by Lila Bella
I stepped out from under the umbrella and stretched in the warm sunlight. Like the hot water of my shower, it seemed to loosen my tension and relax me, except the sunlight relaxed all of me and not just my body.
I breathed in the fresh air as I waited for Vi to join me so we could go inside and get the driver to take us out.
I wasn’t sure that she’d cured me of all that ailed me, but I was feeling better, and I did feel like getting out of the house.
I didn’t want to linger any longer than we needed to, or take a chance of getting stuck back in my rut again.
4 - Jude
Sorry I’ve been calling so much. I figured you’d want to let your daughter hear your voice. It’s been a few days and I’m sure she’d like to hear from her daddy.
I groaned as I read the text. I knew what Marie was trying to pull. She really wanted me to call, so she was going to pull out any tricks she could to make it happen.
But I was sitting at the table with Hollie, eating a dinner the cook had prepared for us.
“What is it?” She reached across the table and took my hand in hers, giving mine a gentle, loving squeeze.
She seemed to be in much better spirits. I had talked to Violet again after they’d gone out to eat, and she told me the state Hollie had been in when she came into the house—lying on the couch, staring at the wall, nearly catatonic.
Violet had forced her to shower and finally got her to go out for a late lunch, which, despite Hollie’s initial insistence that it wouldn’t do any good, had improved her mood.
Now she was grabbing my hand and showing concern for how I felt instead of hiding from her own emotions… a vast improvement.
“It’s Marie. She wants me to call her.”
“What did the lady from Child Protective Services say?” It was as if she knew exactly what we’d talked about, even though I’d only told Violet to tell her about the conversation surrounding the texts themselves.
“She said not to answer and not to call her back,” but what I didn’t tell her was that Marie was trying to tell me Kaylee wanted to hear from me, a ploy that probably would have worked on any parent, which Marie was smart enough to know, despite her own parental shortcomings.
“So, what’s she saying?” Hollie looked deep into my eyes. She knew I wasn’t being totally straight with her.
“She’s telling me to call so Kaylee can hear my voice.”
I saw the same emotion in her eyes that I was feeling in my chest. Her expression seemed to sink. She knew exactly how I felt.
“What are you going to do? Are you going to call?”
“I think so.”
“Even though you shouldn’t?”
I nodded, grabbing my phone and getting up from the table. Listening to her and realizing that she was agreeing with my decision even though we both knew better, I couldn’t make myself not make the call.
But I wasn’t going to do it at the table. I wanted to talk to her in private, mainly because I didn’t want to upset Hollie, but also because I felt like the conversation was going to be personal.
“I’ll be right back.” I leaned down and kissed the top of her head, squeezing her shoulder with my free hand as I walked out of the room.
I stepped outside and pulled up Marie’s number to give her a call. I paused for a moment, making sure Hollie hadn’t followed me out, and giving myself a chance think for a moment so I could back out if I decided to.
When my nanny didn’t follow and my conviction to call held up, I tapped her name from the list of missed calls.
“Oh, you finally called. I figured that would get your attention.” Her voice was so smug, I knew immediately I wasn’t going to get the chance to speak to my daughter. The only reason she had even come up with that line was to get me to call.
“So I’m not going to even get to say hello to her, then?”
“Oh no, you should have known better than that, Jude. Then again, any decent parent would have fallen for that,” she laughed.
She didn’t fall for it when I tried to use it on her right after she disappeared. She had ignored every attempt I made to reach out to her.
But, to be fair, even when she was screaming that someone had kidnapped her daughter, then actually did it herself, she had never once claimed to be a decent parent.
“So, what do you want, Marie?”
“I want an answer, Jude. What’s your answer? Are you going to accept my offer for the fifty grand instead of ten mil?”
I wondered why she needed the money so badly that she was willing to come down so far. It wasn’t like her to back down from a deal like that, unless she really was in trouble.
But what kind of trouble was she in? Was my daughter in danger because of it?
I felt like I didn’t have time to ask her those questions, much less to try to figure them out on my own, so I made a decision right there.
“I’ll do it,” I told her. “I’m ready to make the trade.”
“You have the money?” she sounded shocked.
“I can get to it and meet you in an hour.”
“Same place as last time, then” she said.
“Bring Kaylee, or no deal. I want to make the swap right then.”
“Of course. I’ll see you in an hour.”
She disconnected. I looked down at the blank screen of my phone and then back at the kitchen window. I did have access to the money. I always kept a sizeable amount available in cash, but I wasn’t about to touch it.
I hadn’t touched it since I set it aside in case of emergency. There was always the chance that I would need a large amount of cash right away, and banks usually put a cap on how much could be pulled out in cash at one time. I wanted to be prepared in case I needed more in a hurry.
Instead of grabbing that money out of the safe where I kept it, I held my phone back up and dialed another number. I knew who to call to help me make sure everything went down without costing me a dime. She answered after the third ring.
“Mr. Black, what a surprise. I trust you have a development to share, or you wouldn’t be interrupting my dinner.”
I told Charlotte everything that had happened—she was very understanding about the reason I gave in and called Marie back—and what the plan was going forward. I assured her I wasn’t going to take any cash with me, and she assured me she would wait to show up, giving us time to hash things out a little before she popped in.
I told her if Kaylee wasn’t there, I would let her know and leave. She also made me agree to leave Hollie at home, because she seemed too emotional, and her presence could make Marie more unstable. I told her I was already on it.
“I’m going to meet Marie at the café,” I told Hollie when I went back inside.
“I’m coming with you,” she started to get up from the table.
“No, you’re not. You’re staying home this time. The situation is too volatile right now. I’m going to get Kaylee.”
“Please tell me you’re not going to give her any money.” She finally stood up and didn’t sit back down.
“Of course not,” I chuckled. “She thinks I am, but no, she’s not getting a dime.”
“Okay. But please keep in touch let me know how things go.”
“I will, and when I come home, I’ll have Kaylee with me.” I took her in my arms and gave her a quick kiss on her tender lips.
I met my driver outside and hopped in the back of the car. I told him where we were going and that I was meeting up with Marie there. I gave him instructions to park out of sight once he dropped me off.
I didn’t want Marie or anyone connected to her to be able to spot him, in case they might try something stupid. He understood, and soon was dropping me off in front of the café as planned.
I sat outside, as I always did. I generally didn’t like sitting inside stuffy little restaurants, other than some of the nicer, more open places. Today it was even more important.
The outside seating was more public and gave people like Char
lotte a better look at what was going on. Outside gave me the advantage. When Marie showed up, I could see she was pushing the stroller with Kaylee in it, and I texted my partner quickly to let her know.
The baby is here.
“Alright, where’s the money?” She didn’t even wait. She started asking about the cash as soon as she sat down. I noticed she intentionally kept the stroller out of my reach.
“I have it, but come on Marie, tell me what’s going on with you. Why do you need the money so badly?”
“It’s like I told you, I’m in debt,” she insisted. Her eyes wouldn’t focus on me. Instead, she kept looking around the room like she expected someone to see her and point her out.
“What kind of debt, Marie? Drugs, gambling, what?” I wasn’t going to let up until someone showed up to help me safely get my daughter from her.
“Life. It’s tough to make it out here on your own, Jude, especially when you aren’t a billionaire who has scammed so many people out of their money.”
I laughed. “Oh, that’s what I’m doing, huh? Let’s stick to the situation at hand, Marie. Why do you need the money?”
“What does it matter? That fifty grand is mine anyway.”
I nodded, “So it is.”
“I didn’t come here to chat and listen to you mock me, Jude. Did you bring the money or not?” She looked under the table, presumably searching for a briefcase with the cash in it.
I knew if I didn’t do something, and soon, I was going to lose her, and once she was gone, I wasn’t so sure I would see my beautiful little daughter again. No one was there yet to help. I had to find a way to keep her focused on me, above the table.
“I’ve got the cash, and no, it’s not in small enough bills to need a briefcase or anything like that,” I lied. I didn’t have any cash on me, I do most of my business on my credit card.
“This isn’t fair, Jude. I need to see the cash and you know it. No money, no Kaylee. Don’t you get it?”
“Oh, I get it alright. I know exactly what you’re trying to do. It’s called extortion, Marie. You’re holding my daughter for ransom because you know I’ve got money, and you think I’m naïve enough to fall for it.”
“So, what you’re saying is you don’t have the money.”
“But I am going to take my daughter back when I leave here tonight, Marie. You can count on that.”
“Can I?” She gently rolled the stroller back and forth, keeping Kaylee quiet.
I could barely see her sweet, sleeping face over the edge of the table. She was right there.
If I had wanted to, I could have snatched her away from Marie, but I didn’t want to deal with the screaming and the drama that would follow a move like that, and the last thing I wanted was to frighten my baby.
Still, knowing I could have done it made it hard not to, and once she started yelling for the cops, it would only be a matter of time before she was arrested for kidnapping. Surely, something had been done with the texts I’d shown Charlotte.
“What are you thinking, Jude? Are you thinking it would be a good idea to grab that money after all? I mean, since you didn’t bring it with you, I might as well get up and leave, huh? I don’t know why I’m even still here.”
“No, there’s no need to leave. I can easily have the money delivered,” I told her, pulling my phone out.
If I had decided to give in and give her the cash, I had someone who could get to the money right away and bring it to me. I held my phone in my hand and stared at my daughter, hoping something would happen to keep me from having to make that phone call.
“I suggest you go ahead and give them a call. My patience is growing thin. And Jude, don’t think about calling the cops. I’ll be out of here so fast, your head will spin… and you won’t see me—or Kaylee—again.”
“They’re onto you, you know,” I remarked.
She’d given me something to use to stall. I expected Charlotte to pull up at any minute, or for her to have people there any second to help resolve things and get my daughter back to me.
All I had to do was buy time by. Just keep her talking instead of letting her run.
“Oh? I suppose you’ve been talking to them then. That explains why you’ve been trying to force me to text you instead of actually talking on the phone. You’re crystal clear, Jude. I can always see right through you.”
“But I bet you didn’t see this coming, did you?”
5 - Hollie
“What are you doing?”
“Oh, it’s you again!”
They were both surprised to see me when I grabbed the stroller and started to wheel Kaylee away. Marie reached out but couldn’t get a grip on me as I rushed away. Jude stood up from his chair and stared at me in dumbfounded amazement.
“What the hell is she doing here? I thought I told you not to bring her,” Marie snapped at Jude. As long as she was fighting with him, I was in the clear.
“I told her to stay home. I don’t know what she’s doing.”
“Someone call nine-one-one! She’s kidnapping my baby! Again!”
She started screaming at the top of her lungs for someone to help her, and I heard Jude trying to calm her down, but it didn’t work. She only grew louder, accusing him of being in on it.
I reached my car and opened the back door to put her in. It was one of the strollers that held the car seat in it, but I didn’t know how to hook it up, or whether she was supposed to sit facing forward or backward.
I couldn’t remember how she’d sat in the car seat in Jude’s car that we’d taken to the park, either. I looked at the little sticker on the side of the seat to see how it was supposed to go, but I couldn’t make any sense of it.
“Hey!”
The shout got my attention. I looked up from the car seat to see a police officer approaching me with one hand on his holster. His other hand was outstretched, as if to tell me it was okay and there was no reason to panic.
But seeing a cop approach me, especially after what happened in the park and the unsatisfactory aftermath, I wasn’t ready to do anything other than panic.
“Hold it right there. Stay right there with the kid,” he continued.
Soon, other police officers joined him, and the car seat was being pulled away from me. My hands were behind my back again, zip ties placed around my wrists to hold them together.
I turned to see how many there were, but so much was going on I couldn’t get a clear look. The one who had shouted at me was calling it in. They sat the car seat with Kaylee still sleeping inside on the backseat of my car, an officer standing close by.
“Officers, listen, this is my nanny. She’s trying to put my daughter in her car to get her away from her mother, who has been acting erratic and demanding money from me.”
Jude calmly tried to explain what was going on to the police.
“Well, I think we need to go downtown and get statements from everyone, including the mom.”
I glanced over the officer’s shoulder while he tried to put Jude in his place, and I could see two officers escorting Marie away from the café. I could see the look on her face. She was ready to run, yet again.
“Jude, look. I got his attention and nodded back behind the cop. He turned and saw it immediately.
“You need to tell your buddies to cuff her before she runs. That’s kind of her thing, and it’s how all of this got started,” Jude explained.
The officer radioed the other two, and immediately, Marie started struggling to break free. In my mind’s eye, I could see her running into the street to get away from the cops, only to get run over by a car in the process.
It wouldn’t have been the worst thing that could have happened. I caught myself actually hoping it would happen and I didn’t even feel bad about it. It would have been the easiest way for all of this to end, I told myself.
But it didn’t happen. She didn’t break free from the cops. Instead, despite her protests, they cuffed her and held her tight while they walked her to their car.
We stood there and watched.
I had two officers holding me while one officer stood next to my car, with Kaylee still in the backseat, and the other officer talked with Jude. I was surprised they hadn’t cuffed him yet, though Marie and I were restrained.
“Listen, call Charlotte Ellis with Child Protective Services. She’s been working this case. She’ll tell you that my nanny and I are supposed to have my daughter with us. She is not supposed to be with her mother, who already abandoned her once a few of months ago.”
“Ellis is already on her way,” the officer told him. “Now, if I leave you standing here un-cuffed, can I trust you not to start anything until she arrives?”
“Yes, sir. No problem.” He took a step back from the officer and held his hands behind his back while we waited for Charlotte to show up.
She pulled up in an old burgundy Buick… the car was practically a boat. She parked it between the car where they were holding Marie and mine, getting out and leaving it running. She walked over to the officer who’d been talking to us first.
“Officer, may I have a word with you?”
She pulled him away where she could speak with him without being overheard. I watched as he nodded while she talked to him. He seemed to be listening intently while she pointed to Marie and then back to Jude.
I wished I could have been privy to their conversation. I wondered what she was telling him, how she was describing the situation, and what information she was providing to help him come conclude how we all needed to be handled.
He said something into his radio when he turned away from her, and I could sort of hear it through the crackling speakers on the various radios around us, but I couldn’t understand it.
The officers standing with Marie in their car closed the door, despite the yelling from the backseat. They hopped in and turned on the lights, pulling away from the curb and rushing her away from the scene.
I couldn’t believe it. I watched, slack-jawed in amazement, as they passed by with her in the backseat. Maybe she was finally getting what she deserved.