Nighthawk's Child

by Linda Turner

  And her twin sister!

  Reeling from the news, Emma hardly heard anything after that. She’d known she’d had a twin sister ever since she had been accused of killing Christina and DNA testing had revealed that she and the murderer had the same DNA composition. But she’d never dreamed that Audra was her twin. And Lexine had never told her. She’d kept that news to herself, and for the life of her, Emma didn’t know why. She must have had some plan in her twisted mind, but Emma doubted that she would ever know what it was.

  Lost in her thoughts, she never noticed that she’d given Lily Mae someone else’s order until the old woman snapped her fingers under her nose. “Hey, girl, is anybody home inside that head of yours? You know I can’t eat eggs. My doctor’d have a stroke if I ate all that cholesterol. Bring me one of those cinnamon rolls, the kind with a lot of icing. All this talk of murder’s given me a sweet tooth this morning.”

  Repulsed, Emma hid her feelings well and did as she was told, but she couldn’t help thinking that the gossips were talking about her twin. She’d been looking for her for months in the faces of everyone she’d met, desperate to help her. If only she’d known who she was, she could have talked to her and convinced her to do the right thing and turn herself in before things got out of hand. Or at least she could have tried. But Lexine hadn’t given her that opportunity, and she’d never forgive her for that.

  Drowned out by the buzz of excited conversation, the phone rang behind the counter, but Emma never noticed until Janie answered it, then yelled to her, “Emma! Phone!”

  Assuming it was her husband, Brandon, calling to make sure she was all right after hearing the news, she rushed behind the counter as quickly as she could and turned her back on the crowd in the dining area as she picked up the phone. “Hello? This is Emma.”

  “Hi, sweetheart. This is your momma. How are you and that grandbaby of mine?”

  Her blood running cold at the sound of Lexine’s voice, Emma stiffened. It was bad enough that Lexine referred to herself as her “momma,” but it was downright outrageous that she actually thought she was going to be a grandmother to her baby. That, Emma assured herself fiercely, was never, ever, going to happen!

  But that wasn’t something she intended to get into with her on the phone. “I’m fine,” she said coolly, not even mentioning the baby. “But it’s very busy here this morning. I don’t have a lot of time—”

  Not a slow-witted woman, Lexine didn’t have to ask if she’d heard the news—she could hear the resentment in Emma’s voice. Normally, she wouldn’t have given a rat’s ass. Of her two daughters, Audra was the one who took after her mother, the one she could twist around her finger to do her bidding, but thanks to that tattletale boyfriend of hers, she was out of the picture. Which meant she had to make do with what she had, which was the stiff and cautious Emma.

  Playing the role of the contrite mother to the hilt, she said sadly, “You found out about Audra, didn’t you? Look, I don’t blame you for being hurt, honey. I should have told you. She’s your twin and you had a right to know, but I had to protect her. I was afraid if I told anyone, even you, word would get out and she’d end up in jail, just like me. And no mother wants that for her daughter. Why, I’d incriminate myself in a heartbeat before I’d let something like that happen to one of my precious girls.”

  “I could have helped her,” she said stiffly.

  “I know, honey, and I’m sorry about that,” Lexine said sorrowfully, lying through her teeth. “I should have talked to you about it. You always were the smart one, the one I knew I could depend on when things got tight. Which is why I called. I need your help with something.”

  “What?”

  A deaf woman couldn’t have missed her wariness, but Lexine wasn’t concerned. The girl had come looking for her in the first place because she wanted a relationship with her birth mother, and Lexine knew just how to use that to her advantage. “It’s something that’s very close to my heart and a part of your heritage, honey. If it hadn’t been lost years ago, I wouldn’t have had to give you and poor Audra up when you were born. When I think of the years that were lost and all the time I wondered where you girls were and if you were okay, I just want to cry. I loved you both so much, but I just couldn’t support you. And you must hate me for that.”

  “I wouldn’t use the word hate,” Emma said.

  “Oh, sweetheart, you don’t know how grateful I am to hear that,” she gushed, smiling gleefully to herself. Now she had her right where she wanted her! All she had to do was push the right buttons, and she’d fall in line just like Audra. “I want us to be a family. There’s so many things I want to give you to make up for all the years I missed with you, but I’m stuck in this hateful place for God knows how long and can’t do anything. You could help me, though, by looking for the old sapphire mine for me.

  “And I know you could find it, a smart girl like you,” Lexine hurried on before Emma could say anything. “Audra came close, but like I said before, sweetheart, she just doesn’t have it upstairs the way you do. If you’d go out there and start digging around, I bet you could find it in no time. Whaddaya say? Will you do that for your old mom?”

  Taken aback by the request, Emma couldn’t believe she was so cold. One of her daughters had just been charged with murder—a murder that had, by the way, been committed when she was out looking for that same sapphire mine—and all Lexine could think about was the mine. She didn’t care about Audra or that she could spend the rest of her life in prison. The only thing that mattered to her was the sapphires and finding them before somebody else did.

  All this time, Emma thought she’d missed something by not growing up with her birth mother’s love. Now she realized that she’d actually been blessed. Lexine had done her a favor when she’d given her up to the foster care program. At least she’d finally ended up with the Stovers, who’d taught her what love was really all about. If she’d been raised by Lexine, God only knew how she would have turned out.

  Silently sending up a prayer of thanks that she didn’t feel an ounce of affection—or guilt—for the monster who’d given birth to her, she said, “No, Lexine, I’m afraid I won’t. As far as I’m concerned, my mother died a long time ago, so I guess you’re going to have to find someone else to help you. Oh, and one more thing,” she added when the older woman gasped in outrage. “In the future, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t call me here at work—or anyplace else, for that matter. We really have nothing more to say to each other. Goodbye.”

  Hanging up before she could do anything but screech at her, Emma felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Finally, she was free of the shadow that Lexine had cast over her life from the moment she’d met her! She’d never have any kind of hold on her again.

  The same, however, couldn’t be said of Audra. She was her twin; there was a bond between them that they shared with no other person. There was nothing she could do to help her—it was too late for that—but she had to at least see her and to let her know she wasn’t completely alone in the world.

  Hurrying over to her boss with her pregnant stomach leading the way, she said, “Janie, I hate to ask this of you when we’re so swamped, but I need to leave—”

  Alarmed, Janie grabbed her by the arm. “Oh, God, are you all right? Is the baby—”

  “No. We’re fine.” She chuckled as the usually calm Janie nearly self-destructed in panic. “This has nothing to do with the baby. Honest. I just need to go see Audra. I think I should, don’t you?”

  Janie hesitated. “I don’t know. Maybe you should talk to your doctor first. And Brandon.”

  Her smile faint, Emma shook her head. “Not if I want to go. If he even suspected that I wanted to talk to Audra, he’d be over here in a heartbeat to talk some sense into me. I can just hear him now. ‘All this stress isn’t good for the baby. You need to get off your feet and not worry about people who aren’t your family.’”

  “Well, I can see why you wouldn’t want to
claim Lexine,” Janie said dryly, “but Audra’s your twin. Even though you weren’t raised together, I wouldn’t imagine you could just turn your back on her, especially when she’s in trouble.”

  Thankful that she understood, Emma sighed in relief. “I have to at least see her, Janie. I know the timing stinks but—”

  “You’re not supposed to be working this hard anyway,” the other woman said with a rueful smile. “Go on. Take a break. You need one.”

  Tears flooding her eyes, Emma gave her an impulsive hug, then turned and grabbed her purse and rushed out to her car. Five minutes later, she pulled up in front of the stark confines of the jail and parked. Regret squeezing her heart, she sat there for what seemed like five minutes, hating the thought of going inside. Ever since she’d learned her twin was out there somewhere, she’d pictured the moment when they first met. Not once had she imagined it would be in the grim setting of a jail.

  If she’d known about her sooner, maybe she could have changed things, she thought. But then again, they’d both been set on different paths a long time ago, and they’d each had choices to make in life. Audra had made hers, and Emma had to believe that nothing she could have said or done would have changed anything. Resigned, she went inside to meet her sister.

  Thankfully, the jail wasn’t quite the nightmare Emma had imagined it would be. It was clean, modern, and bright, and the cells were equipped with all the amenities—TV with a remote, a private bath, a bunk with covers that looked new. Despite that, Emma found nothing appealing about the place. There was just something about being locked behind bars like an animal that sickened her.

  Her stomach twisting into knots as she was escorted to Audra’s cell, Emma shifted forward when the guard stepped in front of a door, only to stop in her tracks when she found Audra sitting on her bunk and staring right at her. Stunned, she couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen the resemblance sooner. It was right there in both their faces for the entire world to see. Granted, Audra was thin as a rail and had bleached platinum-blond hair, but they had the same hazel eyes, the same bone structure and chin. If she’d let her hair grow out and stripped the bleach job, then added a much needed fifteen pounds, they couldn’t have hidden the fact that they were twins from anyone.

  For what seemed like an eternity, neither of them said a word, but they didn’t have to. Audra knew she was her sister—the knowledge was there in her eyes. Emma wouldn’t have been surprised to discover that Audra had known it a lot longer than she had.

  “I had to come,” Emma said huskily. “I hope you know why.”

  “You had to satisfy your curiosity,” Audra retorted. “I guess I can’t say I blame you.”

  She shrugged indifferently, as if she couldn’t have cared less that Emma was there, but Emma wasn’t fooled. There was a connection between them that they shared with no other person on earth, and Audra felt it, too. Emma could see it in her eyes. “I wish I’d known sooner. Maybe I could have helped.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up over it. It was too late years ago.”

  A pang of regret squeezed Emma’s heart at that. “Don’t!” she cried. “It doesn’t have to be that way…”

  But even as she protested, she knew her sister was wiser than she. Separated not only by bars, but by a lifetime of different influences, there was little they had in common but their shared DNA. And any chance they’d had of developing a relationship had died with Christina Montgomery.

  Tears stinging her eyes, she wanted to reach out and touch Audra, just once, but she couldn’t. “If things had been different…”

  She couldn’t finish, but Audra understood. “Yeah,” she said huskily. “If things had been different…”

  But they weren’t and never would be. Accepting that, Emma said quietly, “I wish you luck.” And with a somber nod, she turned and walked out without once looking back. With the closing of the door, Emma closed the door on her past.

  With a simple phone call, Gavin’s entire world had changed. He didn’t know how the word had spread so quickly, but by the time he and Summer left Elizabeth’s office and stepped out onto the street, the news had already broken. People who would have cut him dead just an hour before nodded in embarrassment and couldn’t quite look him in the eye. A few of the bolder ones even lied and called out to him that they’d always known he was innocent.

  Yeah, right, he thought cynically. Then his eyes met Summer’s and they both burst out laughing. What difference did it make? The nightmare was over. He was free and would soon have his daughter back. Nothing else mattered.

  But they soon discovered that that freedom didn’t come without a price tag. By the time they reached Gavin’s house, the phone was ringing off the wall. Every reporter within a two-state area wanted to talk to him. At first, he took the calls as they came in, but the second he finished one interview and hung up, the phone immediately rang again. Then two reporters from the local newspaper, the Whitehorn Journal, pulled up in front of the house. Scowling, Gavin recognized them immediately. The shorter one, called Dutch for some obscure reason, had interviewed him right after he was charged with Christina’s murder and twisted everything he’d said. Tuttle, his partner in crime, was just as bad. By that evening, Gavin imagined others from around the state would be camped out in his front yard, acting as if they’d believed all along that he would be vindicated.

  “C’mon,” he told Summer as he let the answering machine take the next call. “If we don’t get out of here, we’re going to be trapped, and I refuse to spend my first real day of freedom talking to the press.”

  At that very moment the two reporters out front banged loudly on the front door. “C’mon, Dr. Nighthawk,” Dutch called in a wheedling voice. “We know you’re in there. Just answer a few questions for us and we’ll leave you alone.”

  “Yeah, right,” he muttered. “And I bet you’ve got a map to the lost Baxter sapphire mine you can let me have cheap, too. Thanks but no thanks.”

  “But won’t they just follow us?” Summer pointed out logically as he urged her to the garage.

  “Not where we’re going,” he assured her grimly. “Go get in the car. I’ll be right there.” His dark eyes glinting with purpose, he stepped over to the front door and said loudly, “Give me a few minutes, fellas. My wife and I are celebrating with a bottle of champagne. Then I’ll answer all your questions. Okay?”

  Thrilled at the thought of getting an exclusive before the big city boys from Butte and Helena arrived in a couple of hours, they neatly stepped into the trap. “Sure thing, Dr. Nighthawk,” Tuttle called back, pleased. “Take your time. There’s no hurry. We’ll be here when you’re finished.”

  Gavin doubted that, but he wisely kept that to himself. Grinning, he hurried out to the garage to find that Summer had already opened the garage door and started the motor. With the garage located at the back of the house, the reporters didn’t even know they were about to be duped.

  Quickly slipping behind the wheel of his Chevy, he buckled up, then glanced over at Summer and grinned. “Ready?”

  “When you are,” she replied, chuckling. “Let’s go.”

  Putting the car in gear, he eased quietly out of the garage, then followed the drive around the side of the house. Still standing in the walled-in entry by the front door, Dutch and Tuttle didn’t hear them until they reached the street, and by then, it was too late. Shouting in outrage, they rushed to their cars, but before they could reach them, Gavin turned the corner at the end of the street and was lost to view. Outsmarted, there was nothing the two reporters could do but curse.

  Gavin didn’t have a clue where he was going—he just wanted to get away. So he made sudden turns, U-turns, and doubled back half a dozen times before Highway 17 beckoned him west. It had been months since he’d been allowed to leave the county, and suddenly a nice long drive with no particular destination in mind sounded incredibly appealing. He just wanted to go somewhere where nobody knew him, nobody stared, and the local reporters wanted nothing from
him.

  Glancing over at Summer, he arched a brow at her. “You’re not in a rush to get back, are you? I thought I’d drive a while.”

  Summer, too, had no desire to go back anytime soon. “Are you kidding? I can’t remember the last time I went for a drive in the mountains. Take the whole day if you like. You deserve it.”

  “Thanks,” he said with a grin. “I just might do that.”

  He turned on the radio, only to wince when he tuned into a news report about Audra’s arrest and his own release. With a grimace, he quickly turned off the radio and shoved in a CD instead. Instantly, low, mellow jazz engulfed them, and they both sighed in relief.

  Later, Summer couldn’t have said where they went. On a whim, Gavin turned off onto a side road that twisted and turned and eventually came back to Highway 17 again. He could have headed home then and she wouldn’t have said a word, but once again, he turned west. Pleased, she settled back to enjoy the music and the scenery, content to go wherever he wanted to take her.

  Neither of them noticed the passage of time or remembered how long it had been since they’d eaten breakfast that morning until Summer’s stomach suddenly growled loudly. Startled, she pressed a quick hand to her midsection, hot color burning her cheeks. “Oh, God, I’m sorry!”

  “No, I should be the one apologizing.” Gavin laughed. “I should have fed you hours ago. There’s an inn up ahead that has great steaks. We’ll stop there.”

  High up at the top of a mountain pass, the Gas Light Inn sat back in the pines and had the kind of charm that only came with age. Built in the style of an old English inn, it had gas lights, diamond-paned stained-glass windows, and dark, rich wood everywhere. Just as Gavin pulled into the parking lot of the inn’s restaurant, it started to snow, and that only added to the atmosphere.

  Entranced, Summer took one look at it and fell in love. “Oh, this is beautiful!”

  “Wait’ll you see it inside,” Gavin told her as he came around the car to open her door for her. “The owners are English and decorated it with antiques from all over Europe. It’s the food, though, that brings people in. I don’t know what they do to their steaks, but they’ve got this incredible flavor. And they’re so tender, you can practically cut them with a fork.”