The Waiting Room

by Emily Bleeker

  “We found Sophie.” She finally said the phrase out loud, her voice heavy with tears. Gillian’s overemotional quality used to annoy Veronica, but now she couldn’t hold back a few tears herself.

  “You know who those people are? Do you think it’s safe to go home? Think your mother will be there?”

  Veronica forgot Gillian had heard nearly everything. She didn’t know why or how her mother was involved, but the idea was unsettling. And now they were heading home—to the house of not just Veronica and her daughter but also the woman who had possibly betrayed them.

  “I don’t really know.”

  “So where am I headed then?” Gillian asked as she came to a stop at the intersection that took them out of town and toward Sanford or north toward Washington, DC.

  As she watched her baby wiggling in her arms, Veronica tried to imagine running away and leaving everything behind. Eventually the police would figure out that Sophie was alive and someone else was responsible, right? Running away to DC seemed like a beautiful dream, but that’s all it was—a dream. It was probably safest to walk up to that house with a baby in her arms and say to the police, “I told you I didn’t hurt my child.”

  “First things first, let’s get my car. Sound good?”

  “Yeah, that’s a great idea,” Gillian responded, and pressed down harder on the accelerator. “Off to Dave’s Ale House, eh?”

  “Dave’s Ale House it is.” Veronica shifted down even lower in the seat and snuggled the dozing baby against her cheek. The movement of the car and the way that Veronica patted her back must have worked a soothing magic, because soon Sophie’s dusty-blue eyes were closed and her perfect Cupid’s bow lips partially open, letting out fragrant little breaths. With her mouth against her daughter’s hair, Veronica smiled.

  CHAPTER 22

  Veronica started awake. Rather groggy, she took in their surroundings. They were just a few miles from the center of town.

  Just before Veronica fell completely asleep, she had asked Gillian to go the speed limit as to not attract unwanted attention. Veronica was anxious to get home but couldn’t help wondering if there was a vehicle speeding along behind them, trying to catch up. Perhaps there was, but they hadn’t been caught and somehow Veronica didn’t believe that they would be.

  She’d turned her phone off again after leaving Durham, but now that she had Sophie and they were safely back in town, it seemed like the necessity for hiding had passed. Plus, she wanted to see if her mother had tried to reach out to her yet. She fished the phone from her bra and readjusted the baby into the crook of her arm, where she settled back to sleep easily.

  She turned on the phone and waited for the official chime to let her know it was launched again. As soon as the apps developed on the screen, notifications began to ding through at a ferocious pace. All from her mother in the past hour.

  Ronnie, where are you? Come home.

  No one is mad at you. Bring the baby and come home.

  Ronnie. I’m serious. I can’t help you if you don’t let me. Come home now!

  Where are you????

  Damn it, Veronica thought, her heart sinking. Her mother really was involved. What in the hell was she going to do? What if they were walking into an ambush?

  Veronica was about to present the problem to Gillian when the phone started to ring in her hands. She checked the caller ID. No name, but the number was familiar.

  “It’s Mark,” she said, her stomach jumping as she pulled herself up to sitting, relieved it wasn’t her mom but still nervous. “What do I do? Do I answer it?”

  “What do we have to lose?” Gillian made eye contact through the rearview mirror, her eyes illuminated by the light of the oncoming cars. Veronica nodded and pushed the “Talk” button.

  “Hello?” she answered.

  “Veronica? I’ve been worried sick about you.” It was reassuring to hear the masculine voice on the other side of the phone sound sincerely concerned. “Give me an update.”

  “How about you give me an update instead.” She didn’t want to sound suspicious still, but if she wasn’t sure she could trust her own mother, whom could she trust?

  “Well, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that I found some information. It’s not the names you wanted, but I do have more info about that break-in four days ago.”

  “Pull over. Pull over!” Veronica ordered to Gillian in a hushed shout, pointing at the parking lot of Dave’s Ale House. The car thumped as they made their way over the transition from the road to the full lot. Gillian made her way around to a side lot of the neighboring strip mall where there were signs that said, “Verizon Customers Only.”

  “Okay, go ahead,” Veronica said, and put the phone on speaker so Gillian could hear. She’d turned around in her seat, biting her bottom lip.

  “I was trying to do some additional research on the code name connected to your case. Before I get your hopes up, that lead was a dead end.”

  “That’s okay, I have more information about that. But first,” she interjected quickly, stalling, “tell me about the break-in.”

  Mark blew out a soft sigh on the other end of the phone before responding. “It wasn’t a break-in.”

  “What do you mean? An alarm was triggered. The police came out.”

  A long silence hung in the air, Sophie’s soft breathing the only rebellious sound, and Veronica was worried that Gillian might nibble a hole in her lip if the dramatic pause went on any longer when Mark spoke up.

  “I found the paperwork and some prints. We did take pictures inside your residence, but no one broke in.” He paused again, some papers shuffled in the background. “It says here in the report from the PI that a key was left in a pot by the back door.”

  “That’s where we keep our spare key,” Veronica said, immediately feeling stupid that she kept her hide-a-key in such an obvious place, but even more ridiculous that she hadn’t remembered until now. “Oh God. I know what happened. My mother told them where it was.” Even Veronica could hear the malice coating those words.

  Gillian’s eyes went wide, and she slumped down in her seat as if it were her mother who had broken all possible trust between a parent and a child. Veronica stretched her shoulders backward, trying to decide whether she was ready to let him in on everything, when the movement woke Sophie. She wiggled against Veronica’s arm, and suddenly her little fist flew up and hit her own cheek. Veronica bounced her slightly, knowing what was coming next. Baby screams always started with a silent, frozen mouth, like the Munch painting. When the wail hit, it was loud and made both women flinch.

  “Shhhh, Sophie. It’s okay. Shhhh,” she whispered, comforting the baby by taking her balled-up fist in her own hand and then rocking back and forth, pulling her close enough to give a gentle kiss to the spot Sophie had smacked herself.

  “Oh my God, you found her?” Mark gasped through the phone.

  She couldn’t help letting a smile spread her pursed lips against Sophie’s face. She wanted to say, “Hell yeah, we did!” But instead she attempted to keep a level head, knowing this disaster of a day was not over yet.

  “We did. She was at the address I saw on your phone.”

  “That’s where you found her? What the hell? Who are those people?”

  “You’re asking me? Maybe you should ask your boss about that one. It was some waify-looking woman. She seemed to know who I was, but once I heard Sophie, I wasn’t leaving till she was in my arms.”

  “Why didn’t we start with that update? That is some good news. Damn, you are one strong lady, Veronica Shelton.”

  Gillian waggled her eyebrows at Veronica, and a blush crept into her cheeks. “Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’ve got Sophie and we are heading home.” Or at least that was the plan till those texts popped up.

  “Oh.” He got serious again. “You feel like it’s safe? If those people hired RHI to watch you, they know where you live. And you said you think your mom is involved? Why do you think that?
Don’t you think she would’ve given my guys the code to the house?”

  “I . . . I don’t know,” she stumbled through her thoughts, the question throwing her off for a moment. “All I know is that the woman that had Sophie told me that she’d talked to my mom. I mean, I didn’t exactly stay to chat, but it makes sense why she wasn’t as worried this morning and why she up and disappeared before the police came.” Veronica hesitated, finding it difficult to explain why her mom would steal her baby without revealing her own failures as a mother. On the ride back to Sanford, her brain tried to make sense of this kind of betrayal, and the only logical option was that Barb must have believed she was protecting her granddaughter. “I’m sure she thinks she’s doing the right thing, but this is insane. Now she’s texting me incessantly.”

  Gillian turned around in her seat, surprised at the latest update on her mother’s manipulations. Veronica shrugged at her, still not sure if they should alter their plans to return to the house.

  Mark sighed into the phone like he was considering all options. “Good intentions or not, this can’t be good. You need to be cautious going home.”

  “I . . . I don’t know what else to do,” Veronica said, very matter-of-fact, hoping Mark had a viable plan.

  “Hm,” he replied, drawing it out in a hum, “it seems a little dangerous to me.”

  Gillian and Veronica locked eyes, and she knew what she had to do.

  “I think it’s time to talk to the police,” Veronica suggested. The idea was risky, no doubt, but with Sophie in her arms and the information from Mark’s agency, they’d likely at least listen.

  “Well, how about the police station, then? Not sure your place is safe, Veronica.” He said her name protectively. Veronica cringed at the idea of walking into her mind’s version of a dirty, chaotic police station where they’d likely take Sophie away from her, at least initially. Now that she had her daughter back, and she could touch her, all Veronica wanted to do was take care of Sophie’s every need.

  “Sophie at least needs a diaper change and a bottle. Anyway, what can my mom do with the police there? Nothing. Who are they going to listen to?”

  He took a loud breath, and she heard more shuffling on the other end of the phone. “How about I go with you, you know, just to be safe?” he asked with so much hesitancy he sounded like a kid asking his grandma for money.

  Veronica studied Gillian’s facial features, realizing that she was coming to rely upon her input more and more. Her friend scrunched up her shoulder to her cheek and mouthed, “I don’t know!”

  Bottom line was Veronica couldn’t hide away with Sophie until the police figured this all out, because she held too many of the missing pieces like, for one, the child in her arms. No one would figure out this puzzle without her. But even though it was a less frightening option than the police station, it was still terrifying to walk in that front door to a firing squad whose weapons may have been loaded by a saboteur from her own family.

  “You’d really do that?” Veronica asked. “I thought you didn’t want to get involved. Thought you were worried about your job.” Gillian nodded at her like she’d said something profound.

  “I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and if you want my help, I’ll be there. You’re worth the risk.”

  Those words couldn’t have been more meaningful if he’d said she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Worth the risk. Both Gillian and Mark were filling spaces in her life that had been achingly empty for a long time. Deciding to trust him was a leap, but his information had led her to Sophie.

  “Okay, can you get to Dave’s Ale House? I’m going to grab my car and Sophie’s car seat and then . . . I guess . . . we can go home together.” She nodded at Gillian, who gave a thumbs-up.

  “Yes,” he responded quickly. “I’m five minutes away. I’ll be there as soon as possible. This is definitely the right choice, Veronica.”

  “I sure hope so,” she said almost as much to herself as to Mark. “See you soon.”

  Veronica bit her lip and kissed the top of Sophie’s head as the phone went dark.

  “Well then, I guess we should get your car.” For just a moment before Gillian began collecting Veronica’s things, they sat in a comfortable pause. The calm was filled with a feeling of security and impending conclusion.

  As Gillian started up her caregiving fervor, asking a million and one questions, Veronica thought about the first time she’d brought Sophie home. She’d been filled with worries about diaper rash, jaundice, and breastfeeding. Nick had reassured her with a gentle squeeze of her knee and a knowing calm in his eyes that said he thought she could do anything. This time she believed that look he used to give her. She couldn’t do anything back then; she barely survived losing the man she loved, leaving her child nearly parentless in the aftermath. But tonight she felt confident and sure of her new future. She kissed the sleeping babe again, letting her lips linger on the long, fine golden strands of hair lying flat on her daughter’s head and whispered.

  “Let’s go home, sweetheart.”

  CHAPTER 23

  Mark pulled up seven minutes after they’d ended the call. His fancy car slipped right next to Veronica’s running Prius, which she’d moved next to Gillian’s car. Sophie was sleeping soundly in her car seat, with the air conditioner set at just the right temperature. Both Gillian and Veronica sat in the front seat, trying to hide from the Saturday-night rush of dinner patrons.

  Once his car was in park, Mark jumped out like someone had fired the starting pistol. Veronica rolled down the glass, and the hot, humid night breeze poured in, fighting against the cooled air shooting from her dashboard.

  “Hey,” he said simply, as though he were meeting her casually on a street. His hands were in his jeans pockets, and a nearly tight green T-shirt made her guess his age as younger than she’d guessed before—late thirties rather than midforties.

  “Thanks for coming,” she said, her eyes only darting up for a moment. “Are you okay with riding together?”

  “Why don’t you and your friend head over and I’ll meet you there if you’ll text me the address.”

  “Oh no,” Veronica rushed to add. “We decided that Gillian isn’t going with us. I was hoping you’d ride with me instead.” Gillian had enough going on with her divorce; she didn’t need any more legal issues, and though the gun wasn’t registered in her name, Veronica thought it was best for her to be cautious. And driving up to the house with Mark by her side sounded more palatable than going alone.

  Before Mark had arrived, Veronica had won that argument, and instead of Gillian sitting in a car for the fourth time that day, waiting for something to happen and listening through a phone, she was going to a hotel. Gillian scoffed at the idea of Veronica paying for a room when she had a “perfectly good house to go to,” but there was too much of a chance that Carl could be there, and since Gillian no longer had a gun, Veronica wasn’t sure how things would end for her friend this time around. She’d promised to help her resolve that situation in the morning, after Gillian had enjoyed a shower and a good night’s sleep and Sophie had spent the first night in eight months cradled in her mother’s arms. Plus, what better place to find help than a house full of police officers?

  “Yeah, I need some freshening-up time,” Gillian said, putting on her daintiest Southern accent, and then wrapped her hand around her waist and unclicked the seat belt. Her hair had flattened throughout the day, and her short hairdo was nearly as fine as Sophie’s. As Gillian reached for the door handle, Veronica grabbed her arm at the wrist.

  “Hey, lady.” Veronica clutched gently, the give of Gillian’s skin now something that made her feel safe. “I’ll see you soon. Thank you for everything. You saved me today.”

  “Nah, sweetie, you saved me.” She took her hand off the door and gave Veronica a brief squeeze. “I stood up to Carl, I helped you find your baby.” Then she added, shyly, “I have a real friend. I owe you.”

  Veronica shook her head. “Not
even close. I’ll owe you till the day I die.” Getting more emotional than she had the energy to manage, Veronica broke away from Gillian and blinked back the gathering moisture in her eyes. “The reservation is in your name. I texted you the confirmation number from the website. I don’t think there will be a problem, but if there is, you can call me.”

  Gillian seemed to catch on to the shift in her tone and gave her a knowing nod. She ducked her head so she could look up through the open window at Mark.

  “Good luck to both of you.”

  Gillian drove away to her hotel room while Mark took his place next to Veronica in the Prius, making it look more like a clown car than a functional vehicle. He looked very uncomfortable, with his knees pressed up against the dashboard, but if he was squished, he didn’t let on. Instead, he buckled his seat belt and then looked back at the baby in the car seat.

  “I cannot believe you found her on your own.” He looked at Veronica and then back at Sophie. “You’re pretty amazing, you know that?”

  His assessment humbled and annoyed her at the same time.

  “You don’t really know what I am, Mark. Just like I don’t know much about the real you. I found my baby. I think any mother would do the same if she could.” Well, maybe not her own mother. The pang of betrayal was still fresh and painful. But most mothers would crawl through fire for their child. How did he know anything about her beyond what his funded snooping had provided? She put both hands on the steering wheel, pulling herself back to reality and away from the draw of Mark’s eyes and his barely noticeable but distinctly masculine scent.

  “You ready?” Veronica asked, anxious to get things cleared up once and for all. He nodded.

  She put the car in reverse and put her hand on the back of the passenger seat. With her arm behind Mark, the car seemed to get even smaller, and for one moment, with the car seat behind her and the protective and helpful man at her side, she realized they looked like a real family—a mommy and a daddy and a little tiny baby snuggled up in the back seat. It wasn’t Nick by her side, it would never be Nick, but it felt nice having Mark there, interested, helpful, caring. She put the car back into drive and let her hand graze his shoulder as she placed it back on the steering wheel.