by Darcia Helle
Trying to force his facial muscles into a smile, he said, “No. Thanks.”
The pharmacist’s thick white eyebrows danced up on his forehead but he only smiled and nodded. As he was turning to walk away, Ben said, “Sir. I’m sorry. Would it be possible for you to call me a cab?”
“Of course,” the pharmacist replied.
He led Ben down to the front of the store and asked the Chinese girl to make the call. Then he wished Ben a good evening and headed back to his world of pills.
After the girl made the call, Ben wasted a little time buying gum, breath mints, and a magazine that he didn’t want. Then he stepped out on the sidewalk just as the cab pulled alongside him. He slid inside and gave the driver his home address. He needed to pick up his car and get moving before Graham figured out where he’d gone.
Chapter 55
Vinnie relaxed on the couch, his legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankles. He had taken his suit jacket off and loosened his tie. His small concession to the long day. Lucianna sat next to him, chewing her bottom lip and watching Ian pace.
Ian said, “I still can’t believe I have a relative who’s out there killing people.”
“For what it’s worth,” Vinnie said, “those she has gotten to so far deserved to die.”
Lucianna said, “She must think that your parents - her parents - knew they were selling her for child pornography. She’s out for some kind of justice, in her mind at least.”
Ian raked his hand through his hair and looked off into the kitchen. Switching gears, he said, “You think she’s okay in there?”
“Greg is the best,” Vinnie stated.
“They’ve been in there awhile.”
Lucianna said, “Try to relax, Ian.”
He shook his head, blew out a long breath, and resumed pacing. Vinnie glanced at Lucianna and raised an eyebrow. She simply shrugged. She couldn’t exactly blame the guy for being a little high strung.
Vinnie’s cell phone chirped. He retrieved it from his coat pocket, switched it on, and said, “Good evening.” He closed his eyes as he listened and almost appeared to have fallen asleep. A minute later he opened his eyes and said, “Thank you.”
He flipped the phone shut and said, “Detective Sterling has just turned onto this street.”
“The bastard is coming here?” Ian said.
“It appears that way,” Vinnie said calmly.
Vinnie had moved their cars out of sight earlier, making everything look normal from the outside. The intent had been to be sure that Sara was not scared away by the prospect of a house full of people. Ben had not been on their list of expected guests.
Lucianna was off the couch and heading for the front door. Vinnie waved her away. He said, “I’ll handle him. You two stay in here and wait.”
“Vinnie -” Lucianna tried.
“Trust me,” Vinnie said. “This won’t be difficult.”
Ian asked, “What are you planning to do?”
“Merely escort the man inside,” Vinnie said.
“He is a cop,” Lucianna reminded him. “Play nice.”
As Vinnie disappeared out the side door and through the garage, Ian said, “What about my mother?”
Lucianna peeked into the kitchen. Corinne was sitting with Greg at the table and the two were locked in what appeared to be a rather deep discussion. She said, “I don’t know what to tell you. We can’t lock her away in her room for the night. Greg’s with her. We’ll have to see how this plays out.”
“What if she sees Sterling and freaks?”
“I don’t think she will. She didn’t react badly when we showed her the picture.” Lucianna grabbed Ian’s hand. “Please stop pacing. I feel like I’m talking to a pendulum.”
“Sorry,” Ian muttered.
“Look, I don’t think Sterling had any intention of hurting your mother,” Lucianna said.
“That blanket…”
“It didn’t come from him.”
“Her then? Right?”
“Sara,” Lucianna said. “Yes, probably. Although your mom said a man was here. She may have sent someone to deliver it for her.”
“A boyfriend maybe?”
“Could’ve been.”
“I’m at a loss here,” Ian said.
“I know.” She stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “It’ll be over soon.”
***
Ben slowed as he approached Corinne’s house. Ian’s truck sat in the driveway in front of a closed garage door. The living room lights were on but no outside lights and no signs of company. Naturally, being a cop, Ben realized that first appearances were not very reliable.
He rolled up to the curb and tried to see past the gauzy curtains at the front window. An image of how Corinne had looked that night he’d found her in her closet floated through his mind. Helpless. Terrified. Then he remembered how she’d screamed when he’d come back that day not so long ago. He could still hear the sound in his head as if the scream had been recorded and randomly played back to haunt him.
He hadn’t hurt her then. Had never hurt her. Not in the physical sense. But she’d been afraid of those memories he’d been trying to force her to recall. That day in the closet. He’d asked her, begged her to tell him if she knew where Sara was. Or Cameron. Her only response had been to retreat further into her protective shell.
Selling her own babies was not something he could ever imagine Corinne doing. The concept hung beyond his grasp. Yet, how could Cameron have gotten away with it without her knowledge? Why wouldn’t she report her babies missing? Had she thought they’d gone to a reputable adoption agency? Why wouldn’t she check it out herself? What had really happened?
Every time he looked at Corinne, he tried to see his daughter in her. Amy. Hard to believe. He’d never expected to meet Amy’s birth mother. Had never wanted to. He’d wanted to wipe the entire experience out of his mind. Enjoy his daughter. Forget where she came from.
He stared out at the darkness, his breathing erratic and strained. He was stalling. Sitting here dwelling on the past wouldn’t change a thing. He’d done enough of that already. Now he had to try and make things right. Somehow.
He pushed open his door and crossed the sidewalk to the driveway. The grass sparkled from the recent rain. He kicked at a stone and made himself take slow breaths as he walked. This was not a good time for an anxiety attack.
Shadows swallowed the yard around him. The world felt quiet and peaceful and totally out of sync with his emotions. He moved onto the walk to approach the front door. A sudden pressure on the back of his knee sent him sprawling on the pavement. A voice said, “Do you have any weapons on you?”
In that instant, Ben thought maybe death would be a welcome way out of all this. He didn’t bother trying to move, just turned his head slightly off the cold pavement so that he could speak. “No.”
The man patted down his pockets anyway, then said, “Get up. Slowly.”
Ben pushed himself off the ground. He wasn’t surprised to be facing Vinnie McCormick. He said, “Hello Vinnie.”
“Good to know introductions are not necessary,” Vinnie said. “Now let’s do this nicely. We’re going inside and you will behave.”
“I take it you know. About the girls?”
“Correct.”
“I’m sorry,” Ben said. “I never would have hurt Corinne. We just need to find Sara.”
“Save it.”
“I came here to warn Corinne. Things are spiraling out of control. And to apologize for my part in this. It must have been horrible for her to give up her daughters… and now this.”
Vinnie stared at Ben through hard eyes. “They are not Corinne’s daughters.”
Ben felt the air rush out of his lungs. “They’re not? But…”
“Inside.” Vinnie said.
Chapter 56
Ian peeked into the kitchen for the third time in less than five minutes. His mother was seated at the kitchen table, talking animatedly to Greg. Arms waving
in the air, face full of expression. He hadn’t seen her this brimming with life in a very long time.
Vinnie and Lucianna sat in the living room with Ben Sterling. Ian didn’t trust himself to be too close to the man. Knocking his teeth out was just too damn tempting.
They had explained to Sterling that Corinne wasn’t the twins’ mother and that her sister Holly was. He’d gotten more courtesy than he probably deserved at this point. Sterling was now telling them about his daughter. Ian’s half-sister-slash-cousin. What the hell kind of craziness was that? Ian paced the room, not wanting to listen but, at the same time, drawn to it. Finally he knelt in front of the fireplace and stacked kindling in to light just so that he’d have something to do.
“She’s really an amazing young woman,” Ben was saying. “The thought of her twin sister being a killer …”
His words faded and the room remained silent for a moment. Ian stuck some rolled newspaper under the kindling, then struck a match. He didn’t turn to face anyone. He wasn’t sure he could handle any more of this.
Vinnie broke the silence, saying, “How is Graham involved?”
More silence. Finally Ben said, “I’m not sure. He’s got some sort of connection with this gang, K Unit. Nico’s hookers, they, umm… they give him free service. He told me Ace owed him, which is how he found out… about how Amy came into our lives. Ace fed him the information.”
“Interesting,” Vinnie stated.
“Creepy,” Lucianna muttered.
“Graham approached me a few months ago,” Ben continued. “Told me Cameron McCormick had turned himself in for murder. Said he’d killed Sara’s adoptive father and wanted a full investigation on the people mixed up in the mess. Supposedly he had a pile of evidence linking them to child pornography.”
Ben cleared his throat, then continued. “I thought this was a case. You know, a legitimate thing Graham wanted me to work with him. Then he tosses the bombshell at me. This girl Sara had been sold on the black market by members of K Unit. He tells me he knows it’s the same place where I’d… found Amy. He knew about my daughter. As if that’s not enough, then he tells me that this Sara person is Amy’s twin.”
Ian turned, saw Ben cover his face with his hands. He felt no sympathy. Then he noticed Lucianna gazing at him, her eyes full of concern. He offered a weak smile before turning back to tend to the fire.
Ben blew out a long breath. “I was blown away,” he said. “I had no idea that Amy had a twin. After I… adopted her…” He stumbled over the words, paused, then continued. “Well Ace was running K Unit then. He knew I was a cop. A young rookie. We made a deal. He’d keep his mouth shut as long as I did the same. I had to stay out of their business. Totally. I couldn’t follow up and break up the baby ring or the truth would come out. About Amy.”
Lucianna said, “Graham told you that Corinne was the girls’ biological mother?”
“Yes,” Ben replied. “We knew that Cameron and Corinne were married at the time the girls were born. I guess it was assumed that she was the mother.”
“Cameron’s not in prison,” Vinnie said. “What happened?”
Ben rolled his neck around, then slumped back in his chair. “He’d been led to believe that Sara was dead. The adoptive father, I think, told him that. Anyway, he found out through whoever his sources are that Sara was in fact alive. Not only alive, but running around with a hit list that included him and Corinne.”
Ben leaned forward, placing his hands on his thighs and looking as if he was about to spring out of his chair. He said, “Cameron knocked a guard out during a transfer, took off fast. He had told another inmate that he had to fix the mess he’d made of everyone’s lives.”
Leaning back again, he closed his eyes and sighed. “Graham convinced me that I had no choice other than to cooperate. To help him find Sara and Cameron before anyone else did. Otherwise the truth would come out about Amy. My career would be ruined. And probably my daughter’s life.”
Ian had moved away from the fire. He found himself sitting beside Lucianna on the couch. She took his hand and held it between hers. He concentrated on breathing and tried not to react to all he heard.
Vinnie said, “Then it was Graham’s idea for you to get close to Corinne?”
“Yes,” Ben said.
“What did you do to her?” Ian asked. He was surprised to hear his own voice. He hadn’t expected to speak out loud.
Ben’s eyes darted past Ian. He focused on his hands and said, “Nothing. Honestly. We were supposed to have our first date that weekend, on Saturday night. I got here and the door was ajar. I came in and heard muffled cries. I found her in the closet. She… Someone had already gotten to her. She just babbled and wouldn’t let me near her. I tried to get her to talk. I know I pushed too hard there. But I didn’t cause her… I don’t know what happened to her.”
“But you just left her there like that?” Ian said. “You didn’t even bother to call 911?”
Ben shook his head, still not looking at anyone. “I called Graham and he told me to get the hell out of here. I was scared. I have no excuses.”
The fire crackled and Ian considered tossing Ben into it. The chirping of Vinnie’s phone interrupted that thought and Lucianna’s grip on his hand kept him from jumping up to resume pacing.
***
Lucianna had been studying Ben as he spoke. He was good looking, soft spoken, intelligent, and a cop. People like that were not supposed to be buying babies off the street. She found herself back at her theory that bad guys should come equipped with LED displays on their foreheads.
Vinnie had moved away from them while talking on his cell phone. Ben slumped back in his chair, probably grateful for the reprieve. And Ian sat stiff and quiet beside her. So she took advantage of the silence to sort through the clutter in her head.
One of the questions rolling around her mind was what were they going to do with this guy? Did they bring all this information to his superiors? At the very least, he should lose his job. Not only had he purchased a baby through a gang but he had then allowed that gang to continue with no interference.
Then again, it had all happened twenty-six years ago. People change. She didn’t know his situation back then. Maybe he was a different person now.
And what about his daughter? Amy. Did she deserve to be hurt by all of this?
Even if they wanted to, could they keep this contained?
Vinnie had tucked his phone back in his pocket. He crossed the room toward them and said, “Graham is on the move. Teddy caught up with him on Lance Avenue.”
“My apartment,” Ben muttered.
“He was there, apparently looking for you.”
To Ben, Lucianna said, “Any idea where he’d go now?”
“Probably here,” Ben said. “But I don’t think he’ll come in. He’ll hang around, waiting for me. He doesn’t like to get his hands dirty. And he doesn’t like to be seen where he doesn’t belong. Leaves that up to me.”
Vinnie said, “We still don’t know what his stake is in all of this.”
“Protecting K Unit?” Lucianna offered.
“Isn’t he out to bust them?” Vinnie said to Ben. “I was told he had a rather large case built around them.”
“He does,” Ben said. “We do. Basically it centers on Nico and the prostitution. We have nothing on the… black market issue.”
“Then what is his stake in all this?” Lucianna said. “Why would he be helping them find Sara?”
Vinnie’s cell phone chirped again and he flipped it open, saying a calm, “Yes?” After a moment, he glanced up at Ian and asked, “Do you know a woman in her forties who drives a silver BMW?”
“No…” Ian paused and reconsidered. “Yeah, actually my Aunt Holly drives one. Why?”
“She is pulling into your driveway at this moment,” Vinnie replied. Then, into the phone, he said, ‘Let her pass.”
Ian stood and bounced from one foot to the other. He said, “Should I let her in? The last time my
mother saw her, she freaked. And what about the… Sara? That’s Holly’s…” His voice trailed off. He threw his arms up, palms facing the ceiling, as if admitting defeat. “Hell…,” he muttered.
Lucianna moved toward the front door. She said, “We may as well see what she wants.”
Vinnie agreed, saying, “This is the perfect time to have everyone lay their cards on the table. No more surprises.”
Lucianna pulled the door open just as Holly stepped onto the stoop. Moving aside, she motioned for Holly to come in. At the same moment, Corinne entered the living room. Her eyes found Ben first. Her expression registered surprise, then confusion. She seemed to be trying to place his face in her memory. Then her gaze moved across the room.
Holly said, “Hello Corinne.”
Corinne screamed.
Chapter 57
Tears sprang to Holly’s eyes. She began waving her hands in front of her as if trying to keep the screams from reaching her. She said, “Corinne, please don’t. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Corinne ran from the room, almost knocking Greg down in her rush to get past him. She yanked open her closet door, her eyes wide, muttering, “Him and her. Her and him.”
On the top shelf of the closet she spotted what she’d been looking for. The pink baby blanket. She stared at it. Memories banged against her head wanting to come out. She tried to shake them away, mumbling, “Stay back. Stay back.”
She realized that Greg was standing beside her. His mouth was moving, which meant he must be speaking. But she didn’t hear him. All she heard were the voices in her head. She yanked the blanket down from the shelf and clutched it close as tears streamed down her face.
“Poor baby,” she whispered.
“Corinne?” Greg said. “Corinne, tell me about the blanket.”
