by K. J. Dahlen
The phone on her desk rang. When she picked up the receiver, she noted the call was from the security desk. This was another change that had been implemented in the last month. Since Micah had slipped into the building unescorted, Nick had demanded a step-up in security. A security guard roamed the halls all night long so no other unwelcome guests could surprise them.
Sable listened to the security guard tell her she had a visitor. Expecting to hear the officer say Emma was waiting for her, she was surprised to hear it was Gabriel. Sable couldn’t help wonder what he wanted. As she hung up the phone and waited for him to arrive, Sable considered what she would say.
A few minutes later she watched Gabriel come in through the door. She hadn’t seen him since he’d been released from the hospital. She was shocked at his appearance. He seemed older than he had the last time she’d seen him. The arrogance he'd had was gone. He walked with the aid of a cane and his face still wore the remnants of the beating he had taken. The lines in his face had deepened and since his hospital stay his skin was pale. He appeared almost frail.
He stopped at her desk. When she stood, he motioned her back to her chair then sat down in the seat across from her. Sable saw him grimace in pain as he closed his eyes briefly. Gabriel took a deep breath allowing the pain to settle down before he opened his eyes.
"Hello, my dear."
"How are you?"
Gabriel smiled. "I guess I’ll live. At least the doctors tell me I will."
Sable was going to ask how his treatments were going, but before she could he reached inside his pocket drawing out a large manila envelope.
"I know you’re probably wondering what I’m doing here," Gabriel began. He had to pause for a moment then he continued as he laid the envelope on her desk. "I received this in the mail the other day. I’m not really sure what to do with it."
He pushed the envelope over to her then waited while she picked it up. Sable glanced at it, unable to recognize the writing. The letter was addressed to "The Honorable Gabriel Reardon."
Sable glanced over at him asking, "May I?"
He watched as she opened the envelope.
Shocked at the contents of the envelope, she pulled out a birth certificate, a photograph of a small child, and a note. Picking up the photo of the child, she looked it over carefully. The child appeared to be around four to six years old. His hair was a dark color although it was hard to tell. She couldn’t take her eyes off the child‘s face. What drew her gaze was the color of the boy’s eyes. Sable glanced at the birth certificate and quickly read the note. When she finished, she glanced at Gabriel. "Is this for real?"
"As far as I can make out it is," Gabriel said.
A sense of dread filled her as she reread the letter in the envelope. "You murdered my father. I’m here to even the score so watch your backs because you won’t see me coming until its too late. Vengeance shall be mine." The letter was signed Sam.
Sable picked up the birth certificate again and read it carefully. It said a son named Sam had been born to Abbey Larsen one year after Sable had been left for dead in the dry well. The certificate named Micah Reardon as the father of the baby. Doing some math Sable determined Sam was about twenty years old.
Nick and Max were in the office. She had forgotten Quentin and Brandi were out on another case. They would be gone for another three weeks.
"Nick," Sable called out. "We have a problem."
Nick glanced up from the papers he was looking at and frowned. His tall lanky frame barely fit the chair he was sitting in. His dark hair was cut short. Some days it stuck straight up but not today. He remembered the last time she’d said those very words. His frown deepened when he saw Gabriel Reardon sitting at her desk. Nick pushed his chair back away from his desk. He stood, walking toward her desk. "What kind of problem?"
"Oh you know, nothing big," Sable told him. "It seems I have a brother who wants to take over where my father left off and kill his entire family."
Nick stopped. The look on his face was priceless. He snapped his head toward Gabriel as he growled, "What is it with your family? Are they all nuts?"
"It seems they are."
Nick strode over to Sable’s desk. He picked up the items she had laying on top. He read the birth certificate then the letter. He glanced over at Max and said, "Run this birth certificate down to make sure it’s legit. Find out as much as you can on Abbey Larsen and her son, Sam."
Nick looked at the photo of young Sam. He glanced at Sable then looked over at Gabriel. "Well, he’s got the Reardon eyes." He glanced back to Sable saying, "I’m going to drop this off in forensics to see if they can age the picture. We might be able to figure out what Sam looks like now."
Nick picked up the letter again. "I’m going to have Alec take a look at this. Maybe he can give us a heads up on what it means."
Sable turned to Gabriel. "Exactly when did the package come to you?"
Gabriel twisted his hands around the top of his cane. "I received the package in the mail yesterday."
"Why did you wait until today to bring it to me?"
"I’m afraid there’s more to what brought me here today than the letter and the birth certificate," Gabriel admitted.
Sable glanced at Nick then back at Gabriel. "What else brought you here today?"
Gabriel cleared his throat. He had to pause and start over when no sound came from his throat. "Emma didn’t come back yesterday from her errands. I’ve called all her friends looking for her, but no one has seen her. I’m afraid Micah’s son might have taken her hostage."
She gasped in horror. "Damn." She whispered under her breath. "What about Greg?"
"I phoned him this morning. I thought maybe she went over there to spend the night with him, but he hasn’t seen or spoken to his mother for three days."
Sable glanced over at Nick. "I think we need to put you and Greg in protective custody until we can find out more about this Sam person."
Gabriel leaned closer to her, grasping her hand. "Please find my Emma. Bring her back to me." His plea had been little more than a whisper.
Sable thought she saw tears in his eyes, but it didn’t fit with the man who a few weeks ago had growled at them that he didn’t need any help to protect his family.
"We’ll do what we can to find her and bring her home," Sable promised.
The phone on her desk began ringing. When Sable read the caller ID, she saw Emma’s phone number come up. She picked up the receiver but heard a male voice say her name.
"Who is this?"
"I’m your worst nightmare come to life. I’m your brother, Sam."
Sable’s hand tightened on the receiver. She glanced over at Nick and motioned for him to trace the call. "I don’t have a brother."
Sam chuckled. "Oh yes you do."
"What do you want?"
"What I want is irrelevant right now, but I have something you might want back."
"What would that be?"
The next voice on the phone was Emma’s. "Please help me." Emma’s voice sounded scared, almost as if she were being forced to speak. Sam came back on the line. "Now do I have your attention?"
"Let her go," Sable growled.
"Oh I will. In fact she’ll be released very soon." He paused for a moment then told her, "It’s not her time to die, not yet anyway."
"Then why bother kidnapping her in the first place?"
"I wanted you and the others to know I have the power."
"What power?"
"I came to finish what our father started. I have the power to decide when you die; you and the others. But before any of this can happen, the old man has to face the truth. The truth is the one thing that will set him free. I want everyone around him to know this truth. He has to atone for what he did then he will face the disgrace of his own actions."
"What are you talking about?" Sable asked.
"You’ll all find out in good time. Until then watch your back because I’m coming after you all." The phone line went dead.
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Sable placed the receiver back in the cradle. She glanced at Gabriel. "He said something about the fact that he wants you to admit the truth about something. Do you have any idea what he was referring to?"
Gabriel thought for a moment. "I have no idea what he’s referring to. All my life all I ever wanted to be was the best attorney I could. I’ve never done anything that would disgrace myself or the law."
"Is there something in your past someone could use against you in such a way it would point to your disgrace?" Sable asked.
"I’ve always lived by the laws of the people and raised my family to respect those laws."
Sable glanced over at Nick then back at Gabriel to ask, "Would you mind if we dug into your past? Maybe we could find something that would help us figure out what Sam was referring to."
For a moment the old Gabriel came back and a flash of arrogance came into his eyes, but as quickly as the arrogance appeared it was gone. "At least you asked, before you stuck your nose into my life so I suppose I wouldn’t mind too much. I doubt you’ll find anything important but go ahead. You can look to your hearts content. Did he say anything about Emma?"
Sable was stunned by his admission. This didn’t sound like the Gabriel she remembered at all. "Yes, he has her but he said it wasn’t her time to die so I think she’ll be released. He wanted her along with the rest of your family to be present when the truth comes out about your past."
"I don’t know what truth he wants me to admit to. I’ve lived my entire life not to disgrace the laws of the land. There is nothing there to find."
The door opened again. Greg Reardon came into the office. He walked over to Sable’s desk, leaned over it, and demanded, "Where is my mother?" His eyes flashed his displeasure. He ignored the fact that his father was sitting there.
Sable leaned back in her chair. "It seems Micah’s son Sam has her in his care."
Greg turned his head, glaring at his father. "What is she talking about? Micah never had a son."
Gabriel picked up the birth certificate and handed it to him. Greg grabbed the document and read it. He lost his anger as the truth sank in. He plopped down in the chair Nick pushed behind him.
He seemed confused. "I don’t understand. What’s going on here?"
"It seems we have to go through the past once again, this time before he tries to kill us. Gabriel has to admit to something in his past Sam thinks will disgrace him."
Chapter Two
Greg stared at her for a moment before turning to scrutinize his father’s expression. "Do you know what she’s talking about?"
"I do not. There is nothing in my past to bring me shame."
"There must be something. I doubt he would make something like this up."
"I can’t think of anything in my past I would be ashamed of. I know there’s nothing that would by any means disgrace me," Gabriel told him.
Greg glanced back at Sable. "Is there anything you can do to find my mother?"
"We can put out an APB for her car. Even if we find it, we won’t find her. Sam said he would release her. All we have to do is wait for him to let her go. We don’t want this to turn into a hostage situation."
Greg stood and began to pace. Running his hands through his hair he muttered, "So we have to wait for a killer to release her. There’s no telling what he’s doing to her right now. He could throw her body out of a car like Micah did."
"Oh, I don’t think he’ll hurt her," Sable told him.
Greg paused, turning his head to look at her. "What makes you think he won’t hurt her? Did he say he wouldn’t hurt her?"
Sable stood up. "Micah beat your father almost to death that night. He wanted to inflict the maximum amount of pain possible. He didn’t care if Gabriel lived or died. Sam doesn’t want your mother dead, not yet. She has to be alive to hear Gabriel’s secret. She has to be alive to feel the shame of Gabriel’s deceit."
"So now what do we do?" Greg asked.
"Now we put out an APB on Emma’s car then we wait to see what happens." Nick told them.
Greg stared at Sable. "When did Sam say he would release her?"
"He didn’t say when, only that he would."
The phone on Nick’s desk rang. When he hung up he told Sable, "The local police found Emma’s car early this morning abandoned in a shopping center parking lot. They say there are signs of a struggle and there may be blood present. They towed it to their parking lot, but they are bringing the car over here for our forensic team to have a look at it."
Greg groaned. Gabriel’s hands shook as he stood. Greg reached out to steady his father as he sank down in his chair again. "Oh god, what did he do to her?" Gabriel moaned.
Greg turned to him. "Dad, let’s wait and see what they found. We can’t think the worst until we know for sure."
"What did I ever do to Micah to turn him into this kind of a monster?" Gabriel muttered.
"I don’t think it wasn’t anything you or anyone else did," Sable told them. "You taught him the difference between right and wrong. He chose the path he would walk on his own. I think Richard had more to do with who he became than you ever did."
"Yes, we all know how badly I screwed him up. Is this my dark secret? Is this what Sam wants me to atone for? My treatment of his uncle? "Gabriel asked.
"I don’t think that has anything to do with what’s happening now."
"Why not?" Gabriel argued.
"Because it’s not enough to damn you in anyone’s eyes. Remember the fact that no one knew about Richard. Even if it was about him, he wasn’t your disgrace. He would be Greg’s mistake," Sable said. "Something like that wouldn’t disgrace the family name enough. Everyone has scandals such as this one in their families. No, there has to be something more behind all of this. There must be something else that would make you look guilty in the eyes of the law you’ve protected all these years."
"Bah," Gabriel snorted as he rapped his cane on the floor. "You have no idea what you’re talking about."
"Maybe not yet, but we will find out," Sable agreed.
Max stood up from his desk announcing, "Mrs. Reardon’s car is downstairs."
"Let’s have a look at it then," Nick said as he led them all to the elevator. They traveled to the basement. When the doors opened, they saw Emma’s car. Sable and Nick walked toward it, glancing inside. Everything in the car had been thrown around. Groceries, bakery goods, and clothes wrapped in plastic were all over the back seat and on the floor. The front seat was littered with the contents of Emma’s purse, but what stuck out the most was a darkened stain on the front seat. It appeared to be a fair amount of dried blood.
Sable put on a pair of latex gloves and opened the front car door. Carefully she picked up the edges of Emma’s purse to look around and underneath it. Kneeling, she checked under the front seat and plucked something from the car floor. It was a folded slip of paper.
The paper was the same kind Sam had written the note to Gabriel on. Carefully unfolding the edges of the paper in her hand, she discovered another note from Sam. It read,
This is only the beginning. Retribution is at hand but not yet. Old man, this time you will watch as your empire crumbles to dust, laid to ruin by the blood of innocents. The blood of your family will be on your hands. You will watch them all perish by your own lies and deceit before death claims you. But before you face your own disgrace the guilty six must die…
Sam
Sable passed the note to Nick. Turning to Gabriel she asked, "Who are the guilty six?"
"I have no idea." Gabriel began to pace as he thought about the note. Suddenly he snapped his fingers and looked at Sable. "I seem to recall an incident years ago when Micah was young. He’d been following a case I presided over in the newspaper, and he wanted to be there when I passed judgment. I can’t remember the name of the defendant, but I do remember the case. The jury found the man innocent despite all the evidence pointing to his guilt. I was enraged by the verdict, but Micah had a strange look of fascination on
his face. I remember the rest of the summer he came to five more trials. Every trial ended the same way. It was the lowest point in my career. I wasn’t very pleasant to be around."
"I remember the summer. Micah finally had an interest in real life. I also remember you pounded him into the ground for it," Greg said.
"What are you talking about?" Gabriel asked.
Greg snorted. "Micah made a comment at dinner one night, something about how to commit the perfect crime and how to get away with it .You blew up at him. You ranted and raved to the point you even threw a full plate of food at him."
"Probably not one of my best moments, but the boy was totally wrong in his ideas of the law. He saw it as the perfect way to bypass real justice. Those men found a loophole in the law to set them free and with double jeopardy attached, they would never have to pay for their crimes."
"We need to find out who those six men are." Sable told Nick. "This has to be what he’s talking about in the note." She turned back to Greg and Gabriel. "When did all of this happen?"
Greg thought for a moment then told them, "It was a few days before Micah ran away from home. At the time there was some talk of sending him to boarding school. The discussion might have tipped the scales toward his running away, but I wouldn’t have sent my son away for simply disagreeing with anyone."
Gabriel snorted. "If I remember correctly you didn’t have a whole lot to say either way, at least not to my face."
Nick interrupted, "What did he mean "Your empire in ruin by the blood of innocents"?
"I have no idea. I fought for the innocent and put away the guilty for a lifetime, my lifetime."
Sable’s cell phone rang. When she answered, it was Emma. "Emma, are you alright? Where are you?"
"I’m at the West Side Emergency room. He brought me within a block of the hospital then dropped me off at the corner." Emma’s voice was barely above a whisper, but Sable could tell how shaken she was.
Gabriel stepped closer reaching for the phone. Sable handed it to him. She went to stand by Nick. "I think we need to keep them together under protection."