I shook off the sentimentality and gave them the tour of the house. We lingered in the nursery where Jennifer was entranced by the drawing of Rose. "It’s beautiful, isn’t it?"
Jennifer nodded. "Incredible." She smiled at me. "It’s almost as if she’s here, with us."
I led her to the gallery wall. "You’ll love this." She was tickled by the prints of Rose, Rory and even her. I put my arm around her shoulders. "You like?" Jennifer nodded. "We’ll get more pictures and hang them up. And new ones, with you and Jay and everybody." I snapped my fingers. "Oh, and we’ll have to get the one of you and Mom at Christmas."
Jennifer smiled, tears pooling in her dark eyes. "Yes the one of me and your mom would be perfect. She’d love that."
<<>>
Matt and Eric swung by in the afternoon to restock the truck. Afterward, Eric pulled me into my office and gave me my computer. I raised my eyebrows. "What’d you find?"
Eric hunched a shoulder. "Nothing serious."
I leaned against the desk and flicked my wrist. "That’s great. What’s with the face?"
He ran a hand through his long shaggy hair. "You shouldn’t have challenged Ingrid that way. It was stupid." I rolled my eyes. "Scotti, I’m serious. You don’t know what this chick is capable of."
I chuckled and patted him on the back. "All right Eric, thanks for your concern. But I’m not worried."
Eric grabbed my arm and stared me down. "You should be. Are you really not putting this together? How does she know about the guest room and how pregnant you are? How does she even know you’re pregnant?" I stopped laughing and cringed. Eric nodded and grimaced. "Now, you getting the picture?" He groaned. "She’s got a line into you somehow." He swept his arm out. "Bugs in the house or she’s hacked your phone. Something."
I fisted my forehead. "Thanks buddy, just when I was starting to feel like I had a handle on this, you’ve assured me I don’t."
Eric patted my back. "Hey Scotti, you know I’m not trying to freak you out. But you have to be careful with this stuff. We have to figure out how she’s tracking you."
I frowned at him. "Okay, you’re right. Where do we start?"
He put out his hand. "Give me your phone."
I gave him my cell and said, "You haven’t talked to Ted about this, have you?"
Eric scrolled through my phone. "Yeah."
I shook my fists at him. "Eric!"
Eric shrugged. "Hey, it’s not my fault you keep secrets from your husband." He flapped a hand. "Don’t sweat it. We’re on it."
I left Eric in my office and found Matt and Jason sharing a whole blueberry pie at the butcher-block. "Where’s Jennifer?"
Jason wiped blueberry goo off his mouth with a napkin. "Lying down. It’s been a while since she’s been able to relax."
I took a fork out of the drawer and joined them at the pie. "Don’t you love pie?"
Jason chuckled. "You make good pie, cuz."
Matt nodded at the closed office door. "Eric about done with your computer, boss lady?"
I sighed. "It might be a while."
"I gotta get going — got a class in an hour."
I waved a hand toward the door. "Go ahead, I’ll make sure Eric gets home."
Matt dumped half of the remaining pie into a to-go container, grabbed his gear and left.
Jason stood up. "I better take off too. Claire’s expecting me. If I’m late, I’ll get skinned." He raised his brows at me. "Will you be okay?"
I nodded. "Eric’s here, and Ted will be home soon. Bring Claire back for dinner. I’ll make a big pot of spaghetti and meatballs." I wiggled my eyebrows. "And I have lots more pie."
He laughed. "Sounds like a plan." Before he left, he made sure everything was secure. "You need anything, you call, okay?"
I pushed him out the door. "I’ve never had so many men clucking over me in my life. I’ll see you later."
But after he left, the quiet nibbled at my peace of mind. Jennifer was sound asleep with Boomer curled at her feet. And Eric was hunkered down in my office. The only distraction I could think of was to watch TV. I flipped through the channels and stopped on the afternoon news, just to see what was happening in the world. Same old same old — the world was going to hell, our democracy was at risk, and the weather was anybody’s guess. Just before I switched it off they cut in with a breaking news report. Across the bottom of the screen they flashed, "Atkinson baby found?" I turned up the volume.
A young, perky redhead launched into her report. "Just minutes ago, sources close to LAPD tell us that a baby girl was found in this North Hollywood theatre." She swept her arm toward William Hyden’s theater. "Sources tell us that the healthy one-year-old girl was found wandering in the theater alone. The child was taken into custody by L.A. Child Services about twenty minutes ago.
William Hyden, the man credited with torpedoing Atkinson’s defense strategy, was not available for comment but is not a person of interest in the case. Sources tell us that testing will be done to determine if in fact, the little girl is the daughter of Hyden and Tina Devereaux, who was murdered a year ago. LAPD is expected to make a statement later on this evening, and we’ll bring you that live when and if it happens. Back to you Julie and Bob."
I switched off the set and sat in stunned silence. Then I called Daniels.
"I was just about to call you."
"So it’s Devereaux’s baby?"
Daniels chuckled like he’d won the Lotto. "We won’t know until tomorrow, but it’s gotta be, right?" He sighed. "Hyden is over the moon."
I laughed. "I’ll bet he is. But why did Kathy give her up? I assume we think she had her?"
I felt Daniels’ mood shift over the phone. "Affirmative, that’s the theory. She cleared out of her place yesterday, and nobody at Cedar’s has seen or heard from her. We’re running down a few properties Atkinson had — father left them in a living trust. Uni’s are checking them now. Chances are, she’s holed up in one of them."
I chewed on a thumbnail. "She took big a chance, dropping off the baby like that. And after having her all this time, I can’t believe Kathy just gave her up."
Daniels grunted. "Morrissey knows her days are numbered. Reznick’s team found a bogus birth certificate issued from Cedars, naming her as the mother." I wondered if that was Kathy’s plan with me. Wait until Rose was out of the way, and then find me, claiming I was hers. That thought made me want to gag. Daniels said, "Hey you listening? I said the back room in her place was the cutest nursery you ever saw." He chuckled. "Twisted, huh?"
"Yeah, you said it." Eric walked into the living room holding out my phone. "Daniels, I gotta go. Call me when you guys find Morrissey." I ended the call and smiled. "My phone ready?"
Eric shook his head. "Nope, it’s your doctor’s office."
Chapter Sixty-Four
I chewed my lip and hugged my belly all the way to Val’s office. Ted rubbed my arm. "Don’t worry honey, I’m sure it’s just routine."
I looked out the window and shook my head. "If it was just routine they wouldn’t have insisted I come in right away." I gave him a worried look. "And I couldn’t get Val on her cell."
He pulled into the lot and parked near the elevator so I wouldn’t have to waddle so far. Then he leaned over the console and hugged me. "They probably just want to do some tests or something. You’re close to delivery, and it’s twins, so Val’s just being careful. Right? Like a good doctor should be."
I sighed and unbuckled my seat belt. "Yeah, you’re probably right." I turned to open my door and heard a crackling sound — like live wires snapping. When I turned back to Ted he was seizing, his eyes rolled back in his head, the veins in his neck big as ropes. "Ted!"
Then the crackling stopped and Ted slumped over the console. I shook him. "Ted? Ted! Baby, wake up!"
"Do what I say and hubby here will just end up with a headache."
My head snapped up to Kathy Morrissey who stood at Ted’s open door. I jammed my hand in my bag for the cell but realized Eric
still had it. I went in my pocket for the pepper spray. "You can’t…"
Kathy held the stun gun poised above Ted’s exposed and burned neck. She sneered at me. "I can’t what?" She jerked her head. "Get out of the car. Now. Try anything, and hubby here gets another jolt."
I stared at Ted’s still body — terrified she’d killed him. I cried, unable to will my body to move. Everything slowed into some netherworld of altered reality. When she yanked me out the car by my hair, I screamed and slammed back into the present. Putting the stun gun to my belly she said, "You don’t want your babies to get what hubby got, do you?"
I shook my head and whispered. "Don’t hurt my babies."
She made me empty my pockets and leave everything in the car, then she shoved me and said, "Move!" As she pushed me toward an old brown Buick, I kept looking back, praying I’d see Ted move. Praying he was still alive. She forced me inside the car, buckled me in and zip-tied my hands. When she got into the driver’s seat she said. "One peep out of you, and the babies get a good jolt, which won’t be good for you either. You understand?"
I nodded and whispered, "Yes."
As she pulled slowly out of the parking garage, I craned my neck to see Ted, but all I saw was the Escalade, both doors open with the engine still running.
Kathy kept the taser in her lap with her free hand over it. Her eyes dared me to make a move, and I wondered if she wanted that — so she could have an excuse to kill me. I held my locket between my bound hands and prayed I’d see my husband and my family again.
Taking surface streets, Kathy drove slowly and carefully — as though in no hurry to execute the plans she had for me. No clock on the dash, so it was hard for me to judge how long we’d been driving. No radio to distract me – just the groan of tires on bad pavement. I watched out the window, noting street signs and landmarks. If I had a chance to get away or call for help, I wanted to know where we were. But it wasn’t necessary, I recognized the neighborhood as we traveled along Alvarado Street. Just before we reached MacArthur Park, she left turned off Alvarado and turned right into an alley.
The tires grumbled over broken glass and shoddy pavement as the Buick slowly rolled forward. Then Kathy stopped behind a storefront, sporting a small sign that read; Clínica gratuita. Even my limited Spanish vocabulary told me we were at a free clinic. Understanding now what Kathy had planned for me, I broke into a sweat and trembled. I shook my head, "No."
Kathy slapped my face and growled. "Shut up!" When she pulled me out of the car my sneakers crunched over gravel and broken glass. With the taser to my belly, she unlocked the barred door then shoved me into the gloomy space that smelled of antiseptic and disease. My stomach lurched, and I started to swoon, but Kathy was strong and held me upright.
I was trembling so hard my teeth chattered as though suddenly cold. "Why are we here? What are you going to do?" She dragged me along the darkened corridor — the only sounds were the squeak of our shoes on the linoleum floor. The fluorescent lights sputtered and hummed as she flipped them on. I craned my neck. "What is this place?"
We stopped outside an exam room. She opened the door and shoved me inside. The sad, dirty little room, held an old vinyl exam table with stirrups jutting out at the sides, a rollaway stool, a tray table for instruments and an ancient metal medical supply cabinet on rollers. "Get on the damn table!"
I shrunk back and my insides turned to hot jelly. "What? No!"
She waved the taser at me. "You’ve got nowhere to run now."
I backed up until I bumped into the back wall. "Why are you doing this?
"Get on the table, or you’ll have a couple of fried babies."
If I got on that table, it was the end. She’d do what she’d done to Tina. But she wouldn’t care if my babies survived. I shook my head. "Look at me, Kathy. I’m Rory’s daughter. Remember? I have his eyes — you said so yourself."
For a moment she looked like a sad little girl. "Rory’s gone."
I shook my head. "No, he’s here. Inside of me." I put my hands on my belly. "These are his grandchildren. You don’t want to hurt Rory’s grandchildren do you? You love Rory, don’t you?"
Her eyes went soft for a moment, as though remembering, then she snapped back her head and snarled. "He dumped me for you! Now get on that damn table, or I’ll cut you open on the floor!" Face flushed and panting, she started toward me. "Do what I tell you Rose."
I rolled the medical cart in front of me. "I’m not Rose. I’m Scotti. I’m Rory’s daughter. You love Rory. Remember? You visit his grave every week and leave flowers because you love him. You don’t want to hurt his daughter."
She grunted and started toward me, leaving the door open and unguarded. My only option was to get her to chase me around the room so I could edge my way back to the door. Using the cart as a shield I moved left, drawing her in slightly. Inch by inch we moved in a slow, weird dance — shadowing each other. She sneered, "You’re going to make me work for it, huh?" She panted and sweat beaded on her forehead. "You’ve got nowhere to go little girl."
I kept the cart in front of me. She’d have to get close to use the gun and would have to chance being rammed with the cart. Eyes darting to the door, I talked fast, "Look, I know you’re pissed about Rose. She wouldn’t give you the ring, right?" I nodded toward the chain around her neck and her hand involuntarily went to it. "All you wanted was the damn ring. But Rose, she was stubborn. She wouldn’t give it up."
Kathy’s nostrils flared, and she grunted. "You don’t know shit."
But I could see I struck a nerve. Very quietly I said, "I know you didn’t mean to hurt her. You just wanted the ring. It was fair, she’d gotten Rory; you should’ve gotten the ring. But you struggled, and she fell back. It was an accident. I know you didn’t mean to do it."
Kathy looked away. "You shut your mouth." She whispered, "Get on the table."
I shook my head and inched closer to the door as she followed. "You don’t want do this. I know you don’t want to do this to Rory’s family."
She snarled. "So I should care about Rory’s family? You didn’t care about mine."
"You’re right I didn’t help Spencer, did I? And I owed it to you, after what Rose did."
Kathy moved right, but I lugged the cart around to block her. "Shut up."
I inched and talked. "Tina was bitch. She tortured Spencer, then she slept with another guy. He couldn’t take it. He snapped. And like a good mom, you helped him. You saved his baby." I searched her eyes for the human being inside. "I’ll help you get the baby back. She belongs with you, not the guy Tina cheated with. And you’re the only mother she’s ever had. She must be so scared without you. What's her name?"
Kathy rubbed her temples as though her head was exploding. "Quit confusing me."
I talked faster. "It’s not too late, I can still help Spencer. I’ll work on his appeal. He needs help, not prison. He’s your boy, I get that. You can’t stand to see him suffer. I understand. I’ll help him. I swear, if it’s the last thing I do, I’ll get him an appeal. We’ll beat it. And I know we can. I promise."
Boiling over, she screamed and threw the taser against the wall. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"
I rammed the cart into her as hard as I could and she went sprawling — screaming as she went down. I scooted around her and out the door. Then ran toward the front, searching for an escape, driven by pure instinct. She screamed behind me like a monster in a child’s dream. Couldn’t let her catch me. Couldn’t let her fry my babies with her evil lightning gun. The front door was just a few feet away. Arms pumping, belly flopping, running on fat swollen feet, I could only think about my babies. I had to save them. I put my hand on the handle and pulled but it was locked. I screamed, "No!"
Then Kathy grabbed me by the hair and dragged me backward. Flailing my arms, I tried to land a punch but stumbled and went down. The crack inside my head was loud, the pain sharp, and then I fell into darkness.
<<>>
I woke to a slap. Kathy’s face g
lared above me, red and sheened with sweat. "I told you to get on the damn table." She panted as she tightened the hand straps. "Now it’s gonna to go hard on you."
I wriggled, trying to see what she was doing. I tried to move my legs but they were tied to the stirrups. I felt the draft on my exposed belly and looked down — my shirt was cut away and I was naked from the waist down. A tray of surgical tools was next to the table. I shook my head violently. "No! Don’t do this! Please don’t hurt my babies. Please don’t kill my babies. I don’t care what you do to me. But don’t hurt them. Please, please, please don’t hurt them. They didn’t do anything to you. They’re just babies!"
Kathy slapped me so hard that my head snapped back. "Shut the fuck up!"
Death of the Family Recipe (A Scotti Fitzgerald Murder Mystery Book 3) Page 38