Anna closed her eyes and pushed against Aaron, taking a step back and turning slowly to face the board. She felt Carter behind her. She could feel his strength; smell the cologne he liked and the general scent that told her he was behind her.
“I can’t believe how…detailed…you’re an amazing artist, Anna,” Catherine stepped back, almost stumbled except for the man that came up behind her, steadying her and holding her firmly in place. “And you were four years old…”
“A couple child prodigies that no one knew about,” Anna said softly, her head shaking as she stepped up to the board, very close to the board. “That’s the man in the parking lot…”
“Who very oddly enough…” Catherine leaned on the edge of the desk, hands up and rubbing her neck. “Also happens to be the man you drew when you were four. The one who gave you nightmares, Anna. According to Morris…he’s got a squeaky clean background…no relatives hiding in the background…nothing out of the ordinary. So the question begs to be asked…how did he end up part of Anna’s nightmare? And why did he come to the nursery today?”
“These other ones…”
“Why did you draw them, Anna?”
“Just people…” she shrugged. “They visited the parents…”
“She drew everything back then. Even us…birds, squirrels, flowers…” Aaron commented, recalling memories for long ago.
“Until we figured out how to get outside, people were limited to those that came in and had deals with the parents,” Anna spoke detached, turning and going to her desk, pulling the old journal out again. “Are they still drug people?”
“One of them is dead…” Catherine took a marker from the desk and drew a large X over one of the aged pictures. “The rest…this one is in prison for murder…bad drug deal…he lost. The other four…one of which wants to be a politician, who has been a model citizen and businessman since he was twenty…I really love my cynical side…”
“It does pose the question on his existence before twenty,” Carter watched Anna closely.
“Officially…probing into the life of a politician is…touchy,” Catherine said delicately. “However…I know a snazzy news girl who doesn’t mind heat…”
“He’s trouble, Catherine,” Anna said quietly, standing before the rendered drawing, her hand shaking a little as she reached out to touch the page. “He’s hurt people. Children. It’s in his eyes…in his voice…no one would believe me…but I know…he touched me…I know…”
Aaron realized too late he was too far away, watching her from the side, he saw the color drain from her features. Carter had also been watching, his body across the room in two long steps, catching her as she folded gracefully toward the floor. A low curse left his lips seconds before he caught her against him, lifting her and laying her out on the sofa. He didn’t think about the slender elbow that shoved him carefully aside, her hands down and checking her eyes and patting her cheeks gently.
“Some cold water?” Catherine asked. She accepted the bottle and poured a little into her palm before sprinkling it over Anna. Dark lashes fluttered and opened slowly. “Welcome back.”
“I…” she peered up at the three faces staring down, a flush of heat in her cheeks. “I hate when that happens.”
“I’m guessing they’re not too fond of it, either. So…how about some lunch?” Catherine leaned on the cane, her cheek pulled between her teeth as she faced the four faces once more.
“I don’t have time…” Anna began.
“We’re going to lunch,” Carter said firmly. “Anna’s buying. There’s a quiet little place right across the street,” he took hold of both her hands and tugged her to her feet. “I’m starving. You owe us…”
“You’re diabolical,” she tossed back, teeth clenched.
“And I intend to use every bit of it,” he told her without remorse. “Probably on a regular basis.”
“A man after my own heart,” Aaron nodded agreement, ignoring the glares from both women.
“You an’ me seriously need to compare notes,” Catherine said with a hurried few steps to catch up with Anna. “I need some kind of edge here…”
Anna nodded and looped her arm with Catherine’s, their heads close together as they walked through the nursery to the parking lot.
The men managed to keep it light through lunch, discussing business and how the rest of the state was handling the reclamation. Half way through, Aaron stared at Catherine when she answered a question from Anna about her job.
“I turned in my resignation a day before this knife thing…figures, you know? Cop superstition…turn in a resignation or retirement and your next thirty days are nothing but grief,” Catherine shook her head.
“You’ve resigned?” Aaron asked in-between a spoonful of spicy Thai soup. “I don’t guess we talked much about your work the last few days.”
“That’s what happens when you drug a woman,” she said sweetly.
Anna cleared her throat and stared at her pasta and shrimp.
“You accepted a post somewhere else?” Aaron asked cautiously, feeling his heart thumping just a little out of control.
“I’m going in as second in command with security at the resort,” she said with a smile. “Probably just as many loonies, but hey, lots more fun.”
“The resort…” Aaron felt the grin on his face.
“So you won’t be rid of me that easy,” she teased from behind the tall glass of water.
“And you’ll have to start paying attention to the speeding limits,” Aaron remarked dryly.
“Not for twenty-seven days,” She returned with a laugh.
“You went to the benefit this past weekend?” Aaron asked casually, looking from Carter to Anna.
“We did…it was actually very much fun…all dress up and good food and dancing,” Anna stopped when she looked up to see him studying her. “Why?”
“You made the Sunday papers,” Catherine said quietly. “And I’m guessing that’s not something you might enjoy…”
“We had a reporter talk to us…Rose was there with Ryan and…in the paper?” Anna repeated with a little nod. “I suppose it’s…part of their life…Ryan’s and Carter’s. No one’s going to look at me twice.”
“I’m not so sure, Anna…” Catherine held up a hand when Aaron opened his mouth. “Think about it. Logically. Why would that politician be at the nursery?”
“He couldn’t possibly know who I am…who we are…” Aaron said flatly. “Hell. We’re not four years old and as best I can remember, he only saw us that once. By July the house was shut down, the parents taken away to jail and we were taken to another house altogether.”
“But you were still you. You began the life with that given last name. And when you were taken to another house, you kept that name. It wouldn’t have been difficult at all for some to keep an eye on you. It wasn’t until you hit the summer of fourteen that you – by that name – vanished. I did some research this morning about the explosion…” Catherine pushed the empty plate back, aware of all eyes on her.
“He was there more than once,” Anna said softly, wrapping her fingers around the cold glass of water. “He was there a lot. The dad kept him away from the room. I heard them fighting.”
“Can you remember how often, Anna?” Catherine asked curiously.
“Every couple days. They argued about money and about stuff…drugs…he dragged the dad to his car once and I watched from the window. He said they had to fix a problem with…with…” she squeezed her eyes closed. “Robert Buckley. Then they left in a car.”
“Every couple days…and now he’s a fine upstanding citizen…I don’t suppose you can recall a name attached to him?”
“It’s in the journal,” Anna answered with a shrug. “It might…need a little interpreting. When we first began writing, it was phonetically since we didn’t really know all the spelling and the way words were supposed to go together.”
“I have appointments…” Aaron said with a glance at his watch.
“I do, too…sorry ladies,” Carter carried Anna’s palm to his lips.
“Can you give Aaron a ride to his office? I’ll take Anna back with me…” Catherine felt her tummy roll when Aaron leaned over and kissed her. “I’ll go to your place when I’m finished…just don’t expect cooking.”
“I’d rather live and cook on my own,” he teased with a tug on the long braid. “See you later.”
“I keep waiting to wake up,” Anna said when they were alone, her wallet out and money dropped on the check.
“I know the feeling…your brother is…unreal…”
“He always was…” Anna walked slowly with her from the restaurant. They talked about how she was hurt and how she met Aaron. “You make a cute couple. It’s nice seeing him happy. We talked about it a week or so ago…wondering if we deliberately kept people out of our lives because of each other…I think for a while, we did…”
“I’m still working on the brilliant part…if I let myself think about it too much…” Catherine took a deep, ragged breath. “What does a guy that smart want with a street cop?”
“We’re all smart in different ways…” Anna wiggled her behind in the plush seat of the sports car. “This is nice…I think I need to borrow Carter’s car…”
Catherine laughed. “You don’t know what I had to go through to get this. My grandmother died a few years ago and left me some money. I wanted this car so bad I could taste it,” she breathed reverently. “I went to the chief and made my finances an open book before I bought it.”
“Oh…because of the cop thing…people might think…”
“I’ve heard rumors…some still do…and I’ve had it two years now,” Catherine shook her head. “It’s worse I think when you’re a narcotics cop. Everyone thinks you’re on the take.”
“Was it easy to walk away?”
“No. No…” she sighed, easily weaving through traffic. “But it’s begun to get to me and I don’t trust me anymore. Too much anger inside.”
“Change can be fun…revitalizing, I think. Do you like gardening?” Anna shifted the topic, a little portion of her brain still puzzling out the politician visiting her nursery.
“That’s next on my list…a place with room for me to put in raised beds and grow stuff. Flowers and maybe even food…” she said, laughing with Anna as she pulled into the parking lot of the nursery.
Anna only smiled, picturing the back yard at the house and how the raised beds could be arranged. It received full sun, so it would be a great growing place.
“Aaron can’t keep a houseplant alive,” she confided as they walked through to her office.
“He mentioned that,” she watched Anna move to sit behind the desk, the worn journal pulled out and set on the desk. Catherine moved to lean on the desk, her palms on the journal, forcing Anna to meet her eyes. “I can’t move like Carter and Aaron right now. If you go eyes up, you’ll hit the floor.”
“I’m okay,” Anna pulled in a long breath and opened the book.
“The dates are all accurate?”
“Yes. We had TV, computers…even a little kid calendar from the grandparents,” Anna looked through the book. “It was a matter of pride, I think…I wanted it to look…grown-up,” she said with a little smile. “One of the books I read…didn’t understand it all but…the Diary of Anne Frank.”
“That’s a little scary for a kid…”
“We didn’t know…we read things that…that we didn’t fully interpret until a couple years later when we re-read them. It’s like the words he used…I didn’t understand his intent,” her voice fell considerably. “But instinct…intuition…I honestly don’t know what….but it frightened me to the core, Catherine.”
“Take a break…look up at me…clear your mind of him and his words, Anna,” She put her palm over the page on the book, she met the dark eyes with a little smile. “You and your brother have the same eyes…other than that, I’m not sure I could have pegged you as twins.”
Anna smiled and found a page, opening it and laying it out for her to view. “I made this one of Aaron…and he made me sit in front of a mirror so I could put me in here, too. We looked like twins then…our hair was lighter…they kept his cut short and boy…I had these wicked ringlets…”
“Oh…how adorable…” Catherine looked at the portraits and shook her head. “You were…are…amazing with the pencil, Anna…you should have these made into prints and framed for you both.”
“I can scan them…” she stared at the portraits for a long minute. “The other grandparents might like that, too…” She knows she said the words out loud, her head shaking a little.
“What’s wrong? I don’t think Aaron mentioned the other grandparents.”
Anna sighed and closed her eyes. “The first two days I knew Carter, I was a raving lunatic,” she met the violet eyes filled with surprise. “I hated him…I hated what he’d done…one of his business ventures, is locating people who’ve gone missing.”
“You and Aaron.”
Anna nodded slowly. “The maternal grandparents evidently started a search and used Carter Shipley to find us because of his success rate with difficult cases. His file indicated he was ninety-eight percent and suggested a DNA test to confirm.”
“You haven’t met them yet,” Catherine frowned, that tidbit of information bouncing inside her head with all the rest.
“I…my head is so messed up right now, Catherine,” she exhaled and looked back at her book, slowly turning pages. “Here…Rod Spencer…” A shiver took her slender form, the book snapping shut, the rubber bands put back into place and the book dropped into her lower drawer.
Catherine had the pages from the white board, making notes on them before perching on the edge of the desk.
“I need my office…I hate convo…”
“What do you need?” Anna stood up and stretched, collecting things in her pack.
“A big board like that…mainly…markers that erase…pacing room,” she said with a little laugh.
“Use Aaron’s office,” Anna said simply, picking up a memo pad and printing across the surface. “He’s got a first rate computer system…here’s the login name and password. He thinks he’s slick…” She grinned cheekily. “I’m going there now, getting some clothes…I have two of these boards in my portion…I can easily move one into his office for you.”
“You got his password?”
“He’s not the only one who learned things growing up…” Anna told her, lifting her pack and doing a once look around the office. “I’ll help you set up then I’m going to Carter’s and work with the crew on the landscaping.”
“So…you guys worked out the grandparent thing?”
“Umm…not really. We mostly don’t talk about it,” Anna shrugged and dropped her pack into the SUV. “I’ll meet you at the house, Catherine.”
Catherine placed a call to her partner, giving him the name Anna had found in her journal and requested as much information. She offered the promise of an explanation as soon as she had one. She also dug for data on the two men that assaulted Aaron. She’d spent a long time trusting her instincts when it came to her career. Now wasn’t the time to stop that practice, she thought as she parked in front of the large house.