Cain went down first the next morning and carried the baby with her so Emma could sleep a little while longer. “Hey, Mom,” Hannah said when she sat at the table in the kitchen and held her arms out for her brother. She smiled as Carmen hovered close by.
“How about you, Hayden, and me go ride the carousel this weekend?” Carmen took Billy when Hannah took her hands off him to clap. “We’ll give your mama a break and go have some fun.”
“Can Lucy come too?”
“If her mom doesn’t mind, sure.” She’d mentioned the fun to see if Hannah would tell her anymore about Lucy or her parents. “I bet her mom misses her when she’s over here though, huh?”
Hannah shook her head, and her smile disappeared, so perhaps there was more that she wasn’t saying. “She likes it here better.”
“You’re a good friend, princess, but you know if anything bothers you, that’s what Mama and I are here for.” She reached over and picked Hannah up and put her down on her lap. “You’re getting big.”
“Mama told me that too, but I got nothing to say,” Hannah said, and Cain still wasn’t convinced.
“Then we’ll have fun, and if you need to say something I’ll be happy to listen, and no matter what, I won’t be mad.”
“Thanks, Mom. I love you.” Hannah gave her a hug, then went with Sabana when she walked in. “See you later.”
“Miss Cain,” Carmen said, bouncing Billy as she walked around with him. “That little girl’s mother call for Miss Emma today and say she coming here. I say okay, so I hope you don’t mind.”
“Actually, that’s a good thing. I’m dying to meet her,” she said as she made a plate to take up to Emma. “Do you mind watching him a minute?”
“You take all day if you want.” Carmen kissed the top of Billy’s head and smiled. “I could do this all the time, he so sweet.”
“You’re better than a massage at the spa, mobster,” Emma said when she delivered breakfast. “Did I leave you in a horrible state when I finally fell asleep?”
“Nothing that’ll kill me, so eat up. You’ll need it.”
“If you have time this morning I’m raring to go again.” Emma winked as she took a big bite of a biscuit.
“You’ll have to go all right, but unfortunately for me, it’s downstairs to meet Lucy’s mom.” She accepted a bite from Emma and watched as she walked naked to the bathroom. “Carmen said she called earlier so she should be here soon.”
“Want to take bets on what these people are like?” Emma said, sounding muffled through the wall, so Cain went in and joined her.
“We’ll soon find out, but let me go and see if Merrick and Katlin have arrived yet with a hint.” She kissed Emma before she shoved the toothbrush into her mouth and waved over her shoulder. “Take your time.”
“Don’t scare anyone until I get down there.”
“I’ll try my best,” she said and laughed all the way to the first floor, finding Hayden and Hannah ready for school. “You two have a good day and call if you need anything.”
“They’ll be okay, Boss,” Sabana said and herded the two out the door.
“For the sake of my sanity, let’s hope so. Thank you for calling and getting us organized so fast when that happened to Hannah,” she said softly. “I haven’t had a chance to say that.”
“I was glad to help.”
She entered the kitchen, and Merrick was holding the baby and making faces, which, considering who she was, made it all the more humorous. Everyone had a soft side when it came to babies and small children. “Taylor Kennison’s paying us a visit today.”
“Why?” Merrick said, not stopping her attempt to entertain the baby.
“To see how well Lucy has laid the groundwork for her to waltz in here would be my guess.”
“Or she could simply be a woman going through a bad divorce and needing a shoulder to cry on,” Emma said when she entered in jeans and a loose-fitting shirt.
“I might have to side with Cain on this one, Boss,” Merrick said and frowned a bit when Carmen took the baby back, but it looked like she was leaving to change him. “I’ve looked everywhere to find a Taylor Kennison with a child and bad husband that fits this criteria. Muriel followed that up with a search of her own.”
“I found a couple in north Louisiana, but the number and names of their children are wrong,” Katlin said. “Today, if you can try to fit in some questions people usually ask when trying to get to know someone, we might have more to go on. I also asked Finley to check it out as well to see if she had any better luck.”
“Miss Emma, there’s a lady here to see you,” one of the maids said.
“Thanks. Can you show her to the den for me?” Emma held her hand out to Cain and glanced over her shoulder to Carmen coming back in. “We might need to borrow him for a minute, abuela.” Emma used the Spanish word for grandmother, and Carmen’s eyes grew glassy with tears. “I kept trying to think of something the kids could call you that holds more meaning than Miss Carmen, so I hope you don’t mind.”
“Oh, Miss Emma, I love it.”
Emma kissed her cheek as Cain took the baby from her and headed to meet their mystery woman. “Is it just us, or does this weird stuff happen to everyone?” Emma asked as they walked to the back of the house.
“Unless everyone has a reward for information leading to my arrest, then I’d go with no.”
“Oh,” the woman said, standing up when they arrived. “I didn’t think you’d both be here.”
“The baby was fussy this morning, so I can’t get rid of her when that happens.” Emma walked up and held her hand out. “Hi. We met briefly at school, but I’m Emma Casey, and this is my wife Cain.”
“I feel like I know you already because Lucy talks about you so much. Since she spends a lot of time with Hannah, I thought I should come and introduce myself and thank you for all the kindness you’ve shown her. I’m sure you know things haven’t been rosy at home.”
“Lucy’s a pleasure to have around and Hannah loves her, so we’re glad to help,” Cain said, keeping her distance to put the woman at ease. “I’m hoping things are getting better for you.”
“Once Drew, my husband I mean, realizes it’s over, I’m sure things will be fine.”
It surprised Emma that this total stranger would be so forthcoming, but it could also make this easier. “I’m sure he’ll see reason once he realizes you’re serious about whatever you want.”
“I don’t want to bore you, but this had been long in coming,” Taylor said, sighing for added emphasis.
When she lowered her head, Emma glanced at Cain, cocked her own head toward the door, and smiled. “I think this one needs a new diaper, so it was nice meeting you.”
“Likewise,” Taylor said in a tone that sounded like she had recovered from the emotional outbreak. “She seems devoted,” Taylor said as Cain walked out with the baby cradled in her arms.
Emma watched Cain go and nodded. “She’s a definite keeper.” She plastered on a smile, and her impression so far was that this woman was full of shit. “Can I get you anything?”
“No, I’m fine but not fine, you know.”
“I do, and if you want I’ll be happy to talk to you about it. Drew, right?”
“Yeah, that bastard.” Taylor certainly sounded like a woman scorned. “He cheats on me with his secretary and then doesn’t want me to leave him. Can you believe that?”
“Maybe he’s come to see his mistake,” Emma said, lifting her hands momentarily. “Where does he work?”
“Why?” Taylor went from mad wife to suspicious in a flash.
“If it’s one of the big companies, it’d be hard to fire this woman without letting him go too. Getting fired might put you all in a tight spot if he’s still seeing her on a daily basis.”
“He works for Shell, so it’s like the old boys club. He’s probably getting an award for what he did, but I’m not going to forgive that since I’m sure he’ll do it again.”
“Do you work?”
“My, you’re full of questions, aren’t you?” Taylor stood up and walked to the fireplace to study the pictures along the mantel.
Taylor stopped at the family portrait they’d taken at the wedding and took it down to look at it. Cain and the kids looked so happy, Emma smiled just thinking about it. Of all the ones they’d taken it was her favorite.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was being nosy, Taylor. I’m glad you came so we could discuss Lucy. She and Hannah do like spending time together, and we don’t mind having her, but I wanted to make sure you didn’t have any problems with that.”
“Sorry. I guess I’m on edge from everything. I work for an attorney downtown, but only part time, and I simply want Lucy to be happy and away from both of us right now. You and Cain have been really nice to have her over so much.”
“Like Cain said, she’s a beautiful child and our Hannah loves her, so it’s no problem.”
“Great. I have to go. Work and all, you know.” Taylor laughed nervously and ran out of the house like Emma had threatened her with a loaded shotgun.
“That was damn bizarre,” she said, going back to the picture and picking it up. She turned it around and studied the back. If you weren’t looking for it, the extremely small device would’ve blended perfectly with the black backing. “Wasn’t that nice for her to come over,” Emma said when Cain came back in and opened her mouth to say something. “She’s having a rough time.” She pointed to what she’d found.
“I hope you let her know we’ll be happy to help out however we can. Let’s go finish breakfast, though. Carmen’s sending someone in here to clean.”
“The place is spotless so they can skip it.” She followed Cain to her office and slammed the door. “I didn’t want to believe you were right about them using Hannah.”
“I’m not sure it’s who you think it is, but let’s make sure.”
“What’s your idea?”
Cain put her arms around her and rocked her gently, as if to calm her. “You’re going to continue to be the devoted friend she obviously wants, we’re going to let them listen to Hannah sing at the top of her lungs in there, all while we double back and sneak up on them.”
“Can you explain that so that I understand?”
“We need to know exactly who they are before we do anything, but I truly think our bozos outside have nothing to do with this. That means someone else is pulling the strings, and I’m interested in the puppet master. Once I know that, it’ll be easier to whittle them a new head.”
*
Carol stared at the faucet on the sink and couldn’t believe it was so close, she was so thirsty, yet she couldn’t get anything to drink. She had no idea how long she’d been in here, but her whole body hurt from the awkward position Elton had left her in. “Please, someone help me,” she said, but she was hoarse from screaming.
The only way she was getting out of here was to break the pipe Elton had chained her to so she started pulling, but the cuffs cut deep into her wrists. The pain prevented her from doing it for very long, and she figured she’d pass out before she could rip the plumbing apart.
She tried one more time and was grunting through the pain to try to maintain the pressure longer when the door opened. The possibility that Elton had come back to kill her made her panic and tug harder. When they’d first met she’d figured him for a man of principle who understood her plight, but she guessed he couldn’t let her tell anyone what he’d done. Killing her was his only option.
“Hello,” a woman said with what sounded like a Spanish accent. “Housekeeping.”
“In here, hurry, please,” she screamed, hoping the woman understood her. “Please help me.”
“You okay in there?” The woman sounded as if she’d come closer. “You want me leave.”
“No, please help me,” she yelled, and finally the door opened and it wasn’t Elton. “Call the police.”
“Dios mío,” the woman said and took her radio out. She said a lot of things in Spanish and took one of the cups on the counter and helped her drink something. “People coming.”
“Don’t leave me,” she said, starting to cry. The relief of all this being over was overwhelming her. It was time for her to give up for now and go home. “Please don’t go,” she said as the woman cleaned her face with a warm face towel.
“You okay, lady, you okay,” the maid said and only moved when more people arrived.
“What happened?” a middle-aged man asked when he arrived and introduced himself as the manager.
Carol gazed up at him and could only come up with one name. “Cain Casey did this. She tried to kill me.”
The police behind him had arrived in time to hear her say it, and she tried hard not to smile. Elton Newsome could go straight to hell. If you wanted something, you had to do it yourself.
“Please don’t let her kill me,” she said, slumping forward as if she were too weak to sit up. “Cain Casey did this.”