* * * *
They had barely made it to Ellie’s apartment when Kathryn called.
“Jordan. I was wondering if you could meet me for lunch. I know it’s on short notice, but…I’d like to see you if that’s okay.”
“Are you all right?” Her birthmother had been to the hospital for tests recently, and as expected, she was not in excellent health. Worrying about her still led to a multitude of mixed emotions.
“Yes, I’d just like to see you.”
She could say no. It was her right to draw lines—the shrink had said so. Jordan had also begun to harbor a morbid curiosity regarding Kathryn, so she had only herself to blame.
“I’m at Ellie’s now. I don’t have long, but I could meet you at Max’s for an hour or so.” There was a pause long enough to turn awkward. “Or we could do it another day.”
“No, that’s fine. I’ll be there.”
“You want me to come with you?” Ellie asked. Her question had merit. It was debatable how well Jordan had handled prior meetings with Kathryn. On the other hand, she knew what to expect now. She had opened that door, and intended to keep it open as long as Kathryn appeared to be trustworthy. This was mostly for Jordan’s benefit—again, it was the shrink’s opinion, but Ellie, Jack and Pauline shared it.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll see you later at Jack and Pauline’s?”
“Yes. Have a good time. I’m glad you’re going.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll tell you all about it later.”
Max’s bistro was reasonably priced. Jordan had to admit it hadn’t been her first consideration, but when she saw Kathryn walk in, looking around, she felt somewhat guilty. Which wasn’t fair—whatever financial troubles she and Jim might be in these days, Jordan had nothing to do with it. It wasn’t up to her to fix things for them. Going as far as she had was showing of a lot of good will already, wasn’t it?
“It’s good to see you.” Kathryn smiled, using the moment for a quick hug. She had already figured out that she had to take her chances.
“You too. What’s the matter?”
“Oh, nothing special,” Kathryn said as she sat down, and then quickly corrected herself. “What am I saying, that’s stupid. Seeing you is always special to me. It’s a nice place.”
“Yeah, I came here with my partner once. They opened not long ago.” Jordan let her words trail off, running out of subjects for small talk.
“How are you?” Kathryn asked.
“Good. Busy,” Jordan said vaguely, and then she blurted out, “Ellie and I are buying a house. So yes, things are good.”
“It’s serious, then. That’s wonderful.”
She had to stop finding a challenge in every word, Jordan reflected. “Yes, it is. I’ll be closer to the city.”
After their orders had arrived, a soup for Kathryn, and a salad for Jordan, she asked, “Do you want to get married?”
Funny how that question came as absolutely no surprise. Jordan felt herself smile, some of the tension that was always present in Kathryn’s company, vanishing.
“I haven’t asked her yet, but I plan to, yes.”
“I’m so happy for you. You deserve all of this, and more.”
“Come on.”
“It’s true, and it means so much to me that I can be around this time. I also wanted to give you this.” Kathryn took a couple of twenties out of her wallet. Jordan couldn’t help notice that they were the only bills in it, and that the wallet was about to fall apart. “I know it’s not all, but I’m pretty sure I can give you the rest next time. Thank you.”
Jordan pushed the bills back towards her. “I didn’t mean for you to give it back. You needed those meds. It’s fine.”
“Please.” Kathryn had very well understood the message between the lines, something closer to I never expected you to even try.
Jordan felt herself blush.
“All right. Sure. Let me pay for lunch, then.”
“If you insist. Look, if that’s all right with both of you, Ellie could come along sometime. I’d love to get to know her too.”
“I’ll ask her,” Jordan said, though she was deeply unsure of how she felt about this idea. Ellie would probably welcome it. Just like that, Kathryn would make herself at home in their lives. It seemed too quick, too easy. On the other hand, they didn’t have an endless amount of time.
“Thank you. Thank you so much.” Kathryn took her hands, and Jordan had a hard time resisting the urge to pull back. There was a necessity for boundaries in their careful negotiations. Kathryn was testing them.
“You’re welcome.”
They heard the sound of a vibrating cell phone. Jordan checked hers only to realize that the call was for Kathryn. “Excuse me?” she said and answered.
An older model, Jordan realized and chided herself instantly. It wasn’t up to her or anyone else to judge. Kathryn quickly ended a call.
“That was Jim, he just came back. I guess I have to go too—thank you for seeing me. It means more than you can ever imagine.”
After she had left, Jordan took a moment to reflect on their conversation. Her summary of it wasn’t good. How was it possible that she still felt the need to impress Kathryn—or maybe brag about what she’d become in spite of her incompetent birthparents? The house would probably be a go, but whatever had possessed her to talk about marriage before she’d told Jack and Pauline, or more importantly, raised the question with Ellie?
If they were going to make plans, would Kathryn expect to be invited, even though she’d had no interest in Jordan’s life in the past twenty years or so?
She finally left the bistro and drove all the way back to her house to change, needing the commute to clear her mind.
Marriage, did it matter for the two of them? What would it change? It hadn’t been enough for Jim and Kathryn to create two responsible human beings. Kathryn had cheated on Jim.
However, that didn’t mean she had to repeat those mistakes. She and Ellie could do better. They already had. She could possibly delay the conversation on wedding invitations a little while longer.
Chapter Ten
When Jordan arrived at her parents’, she wasn’t hungry, but she did accept the glass of wine that Pauline handed her in the kitchen. Jack was on the phone in the office.
“He might have a little surprise,” Pauline said with a wink. “But let’s talk about you. You solved the murder of that college kid—I read about it in the newspaper. I also read about Ellie. You have much to celebrate. Does she have any idea when she can get a detective job?”
Jordan decided to skip the more complicated parts of the past week, the possible connection to a dying serial killer, or the way she’d gone off on Ellie for doing something incredibly brave.
“It’s been…a busy time. We did manage to see a house this morning, though…and we really love it.”
“That’s amazing. If you need any work done, Jack can help you, you know? It’s not as far out as where you live now? It always makes me uneasy to think of…” Pauline let her words trail off, not revealing if the location, or how that house sale originated, was her major concern. “I’m so happy for you. This is a big step.”
“Yeah.” Jordan let herself be embraced, the gesture feeling less awkward than it had with Kathryn, of course, but she was still questioning her actions—and words. “I saw Kathryn too.”
“You did?” Pauline made a small pause as if to let the timing of this encounter sit in. However, she made up her mind quickly. “That’s good. Don’t get me wrong, I know you’re careful, and I think you have every reason. But if she’s honest, and you can have a relationship now, it’s not a bad thing.”
Jordan took a sip of her wine. “I’m so sorry.”
“About what?”
“I told her first…She asked if I wanted to marry Ellie. I said yes, and…it’s strange to share that with her. I should have told you first.”
“Well, Ellie is the one you should consult first, but I have no doubt whatsoever that
she’ll say yes. I can’t wait! A wedding. I so look forward to that.”
“Who’s getting married?” Jack asked from the doorway. “Wait…”
While Jordan appreciated everyone’s enthusiasm, the hugging was getting a bit much.
“I love you, but please, slow down, both of you. Nothing’s planned yet. Ellie doesn’t even know. Let’s please forget about it until it’s a done deal?”
Pauline and Jack shared an amused look. The doorbell rang.
“Don’t tell her, okay?”
“Not a word,” Jack promised.
For a moment, Jordan remembered what it had been like when she’d wondered if something she’d achieved would make her birthparents proud—and then felt guilty about it, because she had it so much better with Jack and Pauline, and their opinions were the only ones that counted now.
Ariel, whatever her path was, would likely grow up with the same dilemma…unless someone prepared her for it.
When they sat down for dinner, she remembered what Pauline had told her earlier.
“Pauline said you had a surprise?”
“That’s right. I wanted to wait until Ellie was here. You might have heard that the property where the Code 7 stood is for sale. I’m thinking about buying it to rebuild.”
“You want to run a bar?” Jordan asked, baffled.
“I have a friend who would get in on it. I know many of you miss the place, and this is a chance to bring back some of the memories. We could call it Carpenter’s.”
“Oh my God, Jack, no.”
The words were out before she realized Jack was probably not one hundred percent serious, about the name, anyway. Ellie’s amusement, Jordan was sure, had another reason. They had some special memories of the place indeed, one of which they could never share with anyone else.
She had to admit the thought was intriguing.
“Speaking of restaurants,” Ellie said. “Mrs. Williamson called me. We got an invitation to Le Luxembourg.”
“That’s amazing,” Pauline said.
“Yeah, it is. I think an appetizer plate is the price of our weekly budget for eating out.”
When Jordan saw Ellie’s grateful smile, Jordan knew it was the right thing to keep the tone light, if only for a few hours with Jack and Pauline. She, too, wanted to forget for a while what Ellie had done to receive such an invitation from one of the richest women in the city.
* * * *
Monday mid-morning, Jordan took a quick coffee break, her thoughts drifting to wedding plans and squeezing in meeting Ariel before the trial. She was catching up on her paperwork when Detective Doss came hastening into the room.
“Did you hear?”
“No. What are you talking about?”
“It’s on the news now. A woman walked into traffic near the mall. We know her. Joy Anne Deane.”
“She’s one of Daniel’s wives?” Jordan shuddered at the memory. They had to question everyone living on the compound, but not all women had been aware of the crimes committed, either because they weren’t privy, or they had grown into those structures not even knowing their rights. Jordan remembered her now, wearing the dress that the brothers running the cult had made mandatory for women and girls.
“Yes. From what I know, she’s hanging in there. I thought you might want to come.”
“Sure. Let’s go.”
“She’s eighteen, recently had a miscarriage.” Maria shuddered. “Those bastards. It’s about time they face some consequences. They had multiple wives younger than that.”
She was mostly voicing her own disbelief, knowing that Jordan had written some of those reports, read all of them. The press had been focused on how one of the cult members had been a cold-blooded murderer, his actions covered up by the family patriarch. In the screaming headlines, the day-to-day abuse those women and girls had been subjected to, had sometimes gotten lost.
Joy Anne would have been called to testify, as she had not been legally married to Daniel Deane and therefore didn’t have a choice.
The news was devastating. It would be for the other women, and it surely would be for Ariel who was so much braver than any girl her age should need to be.
“I can’t believe this is all over the news already? With the trial coming up, someone should have put a lid on it.” Jordan had to admit it was somewhat selfish. There was no way Joseph would be able to weasel out of the charges. For the other men, it was on a case by case basis. An illegal “marriage” with a minor would make a good point for the prosecution, but they had to prove that they had been taking place, and that the Deane men had been responsible. They had Agent Lilah Strickland’s testimony, and the book written by Jennifer Beaumont, who had been murdered by one of the cult members, but they hadn’t witnessed those weddings in person. Too much hinged on the testimony of Ariel, and the less loyal women, who would no doubt be painted as traitors. Ariel was one of the few who had not acted hostile towards the police. She and her mother, Joseph’s last victim, had wanted out, planned their escape for a long time.
“You think the girl is going to go through with the testimony? She’s not going to crack?” Maria Doss asked.
“No,” Jordan said with conviction. “Ariel is tough. She knows wrong from right too.”
Did Joy Anne? Had somebody tried to stop her from telling the truth, or had the idea of losing her family, if she testified, been too much?
Ariel was grieving her mother, and she had been fairly cavalier about the fact that her father didn’t want her. Given the charges against him, she was probably right.
What if she, too, became overwhelmed with the reality of her situation, the tug of war between loyalty and truth?
Jordan knew all too well how that felt, and how it had impacted her life. The thought of Ariel faced with that same decision, sent an icy chill down her spine.
* * * *
Ellie was sure that Ariel was on Jordan’s mind too as she found her in the ER waiting room.
“There were a handful of witnesses,” she told her. “All say the same—she walked right into traffic. No one pushed her.”
“That didn’t mean no one threatened her,” Jordan said. “She never wanted to testify in the first place, but since she’s not the legal wife, she would have to.”
“You think one of the lawyers got to her?”
“It’s possible—or even one of the other women. It’s terrible to even think about it, but you can’t keep up a system like that for so long without using the people in it against one another. If a lawyer contacted her, or one of the brothers, it would be easier to trace. I’m sure the women talk amongst themselves now, their future. Some have been loyal all their lives—it would be hard to change that.”
“You think there will be more incidents?” Ellie was aware that her question painted a dark picture.
“I don’t know. It’s possible. Even if Joy Anne made that decision for herself only, it will send shockwaves through their community. Other women might be discouraged from speaking out.”
“We need to talk to Ariel.”
Jordan nodded. “I know. The press will go after her harder.”
“I wish we could have done more, but people had their cell phones out seconds after it happened. Could we justify a safe house? I know Mary Sherman is doing her best with all the girls, but I’m not sure she has the resources to protect Ariel.”
“I’ll talk to the lieutenant, and Valerie, see what we can do. Will you go see her? I’ll call you when I know more.”
“Sure. I’m on my way.”
* * * *
When she arrived at the group home, Ellie went straight to Mary Sherman’s office.
“I guess you’re here about the other girl? That’s terrible.”
“Yes. We want to make sure that Ariel is protected all the way to the trial, and afterwards.”
“You’re going to take her out of here?” Sherman looked doubtful. “We had no problems with her family. Sad as it is, I believe they don’t consider her one of t
heir own anymore.”
“Joy Anne Deane was set to testify as well. We can’t take any chances. I am waiting for a call from Detective Carpenter, but I’d like to talk to Ariel, inform her about the next steps.”
“Sure, why don’t we go upstairs and get her?”
The doorbell rang, and Sherman excused herself. “I’ll be right back.”
A moment later, Ellie heard a familiar voice. She would have liked more time to prepare Ariel. On the bright side, if Valerie Esposito was here already, it meant that things were moving fast. She stepped outside Sherman’s office to greet the A.D.A.
“Jordan talked to you about the safe house?”
“Yes. It’s important we don’t waste any time on this. We still don’t know what triggered this, and regardless, we don’t want the press or anyone to find out where she is right now.”
Sherman shook her head. “I told Officer Harding already that we didn’t have any problems, with the press or members of the family.”
“Yeah, well, those problems could easily arise now,” Esposito said. “Ariel is coming with us.”
“Can I have a minute with her first?” Ellie asked.
“I don’t have a problem with that, but make it quick.”
“Thank you.”
She and Mary Sherman went up the stairs to Ariel’s room. Sherman knocked. “Ariel? Officer Harding is here for you.”
Detective, Ellie corrected in her mind, even though that had no bearing on the situation. She just had to remind herself sometimes.
There was no response.
“Ariel?” Sherman opened the door. Ellie followed her into the room—no Ariel. The window stood open, curtains wafting in the cold air.
“Damn it, Ariel, no.”
Ellie felt the same. She imagined this wasn’t the first time a girl had run away, but Ariel’s situation was especially tricky. “Ms. Sherman, when did you last see Ariel, and did she know about the other girl?”
“At dinner, she went to her room after. I’m not sure if she knew, but it was all over the internet, so it’s likely. Damn it.”
“We will find her. Let’s start with the other girls—could Ariel be in one of their rooms?”
Intentions (Carpenter/Harding Book 6) Page 8