Joseph texted his office. ‘I’m having my team check the Chincoteague hotels to see if they recognize Lana’s photo and had her parents registered as guests.’
‘What about the hospital her mother went to for treatment?’ Maggie asked. ‘Does she remember which one?’
Sophie asked, but Svetlana shook her head no. ‘She says it was cold and there was snow.’
‘That could be anywhere,’ Heidi said grimly.
‘Maybe not.’ Daphne continued to rock Svetlana. ‘Her folks were probably wealthy, based on her clothes and the fur coat. If they came all the way from Moscow to a U.S. hospital, it would have to be one of the best. NIH here in Bethesda, Cleveland Clinic, maybe Mayo in Minnesota.’
Svetlana looked up. ‘Minnesota,’ she whispered. ‘
Da
.’
Daphne gave her a quick hug. ‘Can we get her photo sent up there too, Joseph? At a minimum they may know who the nurse was who traveled with them.’
Joseph texted the order. ‘Sophie, ask her if the people demanded anything. They went to a lot of trouble to hide the identities of her parents. They planned this. They had to have wanted something in particular.’
Sophie asked. ‘She says her mother had a pretty necklace and the man wanted it. He kept asking her father where it was hidden, but her father didn’t tell.’
‘They would have killed them anyway.’ Joseph said with a sigh. ‘They came too prepared not to have planned to murder them all. We’ll put Lana into protective custody. Heidi, can you stay until we get her settled into the safe house? Sophie, thank you for your help.’
‘It was my pleasure,’ Sophie said. ‘Please let us know how it ends up.’
Joseph gently pulled Svetlana from Daphne’s arms. ‘Tell her we’ll bring her back soon.’ He kissed Daphne quickly. ‘See you at home. You knocked it out of the park,
sugar
.’
Tuesday, December 24, 11:45
A.M.
Joseph and Heidi left with Svetlana, leaving Daphne standing in the barn with Sophie and her husband Vito.
Vito checked his watch. ‘We have to go, too, Soph. You’re not missing that appointment. Daphne, where would you like the guitar? Here in the barn or in your car?’
‘Here in the barn would be great,’ Daphne said. She wasn’t yet certain she was ready to take it home. ‘In the office on Maggie’s desk, if you don’t mind. But don’t the police need it for evidence?’
‘It’s already been processed,’ Sophie told her. ‘The cops identified the prints as the killer’s. One of Joseph’s men cleaned the mess that Latent left behind and polished the wood for you.’
Vito brought in the guitar case and laid it on Maggie’s desk. ‘The waterproof cases sure were heavy back in the eighties. They weigh half as much now.’
For a moment the three of them stood, staring at the case. Then Vito cleared his throat meaningfully. ‘Sophie, time to go.’
‘This all seems a little anticlimactic now,’ Sophie said, giving Daphne a hug. ‘Look inside the case when you’re ready. There’s a letter with the guitar, along with a cassette tape. They have your name on them. Take care.’
Tuesday, December 24, 11:45
A.M.
A
mber chewed on her nail, watching the driveway to the horse farm. ‘Here they come.’
Brock’s hands were white-knuckle tight on the wheel. ‘Shit. There’s even more cars now.’
Before there had been two vehicles – the car that carried Lana, her social worker, and two cops, and the big black Escalade with tinted windows that made it impossible to see how many cops it held. Now they were followed by a pickup truck with Pennsylvania plates. The driver had the look of a cop, too. The passenger was a woman.
‘We should have hit them on their way in,’ Brock said. ‘Dammit.’
Amber didn’t think it wise to say she’d told him so. ‘We’ll have to shoot our way in.’
‘No. Three cars of cops is too many. We’ll wait. Maybe they’re not going the same way.’
‘Brock, we have to get her out now. We might not have another chance.’
He shot her a furious look as he pulled out behind the pickup. ‘Do not
tell
me what to do.’
‘Then give me one of the rifles. I’ll be prepared to shoot if they don’t separate.’
He reached behind his seat and tossed her one of the semiautomatics he’d brought from the gun locker in their home in Minnesota. ‘Fine. But wait for my signal.’
‘Whatever. She’s on the right side of the car, so slam from the left.’
‘I have eyes,’ Brock snapped. ‘I can see for myself.’
They drove for several minutes, the tension ratcheting higher until the Pennsylvania truck turned at the sign for the interstate going north. The other two vehicles continued.
Brock made a satisfied grunt. ‘Told you so. You would have gotten us killed back there.’
‘Oh for God’s sake,’ Amber muttered under her breath.
‘Don’t take that tone with me,’ Brock growled. ‘If you’d done your job, we wouldn’t be getting ready to fight the goddamn FBI. You’re a fucking nurse. How hard is it to dope up a six-year-old?’ He was puffing like a bull ready to charge. ‘If you’d shoved a pillow over the face of the sick bitch at the beginning –
like I told you to
– we’d be rich by now. Hell, you couldn’t even manage to seduce her bastard of a husband. He would have paid through the nose to keep his dying wife from knowing he’d been
screwing the help!
’ He roared the final three words.
Amber felt the fury boiling inside her. ‘What makes you think I didn’t?’ she asked quietly.
Brock went still and the only sound was the tires on the road. ‘What?’ he whispered.
‘Misha was rich, successful, had a nice body, and didn’t spend all day in a gym showing off to the other losers. He had a
job
. He spoke four languages. He read books. What makes you think he didn’t want to
screw the help
? What makes you think the
help
didn’t want to be screwed?’
Another tense silence. ‘Did you?’ he asked.
‘Yeah. Just once.’ Amber’s eyes suddenly blurred with tears. ‘I’d found him drunk out of his mind. He’d just found out that his wife’s treatment wasn’t working. I don’t think he even knew it was me. But somehow Tatiana knew. I thought I’d get fired, but she . . . approved. She was sad that she hadn’t been a real wife to him for so long, because of the pregnancy and then the disease. She knew he had needs. Asked me to fulfill them. I was happy to, even offered, but he wouldn’t. He was devastated that he’d cheated on her even that one time. So there was nothing to blackmail. No dirty secrets. Just one bout of hot, sweaty sex with the blessing of his dying wife,’ she finished bitterly.
A muscle ticked in his taut cheek. ‘I should have gutted him before I killed him.’
That’s when Amber knew she wouldn’t be as lucky as Misha Smirnov. ‘This road becomes very busy in less than a mile. If you’re going to do this, you need to do it now.’
Brock stared dead ahead, twisting the steering wheel viciously. She thought he’d bail on her. And then he gunned it and the Mercedes shot forward like a rocket.
Tuesday, December 24, 11:50
A.M.
Daphne sat at Maggie’s desk, staring at the guitar case. Several times she reached out to touch it and changed her mind. Finally Maggie returned after putting the pony back in its stall.
‘Jump in a cold pool, Daphne,’ Maggie said briskly and opened the case.
Daphne’s eyes filled with tears at the sight of the gleaming wood. Her fingers trembled as she brushed the strings, no longer taut. ‘He’d sit on the porch at night and play his guitar and sing “Edelweiss.” It was my lullaby. Before all the bad things happened, we were happy.’
‘I know. Your mother told me about it. Do you want me to read the letter?’
‘Please.’
Maggie cleared her throat.
‘Dear Daphne, if you get this letter, I wasn’t able to prove my suspicions. Everyone thinks that I hurt your cousin and that I hurt you. That’s not true. I’d die before I’d harm one hair on your precious head. I’m pretty sure I know who did it, though. If I can’t prove it, I plan to run because otherwise I’ll go to jail. Either way, I’ll miss seeing you grow up. I want you to have a piece of my heart. Play it often and remember how much I love you.
Love, Dad.’
Daphne covered her mouth, her tears rolling freely. In her own eight-year-old childish way she’d tried to tell everyone the truth about who’d committed an act so heinous it had robbed her of speech. But her message wasn’t understood and her father had been blamed by the community. ‘He left that night to find the killer and instead he got killed himself.’
Maggie stroked her hair, just as she’d done all those years ago. Just as Daphne had stroked Svetlana’s hair today. Then from a drawer, Maggie pulled an ancient cassette tape player. ‘Yes?’
‘Yes,’ Daphne said through her tears.
Maggie popped the cassette in the player. And then Daphne couldn’t breathe. It was her father’s voice accompanied by his guitar, singing ‘Edelweiss.’ He’d left her a lullaby.
She put her head on the desk and cried until she felt her head would explode, but her soul felt cleansed. Shuddering out a sigh, she sat up to find Maggie watching her with compassion.
‘You know what?’ Daphne asked, sniffling. ‘After all this time, all the terrible things that happened back when I was eight and then two weeks ago . . . It’s like I’d been wandering around and around in the darkness and I finally found the way out.’ She stroked her finger across the gleaming wood of the guitar. ‘You were a torch, Maggie. You helped light my way.’
‘It was one of the highlights of my life, helping you find your way.’
‘Heidi says there aren’t enough equine therapy facilities for the demand. I think we should change that. I think we should help kids find their way. We should start a program here. Now. I’ve got the land. I’ve got the money to buy the horses. I know lots of my ex’s rich friends who’d donate to sponsor kids. We’d need therapists and a director. Would you be the director?’
Now Maggie’s eyes filled. ‘It would be the second best highlight of my life.’
‘Then we need to get started. I guess we have to get certified.’ She grimaced. ‘Paperwork.’
Maggie opened another drawer, this time holding a piece of paper.
It took Daphne a moment to realize what it was. ‘You’re already certified? When?’
‘Two years ago. I knew you’d bought this property for equine therapy, even if you weren’t ready to admit it yet. You had to come to terms with what had happened to you before you could fully heal and help anyone else. I’ve been volunteering in other programs around the city. I know what needs to be done. I’m ready to start.’
Daphne reached out to hug Maggie, but stopped when her cell phone rang. It was Joseph. ‘Joseph,’ she said eagerly, ‘guess what we’re going – ’
‘I’m sorry, Daphne, I need you to listen.’ His voice was strained and Daphne’s heart stopped. ‘The car carrying Svetlana was attacked. One of the agents is dead. So is Heidi.’
‘Oh my God. Joseph. Where is Lana?’
‘She was taken.’
Oh God, oh God. Breathe. Breathe
. ‘Are
you
hurt?’
‘Minor wound, nothing more. I’m in pursuit of the kidnappers’ vehicle. I’ve called for backup at the scene. I want you to stay put and – ’
‘If they have Svetlana, they got what they were coming for. They won’t be interested in me, Joseph. Where is the scene?’ She knew he was hurt worse than he let on when he argued no further. He gave her the address and she wrote it down. ‘I’ll be right there.’
Tuesday, December 24, 12:20
P.M.
‘Shit,’ Amber hissed. ‘Shit, shit, shit.’ She looked in her rearview. She’d lost them.
But she’d also lost Brock. She’d left him bleeding in the road. Probably dead.
Oh God. I killed him
. Grief and fear and frustration slammed together, a tornado in her skull. She glanced back at the huddled figure in the seat behind her, hate coming in a wave.
‘This is your fault!’ she screamed in English, then switched to Russian and said it again. Svetlana curled tighter into a little ball, making Amber want to smack her so hard . . . But that would leave marks. She wouldn’t get as good a price for a child who had marks.
‘If you’d just gone to sleep like you were supposed to. Where are they? Where is the necklace? The rings? Where are they?’ The brat said nothing, but the baby started to cry. ‘Shut up! Everybody just shut the fuck up!’
Brock was dead and she was screwed. The cops would find her and send her to prison.
‘No. I will get that necklace.’ It was her only way out. Without it, there wouldn’t be enough money to change her face. Wouldn’t be enough to live the good life. Amber deserved the good life. She’d
earned
it.
The damn jewels weren’t in the Mercedes or anywhere else. The only place they could be was where Svetlana had been hiding when the cops found her. ‘Fine,’ she said out loud. ‘That’s where we’ll go.’
Tuesday, December 24, 12:45
P.M.
Returning from his pursuit empty-handed, Joseph got out of his SUV, nearly numb. The Mercedes was gone. It had too much of a head start for him to catch up. Back at the scene, he could only stare at the car his agents had been driving, now a crumpled bit of metal, shattered glass strewn all over the road.
Oh God
. Svetlana was now in the hands of the ‘bad nurse.’ The woman she feared.
We promised her she’d be safe
.
I promised her
.
So find her.
The EMTs had arrived, the ambulance’s strobing lights dulled by the noon sun. Joseph caught one of the EMTs by the arm. ‘Where is Agent Stern?’
‘He’s alive. Not great, but alive. They’re airlifting him to the shock trauma center.’
‘Thanks.’ Taking some comfort from that, Joseph made his way to the car, grimly stepping over broken glass. He looked up when he heard his name. Daphne was running toward him, shoving her state’s attorney’s badge in the faces of the cops who tried to get in her way.
‘Joseph!’ She skidded to a stop in front of him, her hands outstretched like she wanted to touch but didn’t know if he’d let her. He drew her close for one hard hug, then took a step back. ‘You’re shot,’ she said accusingly, pointing at his sleeve.