Taken! - Bedeviled (A Taken! Novel Book 17)

by Remington Kane

  “I won’t say right now, but I will be ready to have the police interrogate her tomorrow. We’ll need you back here then.”

  “Why not talk to her now and get it over with?”

  “Because more evidence is being gathered. The child may have fooled you, Dr. White, but she won’t deceive us. You may want to think twice before bringing her into your home again.”

  Hall reached to her left and grabbed a micro tape recorder.

  “This is a small part of the 9-1-1 call made by the Ryan chauffeur, William Ortiz. I want you to listen to it carefully.”

  Hall pressed a button and the tape began to play.

  “There’s a child with me, ma’am. I’m taking her out to the limo. I can’t be sure if the murderer is still in the house or has left.”

  “All right, and if there’s trouble, drive away.”

  “Billy, I have to wash my hands; they’re bloody.”

  “There are wipes in the car, honey, but I have to get you somewhere safe.”

  “It’s all right, Billy; Grandmother has been dead for a while. She felt cold when I touched her.”

  “Is that the child, sir?”

  “Yes, she’s in shock.”

  “Oh... I see, but get to the limo and stay there, help is on the way.”

  Hall shut off the tape.

  “Did you hear the coldness in her voice, the utter lack of emotion? The girl wasn’t in shock; she’s a sociopath. If I was a mother such as yourself, Doctor, I wouldn’t let that little bitch within a mile of my children.”

  Jessica stood and glared down at Hall.

  “That ‘little bitch’ as you call her, is one of my children, or she soon will be, once the adoption goes through.”

  “You’re adopting her? That was quick.”

  “Yes and no, she’s been at our home often and is already a part of the family.”

  Jessica headed for the door.

  “I didn’t say that we were through here, Dr. White.”

  Jessica opened the door and looked back at Hall.

  “Oh, we’re through. From now on, when we talk, we’ll do so with my lawyer in the room.” Jessica took a step, but then gazed back at Hall. “Actually, there is one more thing I need to say.”

  “And what would that be?”

  “If you ever call Samantha a little bitch in my presence again, you’ll damn well wish you hadn’t.”

  Hall glared back at Jessica.

  “Don’t forget to bring young Miss Ryan back here tomorrow at the same time, and you will need a lawyer, I promise you that.”

  ***

  Jessica left Hall and took the elevator back to the ground floor. When she walked over to where her husband waited with Samantha and Wentworth, she reached out and took Samantha’s hand.

  “The DA isn’t interested in Billy. She’s going after Samantha.”

  “Me? But I didn’t kill Grandmother.”

  “I know that, honey, so we have to find out who did.”

  “I have access to excellent investigators,” Wentworth said.

  “Thank you, but no, we already have a relationship with Caliber Investigations.”

  “Oh,” Wentworth said. “And yes, they’re topnotch as well, but what do you hope to find?”

  “We need to find a path to the killer,” Mr. White said. “Because neither Billy nor Samantha murdered Mrs. Ryan.”

  Wentworth headed towards the front doors.

  “Let’s go back to my office and talk strategy.”

  ***

  As they left the building, Jessica was smiling. Samantha had not released her hand and seemed content to walk along with her.

  “Jessica?”

  “Yes, honey?”

  “Thanks for believing me.”

  “And thank you, for trusting me.”

  “With what?”

  “You’ve asked me to be a mother to you. That’s a huge responsibility. I’m honored that you trust me enough to want that.”

  Samantha stopped walking and stared up at Jessica. After giving Jessica’s hand a squeeze, she began walking again.

  Jessica had seen a light of appreciation flash in the child’s eyes, as well as a sheen of moisture, although no tears fully formed. For Samantha, that was virtually a full-blown emotional display of love and affection.

  Jessica treasured it.

  CHAPTER 9

  Viola climbed a large tree inside a cemetery and settled in to wait.

  Below her was the grave of her mother. It was her mother’s birthday and Viola knew that Violet would come to visit the grave. Viola had secured a stand to the tree she sat in days earlier. It was the type of deer stand used by hunters.

  And Viola was hunting prey, the organization known as PREY, and she would use her sister to find them for Prophet.

  Viola didn’t give a damn about what happened to the members of PREY, but she had made Prophet promise that Violet wouldn’t be harmed. Viola was certain that she could convince her sister to join her and Prophet, she just needed to get her to listen to reason.

  After releasing a sigh, Viola settled back in her makeshift guard tower and kept an eye out for her sister. Violet would visit the grave, Viola was certain of it, and when she left, Viola would follow her right back to PREY.

  ***

  Sharon Roman had worked for her father’s law firm since college, and was now a lawyer herself. Sharon was tall and lean with blue eyes and dark hair, which she wore long. She was dressed in a gray business suit with a skirt that fell to her knees, and her white blouse had a ruffled collar.

  She specialized in family law, and Jessica and her husband had hired Sharon to help them with Samantha’s adoption.

  Sharon was at the front door of the home belonging to Marvin and Alma Foster, Samantha’s maternal grandparents. The house was only three years old and was given to them by Brendan Ryan. It was a nice house in a great area, but it was the worst looking home on the block due to a neglected lawn. The two cars in the driveway were older models, while the surface of the driveway was mottled by oil stains.

  Registering these facts, Sharon figured that she could get the Fosters to agree to take less money than she was authorized to offer them by Jessica.

  The doorbell was answered by Marvin Foster. When he saw Sharon standing on his porch, he smiled.

  “Aren’t you a cutie; what are you selling?”

  “I’m a lawyer, sir. My name is Sharon Roman and I’m here to talk to you and your wife about your granddaughter, Samantha Ryan.”

  “Who’s at the door, Marv?” asked a woman’s voice. It was followed by the appearance of a blond woman who wore more makeup than most clowns. She was also stick thin, while her husband was overweight. Both of them looked to be about sixty.

  “I’m Sharon Roman, Mrs. Foster, I’m a lawyer.”

  Mrs. Foster squinted at Sharon.

  “You’re a lawyer named Roman? Our daughter used to work for a lawyer named Jeff Roman, but that was up in Boston.”

  Sharon crinkled her nose in surprise.

  “Really? That’s my dad. When did your daughter work for—wait a second, Kellie Foster. I remember Kellie, she was an intern for two summers when I was in high school. Oh my God, I didn’t realize.”

  Mrs. Foster smiled.

  “Come on in, dear. Let’s talk.”

  ***

  DA Rebecca Hall was pleased when she saw that Wentworth had sent one of his associates to sit in on her second interview with Billy Ortiz. She figured that she could press Billy harder than Wentworth would have allowed.

  She was going to make the chauffeur believe that he was the cops’ prime suspect and force him to reveal what he knew about Samantha Ryan. According to the rest of the Ryan staff, Billy Ortiz spent hours around the child every week. He had to know something that could help build a case against her.

  That had been Hall’s plan, but Wentworth’s associate had proven to be as protective of their client as Wentworth had been. Meanwhile, Billy refused to say an unkind w
ord about Samantha. He continued to do so even when Hall threatened to have him arrested for Martha Ryan’s murder. Then, it all went to hell when new evidence appeared that proved Billy was innocent.

  Detective Tucci had delivered the bad news from the video lab.

  “I don’t get it,” Hall said. “I watched every tape of the home’s exterior and the chauffeur isn’t on any of them during the timeframe the murder could have taken place.”

  “Not directly, no, but the video lab found him reflected in the glass of the pool house’s windows. Wait, let me show you the tape they made. Meet me at my desk.”

  Hall asked Billy and the lawyer to excuse her, and walked into the squad room. When she reached Tucci’s desk, she saw that he had his laptop sitting open.

  Tucci showed Hall an enhanced video that displayed reflected images in a window, those images showed Billy with Samantha as he went to work cleaning the limo.

  “Damn it!” Hall said. “Does this, and pardon the pun, cover the window of time for the murder?”

  “It does, and it clears the chauffeur. He was washing the limo right where he said he was. I was suspicious since that’s a blind spot for the cameras by the garage, but it was innocent enough.”

  Hall saw Samantha on the tape. She was perched atop an upside down bucket and talking to Billy.

  “Was Samantha Ryan there the whole time?”

  “Most of it, but she disappears back into the house for over twenty minutes.”

  “So, she could have done it, but why don’t we have video of her entering and leaving?”

  “It’s that camera over the rear door. It’s broke, remember? We see her walking that way and coming back, but there’s no actual video of her entering the home. It’s too bad old man Ryan didn’t install cameras inside. This case would have been a slam dunk.”

  “The lack of evidence that she entered the home during the time the murder occurred will leave reasonable doubt in a jury’s mind. The girl’s lawyer will claim that anyone could have entered the house unseen through that back door.”

  Tucci shook his head.

  “Nope, to enter that house you need to know the four-digit code. Whoever killed the old lady used that code to enter.”

  “Good, then that limits the suspect pool. We need more proof of the kid’s weird nature. What about that kidnapping she was involved in? Did you check on that as I asked?”

  “Of course, and one of the kidnappers is still alive; he’s in Bennnington.”

  “Bennington? That’s no good; there’s no one there but the brain dead.”

  “Not true, our boy, a piece of work named Jack... um, Jack something or other, he’s a quadriplegic. And get this, Dr. White’s husband put him there. He’s the one that rescued the girl.”

  “What is it with the Whites and this kid?”

  Tucci shrugged.

  “Who knows, but what’s our next play?”

  “Cut the chauffeur loose and then you and I will take a trip to Bennington.”

  “Good, and after that, why don’t you let me take you to dinner?”

  Hall looked surprised by the offer.

  “We’ll see, Detective, or maybe we’ll just make it drinks. I think we’ll both need one after a trip to Bennington.”

  Tucci grinned, while hoping he would finally get a chance to melt the ice princess.

  “Drinks sound good, Rebecca.”

  “Oh, I’m Rebecca now? And what’s your first name, Tucci?”

  “It’s Al.”

  “All right, Al, let’s go see this dirtbag kidnapper named Jack.”

  ***

  Viola smiled when she spotted Violet walking towards their mother’s grave.

  Although they were twins, Viola and Violet had always looked at the world differently. Viola frowned at Violet’s choice of style. Her sister was dressed in jeans, a pair of old boots, and a blue blouse with long sleeves. Violet’s raven hair was also tied back in a ponytail, while she wore no makeup.

  Viola studied Violet as she approached and wondered if her sister had a lover. The girl had always been shy around men, and picky as well. It wouldn’t surprise Viola if her sister was still a virgin.

  They had two other sisters, but didn’t share the same father with them. The other sisters were older, and Viola hadn’t spoken to them in years, while Violet kept in touch by phone. Their sisters had both married U.S. naval officers and moved overseas.

  Despite their differences, Viola loved Violet. She also loved Prophet, but if Prophet ever harmed her sister there would be hell to pay.

  Violet laid a bouquet of flowers atop the grave and began whispering to their mother. Viola thought it was all just silly and a waste of time. Once you were dead, you were dead, and what lay inside the grave was just rotted flesh.

  She stayed as quiet as she could until Violet finally walked off while wiping away tears. When she was certain that Violet wouldn’t glance back, Viola climbed down to follow her. Despite her beliefs, as she passed her mother’s grave, Viola whispered, “Love you, Mom,” and blew a kiss at the headstone.

  The loss of her mother still hurt, and she missed the woman dearly.

  Viola drove away from the cemetery while following the car driven by Violet.

  She was confident they she would soon know PREY’s whereabouts, and that the knowledge would lead to PREY’s destruction.

  CHAPTER 10

  Sharon Roman heard the anger in Alma Foster’s voice as she spoke of the affair her late daughter had.

  “It happened the year she graduated college, but she was still naïve. The bastard that knocked her up was one of your father’s clients and a married man. I saw them together once, from a distance, but I couldn’t describe him. He was tall though, and Kellie always went on and on about how good looking he was.”

  “And you say that he gave her money?”

  “Yeah, for an abortion, but when Tommy Ryan forgave her for the affair, Kellie decided to keep the baby.”

  Sharon went on to tell the Fosters about the death and murder of Samantha’s other grandparents, and the older couple shared a worried glance.

  Marvin Foster leaned towards Sharon.

  “You’re not thinking of dumping the kid here are you? Because we’re too old for that. Kellie was enough.”

  Sharon tried to hide the disgust she felt towards Marvin and forced a smile onto her face.

  “There’s a couple that wants to adopt Samantha. They were friends of the family and Samantha wants to be with them.”

  Again, the older couple shared a look, but this time, Sharon saw dollar signs flashing in their eyes. Figuring that she would cut to the chase, Sharon brought up the subject of money.

  “This couple I mentioned, they’re willing to offer financial remuneration for the sacrifice you’ll be making.”

  “How much?” Marv asked, and afterwards, he gestured about. “Old man Ryan bought this house for us.”

  Sharon smiled.

  “Mr. Ryan was also a billionaire at the time; you may want to lower your expectations.”

  Sharon reached into her purse and took out a cashier’s check for one-hundred thousand dollars.

  “This is what my clients are willing to offer. If you refuse it, then you can expect someone from child protective services to get in contact with you concerning your taking custody of Samantha. As her grandparents and only known blood relatives, you would be expected to provide for her.”

  “A hundred K?” Marvin said. “That sounds cheap.”

  The check disappeared back into Sharon’s purse. After looking at her watch, she stood.

  “I’m running late for another appointment, but I’ll give the couple your decision.”

  “Whoa, sit down,” Marv said. “I said it sounded cheap, but give us a second to talk it over, hmm?”

  Sharon sighed.

  “All right, and while you’re doing that, I’ll make a call. I have to let my next appointment know that I’ll be a few minutes late.”

  While Marv
and Alma moved into the kitchen to talk, Sharon took out her phone and called Jessica.

  “Hi Jessica, it’s Sharon.”

  “How is it going?”

  “Good, I think they’ll take the small check.”

  “When you said that Brendan Ryan bought them a house I thought you would need the big check, the one for half a million.”

  “We’re still in negotiation, but I think I have them. I’ll call you back when I know for certain.”

  “What are they like?”

  “About the way that Mr. Wentworth described them, but hey, did you know that Samantha’s mother was Kellie Foster?”

  “Kellie Foster? I don’t think I know that name.”

  “Oh right, you weren’t in the office that often, but she was one of my dad’s law interns for a couple of summers. I’m sure your husband would remember her. He was doing a lot of business with us back then.”

  “I’ll ask him,” Jessica said, “But that is some coincidence.”

  “Okay, I’ll call you soon. The Fosters are coming back into the room.”

  Sharon ended the call and looked up to see the older couple smiling at her.

  “We’ll take it,” Marv said. “After all, it’s an unexpected windfall.”

  Sharon smiled back and brought out the check, along with the appropriate paperwork. Sharon suggested that they take the paperwork to their lawyer. However, the Fosters were so eager for the money that they signed everything she placed before them.

  She left them with their check and was glad to be out of their presence. Not once had they asked about Samantha or for any details concerning the people who would be taking care of her from now on.

  After calling Jessica back and giving her the good news, Sharon called her parents.

  She told them both that she loved them, while silently thanking God that the Fosters hadn’t raised her.

  ***

  Once Sharon had called and assured them that the path was clear to adopt Samantha, Jessica and her husband sat down with her while the twins took their afternoon nap.

  Samantha looked surprised when she learned that she wasn’t really a Ryan, and she made an observation.

  “Grandfather must have loved me. He never treated me as if I weren’t his own.”

  “You were his, Samantha, just like you’ll now be ours,” Jessica said. “Once we adopt you, you’ll be our child every bit as much as Emma and Liam are.”