Broken Promise

by Tara Thomas

  Alyssa thanked her and she walked with Kipling to the office that had been pointed out to her.

  “Here goes nothing,” she said, and knocked.

  Within a few seconds, the door opened and a smallish man with balding hair stood in the doorway. He glanced at Kipling first. “Yes?” he asked, and shifted his gaze to her.

  He turned so pale, she thought for a second he was going to pass out, but he quickly collected himself and, with a quick glance around the empty hallway, ushered them inside. He looked completely settled when he locked the door behind them and led them to a small office. He pointed to two chairs in front of his desk and took a seat on the opposite side.

  “Hi, I’m—” Alyssa started, but stopped talking when Jansen held his hand up.

  Jansen looked at Kipling. “I’m guessing you’re one of the Benedict boys?” Kipling looked mildly shocked until Jansen continued. “It’s the eye color. Very unique.”

  Alyssa was impressed he’d picked up on that. If she had done the same, everyone might have realized that Jade was related to the brothers.

  “And I’m assuming since you are a Benedict, your visit has something to do with the funding request we submitted?”

  “Yes,” Kipling said. “We came by to look around and make sure your shelter was up to the minimum requirements. Especially since there have been several people disappearing from this facility over the last few months. We’d like to look into those files and see if perhaps there’s any information that would help us find them.”

  Jansen leaned back in his seat. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if that’s the case, the missing people are probably dead.”

  “So you have heard of them?” she asked, surprised at his easy-go-lucky attitude about the entire thing.

  “I never claimed not to have heard of them,” Jansen said. “After all, I do work here. However, I’m not going to talk about them.”

  The man made no sense. Seriously. Could he be any more of a walking contradiction? “I’m not sure why you let us in your office if you knew who we were, but yet aren’t going to give us any information.”

  Jansen templed his fingers. “Simple. I didn’t know until I let you in that you were Allison Grant’s sister.”

  Little he could have said would have shocked her more. She had numerous questions pop to her mind, but she couldn’t get her brain to work well enough to pick one to ask.

  “You knew Alyssa’s sister?” Kipling asked, and she shot him a look of thanks.

  “Not personally. I knew of her.” He only spoke that much and didn’t add anything further.

  “And?” Kipling asked.

  “There is no and. That’s all there is.”

  He knew more. She knew he did. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have reacted so strongly at the sight of her. “Please,” she pleaded. “We came here at great risk.”

  “Not my problem. I didn’t tell you to come.”

  “It’s just,” she took a deep breath, “I feel like I’m so close and for the first time ever, I believe I might have a chance to solve this case.”

  Jansen shook his head. “You won’t. The only thing you’ll do is draw unwanted attention to yourself. Trust me on this.”

  “I don’t even know you. How do you expect me to trust you?”

  Jansen pushed back from his chair and stood up. “Frankly, Officer Adams, that’s not my problem. I hate to run you out, but I have a call starting soon.”

  “One last thing.” Kipling stood up. “When you say you knew of her, what exactly did you mean?”

  “Ms. Grant got involved with some shady people who attracted danger and trouble. Before she knew what had happened, she was in a lot deeper than she ever expected and couldn’t find her way out. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

  She wasn’t happy about being kicked out of his office, she would have preferred to stay and ask question after question about her sister. But she knew a lost cause when she saw one.

  Kipling looked just as confused as she felt. He waited until they heard the lock click behind them and shook his head. “If that wasn’t the strangest meeting I’ve ever been in, it was definitely one of them.”

  “So it wasn’t just me thinking that?”

  “No,” he said. “There’s more going on here than what we’re aware of.” Kipling glanced around them as he talked.

  She met his eyes. “So we have to come back. Tonight.”

  * * *

  Jade wasn’t sure she’d ever seen The Gentleman in such a foul and cantankerous mood. And that unwelcome thought scared her more than anything she’d seen in recent days.

  He smashed his fist into the wall, not seeming to care or even realize that he was bleeding. “Tell me again how you let them get away,” he said to whoever was on the phone he held in his good hand.

  “I see,” he said after some time. “And it never occurred to you that this might happen if they discarded their phones?”

  She obviously couldn’t hear what the person on the other end said, but she did watch as The Gentleman’s face grew red with rage. Yet, when he spoke again, his voice was calm. “I see. You didn’t think that they would ever discard their phones. Where are the phones now?” There was a pause as the answer was given. “Good. Good. Very well.”

  He hung up and dialed another number. “Jackson. David is at the United Methodist Church. Inside. Lower level. Kill him and bring me all the electronics on his person.” He turned around at her gasp, looking surprised that she was there. Though why that would be, she wasn’t sure. She was tied up. It wasn’t like she could go anywhere. But she wished she could so she could keep David safe. “On second thought, subdue him and bring him to me. I have someone here with me and I think a bit of sport would be just the thing to revive me.”

  He said nothing else, but hung up and walked toward her. She tried to hide the shiver he made run up and down her back, but she wasn’t sure how successful she was. Not very, considering the evil grin he gave her. “David has failed me and as a result, he must die. You’re the one who’s going to kill him.”

  * * *

  “Run that by me again?” Kipling knew she couldn’t have said what he thought she did.

  “We need to spend the night at the shelter.”

  He groaned. He had heard correctly. “When you said we had to come back, I didn’t know you meant we’d have to spend the night. We can’t go back there. We’re too recognizable.”

  “I didn’t say we were going to go as ourselves.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “Who else would we go as?”

  Forty-five minutes later, he made a note to never ask her that question again. She had managed to somehow find at the school, thanks to the drama department, materials that aged him considerably, but she couldn’t find anything to mask his eyes. With a sigh, she finally handed him a pair of sunglasses. “Put these on.”

  He slipped them on and she leaned back against the countertop she had been working at. She’d done something to her face that added a few wrinkles and managed to make her look years older. As she studied him in return, she rubbed her hand on her much-too-realistic-looking pregnant stomach. He wasn’t sure what she’d discovered that actually made her look pregnant. And he honestly didn’t care to know. All he could focus on at the moment, was the way she looked pregnant and, even though he knew he shouldn’t, he allowed himself to imagine for a second or two that it was his.

  “Kipling?” she asked. “Are you ready to go?”

  He glanced up from her fake baby belly. “What?”

  She tilted her head. “Are you okay? I asked if you were ready to go.”

  “Yes, to both.” The glasses she’d found for him slipped down his nose. “Do I keep these on?”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  He sighed and held out his hand. “You should know if you were really the mother of my child, I’d drive. Or take a cab.”

  They walked to the shelter in silence. Kipling tried to keep his eyes on their surroundings, while at th
e same time taking care not to look as if he was doing so. He couldn’t stop feeling like any second someone was going to jump out at them and say, “There they are,” exposing them for all to see.

  But nothing of the sort happened and they arrived at the shelter with no issues.

  “Let me do the talking,” Alyssa said as they walked up to the front door.

  Kipling continued to be amazed by her. He’d yet to see her approach anything without the complete confidence that she would succeed. The only time he saw her falter was when they approached the front office. Fortunately, it was not manned by the same woman as earlier. And Alyssa was all smiles when the woman turned their way and asked, “Can I help you?”

  “I hope so,” Alyssa said, drawing out her vowels and making her normally subtle southern accent very intense. “I’m Lynda and this is my husband, Lloyd. We’re on our way to Savannah and need a place to spend the night. Normally, I wouldn’t mind being on the streets, you know, but we did that last night, and the little one didn’t like it.” She rubbed her hands over her belly.

  “Of course,” the shelter worker smiled sweetly at Alyssa and then turned her attention to him. “Would you mind taking the glasses off, Lloyd?”

  Kipling looked at Alyssa. Now what?

  But she seemed to have anticipated the question and stood in between them. “He has to keep the glasses on. He has this light sensitivity thing.” She wrinkled her eyebrows. “Photo-something? I can’t remember. All I know is that he can’t take them off or he’ll barf everywhere.”

  No more mention was made of his glasses, instead the worker flipped through a stack of papers. “Normally, we separate the men and women, but I don’t think we’ll do that in this case.”

  Alyssa and Kipling exchanged a thank goodness look.

  “I have a private room I’m going to put you in since it’s just for the night.” She looked up with a grin. “Come with me, I’ll show you around.”

  They followed her down a hallway they hadn’t been in before. Kipling couldn’t help but notice that Alyssa looked more and more uneasy the deeper they went down the hall.

  “Men’s bathroom is right there.” The guide pointed with her left hand. “And women’s is right across the hall. Your room doesn’t have a private bathroom and those are the closest to where you’ll be staying.”

  They walked a few more steps and made it to an open door. “Here’s your room. Everything you need should be in there, but come see me at the desk if it’s not. Breakfast is at seven sharp.” She didn’t lead them inside, but bid them good night and turned and went back to the desk.

  Kipling put his hand on Alyssa’s lower back and walked with her inside. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

  Alyssa took a deep breath and looked around the small room. It only contained a bed and two small chairs. “My sister was in a room like this. It never occurred to me to question why she had a private room.”

  Kipling didn’t know how to respond to that, so he simply put his arms around her and held her close. “It’s okay,” he said, hoping it was the truth. “We’re so close. We’re going to find out what happened to your sister and get justice for her. And we’re going to find Jade and the two of you are going to do all those aunt-and-niece things, like helping her get ready for a date and passing out ice cream when some jerk breaks up with her. I’ll see to it that you catch up and become the best of friends.”

  She chuckled. He felt the vibrations up and down his chest. “I know you can’t promise any such thing, but it does make me feel better to hear you say them.”

  “If I could give up my entire fortune to ensure it would happen, I’d do it in a second,” he whispered in her ear.

  * * *

  They had decided to wait until just after midnight to go exploring. By then surely everyone would be in bed and asleep. They were certain someone was paid to keep watch overnight, but hopefully they would be able to keep out of that person’s way.

  However, just before midnight someone knocked on their door. Alyssa drew her gun and nodded to Kipling. He cracked open the door and they were surprised to see Jansen standing there.

  He looked over his shoulder before addressing them. “The Gentleman knows you’re here and he’ll be here any second.”

  “How?” Alyssa asked.

  “I’m not sure, but someone came by, shortly after you left, and took all the remaining files from that period of time.”

  “Shit,” Kipling said,

  “You need to leave. Now.” He looked over his shoulder again, but this time, he lifted a hand in a half wave. When he turned back to them, his face was pale. “They’re here. You can’t leave through the door anymore.” Another look over his shoulder. “Head out the window. Now!”

  CHAPTER 13

  THIRTY-THREE YEARS AGO

  WEDDING REHEARSAL DINNER

  OF FRANKLIN AND HELEN

  Everyone was calling it the wedding of the century. If it had been anyone else getting married, Howard would have laughed at how pretentious it sounded. Sure, he’d agree, the bride’s family had spent a small fortune on the event and damn near everyone was invited, and really, did there need to be ten bridesmaids? But the wedding of the century? Shouldn’t that be reserved for royalty?

  The real kind, that is. Not the kind that comes with a fake title given to you by the media to sell more papers.

  But Howard wasn’t in a laughing mood today. He was in a near panic because he was running out of time. This time tomorrow it would be too late. This time tomorrow, the only woman he’d ever loved would be married to his best friend.

  Howard took most of the blame and laid it right on his own head. After all, the wedding hadn’t snuck up on him. They’d been planning the thing for almost two years. So he had no room to say he didn’t have the time to do anything. The truth was, he’d been chicken. He’d been afraid.

  And it was so obvious to him, and therefore should be obvious to everyone, that Frank was seeing other women behind Helen’s back. Howard would never forget the day he came home from class early and found Frank, naked and in the kitchen, with a woman who wasn’t Helen.

  He’d ignored the couple and went past them into his room, and slammed the door. Until that moment, he’d only suspected that Frank was cheating on his fiancée. Now he’d seen the truth with his own eyes.

  Even now, months later, he still remembered feeling equal parts angry and bewildered.

  Angry, because how could Frank cheat on Helen? Bewildered, because why would he cheat on Helen?

  His first thought was that he needed to tell Helen, but the more he thought about it, he thought it would be so much easier for him to show up and be the knight-in-shining-armor who saved the day than to be the bastard who pointed out what an ass her fiancé was.

  He risked a look at Helen. She looked radiant, but was it all an act? Sitting at the head table, sharing whispers and kisses with Frank, she looked happy and in love. Howard stood up and walked to the open bar to get a refill of his Scotch.

  It no longer mattered if she was pretending or blissfully in love. He was running out of time. The years had become months had become weeks had become days. Now, he was down to mere hours.

  * * *

  Hours later, he was on a mission. This was it. Now or never. His last chance. He tried not to laugh at the thought that he had Frank to thank for it. If Frank had any idea what Howard planned to do, he’d never have asked his roommate to make sure his bride made it home okay.

  But he had, and Howard was going to grab it and take it for all it was worth. Telling himself to settle down, he stepped outside.

  His breath caught as it normally did when her beauty struck him. And beauty seemed almost common as a way to describe her. Especially in the moonlight the way she was now.

  “Helen?”

  She turned to him and smiled. “Howard, how are you? I feel as if I haven’t seen or spoken to you all day.”

  He shoved his hands in his pockets. “You have been a bit busy. It’
s understandable. After all, it’s not like you get married every day.”

  She laughed and as always when he heard that sound, his heart wanted to skip out of his chest. But tonight it was much more than that. Tonight, his heart not only skipped, it jumped and raced because this night was so much more important than any other night.

  He wondered if Helen saw anything different about him tonight. Probably not, more than likely her head was going in fifteen thousand different directions and though he was getting ready to make it fifteen thousand and one, he didn’t feel bad.

  “Am I needed somewhere?” she asked, then frowned. “Surely not, it has to be after midnight. Do you have a watch?”

  “It is after midnight. That’s why I’m here. Frank asked me to make sure you got home safely.” She still looked confused, so he explained. “It’s your wedding day, so you can’t see Frank until the big moment.”

  “Oh, right.” She laughed again. “It is, isn’t it? My wedding day.” She looped her arm through his. “And you’re here to see me home safely. What a gentleman you are.”

  He bet “gentleman” would be the last word she’d use when he told her what he was getting ready to do, but that couldn’t be helped. He took a deep breath and said what he’d been trying to find the words to say for years.

  “There’s probably a better way to say this,” he started. “I know there’s a better time. Unfortunately, I find I’m out of time and this is my only opportunity. Or more aptly, my last opportunity.”

  “Howard.” She pulled back. “You’re confusing and scaring me. What in the world?”

  “Just listen to me, Helen.”

  She nodded. “Go on then.”

  Fortunately, they were close enough to her apartment to walk. Also in their favor was the fact that there were very few other people out and about this time of night. A quick look around and he didn’t see anyone else.

  “Frank is cheating on you.” The words rushed out and he felt so much lighter getting them off of his chest. But a quick glance at Helen showed the burden now fell on her and she found it too heavy to carry.