Bloodchild (30 page)

They didn't meet again until lunch period. This time he came up behind her, scooped her arm into his firmly, and directed her toward the east exit.

"We've got to talk," he said. "In private."

"Sure you have the time?" She let him lead her into the parking lot. They got into his car.

"Now, what's going on?" he asked.

"I'm just tired of everyone thinking I'm the bad one, the crazy one."

"I don't think that," he protested. "You're just so intense about everything lately. I don't know what's happened with you anymore. It's not all my fault. You've got to admit that I'm not exaggerating. You ended up in the hospital, didn't you?"

"Thanks, Ted."

"Well? Didn't you?" he persisted. She looked down at her hands in her lap.

"Things are bad at my house. Even this horrible nurse has finally come to the conclusion that Dana might have to stop breast-feeding. She's very ill, mentally and physically. My brother's beside himself. I don't even recognize him anymore. Now this terrible thing with Audra." She turned away from him and pressed the side of her face against the window as she gazed out at the parking lot. "Just when I need someone to be strong and be with me, you're wrapped up in your glory days. You're just like everyone else in my life right now, self-centered," she said.

"Now hold on," he began.

She held back the tears, opened the door, and got out of the car. Before she was halfway back, he stopped her.

"Listen to me. Listen, will you?" he said, turning her toward him roughly. "All right. You're right. I've been distracted by all this," he said, waving his hands, "but for God's sake, Colleen, we won the championship yesterday and I led the team to that victory. It's only normal…" He looked away. "I admit I've been impatient with you and I'm sorry."

She looked at him and then nodded.

"You're right. It's not all your fault. I'm uptight. I know it. I just don't know what to do. I know something's happening to my brother and my sister-in-law. There is something peculiar about the baby. And I know something happened to Jillian. No matter what they say," she added quickly. "Now, with Audra missing… don't you see… it's not all my imagination. "

"Well, what do you think it is?" he asked, impressed with what she was saying.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out."

"What are you going to do?"

She thought for a moment. "I'm going to try to find out more about the baby, about the family that gave it to Harlan and Dana."

"What good is that going to do?"

"I don't know right now," she said, "but I've got to do something, learn something that will make Harlan come to his senses before it's too late for everyone."

"All right," he said. "I'll help you." He put his arm around her. "I care too much about you to see you so damn upset all the time."

"Thanks, Ted."

He kissed her, and then they heard her name called. When they looked toward the exit, they saw Mr. Stevens, the principal, beckoning.

"There's a detective in my office," he said when they approached, "who wants to talk to you about Audra Carson."

"Oh, no," Colleen said. "Has something happened to her?"

"Just come along," Mr. Stevens said. He looked at Ted. "Alone," he added.

Lieutenant Reis stood up as soon as Colleen entered the office. Mr. Stevens, obviously following some prearranged plan, nodded at the detective and then stepped back out of his own office, closing the door so Colleen would be alone with the policeman.

"Colleen, hi," he said, and introduced himself. "Please sit down." He indicated the chair across from his. "I didn't meet you, but I met your brother the other day."

"Oh," she said. "You're the one who found the mop and jacket?" He nodded. "So you think I'm unstable."

"No, I don't. Fortunately, what you thought you saw, you didn't. But I'll tell you," he said, shaking his head and smiling, "for a normally quiet, residential street, your street has become a little wild. There was a dog brutally killed there last night."

"I know. I stopped at the Jensens' on the way to school."

"And now Audra Carson left your house last night and never made it home. What can you tell me about that?" he asked, sitting back.

She shrugged. "Nothing more than I told her mother. She didn't stay at my house long. My brother and… and Nurse Patio, can tell you that," she said, smirking.

"Nurse?"

"Helping with my sister-in-law."

"Oh. And Audra didn't say anything about going anywhere but home, is that it?"

"Uh-huh."

"If you know where she might be and you keep it from us, it would be a crime at this point," he said, tilting his chin toward his chest.

"I can't believe you said that," she said. She shook her head. "Don't you know how bad I feel about this, especially for her mother? Jesus." She looked away.

"That's okay. I'm glad you're angry. That proves to me that you're sincere. But other teenagers have been known to cover for one another, Colleen. Did Audra have a fight with her mother? Did something happen between them that would cause her to run away?"

"Absolutely not. No mother and daughter could be closer."

"What about a boyfriend? Is Audra in some kind of trouble?"

"You mean, is she pregnant?" Reis started to nod. Colleen smiled and shook her head. "Nothing could be further from the truth. She and her mother are very religious people."

"Religious girls get in trouble, too, Colleen."

"Not Audra, not like that."

He stared at her a moment and then nodded.

"Okay. Is there anything you can tell me that might help?"

She looked at him a moment. Should she start? she wondered. Should she tell him how Harlan had changed, how Dana was getting sicker and sicker, how the baby was strange? Should she tell him about the bloodstain that had disappeared from the sheet? Where would she begin? What would he believe, especially after the shed incident? How did any of it relate to Audra, anyway?

She shook her head.

"Any ideas, theories?"

"I'm just afraid she took a ride with someone."

"Someone she knew?"

"It wouldn't matter. Not to Audra. She'd trust the creatures from
Aliens
."

"Who?"

"Anybody. She's that way," Colleen said. "That's what I'm trying to tell you. She has faith in everything and everyone. She cares too much for her mother to do anything like this to her. Something's happened. Something terrible has happened!" she said emphatically but immediately realized that Lieutenant Reis was afraid she would get too emotional and suffer another breakdown. He nodded and stood up, anxious to end the interview.

"Okay. If something should come up…"

"I wouldn't wait a second to call you."

"Good." He handed her his card. "Anytime," he said.

Ted was waiting for her. She told him what had happened and then they went to their afternoon classes. They decided he would come to her house about an hour after school so he could see the way things were. First she was going to pay a visit to Audra's mother and try to comfort her.

She got home just minutes before Ted arrived. She found it dark and quiet, but she didn't open a curtain or raise a shade. When Ted entered, it was the first thing she pointed out to him.

"It's the way she keeps the house now… like a morgue," she said. He looked around and nodded.

"Where is everyone?"

"Asleep, I guess. All the bedroom doors are closed."

"What are you going to do now?"

"I've been thinking about it. Let's go to my brother's den," she said. "He won't be home until much later today."

"What for?"

"I want you to stand guard at the door while I look for something," she said. He followed her through the house and watched as she rifled through the drawers and files in Harlan's den.

"What are you looking for?" he whispered.

"Papers," she said. "Adoption papers." About ten minutes later she found something. "It's from the lawyer," she said. "At least it's a start. The family name is left off," she said, reading down the document, "but I recall Harlan telling me the name. I'm going to call the lawyer's office and see if I can get him or his secretary to give me their address."

"Will they do that?"

"Maybe. They don't have to know why I'm looking for them. I'll tell them…" She paused and looked at him. "What will I tell them? Any ideas?"

"You have something that belongs to them… an inheritance."

"Why not?" she said. "Thanks. Knew you were good for something more than passing a pigskin."

"Thanks a lot," he said.

He watched her dial the number. She listened, and then after a moment she hung up the phone. "So?"

"The phone's no longer in service. And there's no alternate number."

"A lawyer? Never heard of them going out of business," Teddy said.

She looked at the paper. "It's in Kerhonkson. Let's go there. It's only twenty-five miles."

"Really?"

Colleen didn't reply. She was already charging through the house. "I guess really," Teddy mumbled, shook his head, and hurried to catch up with her.

Colleen and Teddy sat in his car and stared at the charred, boarded-up building before them. It was obvious that it had been the scene of a serious fire some time ago, a fire that had gutted it badly. The entire right side of the building had fallen in, and part of the roof had collapsed.

"You're sure this is the address?" Teddy asked. Colleen looked at the paper and then leaned over to show it to him. He read it and shook his head. They were on a side street just outside the village of Kerhonkson proper. They were definitely at the address printed on the stationery. "Makes no sense," he said, returning the document to her.

"Drive back into the village," she said. When they got there, she told him to pull up to the drugstore. "I'll be right out." After a little more than five minutes she emerged from the store, looking dazed or in deep thought.

"What did you find out?" Teddy asked after she got in.

"The building burned last year. There's been no lawyer's office in it, not even before it burned. It housed a hardware store and two apartments above."

"So maybe the address is just printed incorrectly on the stationery," Teddy said. Colleen shook her head. "Why not?"

"The druggist, Sam Cohen, owns this store and has lived here all his life. He never heard of this lawyer. Then he did something we should have done back home. He took out the phone book, turned to the Yellow Pages, and we looked down the list of attorneys. He's not there," she said.

"What the hell…"

"Let's go home. Quickly," she said.

When they finally pulled back into her driveway, they saw they were right behind Harlan, who had obviously just this minute returned from work. Colleen considered it the first piece of good luck she had had in a long time, for she would be able to speak to him without the possibility of Nurse Patio or Dana overhearing.

"See how wild he looks?" Colleen said to Teddy as Harlan approached. It was as if he had ridden with his head out the window. The red blotches on his forehead and cheeks made his face seem chapped. Strands of hair fell randomly around his forehead and temples.

"Hey, champ," Harlan said, extending his hand. "Congratulations again. Heard all about the game."

"Thanks, Harlan."

"Harlan," Colleen said, "we've got to talk to you before you go into the house."

"Oh?" He looked at the house. "Something happen to Dana?"

"No, no," Colleen said. "But, Harlan, something's not right about all of this. I always felt it, and you know how I feel about Nurse Patio—"

"Now, Colleen, don't start with that again," Harlan said, eyeing Teddy.

"Just wait. Listen." She got out of the car and came around to him. Teddy remained seated behind the steering wheel.

"What is all this?" Harlan demanded. He took a step back, as though afraid to come into any contact with her.

"I did something that might upset you, Harlan, but I did it because I was convinced something wasn't right, and now…" She looked at Teddy. "Now I'm sure something's not right."

"What is it this time, Colleen?" Harlan asked. He leaned over, as though his briefcase had suddenly gained enormous weight.

"I went into your den and found the lawyer's papers."

"What lawyer's papers?"

"Concerning the adoption," she said.

"You did what?" He straightened up. "What?"

"Just listen for a moment."

"But why? Why did you do that?"

"I wanted to learn what I could about Nikos's family."

"For what reason? I don't understand," he said, turning from her to Teddy. He looked quickly at the house and stepped farther back, as if to be sure to keep out of hearing range of anyone inside.

"I…" She hesitated. She didn't want to get into her feelings about the baby with Harlan—not just yet. "I think something strange is going on, and I just wanted to find out more about them. Anyway, we tried to call the lawyer, only that number is not in service. So we drove out to Kerhonkson to his office."

"You did what?" He looked at Teddy. "You too?" Ted looked down.

"But there wasn't any office, Harlan. The lawyer's address doesn't exist. Never did. It's a burned-out building that had been a hardware store. And what's more," she said quickly, "the druggist, a man who has been there all his life, never heard of a lawyer named Garson Lawrence. He's not even listed in the Yellow Pages under attorneys!"

For a long moment Harlan said nothing. The muscles in his face twitched. He sucked in his lips and looked toward the house, an expression of utter terror forming on his face, which reddened even more, his cheeks swelling as he took in a deep breath.

"My God! Don't you realize what you could have done! Don't you understand anything? So the lawyer used a false name and false address… that was to protect the people… to keep the adoption secret… to protect their identity and the identity of everyone involved. You've endangered the adoption. If Dana should find this out…" He turned to Teddy. "How could you go along with this?"

"I'm sorry, Harlan. I mean…"He looked to Colleen.