Random Acts of Iniquity

by Christy Barritt

  “At least you found Kari.”

  He stepped back, his gaze darkening. “The fact that she was here as well as this guy . . . it makes me think they were working together.”

  I swallowed hard at the thought.

  “As soon as we have some resolution on this man who was inside, I’ll question Kari.”

  The minutes passed, and I could feel Chase’s thoughts turning. He wasn’t happy. The waiting was killing him.

  But I knew he didn’t want to leave me again, and I appreciated the sentiment. I didn’t want to be left.

  Finally, another officer appeared. This time, he held something in his hands.

  It was a mask.

  My knees went weak when I saw it. It was the man’s. It was definitely the man’s.

  “He must have taken off his disguise and walked right out into the public,” Chase muttered, opening an evidence bag he’d grabbed from his trunk. “We need to check the cameras in the area. Certainly someone saw something.”

  “I’ll get right on that, sir.”

  But I had little hope they would discover anything. This guy was too good. Too smart and too determined.

  Chapter Twelve

  I sat in the employee lounge at the police station while Chase and Wilson interrogated Kari. I wanted to be in there. I wanted to hear what she was saying. But I knew there were professional boundaries that needed to be kept, and I tried to be respectful.

  But I kept replaying what had happened in the warehouse. If Doll Man had wanted to, he could have killed me today. I’d been an easy target.

  So why hadn’t he? Did he want me alive for some reason? Had his goal been to abduct me again?

  Nothing made sense.

  My heart pounded. Someone had brought me some coffee, but the liquid turned my stomach. I left the cup on the magazine-littered table beside me. It didn’t matter—the drink was now cold.

  Finally, Chase stepped into the lounge and met my gaze. “Come with me.”

  I followed him into his office. He sat down in a chair in front of his desk, and I took the one beside him. My stomach churned even harder as I anticipated what he might tell me.

  “I don’t believe Kari Harling has anything to do with what happened to you this week,” Chase started.

  “But that man was there.”

  “I know. I know how it looks. But I believe that this man is somehow monitoring us. I believe he knew we were going there, and he was waiting for us.”

  “How would he do that?”

  “That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”

  I rubbed the skin between my eyes, trying to ward off a headache. “What did Kari say?”

  Chase stood and grabbed a bottle of water from a cabinet behind him. “She said she’s basically homeless. She’s been staying there for a few months. She said she’s never seen that man before. She actually shuddered when she looked at the mask.”

  “She’s a great actress,” I reminded him.

  “I know.” He paced back over toward me.

  I glanced at my hands. I’d picked all my pink nail polish off over the past couple days, and now my nails looked ragged and very unlike me. I supposed it fit my emotional state right now, though.

  “I just don’t understand all of this,” I whispered.

  Chase sat back down beside me, holding his water. He looked exhausted. Why hadn’t I noticed that before? This was all wearing on him also.

  “I don’t either, Holly. But we’re trying to find answers. I promise you that.”

  I raised my head. “Can I talk to her?”

  He took a long sip of his drink before saying, “When Wilson is done with her. She’s here willingly. We haven’t charged her with anything.”

  “Okay.” As the word left my lips, the door burst open. Jamie stood there, wide eyes full of panic.

  Her shoulders slumped when she saw me.

  “You’re okay,” she muttered, leaning against the door.

  “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

  “I got a text from you. It said that someone was trying to kill you and that I needed to get to the police station right away. That your life depended on it.”

  I exchanged a look with Chase.

  It was the man again. He was playing more games.

  When would this end? Or would it only be over when I was dead?

  * * *

  Jamie left an hour later, after we’d convinced her that I was okay. Though she’d known my phone had been stolen, she feared I’d gotten a new one and sent that message. Either way, she wasn’t taking any chances. Like any great friend, she’d been determined to check on me.

  What a disaster.

  Thankfully, I was cleared to talk to Kari about that same time. Since Kari wasn’t officially a suspect, there was less red tape to cut through. The police let me into the interrogation room, and I sat across from her. No one else was in the room with us.

  She looked like a shell of the person I’d first met. When she’d shown up at my door initially, she’d reminded me so much of me. Same haircut. Same lilt in her voice.

  Right now, her hair was a darker brown than mine and appeared dull and tangled. Dark circles hung beneath her eyes.

  Chase had said he’d come in with me, but I wanted to talk to her alone. I needed her to open up to me.

  I wanted to know why she’d played me. Why we had markers in our DNA that proved we were somehow related. There was so much that didn’t make sense.

  “Long time no see,” I started, lacing my fingers together on the table.

  Kari averted her gaze to the floor. “I know.”

  I thought I was going to be tough and that all the righteous anger I felt toward her would be put to good use. Instead, I just felt sorry for the woman. Maybe I was too kind-hearted for my own good. I had been told that before.

  “Who are you?” I asked. “Is Kari Harling even your real name?”

  She shook her head. “It’s Kari Leblanc, officially.”

  The new last name didn’t ring any bells. “Why did you track me down and target me?”

  She shrugged, her gaze still downcast. “It’s a long story.”

  “I have time.” I had nothing but time right now.

  She let out a long breath and rubbed her cheek. She seemed to have aged a decade since I’d seen her. “I used to be kind of normal. Like you. Then my mom died, and my life was turned upside down, to say the least.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “My grandma filled in since my dad was a no-good louse. Before she died, Grandma admitted that she’d had a son she gave up for adoption shortly after he was born. She said she was poor and didn’t have much money. And she wasn’t married, which at the time was especially taboo.”

  “Okay.” I wasn’t sure where Kari was going with this, but she had my attention.

  “I’d given a baby up also, and I regret it every single day. It got me thinking about my grandmother’s firstborn son—my dad’s brother. It became my life’s mission to track him down. I wanted to know how he turned out. If he was okay. If my baby would be okay.”

  “And?” Kari’s story was compelling and had sucked me in. But I needed to remain unemotional. I had to remind myself of that fact over and over again.

  She shrugged. “And I found out that my uncle was Herbert Paladin.”

  I sucked in a breath. I’d suspected that was where this was going, but I wasn’t ready to believe it. Her uncle was my father. I’d discovered my dad was adopted, but I didn’t know any details about his birth family.

  I couldn’t take her word for it, though. “How did you track him down? It was a closed adoption.”

  Kari shrugged, like it was all in a day’s work. “I’m from a small county in West Virginia. I was able to find the nurse who helped deliver the baby and secure the adoption. I kept connecting the dots until it led me to your family. However, I found out that my uncle had died. And then I got scared.”

  “Scared of what?” Now she wasn’t making sense.r />
  “Scared of how you all would react. Scared of what doors I might be opening up. So instead, I started to watch you. I became jealous. You had the life I’d always wanted.” Her voice caught with a new emotion.

  “Me?” I squeaked.

  “Yes, you. You had the handsome boyfriend. Two of them, kind of. A close-knit family. A nice home. A good career.”

  “What was your family like?” I needed more information so I could paint a complete picture. I needed to put aside Holly Anna Paladin, the scorned woman, and tap into Holly Anna Paladin, the counselor.

  “My dad liked to drink too much. He couldn’t hold down a job. We were on welfare. It wasn’t exactly a happy childhood.” Each word was edged with bitterness.

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  She looked up, her gaze filled with . . . envy? Admiration? Jealousy? “Then I saw you, and I . . . well, I wanted to be you. I got my hair cut. I got a job that didn’t pay much, but it did allow me to buy some clothes. I even applied to go to UC and got accepted.”

  “And then you decided to introduce yourself to me . . .” My throat tightened as I was reminded of the betrayal.

  “That’s right. I worked up the courage. But I couldn’t bring myself to tell you who I really was. I chickened out.”

  “I believe you—up until this point of the story. Kari, in case you don’t remember, when we first met, you sent me on a wild goose chase. You told me my father’s birth family was a group of people who were actually unrelated to my father. Plus, there are a million other things that don’t make sense.”

  She pushed her hair behind her ears, her eyes welling with moisture. “I know. It’s complicated, like I said. But when you’re desperate for food and money, you’d be surprised the things you might do.”

  She wasn’t getting off the hook that easily. “I tried to help you. I let you stay in my house.”

  “I know but—”

  Before she could answer, someone banged on the window. The door opened, and Wilson stepped in. “I hate to cut this short, but we need to use this room. Ms. Leblanc, you’re free to go. We’re not charging you with anything—this time.”

  She stood quickly and nodded equally as fast. “Thank . . . thank you.”

  Disappointment swelled inside me. I’d hoped for more. But maybe we could continue this conversation later.

  As I stepped with Kari into the hallway, I turned toward her, more questions filling my head. “Where will you go tonight?”

  She shrugged. “Maybe back to the warehouse. It isn’t as bad there as you might think.”

  “You can’t go there.” I didn’t trust the woman, but I couldn’t stand the thought of her living on the streets.

  “Like I said, it isn’t as bad as you think. It’s warm. I have a little bed. It could be a lot worse.”

  I frowned. I couldn’t ask her into my own home. Not after everything that had happened. But I knew I had to do something.

  “Chase and I will drive you to a motel, and I’ll pay for you to stay there,” I announced, my voice leaving no room for argument.

  I wouldn’t give her cash. I didn’t trust her enough. But I would pay for her room myself.

  “You don’t have to do that.” She shook her head and stepped back, her actions jerky and uncertain.

  “I want to and, in return, I want to talk to you more. I need more answers.”

  Kari stared at me a moment as if contemplating her choices. Finally, she nodded. “Okay then. Thank you.”

  Maybe I would finally have some closure . . . to this mystery, at least.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chase and I dropped Kari off at a motel located about five miles from my house. It wasn’t the nicest establishment in the area, but it wasn’t the worst either. It had doors that opened to the outside, free breakfast, and was in a decent area of town.

  Kari hadn’t said much on the drive there. I didn’t say much either. There would be time to talk later. In the morning, I would bring her some clean clothes so she could take off the dirty, ripped outfit she had on.

  I couldn’t be certain, but I thought I saw sincere gratefulness in her gaze as she’d told me thank you.

  I knew Chase wasn’t on board with any of this, but he’d supported me, saying very little throughout the whole process.

  “Listen,” he finally said once we were back in his car. “What do you think about staying at my place tonight?”

  “Your place? Really?”

  He shrugged. “I feel like your house has been compromised too many times. I’d feel better if you stayed with me.”

  “What about Jamie?” It was one thing to have her stay at my place. It was another thing to ask her to keep changing locations just so she could chaperone us. It seemed weird, and the thought of it made me uncomfortable.

  “She’s welcome to stay also.”

  “But if she can’t . . . we’re two adults, right? I mean, we’ll be okay on our own. With boundaries.”

  “Absolutely.”

  I offered a quick clipped nod, determined to make this work. I mean, I could stay at Ralph’s, but that was just weird. My mom wasn’t home. My sister had a baby in the house. I could stay at Jamie’s, but she had little brothers. I didn’t want to put anyone in danger.

  Chase made the most sense. I just had to come to terms with the history between us.

  “Okay,” I finally said. “That’s fine. I just need to swing by my place and get some clothes.”

  He reached into his glove compartment. “And this is for you.”

  I took the object he handed me. It was a phone. “When did you get this?”

  “I had one of my guys pick one up. Hopefully you’ll get your laptop back soon, as well.”

  “I’ve always said I didn’t love technology, so this has been a chance to get away from it all.” I tried to sound amused, but the truth was, it had been challenging.

  The other truth was that the idealistic version of myself was beginning to shrivel. I could feel it. And I didn’t know what to do about it. To let it die? To try and keep it alive?

  The good news was that I didn’t have to decide right now.

  * * *

  I glanced around Chase’s place as I stepped inside. His house looked just as I remembered. I hadn’t been here in a good six months.

  It was a total bachelor pad, and I would love to get my hands on the rooms and add a little warmth to them. But the simple decor fit Chase.

  “What did you think about my conversation with Kari?” I asked, putting my bag on the floor. I’d wanted to wait until we had some uninterrupted time before I asked him that question.

  I knew he’d been listening to everything on the other side of the glass.

  He let out a long breath. “It’s hard to say. It’s like you mentioned earlier—the woman is a con artist. You have to take everything she says with a grain of salt.”

  “If what she said is true . . . I have family members living in West Virginia whom I never knew existed.”

  “It doesn’t necessarily sound like they’re people you’re going to be clamoring to get to know.”

  I nodded in agreement. “How do I even go about proving any of this?”

  “It will require searching records, talking to people, maybe even some DNA tests.”

  “Maybe after this guy is caught . . .” I shivered. “I still can’t get past the fact that Kari and Doll Man were both in the same place at the same time.”

  “He could have followed her there. Followed us there, for that matter.”

  “How did he get past all those cops?”

  “There are several entrances to the building, but my guys also discovered a basement with a walkway connecting that building to another in the next lot. Both warehouses used to be owned by the same company.”

  “And what about Kari? Where was she when your guys swept the place?”

  “She’d hidden in a closet. She thought we’d left, and that’s when she came out. However, you and I were just b
elow her when she did, so we heard her.”

  I sighed. There was so much to comprehend.

  I glanced at my watch. I needed to call Sarah.

  My heart lurched as I thought about her. She was only fourteen, and she’d been my foster daughter for three months. She had Type 1 diabetes, and our time together had been challenging. But we’d bonded.

  Though I was rooting for her to be permanently reunited with her birth mom, there was a part of me that didn’t want her to either. But I knew that was selfish. I had to want what was best for her.

  I loved the girl dearly. Though I was glad she wasn’t here this week with everything that happened, I still missed her.

  My gut told me our time together was quickly coming to an end. The fact that she’d been approved to spend a week with her mom only solidified the sentiment. I knew the reality of foster care, but, still, the thought of her leaving was so hard.

  “Can you excuse me for a minute?” I asked Chase.

  “Of course.” He motioned for me to follow him down the hallway. He pushed a door open. “It’s not much, but you can sleep here tonight.”

  “Thank you.” I slipped past him, grateful for a safe place to stay, yet feeling all out of sorts. Maybe talking to Sarah would make me feel better.

  I could only hope so.

  Chapter Fourteen

  As soon as Chase closed the door, I dialed Sarah’s number. She answered on the first ring. “Hello?”

  “Sarah, it’s Holly. I have a new number.”

  “Holly! I almost didn’t answer. I’m glad I did. I’ve missed you.” Her voice rose with sweet innocence.

  My heart warmed as I lowered myself onto the bed. I’d missed that voice. “I’ve missed you too. How are things going?”

  “I love Orlando, Holly,” she said. “All the amusement parks are great.”

  Sarah’s mom had won a trip through one of the recovery programs she’d graduated from. “I’m so glad to hear that. You only have four more days until you come back to me.”

  “I know. I can’t wait. I mean, I’ll miss Mom when I’m back, but . . . I don’t know. It’s confusing.”