Dead Ringer (20 page)

"You're
an angel."

The
comment made him blush.
"Just doing my job."

She
followed him as he headed toward the kitchen. "Believe me, a contractor who
runs on time is a rare and wonderful thing." She stopped at the coat closet in
the hallway, pulled out her white coat, and slipped it on. "So I'll have new
cabinets tonight?"

"That you will."

"Great."
She tied the coat's belt into a knot. "I've got to leave early today. "My
roommate is still here but she's up and awake."

"Good.
I don't like waking her. She needs all the sleep she can get. When is the
little one due?"

"Just a couple of weeks."

"She
must be excited."

"She's
ready to have this baby born." She checked her watch. "I've got to run."

"Go
on ahead."

Just
as she snapped up her purse her cell rang. Biting back an oath, she dug it out
and pushed it open. "Kendall Shaw."

Brett
was on the other end. "Warwick was just here."

Kendall
smiled at Todd, turned, and moved toward the front door. "What did he want?"

"He
was asking questions about you. And any e-mails you received."

That
shocked her. She thought about the tipster's text message. It wouldn't be on
the station's server but would show on her phone records. Warwick's tenacity
could easily lead him to her cell records. "Why?"

"That's
what I want to know."

The
two victims looked like her. She'd promised not to tell. And she wouldn't,
though it was the worst decision she could make as a reporter. "I have no idea
what he was after."

Kendall
heard Brett close the door to his office. "I don't like being treated like an
outsider, Kendall. You aren't telling me the whole truth."

The
emotion in Brett's voice caught her off guard. "Why would I hold back?"

"That's
what I'm wondering."

Todd
clanged open a toolbox and pulled out a wrench.

"I
don't have time for this now. I'll be at the office soon," she said.

"Are
you and Warwick dating?"

"What?"
Her surprise was genuine. "No."

A
tense silence followed. "When you get to the office we need to talk.
About us.
And this time I'm going to do the talking." He
sounded angry, frustrated. "We have a lot to iron out."

Iron
out? There was nothing left for them. She wasn't sure if there had ever been
anything between them. Aware Todd was in earshot, she bit back a retort. "See
you later."

"Everything all right?"
Todd asked, poking his head around
the side of the kitchen door.

Her
heart pounded in her chest. The exchange had made her angry.
"Yeah.
It's nothing." She grabbed her purse and smiled. "See you tomorrow."

The
cold air cooled her flushed cheeks the instant she stepped outside. She hurried
to her car, started the engine, and pulled out of the garage. At this time of
the morning, the heavy traffic of commuters had subsided, so the drive through
the city took only minutes. She pulled up in front of the adoption agency, then
drove to the parking lot behind the building and parked.

Kendall
hurried up the brick front steps of the simple building and pushed through the
front door. The directory in the foyer read
SERENITY FAMILY SERVICES
,
ROOM
204. She dashed up the side stairs and down
the second-floor hallway. She entered the suite.

No
one was at the receptionist's desk. She glanced to the two offices behind the
desk, one open and one closed.

"Hello?
Kendall Shaw here."

"Come
in." The voice came from the open door.

She
peeked into the office. Behind the desk sat Carnie. She'd pulled her red hair
into a ponytail. Soft curls framed her pale face and accentuated the freckles
covering her slim nose. She wore a dark green turtleneck, black drop beaded
earrings, and jeans. Smiling, she rose. There was a relaxed easiness about her
that Kendall envied.

"Carnie,"
Kendall said with a rush of relief.

"Kendall
Shaw."

"Thanks
for agreeing to see me." She shrugged off her coat and draped it over her arm.

"What
can I do for you?" She gestured toward a chair in front of her desk.

Kendall
sat down and fearing she'd lose her nerve spoke quickly. "I wanted to talk to
you about an adoption."

Carnie
nodded. "I can't discuss anything about Nicole's adoption plan."

"No.
No. I understand that. This isn't about Nicole. It's about me."

Patient
green eyes focused on her.
Waited.

Kendall
moistened dry lips. "I want to talk about..." Even now the words stuck in her
throat. She sat a little straighter.
"About my adoption."

Carnie's
eyebrows rose. "What can I do to help you?"

Kendall
tapped her foot. In the span of seconds, she felt disloyal to her mother and
angry that the same woman had so completely hidden the truth of her past. She
pulled the letter from her briefcase. "I found this in my mother's paperwork."
She handed the paper to Carnie.

She
studied the paper. "What do you need from me?"

Her
mouth felt dry. "I want to find out about my birth parents. Can you help me
find them?"

Carnie
sighed. "It's not that simple."

"What
do you mean? I'm over twenty-one." She hesitated. "My adoptive parents are
dead. Why can't you just point me in the right direction? Isn't there someplace
where these records are kept?"

Carnie
sat back and set the letter on the pile of papers in the middle of her desk.
"Your adoption was a closed adoption and it took place before nineteen
eighty-nine."

Impatience
welled. "Okay."

"The
search process is much more detailed in cases like yours."

"But
they are
my
records. I have a right to know where I came from."

Carnie
kept her voice even, but the frown lines around her mouth deepened. "Hey, I'm
on your side. I'm an adult adoptee and I'm searching for my birth family too.
And for the record, I've been searching for three years."

"
Three
years.
" God, she couldn't go three years of more dreams.

A
bitter smile tipped the edge of Carnie's full lips. "Don't get me started."

"So
what are you telling me, that it's going to take years to find my family?"

"Virginia
has very clear laws about closed adoption searches. But that doesn't mean all
this is impossible. Who knows? You might get lucky and the search will go
quickly."

Kendall
was good at masking her emotions. Anger or frustration could shut down an
interview in a flash. She had to keep her cool. But it was a struggle to keep
calm. "What do I do?"

Carnie
looked truly sorry. "The search has to be done through the agency that placed
you." She glanced at the paper.
"Virginia Adoption Services.
I know them. They had a fire in their building last fall. They lost a lot of
paperwork and were forced to close their doors. I'll have to do a little
checking to see what records survived and whom they turned their records over
to."

"Then what?"

"The
social worker who now has charge of your file will contact the birth parents,
and if they are willing to meet or have contact, they will let the social
worker know."

"And
if they don't want to see me?"

"Then
that's the end of it." Carnie's eyes softened. "There's another wrinkle. If
your birth parents have passed, then the search gets more complicated."

Kendall
leaned forward. "What do you mean?"

"The
social worker would have to determine if you have any siblings and if they are
aware of the adoption. If they're not, then the social worker can't pass any
information on to you."

Resentment
and desperation collided in her. "I need to know where I came from."

Carnie
pulled out a stack of forms. "I know. I know. It can be frustrating."

"My
life feels like a movie.
Like I've walked in the middle of
the first act.
Only what is happening now directly relates to the first
moments of the movie."

"Look,
let's get the process started. See what happens. It may go faster than you think."

Kendall
pursed her lips.
"Fine.
Whatever."

"I'll
do what I can to help you."

Kendall
sighed. "Look, I know I'm being a bitch about this. And I do appreciate your
help. I'm just frustrated."

"I
understand."

Kendall
clenched her fists. "I can't believe this is going to be so difficult."

"Did
your mother have friends at the time of your adoption?"

Kendall
shrugged. "I suppose. Why?"

"The
adoption process can be quite emotional for the adoptive parents. Often they
confide in friends or family about what is happening."

"My
mother wasn't the chatty type."

"You'd
be surprised how women talk when it comes to becoming a mother."

Kendall's
heart raced at the possibility. She thought back to the photo album her mother had
kept and remembered seeing a picture of a woman her mother had once been close
friends with. "There was one woman." What was her name?
Jenny
somebody.
Her name was in the album.

"Start
with her. In the meantime, I'll track down the contact person who is now
handling the agency's records."

Already
her mind skipped ahead to finding this woman. She rose. "
Carnie,
thanks. I mean that."

"No
sweat. Keep me posted, will you? I want to know how this goes for you."

"Sure."
She paused. "No one knows that I'm adopted and I'd like to keep it that way for
now."

"Of course."

Kendall
left Carnie's office and drove straight back to her house. For so many years
she'd pushed the thought of a search out of her mind and now it consumed her as
if her life depended on it. As she waited for a light to change from red to
green, she pushed open her cell phone and dialed Brett's number. He picked up
on the second ring.

"Brett,
it's
Kendall."

"Kendall.
Where are you?" He sounded annoyed.
Typical.

"It's
a long story, but I'm going to be late today. I'll be back in time for the
editorial meeting at two."

He
huffed into the phone. "Kendall, I need you here. The day is jam-packed."

"I
edited the footage from the double murder story last night. My copy is written.
If the police announce the name of the second victim call me. I'll come back."
No sense telling him she was sorry. She wasn't.

"This
isn't like you."

No,
it wasn't. Work and deadlines had always come first for her. But she couldn't
explain to Brett that she needed to find her birth family. She needed to
finally fill the hole that had been inside her for as long as she could
remember. "Like I said, I'll be there as soon as I can."

Brett's
voice dropped. "Are you with a guy?"

"What?"
She would have laughed if not for the bite in his voice.

"That
cop who was here this morning. You're seeing him, aren't you?" Anger hissed.

Her
spine straightened. "Who I spend my time with is none of your business."

"It
is if it impacts this station."

She
could picture him sitting at his desk staring out the window, his back to his
office door. "The station isn't going to fall apart because I'm a couple of
hours late today."

"Get
back to the station now, Kendall."

"I'll
be in soon."

"I
hired you; I can fire you."

She
couldn't believe they were having this conversation. "My ratings are too good.
You'd be a fool to fire me."

"Everyone's
replaceable."

She
gripped the phone.
"You manipulative worm.
How dare
you threaten
me.
I'm good at what I do and the ratings
went up because of
me
just as much as your advertising campaign."

"Don't
be so sure."

"I
can leave Channel Ten and get picked up by another station." The money wouldn't
be as good, but she'd manage, even if she had to sell her house and move to
another market. Of course, leaving Richmond now was not what she wanted. But
pride kept her from backing down.

Brett
was silent for a moment before he sighed into the phone. "Kendall, just come by
the station. We need to talk. You're making me nuts."