The Daughter's Return

by Unknown

  That was if he survived the foundation’s scrutiny and was allowed to help. If he could get Maggie in his corner, then it was a fait accompli.

  In his mind’s eye, he could see her driving off in her Ford Excursion. It hadn’t been hard to let her go, not when he knew he’d be hearing from her before the evening was out. He was counting on it. In fact, he was counting on a lot more than that.

  Today she’d been wearing a silky cream dress, tailored and very chic. But in truth, her height and the way she moved through a room would make her look elegant in anything. He pictured her in cutoffs. With her slender curves and those legs that went on forever…

  She’d gone into bankruptcy law. He hadn’t known she was an attorney. That came as an interesting surprise, though her specialty didn’t. The whole McFarland clan was dedicated to helping others deal with their losses whether they be physical, mental or financial.

  Tragically, no one had been able to restore their daughter and sister to them. Not yet anyway.

  Jake couldn’t comprehend such a loss. The closest he’d come to an understanding of what that would be like was the news his stepmother had never showed up for work after his father’s funeral.

  Realizing that thinking about Kamila would get him nowhere, he went back inside. Aware he was still thirsty, he pulled a cold root beer from the fridge. As he shut the fridge door, his cell phone rang.

  Maggie? His heart responded with a violent kick. But when he reached for it, the screen said out of area. Maybe it was Dan calling back.

  “Hello?”

  “I have a collect call for a Mr. Bedrich Veverka. Will you accept the charges?”

  Jake knew exactly who was calling. “Yes.”

  “Very well. Go ahead, sir.”

  “Mr. Veverka? Is that you?” a male voice asked in Czech.

  The pulse at Jake’s temple started to throb. “Yes, Mr. Buric,” he answered back in kind. “You must have important news.”

  “I don’t know, but maybe this will help. I drive a taxi. Today while I was in the Bronx waiting for a fare to come out, I noticed a sign in front of a small construction site. It said the old Buric Engravers building had been torn down. Soon a new Erskins bookstore would be going up. I couldn’t believe I saw my name, especially when you just called me about it the other day.”

  Jake couldn’t believe it, either. The probability of his seeing the sign was highly unlikely. He hurried over to his desk. “Can you give me the address?”

  “Near the corner of Boston Road and East 163rd Street in the South Bronx.”

  “I’m writing it down. This could be the link to something very important. Thank you, Mr. Buric.”

  “You’re welcome. Glad to be of help.”

  Why was it always Sunday night when you suddenly decided you wanted to reach someone in the business world?

  First thing in the morning, Jake would start calling a bunch of engraving companies in the Bronx. Someone had to know of the now-defunct Buric company.

  With his body charged, he couldn’t sit still. Without hesitation, he pocketed his cell phone and jogged down the hill to the genealogy firm. After grabbing the New York City yellow pages out of Wendell’s office, Jake retired to his own.

  In the process of compiling numbers from the list of engravers in and around the Bronx, his cell phone rang. The caller-ID screen said unavailable, but it could be Maggie.

  He clicked on. “Hello?”

  “Mr. Halsey?”

  Jake didn’t recognize the man’s voice. “Yes?”

  “Reed McFarland here.”

  Now that he thought about it, Jake recognized the ex-senator’s voice from his interviews with the media. It meant Maggie had already talked to her parents.

  “It’s a privilege to speak with you, sir.”

  “The privilege is mine, believe me. My daughter has told me all about you.”

  Whatever happened to her plan not to give herself away?

  “A little while ago the subject of the Mexican cruise my wife and I took before Kathryn was born came up in the conversation. I sensed Maggie had a definite reason for bringing it up, particularly as she asked if I remembered the dates and the name of the cruise line.

  “When I confronted her, she admitted going to the Eagle Gate Genealogical Firm to do some investigating on her own. That led to a full disclosure of the facts.”

  Maggie’s father didn’t pull any punches. It’s what made him a great congressman and no doubt an exceptional parent.

  “Your detective work is brilliant, Mr. Halsey. Ellen and I were on the same cruise ship as the Buric brothers. If it isn’t an imposition, could you drive up to our house in Federal Heights? Maggie has gone over to my son’s place to bring her mother home. We both want to hear this information from you in person.”

  The muscles relaxed around Jake’s chest. “Give me the exact address and I’ll be there within a half hour.”

  “Excellent.”

  After they hung up, Jake folded the list of numbers and put it in his pocket. Once he’d returned the directory to its rightful place, he took off for his apartment and showered.

  With a change of clothes to a sport shirt and trousers, he was ready. On his way out the door, he grabbed the keys and headed for his car.

  If Maggie McFarland didn’t like things getting this personal this fast, then it was too bad. Her father had just given his permission for Jake to be in their lives.

  Mr. McFarland had carried a great load on his shoulders and in his heart for many years. When Jake thought about it, he imagined Maggie’s father would love to do something proactive for a change where his daughter’s kidnapping was concerned. It was Maggie’s mother who sounded fragile.

  Energized by this much progress, Jake drove faster than usual up B Street to Eleventh Avenue, where he turned east. It would lead to Federal Heights. From Wendell, who was a talking encyclopedia, he’d learned this was an old area of Salt Lake where some of the most classic homes had been built.

  The McFarlands had carved out their own little society with the McFarland Plaza, the shelter, and their homes all within a radius of several blocks to a few miles.

  He had to slow down once he left the boulevard. Soon he was making his way beneath a canopy of trees. As he rounded the corner, he saw the old, huge, Tudor-style home high up on the wooded property just as Mr. McFarland had described.

  The house of half timber, half fieldstone had been built in a magnificent asymmetrical design with cross gables and dormers.

  Jake parked at the bottom of the hill. After getting out of the car, he started climbing up the drive. It lined the lush, grassy slope. The landscape looked unreal, it was so green and perfect. He couldn’t help but marvel over the immaculate flower beds alive with masses of white and purple petunias.

  From the top of the hill, he gazed over the grounds, thinking he’d never seen anything so beautiful. That was until a certain dark blond woman emerged from the recessed doorway to greet him.

  The twilight brought out the creamy tone of her skin. There was the slightest overlay of pink on her cheeks, due to the heat. The combination made his breath grow ragged. For the first time in his life, Jake understood the expression “she looked good enough to eat.”

  “Dad figured out what I was trying to do,” Maggie explained in a slightly breathless voice. “I hope you don’t mind that he wanted to talk to you tonight.”

  “Not at all. Your parents deserve to know what’s going on. It’s always better if there aren’t any secrets, even if they’re kept for the best of reasons.” If lightning struck him just then, he wouldn’t have been surprised.

  “Come in. Mom and Dad are waiting for you.”

  He followed her through the beamed foyer with its extended ceilings to a small, cozy sitting room.

  “Mr. Halsey—” Maggie’s trim, brunette mother rushed to welcome him. Her husband was right behind her.

  She couldn’t be more than five-three or -four. Maggie had inherited her mother’s c
lassic features, but in most other ways, including her light blue eyes, she resembled her father.

  The ex-senator was a tall man with grayish blond hair. He had the look of a statesman. Both were very attractive people.

  “I’m honored to meet you, Mrs. McFarland.” They shook hands.

  “Call me Ellen, please. This is my husband, Reed.”

  “Thanks for coming over tonight, Jake,” he said, extending his hand. “You don’t mind if I call you that, do you?”

  “I’d rather you did,” he said, aware of Maggie’s eyes watching him. He liked that. He had plans to become the major focus of her attention before long.

  The older man smiled. “Good. Let’s all sit down.”

  He indicated the wingback chair for Jake, which was next to the couch where the McFarlands took their place. Maggie found an upholstered chair on the other side of the coffee table.

  “You have a magnificent home. The grounds are breathtaking.”

  “Thank you. We’ve been killing ourselves off to get ready for a wedding reception we’re giving here on the seventeenth,” Reed exclaimed.

  “Who’s getting married?”

  “Our son Cord recently married in California. They’re on their honeymoon. When they get back to Salt Lake, we’re hosting a reception for them. But let’s not talk about that right now.”

  Jake’s breathing slowly returned to normal. For just a moment he’d wondered if Maggie had failed to inform him of a piece of information vital to his existence.

  “Maggie tells us you’re a detective from California who came up here for treatment at North Avenues Hospital. We understand you’re working at the Eagle Gate Genealogical Firm while you convalesce.”

  “That’s right.”

  “We’re overjoyed to think you’ve uncovered such astounding information about the kidnappers of our darling daughter. Tell us the details.”

  After Jake had related everything, the silence that followed was broken by Reed McFarland’s sobs.

  Jake felt the older man’s grief to his bones.

  “Do you really have proof those two brothers were aboard our cruise ship?” Ellen cried.

  “I was sent a fax with the documentation. I’ll bring it by tomorrow,” Jake answered quietly.

  “All this time—who would have dreamed any human being could think up such a monstrous plan.”

  The pain in her voice, her tear-soaked eyes brought a hard lump to Jake’s throat. He looked to Maggie. This family had been suffering for too many years.

  The Daughter’s Return

  CHAPTER FIVE

  MAGGIE HAD BEEN AFRAID this would be too emotional an experience for her mother when they still didn’t have answers yet. Somehow she hadn’t counted on her father losing control in front of company. He’d always been so strong. To watch her mom try to comfort her dad by throwing her arms around him was a revelation.

  Jake could have no idea Maggie had never witnessed her dad this broken up before. She’d wondered how he’d managed to keep his anguish under control all these years. Now it came pouring out. Her heart ached for the suffering he could no longer hide.

  Their family had concentrated so hard on easing their mother’s pain. But who had ever eased their father’s?

  With her hand still on her dad’s shoulder, Maggie’s mother turned to Jake. “From the captain to the maid who did up our room each day, everyone made such an embarrassing fuss over me on the ship. Your theory that the housekeeping staff gossiped and word spread to those two horrible men working in the laundry makes perfect sense.

  “It means they came to Salt Lake and devised a way to break into the mansion. They must have been watching us for days and knew our exact schedule, when we would be the most vulnerable. Having come home from the hospital with Kathryn, I wasn’t aware of anything but her and our other children.”

  “None of us was that vigilant,” Maggie’s father spoke at last. He wiped his eyes with his fingers. “We were too excited with our newest little addition.”

  “You were preyed upon,” Jake declared. “As I told Maggie, it’s my belief the kidnappers were paid a good sum of money to steal your baby so she could be sold through an illegal adoption. I believe Kathryn is alive.”

  “We do, too!” Maggie’s parents declared at the same time.

  Jake nodded. “I’m going to do everything in my power, use all my contacts who are working with the FBI, to try to find her.”

  Her mother shook her head incredulously. “It’s a miracle you came to Salt Lake.”

  “The miracle is that your daughter chose the genealogical firm where I work to begin her own search.”

  Maggie’s mom looked at her. “What made you go there instead of the Family History Center, darling?”

  She cleared her throat. “Because it’s small. I didn’t want a lot of people to know what I was doing, especially the media. Even after all these years, they still love to print upsetting things about Kathryn and our family. With the Eagle Gate Firm only a two-minute walk from my office, it seemed like the best idea.”

  “Thank God for you, honey!” her father exclaimed.

  “Jake’s the one to thank for everything.”

  “These are early days yet,” Jake inserted. “Before I leave, I’d like to inform you of an additional piece of information I learned about after meeting with Maggie earlier.”

  “What is it?” her father asked before she could.

  In a matter of minutes Jake explained about Frantisek Buric. The New York cab driver’s sharp observation had led Jake to the trail of a Buric who’d once owned an engraving business in the Bronx.

  On his feet now, Jake said, “What I’m hoping is that someone will know if that Buric is the one we’re looking for, particularly the grandmother in question. If she’s still living, it’s possible she knows the whereabouts of Antonin. Since Franz refuses to talk, she could shed a whole new light on this case.”

  Maggie’s father got up from the couch. “Jake? We want you to know how indebted we are to you for everything you’re doing. Whatever you need, be it money or anything else, you’ve got it.”

  “Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Please don’t go yet,” Maggie’s mother pleaded with him. “We haven’t even offered you a drink.”

  “Thank you, but it’s getting late. I promise to keep you informed of any new developments.”

  “I’ll see you to the door, Jake.” Maggie jumped up from the chair.

  As it turned out, the whole family walked to the front of the house with him. With her father’s arms around her and her mom, Maggie couldn’t very well break away to run down to the bottom of the drive where Jake had parked his car. Much as she wanted to, it would be a dead giveaway that she saw him in more than a professional light.

  “Good night,” he said to all of them. Maggie’s eyes met his for a brief moment. It was too dark to read his expression. “I’ll be in touch.”

  When? Maggie’s heart cried.

  After he’d gone and they’d walked back in the house, Maggie said, “Did I tell you he made an application to be a volunteer at the foundation?”

  “What a fantastic man,” her mom murmured.

  Fantastic was right. In every conceivable way. But Maggie had a disturbing feeling that an unattached man so focused on work was still in love with the memory of his deceased wife. That was the hardest kind of obstacle for another woman to overcome.

  Her dad nodded. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was an angel sent down to help us. The kind on that TV series you enjoy, Ellen.”

  Maggie’s parents were looking at Jake through blinders. Who could blame them? But she knew he was no angel. More than ever, Maggie was convinced the arresting Jake Halsey was dangerous and full of secrets.

  No police detective, however high in rank or experience, could have so much information at his fingertips this fast and easily. Even Maggie, with all her pull as an attorney and clout as a McFarland, could never produce the leads he
’d uncovered so quickly and so precisely.

  MORNING COULDN’T COME soon enough for Jake.

  The night had been endless, all because he’d been forced to say good-night to Maggie before he was ready. But he hadn’t dared linger at her parents’ home.

  Unable to lie there any longer, he rolled out of bed at six and took off on his usual run up City Creek Canyon. When he returned to his apartment, his adrenaline was still surging.

  In his gut, he knew Maggie hadn’t wanted him to leave. He could swear she felt an attraction to him on a deeper level than she was willing to admit. The chemistry was there. His own radar was never wrong about something that crucial to his happiness.

  Though he still held to his original feeling that Maggie would never be heart-whole until her sister’s case was solved, he planned to make her more aware of him before the day was out.

  After a shower, he got ready for work and went in early to start making calls to New York. Whether he hit pay dirt or not, he would visit Maggie’s law firm afterward and give her an update. Anything to be with her again.

  Two hours later, he’d gone halfway through the list of New York engravers without success. Their businesses were too new to remember the former company.

  When his cell phone rang, he clicked on without even looking at the caller ID. It was the receptionist at the hospital. She asked him to come in for therapy in the afternoon because the doctor was going to be gone on Tuesday.

  Jake said he’d be there, and hung up.

  Wendell popped in several times to know how the search for Ms. McFarland was progressing. Simone stopped in to give him some marzipan candy a family member had sent to her from France.

  When Lara came in to water his flowers, he decided he wasn’t getting anything done. Why not leave the office and surprise Maggie with an unscheduled visit? Among other things, he’d been wanting to see her office ever since he’d found out she was an attorney.

  Ten minutes later, he entered the double doors of her inner sanctum and approached the middle-aged receptionist. “I’m Jake Halsey from the Eagle Gate Genealogical Firm. Ms. McFarland asked me to come by when I had information for her.”