Within Striking Distance (18 page)

Sure, and look how that had turned out.

Becky had made clear what she wanted for her future weeks ago. She might talk about building her savings so that she could open her own business, but he hadn’t forgotten the rest of what she’d told him that morning in the garage loft. A family. Marriage and children. He knew her well enough by now to understand how important those things were to her. He was going to try his damnedest to find her birth family for her, but that was all.

Jake returned his hand to the wheel. Becky would be better off with a man closer to her age, someone who was planning to settle down. But not like that jerk, Tony Winters. Or one of those too-pretty-to-be-true male models Jake had seen at some of her other fashion shoots. Or flashy, virility-in-a-uniform guys who drove race cars. Actually, the mere idea of any other man touching her made Jake want to break something.

Someone honked from behind them. He noticed the traffic light had turned green and stepped on the gas.

“Jake?” Becky asked.

He realized she was still waiting for an answer. He gave
her what he hoped was a casual smile. “I’d be willing to bet you give most men a high-voltage jolt when they first meet you. I got the jolt on an empty stomach, so you could say it was a gut reaction in my case, too.”

She didn’t respond.

He glanced at her as they entered the intersection. He could see that his flip answer had disappointed her, but it was best for both of them not to let this relationship get serious. Otherwise, someone would get hurt.

Jake glimpsed a blur of movement through the window beyond her and shifted his focus.

A green van was hurtling past the row of cars that were stopped on the cross street for the red light. It was heading straight for them.

Jake reacted instinctively and jammed the gas pedal to the floor. “Hang on!”

She was thrown back against the seat as the car jumped forward. The van roared into the spot where she had been a heartbeat earlier. It missed the passenger door, but Jake couldn’t accelerate fast enough to avoid the collision entirely. The van clipped the car’s back bumper as it passed by, spinning them around. Jake yanked the wheel and fought to regain control but it was no use. The car skidded across the pavement. It didn’t stop until it slammed nose-first into a light pole.

B
ECKY CURLED
her fingers around her soda. Her hand was shaking so badly the ice cubes rattled against the glass. She took a quick sip and set it down. “My adoptive father had nothing to do with that hit-and-run.”

Jake nodded, picked up a French fry and dunked it in the puddle of gravy on his plate. He had already worked his way through a hamburger and was making inroads on his plate of fries, but Becky hadn’t been able to stomach the idea of food. “I agree with her, Len,” Jake said. “This was more than a cover-up or collateral damage. It was a deliberate attempt to hurt Becky. I can’t see Floyd Peters going that far to protect himself. There must be a third party involved.”

Becky transferred her gaze to Lieutenant Denning, who sat on the other side of the table. They had agreed to meet at Edna’s, the small diner near Jake’s office, so they could have dinner while they talked. Their booth provided a good amount of privacy. It was at the end of the diner farthest from the door and the cash register, and there was only a scattering of other customers, none of whom would be able to overhear their conversation over the country music that played from the speakers on the wall.

At least Jake had come around to her point of view about her father. It wasn’t because he was willing to trust her feelings, though. No, he wasn’t about to change that much. He put his faith in logic.

Len set down his half-eaten turkey sandwich, wiped his fingers on a paper napkin and leafed through his notebook. “I called Lucas Haines in New York before I left the office. He still hasn’t found anything solid to support a link between Alan Cargill’s death and the Gina Grosso case.”

Jake sprinkled more salt on his fries. “That doesn’t mean there isn’t one.”

“It’s also possible that you embarked on a wild-goose chase. I think you got paranoid after the break-in last week and you’re seeing conspiracies where there aren’t any.” Len eyed Jake’s plate. “I can’t believe you’re still breathing. You’ve got more than a day’s worth of sodium there.”

“Yum, just the way I like it. Did you learn anything more about the van?”

Len flipped a page. “A van matching the description of the one that hit you this morning was found abandoned at a rest stop a couple of miles down the highway from Halesboro. No prints. It had been reported stolen in Concord yesterday.”

Becky let go of her glass before she spilled it and tightened her fingers into a fist. The collision had happened more than eight hours ago. The police had arrived on the scene within minutes, as had a tow truck. By the time the intersection was cleaned up, Jake had contacted his insurance agent and arranged for a rental car. Everything was over, but she still found herself shaking at odd times. It was like the reaction that had plagued her after the attack at Jake’s office.

Without warning, her vision filled with an image of Jake’s car as she’d last seen it, dangling from the tow truck hook, its front end crumpled, its rear bumper torn off. It was a miracle that neither she nor Jake had been hurt. Aside from a few bruises from the seat belts, they’d both escaped unscathed. If it hadn’t been for his quick reflexes and the sedan’s air bags…

Jake laid his hand over her fist. “We can finish this later.”

She shook her head. “I don’t need to be coddled. I want to get to the bottom of what happened as much as you do.”

He squeezed gently but didn’t release her hand. “Okay, but anytime you want to go home, just say the word.”

His concern brought a lump to her throat. Since they’d crawled out of the car, Jake had remained glued to her side. Under other circumstances, she would have enjoyed his attention, but he’d made it clear he was sticking with her to protect her. Although he still found reasons to touch her, and he was as solicitous as ever, it didn’t feel the same. It was as if he were subtly withdrawing from her. She suspected he blamed himself for not being alert enough to spot the van sooner and avoid the collision. He felt responsible because he’d been distracted.

It was true, and she knew what had distracted him. They’d been talking about their feelings. Or at least, she’d been attempting to, but he’d deflected the conversation. She’d told him how she felt and he’d responded with a wisecrack. And now he had the perfect excuse to continue to dodge the subject.

Becky slipped her hand from Jake’s and dropped it to her lap, impatient with the direction of her thoughts. This was hardly the time to worry about their relationship. She understood why Jake was so reluctant to admit there could be something special between them. The scars on his heart were as real as those scars on his leg. After what he’d gone through, it was a wonder he’d been able to open up to Becky as much as he had.

And she had no cause to find fault with him for being protective. Their safety ought to take precedence over their relationship. That mattered more than how good this past week with him had been. Or how important he was becoming to her. Or how much she cared about him. She was probably dwelling on their interrupted conversation because
she didn’t want to think about the nightmarish seconds that had followed it. It seemed that Jake wasn’t the only one who preferred to avoid an uncomfortable topic.

She looked at Len. “What else did you find out?”

He glanced from her to Jake. “According to the uniforms who attended the scene, there were plenty of witnesses to the accident but the descriptions of the driver are all over the place. The only thing everyone agreed on was that he was male.”

“It was probably Bocci,” Jake said.

“The Halesboro cops are going on the theory it was just some hopped-up car thief who ran the light.”

Jake grunted. “Do you believe that, Len?”

“I believe the evidence, and in this case there isn’t any to indicate this was anything other than a random, hit-and-run accident.” He closed his notebook and stored it in his jacket, then slid to the edge of the bench seat. “Thanks for the sandwich, but I need to get home. Nancy’s got her ceramics class tonight and I promised I’d watch the kids.”

“You’ll let me know if you learn anything, right?” Jake asked.

“If I think it’s relevant, sure.”

“C’ mon, Len. This is no time to start holding out on me.”

“As a cop, I don’t need to tell you anything.” Len got to his feet. “But as your friend, I’ll give you some advice. Go home and get some sleep. You look like hell.” He turned and headed for the exit.

Jake rubbed his chin. His end-of-the-day beard stubble rasped beneath his palm. He glanced at Becky. “I should have had him pay for his own sandwich.”

“Do you think what happened today
could
have been an accident? We could be overreacting.”

“It’s possible. I’d prefer to play it safe, though. Until we learn more, that’s all we can do.”

She thought about that for a moment, then slowly shook her head. “No, there’s something else we haven’t tried.”

“What?”

She twisted to reach into the bag she’d left on the seat beside her and took out her phone. She flipped it open and scrolled through her directory.

“What are you doing?” Jake asked, covering her hand with his to halt her.

She checked the clock on the wall over the cash register and calculated that it would be midmorning in Melbourne. “I’m phoning my father.”

Jake frowned. “Are you sure you’re up to it?”

No, she wasn’t sure. Her stomach was curling into a hard knot at the idea. In spite of her ongoing defense of her father, she dreaded the idea of a confrontation. She’d had some nerve for being critical of Jake because he preferred to avoid touchy subjects. She’d done that with her father for years. “This is long overdue. He deserves the chance to tell his side of the story.”

“He never has before. He stonewalled me as much as he did you.”

“That’s true, but I was never almost killed before. He needs to know what’s going on.”

Jake studied her face, then released her hand. “You have a point. Floyd’s bound to be more cooperative if he learns the situation has escalated.”

Becky put the phone to her ear. There was a delay and a series of clicks before the number started ringing. It had been weeks since she’d spoken with him. Although she was expecting it, she still felt a jolt when she heard her father’s voice.

She hesitated while she debated what to say. Should she come right out and ask him whether or not he and her mother stole an infant girl from her parents thirty-one years ago? Ask
him if he knew who would want to run down his adoptive daughter? This was why she hadn’t called him earlier. It felt disloyal to question him. She didn’t want to hurt him.

Or had she only been protecting herself from getting an answer she hadn’t wanted to hear? She glanced around the diner. Only a handful of customers were left. The background music was still providing privacy, but maybe she should have waited until she got home. Then again, she would probably find some other reason to put off this conversation once she got there.

“Becky? Is that you?”

She could delay no longer. He’d obviously recognized her number. “Hi, Dad.”

“Is something wrong?”

She closed her eyes. He sounded just the way he always had. Even though they were no longer as close as they’d been when she’d been a child, he could still tell when she was upset. “I was in an accident today.”

“How bad was it? Are you okay? Were you hurt?”

“I’m fine.”

“What happened?”

“It was a hit-and-run. I was in Jake McMasters’s car. He called you last month, remember?”

“The detective. Yes, I remember. Are you sure you’re all right? Where are you? Are you in a hospital?”

“We didn’t need to go.” She blinked hard and focused on Jake’s face. “We’re both fine. The paramedics checked us out already.”

“Thank God.” There was a pause. “What were you doing with McMasters? You’re not still looking into your adoption, are you, Becky? You know how I feel about that. You need to leave it alone.”

He sounded so anxious, she had to restrain herself from apologizing. “I can’t stop, Dad.”

“Of course, you can. Weren’t your mother and I enough for you? Why are you do determined to find another family?”

It was the same thing she’d heard since she’d discovered she was adopted. The guilt it stirred was the same, too. She fought the urge to back down. “I won’t be safe until I find out the truth.”

“
Safe?
What do you mean? What’s going on there?”

His response had been loud enough for Jake to hear. He leaned closer to Becky and motioned for her to tip the phone so that he could listen.

Becky hesitated briefly before she complied. “Someone’s trying to stop Jake’s investigation,” she said. “A man attacked us with a knife.”

“Oh, Becky! You weren’t hurt, were you?”

“No. Jake protected me,” she said. “There was also a fire at the lab that was running the DNA test.”

“What DNA test?”

“To see whether or not I’m Gina Grosso.”

Silence.

“Dad?”

“Becky, I told you to leave this alone. Nothing good can come of it.”

“I can’t stop now.” She took a deep breath to steady herself, then blurted out the question she really wanted to ask. “Dad,
am
I Gina Grosso?”

“Becky…”

“I need to know, Dad. I deserve to know. All these years you’ve been worried that our relationship won’t be the same if you tell me who I am, but it’s the other way around. Things won’t be the same if you
don’t
tell me.”

“I’m sorry, Becky.”

“I’m sorry, too, Dad. I’m sorry it’s come to this. I’d like to hear it from you, but either way I’m going to learn the truth. Because if you don’t tell me, the DNA test will.”

The silence stretched out longer this time. Becky steeled herself against a denial or another demand to drop the issue of her parentage.

His reply, when it came, wasn’t what she’d expected. “Becky,” he said slowly, “I don’t honestly know who you are.”

“What?”

“Your mother and I were afraid to ask.”

“I don’t understand. How could you not know?”

“You came to us only two weeks after the Grosso baby disappeared. We had our suspicions, but we wanted you so much, we didn’t care who you were born to. Mom and I loved you as soon as we saw you. I swear to you, Becky, from that day forward I’ve thought of you as
my
child. You’ll always be my baby, no matter what that DNA test shows.”

Tears blurred her vision. She blinked them back, trying to grasp what her father was saying. “You didn’t take me from the hospital nursery?”

“God, no! We wouldn’t do that! It was a private adoption. It’s only the timing of it that made us wonder if you were Gina. No one gave us any hint that you were.”

“So you really don’t know who I am?”

“I swear to you, Becky. I never knew. I never asked.”

“Why?”

“Because I didn’t want to lose you.”

Jake grasped her hand and spoke into the phone. “Mr. Peters, this is Jake McMasters.”

“Yes?” he said, his tone hardening.