Authors: Randi Cardoza
Chapter 11
Kenzi stripped off her clothes as she made her way to her bedroom. The bed looked so inviting after being away for nearly a month and a half. It was just as she left it.
The walls were painted a cheery yellow with a powder blue carpet. The bed was piled high with lavender, sky blue, and soft pink pillows. Underneath the pillows was a quilt embroidered with flowers matching the pillows in a starburst pattern.
Kenzi didn’t even bother to close the door she just pulled the comforter down and fell into the bed. For once, she did not dream of Layla’s kidnapping or have nightmares.
It was closing in on 2 p.m. when Kenzi felt something tickling her nose. She blew at her hair and nuzzled her nose into her pillow. A moment later her cheek was being tickled. Her eyes fluttered open and she screamed.
“OH MY GOD!!! Shawn what are you doing here?” she asked pulling her blankets up to her nose.
“You didn’t even lock your door. I still have the key, you know I did live here at one time,” Shawn replied sitting down on the bed next to her. “You don’t have to cover up like that. It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked before.”
“We’re not married anymore, Shawn. I can’t believe you would just come in my house and then sit there and watch me sleep. Especially when I’m naked!”
“I didn’t do anything to you did I? Not that I wasn’t tempted to. You know I could see that small mole on your right breast,” Shawn said leaning over her.
Kenzi leaned further back into the pillows as Shawn leaned closer to her. She could feel his breath on her neck and worse…she looked down to see the blanket was around her waist rather than where she’d been holding it before.
“I was wondering when you’d notice the chill. You’re so beautiful, Kenzi,” Shawn said huskily as he ran a hand idly up her side to cup her breast.
Kenzi’s breath burned in her lungs and her flesh was seared by Shawn’s touch. It had been so long since he’d touched her that she couldn’t help the little moan that escaped her throat.
“You want me, Kenzi, just as much as I want you,” Shawn whispered into her mouth as his lips captured hers in a fiery kiss.
Kenzi’s arms crept up and around his shoulders to bury her hands in his thick hair. Her body felt like it was on fire when her bare skin met the buttery smooth leather of his jacket and she moaned as the tips of her breasts rubbed against it.
Shawn’s lips crept away from hers to softly kiss her eyelids and trail to her earlobe and nibble on it.
“Oh, Shawn,” Kenzi moaned as her hands found their way under his shirt. She wasn’t surprised to feel the muscles there but they were more toned than she remembered.
“My Kenzi. I want nothing more than to crawl back into your bed and lose myself inside you,” Shawn said as his hot breath teased Kenzi’s neck where it met her shoulders.
“Please, Shawn,” Kenzi begged her body arching into his as she dragged his lips to hers.
“I can’t do this. Not yet, anyways,” Shawn said easing away from her to a sitting position.
“Then why did you kiss me?” Kenzi asked not bothering to cover her nudity.
“I wanted to kiss you. I didn’t lie when I told you I still love you. We have to talk about it, Kenzi. You haven’t talked to me, really, since Layla was taken.”
“I really meant that I wanted to get some sleep before we did. I know I should have talked to you about it before but I felt like it was my fault and that you would blame me if I told you what happened,” Kenzi said sitting upright and crossing her legs under the covers.
“I never blamed you. I worked in Federal child abductions, then too, Kenzi. I would have understood that you did not willingly allow someone to take our daughter. There were so many times when I needed to just hold you,” Shawn said as he got up and started to pace the floor in front of her bed.
“Oh, Shawn I wanted you to. I would wake up so many times at night hearing her cry and when I realized that she wasn’t there I needed your arms around me,” Kenzi said as a tear escaped her eye and drifted down her cheek.
“Do you still? You dream about her kidnapping all the time, don’t you? You dreamed about it on the plane, you kept whispering her name in your sleep,” Shawn said kneeling by the bed to wipe her tears away with gentle fingers.
“Yes, I see the whole thing over and over in my head. If only, I had been holding her instead of leaving her in the stroller. If only, I hadn’t looked away at that car accident,” Kenzi said her shoulders beginning to shake.
“You know as well as I do that there are so many i
f only’s
. Kenzi. It wasn’t your fault. No one knew it would happen except that sick person who stole our baby.”
“Yes, but you seemed so remote like the only thing that mattered was finding her, which it was the only thing that mattered. But I felt like you were angry at me for losing her and that you’d rather ignore me than speak to me,” Kenzi said looking deep into his eyes.
“I was determined to find her and still am but the chances lessen every day. I wanted to be sure that she wasn’t in the Farmington area. I should have paid more attention to you, showed you more support but those first few months Layla was the only thing on my mind, Kenzi.”
“It got harder when you were gone all the time. I felt like you took assignments to get away from me. I ached for you and you never came to me, Shawn.”
Shawn eased into the bed next to her and wrapped his arms around her and said, “I couldn’t bear to touch you because I didn’t want to risk losing my focus. That doesn't mean I didn't need you just as much as you did me. Knowing you were here, in our home, waiting for me to bring her home drove me.”
“I just couldn’t stand it anymore then you moved out. Your uncle Mickey told me that you wanted a divorce, so I signed the papers because I thought you didn’t love me anymore and that you thought I lost Layla on purpose,” Kenzi said fisting her hands into his shirt.
“I was convinced of the same thing, that you didn’t love me anymore. I didn’t want to keep you against your will, so I filed for the divorce. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” Shawn said holding her tightly to him.
“I do love you, Shawn. I watched you with Janey and wanted to cry because it should have been us with Layla. This assignment reminded me that I hadn't actually stopped loving you,” Kenzi said her voice muffled against his shoulder.
“Can we start over, Kenzi? We’ll take it as slow or as fast as you want to,” Shawn asked.
“I’m ready to be with you again, Shawn. I’m ready for everything but living together. I know I want you as bad as I did in high school and more than I did on our honeymoon.”
“Right now, why don’t we just hold each other? I just miss being near you, my Kenzi.”
They fell asleep holding each other. A couple hours later Kenzi’s phone rang just as Shawn’s pager beeped waking them up.
Kenzi answered her phone to hear, “Fromier, it’s Megan Nelson. The Mortimers have been arrested and they’re here in Farmington waiting for interrogation.”
“I see. I’ll tell Shawn and we’ll be there right away,” Kenzi replied.
“Oh, is he there with you? Dylan said he’d paged Shawn but hasn’t heard back from him yet.”
“Dylan?” Kenzi asked.
“Dylan Murphy, my partner. Get here A-S-A-P,” Nelson replied before hanging up.
“Who was that?” Shawn asked as his eyes flickered over Kenzi’s naked body.
“That was Nelson. The Mortimers are here and waiting for interrogation. We have to go to the office now,” Kenzi said pulling on underwear and then dressing quickly.
“I’ll meet you downstairs. We’ll take my car,” Shawn said as he headed downstairs while Kenzi put on shoes and socks.
Kenzi and Shawn were gone within five minutes of talking to Nelson. They were at headquarters within fifteen minutes.
“Fromier, Douglass, you’re not going to be going in there. Nelson and Murphy are going in there to interrogate them. You can analyze from behind the two-way mirror,” Mac said as they made their way to the interrogation rooms.
Mrs. Mortimer was interrogated first. She stared straight ahead and demanded that her lawyer be present.
“You’ve been advised of your rights, Patricia. Do you know why you’re here though?” asked Murphy as he leaned down to sip at a cup of coffee.
“I don’t know why I was arrested. I demand to see my lawyer.”
“Oh, well, it’s a federal charge, Patricia. Kidnapping and transporting across state lines is a Federal offense. You could get life in prison,” Nelson said in a steely voice that Kenzi envied.
“What are you talking about? My daughter was kidnapped early this morning. Why am I being arrested for kidnapping?”
“Patricia, that girl wasn’t your daughter. Her name is not Molly and you know that. We have a recorded session with her telling us exactly what happened,” Nelson replied pressing play on a remote control.
Mrs. Mortimer stared at the screen as Janey’s image appeared and told the story of what happened. Her eye started to twitch when she heard the girl implicate her.
“We also have enough evidence to put you and your husband away for tax evasion. Does the name Denise and Connor Roberts sound familiar? That’s the name you and your husband used to check in at the Farmington Inn,” Murphy said as he put yet another tape in the VCR.
The tape started and showed the Mortimers checking in at the Farmington Inn and it also showed Mrs. Mortimer luring Janey away from the desk and then them disappearing from view.
“The agents who rescued the girl can provide enough audio-taped evidence to put you and your husband away for life. If we feel like it we could tack on charges for assault on the other two federal agents,” Nelson said playing a bit of the tape where Janey told Kenzi that she was kidnapped.
Mrs. Mortimer didn’t crack under the solid pressure Nelson and Murphy were putting on her but Mr. Mortimer did. Apparently, he wanted to gloat about his prowess in just about anything and he tried to flirt with Nelson while being interrogated.
Kenzi looked at Shawn when Mr. Mortimer confessed to hatching the plan with his wife to kidnap Janey and their hands met and fingers tangled together.
“We did it. Thank the Lord. Meganfully the trial won’t take a long time,” Shawn said as he watched Mr. Mortimer being led away by armed guards.
Chapter 12
Kenzi took a big bite of her sandwich and almost laughed when Shawn’s eyes followed the trail from her plate to her mouth. His eyes stopped to rest on her mouth and she could feel herself blush.
“Shawn Douglass, stop staring at me!”
“Did I ever tell you how much I missed you and kissing your beautiful mouth?” Shawn asked leaning forward to trace a long finger over her lips.
“No and you’re not going to show me right now,” Kenzi said sternly looking around the crowded café in Farmington Place but raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
Shawn laughed at her and leaned forward to kiss her when he felt a tug at his back pocket. Immediately, he stood straight up and took off in the direction that he heard chairs falling over.
Kenzi grabbed her purse and flew after him. She could see him running after someone but not who he was chasing. Slowing down to a walk, Kenzi decided that Shawn was a trained professional and didn’t need assistance with a pickpocket.
When she finally rounded the corner of a building near the pier she saw that Shawn had caught up to the pickpocket.
Shawn grabbed at a very small set of shoulders and pulled on it to turn the thief around to face him. He was startled to see the grungy baseball cap fall to the ground revealing dirty brown hair cascading down a young girl’s back.
“Hey, Mister! You’re hurtin’ my arm,” she whined as she tried to pull her arm from Shawn’s grip.
“Give me my wallet,” Shawn said compromising.
“I ain’t got your stupid wallet. My daddy ain’t gonna like you hurtin’ me, Mister.”
“Well, your daddy is going to go to jail for theft if you don’t give me my wallet back. If you give me my wallet back I won't arrest you or your daddy,” Shawn threatened.
“He’s already there…he can still get you if he hears you hurt me,” she replied as she tried to stomp on Shawn’s toes.
“Fine, if you want to play tough, little girl…Kenzi, give me those handcuffs you keep in your purse,” Shawn said without glancing at Kenzi.
The girl started struggling harder as Kenzi took them out. Tears started trailing down her dirty brown cheeks and she just gave up and held out her wrists.
Kenzi’s heart went out to her, she couldn’t have been more than five or six years old. The girl just sat down at Shawn’s feet and started sobbing.
Kenzi took a step forward but Shawn shook his head. Kenzi decided to heed Shawn’s warning and took a walk to look off the pier while Shawn talked to the girl.
Shawn knelt down and pulled the girl into his lap. Stroking her hair he whispered gently to her.
“Hush now. I’m not going to arrest you. Why did you take my wallet?” Shawn asked as he rocked slowly back and forth.
“I’m hungry. Mama won’t let me come home since daddy got put in the joint,” she said wiping her face with the back of a grimy hand.
“How long has it been since your mama kicked you out of your house?” Shawn asked offering her his red and white handkerchief instead.
“Least a week. She said daddy’s the only one who could handle me. I ain’t really a bad girl, Mister,” she said staring up at Shawn as her dark blue eyes filled with tears.
“Why don’t my friend, Kenzi, and I take you to lunch. Kenzi has a nice big house, maybe if a judge says it's okay you can stay with her for a while if you promise to be a good girl,” Shawn said as he set her on her feet.
She looked up at him questioningly as though she wasn’t sure if she should run or take him up on his offer.
“I ain’t doing nothing for lunch,” she said stubbornly folding her arms across her chest.
Shawn closed his eyes for a moment realizing what she meant and prayed that his sister didn’t know about the same things as this child.
“Kenzi come here I want you to meet someone,” Shawn called puling the girl behind him.
She peered Shawn’s knees to look up at Kenzi. Kenzi knelt and held out her hand but the girl apparently was afraid.
“This is my friend, Kenzi. Kenzi, this is my friend…?” Shawn said and looked at her for a long moment before she replied.
“Emma,” she said in a barely audible voice.
“Well, Emma I’m glad to meet you. Would you like to go to lunch with me and Shawn?”
Emma just nodded and gingerly took Kenzi’s hand as if she were afraid Kenzi would hurt her. Shawn quickly called the police while Kenzi and Emma ordered lunch from a hot dog vendor.
Emma must have been starving because she nearly swallowed her lunch whole. She began eying Kenzi’s drink next and Kenzi gave it to her.
“What did they say, Shawn?” Kenzi asked when he came back. He handed Emma five dollars and told her to get some more to eat.
“No children have been reported missing in the area. They’re going to check out a few leads and see if they can find the mother. One way or the other, Emma won’t be going back there,” Shawn whispered as Emma ran to get a bag of chips with the money Shawn gave her.
“She’s so young. How could someone willingly do that to her child? It’s cruel, Shawn,” Kenzi said and then wiped mustard from her mouth with a napkin.
“Would you mind keeping her until they can find a foster family? You’re an agent, so they’ll trust you to keep her. I just got called out on an assignment in Memphis or I would,” Shawn said as he sat down next to Kenzi on a bench.
“When did you get called out?”
“While you were getting ready to go to the office this morning. Emma, come on it’s getting close to dark,” Shawn called while Emma looked at her reflection in the water.
“Oh. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want you to worry besides I was going to but then Emma kind of chose a bad moment to pick my pocket,” Shawn said as he brushed strands of Kenzi’s hair away from her eyes.
“Well, let’s get Emma back to the house. I’d like to see what she looks like clean,” Kenzi replied and walked silently in front of Shawn and Emma while Emma talked up a storm.
Shawn left Kenzi and Emma at her house and he went back to his house to pack to leave the next day.
“Wow! This is a big house,” Emma said, as her eyes got as big as saucers.
“Well, it’s not that big. How about a bubble bath?” Kenzi asked as she showed Emma the way to the bathroom.
Emma’s mouth just hung open at the sight of the big claw-foot bathtub. Kenzi got her a t-shirt to sleep in and washed Emma’s clothes while she took a bath.
“Are you sure you can do this by yourself? I’ll help you if you need me to,” Kenzi said as she sat down on the lid of the toilet watching Emma splash around in the water.
“Nope, I’m fine. So are you and Shawn sleeping together or somethin’?” she asked as she blew bubbles off of her hand.
“That’s not a very nice question for a young girl to ask,” Kenzi replied and was horrified that her cheeks turned pink.
“Oh. Why?”
“Young girls are not supposed to know about those kinds of things. You aren’t supposed to know those things until you get older, maybe not until you’re a teenager.”
“Well, my mama and daddy didn’t say anything like that to me. They talked about sex an’ stuff all the time,” Emma said as she poured water over her hair.
Kenzi helped her shampoo her hair and then took her out of the tub to dry her off. Next, Kenzi attempted to comb Emma’s dark hair but couldn’t manage to get the brush through it. Finally after a half hour or so they were finished and Emma was yawning.
“I only have one bed, so you’ll have to share with me, okay?” Kenzi asked as she showed Emma to her room.
Emma’s tired eyes widened at the array of colors but she had to stifle another yawn. Kenzi tucked her into the bed and went down to the living room to read for a while.
Across town, Shawn is looking at a computer profile in disbelief. There had to be a mistake, this could not possibly be happening.
He quickly called Kenzi to tell her the news.
“Hello?”
“Kenzi, it’s me. You won’t believe what I’ve found out,” Shawn said as he shuffled papers.
“What?”
“Remember the whole false pregnancy thing in high school? Where Jan claimed I was the father of her baby and we almost broke up but DNA cleared me?”
“Yeah. What’s this about Shawn? What does that have to do with this?” Kenzi asked sitting up in her chair.
“Emma is the baby. She has a birth defect and looks younger than her age. Emma’s mother is Jan. She married Jason Sullivan and Jason is in jail for beating on Emma.”
“Oh my God! You’re sure, Shawn?” Kenzi asked looking towards the stairs.
“This computer printout I have includes a picture of her and Jan together. They’re nearly identical except the girl has straight hair and blue eyes.”
“Are you going to go talk to Jan or what?” Kenzi asked as she began to pace.
“I can’t believe she’d kick the girl out of the house since Jason was arrested. Maybe Emma ran away. I’m going to the address on this profile to see if Jan will talk to me.”
“Be careful. You know how Jan is once she’s been burned. She’s libel to throw you out before hearing you out, Shawn.”
“I will. I love you, Kenzi.”
“I love you, too. Bye,” Kenzi said and hung up the phone.
Why did it seem like Jan had been haunting their relationship since high school, Kenzi wondered.
She went up to bed and tried to avoid getting kicked by one of Emma’s flailing limbs. Kenzi gently put an arm over her to calm her down and Emma fell right back into a peaceful sleep.