Corinne (Book One of The Red Diamond Saga)

by Jennifer Janne

  There were three infants abandoned on the same day. One was Corinne, left at a local hospital. Another was found in the back of a car that had simply been left for scrap. The third was rather strange, as the infant was found right out in the open on the side of one of the major highways that ran through the small town.

  Corinne was a few days old when she was found, as was the baby boy who was found on the side of the road. He was brought to the same hospital she was, but information about him ended there. Perhaps he had been claimed by a family member, or perhaps his death record was simply not accessible.

  Daniel was able to access Corinne's hospital records and discover her blood type and that she had no outstanding health issues. The nurse's notes were that the child appeared to be healthy and well cared for until being abandoned. There were no birth injuries and no evidence of malnourishment. She did not have any drugs in her system and there were no visible signs of abuse.

  All of the information, though expected from most newborns, was not normal for a baby who was abandoned. Usually if an infant was left at a hospital there would be a story that could be told just from its physical state. In Corinne's case, there was only a blanket, and unsoiled clothing.

  Next Daniel found what he could from her state records. There was not too much information he could access other than the fact that Corinne had been declared a ward of the state. The thing that bothered Daniel was that a perfectly healthy newborn baby girl, very desirable on the adoption market, was not offered for adoption.

  The only explanation for this was a notation in her file that stated she did not qualify to be adopted. There was no explanation as to why she did not qualify, but there was a name listed as the doctor who had made the assessment. He was not a doctor that worked in the local hospital, but a private physician. This also was odd, as someone would have had to pay him for his services, as opposed to the government providing the medical assessment.

  Daniel grew more suspicious when he did a records search on the doctor himself, Dr. Graham Harn. His medical license had been revoked due to fraud and medical malpractice. Daniel scribbled down his last known address, and decided to pay the doctor an official visit.

  14

  When Corinne began to awaken from whatever drug was used to subdue her, her head was aching with pain. She could not bring herself to open her eyes, as just the faint light that filtered through her eyelashes was causing her mind to spin and the pain to surge. It took her a few moments to realize what had happened, but when she felt the rope biting into her wrists, she knew for certain that she had been abducted. What she could not figure out was why.

  She did not feel any other pain, so she assumed she had not been otherwise harmed. Her hands were bound behind her back, and she was lying on a cold concrete floor. Her feet were bound also, but rather than with rope, they were shackled.

  Hesitantly she opened her eyes. The moment the dim light in the room struck her eyes, she winced in pain. Still she forced them to open all the way so that she could take in the sight of the room. It was a small space, perhaps a room, perhaps a garage. Its walls were bare and white. The only light in the room came from a small lamp in the corner that was set atop the only piece of furniture that she could see, a squat wooden table.

  There were no windows. The only door was steel, and it appeared to have no knob on the inside. She noticed an electronic keypad on one side of the door. Everything about her environment was strange. She struggled to sit up without losing her balance, as she was still very dizzy. It struck her that she had no real idea of how long she had been unconscious.

  She blinked her eyes a few time as they burned with tears. She was terrified of what was going to happen to her next. She had been through enough in her life to know that people could do some very terrible things to each other, things much worse than death.

  When she heard the sound of someone on the other side of the door she drew a sharp breath and held it. The keypad on the inside of the door lit up as the door slid into the wall rather than opening in either direction. She was startled by that, and more so by the person who entered the room dressed in medical scrubs. A woman in her mid-forties with her dark hair tied back in a severe pony tail and her emotionless expression arranged in a stern manner settled her gaze upon Corinne.

  She did not speak as she appeared to assess Corinne from where she stood. Then she slowly approached her and withdrew something that appeared to be a pen.

  Corinne shoved back against the floor to try to wriggle away from the woman, but the chain she was shackled to, that was in torn bolted to the floor, did not allow her to get very far.

  The woman rolled her eyes as she sighed. “Settle down. I just need to check your vitals.” She seized Corinne's bound wrists and checked her pulse, which was racing.

  Then she held up the pen, which was actually a tiny flashlight, and shone it into one of her dark green eyes. Corinne shied back from the light as it caused a burst of pain to flood her head.

  “It's okay,” The woman reassured her though there was no warmth in her tone. “The pain will ease up in about a half hour.” She shone the light into her other eye and frowned. “You really have to try to calm down, or we will have to sedate you.” She spoke as if she were explaining something to a small child. “As long as you don't try anything funny, you will not be harmed.”

  Corinne laughed at that as her eyes fell shut against the searing pain that still haunted her. “Just bound and shackled, but not harmed.”

  The woman smirked as she stood and walked over to the keypad. She punched a few numbers and then placed her thumb against a small open area on the keypad. It beeped, and the door slid into the wall again. She glanced back over her shoulder at Corinne and shook her head lightly.

  “You're the one who wanted to know.”

  15

  With a growl of frustration Daniel tossed his cell phone on to the seat beside him as he pulled his car to a stop in front of the address he had written down. He had been trying to reach Corinne for the past half hour with no response, not even a text. He knew she was working today, but he expected that she would be eager to know what he had found so far.

  Daniel glanced out the window at the house he was parked in front of. The grass in the front yard was unruly and the home itself looked as if it were slowly rotting away. He doubted that anyone lived there, but he decided to take a look. Maybe there would be personal possessions left behind that would give him some idea as to where the good doctor might have moved.

  When he stepped on to the wood of the porch, it groaned beneath his feet, and he worried that it might fall through. He reached for the knob on the door, and when he turned it, he found that it was locked. He knocked lightly, not really expecting anyone to answer.

  An instant later the door was thrust open, and rather than a person, Daniel was face to barrel with a very large rifle.

  The man holding the rifle was wearing a sweat stained under shirt and a pair of suspenders that held up threadbare pants.

  “Dr. Harn?” Daniel asked in a shaky tone as he slowly raised his hands into the air.

  “Doctor?” The old man laughed at his words. “No one's called me that in a long time, boy.” He waved the gun in Daniel's face. “Go on, get out of here.”

  Daniel shook his head, but kept his tone mild. He did not want to give the man any excuse to pull the trigger.

  “I am not here to cause any trouble sir; I was just hoping you might answer a few questions for me.”

  The man eyed Daniel suspiciously, his bushy white eyebrows nearly obscuring the small gray orbs beneath. “A reporter, eh?” He asked in a voice that was plagued with the sound of tobacco.

  “No sir.” Daniel said carefully. He gestured to the pocket of his shirt. “I am a police officer, if you'll lower your gun, I can show you my badge.”

  The man's brows lifted in shock and his ruddy cheeks grew pale. “Oh now I've done it.” He muttered as he quickly lowered his gun. “Are you here to arrest me?” H
e asked meekly.

  “No sir.” Daniel repeated as he withdrew his badge and displayed it for the man, who reached down around his neck for a pair of reading glasses, which he promptly set on the bridge of his nose. “I am only here to find out some information.”

  The man looked past him suspiciously, and then stepped aside to allow Daniel inside. “Alright then.”

  When Daniel stepped inside he was overwhelmed by a cloud of dust and smoke. He covered his mouth to keep from coughing as the man waddled toward on oversized stuffed chair that was flanked by a large ash tray and a bottle of beer.

  “Mind if I smoke?” He asked as he lit a cigarette and slumped down in the chair. He laid his rifle beside the chair.

  Daniel shook his head as he knew the man would smoke whether he minded or not.

  “You may not remember this, but you declared an infant as not qualifying for adoption, and gave no explanation as to why.”

  The doctor laughed and coughed at the same time. “I did a lot of stupid things boy, I was greedy. I thought money would make me happy.” He smiled sadly at that.

  “This would have been twenty-two years ago. It was a baby girl that was abandoned at the local hospital.”

  The doctor sat forward a little.

  “Oh, that one.” he muttered as he lowered his gaze to the floor. Daniel could tell that he was trouble by the memory. “Yeah, they paid me a lot for that one.”

  “Who?” Daniel asked as he stepped closer to the man.

  Dr. Harn took a long drag on his cigarette and coughed again. “Don't know exactly. This man showed up at my practice, and he said he would pay me ten thousand dollars just to evaluate her and declare her unfit for adoption.” He shrugged. “That was too much money to turn down. Besides, it was not like I did anything to hurt her.”

  Daniel thought of the nightmares that often kept Corinne up at night and thought she might have a different opinion. Perhaps if she had the chance to live a life with a real family, she could have avoided all of that trauma.

  “Tell me about the man.” Daniel persisted. “Did he write you a check, or give you a reason why?”

  The old man shook his head. “No it was cash.” He thought a moment. “He said that he had plans for her.” He shook his head faintly. “I thought that was odd, but again, it was a lot of money.”

  Daniel frowned as he stood beside the man. “Please, anything you can remember would be helpful.”

  Dr. Harn sat back in his chair and rubbed his grizzled chin as he thought hard about a past he had done his best to forget.

  “There was one other thing.” He tapped the table beside him lightly, knocking some of the ash piled in the ashtray up into a small cloud. “When I examined the baby she had a birthmark,”

  “On her right hip.” Daniel supplied. He knew it well. It was the shape of a diamond and the color of a strawberry.

  “Yes.” The doctor nodded. “And this man, he had the same mark, on the back of his hand.” He tapped his hand where he had seen the mark. “Only his looked more like a tattoo.”

  Daniel furrowed his brows, his eyes shining with curiosity. Was it possible that the man had been Corinne's father? Was this somehow gang related because of the tattoo?

  “You never knew his name?” He asked desperately.

  “Conner!” The old man suddenly said. “His name was Conner, I remember now, because the baby girl, her name was Corinne. Almost the same letters, you know.” He shrugged and waved his hand. “That's all I know. I can't help you anymore.”

  Daniel was disappointed but he nodded. As he started to turn away the man was lost in a coughing fit. Daniel hesitated, and reached into his wallet. He dropped a twenty beside the man's ashtray and then left the house. As soon as he returned to his car he tried Corinne's phone number again. Still, there was no answer.

  16

  Corinne was twisting her wrists back and forth, hoping to get free of the ropes, but all it did was cause the sharp edges to dig into her skin. She had a strange feeling of being watched at all times, and her eyes were fixated on the keypad, as she waited for the door to slide open. When it finally did, it was an older man who walked in this time. He was wearing a lab coat, and his demeanor was a bit friendlier than the woman's had been.

  “Can I go?” Corinne asked before the man spoke. “I won't tell anyone about this, I promise.” She turned her pleading eyes on him, but was only offered a grin in return.

  “Are you kidding? You just got here.” He reached down to the ropes on her wrists and quickly untied them. Corinne reached up and rubbed her sore wrists as she watched him cautiously.

  “What do you want from me?” She asked in a whisper as the man crouched down in front of her. He was handsome in his own way, with thin lips and a broad nose. His light brown hair was thinning on the top of his head, but full at the base of his neck. She could not shake a sense of familiarity. When he reached out to lightly caress her cheek, she noticed a mark on the back of his hand.

  She jerked her head away from his touch and he smiled patiently. “I know this is confusing.” He said quietly. He reached down and pulled down the edge of her trousers to reveal the same mark on her hip, only hers was a bright red color, while his had been etched in ink.

  “Corinne, you are a very special person.” He explained as she shoved at his hand. “I am sorry that things had to be this way, but you must understand; we had no choice.”

  “What are you talking about?” She pleaded. The confusion she felt threatened to bring back the pain that had finally eased in her head. “Who are you?”

  He lightly tapped the tip of her nose with an endearing smile. “What matters sweetheart, is who are you?”

  17

  Daniel was back at the computer doing more research. This time he was comparing the name Conner with identifying marks and tattoos in the federal database. He found several tattoos that were diamond shaped, but none that exactly mimicked Corinne's. He was just about ready to give up when he pulled up the final photograph. He was shocked to see the identical shape and size of Corinne's birthmark reflected in a tattoo.

  The man's name was Conner Mitchell and he had been arrested for battery. The police report detailed a fight outside of a bar. The crime was common; it was the date of the arrest that drew Daniel's attention. It was one day before Corinne's estimated date of birth. The charges had been dropped by the victim and Conner had been released. This man, who gazed out from his mug shot with pure animosity, knew exactly who Corinne was.

  Daniel could not find a last known address, but he did find a radical group attached to his police report. Apparently he was a member of a group called The Liberation Force. It made Daniel's stomach churn to think of the kind of whack jobs these people might be. In his experience any radical group was a breeding ground for violence and emotional abuse.

  He was able to find an address for the group. What he could not find was any mention of it on the Internet, or any other media source. This particular group appeared to be non-existent and silent about their cause, but he soon found an address and Conner's police report.

  He glanced up at the clock and realized that Corinne should have been off work an hour before. He tried her cell again. Nothing.

  He frowned and decided to call her supervisor. He knew she might see it as being a bit overprotective, but he was starting to worry. When her supervisor informed him that she had not shown up for work Daniel was certain that something was terribly wrong. Corinne was one of the most responsible people he knew, and she took her job very seriously.

  On his way out the door he asked one of his friends on local patrol to be on the lookout for her vehicle. Daniel swung by his house, and then her apartment, with no sign of her at either place. He was growing more concerned by the moment.

  When his cell phone rang he answered it quickly hoping that it was Corinne. Instead it was the patrol officer, reporting that they were pulling Corinne's car out of a nearby lake. Someone had spotted it rolling into the water and called
it in. When Daniel arrived on the scene he was terrified that he would find her body inside. Instead, to his relief the car was empty.

  “You think she was running from something?” The officer asked him as casually as he could.

  “No.” Daniel replied as he glanced down at his notepad with the name The Liberation Force staring up at him. “I think someone took her.”

  The officer stared after him in shock as he stalked back to his car and squealed away.

  18

  The man unshackled her as she peppered him with questions. “What do you mean, who am I?” She asked as she jumped to her feet the moment she was free. He circled her as if she was a wild animal, his dark eyes piercing into hers as he spoke sternly.

  “I am not going to treat you like a prisoner. But if you can't keep yourself calm, you will have to be restrained.” He paused as he noted the tension of her muscles and the fury in her expression. “Can I trust you to behave?”

  Corinne narrowed her eyes at the man as he watched her. “I want to go home.” She said flatly. “I don't care who you are, or who you think I am, I just want to go home.”

  The man tilted his head lightly to the side as grief washed over his face. “Corinne, my darling, don't you realize, you are home.”

  The door to the room abruptly slid open and the woman who had evaluated her earlier stepped into the room, followed by another man, who was younger than the first. The woman was in casual clothes now, as was the man beside her.

  “This is Lisa, and Aaron.” The older man explained. “I am Conner, and we are certainly not here to hurt you.”

  “Then let me leave.” Corinne insisted as she gazed wildly from one face to another. To her they were nothing more than predators, first kidnapping and then imprisoning her against her will.

  “It will take you some time to understand.” Lisa said gently, her words still cold when she spoke them, though she did force a smile.