“She’s a beautiful child,” Armstrong replies, and the raw pain in his voice almost makes her flinch.
“Let’s sit down.” Juliet points toward the family room at the end of the hall, but Lauren demurs.
“Mindy’s asleep now, but she’s been vomiting for five hours straight, and I don’t want to be too far away. Let’s talk here if you don’t mind.” That last bit is directed at Armstrong, who simply nods. “When she wakes up, we can introduce you.”
“Is she ready for that? Will the stress make her sicker? I don’t want to harm her in any way.” His voice catches, and Lauren touches his arm gently. It feels strange to touch him. He is warm and solid, and she snatches her hand back.
“Mr. Armstrong. She knows you’re out there, somewhere. I think we might be past stressing her out at this point. Besides, she has your eyes. That is going to fascinate her to no end.”
“Still. And please, it’s just Zack.”
Juliet checks her watch. “It’s nearly ten. I wish Cam would call. How long is this going to take?”
They stand awkwardly for a few moments, then Lauren smiles timidly. “Do you want to hear a story about her?”
His face transforms, forbidding to eager in a split second. “I would like to hear all her stories.”
“Okay. She was—is—terribly precocious. When she was five, we caught her scaling a bookshelf because she liked the cover of one of the books on the highest shelf. It was black and had stars on the spine, and she was completely fascinated. I pulled it down and handed it to her. It was one of Juliet’s astronomy texts from school that she’d left behind at our house—did Juliet tell you she wanted to go into the space program?”
Zack shakes his head. “We haven’t talked about much other than Mindy, Lauren.”
“Well, she did. She should have been an astronaut. She missed the cut by a fraction of a point.”
“Moving on,” Juliet says, blushing.
“Sorry, it still upsets me that you didn’t get in. Anyway, Mindy sits down on the couch with this huge book in her lap, so big it’s sticking out past her knees, and starts turning the pages. She can’t read well at this point, can handle some of the kid books by herself but not this. I sit down next to her, and she looks up at me and says, ‘Show me the Milky Way, Mommy. I want to see the candy bars in the sky.’”
Zack smiles, and Lauren grins at him. “She was so mad when she found out that the sky didn’t have chocolate in it. Milky Ways are her favorite, but she hardly ever eats them because they’re not good for her. She’s a health nut, it’s part of her training regimen. Nothing processed, nothing that isn’t natural. She’s an expensive eater.”
“Then we won’t talk about the things she’s been eating since she’s been in here,” Juliet says. “I will cop to handing over another box of Hot Tamales the other day.”
Zack has gone oddly quiet. Juliet notices.
“What’s wrong?”
He shakes himself like he’s coming awake. Maybe for the first time in years, he is, she thinks.
“Oh. It’s nothing. Milky Ways are my favorite candy, too. What else does she love?”
“Dogs, for one. She’s going to go mad for Kat. Sunflower seeds. She eats them from the bag like a baseball player, putting in a handful and spitting out the shells. Avocados, she puts them on everything. She hates watermelon, though. We can’t figure that one out.”
He looks stunned. “Vivian was allergic to watermelon.”
“I suppose that answers that.”
“What else?”
“She writes poetry, but won’t show anyone. And skiing. You should see her on the slopes. That kid and her fall line. It’s incredible. It’s her one true love.”
“I’d like to see that. I’d like to talk to her. I...you’ve done such a good job with her, I can tell.” His voice cracks.
“Except for this. The cancer. I don’t know where it came from, or why. Does it run in your family?”
“Yes. My mother had breast cancer. She died...” His eyes are filming over with tears. “She died right before Vivian... When the baby was born.”
“I’m so sorry,” Lauren says. “It’s hard to lose your parents.”
Juliet’s phone rings, startling them all.
45
Juliet sees the matching looks of hope and fear on her sister’s and Zack’s faces and turns her back on them to answer the phone.
“It’s Cameron. I came across something you might want to hear.”
“I’m all ears. Hang on.” To Zack and Lauren, whose eyes are following her every move, she shakes her head. “This is business. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
She returns to the call. “Talk to me, Cam. You have the results?”
“Not yet. It’s running now. Here’s what I called about. Castillo had a partner.”
“What?”
“I managed to track down the woman your sister mentioned, Graciela Flores? She lives in Alamosa, and agreed to talk to me when I told her we were looking at all the patients Dr. Castillo had worked with, and by worked, I mean that loosely. Long story short, she told me Castillo had a partner, a man who delivered the money. It was an installment plan—you got the first $2000 up front, and the second $2000 a few weeks later, after delivery, and once the baby was placed.”
“Four thousand? Lauren said she paid ten.”
“Tidy profit, $6000 a kid, right?”
“Definitely. What’s this partner’s name?”
“Carlos Fuentes. According to the papers, he’s currently doing a nickel in Englewood Federal Correctional for mail fraud.”
“No kidding? That’s convenient.”
“Totally. Listen, Juliet. I think it’s time to push this up the chain, you know?”
“I do know, and you’re right. I’ve already spoken to the Nashville police, and they’ll probably be here tomorrow. As soon as we have the results from the test, see whether Zack is enough of a match, God willing, and get the ball rolling here for the transplant, I’ll turn my attention to the criminal side of this case. You can retire your investigative hat, Cam. I can’t thank you enough for all your help on this.”
“You’ll repay me. Maybe I’ll entice you away from the CBI one of these days.”
“I won’t say no, how’s that? I’ll be in touch.”
She clicks off, thinking for a moment. He’s right. It’s time.
To Zack and Lauren, who are waiting impatiently, “More news, some new info on Dr. Castillo. Lauren, do you remember her having a partner named Carlos? Carlos Fuentes?”
“No, I don’t. I only ever spoke with her. Who’s this Carlos person?”
“Sounds like the bagman. He ran the money to the mothers she helped.”
“This is all so convoluted.” Lauren touches her forehead as if a small headache has started. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to go back to Mindy now. I’m feeling a bit light-headed myself. Let’s hope I don’t come down with this bug, too. Zack, you and Juliet are welcome to stay with us. She has a key. Why don’t you go there, drop your bags, and grab some dinner? I’m sure Kat needs to be fed as well. Give us a few hours to kick this nasty bug.”
“That’s very kind of you, but I don’t want to impose. I can get a hotel room.”
“I insist. Jasper will be home soon if he’s not there already. I told him not to come here because of the bug going around. He’ll get you settled in.”
“Don’t bother fighting her, Zack. Lauren is the consummate cruise director. I’m a little beat myself, it’s been a long day, and we have no idea when Mindy might wake up. Let’s get some food and rest, what do you say?”
He still doesn’t move.
“I understand the urge to watch her sleep, and to be near her,” Lauren says. “I understand completely. But trust me when I say you don’t need your first interaction with her to be on the wrong end of a green bag. It’s not pretty, and it will stress you both out. Go. I’ll call if there are any changes.”