Bowie buttoned his shirt and finger-combed his hair one last time. The black slacks and button-up, long-sleeve white dress shirt seemed the best way to go. The black tie with tiny silver-gray diamonds woven into the fabric was conservative but dressy. A gray blazer made it a classic look. He threw his jacket over his arm and checked that he had his wallet and keys.
Wary of dropping the girls off at the apartment and leaving them, he’d swung by the super’s apartment, talked to him about a new door lock and dead bolt, and got him on board. The super promised to install it tomorrow morning.
Alayna opened the door, and he was struck her flawless skin and flushed cheeks. In that pale green dress and off-white heels, she looked cool and classy. She’d braided her hair into a rope and looped it into a figure eight at the nape of her neck.
“You look beautiful,” Bowie murmured as he leaned forward to brush her cheek with his lips.
“So do you,” she whispered.
He flashed her a smile. “That’s handsome, sweetheart.”
“I have to get Rosa’s shoes on and I’ll be done. Have a seat.”
Emilia sat on the couch crumpling her dress at the sides over and over.
Bowie sat down next to her. “What is it, Em?”
“Someone broke in and broke my toys and my piggy bank and stole my money. All mom found was a little change.”
“How much do you think you had in the bank?”
“Over twenty dollars. I helped Rosa and Addie clean up their toys, and sometimes brushed their hair and put on their shoes. Mom paid me a quarter every time. Then she took me to the bank, and we changed the coins to five-dollar bills. She said all she found was thirty cents.”
He’d been with Alayna when she picked the coins up off the floor. If Aaron Harper had really broken in and trashed the apartment like the police thought he had, he was a fucking asshole. If he stole his child’s money, that made him a fucking slimy bastard on top of it.
“If I had the twenty dollars, I’d give it to momma to buy Rosa and Addie’s toys back.”
She sounded so grown-up, and so sad. If Aaron Harper had been in the room, Bowie would have punched his face in. “What about your toys?”
“I like to watch movies and read books. They didn’t tear up many of my movies, and I go to the library at school to get books.”
“You’re a good sister for looking after them, Em.” He tucked a blond strand of hair fine as corn silk behind her ear. “Do you know what insurance is?”
She shook her head.
“Insurance is something you pay for every month, to fix your car if you have an accident, or replace the contents of your house or apartment if you have a fire or break-in. Your mom will fill out a paper explaining to the insurance company what happened, and they’ll give her some money to buy some of the things back.”
“Do you think mom could get me a Beauty and the Beast movie?”
“I bet she will if you ask her.” If he didn’t get it before then.
“They tore up my clothes. They must not have a little girl like me.”
It was hard for Bowie to swallow past the lump in his throat. “Someone who rips apart your clothes and steals your money doesn’t deserve a little girl like you.”
Alayna ushered Addison and Rosa out of the bedroom as he spoke. Alayna’s eyes met his, then dropped away.
Bowie rose to help Alayna herd the children down the hall and into the elevator. On the way to the hotel the silence stretched between them. Even the children were quiet. Rosa, sitting directly behind him clung to her monkey and sucked her thumb.
Where the girls sensing their mother’s tension and his? Seeing their room empty of most of their clothes and toys had been traumatic, too. Alayna had obviously done a lot of explaining to try and make the experience less upsetting for them.
He broke the silence with, “I spoke to the super of your building. He’s going to get right on the new lock and deadbolt tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you for thinking of it.”
“You were busy with the kids and other things.” He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze.
She caught and held it. “My ex in-laws may be a little difficult.”
He glanced her way. “It isn’t your responsibility to apologize for anyone else’s behavior. You don’t have any control over them.”
“Well, just in case.”
“I promise not to hold it against you.”
She smiled slightly. “I appreciate it.” She paused. “Warren is okay, but….”
Jesus, Gloria Harper must be hell on wheels if she cowed the kids and Alayna before they’d even seen her. Luckily they were going to a family pizza place. The kids would be busy eating, and he’d stuck a coloring book and crayons in Alayna’s ever-present backpack.
“It’s going to be okay.” He wasn’t going to sit by while they ganged up on her.
A faint smile tipped up the corners of her mouth, then disappeared.
The restaurant was in full swing when they arrived. The waitress led them to a large table in a back room. In the corner sat a couple. The man was thin, his blond hair liberally sprinkled with gray, his dark slacks, white shirt, and gray blazer very similar to Bowie’s. His wife sat straight-backed and tense beside him, her silver hair lighter than her husband’s. Her purple dress contrasted becomingly with her hair and skin.
The couple rose as Alayna and the children reached them. Their body language remained stiff as they hugged Alayna, but warmed as they greeted and hugged each one of the children. At Alayna’s introduction, Warren Harper shook Bowie’s hand, and Gloria Harper gave him a cool nod.
A waiter brought a booster seat for Rosa, and they all settled in at the table. The first few minutes were taken up with ordering food. The waitress had barely left when Gloria started grilling Alayna about the Emilia and Addie’s school progress and Rosa’s daycare situation.
Was she asking because she was interested, or was she fishing for information and a reason to contest custody? The muscles of his neck and shoulders knotted with the need to step in and set her straight.
“I wish you could have brought them out east to visit us,” Gloria said.
“Aaron had it set up with the court that I couldn’t take the girls out of state, Gloria.”
“Why did he do that?”
“I wish he was here so you could ask him. I never tried to gain sole custody, and never threatened to leave the area.”
Gloria looked down her thin blade of a nose. “You really shouldn’t talk about this in front of the girls.”
Color stained Alayna’s cheeks. “I was just answering your question.”
Warren cleared his throat. “How is your job going, Alayna?”
“It’s fine.”
“Are you still working for that Kappes fellow?”
The fact that he knew her boss’s name was very telling. Bowie reached for the hand clenched in her lap and gave it a squeeze.
“Actually, I work for three different lawyers in the firm, Warren. Mr. Kappes, Mr. North, and Mr. Sullivan. I’ve researched and written briefs for all of them.”
“I didn’t realize it was a partnership.”
“They’ve been practicing together for twenty years.”
“How old are these fellows?”
“Mid-fifties.”
Warren frowned, then his gaze shifted to Bowie. “How did you and Alayna meet?”
“We ran into each other at the bank. But we’ve known each other since junior high.”
“You’re from Texas, too.”
“Yes.”
“What do you do for a living?”
“I’m in the Navy.”
“I was too, many years ago. I only stuck it out for four years, but it taught me some discipline and focus.”
“It has me too.”
The food came, and for a short time they ate in peace. In the middle of the meal, Alayna rose to take the girls to the restroom.
“You said you ran into Alayna at the bank,” Gloria said.
“Yes.”
“That must have been a surprise.”
“Yes, it was. We hadn’t seen each other in ten years.”
“And she just decided to go off with you with the children over the weekend?”
“No, Mrs. Harper, she didn’t. I know you haven’t spoken to the police about the circumstances surrounding your son’s—disappearance. And Alayna can’t tell you things in front of the children, but I can tell you now so you’ll have a clearer picture of what’s going on.
“Your son embezzled funds from the estates of some very powerful people. While we were at the bank, two men attempted to kidnap Alayna by forcing her into a van. Luckily I was still in the parking lot, and we were able to fight them off. It was suggested at that time they may have been hired to hold Alayna hostage to put pressure on your son to return the money he’s stolen.
“After the kidnapping attempt, Alayna asked me to accompany her to your son’s house to get the children. We found Bliss dead—murdered—and the girls locked in the laundry room. Bliss was killed protecting the children. That should tell you the kind of people Aaron’s angered.”
Bowie thought it best not to mention the break-in and her son’s part in that. The woman looked shell-shocked.
“The police will tell you all this tomorrow when you see them. Or they may try to be a little more sensitive than I have. But the truth is, your son is an embezzler and may have gotten his wife killed and put his ex and their children in deadly danger. In light of that, I would think you’d cut your ex-daughter-in-law some slack, since all I’ve seen her do since all this came down is the best she can to keep her children safe and care for them.
“She went to Big Bear with me to get out of town with the children in the hopes the police would find your son and the men who tried to abduct her before she came back. The children had been through a trauma and needed a distraction.
“When the police came down to notify her they’d found Aaron’s car and he might be deceased, she knew you’d be flying in, and thought you’d want to see the girls. She hasn’t told the girls about Bliss’s death, or that their father might be gone because there’s a possibility it wasn’t him they found in the car. And she didn’t want to upset them if they discover it isn’t.
“I don’t know your son. I’ve never met him. But in light of everything that’s happened, in your shoes, I’d start questioning what else he may have been…less than truthful about, at least for your grandchildren’s sake.”
To her credit, Gloria Harper’s hand shook only a little as she reached for her wine and took a sip. “We’ll be discussing everything you’ve said with the police tomorrow.”
“I’m sure you will.”
Alayna came back to the table, and Warren and Bowie rose to help her get everyone settled once again.
The meal passed in a less confrontational manner. And when they rose to leave, Bowie offered to pay the check.
Warren shook his head. “Thank you but I’ve got it. You were our guests.” He placed cash in the folder holding the bill.
Rosa reached for Bowie, and he lifted her in his arms.
“The girls seem very comfortable with you, Mr. Ramirez,” Gloria said.
“I like children, and they seem to like me.”
“I like you, Bowie,” Addison said.
Bowie chuckled. “Thanks Addie. It’s always good to be liked.”
Emilia slipped her hand in his in a silent show of agreement, and he gave it a gentle squeeze.
Gloria Harper hadn’t completely been cowed by everything he’d told them, he surmised from her imperious tone as she said, “If you wouldn’t mind taking the children to the car, I’d like a word with Alayna alone.”
Great. “Sure, Mrs. Harper. Addison, hold Emilia’s hand, and what?”
“Don’t let go.”
“You got it.”
Alayna’s stomach churned, and the one slice of pizza she’d eaten seemed to be stuck at the base of her throat.
Gloria surprised her by saying, “The children were very well-behaved tonight.”
“Thank you. They’re good girls.”
“After we’ve met with the police tomorrow, we’d like to come over to your apartment to visit with them. They’ll be more comfortable at home than in a strange hotel room.”
What would they think of her barren apartment? The detectives were certain to tell them about the break-in. “Certainly. I can text you the address so you can find us.” She pulled her phone out, typed in the address, and heard the chime from Warren’s cell phone. “What time should we expect you?”
“Our appointment is at ten in the morning.”
“We’ll look for you at noon or a little before then. After your visit, there’s a park a few blocks from the building. We can drive the girls there to play and take a picnic lunch. The girls and I do that most weekends.”
“That sounds nice. Thank you.”
Gloria was being so polite it made her nervous.
“We’ll walk you to the car,” Warren said, and took her arm.
Gloria continued to talk. “The police said that once they had released the house, we could stay there. Do you think it will disturb the girls to go there?”
“I don’t know. We’ll have to play it by ear and see.” She drew in a deep breath. “Bowie told you what happened, didn’t he?”
“Yes, he did,” Warren said.
Now she understood why Gloria was being nice to her. It didn’t matter. She still didn’t trust her. Aaron had learned his vindictive hatefulness from his mother. She’d seen too much of it firsthand. And Warren would never stand up to his wife. He was too weak.
They exited the restaurant. The air, cool and crisp, cut through her dress, and she shivered.
“Bowie and the girls are waiting. We’ll see you tomorrow. Good night.” She barely waited for their reply before rushing to the car.