Trumped Up Charges

Chapter Two



“When did you first realize your daughters were missing?”

“When I woke up and went into their room.” Hadley stared at Detective Shelton Lane, trying her best to concentrate and cooperate. But his questions were redundant and tearing at her slivered control.

“I’ve explained this at least three times this morning to three different police officers. Don’t you talk to each other?”

“I’m sorry to put you through this, but I was just assigned to the case, Ms. O’Sullivan. I like to get my answers firsthand.”

“So you just sit here and ask me the same questions over and over instead of looking for my girls?”

“We’ve issued an AMBER Alert. Every officer on the street has your daughters’ picture. I have officers going house to house in this neighborhood talking to everyone who might have seen something.”

“I just want my girls back.” Tears welled in her eyes. She dabbed at them with the shredded tissue clutched in her hand.

Detective Lane granted her a few seconds to gain control before he hit her with the next question. “Were you home all evening?”

“The girls went with me when I drove Mother to the hospital. We stayed until she was settled in her room. It was just after five when we got home. We didn’t leave again after that.”

“And no one else was here with you?”

“No one. I made the girls dinner and then we went outside so they could get a little exercise before baths and bedtime.”

Hadley stood and walked to the window, looking out over the front walk where Lacy and Lila had ridden their trikes last night. They’d been so cute. So happy. So innocent.

Had someone been watching even then and planning the abduction? The front door had been unlocked while they were outside, but she’d been right there. She’d surely have seen if anyone had entered the house.

She turned away from the window. “This is supposed to be a safe neighborhood. There are guards at the gate. I don’t see how this could have happened.”

“I’m having trouble figuring that out myself.” The detective shifted in his seat. “You say you didn’t hear anything during the night.”

“Nothing. And it’s not as if I slept that well. I was worried.”

“About the girls?”

“About my mother. I told you, she’s in surgery right now, having a malignant stomach tumor removed. I was supposed to be with her. Now...” Now she was in a nightmare.

“Did you check on them during the night?”

“Once.”

“What time was that?”

“It was a few minutes after one. Eleven after, to be exact. I remember looking at the clock when I woke up. They were both sleeping soundly. I picked up the almost full glass of water Lila had asked for when I was reading them a bedtime story last night and carried the glass to the kitchen.”

“What did you do with the glass?”

“It’s probably still on the counter. What difference does it make?”

“I’m just trying to get a complete picture in my mind. So you put Lila’s glass on the table, went back to bed and then you didn’t go back to their bedroom until this morning?”

“Right.”

“Did you go to check on them as soon as you woke?”

“I went to the bathroom first, but then I went to get them up.”

“When you didn’t find them there, what did you do?”

“I called for them and searched the house.” Hadley dropped to a chair and tried to get a handle on the sickening fear that was churning inside her.

“How long did you look for them before you called 911?”

“I’m not sure. I think it was only fifteen minutes or so. By that time I was shaking so hard that I couldn’t punch in the numbers. Matilda took the phone and did it for me.”

“I thought you said you were alone.”

“I was. Matilda arrived while I was searching for the girls. She helped and even searched the garage and the yard.”

“And Matilda is your mother’s housekeeper?”

So he had talked to the other officers. “Yes. Matilda Bastion. She’s worked for Mother for years. She’s practically part of the family.”

“Where is Matilda now?”

“At the hospital. When I couldn’t leave, she went to be with Mother.”

Thoughts of her mother attacked anew Hadley’s fragile hold on control. Janice was still in surgery, but unless they found the girls quickly, she’d have to be told about the abduction. As if cancer wasn’t enough to deal with.

“Who was going to watch your daughters while you were at the hospital this morning?”

“Matilda. They were excited about staying with her. She’s so good with them.”

“Does Matilda have a key to the house?”

Hadley nodded, but even in her fractured emotional state she could see where this was going. “Matilda had nothing to do with the abduction.”

“I’m just making sure we have the facts straight.”

Hadley checked her watch for the hundredth time that morning. It was five before twelve. Lunchtime for the girls. Were they hungry? Were they crying for her? Were they safe?

A new wave of anxiety coursed through her veins. “What kind of monster would take two little girls from their beds in the middle of the night?”

“I don’t know, but I can assure you that we’re doing everything in our power to find out.”

The doorbell rang. The jarring noise splintered Hadley’s rattled nerves. She hesitated for a heartbeat and then jumped up and ran to the door, praying it was a police officer bringing Lacy and Lila home.

She swung open the door and stared into the face of the last person she’d expected to see. Her muscles clenched. Resentment and old hurts attacked with dizzying force. Her hand clutched the door, ready to slam it in his face.

“Hadley.”

The sound of her name on his lips reached deep inside her, striking chords she didn’t want to acknowledge.

He opened his arms and her traitorous, angst-stricken body fell into the only port in this terrifying storm.

* * *

HADLEY’S HOT TEARS fell on Adam’s neck and rolled beneath the collar of his shirt. His reaction hit hard and fast, his senses reeling from the fragrance of her hair, the softness of her skin.

Damn. How could he think of that now? He was here to help. Start getting caught up in the good, the bad and the ugly of the past and that would be impossible.

A man about his age in navy blue slacks and a white sports shirt stepped into view behind Hadley. The girls’ father, no doubt, the man who’d swept Hadley off her feet and helped her move on in record time.

The one whose neck should be catching her tears.

Adam disentangled himself from Hadley quickly and extended a hand to the man.

“Adam Dalton. Hadley and I go way back. I heard about the abduction and came to see if I could do anything to help.”

“This is Detective Shelton Lane,” Hadley said.

So he wasn’t the husband. Still his handshake was far from friendly and his gaze and stance were clearly meant to be intimidating. Adam wasn’t fazed. It was hard to bully a former marine.

“How did you hear about the abduction?” Lane asked.

“It made the news.”

“No names were given in the AMBER release.”

“Police leak,” Adam quipped honestly. “You know how fast those travel.”

The detective scowled.

“I’m not here to interfere in the search,” Adam assured him. “I’m just here to offer my support. Do you have a problem with that?”

“I don’t, but it’s not my house.”

Adam turned back to Hadley. “I’d like to help if I can, but say the word and I’m out of here.”

“You’re here. You may as well stay. Maybe you can come up with something we haven’t.”

He doubted it. He knew about raiding terrorist hideouts and sneaking past enemy lines on craggy mountainsides. He knew nothing of tracking down a kidnapper of innocent children.

But then he did have a reputation for being a whiz at eking out danger.

Hadley led them to a small sitting room off the foyer.

“I’ll make some coffee,” she said.

The detective brushed her offer aside. “Can that wait? I only have a few more questions.”

“What good does it do to keep going over and over the same information? There’s nothing more I can tell you. If I had any idea who took Lacy and Lila, I’d have screamed his name the second you walked in or gone after the monster myself.”

Lane spread his hands in front of him, palms up. “I understand your frustration, Ms. O’Sullivan. But try to bear with me a few more minutes.”

The detective had referred to her by her maiden name. Odd, since she was married. But then the detective’s focus was surely on more important matters than getting her name straight.

“Any problem with my listening in?” Adam asked.

“That’s up to Ms. O’Sullivan.”

“Stay,” Hadley said. “Then you won’t have to ask the same questions when the detective leaves.” She dropped into an upholstered chair by the window and took a tissue from the box on the table.

The detective took a chair near Hadley’s. That left the sofa for Adam. Before they could get started, the detective’s phone rang.

“I need to take this in private,” he said, “but I’ll only be a minute.” He hurried out of the room.

“I hate to ask, but can you bring me up to speed?” Adam asked. “Just the basics for now.”

“All I know are the basics.” The terror was not only etched in her eyes but echoed in every syllable.

“The twins and I stayed here alone last night because Mother had to check in the hospital yesterday afternoon. She’s in surgery now, having a malignant tumor removed from her stomach. When I woke up this morning, the girls weren’t in their bedrooms. We searched the house frantically, calling for them, but they weren’t here.”

“You said we,” Adam noted. “Who was with you?”

“Matilda Bastion, Mother’s housekeeper. She got here just after I realized the girls weren’t in their room. Someone broke into the house and carried them off, Adam. I should have heard them. I should have saved....” She choked on the self-incrimination, swallowing the end of her lament.

“Except, technically there’s no sign of a break-in,” Lane said as he reentered the room.

“What exactly does that mean?” Adam questioned.

“According to Ms. O’Sullivan, the doors and windows were still locked this morning. The alarm system wasn’t set, and it didn’t go off during the night.”

“I don’t remember setting it last night,” Hadley said. “I had so much on my mind.”

“But the abductor would have expected it to go off, unless he had the code to disarm it before it did.”

“Or the technical ability to disarm it from the outside,” Adam said.

“That’s possible,” Lane admitted. “But the evidence still suggests that whoever took Lacy and Lila either had a key or was let in and out by someone on the inside.”

“No one let him in,” Hadley said. “I was the only one here.”

“Which leaves us with an abductor with a key to the house.”

That added a multitude of new layers of complexity to the situation, Adam decided. On the positive side, it narrowed the field of suspects. They just had to figure out who had a key to the house and the means, opportunity, motive and perhaps a rap sheet.

Other than the arrest records, the information would have to come from Janice O’Sullivan. He was certain Hadley would hate dragging her mother into this so soon after surgery, but she’d have no other options—unless they found the girls first.

Adam listened as the detective went back to his questions for Hadley. Most dealt with her search for the girls and anything unusual she or Matilda had noticed. A few dealt with Hadley’s personal relationships and whether anyone had stalked or threatened her.

There was no mention of Hadley’s husband. His whereabouts and their relationship had likely been covered before Adam arrived on the scene.

This time it was a call on Hadley’s cell phone that interrupted the conversation. She yanked it from her pocket and checked the caller ID. Disappointment furrowed deep grooves into her forehead. Clearly this was not the kidnapper.

“It’s Matilda, calling from the hospital,” she said.

“Answer it,” the detective said, “but don’t stay on the line long. We don’t want to miss a call from the kidnapper.”

Hadley talked for only a few seconds, but Adam could tell from her side of the conversation that the call wasn’t good news. He didn’t get a chance to ask before she lit into the detective.

“Matilda was in tears,” Hadley said. “A cop just left there and he treated her as if she was involved in the girls’ disappearance.”

“I’m sure he didn’t accuse her of any criminal involvement.”

“Perhaps not directly, but he definitely insinuated it.”

“Everyone who has a key to this house is a person of interest, Ms. O’Sullivan. Everyone.”

“That’s ridiculous. Matilda has babysat the girls since they were only a few months old. She’d never hurt them. She loves them.”

“I hope you’re right, but I can’t afford that kind of trust in this case and frankly, neither can you.”

Adam agreed, though he didn’t comment.

“That’s enough questions for now,” Lane said. “I need to check on a few things with headquarters. Why don’t you and Adam go have that coffee?”

“What if my phone rings and I don’t know the caller?”

“Don’t answer it without finding me first so I can listen in. I’ll be in my car.”

She nodded her agreement.

Lane stood and left the room, leaving Adam and Hadley alone. Awkward tension swelled, almost as tangible a presence as the detective had been.

Adam struggled to think of the right thing to say and do. He’d take action over dealing with emotions any day.

Finally, Hadley broke the stalemate. She squared her shoulders and turned to face him. “I didn’t expect to ever see you again.”

“I kind of figured the same.”

“So why did you come?”

Good question, and he wasn’t even sure he knew the real answer. “I knew you’d be devastated and desperate,” he said, settling on an obvious truth. “I’d really like to help if I can, but if my being here makes it worse, I’ll leave.”

Hadley stared at the floor for long seconds, her arms hugged tightly about her chest, before she finally looked up and met his gaze. “I’m not sure what I want, Adam. I’m not sure of anything right now.”

“It’s still your call.”

“Let’s discuss it over coffee.”

It wasn’t the warmest welcome he’d ever received, but he could work with it. There was no time to waste. Every second the girls were missing made it less likely they’d be found alive. Hadley wasn’t stupid. Deep down, she had to know that as well.

The clock was ticking. The cops had their way of doing things. Adam had his, honed through his years of active duty when he’d learned not to trust anyone except his fellow marines and to always have a plan of action.

And right now, he had no plan.

* * *

HADLEY WATCHED AS ADAM picked up a framed photo in the room the girls had shared last night.

“This has to be the twins,” he commented.

A knot formed in her throat as she nodded.

“Which is which?”

“The one on the right holding her doll by the hair is Lila.”

“I don’t see how you tell them apart.”

“Some people can’t, but it’s easy for me. There are lots of subtle differences. Lila’s hair is curlier and her cheeks are fuller. And she carries that wiry-headed doll everywhere she goes. Lacy has a scar just below her right ear where she fell on a rock while chasing a squirrel when she was first learning to walk. She’s the daring one. And her eyes are the most remarkable shade of blue-green I’ve ever seen.”

“Like yours. Both girls definitely take after you.”

“That’s what everyone says.”

And yet she saw their father whenever she looked at them. In any other situation she would have never let Adam back into her life. But the thought of being in this house alone when the detective left was unbearable.

Even with Adam beside her, just being in this room was difficult. Her insides were in such upheaval, she could barely function. Adam, on the other hand, seemed totally focused. As soon as she’d started the coffee, he’d asked to see this room.

He’d examined the window from top to bottom first and then stared at each bed as if he thought it would cough up images of what had occurred here last night.

He returned the picture to the shelf and stooped to get a closer look at a stain on the carpet.

“Was this here before?”

“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “Why?”

“I noticed a similar one on the hall carpet. Seems kind of odd since the rest of the carpet is spotless.”

“Mother is fastidious. She usually has the carpet cleaned professionally as soon as we leave. Not that she doesn’t love having us here, dirt and all.”

Adam continued to study the stain. “This doesn’t look like dirt.”

“What do you think it is?”

“Could be oil that someone smeared in an attempt for a fast cleanup.”

“That looks too dark to be oil and I know no one’s been cooking in here.”

“Haven’t been working on cars, either, I’d guess, though this looks like the kind of stain you’d find on a garage floor.”

“Do you think the stain was left by the abductor?”

“Could be.”

“Hard to believe he was brazen enough to stick around long enough to clean up a stain from his shoes.”

“Only if he thought it would incriminate him,” Adam agreed.

“More likely the cops or CSI guys checking for fingerprints tracked it in,” Hadley said.

“Hopefully they found lots of usable prints,” Adam said, changing the subject. “If they did, they could have the kidnapper in custody and the girls safely in hand before the sun goes down.”

Hadley didn’t know if Adam actually believed that or was only trying to calm her. She believed it. She had to. It was all she had to hold on to.

“I’m sure the coffee is ready,” she said.

“Go ahead and get yours. I’ll join you in a few minutes. I’d like to look around outside first.”

Hadley led the way. As it turned out there was not one, but two more stains similar to the one in the bedroom. They didn’t look like fresh stains to Hadley, but as Adam pointed out, that could be the result of someone trying to hastily remove them and failing at the task. She’d talk to Detective Lane and ask if he’d tested the stains.

The kitchen door opened onto a covered deck. When they reached it, Hadley turned the dead bolt and then the key.

Adam took a second look at the dead bolt. “Is there any way the girls could have unlocked the door themselves and wandered outside?”

“No, though they’re smart and adventurous enough to try it, especially Lacy. When they’re here we keep the doors locked and the keys out of reach. We keep this key in the salt keeper.” Hadley pointed to the antique container resting on an open display shelf near the door.

“Good plan. And the key was still there this morning when the girls went missing?”

“All the keys were out of reach and all the doors were still locked, as were all the windows. That’s why I was so certain they must be hiding in the house.”

“How many doors are there?”

“Three. One opens to the garage through the laundry room. The abductor definitely didn’t come in that way. I know I would have woken had the garage door opened.”

“Did the house show signs of being burglarized?”

“No. Nothing was out of place, not even in the room where the Lacy and Lila were sleeping. But I should have heard something.”

“Unless he drugged them while they were sleeping so that they wouldn’t wake up?” Adam said.

Her precious daughters drugged and stolen away from her. She shuddered as icy fingers tightened around her heart.

Adam put a hand on her shoulder.

His touch was no doubt meant to calm her, but it had the opposite effect. She blinked hard, trying to stop the tears that burned in the corners of her eyes from escaping and starting an avalanche she wouldn’t be able to stop.

She lingered near the back door as Adam stepped onto the spacious, covered deck. For the first time since he’d arrived, she took a good look at him.

He’d changed in three years. He was leaner than before with an edge of hardness to the angles and planes of his face that made him look every one of his thirty-one years. That took nothing away from his rugged good looks.

But he was far more than outward appearance. He was his own man, a hero who’d won medals for his courage under fire. He never walked away from danger or risk.

But he was only a man. She turned and walked away, before she started expecting too much.

She filled a mug with strong, black coffee and rummaged the drawer next to the sink for a pad and pencil. Dropping them onto the island, she slid onto a kitchen barstool.

After a few sips of coffee, she jotted down a title for her list.

People Who Had Keys to the House.

Hadley couldn’t make a definitive list before her mother recovered from the anesthetics and could think clearly, but she could have some prospects ready that might jar her mother’s memory.

The first name she wrote was Matilda Bastion. She had a key, but she would never do anything to hurt Lila or Lacy.

Neighbors made the number-two spot. Hadley couldn’t possibly list all of them by name, but her very social mother knew everyone on the block and might have given any one of them a key to check on the house when she was away.

The third spot fell to Ally Fritz. Ally was a decorator who’d overseen the kitchen remodeling last year and kept a close eye on the construction workers. There was a good chance she’d been given a key. She was trustworthy, but the key might have been left lying around her shop.

And who knew how many unnamed others Hadley might have never met? Her mother had frequent guests and often hired caterers for her social functions.

Someone with a key who knew Hadley and the girls were spending the night last night. Someone who was in desperate need of money.

She had to believe the abduction was about collecting a ransom. Any other motive was too frightening to bear.

But why didn’t the kidnapper call?

A coughing noise startled her. She looked up, expecting Adam but seeing the detective instead.

“The wiretap is in place,” Lane said, “just as we talked about. If the kidnapper calls, I’ll get it simultaneously. Agree to anything, but demand to talk to both Lacy and Lila. Stay as calm as you can and keep him on the phone as long as you can. Once he breaks the connection, I’ll get in touch with you immediately.”

“Are both my cell phone and the house phone tapped?”

“Yes, but I took the liberty of having the house calls forwarded to your cell phone so that you won’t miss a call when you’re at the hospital.”

“Thanks. I was going to ask you about that.”

“I assume you’ll be leaving for the hospital soon.”

“Within the next fifteen minutes. I hate to leave here, yet I need to be there when Mother comes out of recovery. I can’t take a chance on someone else telling her about the kidnapping.”

“You do realize that I’ll have to question her as soon as the doctor agrees to it.”

“Can’t you just give me the questions you have and let me ask her? Talking to the police is only going to upset her more.”

“I’m sorry. Investigations don’t work that way.”

“They work however you say they work.”

“Is there a problem in here?” This time the voice was Adam’s.

“I don’t have one,” Lane said, his stare leveled at Hadley.

“I’ll do my best not to upset your mother, Ms. O’Sullivan, but right now she’s our best hope for identifying the kidnapper quickly.”

“I understand.”

Only she didn’t. She didn’t understand any of this. She should be at the hospital with her mother. Lacy and Lila should be here with Matilda, playing with their toys or watching one of their favorite animated movies.

This nightmare should not be happening.

Lane let himself out and Adam helped himself to coffee. “Did Lane say something to upset you?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Your eyes were shooting daggers at him when I interrupted your conversation.”

“I don’t like his attitude at times. I want to believe he’s doing everything he can to find Lacy and Lila, but he talks of rules and procedures. My girls’ lives are at stake and he can’t give an inch.”

Adam walked over and sidled onto the stool next to hers. “I’m sure he’s aware of what you’re going through. I’ll wager the whole department is using every weapon in their arsenal to find Lacy and Lila. Missing kids are always top priority for the police.”

“So you think I’m being unreasonable?”

“Actually, I think you’re doing an amazing job of handling this.”

“Well, you’re wrong. I’m crazy inside. I want to scream and kick and beat my fists against the wall.”

“Go ahead if it helps. You can even use me for a punching bag.”

“Careful what you offer.”

“I always am.”

And she’d never been careful enough. She downed the last few sips of her coffee and then slid the mug away. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing. I’m going to the hospital.”

“Do you want company?”

She wanted to shout no. She didn’t want to need him. The refusal wouldn’t come.

“It’s up to you,” she said.

“Then I’d like to tag along, but I have one question first.”

“I’m sick of being interrogated. All I’ve done all morning is answer the same questions over and over as if they expect my answers to change.”

“I need to ask anyway.”

“Then get it over with.”

“Where is the twins’ father?”