Dangerous Inheritance

by Shirley E. Watson

They drove into town and Colleen dropped Derek at his house and went home. He went in and to bed almost immediately. The big dinner had made him want to sleep. He dozed off immediately and dreamed of singing turkeys dancing in a row. He was playing his guitar with one hand and writing music with the other.

  Lee stayed at Andrea’s house until Stevie went to sleep. She read him a Thanksgiving story and enjoyed the time they had together. It wouldn’t be too long before they would be together all the time. She came downstairs from Stevie’s room and Andrea offered her the guest room.

  “Maybe you don’t want to drive home, hon. You’re welcome to stay.”

  “No, thanks, Andrea. I want to do some stuff at the apartment tomorrow morning. Get ready for the weekend. I also have a lot of studying to do. But I want to take Stevie out and have some fun with him this weekend. Give you a break, too.

  “Don’t worry about that. Stevie’s no trouble. Do what you have to do.”

  “Don’t know what I would do without you, Andrea.”

  “Just get that degree, Lee. I know you can do it.”

  “I hope you’re right. Good night, Andrea.”

  She got into her car and headed for her apartment. As she drove along the dark streets, she saw lights in her rear view mirror. The lights seemed to follow her as she got onto the highway and turn off when she did. When she got to her apartment, the lights were still behind her. The dark car cruised on by and didn’t turn in. Just a coincidence?

  It was probably just her nerves working on her. Probably wasn’t even the same car. Anyway, Jay was gone. Everything was fine. She wished she could believe that completely. That’s what she had always thought just before everything went wrong in her life.

  The following day, Lee picked up Stevie and headed to Cassie’s apartment. Cassie was standing waiting for them in the parking lot already, her gray jacket with the hood pulled up against the November chill. There was a spot of color in her pale cheeks but she wore no make-up. Lee thought again that Cassie could have done more to fix herself up, but that was Cass. They were both happy to be spending a day together with Stevie, looking at possible toys for Christmas presents.

  “I hope the Mall isn’t too much of a madhouse,” Lee said.

  “Well, you know it will be. But maybe Stevie will have fun.”

  “I hope so. I wonder if Santa will be there for pictures.”

  “If he isn’t I’ll really be shocked.”

  They rode around for a while looking for a parking spot in the enormous Mall parking lots. Finally, they beat out a VW bug for a spot and got out. Cassie made a note of their location, not wanting to wander around later. They were far from the doors.

  Stevie took both of their hands and skipped along. The Mall inside was just as crowded as they thought, but they made their way to the toy store and took mental notes on the things that Stevie liked. At least, the ones they could afford.

  They left the toy store and walked along the gallery, looking down to see where Santa had set up his throne. A line snaked away from it, with several people dressed as elves supervising. Lee and Cassie leaned over the railing, craning their necks at the photographer who was trying to get a crying pair of twins to smile. Lee turned back, laughing, and looked down. Stevie was no longer standing beside her.

  “Cass, is Stevie by you?”

  Cassie shook her head. “No, I thought you had him. Isn’t he there?”

  A chill shook Lee from head to foot. “Maybe he just went ahead to get down to Santa.”

  They searched along the gallery and then down the staircase which led to Santa’s location. Lee was getting more and more frantic. Finally Cassie suggested they tell Security. She regretted that this hadn’t been their first move. If someone had taken him, which she didn’t want to think about, he or she might already have left the Mall. Security told them that they were going to search the crowded Mall and they would check the exit cameras now. Shortly after, a security guard came to them and asked them to look at the tapes. In one they identified a child who looked like Stevie being carried out. The child seemed to be sleeping. Lee screamed and the guard tried to calm her down. He said it would be a police matter now and they had already called them. Cassie tried to comfort Lee. They sat huddled in a chair waiting.

  Lee was staring at the patterns in the carpet, unable to function. She heard a familiar voice talking to Cassie and slowly lifted her head. Detective Whiton was there. He looked at her. “I’ll need to talk with you both. Can you drive down to the Station or do you need a lift?”

  Cassie said she could drive and they left the Mall, Lee looking back as though Stevie would appear any minute. They sat in a police station interview room and told Bill Whiton about their movements that morning and in the Mall.

  “Anything else?” He looked at Lee.

  She thought, then said, wearily, “I thought I saw a car behind me, following me, last night, but it was probably just my imagination.”

  “Do you have a description of it?”

  “No, just a dark American car. A sedan. I couldn’t see anyone in it and I didn’t get a license plate number,” she said hopelessly.

  Bill Whiton thanked them for coming and said he would be in touch if they got a lead. He asked Cassie to stay for a minute.

  Cassie looked at him after Lee had gone out. “Yes, Detective?”

  “I don’t want to bother Lee as she’s in shock now, but I’m concerned that this happened after your father was kidnapped. And Lee’s boyfriend was murdered. I don’t believe in coincidences. Let me know if you hear anything from the person or persons who took Stevie, OK? And take Lee home and make sure she has a hot drink with plenty of sugar.”

  “Yes, Detective, I can do that.” Cassie went out, feeling almost as much distressed as Lee. What on earth was happening? She collected Lee and they got into her car. Lee didn’t say anything. Cassie glanced over and tried to speak to her every once in a while, but she seemed to be in a place where Cassie couldn’t reach her.

  When they pulled up in front of Lee’s apartment building, she suddenly said, “I’ll have to call Andrea. She should know.”

  “Do you want me to stay with you?” Cassie asked.

  Lee said, “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like that. I don’t want to be alone.” They rode up in the elevator silently and Lee fumbled for her key to unlock the door. Inside, she roamed around restlessly. Cassie went into the kitchen and made the cup of tea suggested by the detective. She put two spoons of sugar in it and came back out.

  “Here, Lee. Drink this.” She watched her sister sip the drink and make a face at the sweetness, but she drank it nevertheless. It seemed to give her some animation. She picked up the phone and spoke to Andrea. Cassie could tell that Andrea was just as horrified as they were at the news. Finally, Lee put down the phone and blew her nose.

  “I’m trying not to break down, Cass, but I’m near the breaking point. Help me think of what we can do to bring Stevie home.”

  “Lee, do you think this has anything to do with what is happening? I mean, the challenge and so forth?”

  “How could it? That doesn’t seem to make sense.”

  “Well, first Dad and now Stevie? Is somebody trying to send another message?”

  Lee grabbed Cassie’s arms and held them, looking into her face. “Oh, Cassie, if only that was true. Maybe they’ll send my Stevie home again. He’s just a little boy.”

  She broke down and began to sob. Cassie convinced her to get undressed and get into bed to try to rest.

  Back in the living room again, after Lee was resting with her eyes closed, Cassie heard a knocking on the door. Was it the police with bad news? Shivering with dread, she opened it to find Rob standing there.

  Without thinking, she walked into his arms and he held her. “Oh, Rob, it’s so awful. Stevie!” She looked up into his kind brown eyes and he bent his head and dropped a gentle kiss on her lips. “It’ll be OK. Maybe you should get some rest.”

  Warmth traveled through her body
again. She stepped back reluctantly and put out a hand as though to ward him off. She would not let herself be distracted from getting her nephew back.

  Rob took the hand and led her to the couch and sat beside her. “I just heard. We’ll get him back again. How is Lee?”

  “She’s resting. How are we going to find Stevie, Rob? I just can’t think.”

  CHAPTER 24

  She knew the police were putting their resources to work to search for Stevie, but when Cassie got up the next morning, she checked her cell phone and Lee’s and there were no new messages. She had bunked down on Lee’s couch, unwilling to leave her alone. The silence seemed ominous. Around 9 AM, there was a knock on the door. Lee had got up and gone into the shower, walking like a zombie. Cassie opened the door to find two policemen standing there. Detective Whiton was behind them. They asked politely if they could come in and she watched them come in and look around. “Is Lee Girard here?” asked one.

  Cassie told them she was just getting dressed and they said they’d wait. Detective Whiton stood, looking unhappy. Cassie asked him, “What’s going on?” but he shook his head.

  When Lee emerged in a shirt and jeans, one of the policemen went to her and put a hand on her arm. “We’ve been asked to escort you down to police headquarters. They want to ask you some questions.”

  Lee looked stunned. “Have they found Stevie?” She looked over at Detective Whiton.

  “Bill? What’s going on?”

  Detective Bill Whiton said, “Lee, the investigators want to talk to you about Jay again. They think that Stevie disappearing, your father being kidnapped, and the whole thing, is something that they want to get more information on.”

  Lee looked frantically at Cassie, who was getting their coats out of the closet.

  “Cass? I don’t understand. Are they looking for my son?”

  “They’d better be, Lee, they’d better be.” Cassie glared at Detective Whiton. “I’m coming with you.”

  One of the policemen said, “There’s no need, Ma’am. You can’t go in with her and there’s nothing you can do.”

  Cassie stared at him defiantly.

  “Someone has to drive her back home.”

  They avoided her eyes.

  “She is coming home, isn’t she?” Cassie’s voice was high.

  Nobody answered that question and the police led Lee out with Detective Whiton following. He looked back at Cassie. “If you want to come, then do. I don’t know how long it will be, though.”

  Cassie called over his head. “Don’t worry, Lee. I’ll be there.”

  At the police station, Cassie sat in a waiting area with battered furniture and walls with stains that she didn’t want to examine too closely. She dialed her cell phone. She decided not to call her Dad. What could he do anyway? And he would be very upset if he was able to take it all in anyway. She called, who else, but Rob. She had been feeling a little odd since that kiss yesterday but at the sound of his voice, she felt the familiar reassurance of friends who were there for each other.

  “Hi, Rob. I’m sorry to bother you this early but Lee was taken down to the police station for questioning again.” She listened to him and then said, “I don’t really know why. They can’t think she had anything to do with this, could they?”

  After unloading her concerns on Rob, for which she felt guilty, she hung up and looked around. There was nothing to look at, nothing to read. Who could sit reading in a police station, anyway? She gave a half-sob, then settled into that semi-conscious kind of zoned out state that people sink into in waiting rooms. Time went by. She avoided looking at her watch or the clock. She didn’t want to know how long it was. She was getting hungry because they didn’t have time to eat before the police showed up. What was going on with Lee? The outside door burst open and two policemen hustled a struggling man through the lobby and into the back. The phone rang intermittently and the desk sergeant answered it.

  Finally, an inside door opened and Lee appeared, escorted by Detective Whiton. She was pale and tired looking. Cassie jumped up. Lee said, “I can go home. Thanks for waiting for me, Cass.”

  “Anything new on Stevie?”

  Lee shook her head hopelessly. “Not a sign of him. They’re looking. I had to look at some mug shots to see if I recognized the man on the Mall security tapes, but I couldn’t pick anybody out.”

  Cassie took her arm and bade goodbye to the detective. “Let’s just go home and wait there, Lee. You need something to eat.”

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “Better have something in your stomach, Lee. Come on.”

  Lee allowed Cassie to lead her to the car and she sat slumped against the window on the way back to her apartment. They went inside and had no sooner arrived than the phone rang. Lee lifted the receiver. “Hello?” Cassie watched her stiffen and her eyes widen. She put the phone down slowly and turned to Cassie.

  “They have Stevie.” She threw herself on Cassie and sobbed. Cassie grasped her arms and held her gently away.

  “Who has him?”

  “I don’t know, Cass!” Lee began to cry silently, tear running down her face. “I didn’t recognize the voice. It was a man. He said that we know what we have to do. Forget about the challenge. If we are serious about that, we have to go to the park at the end of the street and sit on the bench just inside the entrance on the left hand side. And I’m to take my cell phone. He said maybe we’ll hear something about Stevie. Cass, we have to go! Now!”

  Cassie grabbed their coats as they left the building. Lee practically ran down the street dragging Cassie with her. They entered the little park where some children were using the swings and mothers rolled strollers with infants in them. The seat the caller had specified was empty. They sat down and after a while, Lee’s cell phone rang. Lee listened and put the phone down but didn’t hang up. She turned to Cassie. “He says we have to call the lawyer and tell him we are bowing out of the challenge. If we do that, I’ll get Stevie back. Cass, I can’t not do it!” Cassie reluctantly nodded OK. Lee spoke into the phone again and hung up. “He says to turn and look at the road.” They turned around and a black car cruised slowly past. In the back they saw the face of a little boy and then the car sped up and raced away. Cassie thought the child looked like Stevie but she couldn’t be sure.

  Lee was frantic. “Cass, it’s Stevie! Where are they taking him? My baby!”

  Cassie put an arm around her. “Lee, try to stay calm. Let’s call Detective Whiton.”

  Lee dialed the phone with shaking hands and asked to be put through. She described what had happened but she could only say that the car was black, an American make, she thought. She hung up. “I didn’t tell him about the challenge. I don’t want anything to go wrong, Cass. We have to call the lawyer today. We are not to let the lawyer know why.”

  Cassie had Clifton Montville’s number in her cell phone memory. “Should I do it now?”

  Lee was distraught. “Yes, yes! Do it!

  Cassie dialed. She got Clifton’s legal assistant, the remarkable Klara. She asked to speak to the lawyer and was told he was out of town for the holiday. Klara was holding down the fort by taking calls. When she told Klara that she and her sister were backing out of the challenge, Klara expressed surprise. “I’m sorry to hear that. I’ll notify Mr. Montville as soon as possible. I’m sure he’ll call you soon to discuss it.”

  Cassie said, “Please make sure that we’re officially out of the challenge.” Klara didn’t ask why but agreed to do whatever her boss ordered.

  It was only an hour or so before Clifton Montville called them back. He found it hard to believe that after beginning the challenge, they would have decided to back out.

  “Why would you not try to go as far as you can? The only person you’re competing against is yourself. And you’ll have a bonus at the completion, if you do complete it. If you back out, you won’t receive that.” Little do you know, he thought, how much. And by the rules given me, I can’t tell you. Why did Everett Woo
dson give me this crazy scheme to carry out? I knew something would go wrong.”

  In vain he tried to change their minds. Of course, he had no way of knowing what motivated the request. Finally, he had to bow to their will and tell them that officially, they were now out. Derek had won. That is, if he completed his.

  Cassie hung up and looked at Lee. “That’s it. We’re out.”

  Lee said, “They said to wait after we had called the lawyer. I don’t know how they’ll know.”

  Cassie frowned. “That bothers me, too. How will they know. Lee!” She looked at her sister in horror. “You don’t think that your phone is tapped, do you?”

  “Tapped? You mean like in the movies? That’s crazy, Cass.”

  “At this point, I can believe almost anything.” Cassie wearily sat down in an easy chair.

  They hung around the rest of the day, unable to settle to anything. Cassie didn’t want to call Rob. Lee felt unable to do homework and she was no longer sure if she would be continuing in school.

  They turned in early to bed but neither slept well. Finally, as dawn broke the next day, Cassie crept out of her bed in the pull-out couch and put on a pot of coffee. When the coffee was ready, Lee got up, too. They sat looking at each other, at Lee’s tiny table.

  They got dressed, paced up and down, which wasn’t far in the little apartment. Finally, Lee’s phone rang. She snatched it up and answered, her voice high and strained. “Hello?”

  She listened and then turned to Cassie. “Let’s go. They say they’re releasing Stevie in the park.” She raced out without a coat and Cassie followed. Lee ran along the street. They thought they could see a black car receding along the street in the distance. As they got to the park, they could see a small figure standing at the entrance.

  “Stevie, Stevie!” Lee plunged across the road without looking. Cassie gave thanks that no cars were on it at that early hour. Lee was on her knees with her arms around Stevie, both of them sobbing.

  Cassie finally got them to start walking back to the apartment as it was cold and only Stevie had a coat. Lee picked him up and carried him, only setting him down when they got indoors. She kept looking at him and held onto his hand tightly as though he might blow away.