Tuesday's Child

by Fern Michaels

  The moment Kala opened the door to the office, she knew that IT had happened. That was probably what the phone call had been about when she was backing out of the driveway.

  “What?” The single word exploded out of her mouth like a gunshot.

  Linda took the lead, her expression one of excitement and misery all rolled into one. “Adam Star expired at precisely one thirty-six P.M. His remains are on the way to the crematorium where he will be ... how do you say it, fried, burned, crisped up, roasted. Whatever, he is on the way. Jay has everything ready. You should go right now. Like now, Kala! Why are you still standing there? Go! Jay and I made all the calls. The judge faxed the writ to the prison. The warden is waiting for you, and he promised not to bring Sophie out till you got there. For God’s sake, go already!”

  Jay reached for Kala’s arm and literally dragged her out the door. “Before you can ask me, Kala, yes, today is Tuesday!”

  Kala sagged against her old partner. She felt so light-headed she could barely stand. “It’s finally going to happen. It is, right, Jay?”

  “It damn well is, unless I have an accident on the way. The only thing I’m not sure about is if Star’s death is going to leak out before we get to Sophie. Hospitals are their own gossip mills. I don’t think Clayton Hughes will seek anyone out. He pretty much deferred to you, Kala. I’m not sure about the two male nurses. They don’t have a clue what’s been going on, at least I don’t think so. They’re hardened to death, but you never know. I’m driving. You just sit there, and let’s go over everything one more time. Like she said, Linda and I made all of our calls, so everyone has a heads-up.”

  Kala’s hands flapped in the air. “The private plane is gassed and sitting on the tarmac. We head straight for the airport the moment we walk out of the prison. Every detail has been taken care of. The pilot will fly Sophie straight to Hawaii, where my family will be waiting for her. They’re going to take her to my house in Lahaina where, hopefully, she will agree to stay for at least six months. Time to start over with people who will care about her. My family will help her every step of the way. I have, in the back, suitcases full of things she will need until she feels confident enough to go out and about on her own. All the paperwork has been done, everything is in order. We spring her, we walk away, and that’s it.

  “Tomorrow morning, you will file the lawsuit against the state of Georgia and Ryan Spenser. Do not even give him a heads-up. Tomorrow you can call Clayton Hughes, and he can give a statement, but wait until late in the afternoon so it makes all the evening news shows. Do not take any calls from Ryan Spenser. Also, tell the guard in the lobby not to let him up to our floor. I know you are getting all this because of that photographic memory of yours. I have Sophie’s driver’s license, which I renewed every year, her passport, which was renewed by me last year, plus an envelope full of cash until we can get her a bank account in Hawaii. I even jumped the gun and filed to have her nursing license renewed. Don’t even ask me why I did all that. Maybe I had a premonition something like this was going to happen. She has a brokerage account of her own here in Georgia that we can have transferred. When we told her about the grandfather she’d never known, who only learned about her after she was in prison and left her his farm in Pennsylvania, Sophie okayed selling it, and I invested that money for her. She’s not rich on her own, but we sold before the bottom fell out of the real-estate market. That four hundred thousand we got from the sale of the farm is now worth seven hundred thousand. That’s Sophie’s own money. The state will pony up big-time, so she will have that coming to her, too. Then, of course, there is the Star fortune. Who the hell knew storage lockers, zippers, and toothbrushes could generate the kind of money that is in that estate? I guess the elder Stars were visionaries of a sort. Can’t you drive any faster, Jay? Oh, by this time tomorrow, Ben and I will be on our way to London. I do need to call him as soon as we get Sophie airborne.”

  “I could drive faster, but I’m not going to, so don’t ask me again. I know this is a touchy subject, and I know neither one of us has mentioned it, but what do we do if Sophie doesn’t want to go to Hawaii?”

  Kala’s lips tightened. “She’s going. Sophie needs to get away from the publicity that is sure to come and get her life back. She’ll see that and understand. I am prepared for a little argument, but when she realizes today is Tuesday, and when we tell her the story, she won’t argue.”

  Jay’s face turned stubborn. “But what if she does kick up a fuss?”

  Kala’s hands flapped in the air again. “Then I don’t know, Jay. I guess we go to Plan B; but since we don’t have a Plan B or a Plan C, we absolutely have to convince her to go with Plan A.

  “I can’t wait to see her. It’s been seven and a half years since she cut off visitation. A day doesn’t go by that I don’t think about her and wonder how she’s doing. The warden said she’s a model prisoner, never gave them one ounce of trouble. But that’s Sophie for you.”

  The rest of the ride to the state prison was made in silence. When they were two miles from the prison gates, Jay tossed Kala his cell phone and told her to text the warden that they were within shouting distance. “We want in, and we want out. I stressed that to him when I called earlier, but say it again.”

  Kala did as she was told. “The warden’s return text read, ‘Done. We are waiting at the door.’ ”

  “Wow! Does that mean we don’t even have to get out of the car?” Jay asked, his eyes wide.

  “One of us does, to show the proper credentials. That would be me, Jay. When we return, I will sit in the back with Sophie, and you can chauffeur us to the airport. We need serious hugging time. Oh, my God! There it is!”

  Inside the state prison, a tall, distinguished man with white hair and a white beard stood aside as one of the matrons brought Prisoner 9878245 to the door. He waited for the locks to open, and out walked Sophie Lee, who looked frightened to death to be where she was.

  “It’s okay, Miss Lee. You are being released, and you are free to leave. I wish you well.”

  “Free! I don’t understand. What happened? What am I supposed to do, where should I go? No!” Sophie tried to pull back to return to the barred doors.

  “Sophie!” Kala said, rushing forward and throwing her arms around the young woman. “Oh, Sophie, it is sooo good to see you!” She gathered Sophie in her arms and squeezed her so tight, Sophie could barely breathe, but she didn’t tell Kala to stop.

  “Am I going with you, Kala?” Sophie asked, when Kala finally released her.

  “Damn straight you’re going with me. You are done with this place, kiddo. Come along and don’t look back. Do you hear me, don’t look back! Jay is in the car.”

  “What happened? What about my things? They just brought me to the warden; no one said I was being released. I didn’t say good-bye to anyone!”

  “Is there anything you really want from here to take with you?”

  “No, not really.”

  “Is there anyone you care enough about inside that you want to say good-bye to?”

  “No, not really,” Sophie said as she ran to Jay, who was standing by the door of his SUV. She allowed herself to be hugged, then reached up to wipe a tear trickling down Jay’s cheek. “I’m really free! You got me out! I never thought it would happen. Never in a million years. Oh, you two are miracle workers! I hope you aren’t upset with me, Kala, for stopping the visitation. I just couldn’t keep on seeing you, then have to go back inside. I couldn’t function after I would see you and Jay. It just seemed better that way.”

  “I understood, Sophie. Come on, get in the car. We have so much to tell you and don’t have all that much time. You’re going to Hawaii as soon as we drop you off at the airport.”

  “Hawaii! Why? Now? Why can’t I stay with you till ... till, you know, I get my bearings?”

  “Yes, you’re going to stay in my house in Hawaii. We need to get you as far from here as possible once the news gets out about your release and the circumstances sur
rounding it. My brothers are going to pick you up at the airport when you land. It’s called R and R. You aren’t going to give me a hard time about this, are you?”

  “No, I guess not. I trust you and Jay. I guess you have your reasons. I’ve always dreamed of going to Hawaii. Do you think I can sleep out under the stars on the beach?”

  Kala laughed. “Baby, I personally guarantee it.”

  “Now I am excited. Please, tell me everything.”

  They told her everything, ending with, “And today is Tuesday, Sophie!”

  Chapter 6

  SOPHIE LEE WAS IN A DAZE AS SHE STEPPED OUT OF JAY’S SUV. She looked to the right and saw Jay’s wife, Linda, with her arms held out. She ran to her, tears trickling down her cheeks. “Jay said you two got married. I wish I could have been there,” she said tearfully.

  “I wish you could have been there, too. I brought my wedding album to show you,” Linda said, pointing to the bag at her feet. “I’m going with you all the way to Hawaii. When Kala made the deal with the charter flight company, the pilot said he wanted three days in Hawaii before he made the return flight. Kala said okay. That means I have the same three days as he does before I have to head home. Jay and I were supposed to go to Hawaii for our honeymoon, but there was this case ... so, we never made it.”

  “I’m glad for the company. I was sort of dreading it until Kala said you were going with me. I’ve never been outside the state of Georgia,” Sophie confessed.

  “Things are going to change very quickly now for you, Sophie. I want you to trust us. What we’re doing for you is best.”

  Sophie smiled. “I trusted all of you with my life once before, so why wouldn’t I trust you now? I think I’m going to be black and blue because all I’ve done is pinch myself since I walked out of those prison doors.”

  Her eyes misty with tears, Kala reached for Sophie to hug her one more time. “Time to go, kiddo. I’ll see you when my trip is over. I wish I was going with you, but I made a commitment to Ben, and I have to honor it. It’s best this way. When the news hits tomorrow, you, Linda, and I will all be gone. Jay can be totally invisible and completely incommunicado when he wants to be. When you get to Hawaii, I want you to keep a low profile. Linda will get you all set up, then my family will take over. Just promise me you’ll do what they say.”

  “Of course. I don’t know how to thank you, Kala, all of you. And you all worked for free all these years. Well, I can pay you back now. That’s the first thing I’m going to do. Honor comes first. Most important, Kala, thank you for believing in me.”

  Kala didn’t trust herself to speak. It looked to her like Jay was having the same problem. Another round of hugs, then Kala and Linda were tripping up the portable steps of the plane that would take Sophie to her new temporary home. Both attorneys waved so hard they thought their arms would fall off. They watched as the private jet taxied down the runway, then, like the sleek silver bird that it was, rose into the sky. When it was no more than a speck on the horizon, Kala linked her arm with Jay’s. “We did good, Jay. She’s going to be all right. I feel it here,” Kala said, thumping her breast.

  As they headed back to Jay’s SUV, he said, “Call Ben now and get your plans under way for tomorrow. I don’t want to see you again for six months. You hear me, Kala?”

  “Of course I can hear you—the whole world can hear you. But it’s six months minus three weeks,” Kala shot back. “Today is Tuesday! It’s a miracle, Jay, it really is!”

  “I know. Don’t go technical on me, now. Six months! I’m changing the locks on the office door, so if you come back before the six months are up, you can’t get in.”

  Back on the road, Kala leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. “What do you think will happen tomorrow, Jay?”

  “Well, for starters, the media will have a field day. This news will be fodder for at least a week. The tabloids love this kind of stuff, so they’ll put their bloodhounds on it and try to ferret out where everyone has gone. I think we did a good job of covering our butts with Sophie, but you never know. They’ll be able to track you easily enough, and they will. Whatever port of call you end up in, someone will be there. Count on it.”

  “The Star fortune! Wall Street! That’s going to be a zoo. You sure you can handle all of this? Linda won’t be here for the first three days, and that is the crucial time. One other thing to bear in mind, Jay, is the five-hour time difference between here and Hawaii as well as the time difference wherever I’ll be.”

  Jay was so outraged at Kala’s words, Kala burst out laughing. “I’m not an idiot, Kala. I can handle it,” he blustered. He felt sheepish because, as a matter of fact, he had forgotten the time difference. Not that he would ever admit having done so to Kala.

  “Yeah, but can you handle Ryan Spenser?” Kala said as she hit the number two on her speed dial. Ben answered right away.

  As Kala listened to Jay’s mumbling that he could handle Spenser with both hands tied behind his back, she tried to talk over him to Ben. “Get the earliest flight you can get in the morning, and we’re outta here. Uh-huh. Of course I’m serious, and no, six o’clock is not too early for me. Sophie is airborne, and Jay and I are on the way home. I never unpacked my bags, so just load them into the car. Why don’t you cook dinner tonight; we’ll eat out on the terrace, and we’ll be having a guest. Jay doesn’t know how to cook. Okay, I’ll see you at my place around six.”

  They rode for a while in silence, each busy with his or her own thoughts. Back in town on their way to the office, Jay finally broke the silence. “Kala, exactly how do you want me to handle Ryan Spenser? By the way, you never said what he gave you for a going-away present. Someone said it was gorgeously wrapped.”

  Kala burst out laughing. “It was a picture of the both of us taken at some symposium where we were both guest speakers. I think the man has extra teeth in his mouth. Anyway, I threw it in the trash. I was going to keep the frame, but then I changed my mind. Handle him however you want, Jay, but don’t let him walk roughshod over you. He’ll try. He’s going to go nuclear when he hears the news. I’m glad I won’t be here to see it. I detest that man. I just wonder how many of the other people he prosecuted are innocent like Sophie. In short, he scares me, Jay. And don’t for one minute underestimate him. He’s a slimy devil.”

  “Thanks for the warning,” Jay said as he waited for the gate at the underground parking garage to swing open. “You coming up?”

  “No. I want some time for myself, and I have to stop at the store to buy dinner so Ben can cook it for us. I’ll see you at home later. Don’t be late. Ben likes to eat on time.”

  Outside the car, Jay walked Kala to her own vehicle and waited till she was inside and the motor was running. He gave off a sloppy salute and waited for her to drive down the ramp before he headed for the elevator to take him up to the office. He felt emotionally exhausted and physically drained, and he already missed his wife.

  The single hostess aboard the private jet gently touched Sophie’s shoulder. Sophie opened her eyes and stared up at the smiling woman. “The captain asks that you buckle up as we’re preparing our descent to Kahului Airport.” Expecting to see a smile from the nameless passenger, the hostess was stunned to see a panicked expression just as Linda came instantly awake.

  “How much time before we land? What time is it?” Sophie demanded. The hostess blinked at the panic that had invaded the young woman’s voice.

  Linda worked at her lips, which felt dry and cracked for some reason. She looked down at her watch. She’d forgotten to turn her watch backward to allow for the time change. Her mind raced. She knew exactly why Sophie was panicking. She mentally calculated the time change, the flight time. They were down to the wire. In thirty-seven minutes, it would be Wednesday morning.

  The hostess smiled again. “We had excellent tailwinds. Actually, we’re early. That’s the good news.”

  “What’s the bad news?” Linda barked. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Sophie kneadi
ng her hands. “We need a definite time for wheels on the ground. If you don’t know, ask the pilot. Tell him we have to be on the ground before midnight. I don’t care what he has to do, but we have to be on the ground before midnight. Nothing else is acceptable. Go, now!”

  Sophie’s knuckles were white as she rubbed and twisted her hands. “You don’t think I’m crazy, do you, Linda?”

  “Not one little bit. This just might be one of those things that are beyond the pilot’s control, Sophie. I’m so sorry, wheels on the ground before midnight was something none of us thought about. There shouldn’t be much air traffic at this hour, so the pilot should get clearance to land with no problem. I don’t know, Sophie, let’s just hope for the best.”

  The hostess was back, the smile still on her face. Linda took the smile as a good sign. “Captain Ortega said we’ll be wheels on the ground at eleven fifty-one. If not, you get your money back.” At the stricken look on both women’s faces, she quickly added, “That was a joke. If Captain Ortega said wheels on the ground at eleven fifty-one, then it’s wheels on the ground at eleven fifty-one.”

  Linda reached for Sophie’s hand and squeezed it. “We’ll make it,” she whispered.

  Sophie nodded.

  The private Learjet’s wheels kissed the ground at exactly 11:50 local time. It took another three minutes to taxi to the slot assigned to private planes, another two minutes to come to a complete stop, then a minute for the hostess to open the hatch and drop the portable set of steps. The moment the hostess motioned for the two women to come forward and disembark, Sophie barreled up the aisle, was out the door and galloping down the steps to the tarmac, Linda right on her heels.

  “What time is it, Linda?” Sophie shouted.

  “Two minutes to midnight! We made it, Sophie! We made it!” She reached for Sophie’s arms and hugged her as they danced around in a circle like two lunatics.