Sisters By Choice

by Lillian Duncan

  “So…it’s time to get up and get moving.”

  “That’s what I’m saying, girl. And besides…you’ve got some company.”

  ****

  After a quick shower, Maria walked into Suzanne’s living room.

  Conrad sat on the sofa talking with a young blonde girl.

  Two sets of eyes turned in her direction.

  The teenaged girl she’d offered a job earlier in the week. Had it been less than a week? She hadn’t even thought about The Bouquet in light of all that had happened.

  The young girl stood, clearly uncomfortable. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know anything about what’s been going on. I don’t have a TV at home. I didn’t know. I showed up at your flower shop to work, and then he brought me here. I tried to tell him I’d just go home, but he insisted I come.”

  Maria’s mind flashed back to the day she told the girl to come work at the flower shop.

  Layla had been aggravated that someone was trying to take away her job.

  Tears welled up, but Maria refused to give in to them.

  Honor God.

  That’s what Suzanne did by going to work every day, and that’s what Maria would do as well.

  She looked at Conrad. He winked at her.

  She shook her head and rewarded him with a slight smile. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing, Conrad. This is just a ploy.”

  “Me? All I did was bring your new employee to see you.”

  She ran a hand through her still damp hair. Could she do this? Did she even want to? Her cover had been blown. Witness Protection wanted to move her to a new location, but there was no way she was leaving Sunberry until Layla…was back. “I’m…I’m not ready.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude. I’m so sorry.” The girl wrung her hands.

  “Yes, you are, Maria.” Conrad said. “You are stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

  “I ca—oh, no. I just remembered I have a wedding this afternoon. I’ve done nothing for it. I didn’t even call to cancel.”

  “Good thing you have Rose here to help. And what a great name for someone working in a flower shop, don’t you think?”

  “Your name is Rose?” Maria asked.

  “It is, but most people call me Rosie.”

  “That’s pretty. Write down your phone number and if I open up again, I’ll give you a call, Rosie.”

  “We don’t have a phone. I didn’t mean to cause no problem. Don’t worry about it.”

  “I’m sorry.” Maria looked at Conrad. “I just can’t do it. I’m not ready.”

  “OK, you’ll be ready when you’re ready. I’ll drive Rosie home, and then I’ll be back. I’m off work today.”

  She’d disappointed Conrad and Suzanne.

  Honor God. Keep your promises.

  It was only a small wedding with a few flower arrangements and the bridal bouquet. Maria stared past Rosie, thinking of the bride who would have no bridal bouquet as she marched down the aisle that afternoon on her father’s arm. She threw up her hands in surrender. “Never mind. She can come to The Bouquet with me. I’ve got a wedding to do. But first I’ll need to drive into Columbus to the Floral Warehouse.”

  A big smile landed on Conrad’s face.

  ****

  Maria put the final arrangement in her floral truck and turned to a smiling Conrad and Rosie. “I can’t believe we actually finished with time to spare.”

  “That bride will be very happy,” Conrad said.

  “Thanks to both of you. I could never have finished without your help.”

  “Don’t forget about me.” Suzanne walked out of the back. “If I hadn’t got your van at your apartment, all your hard work would be for naught.”

  “So true. So true.” Conrad chimed in. “And, I’m sure you stopped in to check on Mr. Ricky Snyder while you were there.”

  “I did no such thing.”

  “Thanks,” Maria hugged Suzanne. “I couldn’t have made it through this week without you.”

  Suzanne hugged her back and whispered in her ear. “You’ve honored God today.”

  Maria turned to Conrad. His arms went around her and she relaxed for a moment, but then pulled away, smiling. “Who would ever have thought a tough cop like you could make such beautiful flower arrangements?”

  “I am a man of many talents.”

  “Yes, you are. Thanks so much—for everything.” She looked at her two new friends. “I don’t know how to repay you.”

  “I don’t know about Zink,” Conrad said, “but you can buy me dinner tonight.”

  “It’s a date.” Her cheeks turned warm. “I don’t mean a date date. I just meant it’s a…a…dinner.”

  “It’s a date. See you then.” He winked.

  41

  Rosie sat beside Maria in the back of the church.

  People crowded in around the bride and groom, laughing, hugging and congratulating the newlyweds who still stood at the front of the church. No formalities here, no receiving line, just joyful celebration.

  “Beautiful wedding, don’t you think?” Maria whispered.

  The bride had been so grateful for Maria providing the flowers in spite of her circumstances. She’d insisted Maria and Rosie stay for the wedding.

  “It was. You could see the love on their faces. No wonder you love your job. Flowers make people happy.”

  “Most of the time.” Maria didn’t mention that flowers were part of the funeral ritual as well. “Ready to go?”

  “Sure.”

  “How did you get to The Bouquet?” Maria asked, once they were in the car. “Is your car there?”

  “I don’t have a car. I walked.”

  “I’ll drop you off at your house.”

  “You don’t have to do that. I can walk. It’s not that far.”

  “It’s not a bother. Where do you live?”

  Rosie’s cheeks turned pink. “It’s outside of town. My mom and I live in one of the rooms at the Dew Drop Inn.”

  “Never heard of it.”

  “It’s just a tiny motel. Not very nice, but it’s all we can afford for now.”

  “I’m sure it’s fine.”

  “It’s horrible actually.” Rosie shrugged. “But my mom’s sick and can’t work right now. We’re blessed to have a roof over our head.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Maria was glad she’d offered Rosie a job. She reached in her purse and pulled out three twenties. “For today’s work.”

  “That’s too much.”

  “Not for today. It was special circumstances. From now on, I’ll make sure to pay you on time. How’s that sound?”

  Rosie nodded and took the money. “Can we stop at the grocery store before you take me out? That way I can pick up some food. And maybe some orange juice for my mom. It might make her feel better.”

  “Great idea. I need a few things, as well. I’m planning to go back to my own apartment tonight.” She bit her lip at the thought of the empty home, but Suzanne was right. She couldn’t go to bed and give up.

  Honor God would be her mantra for now.

  She’d taken steps today to reclaim her life, and in the process made two people’s lives a little better. Four, if she counted Rosie and her mother.

  42

  “Do you think we did the right thing?” Conrad looked up from his computer screen at Zink. In spite of not being scheduled, they’d both ended up at the station, trying to find a lead on Layla.

  “You mean getting Maria up out of bed and back to the flower shop?”

  “It might be too soon. It’s only been a few days. She has a right to a meltdown. Her daughter’s missing.”

  “She does have a right, but believe me. It won’t do her any good. It will only make things worse. The longer she was in the bed the harder it would have been to get up and take that first step.”

  “It’s amazing how you come in each day and smile.”

  Zink brushed her fingernails against her chest and smiled. “I am sort of
amazing, aren’t I?”

  “Don’t let it go to your head.”

  She leaned back in her chair and twirled a pencil. “I do think it’s the right thing for Maria to do. As my therapist explained, people are creatures of habit, so if we get in the habit of giving up and being depressed, we only dig a deeper hole to climb out of.”

  “So, the reverse is true as well.”

  Zink looked at him with a question in her eyes.

  “If you get in the habit of ignoring the bad things, it makes it easier to get on with life.”

  “I have found that to be true.”

  “The U.S. Marshals aren’t very happy about her decision to stay in town.”

  “Well they’re idiots if they thought Maria would just pack up and leave for parts unknown without her daughter. So she might as well forge some sort of life here until…” She changed the subject. “I hear that Morgan Reed resigned.”

  “Resigned? I doubt it. More like got fired. I can’t believe she was just going to turn Maria over to the Feds without an argument.”

  “I don’t think she’s in any danger now, anyway.”

  “Who? Morgan?”

  She wadded up a sheet of paper and threw it at him. “No, not Morgan. Maria. Whoever took Layla clearly wanted her and not Maria. I think she’s safe.”

  “For what it’s worth, I agree.”

  His computer beeped an alarm message. After clicking a few keystrokes, he looked up at Zink again. “They found Hamm’s rental car.”

  “Really? Where?”

  “At the car rental place where it was rented from. One of the workers was checking out another car and found it.”

  “You’re kidding me. That’s an odd thing to do.”

  “It is. What do you suppose it means?”

  Neither of them spoke for a few minutes as they each worked out what it could mean.

  “If I had a guess,” Zink finally said, “I would say it means he dropped it off and hopped on a plane.”

  “With Layla?”

  “That would be hard to do, wouldn’t it? He would need ID for her to get on a plane. Maybe he was alone.”

  Conrad refused to believe the worst. Why would the man have gone to all the trouble of taking the little girl and then kill her? It didn’t make sense. “Maybe he stole another car. He knew we’d be looking for that one so he had to ditch it and get something else. If he took a car out of long-term parking, it could be days or weeks before the owner even knows it’s been stolen.”

  “Yeah, it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Except we don’t even know what the needle looks like. Not good.”

  “Not good at all.” He stood and picked up his keys.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To talk to the guy who found the car.”

  Zink tapped her watch. “Maria will be here to pick you up for your date.”

  “I think finding her daughter is more important than missing a dinner date.”

  “I do too, but you should call and let her know you might be late. After all, it’s your first date.”

  “Not if you count the coffee dates we had. And besides you heard the woman. It’s not a date date, anyway.”

  “Oh, please. The two of you are so smitten.”

  “All the more reason to find her daughter. I don’t see much happening in our relationship while her heart is broken. Anyway, I’ll leave a message here and tell her I’ll be a little late.”

  “Are you going to tell her what you’re doing?”

  “No reason to get her hopes up.”

  ****

  Maria pulled into the parking lot of the ramshackle motel. It was worse than she imagined. She glanced over at Rosie.

  “I know it looks bad.” She shrugged. “Who am I kidding? It is what it is.”

  Maria was glad she’d offered help to the teen. “How much is it?”

  “Seventy-five dollars a week. That takes about half my mom’s check, and then we use the rest for food.”

  “Are you going to school?”

  “I am. I know I have to. It’s the only way we’re going to get out of this mess.”

  “Good girl.” Making a decision, Maria looked over at Rosie. “I can give you twenty hours a week. Come in Wednesday after school and we can work out a schedule.”

  “Thanks. That will help so much.”

  Maria scanned the empty parking lot wondering if it was safe for Rosie and her mother. The place looked less than reputable. “Who else stays here?”

  Rosie pointed at the first room. “Bob, that’s the owner, stays there with his girlfriend. And then it was just Mom and me. We’re in the second unit. But some guy showed up a few days ago. He stays in the last room. He gives me the creeps.”

  Her mother alarm went off. “Why?”

  “I don’t know. Something about him I don’t like. Bob told me that he asked to have the very last room. Even though it’s smaller than the rest of the rooms. And he keeps his car parked around back. Kind of strange since his car’s the only one in the parking lot besides Bob’s.”

  “Probably hiding from his wife or girlfriend?”

  Rosie giggled. “Or both. You’re probably right. We don’t see that many people around here like him. I guess I’m just being judgmental because of his accent.”

  “His accent?” Maria’s heart dropped a beat. His accent. Her world tilted on its axis. It wouldn’t realign until she had Layla back.

  A memory surfaced. Maria had been cooking Raymond’s breakfast omelet. He’d walked in and smiled pleasantly at her. “How are you this morning, dear?” His voice sounded different somehow. She thought she was tired because sleep had not come easy for her the night before.

  “Fine.” She set down the plate in front of him. ”And yourself?”

  “Just wonderful. It looks delicious. So, what are your plans for today?”

  His voice definitely sounded different. Raymond rarely engaged in morning conversation. And he never asked about her daily plans unless it related to Layla.

  “Not much. I might take Layla to the park. And then we have swimming lessons this afternoon. I still have a few last-minute things to do for the benefit.”

  “That sounds nice. I read a newspaper article that said American children don’t get as much physical activity as they need. We don’t want our daughter to get fat and lazy, do we?”

  Maria looked over at her husband. Had there been an odd tone when he said the word American? Almost a sneer. She chuckled. “I’m sure that’s very true. So many children want to stay in the house playing video games for hours and hours instead of going outside in the fresh air.”

  “It is very sad indeed.” His voice—clipped and stilted, almost a foreign accent, but that was impossible. He didn’t speak with an accent. He was American.

  She looked up from the omelet and over at him.

  They gazes met.

  He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

  A chill travelled down her spine.

  They stared at each for a moment, and then he lifted the paper once again.

  Maria turned back to the sink…

  She’d ignored that moment so long ago and had regretted it ever since. She wouldn’t ignore this moment. She looked over at Rosie. “What does this man look like?”

  43

  Rosie walked to the motel door. The girl turned and gave Maria a little wave, and then disappeared inside.

  Maria’s heart pounded, her anxiety rising. She had to find out who the stranger with the accent was in that motel room. She knew her thoughts were irrational and crazy, but so be it.

  Putting her car into reverse she turned around. Rosie said the man parked his car behind the motel, but it would look too suspicious for her to drive behind the motel to get a look.

  The last thing she wanted was to do something that would make him leave or cause him to be suspicious.

  Her gaze scanned the area as her mind puzzled out her next move. The trees. The trees would hide her.r />
  At the drive, she turned right instead of left towards town. She drove down the country road until she was out of sight of the motel, and then pulled to the side of the road.

  Stepping out of the car, she stared at the woods. Were these the same woods that were behind Suzanne’s house? They could be, but not knowing the area very well, she couldn’t be sure.

  Her mind’s eye saw a man grabbing Layla as she made her way out of the tunnel and dragging her through the woods to the tiny motel. That would explain why they hadn’t found a car. It could have been parked here at the motel the whole time. Layla here at the motel? So close to her all this time?

  Maria fought back the rising emotions. This was not the time to fall apart.

  But why was he still here, and was Layla really with him—if it was Raymond at all? It didn’t make sense that he’d be here after almost a week. She was sure she was wrong, but she had to know for certain that the man in that motel room wasn’t Raymond.

  Instead of walking down the road, she headed into the trees. It felt safer—less exposed. With each step her heart pounded harder. One moment she knew she was right and in the next she knew she was being ridiculous and crazy. She stopped at the edge of the trees and stared at the motel.

  Was Raymond in that room with Layla?

  44

  The car was parked behind the motel just as Rosie had described. Maria maneuvered to the best location, pulled out her cell phone, and took a picture of the car. But it was too far away.

  She stepped further back into the woods.

  Just in case someone was looking out the window.

  She adjusted the picture making it larger and larger until she could read the license plate easily. Time to call Conrad.

  She hit his number and waited. He would think she was nuts, and she probably was. But when Rosie said the words—man with an accent—something told her to listen and to act. No, not something—God.

  “Hello, Maria. Did you get my message?”

  “No, what message?”

  “I left a message at the station telling you I’d be late. Isn’t that why you’re calling?”

  “I’m not at the station. I need a favor.”