“I assume you’ll also be looking at the whereabouts of any natural suspects who might be on local law enforcement’s radar,” Alex said.
“Of course,” Langland said. “I’ve seen you on television, Judge. So I’m aware of your expertise in criminal law. I wasn’t sure how blunt to be with the rest of the family.”
Marcy’s brother-in-law Alex had been one of the country’s most well-regarded defense attorneys before he was confirmed to the federal bench three months earlier. His stint as the host of the first three episodes of the Under Suspicion series of specials had only increased his public profile.
“I assure you,” Marcy said, “that we want to know every piece of information you have.”
“In that case, you should know that we have officers from the Suffolk County Police Department’s Marine Bureau out on the water, looking for any signs that he might—”
The detective paused, and Marcy nodded that she understood the implication.
“And when Judge Buckley referred to ‘natural suspects,’ I’ve got someone running a list of high-risk registered sex offenders in the area. Also some EDPs—emotionally disturbed persons, in the parlance. We’ll be looking for any matching MOs or other red flags.”
“I see.”
The possible explanations seemed to grow worse at every turn.
As if her mind needed a break from the darkness, Marcy found herself thinking about a trip to Anguilla ten years ago, shortly after their first anniversary. She had planned a long weekend trip for her and her best friends from college, Alicia and Liz. Alicia had gotten her MBA and was on her way to becoming a CEO, but Liz had been the one to move to Hollywood with Marcy to make their names as actresses. They were having lunch at a delicious French restaurant on Meads Bay when the sound of a small prop airplane interrupted the maître d’s explanation of the daily specials.
The maître d’ was bemoaning the flight’s deviation from the airport’s mandated path for visitors’ private jets when Liz let out a loud “WHAT did he do?!”
The entire restaurant looked up to see a plane flying a banner above the ocean: Liz, Be My Leading Lady. Marry Me. Unbeknownst to any of them, Liz’s boyfriend, Nic, had asked Andrew to snoop in Marcy’s calendar for their itinerary. The happy couple were married on that same beach a year later.
Her mind had pulled her back to Anguilla for a reason. Like an acting coach once told her: Pay attention to what you know, because every experience you ever had might be important right now.
“A plane banner,” Marcy called out. “Can we do that? Something that says there’s a missing child. Or maybe just a message for Johnny that we’re looking for him? In case he sees it?” She heard the desperation in her voice.
“Of course,” Andrew said, sitting down next to her on the sofa and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “That’s a great idea.”
“We’ll of course put out an announcement for the public to be on the lookout for your son,” Detective Langland said. “But we’ll get more attention if you as the parents follow up with a press conference. It’s too early to go that route now, but if we haven’t found him by tomorrow, the news teams will turn up.”
“Tomorrow?” The idea of not having her son with her by nightfall was unimaginable.
“If it even comes to that,” the detective said.
She heard a fast but quiet tap on the suite door. Alex opened the door, and Emily and Chloe spilled into the room, followed by Ramon. “Sorry, even I had a hard time stopping them.”
The girls jumped on the sofa on either side of her and Andrew. “What have you been talking about? It’s mean to keep secrets,” Emily said.
“We haven’t seen you all day,” Chloe grumbled. “Where’s Johnny?”
What am I going to tell them if their big brother is gone?
“I’m sorry, girls. We were just talking about what we should do for dinner. What sounds good to you?”
“Hamburgers,” the girls replied.
“Hamburgers?” Marcy asked incredulously. “If you two eat one more hamburger, you’re going turn into two giant hamburgers!”
Andrew spread his arms wide, as if in an unsuccessful effort to put them around his supersized daughters. The girls squealed with delight, temporarily forgetting the unanswered question about Johnny.
Chapter 9
Laurie turned the corner toward her hotel room to find Alex removing the key card from the door next to hers. She looked at him expectantly, hoping to hear good news. He shook his head.
She followed him into his room, and he pulled her into an embrace and gave her a quick kiss.
“Are you holding up okay?”
“Me? Of course. I’m sick for Marcy and Andrew, though.”
“Obviously. But I know this can’t be easy for you either.”
Nearly three years ago, the man who had murdered Greg had made good on his lingering threat to return to kill the rest of Greg’s family. In the process, he had abducted Timmy and tried to shoot Laurie before being killed by police.
“This isn’t about me. I just want to help.” She told him what she’d learned from Wyatt, the boy on the beach. “At least it’s a possible explanation for the skim board being in the water. It sounds like the kids were all sharing it, and may have left it where the tide pulled it out.”
“Better than bad news at least. Honestly, I think Marcy could use anything to give her hope right now. Can you go tell her? She’s in their room. Andrew’s pulling the car around for me. We’re going to the copy shop to print out some fliers with Johnny’s picture. The police already put us in contact with a pilot who can fly over the east end with a missing child banner.”
“That’s a good idea. How are the twins?”
“Ramon took them down to the lobby to get a soda.”
“They don’t know yet?”
He shook his head. “What are you going to tell Timmy?”
“I’m about to talk to him now. I’ll make sure he knows not to say anything to the twins, but I have to tell him. You know Timmy.”
“Of course. He’s got your and your dad’s ability to sense when something’s wrong. If you don’t shoot straight with him, his imagination might come up with something even worse.”
Laurie was beginning to wonder if fiction could be any worse than their reality.
* * *
Marcy pulled Laurie into a quick hug when she walked into their suite.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Marcy said tonelessly. “I hate to say this, but I feel like you’re the only one who really understands what I’m going through right now. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have even said that.”
Laurie pulled Marcy toward the sofa so they could take a seat. Laurie understood the point she was making. In one sense, Laurie had experienced a worse tragedy, losing her husband to a violent crime and living for five years under a threat of more harm to come to her and Timmy. On the other hand, Laurie’s loss was in the past, while Marcy still didn’t know the extent of hers.
“How are the girls?” Laurie asked.
“Too smart for what I can handle right now,” Marcy said. “Ramon’s watching them, but I’m not sure how long I can keep them at bay.”
“I told Timmy.”
“Is he all right?”
“I can’t tell. But he at least knows. He’s in our room and was planning to say a prayer for Johnny.”
“I know this sounds crazy,” Marcy said, “but I think at some level I was always expecting something like this to happen. Like he was never completely mine. We always thought of Johnny as our miracle child.”
Laurie had never pried about the details surrounding Andrew and Marcy’s decision to adopt their first child, but she empathized with the situation. She and Greg had tried for more than two years after they married to become pregnant with Timmy. In the back of her mind, she had been wondering if she and Alex might face similar hurdles once they began trying to add to their family.
“By the time Andrew proposed to me,” Mar
cy said, “I had already accepted what I had been told by my doctors—that I would never be able to conceive. We simply assumed it would be just the two of us. Plenty of couples opt not to have children.”
“And yet now you have three.”
“Funny how that works,” Marcy said. “We adopted Johnny as a newborn, and two and a half years later, he started saying he wanted a sibling. And not just any sibling. He was very specific: two baby sisters. Obviously, he was too young to understand why that was impossible, but nine weeks later, I found out I was pregnant. Then a few weeks after that, we learned we were having two twin girls. It’s as if Johnny predicted the family’s future.”
Laurie had not only been raised by a police detective, but also had been investigating true crime cases as a journalist for years. She couldn’t remember a single case where the principal suspect wasn’t someone with some kind of connection to the victim. Because Johnny was only seven years old, they had been assuming that the explanation was either a tragic accident in the water or a sociopath who had targeted Johnny at random. But now that Marcy was recounting Johnny’s backstory, Laurie realized there was another possible explanation.
“How is it that you ended up adopting Johnny, by the way?” she asked.
“We didn’t even plan for it,” Marcy said. “The priest in our parish was aware of our desire to be parents, despite the fertility issues. Out of nowhere, he asked if we were willing to take in a boy who was only days from being born. It was only seven years ago. I still remember the words he used. A young woman was ‘in trouble.’ The poor girl didn’t even know who the father was and was trying to find a family willing to adopt the baby.”
“No wonder you call him the miracle.”
“Johnny still doesn’t know,” Marcy said, choking back a sob. Laurie could tell she was fighting to keep her composure. “When you got together with Alex, it was such an added blessing that you and Timmy sort of resemble Johnny. He never had the experience of looking like anyone in his family.”
Marcy’s shoulders began to shake, and this time she could not stop herself from breaking into tears. Laurie rubbed Marcy’s back and did her best to comfort her.
“I’m so sorry, Marcy. I didn’t mean to upset you by asking about the adoption. I brought it up for a reason.”
As Marcy sniffled and slowly regained control over her breathing, Laurie could tell that she was eager to focus on what Laurie had to say.
“A random crime is every parent’s nightmare,” Laurie said, “but it’s extremely rare. You know how I follow all the true-crime message boards looking for cases for the show?”
Marcy nodded, her tears beginning to ebb.
“Last year, a child who had been missing from Missouri for more than six years was found in Toronto. It turned out that her parents had adopted her. The birth mother had regrets years later and managed to track down the adoptive family. She lured the girl away by telling her she was adopted and that she was the ‘real’ mother. She even pointed out that they had the same eye and hair color.”
When Marcy spoke, her voice was distant. “His light hair and eyes,” she said. “He knows he doesn’t look like the rest of us.”
“Do you know how to get hold of the biological mother?” Laurie asked.
“No, but Father Horrigan might. I’ll call him right now.”
Chapter 10
For half a moment, Marcy’s spirits brightened at the sound of Father Horrigan’s Irish lilt. “Marcy, what a wonderful surprise to hear from you. I thought you and Andrew were hobnobbing with the rich and famous this week in the Hamptons.”
She never ceased to marvel at his ability to commit to memory every last detail about the lives of his parishioners. Oh, how she wished this could just be a friendly call to fill him in on the wonderful memories they were forming on their trip.
“Father, I have to ask you something that I’ve never raised before. It might literally be a matter of life or death.”
“I’d like to think you’re pulling my leg, but you sound terribly upset.”
She closed her eyes, trying not to lose control again as she had before. “We can’t find Johnny. It’s been hours. The police are searching for him.”
She heard him suck in his breath at the other end of the line. “No. Oh, Marcy, that’s terrible.”
“We’re looking at every possibility. One of them is that his birth mother changed her mind after all these years.”
“I can’t imagine that would be the case—”
“Well, I can. Because the other scenarios I’ve contemplated are even worse, Father. I have to think that if she took Johnny, she would at least be looking after his well-being. At this point, I’m almost praying this is the explanation, so I need to know where she is.”
“It was a closed adoption, Marcy, at least from your perspective. We discussed this at the time.”
The birth mother had asked that the adoption be closed with respect to her identity, meaning that Marcy and Andrew had no information about her. There was no direct contact whatsoever with her, either before or after the birth, and the adoption files were physically sealed. The birth mother had been nervous about placing Johnny with a family Father Horrigan knew directly, in case they discovered her identity from him, but Marcy and Andrew had assured Father Horrigan repeatedly that they would respect the biological mother’s request for anonymity and never ask him to disclose her identity.
“Please—I just need to make sure. If we can confirm that she’s nowhere near Long Island, I promise that we’ll never bother her again.”
The silence that followed was so long that she began to wonder whether she had lost the connection.
“Do the police believe that this woman is responsible for Johnny’s being missing?” Father Horrigan asked.
“They don’t believe anything yet. They’re investigating every possible explanation—looking at local criminals, searching surveillance tapes. We’re grasping at straws because we can’t find him and have absolutely no idea where he might be.”
“I’m sorry, Marcy. I gave my word, don’t you see? Just as I would never break a promise I made to you, I cannot violate my obligations toward her.”
“Please, Father. I’m begging you.”
“I can’t even begin to know how scared you are right now, Marcy, but for what it’s worth, I don’t think this is a straw you need to grasp. I’ve never gotten any indication that Johnny’s birth mother regretted her decision to give him up, and why would she follow you all the way to New York when she knows exactly who you are and that you live right here in D.C. How would she even know where to find you up there? It doesn’t make much sense, does it?”
Marcy took a deep breath. Father Horrigan had a good point. Laurie had been the one to suggest the possibility that Johnny’s disappearance was connected to his adoption, but the theory had been total conjecture. Unlike Laurie, Father Horrigan had a connection to Johnny’s birth mother and could speak from firsthand knowledge.
“I understand you made a promise to her,” she said softly, “but there must be an exception if she has my son. You really don’t think it’s possible she came for him?”
“I don’t. Honestly. She was a good young woman, despite her problems. I don’t think she’d have anything to do with this. I’ll say a prayer Johnny will be walking right back to you before you know it.”
As she hung up the phone, Marcy found herself praying that Father Horrigan was right.
Chapter 11
By the time Leo Farley arrived at the South Shore Resort, hotel guests were gathered on the beach deck overlooking the ocean, prepared with champagne glasses and martinis to take in one of the south fork’s famous summer sunsets. That is where we should all be right now, he thought, as a family.
It had been a long time since their family had felt complete. Of course, when Eileen was alive and they were raising Laurie together, the three of them were as close as a family could be. Eileen used to say she married the first boy she ever kisse
d, and Leo never questioned for a minute if she might be exaggerating. They were the kind of couple who held hands whenever they were beside each other, without even thinking about it. Leo never thought he could be any happier, and then Laurie was born. Even when he worked swing shifts, Leo joked it meant that he needed to find time to “swing” by their apartment to see his little girl before her bedtime. Then before he knew it, his little girl was a grown woman breaking into the television news business.
When he and Eileen got the call from Mount Sinai that Laurie had been hit by a cab, it felt as if their family might be gutted. But instead, what could have been a tragedy led to a new addition to the clan. Dr. Greg Moran was Laurie’s physician in the emergency room. The two of them were engaged only three months later, and Eileen and Leo loved their son-in-law as if he were their own.
He still smiled sometimes at the memory of Eileen leaning into him, as Laurie and Greg exchanged vows, and whispering, “We’re going to have the sweetest little grandbabies, and you are going to be the best granddaddy.” She died of a heart attack a year later, before she had a chance to meet Timmy or to even know he would be born. And then, three years after Timmy was born, they lost Greg, too.
For the last seven years, “family” had been just Laurie, Timmy, and him—a widow, a widower, and a little boy who barely remembered his father.
But this weekend, that was finally going to change. Alex had opened his daughter’s heart again and had proven himself worthy to be a father figure to Timmy as well. For once, their family was growing instead of shrinking.
And now Johnny was missing.
If only he had not been delayed. Leo found himself seething once again about Darren Gunther’s outrageous claims of innocence. He remembered that confession like it was yesterday. It had taken hours, but Leo had finally found a way to get under Gunther’s skin. When the charm of Gunther’s false face fell away, he admitted that he’d stabbed that bar owner in a rage. Now he was maligning Leo’s good name by claiming that the conversation never happened.
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