by LS Sygnet
I gave the address in a low mumble and stuck ear buds in place. Though I listened to nothing but the taxi driver on his cell phone, it was intended to discourage him from talking to me. Turned out he had no interest in chatting with the customer.
Excellent. Society’s lack of interest in total strangers could only aid my plan. My ugly disguise would help too. Just fringe enough to keep people away, but not so objectionable that I’d stick out like a sore thumb.
If only the rest of the plan could go this smoothly.
By the time I got to the storage facility and shoved a crisp wad of cash over the front seat, I was convinced that this had a chance. I put the consequences for success or failure out of my mind.
In other words, Darkwater Bay could never be my home again. I severed the emotional twinge that throbbed outward from my heart.
Johnny Orion was better off without me. If I hadn’t proven that before, surely now he would understand, especially when it was too late for him to stop what had to be done.
Chapter 10
I was out of Darkwater Bay almost at high noon. It was just under fifteen hours by the time I reached my destination by car. First task was sleep. I holed up in a cheap hotel near LAX and paid with cash and took a power nap. Before moving to the next phase of the plan, I’d abandon the car – and my first disguise – after picking up more money from a bank in Beverly Hills. The only feminine article of clothing rolled up into my bag was a lightweight sweater, cropped pants, sandals and a black wig, the next change of girly clothes would have to be purchased. I could withdraw five thousand dollar increments all across the United States without raising any banking red flags. My offshore bank had been informed to expect sudden activity.
Johnny had no clue that this account existed at all. I told people my father was wealthy from an inheritance. It was true. But he was stinking rich because of his business dealings outside the law. How could I tell Johnny that we were living off my father’s mountain of ill-gotten gains plus interest? He could claim dirty hands until the stars fell. One thing I knew for certain. Johnny Orion had no idea what being a real criminal looked like.
By mid-morning, I had the car parked where it was sure to be towed quickly. Even if local police managed to trace it to Johnny or Darkwater Bay, they’d find no forensic evidence that would prove I had been inside it. For all intents and purposes, I simply vanished without a trace.
Maya’s threat to come clean if I didn’t keep her informed of the plan was the only snag I could conceive.
I pulled out one of the disposable cell phones and dialed the number for her office.
“Winslow.”
“Maya, it’s me.”
“Oh my God! Where are you? Johnny is out of his mind –”
“I’m keeping you informed,” I cut off her tirade immediately. “Remember our bargain, Maya. Believe me, what I’m doing must be done. Either Johnny gets over it or he doesn’t. Either you’re really my friend and keep your promise, or we’re done talking right now. You decide.”
“Jesus, Helen. You can’t put me in a position like this.”
“I can and I am.”
“How can you do this to him?” she hissed. “He loves you, Helen. I thought you loved him too! Is this because you’re freaking out about the pregnancy?”
“Of course not. This is serious business. I think I know who abducted me when I was born, Maya. If Johnny found out what I was doing, he’d try to stop me. I will not be stopped. Do you understand what I’m saying? Andy Gillette told me that I was already sold. He was merely facilitating the second sale. I’m not sitting around waiting until I’m nine months pregnant and more vulnerable than ever to put an end to this nonsense once and for all. Do you understand how serious this is?”
“Of course I do, but honey, Johnny can protect you. He can make sure that –”
“I barely escaped yesterday. Do you think this was what I wanted? Thank God I know how to defend myself or God only knows where I’d be right now.”
“Shit. Then… then someone really came after you again?”
“Yes,” I lied. “Please, Maya. I’ll stay in touch with you, but you’ve got to promise me that you’ll keep what I’m doing quiet. Who knows? Maybe Johnny will focus his efforts on getting the guy who’s been pulling the strings all along. I need you now. I won’t know what’s going on in Darkwater Bay if you don’t keep me in the loop.”
“I understand.”
I could almost see her nodding consent. Foolish woman.
“Listen to me very carefully. I may not always be able to contact you by phone. I’ll try to send text messages to your cell phone or email from an untraceable account. The last thing I want to do is make you a co-conspirator should Johnny blow a gasket when this thing is over.”
“Helen –”
“Maya, it has to be this way. He’s too close to the situation to be objective. Sometimes they’re the ones who need protection most of all.”
“I don’t know about this. It seems to me that you’d be much safer here. Helen, the FBI is looking for you, for God’s sake. They won’t just look locally.”
“Believe me. David could walk past me right now and wouldn’t recognize me. I know what I’m doing. This is the only way to stay out of the clutches of whoever is trying to kidnap me, Maya. I’ve got to stay off the grid. That includes Johnny’s and the FBI’s radar. Please help me. I can do this alone, but it’d be a lot safer with your help.”
Silence stretched.
“Please.”
“How will I know it’s you contacting me?”
I released a silent sigh. “The email will look like spam. I’ll try to let you know that way when to expect my calls. I need you to keep me abreast of Johnny’s investigation into Terrell Sanderfield.”
“The state senator?”
“You’re gonna think I’m nuts, but yes.”
“Helen, I thought you were nuts a long time ago. That doesn’t mean your ideas don’t pan out more often than not.”
“Stop using my name.”
“What would you prefer?”
Teeth clamped down on my lower lip. Why not? “Cailín. That’s not the name I’m using right now, or will ever use in the future, so should you get an attack of pity for what Johnny’s going through, don’t think you can give him that name to find me.”
“Hel – Cailín, I wouldn’t do that. You do plan on coming home eventually, don’t you?”
“My goal is to finish this as quickly as possible and be home in time to have these kids.” Lie, lie, lie some more. I could never go back, but hopefully, I would have the lion’s share of my work done before Maya realized the truth.
“Is it all right if I tell Johnny that I believe you’ll be home again soon?”
What did I care? “As long as you’re not telling him as someone who is in regular contact with me, it’s fine.”
“I was thinking in the context of a friend comforting a man crippled by worry.”
Guilt is a wasted emotion. My heart hardened despite how it wanted to resist the will of my brain. “Yes,” I said. “Anything you can say that makes him feel hopeful is fine.”
It was a cruel plan, heartless but necessary.
“When will I hear from you again?”
“It might be two or three days. I need to make sure that I’m not being followed.”
“And if you fail to check in?”
“I won’t fail.”
“That’s hardly reassuring.”
“I don’t have much time,” I said. “Tell me what you know about the investigation into my disappearance so far.”
“Johnny believes that whoever was working with Gillette snatched you again. They combed every ship in the bay, I think. Of course they found nothing. Your pal from the FBI has instigated a full blown investigation of some sort in Montgomery. I thought it was into the Sherman’s history, but now I wonder if it’s not Sanderfield.”
“Excellent. They’re moving in the right direction.”
/> “Crevan and Dev are checking all ports of departure from the city, rental cars, planes, buses, the train station, everything since they didn’t find you on another ship.”
“All right. What about the house? Did they find any clues to the identity of the man who attacked me there yesterday?”
“No,” she said. “Ken went through everything. He said the attackers must’ve worn hermetically sealed suits. He found nothing but prints that belonged to you and Johnny. By the way, what on earth were you doing with a laptop in the bathtub? You’re lucky you didn’t electrocute yourself.”
“I was looking at baby stuff online.”
“Oh honey, I’m so sorry.”
“I have to go. Check your spam folder later. I’ll try to be as obvious as I can so you know it’s me.” I paused. “And Maya, keep your eyes and ears open. I need to know how this investigation into Sanderfield is progressing. The sooner they arrest him for his involvement in this, the sooner it’ll be safe for me to come home.”
“Be careful.”
“Always.” I shut off the phone and slammed it against the brick wall of the alleyway where we’d spoken. Without another thought, I tossed it into a dumpster and strolled out to the street and hailed a cab.
“Where to?”
“LAX,” I said.
It would be dark by the time I landed on familiar turf. Nobody would see me coming or going from the house in Georgetown. Everything I needed was already there, shipped home covertly.
It would work. The plan had to work.
“I should’ve done this twenty years ago.”
“‘Scuse me?”
“Sorry,” I said. “How’s traffic? My flight leaves around two.”
“We’ll be there in plenty of time, miss. Which terminal do you want me to drop you off at?”
“American,” I said. “Domestic flights.”
“Good enough.”
I stared out the window while the taxi inched its way down the crawling parking lot also known as the 405 in Los Angeles. In less that two days, I’d be there. I’m not a praying woman, but I did it now. All I needed was a couple of days keeping Johnny misdirected. The longer he believed I’d been abducted, the less likely he’d be to put the real pieces together and figure out where I was going.
It wouldn’t matter after the deed was done. I’d be in the wind on yet another identity. Untraceable. Hiding in a country that wouldn’t send me back to the United States even if they had an extradition treaty. Even if Johnny were tempted to come after me, he wouldn’t. There would be no way to bring me back without sending me to prison in the process.
Not even I believed that was an outcome Johnny would want, even if he was as livid with me as I expected him to eventually become.
Ready to abandon another identity at LAX, I changed wigs once again and made my way to the American ticketing counter and collected the ticket I purchased on the flight I would soon board. I checked the single bag, burdened with the weight of my fat suit and an assortment of necessary identities, made my way through security and to the gate after a rather unhurried late-morning snack.
My thoughts drifted back to Darkwater Bay while I waited for the plane to taxi down the runway. If I called Johnny right now and confessed, would he forgive what I’d done? The day of sheer hell I’d put him through?
I knew I wouldn’t forgive him if our roles were reversed. My heart wanted to pick up a phone, just to hear his voice one last time. The rest of me knew better. Like it or not, Johnny really had gotten behind the walls of the fortress. He got under my skin – in more ways than one. My hand drifted to my belly.
His question echoed in my head.
Will she start showing sooner because she’s having twins?
Yet another reason to act now instead of later. His question had only one answer. Yes. I would grow big as a house soon. Probably look nine months pregnant at six. What had to be done couldn’t wait another day. All procrastination did was create missed opportunities. The emotional snare Johnny provided was already too strong.
Almost.
The cold heart thumping in my chest was surely genetic, and it had to have come from Aidan Conall. Not even Wendell possessed the cruelty I doled out now. Maybe Marie had some of it. After all, I was certain that she was the guilty party in all of this. Given her lack of emotional bond with me, I couldn’t fathom why she did it.
“Miss, would you like a blanket and pillow?” One of the flight attendants gently touched my shoulder.
“Yes, please.”
We’d fly into darkness according to the east coast clock, landing in the middle of the night in Washington D.C. A short layover in Dallas would put my flight on the ground at home shortly after midnight, and a quick trip to the brownstone would let me catch up on the sleep my pregnancy seemed to demand. Then the real journey would begin.
I reclined my seat, adjusted the pillow and let my eyes finally close, secure in my belief that this plan would work. It had to work. The ramifications of failure were simply unacceptable.
Chapter 11
Springtime had come early to Washington D.C. Even though I arrived at the brownstone under cover of darkness, the smell of cherry blossoms overwhelmed me. It wasn’t as pleasant as I remembered, thanks to my continuous queasy state.
Or maybe I was feeling homesick. It was hard work, severing the emotional threads that tied me to Darkwater Bay. I thought about Johnny too much, wondered if he was doing what I hoped, and focusing on Terrell Sanderfield as the best means of finding me.
He’d probably kill me at best when this was over. If he could find me. My promises to Maya, that I’d come home when all of this was over were about as hollow as a Fabergé egg. My options were limited. Go back and face the charges that would no doubt follow my brazen act, or run away.
No brainer. I like fresh air too much to give it up.
I made my way through the brownstone in the dark as I had many times before. The dust covers on the bed upstairs were coated with a fine sheen of powder. It sent me into what seemed to be a never ending succession of sneezes when I pulled it off the bed and curled up to sleep. Exhaustion erased any sinus irritation, and I slept until sunshine streaming through the east windows of the bedroom blinded me.
I rubbed my eyes and glanced at my watch. Ten-fifteen. Still very early in Darkwater Bay. I wondered what Johnny was doing, if he’d gotten any sleep in the past two days. Was it Wednesday already? Time flies. Even when you’re not having fun.
Lack of choices stripped the joy from life.
I rolled out of bed and padded down the stairs to the kitchen.
Dusty bin of coffee.
Dusty coffee maker.
I rinsed out the carafe and wiped down the outside of the machine. Within moments, the pervasive stale smell of vacancy was replaced with the aroma of a Peruvian blend. I dug one of the remaining pre-paid cell phones out of my purse and dialed Maya’s number.
I knew I told her not to expect me to call for a couple of days, but if all went according to plan, I wouldn’t be around to make a phone call at the end of the week. Plus, I’d slept too late to sneak out of the house without being seen by the neighbors.
“Winslow.”
“It’s me.”
“This isn’t a good time,” she said.
I glanced at my watch again. Not even eight in Darkwater Bay yet.
“Has something happened?”
“Yes. Could you possibly call back in thirty minutes?”
“Maya, is this related to me? Does someone know where I am?”
“We’ll talk later. Thirty minutes.”
The distinctive click let me know the call was over, but not before I heard the sound of male voices in the background. One of them was crystal clear, not only because of a strong phone connection, but because it was a voice that haunted me.
Johnny.
I paced while the minutes ticked by. At one point, I was sure the hands on my watch stopped, maybe even started moving backward. I guzzled
coffee until my hands trembled.
Thirty minutes, four seconds passed. I dialed the number again.
“Cailín?”
“It’s me. Can you talk now?”
Her voice echoed when she spoke. “Yes, I can talk, but I don’t have much time before somebody comes looking for me. I’m in the women’s locker room, allegedly changing into scrubs so I can do an autopsy. One I might add, that everyone is anxious for me to perform.”
“Tell me what happened.”
“Where are you? Johnny is going nuts, Helen!”
I sucked in a steadying breath. “This autopsy, do they think it’s related to my disappearance?”
“What else?” she hissed impatiently. “I think a hold up at a liquor store in Darkwater proper would somehow be linked to your alleged abduction right now. Please end this, Helen. It’s killing me to lie to everyone. Johnny is beside himself. He was crying this morning, for God’s sake. Crying!”
“I need to know what happened. If it’s related to the case, it could help me with what I’m doing right now.” Speaking of lies, mine flowed without a speck of remorse.
“Destiny Gerard is dead.”
Datello’s former right hand woman, guilty of trying to kidnap his daughter the second time? My mind boggled. I must’ve heard her wrong. “What? How did that happen?”
“It would appear that she hanged herself with the sheet off her bed in the county jail, but not before she reiterated Alfred Preston’s statement that poor little Melissa Sherman is nothing but an innocent rube in all of this. She made a statement to the district attorney last night claiming that Danny Datello was the mastermind behind the whole human trafficking ring.”
“Bullshit,” I said. “I find it pretty damn suspicious that everyone is willing to die but not before they try to shield this woman. What the hell is so important about her anyway?”
“I have no idea. Does that help you at all?”
“Not sure yet. Why is everyone so hot for an autopsy if you’re sure it was suicide?”
“I’m sure it’s suicide. They need the science. I don’t know, Helen. I tell you what would thrill me right about now. I wish Sherman would off herself too. Case closed.”
