Trumped Up Charges (7 page)

He could see how Adam could be taken in by her. Hadley was a damn good-looking woman. She had all the tools for getting under any red-blooded man’s skin. A gorgeous mass of red hair that looked even more enticing when it was disheveled. Great legs. Bodacious breasts.

And she was smart enough that even if she was guilty, she might get off scot-free if he didn’t play his cards right and follow every police procedure in the manual.

He walked up and joined them. “Hello, ladies.”

“Any progress?” Hadley asked.

“None to speak of, but I’m hopeful that will change any minute now.”

He studied Hadley. Her eyes were shadowed with the same torment he heard in her voice. That and the edgy fear that defined her had been constant since he’d first met her.

It was also what kept him hoping his theory was wrong.

“I need to see Hadley alone for a few minutes before we talk, Matilda. Why don’t you wait here? Hadley and I will be in a small conference room just down the hall. I’ve already gotten clearance for us to borrow it.”

Hadley and Matilda both agreed to the suggestion. Once inside the small cubbyhole of a room used by doctors to meet with patients’ families, he closed the door behind him.

“Does this have to do with Quinton Larson?” she asked. “Matilda just admitted to Mother and me that he’s in the Dallas area.”

“Did Matilda tell you that?”

“She admitted that he was at her house late afternoon on Monday.”

“Interesting.”

“There’s more,” Hadley said.

He listened and made notes while Hadley filled him in on the details Janice had not shared in her brief phone call. He had to admit that the new developments made Quinton seem a considerably more credible suspect.

Still, he had questions to ask.

He put down his pen, put his elbows on the table and leaned toward Hadley. “Why didn’t you mention earlier that you and Adam Dalton had once been engaged?”

“That was a long time ago. I didn’t think it mattered.”

“Did you break up with him because of another man?”

“No. We broke up because of another woman. I didn’t do the breaking off. Adam did.”

“Yet you got married and pregnant soon after the breakup and he’s still single.”

“How do you know when we broke up?”

“Your engagement was announced in the newspaper.”

“My mother’s doing, not mine.”

“Are you saying you weren’t engaged at the time?”

“We were engaged—briefly.” She threw up her hands. “I don’t see why any of this is important.”

“Everything is important when children are missing. How long have you and Adam been back together?”

“We’re not back together. I hadn’t seen or talked to him since we broke up.”

“And the man you hadn’t heard from in over three years heard about the kidnapping and raced to the rescue.”

“You were there when he showed up at my door.”

“Right. You fell right into his arms. And he hasn’t left your side since, not even to go home last night.”

“He stayed with me last night because I was such a wreck I didn’t want to be left alone in that empty house.”

“Like I said, Adam’s a very thoughtful guy. I can see why you’d want him back.”

“I don’t want him back. He knows that. He slept on the sofa with his clothes on last night. What little sleep I got was in the bedroom that my girls were taken from. This isn’t a soap opera. My daughters are in the hands of a madman.”

“Did Adam break up with you because you were pregnant with someone else’s babies?”

Hadley jumped up so fast that her metal folding chair skidded behind her, banging against the wall as it fell.

“I get it, Detective. I get you. You have a sordid little mind and you think Adam and I got rid of Lacy and Lila so we could have a love fest without him being threatened by someone else’s children having come from my womb.”

“You’re putting words in my mouth.”

“To match the thoughts already in your head. Stop playing games, Detective. Find my girls.”

She stamped out and slammed the door behind her.

She had a temper. That proved neither guilt nor innocence. It did demonstrate she was capable of losing control.

* * *

H
ADLEY
WAS
STILL
FUMING
when she reached the waiting room where she was to meet Dr. Gates. The complications were becoming more and more entangled, the emphasis of the investigation losing focus. Having Adam around was partly to blame for that.

There was a time she’d have given half her life to have him back. Now she could be losing the most precious parts of her life because he was here.

This time she couldn’t blame Adam. His motives were pure. More than she could say for herself where he was concerned. The least she could do now was be honest with him about everything—whatever the cost.

Hadley located a seat in the crowded area and waited. After five minutes, she got up and paced. After fifteen minutes of doing nothing, her mind began to play tricks on her. She began to imagine everyone near her was the kidnapper.

A woman walked past her leading a little girl who looked to be a year or so older than the twins. The girl’s hair was tawny-colored and straighter than either Lacy’s or Lila’s, but seeing her created a longing in Hadley’s heart that was so intense it brought tears to her eyes.

If the kidnapper would only call and let her hear their voices.

Instinctively, she started to check her phone and make certain she hadn’t missed a call. Her handbag. She didn’t have it. She tried to think where she’d left it.

She’d hung it on the back of the chair when she’d sat down to talk to the detective. She’d gotten so caught up in her angry tirade, she’d forgotten it.

She spun around and retraced her steps, racing to the elevator. By the time she reached the tiny room, she was breathing hard and fast from the panicky run. She opened the door without bothering to knock.

Her purse was there. But not as she’d left it. A bulky brown package was stuffed inside the side pocket.

Her first name was printed in lopsided letters.

The same kind of letters that the kidnapper had used to write yesterday’s note. This had to be from him.

The kidnapper was here in the hospital, perhaps only steps away.

Chapter Seven

Adam was standing
in the east end of the fourth-floor corridor near the drink machine when he looked up and saw Hadley almost run into another woman at the other end of the hallway. He dropped the remainder of his soda in the trash can and ran to catch up with her. By the time she ducked into a room near the end of the long hallway, he was only a few steps behind.

He found her alone in the room, clutching a bulky package and so pale he thought she was about to pass out. Panic hit him, fear that she’d gotten bad news from the doctor. Or worse, it had been bad news from the police.

“What’s wrong?”

“This.” She handed him the package.

“Where did you get this?”

“Personal delivery—from the kidnapper.”

“You saw the kidnapper?”

“I didn’t see him. That’s the problem. But he was here, in this very room.”

“What makes you think that?”

“After I talked to the detective, I stormed out without my purse. When I realized that and came back, this envelope was in the side pocket.”

Adam muttered a few curses under his breath. The abductor was gutsy as hell if he’d walked right into the hospital to contact Hadley. He couldn’t have known she’d leave her purse behind. Had he planned to just walk up and hand it to her?

That made no sense.

Hadley worried a silver ring on her ring hand. “If he was here, who’s with my girls? They could be locked in a room somewhere by themselves? They’ll be afraid. They’ll cry for me and I won’t come.”

“Just as likely he left them with an accomplice,” Adam said, throwing her a lifeline. Or was it the accomplice who’d delivered the message?

Matilda was the first person who came to mind. She’d been in the hospital. She’d likely been in this very room with Lane after he’d talked to Hadley.

She couldn’t have counted on Hadley leaving her purse, but she could have taken advantage of it. More likely she’d planned to leave it in Janice’s hospital room but then hadn’t gotten the chance when they’d arrived.

The meeting she’d had on Monday with her brother could have been a strategy session or maybe just the opportunity he needed to enlist her. Or maybe Quinton wasn’t involved at all. No one saw her with him on Monday. She could have carried out the abduction all by herself. The girls would have gone with her without crying, especially if she’d convinced them they were playing a trick on their mother.

Lane was savvy and experienced. He’d come to the same conclusions. Matilda was already on his radar.

Adam examined the envelope more carefully. “This feels like a phone and maybe a video case. Do you want to call Lane?”

“No. Not until I know what’s in it. He made it clear today that he considers me a suspect. He might decide I shouldn’t be privy to the contents.”

He ripped the tab and reached inside. As suspected, he pulled out a DVD in an unmarked plastic cover and a disposable phone that could’ve been picked up at any truck stop or convenience store.

“My laptop’s in my truck. We can go down and play the video there. But once you’ve seen it, I think you should call Lane. There’s a chance that the kidnapper was caught on a hospital security camera and Lane has the authority to confiscate the film.”

“I didn’t even think of that,” she admitted. “I’ll call the detective as soon as we’ve watched the video. Is that all that’s in the envelope? No note to explain the phone?”

Adam checked again. “No note. Whatever he wants you to know must be on the disk.”

He put a hand to the small of her back. His instinct was to put his arms around her, but the rules that defined their new relationship were vague and tenuous. He didn’t want to do anything that she would misread and cause her to be uneasy with him.

She needed someone to trust. He needed to be that man. Semper Fi.

“I need to make a quick stop by Mother’s room and let her know that I’ll be staying at your father’s ranch.”

“She won’t like it. She doesn’t like much of anything about me.”

“I know, but I need to keep her in the loop. I don’t want her to hear from Lane that I’ve disappeared. I guess I should tell him where I’m staying, as well, although he has no trouble getting in touch with me by phone. Plus all my calls are monitored—which obviously the kidnapper realizes.”

“Hold off on telling Lane where you’re staying until Fred Casey arrives. I’m not sure how he handles working with the police.”

“I’d rather not say anything to Mother about the video yet. I’ll call her after we see it—if it’s good news.”

The last of the words were only a whisper. More like a prayer, Adam thought. A prayer that echoed in his mind.

Dr. Gates approached them just outside her mother’s door. “I was hoping I’d catch you before you left the hospital,” he said. “I’m sorry I kept you waiting downstairs. The surgery took longer than expected.”

“I understand. And then something came up and I had to rush off. Mother mentioned an infection. Is it serious?”

“Not if she stays on the infusion of antibiotics we’re shooting into her bloodstream. But she keeps insisting that you need her and that she’s leaving the hospital whether I release her or not. She’s a very headstrong woman and you and her granddaughters mean the world to her.”

“I know. I do need her, but I need her well and healthy again. I’ll talk to her.”

“I appreciate that. How are you holding up?”

“One minute I think I’m doing well, the next I think I’m losing my mind.”

“I can prescribe something to help with the anxiety if you’d like.”

“Maybe later, but not yet.”

“My wife said to tell you that the members of her Bible Study group are all praying for you.”

“Thank her for me. That means a lot.”

The doctor left and Adam waited outside while she talked to her mother. He knew the visit would be brief this time. The video with the kidnapper’s next message was calling.

There were dozens of hideous possibilities for what the video might reveal, scenarios that would destroy Hadley.

But there was a better chance they’d get directions for how the ransom was to be handled. He was counting on a nice, direct description of how he—or she—wanted the ransom handled. After that, Fred Casey would be put to the test.

* * *

H
ADLEY
BARELY
DARED
to breathe as they took the elevator to the second floor of the hospital parking garage. Dread and anticipation battled inside her.

She so desperately needed this to be a plan of action for getting her girls back. Yet she could never escape the fact that as long as Lacy and Lila were in the kidnapper’s hands, a million things could go wrong.

“Wait here,” Adam said when they reached his truck. “I’ll set the computer on the hood. That way we can both get a good viewing angle.”

Once the computer was in place and up and running, Adam took the DVD from its case. “Are you ready?”

She took a deep breath hoping that would slow the rapid drumming of her heart. “I’m ready.”

A haunting lullaby played in the background as the screen went from black to a shot of water drops falling on the camera lens.

The music stopped, replaced by laughing and the squeal of high-pitched voices. Lacy’s and Lila’s voices. Hadley’s fingernails dug into the palms of her hands.

Then suddenly the close-up of water drops changed to a grassy square of land and a squirting water hose. Lacy and Lila were dancing in the spray. They were dressed only in training panties that Hadley didn’t recognize.

But they were safe and laughing.

Tears of relief burned the back of Hadley’s eyelids and then escaped to roll down her cheeks. The screen went black. The message followed.

“Your daughters are adorable, Hadley. It would be a shame for them to have to die. But that’s up to you.”

The chilling words were delivered in a disguised voice. A male voice, she thought, though she couldn’t be sure.

Adam slipped an arm around her waist as the message continued.

“I will call you on the phone when I’m ready to exchange them for the five million dollars. Have the money ready. Any sign of cops or deceit and you will never see Lila and Lacy again. They send their love.”

Adam called the messenger a few choice names. She agreed with them, but nothing could steal the respite that seeing the girls alive and happy had given her.

“They’re alive, Adam. I can deal with anything knowing that.”

The tears flowed like a summer rain, soft and warm on her cheeks. Adam’s arms tightened around her. Her head fell to his shoulders and she gave into the need to be wrapped in his embrace.

Her girls were alive. She and Adam would get them back. They were in this together now and they’d let nothing stand in their way.

* * *

A
DAM
HATED
THE
EMOTIONS
that erupted inside him. Feeling anything except empathy for Hadley was dangerous and would lead to complications neither of them were ready for.

Even if she wanted him back in her life, the reasons he’d walked out on her hadn’t changed. If anything the chance of any kind of meaningful relationship had grown slimmer. Now they had the added strain of more than three years of distrust and resentment.

But it was useless to lie to himself. In spite of what he’d told himself time and time again, he’d never gotten over her. He doubted that any man could.

And yet her ex hadn’t come running to her rescue the way Adam had.

The tears subsided and Hadley pulled away. His arms felt empty. The rest of him felt like he’d been kicked in the gut. With all they had to deal with, he was crazy to let her nearness get to him.

“I’d like to look at the video again,” he said. “I’d like to study the more subtle details, see if there’s any background or sounds that might suggest a location.”

“I thought it looked like the kind of patio-size yard you have with a condo,” Hadley said.

“I agree. It’s too hot to stand around in the garage. There’s a roadside park on the way to the ranch. We could grab a sandwich somewhere and sit in the shade to eat and study the video.”

“I might even be able to choke down some food now that I know the girls are alive.”

They seemed to be unharmed—for now. Though he wouldn’t dream of saying it out loud, the kidnapper’s message had unnerved him. No matter how good Fred Casey was, a thousand things could still go wrong with the transfer, especially since they didn’t have five million dollars.

Fred had said they wouldn’t need it. But Adam figured the kidnapper meant exactly what he’d threatened. It was expertise and sanity against a madman. He didn’t like the odds.

Adam powered down the computer. “Do you want to call Lane now?”

“Not now. You heard what the kidnapper said. No cops. I can’t take chances. Besides, isn’t Fred supposed to run the show from here on out?”

Adam checked his watch. “Yes, and his airplane should be on the ground at DFW by the time we get to the ranch.”

The ranch and the reunion with R.J. As they say in combat, the easy way is always mined.

* * *

R.J.
LADLED
THE
warmed-over chicken and dumplings into a cracked pottery bowl. The fragrant odors made his mouth water. He wasn’t much of a cook himself, but his neighbor, Carolina, was as good a cook as she was pretty.

Every old man fighting a losing battle with a brain tumor needed a neighbor like her. Come to think of it, he wondered if his daughter, Jade, could cook.

Probably not. Her mother couldn’t scramble an egg without it tasting like cardboard and that was a fact. She’d had other talents, though. He smiled just thinking about those.

All in all, he couldn’t complain about any of the mothers of his six kids. They could sure complain about him, though. He reckoned most of them did.

One complaint they couldn’t make if they were honest. He might have been late on some of his child support payments, but he never missed one entirely. Not even in the beginning when his bad habits chewed up his income like that old goat he’d kept around for a while back in the eighties.

Seemed like yesterday. That was the thing about time. It flies whether you’re having fun or not.

R.J. set his bowl on the table and then went back for a spoon. His memory was less dependable by the day. According to the doctor, it would get worse. Not much to look forward to.

For a few weeks there, he’d looked forward to his five sons and Jade moving back to the ranch. Stupid of him to think he could force them into one big, close family when they had no use for him.

All but Adam had stuck around to ask a few questions yesterday. None had indicated they’d be back anytime soon.

R.J. picked up the remote and turned on the TV for the noontime news. He blew across a forkful of chicken to cool it as the commercial ended and the blonde newscaster smiled into the camera, making it look like she was smiling right at him.

Always nice to get smiled at by a good-looking gal even if the smile was fake and she didn’t know he existed.

The lead story was about those two twin girls who had gone missing from the bedroom in their grandmother’s house yesterday. A man who’d do something like that was just stirring up hell with a long spoon.

“...Adam Dalton, a veteran...”

“Whoa. What was that?” R.J. grabbed the remote and backed up for a repeat.

“No arrests have been made, but police say they’re investigating several persons of interest in the case including Adam Dalton, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan who’d moved back to the Dallas/Fort Worth area less than a month ago.

“When our reporters tried to talk to Hadley O’Sullivan, she and Adam Dalton refused to comment.”

“Well, don’t that just beat all.” Adam was mixed up with the mother of the missing girls. No wonder he lit out so fast yesterday. He wondered if Adam could be involved in the kidnapping.

Not likely. Jerri would have raised him better than that. Maybe he should give Jerri a call. He’d have to give that a bit more thought. Might be better to contact Adam and see if there was anything R.J. could do to help.