Kisscut (21 page)

There was still no answer, and Sara felt her heart sink. She filled a glass with water and finished it all in several gulps, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

Sara flopped onto the kitchen stool and picked up the phone, dialing Jeffrey's number. Lena had taken Mark off to the station before Sara had thought to ask her where he was.

"Tolliver," he answered, and she could tell from the hollow echo of his voice that he was in his car.

"Where are you?" she asked.

"I got caught up in Alabama for a while," he told her. "I talked to Lena. She told me about Lacey. You didn't get a look at who was in the car?"

"No," Sara answered. "Did you talk to her parents?"

"Frank's with them now. They don't know anybody who drives a car like that."

"What has Mark said?"

"He won't talk to anybody," Jeffrey told her. "Not even Lena."

"Who would want to kidnap her?"

"I don't know," Jeffrey said. "We've put out an A.P.B. all over the state. I want to talk to Mark and see if we can find anything out."

"I feel like we're missing something big here," she said. "Something right under our noses."

"Yeah." He was quiet, and she could hear the engine rev in his car as he accelerated. He said, "Tell me what happened today. Beginning to end."

Sara took a deep breath, then told him. The part Jeffrey seemed to focus on most was Mark hitting her, probably because it was the only thing he knew he could take care of.

"What did he hit you with?" he asked, his tone sharp.

"His ring," she said, then amended, "His fist, really, but his ring did most of the damage. He wasn't really hitting hard. He just wanted me to turn him loose." She put her fingers to the bandage. "It's not bad."

" Lena wrote him up on assault?"

"Probably," Sara answered, letting him know he should drop it.

He got the hint. "Did it look like Lacey knew the people in the car?"

"It was so far away, Jeffrey. I don't know. I wouldn't have even known it was her except for the bright-yellow coat she was wearing."

" Lena knew the car. Some of the kids from school had seen Jenny Weaver get into it."

Sara played with the cord of the phone as he told her what Lena had learned at the high school. When he was fin-ished, all she could say was, "That doesn't sound like the Jenny I knew."

"I'm beginning to think nobody really knew her."

She said what had been nagging in the back of her mind all along. "Do you think Mark and Lacey are the parents?" she asked. "I mean, I know that's why you wanted the sample on Mark, but it never occurred to me that…"

"I know," he said. She could tell from the quick way he answered her that Jeffrey had been thinking about this for a while. "I think it's possible."

She asked, "What was your reading on Teddy Patterson?"

"Possible there, too."

"I doubt he'll submit to a test without an order."

"You got that right."

Sara sighed, wondering how all of this fit together. "Maybe Jenny found out and was jealous?"

"Could be," he said, and she could tell he was concentrating on something else.

"Jeff…" Sara began, not knowing how to broach the subject without making him angry. "Mark was cut across his abdomen. It wasn't bad, but I think someone probably tried to hurt him."

"Good."

"No," she stopped him. "He's a kid. Promise me you won't forget that."

"A kid who may have raped his sister and pimped out her friend," he said. "A kid who punched you in the face."

"Forget about me," Sara told him. "I mean it, Jeffrey. Don't make it about me."

He said something under his breath.

"Jeff?"

He asked, "You didn't get any more information out of her?"

"She seemed disoriented, and terrified."

"Do you think she's seriously ill?"

"I don't know if it's fear or shock or if she's recovering from giving birth. I didn't get to spend much time with her. I…"

"What?"

"I feel responsible for not looking out for her. She was in my clinic. If I'd been able to keep her there-"

"She ran away, Sara. You did what you could do."

She pressed her lips together. "I wish that made me feel better."

"I wish it did, too," he said. "I wish I could tell you how to get rid of the guilt, because I sure as hell don't know."

Sara felt tears well into her eyes. She put her hand to her mouth so that Jeffrey could not hear her cry.

"Sara?"

She cleared her throat, wiping under her eyes with her free hand. She sniffed, because her nose was running. "Yes?"

Jeffrey said, "Was there anything else Lacey said? Maybe something about Mark, why he was after her?"

Sara bristled, because asking her the same questions over again wouldn't get them any closer to finding Lacey Patterson. "Stop questioning me. I've had a bad enough day without getting the third degree from you."

He was silent, and she could hear the engine accelerate again.

Sara closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall, waiting for him to speak.

"I just…" He stopped, then, "I gotta tell you, the idea of somebody hurting you really pisses me off."

She laughed. "Me, too."

"Are you all right?" he asked again.

"Yeah," she said, though she was feeling very unsettled. The clinic had always been a safe place for Sara, and she did not like the fact that her work at the morgue had some-how seeped into her private practice. She felt vulnerable, and she did not like that.

"Nick called," she told Jeffrey, then explained to him what Nick had said.

"Purity?" Jeffrey repeated. "That's what Jenny said."

"Right," Sara agreed. "I think it all goes back to sex. She wanted to be clean again, right?"

"Right."

"So what made her feel unclean?"

"Banging all those guys at the party might have done it."

"She was drunk," Sara reminded him, feeling anger stirring deep inside of her.

"They say she wasn't too drunk to know what she was doing."

"Of course they said that. What else would they say, that they raped her?"

He cleared his throat. "That's a point."

"Why else would she do what she did?" Sara demanded. "Jenny wasn't like that. She was just a little girl, for Christ's sake."

Jeffrey's tone was indulgent. "We don't know exactly what happened, Sara. We probably never will."

Sara changed the subject, knowing she could not have a logical conversation with him about this right now. "Nick sent that tattoo to the FBI. Nothing kicked out on their database."

"That's actually what held me up," Jeffrey told her. "I'll tell you about it tonight."

"No," she said. "Tell me about it tomorrow."

He was silent, then, "I thought you wanted to see me tonight?"

"Yes," Sara assured him. "I do, but not to talk business." She waited a few beats. "I need to not think about this tonight. Okay?"

"Okay," he agreed. "As long as I still get to see you."

"If you can stand it," she said, trying to make light of it. "I've got a big green Band-Aid on my head."

"Does it hurt?"

"Mmm," she mumbled, looking out the window. She saw her mother walking up the steps to Tessa's garage apartment.

"Sara?"

Sara turned back to the conversation. "I'm counting on you to help me take my mind off of it."

He laughed at this, and seemed pleased. "I've got to talk to Mark and do a quick briefing with evening patrol about looking for Lacey. Not that there's much any of us can do tonight. I'll be there as soon as I can, okay?"

"You think it'll be late?"

"Probably," he said. "You want me to let you sleep?"

"No," she told him. "Wake me."

She could almost hear him smiling. "I'll see you then."

"Okay," she answered, then hung up the phone.

Sara got another glass of water before going outside. The pavement was hot as white coals against her bare feet, and she tiptoed the last couple of yards to get to the stairs.

Tessa's apartment was large, with two bedrooms and two baths. She had painted the walls in primary colors and accented these with comfortable chairs and a roomy couch that tended to make the occupant want to take a long nap. Sara had often slept over at Tessa's, especially after the divorce, because she felt safer at the time being here than being in her own home.

"Tessie?" Sara called, trying not to let the screen door slam behind her. Cathy had left the wooden door wide open, which seemed odd since the air was on.

Tessa's voice seemed strained. "Just a minute."

Sara walked back to her sister's bedroom, wondering what was going on. "Tess?" she said, stopping in the doorway.

Tessa was holding a tissue to her nose, and she did not look up when Sara came into the room. Cathy was beside her, arms crossed over her chest.

"What happened?" Sara asked at the same time Cathy did.

"What?" they both said.

Sara pointed to her sister. "What's wrong with you? Why are you crying?"

Cathy walked over to Sara and put her hand to Sara's head. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"It's a long story," Sara said, waving away her mother's hand. "Tessie, what's wrong?"

Tessa shook her head no, and Sara found herself suddenly feeling dizzy. She sat on the bed, asking, "Is it Daddy?"

Cathy frowned. "Don't be silly. He's healthy as a horse."

Sara put her hand to her chest and let out a puff of air. "Then, what's the matter?"

Tessa walked over to her dresser and picked up a long piece of white plastic. Sara recognized the pregnancy test stick before her sister handed it to her.

Sara could not think what to say, so she said, "You're supposed to do these early in the morning."

"I did," Tessa answered. "Then I did it again at lunch, and then again just now."

"All positive," Cathy said. Then, "I guess we can take her into the city next weekend."

"Into the city?" Sara asked, wondering why they would need to go to Atlanta. She figured it out soon enough, and shook her head no, not accepting this. "You're going to get an abortion?"

Tessa took back the test stick. "I don't really have a choice."

"That's not true," Sara snapped, standing. "Of course you have a choice."

"Sara," Cathy chided.

"Mother," Sara began, then, "Jesus Christ, Tess, you're thirty-three years old, you make a great living, you've got Devon so in love with you he can't see straight."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Tessa asked.

"It has everything to do with it," Sara told her.

"I'm not ready."

Sara felt so shocked that for a moment she could not speak. Finally, she asked, "Do you know what they do, Tessa? Do you know what the procedure entails? Do you know how they-?"

Tessa stopped her. "I know what an abortion is."

"How could you even think-?"

"Think what?" Tessa snapped. "Think that I'm not ready to have a baby? I can think that pretty easily, Sara. I'm not ready."

"Nobody's ever ready," Sara countered, trying not to yell. "How can you be so selfish?"

"Selfish?" Tessa asked, incredulous.

"All you're thinking about is yourself."

"I am not," Tessa shot back.

Sara put her hand over her eyes, not believing she was having this conversation. She dropped her hand, asking, "Do you know what they'll do? Do you know what will happen to the baby?"

Tessa turned away. "It's not even a baby yet."

Sara grabbed her sister's arm and turned her back around. "Look at me."

"Why? So you can try to talk me out of this?" Tessa asked. "This is my choice, Sara."

"What about Devon?" Sara asked. "What does he have to say?"

Tessa pursed her lips. "It's not his decision."

Sara knew what Tessa meant, but asked anyway, "What, you're not sure he's the father?"

"Sara," Cathy warned.

Sara kept her back to her mother. "Is he?"

"Of course he is," Tessa said, indignant.

Sara stared at her sister, trying to find something to say that would stop this. When she opened her mouth to speak, what came out surprised them all. She said, "I'll raise it."

Tessa shook her head no. "I couldn't do that."

"Why?"

"Sara," Tessa said, as if she was being obtuse on purpose. "I couldn't let you raise my child."

Sara tucked her hands into her hips, trying to keep her anger down. "That's just about the most immature thing I've ever heard you say. What, if you can't have it, no one will?"

Tessa's mouth opened and closed. "When did you become so self-righteous? I happen to remember a time when you were pretty pro-abortion."

Sara felt her cheeks turn red. She was very conscious that her mother was in the room. "Stop it."

"Oh, you don't want to tell Mama about the time you thought Steve Mann had knocked you up?"

Cathy kept silent, but Sara could feel that her mother was hurt. Cathy had always made it clear that her daughters could come to her with anything. And, except for this one time, Sara always had.

Sara tried to explain to her mother. "It was a false alarm. I was studying for finals. I was stressed out. My period was late."

Cathy held up her hand, telling Sara to stop.

"I was a teenager," Sara added, her voice weak. "My whole life was ahead of me."

Tessa said, "And the first thing you did was call the women's center in Atlanta to see how fast they could get rid of it."

Sara shook her head, knowing this was not true. The first thing she had done was burst into tears and tear up her acceptance letter from Emory. "That's not how it happened."

Tessa was not finished, and her next remark cut to the bone. "This is so easy for you because you know you'll never get pregnant."

"Tessa," Cathy hissed, but it was too late. The damage was done.

Sara's mouth formed an O but the word would not come out. She felt as if she had been slapped.

Cathy started to say something, but it was Sara's turn to hold up her hand.

"I can't do this right now," she said, because she could not. Sara could not ever remember a time when Tessa had hurt her so much, and she felt as if she had lost her best friend.