5 The Ghosts in the Audience

by SUE FINEMAN

  She smiled and closed her eyes. Sometimes it was hard to tell whether he knew something or made it up. At that moment she didn’t care. She was right where she wanted to be.

  In the arms of the man she loved.

  <>

  Sunday afternoon, Steffen and Ginny sat in the living room at Billy and Kayla’s beautiful country style mansion overlooking the river. The entire Kane clan was gathering for a celebration dinner to honor Ginny. Steffen knew she needed this. She put on a brave face, but the raid on the suspect’s house yesterday left her feeling vulnerable.

  “This is a beautiful home,” Steffen said.

  “My design,” said Andy. “My first job as an architect.”

  “I’ll show him around,” said Sarah.

  As soon as they got to Sarah’s room, she said, “I don’t want to go back to Chicago, Steffen. I know there aren’t enough foster homes for kids my age, and if the judge puts me in a group home, I’ll run away and end up on the street again.”

  “You like it here?”

  “I love it here. Kayla is so nice, and Billy said he’d get me into his school next year. People pay thousands for their kids to go to school there, and those kids get accepted into the best colleges. I couldn’t go to a private school like that in Chicago.”

  Steffen could see no reason for her to return to Chicago. Her future there was iffy at best. Here, she’d have a real home and a family, parents who could afford to give her a bright future. “I’ll have Jerry send the rest of your clothes, but if you need anything, you can call me anytime.”

  She hugged him. “Thanks for everything.”

  Minutes later, Steffen pulled Billy aside. “Sarah wants to stay.”

  “I know. I’ll speak with my attorney first thing tomorrow. We’ll take care of the legalities, and I’ll take her to Chicago to testify against her father. We’ll take care of her.”

  Steffen felt relieved things had worked out so well for Sarah. She was a nice kid who’d been through a life-changing experience. The kid deserved a good home, and she’d found one here with Billy and Kayla Kane.

  A tiny person hurled herself into his legs and he scooped her up. Rosie had curly blond hair, pink cheeks, and pretty green eyes. Cute little stinker.

  Ginny walked over carrying Rosie’s twin, Johnny. “I see you’ve met the twin toddler monsters.”

  “They’re adorable.”

  Ginny kissed Johnny’s chubby cheek. “Yes, they are, but they’re a handful. Are you sure you want one?”

  “You’re sure we’re only having one?”

  She groaned. “Don’t even think about it. I know twins run in the family, but Andy took care of this generation.”

  Steffen laughed. “Can’t handle two?”

  “I’m not sure I can handle one.”

  Johnny squirmed and Ginny put him down. Rosie put her head on Steffen’s shoulder and popped her thumb in her mouth. He gently rocked her back and forth and her eyes closed. In the midst of all the racket, she was falling asleep.

  Steffen gazed into Ginny’s eyes. “I want one like this.”

  “You’ll take what we get, Mr. Sensational.”

  He smiled and cuddled Rosie. He could definitely love this little girl.

  Charlie and his family came in, and their little girl made a bee-line for Steffen. Gazing into the little girl’s big gray eyes, he knew she was the psychic one Ginny had told him about. Taylor. He pointed at a big ball on the other side of the room, then lifted it about a foot off the floor with his mind. Nobody seemed to notice until Taylor made the ball bounce off the wall.

  Taylor grinned. “What else can you do?”

  The room grew quiet as everyone watched. With his mind, Steffen lifted Rosie’s doll from her arms and put it gently in Hannah’s.

  “I can do that with Bobby,” Taylor said.

  “Oh, no you don’t,” said Alex, Taylor’s mother. “You’re not playing games with your baby brother.”

  Everyone laughed except Ginny. She pulled on her coat and walked out the front door. Steffen handed Rosie to her mother and followed. “Did I do something wrong?”

  “You’re showing off again, Mr. Sensational.”

  “Ginny, I was just playing with Taylor, like my grandmother used to play with me. She taught me all kinds of things I didn’t know I could do before. I learned how to control my psychic powers that way.”

  She blew out a breath. “It makes me uncomfortable.”

  “I know. What are you going to do if you have a psychic child? Are you going to reject him like my mother rejected me? Are you going to tell him to suppress his powers or are you going to let me teach him how to use them properly?”

  “I’m not having a psychic child. My baby is going to be normal, like me.”

  “That’s what my mother thought before she had me.” But Ginny was nothing like his mother. Whether this child was psychic or not, Ginny would love him and nurture him. And so would Steffen.

  Donovan called them inside, and they sat down to dinner. Billy’s dining room was a big one, but it barely held the family. When Steffen was growing up, they never had more than four at their dining room table, and they’d never talked and laughed like the Kane family.

  Andy lifted his glass. “To my little sister, the princess who killed the dragon. We’re proud of you, Sis.”

  “To Ginny,” Charlie said, and many voices repeated the words. “To Ginny.”

  The back of Steffen’s neck prickled. Someone outside was watching them. He motioned to Donovan, and they ducked into the kitchen together. “There’s someone outside, the man who shot me.”

  “Aw, shit! Does he have a gun?”

  “Not this time. He’s watching you and Ginny.”

  They walked up the back staircase and peered out the upstairs windows. Steffen pointed at a black SUV parked on the side of the road. A big man with a cap pulled low over his face walked up Billy’s driveway to the street and slid into the drivers seat. “That’s him. Can you see the license plate number?”

  “No, can you?”

  Steffen couldn’t see the plate number well enough to read it, so he closed his eyes and read it another way. He recited the numbers and letters to Donovan, who wrote them in the little notebook he carried in his shirt pocket.

  Donovan immediately called the police station and gave the license number. As he paced to the door and back, Steffen pointed out the window. The man was driving away. He wasn’t a danger tonight, but he’d be waiting for his chance to get Ginny alone.

  Steffen got the feeling this man had a long-standing beef with Donovan. He hadn’t been in the city long, and he didn’t intend to stay after he accomplished his goal. He wanted Donovan to hurt the way Donovan had hurt him, and that meant taking his daughter away from him.

  What had Donovan done to deserve losing Ginny?

  Donovan closed his phone. “The plate is off a stolen car, and the car doesn’t match the description of the SUV he’s driving. There’s a patrol car in the area. They’ll check it out.”

  Steffen nodded. Although Donovan was no longer a part of the River Valley Police Department, he still had connections there, people he could call to get information. He’d been a powerful force in the city for many years.

  Someday, Ginny would have that same power. If her law enforcement career didn’t get her killed first.

  <>

  Ginny was assigned desk duty until Internal Affairs investigated the shooting on Saturday and she saw the department shrink. The Detective Division was short on manpower these days, with Al still in the hospital and Mark on suspension, but Karen wasn’t the kind of captain to sit behind a desk while her people were out in the field solving crimes. She was out there with them.

  Chief Britton stopped by around ten Monday morning. Ginny was the only one in the office at the time, so she poured him a cup of coffee, and they talked in private.

  “Tell me what went down Saturday,” the chief said, settling in the chair beside Ginny’s desk. “Why did
one of our people get shot?”

  “It’s all in my report, sir.”

  “I read the report. Now I want to hear it from you. Did Montgomery jump in too soon?”

  Ginny shrugged. “Detective Conway and I were behind the house when we heard gunfire. According to the plan, we had a few more seconds to get in place before Detective Montgomery flushed the suspect out. We were still out in the open when the suspect came out the back door firing.”

  “So Montgomery did go in too soon.”

  It didn’t sound like a question, and she didn’t respond. What could she say? That Mark was a hothead who had to have things his way? That he hated taking orders from a woman? That he wanted to show everyone he could handle the suspect all by himself? That he nearly got her and Al killed because he wouldn’t follow orders?

  The chief leaned back in the chair. “I don’t recall Captain Pierson having this kind of trouble with Detective Montgomery.”

  “Captain Pierson wasn’t a woman.”

  Understanding shone in the chief’s eyes. “I see.”

  She wondered if he did. Mark didn’t just disobey direct orders, he went out of his way to prove he made better decisions than Karen. Mark would do anything to make her and every other woman in the detective division look incompetent. But the only incompetent detective on the team was Mark Montgomery.

  After the chief left the office, Karen returned, and Ginny received a phone call from Steffen. “Can you meet me for lunch? I want to show you the house I’m thinking about buying. I need to know if you like it or if you’d rather have a different house.”

  “I have a house.”

  “Honey, I love your house. It’s perfect for one or two people, but it’s not big enough for a family.”

  He expected them to marry and make a family like Dad and Mom had, but that wasn’t what she wanted. Still, she’d love to see the house. Julie said it was a beauty, but the estranged couple who were selling couldn’t agree on the selling price. They probably couldn’t agree on anything.

  “Okay. Give me the address and I’ll meet you there.”

  “Three-twelve Meadow Drive. Julie and I are on the way there now.”

  “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  Three-twelve Meadow Drive. Why did that address sound familiar?

  Minutes later, Ginny pulled into the driveway of a sprawling brick home. She’d been here before, when the couple who lived here had a nasty fight. Their little boy had gotten so scared, he called the police, and Ginny took the call.

  The yard looked neglected, as if nobody had lived here recently. The front door stood wide open, so Ginny walked inside calling, “Steffen?”

  She walked straight back into the most magnificent room she’d ever seen. It was huge, with a fireplace anchoring one end of the room. Dark wood floors matched the mantel and bookshelves, and light flooded the space from a wall of windows across the back. “How would you furnish a room like this?”

  “I thought I’d ask Kayla to help with that,” said Steffen. “Julie said decorating is her specialty.”

  She turned to face him. “It’s a stunning room.”

  He smiled. “I like it, too. The grand piano from the condo will look good in here.”

  “I love that piano.”

  “I know.” He took her hand. “Let me show you around.”

  While Julie paced out front talking on her cell phone, Ginny walked through the house with Steffen. The more she saw, the more she liked, but Steffen assumed she’d want to live here with him, and she wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready to make that kind of commitment.

  “I thought we could live here while the kids are small, then we’ll have Andy design a bigger house, maybe something overlooking the river.”

  Ginny shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

  “You don’t like the house?”

  She hugged her arms. She didn’t like him assuming they’d get married and live happily ever after.

  “You want a proper proposal? An engagement party? A big wedding?”

  The more he talked, the more she steamed. He’d listened to her thoughts again. Her private thoughts.

  “I don’t want anything from you.”

  “But we’re having a baby. I thought—”

  “It’s a beautiful house, Steffen. I hope you’ll be happy here.”

  Anxious to escape the building argument and give herself time to cool off, Ginny ran out the back door and into the trees behind the house. She stopped to rest and heard a sound behind her. Before she could react, a big man grabbed her from behind and slapped a foul-smelling rag over her face. Fighting panic, she held her breath and twisted her head to the right, into the crook of his elbow. She bit through his shirt into the flesh of the inside of his upper arm. Swearing, he released her and rubbed his sore arm. The smelly rag fell to the ground. Only then did Ginny take a breath.

  A karate chop to his throat failed to disable him. Enraged, the man kicked her in the stomach so hard she nearly passed out. She fell to the ground and rolled into a ball, trying to protect the baby, but the intense pain in her belly told her it was too late.

  The damage had already been done.

  <>

  Feeling something was wrong, Steffen ran back to the kitchen. “Julie, where’s Ginny?”

  She pointed toward the back door. “She ran out that way.”

  Steffen gazed out toward the trees behind the house, and a vision filled his mind. The big man with the wall of pictures stood behind Ginny, one hand over her face and one around her waist. He saw the struggle, saw her bite him, then he saw the big man kick her in the stomach so hard she flew back and landed on the ground. In that instant, Steffen wanted to kill the man.

  “Julie, call 911. We need the police and paramedics,” he called as he ran out the door. “Tell them officer needs assistance.”

  Steffen found the man in the woods, trying to pick up Ginny. He still intended to kidnap her, and she was in no condition to fight him. Using his mind, Steffen shot a bolt of fire at the man’s belt buckle and another at his left foot. The man screamed and fell to the ground, slapping at the fire crawling up his pant leg, but he didn’t stay down. He pushed himself to his feet and limped a few feet away, to the back side of a big maple tree.

  Ginny, still holding her stomach, yelled, “Don’t let him get away.”

  Anger burned inside Steffen, but he’d used up his psychic energy and he had no other weapon to use. He couldn’t fight a man with a gun, and he knew the man had a gun and wouldn’t hesitate to use it.

  Ginny couldn’t move, so Steffen curled his body around her to protect her. “Hang on, honey,” he whispered. “Help is on the way.”

  The man leaned around the tree and fired at Steffen. The sound of the bullet cracked through the still air and thumped into the tree behind them. Steffen hugged Ginny, praying none of those bullets hit their target. He was about to send another bolt of fire toward the man when running footsteps vibrated the ground and a woman yelled, “Police, drop the gun.”

  The man fired again, and the bullet hit the ground near Steffen’s head.

  A barrage of bullets from the police ended the danger. The big man lay under the trees, where a gentle breeze stirred the tender green leaves hanging over his body, and blood soaked into the ground beneath him.

  Paramedics arrived and Steffen reluctantly moved away from Ginny. He looked up to see Donovan running toward them. “Did she get shot?”

  “No, he kicked her in the stomach.” Steffen saw the blood soaking Ginny’s slacks and knew she’d lost the baby. As the paramedics started an IV, Ginny was crying, sobbing uncontrollably, and he wanted to cry right along with her.

  Their baby died today.

  Chapter Twenty

  Steffen knew Ginny would be all right in time, but they’d all have to work through the grief at losing the baby. He paced in the Emergency waiting room, trying to walk off his anguish. The baby was gone, and Ginny lay bleeding in the back, crying over the loss of
a baby she didn’t want in the beginning. Somewhere along the way, she’d changed her mind about having a baby, but she wouldn’t be a mother to this baby.

  Hannah put her hand on Steffen’s shoulder. “She’ll be all right.”

  Steffen nodded. Donovan and Karen Milburn were talking about the man who tried to kidnap Ginny. Hannah and Steffen sat with them and listened to the conversation.

  “Henry Pollanski,” said Karen. “He was serving time in the state prison in Youngstown for murder. He should have served a few more years, but his wife was dying, so they gave him an early release on compassionate grounds.”

  Donovan leaned back and crossed his legs. “To hell with compassion. He didn’t show that boy any compassion. If I had my way, he would have been given the death penalty.”

  “You testified against him?” Steffen asked.

  “Damn right I testified against him. He killed a sixteen-year-old kid, beat him so badly he was virtually unrecognizable.”

  Steffen cocked his head. “Why? What did the kid do to him?”

  “He said the boy was kidnapping his sixteen-year-old daughter, but she went with him willingly. The kids were on their way to Kentucky to get married. His daughter tried to stop him from hurting the boy, but he tossed her aside and kept beating the kid until his face was a bloody pulp. It was the most brutal thing I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot over the years.”

  “Why did he take Ginny?”

  Karen rubbed her forehead. “Probably to lure Donovan to the house, so he could kill him. According to his cellmate, his mantra was an eye for an eye. Pollanski’s daughter was so distraught over the murder, she testified against her father in court, then went home and hung herself in the basement. Pollanski blamed Donovan for her death.”

  “An eye for an eye, or a daughter for a daughter?”

  Karen nodded. “According to the team who searched his home, one basement wall was covered with Ginny’s pictures, another had a picture of Donovan, and the third wall was covered with pictures of his own daughter. Janet Pollanski’s resemblance to Ginny was uncanny.”