First Born (Lily Moore Series)

by Tricia Zoeller

  She looked at Caldwell who nodded to reassure her.

  “I was aware of her having a baby, but was told that it died from a terrible infection. I chalked it up to the living conditions in a third world country. I couldn’t believe she stayed over there. Anyway, my sister returned to the states and made a new life for herself writing children’s books. She never would give me the details of her son’s death. She has suffered in the past several years from poor health. She said she had some depression. I had no idea it was extreme anxiety and delusions.

  “Mona had twins. After the one died, she gave the other baby up for adoption to a family in the states. It was a closed adoption. As far as I know, she never attempted to make contact with the surviving son. I never understood why. Apparently, the twins were born two minutes apart. The first born was strong and healthy. The second one weak.”

  Caldwell shifted in his chair then asked the million-dollar question, “Do we know the name of her son?”

  “There’s a Hindu name mentioned here.” Her brows dropped down, her lips pursed in disapproval. “Ankur. I don’t know how adoptions work if the adoptive family names them...or...”

  Caldwell slowly turned a few pages, “I know this is difficult for you. Thank you so much for providing us with this—”

  “Detective, there’s more,” she said. Caldwell held his breath.

  “My sister’s child did not die from an infection. His younger brother killed him.”

  Caldwell stopped his page turning and paid closer attention to the woman next to him.

  “Apparently, the bigger one became very ill with a fever. She left the boys with a neighbor to go into town and get some medicine. When she returned, the neighbor held his lifeless body and wouldn’t stop crying. Ankur wasn’t hiding. He had been waiting on the front step for her. He admitted that he put a pillow over his brother’s face.” Clemens gulped. “Mona writes here that ‘his eyes were not an innocent child’s.’ The Medical Examiner stated cause of death as respiratory distress secondary to infection. Mona states clear as day that Ankur, at three, smothered his brother with no remorse.” Frown lines creased her forehead. “I don’t know that a three-year-old can be evil. Do you? I mean, he wouldn’t have known any better.”

  Lake patted her hand.

  “She couldn’t look at the child. She gave him up for adoption.”

  “Mrs. Clemens, I know I asked you before about Charles Moore—”

  “Yes, I remember, but I’ve never heard of him. My sister was rather secretive. Why?”

  “We just wondered if he was the father,” Lake said.

  Mrs. Clemens daintily wiped her nose. “Who knows? Maybe the father was an Indian.”

  Caldwell nodded. “If you don’t mind, just a couple more questions, Ms. Clemens.”

  “Yes?”

  “I know we talked briefly about Dr. Hitomi’s research over the phone. Were you aware of any kind of relationship Ms. Sinclair had with her.”

  “No, again, I have never met that woman. Mona never talked about her.”

  “Did she ever mention Frank Harding to you?”

  “Who is that?”

  “Someone who may be connected to this case. He knows the Moores. I just was seeing if you were aware of Ms. Sinclair knowing him.”

  “No, I don’t recall my sister ever mentioning that name. But again, there’s so much I didn’t know about my sister.”

  They gave her some time to collect herself and asked if she needed a ride, but she assured them that her husband was waiting on her to drive her home.

  Once she left, Caldwell and Lake poured through the book more thoroughly.

  “Let’s give this to Tiny,” Lake said. “Then I’ll call the US Department of State’s Vital Records department to track down the name from the original birth certificate.”

  “Hopefully that’ll work and we won’t have to wait for Clemens to petition the court for the adoption record to be opened,” Caldwell grumbled.

  “Tragic story, no wonder the lady had PTSD,” Lake commented. “But a three-year-old is still just a baby.”

  “Was a baby. Now he may be one pissed-off, traumatized adult.”

  Chapter 39

  Does a Caged Bird Sing?

  After lunch Caldwell and Lake stood side-by-side working on the crime board in Lake’s office when Tiny knocked. He placed a manila folder on the meeting table before coming to stand by them, his bright yellow glasses perched on his head. He rolled up the sleeves of his pink oxford shirt. “It’s hotter than stew fire in here.”

  “Yeah, I already complained,” Lake said. He had an oscillating fan on top of his desk. “Tell us some good news, Mr. Hunt.”

  “The envelope in Sinclair’s secret agent bed and the one found in Seth Moore’s car both contained traces of Inderal. The saliva on the seal was Hitomi’s.” Tiny leaned against the gunmetal gray wall while twirling his yellow glasses by the arm.

  Caldwell marked in the info under Hitomi’s name. He drew a line from Hitomi to Mr. Moore. “So Seth Moore was most likely using Inderal or delivering it to private test subjects. It would explain Seth’s continued contact with her.”

  He contemplated the information. They found Hitomi’s fingerprints at Seth’s apartment, but she denied breaking into his place. The footprint on the door matched the size twelve imprints found at the Liu scene. He wondered why the perp didn’t wait on Seth and attack him. Had he only wanted the Inderal from Seth’s apartment? Had it been Harding? The shoe size matched. They had no leads on Harding’s location or the Moores for that matter.

  “We gonna talk to Dr. Seduction again?” Caldwell asked Lake.

  Tiny’s dark eyes gleamed in amusement against his brown skin.

  Lake cocked an eyebrow. “Maybe I’ll let you handle her.”

  “Chicken,” Tiny said as he excused himself from the room.

  Ten minutes later Caldwell and Lieutenant Lake sat across from Hitomi at the Fulton County Jail. She wore a prison-issued orange top and pants that looked like scrubs, white socks and flip-flops. “My lawyer says not to talk to you.”

  “We know you were at Seth Moore’s apartment. We also know that you provided him and Ms. Sinclair with syringes of Inderal,” Caldwell said.

  “We also know you provided anabolic steroids to young men. What exactly does that have to do with PTSD?” Lake asked.

  She leaned in, her brilliant eyes piercing. “Did it ever occur to you gentleman that I’m not the bad guy here? Perhaps I’ve been trying to help. Perhaps, my interactions with Seth were of a protective nature.”

  “So, trashing his place and giving him drugs is a protective measure?” Lake asked.

  When her attention turned to Lake, she smirked. “So you liked me better in my pink satin robe?”

  Caldwell glanced at Lake who had a hand on his forehead. “Answer the question.” Caldwell said.

  “Only if he does,” she said with a smile.

  “Fine. I don’t think orange is your color,” Lake said.

  She smirked.

  Then the boss’s demeanor changed. “You were the last person to see Peter Marx. We found your fingerprints inside Seth Moore’s house. You were very close to Li Liu’s ranch the day he was attacked. Things aren’t looking so good for you, Professor.”

  “Things don’t look so good for you. It occurs to me that Li Liu knew his assailant. I’ve never met the man in my life, but common sense dictates that he wouldn’t let his guard down around just anyone.”

  Lake placed an object on the table in front of Hitomi. “You ever seen this before?”

  Hitomi’s eyes widened and her nostrils flared. “No.”

  The lieutenant left the feather in its clear evidence bag in front of her. Caldwell watched her. Her posture was relaxed, but her eyes were not. She was fascinated.

  “Do you know what kind of bird that came from?” Caldwell asked.

  “No.”

  Lake placed the mythology book in its clear bag next to the feather. “Are
you sure?”

  “Lieutenant, I didn’t know you were into fairy tales.”

  Lake nodded at Caldwell to continue the questioning. Caldwell sighed. “So you don’t know Mr. Liu. How about Frank Harding?”

  “According to my attorney, I don’t have to answer anything you ask me.”

  Lake removed the evidence bags from the table.

  Caldwell propped his ankle on his knee and leaned back studying his notes. “But you are here, Dr. Hitomi. You look worried. I believe you’re being protective. But is it of Seth Moore or yourself?”

  Hitomi studied each of them separately. “I’ll reiterate my point. I’m not the bad guy. I don’t know Frank Harding.”

  Back in the car, Lake chomped on chicken fingers while Caldwell downed a cheeseburger. “You know, Gates had his hounds all around Hitomi’s property. He attempted to use Liu’s shirt, see if they picked anything up—nothing,” Lake said.

  Caldwell nodded. “None of her records indicate any contact with Liu. Not seeing Harding’s number come up, either. So was it coincidence that she was so close to Liu’s property the day he was attacked?”

  Lake downed half his Coke in one gulp.

  “You okay, Lieutenant?”

  Lake stopped chewing. “That lady read my mind.”

  “Nah, she was just messing with you.”

  The lieutenant was adamant. “Swear to God. I was absolutely picturing her in the pink robe and now my head hurts like a bitch.”

  Chapter 40

  Flying Shih Tzu

  The fight in the woods had been the turning point for Lily and Seth. Afterward, they had agreed to wake at sunrise each day and walk through the woods, venturing further each day to condition themselves and study their surroundings in case they needed to make their escape. They followed game trails during off hours to avoid people.

  At night, Lily practiced shifting. She had the dog form down and could even transform without making any uncouth noises. But Seth insisted that she was holding back and that without finding out entirely what she was, they would never stand a chance of surviving.

  The term tiangou was a difficult one; she refused to add it to her vocabulary. Bird was okay, but she refuted even the slightest suggestion that she was a mountain monster that brought war. She preferred to think of herself as a fenghuang hybrid although that would have made her a peace-loving herbivore not an aggressive carnivore.

  They didn’t want to be defenseless so they practiced shooting the guns a few times. The preserve was a wildlife management area where hunting was allowed, but it was restrictive as far as how many hunters were permitted at a time and which areas could be used on what day. The sound of gunfire in an undesignated region would draw the warden’s attention.

  On their fifth day at the cabin, they waited until twilight to walk into the woods. She promised that tonight she would trust and just let go. It was early June, but the temperatures made it feel like July.

  Seth turned his back to provide her some privacy.

  He had suggested that she wrap her dress around her neck like a scarf so that she would have clothing handy when she shifted back. It was a great idea, if not disturbing, since she knew he had seen Koko do it. She had learned a system of rolling the dress tightly so that it even fit her Shih Tzu neck and didn’t drag on the ground. Seth was to remain in his human form so her “bird-creature,” as he termed it, wouldn’t war with his cat. He still thought she was a tiangou or tengu. Lily knew he did, but wouldn’t voice it because any inference to that point made her cringe.

  Seth’s speech reminded her of a flight attendant’s just before takeoff. She knew it was important information in case something went wrong, but she didn’t register the words. The night sky engaged her; doing its best to romance her. Seth was spewing accolades about Koko’s poetry. She wished he’d stop talking about that woman. Lily’s rage surged, flowing forth from a tingling in her toes to a monstrous throbbing at her temples.

  There was an “umph” then a “thud.” She disregarded those sounds as she allowed the sensory overload from the earth and sky to wash through her. Her wings unfurled in the breeze as her eyes followed every movement of the leaves and the bugs. She glanced down at her body to see white and black fur covering a heavily muscled canine body the size of a Saint Bernard. Her feet had formed large paws almost like a dog’s, but more claw-like allowing her to bear down to root more firmly in the soil beneath her. Her teeth suddenly felt like they overflowed her mouth, but she told herself not to focus on that. Instead, she embraced the tremendous rush of having wings. Just as she was planning to launch into the heavens in answer to the night sky—

  “Ohhh.”

  She turned around to see Seth semi-conscious on his back, moaning. Apparently, he had been standing too close.

  “You okay?” Lily asked.

  His eyelids fluttered. A rivulet of blood trickled from his nose in a diagonal toward his ear. His breathing was labored and his eyes cloudy as he peered up at her. Once he sensed what she was, the hairs on his head and arms stood on end.

  “Dude!”

  She’d like to think that the vision of his sister with kaleidoscope wings would have evoked something more deep and meaningful, but she was satisfied to hear “Dude” since it meant she hadn’t bludgeoned her brother to death.

  “You’re...not what I expected!” he said. She wondered what she looked like. For once, she felt powerful.

  “Easy,” said Seth as she moved toward him. “You need to get your bearings. And no, I don’t believe my nose is broken.” He sat up slowly and held his shirt to his face, trying to stop the bleeding. Her intense stare at the blood on his shirt caused him to hiss.

  “Don’t take this the wrong way, but when you hiss like that it just provokes me. Don’t worry, I won’t eat you,” she said with a laugh.

  “So. Not. A bird,” he said. The expression on his face caused her to pause.

  “What do I look like, Seth?” He hesitated. She looked down at her four, large furry legs and claws. “I’m a monster?”

  “No. No. No,” he said. “You are...impressive.”

  That’s what he said about a wild boar the first time he saw one. “Why won’t you tell me what I look like?” She plopped her furry butt down on the pine needles and began to sob the sputtering and backfiring of an old VW Beetle.

  “Shhhhh. Settle down now. Someone will hear you.”

  Lily began to tap her front paw on the forest floor, impatiently waiting for him to say something right. Something to talk her off the ledge.

  “You have very big eyes,” he said. “They’re so...green.”

  “Uh huh. Fuck this. I’m going back to the cabin to see for myself.” She took off at a lope headed for the cabin. The speed impressed her. Before she knew it, she was clambering up the front steps. She sat in front of the door contemplating the knob. When she reached out, she realized the digits of her paw were long enough to close around the handle, but her claws extended too far sinking into the wood of the door. “Ach!” She attempted to yank her claws out, but removed a chunk of the door including the knob in the process. She flailed around as if it were a mousetrap caught on her paw.

  When Seth came up to the house two minutes later, she lay on her belly on the top step with her front leg covering her face and her paw extended out with the door chunk still attached. Her furry face was wet with tears and she felt her lower fangs extended out in a pout. In an attempt to be quieter, she only allowed herself short sobs. This technique started to make her feel light-headed.

  “Lil?”

  She held her breath as he approached so he wouldn’t admonish her again for being too noisy.

  “You’re still a Shih Tzu. Why didn’t you wait for me to explain?”

  She stood up and turned around on the porch, knocking the porch swing into the window glass with the force of one wing, before settling back down with her backside to him.

  “Nice.” He walked up the steps and sat down next to her reaching out w
ith his hand to stroke her ear. It felt great—almost as good as the wind in her face. It took the utmost control to prevent her hind leg from tapping. She would not give him the satisfaction. She felt his hand on the feathers of her left wing next as he explored her new appendages. “Dude these are the coolest wings I’ve ever seen. It’s like you’re under a black light all the time.”

  “Humph.”

  When he got to her paw, he discovered the doorknob. “Ya need some help with that?” He didn’t wait for a response, but gingerly pried the wood off. “So I gather you haven’t found the courage to look yet?”

  “Screw you,” she rumbled.

  “Oh yeah. Quite the beast you are. Heart of a lion.”

  She popped her head up and stared at him. “What?” she asked. Suddenly she knew what she was without looking. Lily remembered the guardian lions chatter between Frank and Larry. Shishi. Seth jumped up with her.

  “Easy, Lily. You have a crazy look on your face.” He eased his body in front of the door. She barked at him a deep primordial sound that broke the night’s calm setting off coyotes to singing and dogs to howling four cabins over. “Guardian lion? You think you are a guardian lion?”

  She nodded too revved up to worry about her mind leaking her thoughts.

  “That explains a lot.”

  She tapped her front paw on the wood beneath her.

  “Well, there’s your noise that you make. Even as a pee wee, it’s like a cross between a small roar and a bark.” Lily knew he was proud of himself by the set of his shoulders. “You roark.” Then he started to laugh. “Get it. Not you rock, but you roark. And then, see, I combined roar with bark so we have roarking.”

  Lily exhaled a loud stream of angst.

  “You don’t like it?”

  “It sounds like something dirty. Now get your cat ass out of my way so I can see my scary self and have a good cry.”

  Chapter 41

  Slimy Bohunk