The Last McCullen

by Rita Herron

  “Are you sure you’re up to this?” Ryder asked as they made their way up to the man’s office.

  Tia nodded. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”

  Ryder gave her an encouraging smile. “You’re a brave woman, Tia.”

  She shook her head. “Not brave. I’m a mother. It’s just what mothers do—protect their children at any cost.”

  “Unfortunately not all mothers are that way,” Ryder said darkly. “Believe me, I’ve seen some shocking examples over my career.”

  Tia sighed. “I’m sure you have. And all your life you thought your own mother had sold you.” She pressed a hand to his cheek. “Now, you know that’s not true. She loved you and Cash.”

  She was right. Emotions clouded his expression, and he reached for the door to the lawyer’s office. “Let’s do this.”

  Tia offered him a brave smile and entered first. Playing the loving husband, Ryder kept his hand at the small of her back.

  “Jared and Emma Manning,” Ryder said. “I called earlier to see Mr. Frost.”

  The perky redhead announced their arrival to her boss. “Follow me.”

  Tia held on to Ryder’s arm as they entered. The receptionist made introductions and offered them coffee, but she and Ryder declined.

  Frank Frost was midthirties, with neatly groomed hair, a designer suit and caps that had probably cost a fortune. Framed documents on the wall chronicled his education and legal degree, along with photographs of him and an older man who resembled him, most likely his father. Another picture captured him with a leggy blonde in an evening gown posing in front of a black Mercedes. A Rolex glittered from his left arm.

  Tia gritted her teeth. Had he made his money by selling babies?

  Frost ran a manicured hand over his tie. “Have a seat, Mr. and Mrs. Manning, and tell me how I can help you.”

  Ryder started to speak, but Tia caught his arm. “Let me tell him, honey.”

  Ryder’s gaze met hers. “Of course, sweetheart.”

  His look was so strained that Tia bit back a chuckle. But she focused on Frost and her act. “We’ve wanted a baby forever,” she said earnestly. “But it hasn’t been in the cards, what with my endometriosis and all. We’ve been through all the tests and spent a small fortune on in vitro, but it didn’t work.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Frost said, injecting sympathy in his voice. “It always saddens me when folks such as yourself, who would obviously make good parents, aren’t blessed in that way when others who aren’t parent material spit kids out left and right.”

  “Thank you for understanding,” Tia continued. “I was just about ready to give up, but I met this woman at the hospital when I was leaving the other day. She had the saddest story ever and told me that she’d lost her own child, but that she was adopting a baby.” Tia dabbed at her eyes. “So it hit me then, that that’s what we had to do.”

  “There are a lot of unwanted children in the world,” Frost said.

  “I really want an infant,” Tia said. “I...just love babies and want to get a little one so he or she will bond with us from the beginning.”

  Frost shifted, pulling at his tie. “Infants are harder to come by and in higher demand.”

  “I tried to tell my wife that,” Ryder said. “But she wants a baby so badly.” He removed a checkbook and set it on his lap. “I’m willing to pay the adoption fees and any extra costs if we can expedite finding us a child.” He tapped the checkbook. “Money is not a problem. I...have done well for myself.”

  Tia pressed a kiss to Ryder’s cheek. “Isn’t he wonderful? He’s going to be an amazing father.”

  Frost looked back and forth between them as if searching for a lie. But Tia swiped at tears and leaned into Ryder, playing the desperate woman and adoring wife.

  “Please help us,” Tia whispered. “I don’t think I can go on if I don’t have a baby in my arms.” That much was true.

  Ryder curved an arm around her, pulled her to him and dropped a kiss on her head. “I promised Emma that we’d have a family,” he said, his voice cracking with emotions. “You understand how difficult it is for a man to not be able to give the woman he loves everything she wants.”

  Frost nodded slowly. “I’m sure it’s difficult.”

  “Not just difficult,” Ryder said. “It’s painful and frustrating.” He opened his checkbook and reached for a pen. “Just tell me what you need to make it happen so my sweet wife here will finally get to have the child she deserves and wants.”

  A thick silence fell for a moment, then Frost gave a conciliatory nod. “I will see what I can do. Although it might take a few days.”

  Tia gripped Ryder’s hand and kissed it, then shot Frost a smile of gratitude. “You have no idea how much this means to me, to us.”

  “I’m happy to be able to assist you.” Frost shook Ryder’s hand. “I’ll let you know when I have a baby that suits your needs and then we’ll make the arrangements.”

  Tia’s heart pounded. She didn’t want to leave without something concrete to go on. But Ryder gently pulled her to stand, keeping her close to him and playing the loving husband.

  “Come on, sweetheart, it’s going to be all right now.” He arched a brow at Frost. “You won’t let us down, will you, Mr. Frost?”

  A sly grin tilted the man’s face. “Just have your finances in order when I call.”

  “No problem.” Ryder coaxed Tia to the door.

  She chewed the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming at Frost and demanding that he tell her if he had her son.

  Ryder pulled her out the door then back to his SUV. As soon as they climbed inside, she collapsed into the seat and closed her eyes.

  * * *

  RYDER’S PHONE BUZZED as they drove away. Gwen again. Hoping she had good news, he quickly connected it.

  “Ryder, we just received a call through that tip line. A woman. She wouldn’t talk to me, but said she needed to speak to the woman on the news.”

  “Maybe she’ll talk to me.”

  “I suggested that, but she said no. It has to be Tia.”

  Dammit.

  “Where did the call come in from?”

  “I don’t know, she was only on the phone for a minute. Said she wanted Tia’s number.”

  “Did you give it to her?”

  “No, I told her I’d have to speak to Tia first. But she insisted that she had information that could be helpful.”

  Ryder cursed. Then why the hell hadn’t she just given Gwen the details? “All right. When she calls back, give her Tia’s number. But keep a trace on her phone so we can track down this woman. If this is some kind of prank or if she’s the one who threatened Tia earlier, I’ll find her.” Although the earlier caller had Tia’s cell number.

  Ryder ended the call then relayed the information to Tia. They were halfway back to Tia’s when her phone trilled. She startled, then glanced at it and showed Ryder the display.

  Unknown.

  He bit back a curse, then motioned for her to answer it and place the call on speaker.

  She laid the phone on the console and connected. “Hello.”

  Heavy breathing echoed over the line. Ryder clenched the steering wheel tighter, braced for a threat.

  “Is this Tia Jeffries?”

  Tia inhaled sharply. “Yes, who is this?”

  “I don’t want to give my name,” the woman said in a low voice.

  Tia twisted her mouth to the side in agitation. “Then what do you want?”

  Another tense moment passed. “I don’t know if this will help, but I delivered my baby at the same hospital where you did. It was six months ago, so I don’t know if it’s connected.”

  “If what’s connected?” Tia asked.

  “I’m a single mother,” the woman
continued. “I was down on my luck, moneywise, and lost my job a few weeks before the baby was due.”

  Ryder and Tia exchanged a questioning glance. Where was she going with her story?

  “Anyway, when I was in the hospital in labor, this nurse came in to be my coach. At first he was nice and supportive, but he said he heard me telling the nurse at check-in that I had no insurance and that I was going to raise the baby alone.”

  Tia took a deep breath. “Go on.”

  “That’s when things got odd.”

  “What do you mean odd?”

  “He asked me if I’d considered giving my baby up for adoption.”

  Tia paled. “Had you?”

  “No...well, maybe it occurred to me, but that was only because I was so broke and was afraid I couldn’t take care of my child on my own. But I didn’t think I could do it.” The woman hesitated, her breathing agitated again.

  “What happened?” Tia asked.

  “I told him I’d think about it.” She cleared her throat. “But once I held little Catherine in my arms, I knew I couldn’t let her go. Then the nurse came in to visit me in the hospital room and pressured me. Said he knew someone who wanted a baby really badly, that we could go through a private adoption and I’d be compensated well enough to take care of my hospital bills and set me up for the future.”

  Ryder’s blood ran cold.

  “Then what?” Tia asked, her voice shaky with emotions.

  “I told him no, again. And again. Then the day I brought my little girl home, he showed up at my house. It freaked me out, and I threatened to call the police if he contacted me again.”

  “What did he do then?” Tia asked.

  “He got angry. But I held firm. When I picked up the phone to call 911, he left.”

  “Have you heard from him since?”

  “No. But when I saw your story, it reminded me of how much that experience disturbed me. I mean, he knew where I lived. That I was alone. He even made me feel bad, that I was being selfish for raising a child on my own.”

  Tia rubbed her forehead. “You said he. It was a male nurse.”

  “Yes, his name was Richard.” Her voice wavered. “Maybe I was just paranoid, but I...just thought it might be important.”

  “Thank you,” Tia said. “Actually, Richard was one of my nurses when I went into the hospital, too.”

  Ryder swung the SUV off the side of the road and parked. Tia thanked the woman and asked her to call if she thought of anything else.

  As soon as they disconnected, he phoned Gwen. “I need an address and everything you can find on a nurse named Richard Blotter.”

  * * *

  TIA RACKED HER brain to remember if Richard had mentioned adoption to her.

  She’d been half-delirious with excitement and pain that night when she had arrived at the ER.

  He had helped her into the wheelchair and gotten her settled into a labor room. When she’d told him she had no labor coach, he assured her he’d help her through the process, but then Amy had stepped in.

  “Tia?” Ryder’s gruff voice broke into her thoughts. “What do you know about Richard Blotter?”

  She massaged her temple, where a headache was starting to pulse. “Not much. He was nice to me, and seemed caring. But that night was chaotic.”

  “He knew you were a single mother?”

  Tia nodded. “Yes, he was actually ending his shift, but he must have stayed, because he came by to see me after Jordie was born.”

  “So he knew you lived alone?”

  “Yes.” Bits and pieces of their conversation trickled through her mind. “He said he wasn’t married, but he wanted to have a family someday. That he chose nursing because he liked to help people. He especially liked labor and delivery because he enjoyed being part of such a happy day for people.”

  “Did he seem suspicious to you? Like anything was off?”

  Tia struggled to recall specifics. “Not really. He said he was raised by a single mother, and that it had been hard on her and him. That he always wanted a father.” She hesitated. “I told him I wanted my baby to have a father, too, but the father wasn’t interested.”

  Horror struck her.

  She had been scared and in pain and nervous over the delivery and had spilled her guts about those fears.

  Had Richard befriended her so he could gain access to her baby?

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Ryder gritted his teeth as the pieces clicked together in his mind.

  Richard Blotter grew up in a single-parent home, missed having a father and resented it—perhaps he had projected his own bitterness on Tia and other women who chose to raise babies on their own.

  The profile fit.

  He also had access to patient files, worked in the labor and delivery unit and had personal contact with Tia. Bonnie had delivered at the same hospital, lost her baby and wanted another child.

  But if Blotter was trying to place kids in two-parent homes, why would he have helped Bonnie adopt a baby when her husband had left her?

  Unless he didn’t know about the separation...

  “Did Blotter ever call you at home or drop by to see you?”

  Tia shook her head no. “But he could have found out where I lived.”

  “I know.” Ryder punched the number for the hospital. “This is Agent Ryder Banks with the FBI. Is Richard Blotter on duty today?”

  “Just a moment, please. I’ll check,” the receptionist said.

  Tia bounced her leg up and down in a nervous gesture. Ryder rubbed her arm to soothe her.

  “Agent Banks, actually, he was scheduled to work today, but he didn’t show.”

  “Did he call in?”

  “No, and that’s odd. He’s usually very dependable. Maybe there was a mix-up and he didn’t realize he was on the schedule.”

  Or maybe he suspected his days were numbered, that the police were on to him.

  “All right, if he shows up, please give me a call.”

  “May I ask what this is about? Do you think something happened to Richard?”

  “I can’t say at this point,” Ryder said. “Just please let me know if he shows up at the hospital.”

  He checked his text messages. Gwen had sent him Blotter’s home address. “He’s not at the hospital today,” he told Tia as he turned the SUV around and began to follow his GPS. “We’re going to his house.”

  “I can’t believe that Richard would do this,” Tia said. “He seemed so nice and caring. I...trusted him.”

  “He was a nurse at the hospital,” Ryder said. “You had no reason not to trust him.”

  “But I should have picked up on something.”

  Ryder blew a breath through his teeth. “People can fool us, Tia. Believe me, I’ve dealt with sociopaths who can lie without blinking an eye. Besides, you met him when you were vulnerable.”

  “I should have been smarter,” Tia said, anger lacing her tone. “I let him get close and he kidnapped my child.”

  “We don’t know that yet,” Ryder said, although his gut instinct told him they were on the right track.

  Tia shifted and turned to look out the window as they drove. “I don’t know whether to wish that he was involved or to hope that he wasn’t.”

  “You’re strong, Tia. If he is, at least we’re getting closer to finding your baby.”

  He pressed the accelerator and sped toward Blotter’s.

  * * *

  GUILT NAGGED AT Tia as Ryder drove. If her conversation with Richard was the reason he’d abducted Jordie, she’d never forgive herself.

  She mentally replayed the night she’d given birth over and over in her head. Jordie had been a normal delivery—alert, his Apgar score high. She’d nursed him right away and kept h
im in the room with her all night.

  She hadn’t wanted him out of her sight.

  Amy had assured her that her reaction was normal, that a lot of first-time mothers were paranoid about their newborn being away from them for even a moment.

  She’d been right to be paranoid.

  She’d just thought she and Jordie were safe in her own house.

  They should have been, dammit.

  Ryder veered into an apartment complex a mile from the hospital.

  He checked the address, then wove through the parking lot in search of Blotter’s building. “There it is.” Ryder gestured to an end unit. The parking spots in front of it were empty, a sign Blotter wasn’t home.

  “I’m going to check it out. You can wait here if you want.” He opened the car door and Tia jumped out, close on his heels.

  Anger surged through Tia, pumping her adrenaline, and she removed her wig and dropped it on the seat. She wanted to confront Richard herself.

  “Let me do the talking,” Ryder said when they reached the door.

  Tia nodded, although if Richard admitted he’d abducted her baby, she couldn’t promise that she wouldn’t tear his eyes out.

  Ryder rang the doorbell, his gaze scanning the parking lot while they waited. Afternoon was turning to evening, and the lot was nearly empty.

  Ryder punched the bell again, then pushed at the door. To her surprise, the door squeaked open.

  Ryder motioned for her to stay behind him, then he removed his weapon from his holster. “Mr. Blotter, FBI Special Agent Ryder Banks.”

  Tia peeked past him. The foyer was empty. Ryder inched inside. “Mr. Blotter?”

  Silence echoed back.

  Holding his gun at the ready, Ryder moved forward. Tia stayed behind him, her gaze scanning the living room, which held a faded couch and chair. A small wooden table occupied the breakfast nook, paper cups and fast-food wrappers littering it.

  No sign of a baby anywhere.

  Ryder checked the bathroom and bedroom. “Clear. He’s not here.”

  Tia stepped into the small bedroom. A faded spread, dingy curtains—no sign of Blotter. Ryder opened the closet door, and disappointment filled Tia.