3 The Chain of Lies (29 page)

“That can’t be.” Delia shook her head, disbelief simmering in her dark eyes. “The CIA is just saying that to cover up what he did—that’s what they do.”

“Well, you’ll have the rest of your life to mull that theory over, Ms. McCall.” Colin grasped her upper arm to take her away.

“Wait!” Emily had one more question.

“What is it?” Colin asked.

“Delia, why did you hire me to investigate your husband? I don’t get it.”

“Remember the night you phoned me, told me you’d found my name and number on a scrap of paper in Evan’s old sweatshirt? I figured hiring you would help me discover if Evan had hidden any other information about me. Keeping you close helped me keep tabs.”

“I thought we were friends.”

“Pretending to be your friend simply made it easier.”

Colin led Delia out of the room and down the hall to booking.

Emily sat speechless, stunned by what Delia had just admitted and what Isabel had recounted. Her eyes filled with tears as visions of her husband’s murder flashed in her mind, much like the recurring nightmares she had endured. Only now she knew the identity of the dark shadowy figure that held the gun.

“I’m so sorry, Em.” Isabel pulled a chair out and sat next to Emily. “I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“But his letter said he felt responsible.” Emily wiped a few tears with her hand.

“Look at it from his point of view. He had to kill a vibrant young woman he had feelings for. My contact told me the psych evaluation in his file said that something broke in him that day—he was never the same. He blamed himself for not reading her better, not rescuing her from the ones who’d recruited her.”

“So I got the broken version of him?”

“No, Em. I’d say you got the better version. Remember, I worked with the guy. He was all about his operations and the next assignments before Natalia died. After that, he didn’t have the heart for the spy game anymore. He was on his way out of that life when he met you.”

Emily’s lips turned up into a small, grateful smile, her eyes still moist with tears.

“I recall the day he came into the office at Langley and told me about meeting you.” Isabel brushed a stray curl back from Emily’s face. “There was something different about him. He had a spark in his eyes that I hadn’t seen in a very long time.”

“I appreciate you sharing that with me, Is.” Emily put an arm around her friend’s shoulder and gave her a quick hug.

“He really did love you a lot, Em.”

She nodded slightly. “Maybe now I can finally move on without having to keep looking over my shoulder.”

“I’m sure Colin will be glad to hear that.”

CHAPTER 24

The next day, Molly was scheduled to be released from the hospital around noon. Camille let all her friends know and hoped they would help with a small welcome-home party for the girl. Since Camille and Jonathan would be at the hospital most of the morning with Molly, she asked Maggie to handle all the party arrangements.

Happy to help, Maggie took care of the food while Peter decorated the entry and family room with pink and purple balloons and streamers. He strung a big welcome-home sign across the garage doors with a couple of balloons on each side.

With Maggie in charge, the menu would not be up to Camille’s high standards as a chef, but Cam wasn’t there to prepare it. Maggie figured the food should be what Molly liked, so she arranged to have a variety of different pizzas delivered and she bought all the fixings for a help-yourself ice cream sundae bar. As a personal trainer, this was the type of food Maggie usually worked hard to avoid, but this party wasn’t about her. It was all about Molly.

Colin swung by Emily’s house and picked her up. When they arrived at Camille’s, Isabel and Alex were already there, helping to lay out the stack of dishes, glasses, and silverware on one corner of the table where the pizzas would sit.
 

“Hey, guys,” Emily said with a bright smile as she and Colin breezed into the house. “Everything looks fabulous!” Emily gave Maggie and Isabel a quick squeeze.

Maggie was setting out a variety of toppings for the sundaes along the breakfast bar, leaving room for the multiple selections of ice cream.

“What can we do to help?” Colin asked.

“Hello, Colin.” Peter shook his hand.

“Hey, Andrews,” Alex called out, perched on a stepstool, retrieving a bowl from the top shelf of one of the tall kitchen cabinets. “Glad you could make it.”

“I think we’re just about set, Colin.” Maggie replied to his offer. “Camille called and said they’re on their way from the hospital, and the pizza should be here any minute.”

“Pizza and ice cream. Camille’s not going to like that,” Emily teased.

“It’s not about Camille, it’s about Molly, and y’all know that girl loves her pizza and ice cream.”

“Always has,” Peter added.

“Oh, to be young and able to burn up those calories,” Isabel lamented.

“Too bad some of her friends couldn’t be here,” Emily said.

“Remember, it’s a school day,” Isabel reminded her.

“Not to worry. Camille said her friends are planning somethin’ for her tomorrow night.” Maggie set a bowl of colorful M&Ms on the breakfast bar. “Oh, my. I think I just heard a car door shut.”

The gang moved toward the living room to check. The front door opened and Molly walked through first.

“Molly! You’re home!” Maggie gushed, giving her a big hug.

Emily and Isabel took their turns welcoming her home, as well, and greeting Camille and Jonathan. Alex and Colin both shook Jonathan’s hand.

Peter stepped up and pulled his niece into a warm bear hug. “Glad to see you home, pip-squeak.”

The doorbell rang and Maggie rushed to answer it. Standing there, with a stack of pizza boxes, was the delivery man.

“That’ll be eighty-six dollars and twenty-eight cents.”

Maggie dug in her pocket for the money. Peter stepped up behind her. “Let me get that, Maggie.” He handed the man two fifty dollar bills and took the pizzas from him. “Keep the change.”

“You didn’t need to do that.” Maggie smiled as she tucked the cash back in her pocket.

“It was my pleasure. Besides, Molly’s my favorite niece. What kind of uncle would I be if I didn’t take care of her?”

“Y’all did take care of her, Peter. Y’all saved her life.”

“No, not me alone. It was a joint effort.” He turned sharply, balancing the stack of boxes, and headed back toward the kitchen. “We’d better get these pizzas eaten before they get cold.”

Maggie followed Peter into the open kitchen where he set the stack on the counter. She and Camille took care of setting them out on the table in the dining area. The rest of the gang had congregated in the family room.

“Pizza’s ready! Dig in!” Camille announced.

“Molly, you go first,” Peter suggested.

Eventually, they all filled their plates and settled in to easy conversation. Before they were ready to bring the ice cream out, Isabel and Emily collected everyone’s plates and took them to the kitchen.

“Em, I’m glad we have a minute away from everyone else.”

“Why’s that?”

“I spoke to Special Agent Ellis this morning and he told me some things he learned from the lead interrogator about the Jade Thai Spa and the ring of sex traffickers.”

Emily’s eyebrows raised in curiosity. “What?”

“Apparently, according to Ratana—that awful woman who ran the spa—Molly was scheduled to be transported and sold the next day. A rich businessman from Thailand was supposed to fly in on a private jet and Molly would have been whisked out of the country. A young, fair-skinned beauty, especially a redhead, would bring a high price.”

“Oh, Isabel. I can’t even imagine how horrific that would have been.”

“It was unclear whether the businessman wanted her for himself or if he had plans to sell her to someone else on the open market. He would have gotten a lot of money for her, I’m sure.”

Emily rubbed a hand over her stomach. “Oh, Is, I feel sick at the thought.”

“Let’s just be grateful we were able to rescue Molly.”

Emily peeked over the breakfast bar and into family room, watching Molly smiling and laughing as she talked with Peter and Maggie. She was thankful Molly was safe now, and glad they were able to rescue the other girls in that house, but a nauseating feeling continued to roil in her gut.

“What about all the others?” Emily wondered about the thousands whom they could not save.

“I guess all we can do is try to keep our eyes open, watch for others who might be caught up in it.”

“I totally agree.”

“Turns out most of the Thai girls had been kidnapped from their villages and snuck into the US.”

“What about the dead girl in the river?” Emily asked.

“Your girl, Maliwan, confirmed she was one of the girls from the house, but she didn’t know why she had been killed.”

“Probably because she turned up pregnant.”

“Maybe,” Isabel supposed. “Oh, before I forget, Jerry admitted he had been the one breaking into your house. He was searching for the infamous hypothetical gun. I hope that helps to put your mind at ease.”

“It does.” Emily nodded. “I assume that means he won’t be following me anymore either, right?”

“I don’t know why he would.”

“Emily?” Molly interrupted, standing across the breakfast bar.

Emily turned and smiled at her.

“I wanted to thank you for believing me about that sad Asian girl…and for rescuing me.”

“You’re welcome, Mol.”

“You wouldn’t have had to do it if I hadn’t screwed up.” Molly rested her forearms on the breakfast bar and pursed her lips.

“What do you mean?” Emily cast a sideways glance at Isabel.

“If I hadn’t been snooping around that house, searching for clues—I only wanted to be part of the investigation, of saving those girls.”

Emily flew around the breakfast bar and flung her arms around Molly. “You’re a brave young woman, Molly Hawthorne, to attempt something so dangerous, but you could have gotten yourself killed.”

“Honey, please don’t do anything like that again,” Isabel added.

“You guys don’t get it.” Molly pulled back from Emily’s embrace. “I was only trying to help, to be more like you.”

“Hush, Molly,” Emily warned in a low tone, putting her hands on the girl’s shoulders as she glanced around to make sure Camille wasn’t within earshot. “Your mom will kill me if she hears you talking like that. She’s already mad at me.”

“But Emily,” Molly argued.

“I do get it, really I do,” Emily replied in a tone just above a whisper. “I probably would have done the same thing, but I’m not seventeen.”

“You’ve got to be more careful,” Isabel warned.

“Just know that we’re always here for you.”

Molly nodded her understanding.

“And don’t let your mother know we had this talk,” Emily advised.

“Hey, what’s going on here? Didn’t I hear something about ice cream?” Peter asked.

~*~

After celebrating Molly’s release from the hospital for an hour or so, the party broke up and those who needed to, returned to work.

Colin drove Emily home, planning to drop her off before heading back to the station.

She unfastened her seatbelt and shifted in her seat to face him. “Why don’t you come by for dinner tonight?”

“I have a better idea. We haven’t been on a proper date since I got back. Why don’t I take you out? Someplace nice—it’ll be a surprise.”

“All right.” She gazed at him, full of curiosity.

“I was wondering something—I mean, after Delia’s confession—there’s just something I want to talk to you about.” He leaned over, put his arm around her, and drew her near. He studied her face, looked deeply into her eyes, then wove his fingers into her hair.

He looks so serious. I wonder what’s wrong.

He brushed his lips softly against hers. “I love you, Emily Parker.”

She brought her lips urgently to his and felt his passion for her.

After a long moment, he released her. “I hate to leave you, but I need to get back to the station. See you at seven?”

“Yes, I’ll be looking forward to it.” She flashed him a sweet smile and pushed the car door open. “I love you, too, Colin Andrews.”

She glanced back at him over her shoulder, noticing he was watching her sashay up her walkway to the front porch. The smile on his face said he was appreciating the sway of her hips.

Once she was inside, he drove off.

All afternoon she wondered what he wanted to talk about. He’d looked so serious. She hoped it wasn’t bad news, like his needing to return to San Francisco again. He’d said something about Delia, though. Maybe he was upset with Emily’s reaction to her comments and thought she wasn’t over Evan.

Emily hoped not. But if it was, she would just have to show him she was ready to move on with him.