The Common Thread (29 page)

“One hour, Miss Fox. You have one hour to get the sister here. And bring the children as well.”

The suit jumped to his feet. “Your Honor, before we recess, I’d like to request that the court freeze Kathleen Finan’s assets. You never know who might try to take advantage of her while she’s incapacitated.”

“That is not within the jurisdiction of this court,” the judge barked back.

Jet was stunned, but at least now she understood. Katie’s father was here for Katie’s money, not for Chloe and Andre. The thought sickened Jet, who became more determined than before to keep them away from Jack Finan and his family.

Jet would have protested to the judge that an hour wasn’t nearly enough time to find Nic and bring her to the courthouse, but he’d already risen and had turned his back to her.

“Fuck,” she whispered, and sat back in her seat, thinking. She didn’t have any idea how to begin. But Jeannie would know how to reach Nicole and help persuade her to help Jet. She dialed her phone even as she was walking from the courtroom. “Fuck!” she said, when the call went to voice mail. Jeannie had stayed with Jet most of the night, sitting beside her in the waiting room and at Katie’s bedside. She’d gone home in the middle of the night to shower and change and sleep for a few hours, and had gone back to the SICU so Jet could leave for court. If she wasn’t answering her phone, it was going to be very difficult to reach her.

What now? And then it occurred to her. Rachael Rhodes would know how to reach Nic. Rae had given Jet her business card, and she murmured a prayer of thanks as she fished it from the pocket of her backpack, where she’d carelessly dropped it the night before. She dialed the number and held her breath, waiting. Rae was her last hope.

*

Rae sat at her desk, staring out the window at the park across the street instead of the papers she’d spent the morning shuffling about her desk. She was tired and distracted, and it would have been evident to anyone who saw her that she hadn’t slept well. Fortunately, she didn’t have any meetings or conference calls this morning that demanded the attention she was having so much difficulty keeping focused.

The day before had been one of the most bizarre of her life. Her time with Nic at the Barnes and at dinner was wonderful. Nic was all the things she hoped for in a woman—attractive, intelligent, tough, cultured. They had so much in common. At the moment they’d climbed into her car at the river, Rae would have ranked her time with Nic as the best date ever. And then that message from Louis had beckoned them to the hospital, and Nic’s life was suddenly in chaos.

Rae had tried to show Nic her support, but she feared she’d failed miserably. Perhaps no one could have said or done anything to comfort Nic, but Rae wished
she
could have offered Nic sage words of advice to guide her through her difficult time. Instead, she’d offered her fucking cookie dough
.

She’d been surprised when the doorbell rang shortly after midnight, but not at all surprised to see Nic through the peephole. Rae had held her on the couch until her tears were all cried out and then lay beside her until the rhythmic cycle of her breathing told her Nic was asleep. She’d kissed her softly on the forehead before slipping from beneath Nic’s firm body. After Rae had covered her with a blanket and once again crawled into her own bed, she’d reflected on the fact that she’d finally gotten a woman into her apartment, a very attractive woman, and all she’d done was cry.

It could have been worse, Rae thought. At least she hadn’t caused all the tears. When she’d left for work this morning, with Nic still sleeping on her couch, she’d hoped it wouldn’t be the last time she saw her.

The ringing of her cell phone was a welcome distraction, and even though she didn’t recognize the number, she answered anyway. “Hello.”

“Is this Rae?” a woman’s deep voice asked.

“Yes.”

“This is Jet Fox calling. I met you last night at the hospital.”

Rae’s heart went to her throat as she realized the call couldn’t be bringing good news. And when she heard Jet’s tale, she knew she was right. “So I have an hour to get her there?”

“Actually, we’re down to fifty-seven minutes.”

Rae looked at her watch, setting the stopwatch feature as she replied, “I’ll do my best.”

Only half a dozen blocks separated the DEA offices from the convention center on Arch Street, but in a business suit and loafers, Rae’s best effort was a modestly paced jog. When she stopped in front of the building, she glanced at her wrist. Forty-four minutes left.

Signs everywhere announced the medical convention and directed her upstairs to the meeting rooms. Rooms. Three topics were currently being presented, and Rae had no idea which one Dr. Coussart would have preferred, which door held the grand prize. Was she a spinal-cord-injury enthusiast or would she prefer EKGs to Remember? Or, perhaps The Difficult Airway interested her. Rae looked around and spotted two women seated at a table, beneath a banner welcoming her to the conference. She jogged over to them and looked at both as she spoke.

“Hi. I have a minor family emergency and need to find someone at the conference. Can you tell me which room Nicole Coussart’s in?”

“Oh, my. I’m sorry to hear that. Let me check,” one of the women said.

Rae glanced at her watch while the woman flipped through pages in a binder. Thirty-nine minutes left. She looked up, awaiting the woman’s response, wanting to rip the binder from her hands and find the information herself. “Oh, dear. This isn’t good.”

“What?” Rae asked. “Isn’t she here?”

“No, it’s not that. She originally signed up for Updates in Arrhythmia Management
,
but that was rescheduled because the speaker couldn’t make it until this afternoon. Dr. Coussart had a choice of the other three lectures, but the change wasn’t marked on her registration form.”

“So she can be in any one of those rooms?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Is it possible to have her paged?”

The woman frowned and looked to her colleague for advice. It didn’t seem like a difficult concept, but apparently they weren’t accustomed to this sort of request.

“Let me check with Dr. Scialla. He’s in charge.”

“Where is he?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Okay, I’ll tell you what. I’ll look for her, and you go look for him.”

Without waiting for a reply, Rae turned and headed into the lecture called The Latest in the Management of Spinal Cord Injuries
.
The room was darkened, and some sort of scary-looking image of the human body was displayed on monitors conveniently located throughout the auditorium, as well as on a giant screen at the front of the room. After allowing her eyes to adjust, Rae began to walk slowly along the wall toward the speaker. Nic had told her she always sat in the front, so she could see, and sure enough, that’s right where Rae found her. Quietly, she leaned down and whispered in Katie’s ear. “Bring your things, we have to go.”

The intrusion startled Nic, yet she’d never been so happy to see anyone. It was her birthday, and she should have been happy, but she’d just been stressed—about her parents’ betrayal, Katie’s situation, and because those two factors had combined to ruin a wonderful night with a really wonderful woman. Nic thought she might never see Rae again, yet here she was. The trepidation she felt at wondering why she was there was overshadowed by the thrill of seeing her.

She followed Rae, holding her questions until they were in the hallway. “What’s going on?”

Rae held her by the elbow, walking her toward the exit on Arch Street. “We have a little emergency.”

“Oh, no. Did she…die?” Nic whispered.

“No, no. Not as bad as that, thankfully. But your sister needs your help.”

“She’s not my sister, Rae.” A chill swept through her as she said it, but it was true. Katie meant nothing to her. Nothing but trouble.

“She’s still your flesh and blood, Nic. She’s in trouble, and she needs your help.”

“No. No, Rae. I can’t get involved. This is just too screwed up for me.”

Rae stopped, gripping Nic’s biceps so she couldn’t turn away. “I know this is an awful situation for you, but there’s more than yourself to worry about now, Nic. You’re a doctor, for Christ’s sake. You’re supposed to give a shit about human beings, even if they’re not perfect like you.”

“Ouch.”

Letting go of Nic, Rae turned and ran her fingers through her dark hair, looking out into a beautiful spring day with a sadness on her face that touched Nic’s heart. It wasn’t just that she liked Rae, but that Rae seemed so strong—so untouchable. That she was worried now worried Nic.

“How? What do you want me to do?” Nic eyed her suspiciously and Rae leaped into her arms, hugging her tight, then pulling back to plant a perfectly electrifying but brief kiss on her lips. Nic was speechless as they resumed walking.

Rae relayed the scant details Jet had given her. “Katie’s mom died when she was a kid. Her father remarried. Imagine Cinderella and you get the picture. Anyway, Jet went to court today to appeal for custody of Katie’s kids, and Katie’s dad was there, with the evil stepmother in tow. They want the kids. What they really want is Katie’s money, but they’ll use the kids to get it. The judge wants a family member to have the kids. You’re Katie’s only known relative, Nic. You have to do this. You have to ask for custody.”

Nic shook her head and stopped in her tracks, looking at her. “Are you out of your mind? I don’t even know this woman.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter. I didn’t even know she has kids. I know nothing about her, except she’s into drugs and guns.”

“What matters is that children—your nieces and or nephews—are in a lot of trouble. You can help them. You’re the only one who can help them.” Rae was pleading with her, as if she knew these children, as if she cared.

Nic closed her eyes and thought about the facts, wondering if it was really as serious as Rae seemed to think it was. And then she thought of her own perfectly prim-and-proper parents and her perfectly normal life. How had Katie gotten so screwed up? Probably because of her parents. Nic didn’t know that she could help in the long run—that was Katie’s job. But might she prevent them from getting into the wrong hands while their mother recovered from her wounds? Did she dare take on this massive responsibility? “How many children?”

Seeming to sense progress in her argument, Rae gently grabbed an arm and pulled Katie toward a waiting taxi. “I’m not quite sure.”

Opening the door, Rae gently pushed Nic inside and gave the driver the address they needed.

Suddenly frightened, Nic clutched Rae’s arm. “Rae, it doesn’t even matter, really, how many. I’m allergic to children. They’re messy and write on the walls with crayons and break stuff. And I’m irresponsible. I can’t even keep a damn plant alive.”

Rae laughed and placed her hand on Nic’s thigh. “Kids are easier than plants. They know when to ask for food and water.”

“You’re out of your mind. I can’t take her kids. Besides, I don’t even know them.”

“Neither does her father. Will you please just meet them? They could be really great kids.”

“And they could be little drug dealers like their parents.”

“Jet’s crazy about them.”

“Yeah, well, I think she needs her head examined. What’s a respectable nurse who works for my aunt doing hanging around with drug dealers?”

Rae turned, giving Nic her full attention. “Nic, do you suppose it’s possible there may be more to this story than you’ve heard on the news?”

Nic looked down her nose at Rae and scowled.

“From what Jet said at the hospital last night, it sounds like Katie was in the wrong place at the wrong time. You read about it every day in the newspapers and see it on TV. Can’t you give Katie the benefit of the doubt until you know the whole story?”

Nic leaned back and rested her head against the taxi’s warn seat, still staring at Rae. “Why? Why should I? This is not my problem, Rae.”

“Because, Nic, whether you like it or not, or whether you acknowledge it or not, Katie Finan is your sister.”

Nic didn’t respond, but instead turned again and stared out the window, not seeing anything but the image in her mind of Katie’s still form in the ICU bed. She digested Rae’s words as she replayed the scene from the hospital. Katie and her children meant nothing to her. She had no obligation. So why was she sitting in the cab on her way to court? Was it curiosity? Or some deeper need, that childhood desire for a sister beginning to ooze from the depths of her, where it’d been buried for so long? Or did she just want to be with Rae?

After a few minutes of silence, Rae squeezed her thigh. “I’m sorry about last night,” she whispered.

“What?” Nic turned and met Rae’s eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

“Whatever for?”

“For not doing anything to help you.”

Nic swallowed. Rae had done so much the night before just by being there. She’d sat beside her in the hospital and in the car, and then later, she’d fed her cookie dough, and listened to her, and then held her and made her feel safe, in spite of all the turmoil. Nic couldn’t remember ever falling asleep in a woman’s arms before this early morning with Rae. She smiled at the memory. “Rae, you were perfect last night.”

“Really?”

Nic gave her a hint of a smile. “Yes, perfect. Thank you for being there for me. I…I really didn’t know who else to talk to.”

Rae squeezed Nic’s hand. “I’m here with you now, Nic. And I’m on vacation next week, so I’m available to baby sit if you need me.”

“Me or them?”

Rae chuckled. “Whatever you need.”

The cab pulled to the curb, and Rae paid the driver and glanced at her watch. There was little traffic at this hour and they’d made it with twenty minutes to spare. Following signs to the designated courtroom, Nic noticed a group of people huddled just outside the doors. Jet was among them, with an older couple and two children. She stopped.

“Oh, my God. They’re black.”

Rae followed Nic’s gaze and saw the children, a girl of about nine and boy of six or so. Their skin was the color of coffee with extra crème, their hair suggestive of African ancestry. “Yep, it looks like they are.”