Little Girl Found

by Jo Leigh

  Chapter Seven

  Hailey woke up before Megan, which worried her. Megan had always been an early riser, and with all the sleep she’d had yesterday she surely wasn’t tired. But she was scared and bewildered, and Hailey had the feeling that her body was trying to protect her by making her rest. Things would go back to normal when…

  When would things go back to normal? Never, for Megan, and quite possibly never for Hailey, either. Because she’d made her decision last night. She was going to keep Megan. Adopt her, if it was at all possible. But even if it wasn’t, Hailey wasn’t going to budge. As long as Megan didn’t have a loving relative, Hailey would do whatever she had to to keep the little girl with her. To help her through this horrible loss and then help her grow up. Being single wasn’t the best way to parent, but loving Megan would make up for a lot.

  Of course, she’d have to convince Jack that she was doing the right thing. That would come later, though. Today, she just wanted to make sure Megan was safe. How she was going to accomplish this wasn’t clear yet, but with Jack’s help they’d find a way.

  She got up from the couch and went to the kitchen. She put on a pot of coffee, then turned back to the living room. Megan, wrapped in her quilt, was fine for the moment. It didn’t sound as if Jack was up yet. She’d be back before anyone noticed.

  First, though, she needed a key to Jack’s apartment. She tiptoed down the hall and opened his door a smidge, just so she could sneak a quick look. He was sound asleep, his covers kicked off and the pillow on the floor. That must have been some rough night. She should never have gone in, never have tried to help. It was clear she’d just made things worse.

  She crept inside and spotted his wallet and keys on top of the dresser. Very cautiously she picked up the keys, then tiptoed out of the room again, closing the door behind her.

  She went back to the living room and put on her jacket over his pajamas, then slipped on her shoes and went outside. It was cold, close to freezing, and the sky was gun metal gray. Nothing stirred. No birds, no cars, nothing. She locked the door behind her, then hurried down the walk to her apartment, the feeling of being watched terribly acute and terribly frightening. She tried to convince herself that it was nonsense, but she didn’t relax again until she was in her own apartment with the dead bolt snugly in place.

  Breathing easily again, she headed for her room. She wanted to gather some clothes together, and she wanted to shower. She’d been thinking about going to Galveston, to her parents’ summer place. On the way, she could go to the mall and buy Megan some clothes and toys. They could stay out at the island until things calmed down. Until someone found Roy’s killer.

  She took off her jacket and pushed open her bedroom door, thinking about what she’d pack. She wasn’t sure how long she’d be gone, but a few well-chosen pieces would work. There was a washer and dryer at the Galveston place, so that wouldn’t be a problem. The only thing that might be a problem was her work. She’d take her laptop, but there was only one phone line out there. Not the worst thing in the world, but inconvenient.

  It took her a few moments to gather up her clothes for today. Jeans, a sweatshirt, thick socks. Then she headed for the shower.

  Her mind raced as she turned on the water. She needed to shave her legs. Normally she skipped that little chore during the winter.

  About to take off the pajamas, she saw a shape out of the corner of her eye. A big hulk of a man with no face. He lunged for her and she fell forward, bracing herself on her hands at the last second. The hot water from the shower stung her face and drenched her back.

  Just as she struggled upright, he hit her on the back of the neck, hard, and she cried out, forced down once more. She groped for something, anything, to defend herself. Her hand touched the edge of her safety razor.

  He grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up as if she were nothing more than a child. It was then she realized he had a ski mask on. His dark hooded eyes and his fleshy lips were all that were visible. It wasn’t the man from last night. This one was harder, stronger. And about to kill her.

  “Where is she?”

  “Who?”

  He turned, taking her with him, and she grabbed the shower door to stop him, but he ripped her away with no effort at all. Tightening her grip on the razor’s shaft, she waited until he started to put her down, then turned with all her fury and slashed at the face mask.

  He jerked back, avoiding the razor, and grabbed her wrist. The force of his hand made her scream again, and with all her strength and all her will, she brought her knee up right into his crotch, slamming him with everything she had.

  He let go, howling as he bent over. She ran out of the bathroom straight to the door. The lock wouldn’t open. Her fingers shook too much. She tried and tried, listening to him leave the bathroom…reach the living room…come at her fast.

  Finally the dead bolt clicked open and she ran outside, trying to shut the door behind her. No good. He was already there. Two steps, one step behind her.

  “No!” she screamed, and stopped dead. Then, “911! 911!” she screamed, as loudly as she ever had or ever would.

  She brought her hands up, curling them into tight fists, just as she’d learned in self-defense classes. She braced her feet, prepared to slam the base of her hand right in his face—right at his nose.

  But then the door to her left opened. “What on earth—?”

  “Help me, Gary. Call the police!”

  “I’ve got a gun!”

  “Get it!”

  Her attacker froze. She could see his dark eyes look her up and down, then look at the slightly open door of her neighbor’s apartment. The bastard obviously didn’t care to find out if Gary really did have a gun, because he turned and ran down the walkway, past her apartment, to the stairs at the far end of the complex. She thought about following him, but she wouldn’t have caught him. Not in her bare feet. Not in Jack’s pajamas.

  “Hailey, my God!”

  She looked at her neighbor, Gary Daggett, still standing behind his door. “Thank you,” she said, her voice shaky and breathless.

  “Who was he?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well, the police will find him.”

  She nodded, then realized what was about to happen. The police were coming. They’d find Megan. They’d take her away. Hailey bolted toward Jack’s apartment and banged on the door. She’d left the key in her place of course.

  It was Megan who let her in. The girl’s eyes widened dramatically as soon as she got a load of Hailey’s wet hair and bare feet.

  Then a masculine voice came from behind Megan. “What the hell?”

  She looked up. Jack stood in the hallway, staring at her. He was still in his pajamas, his hair a mess, his chin dark with stubble. She wanted to tell him what had happened, but she couldn’t. Her mouth didn’t work. All she seemed to be able to do was shiver.

  Jack headed for her, his concern growing with each labored step. When he reached her, he dropped his cane, putting both hands on her arms. “What happened?”

  She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Jack pulled her close, wrapping his arms tightly around her. She clung to him, trying to get a grip. They had to hurry and leave. There was no time.

  “Was it the same guy?” he asked, his voice so close to her ear she jumped a little.

  “No,” she said, finally managing to speak, even though she didn’t sound like herself. “Someone else.”

  “Did you get a look at him?”

  “Mask. He had on a ski mask.”

  “Did he hurt you?”

  That did it. The tears of fear and relief and God knew what else pooled in her eyes and ran down her face.

  “Oh, jeez, he hurt you,” Jack said, pulling back to look at her.

  She shook her head. “No, I’m fine,” she said, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of his pajamas. “But we have to go.”

  “Go?”

  “I have a place. We have to get her out of here.”


  He looked at Megan, then back at Hailey. “What happened?”

  “I’ll tell you in the car. Just please, go pack. I’ll get Megan ready.”

  “What about you?”

  “I don’t think he’s in my apartment now. We’ll go back together and I’ll put some things in a suitcase. I left your keys there, and mine, too.”

  “Okay,” he said. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  “No, I’m not. But I will be once we get out of here.”

  Jack hesitated another moment, his concern making the lines bracketing his mouth seem deeper. But he let her go, got his cane and headed for his bedroom. She turned her attention to Megan, picking her up and taking her and her pillowcase of things into the bathroom. Grateful beyond all measure that Jack hadn’t argued with her. That he’d listened to her urgency and adopted her plan in an instant. She’d expected something else. An argument. A dismissal.

  It only took them twenty minutes to get everything together. Hailey went without her shower and put on yesterday’s clothes. She’d bathe at the beach house. Her example made Jack skip his shave, although he took a mug of coffee with him.

  She led them to her apartment, which was open of course. Jack made her wait while he went inside first, his cane in his left hand, his gun in his right. It was a frightening few minutes, waiting for him to come back. Hailey hadn’t understood real fear before this.

  But in the past two days she’d had more than her fair share. Megan, the poor thing, was fussy, probably because she’d picked up Hailey’s nervousness.

  Jack finally came back to the front door and gave her the all clear. She put Megan down, rushed inside and grabbed the two sets of keys. When she returned to Jack, she said, “Take her down, please. I have a van, the blue one, at the corner of the parking lot. You know where that old mattress is? Behind the pillar?”

  Jack nodded as he lifted his duffel bag and put the strap over his shoulder. “I know where it is. But I don’t want to leave you here.”

  “I know. But I’ll only be two minutes. I’ll be down before you have a chance to unlock the car.”

  He shook his head. “Someone might be down there. You keep Megan with you.”

  She shivered as his point hit home. “Okay.” Then she smiled as brightly as she could and took Megan’s hand. “Come on, sweetie. We’re going to pack.”

  “I want to go home,” she said, pulling on Hailey’s hand. “I want my daddy.”

  “I know you do, honey,” Hailey said. Every part of her wanted to hurry, to ignore Megan and pretend that it didn’t matter. But she couldn’t. She crouched down so Megan could look her in the eyes. “I know you want to go home, but I have a very special favor to ask you.”

  Megan, frowning, hugging Tottie to her tightly, didn’t answer. But she didn’t say no, either.

  “I have to go to the beach. Have you ever been to the beach?”

  Megan shook her head.

  “It’s very beautiful there. With lots of seashells to pick up and sand castles to build. I was hoping you would come and keep me company. Would you like to do that?”

  Megan stared at her for an impossibly long time, and it was all Hailey could do to keep still. She could hear Jack’s uneven footsteps as he headed toward the back stairs, and behind that, faintly, she heard a siren.

  “What do you say, Megan?”

  “All right.”

  “Wonderful! Now, here’s the trick. We have to pack lickety-split. It’s a race! Will you help?”

  Before Megan’s head stopped bobbing, Hailey was on her feet, lifting Megan into her arms. She rushed inside, straight back to her bedroom and set the girl down on her comforter. “You stay right there,” she said.

  Moving faster than she ever had in her life, Hailey got her suitcase open and dumped her clothes inside. Underwear, pajamas, socks, sweats. She was indiscriminate in her hurry. She got sweaters and sweatshirts from the closet, another pair of shoes and some slippers. Then she forced the suitcase closed and hoisted it off the bed. Before she left her room, she grabbed her laptop and her purse.

  The siren was really near now, so she ignored her toiletries. There were plenty of drugstores in Galveston, so whatever she didn’t bring, she’d buy. Urging Megan along, she carried the suitcase, computer and purse to the front door, then outside. It took her another minute to lock up, and then she practically ran down the walkway, ignoring the weight of her belongings. Megan trotted right behind.

  They made it to the bottom of the stairs just as a police car turned into the parking lot. Without looking behind her, Hailey ran toward the van. Jack was behind the wheel, the engine was running and the side door was open. She threw her suitcase in, followed by the laptop and, finally, Megan. She buckled the little girl into her car seat, then closed the door behind her. “Go,” she said.

  Jack hit the gas, knocking her sideways into the backseat. But she wasn’t hurt. Just grateful that they’d made it. That the police hadn’t seen them leave. That she was alive.

  “Where am I going?” Jack asked.

  “To I-45. Galveston.”

  “What’s there?”

  “My parents have a summer place.”

  He nodded, turning onto Bellaire, toward the freeway.

  She looked at him, gaining strength from his composure. He acted as if this was just a ride around the block. Maybe for him it was, but for her? She didn’t have whatever it took to wave off the kind of morning she’d just been through. No one had ever tried to hurt her before. And she’d certainly never imagined that she’d run from the police, instead of to them. She climbed into the front seat and fastened her seat belt. “Jack?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I was right, wasn’t I?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The police are involved.”

  He glanced over, his features still calm and steady. No reaction. And no denial.

  “You should have told me to wait back there. You should have been on the phone to the police yourself. But here you are.”

  The corner of his lip lifted in a small sardonic grin. “Here I am.”

  “So what’s going on?”

  He shook his head.

  “Come on, Jack. I think almost getting killed twice gives me the right to know.”

  He glanced back at Megan, which made Hailey look back, too. The little girl sat staring out the window, holding on to her doll and her blanket, sucking her thumb. She looked achingly small and helpless.

  “I don’t know what’s going on,” he said, keeping his voice low. “Not for sure.”

  “What do you think?”

  He pulled behind a garbage truck at a signal, the traffic heavy even at this early hour. “I saw what happened,” he said. “And I’m pretty damn sure there was an unmarked vice car involved.”

  “You mean…?”

  He nodded. “I don’t know who it was. Or if I’m even right.”

  “But what Nichols did yesterday gives your theory some credence.”

  “Yeah, it does.”

  She sat back, her gaze fixing on the yellow Volkswagen next to the van. The woman behind the wheel was putting on mascara as she drove. “So what are we going to do?”

  “I’m going to get you two settled at this house in Galveston. And then I’m going to figure out exactly what’s going on.”

  “How?”

  “What do you mean, how? I’m a detective. My body might be shot to hell, but my mind still functions.”

  “Don’t get your shorts in a twist. I wasn’t implying anything.”

  “No?”

  “No. I’m curious. I want to know what you plan to do, that’s all.”

  He gave her another glance, then signaled his turn onto the Southwest Freeway. Once he’d made the turn, he ignored her until they were in the fast lane. “I don’t know what I’m planning to do,” he said. “I haven’t figured it out yet.”

  “Fair enough,” she said. “But, Jack?”

  “Yeah?”


  “You’re not going to leave us, are you?”

  “You’ll be fine.”

  The panic that had just started to ebb slammed back into high gear. “Oh, no. No, no. We will not be fine. We most definitely will not be fine.”

  “No one knows where you’re going.”

  “I wouldn’t care if we went to the moon. I can’t do this alone, Jack.”

  The only move he made was to look at the rear-view mirror.

  “You knocked on my door, remember?” she said.

  He still didn’t acknowledge her.

  “Jack? Really now, the least you could do—”

  “Hold on tight,” he said, his voice cutting into her like a knife. Then he turned the wheel sharply, sending the van careening toward the right lane, toward the exit ramp.

  The scream built up in her throat as she held on to the seat for dear life. When she was finally able to look behind her to check on Megan, she saw the white car behind them, obviously following. She heard the furious honks and the squeal of brakes. She saw that the man behind the wheel had on a ski mask.

  The van veered to the right, skidding out of control.

  The scream broke through.

  Chapter Eight

  When Hailey screamed, Jack realized he was scaring his passengers to death, but he had no choice. He swerved around a Saturn and then past an old clunker, easing up on the gas as he took the sharp left at the end of the off-ramp.

  Checking his rearview mirror, he saw the white car trying to make the turn, but the driver hadn’t had enough time to sufficiently slow the car and the turn went wide. Wide enough that he spun out. A rending crash interrupted the honking horns as Jack straightened the wheel. He ran through a yellow light, then turned into an alleyway, slowing the van as he dodged Dumpsters and empty boxes.

  At the end of the alley, he turned right, went a block, then turned left. The white car was nowhere to be seen.

  He glanced behind to check on Megan. She seemed okay. Scared, but not hurt. It was a good thing her doll wasn’t a little sister, though, because she held it by the neck so tightly he thought the thing would break.

  Then he checked on Hailey. Her hands still clutched the seat, her knuckles white with the tension. Her neck muscles were taut as bowstrings, and her eyes were wide open. But she didn’t seem hurt, either. “You okay?”