Hell—it was pretty farfetched, and he knew it. But compared to the truth, it was downright believable. Besides, there was no way for anyone to prove it wasn’t true.
Clive Matthews’s chins quivered indignantly. “How dare you accuse Mr. Callahan of involvement in this atrocity? He’s been a fine upstanding member of our community, and he has worked hard to bring new jobs and prosperity into this area.” He looked around, as if expecting Peter to appear over his shoulder in his usual spot, but the businessman was conspicuously missing.
“Actually, he is a greedy bastard and a child stealer,” a new voice said clearly, ringing out over the hum and buzz of the crowded room. Penelope Callahan stepped forward, her hands resting protectively on Petey’s small shoulders. The purpling bruise on her cheekbone made a livid contrast to her otherwise neat appearance.
“When he knew his plans had been discovered,” she told her avid listeners, “he took our own son to sell too. And when I tried to stop him, he beat me up.” She pointed at the undeniable evidence. “The man is a criminal, and I want him arrested for assault, if nothing else.”
Liam held his breath, waiting to hear someone say that Callahan was in the hospital, accusing his wife of running him down with the family car, but apparently, he hadn’t been seriously hurt. Too bad.
“Oh, ah, oh dear,” Matthews stuttered. Molly walked up and handed Penelope some paperwork to fill out, and turned to the board president, saying artlessly, “I assume this means you’ll be reinstating Sheriff McClellan immediately, and giving him some kind of award, right? He’s the town hero now.”
Liam thought Matthews was going to choke on his own tongue, but the man managed to nod, his complexion an alarming ripe-tomato red, and say, “Yes, yes of course.” Then Matthews pulled himself together and added, “That is, if the matter of the very serious charges against him are cleared up. There’s still that, you know.”
But his relief was short-lived as Fake Melissa stepped forward and confessed to making up the entire thing after Maya blackmailed her. She apologized so abjectly, it made it easy for Liam to insist that he wouldn’t be pressing charges. Once that was dealt with, he had Molly take Fake Melissa back to his office to wait for him. A few signatures on a stack of papers, and he would be free. Although free for what, he wasn’t sure.
Belinda and her parents came over to talk to him and Baba, Mary Elizabeth holding tight to her mother’s hand. The girl still seemed a bit foggy, and remembered only hazy nightmarish images between the time Maya had snatched her from her backyard until she had seen the sheriff across a strange room, but Liam thought that was just as well. Children were resilient, and Mary Elizabeth had the best medicine of all to heal her, the loving arms of her family. Mariska and Ivan beamed from ear to ear, their smiles so wide it was as though the sun had come out after months of only clouds and rain.
He watched Belinda hug Baba, who seemed taken aback for a moment, but also warily pleased. But then, he reminded himself, her life probably hadn’t included many hugs up until now.
“Thank you so much for everything you’ve done,” Belinda said, tears of joy sliding down her cheeks. She looked down, noticing the quiet little girl standing by Baba’s side, drinking in all the unaccustomed chaos and humanity with wide brown eyes. “Well, hello! Who’s this?”
Belinda looked at Liam, baffled. “Was there another missing child we didn’t know about?” She glanced around the room, as if looking for another set of exultant parents.
Baba nodded. “Yes and no. This is my daughter, Babs. Maya stole her before she came to this area. I followed Maya here trying to find out what she’d done with Babs, and that’s how I got involved with this whole thing.”
Belinda’s mouth formed a stunned “Oh, my.” She struggled to keep a straight face. “How interesting.”
“And once she realized I was here, Maya kept trying to get me in trouble, tampering with my herbs and spreading nasty rumors about me, to keep me from discovering where she was keeping Babs and all the other children. She must have seen Peter Callahan and his connections as a way to make an even bigger profit on the children she stole.”
Mariska shook her white head, smiling indulgently. “So that’s your story and you’re sticking with it, eh?” Belinda grinned, obviously pleased with the neat fairy-tale ending.
“Well, we’re very glad you came to town, no matter what brought you here,” Ivan said, patting Baba’s arm fondly, and beaming down at the little dark-haired girl.
Belinda suddenly looked alarmed. “Oh, dear. I never did the last impossible task! Is that going to cause a problem?”