The Perfect Outsider

by Loreth Anne White

  He hesitated, and June saw him glancing over his shoulder. A small hatchet of panic struck her chest.

  “Did you take Dr. Black’s baby, Tyler? Is that who we can hear crying?”

  “No,” he said. “I took my baby.”

  Go easy, June—he could be delusional, thinking Rafe’s child is his.

  “Do you know where Dr. Black’s baby is, Tyler?”

  “It wasn’t his baby!” She saw he was shaking. And she thought she could see the glimmer of tears running down his face. “It never was his baby! Samuel Grayson’s men made me leave my own son at the police station so Chief Fargo could pretend it was Dr. Black’s boy.”

  Jesus.

  “Okay, Tyler, listen to me. I’m coming up.”

  “No! You’re not going to take my baby.”

  “I’m not going to take your son, Tyler.” June climbed up as she called out to the young man. “I want to help you both. I have a first-aid kit in my pack. I have water, food. Are you hungry, Tyler?”

  He nodded. As she got closer, June deduced Tyler was maybe in his early twenties—a very young father, if he was telling the truth.

  Where was the mother?

  June reached the slab of rock that jutted out in front of the cave and climbed up. Tyler shot a nervous glance into the dark space behind him.

  “Is the baby in there, Tyler? Do you mind if I call my friend and dog up? They can help.”

  Uncertainty crossed his face. His eyes were huge with fear, his skin bloodless. His shirt hung loose over a gaunt frame. He’d been trying to live in the wilderness for some time, thought June. She hoped the baby was okay.

  June signaled to Jesse and whistled for Eager, then she ducked quickly into the darkness of the cave. It was hot inside, the air still.

  The baby was lying on a wad of clothing. Silent now.

  Too silent. Her heart dropped

  “He’s fine,” Tyler said. “We just ran out of formula this morning. I go into town after dark and steal it from the day care—there’s a window that doesn’t lock.”

  The infant indeed had a good pulse. It wasn’t emaciated. And it was sleeping now, having cried itself out. June shot Tyler a glance.

  “Do you leave the baby here when you go thieving?” She shrugged out of her pack as she spoke.

  He hesitated. “I—I don’t know what else to do.”

  June cursed under her breath. “You’re lucky as the blazes. There are wild animals in these mountains. You—” June stopped. Tears were rolling down the young man’s face and he was shaking hard.

  She examined the infant in silence. There were no bruises, cuts. Its little limbs seemed fine. Emotion, relief burned into her own eyes as her adrenaline began to ebb.

  She gathered the baby boy into her arms and sat with him out in the sun on the plateau, just holding him for a while, Tyler watching.

  Jesse had come up onto the ledge with Eager. He stared at the baby boy, his features tightening. He shot a fierce look at Tyler.

  “I was scared,” Tyler said softly.

  “What’s the baby’s name, Tyler?” June said.

  “Aiden.”

  She felt blood drain from her head. Speech eluded her for several moments. When she spoke, her voice came out hoarse. “It’s a good name.”

  Jesse was watching her intently now. She knew he understood the significance—it was the name of her own dead son.

  “Where’s Aiden’s mother?” June asked, her voice thick.

  “She’s dead.” Tyler suddenly sank down onto the rock and clutched his arms around his knees, rocking slightly.

  Compassion mushroomed in June’s chest, along with a cool whisper of suspicion.

  “Tyler,” she said, “I’m going to ask you a question, and you need to trust me with the answer. You need to be honest. Are you a Devotee?”

  Fear, almost sheer terror, whitened his face.

  “I can help you if you are, Tyler. You won’t ever have to go back to Cold Plains.”

  “No police?”

  “Not the Cold Plains police.”

  “I’m not a Devotee, but my wife was.”

  “Aiden’s mother?”

  He nodded.

  “Tell us about her. Tell us what happened with Chief Fargo, and why you left Aiden on his desk.”

  He began to rock again.

  “Aiden’s mother’s name was Sally. We got married against Samuel’s will. We did it in Cheyenne. But we came back—we should never have come back.”

  “Why did you?”

  Tyler sniffed, rubbed his nose. “Work. I’m a mechanic, and I could get work in Cold Plains. We needed money. Sally still believed in Samuel. She was confused. He promised her things she didn’t have, that I couldn’t give. Samuel had wanted her to marry an older guy. He was furious when he learned she’d married me instead and was carrying my baby. But even though he was mad as hell, Samuel still wanted to do private counseling sessions with Sally. I—I don’t know why she listened to him, why she went.” Emotion surged and his voice cracked.

  June’s heart cracked. She thought of Matt, of how illogical his behavior had seemed to her toward the end.

  “He took her for several counseling sessions after she had the baby, then when she told Samuel she was going to move back to Cheyenne with me, she had the accident.”

  “What kind of accident?” Jesse interjected.

  Tyler glanced nervously at him, then June. “She drowned in the lake. I think he killed her. I’m convinced he killed her. I—I think he was sleeping with her, too.” Tears sheened down his cheeks.

  Rage arrowed through June’s heart. If Tyler was telling the truth, it could make Sally murder victim number six. And June believed more of Samuel’s victims would yet surface.

  “I asked for an investigation,” Tyler said. “But Chief Fargo claimed it was obvious that her death was an accident. I know it wasn’t. Sally never went near the lake. She couldn’t swim. She was afraid of water.”

  “And you’ve been caring for Aiden since she died?”

  He nodded. Tears welling again. “One of the people from the Urgent Care Center came to take him away. They said they looked after babies like Aiden. But I refused to let him go. I began to make secret plans to leave, and I started saving money. But then a guy called Jason Barnes and his friend Lumpy Smithers came to talk to me. I knew they were henchmen. They said I must leave Aiden with Bo Fargo and write a note saying my son was Devin Black.”

  June’s throat went dry.

  “They said they were going to give Aiden to Dr. Black to keep the community whole. I was given two days to make up my mind. Then, when I went to work the next morning, I discovered I’d been fired. I came home and my landlord said I owed him two months rent, which was a lie. He gave me notice at the same time. My truck was stolen, and my bank account was frozen.” He swallowed. “Then Jason Barnes returned and said maybe I better do as he asked—they had contacts, and things would get worse for me if I didn’t obey them.”

  “Did Jason say Samuel sent him?” Jesse said.

  “No, but I know Jason Barnes works for Samuel.”

  So, no evidence to pin on Samuel himself, thought June. That bastard was like Teflon.

  “I had no place to stay. No money, no work, no transport. I was afraid for my life, and they promised Aiden would be well cared for by Dr. Black. So I did as they said. Then…I—I just couldn’t handle it. I kidnapped my own son back, and we had nowhere to go so we hid in the mountains.”

  “You have a safe place now, Tyler. We’re going to take you and Aiden there. This is my friend Jesse. He—” she met his eyes “—helps me. And this is Eager.” She smiled. “Eager helps just about anyone who lets him. If he doesn’t first love them to death.”

  Tyler gave a tremulous smile and tears pooled again in his eyes. “Thank you, June,” he whispered.

  “Hey, it’s what I do. And you know what, Tyler?” She glanced down at the baby sleeping in her arms. “It’s worth every moment.”


  She felt Jesse’s large hand on her shoulder. He squeezed. And June had to struggle to tamp down her own emotions.

  * * *

  Later that day, back in the safe house, Jesse sat near the hearth feeding Aiden from a baby bottle. Tyler was sleeping and June was busy in the kitchen making sandwiches. He could feel her watching him, though, and when he glanced up and met her gaze, there was a strange look on her face.

  “What is it?” he said.

  She inhaled deeply, turned away.

  “You’re thinking about your Aiden, aren’t you?”

  She stilled, her nose going slightly pink and her eyes watery. “I was thinking how good you look holding that baby,” she said quietly. She picked up a knife and dug it into a pot of mayo. “You look experienced,” she said.

  There was an odd tone in her voice, almost accusatory.

  She spread the mayonnaise over a slice of bread, her movements jerky, a little angry.

  “Back at the cave, when you thought it was another baby crying, when you thought there was a fire—are you sure you don’t remember whose baby was in your mind?”

  So that was it, thought Jesse. She hadn’t believed him when he’d told her he didn’t know.

  He glanced down at the dark-haired infant in his arms. The baby in his memory was dark-haired, too. And he’d believed in that blinding instant that it had been his child. But on the back of that feeling rode another, harder sensation, one that told him while the baby in his memory was somehow connected to him, it also wasn’t. It was the same mixed-up conflict he had over the hazy memory of the slight, dark-haired woman—the woman he remembered making love to at some point; the woman who brought on emotions of guilt, rage, hurt, sorrow. The woman who made him finger an absent ring.

  “I don’t know what baby I saw,” he said quietly, and Jesse didn’t feel he was lying to June. He couldn’t honestly say one way or the other whose baby he was remembering, and he also didn’t want to express his doubts about it to June because he didn’t want to chase her away.

  “I need to go tell Rafe Black about Tyler and his son. Rafe’s going to be devastated.” She bagged the sandwiches and reached into the fridge for a bottle of water. She put it all into her pack.

  “We need to go tell Rafe,” he said, getting up, the baby still in his arms.

  June braced both hands on the counter and dropped her head. She was silent for several beats. Then she looked up, a strange determination in her eyes. “I need to go alone, Jesse.”

  “June—”

  She spun around and marched out of the kitchen, leaving her pack on the counter.

  Jesse quickly went to find Lacy and he handed baby Aiden into her care.

  When he came back into the living area, June was near the front door lacing up her hiking boots. Her face had been washed and her eyes were red-rimmed. Her mouth was set in a tight line.

  “So you believe Tyler’s story, June?” he said.

  “Yeah, I do. Rafe will want a DNA test for proof, of course, but I believe the baby is Tyler’s.”

  “Do you think Rafe’s baby even exists?”

  “He believes his son is out there somewhere.” She got up, swung her pack onto her shoulders.

  “We had a deal, June.”

  She stilled, hand on the door. “What deal was that?”

  “I help you—you help me. We work as a team. I’m coming with you.”

  “It hurts to be with you, Jesse.”

  “Why?”

  “You know why,” she said quietly. “And I think you’re lying to me. I think you have a baby, and that means a woman in your life.”

  “It doesn’t mean a woman in my life. And, June, I’m not lying. I won’t do anything to hurt you. I promise you that.”

  “How can you promise me anything?” she said crisply. “You don’t even know who you are.”

  She stomped out of the house.

  Jesse grabbed his gear and followed. The fact she didn’t try to stop him gave Jesse a small flare of hope.

  * * *

  It was late afternoon by the time Jesse and June were sitting with Dr. Rafe Black at his kitchen table watching his fiancée, Darcy, making coffee. The doctor was a dark-haired man with serious brown eyes and a kind demeanor. Darcy was a lot younger than him, blue eyes, thick dark hair. And the way she looked at her fiancé… What he’d give to have a woman look at him like that again.

  Again?

  His heart kicked.

  He shot a glance at June, worried that something might have been revealed in his features, but her attention was on Darcy, who was setting mugs of coffee on the table. Jesse returned his attention to Darcy—there was something about her looks that made him uncomfortable.

  Rafe cursed after hearing June out. He surged to his feet and began pacing the kitchen, anger, desperation powering his movements. Darcy watched him, concern growing in her eyes.

  “To convince someone to give up their own child?” Rafe shook his head. “I can’t believe even Samuel and Fargo would stoop so low.” He spun round. “And to think I actually thanked Fargo and Samuel for their help!” He raked a hand through his thick black hair.

  “That baby boy looked so much like the picture I had of Devin. Same hair color, same eyes—I believed in my heart it was my son. Why would they do this?”

  “Maybe to shut you up, Rafe,” June said. “Maybe they felt you were getting too close to the truth, and whatever the truth is, it must be detrimental to them. Perhaps they figured if you believed Aiden was Devin, then you’d be quiet, leave town.”

  “If what Tyler says is true,” Jesse cautioned.

  Rafe nodded. “DNA will either prove or disprove his story.” He turned to June. “Have you informed the FBI? They’ve been involved in the kidnapping investigation from the get-go.”

  “I’ll be speaking to Agent Hawk Bledsoe when he returns to Cold Plains tomorrow. I’m going to invite him to the safe house to speak to the occupants. I’ve sheltered them from law enforcement until now, but Tyler’s story is just unreal. This whole thing is getting way too dangerous.”

  Both Darcy and Rafe stared at June in silence.

  She rubbed her face. “I’m not giving up, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  Darcy reached out and took June’s hand. “Hey, it’s okay. Samuel and his flock are getting real edgy.” She glanced at her fiancé. “Rafe and I are worried this place could turn into a Waco any day now.”

  Rafe nodded, drew up a chair, reseated himself at the table.

  “You okay, June? You look tired.”

  “Fine.” She said it a little too crisply.

  “You should take a break, get some rest.”

  “Listen to the doctor, June,” Darcy said with a kind smile.

  Concern wormed into Jesse. June did look more drawn and pale than usual, and her hands were still shaking slightly, although she tried to hide it, as she was doing now, by clutching them both tightly around her mug as she sipped her coffee.

  She ignored the concern, changing the subject. “Now we know why Bo Fargo called off his search for the kidnapper,” she said. “Without Tyler, there’s no one to prove Aiden was not your son.”

  “Then where is my son?”

  “All we can do is keep looking, Rafe,” Darcy said. “We can’t give up. Just like I’m never going to give up the search for my real mother.”

  Rafe smiled, his affection tangible as he looked at his fiancée.

  At least they had each other, thought Jesse as a pang of loneliness speared into his chest. And the sudden ache, the sense of aloneness was so sharp, so real, that Jesse thought he couldn’t possibly have a child or a wife in his life—or else he wouldn’t feel like this, would he?

  “Have you found anything new in the search for your birth mother, Darcy?” June was saying.

  “I took the digitally enhanced image of Jane Doe, murder victim number two, back to my adoptive mother’s town of Horn’s Gulf. I showed it to anyone who’d look, but no one could verify Jane
Doe was Catherine George. I just wish I could confront Samuel, and ask if he is my father, and if Catherine is my mother, which of course is out of the question.” Darcy sipped her coffee. “I can’t help thinking that if I go and look at the area where they found Jane Doe’s body, I might learn something.”

  “Her body was found four years ago, Darcy,” Rafe said. “There won’t be anything there now.”

  “Maybe the killer goes back,” she said. “Maybe a dog like Eager could find evidence of him visiting the site.”

  “I tell you what,” said June. “As soon as I can find some time, we’ll take my truck out there and search the site with Eager, look for human scent, any articles that might have been dropped by someone.”

  “Are you serious?” said Darcy.

  “Sure I am.” June glanced at Jesse. “Jesse will help.”

  “Thank you so much. I can’t thank you enough.”

  * * *

  “You shouldn’t have promised Darcy you’d search the old crime scene with her—you’re just going to let her down,” Jesse said as he drove back to Hannah’s farm. The afternoon was segueing into evening, the sun lowering in the sky, the light growing balmy and gold. June was relieved to have Jesse behind the wheel. She’d developed a mother of a headache and it was making her vision blur.

  “I don’t feel like discussing it,” she said quietly, drawing tactile comfort from the way Eager was pressed against her.

  Jesse’s jaw tightened. The silence in the cab grew heavy.

  “They have a good relationship. They make a nice couple,” he said abruptly.

  June massaged her temples with her fingertips, trying to make the pain go away. “Yeah, they do. Why does it upset you?”

  “It doesn’t.”

  “Sounds like it does.”

  He said nothing. She glanced at him—his profile was strong, his hands tight on the wheel, his neck muscles tense. Then because it was irking her, she said, “Does none of this bring back anything, Jesse?”

  “No.”

  Jesse turned onto Hannah’s ranch road. Dust boiled behind the truck, red in the evening sun.

  * * *

  By the time they reached the cave house it was dark.

  June shrugged out of her pack and dumped it in the hall. She bent down to untie her hiking boots.