L.A.P.D. Special Investigations Series, Boxed Set: The Deceived, The Taken & The Silent (46 page)

But the intercom flashed again and wouldn’t stop. “Yes, Cheryl, what is it?” she said too sharply.

“Ms. Capshaw, there’s someone here to see you.”

“I know we didn’t schedule an appointment right now because I’m due in court.”

She heard a muffled sound, then Cheryl said, “He says he doesn’t need an appointment. He says he’s your father.”

Macy almost snorted a mouthful of coffee onto her desk. Her father? Here? He was in Paris with her mother. What on earth…had something happened to her mom? “Send him in and please call the court to say I’ll be late.”

God, she hoped nothing was wrong, but maybe that’s why he hadn’t returned any of her phone calls. He was on his way back because something had happened. Fear swept through her.

The door to her office jerked open and her father stood in the opening.

“What happened? Is it Mother?”

“No.”

What then? Did he have business that couldn’t wait? He wouldn’t come back from Paris just to visit her…and he never came to her office.

Adrenaline thundered through her veins like a freight train. She tried to appear casual, but it was tough when he was standing there as if in judgment for whatever she’d done wrong this time. “Well, then. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

That sounded rude. She shouldn’t be rude, but when he hadn’t bothered to come to her office since she’d opened for business almost two years ago, she didn’t feel too many warm fuzzies about his coming now.

He shut the door behind him. “Don’t start, Macy.” He crossed the room to the window, his critical gaze making inspections on the way. “You wanted to talk to me, so I’m here.”

“But…what about Paris? Where’s Mom?”

“We came back early for a variety of reasons. You being one of them.”

“Me?” Had he heard about the man who’d attacked her? Had he come back from his beloved Paris because he was concerned about her?

“Yes, you. You’re getting into things you shouldn’t be, and I’m warning you, it could be dangerous.”

She bit her bottom lip so her disappointment wouldn’t show. “Dangerous for whom?”

“I’m telling you to stop this incessant investigation into Haven’s Gate. You can’t change things now, so let well enough alone.”

The message on his answering machine. Stop her. Dr. Dixon had ordered her father to stop her efforts to find out what happened to her child, and here her father was doing exactly what Dixon asked. Warning her to back off.

Heat scalded her cheeks. She launched to her feet to face him. “What can’t I change, Father? The fact that I don’t know what happened to my baby twelve years ago? The fact that the records after his birth were blacked out to hide that he’d been born healthy? There’s no death record for my baby anywhere and you think I should just forget about it!” Her voice rose an octave with each word. “I want to know what happened to my child, dammit! All I need from you is the truth. If someone was negligent and caused his death after he was born, I’ll deal with it.”

He stared her down, just as he’d always done. But she wasn’t going to be intimidated…ever again.

Then, maybe with the realization that he wasn’t going to stop her from finding out what she wanted to know, he let out a long breath. “I did what I thought best at the time. What’s done is done.”

Moving forward, she stood toe-to-toe with him. “That’s the problem. I’m the child’s mother. I need to know what happened.”

“I did what’s best for you.”

Her body started to shake. “You know, with every fiber of my being, I don’t believe you. Maybe I’d feel differently if I thought you cared one iota about me. You do what’s best for you.”

Just then the door opened and her mother charged in. Macy closed her eyes, her emotions as raw as a piece of meat. “All I want is the truth. Tell me the truth and let me deal with it.”

Sarah glared at Wesley, her arms crossed and her feet planted firmly. “Tell her, Wesley! You owe it to her.”

Surprised at the vehemence in Sarah’s words, Macy’s head started to pound. Her mother shouting at her father. Disagreeing. That just didn’t happen.

“Tell her now or I’m leaving you.” Sarah turned to face Macy. “I’m sorry for all this, sweetheart. I know apologies don’t fix anything, but I didn’t know until it was too late. And then it seemed—”

“W-what? Too late for what?” Macy felt powerless…as if her world was spinning out of control.

“Too late…to get the baby back,” Sarah said.

Macy’s mouth fell open. “Back? From where?”

“Tell her, Wesley, you spineless bastard,” Sarah spat out. “I’m not going to let you destroy Macy as you did me.”

Her father looked as if he was preparing to give a sharp retort. But he just stood there, his face getting redder by the second. He stormed from the office, Sarah right after him. Macy hurried to catch them, then stopped. She reached out, hands flat on the door to hold herself steady.

Get the baby back?

Oh, God. She stumbled to her desk, her hands trembling and her heart beating erratically.

After a few minutes of staring into space, the realization hit and tears blurred her vision…and then huge gulping sobs came from so deep inside she thought she might choke on them. She buried her face in her hands and rocked back and forth, crying and crying…until she couldn’t cry anymore.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“I REALLY NEED TO GET in touch with her,” Rico pleaded with Cheryl. He’d left three messages and still no return call. “It’s important. Urgent.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know where she is. Her father and mother were here, and a while after they left, Macy went out without a word. She was supposed to be in court—”

“I thought her parents were in Europe?”

“They came back.”

Okay. That meant Macy was safe. And he was glad to hear Macy’s father had returned. He had to talk with Wesley Capshaw about his role in the adoptions at Haven’s Gate. If the shelter was part of an criminal adoption ring and Capshaw had been one of the attorneys who arranged the adoptions, how much did he know about what they were doing? At the very least, he might be able to shed some light on what was going on. Unless he was part of it.

Hanging up, he saw the captain staring at him. He went back to completing his reports from the day before.

“Everything okay?” Jordan asked.

“Yeah. Fine.” Rico couldn’t get into the details with his partner yet. Before he even talked to Wesley Capshaw, he had to settle something with the mothers who were at Haven’s Gate during Chelsey’s stay.

Knowing people were sometimes more willing to testify when they knew they weren’t alone, he’d decided to get all his witnesses together. By noon, he’d contacted five of the women and they’d agreed to come in the next day. As he hung up from the last call, he looked up to see another woman standing in the doorway. Macy.

He raised his chin, indicating she should come over, but she shook her head. He rose from his chair and crossed the room toward her. As he came closer, he saw her eyes were red and puffy and the pain etched on her face sent all his protective instincts into overdrive. “What’s wrong? You didn’t get more threats, did you?”

“No. Can we go somewhere to talk? Outside maybe?”

“Sure. There’s a little balcony garden a couple of floors up.”

“As long as it’s private.”

He led her to the elevator, his hand at the small of her back. He wanted her to know that whatever it was, he was there for her. They rode to the fourth floor in silence, and walked out onto the balcony. “This okay?”

Macy nodded, but didn’t say anything. It was almost as if she couldn’t speak or didn’t know where to start. He took her hands, led her to one of the chairs and then sat next to her, still holding her hands.

After a deep breath, she stated in monotone, “There’s no reason to continue trying to find out what happened to my child.”

He pulled back, surprised.

“I know what happened. My mother told me.” She pushed to her feet. “I had a visit this afternoon from my parents.”

“They’re back early.” He stood, wanting to touch her, but she edged away.

“Yeah.” She gave a wry laugh. “You know, today was the first time my father has been to my office and he came because he wanted to tell me to quit probing into Haven’s Gate. He said it was dangerous.”

“He came back from Paris for that?”

“Ironic, isn’t it. Well, at that point, I lost it and said some things about the missing birth certificate and the medical records, and then my mother came in. She was acting in a way I’ve never seen before, shouting at my father to tell me. And then it came out that my child hadn’t … wasn’t … stillborn.”

Rico took a deep breath, stepped closer and rested his hands on her shoulders. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “As okay as I can be after hearing something like that.” She waited a moment and then said, “You don’t seem surprised.”

He wasn’t, but he couldn’t tell her that. “Did your mother say what happened to the baby?” He’d suspected the child had been adopted.

A tear fell on Macy’s cheek and he raised a hand to brush it away.

“No. They were angry and stormed out of my office. I tried calling them at home and on their cells but didn’t get any answer. I can only assume the baby was adopted.”

“Did you sign adoption papers?”

She shook her head.

“Well, if that’s the case, someone else had to.” And he had a pretty good idea who it was. Wesley Capshaw. If he was working as the adoption attorney for the shelter at the time, Capshaw would know exactly what happened to Macy’s baby — and many others. Rico’s gut churned at the thought that Macy’s father, any father, could do this to his own child and then lie about it.

What some people did to the people they supposedly loved was unbelievable. Unfortunately, he saw it all the time in his job.

She paced the small balcony like a caged animal. “I imagine my father signed the papers. I was underage and I’d agreed to do it when I first went in. Then I changed my mind. Papers relinquishing all rights to a child must be signed after the mother leaves the hospital. I thought my child was dead — I never relinquished anything.”

She took a deep breath. “So, I have to get the name of the adoption agency used by Haven’s Gate.”

He could only imagine the hurt she’d feel if she knew her father was more than likely involved in the actual adoption. And for Macy’s sake, Rico hoped to hell Wesley Capshaw had no knowledge on anything else that was going on at the facility.

“I need to find my child. He has to know I didn’t just give him away like a sack of old clothes.”

“He may not even know he’s adopted.”

“I have to find him, Rico. And I think you have probable cause to get a warrant to search the adoption records at Haven’s Gate.”

Even if there was probable cause, which he doubted, it had to be the worst idea she’d had. “Adoption records are sealed and it would take an act of God to get them.” And doing that could screw up everything he’d put together on the case. Not only that, he’d seen the heartbreak of a child finding a parent who didn’t want anything to do with him. If the child didn’t know he was adopted, it could hurt him for life… and he might not want anything to do with Macy. Then she’d be hurt even more.

“I don’t think it’s wise, Macy. This is between you and your parents.”

Her eyes filled with disbelief, her voice soft. “You won’t help me?”

She nearly broke his heart. “I
can’t
help you. And I don’t think you should pursue finding the child. This is your desire, not his.”

She jerked away from him. “You don’t know that.”

“You’re right. I don’t. But I do have experience with adopted children finding their parents and I know how it can disrupt lives and lead to heartache. I know because—”

“Don’t, Rico. Don’t say anything more. You want to play God with other people’s lives just the same as my father. Your experience doesn’t mean a thing to me.”

Her breath hitched and the look in her eyes said if he couldn’t support her in this, he’d betrayed her every bit as much as her father had.

“I don’t think we have anything more to talk about.” She banged open the door and dashed to the elevator.

Before he could reach her, the doors shut in his face. And for the first time in his life, he despised the part of him that always had to do the right thing.

***

RICO WAS ON A mission. After stopping for a coffee refill, he found LaVonne Smith’s place and banged on the door four times before a husky bald guy answered.

Showing his shield, Rico said, “I’m here to speak to LaVonne.”

“LaVoooonne,” the guy yelled. “Some cop is here to see you.”

The big guy left Rico waiting at the door. LaVonne was the only one of the girls he’d called who couldn’t make the group meeting later today. When she appeared several minutes later, hair mussed and wearing a pink robe, he knew she’d just rolled out of the sack.

“Can I come in? I’d like to clear something up regarding our previous conversation.”

The woman backed up, wary, yet she motioned him inside. “It’s a little messy.”

“No problem,” he said, doing his best to put her at ease. He sat on the couch.

“Did I say something wrong before?”

“No, not at all. I just wanted to make sure what I heard is what you meant. I have a couple other questions, as well.”

“Okay.”

“You have a pretty good memory for something that happened five years ago.”

The girl hesitated. “Uh, I guess I just remembered it like it was yesterday.”

He took out his notes from their previous interview. “Here’s what you said the other day.” He went on to read her answers to each question, then asked. “Did you see anyone near the Ray baby before he was kidnapped?”

LaVonne looked at him blankly.

“Your answer the other day was, ‘I didn’t see anyone, except Chelsey.’”

“That’s right.”

“Originally, you said you didn’t see anyone but Chelsey talking to Sally Brighton.”

“Uh, I guess that’s what I meant.”

“What were you doing by the nursery when you saw Chelsey?”

The girl looked confused. “Chelsey and I were talking. Then she talked to Sally.”

“What were you talking about?”

“She didn’t want to get rid of her baby.”

“I understand. How did you feel about having your baby adopted?”

LaVonne’s eyes opened as wide as frisbees. “I didn’t want to but I couldn’t do anything else.”

“Were you given any other choices?”

She shook her head. “No. I didn’t have any money. They paid for everything and they said if I couldn’t pay them back, I had to do it.”

He nodded. “Did you willingly give up your child?”

She frowned, shifted in her chair nervously. “That’s why I was there.”

Okay. Wrong question. “Who referred you to Haven’s Gate?”

“The doctor I saw at the free clinic.”

“Dr. Dixon?”

“Uh-huh. He said Haven’s Gate could help me through the pregnancy because I had no money.”

“Were you planning to give your child up for adoption?”

“Not at first, but the counselors said it was a good thing for my baby.”

“Did you feel coerced?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did they convince you not to keep your child?”

Her gaze went to her lap where she was twisting the ties on her robe into knots. “It was better for the baby. I know that now.”

Rico took a long breath. “Thank you, LaVonne. I appreciate your help. I only have one more question. Why didn’t you mention any of this in the other interviews?”

“No one asked.”

No one asked. He hadn’t asked. He’d thought he’d done everything by the book. They’d been so focused on the baby being taken by the father that they’d glossed over anything else. An agency that coerced mothers to give up their children might do anything to cover up other things. A kidnapping. An illegal adoption.

“The other young women who stayed with you at the time said they were paid by someone to tell the same story they did the first time. Is that what happened to you?” It was a lie, but he had to know her story before he talked to the others.

LaVonne’s panic reflected in her dark eyes.

“It’s okay, LaVonne,” he said softly. “The others are willing to testify that they were coerced to give up their babies. Can you do the same thing?”

Tears brimmed in her eyes.

“Nothing bad will happen to you. We’ll make sure of it.”

“But I took money…and they said I’d be in trouble if I breathed a word to anyone.”

“Who gave you the money?”

“The lady who runs the place.”

When Rico finished with LaVonne, his spirits soared. He had probable cause for a warrant to search records at Haven’s Gate…and the adoption agency. Maybe. He’d have even more if the other women corroborated LaVonne’s story. Yeah, he’d lied to LaVonne, but he’d gotten his answer and, more importantly, he had a case.

With an hour before the interviews, he decided to see Holly Magruder’s grandmother again. Five years ago, he’d talked with the girl’s parents. But since Holly had later lived with her grandmother, maybe the woman knew things the parents didn’t. He knocked several times and was about to leave when the door opened a couple inches.

“Yes,” the old woman said, squinting through the small opening.

“Mrs. Magruder, Detective Santini. I was here the other day.”

“Oh, yes.”

“Can I come in for a minute?” He pushed the door a little, not wanting to take no for an answer.

She opened it the rest of the way. “Might as well.”

The place was small, one room that was a combination kitchen and living room. Dingy curtains hung at half-mast over the only two windows in the place. The woman didn’t look well.

“I remember you,” she said directing him to sit at the kitchen table. “I remember you because I thought you were nice. And I thought maybe you wouldn’t put a sick old lady in jail.”

“Now why would I do that?” He tried to smile but it didn’t come off.