I See You (25 page)

‘H
ow did you get in here?’ Hannah asked.

‘I climbed up the fire escape and came in through the window. The lock was feeble. It gave way immediately.’

Hannah studied her daughter. Lisa looked thinner. Her curly black hair was twisted into a knot on the top of her head. Behind her glasses, her eyes were steely. In spite of everything, Hannah was strangely happy to set eyes on her. She stifled the reflex to go to her, and put her arms around her. ‘Did you see Dominga?’

Lisa frowned. ‘Who? Oh, you mean the dyke I saw wandering through the apartment in camouflage? I was outside the window when she came in but she didn’t see me. Wasn’t she the one in the video on YouTube?’

So, Hannah thought. Just as they’d feared. Lisa had seen that clip and recognized them. ‘Yes.’

‘Bad luck for you that her story was so heartrending. Lots of people saw that video. I wouldn’t have bothered with it but somebody told me to look at it. And once I saw it, I was able to find you.’ Lisa could barely contain her satisfaction. ‘It was easy after that. I owe that soldier.’

‘Yes, you do,’ said Hannah. ‘She rescued Sydney.’

‘Maybe I ought to buy her a thank-you gift,’ said Lisa sarcastically.

Hannah stared at Lisa, whose expression was twisted into a sneer. She could not avoid noticing the contrast between Dominga, the young soldier who had come intending to protect her, and her own daughter, who had already tried to kill her once. She shook her head. ‘Why did you come through the window? Why didn’t you come to the door? I invited you. You knew I was expecting you.’

Lisa’s lips curved but there was no smile in her eyes. ‘I thought your little invitation might be booby trapped.’

Hannah leaned over the bed and set the stuffed animals down on the pillows. ‘It was no trick,’ she said.

‘Are those Sydney’s?’

‘Yes.’

‘Where is she?’

Hannah stared at her. ‘Let’s go into the living room.’

‘I asked you a question, Mother,’ said Lisa.

Hannah did not reply. She walked out of the bedroom and went into the tiny living room, sitting down in an armchair by the front window. She looked outside. The trees had lost their leaves and their trunks, the branches, the sky, the street and the sidewalk all looked bleak and gray. A few people shuffled past, bundled up in coats. It was the end of autumn. Winter was warning of its arrival.

Lisa came into the living room and sat down in the corner of the sofa. It was as if it were an ordinary day. A mother and daughter, settling in for a conversation. Maybe some tea. Except that, looking at her daughter across the narrow room, Hannah felt as if she could hardly breathe.

‘You can take your coat off,’ said Hannah.

‘No, thanks,’ said Lisa. She put her hand in her pocket as if to check that there was something she needed inside. Then she glanced around the modest, shabby room. ‘So how long have you been in this dump?’

‘We’ve pretty much stayed put here since we stopped … running.’ Hannah looked ruefully around the room. ‘I admit it isn’t exactly luxurious.’

‘Luxurious,’ Lisa scoffed. ‘It’s a slum.’

‘We’ve been comfortable here, all the same. Are you still in medical school?’

Lisa shrugged and looked away, stuffing her hands in her pockets. ‘I quit. They were giving me a hard time.’

‘About what?’

Lisa looked at her in disbelief. ‘Really? You don’t know?’

‘You were such a gifted student.’

‘I had a hard time studying after my parents kidnapped my kid, OK?’

‘I thought they might have a problem with your larceny conviction.’

Lisa looked at her mother with loathing. ‘You’d like that, wouldn’t you? You know, I was tempted to call the police on you when I got your message. I thought I’d tell them where they could find a kidnapper.’

Hannah gazed back at her without flinching. ‘But then again, I might mention to them that I could identify you on the subway surveillance tape. As the person who pushed me off the platform.’

‘So, we’re even,’ said Lisa calmly.

Hannah looked at her daughter in disbelief. ‘Even? You think that’s even? You tried to kill me, Lisa. You very nearly succeeded.’

‘Not quite even,’ said Lisa. ‘I still want Sydney back.’

Hannah stifled the urge to start screaming at her. Instead, she forced herself to remain calm. ‘Where do you live now?’

‘I live in the house,’ said Lisa. ‘I keep it very tidy.’

‘I talked to your grandmother today. She said you kept in touch with her for a while.’

‘She’s a horror,’ muttered Lisa, disgusted. ‘It was all I could do not to smack her across the face. Did she know you were hiding here? She always claimed that she knew nothing.’

‘She knew nothing,’ said Hannah.

‘This worked out well for you, didn’t it? You got away from your nightmare of a mother. And from me. You got to keep Sydney.’

Hannah shook her head. ‘I never wanted to get away from you. I loved you. I loved you from before you were born. But once I learned about your vile plans for Sydney, and you threatened to blame everything on your father, we had no choice but to run.’

Lisa shook her head. ‘Tell yourself that, Mother. I’ve never heard such pathetic rationalizing. You steal my daughter and then you make up all these excuses for yourself. You are a kidnapper. That’s how the law sees it. I hope it’s been worth it.’

‘These have been the worst two years of my life,’ said Hannah. ‘But yes. It was worth it. To protect Sydney from your disgusting plans for her.’

‘Enough of your excuses. Cut the crap,’ said Lisa. ‘And just tell me. Where is Sydney? I thought he and she were with you at the hospital.’

‘He and she?’ asked Hannah. ‘Are you referring to your father and your daughter?’

Lisa spoke in a low tone that was almost a growl. ‘Don’t fuck with me,’ she said. ‘You know what I mean.’

Hannah clasped her hands and pressed them against her lips. She wanted to be careful what she said. She wanted to say exactly what she meant. ‘Lisa, you’re a supremely intelligent person. I have to ask you something because I can’t come to grips with it. Were you always this way?’

‘What way?’ Lisa demanded.

‘It’s as if you don’t care anything about other people. The people who love you just don’t matter. Do you feel any … tenderness in your heart?’

‘Of course I do,’ said Lisa coolly. ‘I care about Sydney. You thought you were entitled to take her away from me whenever you pleased. Just because you wanted her all to yourself. And Dad, on the other hand, wanted to have easy access to her. The way he did to me.’

Hannah felt her anger flare but, once again, she stifled it. ‘That’s not true, Lisa. Not a word of it. And you know it.’

‘Were you with us every minute? You often left me alone with him. How do you know what he did?’ Lisa taunted her. ‘What makes you think he wasn’t creeping into my room and pulling down my jammies every night?’

Hannah recoiled from the disgusting image but remained calm. ‘I don’t believe you, for one thing, my darling. You have told one lie after another. I don’t even think you know what the truth is. And for another thing, I know your father.’

Lisa looked at her, her brow furrowed, her gaze skeptical. ‘What does that prove?’ she asked. ‘You know him? What does that even mean?’

Hannah looked at her daughter almost sorrowfully. ‘You really don’t know, do you? To me, that’s the saddest thing of all. You seem to have no idea what it means to know someone. To trust them.’

Lisa threw up her hands and began to pace. ‘Of course I know what it means. You’re saying that you know him. But what do you really know about him? You know that his name is Adam Wickes, and that you’re married to him. You know where he was born, and how old he is, and all that crap. That doesn’t mean you know what he’ll do. Or what he’s done.’

‘Yes, it does,’ said Hannah earnestly. ‘That’s exactly what it means. I know his heart. I know his character. I trust him. I believe what he says to me.’

Lisa turned and pointed a finger at her. ‘Oh, I see. You believe him but you don’t believe me.’

‘Should I believe you?’

‘I’m your child.’

‘Lisa, you tried to kill me. You pushed me in front of a subway train.’

Lisa looked at her, exasperated. ‘I had good reason. You took my daughter.’

‘To protect her from you,’ Hannah said defiantly.

‘I’m not listening to this again. Where is she?’ Lisa growled. ‘You’d better tell me. I’m going to count to ten.’

Hannah sat back down and avoided Lisa’s malevolent gaze. ‘They’re gone. Far away. You’ll never find them.’

Lisa lifted up a wooden desk chair by its back and smashed it against the wall. It made a giant, jagged crack in the plaster. Hannah jumped and let out a cry.

‘You can’t do this to me,’ Lisa insisted. ‘She is mine. You will give her back to me.’

‘I don’t know where they are,’ said Hannah. ‘We’ve done it that way on purpose.’

‘You bitch. I don’t believe you.’ Lisa reached over and grabbed Hannah by the neck. Her long fingers pressed against her mother’s windpipe. ‘Where’s your phone?’

Hannah shook her head. She could hardly breathe. Lisa reached down and began to rummage in Hannah’s pockets. ‘You always carried it in your pocket. It must be … Ah,’ she exclaimed. ‘Let me have a look.’ She operated the phone with one hand, keeping her grip on Hannah’s throat.

Hannah’s fingers clawed at Lisa’s powerful hand. She tried to gulp in some air. Lisa was scrolling through the calls. ‘Aha!’ she cried. ‘This has got to be it.’ She punched in a number on the phone, simultaneously letting go of Hannah, who fell back down on the chair, gasping for breath. She rubbed her throat with her hand. Tears ran down the side of her face as she heard the call going through. Lisa held the phone at an angle from her face so that Hannah could hear the voice saying, ‘Hannah? Babe? Are you there?’

‘Hi, Daddy,’ said Lisa in a silken tone. ‘Guess what?’

There was a silence on the other end. ‘Where is your mother?’ he asked warily.

‘She’s here with me. Say something, Mother.’

Lisa held the phone out toward Hannah, who was still gasping for breath. ‘Adam,’ she whispered.

‘Are you OK? Are you all right? What is she doing there? Has she hurt you?’

Hannah wanted to speak but only a squeak came out. ‘Don’t listen to anything she says.’

‘Bitch,’ said Lisa. She pulled the phone back and spoke into it. ‘This is the way it is. Bring Sydney back and I’ll let my mother live. Otherwise I’m going to finish the job I started on the subway.’

Hannah could hear Adam protesting and trying to reason with her. Lisa ended the call.

‘That will bring him back,’ said Lisa. ‘Now we wait.’

F
rank Petrusa was on the phone with the VA Hospital, trying to locate Titus, who had not shown up for group. He had a bad feeling about the depressed vet, who seemed to careen from hopefulness to despair without stopping at any reasonable place in between.

‘Yes, I’ll hold,’ he said. He sighed and rubbed his good hand over his face.

People got lost in the system all the time. He would talk to a guy for an hour, and send them off to an office or an agency with detailed instructions. And that would be the last he knew of them. Sometimes it felt like herding cats.

Dominga Flores came to the door of the group meeting room. ‘Sarge?’ she said.

Frank lowered the receiver and looked at Dominga. ‘Did you go over to the Whitmans’?’ he asked.

Dominga nodded. ‘Yup.’

‘Did you tell her that I sent you?’

‘I think she guessed,’ said Dominga.

‘Well, how did it go?’

‘She said I could move in tomorrow.’

‘Tomorrow?’ Frank frowned. ‘Not today?’

Dominga grimaced. She felt as if the sergeant was displeased with her. ‘She said tomorrow. I didn’t want to … you know, be too pushy.’

‘Right,’ said Frank. ‘That’s all right. I guess it will be all right.’ Then he spoke into the phone. ‘Yes. I’m still holding.’

‘Why are you so keen on me moving in there anyway?’

‘Well, you know what happened to her in the subway.’

Dominga nodded.

‘After that it just seemed wise to me to have a someone living with her. Someone who could manage … trouble if it arose.’

‘But that subway business was just kind of random, wasn’t it? Life in the city and all?’

Frank hesitated. ‘I’m … not sure,’ he said. He studied the tough-looking young woman standing in the doorway. It wasn’t fair to send her to Anna’s, perhaps to put her in harm’s way without admitting the risk. She had a right to know. A right to refuse. ‘They haven’t caught the person who pushed her. But Anna could probably identify them if an arrest was made. There’s always the possibility that she could be targeted again, to prevent that from happening.’

‘So she needs … like a bodyguard,’ said Dominga.

‘I’m hoping it won’t come to that,’ said Frank. ‘But it could be dangerous.’

Dominga extended her hands and flexed her fingers toward her palms. ‘Bring it on, baby. I’m ready. They better not mess with me. I’ll tear ’em a new one.’

Frank laughed, relieved. ‘Besides, you needed a place to stay. I thought it might be a good fit,’ he said.

‘Oh, I think it will be,’ said Dominga. ‘She’s a good person.’ Then she frowned. ‘Who would want to do that? Push someone under a train?’

Frank shook his head. ‘A very disturbed individual.’

Dominga dangled the keychain. ‘You’re not kidding. Well, it’s official anyway. She gave me a key.’

Frank nodded. ‘Good,’ he said.

‘I gotta go,’ said Dominga. ‘I signed up for an auto mechanics class.’

‘Great,’ said Frank. ‘That’s thinking positive!’

Dominga shrugged. ‘I gotta get on with my life.’

‘Yes, you do,’ said Frank. The music at the other end of the phone continued to play. ‘And thanks, Dominga, for doing this. I’ll feel a lot better when you get moved in there.’

Dominga gave him a semi-salute and went on her way. Frank exhaled, and continued to wait for someone to answer his call. Finally a nurse who had seen Titus explained that he was currently in physical therapy.

‘Good. That’s a relief,’ said Frank. ‘Can you let him know that I called, and have him call me. You can tell him that I want him back in the group.’

The nurse assured Frank that she would relay the message. He hung up feeling somewhat better. He started to go back to his paperwork but it was difficult to concentrate. He thought again about Anna, refusing to take his gun. He wished he could have convinced her but she was adamant. There was no guarantee she would be safe, even with Dominga living in her apartment. After all, Dominga had her own life to lead. She couldn’t watch over Anna twenty-four seven. Just to reassure himself, he decided to call. The phone rang and rang, and finally went to voicemail.

Frank hesitated. ‘Anna, it’s Frank,’ he said. ‘Call me back.’

Just then Kiyanna appeared in the doorway, holding her phone. ‘Frank. You better take this.’

Frank set down his phone and took Kiyanna’s from her elegant hand. ‘Frank Petrusa.’

‘Frank,’ said a panicky voice. ‘This is Ha— Anna’s husband, Alan.’

‘Hey, Alan. I just tried to call Anna but there was no answer. Where are you? Anna told Father Luke that you were headed out west.’

‘She wanted me to take Cindy far away. Somewhere safe. But I didn’t go. I couldn’t. I couldn’t leave her alone like that. She thinks we’re on our way to Chicago. But we never left Philly. We’ve just been lying low. Listen, Frank, I just got a call. She called me.’

‘Who? Anna?’

Adam hesitated. Then he spoke in a low voice. ‘No. Not Anna. Our daughter.’

‘Your daughter? Is there something wrong with Cindy?’

‘Not Cindy.’ Adam sighed and was silent for a moment. ‘Frank, Cindy is not our daughter. Cindy is our granddaughter. Our daughter’s name is Lisa. And she is … mentally ill. She’s with Anna. I’m on my way there right now but I called you because you’re right around the corner from our apartment. I’m terrified of what she might do. She’s very … unstable.’

Frank hesitated a moment. ‘Anna said she knew the person who pushed her in the subway. I offered her a gun for protection but she said she could never shoot this person. Is that …’

Adam sighed. ‘Yes. I think so. Anna recognized Lisa when the police showed her the surveillance tape.’

‘Oh my God.’

‘Frank, I hate to even ask you this …’

‘Hold on a second,’ said Frank. He put the phone to his chest and spoke to Kiyanna. ‘Go stop Dominga before she leaves the building. We need those keys. Anna’s keys. She has them. If she’s already left, call her and go after her. She’s on her way downtown. Hurry.’

Kiyanna nodded, turned and ran.

He picked up the phone again and held it to his ear. ‘All right. Tell me everything I need to know.’

Lisa fiddled in her coat pocket.

‘You might as well take your coat off,’ said Hannah dully. Her voice was raspy from her bruised larynx. ‘They won’t be here anytime soon.’

‘How long will it take them? Where are they coming from, anyway?’

‘I told you, I don’t know,’ said Hannah. ‘I don’t know where they are.’

Lisa shook her head. ‘Lies,’ she said.

Hannah gazed at her daughter, feeling almost faint at the weight of her own failure. She was her only child and she had loved her so fiercely. ‘It’s not a lie. I know they were heading toward Chicago. I didn’t want to know exactly where. Your father didn’t tell me exactly where they are on purpose.’

‘Bastard,’ said Lisa.

‘I have to ask you something.’

‘What?’

‘Did you … set up the explosion that killed Troy Petty?’

Lisa looked at her mother in disbelief. ‘What are you doing? Working for the police? Recording me?’

Hannah shook her head. ‘I just want to know. I know you were angry at him because he wasn’t interested in … children.’

‘He certainly didn’t turn out to be the man I thought he was,’ Lisa said tartly.

‘He wasn’t like those creeps you were writing to. You thought he was but he wasn’t. I feel so sorry for his family. His sister. I’m so sorry that his name got dragged through the mud in court. He didn’t deserve that.’

Lisa shrugged. ‘Water under the bridge.’

‘But why didn’t you just walk away and leave him alone? He wasn’t hurting you. Why did you have to …’

Lisa looked at her disdainfully. ‘Kill him? You can say it, Mother. I had no choice about it. The fact is he was a threat. He thought that everyone at the medical school ought to know about me.’

Hannah shook her head.

‘What?’ Lisa demanded.

‘What did I do? I just keep asking myself, what kind of a mother I was. How did you turn out this way – to be so heartless? And don’t say that it was because your father molested you. We both know that’s just not true.’

Lisa burst out laughing. ‘Oh, Mom,’ she said.

The utter normalcy of it made Hannah’s heart do a sudden flip in her chest. It was as if the years had vanished and Lisa was twelve again, and amused by her mother’s efforts to name her favorite singer. For a second, Hannah thought it was over. That maybe it had all been a horrible joke, meant to undermine her, to make her doubt herself as a mother. But if it was over now, that would be all right. She could live with that. ‘What?’ she asked hopefully.

‘You look so stupid with that bandage around your head,’ she said. ‘How was that when you fell on the tracks? Were you scared?’

Hannah turned her head and looked out the window, wishing she could just fly away. Unhear what she just heard. Then she turned to face her child. ‘I talked to a shrink about you. She said you were probably a psychopath.’

‘Psycho-jargon,’ said Lisa. ‘She doesn’t even know me. Besides, shrinks are always trying to put people in little boxes. They don’t know how to cope with someone who knows what they want and won’t hesitate to get it. If they want to call me a psychopath, a sociopath, who cares? What does it really mean?’

‘Listen. I’ll tell you what it means,’ said Hannah evenly. ‘It means we are not giving Sydney back to you, Lisa. Not under any circumstances. Maybe your father already called the police. Maybe they’re on their way.’

‘Don’t be stupid, Mother,’ said Lisa. ‘He doesn’t dare call the police. He’s the criminal as far as the cops are concerned. Not me. And you are giving her back to me. She and I have adventures ahead.’

Hannah shook her head. ‘We won’t. Look, if you just walk away I won’t tell the cops about the subway. Just leave Sydney with us.’

Lisa stood up and glared down on her mother. ‘She’s mine. You can’t stop me. Nothing you can say will stop me.’

Hannah stared right back at her. ‘I swear, Lisa, as long as I’m breathing …’

‘Exactly,’ said Lisa. She reached into her coat pocket and slowly pulled out a gun. Its dull black finish reflected the light.

Hannah cried out. ‘Where did you get that?’

‘Mother, I’m not fourteen. I bought it. It’s all perfectly legal. I bought it and I’m going to use it on the people who kidnapped my child.’

Hannah felt as if she had been punched in the chest. She struggled to catch her breath. ‘Lisa. You can’t do that. You’ll end up in jail.’

‘For doing what I had to do to get my child back from her kidnappers?’ said Lisa. She shook her head. ‘I don’t think people are going to see it your way.’

Hannah stood up and started to approach her daughter.

Lisa brandished the gun at her. ‘Don’t take another step. Do you think I’m not serious? I was going to wait until Dad got here but I could kill you right now. Why not? When he gets here I’ll just show him the corpse. I’d rather do it in front of him but I’m flexible.’

Hannah looked at her only child, stunned. ‘Did you always hate us this much?’ she asked. ‘We did our best for you. We loved you so much.’

Lisa shook her head. ‘I don’t hate you.’

Hannah thought her ears were deceiving her. ‘You don’t?’

‘Well, I’m angry at you but I certainly don’t hate you. You were an OK mom. And Dad. Well, all right, I’ll admit – just to you – that he was … a decent father. The fact is you were just ordinary people who weren’t really equipped to deal with someone with my gifts. It always seems so ridiculous to me to abide by your rules when neither one of you was my equal. You always were putting your heads together, comparing notes, trying to figure out how best to parent me. It was laughable, really. But none of that matters now. Whatever your mistakes, you compounded them by taking Sydney. You humiliated me by doing that. You made me look bad to the whole world. As if I were incompetent as a mother. As if the kid was better off anywhere than with me. I can’t just let that go.’

‘But if you don’t hate us,’ Hannah pleaded, ‘maybe we could talk … Maybe there’s some way …’

‘There’s no way,’ said Lisa brusquely. ‘This is the way it is. Don’t look so offended. Now sit down.’

‘I was going to get a glass of water.’ She reached up and touched the bandage around her head. ‘I have to take my medication.’

‘You don’t need your medication anymore,’ said Lisa coldly. ‘Sit down.’