Suspicious Origin

by MacDonald, Patricia

  Okay, okay. She couldn’t afford to exult. She was still in the middle of nowhere in the depths of a snowy woods. And the pain in her head, which seemed to be increasing by the minute, was making it difficult to think. What now, she thought. What do I do now? She put her hands to her head and pressed down, as if that would somehow stop the pain. Think. Think. And then, soothing and uplifting, the realization came to her. Ah, she thought. I may be in the middle of nowhere, but I am not helpless. My phone. And then she realized. It had been in her coat pocket. And her coat was somewhere on that mountain slope in the dark. She couldn’t risk going backward. Easier to get up, even in bare feet, and follow the trail back to the road they took up here. To try to find her way out. For a moment, despair threatened to overcome her again, but she fended it off. No time for that.

  She had to find her way out of here. While she rubbed her numbed extremities, she looked around the desolate spot where she had been dumped, and tried to think how she was going to get to her feet. Her eyes were blurry, and she had only the moonlight to see by. A movement caught her attention out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned to look, her head began to pound unmercifully, and she saw nothing there. The sleepiness was coming over her again, like a soft voice urging her to take a little nap before she tried to go any farther.

  No, she warned herself. You’ll die out here. You have to get back.

  She didn’t know how far they had traveled to get up here. But she was on a trail which meant that people would come through these woods during the day. And if they had managed to find a way for the car to get to this spot, it couldn’t be far to the road. All she needed to do, she told herself, was follow the tire tracks in the snow, and they would lead her hack.

  Okay, she thought. Steady now. Stand up. Using her branch as a kind of crutch, she forced herself up onto her feet. Although she was finally upright, her aching head began to spin and, for a moment, she thought she might pass out again. She waited out the dizziness.

  All right, she thought. Keep your wits. The worst is over. You’re going to be safe now. Push off and get moving. She placed one wobbly leg out in front of her, and then followed it with the other. She took two steps and her knees gave way. She fell down into the snow again, landing on the ground on all fours. Like an animal, she thought. Maybe I can crawl. Slowly, she began to move her hands and knees.

  You’ll be sorry, she thought, picturing Kevin and Caroline in her mind. You’ll be sorry you didn’t kill me. In the moonlight, the snow sparkled and beckoned. I’m coming, she thought. Her head was throbbing and she closed her eyes telling herself that she didn’t need to see to crawl. You’ll be sorry. You’ll pay for what you’ve done.

  And at that moment, she heard, through the whistling of the night wind, a voice she knew calling her name. She could see the face in her mind’s eye, coldly critical of this situation she was in. Britt lifted her head and looked around. “Mother?” she said aloud in confusion. There was something wrong with her vision. She looked down and saw black pools widening on the trail.

  The kitchen was lit by only the light over the stove and a lamp which was affixed to the breakfast counter. Caroline was standing in the kitchen, her back to Alec as he came through the door. The room was in disarray. The hooked rug under the table was bunched up and an address book lay open on the floor, its assortment of business cards scattered about. A plant in a terra-cotta flowerpot had tumbled to the ground off the counter and broken as well. There was dirt scattered about on the normally pristine floor.

  “Get him off me, Kevin,” Caroline said.

  Alec walked up to her and began to unhook the baby carrier from her back, surprised that she had not remarked on the mess. “What happened in here?” he said.

  “What are you doing here?” Caroline cried. “I thought you left.”

  Alec lifted the carrier off her back. He looked at the baby facing him, bundled in a little snowsuit, his face red and wizened. There was a patch of white on the baby’s nose. “Jesus, Caroline, I think this kid has frostbite. What were you thinking?”

  Hurriedly, without turning to face him, Caroline slipped out of her parka and turned it inside out, dropping it on one of the chairs around the antique oak kitchen table. The jacket immediately slid off the chair to the floor.

  “Zoe, get that for Mrs. Carmichael,” said Alec. “I’ve got my hands full here.” He set the baby carrier on the counter, while Zoe walked over to the chair and stooped down to pick up the coat on the floor.

  “Just leave it,” Caroline cried, and Zoe, startled, dropped the coat as if it were hot.

  “But there’s a…”

  “I said leave it,’ ” Caroline insisted.

  Alec looked at her with narrowed eyes. “I told her to pick it up. She was just trying to help,” he said.

  “We don’t need any help,” said Caroline. “Give me my baby.”

  “Fine,” said Alec. He stepped back from the carrier as Caroline lifted the infant out of the seat. As the baby came out the seat, there was a rope dangling from his bootied foot. Alec reached out and pulled the rope away from the baby’s foot. “What’s this?”

  At that moment Kevin, who had shed his parka on the porch, appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. His face was pale and strained, but he attempted to smile.

  “What happened in your kitchen?” Alec asked.

  “I’m taking him upstairs,” Caroline said to her husband.

  “Okay, hon.” He turned to their visitors. “Sorry. It was that damn cat of Vicki’s. Got into the house and started knocking things over before we left.”

  “And you just left it like this?” Alec asked.

  “Caroline’s distracted with the new baby and all. And I’m not much help with these ribs.” Kevin rubbed his side and grimaced.

  “I still don’t understand what sent you out skiing in the pitch darkness. Is everything all right with you, Kevin?”

  “I’m exhausted. We both are. Little Kent hasn’t been sleeping. We thought the fresh air would help,” said Kevin apologetically.

  “I think you overdid it,” said Alec. “All right, well. I’d offer to help but… obviously…Zoe, come on.”

  Kevin looked relieved. “Thanks Alec, really”

  At that moment, they all heard the distinctive ringing of a cell phone. Caroline turned around in the doorway and looked back with wide eyes at Kevin.

  “Must be mine,” said Kevin anxiously. “Maybe I left it in my coat. Oh well, they’ll call back.”

  “No,” said Zoe, stooping down again. “It’s here, under the table. I just saw it when I went to pick up the parka. That’s what I was trying to tell you. Here.” She straightened up and held up the phone. Kevin and Caroline both looked at it as if it were a ticking bomb. Zoe pushed the button and held the phone to her ear. “Carmichael residence,” she said politely.

  “Britt?” said a confused-sounding voice. “Is that you?”

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Zoe held the phone out to her father. “It’s somebody calling Aunt Britt,” she said. Alec looked from Kevin to Caroline. Kevin averted his eyes. Alec took the phone and put it to his ear. “This is Alec Lynch. Who is this?” he demanded.

  “Oh, Alec,” said a voice in surprise. “This is Nancy…Lonergan again. You’ve found Britt, I take it.”

  “What?” he asked.

  “Well, this is her number. Or did you just find the phone? Did she leave it at your house?”

  Alec held the phone away from his ear and looked at it. Then he held it to his ear and said, “Nancy, I have to call you back.” He punched the off button and looked up at the Carmichaels.

  “I thought you said that my sister-in-law wasn’t here today. Do you want to tell me why you have her cell phone under your kitchen table?”

  “Well…” said Kevin.

  “You said she wasn’t here. But she was here, wasn’t she? Something happened here.”

  “It was nothing,” said Caroline.

  “What was nothi
ng?” said Alec.

  Caroline looked to her husband. “Kevin…?”

  “I don’t know,” said Kevin. “She was here yesterday. She must have dropped it while she was visiting.”

  “She had it this morning,” said Zoe.

  Kevin scratched his head in an exaggerated effort to look perplexed. “Maybe she came in here to leave a note or something and while she was bending over the table…”

  Alec raised the phone and brandished it. “I don’t believe you. Something happened here. Now are you going to tell me, or do I have to call the police?”

  “Stop him, Kevin,” Caroline cried.

  “Alec, put the phone down,” said Kevin. “This is just a misunderstanding.”

  Alec was fingering the buttons on the phone.

  “Kevin, don’t let him do this,” Caroline cried.

  “For God’s sake,” said Kevin. “Can’t we talk about this? Can’t you give us the benefit of the doubt?”

  Alec stared into Kevin’s feverish gaze. “I’m never giving anyone the benefit of the doubt. Not anymore.” He punched in a number and held the phone to his ear. “Yes, can you connect me with the Coleville police?”

  Caroline set the baby down in the carrier, walked over to the knife block on the counter, and pulled out a carving knife. In two steps, she was behind Zoe. She grabbed her roughly and held the knife to her neck. “Put that phone down,” she said.

  Zoe let out a cry, but stopped abrupdy as she felt the point of the knife at her throat.

  Alec pressed the off button and lowered the phone. “Let go of her,” he said.

  “Caro, for God’s sake,” Kevin cried.

  “Don’t you start,” she said to Kevin. “I’m not listening to you. You were supposed to protect us.”

  “All right,” said Alec, holding up his hands as if to show her they were empty. “All right. Just calm down and let go of Zoe. I promise you. I’ll leave here and I won’t ask any more questions.”

  “I don’t believe you,” said Caroline. “You’ve already called the cops. They can trace those 911 calls to the address.”

  “Caro, it’s a cell phone,” said Kevin. “They can’t trace that. Think. Stop being hysterical.”

  “They can’t?” she said.

  “No,” said Kevin. “They have no idea…”

  “Yes, but if I let her go,” she said, pointing at Zoe with the tip of the blade, “then he’ll call them and it’ll all start.”

  “What will all start?” asked Alec. He was studying her, taking her measure with his steely gray eyes. Thinking about what he knew from Nancy Lonergan. Caroline had killed a man. She had everything to lose. This was no idle threat.

  “They’re never going to leave us alone,” Caroline cried. “Just ^ e it was before… in Boston. You know. They’ll start asking all kinds of questions.”

  Alec hesitated, and then the expression on his face relaxed. “Hey,” said Alec. “You know what? I don’t blame you for not wanting to be pestered. The cops can be a nuisance. Who knows that better than me? You let Zoe go and I promise you, that’s the last you’ll hear about it. If you and my sister-in-law had a little tussle over something, it doesn’t matter to me. Really. She did her best to send me to prison while she was here. I’m glad she’s gone. I was only looking for her because Zoe wanted me to. Britt is nothing to me. The only thing I care about is Zoe. You can understand that, Caroline. You have a child now. You know what it’s like. Nothing else matters but that child.”

  “That’s right,” said Caroline, in a shaky voice.

  “Here,” said Alec. He tossed Britt’s cell phone down on the kitchen floor. It skittered along until it collided with a chair leg and then the cap of the battery case flew off and the battery bounced out. “I don’t care how it got here. Just give me Zoe back and we’ll leave you in peace.”

  Caroline shifted her stance behind Zoe, but kept the knife at her throat. “How do I know you mean it?” she asked, uncertain.

  “Look, you don’t know what it’s been like for me, having to put up with my sister-in-law. She was a pain in the ass from the minute she got here. You know about that, right?”

  Caroline nodded uncertainly. “I know she had it in for you.”

  “Right,” said Alec. “So, whatever arguments you may have with her are all perfectly understandable to me. And, they’re none of my business. Zoe wanted me to try and find her, so we came looking. That’s all. Now listen, I’m not going to risk one minute of my child’s life for her sake. She was a nosy, pushy woman.”

  “That’s what I told Kevin. It wasn’t our fault that she came butting into our business,” said Caroline.

  “Exactly,” said Alec.

  “Nothing really happened,” said Caroline. “She’s fine, you know.”

  Alec shrugged. “Screw her. I don’t really care. Just let go of my baby. Caroline, I will not pursue this. You have my word. Just give me Zoe back.”

  “She is fine. Britt. She’s perfectly fine. Right, Kevin? There was nothing wrong with her when we left her,” said Caroline.

  Alec shook his head. “Hey, it’s none of my concern. Zoe, this will teach you not to meddle in other people’s business.”

  Zoe stared at him in horror and disbelief.

  Caroline gazed at him with narrowed eyes. “That’s fine for you to say that you’ll leave us alone. What about Zoe? The minute I let her go she’s gonna want to go running to some policeman.”

  “Zoe,” Alec barked. “Tell Mrs. Carmichael you’re sorry.”

  “No,” Zoe retorted. She closed her eyes and raised her chin, as if to say that she wanted nothing further to do with him. She was rigid in Caroline’s deadly embrace.

  “Now you listen to me, little lady,” said Alec through clenched teeth. “You will not defy my orders. When I tell you to do something, I expect you to do it. Now tell Mrs. Carmichael you’re sorry, and that you will keep your mouth shut. Do it this minute.”

  Zoe opened her eyes and glared at her father. Alec returned her gaze without a hint of sympathy or complicity.

  “Did you hear me?” he demanded.

  “Yes,” she muttered bitterly.

  “Well, do it then. Tell her you’re sorry. And that you won’t bother her anymore.”

  After a long minute, Zoe looked at the ground. “Sorry…” she spat out.

  Caroline tightened her hold. “You’re just saying that because he told you to…”

  “That’s right. And she knows better than to disobey me,” said Alec.

  Caroline looked questioningly at Kevin. His face was pasty, his eyes frantic as he met her gaze, “Kevin, what do you think?” she asked.

  Kevin swallowed hard. His fists were clenched, and there was sweat on his forehead. He stared at his wife with longing, as if she were on a boat, sailing away from him. As if he wanted to cry out, “Don’t leave me. Don’t go.”

  “Kevin?”

  “Let her go, darling. It’ll be all right. You…you haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “I haven’t, have I?” she said.

  Kevin shook his head, and there were tears in his eyes. “No.”

  Caroline hesitated for a moment, and then heaved a sigh. Reluctantly, she released Zoe. Zoe did not run to her father, but stood there staring at Alec as if he were a stranger.

  Alec did not move toward Zoe, but stayed where he was. Caroline sighed again, and then walked over to the counter and replaced the knife in the block.

  The infant in the carrier began to cry. Caroline went to him and picked him up, rubbing his back and trying to soothe him.

  Alec looked at Kevin. “May we go?” he asked politely.

  Kevin’s gaze was tragic. He nodded without speaking. Then, silently, he went to his wife and baby and put his arms around them. “We have to put our son to bed,” he said.

  Alec turned to his daughter. “Zoe. Come on. We’re leaving.”

  Without a word, Zoe turned her back on him and stormed out the back door.

  Alec l
ooked at Kevin. “Thank you, Kevin,” he said.

  Kevin put a finger to his lips as if to say, hush.

  Alec headed for the door, forcing himself not to run.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  He heard the car door slam in the cold night air. By the time he reached the Mercedes, Zoe was already sitting in the front seat, her arms folded over her chest. She kept her face turned away from him as he got into the driver’s seat, and looked at her own reflection in the side window with a stony gaze.

  Alec turned on the engine, and started to back out of the driveway “Zoe,” he said. “Use the cell phone. Dial 911.”

  Zoe turned from the window and stared at her father.

  “Do it,” he said. “Hurry. There’s no time to lose.”

  “I thought…” she said.

  “We may already be too late,” he said.

  Zoe’s eyes widened. “You didn’t mean it?” she said. “About Aunt Britt?”

  “Zoe, I said hurry. And hand me the phone.”

  Zoe picked up the phone and punched in the number with trembling fingers.

  Alec made a gimme gesture by wiggling his fingers. Zoe handed him the phone, and looked out the window again as the night sped by. She could hear him talking to the police, telling them what had happened, and how they needed to send someone out to the Carmichaels, and start a search for Aunt Britt. Her heart, so battered lately, lifted at the steady murmur of his voice. She was still fearful, but now her dad was in charge. She had faith in him, like in nobody else in the world. Even when she was so mad at him, she still believed. He would always protect her. No matter what, it would be all right.

  “Okay,” he was saying. “I’ve got a fleet of them we can use. I’m on my way to the dealership. Right. I’ll meet you there.” Alec frowned and handed the phone to Zoe. “Hang this up, honey,” he said.