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JAMIE WALKED TO THE police cruiser. She was surprised at how calm she felt, how composed. It was very different from how lethargic she had felt in the morning, how helpless she had seemed. And it was completely different from how it had been when Markie had been taken. She had been a pile of anxiety and panic then.
This time, she felt like she was in control for the most part. She still didn’t quite know what to expect, but she knew what to do and she had a feeling that it might just work.
Officer Halloway wound down her window when Jamie came to the car but didn’t climb into the passenger seat. Patiently, she waited for Jamie to speak. When Jamie didn’t say anything, the officer broke the silence.
“So what did she say?”
“She says she will give me the nanny’s address,” Jamie said.
Halloway arched an eyebrow, impressed. “Way to go. And all by yourself, too. You didn’t even need my muscle to intimidate the woman.” She lifted her arm in a mock flex. Jamie smiled. “All right,” she continued. “What do you want to do about it?”
Jamie glanced toward her mother’s house. “I wanted to go to the nanny’s house and see for myself if she’s trying to fuck with my family again.”
When Jamie looked back at Halloway, the officer was frowning. “I’m not sure that is such a good idea. I’m already breaking protocol by doing this with you. I don’t think we should—”
“Either you escort me, or I go by myself,” Jamie said, interrupting. She was getting cocky. She was interrupting everyone, bringing her point across without allowing anyone to argue with her. She wasn’t going to let anyone push her in a direction, decide what action to take with this.
Halloway looked unsure.
“Look,” Jamie said. “This got way out of hand last time. If she’s behind this, I’m going to find out now. And then I’m going to watch you arrest her with my own eyes. You have children, surely you understand.”
Jamie felt a little bad about bringing up the officer’s children – she was trying to convince her. But she would do whatever it took.
Halloway looked at Jamie and nodded. “All right,” she said. “Let’s do this.”
Jamie nodded before she walked back to her mother’s house.
“I’m ready,” Jamie’s mother said. She was stressed out, Jamie could see that.
“It’s okay, Mom,” Jamie said. “You don’t have to come with me.”
Her mother breathed a sigh of relief. “You know I would have done this for you, don’t you?”
Jamie nodded. She had seen enough – her mother had been willing to break the conditions of her parole for her daughter. That had to point to some kind of remorse, after all. But Jamie wasn’t going to force her mother to do something that would get her in trouble. That would just be cruel. Instead, she got the address written on a piece of paper.
“It’s correct, I promise,” Jamie’s mother said.
Jamie hadn’t questioned it, but she was glad that her mother felt the need to reassure her. It meant that she really believed Jamie was pissed off enough to do something drastic. And Jamie wanted the world to know that this was it; she had reached the end of her line.
“I’ll let you know how it goes,” Jamie said. At least she could give her mother that much.
Without saying anything else, Jamie walked away, got into the police cruiser, and Halloway through the car into reverse. She backed out of the drive and they left the complex behind, following the directions to the nanny’s address.
The apartment building was in a bad part of town, four stories high and fairly old, with peeling paint on the trim. There was a children’s park attached where parents were watching the children play.
For a moment, Jamie looked at the park, dark memories of the time Markie had been taken washing over her. Markie and Brianna had been at the park when he had been taken. The twins had been on the swings, and Brianna had turned her back for just a moment. Allegedly. Now, Jamie wondered if she might have done something else, if she had seen Jamie’s mother arrived, even handed Markie over to her. Had they said anything to each other?
Jamie had been positive that Brianna hadn’t been involved before, that it had just been an honest mistake. Now, she didn’t know what to believe anymore.
“Are you okay?” Officer Halloway asked.
Jamie nodded, snapping out of her spiraling thoughts. Going back to that today wasn’t going to help anyone. They had to move forward.
Jamie and Halloway got out of the cruiser and Jamie’s phone rang as they walked up to the building’s door.
“Where are you?” Alex asked anxiously. “What’s taking you so long?”
Jamie had completely forgotten to let Alex know what was going on and she felt guilty. She had been away from home for a while, when she had told him that she wouldn’t be long. And it was already unsafe for her to be out here. At least, that was what they had both thought when the police had told them not to leave the house. Now, Jamie felt invincible, like nothing could go wrong. Not now, when she was almost at the point of solving the problem.
“I’m sorry,” Jamie said. “I should have contacted you sooner.”
“What are you doing?” Alex asked.
“I’m putting a stop to this before it gains any traction.”
Alex’s confusion was clear over the line. “What are you talking about?” In the background she could hear the children playing. They were probably in the playroom or outside on the lawn. But seeing that the brick had been thrown through their dining room window, she was betting on the former. It was good to know that everyone was safe at home, at least.
“I think I know who called me,” she said. “And who taped the picture to the door. I’m with the police, you don’t have to worry about me. I promise. Just keep the kids distracted. I’ll be home before you know it. And with any luck, this will be over before it has a chance to start.”
“Are you sure?” Alex asked. He still sounded like he wasn’t completely on board with her plan. “I can come find you and we can do this together. You don’t have to handle it alone.”
Jamie shook her head. “I’m already here, honey. I’ll call you when we’re done.” She ended the call before he could argue. The longer that she stood trying to explain to him what was going on, the more time they were wasting.
“Ready?” Halloway asked.
Jamie nodded. “I have been ready for this to be over for a long time.”
“Let’s hope you’re right,” Halloway said.
“I’m sure I am,” Jamie said. She wasn’t going to let the officer’s uncertainty cause her to waver. She had an idea what was going on and she was going to follow through with her plan until she knew for a fact. If she was wrong, so be it. But Jamie was almost a hundred percent sure she was right.
They went into the apartment building and climbed the stairs. There wasn’t an elevator, and the stairwell smelled like stale urine.
These were terrible conditions to live in. When Brianna had worked for Jamie, she had never wondered what situation the girl was in. She had merely paid her and the girl had arrived every day, on time and bright, often staying overtime to help out.
Jamie had been so grateful for her back then.
They climbed to the third floor and walked to unit ten. The door was a little dented at the bottom, as if it had been kicked a couple of times. Jamie took out her phone and turned it on silent. Just in case.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Halloway asked in a low voice.
“Absolutely,” Jamie said, nodding.
Halloway knocked on the door – three assertive knocks. “Little Lake Police Department. Open up!”
There was a scurrying sound on the other side of the door. Jamie’s pulse thundered in her ears. She felt lightheaded. Her palms were sweaty and she pumped her hands open and closed. This was it. This was the moment of truth. She did everything she could to keep her anger at bay. She wasn’t afraid; she was furious. And she couldn’t let it cloud her judgement before she knew the truth of what was really going on here.
The door swung open and Brianna stood in front of them. She looked so small, so young. Why had Jamie never noticed that she was just a child herself? Her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore sweatpants and a T-shirt. But she had done terrible things and that had stripped away her innocence. Once upon a time, Jamie had trusted this woman with her children. Now she felt only hatred when she looked at her.
She reminded herself to get to the bottom of it before her anger took over.
Brianna’s bewildered expression shifted from the cop to Jamie, and her features contorted with surprise.
“Mrs. Reid?” she asked, her voice incredulous. “What are you doing here?” She looked at Halloway again and her face changed to something that looked a bit more like fear. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Then you won’t mind if we come in,” Halloway said. It was great to see her in action. She was so much more assertive, an air of authority around her. When Jamie spoke to her alone, when she had been in her office and in the cruiser, Halloway was soft and gentle. More like a mother than a police officer. But now she was in full swing.
Brianna looked back and forth between them. Then she looked over her shoulder at the living room.
“Now isn’t really a good time,” she said.
“That’s okay,” Halloway said and shrugged indifferently. “We can come back with more officers. And a warrant.” She turned, attempting to leave.
“Wait!” Brianna called. The officer turned back, frowning as if she didn’t know what she was being called back for. Her poker face was brilliant. Even Jamie felt intimidated, and she wasn’t even the one who was going to be questioned.
“It’s fine,” Brianna said with a shaky voice. “You can come in.”
Halloway nodded, turning back to the door and stepping into the apartment first. Jamie followed. She was so impressed with how it had all been handled. She had known that calling the number on the business card she had been given after they had been called to the police station about her mother was a good thing. She had kept the card and she was glad about that, now.
Oh, if Alex could only see this! But it was good that he wasn’t there. With the three of them – all women – she was sure that they would be able to get more out of the nanny than they would have if Alex was there.
Brianna had always been intimidated by Alex, a little fearful, even. Especially when Markie had disappeared. She had been so terrified of what the reaction would be.
Come to think of it now, Jamie wondered if there hadn’t been a reason. Back then, she had thought that the girl was scared to death of what had happened because she hadn’t had control of the situation and she felt bad. Now Jamie wondered if she had been so scared because she had had something to hide.
Well, they were going to find out soon enough, weren’t they?
