by Sharon Sala
Chapter 17
Mercy was fast asleep when her cell phone vibrated against her hand. She woke abruptly, saw who was calling, and quickly answered. “Hello?”
“Hey, honey. Just wanted to let you know all is well.”
She rolled over and then sat up against the headboard and pulled the covers around her waist. “You don’t sound like all is well.”
He was surprised by her perception. “I could have worded that differently. I’m physically fine, but the situation isn’t pretty.”
“As long as you aren’t in physical danger.”
“I’m not, but I have a runaway teenager who could be. All I can say is, I just got a dose of what foster parents can be like.”
“She was a foster child? Lots of fosters run away when they get older.”
“Oddly enough, she was their granddaughter. They were also foster parents. All this time I thought she was theirs.”
Mercy’s heart skipped a beat. “I had a set of foster parents like that. They weren’t mean to us physically, but we knew from the get-go that we were just a business.”
At that moment, it dawned on Lon that since she’d been in the system in Savannah, which is where the Rogers family lived at the time Kelly was born, that she might have known them. “What were their names?” he asked.
“Uh…Roberts…no, Rogers! Mr. Paul and Miss Betty. They had a daughter named Paula. She ran away. And talk about coincidences…I ran into her about a year or so ago in Savannah. I still see her now and then. We even went to lunch together…sort of talked about old times, you know? I was surprised she remembered me because I was just a kid at the time, but she said except for being taller, I looked the same.”
Lon’s pulse kicked. “Do you know where she lives now?”
“If she lives in the same house, I know how to get there, but I don’t know the address.”
“Do you know where she works?”
“She works from home. She dresses nice, but I don’t know what she does. Why?”
Lon’s imagination went straight to prostitution, and then he felt guilty for assuming that. Still, that wouldn’t be the environment Kelly Rogers needed, no matter how desperate she felt.
He thought about what he was going to ask, and then took a leap of faith. “Could you find the place?”
Mercy’s eyes narrowed. “Like, now?”
“Yes, like now. If I turn all of this over to the Savannah police, it could put a desperate teenager into the same system that raised you. I hate to ask, but—”
“I’ll do it. If Paula is still there, I can find it. But I can’t help you if she’s moved.”
“Fair enough,” Lon said. “Dress warm. It’s chilly tonight. I’m on my way right now.”
“I’ll be ready,” Mercy said.
She disconnected, then turned on the lights and began grabbing warm clothes. She could still hear the television downstairs, and heard Hope and Jack talking as she opened the door. She ran down the stairs and into the living room, carrying her leather jacket and a purse.
Hope heard her coming and looked over her shoulder. When she saw Mercy dressed, with a coat and her shoulder bag, she jumped up. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure,” Mercy said. “I’d asked Lon to let me know he was okay after he left in such haste, and when he called back to tell me all was well, he mentioned something about dealing with a couple who used to be foster parents. One thing led to another, and then something I said set him off. I’m not sure what’s happening, but I think a woman I know in Savannah might be connected to a missing teenager from Blessings. And the grandparents of the girl who’s missing were once my foster parents.”
“Good grief! What a convoluted scenario,” Hope said, and then she frowned. “He’s not taking you into a dangerous situation, is he?”
“I didn’t get that from the conversation. I think he’s trying to find the teenager before she gets caught in the system like we were.”
“Oh, right!”
“You can ask him yourself,” Mercy said. “He’s on his way to pick me up.”
“Why couldn’t you just give him the address of the woman you know?” Jack asked.
Mercy sighed. “Because I don’t know it, but I know how to get there.”
“I see lights coming up the drive,” Hope said.
“I’ll be fine,” Mercy said, and then grinned. “Don’t wait up for me. I have a key.”
A few moments later, they heard footsteps on the porch, and then a knock at the door.
Jack opened it.
Lon knew they were worried. He saw it on their faces. “You both know Kelly Rogers, right?”
Hope gasped. “That pretty little girl who works at Broyle’s Dairy Queen? She’s the one who’s missing?”
Lon nodded. “Mercy knows Kelly’s mother, who abandoned her newborn daughter and left her with her parents. I have good reason to believe that’s where Kelly went. I found two years of letters from Paula, Kelly’s birth mother, hidden in her room. They’ve been communicating all this time.”
“Good Lord,” Jack said. “I didn’t know Paul and Betty were her grandparents. I thought they were older parents, you know?”
“We need to go,” Lon said. “I promise, Mercy will be safe. I just need to find the mother’s house, if for no other reason than to assure myself that’s where Kelly went. If she’s not there, then we have a bigger problem on our hands.”
“Of course,” Hope said, and leaned back, eyeing Mercy with something close to disbelief. “Isn’t this something? It’s a true example of how everything in life comes full circle. My wreck brought us back together, and your life in foster care may be instrumental in finding a runaway child. Just be careful.”
“I’ll take care of her,” Lon said. “I’ll bring her home as soon as I can verify Kelly’s whereabouts. She’ll either be there, or she won’t.”
Mercy went out the door and down the steps to the car, with Lon’s hand in the middle of her back. He was the kind of man she’d dreamed of finding one day and hoped he felt the same way about her.
Hope felt anxious as she watched from the window until the taillights disappeared.
“She’ll be fine,” Jack said. “She’s going back to her stomping grounds, honey. She took care of herself for a long time on her own. She’s not alone anymore.”
“You’re right,” Hope said, and then turned as Duke walked into the room.
“I thought I heard a car drive off.”
“You did. The chief came to get Mercy. It’s a long story. I’m going to get a cup of coffee. If you care to hear the details, follow me.”
So he did.
* * *
Lon glanced sideways at Mercy. He’d wanted to spend time with her, but not like this.
“Are you worried?” he asked.
Mercy frowned. “About what?”
“I don’t exactly know what kind of environment we’re going into.”
“But I do,” Mercy said. “I was there before. Remember? It’s a nice part of Savannah, and it’s a house, not an apartment. I was only in the front part, but it’s spacious, and the furniture is elegant.”
“Really?”
She nodded. “I said I didn’t know what she did for a living, but I could see into her office just off the living room. There was a wall of books, a couple of computers, a printer, and a scanner…all the things you would see in any business office.”
Lon thought this might not be a bad deal after all. The more high-tech the world had become, the more people were able to work from home with minimal travel.
“We’re going to be late coming home,” Lon said.
“Good. Then I won’t have to go to Blessings with Hope and Jack.”
He frowned. “Well, that decision plays hell with the plans I had for my future.”
“What do you mean?” Mercy asked.
Lon took a turn in the road before he answered. He could tell her the truth, or tell a lie, and he’d never been a man to lie to anyone. “I like you, and I’m not counting that wild and glorious night we spent together. It’s still at the top of my ‘Best Things Ever’ list. But not wanting to go to Blessings doesn’t work into the plan where I become so irresistible to you that you can’t bear to be without me, because that’s where I live and work.”
Mercy eyed his familiar silhouette, his hands firmly gripping the steering wheel, remembering how they felt on her skin when they’d made love. She already looked forward to their long-distance texts and the fact that he’d cared about her safety. And she might not admit it to him yet, but that night they spent together was the touchstone for every man she’d met since. So far, none had measured up enough to keep. “Good. I like you too,” she said.
He took a deep breath. “I really like you.”
Her heart fluttered, almost missing a beat as she smiled. “I really like you too.”
He looked away from the road for just a second, but it was long enough to see the smile. A wash of relief settled the tension he’d been feeling as he looked back at the strip of highway lit only by his headlights. He wished to God he could park somewhere and hold her in his arms. Instead, they were on the search for a broken child. “I could easily fall in love with you,” he added.
She was silent for so long he got scared. He’d said too much too soon. Just when he started to apologize, she answered, “Besides sex, what would I need to do to make that happen?”
Lon was so relieved, he laughed out loud. “Just keep being you. We’ll table the sex until you say the word.”
“All I have to do is say sex, and you’re on board?”
He reached across the seat and took her hand. “You are so beautiful. But I love your heart and your humor even more. I’ll be on board with anything you choose, anytime, anywhere.”
“I can live with that,” she said.
“You mean you’re not going to brag about my heroic traits and handsome face?”
She grinned. “No.”
“How about the badge on my shirt and the gun on my hip?”
She laughed. “Not even that.”
“So…besides sex, what do I have to do to get a compliment from you?”
“You already did it.”
“Did what?”
“Cared that I was scared the night I was robbed. Cared whether or not I got home alive the day of Hope’s wreck. Stood up for me when those women called me names. No one ever did things like that for me before.”
Lon reached for her hand. “Knowing that hurts my heart. If you don’t quit me, I can promise I’ll never quit you.”
She shivered. That promise sounded too good to be true. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said softly.
And then his cell phone rang, and he had to turn her loose to answer. “This is Pittman.”
“Didn’t want to broadcast this,” Larry said. “Neighbors called in a ‘disturbing the peace’ on the Rogers. Howard Ralph is the deputy on duty tonight, so he took the call, and when he showed up, Paul Rogers took a swing at him. Ralph put him in handcuffs and was taking him to the cruiser when Betty started arguing with Ralph, telling him Paul hadn’t been hurting her and demanding Paul be released. And well, long story short, he brought both in and locked them up.”
“Fine. They can spend the night in lockup and bond out like anyone else.”
“What a mess. Stuff like this never happens when Avery is on duty.”
“Yes, it does, and you’re fine,” Lon said. “I’ll be back as soon as I verify this lead…and thanks for keeping this off the air.”
“You’re welcome,” Larry said.
Lon disconnected and then glanced at Mercy.
Now that they were on the interstate, the traffic was heavier. She stared at the brake lights of the trucker ahead, and he could tell by the set of her jaw she’d heard enough to resurrect some bad memories. “You okay?” he asked.
“She’s lucky she ran,” Mercy said.
“Who’s lucky?”
“That girl…Kelly. I wouldn’t have done what Paula did. I would have never run off and left my baby.”
“Did your mother run off and leave you?” he asked.
“I thought so until Hope found me.”
“So what happened to her?”
“Our father murdered her.”
Lon flinched. “Oh my God! Why?”
“She was a beautiful woman. He was jealous.”
“I don’t even know how to respond to such an atrocity,” he muttered.
This time she was the one who reached across the seat and clasped his hand.
They rode the rest of the way in silence. It wasn’t until they drove into the city limits of Savannah that he spoke. “Where do we go from here?”
Mercy leaned forward so she could read street signs and directed his route. Turn right. Turn left. First turn past this gas station. Take a left past an all-night Waffle House. When they took a turn that led into an opulent neighborhood, Lon was pleasantly surprised. “Paula Grimes lives in this area?”
“Yes. Nice, isn’t it?”
Lon nodded. Nice didn’t quite cover it.
They were in the antebellum neighborhood of Savannah. Elegant old mansions had big white columns stretching from the base of the verandah all the way to massive three-story balconies, like garter belts holding up the old girls’ stockings.
Mercy suddenly leaned forward. “Turn here!” she said, pointing to another three-story house in a color his daddy would have called “titty pink.” He was startled.
“The pink one?” She nodded. “Why would someone paint a mansion pink?”
“Because they can,” Mercy said.
He grinned as he turned up into the driveway and headed toward the house. “We’re going to wake up the household.”
When he parked and turned off the lights, Mercy reached for the door handle.
“You don’t need to go to the door with me,” he said.
Mercy paid no attention. “I’m the one who got you here. You might need me to get you in the door.”
“Does she carry a gun?”
“I don’t know,” Mercy said. “But I wouldn’t put it past her. She grew up in an environment as hard as mine. Obviously, she made better decisions than I did, or she wouldn’t be living here.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. She’s at least ten, maybe twelve years older than you are. So here goes nothing,” he said, and took her by the hand.
They walked toward the house and then up the steps onto the verandah, which triggered motion detector lights that bathed the front in bright white light.
Lon looked over the door, saw the security camera and a tiny red light beneath it, and knew it was recording. He took a deep breath and rang the bell.
A few moments later, they heard a woman’s voice over the intercom. “Identify yourself.”
“Chief Lon Pittman of the Blessings Police Department, and this is—”
“Mercy? Mercy Dane? Is that you?”
“Yes, Paula, it’s me. Chief Pittman really needs to speak with you.”
“Be right down.”
Lon arched an eyebrow at Mercy. “Thank you.”
She shrugged. “I told you I could get you in the door.”
They saw lights coming on inside the house as Paula Grimes made her way toward the foyer. They heard the beeps as she disarmed the security system and then the click of a lock before she opened the door.
The cop in him noted a marked resemblance to her mother, Betty, only younger and prettier, with dyed red hair and a trim figure beneath a pink silk robe and slippers.
“This is a strange time for a visit,” she said as she stepped aside f
or them to enter, then gave Mercy a hard look. “I am going to assume you have a really good reason for this?”
Lon immediately shifted the focus away from Mercy. “It’s not her reason, it’s mine, and I’m not going to waste words. I know all about the two years of communication between you and your daughter Kelly. Your parents have reported her missing. Officially, she’s a runaway, but I need to know if she’s in this house tonight. If she’s not, no one is going to rest easy for worrying about her. Even me.”
Paula’s eyes narrowed. “What happens if she is? Would she have to go back to my parents’ house?”
“Well, at the moment, they’re both in jail for disturbing the peace and attacking one of my deputies. Is she here?”
All of a sudden, they heard footsteps, and then Kelly Rogers came into the foyer wrapped in a fuzzy pink robe and oversized slippers. “I’m here. Don’t be mad at Paula.”
Paula opened her arms. Kelly slid into the embrace like it was shelter from the storm within her life. “I told her she had to call them tomorrow,” Paula said.
“Well, if she’d called them tonight, I likely wouldn’t be here,” Lon said.
Kelly started to cry. “That was my fault. I begged for one night of peace.”
Paula held her daughter a little tighter.
“You two sure look alike,” Mercy said.
Paula smiled. “Blood will tell. I know there’s going to be a conversation here, so let’s all go into the library. I think there’s probably still some fire left in the fireplace.”
Chapter 18
Once again, Lon’s hand was in the middle of Mercy’s back as they followed Paula through the foyer, through an even wider arched doorway, and into a room filled floor to ceiling with books.
“Quite a collection,” Lon remarked.
Paula shrugged. “Some are as old as the house. Please have a seat. Can I get you anything to drink? A brandy maybe, to warm you?”
“No, thank you,” Mercy said.
“I’ll pass,” Lon added then turned his attention to Kelly. “I would like to hear, in your words, why you ran away today?”
Paula sat beside her daughter on a long, overstuffed sofa covered in butter-soft leather, and when Kelly wept, she pulled her close and held her hand. “You can do it,” Paula said. “Just tell them what you told me.”