“I don’t know.” With a smile for Dahlia, she rose from her chair and paced toward the front of the store. “I didn’t ask. As soon as she told me that much, I called you. It’s creepy.”
“Yeah, that’s the kind of people Maggie hangs with. Is Sean there?”
“No. I think he’ll be back before long.” As her gaze scanned the street outside, she dearly wished the Chevelle would pull up, but there was no sign of it. No sign of anything unusual, either. No one watching the shop. No one skulking among the trees or around the buildings across from her. “Why would someone give a message like that to a little girl?”
“To remind Maggie to keep her mouth shut. Whoever this guy is, he knows Dahlia’s her daughter. He knows where to find her. He knows how to get to her if it becomes necessary.”
Ty came into sight, and Sophy’s heart rate settled to merely pounding. When he walked through the gate, she hung up and opened the door to greet him. “She’s at the back.”
“Where’s Daisy?”
“She’s over at Robbie and Anamaria’s. Anamaria should be dropping her off soon.”
Despite the circumstances, he grinned. “Word must be getting out that they’re becoming user-friendly.”
“I guess so.”
At the worktable, Ty settled in across from Dahlia. “I know you hate being asked a lot of questions, but I need you to tell me everything that happened this afternoon.” He placed a pen and notebook in front of him. “Had you ever seen this man before?”
She shook her head.
“Where were you when he talked to you?”
“Outside. After school. I was walking to the bus, and he stopped in front of me. He bent down and said, ‘Tell your mom we’re watchin’ her,’ and then he did that.” She pointed her thumb and index finger in a parody of a gun. “If Miss Jo had seen him, he’d’uh got detention ’cause that’s a gun and you can’t make gun signs at school.”
A stress headache began tapping a complicated rhythm in Sophy’s skull. She needed a Taser and a pistol like Ty’s, a knife like Miri’s and a shotgun like her dad’s, plus the ability to handle all four. She was sure the kids’ social worker would have a whole lot to say about weapons, lethal or not, but all she cared about at the moment was keeping them safe.
Ty asked more questions: Could she describe him? Did she say anything to him? Did she notice where he came from or where he went? Could she remember what he was wearing? Dahlia’s frustration level rose with each answer, her legs swinging under the chair. It was no surprise when her foot hit the underside of the table and her pop tumbled on its side, but she looked stunned and dismayed.
“It’s okay, Dahlia. I’ll clean it up.” Before Sophy made it to the wet wipes and paper towels, Dahlia was already there, scooping them up.
“I’ll clean it myself,” she announced.
Sophy sank down again at the table. “Do you have any idea who this guy is?” she whispered.
“I can only tell you it’s not Davey,” Ty whispered back. “She would have recognized him. God knows how many people Maggie knew through the business. It could be a customer who doesn’t want her giving up any names, or someone Davey worked for, some friend of his.”
Sophy watched the slight movements of Dahlia’s head as she worked to clean the puddle on the floor with wads of paper towels. “Where is Davey? Is he still in jail?”
“Aw, hell, no. He bonded out right away. Got permission from the court to go stay with his brother out of town until his hearing. I wouldn’t have let him go, but the judge makes a lot of decisions that I wouldn’t make.”
Dahlia threw away the towels and wipes, came back and stood with her hands on her hips. “I need to go tell my mama.”
“Sweetie, I told you—”
Ty raised one hand. “Maybe she should. I bet we can bend a few rules.”
He thought it would have more impact on Maggie coming directly from her daughter. Sophy didn’t have a clue whether he was right.
“You want to come with us or wait here?”
“I’ll go.” Lately, her sense of security inside the shop seemed to come and go.
They made it to the door when they saw Sean and Daisy climbing the steps. From the street, Anamaria tapped the horn and waved before driving off.
“Dahlia, hey, guess what? I went swimmin’ in a big pool at a big house and a big yard with grass and flowers and everything, and I made friends, too, named Gracie and Clary, and—” Daisy looked from Dahlia to Sophy to Ty, and the excitement dissipated, rounding her shoulders and bringing a resigned look to her face. “Are you in trouble?”
Sean’s gaze bore into Sophy, silently asking the same thing. Since it wasn’t a simple yes-or-no question, she shrugged but said nothing.
“Someone was waiting for Dahlia after school,” Ty said, making it sound totally innocent. “He had a message for her mom, so we’re going to pass it on. Sean, could Daisy stay with you upstairs?”
“I wanna go, too. I wanna see Mama.”
“Not this time, kiddo.” Sophy mussed her hair. “Get out of the wet bathing suit and take a warm shower.” Shifting her gaze to Sean, she added, “You’ll have to help with her hair.”
Both uncle and niece drew back, giving her identical looks questioning her sanity. After a moment, Sean grimaced and nodded, and Daisy wrinkled up her face. “I been in the water all day. Why do I have to take a shower?”
“Because that’s the rule of the house,” Sean replied. “Come on, Nemo.”
Sophy never tried to hold Dahlia’s hand when they were walking except while crossing a street. She was surprised and touched when the girl slid her small hand into hers. Her heart hurting, she gave her a quick squeeze, then acted as if it were no big deal.
Ty glanced at her over Dahlia’s head. “I noticed you didn’t have to give Sean a key.”
“You did, huh?”
“I’m a detective. Not much gets past me. You two getting friendly?”
“I plead the Fifth.”
He grinned. “Good. He needs someone like you in his life.”
“Thanks.” Sophy was casual on the outside, beaming inside. Ty knew Sean better than anyone in town, even Maggie, so his approval meant a lot.
In her entire life, Sophy had never been inside the jail. While Ty made arrangements to get Dahlia in to see Maggie, Sophy and Dahlia stood just inside the door, gripping hands, looking around with a cold chill.
“This is where my mama stays?” Dahlia’s whisper was barely audible.
It was just a reception area: desks behind a counter, beige walls, industrial tile floor, wooden benches along one wall. There was little difference between it and the social-services office, no more forbidding than the principal’s office at the grade school Sophy had attended. It was just a feeling about the place. It had seen a lot of drama, desperation and hopelessness.
She crouched next to Dahlia. “It’s not so bad, is it?” Especially considering the dirty chaos that had been the Holigan home.
“The lights make noise.”
She was right; the fluorescent lights overhead hummed. And the big heavy door leading to the back was intimidating, to say nothing of the officers’ weapons.
Thankfully, Ty returned then and escorted them through the door. He had to leave his weapon in a lockbox and placed her purse with it, then took them into a room marked Visitors.
Dahlia dropped Sophy’s hand and raced to Maggie, who was standing at the window, throwing her arms around her middle. “Mama, I’ve missed you!”
“I’ve missed you, too, baby. I think about you and your sister every day.”
Sophy couldn’t tell how much truth was in those statements. Maggie sounded sincere enough, but when her attention shifted immediately to Ty without talking further with Dahlia or even asking about Daisy, Sophy was swayed in the not much direction.
“You ought to be ashamed, Ty, coming here when you’re the one who put me here.”
Not much at all. Wanting to shake sense into Maggie
, Sophy crossed her arms over her middle, hands clenched, and stayed near the door.
After sharing Dahlia’s story, with occasional input from the girl, Ty asked, “Why would someone send a warning to you through your little girl, Maggie? What do you know?”
A gleam came into Maggie’s otherwise dull eyes. “That’s between me and my lawyer and the D.A.”
Ty leaned toward her, anger simmering all around him. He would have put the fear into Sophy, but Maggie didn’t flinch. “If you’ve got something to deal with, then deal, but don’t sit in here playing games that put your daughters in danger. If anything happens to them, you can forget about a deal of any kind, and I promise I’ll find a way to make you pay for it.”
Maggie calmly stroked Dahlia’s hair. “Nothing’s gonna happen to them. With what I know, I’m bulletproof.”
Just a good hard shaking—that would make Sophy feel better. Getting in Maggie’s face and shrieking, These are your babies! What kind of mother are you? Maybe a smack or two to knock some reality into her.
“Then tell the D.A.” Ty’s voice was little more than a menacing growl. “Make your damn deal so we can keep these kids safe.”
Keeping them safe... That would likely mean taking them from Copper Lake, from Sophy’s care. Putting them in some sort of protective custody. The thought forced her a step back to the wall for support.
She wasn’t naive. Before she’d made the decision to become a foster parent, she’d acknowledged that she would likely get emotionally involved with any child placed with her for more than a few days. It was human nature, a mother’s nature—Maggie excepted. She’d known there would be some heartache when the child left, whether returned to the parents, adopted or placed in another home. She’d prepared herself for that from the very beginning.
But she hadn’t imagined her first foster children would be as needy as Daisy and Dahlia, and she certainly hadn’t imagined that they’d be taken away from her because their lives were in danger.
“I’ve got a call in to my lawyer. Soon as I talk to him, we’ll set up a meeting with the D.A.” Maggie smirked. “I’ll probably be out of this stupid town in no time.”
“Out of town?” Dahlia repeated. “Are you going somewhere, Mama? Are Daisy and me going with you?”
“Of course you are, baby. Do you think I’d go off and leave you behind?”
Oh, gee, no, why would she think that? This is only her fourth or fifth time in foster care.
Dahlia’s smile was a beautiful thing, transforming her entire face. “Where are we going? Me and Daisy have never been anywhere.”
“I’m thinkin’ California. Maybe we’ll live on the beach and swim in the ocean every day, and we’ll learn how to surf. Would you like that?”
Dahlia’s nod was excited. Sophy let her head fall back and hit the wall with a soft thud. Ty met her gaze, disapproval for Maggie radiating from him.
“Don’t get your hopes too high, Maggie,” he said flatly. “And try to remember that you and your deal aren’t the most important thing here. Doing what’s best for your girls is. Say goodbye, Dahlia. We’ve got to go.”
As they left the jail, Sophy and Ty were somber. Dahlia was dancing. “We’re going to California! Yay!” She peered up at Sophy. “Where is California?”
“It’s way off on the other side of the country.”
“How long does it take to get there?”
“A few days if you drive. A few hours if you fly.”
“On an airplane? We’re gonna fly on an airplane? Oh, boy, I can’t wait to tell Daisy!”
Sophy had to take her hand to cross the street, then the girl pulled away and skipped ahead. “Maggie just doesn’t get it, does she?”
I was scared, Mama, Dahlia had said, wanting to be held closer, but Maggie had already been thinking ahead, too busy scheming for herself to comfort Dahlia.
“No,” Ty replied. “You heard what her first words to me were.”
You ought to be ashamed, coming here when you’re the one who put me here. Poor Maggie, always the victim of someone else’s actions, never responsible for anything she did.
When they got to the apartment, Dahlia and the freshly bathed Daisy chattered over each other’s voices, sharing their news, swimming and new friends competing with seeing Maggie and moving. The possibility of flying on an airplane stunned Daisy into a rare silence, and Sophy used the opportunity to send the girls to their room.
She, Sean and Ty were gathered at the island. She hadn’t had the chance to do more than exchange worried glances with Sean. When she’d seen him a few minutes ago, she’d wanted to run to him the way Dahlia had run to Maggie, to throw her arms around him and lean on him, to draw comfort and support from him.
The difference between him and Maggie: he would have given it.
“Tommy’s assigning a couple officers to the school tomorrow,” Ty said. “They’ll be in civilian clothes, just hanging out. He’s also instructed the patrol officers to keep a closer watch around here. Sean, can you—”
“I’m staying here.”
Ty nodded, satisfied. “Sophy, I hate to take over your life, but I’m inviting myself and Nev over for dinner this evening. We’ll stay here with you while Sean gets whatever he needs from the motel.”
Sophy hated that her smile was wobbly. “You can move in, too, if you want. In fact, to make it easier, if you want to just move the three of us into a cell at the jail, we wouldn’t argue.” As long as she was nowhere near Maggie. Snatching her through the bars sideways sounded way too appealing.
* * *
Nev was the only normal one in the apartment that night. She played with the girls, read them stories, answered a hundred questions from them about California and airplanes—though she’d never experienced either one—and gave a sense of rightness to the evening.
Sean had a headache and figured Sophy did, too, from the way she kept touching her right temple. Stress. In a quiet moment alone, she’d thanked him for moving in. I feel safer with you around.
Making a woman feel safe was a pretty good feeling in itself.
Now it was after nine. Sean had already made a run to the motel to pick up his things. His suitcase sat unobtrusively against the end of the couch. The girls were in bed, snuggled like spoons in a drawer in the unmade bed. Would they ever feel at home enough here to sleep in separate beds?
Would they even get the chance?
“Maybe Dahlia should stay home from school tomorrow,” Sophy ventured.
“She’ll have two plainclothes cops watching her and everyone around her all day,” Ty reminded her. “They’ll follow you when you take her, and they’ll follow her bus home. By the way, drive her to school. Don’t walk.”
“How do you know we usually walk?”
He gave her a chastising look. “Everyone in town knows you like to walk wherever you can. It’s your routine. No more routines, other than work, and only because that place is solid. Steel doors, with solid locks, bulletproof glass, panic buttons all over the room and cops just a few blocks away.”
But how much did the door locks matter when the front door was unlocked during business hours? Sean thought maybe he’d get a solid length of lead pipe, pull one of the rockers over in front of the door and sit there all day, denying entrance to anyone Sophy didn’t approve.
She stared at her hands a long moment, then looked up, her expression troubled. “If Masiela agrees to work with Maggie, she won’t actually get custody of the kids wherever they send her, will she?”
The idea of his selfish, fantasy-world sister taking control of her children again roiled Sean’s gut. Of all the priorities in her life, she’d made clear Daisy and Dahlia were at the bottom of the list. She wasn’t fit to have a visit with them, much less be in control of their lives.
“If Masiela has a say,” Ty said, “the kids will be put in some type of protective custody until Maggie testifies. It could be a group home, a government agency, maybe even a foster home near wherever they stash
her.”
“If Mas doesn’t have a say, who would?” Sophy asked.
Sean was lifting his glass for a drink as Ty answered, “Depending on Maggie’s info, the feds could come in—the FBI, maybe the DEA. It’s hard to say what would happen then.”
At mention of the DEA, the ice rattled loudly in his glass, and he set it carefully on the island, then rested his hands flat on the countertop to keep the unsteadiness from showing. He was pretty sure Sophy felt it, though, when she laid her hand on his arm. “You can’t let her disappear out there with the kids, Sean. Who knows what would happen to them, what she would do to them?”
The possibility scared the crap out of him, but he kept it tightly controlled. “She’s their mother, Sophy, and she likes being a mom when it suits her. She’ll tell the D.A., the feds, the court exactly what they want to hear, and she’ll even believe it herself for a while. That she’s gonna get straight. That this is the start of a wonderful new life. Yeah, the last five or six starts bombed, but this one’s different. This is the real one. She wants it so much this time she can’t possibly fail.”
Her brown gaze locked with his, earnest and troubled and damn near pleading. “But if the D.A. and the feds and the judges have an option, if they have a law-abiding, respectable, sober uncle who wants to step up for his nieces, they don’t have to give them to Maggie.”
“Law-abiding and respectable,” he repeated. “With a criminal history dating back more than twenty years. The people you’re talking about probably wouldn’t find me any more fit to take care of Daisy and Dahlia than Maggie is.” Though he’d acknowledged the possibility to himself, saying it out loud in front of Sophy, Ty and Nev hurt. It made him feel about as small and disreputable as he ever had.
Her slender fingers tightened around his arm. “But you do want them.”
He held her gaze a long time, searching for doubt, both in her and himself. When he didn’t find it in either one, he wasn’t sure which surprised him more. “Yes,” he finally said. More than he did yesterday, probably not as much as he would tomorrow.
Nev had spent most of the conversation simply listening, but now she slid off the bar stool and came around the island to slide her arms around both Sophy and Sean. “I think about all we can do right now is pray that Maggie will look into her heart and do what’s right for those girls.”
Undercover in Copper Lake Page 16