“Didn’t see any sign of break in at your place.”
“That’s because he has a key.”
“Well if he has a key, then it’s not a break in. Your daughter prone to running away?”
“Of course not.”
“Maybe she has herself a boyfriend she don’t want you to know about and she’s gone off with him.”
“She doesn’t have a boyfriend, and she hasn’t gone off with anyone because Alan took her.”
“Alan says he took her home, and now he’s at home. Alone.”
This was exactly what Miller was afraid of. The good ol’ boys were circling the wagon. “He’s lying.”
“Went out to his place and talked to him, and there ain’t no one in his house except for him.”
“Did you search his house? Did you even look for her?”
“I did my due diligence. He’s admittin’ to being with her and Emily at the bank, but after Emily showed him the drugs in her pocket and then threatened your daughter—”
“Emily doesn’t do drugs, and she didn’t threaten Abby.”
“She had drugs in her pocket and in her car, and she threatened to take your daughter and hand her over to some clients in some kind of sex slave trade deal, so Alan had to threaten to pull his gun on her. It was luck that Emily fainted.”
“Can’t you even understand how crazy that sounds?”
Owens shrugged. “Video at the bank confirms it. Course, there’s no sound. I’m sure you know what they say ‘bout actions speaking louder than words. Now I’m not sayin’ Alan’s the smartest tool in my shed, but a kidnapper he ain’t. So if your daughter’s not home, she must’ve left of her own accord.”
“Abby would’ve called me by now. Think about it. Emily doesn’t do drugs, doesn’t sell them either. If she has drugs on her, it’s because Alan put them there.”
“Ladies over at the beauty salon said they were eating lunch together at Thunderbird Diner, lookin’ real comfortable.”
“Those ladies don’t know anything. Remember, he lied to her to get her to go with him. In case you didn’t notice, the asshole put bruises all over her too. He’s been holding her hostage all day.”
“I’ll trust my own asshole over a pregnant, teenaged runaway any day of the week and twice on Sunday. I’m placing her under arrest.”
“You’re arresting her? For what?”
“Possession of drugs. Might have to add with intent to sell. I’m on my way to tell her right now. I’ve got Officer Eaton on his way here now to stand guard in front of her room.”
This could not be happening. How could they do this to her? She came back into town to help her brother, and the whole town had turned on her. Why? Because when she ran away as a pregnant teenager, she robbed them of the joy of being able to shove their accusing fingers in her face and whisper behind her back. They’d been waiting fourteen years to judge her. The sad thing was that up until a few days ago, Miller was one of them.
“I’m coming with you.”
They went down the hallway the doctor had disappeared into and found her room with the help of an eager nurse who pointed out the room without them even asking. Yet another accusing finger for the runaway pregnant teenager. When they walked into the room, Emily was up and dressed.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Owens asked.
“I’m going to find our children, unless you’re here to tell me you found them and Alan’s locked away on three counts of kidnapping.”
“Hey, Em,” Miller said, trying to soften the blow of the bad news Owens looked so eager to spill. “Alan’s at home alone. He’s saying some things.”
“Like what?”
“Well,” Owens adjusted his hat and took a step closer to her, “he said it was your idea to go to the bank, that you needed to get something out of that box. When he found out you were looking for money for your business and told you that—”
“My business? What are you…Oh no.” She reached into her pocket. “It’s gone.”
“Paramedics found it and handed it over to us.”
“That bag isn’t mine. Alan put it in my pocket after he knocked me out.”
“He said you’d say that. He also told us that once he informed you that as an officer of the law he had no choice but to bring you in, you got aggressive and threatened Abby Anderson.”
“That’s not what happened at all. He said he’d do this! He’s lying!”
“I gotta say, the video at the bank does corroborate his story.”
“Let me guess, there’s no audio to go with that video, is there?”
“Nope.”
“Don’t you see? He made up that story to fit the video.”
“What I see is a woman who’s floundering, who has more lies than road to run them on.”
“I’m in the hospital with a concussion, for Christ’s sake. Look at my face. You think I did this to myself? And where’s my son, Sheriff? You think I dropped him off at the local day care?”
“It’s really none’a my business what folks do in their own beds…or in other folk’s beds as the case may be. You can’t accuse someone of foul play if you gave your consent.”
“Consent? Is that what he said? Why in the world would I ask someone to beat me up and give me a concussion?”
“He takes full responsibility for playing a little too hard. He’s not used to that kind of…play.”
“I don’t believe this,” Emily said.
“I see this all the time. Young women who’ve read that book about all the shades of gray, wanting to have a little fun themselves, wanting to try something different. Then they get embarrassed about it.”
“I did not ask to be hit. I did not ask for Jack or Abby to be taken away. I did not have sex with Alan.”
“But you did have sex with Alan a while back, right? And you say your son’s been missing, only you haven’t filed a missing person report. Would you like to do that now?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” Owens scoffed.
She looked at Miller like she was begging for an answer, and he was pretty sure he knew the question. What would Alan do to Jack and Abby if she filed a report? Then she nodded. “Yes.”
“All right.” Owens hooked his thumbs into the waist of his Dickies. “Officer Eaton will help you file a report, right after he reads you your rights.” Then he walked out the door.
Miller waited until he left. “Are you sure filing a report is a good idea? Alan might—”
“Alan’s been lying to me all day. I can’t even trust that he hasn’t already hurt Jack.”
“Do you think he’ll hurt Abby?”
“He yelled at her a few times, scared her. He didn’t touch her.”
“Do you think he will…I mean…” He hated to even think about this, and he was terrified of her answer, but he needed to ask the question. “He’s like Hoyt, ya know? He likes young girls.”
Emily’s face went even paler. “He was mostly focused on getting the money.”
“Was there any money?”
“No, only a blue notebook. Whatever was in it made him really mad. What about that lady who’s helping Alan? Did you find her?”
“Not yet. I’m still waiting for the receptionist at her…” Miller stopped. She still didn’t know about her mom or her dad. Was this the right time and place to tell her? Probably not. First things first, they needed to find their children. “I’m waiting for someone at her job to get a peek at her employment records. She’ll call me as soon as she can.”
“I have to get out of here.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Would you stay here if you were me?”
She was right. No way in hell would he lie around in a hospital bed while Abby was out there alone with Alan. There was a major problem, though. “You’re under arrest.”
Emily went to the window and tried to open it. “Damn it. It’s sealed shut.”
“I’ll find them,” Mil
ler said. “And when I’ve got them, Abby will be able to clear up a lot.”
“That’s probably why he took her, you know? Because she heard him tell me he planted the drugs on me and my car.”
“Abby and Jack are probably together now.”
“That’s true.”
“There’s so much I need to apologize for. I’m sorry I brought him to your house. I thought you’d be out for hours working, and I had no idea Abby would be home so early.”
“I picked her up from school and told her she was adopted.”
“How’d she take it?”
“She already knew.”
Emily smiled. “She’s pretty sharp, huh?”
“Yes.”
“Did you tell her where you got her? Did you tell her about me? Cause she didn’t act any differently.”
“I didn’t tell her. I don’t even know what to tell her.”
“I’m her mom.”
“Who’s her dad?”
The smile on Emily’s face slowly melted into a frown. “You are. I told you that.”
“I don’t have Wilson’s. Daniel had Wilson’s, not me.”
“I did not have sex with Daniel, so if she has Wilson’s Disease she had to have gotten some other way.”
“Exactly.” Miller rubbed the back of his neck, which was feeling tense. He wanted to say it, wanted to spit it out so he could get the bitter taste of it out of his mouth. “Which is why that whole thing with you having sex with Alan is so twisted.”
“That was so long ago, when I was twenty-one. I had just talked to Levi, and he told me he saw you and your wife and child. I was so sad I went to a bar and got drunk. Alan showed up and I got more wasted. I found out today that he basically stalked me.”
“But…Alan?” Judging by how odd his face felt, he knew he was looking at Emily with something close to disgust. Judging by the hurt in her eyes, it was cutting her deep.
“If it makes you feel any better, I had that same look on my face the next morning when I looked in the mirror.”
“I should hope so.”
“I feel ridiculous enough about it. I really don’t need you to add to my shame.”
“I found him in my bed, on top of my wife.”
“I had no idea that he would sleep with Sara while you were still married.”
“It’s not that. I don’t understand how you could stand to be with that asshole after what happened with Hoyt. They’re practically the same person.”
“Nothing happened with Hoyt.”
“You have to stop denying it. If you could have acknowledged it to begin with and been honest with me about what he was doing to you, I would’ve taken you away from here. We could’ve been together.”
“I was going to call you after I had the baby. Then you got married.”
“I got married so I could get Abby.”
Emily pinched the bridge of her nose. “I can’t do this right now. My head is pounding and—”
“Why did you leave?”
“I was scared.”
This wasn’t the right time. Miller knew that. But being with Alan after what Hoyt did to her was beyond unhealthy. He couldn’t see a future with Emily if she couldn’t see that. What kind of an influence would she be over Abby?
“Well you know what? I’m going to need more than that. You were scared. Okay, I get it. What were you so scared of that you couldn’t tell me about?”
“You had bigger plans than dropping out of high school with less than a year to go. You were going to play baseball for OSU and become a landscape engineer. I didn’t want to ruin your life.”
“That’s bullshit. What were you really scared of? What were they doing to you?”
“Nothing. Nothing else. Just that. I didn’t want to ruin your life.”
“Look at me.” He held his arms out in what he knew was an over-dramatic display of martyrdom. “My life is ruined. I’m divorced, stuck in a dead-end job, raising a child who isn’t mine. Stop lying to yourself and everyone else.”
“I’m not lying, and I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Really? Because there’s only one way I can think of that Abby could have your hands and Hoyt’s disease.”
“There has to be some other explanation,” Emily said.
“Come on, Emily,” Miller said. “There is no other explanation. Admit it.”
She shook her head.
“Daniel gave me the key to that safe deposit box to keep it from Hoyt because he suspected something weird was going on. It’s not your fault. Hoyt was sick. It makes the whole thing with Alan so…”
He trailed off. This was a waste of time, especially when Abby and Jack were out there somewhere.
“I swear to you. Hoyt never hurt me.”
The stress was getting to him. Everything he thought he knew was disintegrating under the harsh winds of uncertainty. The only thing he really knew was that Abby was out there somewhere, and she needed him to find her. “I have to go.”
“I’m so sorry about all this. I shouldn’t have come back to town.”
He didn’t answer because there was nothing else for him to say and because she was right. For the first time since he could remember anything—as far back as the third grade when he moved to town and met Emily for the first time—he wasn’t certain of a damn thing.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-EIGHT
Emily
Emily tried to follow Miller, but a police officer at her door put a hand up.
“Come on,” she protested. “I’m not really under arrest.”
The man crossed his arms over his chest and stood in the doorway.
“I’m not. I can’t be. My son is out there somewhere, and I have to find him!”
“You have the right to remain silent,” he said, forcing her back into the room. “You have the right to an attorney…”
“No. No. No. This can’t be happening! My son needs me. I have to help Miller find him. Stop it!” She pushed the officer. He didn’t move. Instead, he started to read her her rights.
“Stop. I’m not under arrest. I didn’t do anything wrong, and my son is alone!” She pushed on him again, but he wouldn’t stop reciting her rights. She couldn’t be under arrest when Jack was out there alone and Abby was missing. “I said stop!” She slapped the officer.
He cuffed her wrist. “Ma’am, you don’t need to get so excited with your concussion, and I don’t wanna have to add assaulting a police officer to your charges.”
“I’m not under arrest.”
“Yes, ma’am. You are.”
He tried to guide her to the bed with one hand on her wrist and the other on her shoulder. She resisted, but he was too much for her. “I’m not under arrest!” she yelled as he wrangled her to the bed. “I’m not!”
A nurse rushed into the room. “What’s going on in here?”
“She’s hysterical,” the policeman said. “If she doesn’t stop hitting me, I’m going to have to cuff her to the bed.”
Exhaustion hit her, knocking her down and forcing her to lie back on the bed. “My son has special needs. He can’t be alone. He can’t take care of himself.”
“Where’s her son?” the nurse asked.
The officer shrugged. “No one knows. We have a man on it. Had an off-duty volunteer to head up the search because we’re so stretched.”
“I guess that means you didn’t find Ms. Collins, then.”
“Nope. Owen’s put a few men on finding her because of the murders and all. He’s got a call into Durant PD to see if they can loan us a few men. By our count, she’s got two syringes left. Looks like she’s targeting her family so this young lady’s probably safer in here.”
Emily could hear them talking, their voices echoing toward her like they were at the end of a long tunnel. Why were they talking about her mother? Why weren’t they looking for Jack?
“He’s all alone,” she whispered because it was all she could get out. “He needs me.”
�
�Any chance your officer will find the little boy?”
“He’s getting some volunteers together, so there’s as good a chance as any. Alan grew up here. He knows the town well, so if anyone can find him, it’ll be him.”
“No. Not Alan.” Emily tried to lift her head, but it was too heavy to hold up. Even her hands were too heavy to lift. Every muscle in her body was anchored. “Send someone else. Please.” When she closed her eyes, she felt like she was floating on the water, feeling the ripple effects of a large splash that was rocking her to sleep. She pretended Jack was next to her with his head on her shoulder. It was so much better to think about finally being with her son again rather than the look on Miller’s face when he accused her of denying that Hoyt was Abby’s father.
He was so insistent that Hoyt must’ve hurt her. It had been a logical assumption for Miller to make. Wilson’s was too rare for any other conclusion. But Hoyt never touched her. Did he? Was there a memory playing hide and seek up there in her brain that was now sloshing around inside her skull, weighing her down, pulling her under?
***
“I’ll run away. Far, far away.”
“I would really miss you.”
“I won’t run away. I couldn’t leave you. I could never leave Levi alone with them.” Emily smiled the best smile she could muster. “I’ll be okay.”
Daniel let go of her hands, put his arm around her shoulders, and squeezed. “If they try that again, you run. Run as hard and as far as you can. Don’t look back.”
“I couldn’t—”
“Yes you can.”
“I’ll get lost.”
“Then I’ll come find you.”
Emily woke in a dark room to a throbbing in her head. She immediately remembered where she was and that Jack wasn’t with her. She could feel someone gently running fingers through her hair. It was so comforting. She touched the hand…a man’s hand. Miller’s hand. He was back, which meant he’d found the kids.
She pulled the hand to her lips and kissed it. “How are the kids?”
He leaned closer, kissed her on the cheek and whispered, “How the fuck would I know?”
Secondhand Sinners Page 23
