Gathering Shadows (23 page)

As we walked toward the office, I noticed a large house about a quarter mile down the road. Two stories, white with black shutters—it was beautiful. If Rae owned the vet's office, the house and all this land, she was wealthier than I would have guessed.

The front door was unlocked, so we walked in. No one was in the waiting area. The office was rustic but clean. Pictures of dogs, cats, horses, and even cows covered the walls. There were padded benches across from the front counter, so I sat down to wait. Lazarus jumped up next to me and put his head on my lap. I stroked his soft head, hoping Rae would show up soon. I'd just decided to go looking for her when she came into the room.

“Well, there you are, Lazarus,” she exclaimed. “Wondered when you were going to show up.”

Instead of cowering from her, Lazarus jumped off the bench before I could grab his leash and ran over to Rae. They greeted each other like old friends.

“Guess he's not afraid of coming here,” I said. “You must be a very special veterinarian to get that kind of reaction from your patients.”

She laughed. “I have some scaredy-cats. They're not all like this guy.” She gave the dog a big hug. “I think he knows I saved his life. I can't explain it, but I'm as sure of it as I can be. He's always acted this way toward me.”

“He's a great dog, isn't he?”

She nodded. “Very special. I'm glad he's got such a wonderful owner.” She looked around and frowned. “Where is Reuben today?”

“He had an errand, so I volunteered to bring Lazarus in to see you.”

“Glad you did. Do you want to come back to the exam room? You can stay with him if you'd like.”

“Sure. Sounds good.”

I followed her through a door behind the front counter and into a hallway with three different rooms. Rae ushered us into the first one we came to.

“You can have a seat,” she said, pointing to a chair in the corner. “I'll be back in a minute with his shots.”

I nodded and sat down, holding on to Lazarus's leash.

“He doesn't really need the leash,” Rae said. “I've never known him to run off.”

“Thanks. I wasn't sure. I didn't want to have to explain to Reuben why I lost his dog.”

Rae grinned. “You don't need to worry about that. This dog is joined to Reuben at the hip. Never seen a man and a dog as close as these two. Does my heart good.”

“Makes me wish I had a dog.”

“I've got two strays in the back looking for homes,” she said. “Just say the word.”

“Sorry. I live in an apartment, and sometimes I work up to twelve hours a day. I'm afraid it will be a while before I can actually take care of a dog. Mr. Henderson is enough company for me right now.”

“Okay, but if you change your mind, let me know.”

I bent down and looked Lazarus in the face after she left the room. “It's not going to hurt you to keep this leash on until I'm convinced you'll be good,” I whispered. “I'm not taking any chances, buddy.”

Another lick revealed he wasn't too concerned about my declaration. Tired of sitting, I got up and checked out the room. A diploma mounted on the wall declared that Mady Rae Buettner
had completed a degree in Veterinarian Medicine from Jefferson College in Missouri. It was an impressive piece of paper, but something about it caught my eye. It was a real diploma, but the area with her name looked odd. I'd done some research into faked documents for a story once, and something was definitely wrong with the certificate. Rae's name had been typed on something else and then added on later. Strange.

I'd just started to sit down again when I noticed some boxes on the counter next to me. They looked familiar, but I couldn't remember where I'd seen them before. I picked one up. It was plain and white, but there was a sticker on the side that said
Syringes.
Without thinking about it, I peeled back the sticker. Then I opened the box. It held syringes, but the last time I'd seen a box like this, it had contained several pieces of fudge.

As I tried to understand what I was seeing, my eyes went back to the diploma.
Mady Rae Buettner
.

“Oh no. It can't be.”

A noise from behind startled me, and I dropped the box.

Rae stood there with another syringe in her hand, staring at me. “It can't be what?” she asked softly.

“Mady Rae Buettner. The initials. You're Marian Rose Belker.”

Rae slowly closed the door behind her and put the syringe on the counter. “Well, I guess denying it won't do any good, will it? I was hoping you'd never find out.”

“I . . . I can barely believe it.”

She gave me an odd smile. “I was at the hospital the night you were born, you know. I gave you to a good home and kept you from a life lived in and out of foster homes. The same kind of life I had.”

“I don't understand. What are you doing here?”

She sighed. “I originally came here to make sure your brother was safe. But then I decided to stay. Sanctuary is a place where someone like me can start over. A safe place.” She glowered at me. “Until you came here, that is.”

I glanced toward the other door. The one we'd come through. Rae opened a nearby drawer and pulled out a handgun. “Get back over there by Lazarus.”

When I didn't move, she yelled, “Now!”

I scurried back to the chair and sat down. Lazarus looked
back and forth between us as if trying to figure out what was going on.

“I don't understand,” I said. “Did you kill August?”

“It was an accident. When I found out you were coming to town, I told him the truth about everything. I thought he'd understand, but it was a mistake. The day he died we were fighting about it. He wanted me to tell you everything. I got mad and pushed him. He fell and hit his head on that exam table. I tried to save him, but I couldn't.”

“So you just dumped him off by the side of the road?”

She sighed. “I was going to bury him, but someone found him before I had the chance. He was so heavy, I couldn't drag him far enough into the woods. If I'd buried him faster, everyone would have believed he'd left town.”

My mind raced, trying to figure out what to do next. Was killing August really an accident? Was she planning to kill me too? I was painfully aware there wasn't anyone who could help me. Reuben, my dad, and Paul were on their way to confront the Fishers. Zac knew where I was, but there wasn't any reason for him to come after me. Somehow I had to keep Rae talking while I figured out what to do next.

“You said August wanted to tell me
everything
. What do you mean?”

“No questions,” she said angrily. “I've got to decide what to do with you.”

“Listen, Rae or Marian, whatever your name is, I think you owe me an explanation. I want to know what August wanted to tell me.”

She pointed to the examination table. “Get on the table. Now.”

She waved the gun around, and I prayed it wouldn't go off
accidentally—or on purpose. Leaving Lazarus, I climbed up on the table, trying not to think about this being the place where August died. The table wasn't very long, so my legs dangled off the end.

“Lie down,” she barked.

“That's ridiculous. The table's too small.”

She took a step closer, keeping the gun trained on me. “Let your legs hang off.”

I did what she asked. She opened a drawer in a cabinet next to the table and pulled out some kind of heavy strap.

“Now put your arms over the sides.”

She tied one end of the strap around one wrist and then reached under the table for the other one. She tied my hands together and then wrapped the end of the strap around the pole that held the table up in the middle. I pulled against my bonds, but there was no way I could get my hands free. The position of my arms strained my shoulders, and every time I moved, it caused pain.

“I use these to hold animals to the table while I operate. They're strong. You won't be able to break them.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I . . . I don't know. I need to think.”

“Rae, you did something nice for me when I was a baby. You're obviously not a bad woman. You say you didn't mean to kill August. It's not too late to turn yourself in. You might get off with a light sentence. Please think about what you're doing.”

She made a noise that sounded like a strangled sob. “No, they'll send me away.”

“I don't think—”

“I killed my husband,” she said, her voice breaking. “I made the mistake of telling him what happened the night you were
born, and he decided to blackmail your father. I begged him not to, but he wouldn't listen. Then he decided we could make money by stealing babies out of hospitals. No one would suspect a nurse. He made me take them, and then he sold them. Fake adoptions to people who would have a hard time adopting, like your parents.”

“And how did he
make
you do that, Rae? You didn't have to listen. You could have said no. Turned him in.”

She slumped against the counter, defeat etched into her face. “You don't understand. He was all I had. All I would ever have. He . . .” She shook her head. “I can't explain it. He had the power to make me believe he was right and I was wrong. Even after all these years, I still feel it.” She took a deep breath. “He finally stopped for several years. I thought everything would be okay. We could live a normal life. But then he said we needed more money. He was going to start again. That's why I had to kill him. There wasn't any other way to stop him.”

Although I could have pointed out that a long prison sentence would have brought his activities to an end, I thought better of upsetting her now. Maybe her regret would keep me alive. Still, I had to ask one thing. I couldn't help myself.

“Why did he take Ryan? He couldn't have gotten much money for him.”

“Revenge. To punish your father for stopping the payments. It made Joe furious. A friend of his knew the Fishers. Their son had died, so Joe met with them. Told them Ryan was in an abusive home and needed to be placed somewhere safe. Joe told them it was a legal adoption but that Ryan's parents might come looking for him to do the boy harm. He warned them to take Ryan someplace where no one would ever find him. So they came to Sanctuary. After Joe died, I came here too. I was so
relieved to find out Ryan was okay. Happy. And he is, Wynter.” She gave me a small smile. “And I kept tabs on you too. Watched you grow into a fine young woman. When you changed your name and started working at the news station, I knew I'd done the right thing.”

I wanted to scream at her. Tell her that she and her husband had destroyed our family. But I fought to control my anger. Rae was obviously crazy. The only way I could protect myself was to keep her calm.

“If you cared so much about Ryan, why didn't you tell the Fishers the truth? Why didn't you help him to get home?”

She shrugged and stared off into space. After a few moments, she said, “I was afraid. Joe was gone; I was safe. And Ryan was happy with the Fishers.” She glared at me. “They're good parents. Why can't you leave him alone?”

I had to bite my tongue. Making her angry wouldn't help me now. I tried to gather my thoughts. “What about the other children?” I asked. “The babies you took. Do you know where they are?”

“No. Joe never let me know where they went. After he died, I searched through all his papers, but I never found any information. I assume the new parents still think their children were legally adopted, but I don't know that for sure. Each time Joe got their money, we moved away. Joe told them he was retiring and they accepted that. I have no idea if any of them ever figured out there was something wrong with their adoptions, but if they did, they probably kept it to themselves. By that time, they loved that baby like it was their own.” She shook her head. “That was Joe's biggest insurance policy. He knew love would keep him safe. And he was right.”

It took everything I had to choke back the fury that rose inside
me for the real parents who were living their lives wondering what had happened to their children. Rae seemed to have no concern for them at all. It was also clear she had no problem spending the money her husband gained through the pain of innocent victims. It explained where the financing had come from to buy all her properties. She seemed to have no ability to understand right from wrong.

“Look, I know it was wrong,” she said, as if she knew what I was thinking. “That's why I finally stepped in. Stopped him. Couldn't let it go on anymore.”

I felt sick to my stomach at her twisted logic. “What about Ryan? Why didn't he try to come home?”

She shrugged. “Joe convinced him your parents didn't want him. That they'd arranged for him to live with someone else. Believe it or not, children that age are very susceptible. I guess there were things going on in your family that made Joe's lie easy to accept.”

Between our family dynamics and Joe's ability to manipulate, Ryan had been thrust into a perfect storm of insecurity and lies. He never stood a chance.

“We called the authorities, Rae. They're on their way to get Ryan right now. It's only a matter of time before they connect the dots back to you.”

She stared at me with raised eyebrows. “It doesn't matter.”

A wave of panic washed through me. The only way she could keep her secret was to dispose of me. Was that her intention?

“I realize you'll tell them the truth,” she said. “But I intend to be a long way away from here before you get the chance.”

“You—you're not going to kill me?”

She scowled at me. “I'm not a murderer. I had to stop Joe
because he was hurting people. Babies. But I brought you into the world, Emily. There's no way I could harm you.”

“Then why am I tied up?”

“I'm going to put you and Lazarus into my storm shelter. No one will think to look for you there for a while. It will give me enough time to get away.”

She turned around and opened a cabinet door. Removing a vial of something, she took out a box of syringes, selected one, and began to fill it with the liquid in the vial.

“What's that?” I couldn't keep the fear out of my voice. Marian Belker, aka Mady Rae Buettner, was certifiably nuts. I didn't trust her ability to administer drugs without making a serious mistake.

“Relax. It's just something that will put you to sleep for a while. It's not the same thing I put into the fudge.”

“You made my friend Zac extremely ill.”

She grunted. “That fudge wasn't for him. He had no business eating it.”

“You could have killed me.”

She shook her head. “It couldn't have killed anyone. Just make you sick so you'd go home. I've been trying to get you out of Sanctuary for quite a while, but you wouldn't take the hint. If you'd just left—”

“I'm not leaving my brother.”

“I know that,” she said slowly, “but I wonder if you've thought much about him. Elijah has a good family. Your interference will devastate him.”

“
My
interference?” I asked, stunned by her level of denial. “
Your
interference destroyed a family, took my brother out of his real family, and caused everything that's happened.”

“That was Joe, not me.”

I could tell Rae had closed an emotional door. Her reactions were becoming flat and unemotional. She approached me with the syringe in her hand.

“Please don't do this,” I pleaded. “What if something goes wrong?”

“You should be fine. I've never used this on a person before, but I don't think it will do any permanent damage. You'll just go to sleep.”

Without another word, she pushed up my sleeve and jabbed the needle into my arm. I cried out in pain.

“What do you mean I
should
be fine?” I said. “You're not sure?”

Rae shrugged. “We always have to warn our patients that any kind of medicine could have side effects.” She gave me a strange smile, and terror coursed through my body. No matter what she'd said earlier, this woman wasn't convinced the drug she was shooting into my body wouldn't kill me.

After emptying the contents of the syringe into my arm, she tossed it into the trash. Then she came over and removed the straps from my hands, but not before picking up her gun again.

“Get on your feet,” she ordered. “I need to get you into the shelter while you're conscious. I don't want to carry you down the stairs.”

I pushed myself into a sitting position. My shoulders hurt from being restrained, and my arm throbbed from the shot Rae had given me. When I tried to stand, I discovered my legs had gone numb. I almost fell, but I caught myself by grabbing the edge of the exam table.

Rae shoved the gun into my side. “Get going,” she ordered. “Now.”

“What about Lazarus?” The retriever was watching us care
fully, almost as if he were trying to determine exactly what was going on. Too bad he hadn't been trained to attack. It would certainly be helpful now.

“He's coming with us.”

After making certain the feeling had returned to my legs, I bent over and picked up his leash.

“Out the back door.”

Lazarus and I obeyed Rae's instructions. We walked down a hallway to another door that led outside. Rae pointed to a pair of metal doors on the ground near the back of the clinic. They belonged to an old storm shelter.