“Hello?” She felt out of breath.
“Hello. My name is Maggie McFarland. I’m returning a call from Kit Burke.”
Kit’s hand tightened on the receiver. She started to tremble and couldn’t stop. The woman who had just spoken to her could be her sister. It was a surreal moment. She sank down on the side of the bed because she was afraid her legs wouldn’t hold her up.
“This is she. Thank you for calling me back so fast, Ms. McFarland. I can imagine how busy you are, and I appreciate it.” Her mouth had gone dry, making it difficult to talk.
“No problem. The receptionist told me it was urgent.”
“It is.” Her eyes closed tightly for a moment. Go on, Kit. “A little over a month ago, my m-mother died,” she stammered. “Right before she passed away, she made a deathbed confession. If what she said was true, I have reason to believe I could be…Kathryn McFarland.”
She heard a gasp over the line and sprang from the bed once more. “I wouldn’t blame you if you thought this was a crank call, but I promise you it’s not, so, please, don’t hang up!”
Hot tears filled Kit’s eyes. “The last thing I want to do is bring more grief to you and your family. While I was looking up information on the McFarland family over the Internet, I came across the Kathryn McFarland Foundation Web site. That’s how I knew to contact you. For all our sakes, I need to meet with you to find out if what my mother said could possibly be true!”
There was a tension-filled silence before the attorney said, “Over the years, several women have come forward claiming to be Kathryn. However, you’re the first one to admit you’re not certain about it.”
“I’m not!” Kit rushed to assure her. “But after having a DNA test done that proved my mom wasn’t my biological mother, I have to find out if your parents could be my mother and father.”
“What did she say that makes you believe you could be my sister?”
“Mom said she and Frankie weren’t my real parents. She told me my great-great-great-grandfather was John McFarland, the Copper King. She begged me to go to Salt Lake, to my real parents, the McFarlands, and tell them who I am. Otherwise God would never forgive her.”
The silence was louder than any shocked cry.
“Are you willing to have a DNA test done?”
“I’ve already had one done and am carrying the results!” Kit exclaimed. “That’s why I’ve called you. My mother may have had some flaws, but I loved her and can’t comprehend that she, or the man I thought was my father, could have kidnapped me.”
“What about his DNA?”
“According to Mother, he left us before I was a year old. Maybe I was adopted. I really don’t know. Maybe I’m his child from another woman. Maybe not.” Her voice shook. “The thing is, if I thought for one minute they could have done anything that evil—for Mother to have lied to me all these years—I won’t have a moment’s rest until I learn the truth.”
“Do you know where my office is?”
“The McFarland Plaza on South Temple.”
“Yes. How soon can you get here?”
“I’ll take a taxi and should be there within a half hour.”
“My firm is located on the ground floor of the main complex.”
“I’ll find you. Thank you for being willing to meet with me. I’ve been living with this nightmare for over a month. I realize I shouldn’t complain when I know your family has endured years of pain. To be honest, I’m hoping and praying I’m not Kathryn, b-because that would mean my parents were monsters.”
She tried in vain to swallow a sob. “But that’s so selfish of me to say when I know all these years your family must have been praying for a miracle.” More tears trickled down her cheeks. “I can’t even imagine the joy it would bring them if it turns out I’m their daughter.”
“I’ll be waiting for you.” The other woman’s voice didn’t sound as steady as it had before. Emotions were running high on both ends of the line.
After they clicked off, the first thing Kit did was call Janene. Last night they’d talked for at least an hour before Kit had gone to bed.
“Janene?”
“How did it go with Mr. Cosgriff?” she blurted.
“It didn’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s on vacation and I can’t reach him. But it doesn’t matter. Everything’s changed. I just spoke with Maggie McFarland at her law firm, and told her I might be her sister. She’s waiting for me now.”
“Whoa.” After a pause, her friend said, “Don’t be surprised if the police and FBI are part of the reception committee.”
A surge of fresh adrenaline made Kit so nervous, she was ready to jump out of her skin. “I’m sure you’re right. It’s exactly what I’d hoped to avoid. If it hadn’t been for Cord, my first plan might have worked. But Richard McFarland was never around, and I didn’t want to involve Cord any further,” she whispered.
“I know,” her friend commiserated.
“I know you know. You must be sick of hearing me talk about him every minute.”
“Not at all. You’re in love. I have a hunch he is, too. You do realize he’s going to freak out when he finds out you stole away from the shelter without leaving a forwarding address.”
“Probably. Still, it’s better this way.”
“I’m not so sure about that. He might have a lot harder time forgiving you for running out on him than learning the real reason why you pretended to be homeless.”
“It’s too late to second-guess the situation now. I’m so scared, Janene.”
“Look, Kit—I know you’re terrified your parents might have kidnapped you. If it turns out they did, that’s the time to go for some professional counseling to help you cope. Until then, just wait and see what happens. You’re doing the right thing for everyone by dealing with it now.”
“I agree. To go another day without any answers doesn’t bear thinking about. I—I’d better get off the phone and ring for a taxi.”
“Call me as soon as you can and tell me everything.”
“Don’t worry. Thanks for being there for me, Janene.”
“I’ve cried on your shoulder so many times about Tony, it’s nice to return the favor. God bless.”
CORD’S POWERS of concentration weren’t what they should have been. After a night of tossing and turning at Maggie’s, he could hardly wait for the staff meeting to be over so he could walk back to the cottage and have that talk with Kit. If she refused to come to the door this time, he wouldn’t worry about invading her privacy.
He’d put Dwayne on alert. Should the gardener see her leave the grounds after breakfast, he was to call Cord directly. So far no call had come.
Because Cord had taken off the whole day yesterday, he had more business to take care of today than usual. Finally the head of catering stopped talking. It brought their meeting to a close.
Cord excused himself and headed for the cottage.
He knocked hard on her door so she couldn’t possibly claim she didn’t hear him. “Kit? It’s Cord. We have to talk.”
Prepared that she was wary of talking to him and might not choose to answer, he didn’t wait long before letting himself in with his own key. The door off the hallway was ajar. If she was in the shower, he would hear the water running.
“Kit? Are you decent?”
He put his head inside the bedroom. The bed was made. He walked into the room and did a quick inventory. It was bare of her things. No suitcase in the closet. No clothes in drawers. No note. Nothing. She’d fled the premises.
A blackness descended upon him.
Had she decided they’d gotten too intimate yesterday, so she’d disappeared on him before he could learn the name of the person she was looking for?
Why wouldn’t she confide in him? It didn’t make sense, not after they’d come close to making love yesterday. If the boys hadn’t been with them…
While he stood there debating where to look for her first, his cell phone ra
ng. He checked the caller ID.
“Gwen?”
“From the sound of you, I take it you already know about Kit Burke.”
He grimaced. “I just checked the cottage. She’s gone.”
“There’s a note on my desk. She called while we were in the meeting. Apparently she’s found another place to live, but wanted to thank me for letting her stay with us.”
She’d left a note, but not a word for him….
Her disappearance came as a crushing blow. “Did she leave a forwarding address?”
“No. She did say she would call again another time.”
Like hell.
What was she afraid of?
No matter what was going on, he had the gut feeling he would never see her again unless he did something fast to track her down. It was possible she’d left California for good and was headed somewhere else.
“Can you find out if she was at breakfast?”
“Sherry would know. I don’t think she leaves for work until ten. I’ll see if she’s still upstairs. Hold on.”
While he waited, he rummaged in the bedside table for the phone directory.
“Cord? I caught Sherry in time. She said Kit wasn’t at breakfast.”
“That means she must have left the grounds last night.” Right after she’d insisted on being dropped off. No wonder she hadn’t answered the door.
“What’s wrong? I’ve never heard you sound this upset before.”
“Your instincts were right about her, Gwen. She’s not what she seemed. In fact, I have proof she never bought a house in California.”
“Oh, dear.”
That was just for starters. “Kit has admitted she’s looking for someone and obviously thought they might be here. I have no idea what this is all about yet, but her disappearance proves she didn’t come here to ensnare me. It appears she doesn’t want me to know what she’s up to, but that’s too bad because I’m going to find her and learn the truth. If you hear anything, phone me!”
“Of course I will.”
Kit might have taken the bus to get away last night. That would have meant standing at the corner to wait.
On the chance that Mac had seen her, Cord phoned him, but his head security man couldn’t shed any light on the situation. He didn’t start patrolling the grounds until ten-thirty. Kit had to have slipped away from the cottage between ten and ten-thirty.
Since Cord couldn’t imagine her lugging that heavy suitcase all the way downtown, or whatever destination, he assumed she’d phoned for a taxi. Without wasting any more time, he called the dispatcher of every cab company listed in the yellow pages. There were twenty in all.
According to the people he called, it seemed 10:00 to 10:30 p.m. was the busiest time of night with people traveling to and from the airport, as well as to hotels and bars. Cord was almost ready to go another route when one dispatcher said a driver had picked up a fare on the corner of First Avenue and D Street around 10:20.
Cord’s heart skipped a beat. That was only two blocks from the estate.
The fare was dropped off at Ninth West and North Temple. That was in the same block as the Salvation Army, over on the west side of town.
At least Kit hadn’t gone to the airport. But she had a twelve-hour lead on him now, and could be anywhere.
He thanked the dispatcher and hurried out of the cottage to his Land Rover. Ten minutes later he pulled up in front of the Salvation Army shelter and made inquiries. To his chagrin, Annie, a volunteer who’d been working there for years, told him no woman by that name had stayed there last night, nor last Wednesday night.
“If she had money, maybe she slept at the motel across the street.”
It was a possibility. “I’ll check it out.”
“If a woman shows up using that name, I’ll get you on the phone.”
“Thanks for your help, Annie.”
“You bet.”
He left the building and got back in his car. A few minutes later he approached the desk clerk at the motel and asked him to ring Kit Burke’s room.
“Burke, you say?”
“Yes. Kit Burke, with an e. She checked in last night.”
“I wasn’t on duty. Just a minute and I’ll look on the computer.”
Cord held his breath while he waited.
“Yes. Here she is. I’ll ring her room.”
Bless you, Annie.
The older man started shaking his head. “She’s not answering. Sorry.”
“That’s all right. I’ll come back later.”
Once inside the car, he phoned Dwayne. “Kit Burke checked out of Renaissance House without telling anyone. She could be in trouble. I’ve discovered she’s staying at the Airport Comfort Motel across the street from the Salvation Army shelter, but I don’t know where she is at the moment.
“I’m in the parking lot watching for her, but there are forty units and I can’t guard all the entrances at the same time. Do me a favor and join me? I’ll keep driving around until you get here. Then we’ll split up to make certain we have the place covered.”
“I’m on my way. I’ll pick up some lunch for us on the way.”
“You’re reading my mind. Thanks, Dwayne.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
MARGARET MCFARLAND. Bankruptcy And Family Law.
Kit opened one of the two walnut-paneled doors off the complex foyer and walked inside the elegantly decorated law firm. The redheaded receptionist at the front desk glanced up.
“May I help you?”
“I’m Kit Burke. Ms. McFarland’s expecting me.”
“Go right in through the doors on your left.”
Holding her breath, Kit began the walk that would bring her face-to-face with a woman who might be her sister. She’d worn her favorite sage suit to make a favorable impression.
Because Kit had seen the McFarland family pictures on the Internet, she already knew what Margaret looked like.
The attractive, dark blond woman didn’t have the same advantage. She rose from her chair the second Kit entered the room and walked around her desk toward her.
Tall and willowy. Stylish in a light-blue, three-piece suit. That described Margaret McFarland. Her blue-gray eyes studied Kit with soul-searching intensity.
A quiet scrutiny took place on both sides. Neither of them was in a hurry.
Kit had traveled all this way in search of the truth. But no matter how long she studied the other woman, no matter how closely she examined each feature, she didn’t see or feel a connection.
“Genes don’t lie, Ms. McFarland. I couldn’t be related to you. We’re nothing alike.”
“No, we’re not. Call me Maggie. Please, sit down, Kit. Let’s talk.”
Realizing they weren’t related meant Kit’s parents hadn’t stolen her from the McFarlands.
The exquisite relief of knowing her mother hadn’t done such an awful thing left her feeling weak. She sank thankfully into one of the plush leather chairs to recover her equilibrium.
Only then did it dawn on her that Maggie McFarland had to be upset in the worst possible way. Kit wasn’t her kidnapped sister. The woman’s hopes had just been dashed.
It was so cruel. Their family’s suffering had gone on far too long. When would the pain ever stop for them?
The other woman returned to the seat behind her desk. “As soon as I hung up with you, I called the authorities. An FBI agent is outside waiting to talk to you. Because of the seriousness of the situation, everything you say to me is being recorded.”
Kit nodded. “I understand. In truth, I’ll be glad to finally talk to someone in the FBI. Maybe they could tell me how to track down the man who supposedly was my father. With Mother gone, he’s the only one who might be able to shed any light on my birth. That is, if he’s still alive.”
“Why don’t you start from the beginning,” Maggie invited. “Give me your history first. Name, age, address, phone, work record, schools attended, names and addresses of relatives, friends. Try to include as many detai
ls as you can. We’ll go from there.”
Kit didn’t hear censure in Maggie’s tone. In fact, the other woman exuded unexpected warmth. Kit found it remarkable considering the terrible crime had been committed against her family. Until it was solved, the McFarlands’ lives would never be the same, yet they’d chosen to go on living in ways that helped thousands and thousands of people.
As for Kit’s true origins, who knew how long it would take to unravel the mystery?
Once she’d given Maggie her general information, she launched into the story her mother had told her right before she died. There was a lot of ground to cover. Time passed, yet Maggie seemed in no hurry. She was interested in everything and kept asking questions about Kit’s life, starting with her first childhood memories.
Kit was honest about everything except for one thing. She didn’t mention that she’d been staying anywhere other than a motel since her arrival in Salt Lake. Right now it didn’t seem relevant. If pressed, Kit would admit she’d wormed her way into Renaissance House in the hope of meeting Richard McFarland.
With hindsight she realized that if she’d phoned Maggie first, there would have been no cause to omit anything.
But then she wouldn’t have met Cord.
Cord.
As soon as she got back to the motel, she would phone him and tell him the truth. Then it would be up to him if they ever saw each other again.
She opened her purse. “Here’s the research I’ve already done at the Salt Lake Library. Before I phoned you, I wanted to see if my parents might have lived in Salt Lake years ago and had relatives here I didn’t know about. And these are the pictures of my mom. I only have one showing my father with her. It’s all there, including my birth certificate and the results of the DNA tests.” Kit placed everything on the desk.
Maggie cast her a speculative glance. “We’ve been at this a couple of hours. Why don’t you freshen up while I have some lunch brought in.”
“That would be wonderful. I couldn’t eat this morning. Thank you.”
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