Worth Any Price

by Jacqueline DeGroot

  “What you had to do . . . .”

  “Was nothing compared with what you had to do.”

  There was silence in the car as a soft rain began to fall. Rand turned on the wipers and they listened to the soft squeak of the blades as they made a dry wipe between each wet one.

  “You know, I’m very proud of you. You’ve shown great courage and a fierce loyalty. I want you always to remember that. Whenever you have bad thoughts about what you had to do, please remember that. It’s not something any man worth his salt should have a problem with.”

  “Thank you, Rand.”

  They pulled up in front of the library. The whole block was alight with flashing blue-and-white lights and an ambulance was waiting at the curb, its back doors open. They could see two medics inside bending over a gurney.

  “Go see your boy. I’ll park and join you.”

  For the next few hours Meggie felt like she was slogging through a deep fog: answering a myriad of questions, refusing Rand’s offers of food and coffee, and keeping a desperate hold on her son’s hands when she wasn’t holding him on her lap. Twice, Toby had been taken aside as she answered intimate questions for Detective Vain. Rand went with Toby, partly to ease her mind that her son was in good hands, not just with strangers, and partly because he couldn’t stand to hear her going over the details of her ransom assignments with the seemingly stern, unconcerned detective. He kept his eyes on her as she wiped at her teary face and alternated between nodding and shaking her head as the detective posed question after question. Finally, the doctor and the crime scene people were finished with Toby, and the detective was finished with Meggie. Detective Kel Vain had added another ransom note to his collection.

  They were all on their way to Meggie’s apartment now, where Thomas would no doubt confront Rand, and the police would look for evidence of the kidnapping.

  God, he was tired, he thought as he looked in the rearview mirror and smiled. Meggie was in the back seat with Toby. Both of them were belted in as she rocked him back and forth, his head cradled against her breast. Her smooth, plump, heavy breast. He remembered it from when he had reached for it as a way of sending his body over the edge for her. And he knew that if he had been pleasuring her instead of hurting her, that he would have had no trouble unleashing his passion. He suddenly wanted this woman as he’d never wanted any other. This quiet, strong woman who did whatever it took to protect what she loved. He thought about her laying under him reveling in his gentle touches, and then becoming frantic with desire as he touched all the right places. And he didn’t know if it could ever be like that.

  He didn’t know what he’d be facing when he saw Thomas, but he knew one thing for certain: this woman was worth fighting for, and he was going to be the victor. Even if it cost him a ten-year friendship and a hell of a good tennis partner.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Kel and his crew finished up at Meggie Ryan’s apartment around two in the morning, too late to call Laura and fill her in. As he drove back to the station and then home, he tried to decide when would be a good time to call her, a time when he wouldn’t wake her, but before she had the chance to hear all about this latest kidnapping on the news. It had been three days since he’d taught Kayla the cannonball and had dinner with Laura on her patio. But it hadn’t been three days since he’d thought about her. He thought about her constantly.

  He decided to sleep until six, then shower and dress and get over to her place by seven. That should be enough time to refresh his body and his brain, if he managed to get any sleep at all. He thought about Meggie Ryan and how hard it had been for her to relate to him the atrocities she had been forced to perform. But he had noticed that when she had described the third demand, she hadn’t seemed as disgusted, as devastated by it. Cheswick must have handled things better than most would.

  His mind recalled the hard planes of Dr. Cheswick’s face and he tried to fill in the blanks of what that act must have looked like between the two of them. It hardly seemed like something either might have considered doing before, but you never knew about people and their sexuality. He knew anal intercourse could be sensual, if done properly; he had tried it a few times himself. No, it probably wasn’t their speed, he decided. Still, there was definitely something between them, something unspoken, a bond of some sort. Could it possibly be similar to the kind of bridge he and Laura had experienced? Distaste for a dreadful act that culminated somehow in respect and admiration? It was an intimacy they had shared after all, even if it wasn’t done in the conventional way under the most ideal conditions. They had still shared a part of themselves, along with their bodies, in a mutual, consenting way just as he and Laura had. He smiled to himself as he pulled into his driveway. He wondered where this would all lead between the good doctor and the nervy mother. He had seen the look of protection on Rand Cheswick’s face several times, and a steely, determined resolve had set into his jaw when he’d dealt with her tipsy ex-husband who’d been waiting in the apartment when they’d all gotten there.

  Kel opened the front door to his house and made his way to the bedroom. He dropped his badge case and gun on the night stand, along with the notebook filled with the copious notes he had taken during his interview. Thoughts of the case swirled around his head as he stripped and slid between the sheets. He had to get over to that golf course tomorrow. The grass taken from Dr. Cheswick’s cuffs matched the grass found on Kayla’s pajamas. With any luck, they’d find the common denominator. Then, as he turned his head and snuggled into the pillow, he thought about Laura. How nice it would be to come home after a stressful day and find her here in his bed waiting for him. Her willing, sleek body inviting him inside. He fell asleep with thoughts of her lying beneath him, writhing in their shared passion, and sending each other into sacred oblivion.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Early the next morning, Kel was on Laura’s front porch knocking on her door, listening to the sounds coming from within, trying to determine if it was indeed, too early to come calling.

  Laura answered the door with tumbled locks falling over her eyes, as her fingers plowed through her thick tresses. She was beautiful. All of his senses went on alert as he observed her tousled and sensual appeal.

  “Oh, I’m sorry I woke you,” Kel said and Laura smiled at his sincerity.

  “You didn’t wake me. I just didn’t sleep very well. Kayla was restless.”

  “Is she sleeping in your bed?”

  “Yeah, I can’t make her sleep in her own bed yet. I’m not ready.”

  “The longer you wait, the harder the transition will be.”

  “I know, I just can’t yet.”

  “So when she has a bad night, you have a bad night.”

  “Something like that. Come on in,” she gestured, standing off to the side. Her robe parted just above her knees and he had a glimpse of a soft lavender nightgown. It appeared to be silk, and it thrilled him to see it move between her thighs as she turned. And he could smell her. She smelled of citrus and baby powder and something spicy. It kicked his libido into high gear.

  “Why the visit at the crack of dawn? Not that I’m not delighted to see you, but I can see you have a reason for being here.”

  “Boy, getting intimate with someone opens your soul to them,” he murmured with chagrin.

  She blushed, smiled over at him, and turned to pull the coffee pot from the warming burner.

  “I do have something I need to tell you.”

  “I thought so.”

  “You might want to sit down. It’s not all good news.”

  “There’s been another kidnapping.”

  “Boy, you are astute.”

  “Figured it had to happened. And it will probably keep happening until you catch him.”

  He liked the confidence she had in him, it puffed him up and made
him unaccountably proud.

  “A little boy this time, named Toby. He was returned last night.”

  “By being returned, you mean she did his bidding?”

  “You do zero in, don’t you?”

  “It’s the only point you’re concerned with, right now. You were afraid to have me find out on the news.”

  “I’ve gotta tell you, you get an ‘A’ for effort.”

  “How’s the mother doing?”

  “Last night was a bit rough,” in more ways than one, he thought, “but I think she’s going to come through it all right.”

  “Would it be okay if I called her?”

  He smiled widely and endearingly shook his head. “You amaze me. Here you are just beginning to deal with your own crisis and all you can think about is someone else’s pain. I am absolutely floored by you.”

  “It only stands to reason that I can commiserate with her better than most.”

  “I’m sure she would love for you to call. I’ll leave her number. Other than not sleeping well, how’s Kayla doing?”

  “She sees the doctor again today. My mother and father are going to meet me there. The psychiatrist seems to think we all need to know what she’s dealing with now and what’s in store for her later as it keeps coming back to her over the years.”

  “That’s excellent. I’m glad you’re doing this. A lot of people don’t know how important getting the right kind of help is. And you, are you going to start seeing someone?”

  “I don’t think I’m ready to date yet.”

  “I didn’t mean that! I meant professionally. A shrink.”

  “Oh. I’ll think about it. Kayla’s my main concern for right now. If she’s fine, I’ll be fine. Coffee?”

  He took the cup she offered and sat on a stool at the counter.

  “Kayla may be your main concern for now, but if you don’t deal with this problem soon, it’ll come back to haunt you and will be harder to deal with later. You don’t know how this will affect you down the road, Laura. Get some help.”

  “Maybe I will, just not now. I’m not ready for all that entails.” She sipped her coffee and looked over at him. “I appreciate you coming here to warn me.”

  “It’ll be all over the news this morning.”

  “Does the press know who she is?”

  “Not yet, but I’m sure by noon they’ll get a line on her.”

  “How old is her son?”

  “Five. Do you know a Dr. Cheswick?”

  “Yes. He works at New Hanover. Neurosurgeon, I believe. I didn’t think he had a son. I didn’t even know he was married.”

  “It’s not his son, but he’s the one Meggie, that’s her name, uh . . . recruited, if you get my gist. But that’s confidential.”

  “You mean like I recruited you?”

  “Yeah, sort of.”

  “So she fits the profile. She’s a single mother, too?”

  “Yeah, divorced for two years. Only from what I can tell, her ex-husband was a class A fool and now he wants her back.”

  “Well, sometimes an experience like this can draw people back together.”

  “Will that happen with you?” He thought for sure he knew the answer to that question, but he needed to hear her say it.

  She laughed and the sound was musical. She even had a cultured laugh, he thought, a sweet, tinkling one, not a brassy guffaw like some women he knew.

  “Not a chance. I might be able to forgive a man some indiscretions, but I could never forgive him if he abandoned us, the way Ryan did. Especially the way he just walked away from Kayla. Although, now, I must say I’m rather happy about that. His influence on Kayla would not have been a good one. I wish I’d seen that at the time. I practically begged him to keep in touch with her when we split, it’s good that he hasn’t.”

  As if on cue, they heard a loud wail and both of them bolted to the stairs. Taking them two at a time, Kel beat Laura to the top. He drew his gun and spun around the doorway into Kayla’s room.

  She was tossing on the bed, moaning in the throes of a nightmare. Kel shouldered his gun and pulled Laura into the room. “Looks like she’s having a nightmare.”

  Laura rushed to Kayla’s side and gently shook her. “Kayla, wake up baby. It’s just a bad dream. C’mon, baby, open your eyes.”

  Kel sat on the opposite side of the bed watching as Laura gently tried to prod Kayla awake. Kayla let out a loud wail and flailed her arms out before flipping to the other side of the bed. She would have fallen out if Kel hadn’t caught her.

  “Kayla!” he called more firmly. He shook her and lightly slapped her cheeks. Then he pinched her hard on the thigh. “Wake up, Kayla! Wake up!”

  Big bright blues eyes opened and she sniffled. “ ‘Tective Vain?” she whispered.

  “Yes, sweetheart, it’s Kel. You were having a nightmare.”

  “It was a very bad dream,” she moaned as she pulled herself up and crawled into his lap. “Bad, bad noises. Bad, bad man. Sirens. Loud sirens. Right there.”

  “Right where, honey?”

  “Right there. I couldn’t see. But it was loud. My ears hurt. I’m afraid.”

  Kel gathered her close and gently rocked her as he stroked her long hair. “You don’t need to be afraid anymore, sweetheart. Your mommy’s here, and so am I. We won’t let anything bad happen to you anymore. Trust me,” he whispered. “The bad man’s not going to get you again.”

  He softly crooned to her until she settled down and her sobbing quieted. He used his thumb to wipe the dampness from her cheeks and he looked over at Laura who had a hopeless, quiet fear in her eyes.

  “It’s going to be okay, Laura. She’s going to be fine. As long as she keeps expressing her fears and being open, she’s going to be just fine. Don’t worry about her, honey,” he whispered, and he reached over to wipe the tears from Laura’s pale face.

  After a moment, he chuckled. “What am I going to do with you two, all somber and teary-eyed? You need to get up, get your suits on and get down to the beach. It’s going to be a perfect beach day. A great day to build a castle in the sand.”

  Kayla opened one eye and looked up at him. “Can you come, too?”

  “No, honey, I can’t. Not today. I have work to do. But you and your mom . . . .”

  “Can go later this afternoon, Missy,” she said as she took Kayla from him. “Right now we have to get ready to meet Grandma and Grandpa, and if you’re good, maybe I’ll take you to Toys ’R Us and see if we can find a new game.”

  Kel stood, then bent low to kiss Kayla’s cheek. “I like dominos,” he whispered. He straightened, winked at Laura, and walked to the door. “I’ll leave that number.”

  “I’ll walk you out.” She set Kayla on the carpet and told her to go use the bathroom, that she’d be right back to help her dress.

  “Thanks,” she whispered as she followed him to the kitchen counter where he scrawled a name and a number, then to the front door. “You’re really good with her.”

  “She’s a great kid.”

  At the door, he turned to her. “Are you sure about that dating thing? You think it’s too soon?”

  “Who wants to know?”

  He bent, took her by the arms, and pulled her to him. He looked into her face and met her eyes with his. “Me,” he said just before taking her lips with his. It was a sweet kiss, tender, but without passion, it spoke of promise and friendship. “Me,” he repeated as he let her go.

  Then he slapped his forehead with his broad palm and shouted. “The siren! Damn! Why didn’t I connect that before?” Then he was out the door and running down the steps before he heard her answer.

  “No, I’m not sure. I’m not sure at all,” she mumbled to the back of
the door. Then she smiled and turned to go back upstairs.

  Chapter Twenty

  Kel was busy for days as he followed one lead after the other. The siren thing had stirred up his juices. Kayla had told him about the siren before. She had told him that it was loud and that then it had stopped. That’s what should have hit him at the time. It could only have stopped because it had reached its destination or arrived back at the firehouse. If Kayla had been kept anywhere near the firehouse, she would have heard the sirens all the time. But since it was only the one isolated instance, there must have been a fire or an accident near the place where she had been held.

  He spent an hour at the firehouse writing down all the places the engines had gone from the time Kayla was taken to the time she was returned. Then he drove to each place, five in all, and scoped them out. All were in the old section of town; two were in residential areas. But there were still hundreds of places she could have been and heard the sirens equally loudly. If only she hadn’t been blindfolded and he could have known whether or not she had seen the lights bouncing off the walls.

  After a morning of free association list writing, trying to let his subconscious take over and sort clues, he came to the conclusion that his inherent sixth sense was failing him. The only thing that had occurred to him was that whoever was doing this had to have access to secured areas. The security office in the building and the elevator where one of the first mothers victimized had had to go down on a man, for one. And the quick mart where they’d discovered the monitor tape missing mere minutes after the robbery had been reported where the distraught mother had to flash her boobs. After mulling it over for a few minutes, it occurred to him that cleaning companies had unrestricted access.

  He set up a team to research all the cleaning services that were used by all the locations where “ransom” activity had occurred. And unbelievably, that afternoon they came up with just one company.