. They said they had one mother who might.”
“And how did you proceed after that?” Cole asked.
“I gave Ruth and Michael the information, and they went to see the girl. From what Michael later told me, they visited her quite a few times so that she could get to know them. The young woman’s boyfriend was a soldier who was killed in the Middle East, and neither she nor he had any family. There was no one to help her with the baby. When she found out she was having twins, she knew there was no way she could provide for them on her own. She decided she wanted Ruth and Michael to adopt the babies.”
Holly glanced at Cole. “I don’t understand why Ruth never told me any of this.”
“I don’t know the answer to that,” Julie said. “All I did was handle the legal work. The mother terminated her rights before the babies were born and granted Michael and Ruth the opportunity to adopt them. They completed a home study through the Department of Children Services and had all the legal papers signed well before the mother went into labor. When the babies were born, Ruth and Michael were able to bring them home from the hospital. All that was left for us to do was go to court for the final adoption.”
“What about the mother?” Cole asked.
Julie sighed and rubbed her eyes. “I was told later that she went back to Wings of Hope to recuperate after leaving the hospital. While she was there, she suffered a blood clot to the heart and died.”
Holly’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh, how tragic.”
Julie nodded. “Yes, it was. I was so happy that we had everything taken care of before she passed away.”
Cole sat there for a minute as if he was thinking what to ask next. What he finally said shocked Holly. “Julie, did Michael pay the mother any money to get her to let them adopt the children?”
She shook her head. “No, absolutely not. I told him he could pay for the medical bills for the mother and the twins, but he could not give her any other money.”
“Could he have done it without your knowing about it?”
“I suppose so,” she said, “but Michael understood that the law specifically states that the adoptive parents can’t give the mother any kind of payment. The mother had to agree to terminate her rights without having anything appear like they were buying her babies.”
Cole pursed his lips and made a few notations in the notepad that he never seemed to be without. “Do you know the name of the administrator at Wings of Hope?”
Julie nodded. “Yes. His name is Greg Richmond. I got to know him when I was handling the adoption.”
Cole scribbled the name down and then studied what he’d written before he looked up and smiled. “I guess that’s all I wanted to ask you today. You’ve been very helpful, and we appreciate your time.”
Julie rose to her feet, and Cole and Holly did so as well. She walked back around her desk and extended her hand. “I’m glad to help in any way I can. Let me know if you have further questions, but I think I’ve told you all I know.”
Holly shook Julie’s hand and smiled. “Thank you for your help today and for all you did for Ruth and Michael.”
“I only wish they were still with us so that they could see those babies grow up. But I know you’re going to do a wonderful job with them, Holly.”
“I’m going to try,” she said. “It’s difficult to balance all my commitments, but they’re two welcome additions to my life.”
“I’m sure they are,” Julie said as she led them to the door.
She opened it, and they were about to step into the hall when Cole turned back to her. “One more question, Julie. Do you know a man named Willie Trask?”
Julie’s brow wrinkled in thought, and then she slowly shook her head. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone with that name. Is he connected to the twins in some way?”
“It’s just a name that’s come up in the investigation. It’s probably nothing,” Cole answered. “Let me know if you come across anything in your records that you think might be of help to us.”
“I’ll do that,” Julie said, “and you two have a good day.”
She closed her office door, and Cole and Holly walked down the hall and past the receptionist to the exit. Once outside, Holly turned to Cole. “She seemed very helpful.”
“Yeah, she did. I can’t figure out, though, how I’ve never heard of Wings of Hope maternity home. I thought I knew most of the businesses in this county.”
“Maybe it hasn’t been there very long,” Holly said.
“That could be. I think I need to take a drive over there and talk to this Greg Richmond.”
Holly frowned. “What do you think he can tell you that Julie hasn’t already explained?”
“I don’t know, but I always like to double-check anyone connected to people who’ve been involved in a violent crime. And maybe this maternity home has nothing to do with the attacks, but if it all connects to the twins, then I want to talk to the person who arranged for Ruth and Michael to meet the mother in the first place.”
/> Holly stared at him as she remembered how dedicated he’d always been to doing the right thing and wanting to help others do that, too. It was one of his qualities she’d always admired the most. “Thank you, Cole,” she said.
A startled look flashed across his face, and he stopped and turned to face her. “For what?”
“For being the man you are. For being dedicated to seeing that justice prevails, for being the best man I’ve ever known, and for being here for me now just like you were years ago.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he bit down on his lip. “Thank you for saying that.” He paused a moment before he continued. “I know your visit to Jackson Springs has been troubling so far, but I have to tell you I’m glad you’re here. I feel like we are mending some fences that we needed to fix years ago. I’m sorry we didn’t.”
She blinked back tears. “So am I.”
They stared at each other before he reached for her hand and clasped it in his. Then they walked to the car, not talking but just enjoying this moment in time that had touched and healed both their hearts.
* * *
Cole pulled the car to a stop in the parking lot of the Wings of Hope maternity home and glanced over at Holly. She had been quiet on the drive from Jackson Springs, and he’d been content to enjoy the time with her as he pondered the things they’d said to each other earlier.
When he’d agreed for her to come with him today, he’d wondered if they would spend time trying to outrun reporters. But they had been able to slip out the back way just as Holly had said. So far, they hadn’t been discovered, and he was glad. She needed some time when she could feel like a regular person going about her life without the prying eyes of the public focused on her.
“I guess your disguise is working today,” he said as he turned off the engine.
She frowned as she glanced at him. “What disguise?”
He laughed as he chucked her under the chin. “No makeup, tennis shoes instead of cowboy boots, hair in a ponytail that’s sticking through the back opening of a ball cap and sunglasses. Without your rhinestones and all that stage makeup you usually have on, you look like a girl I once knew.”
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