by JP Ratto
“Okay,” Loretta said. “But I will only tell her that you are her biological father and want to meet her. The rest will be up to you.”
I nodded.
“I pray, Mr. Holt, that you believe me when I say Hugh and I had absolutely no idea what happened before Jane was offered to us. As far as we knew, the baby came from an orphanage. We are not criminals.”
She said the last with complete conviction. “I believe you.”
Maddie and I waited in the crowded room for thirty minutes before Loretta came back alone. I rose out of my chair as my heart sank. Didn’t my daughter want to see me? Loretta came closer, a smile on her face. My spirits lifted.
“Mr. Holt, it’s too crowded in here for a reunion. A nurse showed us another empty waiting room. Jane’s there.”
We followed Loretta out of the emergency room area and down a hallway. Jane sat in a chair, her head twisted to look out a window. Outside was a brightly lit garden space with benches. She turned and stood when we entered the room.
“Jane,” Loretta said, taking her daughter’s hand, “this is Lucas Holt, your biological father.”
Loretta left the three of us alone. Maddie offered to go too, but I asked her to stay. It could have been more awkward if I’d not just rescued Jane from an attacker. I wasn’t sure how to begin the conversation; there was so much to say.
We sat, and I decided to tell Jane about myself: where I lived, and what I did for a living. She appeared interested, especially about the prospects of seeing New York City. She asked Maddie about her job as sheriff. As Maddie told of her impressive career, I found myself enamored all over again. To keep the reunion focused and give me time alone with Jane, Maddie left to get coffee.
As soon as Maddie was out of the room, Jane asked, “Where is my mother?”
It took a few seconds for me to realize she meant Susan and not Loretta. My heart was breaking. In that moment, I wanted so much for Susan to be there. Not for me, but for our daughter.
“She became very ill in the last year. She passed away a few weeks ago.”
“Oh. I’m sorry for your loss.”
“I have a picture of her, if you’d liked to see it.”
Jane nodded eagerly, and I pulled out my phone. I’d uploaded as many pictures of Susan, and Marnie when she was a baby, as I could find. I gave Jane the phone and watched her face as she scrolled through them. Her expression was a mix of pleasure and pensiveness. I had one of Susan taken about a year ago with her second husband. I pointed it out to Jane.
“She’s beautiful—and so tiny.”
I laughed. “Yes, she was. But she was also smart and athletic and…” I paused to swallow a lump in my throat. “And she loved you more than anything. We both did.”
Jane handed me back the phone and stood. She looked down at me, perplexed. “Then why did you give me away?”
With a mix of anger and remorse, I said, “We didn’t.”
Chapter 36
I’d told the story of the kidnapping many times in the last fifteen years. I always began at the point when I arrived at Eastside Daycare, along with officers from the Twelfth Precinct. Now, I sat face to face with my daughter, ready to tell it for, I’d hoped, the last time. She waited for me to begin when the memory of the minutes before I received the call that shattered my life, stormed through my mind.
“Ray, I know Grayson is guilty. I need more time to prove it.”
Ray and I sat at a table in McAllister’s with two mugs of pale ale and two burgers. I didn’t have much of an appetite for food. We’d been ordered to cease pursuing Senator Todd Grayson as a suspect in the murder of call girl Sheila Rand.
“We have no authority to continue, Lucas. You have to let it go. You’re already delving too deep. You know, some cases are not worth risking your career for.”
I couldn’t believe Ray had said that. Lowering his eyes to his mug of beer, he knew what was coming. “So you think because she’s as Sheppard put it, ‘just a two-bit call girl,’ she’s not worth our time.”
“C’mon, you know that’s not what I think. What’s with you and this case? We’ve had cases we had to back off from due to orders from above.” Ray lifted his mug in the air when he said ‘above’ as if Captain Harold Sheppard and his ilk were on the same level as the Almighty.
“There’s something about Grayson that rubs me the wrong way. The man’s been coddled his whole life. He uses women and tosses them aside like trash. I don’t know how his wife puts up with it. She has to know what goes on. Everyone else does.”
Ray swallowed a huge bite of his blood-rare burger and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Doesn’t matter what we think about him personally. I agree the guy’s a pig, but we’re not the morality police. According to the captain, there’s not enough evidence to keep going in Grayson’s direction.”
“That’s bullshit, Ray, and you know it. We have a witness who saw Grayson enter the apartment building the time Sheila Rand indicated in her diary.”
“He’s an addict, Lucas. He was high as a kite.”
“Did we test him? I spoke with him. He didn’t seem incoherent to me. And what about the woman he says he saw enter the building before Grayson? Maybe she knows something.”
“Maybe she’s the killer.” Ray drained his mug of beer. “I’m going to get another. Want one?”
“No,” I said. “I’m good.”
When Ray came back, I continued my tirade. “I don’t care about my career. I told Sheppard before we left the precinct tonight that we should find out who the woman is. We have a pretty good description from Henry Williams.”
Ray made a face. “He was sober when I spoke to him yesterday,” I said.
“Yesterday? Jesus, Lucas, you’re going to get us all fired.” He downed his second beer, wiped his mouth, and threw down the napkin. Pulling out his wallet, he dropped some bills on the table. “I gotta go. Regina expected me home an hour ago.”
I’d made my partner angry. “I’m sorry I had to drag you into this. I told Sheppard you had nothing to do with me going to see Williams.” I picked up Ray’s money and held it out to him. “Here, it’s on me.”
He wouldn’t take it. I shrugged and, as I took out my own wallet, my beeper went off. “It’s Susan. I’d better call her; she’s picking up Marnie at daycare.”
I left my share of the bill on the table and asked Kyle if I could use the bar phone to call her. “Hi, Hon—what?” Susan was hysterical, and I could barely understand what she was saying. My heart hammered in my chest. “I’m coming right now.”
I slammed down the phone and rushed toward the door. Ray was behind me and grabbed my arm. “Hey, Lucas. What’s wrong?”
My throat felt like someone gripped it and squeezed my windpipe. I fought to speak. Ray shook me. “Did something happen at daycare? What did Susan say?”
With blast of forced breath, I told him. “Marnie’s gone.”
I took a deep shuddering breath.
Jane touched my arm. “Are you okay?”
Nodding, I calmed my breathing. It was a few more seconds before I could fully abandon my thoughts. Marnie’s gone.
Focusing all my attention on the lovely teenage girl next to me, I prepared to relate the relevant details of her abduction. I started from the moment I found out she was gone and told her how I’d never given up hope of finding her. She listened without interruption when I described receiving her picture in the mail and the information from Scott Hamlin, which led me to Elmira. It wasn’t a complete account, and I knew she would have questions. Eventually, I would have to tell her everything.
Halfway through my story Maddie had returned with hot chocolate instead of coffee. We had our drinks, and as I glanced at the time, Loretta entered the room. Jane rose and asked about her brother.
“The doctors say he’ll be okay, but has to stay overnight for observation. It’s routine.”
“I want to stay with him,” Jane said.
Her mother smiled and touched Jane’s ch
eek with the palm of her hand. “That’s sweet of you, honey. Actually your father—” She stopped and looked at me.
“Hugh wants to stay with Dylan tonight. He’s very worried about our son. I think it will be wonderful for Dylan to see his father when he wakes up.” She returned her glance at Jane. “We should go home. I have to pick up Lana from a friend’s house. She must be wondering what’s going on. She’ll want to see you, Jane.”
“Mr. Holt—”
“It’s okay, Mrs. Turner, we have to get back to the city tonight. I would like to come back sometime tomorrow, if it’s all right with you and Jane.”
Mother and daughter looked at each other, then both turned to me and nodded.
“Great. I’ll call tomorrow to firm up our plans.” I shook Loretta’s hand. She thanked me again for keeping her daughter safe.
In an unexpected move, Jane stepped forward and hugged me. “Thank you,” she said.
I held her shoulders for a moment and placed a kiss on her forehead. “See you tomorrow.”
Both women said goodbye to Maddie and left.
I felt a sudden weakness in my knees and sat down. Just as it changed over fifteen years ago, my life changed again—this time, though, I was overcome with joy.
Maddie and I sat together, quietly holding hands until my cell rang. It was Ray.
“Lucas, I’m on my way to pick up your special delivery. Any news?”
“Ray, I found her.” The words caught in my throat.
“That’s great, buddy. That’s the best news I’ve heard in…well…in a really long time.”
***
I hated leaving Jane—I was doing my best to get used to calling her that. The next day couldn’t come soon enough. I’d spoken to Ray briefly after my altercation with Keeler, as I needed his assistance. My friend would have a long night ahead of him.
Maddie and I drove the rental to Elmira Corning Airport to take the charter back to Westchester where I’d left my Range Rover. On the flight home, I told Maddie about the deal I made with Cain and the result of my confrontation with Keeler.
We were both physically exhausted by the time we got home. I told Maddie to get some sleep; I was too wound up to relax. Douglas Cain was on my mind. He wasn’t going to be happy with the outcome of my trip to Elmira.
I went up to my office to go through mail, hoping for a distraction for the angst I felt about being separated from Marnie—Jane—so soon after I’d found her. Returning to the living room, I found Maddie on the sofa, also unable to sleep. I joined her, and we sat cuddled for hours while she listened to my plans for bringing my daughter back into my life.
Chapter 37
Cain woke to the distant sound of his alarm clock. Still in his suit and sitting in the chair in his office, he fought to sort through his foggy memory. Moments later, clarity pushed through like a slap in the face.
He rushed across the hall to his bedroom. “Bobbie?” Bits and pieces of the previous night flitted through his mind.
Roberta’s gone. The one person I could count on. The one person I need most right now.
His eyes welled up as he realized he was alone in the world and his enemies weren’t far from his door. His initial reaction was to run. Run as far away as he could…and hide. He just needed time to get his head together.
Then what? What’s left for me? Life in prison? Todd was right; I knew what the job was, and I knew the risks. But I never considered the risk to Bobbie, and our marriage.
“I’m such an idiot.”
Cain returned to his office, took off his jacket and tie, and tossed them on a chair. Not caring about the time of day, he poured himself a straight whiskey and drank it in one shot. Todd chose to leave me out to dry after all I did for him. I refuse to hang alone. He walked to his wall safe and spun the dial several times until it clicked open. He removed a package and opened it.
This was my ace in the hole. Cain sat and took a few sheets of paper from his desk. I didn’t use it before. He began to write. Well, I’m using it now.
When done, he slipped each of two letters he’d written in an envelope and addressed them. He called his office, leaving Mrs. Grimes a voicemail message. Then he called his building’s concierge. Closing the package he’d taken from the safe, he attached one of the envelopes. He stood and poured another drink and gazed around his favorite room in the apartment. It was the room of a successful man—a man who deserved respect—who’d earned it. I worked hard for it.
Cain had spent all his life since college in service to Todd Grayson. He downed another swig of his drink. I’m no one’s servant.
The last fifteen years, he’d carried the burden of Marnie Holt’s kidnapping—waiting for Holt to discover the truth. None of it would have been necessary if he’d left the Rand case alone. He added more whiskey to his glass. It always comes down to taking matters into my own hands.
Lucas Holt is to blame.
Douglas Cain walked back to his desk, opened a drawer, and took out a gun. It’s time to get rid of this damn headache once, and for all.
Chapter 38
It was midmorning when my phone buzzed and woke me. I was sprawled on the sofa. Maddie wasn’t there, and I vaguely remembered her kissing me and telling me goodnight. The caller ID said it was Cain’s office calling. I groaned and wondered if I should wait to talk to him until I had my bearings and knew what I wanted to say. In the end, I decided it wouldn’t matter; our conversation was destined to be unpleasant and heated.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Holt, this is Mrs. Grimes, Douglas Cain’s secretary.”
“Yes, Mrs. Grimes.”
“Mr. Cain left a voicemail message for me to tell you he wants to see you.”
I’m sure he does. “I don’t know when I can be there. I need at least an hour.”
“Oh, not here. At his home.”
“His home?” This was odd, and I was getting a bad vibe.
“Yes, I tried to call him but he’s not answering—which is not unusual. He’s a very busy man.”
Mrs. Grimes sounded uneasy. “Is something wrong?”
“I’m not sure. Usually when he’s done with a call to me, he says, ‘thank you’ or ‘have a great day.’ This time he just said ‘goodbye.’” After a pause, she continued, “Never mind, Mr. Holt, I’m overanalyzing. When you go to his apartment—I’ll give you the address—see whoever is at the lobby desk. They’ll let you up.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“Mr. Holt?”
“Yes?”
“Tell, Mr. Cain to call me—to talk about his schedule.”
“Sure. Thanks, Mrs. Grimes.”
Cain’s secretary was worried about him. I thought I should worry too. Desperate men do desperate things. I showered and dressed quickly and comfortably, concealing my Glock in a holster under my jacket. When I went down, Maddie was in the kitchen drinking coffee.
“Going somewhere?”
“Yeah. I got a strange message from Cain, via his secretary, to go to his apartment.”
“And you’re going?” Maddie set down her coffee mug, folded her arms over her chest, and shook her head. “Not a good idea, Lucas.”
“I can handle Cain.”
“Lucas, he’s tried to have you killed before. What makes you think he won’t try to finish the job?”
“I don’t think he has it in him to do the dirty work. He and Grayson are prima donnas.”
“Don’t underestimate him. Let me come with you.”
“I won’t, and thanks for the offer, but its best I go alone.” I walked around the island counter to where Maddie stood, and kissed her. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
“I hate the word fine,” she said, unfolding her arms and slipping them around my neck. “I don’t want you to be fine; I want you to be alive.” She kissed me long and hard.
“Hmmm. That was one fine kiss.” I grinned, and she punched my shoulder.
***
Douglas Cain lived in a prewar building in
the Lenox Hill section of the city. During the twenty-minute cab ride uptown I speculated why Cain would summon me to his apartment. And why do it through his secretary in a way meant to spur my curiosity? Probably because I wouldn’t have agreed to go otherwise. Anything I had to say could be said over the phone.
If he’d tried to contact Keeler, he wouldn’t have had any luck. Did he realize the consequences of his actions were coming to bear? Did he know I would prevail with Keeler and was now looking to make another deal? What could he possibly offer me?
It didn’t make sense.
On the other hand, could he have interpreted his non-communication with Keeler as my having kept my part of the bargain? If so, then I was a loose end—his only remaining threat.
I entered the building, strode to the concierge desk, and gave my name. As Mrs. Grimes said, I was on the visitor’s list and shown the elevator to Cain’s ninth floor apartment.
There were four apartments on the floor. Three in one long wing of the L-shaped building and one in the other. The Cains lived in the short wing, set apart from the others by the elevators. I thought the sound of any activity in the lawyer’s apartment might not be heard by their neighbors. Also, it was near eleven a.m., and most residents would likely be at work.
Standing in front of the door, I pulled out my weapon, slipped in the clip, and returned it to the holster.
I rang the bell. No one came to the door.
I knocked. There was no answer.
I knocked louder. Still no answer.
Looking around to make sure the neighbors weren’t watching me, I turned the knob. The door was unlocked. I entered, closed the door over, without shutting it all the way, and stood in a long, gallery type foyer. A console table was on my immediate right, a pile of mail on top. No lights were on, but daylight streamed in from a large room further down the hall. I moved forward and debated whether I should announce my presence. My instincts told me no.
