“This van. What does it look like, and where does he keep it?”
“In the shed at the back of the campus. It’s dark green.”
Larry’s eyebrows rose. “Can you take us to the warehouse?”
“No. I don’t know where it is. It was always dark, and I was always in the back of the van. Sometimes there was a truck there, loading up. I don’t know where they took all the stuff. Somewhere to sell it, I guess.”
“There are a lot more people than Bill and the kids involved,” Beth said. “I don’t know who they are, but there are others.”
“All right,” Larry said. “We need to take Jimmy down to the station to make another statement, and we’ll send someone in here to get Beth’s. We’ll also post a guard here for protection.”
“I’m going with Jimmy,” Lynda told Beth. “I’ll be back as soon as they’re finished with him.”
“Nick, we need everything you’ve already compiled about the home,” Tony said. “We’re going to throw the book at this guy, and make sure no one drops the ball. We also need you to be there for Jimmy’s statement. As long as a representative of HRS is with us, we won’t have to get any other bureaucrats involved.”
“All right.” Nick’s voice was distant, and he seemed distracted, preoccupied, as he looked down at Beth. “I’ll be back as soon as I get them what they need, okay?”
“Yeah,” she said, touching his face. “Just one thing.”
“What?”
“Are you disappointed in me?”
“Why would I be disappointed?” he asked.
“Because I lied about my interest in the case. And you didn’t know that I was raised breaking into people’s homes. You thought I was a normal, healthy woman.”
“Hush,” he said, stroking her hair back from her face. “Enough of that. You are a normal, healthy woman. And you’re courageous. You could have let it all go. But you cared enough about those kids to tell the truth.”
“Took me long enough.”
He leaned over and kissed her forehead, but she could still see the troubled expression in his eyes. “I’ll be back.”
When the room had cleared out, Beth lay on her back, staring at the ceiling and wondering what would happen next. Wouldn’t there be consequences? Wouldn’t the media ask when she’d been old enough to know right from wrong, and to do something about it? Why she hadn’t turned Bill in years ago? Maybe the media wouldn’t ask—but she still had those questions. She pictured that little boy, Keith, who’d broken his leg and suffered for two days. The plate-glass-window incident could have been the last time, if she had found some way to turn Bill in then. Then Keith wouldn’t have had to suffer. But no, she’d kept her mouth shut, and gone along, and even after she was out, she’d been so grateful and relieved to be away from Bill Brandon that she hadn’t thought much about the kids she’d left behind. Jimmy had come only shortly after she’d left. Because of her silence, he’d suffered.
Now she wondered what her own personal consequences would be. While Nick was too kind to condemn her, did this revelation change the way he felt about her? It wasn’t as if she was looking toward marriage, but the thought that Nick might reject her because of this filled her with despair. What if Nick, who dealt with troubled pasts and presents all day every day, decided that he didn’t need all her baggage—that she just wasn’t the one for him?
She wouldn’t blame him at all if he did.
CHAPTER FORTY
Jake was in the Police Department waiting room when Jimmy, Nick, and Lynda came out of the interrogation room. Jimmy had just spent two hours answering questions, and he looked worn out.
Jake stood up as they approached. “How’d it go?”
“Okay, I guess,” Jimmy said. “I think I told them what they wanted.”
“All they wanted was the truth.”
“Well, that’s what I gave them.” He looked up at Nick. “What now?”
“Nothing yet. We just have to keep you safe until we get Brandon off the streets and start moving the kids from the home. I’ll spend the rest of the day trying to line up places to relocate them.”
“You’ll keep me and Lisa together, won’t you?”
“Of course. I’ll move heaven and earth to do that, Jimmy.”
“Hey, Nick,” Jake cut in. “Since you’ll be so busy, and Lynda needs to go to the office, how about letting Jimmy spend the afternoon with me? I have some errands to run, and he can help me.”
Nick looked down at the kid. “Want to, Jimmy?”
“Sure,” he said. “It’s better than nothing.”
Jake chuckled at the under-enthusiastic response. He kissed Lynda good-bye and ushered him out to his car.
“So where are we going?” Jimmy asked.
“Someplace really important,” he said. “Remember I told you I was going to try to get my medical release so I could get my pilot’s license back?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, it’s this afternoon. I thought you might like to come with me.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, okay.”
“You can’t go into the examination room, but you can wait outside, and if they turn me down, you can help carry me out to the car. I’ll be too depressed to walk.”
“Nervous?” Jimmy asked.
“Were you nervous in there with the cops?”
Jimmy nodded.
“That’s about how nervous I am,” Jake said. “I have a lot riding on this. I have a flying job lined up that I really want. But no license, no job.”
“And you won’t ask Lynda to marry you?”
He thought that one over for a moment. “I’m not sure, Jimmy. All I know is that I want to get back on my own two feet before I ask her.”
“They’ll give you your license back. Why wouldn’t they?”
“Well, one of their concerns is my reflexes. Whether my legs have healed enough to react as they should. I think I’ve got that one in the bag. But the eye thing . . . Sometimes they’ll overlook a false eye, if the pilot can convince them that his vision is fine anyway, that he can compensate with the other eye. But it all depends. Sometimes they decide it’s just too risky, and they ground you for life.”
Jimmy just looked up at him. “I hope you get it, Jake.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Jimmy sat by the window in the Federal Aviation Administration offices, staring down at the parking lot just in case Bill managed to find him and come after him here. If Bill only knew what he’d told the police, he’d kill him for sure. And if he couldn’t kill Jimmy, he’d kill Lisa.
The door opened, startling him, and Jake came out, his face solemn and pale. Jimmy got to his feet. “They turned you down?”
A slow grin stole across Jake’s lips. “No! They gave me my license back!”
“All right!” Jimmy said, jumping up and slapping Jake’s hand. They both danced a little jig, and then Jake pulled him into a tight hug and almost knocked him over. “I’m glad you were here to share this moment with me, buddy. I don’t think I could have done it if I hadn’t known you were out here for moral support.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You did plenty. You were here!”
Jake practically floated back out to his car, alternately walking fast, then punching the air, then dancing again.
“Wait till you tell Lynda,” Jimmy said.
Jake shook his head as he got into the car. “No way. I still don’t want her to know. I want to spring the whole thing on her when I ask her to marry me.”
“So when will that be?”
“Soon, my boy. Very soon. Let’s just hope she says yes.”
“She’d be stupid not to.”
Jake laughed. “You’re a good friend, pal-o-mine. And just as a reward, I think I’ll take you for my first post-crash flight without another licensed pilot tagging along. Are you up for it?”
“Yes!” Jimmy said. “Let’s go.”
At the airport, Mike, the owner, celebrated with Jake over
the return of his license, and offered him free use of a rental plane for the afternoon. Jake took Jimmy up, and they flew out over the Gulf, where Jimmy had a bird’s-eye view of St. Clair.
The familiar serenity washed over Jake, calming his spirit and making him feel close to Jimmy. “Isn’t this beautiful?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Jimmy said. “When I grow up, I want to be a pilot.”
“I’ll teach you myself,” he said. “The job I’m hoping for is as a flight instructor. I’ll do that part-time, and fly for several ministries around this area on the side. But I’m sure I could make time to teach a bright kid like you how to fly.”
“It depends,” Jimmy said. “I don’t really know where I’ll be. I may not even be in St. Clair anymore.”
How pressing this worry must be for Jimmy, Jake realized. The low hum of the engine accompanied the thoughts going through both their minds.
“Tell me something,” Jake said quietly. “Tell me about your parents.”
“They’re dead,” Jimmy said quickly.
Jake knew that wasn’t true, but he wasn’t sure that Jimmy knew it. “Do you remember them?”
He shrugged and looked out the window. “My dad was a spy who was killed in France during the war,” he said. That was impossible, Jake knew, but it didn’t matter—it was a fantasy he could identify with. He’d never known his father either, and had made up similar stories.
“I didn’t have a dad,” Jake said. “Never knew him.” Jimmy didn’t change his answer, so Jake pressed on. “What about your mom?”
Jimmy took a little longer to answer that. “She died almost three years ago. That’s why they put us in the home.”
“What did she die of?” Jake asked.
“Cancer,” Jimmy said. “She had cancer.”
“I’m sorry, Jimmy. What kind of cancer?”
Jimmy thought for a moment. “Prostate cancer, I think it was.”
Jake’s eyebrows shot up. “Prostate cancer, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh.” He almost smiled. “That’s rare in women.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you remember much about her?”
“Sure. She was the greatest mom in the world. She made our lunches, and cooked these great suppers, and we’d all sit at the table and talk about our days. And we always had plenty to eat and warm beds to sleep in and clean clothes . . . and she loved us.”
Tears came to Jake’s eyes. The memories were sweet, yet the boy thought his mother was dead. What if he found out that she was alive? What if they reintroduced him to her?
He looked at the boy, and saw the solemn, dreamy look that had passed over his face. “Do you ever miss her?”
Jimmy swallowed and shrugged. He couldn’t seem to answer, so he only nodded. “Lisa misses her most,” he said. “She can’t remember her too good. I tell her stories about her. Good stories, about all the things she used to do.”
Jake had heard enough from Nick to know that none of those stories were true. But maybe they could be, if they reintroduced the boy to his mother . . .
The thought wouldn’t leave his mind, and after they landed, he left Jimmy alone and made a couple of phone calls—to Lynda first, and then to Nick.
Jake didn’t mention his phone calls to Jimmy when they got back into the car. Instead, he told him that they were going to the hospital to check on Beth, and that Nick would meet them there. But as he drove, he prayed silently that he was doing the right thing.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Tracy had been moved out of ICU, Jake learned when he got to the hospital and found Nick waiting for him. Nick spoke to Jimmy, then stepped aside with Jake. “Look, if he gets upset or anything . . .”
“He’s out of there. No problem.”
“All right.”
They went back to where Jimmy waited, and Nick leaned down to Jimmy. “Jimmy, before we go see Beth, while you’re here at the hospital, I think there’s somebody here you might like to see.”
His eyes widened. “Lisa?”
“No, not Lisa. Someone else. A patient who’s in here with pneumonia. I found her real sick the other day and brought her here.”
Jimmy hesitated. “I’m not too good with sick people.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to do anything. You don’t even have to say anything.”
“Then why am I going?”
The elevator doors opened, and Nick led him on. “You’ll see. Just wait.”
Jake was quiet as he followed Nick and Jimmy off the elevator.
They reached the open door, and Nick peered in. It was a semiprivate room, but the other bed was unoccupied. Tracy lay in bed, IVs still attached to her and an oxygen mask over her face.
Jake touched the back of Jimmy’s neck, and followed Nick in. As they came closer to the bed, Nick leaned over her. “Hi,” he said. “How’re you feeling?”
“Okay,” she said weakly.
He looked back at Jimmy, who stood awkwardly back. “Recognize her?”
Jimmy shook his head. “No. Do I know her?”
Nick shot a concerned look at Jake. “I have someone here I wanted you to see, Tracy,” he said.
Jimmy froze at the name. “No. Not her.” His mouth tightened, tears sprang to his eyes, and he began to back out of the room. “I don’t want to see her.”
Tracy rose up slightly and saw her son. “Jimmy?”
“No!” he shouted, and the nurse came running. Jake grabbed him, but he shook free and fled from the room. Jake followed him out.
“Jimmy, wait!”
The boy ran to the elevators and began punching the down button, waiting for one to open. His face was crimson and covered with tears, and he turned his face away so Jake couldn’t see. Jake squatted in front of him and held him by the shoulders. “Son, you don’t have to go back in there. It was a bad idea, okay? We didn’t know it would upset you. We thought you’d be happy. Will you forgive us?”
“So you proved I lied. You coulda just told me you knew!”
“I didn’t know you lied, Jimmy. I thought you might really think she was dead.”
“I know what you’re all up to. You’re gonna take Lisa out of the home and give us back to her. And it’ll be even worse than it was at the home.” His voice broke off, and he bent over, weeping, and covered his face with both hands. “I should have known.”
“Jimmy, nobody’s giving you or Lisa back to your mom.”
“Lisa’s better off where she is than with that sorry excuse for a mother in there!” Jimmy raged. “At least she has a chance where she is. I can take care of my sister better than she can. I was the one who did it, anyway, when we lived with her.”
“Jimmy, you’ve got to trust us.”
Jimmy’s eyes flashed. “I don’t believe anything you say. You’re all a bunch of liars! You don’t care who gets stuck with who, or what things are like there.”
“Jimmy, listen to me, please—”
“I’m not listening anymore,” he said. “Just let me go, and I’ll handle things myself.”
The elevator doors came open, and Jake grabbed Jimmy’s shoulder and followed him on. What a terrible move, he thought. What a mistake.
“Look, son, you don’t have to talk to me, but you do have to come with me. And you can just listen, okay?”
Jimmy didn’t answer.
“We’ll go for a ride. Maybe out to the beach.”
Jimmy didn’t respond.
The doors opened on the first floor, and Jimmy darted off.
Jake caught up to him and grabbed his shoulder. “This way, little buddy,” he said, and directed him to his car.
Back in Tracy’s room, Nick tried to apologize to her, but the sight of her son had shaken her. She was crying and gasping for breath, and he wanted to kick himself for making such a stupid error in judgment.
“I’m sorry, Tracy,” he said. “I thought—I don’t know what I thought. That it would help Jimmy to see you, I guess. To know that he still has a
mother. That he’s not all alone in the world.”
“I’m not his mother,” she wheezed. “The state took him away. He hates me, and I don’t blame him, ’cause I hate myself.”
“Don’t say that, Tracy,” Nick told her. “How can you hate someone God loves?”
“God doesn’t love me,” she said. “Why would he love me?”
“Because he created you.”
“Yeah, and then I destroyed myself.”
“Not yet. It’s not too late to turn around, Tracy. It’s not too late to make your kids love you again, either.”
She turned her head to the side and wiped at her eyes. “You don’t even know what you’re talking about,” she said. “Just leave me alone.”
Nick started to protest, then thought better of it. “All right,” he said quietly. “Listen—if you decide you want to talk in the next hour or so, call me up in Beth Wright’s room.”
She didn’t answer, and he felt a deep self-loathing. He shouldn’t have tried it. So stupid. Defeated, he walked out of the room.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Tony didn’t even bother to sit down when they returned to Judge Wyatt’s office. All he wanted was to snatch the warrant and run as fast as he could to SCCH so he could arrest Bill Brandon. “The evidence is overwhelming and conclusive, your honor,” he told Judge Wyatt. “We have an adult who was raised in the home who has given us a statement. We have a child who’s been participating in Brandon’s crime ring recently. We have the murder of Bill Brandon’s sister, and we have two attempts on Beth Wright’s life—including a package bomb that almost killed her, and we have the arson at the newspaper the night before the article exposing Brandon would have come out.”
Judge Wyatt adjusted his glasses and looked over the charges, a deep wrinkle clefting his forehead. He seemed to study it too hard, as if it required much thought, and Larry, who was sitting, shot Tony a disturbed look.
The judge started to get up, almost distractedly, as if he’d forgotten they were in the room. “I’ll spend some time looking over these charges tonight,” he muttered. “I’ll take all of it under advisement and get back to you tomorrow.”