by Debra Webb
Again, Nick couldn’t shake the feeling that James Ed was serious in his concern for his much younger sister.
“Where’s my son?” Laura demanded.
James Ed’s expression turned distant. “I don’t understand all this,” he said, his tone remote.
“Laura does have a child,” Nick ground out. It took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to grab the Governor by the throat. “I’m about to give you one last opportunity to redeem yourself here, James Ed. Why did you hire someone to kill Laura and where is the baby?”
“I would never do anything to hurt you, Laura,” James Ed insisted. “You must believe that.” His sincere gaze turned to Nick’s. “I love her too much.”
“Tell me about your associate, Brock Redmond,” Nick suggested coolly.
Denial flickered across the Governor’s features. “I didn’t hire him to do this.”
“So you admit that you do know him,” Nick pressed.
James Ed hesitated, his expression distracted now. “What?”
“It’s over, James Ed. We know what you did.”
James Ed shook his head slowly. “I…I don’t want to talk now. I’m not feeling well. Please go away.”
“Redmond is the man who shot me, and left me for dead. He,” Nick added bitterly, “is the man who tried to kill Laura on the riverbank that same night. And you hired him.”
“You’re wrong,” James Ed argued wearily. “Brock Redmond is—”
“Was,” Nick cut in. “He’s dead.”
James Ed seemed to shrink right before Nick’s eyes. “I didn’t know,” he murmured. “I didn’t know….”
Laura couldn’t stand idly by and do nothing a moment longer. She had to find Robby. While Nick and James Ed were caught up in their discussion, Laura used the moment to slip back into the hall. They had already checked the downstairs rooms. Laura glanced at the wide staircase that flowed up to the second floor. He had to be upstairs. She frowned at the thought that Sandra was probably watching him. Why would Sandra go along with James Ed? She had never mentioned to Laura that she even wanted a child. Being the perfect political wife had always appeared to be enough for her.
Pushing the disturbing question aside, Laura rushed up the seemingly endless stairs. Once on the second-story landing she paused to listen. Laura strained with the effort to hear even the slightest noise. Something, some indistinguishable sound touched her ears. She turned to her right and followed the soft sound to the far end of the corridor. The room was on the right and across the hall from James Ed and Sandra’s bedroom.
The closer Laura came to the door the louder and clearer the sound became. Music, she realized.
A lullaby.
Laura stopped dead in her tracks. A chill raced up her spine and spread across her scalp.
“Robby,” she murmured. Laura ran the last few feet and burst into the room. She smoothed her hand over the wall until she found a light switch. A soft golden glow filled the bedroom when she flipped it to the on position. Blue walls embellished with white clouds, gold stars and moons wrapped the space in warmth. Beautiful cherry wood furniture, including a large rocking chair, filled the room. A lavish crib, adorned with a coverlet bearing those same moons, stars, and clouds stood near the open French doors. Blue, gauzy curtains fluttered in the cool night air. A wind-up mobile slowly turned, playing the familiar tune.
Her heart rising in her throat, Laura blindly walked the few steps that separated her from the crib. She braced her hands on the side rails and peered down at the fluffy coverlet and matching pillow and bumper pads.
The crib was empty save for linens.
No Robby.
Laura gasped, a pained, choking sort of half-sob sound.
“I’ve been expecting you.”
Tears streaming down her cheeks, Laura turned slowly to face the cold, emotionless voice.
Sandra.
“Why?” The word struggled past the lump constricting Laura’s throat. How could Sandra do this? Laura had trusted Sandra, loved her even. Had thought that Sandra loved her. How could this be?
Sandra laughed. She waved the gun Laura had only just noticed in the air. “Why not?”
“Where is my son?” Laura demanded more sharply.
“I wasn’t finished with the first question,” Sandra snapped. “In the beginning it was simply the money,” she said boldly. She fixed Laura with an evil look. “It should have been mine anyway. If your meddling grandfather hadn’t stepped in, my mother would have had the life she deserved. I would have had the life I deserved—your life.”
Laura shook her head in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
Sandra smiled. “Oh, that’s right you wouldn’t know, would you?” She stepped closer to Laura, the gun pointed at her chest. “Your dear father was once in love with my mother. But she wasn’t good enough for that blue blood that ran through his veins. So, your loving grandfather took care of the situation. He sent your father off to Harvard where he met your sweet, equally blue-blooded mother.”
“What does this have to do with anything?” Laura didn’t care about the past. The only thing she wanted was to find her son.
“Everything, my dear, everything.” She used the barrel of the weapon to turn Laura’s chin when she would have looked away. “You see, after your father deserted her, my mother married my sorry-excuse-for-a-father. He was a drunk and beat us both every chance he got.”
Laura shook her head, fear and sympathy warred inside her. “I’m sorry, but what does that have to do with my son?” she murmured.
“I’m getting to that,” Sandra snapped, her eyes sparkled with hatred. “Be patient. Not a day went by that my mother didn’t remind me of what should have been ours.” She poked Laura in the chest with the muzzle of the gun. “Money, position, power. Instead, we lived in poverty. Finally my mother had to be hospitalized and I was sent away.”
Despite what Sandra had done, Laura’s heart went out to the little girl who had suffered such injustices. Unlike James Ed, who was driven by greed, Sandra’s evilness grew out of a horrible childhood. “But your adopted parents were good to you,” Laura countered. “You told me so yourself.”
“You can’t make up for the past, Laura. What’s done is done. And one way or another I intended to have what was mine.” Another sinister smile spread across her face. “Of course I might never have been born had my mother not married the drunk who sired me. But, fate finally smiled on me. Your parents got themselves killed in that car accident and James Ed was all alone with a little sister to raise.” Sandra drew in a pleased breath. “By then I was all grown-up, had a different name, and lived with parents who were socially acceptable.”
Laura searched her mind for some way to get away from Sandra. The woman was deranged. Laura had to get to Nick and tell him about this room—she surveyed the beautiful nursery—and Sandra’s crazy story.
“You like my baby’s nursery?”
Laura blinked. Her gaze collided with Sandra’s once more. “But you can’t have children,” she said before she thought.
Sandra’s expression grew fierce. “Yes, well, that crazy old lady Leeton saw to that.”
“What?” This just kept getting more confusing, more bizarre. Laura gripped the side rail more tightly. What did Mrs. Leeton have to do with Sandra’s past? Mrs. Leeton had been Doc’s nurse in Bay Break for as long as Laura could remember.
“I wanted to make sure I had James Ed right where I wanted him, so I got pregnant to seal our fate. But he didn’t want children,” she added with disgust. “He claimed he needed to get his political career off the ground and get you raised before he had children of his own.” She sneered at Laura. “So I had to take care of that before he found out.” She frowned. “Something went wrong. The stupid old nurse kept telling me that it wasn’t her fault, that she had done the best she could. But I knew better. I could have killed her,” Sandra said coldly. “But I decided I might need her in the future.” She laughed then. “Gues
s I was right.”
“Where is Robby?” Laura demanded, her anger suddenly overriding any misplaced sympathy she had felt.
“Why do you keep asking me that?” Sandra said haughtily. “You’ve been in a hospital for the past eighteen months. You have no proof that Robby even exists. I’ve seen to that. Who would ever believe you?”
“Nick believes me,” Laura bit out.
Sandra shrugged. “Big deal. I can take care of Nick.” Her lips compressed into a grim line. “I thought I had him out of the way once before. But Redmond screwed up. Oh well,” she added with amusement. “He got his, didn’t he, princess?”
Ice formed in Laura’s stomach. “You sent Redmond to kill me?”
“Well, of course,” she retorted unapologetically. “You didn’t think James Ed had the balls to do it, did you?”
Laura shook her head. “I didn’t have anything to do with what happened to your mother. How could you hate me so much?”
“I already told you,” she intoned. “You had my life. And now I intend to have it all. Everything that should have been mine all along. The name, the money, everything.”
“Where’s my son?” Laura stepped nearer, putting herself nose to nose with Sandra.
Sandra pressed the muzzle of her gun into Laura’s stomach as a reminder of who was in charge. “I knew you didn’t die in that river with Redmond.” Her eyes narrowed. “I knew it. So I sent Redmond’s partner to look for you. It took him almost a year, but he found you.” Sandra’s eyes lit with a glow that was not sane. “And lo and behold what did he discover? You’d had yourself a baby.”
“Where’s my son?” Laura demanded again.
“With my dark hair and hazel eyes, he was perfect,” Sandra continued as if Laura had said nothing. “But, of course, with James Ed’s career to consider, I had to make it all look legal. That wasn’t so hard. Over the years I’ve gotten to know the hospital administrator at Serenity Sanitarium pretty well—” she smiled that evil smile again “—very well, in fact. So that part was easy. Canton, of course, was willing to do anything for enough money. Killing you and making it look like a suicide sounded like fun to him. All he had to do was find you.” Sandra breathed a relieved sigh. “When you showed up in Bay Break, it was like a gift from God. Doc had no way of knowing that his former nurse owed me such a huge favor. She called me the instant you showed up at her house.”
Rage rushed through Laura’s veins. “You had Doc murdered.”
“Unfortunately it was a necessary step in the process. He had a long and prosperous life, what’s the big deal?”
“I want my son back,” Laura said dangerously. At the moment she was prepared to kill Sandra with her bare hands if necessary.
“Enough,” Sandra announced savagely. She gestured to the French doors. “Let’s go onto the balcony. I wouldn’t want to sully my son’s new room.”
She jabbed Laura with the gun when she hesitated. “I said move,” she ordered.
Laura took one last look at the crib, then walked through the open doors. The barrel of the gun urging her forward, she walked straight across the wide balcony to the ornate railing. Laura stared into the darkness searching for some avenue of escape.
“Now jump.”
Startled by her demand, Laura pivoted to face Sandra. “What?” She had expected the woman to simply shoot her.
Sandra stepped to the railing. “I said jump. I have to keep this on the up-and-up.” She rolled her eyes. “Poor unstable Laura, she threw herself off the balcony after killing her lover and trying to kill her own brother. Not to mention poor old Doc.”
Nick. Oh God. Frantic to stall her, Laura asked, “What makes you think James Ed will go along with you killing Nick?”
“James Ed will do whatever I tell him to.” Sandra’s smile widened. “Or else he’ll have an accident, too.” Her smile disappeared just as quickly. “Now jump.”
Remembering her lesson in the barn well, Laura flicked a glance toward the open doors as if she had heard or seen something. Sandra followed her gaze. In that moment of distraction, Laura knocked Sandra’s arm upward. The gun fired, momentarily deafening Laura. Laura kicked her in the shin and drove her fist into Sandra’s wrist with all her strength. The gun flew from her grasp and slid across the floor.
“Die, damn you,” Sandra hissed as she grabbed Laura by the throat and slammed into her with her full body weight.
Laura stumbled back upon impact. She struggled to breathe and to pull Sandra’s hands free of her throat. Laura pivoted, trying to shake Sandra loose, and lost her balance. Laura fell backwards. The rail cut into her back, breaking Laura’s fall. Sandra leaned over her, her fingers cutting off the air to Laura’s lungs. Determination contorted Sandra’s features as she clamped down harder on Laura’s throat.
“Die,” Sandra shrieked.
Laura arched upward to throw her off. Sandra twisted, then went over the rail, pulling Laura with her.
THE LOUD REPORT of a weapon jerked Nick from the useless argument with James Ed. He turned to the door. Laura was gone. Damn. Nick ran into the hall.
“Laura!”
Nick took the stairs two at a time. He raced toward the one open door where light glowed. The room was empty. He frowned when his brain assimilated the visual assessment that it was a nursery. A shriek drew his gaze to the open balcony doors. Nick sprinted across the room and onto the balcony just in time to see Sandra and Laura go over the edge of the railing.
Outright panic slammed into him. Fear clawed at his chest as he rushed to the railing. Sandra lay on the concrete walk below. Laura was hanging on to one spindle. His heart hammering with fear, Nick leaned over the rail and reached for her.
“Give me your hand, Laura,” he said quickly.
Straining with the effort to hang on, Laura reached one shaky hand toward his. The spindle she clung to snapped and Nick barely snagged her hand before she fell. Slowly, his hold on her slipping more than once, he pulled a trembling Laura over the rail and into his arms.
“Sandra stole my baby,” Laura cried.
“It’s okay,” Nick assured her. “You’re safe now.”
“She sent security away, you know,” James Ed remarked behind them as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Nick turned to him, sensing a change in his tone. James Ed picked up the weapon on the floor, then stared at it a moment before lifting his gaze to Nick and Laura. His grip tightened around the weapon and Nick tensed for battle.
“I suppose it was for the best,” he added.
“Put the gun down, James Ed,” Nick told him calmly. He moved Laura behind him, but didn’t reach for his own weapon. He didn’t want to scare James Ed into doing something stupid. The man had just had his whole world turned upside down. He was obviously in shock.
“This is really all my fault,” James Ed continued in a voice totally void of emotion. He shrugged halfheartedly. “I needed money to keep up appearances. I’m sure Sandra only thought she was helping me. She didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I’m certain of that.”
Nick felt Laura go rigid behind him.
James Ed shook his head in defeat. “I believed everything Sandra told me. I trusted her unconditionally.”
Nick held Laura back when she would have rushed toward her brother. She wanted answers, now. Nick glanced over his shoulder and told her with his eyes to stay put. He took one cautious step toward James Ed. James Ed’s gaze flickered to him.
“You do believe me, don’t you?” James Ed looked past Nick and searched Laura’s face as if looking for some sign of forgiveness. “I didn’t know. You were so wild and unhappy it seemed. That’s why I tried to marry you off to Rafe. I hoped that he could do a better job of making you happy. I had so many responsibilities already. I just couldn’t give you what you needed.”
Nick moved one more step closer. “So you didn’t know about Sandra’s scheme to kill Laura.”
James Ed’s expression filled with remorse. “I almost lost my mind when
Laura disappeared.” He waved the gun in frustration. “I had no idea that Sandra had hired Redmond behind my back,” James Ed insisted. He shrugged wearily. “I truly thought Laura was unstable. Sandra had me convinced. Then Laura disappeared and I thought she was dead. Eventually I used the trust fund, but not until I felt sure Laura wasn’t coming back,” he added quickly. “I didn’t want to but Sandra insisted that Laura would have wanted me to have the money.”
“But Sandra wasn’t convinced that Laura was gone for good,” Nick suggested. “She kept looking.” More space disappeared between them.
James Ed nodded. “Apparently. I didn’t know until tonight what she had done.” He pressed Nick with his gaze, searching for understanding, beseeching him to believe. “That other man, Redmond’s partner, showed up a few hours ago and told Sandra what happened.” James Ed dropped his head in defeat. “I couldn’t believe she had done it.” A sob cracked his voice. “I couldn’t believe that I had been so blind. I thought Laura was imagining the episodes, that she truly was unstable.” His shoulders sagged in defeat. “I loved Sandra. I trusted her.”
“Give me the gun, James Ed,” Nick told him again.
James Ed stared at the weapon for a long moment as if it held the answers to all his worries. “I don’t deserve to live after what I’ve allowed to happen.”
Nick grabbed James Ed’s arm when he would have lifted the weapon. “That’s not the issue right now,” Nick argued. “Right now we have to find Laura’s son.”
James Ed relinquished the weapon. His gaze moved to Laura. “Can you ever forgive me, Laura? I’d give anything if this hadn’t happened.”
Laura was next to Nick then. She lifted her chin and glared at her brother with little or no sympathy. “Where is my son?” she demanded.
He shook his head slowly. “I’d give my life right now to be able to tell you. But, I swear, I don’t know where your child is, Laura. We—” James Ed glanced at the room beyond the open doors, then at the balcony railing over which Sandra had disappeared. He winced. “—we were going to adopt a child. Sandra had made all the necessary arrangements. We were supposed to bring him home tomorrow.”