Safe and Sound

by Fern Michaels

  “By the way, there appears to be some kind of bag hanging on your front door. We noticed it on our way around the back. Looks like it might be your son’s book bag,” Annie said.

  “In a manner of speaking it is Ben’s bag. One of the professors must have dropped it off when I was in the shower and didn’t hear the doorbell. I’m sure it’s just his assignments. Connor, why don’t you get it?”

  Connor obediently trotted off and returned with a bright blue Oakley rucksack packed to overflowing. The name RYAN was stenciled in stark white on the outside flap. He plopped it down on the kitchen table.

  Myra wiggled the pen in her hand. Natalie reached for it just as the kitchen door opened, and the sisters piled into the room.

  “What . . . what . . . who . . . ?” Natalie stammered as she stared at the women, then at the pen that was suddenly in her hand.

  “Think of this as a home invasion,” Nikki said, as the women surrounded Natalie and Connor. Myra and Annie stepped back to complete the circle.

  “Told you,” Connor whispered into his wife’s ear. She glared at him, then at the women, as she tried to figure out what her next move should be.

  “What do you want? We don’t have anything worth stealing.”

  “Sure you do. We want the boy,” Nikki said. “Where is he?”

  Natalie fixed her gaze on Myra and Annie. “You’re part of this, right?” she said, waving her arm about. “There never was a deal with a sheik to buy this house, right?”

  “Told you,” Connor whispered in her ear yet again.

  Natalie couldn’t help herself. She knew she should keep quiet, but she said, “And the interview for the Post, that was all part of this . . . whatever this is, right?”

  “Yes,” Kathryn barked loud enough that Natalie flinched.

  “Where’s the boy?” Yoko asked.

  “He’s not here,” Connor said quietly, surprising everyone.

  “Where is he?” Myra demanded.

  “We don’t know,” Connor responded just as quietly.

  “We’ve been trying to find him. We’ve looked everywhere, but he’s gone,” Natalie said desperately as she eyed the steely-eyed women surrounding her.

  “Did you report him missing? He’s only eight years old. We did not see or hear about any Amber alerts,” Alexis said.

  “No, we did not report him missing,” Connor said. “My wife insisted he could take care of himself and knew how to survive, as he is very resourceful. That’s the best excuse I can come up with. Let’s cut to the chase here. What is it you want from us?”

  As one, the women laughed long and loud. “What do you think we want?” Annie finally asked when everyone had stopped laughing.

  “We don’t know; that’s why my husband asked you,” Natalie snapped. “So we screwed up. Parents screw up every day, and their reward isn’t a home invasion. I’ll ask you one more time, what do you want from us? Just because we screwed up this once doesn’t mean we aren’t good parents.”

  “Nothing, nothing at all,” Nikki said. “There is nothing you could give us that would change things at all.”

  “We’re here to make you pay for what you did to young Ben while he was in your care. We’re going to ask you some questions. You would be wise to answer them quickly and truthfully. But first, rest assured that Ben is safe and sound, and he’s told us all about both of you and his life in your care. His grandmother is back in town, and just about right now, the two of them are being reunited. In addition to that, Eleanor Lymen finally located, after six long months of searching, Ben’s biological father, who, by the way, knew nothing about the boy’s existence. They also will be reunited shortly,” Annie said.

  Natalie swallowed hard at Annie’s words. Connor was right; it was over. She should have listened to him and left last night or at the very latest early this morning. Good God, why hadn’t she listened? It was over, and she had to accept it. Like hell! She’d go down fighting. At this point, what do I have to lose?

  “Tell me what kind of mother you were to Ben?” Nikki asked.

  “I was a good mother,” Natalie lied through clenched teeth.

  “How many nights a week did you cook dinner for him? Remember now, we have Ben’s side of this, so you get points for being truthful,” Nikki said.

  “I’m not much of a cook. We mostly ordered in or brought home takeout. Ben liked to make his own sandwiches at lunchtime because it made him feel grown-up, and he also liked to do his own cereal in the morning for the same reason,” Natalie continued to lie.

  Kathryn made an ugly sound in her throat. “Are you sure it wasn’t because you couldn’t get your lazy ass out of bed in the morning to make him breakfast and left it up to him to scrounge for his own lunch?” Natalie chewed on her lower lip but didn’t respond to Kathryn’s accusations.

  Nikki made a check mark on her list.

  “How often did you do Ben’s laundry?”

  “The boy did his own laundry,” Natalie said curtly. “He felt grown-up doing it.”

  “He’s only eight years old,” Nikki said. “And he was only four years old when he was forced to come live with you.” She made a check mark on the pad she was holding in her hand.

  “When it rained or snowed, how did Ben get to the Institute? Did you drive him?”

  Natalie sucked in her breath. “He rode his bike. He had a poncho for rain. Boots for snow.”

  Nikki made another check mark on her list.

  “How many times did you take the boy to the doctor or the dentist?”

  “He wasn’t sick. There was nothing wrong with his teeth,” Natalie said.

  Nikki made another check on her list.

  “How many birthdays did you celebrate with him? How many cakes did you buy or bake and what kind of gift did you get him?”

  “Okay, okay, so I’m a rotten mother in your eyes. Motherhood is a work in progress. I get it that I’m not up to your standards. The kid is healthy as a horse. He’s smarter than everyone in this room. He didn’t need me; he made that clear from day one.”

  Another check went on Nikki’s list.

  “How often do you buy fresh fruit and vegetables for Ben? You know, oranges, apples, bananas, string beans, carrots?”

  Natalie tried to look away, but Yoko grabbed her by the arm and jerked her around, so she was almost eyeball to eyeball with Nikki. “Answer the question, damn it!”

  “The market is on the other side of town. Ben could get all that at the Institute if he wanted it.”

  Before Nikki could place another check mark on her list, Kathryn’s fist shot out, hitting Natalie dead center in her mouth. Chips of her teeth, resembling white Chiclets, flew in all directions, and her lips seemed to deflate right in front of their eyes. She shrieked in pain, her hands flying to her mouth. Connor cackled in glee as he clapped his hands in approval.

  “Moving right along here, how much money did you save in an account for Ben from the allotment you got each month? What was his allowance? Don’t bother to answer that, the answer is zero to both questions. He never received an allowance of even a quarter a week.”

  Another check mark went on Nikki’s list.

  “How much do you and your husband owe in bills? I think it’s close to two hundred thousand dollars. Is that about right?”

  “That’s a damn lie!” Natalie screeched, her voice sounding like mush without the pricey caps on the stubs of her original teeth. She was howling in pain and outrage, to her husband’s delight.

  “No, it isn’t,” Connor said quietly. “Actually, it’s a bit more than that. Natalie is the one who spent the money, not I.”

  “You bastard!” Natalie screeched again.

  Another check mark found its way to Nikki’s list.

  “Tell us about Christmas. What kind of gifts did you get the boy? Did you put up a Christmas tree for him, decorate the house?” Nikki asked.

  “They had a Christmas tree at the Institute. The staff gave all the students a gift,” Natalie whined
. Nikki’s eyes narrowed to slits as she watched Natalie crumple. She turned to the group and asked where Alexis was.

  “I’m right here,” Alexis said as she appeared in the doorway, holding a pair of strappy black leather shoes. “Lookie here, ladies. See these shoes! I have lusted after them for a whole year, but no way could I ever afford them, and even if I could, I wouldn’t pay sixteen hundred dollars for a pair of shoes. But this lady did. Look! Look! Brunello Cucinelli! And there were five more pairs in her closet.”

  As one, the women stared at the shoes dangling from Alexis’s hand.

  “And you bought all those obscenely priced shoes with Ben’s money when he was wearing underwear that was so tight it was cutting off his circulation,” Kathryn roared, as her fist shot out and landed squarely on Natalie’s nose.

  Connor clapped his hands. “There goes ten grand down the tube for the nose job. Bravo! Bravo! Whatever your name is. I’ve wanted to do that so many times, I’ve lost count.”

  Yoko, her face a mask of rage, moved at the speed of light to get behind Natalie. She reached out, grasped her hair, and pulled. The sisters gasped, and Connor Ryan burst out laughing as he stared at Natalie’s hair extensions in Yoko’s hands. “They cost nine hundred dollars. If you keep on going, you can add up the tab for the contact lenses, the nose job, the caps on her pearly whites. They cost enough to retire on. Lip injections. Breast augmentation. Tummy tuck. The list goes on and on.”

  “What’s with this guy?” Myra hissed in Annie’s ear. Annie just shrugged. The sisters stared at him as they, too, tried to figure it all out.

  Connor Ryan threw his hands in the air. “I want to go on record right here and now that I never, ever laid a hand on Ben. I’m not father material. I admit that. I agreed to adopt him because that was the only way Diana would marry me. I married her for her money. I admit that, too. I also admit to picking up this skank,” he said, pointing to Natalie, “in a bar. I was drunk at the time; you need to know that, too. This was when Eleanor Lymen decided that just having Ben living with her was not enough and filed for custody of Ben. I knew he was my meal ticket even if, for the sake of convenience, I had let him live with his grandmother after Diana died. So I fought it. I enlisted Natalie’s help, so we could present a family unit for Ben to live with. It worked. Eleanor is an old lady, and grandparents have no rights. That’s my story. Hers is different.

  “On my phone, I recorded her saying she was going to do away with Ben. Unless you have another definition for ‘do away with,’ that means she meant to kill him. It’s all there. And she has me on her phone asking her to marry me so we could fight Eleanor in court. I admit it. It will be up to you who you believe. Now, having said that, I think Ben can pretty much verify everything I said. And for whatever it’s worth, I’m truly glad you found the boy’s father. The kid needs a real father. I hope he steps up to the plate. And you won’t get any resistance from me. I’ll sign whatever you need me to sign to make it easy for him going forward.”

  The sisters found themselves in what Nikki said felt like never-never land. Nikki looked over at Maggie, and said, “Watch these two; we all need to talk.”

  “Sure thing,” Maggie said happily.

  Natalie was getting some of her gusto back. She looked at her husband and said, “You can’t testify against me, I’m your wife. You agreed to everything. Don’t try to weasel out of this now.”

  “No, I never agreed. I simply went along, waiting for my chance to split. I didn’t want to end up dead at your hands, and I suspected that was your ultimate goal. I recognize that I’m weak, a wuss if you will, but I draw the line at murder. I don’t give a hoot in hell what happens to me as long as you pay for what you were planning. I hope you got all that, you bitch!”

  In the dining room, with the door to the kitchen open, the sisters heard every word Connor Ryan uttered. “What are we going to do with him? I don’t see us meting out the kind of justice to him we have planned for his wife. Do we let him go? Do we do . . . something to him to make our point?” Myra said angrily.

  “Ben never said anything really bad about Connor. Yes, he was greedy. The worst thing he did in regard to Ben was neglect and ignore him. No harm came to the boy through Connor. Right now, he’s stone-cold broke, in debt up to his ears, and he has no money in the bank. This house, even the workshop in the back, belongs to Ben. We could turn him loose and let him go the homeless route. Or we can do something else as soon as we figure out what that something is. We need to take a vote on it,” Annie said.

  “We get him to sign off on everything, so Ben’s new father doesn’t have a fight on his hands. I can do all the legal work right here and right now. Then we can relocate him somewhere far, far away via Pearl’s underground railroad,” Nikki said.

  “Do we really believe he would not have harmed Ben? I think that’s what we need to agree on. Would he have helped Natalie? Would he have stood by and watched her do it? Or would he have found a way to split or stop her?” Yoko asked.

  “It all comes down to two words. Harm or neglect? That’s what we have to agree on,” Alexis said. “A vote will go a long way right now,” Alexis said. “Just a reminder. I brought my red bag. It’s in the car. Someone text Maggie and ask her what her vote is in regard to Connor.”

  Myra fired off a text and held up Maggie’s response, which was Let him go. The final vote was six to one to send Connor via Pearl’s railroad to never-never land. Nikki was the lone holdout.

  “Majority rules,” she said bitterly. She looked at Kathryn and nodded. The look meant call Pearl and make arrangements for Connor.

  Kathryn grinned. She loved going up against Pearl and took it as a personal challenge.

  “Okay, then. Alexis, fetch your bag. Kathryn, you’re in charge of Connor. Don’t give him the shot until Yoko puts him to sleep. Back up Yoko’s van to the garage door, and we’ll dump him in there. Just to be on the safe side, use the Flexi Ties on his hands and feet. Do you need any help, Kathryn?” Annie asked.

  “Nope! I got it,” Kathryn said happily.

  “Okay, ladies, let’s do it!” Myra said jubilantly. She looked around at Alexis, and asked, “Seriously, were those shoes really sixteen hundred dollars?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Alexis said smartly.

  “Six pair in total, eh?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Alexis grinned.

  Myra smiled, an evil smile. “Pack them up in a bag, dear. But first, take a knife and slash each one so that it is unwearable. We’re going to let Mrs. Ryan take them with her when she . . . um . . . goes on her final journey, but not with them in a condition that would let her sell them to give her a financial start.”

  “Oooh, I love the way you think,” Alexis cooed before she ran out of the room to grab a knife and go up the stairs to Natalie’s closet. She slashed each shoe until it was unwearable, then dumped the pricey shoes in a laundry bag that was lying on the floor. She looked around at the shoe racks and felt dizzy at what she was seeing. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and raced down the steps.

  “I’m ready, my dears!”

  “So are we!” the sisters shouted in return.

  Chapter 15

  Isabelle watched as the massive iron gates opened and a dusty, muddy Range Rover sailed through the wide opening and came to a stop. She opened the kitchen door and ran out to greet Eleanor Lymen and her two friends. They hugged and laughed and swiped at their eyes as Isabelle led them inside to Myra’s homey, warm kitchen, where a nice fire was blazing, and the scent of fresh coffee permeated the kitchen.

  “You guys look exhausted. Sit down, have a cup of coffee, we’ll talk for a bit, then . . . you get to hug your grandson! He is going to be so happy, Ellie. You’re all he talks about.”

  “Where is he?” Ellie asked.

  “In the barn. He loves climbing up to the loft and jumping down into a bed of hay. It takes us hours to pick it all out of his hair and off his clothes. The dogs, too. He is in his glory, Ellie. I don’t think t
hat child has had so much fun in a long, long time.

  “Myra has four barn cats, and he plays with them, he talks to the horses, rubs them down, feeds them apples and sugar cubes. The dogs, all five of them, think he’s their personal playmate. He’s being a little boy, Ellie, and loving every minute of it.”

  “I don’t know how to thank you and your friends for taking him in and caring for him. I’ve been so worried. Tell me the truth, Isabelle, is Ben upset with me for leaving him? Even though there was nothing I could do legally, I was still there on the Circle for him.”

  “Not one little bit. He understands. He is such an amazing little kid. Just when I think I have him figured out, he throws me a curve. I love him so much. We all do. We’re going to miss him when you all leave. I hope you’ll let him come to visit, call, write, whatever.”

  “Of course we will. What’s the story on Connor and Natalie?” Rita asked.

  “You know what, Rita, let’s leave Connor and Natalie till later and not spoil what is going to be a wonderful, happy reunion, which is way too overdue,” Isabelle said, not unkindly. The women nodded, knowing she was right.

  “You’re right, of course,” Ellie said agreeably. “Is Ben still doing his schoolwork?”

  “Yes, every day. He is very conscientious. Just this morning, before he went out to the barn, he called his professors and sent off his work through the computer. I’m a real Neanderthal, so I don’t understand how that works, but he does, and that’s all that matters. He did say he was up to date on everything and ahead by a week on his future assignments, but he has to take two oral quizzes this afternoon. He said he will graduate in December as planned. Isn’t that amazing?”

  “It certainly is,” Ellie agreed as she finished her coffee. “Can we see him now?”

  “Sure. But let me call him on his new phone. He loves to get calls. I bought him this phone called a Jitterbug. He thinks it’s the best thing since peanut butter and jelly.”