Pale Wings Protecting

by Lesley Davis

  “Tonight is a rare evening for us. We get to have a child-free, adults-only night. We snagged Claire’s younger sister to baby-sit and all but ran out of the house.”

  “You need time away for your own sakes, I bet.” Blythe settled herself beside Liz and unobtrusively began to study her and her partner. Liz appeared to be in her early thirties, with long brunette hair. She was curvy but not overweight. Claire looked to be around a similar age, maybe a little younger, shorter, stocky built with short black hair styled into a floppy boyish cut. Blythe didn’t have to employ too much of her profiling ability to deduce that since both women wore a large amount of designer label clothing that money was clearly no object for them. “I hope Daryl and I are as lucky as you two. We’d love a child of our own.”

  Liz’s face lit up. “Mia said you were doing the rounds at the Cranston Heights adoption agencies.”

  “Have you walked through the valley of fire at the ‘you’re going to burn in hell’ agency yet?” Claire asked.

  “Criton and Welch?” Blythe laughed at Claire’s all too apt description. “Oh yes, we had our baptism of fire and brimstone at that particular corner of heaven today.”

  “Do you think you’ll get a call anytime soon?” Claire sported a knowing smirk.

  “I don’t intend to sit all day by the phone waiting for Ms. Hunt to get in touch anytime this century.” Blythe let her humor fade deliberately. “How hard is it to want to give a child in need a loving home?”

  “We were on lists for years before we were finally blessed with Justin,” Liz said. “It took moving to Cranston Heights and settling here before we finally adopted.”

  “How old was Justin when you got him?” Daryl asked. “Because we’ve got our heart set on having a newborn and not an older child.”

  “He was just a few days old.” Liz reached into her purse and took out her cell phone, scrolling on its screen and passing the phone to Blythe.

  Blythe made sure she memorized the time stamp on the picture, reconciling it to the date she knew Justin had been abducted. It was literally dated for the day after he was taken. Not much of a waiting period. Liz began scrolling through more photos to show her child off. Blythe made all the appropriate noises that mothers like to hear.

  Claire sighed. “You’ll be there all evening because there hasn’t been a minute of Justin’s life that hasn’t gone undocumented.”

  Liz huffed at her. “I’ve got all the photos, but who has the little video clips on her phone?”

  Claire held up her hands in surrender. “Busted. I admit it. He’s so cute. Everything he does has to be recorded.”

  “We’ll be exactly the same. Especially Daryl.” Blythe reached over to rest her hand on Daryl’s knee and squeezed it affectionately.

  “I’d kill to have a little one to love as much as I do their mother.” Daryl covered Blythe’s hand and kept it in place.

  Mia nudged Niki as they sat side by side on an adjacent settee. “Oh God, Niki, we’re surrounded by romantics. You might want to grab a pen and paper to take notes.”

  “I can do romantic. Wasn’t I romantic last night?” Niki said with a playful leer.

  “Sure, honey. You took your socks off for once.” Mia’s dry comment made everyone laugh.

  Niki took their humor in good part and rose to top up everyone’s wine glasses.

  “Did you two go to Grace’s Adoption Agency?” Blythe asked.

  “The creepy guy with his female-only staffing policy?” Liz shuddered. “He gave us both chills just looking at him. He gave off serious serial killer vibes.”

  “He didn’t exactly make us feel comfortable either,” Blythe said.

  “His costs were the highest we found for what he could offer. Some agencies charge double, sometimes triple if they sense you’re desperate enough.”

  Blythe caught the swift look of censure Claire shot in Liz’s direction. Okay, so what are you hiding, Ms. Benson? What are you afraid Liz is going to reveal? Blythe noticed Liz hadn’t caught the look because she continued without hesitation.

  “And if you want a specific kind of child you have to expect to pay top dollar.”

  “Did you want a specific child?” Blythe asked, wondering how much this couple would admit. Liz appeared to be the one who wouldn’t hold back.

  “I just wanted a baby boy who was healthy. I’d heard stories about gay couples getting children with questionable health problems.”

  “How questionable?” Daryl asked.

  “Some agencies intentionally only offered us foreign children infected with AIDS or other diseases,” Claire said. “Don’t get me wrong; we know those children need all the love and attention they deserve, but we wanted a child that we could raise into adulthood. We didn’t want to adopt a child who would wrap a hand around our hearts only to leave us too soon. I know that nothing in life is ever certain, but we wanted to at least have some chance of stacking the odds in our favor.”

  “Wanting a healthy child doesn’t make you bad,” Blythe said, wondering if health was a deciding factor in these kidnappings. She made a mental note to have the team double-check the health records of all the mothers.

  “I’d really like a child that resembles either Blythe or myself,” Daryl said, drawing every eye in the room to her.

  “You want a little blond baby?” Mia asked. “Oh, can you just imagine how cute you’d look together?”

  “I’ve imagined plenty,” Blythe said with a dreamy smile. “Nothing would make me happier than to have a little blond kid to love as much as I love her mommy.”

  “Or a little black haired baby to carry on Blythe’s coloring.” Daryl settled back in her seat with a contented smile. “I live for that.”

  “What agency did you two get Justin through?” Blythe deliberately asked Liz the question while surreptitiously watching Claire’s reaction.

  “We went through Building Blocks Adoptions originally, but it went through some managerial restructuring and the name changed to Miller’s Adoptions.”

  Blythe’s heart picked up a pace. “That’s who we go to see tomorrow. We have an appointment with a Serena Miller.”

  Liz nodded. “That’s the lady who took over the agency. She’s very nice.”

  “And she’s the one who got you Justin to adopt?” Daryl asked.

  Claire answered that. “Indirectly. She had links to children that were abandoned at hospitals, ones left outside churches. She said all those children needed to be counted too so she was in touch with other agencies. Many fingers in many adoption pies, was how she described it.”

  Liz shrugged. “I didn’t really ask the details. I just wanted a baby, and when she called to say she’d found one for us, it was the answer to all our prayers.”

  Blythe nodded. Why ask questions when you’re being given what you most desire?

  “Were you ever told anything about his birth mother?” Daryl asked.

  “Only that the poor girl died in childbirth and had no relatives to take the child on. He was heaven sent to us. I just wish his biological mother could see how much he’s loved by us.”

  “No one can accuse you two of not loving that boy,” Blythe said.

  “He’s our son,” Liz said proudly, looking over at Claire and obviously not seeing the strained look on her face.

  Blythe could see it. She was trained to notice gestures and facial cues. Fuck. Now we have to investigate this couple as suspicious whether we like it or not. She eagerly accepted the cell phone again as Liz found a more recent photo to show off. Proud parents with a terrible secret. Whether they both realized it or not.

  *

  There was a part of Daryl that wanted to leave the dinner party and run back next door to get the DDU team online. She wanted them to check into the backgrounds of both the Building Block agency and the one that had taken its place. She wanted to find out more about the supposed adoptions taking place of abandoned children. Was this how it worked? Were false papers drawn up to say these kidnapped babi
es had been left unwanted so that their adoption could be more easily facilitated? She also wanted to get Claire in a room on her own and question her until she broke. Daryl had caught how nervous she got when talking about Justin’s adoption. She’d looked even more uncomfortable whenever Liz spoke up, but Daryl had seen none of the same subterfuge in Liz’s demeanor. She wanted to lean on Claire a little harder to see what she was hiding. Apparently, from her partner as well.

  There was a loud chime at the dining table and everyone looked up. Liz waved her phone sheepishly.

  “Sorry. I asked the babysitter to let me know how Justin was doing at eight o’clock. He has a habit of waking up wanting something to drink, and then the little monkey thinks he can stay up and play for another hour. He’s being a terrible two-year-old, testing his limitations.” She checked her phone and held it up for everyone to see. A photo of a sleeping little boy in pajamas covered in fish was on display.

  “May I see?” Daryl asked and was handed the phone. Daryl’s gaze went to the screen, and she felt the familiar weight descend on her shoulders. Her vision sharpened and narrowed in on the photograph. So there you are. Daryl was grateful to reconnect with her Intuitive state. Now tell me something I don’t know, powers of mine. I know this is Matthew Malone, I know where he is, and that he’s safe and loved. But where are the others and what is going on here? The pressure eased from her leaving Daryl smiling at the sleeping child. “He looks so peaceful,” she said then looked closer. “And his pj’s are seriously cool.”

  “He loves fish, which is why we think he was drawn to the pond that time.” Claire leaned toward Daryl. “We need to thank you again for what you did that day. He’s sleeping safe in his bed tonight because of you.”

  “I was just the first to get to him. I’m really glad he’s obviously no worse for what nearly happened.”

  “He now thinks he can fly,” Claire muttered, shaking her head. “Thankfully, he’s still too small to climb up the furniture to launch himself off it.”

  “So far,” Liz interjected.

  “True,” Claire said. “I swear he’s fearless. But he must have a guardian angel watching over him because we had only looked away for a second and he was at the pool ready to fall in.”

  “And you saved him.” Liz’s voice wavered and Daryl was horrified to see tears start to well in both Liz’s and Claire’s eyes. “How can we ever repay you?”

  Daryl’s detective brain began compiling questions, but she held them back. She wanted desperately to ask who had helped them get their hands on a stolen baby.

  “You don’t owe me a thing. I was just doing…” Daryl felt Blythe’s hand tighten on her leg. “What oddly came naturally,” she finished, slipping her own hand under the table to pat Blythe’s. I wasn’t going to give myself away. She smiled at Blythe and then over at Liz. “Guess someone up there felt I needed to get some parenting practice in. Starting with a crash course in ‘never taking your eyes off them.’”

  Mia took a long drink from her wine glass. “Once again, I’m glad Niki and I didn’t have children. I swear she’d end up barbequing them.”

  Niki rapped on the table to catch their attention. “Are you sure this is really what you want in your life? Sleepless nights, endless crying, screaming, and I’m not talking about just the baby here.”

  Daryl and Blythe looked at each other then around the table. “Hell yes!” they said in unison. Startled, they laughed at each other. Daryl loved how that felt. She’d never had such a connection with another woman before.

  “Then I think this calls for wetting the baby’s head.” Niki got up from the table and returned with a new bottle of wine.

  “But we haven’t gotten a baby yet,” Blythe pointed out.

  Niki paused in mid pour over Daryl’s glass. “You’re both young, good-looking, wealthy and live in Cranston Heights. What’s to stop you from fulfilling all your dreams here?”

  Daryl was beginning to wonder the very same thing.

  Chapter Twelve

  Seated in the fancy new office of the Chicago Deviant Data Unit, Detective Rafe Douglas was reviewing a file when her partner, Detective Dean Jackson, shot up from his seat, startling her.

  “What the fuck?” She looked up and saw the reason for his speedy departure from his desk. Ashley Scott stood in the doorway, bearing gifts that Dean was already making himself welcome to.

  “Hey, Detective, leave some for your boss,” Ashley said, shooing him away from the large tray of doughnuts she was carrying. She handed him a coffee then shifted around him to bring the rest over to where Rafe sat. Rafe accepted her coffee with a grateful smile at Ashley and took a large mouthful. The hot liquid burned her throat, but she drank again thirstily. “God, that’s exactly what I needed.”

  Ashley passed her a doughnut too. “You need to eat as well. You’re still too thin.” She ran her eyes critically over Rafe’s body.

  You haven’t had any complaints when I’m lying on you, Rafe thought with a wicked glint. Ashley spotted it and favored her with a “don’t you dare start” look back. Rafe made sure to stick her tongue out deliberately to slowly lick at the frosting on the doughnut. She was satisfied to see Ashley swallow hard at the sight. “With the amount of food you make me eat, I’m surprised I’m not a little butter ball.” She took a big bite from her treat for show. “Should I be suspicious of why you’re here bearing gifts?”

  “Can’t a woman come see her girlfriend at work and bring her and her partner frosted goodness?” Ashley eased a hip up on Rafe’s desk and leaned forward to steal a kiss.

  Rafe’s whole body warmed at the quick tease of a tongue that brushed along her lips to lick away any remnants of frosting. “I’m more than happy to see you, but you’re not supposed to be so distracting when I’m trying to work.”

  “I’m hoping to do more than distract, Detective. I’m looking to take you away from all this.” Ashley gestured to all the screens in the office with their displays of cases new and old. She then patted the files in Rafe’s in tray.

  “Take me somewhere?”

  Dean snorted into his coffee cup. “Douglas is going on a dirty weekend…” he singsonged under his breath.

  “Am I?”

  Ashley patted Rafe’s cheek. “Hold that thought, Detective. I’m here to hold you to your promise to take me to Connecticut.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes, sweetheart. You and I are going to visit an old friend.”

  “Connecticut?” Dean mumbled around yet another doughnut. “That’s hardly the most romantic of places to go.”

  “No, but I understand the nightlife is starting to get interesting,” Ashley said with an all too knowing look at Rafe.

  Rafe closed the file she had been looking through and placed it in front of Dean. “I’m going to see the boss for a few days leave. Keep the DDU running smoothly for me while I’m away.”

  Dean stared at the pile of paperwork before him. “Hey! You can’t just up and leave us like this!”

  Rafe was already getting her jacket on. “I’ll keep my cell phone on. You can call me if there’s a problem. Just think of me as working out of the office for a bit.”

  “I’ll bring her back in one piece,” Ashley said as she quickly hastened her steps to keep up with Rafe who was already at the door and ready to leave.

  Once outside and away from other ears, Rafe asked the question that had been brewing since Ashley had arrived. “What have you heard?”

  “There’s demon activity in the same area that a DDU undercover operation is happening.”

  “Does Blythe know you’re coming?”

  “No. I’m just unofficially checking out the area for my own investigation. I have no links to the DDU or their investigation at all.”

  “Yet,” Rafe said, knowing that their paths would have to cross sooner or later with Blythe and the kidnappings she was working on.

  “Yet. And her unit can’t be told there’s another investigation occurring in tandem. So
we’ve got to hope she doesn’t mind working with us for a while and keeping it quiet. Hopefully, we can keep this strictly business and not have to mention a demon connection if we’re lucky.”

  “And the actual chances of that?”

  “Slim to nonexistent, but I hold out for that wafer thin hope. After all, not everyone would take the mention of demons quite as well as you did after your invitation was extended.”

  “Yeah, the kind of invitation handed to me personally by a killer demon in human skin.” Rafe jabbed the elevator call button. “I didn’t even get a chance to RSVP with a ‘no thank you, leave me in ignorance, please.’”

  “Sorry, but some invitations are non-negotiable once you open it…or chase it down an alley in your case.”

  They stepped onto the elevator and Rafe selected the floor she needed to speak to the head of her department. “She’d better let me have this time off.”

  “Tell her the truth. You’re following a lead brought to you by a previous good source. That way, your back is covered should this all go to hell.” Ashley laughed at her own joke while Rafe just glared at her.

  “You’re not funny, Sparky,” Rafe whispered her own special nickname for Ashley. “What do we tell Blythe?”

  “That you were just passing through?”

  “Sure, I can see her going for that. I work in Chicago. I always take the scenic route through Connecticut on my way home.” Rafe needed a plan of action before blindly heading off out of state.

  “She can’t report to her team that a senior member of another DDU is also looking into this case. They’d wonder why they hadn’t been told. We’ll just call her when we get there, arrange a meeting, and go from there. I know she’s your best friend, Rafe, but I need to know I can trust her with the information we know. Demons don’t come under a National Security heading.”

  Though they were alone in the elevator, Rafe still lowered her voice. “Are you really going to tell her about the possibility of demonic involvement in her operation?”

  “Let’s see what I find when I can have a look around for myself.”