THE CRADLE CONSPIRACY

by Robin Perini

  Neither would Daniel.

  He remembered the look he and Noah had exchanged earlier. They understood each other. If anything happened, Noah would get Raven to CTC headquarters in Carder; then he’d come back and finish what Daniel had started.

  He stepped onto the pavement, out of the direct line of sight of the front door and window, then crossed the pothole-littered street. The neighborhood was probably last on the list to get any work done. Not enough registered voters on this street to pressure the city council.

  A quick glance in the backyard revealed nothing but a sad thatch of grass and a few struggling perennials in a small planter. He signaled Noah to keep alert, then walked up the broken sidewalk. Once there, he stood just to the right of the doorknob.

  The neighborhood was silent. No curtains moving. This was one of those revolving rental streets where neighbors just didn’t want to get involved with people who might not be around the next month. Isolation was a lot safer.

  Daniel didn’t like standing here in the open. His Spidey-sense was working overtime, though he had nothing to base it on. Daniel’s shoulders tensed; the hair on the back of his neck stood at attention.

  He shifted his shoulder and tucked his Glock within easy reach. He knocked on the door.

  A wooden creak sounded through the poorly insulated walls. The curtain quivered.

  “Ma’am. I know you’re in there. My name is Daniel Adams. I just need to ask a few questions. It’s about your baby.”

  “Go away. Please,” a frightened voice begged.

  “Not until I talk to you.”

  “Who...who are you?” she asked, obviously terrified. “Who sent you?”

  “No one.” Daniel held up the locket to the window. “I’m hoping you can tell me about this child.”

  The curtains pulled back, and a dark-haired woman with terrified eyes blinked at him. Her cheek was discolored, as if someone had hit her. Daniel’s gut burned.

  “Do you need help, Chelsea?” he asked softly.

  “No, I need you to—” Her gaze honed in on the locket like a laser beam. “Where’d you get that? Mrs. H would never have given it away.”

  “This locket belongs to Mrs. H?”

  “Yes.” The woman’s hand moved to her throat and lifted a gold heart from beneath her blouse. “She gave me one just like it. To remember.”

  A soft smile crossed Chelsea’s face.

  The sound of wood splintering toward the back of the house was followed by a scream. Gunfire exploded, then glass shattered the window where she stood.

  Daniel heard a dull thud hit the floor.

  He gripped his Glock and shoved his shoulder into the door. The jamb gave way. Chelsea Rivera lay on the floor, her face gone, blood streaming from a horrifying head wound. The bullet had entered from the back and exploded.

  The back door slammed.

  Knowing Raven was safe with Noah, Daniel raced through the house to the kitchen and out a side door.

  Nearby, a motorcycle revved and the powerful engine roared. The shooter headed west. Daniel ran into the front yard, then into the street, his boots thudding on the pavement. The roar of the motor grew louder. Bike tires squealed. Daniel leaped toward the sound, hoping to get a glimpse of the plate.

  He caught sight of a black Harley racing down the street, its license plate covered with mud and unreadable, just like the sedan from the drive-by shooting. The guy wore leathers and a very expensive helmet.

  The shooter was definitely not from this neighborhood. He was rich. Panting, Daniel watched the bike speed away.

  He slipped the gun into the waist of his jeans and jogged back to Noah and Raven.

  She stood behind the SUV and peered around Noah, who’d placed himself between her and danger.

  “You see anything useful?” Daniel asked.

  Noah shook his head. “Sorry. Too far away.”

  Raven looked up at Daniel. “What happened?”

  “Chelsea was shot right after I got there. She didn’t say much, but she had a locket just like yours.”

  “She did?” Raven asked, her expression tentative. “Are you saying he killed her?”

  Daniel nodded. “She didn’t make it. I’m sorry.”

  He dropped the gold heart into her palm. “But Chelsea said the woman who gave her the locket had an identical necklace.”

  Raven stilled. “You know who I am?”

  “Mrs. Harrison gave Chelsea that locket.” Daniel said softly. “I think we finally know your name.”

  * * *

  SIRENS RAGED ALL around the SUV when Daniel pulled out of the alley. Raven’s heartbeat quickened, and her fingers gripped the scrub pants she wore. She held her breath when Daniel slowed and moved to the right. Three speeding police cars passed the SUV with lights flashing, but the cops just swerved into Chelsea’s driveway.

  “Will Noah be okay?” she asked. “What if they arrest him?”

  “He can handle himself. Noah has connections. Even if they do arrest him, he’ll be out in a matter of minutes,” Daniel said. “It’s more important that we find Wayne Harrison fast. I don’t want to stay here to explain what we were doing visiting Chelsea, or why you’re wearing an identical locket to hers.”

  “They’d never believe what’s happened to me,” Raven said. “If I heard my story, I’d think it was a lie.”

  “Amnesia’s hard to believe, since you can’t answer most of their questions. If you’re Mrs. Harrison, then you paid Chelsea. Fifty thousand dollars changed hands. There’s no baby and no birth certificate. Very suspicious.”

  “And I can’t tell them why any of it happened.” Raven rubbed her forehead, trying to ease the headache that had returned. “What a nightmare.”

  “For now Noah will have to handle the questioning. Hopefully Wayne Harrison will have enough information for us to explain your presence in Chelsea’s life.”

  She touched the cut on the side of her forehead. “Do you think whoever killed Chelsea is the man who attacked me?”

  “It’s a safe bet.” An edge tinged Daniel’s voice. “I’m looking forward to shaking some answers out of your—” He stopped. “Out of Wayne Harrison.”

  Her husband. That’s what he’d meant to say.

  She drank in Daniel’s strong profile, his hands, his fingers that had caressed her, touched her, loved her. She didn’t want to remember giving herself to anyone but Daniel. Raven scratched the base of the ring finger of her left hand and voiced her greatest fear. “Do you really think he’s my husband?”

  “No. I think you were married,” Daniel said. “Your dreams have been accurate as far as we know. There is a baby. And Wayne Harrison is our only lead.” Daniel slid her a heated glance. “I don’t want you to be married, Raven. I want what I can’t have.”

  Before she could ask what he meant, his phone rang and he pressed Speaker. “Adams here.”

  “It’s Elijah. We got a hit on Raven. I’m messaging you the info and a photo.”

  A quick pull of the turn signal, and Daniel stopped by the side of the road and put the SUV into Park.

  Raven turned toward Daniel, praying and dreading the scan would have all the answers.

  A tone sounded. Daniel tapped the message, and Raven held her breath.

  A newspaper article appeared as an image on the phone’s screen.

  Oh, God. A wedding announcement.

  One glance at the photo and caption made Raven gasp.

  Mr. and Mrs. Wayne and Olivia Harrison.

  “It’s me,” she said sadly. “Me and the man from my dream.”

  * * *

  PAMELA WINTER STARED at the small baby in the hospital’s crib, hoping for a miracle. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept. Grit stung her eyes each time she blinked.


  Her baby girl looked so pale.

  “You’ll be okay, Christina.” Pamela caressed the thinning hair on her beautiful daughter. “We have to disappear, but you’ll get the bone marrow transplant, and everything will be better.”

  With care, Pamela lifted Christina out of the crib and sat with her in the rocking chair. The little girl in the adjacent crib whined, staring up at them. She held out her arms.

  Pamela ignored the healthy baby. She’d have to entertain herself until Christina was well. And she would be well. Pamela had chosen their new safe house carefully. Near the Mayo Clinic. She’d hidden enough money from Christopher that she wouldn’t have to work again. With Christina’s sister as the donor, things should move fast at the new hospital. Everything was going to work.

  All she had to do now was trigger Christopher’s temper enough so he’d hang himself, and then she and her daughters would disappear. Forever.

  “I’ll make you all better,” she whispered in Christina’s ear. “He will never hurt you.”

  Heavy footsteps paused at the door. Pamela stilled, afraid to look around. It shouldn’t be Christopher. After the lies she’d told him, surely he’d left to kill Chelsea for her. Pamela was too busy to do it herself.

  The pediatric hematologist came up beside her.

  She looked up and took in his solemn expression. “What’s wrong?”

  Panic twisted her gut, just like the day she’d learned of Christina’s illness. During the horrifying search for a matching donor, Pamela had finally discovered the doctor who had revealed Chelsea had had twins. After that, it had been easy to find the other baby. The Harrisons hadn’t hidden their adoption.

  Pamela had thought her troubles were ending. How wrong she’d been.

  The doctor frowned. “Christina’s blood work doesn’t look good. Since her sister is a match, we need to start the chemotherapy right away. Otherwise, if Christina’s health deteriorates, it might be too late.”

  Pamela froze in the rocker. Time was up. She’d have to eliminate the final risks.

  The forger was gone; Chelsea was gone.

  All that remained were Wayne and Olivia Harrison.

  And one other.

  The only other.

  Christopher.

  She wrung her hands. Could she kill her own son? Did she have the nerve?

  The baby whimpered and rolled over. She opened her beautiful eyes, dull and weak with fatigue.

  Pamela melted at the sight and hugged her daughter close. She couldn’t lose her. She met the doctor’s gaze. “May I stay with her 24/7?”

  “I’ll set things up for that and the chemo,” he said, and left the room.

  “And by the time you do all that, we’ll be gone,” Pamela whispered, humming. “Mama will do anything for you, baby girl. Anything.” She rose and placed her precious bundle in the crib.

  “We’ll leave here soon, baby. Very soon.”

  Ashes, ashes, we all fall down.

  * * *

  DANIEL STARED OUT the SUV window at the late-afternoon sun, hating Elijah for the news he was giving over the phone.

  Trouble had found himself a cool spot in the cargo area of the vehicle. He’d been too quiet. Maybe the mutt sensed the high level of emotions.

  “I’m married?” Raven whispered, obviously devastated. “No. It can’t be.”

  “You’re not married now,” Elijah rushed to say. “You were. You and your husband divorced shortly after you adopted your daughter.”

  The words swirled in Daniel’s head. Raven wasn’t married. She’d adopted a daughter, but she wasn’t married anymore.

  “What’s my daughter’s name? Please, Elijah. Tell me you know her name,” Raven pleaded.

  “Hope,” Elijah said, clearing his throat. “The baby’s name is Hope.”

  Raven’s face lit up in a smile. Daniel had never seen such an expression of joy on her face.

  She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. “She’s real, Daniel.” Raven buried her face in his shirt, her choking sobs unstoppable. “She’s real. Hope’s mine. She’s my baby.”

  “Yes, darlin’, she’s yours.” Daniel set Raven back and wiped her tears away with his thumb.

  “But where is she?” Raven asked.

  “Elijah?” Daniel prompted, praying there was more good news, but when silence settled over the phone, he grimaced. “Can you tell us anything else?”

  The forensics expert cleared his throat. “Raven has full custody, no visitation for the ex-husband, Wayne, and there’s no nanny, but, I’m sorry, Rav...Olivia, I don’t know where Hope is.”

  “I have to find her. And, Elijah, call me Raven,” she said softly, wrapping her arms around herself. “I don’t know how I feel about this Olivia Harrison yet.”

  Daniel hugged her close, and she collapsed against his chest, the pressure of the past few days finally taking its toll. He wanted to promise her the world, but despite the progress he’d made, his demons could coming roaring back anytime. So he’d conquered the sound of a whip. His other issues would be much harder.

  Daniel faced the fact that he might not be there for her forever, but he could find Raven’s daughter. He ignored how his throat had closed off at the idea of letting Raven go. He shoved the regret from his mind. “Run a check on Wayne Harrison. I want to know if he owns a motorcycle, a Harley in particular, and if he has any connection to the mines surrounding Trouble, Texas.”

  “Will do,” Elijah said. “We’ll get back to you with the information and his address.”

  He signed off, and Raven took a few deep breaths. “You think my husband did this?”

  Daniel shrugged. “It’s a strong possibility. Most of the time when a child disappears, a family member is responsible. He never reported you missing. That could mean he didn’t want your absence noticed.”

  “No one reported me. Don’t I have any friends or relatives? Was I all alone?”

  Daniel couldn’t stop himself from touching her in an attempt to comfort her, to keep the possibilities from tearing apart her hope. With each caress she leaned into him more, and something deep within him shifted as he eased closer. How would he live without her?

  “Why would he take the baby?” she asked, her voice etched with pain.

  “Maybe he changed his mind. Maybe he regretted giving her up. I could never give up my daughter unless...unless I was a danger to her well-being.”

  She fisted the material of his shirt. “You’d never hurt someone you love.”

  He appreciated her faith, but it was misplaced. “My father had flashbacks like I do. He ruined my sisters’ lives. He hurt them badly.”

  “He hurt you, too.” She tightened her grip. “How did you cope with his death?”

  Daniel wrapped his arms around her. “I became the man of the family after he killed himself. I did what I had to do.” He tilted her head to him and stared at her lips. They parted, inviting him to lose himself in her. But he knew Raven being with him would ultimately break her heart. Not to mention his own.

  Thankfully his phone trilled again. He pressed Speaker. “Adams.”

  “Olivia?” a man’s questioning voice filtered into the truck. “I’m looking for Olivia Harrison. I was told I could reach her at this number.”

  Daniel squeezed the phone until his knuckles whitened. Who the hell was giving out his private line? “Who are you?”

  “Wayne Harrison.”

  Raven bit her lip. “Wayne?”

  “Yeah. You sound strange. Are you all right?”

  Even though Daniel didn’t know her ex, and Wayne’s words were all fine, his voice was off. Very hesitant and cautious. Something was wrong.

  Daniel scowled. Or else Daniel just hated the guy on principle. What kind of jerk would give up his daughter
—or Raven?

  She finally answered. “I’m fine...”

  “Then where have you been? I’ve been worried. I called your house a half-dozen times.” Wayne’s voice broke. “I mean, I know I’m your ex, but even then—” He sounded sincere, like he really cared that she’d been missing. Daniel would give him that.

  According to the article on both Olivia and her ex that Elijah had sent to Daniel’s phone, the guy was an accountant with an Ivy League education, and he made a good living. Why wouldn’t someone smart like Olivia want to be with someone like Wayne Harrison? They made a perfect couple. Steady, reliable.

  “Umm...why were you trying to reach me?”

  Wayne paused. “Look, this guy called me asking about your daughter. I told him I’d signed over full custody and don’t have anything to do with her, but he doesn’t believe me. He claims he’s her birth father. I thought you said the woman we paid had full rights. Did you make that up?”

  “Are you saying you don’t have the baby?” Raven asked softly.

  “Why would you ask me that?” Wayne asked, his voice low. “Of course I don’t have her. What’s wrong with you, Olivia?”

  Raven bowed her head. If her ex didn’t have Hope, then they were back to square one—except they knew her name.

  “What was the birth father’s name?” she asked, taking her cue from Daniel.

  “He didn’t tell me. Look,” Wayne said, “let me come over right now, and we can talk about this. I don’t... I’m concerned. You sound really weird.”

  Daniel shook his head, and Raven tipped her head in agreement. “I can’t. There are things happening...”

  “Fine. I get it,” Wayne interrupted. “I know I let you down when I didn’t want to raise someone else’s kid. I thought I could do it, so sue me. But, Olivia, we can still be friends.”

  “I don’t know,” Raven answered.

  Wayne’s voice dropped to nearly a whisper. “We need to talk. This guy. He’s—” Wayne grunted. “Dangerous. If I can’t come to you, then come my way. I’m at the El Paso house.”