Second Chances: A PAVAD Duet (8 page)

“
Don’t we all. I think you
should give me a lift home. Stay for a cold beer, I’ll throw an
extra steak on the grill.” Dan clapped a hand on the taller man’s
shoulder. He was a strong boy, a fact often overlooked because of
the degree of his intelligence. Kid had two doctorates, for
Pete’s sake. “Been a while since we had a chance to
talk.”

“
I don’t know. I really
don’t think I’ll have time.”

“
Nonsense. Going to hurry
home to write another paper on the abnormal psychosis involved in
child fire starters? There’s plenty of time to do that later. I
don’t need to tell you the ramifications of being a workaholic―or
developing other obsessions.” Dan was firm, Josh had been in his
funk long enough.

He was too young, good
looking, successful―more than outstanding as a victimologist, a
future leader in his field―to be so alone. Dan knew what loneliness
was. He’d been lonely for fifteen years. He’d hate to see the kid
end up the same way. Dan valued family, and as far as he was
concerned, Josh Compton was a part of his family, too.

“
Come on, I guarantee it’ll
be a nice relaxing evening. We’ll watch the game, share a six pack
and a couple of good steaks.”

Josh nodded, though Dan
sensed the reluctance.

Still, the first step was
taken.

Ally was ready to call it a
day. She’d had her hands full all afternoon, first refereeing an
argument between Eric and Dr. Richison, and then assisting Kelly in
the lab with the CCU’s samples. That was her role in life―assisting
and refereeing, Ally had often thought that since joining the FBI.
She often handled the biological samples, leaving chemical samples
for others.

Not exactly what she’d
intended when first going to medical school. She’d had dreams of
being a daring trauma doctor, saving lives with last minute
answers. Being the heroine. Instead she was mom to her children and
to the women she worked with. And she was ok with that. Ally had
long known that life threw you curve balls, and Ryan and Aislin
were the best curve balls she could have ever received. If she
occasionally longed to be practicing medicine she suppressed it. At
her age, she was really too old to try to switch careers even if
she’d been of a mind to. She loved being able to get home to her
children in time to fix them dinner and go over homework. She’d not
trade that for anything in the world.

She checked her watch; if
she wanted to get home in time to start that dinner she had to
leave within the next half hour. She’d finish this last report then
go grab her current house-guest. Kelly was looking for an apartment
that met her needs while still fitting into her budget. Ally knew
Kelly’s secret―the younger woman was footing the bill for her
sister Emma’s law school tuition while juggling her own student
loans. Money was often very tight for Kelly. And Ally didn’t mind
having another adult in the house with her anyway. Someone to talk
to about something other than Dora or Pokémon.

It took her less than two
minutes to find Kelly, the St. Louis layout very convenient. Ally’s
office in Indianapolis had been clear across the building from the
lab where most of the processing had been done. She’d never
understood that.

Kelly was ready to go,
having passed her on-going analyses on to one of the lab techs.
He’d watch them for the overnight hours and Kelly would read the
results in the morning. They walked through the lobby
together.

“
Kelly! Kelly!” Female
voices rang out over the lobby and both Ally and Kelly paused. Two
redheaded girls waited next to the information counter. Ally
recognized the younger girl as Grace, Kelly’s sister. Emma was
probably the older one. Ally stayed one step behind Kelly as she
rushed to her sisters.

“
Emma! You’re supposed to
be in school, and how did you get Gracie?” Kelly’s greeting wasn’t
welcoming, was more worried than Ally had ever heard her. “Does
Mother know?”

“
No.” Gracie shrugged,
then readjusted the black backpack over her shoulder. She was at
least two inches taller than Ally, but still had the body of a
young girl. Her hair was a shade darker than Kelly’s―more red than
blond. Closer to the color of her father’s. She was dressed in
clothing typical of the average fifteen-year-old girl.

Emma was a more feminine
copy of Kelly. No black and dark purple clothing for the middle
sister. Her hair hung nearly to her waist and it curled softly. She
wore a dress of flimsy white and lavender material, the cut
slightly risqué but still aware of her young age. She was
absolutely beautiful. Through the face she looked enough like Kelly
for them to be twins. The Reynolds sisters were flat out the most
beautiful trio of girls Ally had ever seen.

Emma was drawing the
attention of several of the younger agents in the lobby, as well.
She didn’t even appear aware of the looks as she placed her hands
on her hips and looked up at her slightly taller sister. “I simply
told the school secretary that there was a family emergency and I
needed my sister.”

“
She was new. Didn’t know
it was Emma and not you.” Gracie pushed her glasses up her nose and
grinned wickedly. “I’m sure by the time they realized Em wasn’t
allowed at my school we were already across the state
line.”

“
Great. Making it a federal
kidnapping case,” Kelly said. She wrapped her hand around Emma’s
arm. “When Mother finds out she’ll never let either of us see
Gracie again. Did you think of that when you were hatching this
little scheme?”

“
By the time the old crone
realizes I’ve taken Gracie, little sister will be safely instilled
in Daddy Dearest’s living room.” Emma shrugged. “Absolutely nothing
she can do about it.”

“
Except charge both him and
you with kidnapping.” Kelly’s voice rose at the end.

“
Not unless she wants to go
to jail.” Emma laughed wickedly. Several male agents stopped to
give her another glance. Ally was very glad she wasn’t responsible
for this girl. Emma Reynolds appeared to be one hell of an
instigator. No wonder Kelly was almost obsessive about keeping tabs
on her sisters.

“
What do you mean?” Kelly
asked in a much lower tone.

“
Simple. According to the
divorce decree I found, Mother doesn’t have custody―never had
custody. So since Gracie is under eighteen, as long as she’s in the
state of Missouri, Mother can’t make any decisions without his say
so.”

Ally felt her eyes widen as
she caught on to what Emma had planned. She’d told Kelly what
Edward Dennis had told her. Apparently she’d not passed that
information on. Kelly looked completely overwhelmed, her eyes
worried and fearful. Ally wondered just what type of treatment the
mother had subjected Kelly to as a child to put that frightened
look in Kelly’s eyes.

“
So...what you’re saying
is...” Kelly started, just as her cell rang. She flipped it open,
her entire body tense. A shrill voice was partially audible to Ally
and the others.

Kelly paused a moment. “No,
Mother. I haven’t seen Emma. She took Gracie? Where?...yes, I’ll
get back to you as soon as I find out what’s going on.”

Tense minutes passed as the
conversation continued, Kelly reiterating the lies she’d just told,
adding a bit about Emma having plans to visit Joe. She snapped the
phone shut and turned back to her sisters. “We are so
screwed.”

“
So where does Daddy live?”
Emma asked. “And how fast can we get Gracie there?”

“
Oh, God. You’re going to
get us all arrested!” Kelly’s hands rose to cover her
face.

“
We’re going to have to
ask someone where your father lives.” Ally stepped in and took
charge. What she knew of Kelly’s parents made it an easy decision.
Kelly’s mother was apparently a horrible woman and Dan Reynolds was
well-liked around the division―and he deserved a chance to get to
know his daughters. Ally made up her mind in that moment that she’d
do whatever she had to in order to help him do just that. “I'm not
sure if he's home yet, but he has a tenant who may have a key.
Kelly, you run and tell Marianna what's going on and tell her to
pick up my children.”

They picked up a
tag-along―but Dan had half expected it. J.T. Tompkins was around
Josh’s age, and the two had been friends for about as long as Dan
had worked with Josh. J.T. was a good kid, a bit clumsy, a bit
disorganized, a bit awkward―also highly intelligent.

They’d share a six-pack,
watch the Cards, and relax. The way men were supposed to. That
sounded like a good plan to Dan. Hopefully he could get that little
girl―and her resemblance to his Emma―out of his mind.

Josh and J.T. were in
Josh’s SUV behind Dan’s when he pulled into his drive. A green Ford
SUV sat in his drive―one he didn’t recognize. He chalked it up to
one of Paige’s friends, who hadn’t realized the girl had her own
parking area around the back of the house. He parked beside it and
killed his engine. By the time he was out of the vehicle Josh and
J.T. had beaten him to his front door. No surprise―the two younger
men didn’t have to limp their way up the steps.

Before he could work the
key his front door swung open. He stepped back, surprised. Paige’s
friends used her entrance, not his.

A young woman stood in his
doorway, her eyes hesitant and her mouth trembling. She was
beautiful. She was…

It took Dan a minute to
find his voice. “Emma? My God, baby―”

“
Daddy!” She threw her
arms around his neck and held on, just like she would as a little
girl and he’d come home after being gone on assignment. He held
her, just held her liked he’d wanted to do every night for fifteen
years. His baby. One of them.

“
Emma-girl,” He looked over
her shoulder, into his foyer. Doc Brewster stood beside a gangly
teenager, her eyes damp as she smiled at him. “Let’s get
inside.”

Emma pulled back, grinned
the same mischievous smile he remembered. “You don’t seem quite as
tall as I remember.”

“
Funny. You don’t seem as
short.”

“
You always told me I’d get
as tall as Kelly―you should know, that never happened.” Emma had
always been his little comedian, mouthy and quick. It thrilled him
that she hadn’t lost that. He’d remembered her laughter the
most.

He kept an arm around her
shoulders as he approached the young girl in his living room. She
darted a nervous glance at the woman beside her. The doc stepped
closer to offer support. His Gracie. He swallowed―she was
practically a woman grown, now. Taller than the doc. She’d be an
adult in just a blink or two. And he’d missed all of it with
her.

He’d missed so much with
this child. He’d never get to make that up. Ever.

The doc earned Dan’s
undying loyalty when she wrapped an arm around the girl. “Grace,
this is Dan.”

The girl nodded. “Hello,
it’s nice to meet you. Kel and Em have told me stories.” Her voice
trembled only a little bit.

“
Good ones, I hope.” He
searched her face, looking for some remnant of the baby he
remembered. He saw himself in her, more strongly than her sisters.
He saw parts of Kelly and Emma, too. A bit of his own sister around
the eyes and mouth. He saw very little of Beth. This was definitely
his Gracie. “It’s nice to meet you again, Grace.”

A tense moment passed
before Josh spoke. “Dan, we’ll rain check on the steaks and game.
Give you all a chance to catch up.” Dan had forgotten the younger
men where even there.

Emma smiled first at Josh,
then much wider at the gawking J.T. “We didn’t mean to ruin your
plans. Please stay! It’s just that I’m sure mommy-dearest has
called out the bloodhounds, by now. So we kind of have to stay
right here for a little while.”

“
Excuse me?” Dan asked as
J.T. and Josh excused themselves to the back porch where the grill
sat. Dan appreciated their not hurting Emma’s feelings by refusing.
“Bloodhounds?”

“
Well, there’s the matter
of the restraining order she has against me. Kept me from getting
within four hundred feet of Gracie.” Emma snickered.

“
OK, why?” Dan was
beginning to understand how Alice had felt in the rabbit hole. His
daughters were back, in his house, but one might be wanted by the
cops? He needed some clarification, fast.

Ally knew exactly how Dan
felt. Emma was a complete tornado; to keep up with her made a
person slightly dizzy. Even though her clothes were more muted, she
was just so much louder than Kelly that it was almost hard to
believe they were sisters. And Gracie was like neither of the older
two.

Dr. Compton and his blond
friend―who reminded Ally of Marianna’s son Ted, complete with
cowlicks and thick glasses―were barely visible through the patio
windows. Ally knew how they felt, too. They were human buffers,
acting as protection against what had to be one of the most
difficult things the Reynolds’ had ever experienced.

Dan asked the question that
had to be burning a hole in his mind. “Why does your mother have a
restraining order against you?”