Authors: Dorothy Phaire
R
enee heard the front door slam shut. After Bill left she went to the guestroom to check on Brenda. She knocked on the door of the guestroom, but when she didn’t get a response she cracked the door open just wide enough to peep in. Lying on the bed with an open Bible in her hand, and clinging to a string of white crystal beads, Brenda looked drained as if all life had been zapped out of her. Renee entered the room. “I knocked,” she said, sitting on the edge of the bed, “you must not have heard me. What are you doing?” Renee asked, pointing to the string of beads in Brenda’s hand. Brenda gave her a weak smile. “I was praying my rosary.”
Renee nodded that she understood. “Oh, I almost forgot what I came in here to tell you,” she said. “My housekeeper, Chizuko will be arriving shortly. I’ve asked her to stay with me for a few days to help out. My driver’s dropping her off and he just called to say he should be here in about ten minutes. Chizuko’s also bringing us a light dinner. When she gets here I hope you will try to eat something so you can keep your strength up, Dear.”
“I’ll try, Dr. Renee,” said Brenda, unconvincingly.
“Brenda, would you like me to call a therapist that specializes in grief counseling? I know an excellent one who’s good with helping people cope with unexpected loss.”
Brenda laid her hand on the open pages of Psalm 91 in her pocket-sized bible that she always kept in her purse. “Thank you, but I already have my grief counselor right here. I am only strong because I have faith. I know my baby is alive and angels are watching over him.”
“Of course, your baby is all right, Dear,” Renee squeezed her hand gently. “I’m sure we’ll hear something from the investigator soon.”
“I know we will,” said Brenda, straightening up in bed, her eyes wide with conviction. “I’m ashamed to admit Dr. Renee that I was feeling doubtful for a minute when I first got here. You know it’s easy for Christians to praise God in good times, but in tribulations we sometimes forget and start blaming Him for bad things that happen to us. But, I’m alright now. I’ll wait to hear what I already know.”
Renee didn’t know how to respond to that. “All right, Dear. Just tell me if there’s anything I can do for you.”
“You’ve done all you can do Dr. Renee and I appreciate you letting me stay here,” said Brenda. “It’s peaceful here and that’s just what I need right now to allow me to pray and meditate.”
Renee stared ahead blankly for several moments. She didn’t understand how Brenda was able to be so strong. She wanted to ask her how she was managing this terrible tragedy, what was the secret? But she felt awkward and inept. As a psychotherapist, she was supposed to be the one trained at helping people get through their emotional and psychological difficulties. As if reading her mind, Brenda asked, “Would you like me to read you a few of my favorite verses from this psalm?” Renee turned to look at her secretary and nodded yes.
Hearing the calmness and assurance in Brenda’s voice, sent a wave of peace through Renee as she listened. “I will say of the Lord,
He is
my refuge and my fortress, my God, in Him will I trust … Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day … Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday …” Renee was enthralled with the words that Brenda read from her Kings James Bible.
Brenda ended with lines 9 through 12, her most comforting verses from Psalm 91. “Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, my habitation;
There
shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.”
Renee hadn’t realized that the soft muffled sobs were her own until Brenda had stopped reading. She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her robe and took a few moments to collect herself. “Thank you, Brenda.” The women hugged and Renee rose to leave, returning to her room where she could be alone to offer up her own prayers.
A few hours later …
At around 8 o’clock that evening the doorbell rang. Chizuko went to open the door. A well-dressed middle-aged woman, wearing a black wool Greta Garbo hat with the brim cocked over her left eye, pushed pass Renee’s housekeeper and stepped inside the foyer. “I’m Mrs. Irene Kenmore Adams, Brenda Johnson’s mother,” said the woman in a haughty voice. “I’ve come for my daughter.”
“
Konbanwa
, Adams-san” said Chizuko with a slight bow. “I go get her now.” Chizuko rushed to fetch Renee and to let Brenda know that her mother was downstairs.
Renee descended the staircase and met Brenda’s mother at the foyer. “Good evening, Mrs. Adams …”
Irene Adams cut her off. “I was out all day and just heard the terrible news about the fire and rushed right over here figuring my daughter might be with you. Is my baby girl here Dr. Hayes?”
“Yes, I brought her home with me earlier this afternoon when they took her husband away. It was horrible,” said Renee, shaking her head, trying not to relieve the experience. “But I think she’s doing fairly well under the circumstances. We still haven’t heard anything from the fire investigator yet about her son but we’re both hopeful. She’s upstairs now preparing to retire. We’ve not long ago had supper together in my anteroom. At least she was able to eat a few bites.”
Irene dismissed Renee with a wave of her hand. “Well, I’ve come to take my daughter home with me where she belongs,” said Irene and swung her beaver fur coat over her left shoulder.
“She took a sedative after dinner so she’ll probably go right to sleep. Shall I ask Chizuko to make us a cup of tea before you leave, Mrs. Adams?”
“Look, I didn’t drive all the way over here for tea and chitchat. I’m going upstairs to get my daughter.”
“That’s probably not a good idea, Mrs. Adams.”
“Brenda needs her mother at a time like this. Why didn’t anyone call me? I had to hear about the accident from the six o’clock news.”
Irene Adams pushed Renee and Chizuko aside then marched straight upstairs, yelling for Brenda. Neither one of them dared stop her. Dressed in a short, fitted, turquoise suit, matching suede shoes, and a coordinated, paisley silk scarf draped around her neck, Mrs. Adams looked too elegant for someone who had rushed over to comfort her daughter in a time of crisis. She had obviously put a good deal of thought into her appearance before ‘rushing’ over to see about her daughter, Renee thought. After about two minutes, she sailed back down the stairs.
“I can’t get her to budge. At least that no-account husband of hers turned out to be good for something after all since she’ll get his death benefit money now. Good thing she had the foresight to take out that $50,000 dollar life insurance policy on him.”
“Brenda told you that?” asked Renee skeptically. She knew that Brenda rarely confided her personal business to her mother.
“Well, not intentionally. Saturday before last she called me. Frantic, she didn’t know where that s.o.b. was. I didn’t trust him and for good reason. Turns out he was up to no good instead of in some kind of accident like she thought at first.”
Renee listened as Irene blathered on and on. Jerome’s mother-in-law didn’t have any qualms about talking ill of the dead.
“The day she called me over, she had just found out from his boss that he had gotten fired for using drugs at work. He told her he was out doing a midnight run when in fact he was holed up at his ex-girlfriend’s place. Umhum, some midnight run,” Irene said, rolling her eyes.
Renee managed to slip a few words in before getting cut off, “Well, I don’t see how that …”
Irene continued, not bothering to listen to whatever Renee was trying to say. “Anyway, the next day I told Brenda to get herself a life insurance policy on him before it was too late and nobody would insure him. She’d need some kind of safety net because people like Jerome don’t live a long life I told her plain and simple. That’s when she informed me that they both had policies on each other for 50 K since that’s all the coverage they could afford. They wanted to be sure the baby would be okay in case something happened to either one of them. Turns out that was the best decision that girl ever made. Now that the fool’s dead, she’ll finally get some reparation for her years of heartache with him. She’ll need that money to take care of her son and get back on her feet after losing all her possessions in the fire.”
Irene Adams removed her black, felt hat and fluffed out blond tinted wisps of chemically dyed hair with a diamond-jeweled hand. Renee knew the insurance company would not issue any death benefits until they determined the cause of the fire. Mrs. Adams apparently did not know that her grandson was at the house during the fire since she appeared to be more concerned about the fifty thousand dollar insurance policy on Jerome. Apparently, the evening news did not reveal all the details or she failed to listen to it. The fire investigation team was still combing through the debris, looking for the baby’s remains once Brenda informed them that the child had not been at the babysitter’s at all that day like he was supposed to be. But Renee didn’t know how to tell Irene this.
“Mrs. Adams, unfortunately, you didn’t get the full details from the news report.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m sorry to tell you this but your grandson is missing. He was supposed to be at the sitter’s but Jerome kept him home without Brenda’s knowledge.”
“Missing? Is my beautiful baby boy dead too?” she shrieked.
“That hasn’t been confirmed yet. A crew of firefighters, police, and the insurance investigator are still at the scene, searching for evidence,” said Renee, “It’s late but I understand they’ve rigged up lighting. They said they won’t give up until they find something. I’m just waiting for someone to call here with more information. I’m so very sorry about your grandson, Mrs. Adams.”
“Oh my God, No,” she cried and covered her mouth, “That child was supposed to be at his new babysitter’s. Why was my grandchild in the house with that incompetent fool? Poor Brenda. She must be devastated. As a mother I know how she must feel,” Irene wailed, “I’m sure she thinks it’s all her fault. I told her repeatedly not to leave her baby with that worthless, drug addict husband of hers. I hope he didn’t burn the damn house down doing crack. I have to be here for my baby girl when she wakes up.”
“Oh God, I sure hope it was some kind of electrical overload that caused the fire, and not from that idiot doing crack,” said Mrs. Adams, frowning. “Then the insurance company sure as hell won’t pay Brenda a dime.”
“Well, I doubt that Brenda’s thinking about money right now,” said Renee, in a curt tone.
“Lord, lord, lord, how did this happen?” Her eyes scanned the living room wildly until she found a comfortable chair and fell into it. Chizuko offered her a glass of water. Irene shook her head and waved it away.
“I need something stronger. A Vodka or scotch on the rocks if you have it.”
Renee poured her a drink from the bar and handed her a half-filled glass of scotch. The woman would have to be sober enough to drive back home which Renee hoped would be soon. She didn’t want Mrs. Adams to get too intoxicated to drive home. The last thing Renee wanted was to have to invite her to spend the night as a houseguest. Irene drank the scotch down in one gulp and held out her hand for another. “This is bad, this is real bad,” Irene shook her head and wailed loudly without tears until Renee had re-filled her empty glass.
“Mrs. Adams, please don’t mention anything about insurance benefits when you speak to Brenda.” Somehow Renee didn’t think finding her mother downstairs would be a source of reassurance to Brenda when she woke up. The telephone rang. Renee recognized Deek’s cell phone number from the callerid view pad. She took a deep breath and exhaled before picking up. She hoped he wasn’t calling with bad news. As soon as she heard him say hello, she could feel the frustration in his voice. Renee braced herself for another dreadful update. She hoped he wasn’t calling with bad news about Brenda’s baby.
“Renee, is Brenda able to come to the phone?” asked Deek.
“I don’t think so. I sedated her after dinner so that she could get some sleep. What did you find out?”
“We examined the scene for five hours straight. No other body was found in the house. What it looks like we have now is a child abduction case in addition to the homicide and arson. They’ve already issued an Amber alert.”
Deek told Renee he was at the police station and not planning on getting any sleep tonight. “When she’s able to talk to us, we’d like to question her. Including, the FBI in case the kidnapper tries to extort a ransom. That fire was no accident,” said Deek. “Someone broke in through the back window. We know for a fact foul play was involved. My partner and I will work closely with Marshall Fuentes. I can personally guarantee we’re going to investigate this case until we catch the torch responsible and get her child back safe. Please tell Brenda that for me.”
“By the way, I have a number for the Fire Victim Assistance program,” he said, “Brenda’s probably not thinking about that right now but they offer immediate assistance to victims of fire.”
“I’ve got a pen. I’ll take down the number,” said Renee and wrote the telephone number that Deek recited.
“And, here … write down this other number for her. The Vanishing Children's Alliance,” he said and gave her that contact as well. “VCA is a non-profit that should be able to offer help in case it takes longer than we hope for someone to come forward with information about her son. Let her know that I just entered the case into the National Center’s Missing and Abducted system so VCA can get involved if it comes to that.”
“Thank you Deek for all you’ve done,” said Renee, “I hope her child will be found soon before all the paperwork even starts circulating.”
“I hope so too, Renee. As I said, we’ve got alerts out and additional manpower working on finding her son along with investigating this crime. But we still have a long way to go,” he said, the fatigue evident in his voice. “The first 48 to 72 hours are critical in solving a crime. Please assure Brenda we’re doing everything we can to find her baby and catch her husband’s killer.”