Winter Storm (21 page)

“Open to what?” she asked, not trying to hide her skepticism. “I’m sorry, you don’t want to recommend me for that therapy you seem so fond of. I wouldn’t be one of the success stories.”

“Don’t you feel remorse? When you look at this family’s suffering, can you not step back and see what would be the most kind and sensible solution for everyone?”

“Why is this so personal for you, Father? First of all, I didn’t kidnap the girl.”

“Somebody did, and we don’t know yet how far he is willing to go.”

“What’s with all the hate, Father Langdon? Didn’t the Bible tell you anything about that? Hypocrisy? I’m starting to think you draw some perverse pleasure from this.”

“Did you draw any pleasure from destroying this family? If you really love Rebecca like you claim you do, maybe it’s time to prove it by letting her go.”

“That’s it,” Callie said coldly. “You came to my house uninvited. I can’t believe how incredibly rude you’re behaving. It’s a shame you’re doing it hiding behind God. We have by far more difficult problems to deal with. I’m asking you to leave.”

He regarded her for a long moment. There was no anger or offense in his gaze, just pity.

“As you wish. Tell Rebecca I’ll pray for her and her family, please.”

Callie closed the door behind him, leaning her head against the cool glass.

Please, whoever is listening, make it stop.

* * * *

Time seemed to slow down to a halt, the movements of people around her like in slow-motion. Rebecca struggled to make sense of it all, but she could only come back to one conclusion: Her baby girl was in danger, and everyone was just standing around and talking. It felt wrong. They should be able to do something. At least Father Reynolds appeared to have left, for which Rebecca was grateful, because he’d failed to offer any kind of consolation. None of this had happened because of whom she loved. It had happened because Craig had finally gone off the deep end.

He wouldn’t hurt Maggie though. He wouldn’t. Rebecca kept repeating it in her mind, but the mantra didn’t do much in the way of reassurance. She wanted to hurt him.

She jumped violently when the phone rang again. Hearing Craig’s voice was even more disturbing this time. He sounded drunk, and he seemed to have forgotten every insult he had thrown at Rebecca before. He was also crying.

“I’m so sorry, for everything. I…I’m nothing without Maria. I miss her so very much.”

“We miss her too.” Her calmness was only a thin layer over the raging emotions underneath. Rebecca still wanted to do him harm.

Eye for an eye.

“Tell us where you are, so we can help you, and bring Maggie home.”

“I’ll bring her. So sorry. Should have never—”

“Craig, you’re drunk! You cannot drive, do you hear me? We are coming to get Maggie. David and Laurie are here too.”

“Tell Dave and Mom I’m sorry I disappointed them.”

“They’ll be fine. We all will be. Can you put Maggie—”

He laughed, all of a sudden not sounding so apologetic anymore.

“On the other hand…with Maria gone, it doesn’t matter. None of it matters, and that night at my parents’, don’t try to put it on me. You led me on. It’s all your doing, Rebecca. It always is.” There was a clicking sound on the other end of the line. “Do you know what that is? By the way, the address is 65, Willow Lane. See if you can make it on time.”

The following noise was deafening. Then she was screaming for real, stopping only when her voice gave out.

* * * *

David’s motion to move forward was instinctive, but then he stepped aside and let Callie sit beside Rebecca and wrap her arms around her.

“We need to go. My baby—we need to get there on time.” Rebecca was shaking so hard her teeth were clicking together. There was pain, and then there was knowing that a child, her child, was in real, mortal danger.

Helpless, Callie looked up over Rebecca’s shoulder.

“I’ll call Bev,” David said.

Betty led a shell-shocked Dina out of the room. Laurie was crying quietly, and David squeezed her shoulder as he passed by her.

“It will be all right, Mom. I promise.” The fear in his voice belied the confidence he was trying to convey.

Callie didn’t even try to keep Rebecca from going, and neither did David. Bev would arrive before them anyway. She couldn’t bring herself to imagine what might just have happened. Poor Maggie. Craig might not have touched her, but if he’d done what they all thought he had…It was horrible, and still they had to go with this theory for now, because the alternative would be even more shattering. Maggie would have another trauma forced on her, one that was much worse than finding her beloved pet killed by some reckless youths just a few months ago.

She also had Rebecca to worry about. After that scream she had hardly said a word. She seemed calm and composed on the outside, but her haunted look was an indication as to how the past hours had wreaked havoc on her soul. It wasn’t something you could leave behind easily.

If only Maggie was alive.

“She’ll be fine. Maggie will be fine,” Callie said as if the mere power of words would make them both believe.

In the rearview mirror, she could see the lights of David’s car. He wasn’t going to use this tragedy for his personal gain, unlike Reynolds. Then again, he was Maggie’s father.

Callie thought of what Rebecca said earlier about making deals with God, the burning question of which sacrifice she’d be willing to make.

Then again, she didn’t believe in these equations. For Rebecca whose every bit of safe ground was breaking away, they were a safety net, a last resort.

* * * *

Craig had fired a shot. There were only two possible outcomes, Rebecca thought with a calm that surprised her. If he had hurt Maggie, she would find a way to pay revenge, any way. She wasn’t sure exactly how this was going to work, but she would come up with something. Rebecca was certain.

If he had turned the gun on himself, Rebecca wouldn’t waste a single moment to mourn him. She would take Maggie home and make sure she was safe.

Either way, she couldn’t imagine her life without Maggie. She just wasn’t able to.

There were two cruisers from the police station in Autumn Leaves, and one from out of town. Her heart was racing again, and she wondered if at some point, it might just give out. Callie was beside her, her hand firm on Rebecca’s waist as if she had to hold her upright. Maybe that wasn’t such a wrong assessment.

The grip wasn’t strong enough, though, when she saw Craig being led out of the hotel by Bev and another cop, watched by curios onlookers.

“You bastard!” she yelled. “What did you do to my daughter?”

Craig Lowman turned to her, a grin on his face. It was too much. She’d been holding herself together best she could, but seeing him like this, unharmed, made something inside her snap.

All her pent-up fear and anger went into that closed-fist punch, making his nose bleed.

“Rebecca,” Callie said behind her.

“No, let me—”

“Rebecca, look.”

Maggie stood in the doorway of the hotel accompanied by another policewoman. She was looking pale and frightened, but a smile appeared on her face as she recognized familiar faces. She came running into Rebecca’s embrace, regardless of the fact that she was wearing no coat and nothing but socks on her feet.

* * * *

Craig scared the hell out of Maggie and, most likely, every other hotel guest with the shot, but no one was injured. Callie caught David’s gaze. He smiled at her, his eyes bright. She smiled back at him tiredly. The abrupt relief was just as draining as the fear had been, and all of a sudden, she felt empty. There was nowhere else to go. She needed to sleep for two days straight.

For Rebecca, however, the world had righted itself in that one instant, and with her daughter in her arms, she didn’t look like she hadn’t slept at all the past night.

Callie walked over to the two of them, touching Rebecca’s shoulder gently.

“Let’s go home,” she whispered. Rebecca straightened and followed her, Maggie on her hand, both of them holding on.

Usually, Maggie was a shy, quiet girl, but when prompted by Bev, she told her story in an avalanche of words. She hadn’t seen Uncle Craig in a while and that made her wonder why he would pick her up. He was nice, though, suggesting they have dinner so there would be less work for Mom to do.

Rebecca’s lips straightened into a thin line, but she didn’t say anything.

“We had ice cream, and Uncle Craig said that the snowstorm was too bad and we had to stay. I wanted to call Mom so she wouldn’t worry.”

“What did your uncle say?”

Bev’s tone was calm and comforting. Maggie just shrugged.

“He said we’d do it later, but I was worried he’d forget. So I used the phone in the room.”

“That was very thoughtful of you, Maggie,” Bev said. “Did he get angry with you?”

Maggie shook her head. “No. He just talked to Mom and then said we had to leave. He didn’t know why.”

“Did he do anything that scared you?”

“Uncle Craig is with the police, so I thought it would be okay. He had a gun though.” Maggie’s eyes filled with tears. “I was scared then. It was so loud!”

“I can imagine. That is one terribly loud noise. You were very brave, Maggie, and you did everything right.”

Maggie cast a quick glance at Rebecca. “I shouldn’t have gone with him.”

“You couldn’t know,” Bev said immediately. “None of this was your fault, honey.”

The girl’s smile was hesitant, but at least she seemed to believe the sheriff’s words. Bev turned off the recorder and got up with a sigh.

“I wonder what’s gotten into him. At least we could stop this before he went off the deep end altogether.”

“What’s going to happen to him?” David asked.

“He’ll have a public defender appointed. Probably, he’s going to wait for trial in a county jail, because I suppose there is a flight risk.”

David exchanged a look with his mother. “We’ll pay for the lawyer, of course. Mom, I’ll drive you, I just want to…spend a moment.”

Laurie nodded, teary-eyed.

It was after nine when everyone had finally left, except for Dina who had been authorized to skip school anyway. Even though the teenager was trying to play it cool, Callie could see that the abduction of her little sister had shaken her, and she wanted to stay close. The two of them finished cleaning up in the kitchen, too restless yet to sit down. Rebecca and Maggie had retreated into the bedroom. Callie guessed that both of them were fast asleep by now.

“What a day,” Dina sighed. “I’m so glad I’m off the cell phone ban for now. My friends really kept me sane.”

“You’re still talking to Tomaso?”

“Of course. He was awesome. Offered to come over and kick Uncle Craig’s ass.”

Despite herself, Callie had to smile. “I hope he didn’t say that on Facebook.”

“Course not, since everybody has been going crazy paranoid. We’re careful.”

“With everything?”

“With everything,” Dina confirmed. “So, about this Nicole person—is she likely to show up again?”

“I hope not. I’m pretty sure she’s going to go home soon.”

“Good. Do you think anybody would mind if I crashed in Maggie’s room for a while?”

“It’s fine. Go ahead.”

Everybody was connecting with Maggie in their own way, Callie reflected. David and Laurie were probably at the jail right now while Dina was going to catch up on some sleep in her little sister’s bed. The main bedroom was still silent. Callie tiptoed to the door and opened it very carefully. Mother and daughter were still fast asleep, all earlier stress and fear erased from their features. Callie closed the door again, feeling like her legs wouldn’t uphold her another minute. Even in her own house, she had nowhere to go. Maybe she was being melodramatic. The lack of sleep might do that to a person. She walked back into the living room, curling up in the corner of the sofa with the comforter.

Everybody seemed to be magically okay, but as much as she was happy to have Maggie back safe and sound, Callie wasn’t.

She was on the verge of being drawn into a dream when the phone rang. Callie caught it on the first ring.

“It’s me,” Asha said. “I just wanted to know how you’re doing. According to the Weather Channel, you are all snowed in. That must be good for creativity.”

“Asha.”

“What? It’s nearly ten, darling. Don’t tell me you were sleeping.”

“Actually…” Callie pressed one hand against her forehead where a headache was starting to build. “Asha, this is not such a good time.” She realized that while Maggie’s abduction had gone to the media, the coverage had been local. Of course Asha didn’t know.

“Did Nicole bother you some more?”

“Actually, she came here looking for some business contacts and trying to win me back.”

“Okay, and you filed a restraining order. Right? Please tell me you did.”

Callie realized that while she had many opportunities to approach the subject with Bev, she hadn’t even spared a single thought on Nicole. Maybe that was a mistake. What happened with Craig Lowman showed too clearly the potential of a narcissistic personality. Chances were that destructive potential wouldn’t always stay dormant.