by Reid, Terri
Mary smiled down at her. “Of course,” she replied. “Now rest and get better because I want all the dirt on Mike so I can tease him.”
Chelsea smiled and nodded. “You’ve got it,” she whispered. “Thank you.”
Mary slipped her arm into Bradley’s as they walked down the hall together. “Well, I’m glad this day is nearly over,” she said.
He glanced down at her. “Will you promise me never to chase a cold-blooded killer into an unstable tunnel again?” he asked.
“Yes, that’s an experience I don’t want to repeat,” she agreed. “I’m going to find clumps of dirt in my hair for a month.”
“Mary, I’m not ready to joke about this yet,” he said. “When I saw the tunnel collapse around you, I thought my life had ended.”
She paused and looked up at him. “I would have felt the same way,” she said earnestly. “I’m sorry I frightened you. I was only thinking about not letting her get away.”
“Um, excuse me for interrupting.”
They both turned to see Chris standing in the hall next to them.
“Hi,” Bradley said. “We were just in to see Chief Chase. She’s going to recover.”
“That’s great news,” he said. “I just wanted to let you know that the gunman, Gigi Amoretti, was found beneath several feet of dirt in the tunnel. They tried to revive her, but it was too late. They ended up pronouncing her dead at the scene.”
“Thanks for letting us know,” Mary said.
“Yeah, no problem,” Chris replied. “Thanks again for your help.”
They watched him walk down the hall in silence. Finally Bradley spoke, “I don’t know what to say about that,” he said. “I think it’s a fitting end to a truly evil person, but it doesn’t seem right to celebrate anyone’s traumatic death.”
Mary nodded. “Let’s just not think about her anymore today,” she said. “I just want to go home.”
He hugged her. “Yeah, home sounds nice.”
Chapter Fifty-two
The next morning Mary sat down at her desk and flipped the daily calendar page over to the next day. She chuckled softly as she looked down at the date of Friday the thirteenth. “So far so good,” she murmured, and then she reached down and knocked on the wood surface of her desktop. “Knock on wood.”
She accessed Liza’s file, looked up Donna’s phone number and placed the call. “Hi Donna,” she said. “This is Mary. Mary O’Reilly. I wanted to let you know about Liza.”
“Oh, hello Mary,” Donna replied. “We already know about Liza. And we want to thank you for all you did.”
“You know about Liza?” Mary asked, astonished. “How did you find out?”
“Oh, she came to visit Ryan last night,” she replied. “He said she was beautiful again, and she was very happy. She thanked him for helping her and told him that she was happy.”
“That’s wonderful,” Mary said, pulling a tissue from a box on her desk and blotting her eyes. “And how is Ryan doing?”
“He’s doing great,” Donna said. “He told me that he was going to miss her, but he was happy she finally got to go home.”
“You’ve got a great little boy,” Mary said. “And he’s got a great mom.”
“Thank you, Mary,” Donna said. “And thank you for helping us. I really have learned a lot from this experience.”
“Like what?” Mary asked.
“The most important thing I learned is that I’ve been afraid of things that really aren’t all that frightening,” she replied thoughtfully. “I think I need to look back on my life, on the decisions I’ve made based on fear and rethink them. I’m not going back to an abusive relationship. I know better than that. But I need to rethink things like going back to school or career choices. I think I need to be braver.”
“Good for you,” Mary said. “It not easy to be brave, but I think both you and Ryan will benefit from your choices.”
“Yes, I think so, too,” Donna answered. “Thanks again, Mary.”
“You’re welcome,” Mary said. “Best of luck to both of you.”
“Both of who?” Mike asked after Mary hung up the phone.
“Donna and Ryan,” Mary replied. “Liza visited Ryan last night to say goodbye and let him know she was okay.”
“Nice,” Mike said. “I’m glad she got to do that.”
“By the way, I had a nice conversation with Chelsea yesterday afternoon,” Mary said. “I think she’s finally getting over you.”
Mike sighed. “It’s hard to carry the guilt of so many broken hearts,” he replied. “But I just have to remind myself that it’s not my fault I was so good-looking and charming.”
“It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it,” Mary replied sarcastically.
“Yes. Yes it is,” he agreed.
Smiling, Mary leaned back in her chair and propped her feet up on the top of her desk. “So, Prince Charming, why are you here and not hanging around the house?”
“Your house has been invaded,” he said.
“Invaded?” she asked.
“Yes. With women,” he replied. “Young ones, old ones, middle-aged ones. There are women all over the place.”
“Oh, the party,” she said.
“Yes, between your mom and Rosie, the kitchen smells like heaven but looks, literally, like hell. And Katie is doing some craft thing with Maggie and Clarissa, so there are glue guns and glitter everywhere,” he said, shaking his head in mock irritation. “But that’s not the worst part.”
Mary grinned. “Oh, what’s the worst part?”
“Their language,” he said. “There’s a hidden language that only women understand. They laugh at things I don’t get. They raise their eyebrows knowingly. They communicate with only a nod of their heads. I tell you, Mary, it’s a little creepy.”
“Well, you can hang here for a little while,” Mary said. “But you have to stay quiet so I can finish my paperwork.”
Mike lifted his hand to his heart. “Scout’s honor,” Mike said. “I’ll just sit over there in the corner and think quiet thoughts. Quiet thoughts.”
“Excellent,” Mary said, looking down at the paperwork. “Quiet thoughts.”
Mike glided over to the corner and looked around for a moment. He was already bored. He turned to Mary who was chewing on her pencil eraser and studying a receipt. He sighed loudly, and Mary looked up. “Quiet thoughts,” he called across the room.
She smiled quickly, nodded and then looked back down at the paperwork.
A moment later, the electric pencil sharpener growled to life. Startled, Mary jumped and looked across the room. Mike was sharpening a box of pencils he had pulled from her supply shelf. She cleared her throat loudly, and Mike looked her way.
“Oh, yeah, right,” he said. “Quiet thoughts.”
Mary put down her pencil and started to laugh. “Okay, Mike, you win,” she said. “What would you like to do?”
“Can we take a drive to Krape Park?” he asked. “I would really like to see some kids. Some happy, normal kids playing with their parents.”
Mary nodded, tears filling her eyes. “That sounds like a great way to spend a Friday afternoon,” she said, turning off her computer and picking up her purse. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Fifty-three
Mary looked around the room, and her heart was filled with joy. In one corner Ian and Stanley were arguing about politics. In another, her father was giving Bradley advice in his usual, boisterous, Irish way. And in the kitchen, Rosie was busy shooing Mary’s brothers away from the cupcakes until it was time to make the announcement. The Brennan children and Clarissa were listening to Gillian tell a story about real-life faeries, and Katie and Cliff Brennan were sharing a loveseat and cuddling like newlyweds. She leaned against her mother, whose arm was around her waist.
“Do you ever just stop, look around, and realize how blessed you are?” she asked.
Her mother smiled softly, amused that her daughter’s thoughts so closely mirrored her own. “E
very day, darling,” she replied. “Every day.”
Mary turned and kissed her mother’s cheek. “Thank you for being such a great mom,” she said. “I’ve come to realize it’s harder than it looks.”
“Well, darling, I’d like to say that you made it easy,” Margaret replied. “But that would be a bold-faced lie.”
Mary laughed. “That’s okay, Ma,” she said. “You don’t have to spare my feelings.”
She saw Mike standing on the staircase watching the whole group from a distance and smiled at him. He smiled back, but it was a more somber smile than she was used to.
“Excuse me, Ma,” she said. “I need to run upstairs for a moment.”
She quietly left the group and walked up the stairs, passing Mike. “Follow me,” she whispered and continued on without missing a beat.
She walked to the end of the hall and leaned against the wall, waiting only a moment for Mike to appear next to her.
“Great party,” he said.
“Yes, it is,” she agreed. “Everyone I love is here. But one of them is not happy. What’s wrong, Mike?”
He shook his head. “There are just some rumblings upstairs,” he said.
Mary was confused. “Thunderstorms?”
Mike grinned. “No, further up,” he replied.
“Oh, I get it,” she nodded and raised her eyes to the ceiling. “Rumblings.”
Nodding, his smile widened. “Yeah, just like that,” he said.
“Well, you know what they say,” she said.
He shook his head, totally charmed by her. “No, what do they say?”
“You shouldn’t bring your work home with you,” she replied sagely.
“This from the woman who has ghosts showing up in her bedroom?” he asked.
“They don’t show up in my bedroom anymore,” she replied. “You put an end to that.” She paused, and her eyes widened. “Oh no, did that cause the rumblings? Did I get you in trouble?”
“This from the woman who just risked her life to return thirty little girls to heaven?” he questioned tenderly. “No, you most certainly did not get me in trouble.”
“Even though I thought nasty things about Chelsea?”
He chuckled. “Even though.”
“Can you be happy, Mike?” she asked. “I really want you to be happy tonight. I want everyone to be happy tonight.”
He nodded. “Yes, I can be happy. I am happy,” he corrected. “You are my family, Mary, and I am thrilled to be here for your announcement.”
“Good,” she said. “Now let’s go downstairs and have some cupcakes.”
She walked down the steps, paused halfway and leaned over the banister. “Who wants to see what’s in the middle of those cupcakes?” she asked.
Rosie carried a cake plate with three cupcakes to the center of the room. “Here they are,” she said.
Bradley met Mary at the steps and walked her over to Rosie. He picked up a cupcake and held it up like a wine goblet. “Here’s to my lovely wife, Mary. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for agreeing to share my love forever. And thank you for increasing our love and our family.”
Mary kissed him on the cheek and picked up her cupcake. “Here’s to my handsome husband, Bradley. Thank you for loving me even though I scare the heck out of you from time to time. Thank you for agreeing to share my love forever. Thank you for allowing me to be the mother of Clarissa, whom I love with all my heart. And thank you for increasing our love and our family.”
Then she picked up the third cupcake. “Clarissa, you need to be part of this, too.”
Clarissa scurried to the center of the room and smiled up at her parents. Bradley winked down at her. “Okay,” he said. “On the count of three. One. Two. Three!”
They all bit into their cupcakes so the center fillings were revealed and turned them to the rest of the people in the family.
“Blue!” Clarissa screamed. “We’re going to have a baby boy!!!”
Bradley leaned over and gave Mary a blue frosting kiss on her cheek. “Happy baby boy,” he said.
“Have you thought of a name?” Stanley asked. “I hear that Stanley is coming back in style.”
When the laughter settled down, Mary nodded. “Yes, we have thought of a name,” she said. “We’d like our baby boy to be called Michael Timothy Alden.”
A look of delighted surprise appeared on Mike’s face. “Me?” he asked Mary.
She nodded. “He’ll be named after two men whom we love and admire. Mike Richards and Timothy O’Reilly.”
Mary’s father walked over to her and kissed her. “Well, thank you, darling,” he said. “I can’t tell you how pleased I am. Little M. Timmy O’Reilly. What a grand name.”
“Alden,” Bradley reminded him. “His last name is Alden.”
“Oh, for sure it is,” Timothy said with a wink. “But he’ll be an O’Reilly through and through.”
He walked over to the counter, picked up a cupcake and turned to Ian. “So, did you hear?” he asked. “Little Timmy O’Reilly Alden. A fine name. A fine name indeed.”
While the rest of the guests picked up cupcakes, Mike glided over to them. “Are you sure?” he asked.
“Mike, this was one decision that we both came to immediately,” Bradley said. “Of course we’re sure. We couldn’t ask for anything better than for our son to grow up just like you.”
“Well, maybe let’s not tell him about cheeks and tattoos, okay?” Mary teased.
Mike nodded. “Not until he’s at least fourteen,” he agreed with a smile.
“Cheeks and tattoos?” Bradley asked.
“You probably don’t want to know,” Mary said.
Mike shook his head. “Yeah, at least not until the baby’s name is printed on the birth certificate.”
He shook his head. “I still can’t believe you’re doing this,” he said. “And I want you to know that I’m honored. Honored and humbled. I’ll try to be the best namesake a boy could have.”
“You already are,” Mary said.
Chapter Fifty-four
The room was dark, and Mary was trying to understand why she was there. She had been there before, of that she was sure. But why was she there again?
She moved forward tentatively, trying to find an exit door or a light. She didn’t feel afraid, but she knew she didn’t really belong there. A low sound, like the thrum of a bass note, was pulsing in the background over some hidden speaker system. Everywhere she went, the sound was present. She continued forward and heard another sound, soft and whispered, in the distance, the sound of a child’s cry.
Dismissing caution, she hurried forward toward the source of the sound. Running down dark corridors that turned and twisted, she became even more frustrated. Finding herself at a dead end, she turned back and found a staircase that hadn’t been there before. She jogged up stairs and down stairs, still following the elusive cry. Finally, she arrived at a door at the far end of a narrow hall. Light flooded out from beneath the door and around the sides into the dark hallway.
She grasped the doorknob, but the door itself seemed to be shrinking. The opportunity to save the baby was becoming smaller and smaller. Suddenly she was in the room, but the cry was from the other side of the door. Someone was taking the baby away. She sat on the floor, her legs straddling the door on either side as she pulled on the doorknob with all her might.
The crying became more frantic. The baby was in distress. Mary yanked on the door. It finally broke open, but the doorway was too small for her to slip through. Lying on the ground, she peered through the opening and watched a shadowy creature carry the sobbing baby into the night.
“No!” she screamed, pushing her hand out through the opening. “No, bring me back my baby!”
Sitting up with a start, Mary inhaled frantically, trying to catch her breath. Bradley’s arms were already around her, pulling her to him. “It’s all right, Mary,” he said, his voice thick with concern. “It was only a dream. It was only a dream.”
; She pulled out of his arms, met his eyes and shook her head. “No, Bradley. I think someone is trying to take our baby.”
Author’s note: While I was plotting the adventures for Mary in Book 13, a friend of mine sent me a Reuter’s article from March 2014 about re-homing. It called to my attention the underground market where parents use online bulletin boards to offer adoptees to strangers. I had no idea these practices existed in the United States, and as I have spoken with friends and family, I find that many of them have never heard of this practice either. However, when I was researching this book, I actually found sites that still offered children to strangers, much like you would offer a puppy or a kitten.
As of early 2014, there were no Federal laws against re-homing, and according to the article, only four states (Colorado, Florida, Illinois and Wisconsin) were moving forward with legislation. This is not fiction. This is a practice that needs to be halted. Please talk to your government officials to alert them to this practice. Spread the word that there needs to be other, safer options for adopted children and their new families when there are adjustment issues. We can make a difference in a child’s life.
Thank you,
Terri
About the author: Terri Reid lives near Freeport, the home of the Mary O’Reilly Mystery Series, and loves a good ghost story. She lives in a hundred year-old farmhouse complete with its own ghost. She loves hearing from her readers at [email protected]
Other Books by Terri Reid:
Mary O’Reilly Paranormal Mystery Series:
Loose Ends (Book One)
Good Tidings (Book Two)
Never Forgotten (Book Three)
Final Call (Book Four)
Darkness Exposed (Book Five)
Natural Reaction (Book Six)
Secret Hollows (Book Seven)
Broken Promises (Book Eight)
Twisted Paths (Book Nine)
Veiled Passages (Book Ten)