The Way to Yesterday (18 page)

"It's true," Bobby Joe said. "Daniel O'Rourke lives here. His
wife has been abducted."

Doolan's
smirk disappeared.
"The
woman from Vinter's supermarket?"

"I don't know where it happened. All I know is a friend called for help
and I came. You gonna give me a ticket or what? I've got a good woman to go
find."

Doolan
cursed beneath his breath and then pointed
a finger in Bobby Joe's face.

"You lucked out this time, Killian. Under the circumstances, I'll let
this slide. But next time, pay the hell attention, will you?"

"You got it,
Doolan
, and thanks," Bobby
Joe said, and headed for the front door.

Before he could knock, Daniel jerked it open,
then
saw the police car pulling away.

"I'm not going to ask what that was about." Daniel said.

"It was nothing," Bobby Joe said. "Tell me about Mary."

Daniel's expression never changed, although Bobby Joe could tell he was in
shock.

"She's gone."

Bobby Joe pushed his way past Daniel and walked into the house.

"We'll get her back, buddy. Now tell me every thing you know."

Howard Lee woke up slowly, trying to remember what was different in his home
and then he smiled as he stretched and kicked back the covers. He'd brought a
mother home for the girls. He hadn't planned on doing it so suddenly, but
considering what had transpired, he'd had no choice. Reluctantly, he made
himself get up. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he felt the cool metal
of the cellar door beneath his feet, thought of her, his very own Sophie, and
smiled.

Mary was sitting cross-legged on the bed with Amy Anne in her lap and
Justine scrunched up beside her. A couple of hours ago Justine had awakened and
headed straight for the television. Mary knew this must be part of her normal
routine and marveled at the resiliency of youth. Personally, she would like to
give in to her fear and frustration and scream bloody murder. Before she could
follow the thought, she heard something squeak,
then
a
solid thump followed. She bolted from the bed and started toward the stairs
when suddenly Howard Lee was there, coming down the steps carrying a tray full
of food. She stopped in
midstep
and then began
backing up.
"Sophie... darling!"
Howard Lee
said. "What a warm welcome! I couldn't ask for anything more."
Ignoring the fact that he was calling her by another name, Mary pleaded with
him.

"Mr. please, let us
go
."

"Howard Lee. You must call me Howard Lee."

The smile on his face was too broad. The look in his eyes too full of an
expectation she could never fulfill.

"The girls are sick. Please let me take them to a doctor."

He put the tray down on the table and then began to set the places, just as
he did at every meal. Ignoring her request, he looked at the girls and gestured
toward the food.

"Sit down," he said shortly.

Justine quickly did as he asked, but Mary stayed where she was. Howard Lee
looked at the girls and then frowned at Mary.

"Sophie! They're still in their nightgowns. As their mother, I expected
you to at least brush their hair and help them dress. I can't do everything by
myself forever. I have a job, you know."
Great... he's not just a
pervert... he's crazy, too.
Even though she was afraid, she held her
ground. "They've been in bed all day and are more comfortable in their
gowns."

Howard Lee's frown deepened. "I don't want them to appear
slovenly."

"Then get them out of this cellar and into the sunshine," Mary
snapped.

Howard Lee spun angrily. Suddenly the spoon in his hand took on an ominous
appearance.

"You don't talk to me like that," he snapped. "A wife is
supposed to honor her husband."

"I do honor my husband," Mary said. "His name is
Daniel."

Howard Lee hit her with the flat of his hand. The sound echoed in the sudden
silence of the room. Mary groaned. It was the same place he'd hit her before
and the ache went all the way to the back of her teeth. He hovered over her as
he glared, but she wouldn't let him see her fear.

"So you're into hitting women as well as stealing other people's
children. I wonder what other ugly little secrets you're hiding."

Rage rolled through Howard Lee like tide on the shore, ebbing and flowing in
sudden surges. She was talking back to him. How dare she talk back? Didn't she
know what a terrible example she was setting for the girls?

"You don't talk to me like that in front of our girls."

Mary doubled up her fists and laughed. It was an ugly, choking sound that
was too close to a sob, but she couldn't take it back. It was too late and her
rage was too swift.

"Those aren't our girls. They belong to four other people who are
desperate to get them back. I don't know why you're doing this but I can tell
you it's never going to work."

Howard Lee grabbed her arm and yanked her hard against his chest.

"It's already working," he said. "They're my girls. Do you
hear me? I adopted them. The papers will be coming through any day now and then
you'll see."

There was coffee on his breath and a fleck of spittle at the corner of his
mouth and Mary felt like throwing up.

"What about me?" she asked. "There aren't any papers, real or
imagined, that are going to make kidnapping me okay. The police might stop
looking for us, but my husband never will."

"Don't threaten me," Howard Lee growled. "I can make you
disappear."

Mary's heart sank. It was nothing more than what she'd feared all along, but
she'd be damned if she'd let him know it mattered.

"It won't matter how many times you kill me, Howard Lee. He knows what
you look like. The police know what you look like, too. You can't hide
forever."

Howard Lee paled.

"You're lying."

Mary shrugged. "Believe what you want." Howard Lee shoved the rest
of the food from the tray and stomped up the stairs, dropping the door shut
with a resounding thud. Mary flinched at the sound, but by God, she'd stood her
ground. "You made him mad," Justine said.

Mary turned and looked down at the little girl, then grinned.

"I did, didn't I?"

Justine hesitated just a moment and then slipped her hand in Mary's hand and
smiled. Mary winked at her. "I told you it was going to be okay, didn't
I?"

Justine pointed at Amy Anne. "You have to hold her on your lap to help
her eat."

Mary nodded. "Okay. Thank you, Justine."

"You're welcome."

Mary went to the bed and picked up the little girl, then sat down at the
table with Amy Anne in her lap.
"Hey, kiddo.
How
about some supper?
Looks like we've got chicken noodle soup
and cheese sandwiches.
Do you like chicken noodle soup? I do.
Ooh,
and I see chocolate chip cookies for dessert.
How about a cookie, Amy Anne?"

She put the cookie in Amy Anne's fingers, then scooped up a spoonful of soup
and held it to the little girl's mouth. Amy Anne's lips opened like a baby bird
and Mary slipped the soup inside.

Justine looked at the cookie Amy Anne was holding.

"We're not supposed to eat dessert first," she said.

"I know," Mary said. "But this place is different, isn't it?
The man broke the rules first, so we can too."

Justine thought about it a moment and then giggled. Mary wanted to cry. It
was the first time she'd seen her really smile.

"Is your soup too hot?"

"Nope.
It's just right," Justine said.

"Then eat it up before it gets cold, okay?"

"Okay."

Mary took a bite of her own cheese sandwich and then spooned another bite of
soup into Amy Anne's mouth. She was reaching for her juice when she remembered
that Howard Lee was doping them with sedatives. She set Amy Anne aside and then
picked up the glasses and took them to the bathroom, poured out the juice, and
filled the glasses with water. As she walked back to the table, she saw Amy
Anne lift the cookie to her mouth and take a bite.

Justine gasped. "Look, Mary! Look at Amy Anne! She's feeding
herself."

"Is that good?"

"I think so," Justine said. "I've never seen her do it
before."

Mary set the water glasses down and gave Amy Anne a quick hug.

"I'll bet she can do lots of things, can't you honey?"

Mary felt the momentary weight of the little girl's body against her, as if
she'd leaned into the hug, and then the moment was gone.

"You're going to be just fine, little girl," Mary said softly, and
pressed a kiss against her cheek. "Now let's eat our supper. Afterward we
can play some games or maybe work some puzzles. Do you like to play
puzzles?"

Amy Anne didn't answer, but it didn't matter. She was eating on her own.

Daniel stood on the sidewalk in front of Vinter's supermarket, staring down
at the pavement where several small specks of blood had been circled with
chalk. The area had been roped off with yellow crime scene tape and all of the
videotapes from the supermarket's security cameras had been confiscated by the
police. While Bobby Joe didn't have access to the tapes, he was working his
magic on the clerk who'd witnessed the abduction. Between the flashing smile
and his dark, bad-boy looks, Bobby Joe Killian could get just about anything he
wanted. And according to the clerk, this was where Mary had been taken. The man
had hit her with his fist and shoved her into a late model white van. They had
the first three letters of the license tag and a description of the man that fit
the one Hope had given them, but no idea of where to look first.

Daniel spun away from the blood-spattered sidewalk and looked back into the
store where Bobby Joe had gone. He could see him through the window, still
talking to the clerk. Daniel doubled up his fists and strode toward the car.
He'd never felt this helpless or this afraid. He couldn't let himself think of
what Mary must be enduring, or if she was even alive. He sat down inside Bobby
Joe's sports car and waited for him to return.

Less than five minutes later, Bobby Joe came out of the store on the run.
When he slid behind the wheel, he was grinning.

"Tell me something to make me smile, too," Daniel said.

Bobby Joe started the car and put it in gear, peeling out of the parking
lot.

"Do we know where we're going?" Bobby Joe looked at Daniel and
then grinned. "Hell yes. We're going to find Mary Faith." Daniel
wished he felt as optimistic as Bobby Joe acted.

"What did the clerk tell you that she didn't tell the police?"

Bobby Joe looked at him and then grinned. "She said the guy is a
regular, that he shops in there at least once a week, and for the past few
weeks has been buying the same kind of stuff that parents with small kids
usually buy."

"How does that help us?"

"If he's recently started buying food geared toward kids, then we can
assume he's got some kids to feed.
And...
if
he shops in there on a regular basis, then he must live
in the area. I've got a friend in the department of motor vehicles running down
the license numbers. Once we get a printout, we can compare it to the addresses
in the area. It's all a matter of elimination."

"How long will that take?" Daniel asked. "I don't know...
maybe first thing tomorrow." Daniel groaned and hit the dashboard with the
flat of his hand. "Damn... damn... damn."

"What?" Bobby Joe asked.

"All night
.. .in
that man's grasp? I can't let
that happen."

Bobby Joe shook his head. "I know, Daniel. I wish to hell I had a
better answer."

"
It's not knowing
that makes it so bad."

"Knowing what?"

Daniel didn't answer and Bobby Joe knew he was hurting bad.

"Talk to me, friend."

Daniel shuddered and had to swallow twice before he could spit out the
words.

"What he's doing to her. I don't know what he's doing to her. I imagine
the worst. Every minute I breathe without knowing where she is
is
like a knife in my heart."

Bobby Joe sighed. "We'll find her, Daniel."

"We have to."

"Yeah, I know."

But he didn't. He had no ties to anyone in the way that Daniel and Mary felt
about each other, and it was just the way he liked it. If he screwed up, he
didn't have to answer to anyone but himself.

Howard Lee drove into the hospital parking lot and parked in his usual
space. He reached across the seat and got his lunch bucket from the passenger
seat, then grabbed his cap as he got out of the van, taking care to lock it
before heading for the employee entrance of Savannah Memorial. The shift change
was already in progress as he reached his locker. "Hey, Martin
. ..how's
it going?"

Howard Lee nodded and waved as he got his coveralls off the shelf. He wanted
to share the news of his new family with the man, but couldn't take the chance.
Not here. Not now. Maybe when they moved it would be better. And he'd been
thinking about the move all evening. Even though his Sophie was still in a stage
of revolt, it would pass, just like it did with his girls. Of course Amy Anne
had gone a little too far the other way, but she would come back when she was
ready.

He put on his coveralls,
then
began to fill his
cart with cleaning supplies, making sure he had everything he would need to
work his shift before heading for the employee elevator. A couple of women
waved at him-one even stopped and spoke a few words. Her name was Mavis. He
liked to be part of the machine that ran the hospital even though his education
was barely enough to qualify him for cleaning toilets.